Yep, yep, it's happening again, another awards ceremony and another excuse for me to get to the movies a lot more over the next few weeks. You all know that I love this stuff, but I also love to see what the nominations are because it basically maps out my viewing for the month ahead and gives me a very strong indication of the films that I cannot miss. 
There are so many films nominated for Best Picture this year and it's a total mixed bag of genres. So far, I have seen five of them, so I am half way through.  If you haven't even started to view yet, don't worry there is still plenty of time. The Academy Awards Ceremony will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel this time around and will air on Monday, March 13th, which also just happens to be a public holiday in Victoria, Australia so I will get to enjoy them in real time this year- nice!
And if you haven't seen the final nominations list, you know I got your back! Please see the 95th Academy Award nominations below:
​
Best Picture
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Malte Grunert, Producer
“Avatar: The Way of Water,” James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers
“Elvis,” Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers
“The Fabelmans,” Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers
“Tár,” Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers
“Top Gun: Maverick,” Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers
“Triangle of Sadness,” Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers
“Women Talking,” Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers

Best Director
Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 
Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) 
Todd Field (“Tár”) 
Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”)

Best Lead Actor
Austin Butler (“Elvis”) 
Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) 
Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”) 
Bill Nighy (“Living”) 

Best Lead Actress
Cate Blanchett (“Tár”) 
Ana de Armas (“Blonde”) 
Andrea Riseborough (“To Leslie”)
Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”) 
Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Supporting Actor
Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”) 
Judd Hirsch (“The Fabelmans”)
Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 

Best Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) 
Hong Chau (“The Whale”) 
Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 
Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Adapted Screenplay
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell
“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by Rian Johnson
“Living,” Written by Kazuo Ishiguro
“Top Gun: Maverick,” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks
“Women Talking,” Screenplay by Sarah Polley

Best Original Screenplay
“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Written by Martin McDonagh
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
“The Fabelmans,” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
“Tár,” Written by Todd Field
“Triangle of Sadness,” Written by Ruben Östlund

Best Cinematography
“All Quiet on the Western Front”, James Friend
“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” Darius Khondji
“Elvis,” Mandy Walker
“Empire of Light,” Roger Deakins
“Tár,” Florian Hoffmeister

Best Documentary Feature Film 
“All That Breathes,” Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov
“Fire of Love,” Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman
“A House Made of Splinters,” Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström
“Navalny,” Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

Best Documentary Short Film 
“The Elephant Whisperers,” Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
“Haulout,” Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev
“How Do You Measure a Year?” Jay Rosenblatt
“The Martha Mitchell Effect,” Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison
“Stranger at the Gate,” Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Best Film Editing
“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
“Elvis,” Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Paul Rogers
“Tár,” Monika Willi
“Top Gun: Maverick,” Eddie Hamilton

Best International Feature Film 
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany) 
“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina) 
“Close” (Belgium)
“EO” (Poland) 
“The Quiet Girl” (Ireland) 

Best Original Song 
“Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman,” Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop
“Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by Tems and Ryan Coogler
“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR,” Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose  
“This Is a Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and David Byrne 

Best Production Design 
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper
“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole
“Babylon,” Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
“Elvis,” Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn
“The Fabelmans,” Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara

Best Visual Effects
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar
“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
“The Batman,” Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick
“Top Gun: Maverick,” Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher

Best Animated Feature Film 
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” Joel Crawford and Mark Swift
“The Sea Beast,” Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger
“Turning Red,” Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

Best Animated Short Film
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud
“The Flying Sailor,” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
“Ice Merchants,” João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano
“My Year of Dicks,” Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon
“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It,” Lachlan Pendragon

​Best Costume Design 
“Babylon,” Mary Zophres
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Ruth Carter
“Elvis,” Catherine Martin
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Shirley Kurata
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,” Jenny Beavan

Best Live Action Short
“An Irish Goodbye,” Tom Berkeley and Ross White
“Ivalu,” Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan
“Le Pupille,” Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón
“Night Ride,” Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen
“The Red Suitcase,” Cyrus Neshvad

Best Makeup and Hairstyling 
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová
“The Batman,” Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Camille Friend and Joel Harlow
“Elvis,” Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti
“The Whale,” Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley

Best Original Score 
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Volker Bertelmann
“Babylon,” Justin Hurwitz
“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Carter Burwell
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Son Lux
“The Fabelmans,” John Williams

​Best Sound
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte
“Avatar: The Way of Water,” Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael Hedges
“The Batman,” Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson
“Elvis,” David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller
“Top Gun: Maverick,” Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Release Date: 2023 
Rating: M
Running Time: 109 mins 
Director Martin McDonagh delivers a despairing and melancholic depiction of life in Ireland in the 1920's. Speckled with humour and blessed with a deeply compelling storyline, The Banshees of Inisherin is both original and unforgettable in equal measures. 
On a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, lifelong friends Padric and Colm find themselves at an impasse when Colm decides that he inexplicably no longer wishes to be Padric's friend. The small town of Inisherin become involved in the dramatics of the men's failing friendship. 
At times I found this film is so desperately sad and then in the next moment, I was laughing out loud. It's a film that has it all and it is all held together brilliantly by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. McDonagh first brought the two actors together in 2008 for In Bruge, and their onscreen chemistry is no less dynamic here fifteen years later. Barry Keoghan manages to steal the show regularly with his portrayal of the trouble island lad Dominic and Kerry Condon shines as Padric's sister Siobhan. 
Filled with extreme behaviours, gorgeous Irish landscapes, strange characters and unsettling interludes, it's an entertaining watch that deserves every one of it's nine Oscar nominations. 
FINAL SAY: I'm not putting me donkey outside when I'm sad, okay?
4 Chilli Peppers ​

The return to work was short, with only one day of active work expected for week one of the first term. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not complaining. The opportunity to dip my foot into the pool rather than dive right back in was very much appreciated and without any students around, this also allowed for a gentle and staff friendly re-introduction to the fray. Next week, when the students arrive back on the scene, well that is when the real challenges kick off, as we once again begin to navigate another year of unknown situations and unforeseen behaviours.
The commencement of a new school is always a time of great trepidation, you just never can predict what you will be walking back into and it is the fear of that unknown that makes it all the more unsettling. Not to mention the need to re-establish routines and early rises after almost five weeks of leisure time; this is never a simple transition. However, with the aid of meditation and daily yoga practises, I feel that I am better equipped than ever to manage these slights with a dignified calm and a mindful level of self care. In other words, I don't get pulled into the dramas that much these days, which allows me to be a lot more level headed in general. 
I have now been doing yoga for seven years and meditating everyday for five years and I cannot begin to describe what this has done for my overall levels of happiness, contentment and gratitude for the amazing life that I have created for myself. Through journaling (which I have been doing for the better part of 20 years now) I have been able to clearly track my behaviour patterns, my thoughts and my ability to deal with stress and anxiety. And I can honestly say that there has been a profound and significant shift in my mental wellbeing over the last five years. 
I have better relationships, stronger and more meaningful friendships, increased job satisfaction and an increase in my energy and motivation levels. In the last two years I have walked at least 10,000 steps a day, eaten healthier and taken better care of my physical body  and mental wellbeing than I have ever done before. I feel confident enough to call out the bad and celebrate the good, and I have adopted a mindset that allows me to find the positive in most people and many situations that I would've previously allowed myself to be annoyed by. I practise kindness and compassion with others and myself and I even feel comfortable being vulnerable and emotional from time to time - but I'm still working on that one!
I like myself, I love my life and I trust that the universe has my back, and I think that is a pretty good head-space to be in as I return for another year of school challenges and celebrations. So, let's see where the work road leads me this year; it is with perfect love and perfect trust that I allow my arms to open wide to take it all in and trust the process. In fact, I think that I am going to make that my mantra for 2023 - trust the process, I like that. You have to be in a really safe headspace to let go and trust like that, and I think that I am ready. Step back everyone, I'm about to dive in!

RRR (RISE, ROAR, REVOLT)
Release Date: 2022
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 187 mins 
An Indian Telugu-language epic action-drama directed by S. S. Rajamouli. This is a movie that defies all explanation and exceeds with it's extreme excessiveness, there is honestly nothing else like it! This is a film that has it all; action, adventure, drama, intrigue, betrayal, comedy, a love story, a bromance and just when you think you've seen it all, they throw in a musical number as well!
The story centres around two real-life Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheen, exploring their fictional friendship and their fight against the British Raj. Set in the 1920's the plot investigates the undocumented period in their lives when both of the revolutionaries chose to go into obscurity before they began to fight for their country. 
This movie is high level entertainment from start to end, it's totally over the top in every way and it works. It is quite long but it is a saga and it is completely captivating at every turn. The street scenes are intensely bustling, the sets are elaborate and extravagant, the CGI is insanely good and the music is bold and magnificent. At the 2023 Golden Globes RRR won the Best Original Score for "Naatu Naatu" making it the first Indian and Asian song to ever receive the award. 
This is the kind of film that you just strap in and have a terrific time watching. 
FINAL SAY: Your friendship is more valuable than this life.
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

The last week has moved at a dizzying pace, I have been cramming so much into my days and attempting to make the most of the final days of the summer break. Things kicked off last Saturday evening with Seth's 18th birthday party. This was a backyard BBQ affair that involved around 25 teenagers in various states of drunkenness. It has been a long time since I have attended a young adult/teenage party and I am quite happy to not have to attend another any time soon. 
Clearly, very few of Seth's friends has much (if any) ability around gauging how much to drink (not surprising at all - who does at that age?). Anyway, this did lead to some people drinking more than their little bodies and brains could handle and it did cause some people to turn the stupid up to high. A couple of them decided to wipe themselves entirely and after emptying the contents of their bellies around the back yard, they proceeded to pass out and need to be either sent home or put to bed. Another hand full of them thought that running about in the bush would be fun at 1am and a couple decided the lure of the warm road was too much to resist and laid their bodies in the middle of the road, across the still warm bitumen to stare up at the stars. Needless to say, I had to put the kibosh of both of these ding-a-ling activities promptly in the name of health of safety. 
Aside from that, everything was pretty stock standard. No fighting, nothing broken and no-one seriously hurt - winning! Seth had a terrific time and drank for more than 12 hours straight which is both impressive and revolting all at once. He literally looked like a cave man the next day! Anyway, they all went to bed around 4.30am and everyone was gone form Enfield by midday the next day. Ahh...peace restored! 
This weekend was a different story entirely. Zoe and Ben joined us and we headed out to Clunes in the evening to do another paranormal investigation. This time it was The Lee Medlyn Home of Bottles. A creepy old building that was once a state school and an Interknit mill before Lee Medlyn purchased it and turned it into a museum for over 6000 old and historical bottles and other related objects. Was it weird? Yeah, of course, this place would be weird at midday. Was it haunted? Well, it was active but I kind of got the feeling that some of the old items themselves in the museum may have been more haunted than anything else.
It was a total hodgepodge of activity, and in spite of claims that were child ghosts, a lady and Lee Medlyn himself who died on the premise and haunted the space, most of the contact that we received was from guy named Jeff who seemed to be sweet on the young ladies - gross! And out in a back space, which was chock full of junk, I think that there is a haunted item with some kind of attachment to it. It was easily the dankest spot on the premises, with local volunteers refusing to go in there, in fact one of them told me to get out of the space because I was causing too much activity! Ah, that's what we are there for lady!
Anyway, I would've liked more time in there even though I was getting some disturbing messages. I did get a very odd photo with what appears to be a ghost in the frame, but I can't be 100% sure. It is a transparent person, that much is true, but it oddly looks a bit like our paranormal host and I am not sure what the hell that could mean and it also makes me wonder too much for me to be 100% sure; nonetheless, it's compelling evidence. Ghost captured or not, it was still a great night and another interesting visit. 
Before Zoe and Ben went back to Bendigo today, we celebrated Chinese New Year and had a massive five course lunch. It all kicked off with dumpling soup followed by spring rolls, marinated chicken wings, green tea and a Chinese salad. For mains we had Chicken and Cashew Stir fry and Beef with Black Bean Sauce and steamed rice, and to drink we had Chinese grape flavoured sodas. Dessert was a Chinese pudding with jelly and mango and to end it all we had Panda biscuits and Chinese fortune cookies. I spent a couple of hours prepping yesterday and another couple cooking it all today, it was massive effort and always leaves everyone very full for the rest of the day, but it is a delightful way to start the year and share a meal at home. 
And so, with only four more days of holidays I am focusing on enjoying the final moments and getting a couple more things done before the return. Aside from getting covid early on, it has been a wonderful and restful holiday and also a productive one. I think that I almost ready to go back....almost. 

