• Home
  • Chilli Pepper Scale
  • The Early Research
  • Hall of Fame
    • The List
  • Genres
    • Drama
    • Horror, Thriller, Supernatural
    • Comedy
    • Action, Crime, War
    • Science Fiction, Super, Fantasy
    • Art House, Musical, International
    • Gritty, Challenging, Documentary
    • Romance, Matters of the Heart
    • Kid Friendly
  • Blog
SPICYWATCH

It Ain't What You Do, It's The Way That You Do It.

31/5/2025

0 Comments

 
My system has taken a real flogging over the last few weeks. The high volume of work and constant travel has taken its toll, and I ended up quite sick and pretty run down as a result. In turn, I felt vulnerable, edgy and at times quite unsure of myself and my ability. In fact this time last week, I was starting to wonder if I even had enough fortitude to manage my workload, and I waivered for the first time in my new job. Thankfully, this feeling did not stay with me, and I got by with a little help from my friends, my work colleagues and most of all my family who all rallied around to ensure that I had support, love and time to reboot my flagging system.
I haven't even been in my new job for six months yet and the workload has certainly not gotten any lighter, in fact it has doubled down. And a workload of that calibre when you are still finding your feet is not fun at all, it's bloody stressful and my anxiety was high to say the least. Team that with a reduction of personal down time and a lack of time in your own home, your own bed and with your own tribe and you've got a recipe for a breakdown. I didn't actually have a breakdown, but I did lose faith in my ability and I did get sick - both which were shithouse and fricken hard. 
I eventually had to have my workload reduced because the hours that I was putting in were just not sustainable. This was hard for me, because it felt like failing in a way, even though I know that no-one could've managed it alone, it still felt shit not having the minerals to go it alone. What can I say - it's in my genes to work until I buckle; and that, I now know, is as stupid as it is dangerous. I made myself ill and emotional and fragile - a gross mixture of things that I haven't felt all at once in a while. But I felt them and I also lived and I also learned. Sometimes you can't make it on your own. 
So I went back to my home, my bed, my tribe and I set about healing myself. I addressed the root cause of the problem, set some healthy boundaries, had some uncomfortable conversations and stood back to reassess the landscape. I healed my tired body with good sleep, key nutrients and anti-inflammatory methods. I stimulated my vagus nerve, I practised somatic therapy and I increased my protein. And, yep, I am definitely starting to feel a lot more like my old self again.
Next week I look forward to being able to increase my physical movement again because I have mostly rested in my down time, and I really want to get back into a regular yoga routine again. Craig and I have planned to spend the King's Birthday long weekend in Hobart for the Dark Mofo Festival and I am really looking forward to spending a few days of down time away with him doing something fun. I have had to cancel quite a few of my joyful plans over the last couple of weeks because of work demands and illness and I really need to do more things that spark joy and bring me positive vibes again.
​So that's the plan for me this Winter,  once I am 100% well again, I want to focus on finding a better work-life balance so that this doesn't happen to me ever again!
Picture
DINNER IN AMERICA
Release Date: 2022 
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 106 mins 

A dark comedy and coming of age story; written, directed and edited by Adam Carter Rehmeier. Dinner is America delivers an unexpectedly sweet tale with a punk rock energy. Brimming with absurd and amusing characters, the mix of clumsy infatuation and cock sure confidence is an absolute joy to watch. 
When 'on the run' punk rocker Simon meets awkward and outcast Patty, they seem like they couldn't have anything in common. However, though their unfailing love of punk music and ability to accept differences, they find solace in each other and an escape from their isolated lives. 
The entire film hinges on Simon and Patty, and they are brilliantly and convincingly portrayed by Kyle Gallner and Emily Skeggs, who just light up the screen together here. As amusing as Napoleon Dynamite and as unique as Shark vs Eagle, Dinner in America is destined to become a cult classic.  
FINAL SAY: I'm a watermelon slammed into your driveway. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

