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SPICYWATCH

Regulate

26/6/2022

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It's the winter holidays - woo hoo! Two fabulous weeks of rest, recharge and recreation! The winter break is always most welcome because the dark days of the season seem to make everything a whole lot harder and much more bleak in general. I know that I don't exactly pounce out of bed with the same level of zest and zeal in the winter as I do during other seasons of the year and there is no denying that my body is loudly crying out for more sleep ins, more pots of delicious tea, more cosy movie nights, more whiskey-in-hand soaks in the tub, more cuddle up novel time and more comfort food. And you know what I like to say when my body cries out, of course you do -I say yes! And the next two weeks should allow me ample time to answer those calls and cries in buckets.
In general I really love to regulate in winter. Regulate and pamper my nervous system in ways that set me up for the next 6 months of the year.  This is a really lovely way to self care and reset as well and it is something that I have been mindfully practising in winter ever since Covid-19 hit. Lockdowns and illness are extremely depleting and I found five simple regulation methods that proved to be so affective and healing for me. Regulating yourself during the winter months is almost like performing a personal decluttering in a way, it sweeps out the cobwebs, allows space and time for calming and reflective practises and it helps you to re-align your spirit and energies.
There are five daily regulation practises that I employ during winter and using them has never done me any harm that's for sure. However, with all things that I write about on my blog, it's a thrash or trash scenario and you can choose your own adventure here. Try one to start with and move on from there, or go nuts with it and try all five at once like I do. However you go about this, I guarantee that you will definitely enjoy and benefit from any time that you spend regulating during winter. 
​The first regulation practise that I would recommend for you to add to your current regimen is to have some active time outdoors everyday.  A short walk outside is pure medicine for the nervous system. Try to get out when the sun is high in the sky because sunshine is also pure medicine on it's own, but if you can be surrounded by nature at the same time for a little forest bathing as well, all the better! Aim to get at least 30 minutes a day - rain, hail or shine, outdoors doing something. It could be in the garden, walking, playing with your kids in the yard, riding a bike. Find something that you like to do outside and commit to doing it every day during winter. 
The second regulation practise is to make your home as zen as possible. Declutter, put out calming stimuli and imagery, buy a couple of house plants, burn candles and oils that have winter based scents like clove and cinnamon and cosy up your couches and lounges with cuddly throws, blankets and pillows. Keep the lighting and the sound levels low and gentle and find some gentle and soothing music to play in the background when you are at home. Leave out books or magazines that you want to read on comfy seating to entice you to take a break  and engage in something gentle. Leave out wool and knitting needles to remind you to knit, buy good quality tea to remind you to brew a mindful cup and put out jigsaw puzzles that you can leisurely do over time. 
The third regulation practise is what I like to call treat yourself! Do something lovely, gentle and nurturing for yourself every single day. Have a bath, give yourself (or get) a manicure or pedicure, give yourself (or get) a facial, cook a delicious healthy meal, go and have a professional massage, go to the cinema, have coffee with a friend, make cocktails, take a nap, see a live show, eat out at a favourite restaurant, go to a museum, ride the roller coaster at Luna Park - just do something everyday that makes you feel good, alive, valuable and joyful and commit to doing it and making time for yourself. 
My fourth daily regulation hack is simply contemplation. The very underrated but oh so important act of just doing nothing much but chilling out and just being you. It can be meditation, napping, listening to music with your eyes closed, watching a documentary, drawing, painting or journaling. Whatever it is, you should be sitting or lying to do it and it should be done quietly and gently. Aim for 15-30 minutes to begin with and then try to get an hour a day of this good stuff into your day. Trust me when I say that contemplation time is life changing and will bring about heightened awareness, general calmness and overall wellbeing if it is done ritually and specifically. 
And my final daily regulation practise is to get back to basics. What are the basics? Eating well, sleeping well and feeling/ being well. This includes drinking more water, getting 7 hours of good quality sleep, taking multivitamins to stave off illness, going for a health check up at the doctors, getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist, doing cardio, walking 10,000 steps a day, cutting back on junk food and alcohol, stretching, shaking things off that no longer serve you and eating healthy fats.  These things are the foundation, the absolute fundamentals of regulation and general wellbeing, and even though they all seem simple enough, they are often quite overlooked; are you sure that you are doing them all yourself?
So there you have it, five pretty simple ways to regulate your nervous system and reboot your system during the harsher, colder and darker months of winter. However, no matter what you do or don't do with your winter months, please remember always take care of yourself and try to keep warm and stay well. 
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EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Release Date: 2022
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 139 mins 

