Sunday, June 27, 2021

THE PORTRAIT OF MR. W.H.

 

THE PORTRAIT OF MR. W.H. - The Portrait of Mr. W.H. by Oscar Wilde is a great compact little book. I have the pocket edition. It’s not a full book, but more like a novelette: longer than a short story, shorter than a novella. There are two pieces contained within. Part 1.) The Portrait of Mr. WH. It advances the idea that Shakespeare’s Sonnets are dedicated to Willie Hughes (Mr. WH). The intrigue centers on a purported portrait of an effeminate male actor depicted in female roles. Not unusual in Shakespeare’s days, since only males were allowed to perform on stage of the Globe Theatre in Elizabethan England. Part 2.) The Ballad of Reading Gaol. It’s very dark, apparently the last work completed prior to his death. The poem is organized in six sections with images of trials, prisons, wardens, guards and the hangman’s gallows. There is conflicting information as to whether the poem’s genesis was his imprisonment for A. moral reasons or B. loss of a libel case. Nonetheless, the mood is severe, reinforced by the poem’s melodic structure. Wilde’s quotations are brilliant short witticisms, his plays are societal intrigues constructed of effervescent dialogue and his involvement in the aesthetic movement promoted gilding the lily, in other words, art for art’s sake.








Sunday, June 20, 2021

BLACK SUMMER SEASON 2

 

BLACK SUMMER SEASON 2 - Where we last left off, our single mother attempts and fails to kill a fast-running zombie. Not only that, she also has to worry about her daughter’s safety too, as they have been hiking the snowy mountain trail together. Both fight their way to the door of a house, and finding it locked, are permitted to enter after a brief delay. Welcome to your temporary new home.  Unfortunately, risking fate at the hands of their new housemates might be worse than death by zombie. What does all this mean? It means the formidable talent that is Karl Schaefer is back at it again. Black Summer season 2 is the best zombie movie of 2021 and probably the best zombie series of all time. I watched the whole thing in one sitting, start to finish. The action and fight scenes worked as well as the 1st season. But the “lulls” in-between worked even better. Both lead actors were great before, and even better now. That’s it, I could keep going. I’m not going to spoil the story. Created by Karl Schaefer, Netflix released 8 episodes in June 2021, as a follow up to the 1st season in 2019. My hunch says the show will certainly be renewed for a 3rd season and beyond. Here’s to more original post-apocalyptic series and movies! Yeah all that, and the series title is misleading. It’s ironic, I suppose.

Black Summer season 2 https://www.chadschimke.com/2021/06/black-summer-season-2.html

Black Summer season 1 https://www.chadschimke.com/2019/04/black-summer.html










Monday, June 14, 2021

The Body Snatchers Jack Finney 1955

Invasion of the Body SnatchersInvasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney 1955
When seeds invade Santa Mira, unsuspecting sleeping residents disappear and are quietly replaced with nonhuman duplicates.
https://www.chadschimke.com/2018/08/s...
Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney

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