BOILING POINT 
Release Date: 2021
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 92 mins 
An intense and heart pounding British drama, directed by actor turned director - Philip Barantini. This expanded version of the 2019 short film of the same name is performed in a one shot film set and moves at a head spinning pace and impressively manages to convey a plethora of disturbing information about the main characters in just over 90 minutes.
Andy is the Head Chef at Jones & Sons, an upmarket and busy restaurant in London. Andy's night ahead looks hectic with the restaurant double booked, the Health and Safety inspector on the premises and a celebrity chef booked in for dinner. Things just go from bad to worse as Andy attempts to manage the chaos of the restaurant against his own crumbling personal life. 
The tension is palpable in Boiling Point, you literally feel assaulted by this movie because there is so much happening. The cast are tremendous with Stephen Graham shining brightly as Head Chef Andy Jones and he strongly supported by Vinette Robinson, Jason Fleming and Ray Panthaki to name but a few. 
The entire movie plays out in the most immersive and convincing ways so expect to be roped in to the tightly wound environment of a kitchen under fire; like all good car crashes, it's hard to look away. 
FINAL SAY: I do not get paid enough to deal with this shit. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

The Golden Globe Award Ceremony was thankfully rebooted and reignited this year after all of the controversy of 2022. With a new feel and more inclusive approach, I think that the Globes managed to dig themselves out of a hole this year and revamp themselves into a more respectable and inclusive awards ceremony. 
Some of my favourite highlights were the many stirring and emotional acceptance speeches that addressed some of the hardships that minority actors have faced in the past in regards to awards and recognition. Michelle Yeoh touched on ageism and racism, Ke Huy Kwan emotionally recounted his feelings of missed opportunities and struggle, and host Jerrod Carmichael didn't have any trouble saying this with a  straight face:
“I’ll tell you why I’m here,” Carmichael said while greeting viewers. “I’m here because I’m Black.” 
“I won’t say they [are] a racist organization,” he added. “But they didn’t have a single Black member until George Floyd died, so do with that information what you will.” 
And honestly, it is only by saying what needs to be said that we can understand, heal and change, so these types of things do need to be addressed, and if that does make some people feel uncomfortable, well too bad!
On a lighter note, Eddie Murphy told everyone his three important things to always do in order to be successful - “Pay your taxes, mind your business and keep Will Smith’s wife’s name out your fucking mouth," which was very funny, and Jennifer Coolidge told everyone how nervous she was presenting because she always "fucks thing up" and was more concerned about falling over on stage then anything else. 
As always, I loved it, watched it from start to end and now have a swag of films to catch up on! And just in case you missed it, here are the nominees and winners:

Best Picture, Drama
“Avatar: The Way of Water” (20th Century Studios) 
“Elvis” (Warner Bros.) 
“The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures) (WINNER)
“Tár” (Focus Features) 
“Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount Pictures)

Best Picture, Musical or Comedy
“Babylon” (Paramount Pictures) 
“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures) (WINNER)
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) 
“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix) 
“Triangle of Sadness” (Neon) 

Best Director, Motion Picture
James Cameron (“Avatar: The Way of Water”) 
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 
Baz Luhrmann (“Elvis”) 
Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
Steven Spielberg (“The Fabelmans”) (WINNER)

Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
“Tár” (Focus Features) — Todd Field 
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) — Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert 
“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures) — Martin McDonagh (WINNER)
“Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing) — Sarah Polley 
“The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures) — Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Austin Butler (“Elvis”) (WINNER)
Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) 
Hugh Jackman (“The Son”)
Bill Nighy (“Living”) 
Jeremy Pope (“The Inspection”) 

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Cate Blanchett (“Tár”) (WINNER)
Olivia Colman (“Empire of Light”) 
Viola Davis (“The Woman King”) 
Ana de Armas (“Blonde”) 
Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Lesley Manville (“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”) 
Margot Robbie (“Babylon”) 
Anya Taylor-Joy (“The Menu”) 
Emma Thompson (“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”) 
Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Diego Calva (“Babylon”) 
Daniel Craig (“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”)
Adam Driver (“White Noise”) 
Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) (WINNER)
Ralph Fiennes (“The Menu”)

Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
Barry Keoghan (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
Brad Pitt (“Babylon”)
Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) WINNER
Eddie Redmayne (“The Good Nurse”)

Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture
Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) WINNER
Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) 
Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) 
Dolly De Leon (“Triangle of Sadness”)
Carey Mulligan (“She Said”)

Best Television Series, Drama
“Better Call Saul” (AMC) 
“The Crown” (Netflix) 
“House of the Dragon” (HBO) (WINNER)
“Ozark” (Netflix) 
“Severance” (Apple TV+)

Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC) (WINNER)
“The Bear” (FX)
“Hacks” (HBO Max)
“Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu) 
“Wednesday” (Netflix) 

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Jeff Bridges (“The Old Man”) 
Kevin Costner (“Yellowstone”) (WINNER)
Diego Luna (“Andor”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Adam Scott (“Severance”)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Emma D’Arcy (“House of the Dragon”)
Laura Linney (“Ozark”) 
Imelda Staunton (“The Crown”)
Hilary Swank (“Alaska Daily”)
Zendaya (“Euphoria”) (WINNER)

Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”) (WINNER)
Kaley Cuoco (“The Flight Attendant”) 
Selena Gomez (“Only Murders in the Building”) 
Jenna Ortega (“Wednesday”) 
Jean Smart (“Hacks”)

Best Actor in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”) 
Bill Hader (“Barry”) 
Steve Martin (“Only Murders in the Building”) 
Martin Short (“Only Murders in the Building”) 
Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”) (WINNER)

Best Supporting Actor, Television
John Lithgow (“The Old Man”) 
Jonathan Pryce (“The Crown”) 
John Turturro (“Severance”) 
Tyler James Williams (“Abbott Elementary”) WINNER
Henry Winkler (“Barry”)

Best Supporting Actress, Television
Elizabeth Debicki (“The Crown”) 
Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”) 
Julia Garner (“Ozark”) (WINNER)
Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”) 
Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”) 

Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
“Black Bird” (Apple TV+) 
“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix) 
“The Dropout” (Hulu) 
“Pam & Tommy” (Hulu) 
“The White Lotus” (HBO) (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actor, Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture made for Television
Taron Egerton (“Black Bird”) 
Colin Firth (“The Staircase”) 
Andrew Garfield (“Under the Banner of Heaven”) 
Evan Peters (“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”) (WINNER)
Sebastian Stan (“Pam & Tommy”) 

Best Performance by an Actress, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
Jessica Chastain (“George and Tammy”) 
Julia Garner (“Inventing Anna”) 
Lily James (“Pam & Tommy”) 
Julia Roberts (“Gaslit”) 
Amanda Seyfried (“The Dropout”) (WINNER)

Best Performance by an Actress in Supporting Role, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
Jennifer Coolidge (“The White Lotus”) (WINNER)
Claire Danes (“Fleishman Is in Trouble”) 
Daisy Edgar-Jones (“Under the Banner of Heaven”) 
Niecy Nash-Betts (“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”) 
Aubrey Plaza (“The White Lotus”) 

Best Performance by an Actor in Supporting Role, Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture made for Television
​F. Murray Abraham (“The White Lotus”) 
Domhnall Gleeson (“The Patient”) 
Paul Walter Hauser (“Black Bird”) (WINNER)
Richard Jenkins (“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”) 
Seth Rogen (“Pam & Tommy”)

Best Original Score, Motion Picture
“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures) — Carter Burwell
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (Netflix) — Alexandre Desplat 
“Women Talking” (MGM/United Artists Releasing) — Hildur Guðnadóttir 
“Babylon” (Paramount Pictures) — Justin Hurwitz (WINNER)
“The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures) — John Williams  

Best Picture, Non-English Language
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany) 
“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina) (WINNER)
“Close” (Belgium) 
“Decision to Leave” (South Korea) 
“RRR” (India)

Best Original Song, Motion Picture
“Carolina” from “Where the Crawdads Sing” (Sony Pictures) — Taylor Swift 
“Ciao Papa” from “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (Netflix) — Alexandre Desplat, Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro 
“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount Pictures) — Lady Gaga, BloodPop, Benjamin Rice
“Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Marvel Studios) — Tems, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler 
“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR” (Variance Films) — Kala Bhairava, M. M. Keeravani, Rahul Sipligunj (WINNER)

Best Motion Picture, Animated
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (Netflix) (WINNER)
“Inu-Oh” (GKIDS) 
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” (A24) 
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” (DreamWorks Animation) 
“Turning Red” (Pixar)

GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO
Release Date: 2022 
Rating: M
Running Time: 117 mins 
A stop motion, musical and dark fantasy film from director Guillermo del Toro that is loosely based on the 1883 Italian novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and strongly influenced by Gris Grimly's illustrations for a 2022 edition of the book. Guillermo del Toro called this film his 'passion project' stating that "No art form has influenced my life and my work more than animation and no single character in history has had as deep of a personal connection to me as Pinocchio."  And after 15 years in the making, Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is astoundingly great in every respect; a film not just for children but very much for adults as well. 
Set in fascist Italy during the interwar period and World War II, a carpenter named Geppetto tragically loses his son Carlo after an air-raid on their small village. Grieving, the drunken father chops down a pine tree that is home to a cricket named Sebastian J. Cricket, who becomes the narrator of the tale. In a drunken stupor Geppetto creates a rough wooden boy-like puppet from the felled pine tree and after some magic from a Wood Sprite, the puppet springs to life. And so the tale of Pinocchio begins, a puppet who has to learn about loyalty, expectation and love in a mostly cold and judgemental world. 
The voice casting is simply perfect with Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Tilda Swinton, Ron Perlman, Cate Blanchett and Christoph Waltz all shining here. However, it is the puppets themselves that steal the show here because the stop motion animation and meticulous attention to detail with the puppets and sets is nothing short of incredible. The detail is just mind blowing and the storyline itself is darling in every way possible. 
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio is unlike anything that I have ever seen before in respect to craftsmanship and detail; this film is an unmissable treat both for the eyes and the heart, and it is easily my favourite movie of 2022. 
FINAL SAY: You did bring me joy. Terrible, terrible joy. 
5 Chilli Peppers ​

Just like 2021, the home viewing opportunities in 2022 grew so fast that I found myself juggling all of my streaming services, and I always seemed to have an over-abundance of new release material to trawl through. There was a head spinning amount to absorb this year, and I was also very grateful to be constantly receiving high quality recommendations from friends and family throughout the year as well.  We were again, all very spoilt for choice, and if you couldn't find something to watch in 2022 then you just weren't trying hard enough!
I managed to get through 205 movies and 158 television series this year. I also re-watched the entire Game of Thrones series, which was just as good, perhaps even better, the second time around. Basically, I was flat out watching something every day of the year and I still didn't get to half of the material that is on my 'to see' lists, but I did have a bloody good go at it!
The task of seeing everything has become arduous beyond anyone's means, and unless you are willing to permanently strap yourself to the couch and do nothing but watch movies and TV, there is just no way that you can manage to see it all. And so you must be discerning, and hopefully this is where I can offer a hand and some sound advice around what you should be investing in your time in; if you haven't done so already. 
Again, I was thrilled to be able to view great movies and TV across all genres, for which I am always grateful. In particular I really appreciated seeing so many excellent horror, thriller and fantasy offerings this year; most of which boasted stunningly good visuals and terrifically original storylines. I think that audiences are becoming more acclimated to a few scares and chills these days, and the demand for quality horror does thankfully seem to be on the rise. 
And so, without further ado....here is my selection for the best viewing experiences of 2022. 
BEST MOVIES (2022 release):
Everything Everywhere All At Once - Art House 4 Chilli Peppers
All Quiet on the Western Front - War/ Action 4 Chilli Peppers
The Sea Beast - Kids 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Barbarian - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Nope - Sci- Fi 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Blonde - Gritty 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
ELVIS - Musical/ drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
The Batman - Action/ Super 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - Action/ Super 3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Northman- Action  3.5 Chilli Peppers
Thor: Love and Thunder - Action/ Super 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Fresh - Thriller   3.5 Chilli Peppers
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - Crime  3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Bodies, Bodies, Bodies - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Smile - Horror  3.5 Chilli Peppers

2022 HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
Hustle - Drama 3 Chilli Peppers
Terrifier 2- Horror 3 Chilli Peppers
Hellbender-  Horror 3 Chilli Peppers 
I Want You Back - Romance/comedy  3 Chilli Peppers 
Clerks 3 - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 

Here are my top recommendations for pre-2022 releases that I didn't get around to seeing until 2022:
C'mon C'mon - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
Licorice Pizza - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Nightmare Alley - Horror  4 Chilli Peppers
Spiderman: No Way Home - Action/ Super 4 Chilli Peppers 
West Side Story - Musical 4 Chilli Peppers 
Flee - International 4 Chilli Peppers
Annette - Art House/ Musical 4 Chilli Peppers 
Nitram - Gritty 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Raid: Redemption - Action 4 Chilli Peppers 
Titane - Art House 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Love Witch - Art House 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Dolemite is My Name - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Antrum - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Ron's Gone Wrong - Kids 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Ghost Busters: Afterlife  - Horror  3 Chilli Peppers
Silent Night - Sci-Fi 3 Chilli Peppers
How I Live Now - War/ Action 3 Chilli Peppers 

BEST TELEVISION SERIES 2022:
Somebody, Somewhere - Drama/ Comedy 5 Chilli Peppers 
Atlanta S4 - Art House 5 Chilli Peppers 
Ozark S4 - Crime/ Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
Maid - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
Better Call Saul S6 - Crime/ Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson - Comedy 5 Chilli Peppers 
Dopesick -  Drama 5 Chilli Peppers
The White Lotus S2 - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
Severance - Fantasy 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Peacemaker - Super/ comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
Pam and Tommy - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Boys S3 - Super/ Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
This is Going to Hurt - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
FROM - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
Pistols - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
Umbrella Academy S3- Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Dahmer- Horror/ Crime 4 Chilli Peppers
Black Bird - Crime 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Bear- Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
What We Do In The Shadows S4 - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Woodstock '99 - Doco 4 Chilli Peppers 
Love, Death and Robots S3 - Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Our Flag Means Death - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Stranger Things S4 Part 1 - Sci-Fi 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Mirror, Mirror by Todd Samson - Doco 3.5 Chilli Peppers 

2022 TV HONOURABLE MENTIONS: ​
House of the Dragon- Fantasy  3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Serpent Queen - Period/ fantasy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Man vs Bee - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Colin from Accounts - Comedy - 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Always Sunny in Philadelphia S15 - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Bloods S2-Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Ghosts S4 - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Lizzo's Watch out for the Big Grrls - Reality 3 Chilli Peppers
Moon Knight - Super 3 Chilli Peppers
The Outlaws - Drama/comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Brassic S4- Crime/comedy  3 Chilli Peppers 
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - Fantasy 3 Chill Peppers 
The Sandman - Fantasy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Wednesday - Fantasy 3 Chilli Peppers 

