Movie Review: First Man

Director: Damien Chazelle

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy

First Man (based on the authorised biography First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen is a beautiful film that focuses mostly on Neil Armstrong’s life during the period when he got involved with NASA’s plans to reach for the moon to eventually taking the giant leap for mankind. We get to know more about him - the first man on the moon - from the loss of his daughter, friends and colleagues to his withdrawn attitude and eventually what was really consuming him. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the film was not riddled in dialogues. Instead, the emotions and psychological agony skilfully portrayed by its very capable cast spoke wonders.

Besides that, the film briefly explored some very interesting questions - was the space project so important that it’s worth sacrificing lives and investing huge amounts of money? Was it truly for the sake of humanity or was it just to satisfy a nation’ pride in a space race against its biggest rival? Would it be done differently today where human rights are supposedly uphold above all else?

One major qualm that I have, though I never doubted the movie was filmed by a director with great taste, was I found it rather nauseating when the camera had to shake every so often in a big chunk of the scenes. Well, on the bright side, while I had to walk out of Cloverfield I was thankful I still managed to sit through this one so it was still tolerable.

If you have some time to spare, I would not hesitate to recommend that you catch this longish movie. Although it may be slow moving at times coupled with vomit inducing camera movements, I never found the need to drift off into space. It was an engaging journey into humanity’s first round trip to the moon and the lost that came with such a historical achievement.

Book Review: The Alchemist

I first heard of The Alchemist when I was browsing through the net for fantasy books recommendations. Goodreads users rated it pretty good and it was highly recommended by various people online. Naturally, when I came across it in a books sale, I bought it without much hesitation.

The book is all about a shepherd - how he came to be one, why he chose this path and his life journey and transition after a recurring dream that prompted him to make some important life changes. He soon met with messengers and learned about omens. He listened and followed the omens on a journey to find a treasure in the desert.

With a heavy heart he learned to make sacrifices - from selling his entire herd of sheep to leaving behind the woman he loves. With all challenges in life, the boy came close to giving up but ultimately, he managed to persevere.

The author Paulo Coelho attempts to show the reader lessons of life, the difficult journey that must be taken and the sacrifices that needed to be made to achieve greatness. It’s crucial for one to be open and always be on the lookout for signs. Only then will the universe conspire to help achieve one’s dream. This is really a book about spirituality in the guise of a simple story but with a strong impact.

This book is most suitable for people in search of life’s meaning. The Alchemist will seek to reinforce the view where there’s a will, there’s a way. Whichever faith you believe in, God will always be at your side to ensure success.

People looking for mysteries, fantasies and thrills might find this book too bland and simple though there are instances of sorcery and magic moments. There’s even a twist in the story.

The Alchemist’s strong spiritual lessons depicted through a straightforward fantasy storyline may not appeal to today’s societies that are exposed to increasingly complex and strenuous lifestyles… unless the reader is willing to let logic go and accept the story at face value.