Stephen King's Elevation - review - Return to Castle Rock

 Small book, big ideas.

Stephen King has been writing for nearly 50 years. His work is more diverse and intriguing than ever. This little tale set in fictional Castle Rock, Maine, covers lots of ground: morality, prejudice, acceptance, community and the hereafter. It's pleasing to see this septuagenarian still heralds his liberal views.
King doesn't bother to try to explain Scott Carey's weird weight loss condition, it's not the point of the novella. A mundane incident (a neighbour's dog defecating on Scott's front lawn) turns into a poignant finale. The folksy illustrations are a delight.

The best bits of "Picnic at Hanging Rock" miniseries (2018)

1. Werribee Park ('Appleyard College') is the undoubted star of the show. The buildings are part of a museum and hotel (Werribee Mansion and Spa), 35 km from Melbourne.  Honourable mention: Ripponlea ('Lakeview House') in Elsternwick (an inner Melbourne suburb).
2. Cinematography (although I think they ODed on the fog machine).
3. Natalie Dormer is incredibly watchable, a much younger (but with more demons) Mrs Appleyard (played by Rachel Roberts in the 1975 film). Loved the mini-sunglasses.
4. Yael Stone (Lorna Morello in "Orange is the New Black") - unrecognisable as the sycophantic Dora Lumley).
5. Inez Curro (the orphan Sara) - a breakout performance -  that deadly stare!

This miniseries has received mixed reviews. The action is drawn-out and repetitive. Probably 4 episodes would have been sufficient.

"Chicago" A new novel by David Mamet (2018)

I nearly gave up - the first 40 odd pages are interminable Mamet-babble. However, verbal virtuosity becomes more meaty story-telling by Chapter 5. Chicago in the mid 1920's - the bustling newsroom of the Chicago Tribune, florists, funerals, gun-running, speakeasies, bordellos and nightclubs - is evocatively captured. Mamet co-wrote the screenplay for De Palma's "The Untouchables".

Mike Hodge is the guilt-ridden, Great War-obsessed central character; Parlow, the cynical friend and fellow-reporter. Peekaboo is the wise madam and confidante to Mike. There is a fascinating account of aviator Bessie Colman. Colourful minor characters - con artists, burglars, police officers - give the story more substance.
About two-thirds in, it loses pace again.
If you are expecting mob violence and gangland machinations a la "Boardwalk Empire", you will be sorely disappointed. Much like the New York reporter's long-winded anecdote about adultery and a hunting rifle - the resolution, when it finally comes, is a bit of a fizzer.
Though interesting, I was perplexed by the insertion of a lengthy anecdote concerning Darrow and the Leopold & Loeb court case in the final chapter.

"The Terror" AMC Episode 10, final episode - series review

The North West Passage

This ambitious undertaking is definitely worth nearly 10 hours of your time. A slow burn in parts, the production was more BBC than AMC.
More a historical drama and a tale of conflicting (and conflicted) characters facing unbearable hardship than a horror epic. One critic has said it's "Alien" in the Arctic - referring to Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi. (Scott was one of the executive producers, along with Dan Simmons, author of the 2007 novel).
While there are some genuinely horrific scenes - the diver's visions while inspecting the hull in Episode 1, the creature's attack on Blanky in Episode 5, Hickey's cannibalism, the frozen heads on the ice, the Tuunbaq's final confrontation in Episode 10 - it's the setting (computer generated or not) and the quality of the acting that makes you stick with this mini-series.
Jared Harris (so good as King George VI in "The Crown") is riveting as Crozier, Captain of "The Terror". Richard Harris is his dad, by the way.
The bleak rocky expanse was actually Pag (an island in Croatia).
The final mystical scene, with Crozier's heroic pose on the ice, was a totally satisfying way concluding the series.

White Night, Melbourne 2018

More consistent than previous years. No 'dead areas'. More performers. Excellent crowd control. 

Tip to avoid the crowds and the queuing: 

Arrive in the early hours of the morning. Trains and trams run all night. 

We arrived at 3:40 a.m. (from Parliament Station - closest to Exhibition Building) then headed south on Swanston Street, finishing at N.G.V. and Alexandra Gardens, leaving on 7:00 a.m. train from Flinders Street.

Town Hall, with opera performance from balcony

National Gallery of Victoria

"The Secret Life of Books" projections inside Reading Room, State Library

Retro projections, Forum Theatre

State Library