Being an avid and addicted movie goer has also made me extremely hungry for great original stories. Unfortunately, the more books that you read and the more movies and television that you consume, the more that you will often feel that finding new, fresh and interesting stories becomes harder and harder. And quite honestly, it does. It just does, it gets harder and harder all of the time to find original, quality viewing. And there is so much crap to wade through in your pursuit of quality that it can become really laborious trying to find that next great thing. And it isn't just cinema addicts like me that are desperately thirsting for great new material, just about everyone does and there are a few main reasons that this happens. 
Firstly, stories activate parts of the brain that allow a receiver to turn parts of the story in to their own ideas and experiences, this is called neural coupling. It doesn't mean that you'll have delusions and believe that some sci-fi story actually happened to you, but it does expand your neural activity to form empathy pathways or understandings around the storytelling material that didn't exist before, which can make people more emotionally evolved and intelligent. Some listeners or viewers will even be able to mirror emotions and experiences and this can also create new pathways in brain activity, which is of course highly stimulating. 
Secondly, the brain releases dopamine into your system when you experience an emotionally charged event, even if you just witness it. The effect of viewing material that elicits an emotional response within you can be just as powerful as a real life experience and that dopamine release is highly addictive, which is why your brain will want to repeat the experience, hence the desire to find original and varied viewing experiences.
And lastly, when you are processing new ideas or facts, two main areas of your brain are activated, the Broca's and the Wernicke's areas. The Broca's area links to your speech, language and understanding of movement. The Wernicke's region of the brain is where your comprehension and understanding of language usage comes from. Those two parts of your brain light up like a Christmas tree when you see or hear something new, forming new pathways, expanding your vocabulary and strengthening your understanding of the world. 
Pretty clear to see why we all long to find the next new thing isn't it? Our brains and bodies are actually addicted to it. We all long for more stimulation, and for me that comes in the form of something fresh and original. It can be a TV program, a podcast or a book, but my ultimate passion  and deepest longing will always be for a movie that ignites my senses. 
And in my search for cinematic gold, I have a few handy tricks up my sleeve which may also help you to locate more quality and compatible viewing materials easily in the future. 

1. Before you watch anything, check the reviews IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. Anything that gets less than 70% or 7 out of 10 is probably going to be a waste of your precious time and more than likely unoriginal, so don't bother. 
2. Find an online reviewer that you agree with 70% of the time. It could be a YouTuber or a blogger - Spicywatch is an excellent reviewer (LOL), but find someone that you know has similar and consistent taste with you. For me that person is Chris Stuckmann on YouTube. 
3. Download the taste app, it will give you movie and TV recommendations based on the things that you have previously loved and it will also tell you where you can stream them, this app is a godsend for me. (Try the Goodreads app if you are looking for new reading material - it works in the same way).
4. Don't get sucked in by the feature films that appear when you go on to your streaming services. Just because a streaming service has been promoting something heavily that doesn't necessarily make it good or high quality, try not to be taken in by the flashy shorts and previews, learn to be discerning. 
5. Read reputable movie and TV magazines like Empire, Total Film or Film Comment to stay ahead of what is coming out. This will help you to keep your eye out for things that you are interested in and that are worthy of your time. 
6. Watch movie previews on IMDb and scan lists like 'best movies of 2019' to make sure that you haven't missed anything amazing. 
7. Keep a list of movies that you want to see somewhere so that you can refer back to it when you need something good to watch.
8. Record recommendations straight onto your phone as soon as you get them so that you don't forget the name of something that someone told you was excellent. 
9. Don't be afraid to watch old or classic material. Some of the best things you'll ever watch or read will not be found on the new release list. 
10. Share your amazing viewings with others, because as I said, we all hunger for quality storytelling. 

CITIZEN KANE
Release Date: 1941
Rating: PG
Running Time: 119 mins 
Cited by more directors than you can poke a stick at as one of their 'all time favourite' movies, Citizen Kane has been inspiring filmmakers and intriguing audiences for decades with it's mysterious plot line and noir film styling. Directed and written by, as well as starring in the lead role, Orson Welles who absolutely shines before and behind the camera in this masterpiece of classic cinema. 
Publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane's extraordinary, unusual and turbulent life becomes a source of great fascination after he passes away. A journalist is sent to investigate Kane's perplexing final utterance as he lay on his deathbed through a series of interviews and speculations from the people that were closest to him in life.  
This film is not only visually well ahead of it's time, it also sparks great debate and discussion, which is probably why so many schools still choose to study it in media and art. It's deeply esoteric and totally ambitious, but it delivers in all respects and will always be a movie that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. 
FINAL SAY: Rosebud.
4.5 Chilli Peppers ​