Spanning multiverses and traversing multiple genres including black comedy, fantasy, martial arts, science fiction and even animation, Everything Everywhere All At Once is a hectic and action packed viewing experience that is pretty hard to define. Written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, (collectively known as the "Daniels")  together they deliver a unique and at times insanely imaginative film that has to be seen to be truly understood. 
Evelyn, a Chinese laundromat owner that is struggling to connect with her current relationships, discovers that she alone can save the world by jumping into other existing universes and exploring the different lives that she has lived. 
This is easily the most creative and original exploration of complex and enduring relationships that I have ever experienced and for that reason, I really enjoyed it. However, it must be said that sometimes this film is overly convoluted and utterly ridiculous, but in general it just adds to the charm of the story, which is essentially all about compassion, loyalty and deeper understanding.
The cast is just terrific, especially Michelle Yeoh who masterfully demonstrates her abilities as both an excellent actress and a kick arse martial arts expert. Also, it was so enjoyable to see Ke Huy Quan on screen again, I don't think I've seen him since The Goonies and Indiana Jones days, and he is really likable as Evelyn's husband Waymond; and Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu also deserve a nod here for their fine efforts. 
Overall, this is a completely wacky ride but if you go in with an open-mind, you'll have a good time. 
FINAL SAY: I got bored one day and put everything on a bagel. 
4 Chilli Peppers 
​

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The Winter Long Weekend

13/6/2022

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The Queen's birthday long weekend could not have arrived at a more convenient time. Three days of wintery Enfield bliss was just what my flagging system needed and I spent much of the last few days bopping about in my flannelette PJ's, sipping alcoholic beverages and binge watching an absolute swag of TV and movies.  And I have to say that there has been a lot to enjoy on streaming services lately as they all seem to be scrambling over the top of each other to stream a multitude of good quality viewing opportunities. 
It is around this time every year that I like to offer my list of the best of the year so far to my faithful readers. Well, the best that I have watched anyway, I know for sure that there is a lot more out there to see than just what I put forward, but if I was recommending,  these are the TV programs and movies that I believe deserve your attention, your time and your energy so far.  So, in no particular order - 
TV SHOWS:
  • Atlanta S3 - Drama SBS
  • Our Flag Means Death - Comedy Foxtel
  • Severance - Mystery/ Sci Fi Apple+
  • EVIL S2 - Horror Stan 
  • Ozark S4 -  Crime/ Drama Netflix 
  • The Pentaverite - Comedy Netflix
  • Peacemaker - Comedy/ Super Foxtel
  • After Party - Mystery Apple+
  • This is Going to Hurt - Docuseries Foxtel 
  • Stranger Things S4 - Sci Fi Netflix 
  • The Outlaws - Comedy/ Drama Prime
  • Bloods S2 - Comedy Stan
  • The Boys S3 -  Super Prime
  • Pam and Tommy - Drama Disney
  • Love, Death and Robots S3 - Sci Fi/ Animation Netflix
  • Love on the Spectrum US - Reality Netflix
  • Cursed Films S2 - Documentary Shudder 
  • Lizzo's - Watch Out for the Big Grrrls - Reality Prime 
  • Moon Knight - Super Disney 
MOVIES:
  • The Batman - Super
  • Fresh - Thriller 
  • I Want You Back  - Rom/Com
  • The Northman - Action 
  • Nitram - Gritty 
  • Everything, Everywhere All At Once - Fantasy 
  • Hellbender - Horror 
  • ​Spiderman - No Way Home -Super 
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THE BATMAN
Release Date: 2022
Rating: M
Running Time: 176 mins

