Small Gods - Terry Pratchett

If there is just one Discworld book that anyone should read, I would recommend this one: Small Gods. This is definitely one of the best Discworld books, and its subject is religion.

Brutha is a wanna-be priest and devout believer in Om. He is about the only true believer Om has. And that's what makes Brutha special, to a lot of people and supernatural entities. Om wants him because of the flame of belief, Vorbis and the Quisition because he will not question them, but what does Brutha want?

This is a book about religion, and its practices. Pratchett criticizes harshly both religion and the quest for power using religion, and rightly so. Even the story of Jesus Christ does not escape Terry's expert pen, and made me laugh! But this is something that readers should find out for themselves.

This is not a book to be read by fundies or anyone that cannot stand criticism to religion. Because Pratchett here, does show, through satire and comedy, the true nature of religion and gods. It is not we, the people, who need god(s); but god(s) and religion that need us. Because religions survive because of their followers, and devout believers. And this is the truth that Brutha will find in his journey and adventures. From devout believer to a kind of atheist Prophet, Brutha will be shown the truth about the nature not only of his god, but of all gods.

As for the rest, read the book. I highly recommend it. This is the best book I have read this year so far. There is not much more that I can say about the book, other than that I agree with Pratchett about his criticism of religion, about his attack on dogmatism, through the pages of Small Gods. Because gods are the product of people's imagination...

Lesbian Vampire Killers

If you thought that this was porn, and specifically lesbian porn, you couldn't be further away from the truth. What is this movie about then?

It is supposed to be a comedy, a satire of Vampire shows and movies. Nice try but no go. Not bad, but I did not laugh at any part. maybe sneered or smiled a bit.

The movie has it all: corny dialogue, the chosen one, a priest, a virgin... and lots of women scantily dressed and pretending to be lesbian vampires!

However, there is something lacking. The dialogue was there, the setting was really good. I cannot blame the director, I thought he did a good job. Paul McGann is excellent as the Vicar, and I thought that he needed someone else to act alongside.

Neither James Corden [Fletch] nor Matthew Home [Jimmy] really were up to the task. There was something missing from their acting, and at times it was like they were bored with the whole movie.

The basic story itself is quite good and has a lot of room for comedic situations, which I felt were not delivered. Or as I said poor acting made some of the jokes and in-jokes invisible to the audience.

My take on it is: a lot of undelivered potential. The main actors were a very bad choice for this movie. Watchable? Yes, with friends, appropriate commentary, some alcoholic beverage of your choice, food [preferably take out]. You can laugh at the expense of this movie, but not with this movie.