Reviews

Today's post is a little bit late. Sorry for that folks, but procrastination is a bitch. We all have been there... not doing something not because you don't have time and not because you don't like, but just because.

There have been a few months since my previous posts. A lot of things have happened in that time, most of which have no real consequences whatsoever. I have had however quite a good time (which was a change from the last year or so).

There are however some interesting pieces of, let us call it, art which I recommend to people who are too bored.

First on our list is this movie called "Click!". I am not a big fan of Adam Sandler, but I must say he is ok as an actor. However, this particular movie was outstanding. While it is advertised as a comedy, I cannot say it was amazing from the comical standpoint. The message it delivered was however amazing. Most of us drain our life to the toilet just like that. We fast-forward through it, without doing anything meaningful... I simply was able to relate to that guy in the movie. Hell is paved with good intentions, you know?

Second on our list is a movie by Ingmar Bergman, "The 7th Seal". This is a pretty old movie (black and white) but very good nonetheless. The leading thread in this movie is as follows: A knight that just returned from a crusade, meets Death. He challenges Death to a game of chess. If Death wins, the knight dies. If the knight wins, he doesn't. This particular event leads to a pretty interesting description of the medieval society, but more importantly of the human psyche. I doubt some of my readers will like it very much, but if you want some dark humour together with some interesting existential questions,... this is the movie for you.

Our third review concerns a book. It is called Inferno and it is written by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. Here is an interesting question for all of you. Suppose Hell exists. And it exists in a very Dantesque way: demons with pitchforks, sinners suffering, boiling blood, etc. How would this change your life? The book afore mentioned has the following simple premise: A science fiction writer dies and goes to hell, the hell of Dante Alighieri. In a manner similar to the Italian poet he travels through all the nine circles of hell to reach the Purgatorium, witnessing lots of people along the way suffering. The writers invent new sins, while old sins get new meaning. And of course... there is the ultimate question: If God is that good, why does he own torture chamber? This question actually gets quite a good answer in that book. Feel free to read it.

The fourth review regards a game (an old game actually) by Benoit Sokal: Syberia (1&2). I cannot say much about this game except that it is a must for adventure fans. While the game is not state of the art programming, it has very good art and a very good story. You often get bored of the cliches in this industry: "kill the bad guys, save the world, get the girl, live happily ever after". So this game has a story that is quite better than usual stuff.

I hope you will find at least some of the aforementioned works of art interesting. See you next time!

Doru