After passing along covid to the entire family for Christmas we all found ourselves back together for new years eve. I mean, no risk of anyone getting sick if everyone's already riddled with the contagion right? There was little point to us all isolating from each other when we were all carrying the same strain and generally feeling fine; so, all of us 'sickies' congregated on the deck out here in Enfield to share a few nibbles and drinks, listen to some tunes and make some resolutions.
And looking back across the landscape of 2022, it really wasn't a bad year by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, things got a bit pear shaped towards the end, but generally speaking things were pretty cruisy and I got to do so many things once everything opened up again and the world got rolling again.
Here are some of my personal highlights from 2022: 
JANUARY: 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene, Smoker arrives in Enfield, Seth's 17th birthday, Bridal dress shopping with Zoe, Seeing Harry Potter - The Cursed Child in Melbourne, tuning in to the Triple j Hottest 100, Paint Your Mate event. 
FEBRUARY:  Chinese New Year celebrations, Smythesdale Fiesta, Ghost Hunting at Blackwood Pub, Spa day with Craig, Summersalt Music Festival, Blackberry picking. 
MARCH: Deep Blue Spa Day, My friends and family being a huge support to me when I had covid on my birthday!
APRIL: Easter Sunday with the family, April holiday break, ELVIS exhibition in Bendigo, Metal detecting with Ben and Zoe, Craig's Mustang arrived.
MAY: A trip to the Gisborne markets, Mother's Day, Spicywatch's 8th Birthday, Tour of the Old Ballarat Gaol, Seth's formal, Barwon Manor Ghost Hunt, Seth's Deb Ball. 
JUNE: Illuminate at the Bendigo Stupa, Mushrooming, Salem is born, Port Campbell Road Trip, Psychic expo, Winter School Holidays, Creswick Ghost Hunt, Zoe's 25th Birthday.
JULY: Winter Movie Marathon nights,  Road trip to Barwon Heads, Twin Peaks show at Hepburn Springs, POCO Short Film Festival, a trip to the Clunes markets. 
AUGUST:  Salem joined our family, The LUME gallery - Van Gogh exhibition, completed the Heritage walk, Book week dress up. 
SEPTEMBER: Father's Day, Spring School Holiday Break, Kyneton Ghost Hunting, High Tea at Fortuna, Girls Road Trip. 
OCTOBER:  Mother of the Bride dress shopping, Seth's last day at Damascus, Yoga Festival in Bendigo, Pumpkin carving, Halloween horror movie/ dinner night.
NOVEMBER: Hen's weekend in Melbourne with Zoe, High Tea at The Grand Hyatt, Zoe and Ben's wedding in Hepburn, Grade 4 Camp at Narmbool, Seth's Year 12 graduation, Spa day with Craig, 28th Wedding Anniversary.
DECEMBER: Carols event, Renault Koleos arrived, Summer Holidays kicking off, Christmas, fishing at Jubilee Lake. 

Pretty fair to say that even in spite of having had covid twice this year (once on my birthday and once at Christmas), getting my poor car's face pranged in and having to navigate the financial pitfalls of 2022, I have still had a really lovely year. 
There is a lot here to celebrate and appreciate that's for sure. And on top of all of that, I have also managed to squeeze in:

• Daily meditation.
• 62 books.
• Workouts - 5 times a week.
• 185 movies.
• 10,500 steps a day.
• 158 TV series.
• 42 brunches/ lunches and  delicious restaurant meals with family and friends. 
• A daily French lesson on Duolingo.
• Brain Gym everyday for 10 minutes a day.
• And....I reviewed another 45 movies on Spicywatch.

Woohoo! That's a lot of 'doing' for one year! 
And now, as 2023 gently unfurls itself before me I wonder what will arrive in the next 12 months. Only time will tell, but let's hope it's as exciting as the last year was for me. 

C'MON C'MON 
Release Date: 2021
Rating: M
Running Time: 109 mins 
A touching and truly effecting drama that was written and directed by Mike Mills. It's been a while since I have watched something this genuinely raw and real. With an undeniable sweet chemistry between Joaquin Phoenix and Woody Norman and filmed in moody black and white, this tale about an uncle and his nephew transcends in the simplest and purest of ways. 
Johnny and Viv have become estranged siblings since the painful death of their mother from dementia. When Johnny reaches out to Viv for the first time in a year he is saddened to hear about the struggles that she has been having managing her estranged husband's mental wellbeing. Viv reveals that she needs to be with her husband as they try to find him the correct care but doesn't have a carer for her nine year old son Jesse. Johnny volunteers to care for his nephew whilst Viv deals with her husband, and he and Jesse embark on a life changing road trip together. 
This is a stunningly beautiful movie about family loyalties, caring for others and uncovering unknown and foreign aspects of ourselves. The struggles and the triumphs feel incredibly plausible and as a parent, very relatable. The fragility and the strength of the ties that bind us to those we love are explored in sensitive and heartfelt ways and the cast is exceptionally good all round. 
C'mon C'mon is unmissable viewing, and it's definitely one of the best dramas to come out of 2021, so make the time to see it whenever you can. 
FINAL SAY: In your confusion and delight, you will forget where you came from.
4.5 Chilli Peppers ​

Since my last blog post, we have experienced a string of rather unfortunate events. I guess that it was bound to happen eventually, we were riding pretty high on the wave of good fortune and happy times, and even the stupidest people know that nothing stays like that forever. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and well, I think we have gotten ours. 
On the day that I was to collect my new car, yep, you heard right, a new car - I got a new car for Christmas! I told you we were riding the wave high! A flash car too, a brand new Koleos Intens Renault, flash as hell with all the trimmings and a pearl white glaze, a real beauty! It was the last day that I would ever have to drive my darling Penelope (my Holden Cruz) before she was handed over to Seth for his 18th birthday. I was dropping Craig off at his work to collect his work ute after his break up the night before when an old, half deaf and clearly half blind guy backed his massive 4WD with a tow ball into the front of Penelope. Poor Penelope! Her beautiful face all crumpled up!
Okay, not so bad, the car is still 100% working, a little uglier but it wasn't our fault, I'll just get the quote done and get her all fixed up to hand over to Seth in January. Turns out that the old fellows insurance company only uses one repair place in Ballarat, which is fully booked until March! So poor Penelope has to go about with her face caved in for the next few months and we have to give the car to Seth with her face caved in which is just as sad. Ahhhh! So not the way we planned for things to go. 
And then I collected my Koleos and the sun came out and the world didn't look so shitty again. I have called my new car Pierre. Firstly because he is French and secondly because Koleos means testicles in Latin and sheath in Greek, so with a collective meaning of dick and balls I could hardly give it a lady name could I? And so Pierre was born. We took Pierre out to stretch his legs the following day when we drove to Ararat to take my mum out for an early Christmas lunch. This is where we encounter our next wave of shit.
Unbeknownst to mum, she had contracted covid, and yep, you guessed it, so did we! Between then and now we have all succumbed to the dreaded lurgy and our second round of covid for 2022. I have been forced to cancel all of my plans for the week which included a breakfast gathering with my friends, a day out/ lunch/ drinks with Helen and my new years plans with Zoe and Ben which did include tickets to an escape room. Talk about a bummer, got me a brand new whip and I can't even take him out! We are all housebound and robbed of a week of holiday adventures. I want to say that I don't care, but I do. It's shithouse, it's annoying and it's massively inconvenient.  
However, what goes up must come down, and so it goes. No point carrying on about it, it happened. There was nothing we could've done to prevent any of it, none of it was our fault, it just happened. Did we want Penelope to get her face smashed in and have another a round of covid for Christmas? Nope! But there is fuck all that we can do about any of that, so it's time to find the shine in the grime and embrace the distaste. I now have more than enough time to get Spicywatch.com back up and thumping. I can set up my diary and journal for 2023. I can clean up the house, take down the Christmas decorations and get some yard work done.  I can put firm plans in place for 2023 and research cool road trips for Pierre to take me on. Yeah, I can turn this misfortune into a good use of my time and get some things sorted. I'm gonna pull myself out of this funk, shake off the blues and use this time to my advantage. 

THE BLUES BROTHERS 
Release Date: 1980
Rating: M
Running Time: 133 mins 
An American musical comedy directed by John Landis that has since become a cult classic. In 2020, The Blues Brothers was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."
Jake Blues is finally reunited with his brother Elwood after being released from prison. However, the brothers soon discover that the catholic home they were raised in is about to be closed. Determined to save it, they plan to throw a huge benefit concert. But first, they have to get the old band back together and embark on a wild, police chasing, road trip to make that happen. 
Originally a skit on Saturday Night Live, The Blues Brothers is a virtual who's who of Blues and Soul music and features musical performances from James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and John Lee Hooker to name but a few. And if you don't get a lot out of the storyline here, that's okay; the energetic and lively soundtrack makes this worth seeing on its own. 
John Belushi is at his absolute best here and even Dan Aykroyd, whom I am not a big of, manages to impress. Sure it's utterly implausible and deeply silly and makes very little sense at all, but it does rock very hard, and for that reason, it's definitely worth a look. 
FINAL SAY: We're on a mission from God. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

I have no idea what happened to most of December, or November, or most of the second half of this year to be truthful. I know that it happened, I can recall specific events and I know that a lot of amazing, exciting and happy things happened, but the time period is sketchy to say the least. It feels like this year has travelled at break-neck speed and swept me along with it. It's been beautiful and busy, filled with outrageous good fortune and wellbeing and although I haven't ticked off all of my 'to do's' for the year yet, I can say without a word of a lie that I have had a tremendous time. 
In the last few weeks I've squeezed in a Christmas Carols and a KK event, ticked off the staff Christmas parties for both Craig and I, had an early family Christmas gathering with the in-laws, hosted a long lunch on the deck, attended Christmas church service twice and kindly fare-welled all of my work colleagues for the summer break. 
Yesterday, I joyfully finished work for the year and now I have the better part of six weeks off. Six weeks! Wow, it's almost too good to be true. And I am at the very best part of it all, the start and the week before Christmas at that! A whole swag of good stuff in store for the next few weeks, not to mention getting old Spicywatch.com back up and cranking again. I have really let my blog and movie reviewing fall to the wayside this year and although I had good intentions to complete all of my 'to review' movie list this year, I still have 39 films to go. The problem is that I keep watching new stuff and then I have new reviews to do as well. I guess 39 is really manageable though, so 2023 is looking really good for finally nailing my back catalogue of movies and adding them to the lists. 
Seth and I have begun to explore the Christmas themed viewing genre again in the last week and we have noticed that there is a huge, if not colossal, array of really shitty and very average Christmas themed movies (many of which appear to be attempting rom-com) available on streaming services at the moment. I mean there are so many of them, and they literally all just popped up out of nowhere and seem to have a bunch of unknowns starring in them as well. I have given them a very wide berth and opted for a couple of oldies but goodies to get the Christmas vibes going. 
Last night we stumbled on Silent Night (see review below) and although I really liked it, it's not what I would call a 'feel good' Christmas tale. We have also really enjoyed re-watching some Aussie faves like The Moody Christmas series and Da Kath and Kim Code, neither of which ever fail to satisfy. We are saving Spirited (the new Will Ferrell Christmas movie) for Christmas Eve and we will still squeeze in a few more gems before the big day. It's just lovely to be able to waste a little time in front of the TV to be honest, finally it's time to exhale again!

SILENT NIGHT
Release Date: 2021
Rating: M
Running Time: 92 mins 
If it's fuzzy, feel-good Christmas viewing material that you after, then don't look here! Silent Night, written and directed by Camille Griffin, is certainly not fuzzy or feel-good in any way, we found that out the hard way when we chose to watch this the week before Christmas and got a little more than we had bargained for. However, if you like apocalyptic tales of terror and doom, them this will be right up your alley. 
This Christmas is a super special occasion for a group of friends who meet up every year, and that is because there is an imminent, deadly and unavoidable environmental catastrophe due to arrive within the next 24 hours.. The British government has issued suicide pills for a quick and easy death before the cloud hits Britain. As their final hours roll around, the friends and their children wrestle with their mortality and the morality of their situation. 
This film is terrifically cast with Matthew Goode, Keira Knightley, Roman Griffin Davis and Annabelle Wallis heading the line up, but in truth the entire cast carry this tale to new dimensions, and even the children are superb here. 
Silent Night may not be the brightest pre-Christmas watch, but it does pack an unforgettable punch. 
FINAL SAY: 
3 Chilli Peppers ​