We all know that 2020 has been a rather tepid year when it comes to blockbuster movies, and for good reason. Who in their right mind would want to launch their huge box office smash hit movie when every cinema in the world is closed due to coronavirus restrictions? Clearly the smart thing to do is to just  hold off until everything returns to normal, and a lot of big budget film makers that are fortunate enough to have the equity to do that have done that. However, a lot of other smaller or independent film makers have been forced to sell the rights to their movies to streaming services in order to pay the bills - so to speak. What this has meant for us as viewers is access to a large number of sleeper hits that we have been able to watch in our own homes. 
So what is a sleeper hit? In the entertainment industry a sleeper hit is any movie, TV series, music release or video game that is usually not very successful upon first release and then gains momentum and becomes a huge success down the track. Sleeper hits often have little promotion or lack a successful launch (this often happens with films that go directly to streaming) but then they builds a reputation through critic reviews and attention which increases their overall exposure. Eventually the unknown form of entertainment becomes very popular because it has gained outside attention for being very good, original or controversial.
Some great examples of past sleeper hit movies that started out small and then deservingly gained a large following are:

• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - International/ Action
• Slumdog Millionaire - Romance/ Drama
•  Juno - Drama
• Saw - Horror 
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Comedy/ Romance 
• Napoleon Dynamite - Comedy 
• Paranormal Activity - Horror 
• The Greatest Showman - Musical 

For someone like me who goes to the movies to see pretty much everything, being able to access high quality new release cinema at home has been an appreciated and well utilised privilege, and I have to say that I have seen some excellent movies through my streaming services this year that I definitely would have gone to the cinema and paid good money to have seen if coronavirus restrictions weren't in place.
And so without further ado, here is my list of the top ten movies that have streamed this year that I would not only recommend but also regard as 2020 sleeper hits that are definitely worthy of your time and attention:

1. #Alive - International/ Horror (Netflix) 
2. Enola Holmes - Crime/ Action (Netflix) 
3. Black is King - Music (Disney) 
4. His House - Horror (Netflix) 
5. Relic - Horror (Stan) 
6. Da 5 Bloods - War (Netflix) 
7. The Willoughbys - Kids (Netflix) 
8. The Platform - International/ Thriller (Netflix) 
9. Swallow - Thriller (Stan) 
10. Palm Springs - Romance (Prime) 

What do you know about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? After recently viewing the film His House  on Netflix (a movie that is clearly focused on the topic of PTSD) I decided that I needed to delve a little deeper and really flesh out my understanding of this truly crippling mental health condition. 
By definition, PTSD arises when a person fails to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event. Clearly what people can perceive as terrifying varies greatly so triggers can vary greatly as well. And the length of time for a sufferers symptoms can vary hugely as well, with some lasting for weeks and others months or even years after an event. People diagnosed with PTSD will suffer from crippling emotional and physical reactions to memories of their trauma. These can occur in flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance of triggering situations, heightened reactivity to stimuli or external anxieties and they can occur without warning or can present in a predictive pattern. 
People that have been diagnosed can have a vast range of traumas, however most commonly PTSD is triggered by events around serious accidents, physical or sexual assault, war or torture and disasters such as bushfire or flood. And it is really important to acknowledge that witnessing these events can also trigger PTSD and many sufferers have been bystanders to the afflictions of others and had massive PTSD fallout because of that. 
Sufferers of PTSD usually experience four main types of difficulties:
Re-living the traumatic event: The person will relive or replay the event through unwanted memories or recall. They can be awake or asleep and they will experience intense and crippling emotional and physical reactions to these thoughts such as sweating, heart palpitations or panic attacks. 
Being overtly wound up: A person with PTSD will be very unsettled. They may have trouble sleeping, feel irritable and/or lack concentration. They may have eating difficulties, become easily startled and be constantly on the lookout for danger. 
Avoiding reminders of the event: A PTSD sufferer will deliberately avoid activities, places, people, thoughts or feelings associated with the event because they bring back painful memories or feelings associated with guilt and shame. 
Feeling emotionally numb: The person loses interest in day-to-day activities. They will feel cut off and detached from family and friends and will feel emotionally flat and hopeless. To others, they will appear depressed and distant.
It is actually not uncommon for people suffering from PTSD to experience other mental health problems at the same time which may have developed in direct response to their traumatic event. These additional problems most commonly are depression, anxiety and alcohol or drug abuse. 
Anyone can suffer from PTSD following a traumatic event, however people are at a greater risk if the event involved deliberate harm such as physical or sexual assault or if they have suffered repeated traumatic experiences such as childhood abuse or living in a war zone. Pretty much any ongoing trauma or stressful event can constitute an episode of PTSD especially if there was an absence of social support at the time of the event.
Current statistics estimate that in Australia we have a very high occurrence of PTSD. We are actually one of the the top 5 countries in the world for PTSD with around 12% of  the population suffering from some form of PTSD in their lifetimes, which will more than likely be linked to a serous accident. Women are also twice as likely to suffer from this disorder than men and this may be linked to the fact that women are also more likely to suffer sexual assault than men, however it is also important to recognise that PTSD symptoms do not always show up immediately after a traumatic event. Some victims have shown symptoms up to two years after a traumatic event with their symptoms only surfacing after another event triggers their stress reaction. 
It is also interesting to note that recent studies have shown that people living in first world countries are more likely to suffer from PTSD than people living in third world countries. It seems paradoxical, but it appears that PTSD is linked to something that violates your expectations. If you live in a part of the world that is basically safe and then something happens to turn those ideas around then it is harder to get over and your trauma will be deeper. 
The good new is that help is readily available to suffers of PTSD and a visit to a local GP will certainly get the ball rolling on effective treatment and support. The three main types of therapy that are used to support sufferers are:

