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Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated The Portrait of Mr W.H. in Books
May 14, 2017
. As a paradox to the realism and ethics of the period, decadent writers, artists, and poets challenged a society that strove for a standard in public discourse.
First published in 1889, Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Mr W.H., is a short story about the efforts of three characters trying to discover the identity of Shakespeare’s Mr W.H. ; the dedicatee of his many sonnets. Wilde’s novel is a prime example of decadent literature and aestheticism, which, as a result, challenges the Victorian ideals of moral decency and public rectitude. The author uses paradox in the novel to present a theory that contradicts the conservative critics of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Wilde presents a subjective interpretation of Shakespeare’s sonnets that portrays homoerotic sexual desire as the force for creative inspiration. Foremost, through the character Cyril Graham, the author demonstrates that art is ‘an attempt to realise one’s own personality on some imaginative plane out of reach of the trammelling accidents and limitations of real life’, (Wilde, p.111).
Taking from a hypothesis in the previous century by Edmund Malone and Thomas Tyrwhitt, the character of Cyril forms a theory in which Mr W.H. is a young actor named Willie Hughes, employed by Shakespeare and who is the muse to which the sonnets are devoted. Cyril investigates each poem and pieces together a theory he believes to be true.
On the surface, Cyril’s theory derives from feeling and beauty rather than logic and instruction.
The withholding of facts in Shakespeare’s sonnets energises Cyril. He scours the poems to find a clue that harmonise with his own feelings. Cyril believes that Shakespeare influences his readers by guiding them to Willie Hughes.
Cyril, spurned by the moralistic interpretations of previous critics, becomes enthralled by Shakespeare’s muse.
Wilde presents a subjective interpretation of Shakespeare’s sonnets that portrays homoerotic sexual desire as the force for creative inspiration. Foremost, through the character Cyril Graham, the author demonstrates that art is ‘an attempt to realise one’s own personality on some imaginative plane out of reach of the trammelling accidents and limitations of real life’, (Wilde, p.111).
Taking from a hypothesis in the previous century by Edmund Malone and Thomas Tyrwhitt, the character of Cyril forms a theory in which Mr W.H. is a young actor named Willie Hughes, employed by Shakespeare and who is the muse to which the sonnets are devoted. Cyril investigates each poem and pieces together a theory he believes to be true.
On the surface, Cyril’s theory derives from feeling and beauty rather than logic and instruction.
The withholding of facts in Shakespeare’s sonnets energises Cyril. He scours the poems to find a clue that harmonise with his own feelings. Cyril believes that Shakespeare influences his readers by guiding them to Willie Hughes.
Cyril, spurned by the moralistic interpretations of previous critics, becomes enthralled by Shakespeare’s muse.
Uptown Oracle (24 KP) rated No Ordinary Star in Books
Jun 30, 2017
Decent book - but too short and lacks action
I first wanted to read No Ordinary Star because I was promised a big library within its pages. I wasn't disappointed. Although, it took a while to get to the Library. In 2524, books are 'weapons' due to the ideas that can be got from them. The new world has no need for new ideas. Plus,women and children aren't allowed to learn how to read or write. There's strict governance on who is in charge and superior within this world.
Although the book was short, it was packed full of information about this new future world. The new world was so strange yet extensive. There were so many advancements in medicine and lifestyle. You don't need to drink, eat or sleep because you can live off small tablets. Scientists create and genetically modify children. The government has removed music, art and love from humanity. There was the issue that no action was taken within the book - it will probably be within the next book that the pace is picked up.
This future brings up so many discussion points and thoughts when reading. Are all these advancements moral? Is this the right thing to do? There's separation of men and women, as men treat women as an inferior species. This book just makes you think so much about what you actually want for the future.
This book also brings up so many questions plot wise. Some questions were answered by the end, such as who is the 'fairy girl' in the first chapters? Other questions, such as why is the Clock so important will hopefully be answered in future installments? I'm excited to read the next book to see how it evolves!
Although the book was short, it was packed full of information about this new future world. The new world was so strange yet extensive. There were so many advancements in medicine and lifestyle. You don't need to drink, eat or sleep because you can live off small tablets. Scientists create and genetically modify children. The government has removed music, art and love from humanity. There was the issue that no action was taken within the book - it will probably be within the next book that the pace is picked up.
This future brings up so many discussion points and thoughts when reading. Are all these advancements moral? Is this the right thing to do? There's separation of men and women, as men treat women as an inferior species. This book just makes you think so much about what you actually want for the future.
This book also brings up so many questions plot wise. Some questions were answered by the end, such as who is the 'fairy girl' in the first chapters? Other questions, such as why is the Clock so important will hopefully be answered in future installments? I'm excited to read the next book to see how it evolves!
Awix (3310 KP) rated Geostorm (2017) in Movies
Feb 7, 2018 (Updated Feb 7, 2018)
Gerard Butles With The Elements
It's a movie directed by the producer of The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, in which Gerard Butler is shot into space to have a fight with bad weather. If the description alone does not make you engage in fairly serious expectation-management, you must be new to this whole going-to-the-movies business.