Zoe and Benjamin are now officially Mr and Mrs Jones! After months of planning and preparation, the wedding day finally arrived last weekend, and what a wonderful day it was! I should really say, what a wonderful three days it was because we actually managed to get three days of joy out the wedding celebrations, starting with dinner the night before for immediate family members, then the actual wedding day on Saturday 26th of November and then a lovely family breakfast on the morning after the event. 
All of which were truly lovely, but nothing can compare to the actual event, the wedding ceremony and reception which were just so beautiful, so heartfelt and so perfect that I just couldn't get a smile off my face all day long. I have never loved or enjoyed a wedding, or another event for that matter, as much as I enjoyed my own daughter's wedding. I know that I didn't enjoy my own wedding nearly as much as Zoe and Ben's that's for sure. They had planned the most intimate, perfect setting and gathered together a handful of beautiful souls to share it with and it all felt so calm, relaxed and easy that even the photographer was shocked by everyone's high levels of zen. 
At one point the photographer turned to me while Zoe was getting some preparation/ pre-wedding shots done and said, "could you please go and get into your outfit on now?" Even though I was still standing around in a T-shirt and jeans, I thought he meant Zoe, and was shocked when he said -"not her, you!"  "Me?!?" I exclaimed, and his response made me laugh. He said "yeah, I think you have a wedding to go to in like an hour and a half, so as chilled out as everyone is around here, you will need to put on your outfit at some point!" Perhaps we were all a little too relaxed, but the photographer said the usual vibe at the hour before point of a wedding was usually a lot more manic and he wasn't used to everyone being so relaxed.  He laughed and said that he was starting to panic for us because it was weird to have everything so zen. 
Zoe and Ben were calm, all day long. And so was I, even though I was emcee for the event, I just never felt rattled. It was all so perfect. Perfect bride, perfect groom, perfect weather, perfect venue, perfect food, perfect guests and a totally perfect mood. And Ben and Zoe will never forget their special day, and not just because they declared their love for each other and pledged to support and cherish each other for the rest of their lives, but because they entered into a conscious commitment that goes way beyond that.
They've now chosen their life partner. They've chosen to been seen everyday as they are by each other, to share everyday together as it comes, to embrace the curiosity and uncertainty of life together and to validate each other’s hopes and dreams. They've chosen to be each others life witnesses from now and forever. And how beautiful is that?
And wonderful things come in the wake of big love, things like safety, comfort and transparency, and I cannot even begin to express how delighted it makes me and Craig to see that Zoe has found a love like that in Benjamin. As a parent it is really all you ever want for your children, for them to find true happiness in life.
And Zoe is not the only one hitting the jackpot in marrying Ben, because we have also been able to welcome a most warm, kind, generous and patient man into our lives along with Zoe. Ben has not only embraced all of the weirdness that comes with being in our family, he has also been willing to let his freak flag fly proudly along with us. We did not lose a daughter in Zoe marrying Ben, we gained another son and it's been a delight to welcome to him into our family and our lives also. 
Yep, there is nothing like the wedding of your own child to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, especially when it is as beautiful as Zoe and Ben's wedding day was. May their love, their joy and their zen be as timeless and wonderful as their wedding day was forever. 

​ROMEO + JULIET
Release Date: 1996
Rating: M
Running Time: 120 mins
This modern adaptation of Shakespeare's classic play Romeo and Juliet  is the most pleasing of the many attempts that have been made. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, Romeo + Juliet was his second film in The Red Curtain Trilogy, and Luhrmann shot to international fame off the back off this film, winning a lot of critic attention and awards for his efforts. 
Everyone knows the story, it's as old as time. Two rival gangs, the Capulets and the Montagues, are at odds, and Romeo and Juliet throw a spanner in the works when they fall madly in love despite the fact that their families forbid it. Juliet is already promised to Paris making things even worse, and the two seem to be doomed from start to end. 
This is the quintessential romance-tragedy, passions are running high and there is a lot at stake in the name of love. But Luhrmann's portrayal is so much more than just another Shakespearean adaptation, he has gone to painstaking efforts to keep the story fresh and alive. He has left all of the original dialect in, adding stark contrast to his work, and pushing his talented cast to really deliver. The soundtrack is a fabulous mix of funky and alternative songs which certainly adds a lot to the overall feel of the movie.
Girls everywhere were falling head over heels for Leonardo DiCaprio's powerful performance of Romeo, and Claire Danes is painfully beautiful as Juliet. However, my favourites were John Leguizamo as Tybalt and Harold Perrineau as Mercutio who both added some much needed depth and humour. It's a really well put together piece and it's worthy of a least one viewing in everyone's lifetime. 
FINAL SAY: Two households, both alike in dignity. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers

I have been dreadfully neglectful of my blog these past few months, however when you hear about how busy things have been around here you may be more forgiving. Since mid-October I have squeezed more action and adventure into my life than an Indiana Jones movie, I kid you not, I have had more ins and outs and ups and downs than a roller coaster in the last 6 weeks and although I long for a good TV embrace, I have barely had time to shower properly! 
Check out this list of my goings on and you'll start to get the idea of just how much I can ram into 6 weeks, whilst still work 5 days a week. It's actually pretty head spinning how much I have been able to achieve really. 

• Visited an art showcase
• Hosted a dinner party
• Went shopping for a 'mother of the bride' dress in Melbourne
• Went to friends for dinner
• Went my son's final day of school ceremony
• Went to see the specialist - twice
• Went to a yoga festival in Bendigo
• Wrote my emcee and mother of the bride speeches for the upcoming wedding
• Celebrated Halloween
• Went to the NGV
• Went out for Yum Cha in Melbourne
• Had a spa day with my daughter
• Went to Modiva's for dinner
• Went to a Bridal Shower high tea at The Grand Hyatt in Melbourne
• Went to a Grade 4 overnight camp
• Celebrated my in-laws birthdays with a family dinner
• Got my cat desexed
• Went to my son's year 12 graduation event and dinner 
• Had dinner with my mother in Ararat 
• Went out for a wellness massage and hydrotherapy spa with my husband
• Had my 28th wedding anniversary and went out for dinner
• And never missed a day of meditation, brain gym or French in the process!

And now I am rounding the corner to one of the biggest events that we have ever celebrated as a family - the marriage of our daughter! Zoe and Benjamin will be tying the knot and becoming a 'Mr and Mrs' in six short days time. They are having their special day in Hepburn Springs and I am going to be the emcee, so needless to say I have had to spend a fair amount of time writing and practising speeches and toasts as well. And I think that I am almost ready to go.  
Hopefully, I will deliver it all with just the right amount of magic, humour and joy to make their event run smoothly and seamlessly. May need to sprinkle a little extra magic on my speech though, because I really want Zoe and Ben's day to be extra special!

THE LOVE WITCH 
Release Date: 2016 
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 120 mins 
An art house comedy/horror that was written, edited, directed, produced and scored by Anna Biller, an independent feminist American filmmaker who consciously explores feminist themes throughout her work. The Love Witch offers a playful and colourful homage to the 1960's and Technicolour Hammer Horror films whilst  probing into contemporary gender roles and stereotypes. 
A beautiful young witch named Elaine is looking for a new start in life after the death of her husband. Elaine attempts to use spells and magic in an attempt to find a new suitor, and although she succeeds at getting men to fall in love with her, the long term results are disastrous. 
From the dramatic eye make up to the lurid bright-red fake blood effects, The Love Witch is a throwback masterpiece. Amusing and at times visually stunning, this film isn't subtle in any way and although it is slow, it still delivers in so many unique ways. Samantha Robinson is terrific as Elaine, bringing loads of feminine energy and rocking all that swinging '60s fashion with big charm and allure. Jeffrey Vincent Parise also does great job of Wayne, the first man to fall under Elaine's spell and that psychedelic sex scene is utterly unforgettable!
FINAL SAY: Men are like children. They're very easy to please as long as we give them what  they want. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I love Halloween. I called my first cat Samhain (which was the name of the Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season aka Halloween) and my new cat is called Salem, home of the infamous witch trials. I like to go ghost hunting in my spare time, I adore horror movies and novels and love sweet treats. So yeah, of course I love Halloween. I love everything about it and who wouldn't? You can dress up in scary garb, eat tonnes of candy, pull out the tarot cards and Ouija board and watch creepy arse movies, to be honest it is kind of hard to find any negatives here. 
I wish that we had some scary haunted houses to walk through like they do in other countries though, and that more kids engaged in the trick or treat aspect of the holiday. This year, because of the dreadful weather, we hardly had any  little trickers come to the door in Enfield, which was so disappointing. I now have a massive bowl of uneaten candy to contend with, and considering that I still need to squeeze into my 'mother of the bride' wedding gown in less than a month, this kind of temptation is not welcome right now. 
We do have two banging Jack O' Lanterns at the front door though. Craig and Seth did a stellar job of carving up a couple of pumpkin heads for us. I bloody love a good Jack O' Lantern and I always feel much safer at Halloween with a couple of them burning at the entrance of our home. For those of you that don't know your Jack O' Lantern history, please allow me enlighten you. 
The carving of vegetable effigies and gourd heads has been common practise around the world for centuries. It is believe that the carving of  what we now call a 'Jack O' Lantern' at Halloween first began in Ireland in the 17th century when turnips and mangle wurzels were hollowed out to act as lanterns. They often had grotesque faces carved into them to deter uninvited guests. They were set out during Samhain when it was believed to be the time of the year that supernatural beings and the souls of the dead walked the earth freely for one night only every year.
On the 31st of October, the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is said to be at its thinnest, and by placing a burning root vegetable out of the front of your home and ensuring that it stayed alight all night, you were safeguarded from allowing any ill natured or unwelcomed spirit entrance into your home. 
Every year on October 31st, we have at least one Jack O' Lantern on our porch that burns throughout the entire night. And whether it is superstition or just good luck, we have not had any unwelcomed guests to our house on Halloween night either, so it is a tradition that has continued for us. Not only that, but they look so awesome and they are so much fun to design and carve.  The kids in our neighbourhood know that if they see the burning Jack O' Lantern on the doorstep then we are open for some serious candy distribution. 
Perhaps one day I will make it overseas for one of those big, glitzy and all out Halloween celebrations, but in the mean time I am happy to keep my Halloweens on the low down. Just me, my tribe, my good friends, my black cat, my Jack O' Lanterns, my horror movies and my unfortunately still too big bowl of candy!
​And for my keen horror viewers, here's my pick for this year's Halloween movie feature:

BODIES, BODIES, BODIES
Release Date: 2022
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 94 mins 
A suspense thriller with a slasher/ gore undertone, Bodies, Bodies, Bodies delivers dark humour and a rising body count in equal measure. Directed by Halina Rejin and written by Sarah DeLappe, this mystery driven tale about a bunch of entitled twenty-somethings will keep you guessing until the very last moments with an extremely satisfying reveal. 
Wealthy Sophie is hosting a "hurricane party" at a mansion owned by her family. As the weather closes in, the group imbibe a number of illicit substances and then decide to play "Bodies, Bodies, Bodies" which is a murder in the dark type game. It's all fun and games until someone has their throat slashed mid-game. Immediately, the group begin to turn on each other and suspicions start to spin out of control as the body count continues to rise as the night progresses. 
This is a well-crafted, modern, whodunnit that explores friendship loyalties, youthful archetypes and the effect that social media has posed around logical thinking and problem solving for our twenty-something cohort. The cast is pretty terrific, with Rachel Sennott, Pete Davidson, Maria Bakalova and Lee Pace bringing loads of youthful energy and believability to their roles.
Every bit as entertaining as the original Scream movie, Bodies, Bodies, Bodies is destined to generate a cult following in years to come. 
FINAL SAY: Did you just fucking shoot me? 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

Your body is sending you signals all of the time. Most of the time we are so wrapped up in whatever we are doing that we fail to hear or recognise these signals. When this happens, we get lethargic, we feel weary and sometimes we even get ill. In extreme cases we can even suffer disease, serious sickness or worse still; incurably poor health.
Recently a lot of research and energy has gone into understanding our bodies as a type of eco-system. An individually and uniquely designed system that needs to be in balance to thrive and blossom. Our bodies need balance, rest, nutrients and attention in order to work at peak performance, so ignoring even the most subtle of messages can spell disaster down the track if it goes unnoticed. 
So what should we keep an eye out for? To be honest any signal of imbalance should be treated as serious and dealt with right away in order to quell further problems, but it is a good idea to know what some of those subtle differences may be and potentially what they could be indicating. 
Let's start at the top of the body and work our way down from there. The head is a vitally important part of our body, it houses our brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth, not to mention it is often fully exposed to the elements much of the time and can therefore also be prone to skin eruptions and abrasions. In short, head signals can be very unforgiving and frequent. 
Headaches can be a sign of feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty dealing with new demands, this in turn can lead to sleeping difficulties, a lack of alertness or agency and can cause people to lose control of situations around them. Any headache or brain discomfort should be investigated immediately by a trained physician, as should any interruptions to the senses of the face such as sight, hearing, smelling or tasting. Many stress, anxiety and anger signals are triggered around the face and head and can indicate a need for attention, therapy or adjustment. If you have frequent headaches it can indicate a serious underlying condition and you should seek medical advise asap. 
Down to the chest we go and we are on the look out for any shortness of breath or laboured and uneasy breathing. Chest pressure can be your bodies way of signalling potential threats or fear of the unknown and it can be alleviated through calming and meditative practises. Of course, any serious chest or breathing problems should always be checked by a professional, but recognising when your body is reacting to certain situations will allow you to better understand when the need for professional intervention is required and when it is not. Hundreds of people rock up to the emergency department every year with chest pains and breathing difficulty claiming to be having a heart attack when they were really just have a panic or anxiety attack. This is why it is important to get to know your body so that you can decipher what it is trying to tell you. 
Heading down further we encounter the gut. The gut is a labyrinth of nerve endings and a biome of its own that resides within your lower abdomen. Recent studies believe that the gut is every bit, perhaps even more, complex than the human brain. It appears that we store much of our stress, anxiety and worry in our gut and any digestive problems or changes in appetite can be a call to attention around unresolved issues and emotional baggage. Gut feelings really are gut feelings, and recent research into the gut is revealing a multitude of fascinating and important body hacks about the gut, so keep your ear to the ground on this topic because I think we are going to be seeing a lot more focus in this area of health in the coming years. 
Now lets not forget to address out limbs, back and feet. Sore feet, muscle fatigue, tension, pinched and aching limb ailments have all been linked to supressed emotions. Turns out that your gut isn't the only thing storing all those bad vibes, your muscles, skin and bones do it too and it can manifest in a number of aching and annoying ways throughout your system. Skin break outs, rashes, aches, pains, stiffness, throbbing and numbness have all been linked to stress and anxiety conditions and have shown vast improvement when treated with gentle, holistic and calming treatment methods. 
Any restlessness, inability to settle or ground yourself is another way that your body sends you signals that you aren't operating at 100%. Even a simple niggle or nuisance pain can turn into something significant if it is left unattended for long enough, so long story short, never ignore the signals that your body sends to you. Listen to that twinge, notice that knot and be attentive to anything that seems odd, out of the norm or annoying within your system. And never forget one of my favourite pieces of advise; that if you listen to your body when it whispers, then you'll never have to hear it scream. So please, tune in and stay strong. 

