Anxiety disorders are no joke, they are real and they can have some very serious medical side effects. Just as serious as heart disease or diabetes in fact and anxiety disorders are now the most common and pervasive mental disorders that we are seeing around the world. The term 'anxiety disorder' refers to specific psychiatric disorders that involve extreme fear or worry and they can range from general to moderate anxieties to serious phobias, disorders and panic attacks. 
Panic attacks occur when a person with anxiety finds it difficult to control their worry and they suffer from an intense fear or discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes. This level of anxiety affects millions of people across the globe and women are more than twice as likely to be affected. Panic attacks can build up gradually over a long period of time and then strike with great force out of the blue, which makes them even more upsetting when they do occur. 
Generally, if you are having a panic attack you will present with at least four of these symptoms at one time:

• Palpitations, pounding heart or an accelerated heart rate.
• Sweating.
• Trembling or shaking.
• Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering.
• Feeling like you are choking.
• Chest pains or discomfort. 
• Nausea or abdominal distress.
• ​Feeling dizzy, unsteady, light-headed or faint.
• Chills or heat sensations.
• Paraesthesia.
• Derealization or depersonalization. 
• Fear of losing control or going crazy.
• Fear of dying. 

Although anxiety is often accompanied by physical symptoms, such as racing heart or knots in the stomach, what differentiates a panic attack from other anxiety symptoms is the intensity and the duration of the symptoms. Panic attacks typically reach their peak level in 10 minutes or less and then begin to subside. Due to the intensity of the symptoms and their tendency to mimic those of heart disease, thyroid problems, breathing disorders and other significant illnesses, people with panic disorders often make several visits to emergency rooms or the doctors convinced that they have life threatening illnesses. 
Panic attacks are extremely unpleasant and can be frightening for sufferers. As a result, people who experience them repeatedly often become worried about having another one and this can increase anxiety even further.  But fear not because help is at hand. If you think that you may be suffering from panic attacks or any other form of anxiety that is making your life a challenge you can start by checking out this website. You will find a self test check in, some excellent self help resources and information and some links to get further support if you think that you may need it. 
We live in challenging times and anxiety is definitely on the rise. If you are concerned, then please do reach out for support, nobody should suffer from anxiety alone. 

NOBODY
Release Date: 2021 
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 92 mins 
An American action thriller directed by Ilya Naishuller and written by Derek Kolstad that delivers a short, sharp, action packed punch to the senses. It may not be breaking any new ground when it comes to storyline but it does deliver an enjoyable, violent romp that is strengthened greatly by Bob Odenkirk's fabulous delivery. 
When seemingly average family man Hutch Mansell's house is broken to by a couple of armed thugs, he is happy to let them leave peacefully to preserve the wellbeing of his family. However, what the thieves don't know, is who Hutch Mansell really is and how their actions have now ignited a violent chain of events that no-one could have predicted. 
The cast throughout is solid, with Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd and Michael Ironside all delivering strong supports but this film is 100% Bob Odenkirk's and he plays Hutch Mansell with such a calm, cool disposition that he gives John Wick a run for his money. I had a lot of fun watching this, its fast and its amusing and it is just the right length for an action thriller. 
FINAL SAY: Give me the goddamn kitty cat bracelet, motherfucker!
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

It's no secret that everyone loves a big block bluster movie or even a sleeper hit or some kind of movie that is mainstream and easy and people have heard about it through word of mouth. These types of films can be great and I cannot deny that I really adore it when a movie becomes a sleeper hit in particular. However, there are so many fabulous movies that just slip thought the cracks of people's viewing and get missed all together because not enough people are talking about them.
Well, I am talking about them, constantly! More than likely annoyingly to a lot of people. I would recommend movies to people at last a dozen or more times a week and often people will say things to me like "I haven't even heard of that movie" or "Really? I thought that film looked a bit weird/ strange/ arty / scary for me to see." And it honestly kills me because a huge number of movies that never get seen are absolutely gold, some of the best and they not only deserve to be talked about,  they most definitely deserve to be seen as well.  
Below I have listed my top 10 'You Really Should Be Talking About This Film - and Probably Will Be After You Watch it' for each genre on Spicywatch.com. These are films that are very deserving of your time and attention and in my opinion (for what it's worth) definitely should've gotten a lot more attention than they did. They are not block busters or sleeper hits, they are mostly films that flew under the radar, which means that you could easily have missed them but you really shouldn't have. They are not new, in fact many are old and could probably be streamed on many different platforms for free these days. 
Full reviews can be found on the genre lists should you require more information.
Happy viewing!
DRAMA:

1. Ingrid Goes West 
2. Jungle 
3. Youth 
4. Locke
5. Short Term 12 
6. Don Jon 
7. Eighth Grade 
8. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
9. Brothers 
10. The Station Agent

​HORROR:

1. The Vigil
2. The Lodge
3. Saint Maud
4. Mandy 
5. Frailty
6. Here Alone
7. A Dark Song
8. The House of the Devil
9. Creep
10. Hell House LLC

ACTION/CRIME/WAR:

1. Uncut Gems
2. The King
3. Good Time
4. The Bad Batch
5. Prisoners
6. End of Watch 
7. Glory
8. Children of Men
9. The Thin Red Line
10. Blood Simple

COMEDY:

1. Instant Family
2. Fighting With My Family
3. The Breaker Upperers
4. Game Night
5. Spy
6. The Grand Seduction
7. In Bruges
8. Son of Rambow
9. Kung Pow! Enter the Fist!
10. Tucker and Dale vs Evil

SCIENCE FICTION/ FANTASY:

1. Save Yourselves!
2. Predestination 
3. Moon
4. Upgrade
5. The Endless
6. Melancholia
7. Ex Machina
8. Under the Skin
9. These Final Hours
10. Sunshine 

ART HOUSE/ MUSICAL/ INTERNATIONAL:

1. The Great Beauty
2. Me and You and Everyone We Know 
3. Once
4. A Ghost Story
5. Black is King 
6. Sightseers
7. Somewhere
8. 20,000 Days on Earth
9. Kung Fu Hustle 
10. Only Lovers Left Alive 

GRITTY/ DOCO/ CHALLENGING

1. Swallow
2. The Nightingale
3. The Tale
4. Chasing Coral
5. The Weight of Elephants
6. Tyrannosaur
7. Dogtooth
8. Metal Skin
9. Birth
10. Fishtank

ROMANCE/ MATTERS OF THE HEART:

1. Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
2. Blue Jay
3. What If
4. Man Up
5. The One I Love
6. Bright Star
7. Labor Day
8. Ruby Sparks
9. Chasing Amy
10. Your Sister's Sister

KID FRIENDLY:

1. The Willoughbys
2. Klaus
3. Isle of Dogs
4. The Little Prince
5. Kubo and the Two Strings
6. The Boy and The Beast
7. Paranorman
8. 9
9. Hoodwinked!
10. Hugo 

Spicywatch.com has just celebrated its seventh birthday! 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 873 reviews that she now has under her belt. In the 7 years that Spicywatch has been on the internet I have had over 100,000 hits and on average, good old Spicywatch manages to rustle  up around 2500- 6500 readers a month.
So naturally, I had to celebrate the wonderful and joyful occasion of Spicywatch's 7th birthday, especially since last year I couldn't really do anything significant due to COVID-19.  So in the spirit of all things seven, I asked my guests to investigate the 7 Deadly Sins of gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust and envy and then choose their favourite clips from any or all of those categories to share. 
The event was a small but meaningful gathering and everyone had clearly done their research because we traversed the genres like never before. To give you some idea of the range of the movies that had a clip in the mix, check out this movie list of just some that I can recall from last night's line up. 
GLUTTONY:

• Mathilda
• Austin Powers 
• Spirited Away
• Chocolat
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Stand by Me
• The History of the World (Monty Python) 

PRIDE:

• American Psycho 
• Citizen Kane 
• Monty Python - The Holy Grail 
• The Joker 

ENVY:

• Fatal Attraction
• Eyes Wide Shut
• Howl's Moving Castle
• Moulin Rogue 
• Zoolander 
• Black Swan

LUST:

• Death Proof
• The Devil's Advocate 
• What We Do in the Shadows 
• The Witches of Eastwick
• Fatal Attraction 
• Team America 
• American Beauty 

SLOTH:

• Trainspotting
• The Goonies 
• The Big Lebowski
• Avengers: Endgame 

WRATH:

• Raging Bull
• The Shining
• Maleficent
• Office Space 
• The Lighthouse 
• Revolutionary Road
• Punch Drunk Love 
• Brothers 
• Kill Bill Vol 2
• Silver Linings Playbook

GREED:

• The Hobbit 
• There Will Be Blood
• Casino
• The Nightmare Before Christmas 
• Pocahontas 
• The Mummy 
• Marie Antoinette 

Many thanks to the few incredible souls that braved the weather to celebrate Spicywatch's birthday with me and thanks to all of my loyal readers that continue to check in, read my reviews, leave comments and support the growth of my little blog. 

After a 441 day hiatus, the longest gap to date, the 93rd Annual Academy Awards finally occurred last Sunday evening. I have now watched nearly all of the awards ceremony for 2021 - The Golden Globes, The Emmys, the BAFTAs and now the Oscars as well and it would be very fair to say the nominations and winners were all very consistent and obviously extremely deserving. 
The MTV awards and Tony's haven't happened yet if you're still thirsty for more awards ceremonies and late May will also bring Eurovision back into our lives if you're hungry for something completely fresh and unique. 
However for now I still have a few things to catch up on watching from the winners lists and I am taking a couple of weeks off award shows because I feel like I have tortured my family enough this year.
I do have to admit that I am currently deeply obsessed with all things Montaigne after seeing her live earlier this year and I will definitely be watching the Eurovision awards because she is representing Australia this year in the competition. 
Here is the line up for the EUROVISION airing times in Australia if like me, you're interested and a little Montaigne obsessed as well. 
Semi-Final 1 – Friday 21 May, 8.30pm (AEST), SBS -FEATURING MONTAIGNE
Semi-Final 2 – Saturday 22 May, 8.30pm (AEST), SBS
Grand Final – Sunday 23 May, 7.30pm (AEST), SBS

And just in case you missed all of the Academy Award action, here is the full list of 2021 Oscar nominations and winners:
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”)
Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”)
Anthony Hopkins (“The Father”) (WINNER)
Gary Oldman (“Mank”)
Steven Yeun (“Minari”)

​Best Actress in a Leading Role
Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”)
Andra Day (“The United States v. Billie Holiday”)
Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces of a Woman”)
Frances McDormand (“Nomadland”) (WINNER)
Carey Mulligan (“Promising Young Woman”)

Best Picture
“The Father” (David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne, producers)
“Judas and the Black Messiah” (Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler, producers)
“Mank” (Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth and Douglas Urbanski, producers)
“Minari” (Christina Oh, producer)
“Nomadland” (Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, producers) (WINNER) 
“Promising Young Woman” (Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, producers)
“Sound of Metal” (Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche, producers)
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” (Marc Platt and Stuart Besser, producers)

Best Original Song
“Fight for You,” (“Judas and the Black Messiah”). Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas (WINNER)
“Hear My Voice,” (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”). Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
“Húsavík,” (“Eurovision Song Contest”). Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson
“Io Si (Seen),” (“The Life Ahead”). Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
“Speak Now,” (“One Night in Miami”). Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth

Best Original Score
“Da 5 Bloods,” Terence Blanchard
“Mank,” Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
“Minari,” Emile Mosseri
“News of the World,” James Newton Howard
“Soul,” Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste (WINNER)
Best Film Editing“The Father,” Yorgos Lamprinos
“Nomadland,” Chloé Zhao
“Promising Young Woman,” Frédéric Thoraval
“Sound of Metal,” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen (WINNER)
“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Alan Baumgarten

Best Cinematography
“Judas and the Black Messiah,” Sean Bobbitt
“Mank,” Erik Messerschmidt (WINNER)
“News of the World,” Dariusz Wolski
“Nomadland,” Joshua James Richards
“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Phedon Papamichael

Best Production Design
“The Father.” Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara and Diana Stoughton
“Mank.” Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale (WINNER)
“News of the World.” Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan
“Tenet.” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Maria Bakalova (‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”)
Glenn Close (“Hillbilly Elegy”)
Olivia Colman (“The Father”)
Amanda Seyfried (“Mank”)
Yuh-Jung Youn (“Minari”) (WINNER)

Best Visual Effects
“Love and Monsters,” Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt and Brian Cox
“The Midnight Sky,” Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon and David Watkins
“Mulan,” Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury and Steve Ingram
“The One and Only Ivan,” Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez
“Tenet,” Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher (WINNER)

Best Documentary Feature
“Collective,” Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
“Crip Camp,” Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder
“The Mole Agent,” Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez
“My Octopus Teacher,” Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster (WINNER)
“Time,” Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn

Best Documentary Short Subject
“Colette,” Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard (WINNER)
“A Concerto Is a Conversation,” Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
“Do Not Split,” Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook
“Hunger Ward,” Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman
“A Love Song for Latasha,” Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan

Best Animated Feature Film
“Onward” (Pixar)
“Over the Moon” (Netflix)
“A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” (Netflix)
“Soul” (Pixar) (WINNER)
“Wolfwalkers” (Apple TV Plus/GKIDS)

