Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

A Wild Sheep Chase and Dance Dance Dance By Haruki Murakami

By pure chance, I bought both “A Wild Sheep Chase” and “Dance Dance Dance” in HMV during sales on the same day.  Also by pure chance, one of my blogger friend, JoV, once dropped a comment here implying that the stories of these two books are linked.  So before I headed to my holiday, I frantically researched online on which book comes first.  It is “A Wild Sheep Chase” followed by “Dance Dance Dance”.  I read Sheep on the plane and Dance during my holiday.

If you are into the literature of Murakami, reading these two books enabled you to witness an important juncture a writer has encountered in his writing career.  Sheep is the last of the Rat Trilogy, the only one from the series that the author was comfortable in having it translated into English.  Dance was written after he has gained international recognition.  Straddled in between is Norwegian Wood that propelled Murakami to the international fame.  Now you get the picture.

Sheep is unlike some of the Murakami books I have read.  The beginning two-third of the book reads like a detective story.  A page-turner with plenty of dialogs.  The story involves a main character who takes life as it is, seldom plan or have a dream for anything; an ordinary girl with extraordinary ears and she works in three different jobs at the same time; a professor who is obsessed with sheep; a friend who has disappeared a long time ago suddenly contacted the main character via mails.  The story is, for lack of a better word, a wild sheep chase.  According to the narrator, sheep was unseen of in the ancient Japan.  And like – I suppose – dragons and unicorns (my interpretation) – such creatures could be seen as deities.  In the book, there is this notion of sheep-made-man and becomes all powerful or even man-made-sheep that becomes something I am not sure how to put in words.  Because of my Catholic root, such notion appears to have a religious reference, especially when Christ according to our tradition is portrayed as the Lamb of God.  Interestingly, Sheep has no further exploration on the topic of religion.  Only a borrowed image to turn Sheep into a fantasy, and a comedy.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the book even as I might have questioned the literature value within.

The turning point is the last third of the book.  I suspect that is also the turning point of Marakami’s writing style.  There are more internal dialogs within the main character.  The author’s sense of the surrounding has been heightened and sharpened.  The plot becomes dream-like – a signature writing style that exhibits in his later books.  When the story was ended, I wanted more.  As far as the Rat Trilogy is concerned – Rat being the name of the runaway friend – the story has ended.  But there are far more open questions left behind.  That is when “Dance Dance Dance” comes into the picture.

Unlike Sheep, Dance does not begin each chapter with a title that foretells what is to come; unlike Sheep, Dance does not have the plot progression based on a set of clear and defined clues.  In fact, I would describe Dance as a wandering adventure.  For a majority of the plot, I have no idea as in where the story is heading, and I doubt if the main character does.  The main character (now has a name) is in search of someone he loved (also now has a name).  It starts with vivid dreams that lead him back to Dolphin Hotel, a hotel that is featured in Sheep.  I can see there are a fair bit of parallelism between the two books.  The role of his friend Rat in Sheep is now taken over by his old classmate Gotanda.  The hotel, now being rebuilt, is still the center of the story.  The symbol of authority has morphed from mafia gang into police force.  Some characters from the past have made an appearance in Dance.  Dance is still a detective story at the core, but the plot becomes more subtle, more surreal.

The overall mood of Dance is dark.  In terms of character development, I in particularly like the relationship between the thirty-odd-year-old main character and a thirteen-year-old girl.  It could have gone wrong in so many different ways because knowing Murakami, the topic of sex is always on the table.  Fortunately, the author has threaded the moral boundary as close and careful as he can.  Majority of the materials turn out to be a good inspiration read for the teenagers, even for adults.  Here is an excerpt on a troubled teen regretting on the things she said and done to the one who is now dead.  The narrator is the main character of the story.

I pulled the car over to the shoulder of the road and turned off the ignition.

“That’s just stupid, that kind of thinking,” I said, nailing her with my eyes. “Instead of regretting what you did, you could have treated him decently from the beginning.  You could’ve tried to be fair.  But you didn’t.  You don’t even have the right to be sorry.”

Yuki looked at me, shocked and hurt.

“Maybe I’m being too hard on you.  But listen, I don’t care what other people do.  I don’t want to hear that sort of talk from you.  You shouldn’t say things like that lightly, as if saying them is going to solve anything.  They don’t stick […] It’s not a question of manners; it’s a question of fairness.  That’s something you have to learn.”