NOPE
Release Date: 2022
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 130 mins 
Jordan Peele delivers a unique mix of sci-fi suspense and horror that is destined to become a cult classic with Nope. With elements of early '80s Spielberg and a big nod to classic sci-fi monster horror, Nope manages to be sharp, funny and creepy in ways that the sci-fi/ horror genre hasn't been in a very long time. 
Em and OJ Haywood have inherited their father's ranch after he is killed in a freak accident on the property. The two attempt to keep the family legacy afloat by selling horses to a nearby Western Theme Park, however, at night, strange and inexplicable things are occurring and their horses are being effected. 
This sounds like a simple story, but it really isn't. There is also a second story running along side that invokes a chimpanzee and a '90s sitcom TV program, but I really don't want to spoil anything for you. In fact the less you know the better here. I went in blind and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. 
The cast is really strong here with Keke Palmer, Daniel Kaluuya, Brandon Perea and Steven Yeun all giving terrific performances. Michael Wincott is also fabulous as the creative film-maker and Keith David rounds things out perfectly as the Haywood patriarch and ranch owner Otis Haywood. 
Teamed with excellent special effects and unnerving sound effects, Nope will stick with you and have you pondering the clouds more than you did before you saw this film. 
FINAL SAY: Yeah, nah nah nah. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

The spring break came and went so fast that I barely had time to register just how good it was until I found myself back at work this week. The sun was mostly present for the two week duration and I managed to fill it with an amazingly enjoyable array of fun activities.
In the space of 16 days I squeezed in all of the following things:
A ghost hunting adventure in Kyneton
Dinner at an Asian fusion restaurant 
A brow sculpting and trip to the hairdresser
High tea at Fortuna in Bendigo with my family
Lunch at Enfield with a dear friend
A replant of my vegetable garden
A trip to the Ballarat public library 
A leisurely walk and lunch with another friend
A full re-worked of the front garden beds and I even planted some new spring blooms 
A road trip through central Victoria with friends
Another terrific Asian fusion dinner and I also had some time to spare to....
Clean out my wardrobe, my pantry, my make up and even reorganised my game cupboard. 
Read four books, watch ten movies and finish three TV series that I had on the go. 
Review ten new movies on Spicywatch; journal, work out and meditate everyday and I even tried out some new home cooked recipes on the family - which they loved! It was a terrific break and also a deeply rewarding one for mind, body and spirit. I returned to work feeling like I had enjoyed a good mix of leisure time, family and friend time, practical time and my fave, me time!
However, the very best of the year lies just ahead of us now as Craig and I prepare for the most wonderful events that will be happening over the next couple of months. Between now and the end of January 2023 we will be celebrating:

• Halloween
• Seth's Year 12 Graduation
• Our 28th Wedding Anniversary
• Zoe and Ben's Wedding
• Christmas
• New Years 
• Seth's 18th Birthday and hopefully, all going well...
• Seth getting his drivers license. 

All that in just under 16 weeks, should be a breeze right? Lucky I know how to hustle when I need to that's all that I am going say!

HUSTLE
Release Date: 2022
Rating: M
Running Time: 117 mins 
A sports drama directed by Jeremiah Zagar that was released by Netflix streaming service and received wide critical acclaim, mainly due to Adam Sandler's tremendously good performance. Now I'm not going to lie, I don't generally like sports dramas and I really don't know the first thing about basketball, but there is a real charm to this simple tale that makes it feel genuine and heartfelt without feeling forced or try hard. 
Stanley Sugarman is scouting for the next big basketball star for the Philadelphia 76ers when he stumbles across Bo Cruz in Spain. Bo is hustling for extra money in street basketball games and he is good, very good in fact. Stanley tries hard to get Bo into a Showcase game so that he can be signed, but Bo's streetwise manner, poor knowledge of professional basketball and lack of self control prove to be unforeseen and challenging obstacles to overcome. 
Adam Sandler is undoubtedly the heart and soul of this film, proving that he has come along way since his Billy Madison days of acting. He is well supported here by Queen Latifah who portrays his wife, Juancho Hernangomez (an actual Spanish basketballer) who plays Bo Cruz and dozens of real life basketball players who play themselves in this movie. 
Essentially, Hustle is a feel good sports film that will leave you with that fuzzy feel good vibe when it ends, it's sweet and it's simple and sometimes we all need a little bit of that. 
FINAL SAY: Do you love this game?
​3 Chilli Peppers ​

Unlike the Oscar's, The Emmy's went off without a hitch last week. Hosted by Kenan Thompson, the entire ceremony was very calm and composed. No-one got slapped and had to make a public apology after the effect, which was just lovely.
The biggest highlights of the evening for me were Lizzo's acceptance speech for Best Competition Program and Jennifer Coolidge's dance to the 'get off now' music when she accepted her award for The White Lotus. 
If I am going to be completely honest, I have to say that there were no big surprises when it came to the winners this year. The White Lotus, Ted Lasso and Succession were big hitters and this came as no surprise to anyone whatsoever. There were definitely some stand out TV series for me over the last year and as I watched the Emmy's I felt like I had pretty good idea who was going to win each category. 
As you would expect, all of the programmes were worthy, winner or not and if you have missed any of these incredible series then I would urge you to get on board as soon as you can. I have seen almost all of the winning TV programs, and they are truly terrific and worthy watches. 
If you missed it, here is a list of the winners for each category:

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Succession (HBO)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Zendaya (Euphoria)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Julia Garner (Ozark) 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Matthew Macfadyen (Succession) 
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Ted Lasso (Apple) 
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jean Smart (Hacks)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)
BEST LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES
The White Lotus (HBO)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR ANTHOLOGY
Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout)
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR ANTHOLOGY
Michael Keaton (Dopesick) 
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus)
BEST VARIETY TALK SERIES
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)
BEST VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
Saturday Night Live (NBC) 
BEST COMPETITION PROGRAM
Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Amazon Prime Video)
BEST DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Hwang Dong-hyuk (Squid Game) 
BEST DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Mike White (The White Lotus)
BEST DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
MJ Delaney (Ted Lasso)
 BEST WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) 
BEST WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Jesse Armstrong (Succession) 
BEST WRITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Mike White (The White Lotus)
BEST WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
Jerrod Carmichael (Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel) 
​

LICORICE PIZZA
Release Date: 2021
Rating: M
Running Time: 133 mins 
Director Paul Thomas Anderson hits a high note with Licorice Pizza, delivering something thought provoking, poignant and precious in this 1970's American coming of age tale. Concerning and captivating in equal measure, you can expect an entertaining and unforgettable experience from this movie. 
Gary Valentine is growing up and trying to forge his own path in the world when he falls for Alana Kane, a head strong girl who is a few years his senior. The two traverse the highs and lows of first love and self discovery in San Fernando Valley, in 1973.
Although they are extremely well supported by a number of heavyweight actors including Sean Penn, Benny Safdie, Tom Waits and Bradley Cooper; it is Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman who steal all of the limelight here as they dazzle in their lead roles, delivering believable levels of youthful energy and naivety. 
Just as it's title proposes, this film is both delicious and disgusting. The gender stereotypes, the male privilege and entitlement and the subtle yet continual threat of danger for young women is prevalent and impossible to ignore. I just kept thinking about how far we have come and how desperately revolting so many men behaved in the 1970's as I watched this movie. It actually made me recall some incidences that occurred when I was a young and how naïve I had been to the predatorial behaviours that were not only accepted but also propped up and scaffolded during that era. 
However, underneath all of the grime there is a story here that will melt your heart and make you smile, because all of us have felt the pangs of young love and this film has it in buckets. 
FINAL SAY: I met the girl I'm gonna marry one day. 
​4 Chilli Peppers ​

According to Hermeticism, a branch of spiritual philosophy that dates back to the first century AD, there are seven Hermetic Principles that can help us to understand the laws that govern the universe. They were first outlined and famed by Hermes Trismegistus (Hermes the Thrice-Greatest), who was believed to have written the Emerald Tablet and the Corpus Hermeticum (two highly influential, ancient teachings).
Hermes Trismegistus' work would go on to influence Greek and Egyptian cultures, with both cultures adopting him as a god of wisdom, and a figure of Hermes Trismegistus can also be found in both Islamic and Baha'i writings as well. In short, he was known around the world as a philosopher of great knowledge and wisdom. 
Over time, the seven Hermetic Principles were passed along by word of mouth from teachers to students and eventually, one day in the early 20th century, the teachings were compiled into a book called The Kybalion, written by "The Three Initiates." Today, they remain an occult source of wisdom, separate from any religion but deeply ponderous and powerful nonetheless. And while the seven principles are just one way of understanding the universe, they aren't so constricting that they cannot be studied alongside other spiritual philosophies as well. So, let's take a look at what they are all about.
1. THE PRINCIPLE OF MENTALISM:
The All is Mind; The Universe is Mental.
This principle states that the universe is akin to a mental projection, it's like manifestation 101. What you perceive or think becomes your reality. For anything to be it must be preceded by a thought. God is consciousness or thought and the universe is a manifestation of the mind of God. We can harness the power of our minds to create the life we want to live. 
2. THE PRINCIPLE OF CORRESPONDANCE
As Above, so Below; as Below, so Above. 
What you send into the world returns to you. If you vibrate high you get high results, if you vibrate low you get poor result. It's kind of like karma or consequence but on a more consciously aware plane. 
3. THE PRINCIPLE OF VIBRATION
Nothing Rests; everything moves; everything vibrates. 
All things in the universe vibrate with physical and spiritual energy. These are in constant change and continual movement. We cannot afford to be attached to anything because nothing is ever in compete status, and by accepting change and movement we can vibrate along side the rhythm of life and swim with the current rather than against it. 
4. THE PRINCIPLE OF POLARITY 
Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled. 
A simple example of this hot and cold. Cold is just an absence of heat, and they're both one thing: temperature. Physical matter and spiritual energy are one and the same thing, with spiritual energy vibrating at a higher vibration. Love and hate are two ways of experiencing the same thing, it is our feelings and reactions that will determine how we perceive the world around us.
5. THE PRINCIPLE OF RHYTHM
Everything Flows, out and in; everything has tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates.
Recognise the rhythm of life that is thrumming around you all of time. Your breath, your heartbeat, your pulse. The seasons, the cycles of the moon, the tides in the ocean. The plants and the animals respond without hesitation to these rhythms because they are in flow with the universe; find your flow and get in step with the rhythm of life. 
6. THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE OF EFFECT
Every Cause Has Its Effect; Every Effect Has Its Cause; everything happens according to law, chance is but a name for a law not recognised, there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law. 
​Everything is connected through cause and effect, for each cause of one thing is merely the effect of another, and so it has been for all of time. Ask yourself, are you the cause or the effect?
Your thoughts and behaviour effect everything around you, consider what you are bringing to the table and what kind of influence you are having upon the world. 
7. THE PRINCIPLE OF GENDER 
Gender is in Everything; everything has masculine and feminine principles; gender manifests on all planes. 
Masculine and feminine energy exists in not only the physical plane but also the mental and spiritual planes as well.  The unity of both energies is essential for creation and harmony, and when we have a balance of both, we're better able to apply all the other principles together for maximum benefit. Accept yourself and understand that balance is the key for self mastery. 

These seven principles run deep, very deep and it can take a long time to fully understand and embody these as life practises. Each time that you return to the seven principles you will understand them in a different way, and that is how they are supposed to be interpreted, slowly and repetitively. And over time, they can help you to master your mind and your life as a whole, sweet and rewarding experience. 

