Adventures on Earth: T Magazine's top picks of the week

Here’s what to watch, play, binge and read this week

Read: Playing With Fire -- Pakistan's War with Itself

While journalists, policy wonks and Western politicians readily offer their home-cooked theories about what’s happening and what will happen in Pakistan, this book offers something totally different. It may lack an overarching argument or thesis, but it boldly describes the gross inadequacy of the state institutions, especially the courts.  Pamela Constable provides the context that helps explain why the country has not fulfilled some of the dire predictions made about its imminent collapse.  The book is an essential read for anyone wishing to understand modern Pakistan and its global position.

Play: High On Life

This epic story of alien space travel with incredible dialogue, and simple and smooth gameplay is an addictive blast. Created by Justin Roiland and released in December 1922, this comedic first-person shooter game with action-adventure and Metroidvania elements takes you into a science fiction world which features talking guns. These extremely rude weapons called Gatlians are also the stars of the show, while Kenny is the easily flustered pistol! Critics have praised its humour, characters, level design and story, but repetitive gameplay, bugs and glitches are the downsides.

Watch: The Pale Blue Eye

In the grayest northern winter, a man is hanged, while another, Augustus Landor is alive, but does he really want to? Landor investigates the death of the other man, a soldier-to-be. On the lines of Sherlock Holmes, this is a deeper crime drama with a weeny bit of horror. A highly watchable film,, powerful in every technical capacity, from an emotive score to its beautiful funereal lighting of candles and lamp oil burning in dark brown space. This rock-solid historical mystery is a great, but perhaps not a very memorable watch.

Binge: Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities 

The horror anthology series was curated by Guillermo del Toro with eight handpicked directors who take on a new frightening tale in each episode. Some are original stories, others adaptations, but all episodes have a separate, but equally star-studded casts. Each episode begins with a towering wooden structure with hundreds of secret compartments with del Toro introducing and naming each figurine as a director, making Cabinet of Curiosities a treat for fans of standout horror filmmaking. Way more scary than Twilight Zone, but darkly humorous.