Brave New World

Aldous Huxley has been on the to-read list for a long time but not until recently - I saw a copy of Brave New World and picked it up finally. I love 1984, but I like Brave New World better. Huxley approaches things in a very scientific manner, laying the basis for the story upon a set of basic axioms he believes will help create a completely mind controlled future. I also picked up this other book written by him called The Devils of Loudun. Its a non-fiction novel set in 17th century France amidst all the Catholic hysteria surrounding people who practice the "old" religion i.e., witchcraft. It's a brilliantly researched upon book. Huxley provides numerous references to books that have been written on related subjects, for anyone who cares about it. There are also a lot of Latin passages and quotes sprinkled all over the place - this is where I kind of do not completely get what he is talking about - but they do not take anything away from the superb description of the prevailing beliefs and situations. I right in the middle of the book, I'm reading it kind of slowly, but I'm sure will finish it in a few days.
   There is also a movie based on the book, called The Devils. The director is interestingly Ken Russell, the director of Altered States, one of the weirdest and coolest sci-fi movies I've seen.

VALIS

I recently finished reading VALIS, a highly acclaimed work of Philip K. Dick. I have been a huge fan of Philip K. Dick since I first saw Waking Life and later A Scanner Dartkly. Richard Linklater, the director of the two movies happens to be a big fan too and frequently uses ideas of Philip K. Dick. I had read a few of Dick's books in the past - A Scanner Darkly, Counter-Clock World, Our Friends from Frolix 8, Time Out of Joint. While I thoroughly enjoyed each one of those reads, it wasn't until I read VALIS that I had discovered the true genius in Dick's writings. Highly enjoyable!

Mirror

Mirror is the fourth Andrei Tarkovsky movie I've seen. The first two being Stalker and Solaris, arguably two of the best sci-fi movies ever made. The third one is actually a short called The Steamroller and the Violin. Mirror wasn't a sci-fi movie, but what beauty! It's full of stunning imagery. Tarkovsky's movies helped me redefine my notion of the movie medium - that the image is more important than anything else. The story, the plotline, the background music are all secondary. If hollywood isn't your cup of tea, please do yourself a favor by watching Tarkovsky's movies.

David Cronenberg

I saw A History of Violence in college. It wasn't such a special movie. After that I luckily chanced upon a few of his other movies on the TV and wow, is he crazy or what. He is known for developing this genre called body horror, most of his themes deal with horrors of bodily transformations and infections etc. You have to watch his movies to really understand what I'm saying. Definitely some of the most disturbing movies I've ever seen. Recommended :
  The Fly
  eXistenZ
  Naked Lunch
  Dead Ringers
  Eastern Promises
Eastern Promises wasn't in the sci-fi genre but it was still pretty good.
Each one of these movies left me with a feeling of uneasiness which I haven't experienced too many times in life.