Yuki couldn’t respond.  She pressed her fingers to her temples and quietly closed her eyes.  She almost seemed to have dozed off, but for the slight flutter of her eyelashes, the trembling of the lips.  Crying inside, without sobs or tears.  Was I expecting too much of a thirteen-year-old girl?  Who was I to be so self-righteous? […]

Yuki didn’t move.  I reached out and touched her arm.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m very narrow-minded.  No, to be fair, you’ve done the best that can be expected.”

A single tear trailed down her cheek and feel on her lap.  That was all.  Beautiful and noble.

“So what can I do now?” she spoke up a minute later.

“Nothing,” I said. “Just think about what comes before words.  You owe that to the dead.  As time goes on, you’ll understand.  What lasts, lasts; what doesn’t, doesn’t.  Time solves most things.  And what time can’t solve, you have to solve yourself.  Is that too much to ask?”

“A little,” she said, trying to smile.

“Well, of course it is,” I said, trying to smile too. “[…] Life is a lot more fragile than we think.  So you should treat others in a way that leaves no regrets.  Fairly, and if possible, sincerely.  It’s too easy not to make the effort, then weep and wring your hands after the person dies […]”

This is quite a long excerpt.  But I like how the two interacted.  And there is an important message for us too.

Besides the main character’s relationship with Yuki, I also enjoy reading the love story between Yumiyoshi – the hotel receptionist – and him.  I would not go in great detail here.  It is equally beautiful that requires patience to appreciate.

In closing, both books are not to be missed and have to be read one after another.  Sheep first, then Dance.  It is rare to spot an opportunity to witness the turning point of a writer’s career.  This is one.

Categories
Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

BECK – Something Is Best Left To Our Imagination

Judging by the observation that almost all the audiences in the albeit small movie theater stayed till the very end of the credits – which by the way is rare in the movie going scene here in Singapore – this Japanese production BECK has certainly touched the audiences’ hearts.  BECK is a story about the birth of a rock band, a genre that Cynthia and I in particularly love.  I was expecting BECK to be somewhat similar to Nana, another famous Japanese manga that has turned into a TV series and a movie title.  BECK is somewhat similar to Nana.  The band rivalry is there.  Romance too.  BECK, I would say, is more on music and raw edges such as danger and violence than Nana.  Even though we are a big fan of the Nana franchise, BECK is so much better as a movie.

If you are a music lover, BECK is not to be missed.  The music talent these young actors have exhibited is simply sick.  Jaw-droppingly sick.  A young guitarist returned from US has a vision to form a band, to create music that moves people.  Soon, more talents have joined.  However, like in real life, chemistry, progress, and opportunity has its dramatic cycles of ups and downs.

There is something unique in the artistic setup of BECK.  The second vocalist’s voice that is supposed to move people’s heart is muted.  Instead, the camera is focused on the audiences’ reaction and the dramatic mood change that has undergone in the audiences’ mind.  I think this is brilliant.  Because, something is best left to our imagination.

Categories
Book Reviews Fiction

The Last Werewolf By Glen Duncan – Love It Or Love It Not?

Many praise on the literature touch by the author on a topic that is so popularized nowadays so much so that some may ask: do we need another book on werewolves and vampires?  I picked this book for Cynthia to read during our flight to Barcelona.  And I finished reading it in one setting on our way back.  Cynthia adores this book.  As for me, my initial expectation turned out to be a notch too high.

It is a rather unique story.  Werewolves are driven into extinction by the human hunters.  Jake is the last of his kind and has since given up the hope of continue living with the curse.  Or rather, continue killing during full moon and continue running away from the hunters with the silver bullets.  The story then delves deeper into the cause of extinction, the involvement with the vampires, and the birth of a new motivation for Jake to perhaps live on.

“The Last Werewolf” – I admit – has an unique plot.  It is never straightforward and full of surprises with a fair bit of distractions.  Some of the sub-plots do not seem to go anywhere – and hence, a ‘distraction’.  Do all the loose ends have to be tied up in the end of a story?  I would prefer so.  Some readers may think otherwise.

On writing style, his is certainly different from the typical werewolve and vampire books.  Below is an illustration on the description of one of the main characters.

