Movie: The Accountant

The Accountant seems to be tailor made for Ben Afleck (or Keanu Reeves) - an autistic savant numbers person, who happens to be the tax guy for the mob, and basically does not have any emotional responses to most situations in the movie. The plot line is barely believable, but does manage to have some good action scenes; and while the autism drives a large part of the story it seems more of a crutch to make something more of a rather ordinary movie plot. It is fun though - so at least it has some entertainment value.

Movie: Hell or High Water

I wasn't sure that I would enjoy a pseudo-western, set in rural Texas - but Hell or High Water managed to convert a story of two bank robbing brothers to a story with depth examining a lot of social issues of poor (white) America. This is really a story about loan sharks (dressed as bankers), stagnant wages, gun culture, joblessness, abusive parents and the impact on their grown children, greed and Jeff Bridges in a brilliant performance of a cranky, but great, detective. It's a story that you start rooting for the bad guys (or at least one of the brothers); and the story somehow manages to achieve some sort of balance between heartache, justice and no-result ... a compromise that no one likes but strangely seems to work.

Movie: Hacksaw Ridge

Hacksaw Ridge is often commented as Mel Gibson's redemption - a story of a conscientious objector, who refuses to touch a rifle, but still serves (as a medic) in the front lines in the Pacific Front in WW2, and manages to save many soldiers in very dire circumstances. And while the movie is does, rightfully, portray Desmond Doss (played by Andrew Garfield) in a heroic light - the treatment of the enemy as subhuman, without any redeeming qualities, in my mind does nothing to redeem Mel Gibson. Yes, this is a war movie, written by the victors - but for all of the heroics of Desmond Doss, there was no righteous side.

Three Virtues Restaurant

It's rare to find a vegetarian restaurant that has a bigger menu than Indian vegetarian restaurants. Three Virtues Restaurant, located near the corner of Jordan and Nathan roads in Kowloon, has a traditional Chinese menu, but with only vegetarian components - usually with mushroom or tofu substitues (at least in the items we had). Most items would also pass the vegan test. We went twice, both during dinner, and the place is packed - which is always a good sign with regards to quality. The cost is very reassonable, they have English menus and is at least a very a different take on Chinese food.

Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden

Amongst the skyscrapers and hustle of Hong Kong, the Chi Lin Nunnery is a quiet oasis, easily accessible from the city centre. It has some stunning wooden architecture, with amazing attention to detail. In addition to the shrine rooms, there are a few amazing lotus pools, some very large bonsais and quite a large focus on crystal rocks.

Across the road, the Nan Lian garden, is effectively an extension of the nunnery. It includes a number of focused displays, mostly free, including a presentation of timber architecture, pottery and a rock garden, with amazing landscaping.

There is also a stunning vegetarian restaurant behind a stunning water feature (below). The food is very good, although maybe a bit on the expensive side. The restaurant has limited opening times, but highly recommended.

Breathing Space at the Asia Society

Located next to the British Consulate, the Asia Society, Hong Kong Center is based at an old Royal Military Policy compound. Similar to the British Council, and Goethe Institut, it is an arts and cultural centre showcasing works from across Asia. There are some stunning permanent displays (as well as general architectural features) such as the Buddha and the water ature by the reception.

The centre currently showcases a contemporary art exhibition from Hong Kong focused on living in the city. Like an installation, they range from the obscure and academic to the though provoking and accessible; and the are a few cool tech inspired creations. The installations a across the centre in both outdoor and indoor spaces, some blending in amazingly well with the city itself.

Hong Kong and Kowloon Parks

There are a few free tourist places around Hong Kong, and the two big parks - Hong Kong and Kowloon stand out in terms of their size, the stunning landscaping and some of the freebies - such as the aviaries. 

The landscaping in the Hong Kong aviary is quite impressive, while most of the birds seem to be from the Pacific islands.

There are flamingos at the Kowloon Park!

Both parks have museums also, although we only went in to the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre charting a brief history of Hong Kong in Kowloon Park. Lots of Ming vases around though!

Mahler "Tragic" Symphony

I have seen circular concert halls on YouTube, but today (Saturday) was my first time sitting in one, and specifically behind the orchestra, which also happens to be the cheap seats. Concert tickets, even for the cheap seats were not cheap, but despite this, the hall was almost full. The audience was also quite diverse in terms of age group, with a number of children in attendance.

The concert started with a short 20 minute piece,"swallow harbour", by a young American composer Conrad Tao, in it's debut performance. The notes from the composer mentions that the piece is inspired by the city's jagged skyline - and thus the music is jagged with various short snippets. There isn't really a consistent theme or melody till almost the very end and the performance, to me at least, was not really that pleasant - too experimental and too distorted to make it pleasant and entertaining.

After a short interval, Mahler's 6th Symphony, was the highlight performance. It's the first time I have heard it, and the program notes made it fairly easy to follow the progression. The symphony is said tone Mahler's most personal, inspired by his wife - so it's a bit strange that it explores death and tragedy in its finale; and much of the joyous and passion are wiped out by the finale. 

It was a magnificent performance - and being next to the percussion in this specific performance was a pleasure to watch. The only complaint would be - the sledgehammer in the finale just didn't have the impact described in the notes ... but it still managed to break the box!