LEMONADE
Release Date: 2016
Rating: M
Running Time: 65 mins 
More of a visual album than an actual movie, Beyoncé's Lemonade has been dubbed a revolutionary vision of Black feminism; and it left me in deep admiration for this powerful performer. 
Divided into eleven chapter, titles "Intuition", "Denial", "Anger", "Apathy", "Emptiness", "Accountability", "Reformation", "Hope" and "Redemption" the film uses poetry and prose written by British-Somali poet Warsan Shire as well as Beyoncé's music to serve as a visual accompaniment to her 2016 album also entitled Lemonade. 
Moving, powerful and deeply affecting, Lemonade delivers a jolt of energy and a sucker punch to the face. Miriam Bale for Billboard called Lemonade a film that is made by black women, stars black women and is for black woman, but trust me when I say that this is film is extremely enjoyable for all audiences and celebrates diversity and feminism in beautiful and magical ways that all women can embrace and relate to. 
This film changed the way that I saw Beyoncé forever and made me love her music all the more, it's a must see film for women everywhere. 
FINAL SAY: You betta call Becky with the good hair!
4 Chilli Peppers ​

Last week we welcomed a new kitten into our lives. Salem, our black eight week old kitten arrived in Enfield just ten days ago after a screaming drive home from Melbourne to relocate with us. Born from a stray cat and delivered inside of a lawn mower catcher in my brothers backyard, Salem is anything but meek and has been tearing up our home, scratching up the place and making herself more than comfortable in our now very kitten proofed home. 
I cannot deny that I seriously under-estimated how much energy kittens can have, especially since we had a geriatric cat for about a decade that did nothing but eat, snuggle and sleep. Salem does those three cat things a lot as well, but she also jumps, runs, skitters, drags,  chews, destroys, pounces, climbs, bites and scratches. And all of this is apparently very normal for a now nine week old kitten, but boy is it tiring! I am feeling a new level of fatigue that I haven't experienced since my children were toddlers. 
Kittens need a tonne of attention, that's the bottom line. And they require so much of your time, energy and commitment if they are to become well adjusted, content and loving adult pussy cats. In the last ten days alone we have had to navigate settling Salem into her new home environment, a trip to the vet for vaccinations and chipping (which made her so lethargic that I thought she was going to die) and then to add icing to the already quite stressful kitten cake, she also had a bout of explosive kitten diarrhoea which was not only messy and smelly, but truly gross and distressing.  
Has it been amazing? Yes at times, it has been extremely cute, cuddly and enjoyable. But mostly, it has been tiring, taxing, stressful and troubling. And so it should be right? We have literally introduced a wild animal into our home, what did we really expect was going to happen? Sure I had visions of tiny kitten cuddles, morning snuggles and sweet head-butting behaviours teamed with gentle but cute play, and yes we did get all of that, but we also got a tiny bundle of claws and teeth! A pint sized, furry, killing machine that appears to be hellbent on wearing us out, wrecking all of our stuff and keeping us up at night. 
The other day Seth was at home sick, really quite sick indeed and in need of some rest and recovery time.  He said that he was more than happy to do a spot of kitten sitting whilst he was resting at home. When I got home from work I asked how Salem had gone without Craig or I around. Poor Seth proceeded to explain that whilst we were out Salem had bouts of extremely high energy which involved zooming about the house, leaping off the furniture, scaling the fly wire screens, biting his feet, jumping on top of his head and attacking him on and off throughout the day. Needless to say, Seth did not get a lot of rest with all of that going on and he was also sporting some seriously welted battle scars on his stomach, arms and feet; clear evidence that Salem was indeed going bonkers and attacking him roughly. This was the point when we realised that our tiny Salem was going to be a handful and that the 'settling in to her new home' honeymoon was well and truly over!
And what do the experts say about all of this? They say that this is all very normal stuff, and we just have to stay calm and ride it out, that the kitten phase only lasts about a year so we should try to make the most of having a baby in the house. A YEAR! Wtf? I am going to look like that crazy cat lady off the Simpsons if this continues for a year! Walking around aimlessly in an unkempt state and talking gibberish to myself with a cat hanging off my back all of the time. I am praying that our little hellbender settles down a little bit sooner than that, but we will just have to do what the cat whisperer says and find our peace with it. 
When you adopt a pet you have to take it on completely. You sign up to see it through the vet visits, the bouts of explosive diarrhoea, the destruction of property and in our case the mental kitten stage! And you do that for the duration of its lifetime, no matter how it all turns out. When you become a pet owner, its a little like being a parent all over again, you don't get to tap out or check out and you have to make your peace with things going wrong from time to time. And I really cannot deny that in spite of Salem's hellbender antics, those delightful pussy cuddles, feathery soft fur pats and delightful tiny facial expressions do make every bit of the effort utterly worthwhile. 

​HELLBENDER
Release Date: 2022
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 86 mins 
When it comes to low budget independent films, Hellbender has everything and everyone else trumped. While the rest of the world was lollygagging about during the covid-19 lockdown period, the Adams family were making this movie. And when I say making it, I mean writing, directing, filming, editing, costume designing, music composing and also acting in the lead roles. The trio - composed of John Adams, Toby Poser and Zelda Adams, collaborated on this low budget horror and the results are deeply impressive. 
A mother and her teenage daughter live a solitary life on an isolated mountain. They have their own band, they forage their own food and they appear to live a very peaceful and natural lifestyle, except for one detail. They are hellbenders, and if you want to know what that is, then you'll need to see the movie!
What Hellbender delivers may be janky in effects, but it more than makes up for that with its brilliant cinematography and gripping atmosphere. I was hooked at the 10 minute mark and I think that this little hidden gem deserves  lot more attention and applause. Toby Poser and Zelda Adams are incredibly good in front of the camera here, delivering a mother-daughter, coming of age folk tale like no other. 
FINAL SAY: Growing up is hell. 
3 Chilli Peppers ​

The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards have been set for 12th September, much to my disappointment.  I am of course not disappointed that they are being held, I'm just disappointed that I will be at work when they will be televised so I will not get to enjoy them from the comfort of my couch during the day like I have previously been lucky enough to do for the last couple of years. Oh well, no biggy, I will certainly be able to catch a recap and will need to avoid all  spoilers until I can see them for myself after the fact.
For anyone who may be unaware, the Emmy awards honour the best in American prime time television programming between June 1, 2021, and May 31, 2022, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. It's a glamourous 'who's who of TV' event,  that many have dubbed the 'Oscars of Television' and the nominations often guide my viewing choices for the weeks leading up to the event. As always, the nominees for 2021/2022 look promising and very worthy and here's the list just in case you missed it. 
OUTSTANDING DRAMA
Better Call Saul
Euphoria
Ozark
Severance
Squid Game
Stranger Things (Season 4, Volume 1)
Succession
Yellowjackets
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show
Zendaya, Euphoria
LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Brian Cox, Succession
Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Adam Scott, Severance
Jeremy Strong, Succession
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Patricia Arquette, Severance
Julia Garner, Ozark
Jung Ho-yeon, Squid Game
Christina Ricci, Yellowjackets
Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul
J. Smith-Cameron, Succession
Sarah Snook, Succession
Sydney Sweeney, Euphoria
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Nicholas Braun, Succession
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Park Hae-soo, Squid Game
Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
John Turturro, Severance
Christopher Walken, Severance
Oh Yeong-su, Squid Game
GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Hope Davis, Succession
Marcia Gay Harden, The Morning Show
Martha Kelly, Euphoria
Sanaa Lathan, Succession
Harriet Walter, Succession
Lee You-mi, Squid Game
GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Adrien Brody, Succession
James Cromwell, Succession
Colman Domingo, Euphoria
Arian Moayed, Succession
Tom Pelphrey, Ozark
Alexander Skarsgard, Succession
OUTSTANDING COMEDY
Abbott Elementary
Barry
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Hacks
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Only Murders in the Building
Ted Lasso
What We Do in the Shadows
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant
Elle Fanning, The Great
Issa Rae, Insecure
Jean Smart, Hacks
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Bill Hader, Barry
Nicholas Hoult, The Great
Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Sarah Niles, Ted Lasso
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary
Juno Temple, Ted Lasso
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Anthony Carrigan, Barry
Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
Toheeb Jimoh, Ted Lasso
Nick Mohammed, Ted Lasso
Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
Henry Winkler, Barry
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live
GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Jane Adams, Hacks
Harriet Sansom Harris, Hacks
Jane Lynch, Only Murders in the Building
Laurie Metcalf, Hacks
Kaitlin Olson, Hacks
Harriet Walter, Ted Lasso
GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jerrod Carmichael, Saturday Night Live
Bill Hader, Curb Your Enthusiasm
James Lance, Ted Lasso
Nathan Lane, Only Murders in the Building
Christopher McDonald, Hacks
Sam Richardson, Ted Lasso
OUTSTANDING LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES
Dopesick
The Dropout
Inventing Anna
Pam & Tommy
The White Lotus
OUTSTANDING MADE-FOR-TELEVISION MOVIE
Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers
Ray Donovan: The Movie
Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon
The Survivor
Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas
LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR MOVIE
Toni Collette, The Staircase
Julia Garner, Inventing Anna
Lily James, Pam & Tommy
Sarah Paulson, Impeachment: American Crime Story
Margaret Qually, Maid
Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout
LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR MOVIE
Colin Firth, The Staircase
Andrew Garfield, Under the Banner of Heaven
Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage
Michael Keaton, Dopesick
Himesh Patel, Station Eleven
Sebastian Stan, Pam & Tommy
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR MOVIE
Connie Britton, The White Lotus
Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus
Alexandra Daddario, The White Lotus
Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick
Natasha Rothwell, The White Lotus
Sydney Sweeney, The White Lotus
Mare Winningham, Dopesick
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES, OR MOVIE
Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus
Jake Lacy, The White Lotus
Will Poulter, Dopesick
Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy
Peter Sarsgaard, Dopesick
Michael Stuhlbarg, Dopesick
Steve Zahn, The White Lotus
OUTSTANDING COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls
Nailed It!
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice
OUTSTANDING UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM
Below Deck Mediterranean
Cheer
Love On the Spectrum U.S.
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked
Selling Sunset
REALITY SHOW HOST
Queer Eye‘s Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness
Nailed It!‘s Nicole Byer
Shark Tank‘s Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary
Top Chef‘s Padma Lakshmi
Making It‘s Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman
RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s RuPaul
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
A Black Lady Sketch Show
Saturday Night Live
OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Late Night With Seth Meyers
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM
Arcane
Bob’s Burgers
Rick and Morty
The Simpsons
What If…?

I am most definitely surprised that Atlanta S3 did not get more attention, because I think that it is the best thing that I have watched so far this year. And I would also like to shout out to these terrific TV programs that also seemed to have been sadly overlooked:

• Reservation Dogs 
• Scenes From a Marriage
• We Own This City 
• Gaslit
• Yellowstone

I'll be tuning in on September 12th for the big reveal and will keep you all posted on the outcomes!

LEGENDS OF THE FALL
​Release Date: 1994
Rating: M
Running Time: 133 mins 
With a heartbreakingly gorgeous Brad Pitt in the lead, this epic tale of love, betrayal and sinful trysts will certainly enthral you. Based on the 1979 novella of the same name and directed by Edward Zwick, Pitt isn't the only thing looking amazing here because Legends of the Fall won the Best Cinematography Academy Award for its stunning visuals. 
An epic western saga, set in the 1900's, Legends of the Fall is about a beautiful woman from back East and the three sons of a Montana rancher who loved her and fought for her; set against the backdrop World War One. 
The cast is credible to say the least with Julia Ormond playing the love interest Susannah, Aidan Quinn, Brad Pitt and Henry Thomas playing the three sons and Anthony Hopkins portraying the family matriarch Ludlow. 
Sure it all plays out in a rather melodramatic fashion and there are a lot over the top emotions and obsessive behaviours, however for a romantic drama there a lot of other interesting things going here as well, particularly the historical significance of the US government's appalling treatment of the native Americans and the harrowing toll that WW1 had upon communities.
FINAL SAY: Every warrior hopes a good death will find him. 
3 Chilli Peppers ​

The Beatles sang "All you need is love" and Bob Marley asked "Is this love that I'm feeling?" and Tina Turner asked the age old question "What's love got to do with it?" Yes for hundred, nay thousands of years; performers, writers, philosophers, singers, poets, artists and lovers all over the world have been trying to decipher and understand love in all of its guises in an attempt to make sense of this complex and often confusing emotion that we all yearn for and, if we are fortunate enough, get to experience.  
Love, love, love! Apparently its all around us according to the band Wet, Wet, Wet, but in reality, some of us never really get to fully experience it, so I think that it may be a little more complex than just 'being all around us.' One could also say that hate is all around us if we wanted to be a real Debbie Downer, and although I don't want to go there, I do want to start with opening a discussion around the perceptions of love. 
Being an abstract and intangible emotion, love is open to a million different interpretations.  This explains why some people think that love is pain and misery and others believe that love is the stuff that fuels cherubs and angels and makes everyone feel lovely and fuzzy inside. The absolute truth is that your interpretation of love is going to be completely based on your personal experiences of love. If all of your important life relationships have been a total shit show, then your idea of love is going to be pretty different than that of a person who has been surrounded by nurturing and demonstrative relationships all of their life. And whether you realise it or not, your ideas and concepts about love are being formed from the moment that you are born and they keep on evolving and changing until you die. 
The first love that many of us will experience is the love that we get from our caregivers. Our mothers, fathers, grandparents, siblings and the people that surround us and care for us as we grow are going to lay the foundations of what we conceive love to be as we develop. These first early childhood expressions of nurturing and caring love often begin our journey into understanding love and expressing love. From these roots we will then grow to form four branches of love comprehension; these will be our understandings of physical love, mental love, emotional love and spiritual love. 
Physical love makes itself know through touching, hugging, kissing, closeness, presence and eventually sexual expression. I'm pretty sure that when Marvin Gaye said he 'needed some loving' in the song Sexual Healing, that he was talking about this kind of love. Physical love is expressed through the physical exchanges that we share with others or ourselves. Yes, I said ourselves, we do also need to love ourselves in all of the four forms as well, so don't be afraid to express self love either, it is an integral part of developing your full awareness of love. 
Then there is mental love which is comprehensive and thought provoking. It makes us ponder and want to express ourselves. Mental love is what makes writers and poets write and song writers compose and artists create. It gets inside of your mind and make neurons fly off in all directions. It give us bright shiny thoughts or dark depressive thoughts, depending on how we have experienced love. Love can be a creative or a destructive mental process, complex and ambiguous all at one. It can create mental dependencies or deficits but it can also liberate and free people's minds as well. When you are experiencing positive mental love this will often lead onto positive emotional love.
Positive emotional love is when you feel connected, wanted, seen and appreciated. You have the feeling that you are part of a tribe, a partnership or a bond. When people feel positive emotional love they will usually want it to continue and will eventually want to share it with others as well. Hence dating, getting engaged or marriage and of course having children (creating more people to join in with the awesome positive love experience). Positive emotional love experiences is what holds relationships together and is what feeds good relationships. Those good love endorphins are powerful and they make for powerful love bonds that can last a lifetime. They are also addictive as hell and once people have felt them, they will struggle to go without them. Yep, like Robert Palmer sang "You're gonna have to face it - you're addicted to love." It's super addictive stuff, because when it is good and emotionally connective, love sets off all the feel good hormones inside of our body and it makes us feel wonderful!
This is all good and well until we find ourselves without love or if a loving relationship fails. Now we have entered the realm of the Nine Inch Nails' song "Hurt" because failed emotional love is the hardest to overcome, and it is the also one of the most destructive forces on the planet. It creates hate, hurt, jealousy, anguish, depression, anxiety, unhealthy obsession and a whole string of other damaging problems. However, this is only the case if people become attached to their loving relationships. For hundreds of years Buddhists have been preaching the benefits of non-attachment, especially in our relationships with others, so that we don't become co-dependant and reliant on another to supply us with love and fulfilment. This is why we must always have healthy emotional love for ourselves as well, so that we can accept when others move on, break up or leave an emotionally loving relationship.  
All religions site the final limb of the love tree - Spiritual Love as generally being the most important kind of love for us to experience. Spiritual love is deeply meaningful, non- possessive and energy raising. It operates on a higher vibration than all mental, physical or emotional love and it is unconditional and eternal. Spiritual love is often used to express divine commitment or religious love and it cannot be removed, compromised or taken for it is within you always. You don't need to believe in God or follow any particular religion to experience spiritual love, it can be attained through meditations, quiet contemplations, time in nature and gentle self love practises. 
So, what do you know of love? Are you experiencing love in all of its guises? Are you loving yourself? Are you giving and receiving love in equal measure? These are all good things to ask yourself so that you are having more Wet, Wet, Wet love experiences than Nine Inch Nails love experiences. But for now, wherever you are and whatever you are feeling, I'm sending some big love to you. I sure hope you are feeling it x