She had the look of a foreign correspondent caught off-guard mid-report by an explosion.  Early thirties, eyes the color of plain chocolate and similarly dark hair in two soft shoulder-length waves.  A single mole or beauty spot at the corner of her mouth.  White-skinned but with a warmth and suppleness that betrayed – surely? – Levantine or Mediterranean blood.  Certainly not ‘beautiful’ or ‘pretty’ but Saloméishly appealing, visibly smudged with the permissive modern wisdoms.  This was a girl who’d been loved by her parents and grown vastly beyond them.

And another one on the first transformation from man to werewolf that by the way, the entire process counting the days leading to the full moon takes pages worth of materials.

A breeze stirred the honeysuckle, the hairs on my ears and delirious wet snout.  My scrotum twitched and my breath passed hot over my tongue.  My anus was tenderly alert.  I pictured my human self jumping the twenty feet, felt the shock of smashed ankles and slivered shins – then the new power like an inkling of depravity.  I leaped from the window and bounded into the moonlight.

I could appreciate a touch of artistic value onto writing a fantasy story, although at times, bulk of the text appears to be too airy for me to digest.  My biggest discomfort is the author’s overly reliance on using parentheses to clarify ideas.  That habit of his inevitably disrupts the fluidly of my reading and frankly speaking, before passing the halfway mark, I gave up reading anything that is written inside the parentheses.  I would prefer to have the clarifications worked onto the paragraphs.  That may require more work, but I think it is worth the effort.

On a positive note, Cynthia has pointed out the fact that some of the fantasy books of this genre are written from the girl’s perspective, on how the girl needs to be protected, and on talking about the emotion of love.  This book is written from the man’s perspective and love has become an action.  This is refreshing because rather than stating the obvious on how vulnerable the female party is, the story focuses on what the male character does.  As for me, I like the raw energy and desire of the main character.  He is, after all, a werewolf.  An animal.  A killer.  The honesty in the main character’s sexual encounters for instance – both conventional and unconventional – is not for the narrow-minded.  Neither is the idea of taking lives without remorse.  Certainly R-rated in my opinion.  Will there be a sequel?  Highly likely so.  Would I read that?  Most likely, for the sake of closure.

Categories
Diary

Back From Spain!

¡Hola!  We are back from Spain.  Spain again, you say.  Haven’t we visited Spain like 2 years ago?  True.  But since we have been dipping in and out of the language for three years – the word ‘soaking’ would have been a vast exaggeration – touring Spain thus becomes one of our favorite choices.  Fortunately, there are lots to see in Spain.

“This is Cynthia and I with Gaudí in one of his houses!”

This year, we have visited one of the Canary islands so far off from the inland that could well be part of Africa.  But they are significant enough to be printed onto a 50€ bank note.  We have also visited the southern part of the country where the territories were lost to the Moors – Muslim from North Africa – and were re-conquered by the Spaniards.  Majestic Islamic influenced architecture monuments can still be seen in southern Spain today.  And since we flew directly from Singapore to Barcelona this time, we have spent some time to cover points of interest that we have missed in our last trip.  To my avid readers, after failing to visit the Picasso Museum in Barcelona twice (due to timing) and the Picasso Museum in Paris once (due to renovation), we have better luck this time.  On top of that, we have added 3 more UNESCO World Heritage Sites into our list.

To be totally honest, while I always look forward to a long holiday break, a fragment of me cringed at the physical demand of traveling in Europe.  The planning of itinerary and the logistics of the hotel and car rental booking, the rather long flight time (24 hours to reach Gran Canaria), lugging my rather heavy photography gears, and getting used to left hand manual driving through the narrow roads in the small towns and the mountain areas.  In no less than three counts, we nearly smashed our car onto the stationary cattle and a dashing deer at night.  Having said all of the above, every trip to Europe has always been a rewarding experience – both in the culture and nature departments.  I hope to share the journals and photos soon.  Preferably a faster turnaround time compare to our last trip to France.  Stay tuned.

A blog entry written on a SIA plane a couple of hours prior to landing in Singapore.

