Annihilation

Today I saw the sci-fi/horror film Annihilation with Natalie Portman.  It was a very strange and surreal film, and I’m not sure that I liked it.  Portman turns in what is in some ways a moving performance, but at times she also seems like a sex object.  There isn’t much of a plot to speak of, and it seems like it could have used more of an old fashioned sci-fi plot.  Great trailer, as showcased on the now much lesser AICN, but did not at all live up to it’s true potential for me.  Unfortunately, don’t  recommend!

Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon is probably the best book I have read since The Crying of Lot 49, a riveting exploration and reopening of the case of the murders of the Osage Indians in Oklahoma.  David Grann's writing is expert as he recounts the circumstances of the initial murders, details the subsequent involvement of the FBI, and then adds his own expertise toward solving the murders.  The book is really about prejudice and racism, and about a war that erupted between two cultures, all but destroying or at least forever changing the culture of the Osage Indians.  The writing is sharp and detailed, and the first hand accounts and photographs only add to this effect.  Just an excellent, exquisite work of recent prose.  Highly recommended!

Next up: King James Bible