Best Animated Short Film
“Burrow” (Disney Plus/Pixar)
“Genius Loci” (Kazak Productions)
“If Anything Happens I Love You” (Netflix) (WINNER)
“Opera” (Beasts and Natives Alike)
“Yes-People” (CAOZ hf. Hólamói)

Best Live-Action Short Film
“Feeling Through”
“The Letter Room”
“The Present”
“Two Distant Strangers” (WINNER)
“White Eye”

Best Sound
“Greyhound,” Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman
“Mank,” Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin
“News of the World,” Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett
“Soul,” Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker
“Sound of Metal,” Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh (WINNER)

Best Director
Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”)
David Fincher (“Mank”)
Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”)
Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) (WINNER)
Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”)

Best Costume Design
“Emma,” Alexandra Byrne
“Mank,” Trish Summerville
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Ann Roth (WINNER)
“Mulan,” Bina Daigeler
“Pinocchio,” Massimo Cantini Parrini

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“Emma,” Marese Langan, Laura Allen, Claudia Stolze
“Hillbilly Elegy,” Eryn Krueger Mekash, Patricia Dehaney, Matthew Mungle
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson (WINNER)
“Mank,” Kimberley Spiteri, Gigi Williams, Colleen LaBaff
“Pinocchio,” Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli, Francesco Pegoretti

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Sacha Baron Cohen (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”)
Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) (WINNER)
Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”)
Paul Raci (“Sound of Metal”)
Lakeith Stanfield (“Judas and the Black Messiah”)

Best International Feature Film
“Another Round” (Denmark) (WINNER)
“Better Days” (Hong Kong)
“Collective” (Romania)
“The Man Who Sold His Skin” (Tunisia)
“Quo Vadis, Aida?” (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Nina Pedrad
“The Father,” Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller (WINNER)
“Nomadland,” Chloé Zhao
“One Night in Miami,” Kemp Powers
“The White Tiger,” Ramin Bahrani

Best Original Screenplay
“Judas and the Black Messiah.” Screenplay by Will Berson, Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny Lucas, Keith Lucas
“Minari,” Lee Isaac Chung
“Promising Young Woman,” Emerald Fennell (WINNER)
“Sound of Metal.” Screenplay by Darius Marder, Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder, Derek Cianfrance
“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Aaron Sorkin

HILLBILLY ELEGY
Release Date: 2020
Rating: M 
Running Time: 116 mins 
An American drama directed by Ron Howard and based on the 2016 memoir of the same name by J. D. Vance. Released on Netflix and met with mixed reviews, Hillbilly Elegy's short comings are greatly elevated by the award worthy performances of Glenn Close and Amy Adams. 
J. D. Vance, a young Yale law student, is pulled back in to the dramatics of his old life when he returns to his home town to deal with a family crisis. Upon returning J.D. reflects on the potential outcomes of his own life and the lives of the generations of his family before him. 
This is very much a tale about choosing your own destiny and escaping destructive family cycles. The performances are really strong which adds a lot of levity and merit to the tale overall and contrary to the very tepid reviews that it received, I genuinely enjoyed this film. I thought that this film actually delivered a plausible and compassionate depiction of a small town, low socio-economic family and the challenges that they faced together because of their station in life. Don't be put off by the reviews, Hillbilly Elegy is definitely worth a look. 
FINAL SAY: You got to decide, you want to be somebody or not?
3 Chilli Peppers ​

March has kicked off with a flurry of celebration, festivity and fun. Since I last posted things have been hectic in the most delightful of ways. Last weekend Zoe and Ben joined us in Ballarat for a belated Chinese New Year dinner celebration on Saturday evening and then we all attended Summer Salt together on the following Sunday. I cannot even begin to tell you how much joy live music brought back to my life on that day. You really do forget just how marvellous it feels to be in a huge crowd of people all singing together and getting into the vibe of it on a brilliant sun-shiny day. It honestly rejuvenated me in ways that I cannot even explain in words, it was just so damn good for my soul!
The line up of performers was stellar and everyone that performed was clearly just as happy to be in front of a live audience again as much as we were all glad to be back in a crowd of adoring fans. We all greatly enjoyed Nat Vazer, Montaigne, Boy and Bear, John Butler, The Teskey Brothers and The Cat Empire together, sank a few drinks and swayed to the music as the sun went down on a day that none of us will forget in a hurry.  It was a wonderful way to farewell the Summer, share some time with loved ones and reconnect to the electric energy that you can only get from large music festivals once again. 
On Monday night I hit the couch to take in the 2021 Golden Globe Awards which was a bit of an understated event due to the COVID-19 restrictions. However, all things considered I still watched it all, enjoyed seeing all of the cast and crew in their own homes (some looking more glamorous than others) and was genuinely not at all surprised by the outcomes (listed below).  I think that my favourite recipient of the evening was Sacha Baron Cohen  who deservingly won Best actor and Best Motion Picture in a musical/ comedy motion picture for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.  I think that Baron Cohen may be one of the most interesting and intriguing people on the planet to me right now, and he never fails to make me smile when he is on screen. 
This weekend, also the March labour day long weekend, I hit the highway on Friday night and headed to Zoe and Ben's in Bendigo to attend a weekend yoga festival. I absolutely love yoga, but I gotta say that after being in downward facing dog for the better part of 5 odd hours on Saturday, when I arose on Sunday morning I felt pretty stiff and was feeling the burn in some muscles that I didn't know even know that I had anymore. However, it was an awesome couple of days of getting zen, stretching, meditating, eating great food and spending time with my beautiful daughter and her partner. I even got to take in the Artists market, Farmers market and Mill Market in Castlemaine on Sunday on the way home, so I came home with a swag of goodies and even managed to get some early Easter shopping done as well. 
Today I have quietly spent International Women's Day resting and rebooting my system for the week ahead and reflecting on how wonderful my last few weeks have been. I can't even express how genuinely grateful I am to have been able to enjoy all of these special moments and quality time with the people that I love so much, it has really been a time of great celebration and enjoyment for me. Here's hoping that I can keep this high vibe of mine rolling for the rest of the term; I got the momentum going now, so I say - let's just keep on rolling....
2021 Golden Globe winners
Best motion picture, drama
Nomadland 

Best actress in a motion picture, drama
Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday 

Best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm 

Best motion picture, musical or comedy
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

 Best director, motion picture
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland

Best actor in a motion picture, drama
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Best limited series or TV movie
The Queen's Gambit 

Best actress in a limited series or TV movie​
Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen's Gambit 

Best supporting actress in a TV role
Gillian Anderson, The Crown 

Best actress in a supporting role in any motion picture​
Jodie Foster, The Mauritanian 

Best TV series, drama
The Crown 

Best motion picture, foreign language​
Minari (USA) 

Best actor in a TV series, drama​
Josh O'Connor, The Crown 

Best actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy
Rosamund Pike, I Care a Lot 

Best TV series, musical or comedy​
Schitt's Creek

Best actor in a TV series, musical or comedy​
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso 

​Best original score, motion picture
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste - Soul

Best original song, motion picture​
Io Si (Seen), The Life Ahead 

Best actress in a TV series, drama​
Emma Corrin, The Crown

Best screenplay, motion picture​
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7 

Best actor in a limited series or TV movie
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much is True  

Best motion picture, animated​
Soul 

Best actress in a TV series, musical or comedy​
Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek

Best supporting actor in a TV role
John Boyega, Small Axe 

Best actor in a supporting role in any motion picture
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah 

THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Release Date: 2020
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 130 mins 
An historical real-life drama written and directed by Aaron Sorkin and released on Netflix due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trial of the Chicago 7 went on to receive wide critical acclaim for its excellent screenplay, stellar performances and its modern parallels to the 1960s. 
Seven men find themselves on trial for various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. 
This is one of the most interesting and engaging courtroom dramas that I have seen in an age and the incredible cast are really bringing out their best here. Sacha Baron Cohen practically steals the show in every scene that he is in and even landed himself a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor due to his amazing performance. However it must be said that the cast is across the board, with incredible and notable performances delivered from Eddie Redmayne, Alex Sharp, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Frank Langella. 
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a dramatization of a significantly important event that not only resonates with current political events but also demonstrates the power and passion of the people when it comes to human rights. 
FINAL SAY: We carried ideas across state lines. Not machine guns or drugs or little girls. Ideas. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

The meter is running on your life, right now, in this very moment, in every moment that you have ever lived and breathed, it has been running.  When a meter is running we know that it means that a cost or expense is accumulating urging us to make a decision or pay the fare. However, when it comes to our actual lives, we rarely if ever consider the amount of time that we have already used up or how much we still have on the meter and at our disposal. 
I am fairly sure that if I told you that your meter was going to run out in say a month, or even six months to a year that you would definitely start to look at your life very differently. You'd possibly make some radical changes to the way that you do things, reprioritise your life and desperately try to milk as much out of the time that you left on the meter or even attempt to reverse it or change that outcome somehow. But you would never have done any of that without the threat of your meter running out on you. 
Big surprise here, your meter is actually running out. And I am not saying that to try and make you feel insecure, hysterical or paranoid, I'm telling you because it is completely and utterly true. All of our meters are running out, they were from the day that we arrived. Mine is, yours is,  everyone's is. None of us, not even the rich, famous and intellectual are going to be able to cheat the sands of time and no-one in the history of all of humanity has been able to live forever. Unfortunately, we all have an expiry date and although that is going to be different for everyone, it is going to be inevitable. 
So, with that in mind let's have a look at how you can enjoy a long and healthy life according to the people that have kept their meters running for so long that they are now called centenarians. Centenarians are people that have lived for 100 years or more, they have survived pandemics, depressions, financial crisis, war and loss; and yet they have emerged almost unscathed, and their resilience offers us all a first hand perspective into the secrets of longevity. Unsurprisingly, there really are some very common dominators in the lives of all centenarians and I believe that these commonalities are clearly the recipe for a long life and a great way to keep your own meter running. 
​Firstly, people who have lived long lives have been cheerful most of their lives. Sure, you can't avoid getting burnt by life every now and again and even the best of us face financial difficulty, loss, illness, failed relationships and stress, but it is how we deal with those setbacks that determines our happiness. Most centenarians have supportive families and friends and a community around them that they are actively involved in. They have powerful, protective social structures that buffer and care for them. So the work that you do to build meaningful relationships with your family and friends is never wasted time, it's actually essential to your own longevity. 
Most centenarians claim that they have managed to stay cheerful by never comparing themselves to others. They all have positive mindsets that are devoid of jealousy, envy and resentment. They are living their best lives every day and taking joy in all of the little things and not getting hung up on the petty stuff. They also swear by removing toxic relationships from their lives. People who are not trustworthy should go first, followed by anyone that continuously hurts your feelings, belittles you or makes you feel unlovable. It's very simple really, only keep people in your life that lift you up, respect and value you as you are, otherwise they will be a scourge on your life meter. 
No surprises here, but centenarians also have a healthy diet, however they also like to consumed one or two alcoholic beverages a day, usually as a night cap of some sort. They all imbibe in moderation, never overindulge and rarely, if ever, smoke. None of them have ever had a gym membership but all of them have lead very active lifestyles. Most centenarians walk every day, some of them still taking up to 10,000 steps a day. Most of them take in other regular gentle exercise like swimming, yoga or tai chi and generally keep busy by tending to their own yards, doing their own shopping and maintaining their own homes. 
Almost all centenarians have hobbies that give them pleasure. Undertaking something relaxing and enjoyable that you do without looking for gain or return is paramount to these people's lives. And finally, they all kept a tight budget and never, ever spent more than they earned. A lot of them have never even owned a credit card and have always saved for a rainy day.  Being financially sound and not having to worry about money is a great way to keep stress levels low and to eliminate unnecessary worry  and uncertainly about the future. 
However, let's be honest, there is really no one way to ensure that your meter will keep running for a very long time because life is risky and unpredictable and all any of us can really do is hope for the best and try to be our best. However, there is no denying that the recipe for long life outlined above by our beloved centenarians certainly does seem like a great and logical place to start if you are trying to get more mileage on the meter.
​Whether you adopt or adapt any of these tips is of course completely up to you, and no matter your choices, I do wish you all a long, prosperous and healthy life with a meter that runs for at least 100 years or more!