Um, yeah: Gerard Butler plays a brilliant but maverick meteorologist (stay with me) who invents a global weather control system codenamed 'Dutch Boy' (possibly because the satellites are really high all the time), then gets sacked for being a pain in the neck. Years later, the system starts to go wrong (unimportant people like Afghans and Chinese meet spectacular weather-related deaths) and Butler is recruited by his brother (don't ask) to figure out the problem.
There is a lot of chasing about and a conspiracy and the world's most oddly designed self-destruct system, and the villain turns out to be the person you thought it was all the time. Butler spends most of the movie in space, which at least means Abbie Cornish can do more as a member of the Secret Service who ends up kidnapping the President (it's that kind of movie). Geostorm hasn't quite figured out how to handle having the President as a character in a movie in the current situation: Andy Garcia plays him in a very sensible, nondescript manner, quite divorced from reality.
I have to say a friend of mine said Geostorm was so bad it made London Has Fallen look like a Christopher Nolan movie, but it's not so much flat-out awful as simply very silly, obvious, and predictable, not to mention very much like all the other movies Dean Devlin produced for Roland Emmerich. I suppose the moral should be 'stick to what you're (reasonably) good at'.
Um, yeah: Gerard Butler plays a brilliant but maverick meteorologist (stay with me) who invents a global weather control system codenamed 'Dutch Boy' (possibly because the satellites are really high all the time), then gets sacked for being a pain in the neck. Years later, the system starts to go wrong (unimportant people like Afghans and Chinese meet spectacular weather-related deaths) and Butler is recruited by his brother (don't ask) to figure out the problem.
There is a lot of chasing about and a conspiracy and the world's most oddly designed self-destruct system, and the villain turns out to be the person you thought it was all the time. Butler spends most of the movie in space, which at least means Abbie Cornish can do more as a member of the Secret Service who ends up kidnapping the President (it's that kind of movie). Geostorm hasn't quite figured out how to handle having the President as a character in a movie in the current situation: Andy Garcia plays him in a very sensible, nondescript manner, quite divorced from reality.
I have to say a friend of mine said Geostorm was so bad it made London Has Fallen look like a Christopher Nolan movie, but it's not so much flat-out awful as simply very silly, obvious, and predictable, not to mention very much like all the other movies Dean Devlin produced for Roland Emmerich. I suppose the moral should be 'stick to what you're (reasonably) good at'.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Planet 51 (2009) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
On a planet far from our own, green creatures are experiencing their own version of the 1950’s. Among them is Lem (Justin Long) who has just gotten his first job as an assistant at the local planetarium. When a space ship appears harboring an alien, human astronaut Captain Charles T. Baker (Dwayne Johnson), the fearful locals are not so friendly. It is up to Lem to save the astronaut and help his people learn not to fear the world beyond what they know.
The film is written for both children and adults, like a toned down version of “Shrek†with a more relevant moral feel. Putting the characters in the 1950s adds to the film’s charm, allowing kids access to the blatant characterizations of the time period, such as the bumbling science professor and the hippy protestor who maintains from the start that the alien is friendly.
Other characters of note are Lem’s comic book and movie fanatic best friend, Skiff (Seann William Scott) and the military commander General Grawl (Gary Oldman) who is hell-bent on capturing the alien. Children will also enjoy the two pet creatures from a local alien dog that excretes acid to a rock-obsessed robot sent to pick up local specimens for Baker.
“Planet 51†is wholly entertaining. It provides some mature insight by displaying how we would appear to another culture if we ever did encounter aliens. This switch of perspective is sure to make children think and laugh over the simple cross-cultural mishaps that occur while Lem and Baker are attempting to find common ground.
A delightful, animated romp, “Planet 51†will make you hope for a groovy 1960’s sequel.
The film is written for both children and adults, like a toned down version of “Shrek†with a more relevant moral feel. Putting the characters in the 1950s adds to the film’s charm, allowing kids access to the blatant characterizations of the time period, such as the bumbling science professor and the hippy protestor who maintains from the start that the alien is friendly.
Other characters of note are Lem’s comic book and movie fanatic best friend, Skiff (Seann William Scott) and the military commander General Grawl (Gary Oldman) who is hell-bent on capturing the alien. Children will also enjoy the two pet creatures from a local alien dog that excretes acid to a rock-obsessed robot sent to pick up local specimens for Baker.
“Planet 51†is wholly entertaining. It provides some mature insight by displaying how we would appear to another culture if we ever did encounter aliens. This switch of perspective is sure to make children think and laugh over the simple cross-cultural mishaps that occur while Lem and Baker are attempting to find common ground.
A delightful, animated romp, “Planet 51†will make you hope for a groovy 1960’s sequel.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Fame (2009) in Movies
Aug 9, 2019
I love musicals so whenever the big guys at the studios decide to remake a classic like “Fame”(1982), I get, well, nervous. How could there be a remake of a film that is so well associated with the 1980s without mocking current audience’s film going standards? Would a new “Fame” be possible without the time period that created it in the first place?
“Fame” follows the year-by-year story of a group of kids who apply to and later attend the New York Academy of Performing Arts. The story follows their growth as performers and as people in the never forgiving streets of New York City. The film has the expected music, dancing, and moral tales about the harsh realities of people in search of that ever-elusive “Fame”.
Littered in guest stars ranging from “Frasier’s” Kelsey Grammer to “Will and Grace’s” Megan Mullally, “Fame” seemed less like the remake of a musical and more like a star studded Ellen show.
Still, there are some exceptional performances from less seasoned stars like Anna Maria Perez de Tagle who plays young aspiring actress Joy and Natuari Naughton as Denise a classical pianist who dreams of singing.
While the film is good, it lacks the heart of a truly engrossing musical. The acting is decent and the choreography is excellent but this modernized version of “Fame” complete with Barenaked Ladies song jokes is no “Chicago”. Moreover, the new version of “Fame” varies significantly from the classic, with hip-hop tracks and a rhythm heavy version of the classic theme song. For many the biggest downside to this musical is sure to be the less than engrossing musical numbers.
Like a darker “High School Musical” for a slightly older audience, “Fame” is a decent film worth a watch, but it will not have you singing a medley in your living room.
“Fame” follows the year-by-year story of a group of kids who apply to and later attend the New York Academy of Performing Arts. The story follows their growth as performers and as people in the never forgiving streets of New York City. The film has the expected music, dancing, and moral tales about the harsh realities of people in search of that ever-elusive “Fame”.
Littered in guest stars ranging from “Frasier’s” Kelsey Grammer to “Will and Grace’s” Megan Mullally, “Fame” seemed less like the remake of a musical and more like a star studded Ellen show.
Still, there are some exceptional performances from less seasoned stars like Anna Maria Perez de Tagle who plays young aspiring actress Joy and Natuari Naughton as Denise a classical pianist who dreams of singing.
While the film is good, it lacks the heart of a truly engrossing musical. The acting is decent and the choreography is excellent but this modernized version of “Fame” complete with Barenaked Ladies song jokes is no “Chicago”. Moreover, the new version of “Fame” varies significantly from the classic, with hip-hop tracks and a rhythm heavy version of the classic theme song. For many the biggest downside to this musical is sure to be the less than engrossing musical numbers.
Like a darker “High School Musical” for a slightly older audience, “Fame” is a decent film worth a watch, but it will not have you singing a medley in your living room.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated My One and Only (2009) in Movies
Aug 9, 2019
“My One and Only” is the 1950’s story of Anne Deveraux (Renée Zellweger) wife of two-timing Dan Devereaux (Kevin Bacon) who has decided to leave her husband and move to another city in pursuit of a better life. Anne soon learns that the process of enticing men has grown increasing challenging with time and that she now must raise her two sons George (Logan Lerman) and Robbie (Mark Rendell) on the road and on her own or face the defeat of returning to her unfaithful husband.
Beautifully shot, the film immediately sweeps viewers into another time in American history. The use of detailed sets and props, from the varied homes the family lives in to the light powder-blue car, creates a visual dynamic ripe for the telling of this 1950’s gem. Additionally, the use of literature, film, and music throughout “My One and Only” make it a delight to watch even without the somewhat well crafted plot.
As characters go, Zellweger delivers again, this time as the likeably flawed heroine Anne. Yet it was maturely acted roles of Anne’s sons, George and Robbie, stood out as undeniably honestly and direct.
Majority of the plot is solid covering the ups and downs of Anne’s attempts to secure a new home and husband for her family. It was only the rushed and disjointed ending that lessened the caliber of film.
“My One and Only” touches on themes of respect, feminism, aging, and security. A good film overall, filled with laughs and moral realities of the time, I enjoyed getting to know Anne’s family.
A visually strong, well cast film with a less than satisfying ending, “My One and Only” is an entertaining and spirited story of a non-traditional family growing up during a time of change in America.
Beautifully shot, the film immediately sweeps viewers into another time in American history. The use of detailed sets and props, from the varied homes the family lives in to the light powder-blue car, creates a visual dynamic ripe for the telling of this 1950’s gem. Additionally, the use of literature, film, and music throughout “My One and Only” make it a delight to watch even without the somewhat well crafted plot.
As characters go, Zellweger delivers again, this time as the likeably flawed heroine Anne. Yet it was maturely acted roles of Anne’s sons, George and Robbie, stood out as undeniably honestly and direct.
Majority of the plot is solid covering the ups and downs of Anne’s attempts to secure a new home and husband for her family. It was only the rushed and disjointed ending that lessened the caliber of film.
“My One and Only” touches on themes of respect, feminism, aging, and security. A good film overall, filled with laughs and moral realities of the time, I enjoyed getting to know Anne’s family.
A visually strong, well cast film with a less than satisfying ending, “My One and Only” is an entertaining and spirited story of a non-traditional family growing up during a time of change in America.
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