一个似乎平淡的美国故事，一段40年的友谊，一个为了生活辗转的女人

几个寂寞的人，和一头伤害过他们的寂寞的熊。在时间里，仇恨变成了宽恕

这样的人，这样的故事，在中国很难重复，却是我向往的对生活的态度。

[大话西游]里有一段不出名的台词，为什么爱一个人只有短短的几十年，而恨一个人却要几百年，几千年的延续下去

周华健的[旧伤新痕] 里也有一段歌词，爱的旧伤能不能不再心痛  如果无怨无忧会不会再添新痕   这样一颗心反反复复热与冷  随着人海浮浮沉沉    也许爱过的人总要带一些伤痕    是否幸福的路难免有一些坎坷  如果这一切都是过程 。。。。

一段痛苦的煎熬，终于可以原谅曾经伤害过自己的人。忘了从什么地方看到的一句话，如果你还恨她，说明你还在意她。 不喜欢这句话，这样的宽恕，更多是淡忘吧。

 "An Unfinished Life" is one of the four best surprises of 2005 (the other three being Jane Fonda's return to the big screen in "Monster-In-Law," the darkly superb "Star Wars: Episode III," and the intelligent thriller "The Exorcism of Emily Rose," ironically released on the same day).

A gruff rancher, Einar Gylkison (Robert Redford) reluctantly takes in his daughter-in-law Jean (Jennifer Lopez) and her pre-teen daughter so they may be able to escape her abusive ex-boyfriend. As the movie unfolds, we find out just why Einar is so bitter towards Jean and we see his struggle to accept and forgive her.
The scenery is gorgeous, complete with a terrifyingly beautiful bear. The plot is executed near-perfectly. The characters act like real people. The problems are not solved overnight, and maybe not completely solved at all. But they show the general steps people have to take to overcome the grudges, guilt, anger, and bitterness they hold inside of them.
 Redford is exceptionally convincing as the cold rancher who still holds his painful past inside of him. He passionately shows his character's insecurity, pain, and spirit. Lopez, arguably, does a fine job as well as a woman struggling to take care of herself and her child, face her own hurts, and mend tattered relationships while staying clear of the abusive hands of her ex-boyfriend. Josh Lucas and the rest of the supporting cast are great as well.
But the true knockout performance here is Morgan Freeman's role as the sidekick Mitch struggling with his own issues of forgiveness and healing. He shows us Mitch's frailty and dignity and becomes one of the most adorable and memorable characters of 2005. True Oscar material, if you ask me.
This film may get mixed reviews, partially because of Miramax's two year release delay and partially because Jennifer Lopez is in it and no one is satisfied with anything she is doing at this point in her career. Don't listen to them. This quietly beautiful film about forgiveness (because of its limited release) may be the best kept secret of 2005.

TGS 2005: Revolution Controller: The Possibilities

We take in an-depth look at Nintendo's next-generation controller and examine how it will work with established videogame genres.
by: Matt Casamassina and Peer Schneider

US, September 15, 2005 - The Tokyo Game Show 2005 is an event that won't soon be forgotten by Nintendo fans. The company's president, Satoru Iwata, used his anticipated keynote speech as a forum to publicly unveil the top-secret controller for the Big N's next-generation console, still codenamed Revolution. The device has been the subject of overzealous speculation ever since Nintendo revealed that it would provide the so-called "revolutionary" element to its vision of gaming in the future. And indeed, one look at the peripheral is all it takes to know that the Iwata and company have something very unconventional on their hands, literally.

The Revolution's main peripheral, shaped like a stylized remote control, acts like a quasi-virtual wand. Motion sensors packed with the unit are placed atop the player's television screen and the device's every movement is ready and interpreted in the games. The pointer, as we've dubbed it, can influence positioning, targeting, depth and motion in Revolution software. Meanwhile, secondary attachments such as an analog stick can be plugged in for added functionality in tomorrow's hit Nintendo titles.

By now, readers have undoubtedly gleaned all the details about the controller from Iwata's keynote speech and have likewise combed over our hands-on impressions of the device. But even so, it's hard to imagine exactly how the peripheral will function without actually seeing it interact with and direct next-generation games. It is with this thought firmly in mind that we've set out to apply everything we know about the way the controller functions to practical game scenarios and environments. We think readers will be excited by the possibilities.

Yes, the picture is legit, for a more detailed analysis, read more...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Puzzle Game: Glow Cube
A friend introduced me to the grow cube a little while ago and I'm sure some of you have come across it already. It's a very cute little puzzle game you can play online, it's slightly bizarre and god knows what sort of warped mind created it, but it's fun and challenging.

The image above shows the cube in it's initial state. However, by clicking on the objects on either side of the cube, you can develop it. Objects interact with each other and can have extra effects when combined in different orders and this is where things get complex. You get ten turns to grow your cube as much as possible, see how much you can grow yours!

Play the game: Grow Cube

Just released in the UK, The Island is your typical summer sci fi action movie, similar in style to I, Robot and Minority Report (in fact they'd make a great triple DVD boxset). It stars Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson as two clone's on a voyage of discovery.

The basic premis of the movie has our two clones, Lincoln Six Echo (McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (Johansson), discovering that the world in which they live in has been created soley for the purpose of keeping them docile until the real versions of themselves need a replacement body part or ten. As Lincoln gradually becomes aware of the lie being woven around him, he convinces Jordan that they must escape the compound in which they live before they too are harvested for body parts. What follows is a high octane run, drive and fly for freedom, filled with fantastic special effects, some real brutality (hence the 12A) and the occasional one liner.

I'll freely admit I went into The Island with lowered expectations after hearing it was getting pretty average reviews. I'd also heard there had been some dispareging remarks  from the film's producers cast the way of McGregor and Johansson regarding their performances in the movie. Now to be honest, I thought they did their jobs well. This movie ain't Schindler's List and that script wasn't Shakespeare, so I don't know what the f*** the producers were expecting from them.

At the end of the day, this is a very enjoyable movie. It's not going to set anyone's world on fire and people who'd rather analyse a film to death instead of enjoying it for what it is might really hate it. As for me? I had a really good time with it and that's really saying something considering I was in a cheap a** cinema with a mucky screen (don't forget folks, "Cinema, it's the experience that counts!").

p.s. Ladies should note that Sean Bean also stars in the movie (and what a suprise, he's the bad guy!).

Watch the trailer: The Island

Watch the trailer: I, Robot

Watch the trailer: Minority Report

7/10