A Month of Gratitude and the Oscars 2025

15/3/2025

0 Comments

 
Another whirlwind month slides by as I settle into my new employment and watch my grand-daughter grow more independent and beautiful by the day. I recently turned 51 and spent some time over the long weekend reflecting; as I do when I have a birthday, about the blessings that I have in my life. Whenever I have another lap around the sun, I am always blown away by how generous and kind my loved ones are and how terrifically my friends treat me. Again I was showered with love and attention, some gorgeous and thoughtful gifts and lots of messages and offers to share time in celebration of my life.  Blessings, so many blessings and much to be grateful for.
In the last month I have had so many reason to feel grateful, its hard to name all of them, but some highlights for me were The Bohemian Summer Festival, regular stays with Zoe, Ben and Freja in Bendigo due to work travel, Soundbathing with friends, my mums cast coming off the wrist that she broke in January, seeing Kinky Boots at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sip Champagne bar with Zoe, the Book Club group, trivia nights rebooting, Spicywatch movie night, the National Gallery of Victoria with Seth and watching the Oscars with my feet up and a glass of bubbles in hand!  A bloody amazing month and a reflection of how genuinely lucky I am to be able to engage and afford to be doing so many fantastic things. 
And, I also have my next month of movies lined up thanks to the awards season which always takes the thinking out of 'what to watch' for me for weeks to come. And don't worry - just in case you missed it, here are the nominees and winners in every category of the 2025 Academy Awards. Happy viewing!
Best Picture
  • WINNER: Anora
  • The Brutalist
  • A Complete Unknown
  • Conclave
  • Dune: Part Two
  • Emilia Pérez
  • I'm Still Here
  • Nickel Boys
  • The Substance
  • Wicked
Director
  • WINNER: Anora — Sean Baker
  • The Brutalist — Brady Corbet
  • A Complete Unknown — James Mangold
  • Emilia Pérez — Jacques Audiard
  • The Substance — Coralie Fargeat
Leading Actor
  • WINNER: Adrien Brody in The Brutalist
  • Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown
  • Colman Domingo in Sing Sing
  • Ralph Fiennes in Conclave
  • Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice
Leading Actress
  • Cynthia Erivo in Wicked
  • Karla Sofia Gascon in Emilia Perez
  • WINNER: Mikey Madison in Anora
  • Demi Moore in The Substance
  • Fernanda Torres in I'm Still Here
Supporting Actor
  • Yura Borisov in Anora
  • WINNER: Keiran Culkin in A Real Pain
  • Edward Norton in A Complete Unknown
  • Guy Pearce in The Brutalist
  • Jeremy Strong in The Apprentice
Supporting Actress
  • Monica Barbaro in A Complete Unknown
  • Ariana Grande in Wicked
  • Felicity Jones in The Brutalist
  • Isabella Rossellini in Conclave
  • WINNER: Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez
Animated Feature Film
  • WINNER: Flow
  • Inside Out 2
  • Memoir of a Snail
  • Wallace & Gromit: Vengence Most Fowl
  • The Wild Robot
Cinematography
  • WINNER: The Brutalist — Lol Crawley
  • Dune: Part Two — Greig Fraser
  • Emilia Perez — Paul Guilhaume
  • Maria — Ed Lachman
  • Nosferatu — Jarin Blaschke
Costume design
  • A Complete Unknown — Arianne Phillips
  • Conclave — Lisy Christl
  • Gladiator II — Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
  • Nosferatu — Linda Muir
  • WINNER: Wicked —  Paul Tazewell
Documentary feature film
  • Black Box Diaries
  • WINNER: No Other Land
  • Porcelain War
  • Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
  • Sugarcane
Documentary short film
  • Death by Numbers
  • I Am Ready, Warden
  • Incident
  • Instruments of a Beating Heart
  • WINNER: The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Film editing
  • WINNER: Anora — Sean Baker
  • The Brutalist — David Jancso
  • Conclave — Nick Emerson
  • Emilia Pérez — Juliette Welfling
  • Wicked — Myron Kerstein
International feature film
  • WINNER: Brazil: I'm Still Here
  • Denmark: The Girl with the Needle
  • France: Emilia Pérez
  • Germany: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
  • Latvia: Flow
Makeup and hairstyling
  • A Different Man — Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado
  • Emilia Pérez — Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini
  • Nosferatu — David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton
  • WINNER: The Substance — Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli
  • Wicked — Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth
