MOVIES
Big release Friday: Inferno.
Big picture: First he cracked The Da Vinci Code, then he battled Angels & Demons. Perhaps its only fitting that symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is now headed for Dante’s Inferno. In the latest thriller based on the novels of Dan Brown, our brainy hero follows a trail of clues and conspiracies tied to the great Dante himself — the poet who, we’re told, “defined our modern conception of hell” (until the current American presidential race). Along the way, Langdon must combat drug-induced visions of hell and stop a plague from being unleashed — but, hey, at least her gets to take a trip to Florence, Italy. Beyond solving riddles, Langdon’s second favourite hobby appears to be exposition: “Oh my God, Dante’s Inferno isn’t fiction!”You can thank lazy screenwriters who think we’re all stupid.
Forecast: Given so many ancient masters of literature and invention have left codes in their work, what kind of secrets will Langdon’s symbologist grandchildren be solving? I’m hoping there’s mysterious subtext hidden in the Harry Potter series that leads to the real Hogwarts.