Movie "Lust, Caution" (Se, jie 2007)

This movie of about 150 minutes, was about spy, espionage, lust, love, etc in China, Shanghai c.1940. The main character, the beautiful actress Wei Tang, played the role of a young girl grew up in the unsettling time, who watched her own coutry and fellow men, fellow women facing hardship, starvation under the invasion of Japan. She later agreed to play a role to help a group of Chinese patriots, to tempt a top Japanese collaborator into an affair with her, then trapped him some how so that her group could removed him.

Beautiful cinematography, music, with talented actors and actresses, the well known director Ang Lee (Sense & Sensibility, 1995; Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, 2000; Hulk, 2003; Brokeback Mountain, 2005, etc) again showed the world a beautiful and haunting masterpiece, where nothing seemed to be simple once love, lust, espionage, etc. were involved.

Enchanted Inc, 2005? (Shanna Swendson)

If you love romances with touches of fancy and outrageous imagination, try this book. I was surprised, very surprised to find that the book was so interesting and terribly witty.

Katie Chandler as the main character, was such an ordinary girl in such a hostile environment, that most readers would feel sorry for her, sympathise with her, and later, could not wait to see her life change for the better by any mean even if it was by wonderful magic.

The story triggered the maternal instinct in me, and I guess it did the same to others. Or perhaps it reminded me of the time I just grew up, when facing lots of obstacles in a new country, in the face of difficulties and an unknown future, what did I do to survive? I was still full of dreams and wishes whenever I could.

Readers of this book would be sucked into another world completely, where magic would now and then popped up & entwined with the hectic of life in New York when one was least expected.

Would the country girl at heart who came from Texas survive New York? One has to read the book in order to understand & appreciate the wonder of all the twists and turns of events present.

I loved the book so much, that I had to stay awake the next two nights to finish the next 2 books of this series,

- Once Upon Stilettos

- Damsel under stress

Unfortunately, the story did not end there, but the 4th book would not be published until the 29 of April 2008!

(How could I survive until then?)