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Release Date: 2021
Rating: MA 15+ 
Running Time: 113 mins 
An American crime thriller that was written, produced and directed by Emerald Fennell in her feature directorial debut. This boldly provocative thriller received generally favourable critical acclaim for it's dynamic writing and Carey Mulligan's committed and strong portrayal of a woman that has been wronged. 
Cassie Thomas (Mulligan) is exacting her revenge upon the people that were involved in a vicious attack on her best friend and she is also taking down a few other douche bags along the way. 
It's the terrific mix of dark humour and appallingly abhorrent assholes getting their comeuppances that makes this film so great. Mulligan is at her absolute best here as Cassie, a character that has tenacity and personality in bucket loads and it was just so fantastic to see a female delivering some kick arse vengeance in such colourful and unique ways. 
The supporting cast are also strong here with Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Laverne Cox and Clancy Brown all rounding out the story and making it something genuinely memorable and deeply affecting. 
FINAL SAY: Can you guess what every woman's worst nightmare is?
4 Chilli Peppers ​

Normally at this time of the year I would have been able to recount all of the wonderful things that I did and the people that I shared my time with throughout the year, and write a really amazing blog post reminiscing about those events; this year however - not so much! To say that 2020 was a difficult year would be a massive understatement, but for those of you that are out there reading this, well at least we survived it right?
Equally it was a strange year of cinema to say the least! I cannot deny that the viewing opportunities in 2020 grew wider and faster than anyone (even myself) could possibly have kept up with. However, this year I only watched 185 movies in total, which does sound like a lot but it was actually 30 less than I watched in 2019. This was mainly due to the quality of the films on offer, which in opinion were not nearly as consistently great as they were in 2019 and I found myself wading through a lot mediocre movies this year. 
However, television was a whole other ball game, and I watched 153 television series (some of which were more than one series of catch up as well) which was a lot more TV than I viewed in 2018 or 2019, so it all balances out to the same amount of couch smashing in the end and still translates to me being a serious media addict. 
You will notice that there are a lot of TV series listed below that got 4 chilli peppers or more, certainly more than movies did and that is simply because there were a lot more excellent TV experiences to be had this year. The influx of genuinely high level television in 2020 was literally never ending and because of COVID19 lockdowns across the globe we were given the best TV streaming opportunities that we have ever had before. My 'to see' list is pages long these days as I struggle to keep ahead of the game and the movie reviews that I still need to add to my blog, but alas it is a labour of love and I have enjoyed every moment of media escapism that I have indulged in this year. 
2020, just like 2019 managed to deliver greatness across all genres, for which I am very grateful. The international films, independent films and animated films were amazingly good this year and it was great to see so many excellent films and series from those genres. And so, without further ado....here is my selection for the best viewing experiences of 2020. 
BEST MOVIES (2020 release):
Soul - Kids  5 Chilli Peppers (Hall of Fame)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Sound of Metal - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
Onward - Kids  4 Chilli Peppers
Black is King - Musical  4 Chilli Peppers
The Vast of Night - Sci-Fi   3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Invisible Man - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Willoughbys - Kids  3.5 Chilli Peppers
His House - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Colour Out of Space - Sci -Fi  3.5 Chilli Peppers
Da 5 Bloods - War 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Enola Holmes  - Crime 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Deadwood: The Movie - Crime 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Save Yourselves! - Sci-Fi/ Comedy   3.5 Chilli Peppers

2020 HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
The Platform - Gritty/ International  3 Chilli Peppers
Swallow - Gritty 3 Chilli Peppers
Palm Springs -  Romance/ Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Vivarium - Sci-Fi 3 Chilli Peppers 
#Alive - Horror 3 Chilli Peppers
American Murder: The Family Next Door - Doco 3 Chilli Peppers 
Relic - Horror 3 Chilli Peppers 

Here are my top recommendations for pre-2020 releases that I didn't see until 2020:
1917 - War 5 Chilli Peppers (Hall of Fame) 
Parasite - International 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
Shadow - International 4.5 Chilli Peppers
The Nightingale - Gritty  4 Chilli Peppers
Uncut Gems - Crime 4 Chilli Peppers
The Lighthouse - Art House  4 Chilli Peppers
The Farewell - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
Burning - International 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Ford v Ferrari - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Chasing Coral - Doco  3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Peanut Butter Falcon - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Mid90s - Drama   3.5 Chilli Peppers
Zombieland 2: Double tap - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Dr Sleep - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Rocketman - Musical  3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Gentlemen - Crime 3.5 Chilli Peppers
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie - Crime  3.5 Chilli Peppers
Hail Satan? - Doco  3.5 Chilli Peppers
3 Identical Strangers - Doco  3.5 Chilli Peppers
Mystify: Michael Hutchence - Doco  3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Lodge - Horror 3 Chilli Peppers
The Night Eats the World - Horror 3 Chilli Peppers

BEST TELEVISION SERIES 2020:
Succession S2 -  Drama 5 Chilli Peppers
Ozark S3 - Crime 5 Chilli Peppers
Lovecraft Country - Horror 5 Chilli Peppers
This Country S3 - Comedy 5 Chilli Peppers
Raised by Wolves - Sci- Fi 4.5 Chilli Peppers
The Queen's Gambit - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers
The Mandalorian - Sci-Fi 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
Better Call Saul S5 - Crime 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
Morning Wars - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
I May Destroy You - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
DEVS - Sci-Fi  4 Chilli Peppers 
The Magicians S5 - Sci-Fi 4 Chilli Peppers
The Great - Period Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
What We Do in the Shadows S2 - Horror/Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
Mythic Quest - Comedy/Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Kidding S2 - Art House 4 Chilli Peppers
Awkwafina is Nora from Queens - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
The Boys S2 - Super 4 Chilli Peppers
Ramy S2 - Comedy/ Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
The Haunting of Bly Manor -  Horror 4 Chilli Peppers
The Undoing - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Wayne - Crime/ Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
Unorthodox - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
​It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia S14 - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
High Fidelity - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers

2020 TV HONOURABLE MENTIONS: ​
Ratched - Thriller  3.5 Chilli Peppers 
SEE - Sci- Fi  3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Avenue 5 - Sci-Fi/ Comedy  3 Chilli Peppers 
Dave - Comedy  3 Chilli Peppers
The Servant - Thriller  3 Chilli Peppers
 The Umbrella Academy S2- Fantasy 3 Chilli Peppers
The Third Day - Thriller  3 Chilli Peppers 
After Life S2 - Comedy  3 Chilli Peppers 
Killing Eve S3 - Crime  3 Chilli Peppers 
Breeders - Comedy  3.5 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) 

The Emmy awards were held last Monday, which I was again fortunate enough to be at home to enjoy - Hazar! This year was the first time that a big awards ceremony was held remotely due to COVID19 and I have to say that although yes, it wasn't as good as the usual extravaganza of glitz and glamour that we have come to expect from the Emmy's, however given the circumstances it was still really enjoyable and completely watchable. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel who apparently said "I don't know where we will do this or how we will do this or even why we are doing this, but we are doing it and I am hosting it" when he found out that the Emmy's were still going ahead in spite of the worldwide pandemic. And seriously, why shouldn't it go ahead? We need a little bit of celebration and frivolity right now and I always appreciate a good awards ceremony regardless of the format. 
Anyway, it was Schitt's Creek's night for sure when they won an incredible and completely deserving nine Emmy's in total and broke the record for the most wins in a single season for a comedy. And having seen almost all of the TV programs that won, I can definitely say that every winner was deserving and I was not surprised to see that Succession and Watchmen blitz the evening as well because they were easily two of my favourite TV programs of the year. 
And just in case you missed them, here are the nominations and winners of the 2020 Emmy Awards:
Outstanding comedy series

• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Dead to Me
• The Good Place
• Insecure
• The Kominsky Method
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• WINNER: Schitt's Creek
• What We Do in the Shadows

Outstanding drama series

• Better Call Saul
• The Crown
• The Handmaid's Tale
• Killing Eve
• The Mandalorian
• Ozark
• Stranger Things
• WINNER: Succession

Outstanding limited series

• Little Fires Everywhere
• Mrs. America
• Unbelievable
• Unorthodox
• WINNER: Watchmen

Lead actor in a comedy series

• Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
• Don Cheadle, Black Monday
• Ted Danson, The Good Place
• Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
• WINNER: Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek
• Ramy Youssef, Ramy

Lead actress in a comedy series

• Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
• Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel
• Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
• WINNER: Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek
• Issa Rae, Insecure
• Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Supporting actor in a comedy series

• Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• William Jackson Harper, The Good Place
• Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
• Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Mahershala Ali, Ramy
• Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
• WINNER: Dan Levy, Schitt's Creek

Supporting actress in a comedy series

• Betty Gilpin, GLOW
• D'Arcy Carden, The Good Place
• Yvonne Orji, Insecure
• Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
• Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live
• WINNER: Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek

Lead actor in a drama series

• Jason Bateman, Ozark
• Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
• Steve Carell, The Morning Show
• Brian Cox, Succession
• Billy Porter, Pose
• WINNER: Jeremy Strong, Succession

Lead actress in a drama series

• Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
• Olivia Colman, The Crown
• Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
• Laura Linney, Ozark
• Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
• WINNER: Zendaya, Euphoria

Supporting actor in a drama series

• Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul
• Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale
• WINNER: Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
• Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
• Nicholas Braun, Succession
• Kieran Culkin, Succession
• Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
• Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

Supporting actress in a drama series

• Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
• Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
• Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
• Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale
• Fiona Shaw , Killing Eve
• WINNER: Julia Garner, Ozark
• Sarah Snook, Succession
• Thandie Newton, Westworld

Lead actor in a limited series or movie

• Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
• Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
• Paul Mescal, Normal People
• Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
• WINNER: Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Lead actress in a limited series or movie

• Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
• Shira Haas, Unorthodox
• WINNER: Regina King, Watchmen
• Octavia Spencer, Self Made
• Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere

Supporting actor in a limited series or movie

• Dylan McDermott, Hollywood
• Jim Parsons, Hollywood
• Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend
• WINNER: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen
• Jovan Adepo, Watchmen
• Louis Gossett Jr, Watchmen

Supporting actress in a limited series or movie

• Holland Taylor, Hollywood
• WINNER: Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America
• Margo Martindale, Mrs. America
• Tracey Ullman, Mrs. America
• Toni Collette, Unbelievable
• Jean Smart, Watchmen

Outstanding reality competition series

• The Masked Singer
• Nailed It
• WINNER: RuPaul's Drag Race
• Top Chef
• The Voice

Outstanding variety talk series

• Daily Show with Trevor Noah
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
• Jimmy Kimmel Live
• WINNER: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
• Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Outstanding variety sketch series

• A Black Lady Sketch Show
• Drunk History
• WINNER: Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Television movie

• American Son
• WINNER: Bad Education
• Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones
• El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

Writing for a comedy series

• WINNER: Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek
• David West Read, Schitt's Creek
• Michael Schur, The Good Place
• Tony McNamara, The Great
• Sam Johnson and Chris Marcil, What We Do In The Shadows
• Paul Simms, What We Do In The Shadows
• Stefani Robinson, What We Do In The Shadows

Writing for a drama series

• Thomas Schnauz, Better Call Saul
• Thomas Schnauz,
• Gordon Smith, Better Call Saul
• Peter Morgan, The Crown
• Chris Mundy, Ozark
• John Shiban, Ozark
• Miki Johnso, Ozark
• WINNER: Jesse Armstrong, Succession

Writing for a limited series, movie or drama

• Tanya Barfield, Mrs. America
• Sally Rooney and Alice Birch, Normal People
• Susannah Grant, Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon, Unbelievable
• Anna Winger, Unorthodox
• WINNER: Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson, Watchmen

Director for a comedy series

• Matt Shakman, The Great
• Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Daniel Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Gail Mancuso, Modern Family • Finale Part 2
• Ramy Youssef, Ramy
• WINNER: Andrew Cividino and Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek
• James Burrows, Will & Grace

Directing for a drama series

• Benjamin Caron, The Crown
• Jessica Hobbs, The Crown
• Lesli Linka Glatter, Homeland
• Mimi Leder, The Morning Show Mimi Leder,
• Alik Sakharov, Ozark
• Ben Semanoff, Ozark
• WINNER: Andrij Parekh, Succession
• Mark Mylod, Succession

Directing for a limited series

• Lynn Shelton, Little Fires Everywhere
• Lenny Abrahamson, Normal People
• WINNER: Maria Schrader, Unorthodox
• Nicole Kassell, Watchmen
• Steph Green, Watchmen
• Stephen Williams, Watchmen

ENOLA HOLMES 
Release Date: 2020
Rating: M
Running Time: 123 mins 
A crime/mystery period film based on the first book in the series of the same name by Nancy Springer which focuses on the adventures of Enola Holmes, teenage sister of already famous crime investigator Sherlock Holmes. Enola Holmes was distributed by Netflix streaming services when they acquired the rights for distribution from Warner Bros. because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Raised to be carefree and headstrong by her free spirited mother, teenager Enola Holmes becomes distressed when her mother goes missing in the middle of the night without explanation. An attempt to enlist the help of her two older brothers Sherlock and Mycroft proves disastrous, so Enola takes matters into her own hands and sets off to discover what happened to her mother for herself. 
I cannot deny that Millie Bobby Brown breathes some much needed fresh air into Baker Street with her effervescent and energic portrayal of Enola and she is definitely what makes this movie so delightful and enjoyable. She is however extremely well supported by Henry Cavill as Sherlock, Sam Claflin as Mycroft and Helena Bonham Carter as the mother of them all Eudoria Holmes. 
There is an infectious and intoxicating teenage energy to this movie that I really loved and I do hope that we will get to see further instalments of this series in the future. 
FINAL SAY: Sometimes you must dangle your feet in the water in order to attract the sharks. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

