"Penny Dreadful" Series 1, Episode 3, "Resurrection", Showtime

From the syrupy musical score and overwrought opening titles you see what you are getting with "Penny Dreadful". Yet this cheesiness works because of great acting (Rory Kinnear steals every scene as the ever-so articulate Creature), stylish art direction and colour design (e.g. Frankenstein's flashback to his mother's death) and engrossing plot developments (e.g. the idea of using the Grand Guignol as The Creature's home).
Alun Armstrong ("New Tricks") pops up as the kindly thespian and the Renfield-like character has some juicy scenes.
The steamy, toe-curling sex scene between Josh Harnett and Billie Piper mid episode seemed gratuitous, but what the hell, it's Showtime. All boxes have been ticked.

"Penny Dreadful" Season 1, Episode 2, Showtime/Sky

Highlights

• Billie Piper's articulate Irish prostitute (Brona Croft)  meeting Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney). The Victorian version of a sex tape.
• The Madame Kali's kick ass seance (the glorious Helen McCrory* from "Peaky Blinders"). Eva Green's tour de force with heavy duty cussing. I haven't heard the c- word used with such abandon in a costume drama.
• Egyptologist Ferdinand Lyle's (Simon Russell Beale) theatrical hair and beard. He has some great lines, too. 
• The touching scene with Dr Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) introducing "Mr Proteus" (Alex Price) to the outside world.
• The final unexpected scene. Hello Rory Kinnear (the creature). I'll miss the gentle Mr Proteus.
• So much plot (in two episodes we have had: vampires, jaded sharpshooters, wise prostitutes, debauched Dorian Gray, seances, reanimators, the ancient Book of the Dead and the threat of the apocalypse  - and they are all linked. Credit goes to creator/writer John Logan ("Skyfall")  This was the problem with NBC's "Dracula" (now cancelled), not enough plot.

* Damian Lewis's other half

Stephen King's "Joyland" book review

There is a lot to like in this retro tale of summer, spooks, 70's young love, and amusement park life. Stephen King again proves he is a master story teller. His characters are sympathetic and richly drawn. We have "Madame Fortuna"/Rozzie Gold from Brookyn, the carny mentalist; Mrs Shoplaw, the worldly landlady; Erin, the feisty coed;  Mr Easterbrook, nonagenarian owner of the park and Mike Ross, the dying child with "the sight" and yummy mummy/sharpshooter, Annie Ross. Our hero is college student, Devin Jones, who dreams of being an author much like Mr King. Devin takes a summer job in a B grade amusement park (think Jesse Eisenberg in the marvellous "Adventureland" flick from 2009, though this park is on the North Carolina coast ).  One of Jones's jobs is to "wear the fur" (dress up as the park's mascot, a giant dog). Is this a nostalgic nod to Scooby Doo (and those "meddling kids" investigating spooky carryings-on in fun parks)?
Okay, I might be pushing my luck with that one.

Amusement park/sideshow alley settings tap a rich vein for mystery, horror and the macabre (e.g. books like "Nightmare Alley", "Something Wicked This Way Comes", Koontz's "The Funhouse", films like "Freaks" and "The Seven Faces of Dr Lao").
I enjoyed the amusement park lingo used by the staff and the behind-the-scenes descriptions of the amusement park. This novel has a lot of heart, chills are secondary. A quick pleasurable read, celebrating Americana gothic and pulp fiction.
Hard Case Crime books, 2013, 283 pages
Note the retro, lurid cover.

Ten things that piss me off at the moment

Apart from Australia's destructive federal government (of course)

1. Facebook dependency and self-indulgent photos of their kids.
2. People who buy bottled water in Australia, particularly in the eastern states. Melbourne's tap water is of a high standard. It's disheartening to see empty plastic bottles dropped everywhere - ending up in stormwater drains and ultimately our waterways/oceans.
3. Wankers walking around with their coffees in disposable containers that end up in the street, bus stops, waterways. Here's an idea, you love walking around with your cups of java, well... WALK to the f*cking bin with it.
4. Parents in the supermarket who hold up a cereal, biscuit packet, etc and ask their young ones sitting or hanging off the trolley, "Would you like this?" "How about this one?" Don't pander to the kid, don't give 'em a choice for God's sake, just buy the generic/cheapest brand or the healthiest one. Too many choices, kids want/need structure in their life not more decision making.
5. Idiot parents who don't get their kids vaccinated.
6. "Maccas" ...let's face it, it's a global monolith, nothing Australian about it, call it McDonalds, don't patronise me.
7. People drop junk takeaway wrappers from their cars (see No.6).
8. People using their smartphones, who are not smart enough to walk around me when in a busy street.
9. Smokers who think their butts aren't classified as rubbish so they stub them out/drop them anywhere. Smokers in general.
10. Dog shit... the latest thing to do in my park is for owners to bag up their dog's poo, then later turf the plastic bag in the bushes. Plastic is probably more harmful to the waterways than dog crap. Go figure.

