cyberpunk

Watched A Scanner Darkly. Don't know what everyone was talking about as far as the animation pissing them off; it added a lot to the surreal nature of the film, and did a lot for the viewer's perception of the main character's drug-addled world. Like all cyberpunk, it was very out-there: that, of course, is half the point. But what I really appreciated is that the film made few concessions to Hollywood in translating over from the novel. Rather than something like Blade Runner (another Dick novel), which was demystified and clear-cut, A Scanner Darkly leaves you confused, startled, and maybe somewhat disturbed by its messages, and it takes a lot of brainpower to even follow it. Warner Independent Films is doing something very good here.

Philip K. Dick is one of a few writers in the genre I have been meaning to get much more into (Neal Stephenson is another), and I think I'll pursue it much more actively now that film got it on my mind.