Lord of Light

Title: Lord of Light
Author: Roger Zelazny
Genre: Sci-Fi
Synopsis: The Gods worshiped on a distant planet are in fact the first settlers from way back that had superior technology. They keep this from the population and rule with a strict caste system.
Verdict: Really liked the theological premise and how the different faiths were portrayed (Hindu, Buddhist and Christian especially). The oppressive tendency of blind faith and corrupting nature of power are evident and all is done with good humor. Battle scenes went on some. 

Love Film

Joined love film and enjoying the movies but whenever someone asks me what I’ve seen I hit a blank. So here’s some quick summaries to jog my memory like this filing cabinet should & I’ll try and keep pace with my viewing from now on!

In Time – OK movie to watch at home. Interesting sci-fi premise about the global currency being time, all engineered to live a certain time and you can buy credit so the rich can live forever etc. But it turns into a bank job car chase flick with a surprising small police force (and only 1 who runs!). Liked the future turns retro idea but looper did it much better.

Unknown – A good thriller with lots of twists which I really enjoyed. Man loses memory and comes out with the insight that ‘going insane is like a war between knowing who you are and being told who you think you are’ – which one will win? Action but with a gripping story and enough surprises to keep me guessing.

Real Steel – Fighting robots? Actually that more a backdrop for another Speilberg kid adventure – teaches the adults a thing or two about life and you get a warm glow feeling it’s all going to be OK. Not quite as sickly as I made out there and I was impressed Speilberg still has the skills to make these work. Better than super 8 (but that might be cause it had fighting robots in!)

Another Earth – Would have made a sweet short story but for a film too long and dull. They find another earth that mirrors ours and in my opinion make very little of that fact. The story centres around a car accident and the repercussions. Would have worked better on stage.

Troll Hunter – Fun idea executed in an entertaining manner. Just suspend belief for a couple of hours and be prepared for subtitles.

Red State – Kevin Smith does horror? Well there’s a bit of gore in this kids abducted by crazy far right Christians yarn (think westboro Baptist church gone more mad) and Smith manages to entertain and make you think about the political system and motivations of others while telling a tall tale.  The ending is abit anticlimactical but guess it was a neat way to wrap up and save the budget since was on a shoe string.