I love books. I do. For me, reading is a passion, something I can’t imagine life without.

But sometimes, when it’s really super-summer hot, the thought of focusing your sweat-brimmed eyes enough to read a novel is just plain agonizing. Not to mention those dreadful rainy days when you are forced to stick it out indoors.

So here, for your viewing pleasure, I propose some alternative summer rentals (film = another love of my life). Some of these are weird and some are, well, weirder. But hopefully you’ll enjoy at least some of them as much as I have.

Oldboy
Okay, don’t watch this if you don’t like to feel very, very uncomfortable. (I do want to say, however, that this is my favorite movie of all time.)

Oldboy is a Korean film (director Chan-wook Park, for whom Oldboy is part of a trilogy; Park also directed the lovely I’m a Cyborg and That’s Okay), part of the wave of innovative Korean filmmakers that was going on a few years ago. It’s the story of a man who is suddenly kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years. By the time he gets out, the only thing he cares about is finding out who imprisoned him and why–and getting revenge.

Oh yeah, and it’s based on a comic book, so it’s extremely graphic. You’ve been warned. Read More »