This year will be my first Father's Day without my father in the world. It is a strange feeling to not have a father to rally around and celebrate on Father's Day and it makes the day slightly painful in many ways. What it has done is make me remember all of the things that I really loved about my dad and some of the things that I am really missing now that he is no longer with us. 
It's so weird because sometimes I can still be watching a TV show or a movie and I will think to myself - dad would love this, I can't wait to tell him about this; and then I remember that he isn't here anymore and I feel really sad. One thing that I could always have a conversation with my dad about was movies, in fact I believe that a lot of my passion for movies actually derived from my fathers own passion for cinema. My dad loved movies, especially westerns, action films, war films and gutsy dramas, and like me, he could lose himself down a rabbit hole of movies for hours and hours; much to the disgust of my mother. 
Dad and I could natter about movies for hours, we would recommend movies to each other and we would quote our favourite lines from movies to each other when we were talking about them. My dad understood what it felt like to be genuinely moved by movies and he would watch just about any genre, including art house and foreign cinema which we would often chat about. I really miss having my dad around to talk about TV and movies with and I miss the excitement that I felt when I would find a movie that I knew that he would love. He got DVD's on more than one occasion from me for Father's Day that's for sure. 
​I had a pretty special relationship with my dad and for all of his hard exterior and seemingly toxic masculine throw out comments, my dad could actually be a deeply compassionate, caring and genuinely gentle man. My dad offered me comfort, understanding and a sympathetic ear on more than a few occasions and I always felt, even though he could at times be so distant and aloof, that he had a soft spot for me that no-one else in my life has ever had.
They say that no-one will ever love you like your parents and when it came to my dad I believed that to be true. He loved me, he really did. And even though he struggled to demonstrate it times because of his own issues, he did love me like no-one else ever did or has since. He forgave me for every shortcoming or fault that I had growing up, he hugged me like he was going to break my ribs and he spoke to me in honest and revealing ways that told me that he trusted me and he loved me. I miss having a love like that in my life and even though Craig offers me a pretty huge love, like I said before, no-one will ever love you like a parent and I miss that unconditional love and mutual adoration greatly. 
​I also miss the old school Aussie larrikin side of my dad. Political correctness never quite reached my dad's wheelhouse and it meant that he was never afraid to say some scandalous but also quite funny things. I know that dad always fancied himself as a bit of a maverick and shocking people was something that I think that he enjoyed greatly. He was always the first to call bullshit on everything and sometimes it was really funny but it could also be quite revealing because my dad's tolerance for actual bullshit was incredibly low. Again I know that I also have inherited that quality from my dad as well as my quirky and cheeky sense of humour and I do miss having a laugh with my dad, he could be side splittingly funny when the mood took him. 
And I suppose that's it's completely healthy and normal to miss my dad and to long for a little bit of what is now missing from my world. Holidays like Father's Day are always going to heighten my longing for more time and also make me reminisce about the times that we did get to share together. I guess that I should feel lucky that I have such great memories of my time with my dad to recall when I do feel the heaviness of the world without him and for that I will always be thankful. 
Missing you dad...thinking of you and wishing that you were still around - Happy Father's Day xx

Experts say that in order to know if you are accomplished on any subject then you should be able to deliver a 40 minute talk about it, on the spot without any planning or preparation time. I'm pretty sure that there would be dozens of people scrambling at the mere concept of this, not only because delivering a coherent and educational speech on the spot without preparation seems like pure madness but also because this idea falls well outside of most people's comfort zone. 
Delivering any kind of speech or public demonstration on the spot is enough to send the most rational and calm individuals into a tail spin, but studies have shown that if someone really knows their topic well enough and is a professional on the subject that they are delivering, that a 40 minute on the spot talk is not only possible but also quite educational for the people that receive it. 
Naturally after hearing this I started to ponder what I might be able to deliver an 'on the spot' 40 minute talk about that I was not only expert enough about to share, but would also be an interesting enough subject that other people might give two shits about. And let me tell you, this is an excellent thing for everyone to ponder because it really determines what you are genuinely talented or qualified enough about to be able to talk about in an interesting way for the better part of an hour.
After much deliberation and contemplation, here are the things (in no particular order) that I believe that I could talk about to others for 40 minutes - on the spot, whether or not anyone would actually want to hear any of my talks, well that's a whole other thing entirely, but here's a list of topics that I believe that I could deliver - for good or for bad: 

• Movies You Need to See If We Are Ever to Talk About Movies Together Ever Again.
• Self Care and Mindfulness for Neglectful Headcases. 
• Healthy Eating and Cooking (aka. How to Stop Being So Fucking Lazy in the Kitchen). 
• Incorporating Some Zen into Your Everyday Routine Because You're Currently a Wreck.
• Time to Grow a Vagina - (aka. Why Horror Movies Are Awesome) 
• This Too Shall Pass - A Lesson in Acceptance and Letting Go of all of That Crap
• Long Term Relationship Success (aka. You Said Yes to That Mess) 
• Unmissable Television Series That You're a Dud if You Don't See
• Kids- Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em
• Oh, So That's Happening Now? (aka the Truth About Ageing) 
• Planning Family Holidays on a Budget (aka. How to Use Airbnb to Your Advantage) 
• Journal Writing 101 - Get it Out of You and Write That Shit Down!

If anyone would like to hit me up for any of these informative talks, please let me know, I would be more than happy to bore you death with my long winded rants and opinions on any of these topics at any time! 

THE GENTLEMEN 
Release Date: 2019 
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 113 mins 
Director Guy Ritchie goes back to his gangster movie roots with his latest offering The Gentlemen. In true cockney screwball fashion, we again find ourselves thrown into the underworld of British crime with tonnes of seedy, colourful characters and another deeply convoluted and looping storyline. 
Mickey Pearson is a well known American marijuana kingpin in England who is looking to sell his cannabis empire for a handsome price. However a variety of rich, influential and shady characters are attempting to undermine him behind his back in an attempt to bring down the cost of his business. 
Although amusing, I don't think that this is as good as Ritchie's early gangster offerings like Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but it is still a completely fun and entertaining watch. Hugh Grant, Colin Farrell, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding and Matthew McConaughey are genuinely great here and definitely elevate the script with their razor sharp delivery of their seriously flawed and exaggerated characters. 
As far as fast paced, cockney crime-comedies go, this is a really enjoyable watch and a must see for Guy Ritchie fans that have been waiting for him to deliver another quality gangster movie. 
FINAL SAY: If you wish to be The King of the jungle, it's not enough to act like a king. You must be The King. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

I know that I recently wrote a blog post all about Intuition vs Logic and I have since enjoyed some lengthy and interesting discussion with friends around that topic; and this is because there seems to be some misunderstanding around the difference between intuition and instinct, and which of those we should be listening to. In my previous post I said that you should be careful of always choosing to go with your intuition over your logic and I cited some pretty valid reasons for that, but when it comes to listening to your instincts it's a whole other ball game because overriding your instincts can be much, much harder indeed. 
Your intuition is that feeling that you get, almost like an inner voice or sixth sense that makes you think that something may feel like a good or bad opportunity. Your instinct however is not a feeling, it's an innate hardwired natural tendency to behave or react in a certain way and it's far more primordial than your intuition. Your instinct is part of your biological make up which is why it can be very difficult to override. Unlike your intuitive thoughts which are created when your brain perceives a neural pathway, your instincts are a motor response that are initiated by your whole body in response to an external stimuli. 
Our instincts are what have kept us alive as human beings for thousands of years, they are produced by a biological force that makes us react to hunger and thirst, it's what drives us to use our bowels, blink, sleep, have sex, reproduce and above all else - survive. Over time we have managed to hone our instincts so that we can manage them in more refined and appropriate ways, but all of us still have them and not all of us have evolved to a point where we can manage or control them very well.
Suppressing your most basic instincts can not only be useful but also completely necessary if you want to get along in the modern world. It would be completely inappropriate to jump every person's bones that aroused a sexual instinct within you, and although there probably was a time in history when this was a useful instinct to employ in order to sustain human kind, these days it would obviously be extremely frowned upon and you'd probably end up in jail. Also managing other social/emotional instincts like our instinct of fight or flight, which may not always be an appropriate response in every situation has been replaced with more refined methods of negotiation and modern logic now, so there is no need for anyone to run screaming out of a room when they feel affronted or afraid anymore. 
However, those fight or flight instincts can still come in mighty handy when it comes to certain survival situations and there are hundreds of human experiences that we would still be using the method with, and it would be saving our skin to do so.  In general, ignoring all of your instincts is pretty unwise because our instincts are important innate behaviours that we learned and practised for a reason - as humans we all need them, but some of our human instincts that we have developed over time are not only useless now but they could even cause the eventual the downfall of humankind if we can't fight against them.
Our strongest human instinct, the one that overrides everything is our survival instinct. Because of this super strong survival instinct that all humans have, we have also developed a few less than attractive instincts in order to keep the flock safe and humans alive. The worst of those are denial, revenge and greed. Due to the extreme scarcity of resources for early man, greed was a form of survival. Being honesty also didn't feed anyone and neither did forgiveness, so denial and revenge were ways to establish pecking order, strengthen loyalties and ensure that a tribe survived. Unfortunately, many of us are still employing these shithouse instincts into our lives today and the results have been damning to say the least. Many people are still instinctively in denial about many modern issues like food shortages, lack of clean drinking water, global warming, pollution, disease, overpopulation... the list goes on and on and the reason for this denial is often fed by greed and revenge. And even though we do not need to employ these basic instincts to protect the herd anymore, many of us still do and the results are devastating on a global scale. 
So, in short it is fair to say that we should, just like our intuition, listen to our logic and sound modern thinking before we allow ourselves to be overcome by our often outdated biological instincts. We as humans pride ourselves in being the leaders of this planet, and in doing so we have an obligation to behaviour in a more refined and dignified manner than some of our instincts would like us to because if we don't, then we are really no better than the animals that we say we are going to protect. Don't be a slave to your instincts, use them when you need to but be aware that some of them are totally archaic knee jerk reactions that you can learn to control and replace with more evolved and humanitarian choices. 

Sometimes I can be a bit of a magpie; attracted to shiny pretty things and distracted with feathering my nest. And when you consider the current state of events, where the world feels like it has gone completely bonkers, selfish and generally illogical, then some kind of distraction is extremely welcome and probably quite necessary at this point.
I wholeheartedly believe that we are all looking for some form distraction (and maybe a bit of oblivion as well) in our lives right now. Whether we are in a forced lockdown situation or not, we all need to think about other things that have nothing to with COVID-19, because if we don't we'll slowly drown in our rising worries and anxiety, sink beneath our escalating concerns or become crushed under the weight of our overwhelming sense of grief.
​For some people, that distraction comes in the form of a shit tonne of streaming, for others it comes in the form of absorbing novels, for some it's long walks and meditation and then for others it's sex, drugs and rock and roll; and in all honesty maybe I'm actually indulging in a little bit of all of those things. However, there is nothing quite like indulging in some imaginary online shopping to really distract. Yep that's right I said imaginary, becasue I am not shopping for a pair of cute earrings, a new dress or a fancy mug, I'm looking at some big, expensive merch. And I love doing it, even if it's only online 'window' shopping. 
As I previously mentioned in my blog, I love to look at images and images of things that I desire are all the better as far as I am concerned. Nothing distracts me faster than shiny, beautiful and lovely things, and I have to admit it, I am a total whore for visual stimulus and looking at things that I want to purchase but may never be able to afford to have, pleases and distracts me in shamefully embarrassing ways.  
But, this is not the time to be embarrassed about the things that we like to be distracted by, it's a time to embrace them, to share them, to try and distract others with them as well. I would much rather hear about people's coping mechanisms, distractions and coping tools at the moment instead of hearing another 'search for loo roll' tale. And I never ever want to see another picture of some asshole hoarders house that's full of supplies that they not only don't need right now but have no right to have over anyone else either. However, I am diverting, let me draw my attention back to the lovely shiny things that I find so very stimulating and desirable.
Here's my top ten secret objects of desire that I am completely distracted by and that I love to drool over when I'm all alone....Oh yes....I'll get you my pretties...well, maybe one day anyway. For now you're all just a beautiful and welcome distraction. 

