The third in his series of fictionalized memoirs, J.M. Coetzee’s Summertime questions the author’s own relevance as a human being.

In the process of understanding why readers care about who he is, Coetzee tries to show himself as an awkward, un-sexualized man who is no more worthy of public curiosity than anyone else. Featuring a fictional interviewer, out-of-frame notes, and a series of less-than-flattering third-party accounts, Summertime is a deeply sardonic but ultimately entrancing self-portrait of the Nobel laureate.

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Geologist-turned-photographer Roger Ballen takes haunting images of poor South Africans in surreal situations of their own making.

Ballen collaborates with his subjects to construct psychological settings — filled with wall drawings, odd objects, pets, and body parts — that he then documents in black-and-white. These nightmarish visions, which Ballen makes into prints and books, grant the viewer insight into the troubled minds of criminals, transients, witch doctors, and impoverished laborers who toil in gold mines.

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District 9 is currently sitting pretty with a nearly unprecedented 97 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It doesn’t come out until tomorrow, and as far as we can tell, the New York Times hasn’t reviewed it yet, so all of this attention is resulting in some major hype.  The sci-fi film from first-time director and Peter Jackson protege Neill Blomkamp takes place in South Africa, where aliens complicate an already-tense societal racial divide.  District 9 is bringing out exclamation points and hyperbole in critics, who, judging by their tone, haven’t seen a movie this good in…a long time. Check out our favorite lines from the reviews after the jump. Read More »