Why did the likes of David Lynch, Ridley Scott, or Alejandro Jodorowsky failed to adapt Frank Herbert’s masterpiece?
This could easily be a one sentence post.
Because it’s Frank Herbert’s Dune.
But, well, let’s elaborate on that.
Continue reading “Why Frank Herbert’s “Dune” Is So Difficult to Adapt into a Movie”
In this second volume in the critically acclaimed Ancient Book series, indulge yourself as you explore the strange frontiers of sex and science. From instruments of innovation and the Atomic Age to analysis of the mind, body, and seduction of the human form. Featuring broad color, shapely design, supple lines, and evocative commentary, The Ancient Book of Sex and Science is a fine art hardcover collection of images produced by some of the most highly sophisticated animation designers and low-brow artists in the industry.
This is a phenomenal book for all art aficionados. A must-have. Continue reading “Book Review: Ancient Book of Sex and Science”
Dystopia literally means “not-good place” and is a term used to describe a community or society that is undesirable or frightening. Dystopian novels were all the rage back when during the Cold War, possibly as a way to warn people of the perils of such a totalitarian regime as the Communist one. As a fictional genre, dystopias have the uncanny characteristic of painting a rather hopeless future for society.
Here are four dystopian novels that are eerily close to becoming true:
Continue reading “Four Dystopian Novels That Are Eerily Close to Becoming True”In his new collection of stories, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, author of The Most Beautiful Book in the World, probes the paradox that the events that shape our lives are often the stuff of dreams, yet nonetheless true. Humor, tenderness, irony, and exquisite writing have always been the hallmarks of Schmitt’s work. Here, he adds a pinch of philosophy.
In one story, a lovelorn writer seeks refuge in Ostende, a remote and charming town on the North Sea. His host is a solitary and eccentric octogenarian. The fairy-tale setting starts to work its magic and the old woman begins to tell her tale—an extraordinary story of passion. Bewitched by what he hears, the writer can no longer distinguish what is real from what is not, and in the woman’s account he will finally find a response to his own deep-seated grief. Here, as in the other stories in this collection, Schmitt displays the combination of stylishness and insight into the human condition that prompted Kirkus Reviews to write of his tales that they “echo Maupassant’s with their lean narratives, surprise endings, mordant humor and psychological acuity.”
It is said that there’s no creature that does not try to escape reality. There isn’t a living thing endowed with a central nervous system that does not dream. The brain is what is called an exclusion system: its purpose is to decide what information is important and what is not. There is so much information in the world that we’d go mad if we tried to understand it all.
Well, because the characters in each of the stories have this in common: they want to escape reality, they are looking for a shelter against it. If you ever felt this gnawing sense of fear at the thought that you are simply waiting for life to happen to you, if you daydreamed to the point of it becoming an obsession, then this is the book for you.
Reality cannot be negotiated with, but our imagination can be bargained with; our dreams can show us a world that will never come true.
But that never stopped us from dreaming and wishing our dreams would, somehow, come true.
The Woman with the Bouquet is one of the most intriguing compilations of short stories I have ever read.
Art is supposed to make you feel something, right? And what more can you ask from a book other than to be moved by it in such a way that you end up shedding a few tears?
Also, psychologists claim that crying is kind of good for releasing stress and making you stronger emotionally, so here are twelve books that are guaranteed to make you cry.
Continue reading “12 Books That Will Surely Make You Cry”
Let’s celebrate the release of M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass, the latest movie by the one who built his career on twist endings, by taking a look at the very best surprises in the world of cinema. Continue reading “The Best Twist Endings in Movie History”
From the book’s description:
Unfinished at the time of his death, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon is a story of doomed love set against the extravagance of America’s booming film industry. The studio lot looks like ‘thirty acres of fairyland’ the night that a mysterious woman stands and smiles at Monroe Stahr, the last of the great Hollywood princes. Enchanted by one another, they begin a passionate but hopeless love affair, starting with a fast-moving seduction as slick as a scene from one of Stahr’s pictures. The romance unfolds, frame by frame, watched by Cecilia, a thoroughly modern girl who has taken her lessons in sentiment and cynicism from all the movies she has seen. Her buoyant humor and satirical eye perfectly complement Fitzgerald’s panorama of Hollywood at its most lavish and bewitching.
If the great Francis Scott Fitzgerald would have finished writing this novel, it would have been his masterpiece. Yes, it would have been better than The Great Gatsby, which is my favorite novel of all time, and the only piece of writing I’ve been reading once a year since I was seventeen. Besides Dune. Continue reading “Book Review: The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald”
Ever so often it happens that I get to suspend disbelief and immerse myself in such a brilliantly constructed fictional universe that it feels like a dream I’d never want to end.
Yes. I did not want to wake up from this.
I’m still book hangover. I am currently reading the sequel.
Hyperion by Dan Simmons is a brilliant SF novel. The world is complex, intriguing, and believable. It tells of certain aspects of humanity that should/could be enhanced as we develop our technology.
This is also a great novel in terms of storytelling. The writing does its job. Each character has its own way of describing events, certain motivations and dreams and hopes and aspirations. Continue reading “Book Review: Hyperion by Dan Simmons”
Continue reading “Book Review: The Autumn of the Patriarch by G.G. Marquez”
Joaquin Phoenix will probably go on to win an Academy Award for his performance in Joker, yet Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight will remain the best superhero movie ever made.
In the 11 years that have passed since its release, The Dark Knight has reached an iconic status unlike any superhero film before or since. Not only because prior to its release, comic book adaptations were not doing well financially and critically, but also because one man’s performance managed to outshine all the other brilliant elements of the movie itself, which is rare feat.
The Dark Knight was and still is unlike any other comic book adaptation. The movie redefined the entire genre, proving that comic book films can be art, and was, at least in part, responsible for the age of superhero movies we live in today.
Continue reading “Why The Dark Knight is Still The Best Superhero Movie Ever Made”