Categories
Photography Travel Blog

Corsica Is A Beautiful Island – Our Day 2 Adventure

I have contemplated long and hard if I should pick up the courage, finish up the journal today before heading for a new trip to Spain tomorrow.  It would have been odd to talk about our trip to France when we have already moved onto our next destination.  So I put aside some time today, in the mist of our last minute planning and preparation.  Besides, I have always wanted this post to be featured on top of this website while we are away because unlike some of our previous holidays, I do not plan to release any new materials in our absence.  I hope you enjoy reading this final piece of the journal.

To read more on our adventure to this French island, Corsica, here are the options.

Categories
For the Geeks

So You Need A Cheat Sheet For WoW Cataclysm Heroic Dungeons?

How time flies!  Half a year has passed since the advent of Cataclysm.  In this fantasy universe, something has gone wrong in the core of the world.  Elementals emerge from within causing fire, flooding, earthquake, and lightning in a worldwide scale.  Coincidentally, in our real life, we face similar environmental threats at a global level.  While the earthquake in Japan still fresh in our mind, today, there is a quake in the southeast of Spain.  And we are heading to the south of Spain this weekend.  Maybe we would see Thrall there holding off a maelstrom.  Just like the story in the World of Warcraft.

We hope not.

After half a year of working through the contents in this new expansion, the few of us in the guild feel that we are ready to tackle the heroic dungeons.  Heroic dungeons are hard, that goes without saying.  In the previous expansion, Cynthia and I have tried to enter into a heroic dungeon unprepared, and we were asked to leave, nicely.  After that incident, we have grown to be a more responsible player.  And try not to waste people’s time.  This time round, we have come prepared.  Our guild members have geared up and I have volunteered to create a cheat sheet – or a quick reference guide – on the strategies involved.

To read more, click here.

Categories
Concert

Avril Lavigne Black Star Tour (Singapore) – Yes, We Miss You!

Cued to perfection, as Avril pointed her microphone to the us, ten thousand electrified audience sang in unison, “I miss you!”  And we did it more than once, as she performed “When You’re Gone”.  Yes.  We miss Avril.  The last time she was in Singapore, it was back in 2008.  At the end of the concert, I shared my reflection with Cynthia.  I said, “Every time we go to Avril’s concert, the age of the younger crowd stays the same, but we are getting older!”  It was scary, to be surrounded by so many young people.  The atmosphere was entirely different from the Jolin Tsai concert we have attended merely 2 nights ago.  The crowd for Avril was more international while the crowd for Jolin was more local and many girls dressed up and dolled up to look like Jolin.  On that note, I would say I enjoy looking at the Jolin crowd better.

We were anticipating Avril to be late by one and a half hours, like her previous concert.  Fortunately, she emerged from the stage after half an hour’s wait.  When she did, the crowd was euphoric.  The screaming was so loud that I could not hear what Avril sang or said.  Like her last concert, we booked the seats at the premium area.  Cost us S$165 per ticket but it was money well spent!  The mood was fantastic.  Everyone was on his or her feet and screamed like there was no tomorrow.  The dude beside me attempted to record the entire concert with his e-pony (that’s how the folks in my Spanish study group pronounce that phone made by Apple).  Initially I was apprehensive as in whether or not I should let go my emotion and screamed out loud.  It would be quite bad if he plays back the recording some days later and all he hears is my off-tone screaming.  But then, he was screaming just as loud, singing just as toneless directly into his e-pony.  So I joined him, together with a stadium full of people, we sang each and every song, like an army of true Avril fans.

There were no dancers on stage this time.  And it felt like more of a rock concert.  Avril played the guitar and the piano.  One song, she sat on top of the piano singing “Alice in Wonderland”.  The smoke effect at times was so intense that we could not see anything on stage.  After the song, she coughed a little and joked that she couldn’t see a thing.  That was funny.  And that was also the only time she said something other than “Singapore!”  I wish she would interact the crowd more (like Jolin did).  I wonder if she knows that people in Singapore can actually comprehend English.  Maybe she is not the chatty type.

The concert lasted for about 1 hour and 20 minutes (compares Jolin who performed an extra hour longer).  Especially for those who know nearly every song and every note, time flies.  I hope that Singapore still holds a special place in her heart and she will be back for her next world tour.  For sure, I am grabbing that Black Star Tour video recording when it is out.

Categories
Concert

Jolin Tsai!