The latest offering in the DC comic world, The Batman directed by Matt Reeves plunges us back into the seedy underbelly of Gotham City in perhaps the most gothic and dark portrayal of Batman so far. It was universally praised by fans and critics alike for it performances, score and cinematography and quickly became one of the highest grossing films of 2022. 
A masked psychopath calling himself the Riddler begins a grisly killing spree across Gotham City, leaving notes for the Batman at every crime scene. Batman must try to uncover the true identity of the Riddler and put his diabolical plans to an end before more lives are lost. 
All of the original villains are back in action here with The Penguin, Cat woman and the Riddler all making an appearance and they are a far cry from their first portrayals in the Tim Burton originals. In fact the entire Batman franchise has shifted gear again; moving further into the realms of lavish noir and further from the comic book cheap thrills of its earlier days. 
Across the board the cast is fantastic, with notable efforts from Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Andy Serkis, John Turturro and Colin Farrell. Robert Pattinson has the lead role and portrays Batman with an entirely new level of broody emo that the character was missing from previous instalments. And although this is not my favourite Batman movie, I do think that Pattinson may be my favourite Batman to date. 
​Almost as good as The Dark Knight, and certainly as visually appealing, The Batman although clearly overlong, is a worthy and enjoyable superhero watch. 

FINAL SAY: Fear is a tool. When that light hits the sky, it's not just a call. It's a warning. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers 
​

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Eight, Eight... It's Perfectly Great!

4/6/2022

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Spicywatch.com celebrated its eighth birthday last Saturday evening. And how she has grown over the years from a humble dozen or so movies reviews when I first launched her in May 2014 to the massive 933 reviews that she now has under her belt. In the 8 years that Spicywatch has been on the internet I have had over 130,000 hits and on average, good old Spicywatch manages to rustle  up around 3000 readers a month.
So naturally, I had to celebrate the wonderful and joyful occasion of Spicywatch's 8th birthday and invite some movie loving family and friends around to Enfield to share in the movie chatter. 
With the perfection and infinity of the number 8 in mind, I asked my guests to share a clip that they felt was perfect in some way. 
 It could be perfect in dialogue, scene, costume, lighting, atmosphere, composition or just perfectly memorable to them and something that they go back to time and time again. 
As it has been at every Spicywatch birthday occasion, we traversed all of the genres together; laughing, crying and remembering the movie moments that have stuck with us throughout the years. 
Here is a sampling of some of the movies that made it to the viewing arena for their perfect  and memorable scenes:
  • The Fall
  • Toy Story 3
  • Everything Everywhere All at Once
  • Pan's Labyrinth 
  • Whale Rider
  • Big Fish 
  • Kill Bill 
  • The Lord of the Rings 
  • The Conjuring 2
  • ​Samsara
  • Moulin Rogue
  • Marriage Story 
  • Henry V
  • House of Flying Daggers 
  • The Lighthouse
  • Soul
  • Napoleon Dynamite
  • The Great Gatsby
  • Beautiful Creatures
  • Fantastic Mr Fox 
  • The Bourne Identity
  • Mr Bean's Disaster Movie
  • Shadow
  • Rosemary's Baby
  • Much Ado About Nothing 
  • Dancer in the Dark
  • Midsommar
  • Suicide Squad 2
  • The Great Beauty 
  • Apocalypto 
  • The Ghoulies 
Many thanks to the special people who gave up their Saturday evening and made the very cold journey out to Enfield to share the celebration of Spicywatch.com with me, your presence was a wonderful and treasured gift. Make sure that you keep on viewing because I am rounding the 1,000 review mark and we will definitely need to celebrate that when it happens! 
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EIGHTH GRADE
Release Date: 2018
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 94 mins

Written and directed by stand up comedian Bo Burnham, this coming-of-age tale had me squirming in my seat with it's accurate and embarrassingly memorable recount of early adolescence and teenage awkwardness. 
Kayla Day is completing her final week of eighth grade and preparing to enter high school. Shy and socially awkward, Kayla spends her free time making motivational videos on YouTube that get little to no views. Between navigating social media, school cliques, crushes and her clingy single father, Kayla is just trying to do her best to stay optimistic. 
This movie feels so genuine and real, the character of Kayla (played perfectly by Elsie Fisher) offers an accurate and unpolished version of early teenage awkwardness that was so desperately missing from the coming-of-age genre and it is delivered in such a fresh and plausible way. 
Although completely different in so many ways to my own adolescent experiences, there were still moments when I recognised the awkward longings and difficulties of Kayla as I watched; proving that teenagers are still just teenagers and that growing pains haven't changed all that much in 30 years. 
FINAL SAY: Growing up can be a little bit scary and weird. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers 
​

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    Author

    Hi, my name is Barb.
    I crave excellent, high quality viewing experiences. 
    ​Share in my addiction. 

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