BEAUTY: Clothing--Thom Browne

Thom Browne closed New York Fashion Week with a spectacular, theatrical performance showcasing his Fall-Winter '24-'25 men's and women's collection. He took inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe's iconic poem "The Raven" and sent models out with black talon nails, black feathered hairpieces, and garments featuring ravens and of course the word "Nevermore." During the show, the Poe poem was read in its entirety by actress Carrie Coon who plays Bertha Russell on HBO Max's "The Gilded Age." Her reading should go down in history as the definitive version...watch the video below (the streaming and pre-show lasts until 23:00 when the show gets underway) and listen to Coon's effective, escalating emotion that leads to a chilling state of utter madness, while taking in the staging and set of a snow-covered field populated with bare, gnarled trees. And the clothing? Perfection.

https://www.thombrowne.com

Just finished binge-watching...

...Mike Flanagan's engaging, clever, satisfying Netflix drama "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Mike Flanagan wrote and directed one of the best horror stories on film, the spectacular remake of "The Haunting of Hill House" which functioned both as a horror story and as a touching, poignant, heartbreaking psychological study of a damaged family. He also wrote and directed the follow up called "The Haunting of Bly Manor," and the modern vampire/demon series "Midnight Mass," as well as directing "Dr. Sleep," the sequel to Kubrick's horror masterpiece "The Shining." So the man has some cred.

For his most recent creation, he took the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, and cleverly strung them together in a continuous, single, new narrative set in 2023 while retaining the underlying action of each story. And it is a stunning, taut exercise in storytelling with an exceptional cast. Flanagan has a sort of repertory of actors he likes to use and many of them who have been with him since "Haunting of Hill House" are here back for more, along with some expert new faces like Mark Hamill (yes, that Mark Hamill, doing a voice), and the exquisite Mary McDonald who literally can do no wrong.

The overall quality of the series is immaculate and like "Haunting of Hill House," "Usher" has a deeper meaning that goes beyond horror, addressing the issues of wealth and greed, unchecked ambition, consumption, addiction, ego, family secrets, grief, and transgression. It is as close to a perfect cinematic experience as you can get.

Recommend? Absolutely. If you're a horror fan, you will appreciate the complexity. If you're not, watch it for the story and not the gore...you won't be sorry.

https://www.netflix.com/title/81414665

Boundaries

"The Boundaries which divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?"
--Edgar Allan Poe