1. Super hot vintage cars
2. Insanely intricate and highly stylised side tables and bureaus
3. Expensive artworks
4. Handmade/ hand woven Persian and Indian rugs, baskets and blankets
5. Unique furniture pieces
6. Ridiculously extravagant light fittings and chandeliers 
7. Sprawling asian zen gardens 
8. Designer handmade chocolates 
9. Handcrafted dinnerware and cutlery  
10. Sexy images of Keanu Reeves 

JOHN WICK 
Release Date: 2014
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 101 mins 
A slick action-crime film directed by Chad Stahelski, in his directorial debut and written by Derek Kolstad. John Wick delivers a fast paced, action packed ride with intense fight scenes that rival Hong Kong action movies. I was pleasantly and unexpectedly entertained by this movie with it's neo-noir vibe and smooth talking hitman with a soft heart, it is undeniably enjoyable. 
When the puppy that his recently deceased wife left for him to assist with his grief is killed and his beloved Mustang is stolen, ex-hitman John Wick comes out of retirement to exact his revenge. 
​No big surprises with the storyline here, it all plays out in a pretty predictable and linear fashion, but the real strength of this movie is the impeccable cast and intense action sequences.  Ian McShane, Willem Dafoe, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen and John Leguizamo all join the ranks, but they are completely eclipsed by Keanu Reeves, who hasn't delivered anything this sexy and cool since The Matrix. 
FINAL SAY: He was the one that you sent to kill the fucking Boogeyman. 
4 Chilli Peppers
Note: John Wick: Chapter 2 released in 2017 and  John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum released in 2019 continue to deliver even more high quality, fast paced action and are equally as good (dare I say even better?) as the first John Wick offering. As far as action trilogies go, the John Wick trilogy is the best that I have ever seen. ​

I have in other posts mentioned how I hate it when a movie franchise capitalises on the success of earlier films and starts to roll out endless sequels that are just absolute shit and not a scrap on the original in any way, and look this does happen quite a lot. However, I don't want to tell you about all of the times that Hollywood wasted my time with shithouse sequels, why would I do that when I can tell you about all of the times when they actually got it completely right?
I would much prefer to talk about all of the times that a sequel or trilogy produced something that was just as good as the original - and dare I say it, sometimes even better! Yes, it is true, that some sequels and sometimes trilogies (and even beyond; which is rare but has happened) can be just as good, if not better than, their predecessor offerings. And I have to say that I get mighty excited when things like this happen.
Whenever I enter the cinema to watch a second coming I never, not ever, expect for it to be great. So you can imagine my surprise and delight when they get the formula right and deliver something fabulous all over again. Impossible you say? I think not, check out these incredible feats of cinematic trilogy and sequel genius -no seriously, you should really check them out, they're actually all very good movies!
TERRIFIC TRILOGIES:

• The Godfather: Arguably the best movie trilogy that has ever been made and certainly one of the best that I've ever seen.
• Toy Story: All four of them are great, all four of them! This is so rare that it is literally unheard of. If you've somehow missed these, see them immediately. 
• Lord Of The Rings (Trilogy): I've said it a thousand times, these three movies are epic. All Hale King Jackson! 
• The Hobbit(Trilogy): More Jackson gold, not as good as LOTR, but still epic.
• John Wick: There have been three of these so far, and they just keep getting better and better, and Keanu gets sexier and sexier as well - bonus!
• The Indiana Jones trilogy: Yeah I know that there were four of them, but the first three were the best and you know it too!
• Before Midnight: The final film in the trilogy, with the first two being Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. These are some of the best and most realistic romance films ever made, and each installment gets more involved. 
• Three Colours: Blue, Red and White: These fabulous french/polish language films are loosely based on the three political ideals in the motto of the French republic: liberty, equality, fraternity, and they're all excellent. 

STUNNING SEQUELS: 

• Terminator 2: Judgement Day: The first one was great, but the second one was bad ass, CGI effects heaven in 1991. 
• Aliens: Yep, loved the original Alien with all of my heart, but kick ass Ripley saving the day in Aliens was so damn good!
• Blade Runner 2049: So good, and in my opinion better than the original in storyline. 
• Paddington 2: Probably the best sequel of 2017, it was just so damn adorable!
• The Dark Knight: Heath Ledger's performance elevated the Batman movies to new and great heights- amazing!
• Thor: Ragnarok: Funnier, faster and way more enjoyable than any of the other Thor films. 
• Logan: The Wolverine franchise swan song was so, so good - it made my best of 2017 film list because it's really intelligent and deeply moving.
• Insidious 2: A perfect follow up to the very creepy first offering, some consistently excellent horror film making here. 
• Deadpool 2 - I love the Deadpool movies, they are so naughty and tongue in cheek, they're winners all round for me.
• Creep 2 - More Mark Duplass weirdness! Creep 2 is a really good and consistent follow on to the first Creep film. 
• Kill Bill Vol 2 - Every bit as good as Kill Bill vol 1, I actually liked the second instalment more than the first, but I know that many would argue this with me. 
• Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army: Even better than the first Hellboy, loads more fantastic creatures and heaps of action packed fun. 
• Manon Des Sources: The second installment of the French language movie Jean De Florette is unforgettable material that shouldn't be missed. 
• Avengers: Endgame: A perfect ending to an incredible franchise and the best super sequel that has ever been made. Hall of Fame material!
• Mad Max: Fury Road: This modern take on Mad Max was an unmissable fuel injected adrenaline rush and made my best of 2015 list. 
• T2 Trainspotting: A mature and contemplative revisit to the lads twenty years on, very interesting. 
• The Conjuring 2 - The Enfield Haunting: Totally freaked me out, that bloody nun is scary as all shit! Way more scares than the first Conjuring offering. 
• The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2: Just as good as Vol 1 in every way, just as funny, action packed and entertaining. 
• An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power: If you're still in denial about global warming then watch Al Gore's second offering about the subject and get on board with feeling very uncomfortable and worried about the planet. 
• Zombieland: Double Tap: More hack and slash zombie killing with the old gang, what's not to like? 

The Academy Awards (or Oscars) are officially Hollywood's biggest awards 'night of nights.' They serve to award movie makers, directors and actors who have reached a pinnacle of excellence in their careers. To even receive an Oscar nomination is huge deal in Hollywood, and unlike the Golden Globes that celebrate television and film excellence, the Academy Awards are solely focused on recognising achievements of excellence in film.
The categories at the Oscars span much further than acting and directing, and also offer recognition for all of the creative and technical work that goes on behind the scenes when movies are made. From costuming, sound, cinematography, visual effects and cinema shorts, the Academy Awards are the most prestigious and coveted of all of the Hollywood award events, and even though I never miss the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards or the Critics Choice Awards, the Oscars are easily my favourite awards ceremony to watch every year. 
If you should wish to see the Academy Awards ceremony yourself this year, it will be broadcasting live on Channel Seven from 12pm on Monday 10th February, with an encore airing at 7.30pm for those of you who, like myself, will be at work during the day of the ceremony. 
And this year, the Academy Award nominees are as follows:
Best Picture:
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
Lead Actor:
Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker”
Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”
Lead Actress:
Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”
Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”
Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”
Renee Zellweger, “Judy”
Supporting Actor:
Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino, “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Supporting Actress:
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern, “Marriage Story”
Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”
Florence Pugh, “Little Women”
Margot Robbie, “Bombshell”
Director:
Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”
Todd Phillips, “Joker”
Sam Mendes, “1917”
Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite”
Animated Feature:
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois
“I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin
“Klaus,” Sergio Pablos
“Missing Link,” Chris Butler
“Toy Story 4,”  Josh Cooley
Animated Short:
“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry
“Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan
“Memorable,” Bruno Collet
“Sister,” Siqi Song
Adapted Screenplay:
“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi
“Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
“Little Women,” Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten
Original Screenplay:
“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach
“1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han
Cinematography:
“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker,” Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke
“1917,” Roger Deakins
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson
Best Documentary Feature:
“American Factory,” Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar
“The Cave,” Feras Fayyad
“The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa
“For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
Best Documentary Short Subject:
“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger
“Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas
“St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix
Best Live Action Short Film:
“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur
“Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat
“The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry
“Saria,” Bryan Buckley
“A Sister,” Delphine Girard
Best International Feature Film:
“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa
“Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov
“Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly
“Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodovar
“Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho
Film Editing:
“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles
“Joker,” Jeff Groth
“Parasite,” Jinmo Yang
Sound Editing:
“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester
“Joker,” Alan Robert Murray
“1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord
Sound Mixing:
“Ad Astra”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Production Design:
“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova
“1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh
“Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee
Original Score:
“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story,” Randy Newman
“1917,” Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams
Original Song:
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”
Makeup and Hair:
“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”
Costume Design:
”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker,” Mark Bridges
“Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips
Visual Effects:
“Avengers Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“1917”
“The Lion King”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Here's a shout out to all of the directors that have given me a memorable viewing experience at some point in my lifetime. This list is designed to give credit to my favourite director's work and offer homage to their incredible efforts. I have also cited my favourite movie offering from each director as well, just in case you wanted to know where I thought that they had put down their best work thus far. 
What made me really happy when I was compiling this list was just how varied, vast and interesting the styles of direction are that I have been fortunate enough to experience, but what made me really sad was the lack of female directors that made this list. Clearly, the role of director is still a very male dominated field in Hollywood. I did happen to notice that all of the best movie nominations at the Golden Globes this year were all for male directors. And the saddest thing of all about this is, that it is not at all indicative of female directorial ability or talent in any way, shape or form, what it is indicative of is the lack of opportunities for upcoming female directors, and that is something that really needs to change.
Some of the best movies and television programs that I have seen over the last few years were both written and directed by women. Women have incredible and engaging stories to tell both in front of and behind the camera, and I for one would like to see more of them in the future. So, please make sure that you too are making an effort to see more movies that have been directed women in a show of support for all of the female directing pioneers that are out there telling their stories and sharing their visions in a very male dominated industry. 
So without any further ado, here are my favourite movie directors (in no particular order other than my recall ability) and my favourite movies that they have brought to life on screen. 
David Lynch - A true visionary in every sense, he's the man behind Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man and Eraserhead. Lynch is known for his surrealist cinema stylings and deeply original point of view.
BEST MOVIE: Mulholland Drive
Wes Anderson - The king of quirk with a distinct visual style and amusing narrative. He's delivered gems like The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel and has produced two incredible stop motion children's animations as well, one of which is on my Hall of Fame.
BEST MOVIE: Fantastic Mr Fox
Lars von Trier- A Danish director and scriptwriter that has had a long and controversial career. Basically he seems to enjoy destroying beautiful things in all of his films, which are gritty and damning. He's responsible for Nymphomaniac, Antichrist, Dancer in the Dark and Dogville, which all left a mark on me. 
BEST MOVIE: Melancholia
Jason Reitman - Reitman seems to 'get' women and understand difficult relationship dynamics, and his films certainly portray that knowledge. He brought us Juno, Up in the Air, Tully and Young Adult which were all exceptionally good. 
BEST MOVIE: Labor Day 
Taika Waititi - A clever New Zealand comedy filmmaker who always seems to get the right balance between poignancy and laughs in his films. He's the funny guy behind Moana (he wrote the first screenplay), What We Do in the Shadows, Eagle vs Shark, Boy and most recently Jojo Rabbit. 
BEST MOVIE: Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Peter Jackson - Jackson is responsible for all of the journeys that I took in darkened cinemas to Middle Earth, I bloody love ya Peter! Besides the all of the LOTR's and The Hobbits, he is also the man behind King Kong, The Lovely Bones and the incredible documentary They Shall Not Grow Old. 
BEST MOVIE: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
John Hughes - Hughes pretty much dictated everything that I became obsessed with in my teens. From bad boys to '80's fashion Hughes could do no wrong. I have rewatched Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles and Weird Science countless times, they're absolute classics. 
BEST MOVIE: The Breakfast Club
Stanley Kubrick  - Probably one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, Kubrick has crossed so many genres that his body of work is dizzying! He gave us giants like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Spartacus and A Clockwork Orange. 
BEST MOVIE: Eyes Wide Shut
Alejandro González Iñárritu - With a flair for telling the most compelling international stories about the human condition, this highly acclaimed Mexican director gave us some unforgettable cinematic experiences like Birdman, Amores Perros, 21 Grams and The Revenant. 
BEST MOVIE: Babel
Oliver Stone - A controversial director that has been accused of being a conspiracy theorist. He actually wrote the script for Scarface (which was directed by Brian De Palma) and also gave us Platoon, The Doors, Born on the Fourth of July and Wall Street. 
BEST MOVIE: Natural Born Killers
Michel Gondry - A French director that uses strong visual themes and compositions (often called Mise-en-scene)  to tell a story. Because of this, Gondry's movies are visually striking and are often considered to be art house or avante-garde. He gave us The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind and most recently the brilliant  television series Kidding. 
BEST MOVIE: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Guillermo del Toro - A visionary fantasy director from Mexico who creatively brings monsters and mythical creatures to life in his films. Generally science fiction, horror or fantasy based, del Toro gave us some amazing otherworldly journeys through The Shape of Water, Hellboy and Crimson Peak.
BEST MOVIE: Pan's Labyrinth
Danny Boyle - This British director delivers equal measures of intense action and sincere emotion into everything that he does.  He's tried his hand at many genres and kept us gripped with Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, The Beach and more recently, Yesterday.
BEST MOVIE: Slumdog Millionaire
Sam Mendes - The buzz around this director has been huge this year, given the success of 1917. However, let's not forget all of his other epic offerings like American Beauty, Skyfall and Revolutionary Road.
BEST MOVIE: 1917 
James Wan  - An Australian-Malaysian director who rose to prominence after he co-created the Saw film franchise. Since then he has been scaring the pants off people with memorable horror films like The Conjuring, Insidious and Annabelle films.
BEST MOVIE: The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case
Greta Gerwig - Actress and filmmaker, Gerwig collaborated with her partner (who is also a director) Noah Baumbach on several films before she kicked off her solo directing career in 2017 with Lady Bird. Since then, Gerwig has become a respected and predominant modern Hollywood director. 
BEST MOVIE: Little Women
Ridley Scott - I feel like I grew up watching Ridley Scott action and science fiction films. He's been entertaining me for decades and he's had some mind blowingly great movies like Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and American Gangster. 
BEST MOVIE: The Martian
Michael Moore - A controversial American documentary filmmaker that gets up in everyone's face; love him or hate him, Michael Moore is hard to ignore. He's hit some very high notes with Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko and Where to Invade Next. 
BEST MOVIE: Bowling for Columbine
Guy Ritchie - Before he married Madonna, Ritchie was making heaps of kick arse British gangster movies that were really funny and very entertaining.  He has just recently gone back to doing that again with The Gentlemen, but let's not forget that he also did Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, RocknRolla and believe it or not, the 2019 live action version of Aladdin. 
BEST MOVIE: Snatch
Jim Jarmusch - The patron saint of independent cinema since the '80's, Jarmusch's films are really arty, really cool, very edgy and hypnotically contemplative. He gave us Paterson, Deadman and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. 
BEST MOVIE: Only Lovers Left Alive
Steven Soderbergh - When Soderbergh made Unsane in 2018 and filmed it all on his iphone he made us feel like we were wasting our lives! He's a pioneer of independent cinema and his body of work is incredibly impressive; he gave us Contagion, Erin Brockovich and the Ocean's franchise. 
BEST MOVIE: Logan Lucky 
Christopher Nolan - He probably got a bit pigeon-holed for a while due to his Batman trilogy efforts (which I also loved) but let's not forget that he also gave us other memorable epics like Inception, Dunkirk and Memento. 
BEST MOVIE: Interstellar
Sam Raimi - Raimi terrified audiences in the 80's with The Evil Dead and then enchanted them in the early 2000's with Spiderman so it would be fair to say that his work is varied and vast. He also gave us some very noteworthy cult horror movies like Army of Darkness, Drag Me to Hell and Don't Breathe.
BEST MOVIE: The Evil Dead
Clint Eastwood - He blew everyone away when he started directing and acting in a string of extremely good and Oscar worthy movies, which he is still doing to this day. The man's got some serious talent and gave us gems like  Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River.
BEST MOVIE: Unforgiven
Tim Burton - No-one does eccentric gothic horror and fantasy films better than Burton, he is the master! He has a style that is all his own, and with a lot of help from wife Helena Bonham Carter and actor Johnny Depp he's given us fantastical romps into magical fantasy worlds that have included Charlie and the Chocolate factory, Beetlejuice, Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands and Alice in Wonderland. 
BEST MOVIE: Sweeney Todd
Ang Lee - A visionary and a genuinely beautiful storyteller. It's rare for me not to get choked up when I watch an Ang Lee movie, they are just so deeply affecting. He gave us the gorgeous Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Life of Pi and The Ice Storm. 
BEST MOVIE: Brokeback Mountain
Sofia Coppola - Daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia has proven her worth as a director in her own right by delivering thoughtful explorations of female relationships and genuine, modern impressions of the human experience. She was responsible for The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette and The Beguiled. 
BEST MOVIE: Lost in Translation
Judd Apatow -An American comedy director that started out producing and developing the television show Freaks and Geeks in the late 90's. He went on to direct Trainwreck, The 40-year-old Virgin and Knocked Up and also write some of the funniest movies that I have ever seen. 
​BEST MOVIE: Superbad
Alfred Hitchcock - The most influential and extensively studied filmmaker in the history of cinema, how could I possibly leave Hitchcock off my list? He's been giving audiences thrills and chills for years, and he still is with his extensive repertoire of thriller classics like North by Northwest, The Birds, Rear Window and Vertigo.
BEST MOVIE: Psycho
David Fincher - Ever since I saw The Game in 1997 I became interested in seeing more of Fincher's work. He's delivered a strong, controversial and impactful body of work and was responsible for Seven, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network and Gone Girl.
BEST MOVIE: Fight Club
Paolo Sorrentino - An Italian director with an eye for truly beautiful and meaningful cinema. His films are absolute masterpieces and offer viewers moments of contemplation and glimpses of magic - I am obsessed with his work. He's responsible for Youth and This Must Be the Place. 
BEST MOVIE: The Great Beauty.
Joel and Ethan Coen - Genius brothers who bring something fresh, quirky and unique to the screen every time.  Their repertoire is so vast and so excellent that I really struggled to pick my favourite because they delivered The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Fargo, Raising Arizona, Burn After Reading and True Grit, all of which were exceptionally great.
BEST MOVIE: No Country For Old Men
Alfonso Cuaron - A critically acclaimed Mexican director with an impeccable body of high quality work that crosses just about every genre of cinema including thriller, fantasy, science fiction and drama. Thanks Cuaron for giving us truly unforgettable moments like Y Tu Mama Tambien, Gravity and Children of Men.
BEST MOVIE: Roma
Francis Ford Coppola - Widely considered to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Coppola practically had an all out nervous breakdown whilst filming Apocalypse Now in 1979. His commitment to 'getting the film right' has led people to see him a visionary of cinema. He gave us such giants as The Godfather trilogy, Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Outsiders. 
BEST MOVIE: Apocalypse Now
Quentin Tarantino - Known for his uber violent, non-linear storylines that contain extended dialogue, huge ensemble casts and loads of Pop Culture references, Tarantino has a style that is all his own. Many of his films pay homage to all of his own cinematic loves, especially Japanese martial arts, kung fu movies, spaghetti westerns and Italian horror. He's the man behind the following cinematic  juggernauts - Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Django Unchained, Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2, Death Proof and The Hateful Eight.
BEST MOVIE: Inglourious Basterds
Martin McDonagh - Considered to be the most acclaimed living Irish- British playwright, McDonagh caught my attentions when he made In Bruge, and then delivered again with Seven Psychopaths in 2012. But we all know him best for his amazing 2017 offering that made my Hall of Fame.
BEST MOVIE: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Kathryn Bigelow - Spreading herself across a wide range of genres, Bigelow is not afraid to grapple the big topics. She is forging the way for future female directors with her stellar repertoire which includes Zero Dark Thirty, Near Dark and Point Break.
BEST MOVIE: The Hurt Locker
Darren Aronofsky - A director with a flair for delivering surreal, melodramatic and often disturbing content in his movies. Audiences often seem divided on Aronofsky's material, but I think that he is one of the most talented filmmakers of his generation. He brought us Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream, Pi, The Fountain and Mother!
BEST MOVIE: The Wrestler
Steven Spielberg - Okay, I know that he can be cheesy as hell, but when he gets it right - he really gets it right. There's a reason that Spielberg is still filling cinemas, the man knows how to make a movie. Besides I was virtually raised on Spielberg's material. He gave us E.T., Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, Ready Player One, Schindler's List, Raiders of the Lost Ark, War of the Worlds and Jaws. 
BEST MOVIE: A.I. 
Tarsem Singh - An Indian director that creates films that are a complete immersion and a true feast for the senses. Stunning and absolutely unforgettable, I love his vision and wish that he would make more movies. Singh gave us Immortals, The Cell and Mirror Mirror.
BEST MOVIE: The Fall
Paul Thomas Anderson - Contemplative and filled with flawed and desperate characters, Anderson's movies explore dysfunctional families, alienation and loneliness and they are deeply affecting. He delivered some of my favourite cinematic experiences like Magnolia, Boogie Nights and Punch Drunk Love.
BEST MOVIE: There Will Be Blood.
Martin Scorsese - An American director best known for his gangster and crime movies, he is widely considered to be one of the most influential directors of the New Hollywood era. He tends to cast the same actors in many of his movies, and he has a long professional relationship with Robert De Niro. Scorsese gave us Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, The Departed, Raging Bull and most recently The Irishman. 
BEST MOVIE: Casino
David Cronenberg - Sometimes called the 'Baron of Blood' due to his visceral body horror movies. Cronenberg has made films that people never forget that they have seen, because they are so grotesque! It's really no surprise that I love his work! He gave us The Fly, Videodrome and  Scanners.
BEST MOVIE: eXistenZ
Alexander Payne -  One of the best filmmakers of all time, Payne's movies are full of dark humour and satirical depictions of a dysfunctional modern America. He's the man behind Sideways, About Schmidt and Nebraska.
BEST MOVIE: The Descendants
Jennifer Kent - Kent made her directorial debut in 2014 with the haunting film The Babadook. She is an Australian director that is willing to handle sensitive and disturbing material. Her 2018 movie The Nightingale caused waves due to it's graphic content, but I thought that it was one of the best film of that year. 
BEST MOVIE: The Nightingale
Roman Polanski - I wish that someone that wasn't a pedophile had directed Rosemary's Baby because it's definitely one of my favourite movies of all time. But the love ends there Roman because you're just not a good guy. 
BEST MOVIE: Rosemary's Baby 
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: aka 'I still love ya'

