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Literature

Strugatsky: Roadside Picnic

Good science fiction is good fiction. I am not interested in the science fiction genre per-se but this novel has many themes of interest from the apocalypse to human bravery, pride, greed and expediency.

Cinema

Kurosawa: Seven Samurai

If you go to the cinema to see a recent Hollywood production the majority of the time you get 2 hours of bombardment to your senses with plot twist after twist punctuated by every special effect imaginable and veiled American propaganda. The intention is insulting to the viewer who the filmmaker believes will walk out if not baited every few seconds like a Dog you have to attract with a bone.

So sitting through the three and a half hours of Seven Samurai is a refreshing change. The insight the film maker has into human nature and the effectiveness with with which he conveys it is hard to find anywhere else.

Stone: Wall Street

This film communicates some depressing realities but has brilliant moments. The DVD commentary is as insightful as the film its self. For a film made in 1989 about 1985 it is remarkably relevant. Primarily the film communicates the need to make a choice. The message is that if you are honest then you're going to loose out materially.

Alejandro Amenabarr: Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes)

The remake by Cameron Crowe: Vanilla Sky is much more well known but this version is far better. Why? It is much more understated and more focussed. The remake has too many well known faces trying to outshine each other and somewhere with so much going on the pathos is lost. The original is more poetic.