The best bits of "Penny Dreadful" Season 2

So pleased that the second series has maintained the standard of the first. Just as beautifully produced, acted and scripted. It's witty, gory, sexy and .... bonkers, of course.

Episode 2:

• It's great to see Simon Russell Beale is back as campy Professor Lyle (love the hair), funny scene with him flirting with Ethan (Josh Hartnett). 
• Any scene with Evelyn (Helen McCrory, Damian Lewis's partner, by the by) classifies as a "best bit". Nasty baby sacrifice scene (those creepy mannequins).
• Dorian Gray's (Reeve Carney) encounter with the (well-endowed) ladyboy (my wife nearly dropped her cuppa).
• Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) scenes with newly reanimated Brona (Billie Piper) and The Creature - tender, caring, perceptive (very different from Universal's version in the 30's and 40's).

Episode 3:

The entire episode. The back story of Vanessa on the moors was flawless. Three superb actors chewing up the scenery - the cursed Vanessa (Eva Green), the good witch, Joan Clayton (Patti LuPone - who coincidentally guest starred in another witch opus - "American Horror Story: Coven") and bad witch (Helen McCrory - culling cattle, flouncing around in shoulder pads and showing the lord of the manor who's boss).

Episode 4:

• The opulent art direction - street carousels, the Gossima Parlour, the coven's skulls-encrusted walls.
• Frankenstein's "bride" is resembling "Pygmalion". Liked the good doctor's "I'm good at stitching" line
• The slow build-up to the attack of the nightcomers - the careful preparation of supper, cutting the butter cake, filling the urn.

Episode 5:

• The tender scenes with Vanessa and The Creature reciting poetry and dancing.
• The last 10 minutes was a bonk-fest, with something for everyone - gay gorn, grey porn (Sir Malcolm/Timothy Dalton), even Dr Frankenstein gets his leg over. Poor Prof Lyle misses out.

Episode 6:

• The ballroom blood-shower scene (shades of "Carrie"). Stunning.
• Special mention to the use of extras in the London street scenes. Season 2's budget must be considerably more than the first season.

Episode 7:

• Vanessa telling Ethan in her deliciously croaky voice, "We are dangerous".

Episode 8:

• Evelyn's line to the professor: "You taste like a fat, little man".
• We finally get to see Dorian Gray's hidden picture, not as scary as the 1945 movie version, though.
• The "Bride"/Brona's ball-busting "thee and me" monologue to the hapless Creature.

Episode 9:

• There's a nifty fight scene in Vanessa's rural retreat about 5 minutes in.
• Brona goes all Mike Tyson with Dorian in the ballroom.

Epiode 10 (season final)

• The prof's line, "Never underestimate the power of a queen with lovely hair, dear."
• Blood-soaked ballroon in Chez Gray, #2. The white gown/suits design was a masterstroke. "Shall we murder him?" crows Brona.
• The nautical farewell to three characters. The Creature's Arctic voyage true to Shelley's novel.
• Did the police inspector refer to Ethan as "Mr Talbot" (or am I too immersed in Universal's "The Wolfman"?)

The best street in Kuta-Legian?

Jalan Lebak Bene leading into Jalan Bene Sari (between Jalan Melasti and Poppies Lane 2) is full of cheap and cheerful bars, warungs, cafes, massage salons (starting at 45000 rupiah for full body 1 hour) and accommodation. It's narrow and full of colourful street art.

Recommended cheap eateries for Balinese food and cheap beer:

• Warung Kampung (new kid on the block)  Off Jalan Melasti. Down first lane after Pullman Hotel (Gang Intan) well signposted. Limited but delicious Indonesian menu. Eat like a king. 4 dishes for under $10 Australia (including 15% tip) e.g. Nasi Goreng $A 1.80
• Legian Snacks (Jalan Padma Utara, behind Padma Resort)
• Gong Corner (near Kuta Town Houses) Best Gado Gado in town 12000 rupiah, goes down well with large Bali Hai beer 28000, Big American breakfast 30000 rupiah (A$3)

Best value massage: 

Green Beauty Salon, full body massage 1 hour 60 000 IDR - "Mardi" (she's the best masseuse, in my opinion) can be flexible with the price if business is slow. 