1. Psychological treatments (talk therapy)  -  eg. trauma focused cognitive behavioural therapy, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing. 
2. Physical treatments (medications) - eg. antidepressants such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors. 
3. Self Help therapy - eg. mindfulness, relaxation therapy and exercise.

And there is really positive evidence to support that a combination of these three therapies is very effective at managing PTSD and thousands of sufferers have been able to to claim back their lives and manage their stress disorder by employing these methods. 
If you suspect that you or anyone around you is suffering from PTSD  I recommend that you start by checking out the Phoenix Australia website. Phoenix is the centre for posttraumatic mental health in Australia and they are dedicated to reducing the levels of trauma in sufferers by building capabilities within individuals and communities to enhance understanding, prevention and recovery processes. They have put together some incredibly useful resources, online toolkits and support materials for sufferers and it is a great place to start if you are seeking more information or help around the topic of PTSD. 

HIS HOUSE 
Release Date: 2020
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 93 mins 
A psychological thriller/ horror written and directed by Remi Weekes and adapted from a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables. This thought provoking film was released on Netflix in October 2020 and it delivers enough creepy atmosphere and contemplation to appease any horror loving audience.
Bol and Rial are recent British refugees from South Sudan. They are placed into a run down government housing estate where they attempt to assimilate, but the trauma of their lives in South Sudan and the loss of their daughter haunts them and life becomes a constant battle. 
This film is clearly an allegory to victims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and it is delivered in an eerie, unique and claustrophobic manner that felt reminiscent of other clever psychological thrillers like The Babadook. 
The acting here is rock solid with Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dirisu both delivering plausible and emotional portrayals of a couple desperately trying to manage their trauma. The storyline is scary and also deeply intriguing, and by the end of it all I felt quite moved and affected; this film really does leave you thinking. 
FINAL SAY: Your ghosts follow you. They never leave.
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

