A Tranquil Star: Worth the read

Brian Iiyama | Staff Writer

A Tranquil Star is a collection of seventeen stories previously unpublished in America by Italian author Primo Levi. Best known for his works on the holocaust, Survival in Auschwitz and The Reawakening, Levi’s new book -published posthumously by 20 years- is a mix of stories that range from the desperation of a captured man who pulls the pin in a grenade to take out his captors to a satirical description of a new toy that melts steel and kills people instantly. Similar in theme to Terry Gilliam’s anti bureaucratic film Brazil, A Tranquil Star is a non-linear mix of strange ideas and bizarre images.

The Hitcher on DVD:

Leave this one on the side of the road

I’ve been there too, you’ve seen all of the recent DVD releases that caught your interest, but there is this one you haven’t seen yet, standing there, sticking its little plastic thumb out, and you think “hmm, I’ll give it a try.”

“No one picks up strangers,” says Hitcher star, Sophia Bush, so do yourself a favor and leave this one on the shelf.

True to the Genre but mediocre in every way, The Hitcher will let down fans of the 1986 cult classic it is a remake of.

Pan’s Labyrinth : ‘A fairy tale for adults’

Pan’s Labyrinth is a fantasy classic aimed not at children but adults. It is a tale about the loss of innocence to a cruel world. Spoken in Spanish, the film was written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Blade II, The Devil’s Backbone) and it is far and away his best film, if not the best film to have come out in 2006.

Originally, Pan’s Labyrinth had a very limited release after a successful run on the film festival circuit. It only screened in New York and Los Angles in December 2006 but it received so much acclaim that in February 2007 the film was released nation wide for everyone to enjoy.