It is good to end this two weeks of madness and exhaustion with a bang.  So we were at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, with two of our friends, and we watched Jolin Tsai live.  Quite honestly – and I know a lot of her fans would shake their heads when they read this – I am not very familiar with her music.  People told me that her live performance is good.  And we have two pairs of tickets courtesy of SingTel and Sony Ericsson because we bought two phones from them.  To choose between watching F1 Qualifying and Jolin, I choose Jolin.  To choose between volunteering for the Election Day and Jolin, I also choose Jolin.  Sorry Singapore.  It was a hard decision.

She is good.  She danced and sang, and we were marveled at her energy level.  It was a pop concert and we could not see the band.  Mostly likely, it was a music playback from beginning to end.  Perhaps that was why the crowd seemed lukewarm in the start?  Or maybe in this part of the world, the audiences tend to be more subdued, and less crazy?  She rallied the crowd’s spirit with speeches throughout the show, and she has done a great job.  Cynthia asked what Jolin said.  Jolin was speaking in Mandarin.  And I know Mandarin as good as I know Spanish.  So I made up some stories, with my very limited understanding of Taiwanese Mandarin.  I am a man.  Hearing her spoke has already raised my spirit.  But I guess Cynthia needed the substance within.

On the stage, there was this huge sphere covered with TV panels that at times broadcast various videos, at times broadcast the live performance.  For audiences like us who were seated to the far end of the stadium, that magic sphere beat the two rather tiny TV screens on either side of the stage hands down.  It was functional too.  The middle section could open up like a spaceship, strong beams of light emitting from within (now, that really hurt our eyes), and it shot fireworks to the audiences at the front rows!  Towards the end of the show, Jolin danced underneath the water fountains.  The cameramen must be pretty scared that their equipment would get wet, or a close-up shot of Jolin dancing wet would deem too indecent to the crowd in this part of the world, I do not know.  Only for those at the front rows, the rest of us might have missed at quite a fair bit on climax of the show.

Happy for me, Jolin did some covers for the songs by Madonna, Kylie Minogue, and Lady Gaga.  And she makes strong fashion statements too.  I shall not quote who said this.  One audience close to me gasped when Jolin emerged on the stage with light on her – in this person’s exact word – boobs.  I beg to differ.  Those two rectangular plates of white light were placed slightly above.  At most, I would say, she has laser lit cleavage.  It was totally cool.

On a side note, I think Singapore Indoor Stadium is in need of a major overhaul.  Or perhaps the entire music scene in Singapore is in need of a major boost.  If you have a chance to visit Hong Kong, watch a concert at the Indoor Stadium over there.  The experience is quite a world apart.  And I am comparing the two with what I see in Singapore today and what I remember in Hong Kong two decades ago.

Categories
I See I Write

I Am Ready To Vote

These two weeks have been tiring, from Nomination Day to the eve of Election Day.  I have not attended a single rally.  But I have spent much time watching the recorded videos on YouTube, reading publications from both the mainstream and the alternative sources.  I feel as though my politico-meter has shot up from zero to red hot in merely days.  Almost every day, I would wake up at least once in the middle of my sleep thinking about how I shall cast my vote, with vivid dreams still pulsating refused to fade.

Voting can be emotional.  It is because deep inside, there is this love for our country and our people.  During this election period, rifts can be seen from the discussions revolving around citizens and the foreigners, the born-and-bred Singaporeans and the new citizens, and among those who vote for status quo and those who vote for change.  Rifts that I hope will be mended after tomorrow.  As an immigrant who has been a Singaporean since 1998, where do I stand?  I love this country and the people, hence the decision to settle down and contribute.  To assume that I would vote for the ruling party blindly – as all new citizens would do – may not be a valid claim as raised by the alternative voices.  Why?  I was brought up in Hong Kong where districts are drawn with defined boundary, whereby votes were cast onto an individual.  Here in Singapore, the boundary of the constituencies is redrawn by the government in every election.  Many constituencies are represented in groups and instead of picking who are best to represent us, we have to pick the team as one package.  From where I come from, freedom of speech is valued.  Here, there are guidelines to follow.  Including what the political parties can and cannot do on Cool-off Day (today).  When I compare what I read from the mainstream media, versus what I read from the alternative sources, I have started to doubt what I have been reading all these years.  To sum them up, as a voter who has not decided on which party to vote for, I am not blinded by the picture I have originally fallen in love with.  It is clear that the barrier for alternative parties to enter into Singapore political scene is unfairly high.  To that extend, my kudos to the alternative parties that stand up and challenge the status quo.  You have my deepest respect.

