“Ben X” is a Dutch-Belgian drama directed by Nic Balthazar based on his novel “Nothing Was All He Said”. To escape the constant bullying at his school, Ben, a teenager with Asperger syndrome, immerses himself in the world of multiplayer rpg video games where he meets Scarlite, who gives him the inspiration and courage to stand up to the bullies. The film stands out for it’s realistic portrayal of autism, great acting all around, and a resolution much different from other films with a bullied protagonist (and unlike similar actual events that have made the headlines).
Though I’ve never been much of a horror reader, I recently stumbled across a great novella by Thomas Ligotti first published in 2002 called “My Work is Not Yet Done”. Not being familiar with Ligotti, I found through cursory research on wikipedia and a few other sites that he’s influenced by the work of HP Lovecraft and that much of his work is informed by a pessimistic, almost misanthropic worldview. He’s also one of the literary influences of Nic Pizzolatto, writer of the TV series “True Detective” (which I haven’t seen but have read good things about it).
My Work is Not Yet Done starts off documenting the day-to-day evils of a seemingly average corporate workplace. Gradually we realize the true hellishness of the work environment complete with evil overlord and minions who mercilessly scheme against outcast employee Frank Dominio. Just as the story seems to be going in the direction of revenge fantasy, plot twists occur making one rethink the nature of events that previously occurred and to contemplate the futility of violent revenge.
The novella is followed by a couple of short stories, “I Have a Special Plan for This World” and “The Nightmare Network”, both of which continue the theme of corporate horror but with a more surreal approach.
Though I haven’t yet read any of Ligotti’s other works, if they’re anywhere near as great as My Work is Not Yet Done, they should be worth seeking out. He blends classic horror tropes with a biting corporate critique so effortlessly and effectively it’s surprising that the corporate horror genre isn’t a literary movement (but maybe there’s similar stories out there I haven’t heard of?).
No, I’m not talking about Transformers 4. Today is the official U.S. release date for two films which will likely be regarded as cult classics of the sci-fi genre: “Radio Free Albemuth” and “Snowpiercer”. I’ve had the good fortune to have had the opportunity to see preview screenings of both films and can attest to their quality and excellent screenplays that are as intelligent as they are provocative.
Radio Free Albemuth, a film I’ve previously written about here, is possibly the most faithful cinematic adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel, and while Snowpiercer may not follow its source material (Jacques Lob’s “Le Transperceneige”) as closely, it’s an excellent movie nevertheless. Korean director Bong Joon-ho, has made great films in the past such as “Memories of Murder” and “Mother”, but with Snowpiercer he manages to balance large scale Hollywood-style spectacle with the emotional intensity of his earlier work while getting excellent performances from English-speaking cast members such as Tilda Swinton, John Hurt and Ed Harris. It’s an odd coincidence that Snowpiercer and Radio Free Albemuth share the same U.S. release date since they’re not only the best science fiction films to come out in quite some time, but are also dark metaphors for the current socio-political moment (but not without a glimmer of hope).
To get an idea of what to expect from these films check out the reviews and trailers linked below to learn more about the projects:
Though I don’t watch much television lately, I recently discovered an excellent series that I feel duty-bound to share with readers. It’s a British production called “Utopia” (2013) and is one of the few shows I’ve seen to consistently tackle topics such as geopolitics, man-made pandemics, political blackmail, assassination and the surveillance state with a sense of intelligence and realism (though with a twist of dark humor). It’s an amalgamation of parapolitical topics strung together by a fictionalized narrative, similar to the best X-Files episodes but more sophisticated and pessimistic to keep up with the times. Props to YouTube member John Alves for uploading most of season 1 (except episode 3, for some reason) which you can find on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvfxyfr-cNDcVMI0RKeydxg
This is the trailer for Utopia season 2 which will air in July on Britain’s Channel 4 (and hopefully will also be on YouTube shortly after):
Six years ago today George Carlin, one of the great American comedian/social critics, died of heart failure. It’s often assumed that people mellow with age but Carlin’s life and career is proof that the opposite can be true. Throughout much of the 60s, Carlin’s brand of comedy was good but rather mainstream and not outstanding. During the 70s, he reinvented himself, becoming one of the top counterculture comedians of the era. Carlin continued to make occasional appearances in mainstream film and television (eg. “Outrageous Fortune” and the Bill and Ted films), but from around the late 90s to 2008, his counterculture sensibilities came back with a vengeance. At the time, his later material didn’t seem to resonate with audiences as much as his material from the 70s. It was even more edgy, dark, and pessimistic, probably too much for the aging boomer demographic that previously made up the majority of his fanbase. However, for younger audiences discovering Carlin through the internet his words reflected the reality of the world as effects of increasingly corrupt political and economic systems could no longer be kept hidden by corporate media.
The following clip exemplifies what many people around the world love most about George Carlin and will forever remember him for:
Transcript
But there’s a reason… there’s a reason. There’s a reason for this, there’s a reason education SUCKS, and it’s the same reason it will never, ever, EVER be fixed.
It’s never going to get any better, don’t look for it, be happy with what you’ve got.
Because the owners, the owners of this country don’t want that. I’m talking about the real owners now, the BIG owners! The Wealthy… the REAL owners! The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions.
Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don’t. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They’ve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.
They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I’ll tell you what they don’t want:
They don’t want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that. That doesn’t help them. Thats against their interests.
Thats right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don’t want that!
You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shitty jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they’re coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They’ll get it. They’ll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this fucking place! It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it! You, and I, are not in the big club.
By the way, it’s the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table has tilted folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care! Good honest hard-working people; white collar, blue collar it doesn’t matter what color shirt you have on. Good honest hard-working people continue, these are people of modest means, continue to elect these rich cock suckers who don’t give a fuck about you….they don’t give a fuck about you… they don’t give a FUCK about you.
They don’t care about you at all… at all… AT ALL. And nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. Thats what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick thats being jammed up their assholes everyday, because the owners of this country know the truth.
It’s called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.
“Like Stars on Earth” (2007), directed and produced by Aamir Khan is a critically acclaimed Bollywood film that has done much to raise awareness of the struggles of children with dyslexia. The film’s plot revolves around eight year old Ishaan, whose vivid imagination and difficulty with words and numbers cause him to get failing grades. His parents eventually send him to boarding school where a new art teacher recognizes Ishaan’s cognitive differences and devises strategies to help him succeed. Like Stars on Earth is notable for its inspiring storyline, great soundtrack and standout performances by Darsheel Safary as Ishaan and Aamir Khan as art teacher Ram Shankar Nikumbh.
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After the Crash 