The human mind is an incredible thing, it can be used to create, manifest and do truly great  and wonderful things, however it can also be a powerful weapon of self destruction if we allow ourselves to believe every stupid thought that our minds may entertain. Sometimes my mind is a total asshole to me, there is really no other way that I can put it. It says horrible things to me about my worth, my potential and my usefulness in the world and it can fill me with deeply unreasonable amounts of dread about things that may never actually even come into being. But why does it do this? And are there ways to shut down or reprogram our minds so that it will stop sabotaging our thoughts with negative and harmful bullshit?  
For a start, our mind actually really likes to default to destructive or damaging thoughts for one main reason and that's because it is easy. Often we are actually just going over very old thought pathways that we have established in our brains, and our mind likes to use these well worn pathways because they are easy to access. Try to think of your thoughts and mind processes like a road. When you drive your car, given the choice, you will always take it down the sealed road, the road that you know leads to somewhere. You don't just divert across a field and hope for the best, it could be dangerous, you could ruin your car or you could end up anywhere!
Our brains like that same level of reliability as well, and it will divert your thoughts down pathways that have already been established in your mind because it believes that they are safe. You've had those thoughts before and you've been fine, so it is perfectly fine and sensible to keep using that pathway. Unfortunately, our minds don't always realises that the pathways that they are driving your thoughts down are sometimes very destructive, negative and not at all steering you in the right direction. And in order to change this, yep you guessed it, you have to be willing to drive off course and create a new pathway; and for most of us that is scary and also pretty damn difficult to do. 
On the bright side, it's never too late to retrain your brain and create new pathways of thought within both your subconscious and conscious thinking. Firstly, you have to really start to pay attention to what you are allowing your mind to perceive as the truth about who you are and what you really want out of life. You have to get really adept at identifying when you are lying to yourself and this means getting honest. It may mean that you will need to deal with an old hurt or let go of a certain belief that you have had about who you are that just isn't true. At this point it should be noted that if your mind is telling you that you are a failure on any level, then you will be a failure because whatever you allow yourself to think and believe and about who you are, actually becomes your reality. 
The old 'fake it until you make it' method does actually hold quite a bit of water. Studies have shown that when people focus on their abundance and success rather than their deficits, then they generally do experience more abundance, success and positivity. So if you can create new pathways in your mind that support and nurture your self image exactly as you would like to be, then you are far more likely to achieve the success of actually becoming that ideal. Your mind is always either setting you up to fail or succeed, and it all comes down to the way that you perceive your reality. 
So what's the secret? How do you make this happen? Well, from everything that I have researched on the topic, from scientists to new age gurus, the way to manage your mind in more positive ways is to create positive new roads for your thoughts to travel on and to make any old negative roads inaccessible. Through observation, patience, self kindness, meditation and open mindset practises, you can literally reprogram your thoughts and find more peace, harmony and motivation in your life. However, it's not just like a click of your fingers or reaching over to flick off a light switch, and most reprograming therapy takes around a year to master.
However, once you come to understand that the lies that we tell ourselves are actually our greatest source of suffering, then a year of work to create healthier, better and more wholesome thoughts about yourself doesn't really seem like that much effort, especially when you are gifting yourself with something as good as self positivity, self assurance and success. Ask yourself today, how do I perceive myself? Does it align with how I want to be perceived? Are your thoughts about yourself self-limiting or empowering?
We get the behaviour that we accept, and our minds are no different. Our mind will happily play out unnecessary, unpleasant, outdated or even destructive thoughts about us if we let it. So I suppose what I am saying to you is that if like me you are not happy with what your mind is sometimes saying to you about yourself, than perhaps you need to start working to create new roads in your thought patterns. Maybe it's finally time to change your mind once and for all about who you are and what you want. No-one will or can do this for you, you must do it for yourself. 
If you are serious about change then I suggest that you start by reading some articles online about brain and mind retraining and abundant thinking. There are a number of free programs that you can undertake to assist you in getting started and there are also a lot of free thought retraining exercises on YouTube that will stimulate your ability to create new pathways and unlock more positive thought processes about yourself. I will warn you that it's a bit of a rabbit hole with a mixture of approaches from professionals, scientists, holistic teachers and  religious leaders on the subject, but the basic message is pretty much always the same - Stop believing the lies that you tell yourself about who you are and start believing in your own ability and abundance. And that's really about as simple as it is. 

THE WAY, WAY BACK
Release Date: 2013
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 104 mins 
A deeply satisfying coming of age drama/comedy written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash in their directorial debuts. With a fabulous cast of Hollywood heavy weights and a sharp, heartfelt script The Way, Way Back is a definite pleaser with its great mix of self discovery, relatable teenage curiosity and a kick arse soundtrack. 
Fourteen year old Duncan is not looking forward to spending his summer vacation at a beach house in Massachusetts with his mum, her douche-bag boyfriend and his stuck up daughter Steph. However, an attractive teenage neighbour called Susanna and a summer job at the local water park provide Duncan with not only suitable distractions but also a lot of new experiences and insight. 
The interactions in this film felt really genuine and believable to me. In particular I really loved the character Owen, played perfectly by Sam Rockwell and I was really pleased with the wholesome bromance that developed over the summer between he and Duncan.
Notable performances from Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Maya Rudolph and Allison Janney also help greatly to sweeten the deal. 
FINAL SAY: I'm sorry. I'm developmentally challenged. Like bad. 
​3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