Singapore as a whole is not doing badly, objectively speaking.  We have come back up from a technical recession fairly quickly.  We have good growth this year, despite the global financial challenge.  Most importantly, our country is strong and our diplomatic relationship with the rest of the world seems good.  Better than those days when we have to constantly worry about the water issue, and to deal with criticisms from our neighboring countries.  Singapore is indeed more vibrant in the past five years; and the landscape has improved.  Our country draws envy from the foreigners; some eventually wish to settle down and contribute.  Foreigners like I once was.  I do not have a lot of complain about the government but a few.  I feel that the growth of our population has outpaced the expansion of our infrastructure.  That is bad planning.  I do not have much confident on our national security, despite the heavy budget we have put aside for defense.  Cost of living has outpaced the wage increment, which increasingly makes me worry about my retirement.  And I still feel that we should have kept GST low.  The members of parliament should be more visible on the ground rather than once in five years (in my case, I have not seen any MP in my life before, except during the media events).  There should also be more, much more credible alternative voices in our parliament rather than one that is dominated by one single party – a system that I doubt would be sustainable in a long run.

When I watched some of the speeches made by the alternative parties, I am surprised by the talents we have.  Some moved me to tears.  These are just words, you may say.  I beg to differ.  To be able to speak with such sincerity and conviction requires the individual to have true passion and the experience of being on the ground engaging ordinary people.  Without such, the speech would feel like a scripted speech, watching the person making that speech would feel like watching a parrot talks.  And you can tell who have been walking the ground, who have not.  Some of these speeches touch my heart.  If we have a system whereby voters can pick-and-mix candidates from different parties, I would want to see some of these talents from the alternative parties to be voted into the parliament.  As of now, we can only pray for some miracles to see some of these faces in our parliament.

Come this May 8, we may wake up to a government with no representatives from the alternative parties.  I highly doubt if there would be a political tsunami, like some may have speculated.  There may be more alternative voices getting voted into the parliament.  But anything less than a critical mass would merely be a status quo.  We would be politically dormant for five years and the awakening process would kick in again, for two weeks.  Unfortunate for me, I am not from a constituency that makes headline.  The contest is less than lukewarm.  I do not think how I vote would matter to the final picture.  The previous ruling party for my constituency will continue to rule.  Hence, it is easy for me to say that I am ready to vote wisely, and bravely.  But I am not going to say just that.  I am ready to vote with my clear conscience.

Categories
Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

Fast & Furious 5 – Very Entertaining!

You know for sure when Vin Diesel and Paul Walker return for another Fast & Furious, it is going to be fantastic.  This franchise collection would have been great had they appeared in every installment.  They must have their reasons for not doing so.  Omy.sg’s review invite could not have come in a better timing.  Cynthia has been begging me to take her to watch this new Fast & Furious when it’s out in Singapore.  I thought fast cars and hot babes are the guys’ things?  As for me, before I entered into the theater, I was hoping and praying that the Israeli goddess Gal Gadot would be back for this movie.

My
prayer
was
answered!

In fact, Fast & Furious 5 is – if I may quote Cynthia – a Fast & Furious All-Stars.  Most of our favorite characters from previous episodes have made a return to this movie.  I know local viewers have this habit of rushing out of the theater the moment the end credit rolls.  For the love of Fast & Furious, resist your urge and stay on.  Like Thor, there is something extra beyond those credits.

In this installment, the backdrop is Brazil.  The feel of episode 5 is pretty much consistent with the previous ones.  Love of the family, love of the brotherhood, love of money, and love of fast driving.  Not to spoil your viewing pleasure, some of the car scenes – the anchor of this franchise – are original and a delight to watch.  Much of the racing bits are shorten because we have had quite a bit in the past.  There is also less driving (relatively speaking) and more dramas and gunfights.  It is exciting and at the same time, heart warming to watch.  Introduced to this franchise are Dwayne Johnson “The Rock” and the Spanish actress Elsa Pataky who is married to Chris Hemsworth from Thor (now talk about back-to-back movie review)!  I am sure we will see them again in future installments.

Thoroughly entertaining.  The running time is 130 minutes.  And you would want more when the credit rolls.