Last night we were pleased to see an original movie, not the same old chasing around to see if the couple stays together in the end.  Here’s the deal — Earth 2 is a mirror-image planet inhabited by all the same people as our Earth, living better or worse lives than those of us on Earth 1 (or Earth 2 to the other mirror-image earthlings). You get the picture, right?

I always check out reviews on Rottentomatoes.com before heading over to the El Con Cinemas. Ratings weren’t incredibly high for “Another Earth,” which opened nationwide on Wednesday, but they were a lot higher than for “Spy Kids 4” or even the perennial romance offering of “One Day.” I’ll confess to having different tastes than mainstream moviegoers (thank the universe). I’m a bit of a movie whore and will go to anything that isn’t poopy-joke stupid or boringly violent. Dan won’t see bio-pics (he walked to the Loft for a 10 p.m. showing of “Troll Hunter” a few weeks ago).

In a review of “Another Earth” the Houston Chronicle writer pondered this question: If there were two Earths how were the tides affected? A valid question. But in this case thinking may be harmful.

Suspend belief! “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” or some facsimile thereof, said Albert Einstein.  I recall nervous parents of 10-year-olds coming into my children’s bookstore, Oz Books, to discuss their kids’ overriding interest in fantasy or sci-fi genres.

“Will they ever learn anything if they never read nonfiction?” parents fearfully asked. I quoted Einsten and tried to explain that it’s imaginative thinking that raises entrepreneurs (what did Steve Jobs read as a kid, anybody know?), scientists, interesting people. Not facts, at in my book. Facts come from research, another valuable tool, but save it for grad school or later (I’m being a little facetious.)

Back to “Another Earth.” I was enthralled. Everywhere that gorgeous, blonde Rhoda went she saw Earth 2 overhead. In fact, it got her into a whole lot of trouble as a teen preparing to go to MIT. Not only Rhoda, but everything about the film was lovely to watch. I liked the music by a group called Fall on Your Sword. (Anybody ever heard of them?)

The New Yorker reviewer, I think it was David Denby, wrote that if you could figure out the ending of “Another Earth” “you should get a refund.” Oh comon’ David. Contemplating the options makes for more fun.

For yet more fun, check out Whatever…, science fiction writer John Scalzi’s blog. Meanwhile, consider this: There’s a time for thinking and a time for imagining.