Last night, on a most auspicious blue moon, we all celebrated Halloween at Enfield. This involved much feasting on various candy, pumpkin soup, pulled pork and slaw Vietnamese rolls and cinnamon scrolls which left us all in a food coma by 11pm. And although the Trick or Treaters were thin on the ground this year due to COVID-19, we still managed to carve out four incredibly good looking jack-o-lanterns, make some candy apples and watch a decent serve of horror material. All round a pretty successful Halloween celebration in my mind. 
However, I have to say that there is nothing that I could stream on any channel that would compare to the real life horrors that I have been hearing about over the past few weeks. As I had feared, as the restrictions of COVID-19 begin to ease, more and more crazies are starting to emerge from the wood work. Women that I personally know have been stalked, harassed, followed, abused and in more than a couple of incidents cheated on by their long term partners. One woman I know even found out that her partner had been stalking another woman! What the fuck is going on here?
The consequences of this have obviously made these poor women feel extremely violated, unsafe, emotional and deeply insecure. I can't even express how genuinely horrified I am by the frequency that I am hearing these kinds of difficult and dreadful tales. I am now more than ever also seriously concerned that this type of thing is a sign that more of the same is to come.
Is it fair to pin all of this on the COVID-19 restrictions? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps these motivations and perversions have always existed within these individuals and isolation has just amplified the strange and depraved behaviours that they were always harbouring. Either way, it's not good and it appears to be on the rise. 
​A recent statistical bulletin produced by the Australian Government  on July 2020 discusses the prevalence of domestic violence among women during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The online survey asked 15,000 women that had previously reported abuse to complete a survey, not surprisingly less than 5% of those women took the survey. However, from that 4.6 percent it was cited that the pandemic had coincided with the onset or escalation of violence and abuse from their current or previous partners. 
Furthermore, only 3 months ago The Sydney Morning Herald published an article saying that one in ten Australian women are currently experiencing domestic violence or abuse during the coronavirus pandemic, with attacks becoming more intense and frequent according to reports. 
And Australia is not the only country to be seeing a rise in these kinds of behaviours, it's a worldwide epidemic that is fast following on the heels of COVID-19. Across the globe crisis calls coming in from women has risen by as much as 18% and the most alarming statistic of all is that around 40% of women that are abused, harassed or stalked around the world never actually report anything to the authorities, so it is impossible for anyone to really know just how bad things have gotten. 
In an attempt to aide and counsel abused families the Australian government has announced a $150 million domestic violence emergency response package to boost front line and national support services over the period of the pandemic, which is certainly a step in the right direction. But it's a Band-Aid effect that is treating the outcome of a disease but not really getting to the core of what we can do to prevent this type of thing from happening in the future. Where is the funding to rehabilitate the perpetrators? What can we actually do to stop this type of thing from occurring? This is also clearly where we need more funding and training, especially when the statistics show that 33% of women reporting abuse and harassment at the moment have never experienced it before, so it's evidently on the rise.
As I said earlier I feared that things would become even more dangerous for women because of COVID-19 and unfortunately it looks like I was right. Aside from remaining supportive and caring to friends and family around you who may already be suffering right now, it's also important to remember to be hyper vigilant, cautious and super safe yourself. And I do not say that lightly. The fallout from the coronavirus may mean that wearing face masks may not be the only new norm. Supporting women in crisis and dealing with volatile, unhinged men may also become our new norm, so I do urge you to please take care out there ladies. 

SHUTTER ISLAND 
Release Date: 2010
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 138 mins 
A neo-noir psychological thriller directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Laeta Kalogridis and based on Dennis LeHane's 2003 novel of the same name. In general people have been quite polarised with their reactions to this film and that's because this isn't an easy movie. In short, Shutter Island is a deep dive in the psyche that delivers as much intrigue as a Hitchcock classic and as much crazy as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. 
A Deputy US Marshal and his partner have been hired to investigate a psychiatric facility for the criminally insane on Shutter Island after one of their patients goes missing. From the moment that they arrive, it appears that the facility is harbouring secrets. 
A stellar cast are all really delivering here, with memorable performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Michelle Williams. The overall atmosphere and ominous vibe of the film is undeniably palpable. Whether you love it or hate it, I guarantee that you won't forget it in a hurry.  
FINAL SAY: Which would be worse - to live as a monster? Or to die as a good man?
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​