Location: off Jalan Lebak Bene (10 metres down Senen Lane, No 3). Nearest hotels: Pullman, Hotel Puri Tanah Lot, Senen Beach Inn.

Tip: Want the best (budget, not 5 star hotel) Balinese massage? Get an older woman or a guy - stronger and more proficient). At around 55 000 IDR an hour, this is too good to be true.

Does Bali have the best body surfing? How long can you travel? And a word about Bali dogs...

I have body surfed (over a 35 year period) the east and west coast of Australia, Mexico, South Africa but the waves in Kuta Beach, Bali, take some beating. Why else have tourists been flocking there since the 60's?

Legian Beach

On a good day you can travel 50 metres on a wave (sometimes one wave piggy-backs another for extra distance). You body surf until you:
(a) eat sand because you have reached the shallows;
(b) run out of breath;
(c) both.

Go where the surf schools go. These little waves are great for beginners and have maximum distance. Just watch you don't get too close when you body surf.
Legian is also good. I am writing this mid April, the end of the wet season. Seminyak body surfing okay but I can't go as far.

Tips (these might be obvious)

• Wait until the wave is about to break.
• Launch yourself by swimming strongly (freestyle) in front of the wave.
• Streamline your body (hands one on top of the other, fingers together, feet overlapping together, tuck your head under your arms, suck your gut in if you have a bit of 'middle age spread').
• Keep your head DOWN.
• I don't use fins, that's cheatin'
• Wear trunk style bathers, a zip is good for room key, etc. Speedos, second preference. Board shorts take too long to dry and can slow you down in the water.

A word about beach dogs
It is amazing the number of dogs on Bali beaches.  I didn't see so many last year. Legian has packs of stray dogs roaming from dawn 'til dusk. There are also a great dogs with owners (locals and ex pats), walking, playing with balls and paddling in the surf. Labradors are popular. 

The cheap bastard's guide to cycling. Cycling on the cheap

Unlike the MAMILS (middle age men in lycra) who fly past me, I cycle on a shoestring.

• Bike $50 (garage sale)
• Backpack (freebie)
• Helmet ($20)
• Media player/e-reader ($19 at K-Mart). Stored in old pencil case, elegantly worn around my neck. I might look like a dick, but it's convenient.
• Lights, front and rear ($8 K-Mart)
• Clothing  Summer: shorts and tee shirt/ Winter: trackie dacks, in case of rain: plastic poncho (freebie from long past Teachers' Union Stop Work rally)

Things I liked about "Bates Motel" Season 3

• Norma's mugging of the camera - extended reaction times/frozen expressions (usually after one of Norman's revelations/confessions).
• Norman's facial expressions are getting creepier (Highmore is metamorphosing into Tony Perkins episode by episode).
• It ALWAYS rains in White Pine Bay - adds to its gothic charm 
• The nutty/evil hippy/psycho (Dylan's dad's neighbour in Episode 2)
• It's much better (and funnier) than Season 2 (e.g. the wifi password at the motel is MOTHER)
• The moody Bernard Herrmann-inspired musical score (particularly effective during Norman's interview with the sheriff in Episode 3).
• Emma in her VW/ganja-mobile to the strains of The Specials' "A Message to you, Rudy".
• Norman in another creepy bathroom scene (towards the end of Episode 3).
• The family dynamics are deeper in this season (e.g. Norman's resentment/jealousy of Dylan in Episode 4).
• The script writers have beefed up Olivia Cooke's character, Emma. She  is sexier and gutsier in Season 3. It's funny that both Cooke and Highmore are English.
• Episode 5 was the strongest ep since early in Season 1. Norman sniffing mom's dress, Norma's rant about White Pine Bay about 2/3 into the episode. More please.
• Norman being mom making French toast for Dylan in Episode 6 (the best eps so far seem to be written by series co-creator, Kerry Ehrin)
• A tender scene with Dylan and Emma: "Sorry I got phlegm on the floor."
• Episode 7: Norman's chat with the psychologist in the basement. Probably not a great idea to conclude the session by strangling the therapist.
• The way Norman (Freddie Highmore) breathes heavier as he gets more unhinged.
• The view from Dylan's shack, across the water to mist-shrouded mountains - reminiscent of New Zealand's "Top of the Lake".
• The season finale was disappointing except for the inspired final few minutes: Bradley's murder, "Mother, what have you done!", the slowly submerging car (a nod to "Psycho" where Norman pushes Marion Crane's car into the swamp).

