A meditative take on a famous novel.

Rating: Null/10 (20 November 2018)

This is a classic of 70s cinema. Dog Day Afternoon, directed by the late great Sidney Lumet features a fine turn by the then fresh Al Pacino who plays a callow youth robbing a bank. The pacing is fantastic, there are many political underlying themes(the lower class's revolt, transgenderism) and it came out at a time when there was much disconcert on the streets of America. It is truly a great film and its reputation has only increased with time. Watch this one. 8/10 (Watch it for Lumet's crisp direction and Pacino's acting). Solaris (1971): Stanislaw Lem's Solaris is a highly regarded book and Andrei Tarkovsky's film adaption is pretty much spot on, though Tarkovsky being an auteur brings his own touch to the proceedings. The story is about a cosmonaut who is sent to a space station revolving around a mysterious planet in the future. The cinematography and production design are haunting- the spaceship is so different than what we usually see in Hollywood. The acting is restraint and works here. Some people have said there is a sense of pretentiousness and rightfully so as some scenes go on way too long. But hey, this is Tarkovsky we speak of. This is one of the finest hard science fiction films and you should see it at any cost.