• Terrence Malick - The Thin Red Line and The Tree of Life, total game changers.
• Brian de Palma - Carrie and Scarface, enough said. 
• Dario Argento - 1977 Suspiria, nothing has come close to matching it in crazy colour design and stylised macabre.
• Neill Blomkamp - District 9 was next level genius, can we get more of that please? 
• Baz Luhrmann - Absolutely loved the Red Curtain Trilogy, and let's not forget The Great Gatsby or Australia. 
• Duncan Jones - you had me at Moon.
• Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea, one of the most affecting movies I've ever seen.
• Woody Allen - actually I really don't love ya - NOT at all, you're a weirdo and you're a creep! However, I cannot deny that Blue Jasmine, Annie Hall, Mighty Aphrodite and Vicky Cristina Barcelona were all worthy watches. 

I haven't been on my website for what feels like an age, and I have good reason for that. I lost my father last week in what I can only describe as a whirlwind event of shock and surprise that left us all reeling and wondering what the hell had happened. I must say, that it is just like my father to go out like a clap of thunder, but considering the fact that he seemed to bounce back from every ailment that was thrown at him, we were all floored when he eventually succumbed and passed away. 
My dad was a man that never complained about his physical illnesses and never really revealed to us just how truly ill he really was, which meant that in the end he had a multitude of ailments (some secret and some not) that even his bullet proof fortitude could no longer manage. And being completely true to form, he waited until everyone was out of the room to take his leave and depart the world. This made the entire event feel so sudden and unexpected, but when you really read all of the early signs (which you always do after an event of this magnitude) we probably should have seen this coming and expected no less from our father. 
I really wanted dad to have a nice farewell and even though he hated any fuss or fanfare, we did put together a short and meaningful goodbye for him and I wrote and delivered his eulogy myself. Writing his eulogy was so cathartic for me, not only did I get to say farewell in my own terms and with my own words, I also got to have some beautiful and meaningful conversations with people that also loved him dearly as they shared their special stories and memories of my father with me. The entire experience was really meaningful and it felt like such a perfect way to honour and farewell someone who has had so much influence over my own life. 
I have decided to post the eulogy that I wrote as a tribute to my father, so that his story is immortalised and shared with the world, because he genuinely deserves nothing short of that. 

If dad was here today, I know that he would be overwhelmed with the amount of people that have gathered here for him. I also know that he would probably say something like "why are you bothering with all this bullshit for?" because that was dad's way.
However, in spite of dad not wanting any fuss or fanfare, I would like to talk a bit about him; about Don Hall - the larrikin, the hard working bloke, the complicated, private and yet always surprising man that I called my dad. 

Born to a tough as nails Aussie family of five just before the start of WW2 in 1938, my father knew about hard times and would often talk about his childhood with a mixture of joy and the type of sadness that only those who have struggled could ever really understand.
His family survived the depression, wartime and postwar together in the Western suburbs of Melbourne where he grew up shooting rabbits with his uncle Les, chasing trains for coal, stealing scraps of food from the chook shed to stave off his hunger and generally being a complete scallywag with his older sister Linda.
Linda shared some funny tales about their early childhood adventures that included nicking their father’s treasured chocolates and smokes and the time that dad created a makeshift community swimming pool from a burst water pipe hole that resulted in my dad emerging caked from head to toe in thick brown mud.
One day the two of them had a marvelous time jumping on the bloated belly of what they thought was a deceased horse just to hear the farting noises come out. Turns out that poor horse wasn’t dead at all and when they decided to poke it in the bum with a stick it jumped up and ran off, much to their shock and horror. Linda informed me that that poor horse not only survived its run in with her and my father, but gave birth to a foal soon after…I wonder why?

Dad would often reminisce and regale us with tales about his youth; which were generally tales of mischief, childhood bravery or just straight up acts of delinquency! I recall his stories about shooting snakes with his father’s shotgun that had slithered into the family home, getting picked up by the local cops for various law breaking deeds and his free spirited days upon his beloved Ariel Square 4 motorbike that his older brother swapped for a Ute; which I think that dad never forgave him for.
One of dad’s lifelong friends Carso shared with me what a tremendously good friend my dad had been over the years. He once even offered his beloved Ariel bike to use when I was dating a woman in another town, he said, he was the sort of friend that would give you his arse and shit out of his ribs. Sorry to the sensitive ears for that one….but I do think that accurately sums how generous my dad could be.
 
My dad was a handsome, suave man and with his quiet cool attitude and rugged demeanor the women always seemed to notice him. My sister Donna recently told me that her friends at school used to comment on how handsome he was when he would pick her up ‘he looks just like Elvis’ they would swoon, and with that perfect jet black, side combed slicked back hair he caught the eye of my mother and from that moment on they fell in love and started a lifelong love story that lasted for more than 60 years.
He married my mother in 1960, much to the distaste of both of their families. My mother’s family was not too sure about my mum marrying an ‘Aussie kangaroo’ as they called him, and my father’s parents weren’t too keen on him marrying a new Australian either, but against all of the odds and prejudices they did marry and they made it work together.
They were young parents, mum only a teenager herself when they welcomed Donna into the world and dad being super handy with his hands built a bungalow on my grandparent’s property so that they could start a life and save for their first home. More children soon arrived, Morry, William, Kath and myself and before he knew it dad had a brood of children to care for and he took his fatherly duties very seriously, especially when it came to his three beautiful daughters.
Fiercely protective and possessive as a father, any boy that knocked on our door for a date was ran through the Donnie Hall series of difficult questions and demands. ‘What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?’ He would ask whilst running his eye over some sweaty, clueless teenager that looked like they were going to explode under the weight of dads inquiring and judging eye.

