apples of gold in settings of silver

V for Vendetta

I recently bought V for Vendetta by Alan Moore from Comics Mart, Serene Centre. They surprise me. I've been going to that shop for donkey's years and every year it looks the same, just that one year they started importing magazines in addition to comics, and the new comics shelf is always changing place. Other than that, the Warcraft figurines are still there, the Sandman mural is still up and the shelves are still cheap and white. But somehow, they have expanded without changing... now they have 2 more outlets in different parts of Singapore, and I found out that they're the suppliers for National Library's comics! Wow, talk about a big contract. So, go Comics Mart!

Anyway, yes. My purchase was probably catalyzed by the movie coming out soon, starring Natalie Portman, but in my defense I was into comics long before this. I've even read Watchmen! So yeah, this is hit 2 on the must-read Alan Moore list.

That got me thinking about the whole concept of 'must-read', 'must-see', or 'must-do'. Often you think that it's so overhyped. Many a summer blockbuster is hyped as the must-see of the year, but even if you do see it, your brain cells remain the same in number. Heck, you might even have killed off a few precious neurons in the 2 hours of low light, low oxygen, low blink rates, and high salt and butter intake. But looking back, I can agree that a certain HK serial I watched was a 'must-watch', certain places were a 'must-see', and many books were a 'must-read'. Because they have changed my life. And I feel better having done them.

Since the internet always welcomes a list, here's my short list of 'musts' that I have read, seen, done or watched. Short because I'm sure I can't think of all of them at one sitting. Feel free to contribute!

Must-see
- Phantom of the Opera
- Star Wars (III, IV, V, VI)
- Sunset Boulevard
- Wong Kar Wai's Happy Together
- Chungking Express
- BBC's Pride and Prejudice (Jennifer Ehle & the infamous Colin Firth)
- The Door in the Floor (adaptation of John Irving's 'A Widow for One Year', starring Kim Basinger and Jeff Bridges. Low-hyped but surprisingly good and a strangely original plotline)
- Lord of the Rings Trilogy
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- The Truman Show
- The Cider House Rules
- etc

Must-Read
- Macbeth
- Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi
- Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
- The Importance of Being Earnest
- Of Mice and Men
- Poetry in Sec 3
- Watchmen
- the Sandman
- X-Men comics (from the 80's and early 90's)
- Mary Poppins
- Enid Blyton (it's a developmental milestone!)
- Harry Potter (I anticipate flak)
- Hamlet
- the Bible!

Alright, this list is really short. I think I've watched so many movies that I can't think of all of them right now. Ditto for books. Anyway.

posted by Puz @ 12:47 PM