In The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess, overpopulation is suppressed through the promotion of homosexuality and a one child per family policy. Here it is “Sapiens to be Homo” where heterosexuality and fertility are, at the very least, frowned upon. Oh, and then there’s the cannibalism. The Wanting Seed is a well-written dystopian novel, boasting Burgess’ special flair for vocabulary, and is mostly engaging. There is, however, something fractured, unkind, and twisted about the novel. The Wanting Seed often reads like it’s trying to say something about humanity, gender, sexuality, and race, but it is difficult to sift out exactly what Burgess is trying to say — and because of that, you’re left uneasy and uncomfortable. You’re not quite sure if your shaming should be directed at Burgess’ characters, the society he has created, or Burgess himself. However, The Times Literary Supplement called The Wanting Seed ”wildly and fantastically funny” and the back flap of the book itself called it a comedy. I didn’t discover the novel’s apparent humour while reading it though. I was distracted by all the police brutality and schoolchildren eating their classmates. So, let’s all just assume I didn’t fully get The Wanting Seed. [Book 7/50]

There’s a place in my heart set aside for Wes Anderson — a place that is probably oh-so-perfectly mapped out, primary coloured, and with The Kinks on constant loop. Though I wasn’t the biggest supporter of his recent film, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, I am, of course, looking forward to the awkwardly titled MOONRISE KINGDOM. Now with Vimeo user Kogonada’s video “Wes Anderson From Above,” I’m champing at the bit.

THE DEATH AND RETURN OF SUPERMAN is a “somewhat-mostly-accurate educational parody film” by Bryan Basham and Max Landis, the screenwriter of the recently released CHRONICLE and son of ¡THREE AMIGOS!* director John Landis. The short film is a slightly tipsy account of DC Comic’s decision to kill off, then resurrect, Superman back in 1992. There are also cameos from Mandy Moore, Elijah Wood, Chris Hardwick, Simon Pegg and a surprise guest star right at the very end. I haven’t read Superman #75. I actually don’t read comic books at all. THE DEATH AND RETURN OF SUPERMAN does a pretty good job depicting why I don’t partake in that bit of madness.

* I know John Landis did grander things, but it’s ¡THREE AMIGOS!, damn it!

I read The Day of the Triffids over the holidays this year, and I was greatly impressed by John Wyndham’s mixture of the sensible and extraordinary in his science fiction. Brian Aldiss, a contemporary of Wyndham’s, disparagingly labeled Wyndam’s novels as “cosy catastrophes.” Though this term was intended to be an insult, it does reflect the atmosphere of Wyndham’s science fiction well, as the author rightly focuses on the dynamics of a small group of people when they are suddenly transplanted into extraordinary circumstances. In Chocky, Wyndham presents the story of an ordinary British family that is concerned when their eleven-year-old son, Matthew, befriends “Chocky,” who is imaginary. Throughout the novel, Matthew’s parents become aware that Chocky is unlike their daughter’s now-passed imaginary friend Piff, a girlhood fancy that was a nuisance and little else. Instead, Chocky appears to be an alien consciousness that communicates directly to their son’s mind, more of a “possession” of Matthew rather than the result of imagination. Matthew’s parents don’t know what has happened — but they know that the physics behind a cosmic-radiation powered space craft did not originate from their son. Wyndham’s Chocky is an inventive and heartfelt depiction of science fiction, a welcome relief from the gaudy overindulgence of the much popular space operas and epics. I’m looking forward to re-reading The Chrysalids, which I have not read since I was in grade school, but remember fondly. [Book 6/50]

With First Love, Last Rites, Ian McEwan’s first published work, the author presents himself as an unbelievably gifted writer from the get-go. This collection of eight short stories wallows in unbearable solitude and the putrid conditions that this state of mind fosters. While reading McEwan, you can never be too sure of anything or anyone, not even your own reactions to his stories. There are rapists, murderers, and pedophiles — combinations of these, even — and you’re asked to despise them. The author relishes in their own depravity. But then, sometimes with just half a sentence, your loathing of legitimate monsters is flipped toward heartbreak, sympathy, and pity. First Love, Last Rites shares a lot in common with McEwan’s first novel, The Cement Garden, in terms of themes and subject matter. This pleases me greatly, as The Cement Garden is one of my favourite novels.  If you would like to read First Love, Last Rites or The Cement Garden, I’d suggest only to do so if you have a strong stomach. [Book 5/50]

BOARDWALK EMPIRE is a period drama set during the Prohibition era of 1920s/30s Atlantic City. It focuses on Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, played unsurprisingly well by Steve Buscemi, and his, shall we say, interests whether they be political (keeping himself and his allies in office, rigging elections) or illegal (bootlegging, prostitution, and murder.) This HBO production delivers with its high production value and skillfully-executed scripts, but it outdoes itself by virtue of its cast — good lord, the cast of BOARDWALK EMPIRE.

Though the show has been on television for two years, I sat down only recently to watch the first season of BOARDWALK EMPIRE. I think the tipping point was watching HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH last week and remembering how much I appreciate Michael Pitt as an actor. With one look, Pitt can come across as both wide-eyed innocent and irredeemably corrupted. How fitting for the right-hand man of Nucky, the most powerful political figure in Atlantic City. In Jimmy Darmody, the former ivy league honor student and veteran of World War I, Pitt plays a broken, sexier, more worse-for-wear version of Leonardo DiCaprio in GANGS OF NEW YORK, and I like it. Throw into the mix Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, and Michael Kenneth Williams, and by golly, I’ve purchased the first season of BOARDWALK EMPIRE.

Macdonald plays Margaret Schroeder, an Irish mother involved in the Temperance League who becomes Nucky’s mistress. Her character is demure but outspoken and resolute, a contrast which leads me to believe she is one of the strongest written female characters on television right now. Shannon is Nelson Van Alden, a Federal Prohibition agent and Protestant whose zeal to enforce the law and his faith is horribly, horribly frightening. Michael Kenneth Williams quickly became a favourite for me in his portrayal of Chalky White, a powerful leader in the black community, bootlegger, and gangster loyal to Nucky. Williams delivers a speech about his father early in the season which is easily one of the BOARDWALK EMPIRE’s most memorable scenes. I don’t want to spoil the speech for you by providing it out of context. So, here’s Michael Kenneth Williams’ speech about legos from COMMUNITY instead:

Notes: Created by Terence Winter; Starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Pitt, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Aleksa Palladino, Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza, Paz de la Huerta, Michael Kenneth Williams, Anthony Laciura, Paul Sparks, Jack Huston, Gretchen Mol, Dabney Coleman; Produced by Terence Winter, Martin Scorsese, Mark Wahlberg, Tim Van Patten, Stephen Levinson, Howard Korder, Eugene Kelly, John Flavin, Christine Chambers, Jennifer Ames, Pepper O’Brien; Edited by Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses.