Film Review - Under The Skin by Jonathan Glazer

A voluptuous woman (Scarlett Johannson) drives through the streets of Glasgow and lures single men with the promise of stimulation and instead giving oblivion. She is an alien temptress, and these men become the life source for her and the black, featureless beings of her kin. But soon her prey becomes her fascination, her voyeurism luring her into the human world. 

It is reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey with its minimal dialogue and cinematic artifice. But where 2001 gained its detachment through the grandeur of the cosmos, Under the skin utilizes the minuscule and the mundane: the crawling of insects, the ambiance of everyday life, the bubbles of humanity in crowded cities. Trading the communion of her void for the anonymity of our world, the temptress becomes prey to discovery, fear, and isolation. Very unsettling. 
Andreas

Book Review - The Origins of Sex : a history of the first sexual revolution by Faramerz Dabhoiwala

Don't get too excited by the title, this is a scholarly work looking at how attitudes to sex have changed from medieval times to the present focusing particularly on English legal and social history. Did you know that at one time poor couples were prevented from marrying as it was feared their children would be a drain on the parish. How did a woman's popular image change from sexual predator to vulnerable victim? Why was there a mania for reforming prostitutes in Victorian times? I particularly liked the chapter on how the rise of cheap printing revolutionized public opinion forming and was saddened by the reminders of how class and money have affected how people behave through the centuries.

Wendy