And dad was incredibly old fashioned like that, he was a boys will be boys and girls will be ladies kind of a dad who had high expectations that we all felt obligated to meet.
And there was something about dad that made us all seek his approval and affections because underneath that hard exterior beat the heart of a truly soft and genuinely sensitive man.  Dad was firm but fair and we all knew that he only had our best interests at heart.
Those of us that knew him well understood that dad was actually just a big marshmallow who had mellowed greatly over the years and who loved nothing more than a joke (preferably a dirty one) and a good laugh.

He had many interests like cars, western and action movies and tinkering with mechanical things, especially fiddly things like clocks. He always had a curious mind and liked to learn new things, a fitter and turner by trade, my dad liked knowing how things worked and could spend hours investigating gadgets, taking things apart and putting them back together again.
One thing that we all knew about dad was his incredible work ethic, need to be kept busy and demand for perfection. He built and renovated several homes in his lifetime, one in Deer Park, Daylesford, Ballarat and eventually here in Ararat. House proud up until the end, he was laying new flooring in his house only weeks before he left us. Everyone said that dad would go with a hammer in his hand and that wasn’t far from the truth.
If something needed fixing, dad would do it. If something got broken, dad would work it out, and he took pride in being able to repair and mend almost anything that he put his mind to.

At his essence I believe that my father was a complicated man. He was often guarded, secretive and somewhat mysterious to us all in so many ways. He was difficult to get to know well and at times struggled to even understand the complexities of himself. I shared many conversations with him where he spoke candidly of his deep love and adoration for all of his children, grandchildren and our mother.
His last year with us was fraught with health complications, both physical and mental and it eventually took its toll on dad. But I also know that dad would want us to all remember the good times that we shared with him when we think about him, the laughs, the stories and the wonderful memories that we have of our time together.

I know that I will never watch a John Wayne, Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood movie or hear a Roy Orbison song without thinking of my dad, I’ll never eat a roast lamb without wishing he could share it with me and I’ll never forget the man that I called dad.
Goodbye dad, we will all miss you very much. 

I went to see the much discussed and heatedly debated Joker movie on its opening day this week, not because I was caught up in all of the pre-movie controversy but rather because I genuinely had a desire to see it. I have seen every other DC comic movie offering and let's be honest, the preview of Joker looked amazing. For those of you that have somehow missed all of the pre-movie persecution of Joker, let me fill you in. 
This stand alone origin movie was shrouded in great concern because authorities felt that the film had the potential to unleash copycat violence and anarchy, particularly with fans of the previous anti-social media depictions of the Joker. And sure, after seeing it I can understand how it could make people that feel marginalised identify with the villain's plight, but I am not sure that will be enough to insight anarchy in the streets. The Joker has always been a character that embraces nihilism as a means of escaping his perceived cruel and unjust world, but if Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and Jared Leto didn't get the downtrodden lashing out, why should Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal be any different? 
Well, I cannot deny that when I went to see Joker and a man stood up at the front of the theatre at the beginning of the movie and shouted out to the audience- "We all live in this society" that my heart didn't leap into my throat recalling the mass shooting  that occured in America at an airing of Batman - The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others. Yep, all that pre-talk controversy did get to me and for a moment I did perceive potential danger and frightening social disorder. 
And I cannot argue that Joker is undeniably relentless with its portrayal of the beaten down underdog. There is literally no relief for poor Arthur Fleck (aka Joker) in this movie, he is the most insanely tragic character to grace our screens in a long while, and being a DC comic character, this film is going to reach a wide and greatly varied audience. And contrary to his title, he isn't very funny at all, he's actually extremely sad, socially inept and painfully awkward. He clearly has a range of anxieties, suffers from severe depression and evidently already has a mental disorder that is not being treated correctly. How can we not feel sorry for this invisible and pained character? This film is gut-wrenchingly upsetting and we eventually just accept his complete breakdown as an inevitable consequence of his conditions. There is nothing funny about that at all is there? 
However, this whole 'pushed to the end of my limits' character arc is not new or original, it has been done before. Martin Scorsese did it with Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver and Joel Schumacher did it with D-Fens in Falling Down and no-one took the streets and shot up the world to hell in support of those characters either. And maybe that's because all of these characters had lost their minds, they were not sane and they were not in control of themselves, and to assume that awake and intelligent audiences are going to become gun toting loons after seeing Joker is of course ridiculous, but we also cannot ignore that to some already abused and unstable viewers that the fantasy of becoming a hero to the powerless and abused, even if it means being feared, could be perceived as appealing. 
However, if we are going to start inciting DC comics as a call to action for unstable sympathisers than we would also need to address all of the other forms of nihilism that exist in the media and the music industry today in order to really explore the influence of villains in our current society. Let's be real, Joker isn't funny, but the ugly side of life isn't and it never will be. Will it make people rage against the machine? I honestly doubt it, but stranger things have happened, who knows? Maybe a Disney movie will trigger someone one day.
Mostly, I think that what people are afraid of in regards to this movie is the fact that they will indeed identify with the dreadful oppression of the downtrodden and mentally unwell; and the lack of resources that are made available to them, which is really highlighted by this film. Rather than making people grab their weapons, I would hope that this empathy would instead make them feel called to address what is going on in our society today for us to identify with this high level of neglect and what can be done for the marginalised and neglected in the form of prevention. Like I said, woke audiences will see this movie and its message in a very different way, and perhaps a more proactive way overall than anyone could have ever expected. 

JOKER
Release Date: 2019
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 121 mins 
A psychological thriller and a DC comics Joker origin story, this movie really divided audiences and critics alike with it's violent and often disturbing portrayal of mental illness. However, love it or hate it, this is one of the best performances of Joaquin Phoenix's already impressive repertoire and probably the best DC comic movie so far. Directed by Todd Phillips who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver, Joker premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival where it won the Golden Lion award. 
Arthur Fleck, a clown for hire with a mental condition, lives with his aging mother in Gotham City. As the city collapses under crime, unemployment, and financial ruin, the Fleck family like so many others, fall onto hard and impoverish times. After a series of unfortunate and disempowering events occur, Arthur suffers a complete breakdown and begins a mental and physical transition, eventually transforming into the violent and deranged Joker of Gotham City. 
This is a chilling and plausible origin story that offers real depth and insight into the Joker character, as well as providing some new information about the Wayne family enterprise that Batman belongs to.
Phoenix delivers an Oscar worthy and completely engrossing performance as the Joker, which not only compliments the great work that Heath Ledger layed down years earlier in The Dark Knight, but adds yet another layer to this intriguing and genuinely disturbing character's tale. 
FINAL SAY: My mother always tells me to smile and put on a happy face. She told me I had a purpose: to bring laughter and joy to the world.
4 Chilli Peppers ​

Whenever I tell people that I have a website that is dedicated to reviewing movies they always ask me the same question - What's Your Favourite Movie of All Time? As a lover of movies, this is one of the hardest questions that I ever get asked because it is almost impossible to choose just one movie when I have seen and enjoyed so many.
There is a reason that I have a Hall of Fame page that is dedicated to movies that I gave 5 Chilli Peppers to, and that's because I find it so hard to compare movies from different genres against each other. If someone asks me what my favourite movie is, I usually respond with 'that depends on which genre you're talking about.'
If I could have the option of choosing a favourite in each genre, then I could definitely tell you my favourites without any trouble at all:
DRAMA: Manchester by the Sea
HORROR: Rosemary's Baby
SCIENCE FICTION: Interstellar
​WAR: Inglourious Basterds
SUPER: Avengers: Endgame
COMEDY: Snatch
CRIME/ACTION: No Country for Old Men
ART HOUSE: Youth
FOREIGN: The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) 
FANTASY: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
GRITTY: Melancholia
ROMANCE: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 
KID FRIENDLY: Kubo and the Two Strings 

So why are these my favourite films when I have so many more listed on my Hall of Fame that are also 5 Chilli Peppers worthy? Well that's easy, these are the movies that I go back to time and time again and always enjoy them just as much as I did the first time that I watched them. All of them had an effect on me in one way or another and all of them left me pondering after I had seen them. I guess that I really don't have one favourite movie of all time, I actually have 13, which also happens to be my lucky number! 

Everyone has at least one great story to tell. Some people actually have even more than that, but everyone has at least one story that will either enchant, revolt, tantalize, amuse or tug at your heart strings in some way. The reason that I know this to be true is because I like to really listen to people, and when you really listen to people they will tell you the most marvellous things.
Not everything that people will tell you when you listen to them will be happy, in fact some things will be sad or even harrowing or worst of all vile, but they will tell you a story if you give them enough of your attention and ask the right questions, and that is when you will hear the most interesting stories that will stay with you forever. And stories should be varied anyway, our experience of the human condition is completely individualised and therefore multifaceted. No two people have the same life experiences and no two people will even view the same life experience in the same way, so when you think about it like that there are actually billions and billions of untold stories floating around inside random people right now just waiting to be heard. 
Some people have a genuine gift for storytelling and when they start to speak you just want to grab a cuppa and a cushion and dig in for a good listening session. Other people aren't quite as engaging when they tell their tales, but that doesn't make their stories any less meaningful or interesting in the long run. Sometimes the briefest of tales can be the most poignant and meaningful. It is claimed that Ernest Hemingway once wrote a six-word story that could make people for a cry for a bet. The wager was ten dollars, which Hemingway won with the following: "For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never worn." 
In 2006, Wired magazine followed Hemingway's example and asked sci-fi, fantasy and horror writers to come up with their own six word stories, here are a few of my favourites: 
Gown removed carelessly. Head, less so.
- Joss Whedon
Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
- Margaret Atwood
The baby’s blood type? Human, mostly.
- Orson Scott Card
Kirby had never eaten toes before.
- Kevin Smith
TIME MACHINE REACHES FUTURE!!! … nobody there …
- Harry Harrison
Heaven falls. Details at eleven.
- Robert Jordan
He read his obituary with confusion.
- Steven Meretzky
You just gotta love a good story, and even though some are clearly more interesting or insightful than others, none of them are not worth hearing. Who knows? The next person that you meet could have the most interesting tale in the world to share with you! So make sure you take some time to listen to the people around you...because they do want to tell you things! 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
Release Date: 2019
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 161 mins 
A crime/ drama and at times an exceptionally dark comedy, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is Quentin Tarantino's brilliantly executed homage to the end of The Golden Age of Hollywood. With a massive ensemble cast and multiple storylines, this is a fairy tale retell of the days surrounding the brutal Sharon Tate murders by the Manson cult that occurred in 1969. Unlike other Tarantino movies, this film demonstrates more restraint around the levels of on screen graphic gore and violence...well...mostly, there are still some intense graphic scenes to experience here, but it is Tarantino and we have all come to expect some shock violence from his films. 
Fading Western television star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best friend and stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) encounter colourful and controversial characters as they try to maneuver Dalton out of Hollywood 'Has-Been' oblivion and back into the limelight with the help of spaghetti westerns and Hollywood opportunities. 
No late '60's stone goes unturned here, with everything from The Playboy Mansion and Roman Polanski  to Bruce Lee  and Charles Manson getting a look in. And it all mishmashes together into one terrifically enjoyable old pop culture tribute that I completely adored. I was riveted for the duration and grateful to see something so refreshingly new at the cinema again. 
DiCaprio and Pitt are not only on their A game but they are having a lot of fun with this already witty script. The cast is absolutely massive; Tarantino has again used Zoe Bell and Kurt Russell well, but has also added some fresh new faces to his cast list with notable performances from Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate, Lena Dunham as Gypsy, Dakota Fanning as Squeaky Fromme, Bruce Dern as George Spahn and stealing some hard to grab attention from everyone else was newcomer Julia Butters playing the wise western star child Trudi. 
This is not my favourite Tarantino offering, but I cannot deny that it is one of his best, and it is definitely the best thing that I have seen at the cinema so far this year. 
FINAL SAY: It's official, old buddy. I'm a has-been.
4.5 Chilli Peppers ​

I have this little daily inspirations magnet on my fridge at home. Everyday you tear off a page to get a dose of daily zen and sometimes the messages that I get really speak to me and even set me up for a day of happy, positive thinking with their inspirational quotes and ideas. Today when I tore off the little sheet of paper I saw this:
                              Neither seek nor avoid, take what comes.
                                            SWAMI VIVEKANANDA
Now I am all about living in the moment, which is pretty much my personal mantra, but neither seek nor avoid? Come on, that's extreme! I am all for counting your blessings and finding bliss in what you have, but I don't think that we should just settle. Life, the world, everything around us is in constant movement, if we just stop seeking and avoiding, we will more than likely just stand still and nothing will progress. Seeking is what makes us hungry, it's what makes us discover and invent, it's what changes us and motivates us. Sometimes not seeking a better option or looking around for new ideas is really just demonstrative of a lack of motivation, and that's definitely not a virtue in my books. How are you supposed to grow if you are not supposed to seek? That's called marinating my friends, and it's not ideal. And how does a person just stop being curious anyway? It's human nature to be curious, and I don't think that it is 'unzen' to want to look around sometimes. 
And what about not avoiding? I have even bigger issues with that one. Obviously one should always avoid a head on collision with a truck or getting an addiction to crack, and I am aware that the Swami wasn't being that literal when he said 'don't avoid', but there are a lot of other things that one should avoid in life in that it would be just plain stupid not to. Like avoiding unnecessary conflict, harsh words, arguments and being involved in any kind of shitty talk about other people. Also it's definitely a good idea to avoid being rude, ignorant, racist, sexist, insensitive...shall I go on? If you just go into everything in the world blindly or without a care for anyone else because you're on the 'neither seek nor avoid, take what comes' life mantra, odds are you're just asking for trouble and trouble will find you, and then you'll just have to accept that too! If the human race didn't avoid sometimes, there would be constant war and unrest in the world, sometimes avoiding trouble or danger is not only smart it's extremely wise and necessary to getting along. 
I just cannot abide by Swami Vivekananda's questionably sage theory if I am being honest because I actually believe that in certain circumstances, taking what comes without question or without using your common sense is really stupid and will only lead to disaster. We are supposed to seek, we are supposed to learn from our mistakes and therefore avoid what we know is disastrous, and we are not meant to just blindly take whatever is dished out to us, because we all deserve better than that. 
I am certainly no Swami, but if I was asked to give my version of the that inspirational quote to be put into a daily zen calendar it would probably say something a little more like this:
    Seek what you need to feel sated, avoid what is unnecessary and unkind,                                      and don't take anything too seriously or for granted. 
                                                         GURU SPICYWATCH 

