I have found a new app that I am completely obsessed with. It's called Taste and it's all about movies and TV. This has proven to be dangerous for my health over the last two days because I am struggling to put it down. Seriously, this may be the most addictive thing that I have ever downloaded in my life and it's not a good thing. 
Taste presents you with a range of movies and/ or TV programs for you to endlessly scroll through. You rate them as you go if you have already seen them and you can add things that interest you to a folder to watch later. The more that you rate and like things, the more data that the app collects about what you like and the more movies and TV choices it spits out for you. In short, I have fallen down a rabbit hole and I have no idea when I will emerge. 
And on top of the constant scrolling, I have also been alerted to around 100 movies that I have both seen and really enjoyed but have failed to review because they are mostly old and I clearly forgot about their existence until Taste alerted me to the fact that I may wish to watch them. So this now means that on top of my new and unhealthy obsession I also have weeks and weeks of movie reviewing ahead of me to catch up on. Guess what I will be doing over the summer break? Getting my blog up to date and binge watching new material! Might be just as well that I can't go away because I have shit loads to do on Spicywatch now. 
However, as much as this has presented me with more work to do my blog, it is (as you all know) a true labour of love that I am not only keen to do but also very excited to undertake as well. I have so much new material to review and so many new things to watch again that have been specifically recommended based on my previous choices, it's pretty cool actually. 
I was just thinking the other day that my movie reviews have been rather scarce this year due the fact that movies haven't exactly been incredible this year  - thanks to COVID-19.  I have watched twice as much TV as movies this year which has drastically impacted on the growth of my Spicywatch genre lists, but this will change all of that by boosting my lists and adding a lot more quality content for my readers to check out.
Winning all around I think, if only I could put the damn Taste app down for more than 30 minutes then I am sure that I would get a lot more reviewing done! Anyway, here is one movie that Taste alerted me to that I had seen and missed reviewing because it was introduced to the world before Spicywatch was. I thought I'd start with this one because it seems to have an appropriate title given my recent movie list circumstances - bloody infinite! 

NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST
Release Date: 2008
Rating: M 
Running Time: 90 mins
A sweet coming of age romantic comedy directed by Peter Sollett, written by Lorene Scafaria and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. With just the right speckling of humour and drama, this romance really hit an unexpected high note for me. 
Nick (Michael Cera) is a high school student and member of the Queercore band The Jerk Offs.  He becomes involved with college bound Norah (Kat Dennings), a friend of his own bitchy ex-girlfriend Tris when she asks him to pose as her boyfriend for a few minutes in an attempt to make her own ex-boyfriend jealous. Soon the two are bonding over playlist music and inventing new ways to avoid their troubled pasts and friends. 
Hardly a revelation in script writing or unique plot lines, however in spite of all of that there is still something genuinely sweet about this film that I really enjoyed. And besides, any movie that brings people together over a mutual love of music is always going to be a winner for me. 
FINAL SAY: If anyone is getting raped in that van, it'll be a guy. 
3 Chilli Peppers ​

To find out what you're truly passionate about you should ask yourself "what would I do if I knew that I couldn't fail?" This question will allow your deepest desires to bubble to the surface. You'll be able to make a list of all of the things that you've always wanted to do but were too afraid to because you were worried that you wouldn't be good enough or successful enough to make a living out of doing them. Unfortunately for me, this list is extremely long because I usually have a deep longing to change up my profession every couple of years or so but rarely have the guts (or the means) to actually do it. 
If I knew for sure that I couldn't fail, then I am pretty sure that by now I would have:

• Fixed all of the global warming problems. 
• Written a best selling novel.
• Written travel guides for many countries that I had extensively travelled through. 
• Published an anthology of surprisingly excellent drunk poetry.
• Started up a successful yoga studio.
• Become a successful freelance photographer. 
• Solved world hunger forever. 
• Travelled the world as a meditation teacher.
• Become a professional and very respected movie reviewer with my own TV series. 
• Provided clean, sustainable drinking water for everyone in the world.
• Painted something kick arse that is hanging in a very important gallery. 
• Invented a cure for cancer, and COVID-19 as well!

I mean that all sounds do-able right? Well, okay I'll admit that a few them are a huge stretch for sure, but if you knew that you couldn't fail then why wouldn't you set your sights on the big stuff? You would. However, hidden amidst all of that God like longing, there are actually some things that I could still do if I wasn't too chicken shit to put myself out there. Writing a novel, opening a yoga studio and publishing my drunk poetry (albeit maybe not so surprisingly excellent) are all actually pretty achievable and better yet, I wouldn't necessarily have to give up my day job to achieve those dreams. 
And the truth is that you can't really fail if you are going after the life that you really want anyway. If you are putting one foot in front of the other to make your dreams and aspirations a reality, then I don't think that you could ever really be regarded as a failure. Everyone knows that the greatest disappointments in life are created when people never take any risks or put themselves out there to shoot for something that they really desire. Deep down we are terrified of arriving at retirement age wishing that we had tried a little harder or risked a little more to experience more joy and fulfilment from our lives. How does that saying go - In twenty years from now, you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones that you did do. So I think that you have to be willing to throw off the bowlines and sail away from safe harbour if that's what it takes, but remember that you don't have to just YOLO it either, you can have a strategy plan and go about it in smart ways.
Here's how I always get started on any new undertaking, goal, life choice or intention:
Analyses Your Life Decisions: Take stock and see what has led you to where you are so far. Have you always been leading your own choices or have you been influenced by others?
Determine Your Purpose: A short statement about why you wake up everyday.
Determine Your Values: What are the 5 most important things in your life. These will become your decision filter. 
Set an Intention/Goal: Consider your values and set your intentions for your future that will help bring these things into being and improve your wellbeing. 
Allocate Your Resources: Start thinking about your resources (time, money, energy) to work towards reaching your goals. You'll need to make some choices here and potentially give up something that you are currently doing. 
Track Everything: Data will help you to stay on track and make better choices.
Rinse and Repeat: It may take you many attempts to get to the right path for you. That's cool - life has a funny way of altering that path as well, so be prepared to rework, revisit and reboot  and remember to be kind to yourself along the way. 
And above all else, be strong, fight for what you want and go after your dreams. Life is too short to not take risks and do what you really want to do, so undertake your ambitions like you can't fail, no matter how crazy it might seem.