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER 
Release Date: 2022
Rating: M
Running Time: 125 mins 
Another Marvel film (the 29th in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be precise - but who is counting right?) and a direct sequel to Thor: Ragnarok (2017). This instalment, directed by Taika Waititi takes some interesting and wacky new directions and surprisingly even has a romance element to the story line. 
Thor and his clan of trusty side kicks must face a new foe called Gorr- The God Butcher. Wielding the powerful Necro-sword, Gorr abducts all of the children from Asgard and plans to open the portal to Eternity which will grant him any wish that he desires. Thor attempts to enlist the help of other Gods to assist him in defeating Gorr. 
Featuring The Guardians of the Galaxy and some other old favourites from the Thor films like Valkyrie and Korg, there is plenty to like about this latest instalment. Natalie Portman is back as Jane Foster with a surprise twist, Christian Bale practically steals the show as Gorr - The God Butcher, Chris Hemsworth delivers Thor with his usual levels of good humour and ego, Taikia Waititi himself reprises his role of the Kronan gladiator rock-man Korg,  and Tessa Thompson shines as Valkyrie. Russell Crowe makes an appearance as well, but I'd hate to spoil that gem for you!
The soundtrack is saturated in Guns n' Roses hits, the characters present with equal parts charm and awkwardness and don't even get me started on the giant screaming goats, rainbow highway or kaftan wearing, meditating Thor. Love and Thunder is truly madness and magic of the best kind; in short, it's totally great fun!
FINAL SAY: I want to choose my own path, live in the moment. My superhero-ing days are over. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

Vagus is the Greek word for "wanderer" or "traveller." So it's the perfect name for a nerve that runs all the way through your body. The Vagus nerve starts at your brainstem and travels down the front of your neck via the carotid artery and then passes through your cardiovascular system, your digestive system, your reproductive organs and even touches on your vital organs as it moves along a neuronal superhighway, taking in information and passing along messages back to your brain. What a busy little nerve right? Well, it's actually not that little at all, it's the largest nerve in your body and it covers more internal ground than any other nerve inside of you. 
Aside of being huge and covering a lot of ground, it also does a lot of things whilst it is traversing about inside of you. The Vagus nerve is responsible for:

• Preventing inflammation
• Assisting with memory making
• Helping you to breathe
• Calming you down when you're stressed out
• Carry information from your gut to your brain
• Carrying messages between your liver, lungs, heart and brain
• Regulating your HPA axis which controls your stress responses
• Stimulating contractions on the GI tract
• Lowering your blood pressure
• Slowing down your heart rate when you are anxious or overworked

The Vagus nerve is the most influential nerve in our parasympathetic nervous system and it controls our moods, our immune responses, our crucial body functions and our digestion capabilities, so it is fair to say that we need to nurture it. 
Good new is that you can actually take care of your Vagus nerve and stimulate it by doing a few simple things. Turns out that your Vagus nerve loves:

• Cold showers or washing your face with cold water.
• Singing and humming
• Yoga and exercise
• Deep breathing and meditation
• Social connectedness and nurturing relationships 
• Laughter
• Gargling
• Massage
• Eye rotation and brain gym exercises
• Small amounts of UVA light 
• Omega-3 fatty acids 
• Fibre 
• Probiotics

Woah, turns out that the old Vagus nerve and I have quite a lot in common! I love most of these things as well! So, when it comes to taking care of my Vagus nerve, you could say that I am already 'the King' in that department.

ELVIS
Release Date: 2022
Rating: M
Running Time: 159 mins
A biographical and musical tale about the life of iconic rock star Elvis Presley. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner, Elvis delivers all of the dazzle and pizzazz that we have come to love about Luhrmann's style and the entire film is greatly supported by Austin Butler's outstanding portrayal of the legend himself, Elvis Presley. 
Narrated through the eyes of his long time manager Colonel Tom Parker, we see Elvis's rise from his poverty stricken southern childhood to his desperately sad and final performances in Las Vegas prior to his premature death at only 42 years of age.
All of the ups and downs and the trials and triumphs are explored as we traverse the landscape of Elvis's short life which is brought to life in a truly spectacular and respectful fashion. I feel like I learned a lot about 'The King of Rock and Roll' through this film and a lot of what I learned did make me feel quite sad. In essence this really is a tragic tale that is genuinely moving and also deeply touching. 
Austin Butler has set himself up for a nod at the Oscar's this year with his amazing effort here and he is very well supported by Tom Hanks as the Colonel and young Aussie actress Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla. Overall, the music and costumes are incredible and like all Luhrmann efforts, they are always best seen on the big screen if you can. For an almost three hour film, there wasn't a dull moment, which is an achievement in itself!
FINAL SAY: Wise men say, only fools rush in. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

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

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Release Date: 2022
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 139 mins 
Spanning multiverses and traversing multiple genres including black comedy, fantasy, martial arts, science fiction and even animation, Everything Everywhere All At Once is a hectic and action packed viewing experience that is pretty hard to define. Written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, (collectively known as the "Daniels")  together they deliver a unique and at times insanely imaginative film that has to be seen to be truly understood. 
Evelyn, a Chinese laundromat owner that is struggling to connect with her current relationships, discovers that she alone can save the world by jumping into other existing universes and exploring the different lives that she has lived. 
This is easily the most creative and original exploration of complex and enduring relationships that I have ever experienced and for that reason, I really enjoyed it. However, it must be said that sometimes this film is overly convoluted and utterly ridiculous, but in general it just adds to the charm of the story, which is essentially all about compassion, loyalty and deeper understanding.
The cast is just terrific, especially Michelle Yeoh who masterfully demonstrates her abilities as both an excellent actress and a kick arse martial arts expert. Also, it was so enjoyable to see Ke Huy Quan on screen again, I don't think I've seen him since The Goonies and Indiana Jones days, and he is really likable as Evelyn's husband Waymond; and Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu also deserve a nod here for their fine efforts. 
Overall, this is a completely wacky ride but if you go in with an open-mind, you'll have a good time. 
FINAL SAY: I got bored one day and put everything on a bagel. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

The Queen's birthday long weekend could not have arrived at a more convenient time. Three days of wintery Enfield bliss was just what my flagging system needed and I spent much of the last few days bopping about in my flannelette PJ's, sipping alcoholic beverages and binge watching an absolute swag of TV and movies.  And I have to say that there has been a lot to enjoy on streaming services lately as they all seem to be scrambling over the top of each other to stream a multitude of good quality viewing opportunities. 
It is around this time every year that I like to offer my list of the best of the year so far to my faithful readers. Well, the best that I have watched anyway, I know for sure that there is a lot more out there to see than just what I put forward, but if I was recommending,  these are the TV programs and movies that I believe deserve your attention, your time and your energy so far.  So, in no particular order - 
TV SHOWS:

• Atlanta S3 - Drama SBS
• Our Flag Means Death - Comedy Foxtel
• Severance - Mystery/ Sci Fi Apple+
• EVIL S2 - Horror Stan 
• Ozark S4 -  Crime/ Drama Netflix 
• The Pentaverite - Comedy Netflix
• Peacemaker - Comedy/ Super Foxtel
• After Party - Mystery Apple+
• This is Going to Hurt - Docuseries Foxtel 
• Stranger Things S4 - Sci Fi Netflix 
• The Outlaws - Comedy/ Drama Prime
• Bloods S2 - Comedy Stan
• The Boys S3 -  Super Prime
• Pam and Tommy - Drama Disney
• Love, Death and Robots S3 - Sci Fi/ Animation Netflix
• Love on the Spectrum US - Reality Netflix
• Cursed Films S2 - Documentary Shudder 
• Lizzo's - Watch Out for the Big Grrrls - Reality Prime 
• Moon Knight - Super Disney 

MOVIES:

• The Batman - Super
• Fresh - Thriller 
• I Want You Back  - Rom/Com
• The Northman - Action 
• Nitram - Gritty 
• Everything, Everywhere All At Once - Fantasy 
• Hellbender - Horror 
• ​Spiderman - No Way Home -Super 

THE BATMAN
Release Date: 2022
Rating: M
Running Time: 176 mins
The latest offering in the DC comic world, The Batman directed by Matt Reeves plunges us back into the seedy underbelly of Gotham City in perhaps the most gothic and dark portrayal of Batman so far. It was universally praised by fans and critics alike for it performances, score and cinematography and quickly became one of the highest grossing films of 2022. 
A masked psychopath calling himself the Riddler begins a grisly killing spree across Gotham City, leaving notes for the Batman at every crime scene. Batman must try to uncover the true identity of the Riddler and put his diabolical plans to an end before more lives are lost. 
All of the original villains are back in action here with The Penguin, Cat woman and the Riddler all making an appearance and they are a far cry from their first portrayals in the Tim Burton originals. In fact the entire Batman franchise has shifted gear again; moving further into the realms of lavish noir and further from the comic book cheap thrills of its earlier days. 
Across the board the cast is fantastic, with notable efforts from Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Andy Serkis, John Turturro and Colin Farrell. Robert Pattinson has the lead role and portrays Batman with an entirely new level of broody emo that the character was missing from previous instalments. And although this is not my favourite Batman movie, I do think that Pattinson may be my favourite Batman to date. 
​Almost as good as The Dark Knight, and certainly as visually appealing, The Batman although clearly overlong, is a worthy and enjoyable superhero watch. 
FINAL SAY: Fear is a tool. When that light hits the sky, it's not just a call. It's a warning. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

Spicywatch.com celebrated its eighth birthday last Saturday evening. And how she has grown over the years from a humble dozen or so movies reviews when I first launched her in May 2014 to the massive 933 reviews that she now has under her belt. In the 8 years that Spicywatch has been on the internet I have had over 130,000 hits and on average, good old Spicywatch manages to rustle  up around 3000 readers a month.
So naturally, I had to celebrate the wonderful and joyful occasion of Spicywatch's 8th birthday and invite some movie loving family and friends around to Enfield to share in the movie chatter. 
With the perfection and infinity of the number 8 in mind, I asked my guests to share a clip that they felt was perfect in some way.  It could be perfect in dialogue, scene, costume, lighting, atmosphere, composition or just perfectly memorable to them and something that they go back to time and time again. 
As it has been at every Spicywatch birthday occasion, we traversed all of the genres together; laughing, crying and remembering the movie moments that have stuck with us throughout the years. 
Here is a sampling of some of the movies that made it to the viewing arena for their perfect  and memorable scenes:

• The Fall
• Toy Story 3
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• Pan's Labyrinth 
• Whale Rider
• Big Fish 
• Kill Bill 
• The Lord of the Rings 
• The Conjuring 2
• ​Samsara
• Moulin Rogue
• Marriage Story 
• Henry V
• House of Flying Daggers 
• The Lighthouse
• Soul
• Napoleon Dynamite
• The Great Gatsby
• Beautiful Creatures
• Fantastic Mr Fox 
• The Bourne Identity
• Mr Bean's Disaster Movie
• Shadow
• Rosemary's Baby
• Much Ado About Nothing 
• Dancer in the Dark
• Midsommar
• Suicide Squad 2
• The Great Beauty 
• Apocalypto 
• The Ghoulies 

Many thanks to the special people who gave up their Saturday evening and made the very cold journey out to Enfield to share the celebration of Spicywatch.com with me, your presence was a wonderful and treasured gift. Make sure that you keep on viewing because I am rounding the 1,000 review mark and we will definitely need to celebrate that when it happens! 

