The Obsessions: the Works

I have seen this film for 50 times... no, 100 times.

Basically, I can memorize all the lines (except the non-English parts).

This was the very first film in my life. Since then, I have been fascinated by Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, Francis Ford Coppola, the horror genre, and the film industry.

(r/w Ruizhen Ouyang)

There are so many movies and TV shows today that no human being can finish watching them all.

So, no one can say which movie is the only one of something, or which TV show is the best of anything.

Therefore, I have to repeat the phrase "in my humble opinion."

IMHO, this film presents the most satisfying combination of wisdom, humanity, righteousness, perseverance, honesty, and above all, hope and freedom.

To think such a unique combination is delivered in a prison setting.

(r/w Ruizhen Ouyang)

Should the world come to its end and should I be allowed to bring one piece of artworks to the bunker, then, then, this will be it.

Or, should there be a one-way mission to the Mars to set up the first Earthling colony, and should I also be allowed to bring one item of art, then, this will be it, too.

(r/w Ruizhen Ouyang)

After watching five episodes of season one, most of the movies on the big screen which I had thought were great started to look mediocre.

This show is that good.

However, after "Gil Grissom" (played by William Petersen) left, this show started to lose its originality. So, while I repeatedly watch this show, I only focus on seasons 1 to 8, where "Gil" led the crime lab.

(r/w Ruizhen Ouyang)

I know. I know. This film is labelled with, at best, rom com. But I believe whoever criticizes it is actually secretly in love with it--for the smile of the character "Luke Brandon" (played by Hugh Dancy).

His smile drives away all the sorrow on the mind, melts away all the ice in the soul, and cuts back on my Prozac dosage by 3/4. Who can tag a price on such healing power? Or, rate it?

Of this 104-minute-long film, I savor only the 40 minutes and 25 seconds of it, when Hugh appears:

00:06:40-00:07:40=1m 00:09:35-00:12:55=3m20s 00:18:00-00:18:55=0m55s 00:21:15-00:22:55=1m40s 00:24:55-00:30:10=5m5s 00:32:30-00:36:20=3m50s 00:38:30-00:39:25=0m55s 00:40:20-00:41:35=1m15s 00:42:10-00:44:40=2m30s 00:45:15-53:00:00=7m45s 01:00:35-01:00:50=0m15s 01:01:40-01:03:45=2m5s 01:06:10-01:07:10=1m 01:13:00-01:17:45=2m10s 01:18:35-01:21:30=2m55s 01:23:30-01:24:05=0m35s 01:27:25-01:27:50=0m25s 01:28:40-01:29:50=1m10s 01:37:25-01:39:00=1m35s

40m25s/104m13s

(r/w Ruizhen Ouyang)

Every moment is magnetic.

If you have been a fan of Sherlock's for his intelligence and elegant arrogance, this time, you will fall in love with him again, for his humanity and childish awkwardness (played by Benedict Cumberbatch).

And, as a Sherlock fan, you might have successfully fantasized yourself as a better Dr. Watson. This time, you may not be able to. He is Sherlock's pillar of strength, solid and sophisticated (played by Martin Freeman) .

(r/w Ruizhen Ouyang)

Two words: sheer beauty. This is what I can conclude this show with.

This show is one of the few you cannot miss 10 seconds of, not to mention one episode. And truly, you just don't want to.

And, you cannot just listen to the lines; you have to look at all the details, from the characters' micro-movements to slight changes of the sets. Otherwise, you will miss tons of information.

This show is intense not only in the chemistry between the two male leads on and off screen; not only in how everything is applied to convey meanings--literally, everything; not only in the language--every word is articulated as if in poetry; not only in the visual--every frame can be singled out as posters or photo shoots; but also and most importantly, in the re-creation and development of the complexity of "Will Graham" (played by Hugh Dancy).

It's beautiful.

(r/w Ruizhen Ouyang)

Personally, I think horror is the most difficult genre to write.

Many people will disagree, but it is true--good horror is even harder than good rom com.

Three reasons immediately come to my mind.

First, there are these possibilities and probabilities to work on. How to justify all those decisions and consequences? (This is also the most difficult aspect for rom com, I think.) For example, why would someone visit a place alone at midnight when there were people dying there one day earlier? And why could the spirits not just kill the leading characters when they were totally capable of shaking the whole house to the ground?

Then comes the balance between horror and dignity. We really should show some respect to the supernatural, or at least, the unknown. Any cheesy treatment of unknown beings is an insult. How to spook humans without humiliating the inhuman is quite an issue.

Also, there is this issue of faith. I am not talking about religions, but a broader philosophy of life and death. Everyone has their own view on death and afterlife. Therefore, one person's horror might be another person's nonsense. And this has nothing to do with quality of film making. People come to the theater carrying beliefs of their own, consciously or unconsciously, and judge horror films. (This is also true of rom com. Everybody has their view on love.)

This film deals with the 3 aspects beautifully.

It is "based on a true story." In some ways, this can be trickier than pure imagination, because it has to take care of public perception of what (is claimed to have) happened. Writers Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes do a fantastic job in combining artistic creativity and "historical" facts.

In terms of the hows, director James Wan is a master of story telling. There are few bodies and little blood in this film, but this film is more terrifying than many others that are with tubs or tombs of them. What I like about Mr. Wan's treatment of the horror genre is that the characters in all the horror films he directs never joke about the supernatural. There is no difference in this one.

Finally, this film is one of the few that strengthen Catholic faith in believers, and at the same time effectively remind unbelievers that there is undeniable malice lurking somewhere.

I just love this film.

(r/w Ruizhen Ouyang)