"Bates Motel" Season 3, Episode 1, "A death in the family", review

After the disappointing, all-over-the-shop second season, I vowed not to watch another season of "Bates Motel". The producers (also wrote the first episode of Season 3) have stated they wanted more focus on "Psycho" and less on the town's business this time around.
I was pleasantly surprised, although Dylan is still a sad sack (perhaps because it never stops raining in Oregon, well, British Columbia actually).
Highlights:
Norma's weird reaction to hearing of her mum's death; a Stephen King-like cafeteria scene; Norman's first shower scene and the intriguing final scene with Norman nonchalantly getting out of the escort's Porsche.
The two leads make this show a cut above the usual cable-fodder. Highmore's creepy, quizzical smile is worth 43 minutes of your time.
I think the producers may have given the show a much needed shot in the arm.

The Babadook - a horror gem from Australia

Life is not a bowl of cherries for Amelia (Essie Davis from "The Slap" and "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries").
Apart from the fact she is living in Adelaide, she pines for her dead husband, lives in a dilapidated house (that looks like it was decorated by Morticia Addams), has a disturbed six year old, has to contend with a snobby sister, and by day she works in a dementia care facility.
She lives in a dreamlike state, obsessed with her late partner, her weird child and her quest for sleep. Dreams turn to nightmares when she 'finds' the picture storybook, "The Babadook". This cheery little read would make Edward Gorey blanch. Think German expressionism meets Salem Lot's Kurt Barlow. This is the pop-up book you read at your peril.
Pros
Knockout performance from Essie Davis, clever art direction (those greys and drab blues dominate Amelia's house), fun collection of old movie clips during Amelia's sleep-deprived TV time (e.g. Bava's "Black Sabbath", film noir "The Strange Case of Martha Ives"), polished direction by Jennifer Kent, its economic length (under 90 minutes).
Cons
The final 15 minutes, while effective, resorts to some horror cliches/special effects. Oskar's baddie-busting gadgets were a bit "Home Alone".

Questions (contains spoilers)
Amelia was a writer years earlier (so did she write the book?). Why all the blank pages at the back of the book? Perhaps she should have written a happy ending to solve her problem.
Her husband's memories were kept in the cellar, as was the Babadook.
Why worms? Perhaps cockroaches, they certainly were more plentiful.
Amelia was deranged and still is (but containable, like our black cloaked friend)
The son became more normal as Amelia became more screwy.

How to survive White Night Feb 21-22, 2015 Melbourne, Australia

Forum Theatre, Alice in Wonderland theme

1. Take public transport (the trains run all night).
2. Avoid the crush, arrive late (we took the 3 a.m. train so we had several hours of sleep beforehand and took the 5:30 train home, for a sunrise snooze). The crowds had died down considerably.
3. Take the dog (he got his morning walk a bit earlier than usual)
4. Take a water bottle.
5. Cycle in, if you live inner city. Bike racks everywhere.
   
   
   
   

   

   Flinders Street Station 5 a.m. - less crowds

   
   

   

   Hamer Hall meets "Mars Attacks!"

   
   
   

   

   State Library 4 a.m.