"Penny Dreadful" TV review, Season 1, Pilot, Episode 1, Showtime/Sky Not cheap, not dreadful, great gothic fun

Victorian England seems to be in fashion. This lush production promises lots of scares, gore (the first confrontation with the nest of vampires was spectacular) and camp silliness. More graphic than NBC's "Dracula", more fun than "Ripper Street" (this show doesn't take itself too seriously).
 I am reminded of the patchy but rollicking flick (2003)/graphic novel "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" with its 19th century horror characters. In this show we have vampires and Mina Harker, Dr Frankenstein and like the aforementioned film, Dorian Gray.
All the Victoriana staples are here: opium dens, Egyptologists, foggy gaslit alleyways, ritzy gentlemen's clubs, Ripper-like mayhem.
The cast is terrific: retired Bond, Timothy Dalton as the intrepid explorer; Eva Green (another Bond link) as the cool but gutsy Vanessa Ives (with the deductive powers of Sherlock Holmes) and Josh Hartnett as the troubled sharpshooter/adventurer.
Sam Mendes is the executive producer, John Logan (Skyfall), the creator/writer (two more links with James Bond).
The idea of a "demi monde" is an intriguing one.
More please. Looking forward to seeing Rory Kinnear as The Creature.
PS. the camera isn't shy with the male nudity.

Stephen King "Doctor Sleep" A return to form?

Don't you love a page-turner? This is a return to form for Stephen King, as good as his horror classics from the seventies. You don't need to have read "The Shining" to appreciate this sequel, though.
Danny Torrance, the little boy with the shining, is now in his thirties, battling alcoholism as well as his psychic powers. King's own experiences with alcoholism makes this novel stronger and more pertinent than other recent efforts. He explores near family ties, death and the plight of the elderly (obviously close to King's heart). The hospice scenes are extremely well handled. The final chapters show King in a more compassionate and contemplative vein. It was over 35 years since he wrote "The Shining".
Abra, the feisty 13 year old with mega-shining is a likeable and well drawn character. The travelling vampires (masquerading as retirees/grey nomads) who feed on children for their life force is amusing as well as terrifying.
Some of the most disturbing passages are derived from sordid real life (e.g. the soiled diaper toddler crying "Canny"). Rose, the head of the vampire clan, is a worthy adversary for Dan and Abra.
Stephen King writes: "Watch out for those Winnebagos and Bounders. You never know who might be inside. Or what."
A great curl-up-by-the-openfire book.

486 pages, hard cover, Hodder & Stoughton.

"The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" (1970) From the Video Vault

Billy Wilder's flawed masterpiece (United Artists insisted it was cut from 3+ hours down to 125 minutes) is rarely seen. It has impeccable credentials. Co-written by longtime Wilder collaborator, I.A.L. Diamond), sumptuous sets (check out the London club and the street scenes), beautiful Scottish scenery; classy Maurice Binder titles; sublime, melancholy Miklos Rozsa score; perfect English cast (Irene Handl as Mrs Hudson is priceless), Christopher Lee (who at the same time was king of Hammer Horror) as older, smarter bro Mycroft.
Critics were lukewarm when it was released in 1970, making a lot of fuss about the homosexual element (Russian ballet, first story). Now, nearly 45 years later, this film (even though only 2 or the 4 tales remain) compares favourably to recent Holmes remakes: Guy Richie's overkill and BBC's "Sherlock". The 7% solution (cocaine) reference pre-dates the 1976 film of the same name.
The witty, ingenious script has Holmes regretting his biographer's efforts in "The Strand Magazine", grumbling about having to keep up with his image, coming off second best with superspy Mycroft (compare with BBC's "Sherlock"), encountering Queen Victoria, dead dwarfs, gravedigger Stanley Holloway and going all steam punk in Loch Ness.
What about the missing sections? A flashback to Sherlock's university days, 2 more mysteries (one concerning a corpse in an upside-down room, which remains in the Laser Disc edition) and a present day scene. Tantalising, but tragically lost.

From a deleted scene, Sherlock in a fez...delicious fun
Copyright Filmclub.org

Things I like about "Da Vinci's Demons" Season 2

• Leonardo doing a credible Risario impersonation in Episode 3, complete with his signature camp sunglasses (though the wrong shape)
• The Pope's Bond-villainesque lair, atmospheric lighting, flashy art direction (all villains must have posh British accents, this is a prerequisite)
• The show soars whenever Leo brings on on of his inventions (usually inspired by nature - e.g. submarine in Episode 3 - even though a row boat at night probably would have sufficed)
• Clarice Orsini (Medici's take-no-prisoners, gutsy missus) has a beefed up role in the second series
• It never takes itself too seriously - each episode usually has some nice throw away lines (often delivered by Leo or Zoroaster).
• All that green in Episode 5, now Leo has reached South America. Don't know how he ended up in the Andes and what looks like Machu Picchu but hey, who cares? This is such enjoyable claptrap and Risario is there, too.
• This season gets nuttier each week. Episode 7 looked more like Indiana Jones, plus we had "Carry On, Constantinople"