SEVEN SAMURAI
Release Date: 1954
Rating: PG
Running Time: 207 mins
A Japanese action- adventure film co-written, edited and directed by Akira Kurosawa. Seven Samurai has truly stood the test of time and is still regarded as one of the most highly influential, remade, reworked and referenced films in cinema. I must admit that I felt completely bound to see this film because it kept turning up on so many people's must see lists, I knew that I must have been missing something important, and I was because this is an amazing period action movie, that deserves at least one viewing in everyone's life time. 
Set in 1586 during the Warring States Period of Japan, a village of local farmers hire seven ronin (masterless samurai) to combat a group of thieving bandits that have been ravaging their crops and terrorizing their families for years. 
Seven Samurai is not reliant on gore or effects to depict it's action scenes, there is a real sense of cavalry and style being used here that really enhances the overall effect of the film. As one of the only movies on Rotten Tomatoes to get a full 100% certified fresh rating, this film has just the right mix of everything to keep you interested and engaged, and at over three hours running time, that's really saying something! 
FINAL SAY: Danger always strikes when everything seems fine.
4.5 Chilli Peppers ​

You can take every precaution in the world, but no matter how well planned or prepared you may think you are, a head cold or some new strain of the flu will eventually track you down and smack you to the ground like a bad playground bully. Turns out that my health scare was just the flu, I say 'just the flu' very flippantly, but the alternative to that was far worse, so I am sticking to 'just the flu.' 
Of course, 'just the flu' has come with a plethora of discomfort and side effects that have today forced me to hide away from the world, not just for my benefit but also for everyone else's as well. Body aches, headaches, chest pains, severe joint pain, nausea, dizziness, a persistent dry hacking cough and the all so lovely night sweats have all made an appearance over the past five days and I have been left feeling drained, impatient, over-tired and frayed around the edges in ways that I have not felt for a very long time, and do not wish to feel again in a very long time. 
It is always the last couple of weeks of the Winter school term that really brings the 'shove over' for me every year. In fact, according to my journal entries, every year for the last 8 years in  a row I have had some kind of head cold or flu in the month of June. Thankfully, none of them have required anything more than a couple of days of rest, but still it would appear that 'tis the season for me to feel gross, wear out and generally feel like a slice of shit toast every year. 
In light of that, perhaps in the future June would be a fortuitous time for me to take a trip each year to Bahamas in order to escape the dark recesses of Winter and the dreaded lurgy that hunts me down and pounces on me at the same time every year. However, I doubt that my employer would share my enthusiasm for an annual winter retreat, so that idea will probably need to wait until I am retired. 
I swear that bears have the right idea when it comes to seasonal self adjustment though. Gorge yourself stupid on all of the deliciousness of an Autumnal harvest, find a comfy place to hide and sleep out the dead of Winter and then pop back into the world when the Spring blooms are just peaking their heads out of the soil. Sounds terrific to me!
I have always found the human need to maintain the status quo during the winter months both ridiculous and counter productive, because let's be honest we all need more rest in the winter time. It's darker, colder and completely uninviting outdoors most of the time. You just want to eat way too much comfort food for your trousers to manage! And getting out of bed in the mornings is often an impossible and monumentally unpleasant task. The writing is on the wall isn't it really? Let's make the months of June, July and August four day working weeks. Everyone gets an extra day off a week to be like a bear and roll about in bed, binge on Netflix and eat stoggy goodies! Hooray, Winter woes solved! Everyone gets more rest time, less cold exposure and a day to play every week. I think that I would actually look forward to Winter a lot more if that was going to happen every year.
And I honestly believe that my brilliant idea would mean that less people would get really sick as well. I mean you would have less exposure to other people and therefore less exposure to other people's germs, you would also be more rested and better fed therefore making you generally more resilient as well and you would be feeling a lot more job satisfaction because the work to life ratio would be more agreeable. We really do need to take a leaf out of the books of the hibernating and migrating creatures of the world because the animals clearly have their shit sorted out a lot better than we do. I'm pretty sure bears don't have to ring in sick or contend with hacking coughs all night during the winter do they? 

It always takes something serious to happen to your health to jump start you into action. Nothing like a surprise health scare to really force an unwelcome re-evaluation of your current physical status. Only days ago I was wandering about in blissful oblivion of my own physical shortcomings, and now I am suddenly reflecting with a terrifying and hyper critical eye about how I have really 'let myself go' and how I have probably rained all of this down on myself anyway.
I find that whenever something goes wrong with me physically I immediately thrust myself into this ridiculously harsh and deeply damning zone that forces me to take hard, cold stock of my physical make-up and my body flaws. It is not a friendly or self loving place to be, trust me, it's horrible.
Suddenly, I start to see every minor physical imperfection as a glaringly horrible obstacle that stands before my ability to thrive.  I begin to rapidly hate the failings of my body as I scrutinize every inch of my aging physique and every major health choice that I have made in the past, desperately searching for a logical reason for my body to fail me. I eat well, I take care of myself, I have a fulfilling lifestyle, I get adequate rest, I exercise...why is this happening to me? 
But the truth is, that sometimes bodies just fail. Even really healthy, sexy, slim and young ones fail, and it has nothing to do with years of abuse or sabotage, sometimes it is just the genetic hand that we are dealt that determines how things will play out and there is little or nothing that we can do about it. 
As you get older, you do start to notice that things on your body don't...how can I put this? Operate as well as they used to. Things start to head south rapidly and you find that you have new aches and pains that you never used to have. Weird ones, ones that just appear like unwanted hair in the wrong places or liver spots on the backs of your hands, but more annoying and sometimes more alarming than that. I personally find these annoying new arrivals extremely hard to analyse, because it is so damn difficult to decide if I should worry about them and consider any of them serious, or if I should just ignore them as normal signs of aging. No-one tells you, so you don't know for sure. And at my age, you still feel way too young to have any serious health complications so you generally dismiss all of the unwelcomed weird stuff as nothing, but this may not always be the wisest thing to do. 
Ignoring any health complications, no matter how small they may seem, is definitely not a smart thing to do. And having those honest and scrutinizing assessments with yourself, although uncomfortable, are also at times completely necessary. I wish that I was bulletproof, but I am not, I am human, which sometimes makes me fallible and fragile and susceptible to illness and disease. And as much as I really don't like going to see the GP, I think that a professionals opinion may be important for me right now.
There really is nothing like a health scare to boot your thinking back to those things that you hold in the highest esteem in your life, and how much you would hate to jeopardise your chances of making the most of your time. It is unfortunate that we as humans aren't made a little more resilient than we are, but perhaps it is our fragility that make us all the more precious and special, and also so utterly worth fighting to preserve.  

Spicywatch.com has just turned 5, hip hip hooray Spicywatch! Apart from my family and friends, I don't think that I have poured this much of my spare time and energy consistently into anything before, and for as long as I can remember, I don't feel like I have loved or enjoyed pouring my spare time into anything as much as I have loved sharing Spicywatch with all of you wonderful readers. 
Watching and reviewing movies is not just a hobby for me anymore, it is an important part of my life now. For five years I have shared my thoughts, my opinions and my passion for cinema with you all, and so far I have managed to review 790 movies that I honestly believe are worthy of your time and effort to view. I look forward to one day having 1,000 movies on my Spicywatch genre lists that are worthy of your time, but it will take me quite a few more years to get that far. 
Last nights celebrations were focused on the Best Music Moments in Cinema, which is a broad topic, but extremely fun one to investigate. Musicals were most welcome, but not mandatory, and as it turned out, there are actually a huge number of movies that have very significant and memorable music scenes in them that are actually completely non-musical movies. 
My wonderful and supportive friends and family gathered in Enfield to share a drink and their cinematic loves with me; and we laughed, sang and got our groove on to some of the most unexpected (but mostly excellent) musical moments that we could find.
And here is the extensive list of best music moments in cinema (from every genre) as chosen by my nearest and dearest, that made it to the Spicywatch 5th Birthday celebration screening in my living room last night:
Baby Driver (Bellbottoms) 
Pulp Fiction (You Never Can Tell) 
Beetlejuice (Banana Boat Song) 
The Skeleton Twins (Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now) 
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Twist and Shout) 
Coraline (Garden Scene composed by Peter Corrigan) 
Pretty in Pink (If You Leave) 
The Perks of Being  a Wallflower (Heroes) 
Napoleon Dynamite (Canned Heat) 
Little Miss Sunshine (Super Freak)
Straight Outta Compton (Boyz N Da Hood) 
The Blues Brothers (Shake Your Tail Feather) 
Two Hands (These Days) 
American Psycho (Hip to be Square) 
The Lion King (Circle of Life) 
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Space Oddity) 
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Ricky's Birthday Song) 
Guardians of the Galaxy (Mr Blue Sky) 
Moulin Rouge (Come What May) 
Mean Girls (Jingle Bell Rock) 
Trainspotting (Lust for Life) 
Sound of Music (Edelweiss) 
Reservoir Dogs (Stuck in the Middle) 
O Brother Where Art Thou? (I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow)
Risky Business (Old Time Rock and Roll) 
Easy A (A Pocketful of Sunshine) 
The Mask (Cuban Pete)
Nacho Libre (Encarnacion) 
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Origins of Love) 
The Big Lebowski (Just Dropped In) 
Pitch Perfect (Riff off) 
Purple Rain (Title Track) 
Love Actually (Jump) 
Bridesmaids (Hold on) 
Little Fish (Flame Trees) 
Slumdog Millionaire (Jai Ho)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Anything Goes) 
Singing in the Rain (Title track)
And one of my all time favourites: Mulholland Drive (Llorando/ Crying) 

Today was National Superhero Day, a day that was actually created by Marvel Comics employees in 1995 to observe and honour superheroes around the world, both real and fictional. It seemed only fitting that in order to celebrate the event that I should go and see the much anticipated Avengers: Endgame movie at the cinema. However, to be fair I probably would've gone to see it this weekend anyway. With over three hours of enthralling, entertaining and emotionally heart wrenching viewing, I managed to spend my entire Sunday afternoon immersed in the world of superheroes, which was no only very fitting but also intensely enjoyable for a geek like me. 
Ever since Christopher Nolan picked up the script for Batman and booted up The Dark Knight trilogy, the world of cinematic superheroes has gone into overdrive, with Marvel, DC and Dark Horse Comics grinding out a multitude of superhero movies that are just as enjoyable for adults as they are for younger generations. Everyone has a favourite superhero, and seeing your favourite immortalized on the big screen is a something that seems to dazzle audiences of all ages, and provides a level of immersion and escapism that most people will line up for hours to experience. 
Today the cinema was absolutely packed to rafters, and even though the movie had opened days ago, the tickets were sold out well in advance and the lines to be seated streamed out into the street. I saw entire families (dads, mums and their children of various ages) all eagerly chatting about their favourite superhero experiences so far as they excitedly anticipated the outcome of the movie. I saw little kids dressed up as Spiderman and Ironman riding high on the shoulders of their fathers that looked just as happy to be there as their children. I heard middle aged women praising the female archetypes in superheroes movies of recent years, commenting on how great they were as role models for their daughters. And I heard the audience clap, cheer, moan in disbelief and even gently sob in the dark over their favourite superheroes as the film transpired. And what I learned from all of this is that the world loves superheroes. They just bloody love them entirely. 
They love them when they win, but they also love them when they fail because their failings make them more human and accessible. They love the idea of their superhero getting up, over and over and over again, regardless of how high the chips may be stacked against them, because it gives them hope to rise up against the odds themselves in real life scenarios. They love the spirit of a superhero because is it enduring and noble and we all admire those qualities and look up to them, no matter how old we are or who we are.
And we all have our favourite superheroes. We choose our favourites based on their abilities, their skill set and maybe we even choose who our favourites are based on who we aspire to be more like, or who may have shared a similar life experience to our own. Whatever the reason, it is clear to me that people love superheroes and they love to go and see them on the big screen. I know I do, I was seriously looking forward to seeing the final Avengers instalment today, and what can I say? Well, it certainly did not disappoint that's for sure!