EIGHTH GRADE
Release Date: 2018
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 94 mins
Written and directed by stand up comedian Bo Burnham, this coming-of-age tale had me squirming in my seat with it's accurate and embarrassingly memorable recount of early adolescence and teenage awkwardness. 
Kayla Day is completing her final week of eighth grade and preparing to enter high school. Shy and socially awkward, Kayla spends her free time making motivational videos on YouTube that get little to no views. Between navigating social media, school cliques, crushes and her clingy single father, Kayla is just trying to do her best to stay optimistic. 
This movie feels so genuine and real, the character of Kayla (played perfectly by Elsie Fisher) offers an accurate and unpolished version of early teenage awkwardness that was so desperately missing from the coming-of-age genre and it is delivered in such a fresh and plausible way. 
Although completely different in so many ways to my own adolescent experiences, there were still moments when I recognised the awkward longings and difficulties of Kayla as I watched; proving that teenagers are still just teenagers and that growing pains haven't changed all that much in 30 years. 
FINAL SAY: Growing up can be a little bit scary and weird. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

It's really okay to tip over, in fact it is very normal to feel tilted from time to time, especially in our current times. What I mean when I say tilted is a state of feeling, well... just a bit off really. You're not really yourself in totality if that makes sense. You aren't upset or angry or depressed,  you're just a bit tilted - left of centre, misaligned, not on target.
You may feel a little tired or you could be recovering from a recent illness. You may be trying to manage too many things at once and feel a bit torn between tasks or expectations. You aren't quite firing on all cylinders and it can be a bit annoying, concerning, confusing or perplexing when it happens. 
Generally, the tilted feeling doesn't last all that long - just a couple of days. Just long enough for us to notice that we aren't feeling like our usual selves and hopefully set about rectifying the imbalance. The tilted feeling, when I get it, is a gentle nudge from my body to say that something needs my attention. It's a gentle nudge at first and if I ignore it, it becomes something much harder to ignore.  It stops being a list and starts to become a problem. 
I don't know who coined the phrase - listen to your body when it whispers so that you don't have to hear it scream, but they were certainly on to something. This whisper that they speak of is the tilted feeling that I am speaking of; a gentle listing just to remind me that I have gone off course and am heading in a bad, troubling, unproductive or dangerous direction.
Often I experience 'tilting' when I have failed to replenish my own needs and my personal battery is beginning to run low. I feel tilted in the early days leading up to an illness, when I have done too much in too little time or I have given myself too many social interludes without any time to diffuse in between. Being an introvert, this can happen to me very easily.
My listing feeling may start like a headache or a bit of brain fog. It can be a tired feeling where I will just desperately feel like I need to be alone or withdraw. It can be an ache in my shoulders or my legs or my back that doesn't stop me from doing things but is as annoying as hell. It can present as little melancholy and low in energy and I can seem aloof, bored, disinterested or short. It's not black, it's blue; it's not dark it's slow moving and dull, like a tone running in the background. It can be ignored, but it never should be because as I said, it's whispering not yelling yet. 
Over the years I have become an expert at knowing what to do when I start to 'list' and I am very good at catching myself before I go full tilt overboard these days. Check out my top tips:
TIRED?

• Go to bed early for at least 3 days straight - duh!
• Clear the weekend, and stay home from Friday evening to Monday morning - full reboot. 
• Turn off the TV early and go read a book in bed. 
• Nap - get into the habit of napping when you can, it's awesome to nap. 
• Skip the gym/ workout for a day or two, you'll be fine!
• Meditate, it's super rejuvenating. 
• Wear peppermint essential oil. 
• Drink less coffee and eat more apples - it does work!

ACHING?

• Book a massage asap.
• Take a couple of Panadol/ Ibuprofen. 
• Have a long soak in the tub. 
• Lie down and put your feet up. 
• Splash lavender  and bergamot in your diffuser to soothe anxiety and stress. 
• Cut out the alcohol and clean eat for a few days to reset your system. 
• Make a doctors appointment if this a repeated/ persistent pain. 

OVERWHELMED WITH RESPONSIBILITY?

• Order in for a couple of days, you're too tired to cook. 
• Say no to people until you can manage more. 
• Farm the kids out for a night of peace and quiet. 
• Listen to an audio book when you are in the car to unwind and change your thought patterns after work. 
• Do what needs to be done only, fuck the rest it can wait. 
• Delegate, are you sure this is all yours to do? Are there other people who could take a bit of the load for you? 
• Reprioritise, what is more important? Your health and wellbeing are always the most important thing, so listen to your body!

I seriously suggest that you do listen to your body when it is trying to speak to you, and trust me when I say that your body is communicating with you at all times - because it is! Those little twinges, they don't stay little if you ignore them. Those aches gets tougher, the tiredness gets bigger and the feelings get stronger, so do not pretend that you can't hear those early warning signs that you are getting from your body - act swiftly and get on with your life! 

BRINGING OUT THE DEAD
Release Date: 1999
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 121 mins 
An American psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader and based on the novel of the same name by Joe Connelly. Bringing Out The Dead is easily the most original and unique film of 1999 and with a stellar ensemble cast, there's a lot to like here. 
An exhausted Manhattan paramedic (Nicholas Cage) fights to retain his sanity under the strain of his demanding and stressful job. A double graveyard shift tests his fortitude further as things for him, and his three co-workers, continue to escalate.
Nicholas Cage is really 'bringing out his dead' here, delivering a believably strung out and exhausted paramedic as he convincingly meanders around the edges of a complete meltdown. He is incredibly well supported by Ving Rhames, John Goodman, Tom Sizemore and Patricia Arquette, and although it isn't pretty, Bringing Out The Dead is genuinely interesting and thought provoking material. 
FINAL SAY: Saving someone's life is like falling in love. The best drug in the world. 
​3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

Mother's Day always gets me thinking about all of the wonderful women that I have shared my time, my triumphs and my tribulations with. I reflect on the women that have inspired me with their wisdom, kindness, generosity, patience and genuine care, not only for me but also for the the world around them. In my mind, Mother's Day is not just about whether you are an actual mother or not, it's also about whether you are the type of women who can demonstrate the qualities of being a good mother to others. 
Some women may never actual become mothers themselves, but they spend a great deal of their time caring for others. They bring out the best in others, they inspire and engage us with their mere presence and they nurture and develop the wellbeing of others. If that isn't embodying the qualities of a mother then I don't know what is. However, what I do know is that you certainly do not need to carry a child in your womb to embody the essence of motherhood and become a role model or inspiration to others. 
According to psychologists, in order to be be a good mother (or parent) you need to have a few skills and traits. These traits (not surprisingly) have nothing to do with how much money you have, how big your house is or how many toys or designer clothes you can afford for your family. In fact, most of these traits come from the wellspring of emotional intelligence - you know the stuff that I am always banging on about on my blog? Yep, turns out that emotional intelligence not only makes you a great person, it also makes you a kick arse parent as well. So let's take a closer look at the top ten great parent traits.
1. Patience: a bit of a no-brainer right? As mothers we need to have patience in buckets. Kids are messy and noisy and are often really annoying as well and this requires the patience of a monk to navigate. If you aren't meditating yet, I suggest that you do asap!
2. Multi-tasking: this is a hotly contested topic these days, because mindfulness teaches us that doing lots of things at once isn't actually that good or productive, but whoever said that clearly hasn't had a couple of kids to wrangle! If you can't deal with lots of things going on that you mostly have zero control over then motherhood probably isn't for you! 
3. Encouraging: Just like adults, kids are riddled with self doubt and fear. They need a lot of propping up and guidance and they also need to learn early on that it is okay to make mistakes and get things totally wrong. Encouraging resilience instead of perfection is a terrific way to support your kids and be a super mum. 
4. Intelligence: Hard to teach them if you don't know yourself. Having mental, physical, emotional and social intelligence is not only going to make parenting a shitload easier, it's gonna make you a bloody legend! Get smart and be smart!
5. Flexibility: As a mother you will need to be adaptable and resilient. When kids are around things can (and will) change in a heartbeat and you need to be able to adapt and accept that whatever will be will be, just like Doris Day said. 
6. Leadership Skills: Okay, no matter how much you want to, you can't boss the kids around, but if you have strong leadership skills then your kids are more likely to want to do the right thing on their own steam without you having to bark orders at them like a drill instructor. With positive role modelling and leadership, children will generally be able to lead more efficiently themselves. 
7. Dependability: You have to be good to your word if you want to be a good mother. Kids can smell bullshit a mile away and they do not take kindly to being let down by wayward or unreliable adults. They will also be more honest and trustworthy teens if you set a good example in the early years.
8. Compassion: Kids need comfort, they need a shoulder to cry on and a listening ear to confide in. Regardless of whether they are wrong or right, Children need to feel like their parents are in their corner and their feelings need to be validated just like adults do, so offer compassion without the side of judgement or shame. 
9. A Sense of Humour: Laughter is the best medicine - it's true. Teach your children to laugh at the world, themselves and their worries. By keeping things light you will reduce the stress and anxieties of the world and allow your children to find the smile in any situation. 
10. Self Awareness: Kids have no idea how to act, mostly they just go with whatever they think will work at the time, often they are way off the mark. Many times they will just mimic whatever you do, or your reactions to situations so you need to have a handle on your own modelling and choices. Work on your own self awareness so that you can be the best role model for your children. 

Now have you got all that? Easy right? 
There is no doubt that being a good mother/parent is a tough gig that requires your utmost attention and effort, but my god - the rewards! The rewards of having a wonderful relationship with your children far outweighs any difficulty or challenge that may arise along the way.
And as I said earlier, I have experienced all of these beautiful and loving things from many other women in my life and some of those women are not even mothers yet. So don't despair if you never got these things from your own mother because there are millions of amazing, loving, generous and nurturing women in the world that can offer you all of these things and so much more. 
So go on, be a great mother, or be like a great mother, or be a great woman or better yet, be all of those things - just be great! And on that note I will say - Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful women in  the world who give over of themselves to support, teach and nurture the lives of others. You are bloody amazing! 

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
Release Date: 2019 
Rating:  M
Running Time: 122 mins 
Every now and then, if you're lucky, you will happen upon a movie that is so enchanting and so beautiful that every frame feels like a piece of art, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is that movie. When it comes to romance, passion, adoration and fascination this historical French language film wins on all fronts, delivering something that is not only deeply contemplative but visually stunning as well. 
Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to paint a portrait of a troubled young woman named Heloise. Heloise's mother has been unsuccessful in getting her to pose for paintings and encourages Marianne to act as a hired companion to try and keep her portrait painting a secret. It is not long before Marianne becomes enchanted with Heloise, who is betrothed to another and the two women begin a controversial love affair.  
If you are looking for something that captures the subtilties and beauty of affection and love then this slow burning romance will sweep you away completely. It certainly swept me away, I was deeply moved by this film and really loved how powerful it made the simple act of observing another person. 
Noemie Merlant and Adele Haenel are unforgettably gorgeous as the two intertwined women and they are well supported by Valeria Golino  and Luana Bajrami who portrays another convincingly troubled character named Sophie. The film depicts women in various states of joy and peril and it is all delivered perfectly through the poised eye of director Celine Sciamma. This is truly unforgettable film. 
FINAL SAY: When you're observing me, who do you think I'm observing?
5 Chilli Peppers ​

I always feel like I have so much time when I start a school holiday break, but two weeks is never really as long as you would think, especially when you have lots of people to catch up with and appointments to keep. However, I am certainly not complaining, I am always deeply grateful for the respite and reset time and having a couple of weeks off to gather my bearings and reboot my system every 10 weeks or so is truly a god send. 
​In the last two weeks I have really used my time efficiently, swinging between obligation, organisation and pure indulgence, and I have loved every single moment of it.
The highlights for me were:

• Having cocktails with friends.
• Enjoying afternoon tea in the sun at the botanical gardens.
• A freshly baked morning tea at a dear friend's house.
• Walking the neighbourhood most fine days.
• Spending Easter with my loved ones.
• Hosting a pizza/movie night.
• Catching up with far away friends for brunch.
• Going to the ELVIS exhibition in Bendigo with the family.
• Sipping a 'Dark and Stormy' in a swanky bar with a buddy.
• Getting my hair and eyebrows tizzied up.
• Finally organising the the cable guy to hook up the Ethernet to my TV - so long Wi-Fi drop outs!
• Enjoying two meat smoker events.
• Going to the movies.
• Watching 16 films and finishing eight TV series.
• Reading four books.
• Cleaning out my jewellery cupboard and wardrobe - long overdue!
• Eating out at delicious restaurants four times.
• And I also took Craig to pick up his new whip for his 50th birthday - a brand new cherry red Mustang.

Never was there a happier man than Craig when he pulled up in our driveway in that car, smiling from ear to ear and more gleeful than I have seen him in an age. Craig has wanted a flashy car for as long as I have known him, which is almost 30 years now. He has saved and worked his arse off to make it happen and to see him get something that he has wanted for so long made my heart so full of joy. It was the icing on the cake of my already incredible holiday break. 
And so, like it does at this time every year, a new term begins and I return to the hamster wheel of work  for another couple of months, refreshed and relaxed after my epic break  but still always longing for the days ahead that offer me another round of respite and indulgent joy. 

I WANT YOU BACK
Release Date: 2022
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 111 mins 
A romantic comedy directed by Jason Orley from a screenplay written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger that actually delivers just the right mix of rom/com to work. 
Two recently dumped strangers team up in attempt to win back their exes through unscrupulous and underhanded methods. 
The storyline here is simple enough, but the cast are truly terrific and deliver their roles with tonnes of humour and likeability which really elevates this rom/com from predictable and basic to the halls of genuine enjoyment.
Charlie Day and Jenny Slate play the roles of the two devious and heartbroken friends with a plausible onscreen chemistry and they are very well supported by Scott Eastwood, Manny Jacinto, Clark Backo and Gina Rodriguez whom all believably fall into the messy love entanglement that ensues.
I Want You Back is no game changer, but for a rom/com this is a solid and enjoyable watch. 
FINAL SAY: We're each others sadness sisters. 
3 Chilli Peppers ​