​KUNG POW! ENTER THE FIST
Release Date: 2002
Rating: M
Running Time: 81 mins 
This movie got an absolute slamming from the critics who clearly missed the fact that it is meant to be utterly bonkers and that is what makes it so damn funny! Writer-director Steve Oedekerk acquired the rights to a little known 1976 Hong Kong karate movie called "Savage Killers," then he seamlessly blended portions of the original movie with new material and dialogue to create one of the most off-the-wall and insanely silly comedies that has ever been made. 
Chosen One, a rough-around-the-edges, yet industrious martial arts master, is out to avenge his murdered family, and it is zany hilarity that ensues all the way. 
Oedekerk wrote, directed and starred in the lead role of Kung Pow! Enter the Fist  and digitally placed himself into the old movie and had all of the main character voices redubbed as well. And the result is not only clever, it is also extremely funny and I literally cry laughing every time that I watch it, and I have seen it three times now! You will either love it or hate it, I hope like me, that you will feel the Kung Pow love!  
FINAL SAY: Chosen One! Wee-ooh, wee-ooh! 
3.5 Chilli peppers

As the rural Victorian children both sheepishly and excitedly returned to onsite learning this week, in my mind I was saying a little prayer in the hope that we do not go into a third round of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions. The prospect of another term of remote and online learning makes me feel slightly nauseous and although the teachers all did a tremendous job of making it work, we can't really kid ourselves into thinking that it was the best model for learning. Tolerable but far from ideal would be my best estimation of remote learning. 
However, in the grand scheme of things Australia is fairing pretty well, with many countries around the globe succumbing to what can only be described as catastrophic COVID-19 circumstances. Even Donald Trump, for all of his bullshit and bravado has fallen ill to the virus and will hopefully now finally admit that America has a very big COVID problem. However given the fact that has been seen unmasked, posing for photographers and out and about in public when he is still considered to be contagious, well let's just say that I am not going to hold my breath. 
And so, in this most unusual climate we begin the work of attempting to find ourselves again. We try to establish a new norm and acceptance that this is now the new norm because life is going to be different and it is going to be different for an unperceivable length of time. And even when we do fully re-emerge after a vaccine has been created, the world will never be the same again because there's no denying that we have all been changed by this pandemic. We will be excited to be experiencing real freedom again, but also filled with trepidation and worry about whether anything like this could happen to us again. 
Just like our forefathers understood the worry of war, we in 2020 understand the worry of pandemic. A faceless and indiscriminate danger that can consume much of our previously joyful and carefree thinking with fear and concern. However, just like the countless brave humans that have inhabited this planet for thousands of years before us, we cannot succumb or surrender to our worry or worst case scenario fears; we must, for want of a better way to put it, keep calm and carry on. 
Basically, no amount of worry will change what we are facing now and no sleepless nights in the future will guarantee our safety in years to come, so the only reasonable thing that we can do is stay hopeful, support each other and believe that the best days are ahead of us. COVID-19 may have made the world different, but it has also highlighted just how alike we all are and how much we all need each other.
The expressions on the faces of the children as they returned to onsite learning spoke volumes to me and what I took away from our first week back at school together was how great it was to be around a lot of young and vibrant people again and share in their experiences. It really galvanized my thoughts around how much we do have to look forward to together as we find our way out of this mess. 
So here we go again, praying that this time we have reduced the number of infections enough to enjoy some civil liberties and social experiences. Hoping that conditions improve quickly for the countries who are suffering the most and knowing without a shadow of doubt that we absolutely must count our blessings on the daily and never ever take anything for granted ever again.
With a hopeful heart I say, let's give this another shot!

THE FAREWELL
Release Date: 2019
Rating: PG
Running Time: 100 mins 
​An American- Chinese drama/comedy written and directed by Lulu Wang and partly based on her own real life experiences. The Farewell delivers a beautiful and complicated family story that really touched my heart with it's intense sense of loyalty, tradition and good intentioned ideals. 
American independent writer Billi finds herself flung back into the arms of her extended family in China when her grandmother (Nai Nai) is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The family try to support the dying matriarch by not telling her about her cancer and instead create a fake family wedding in order to gather everyone together for one last celebration that will also serve many as a form of farewell. 
This script is so tender and believable; it is such a delight to watch. Awkwafina is incredible as Billi and she brings lots of humour and genuine love to her relationship with her Nai Nai, who is played perfectly by  Zhao Shuzhen. The Farewell is testament to the fact that real life stories about family traditions and ideas are not only interesting but also extremely inspiring. 
FINAL SAY: Chinese people have a saying, when people get cancer they die. It's not cancer that kills them, it's the fear. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​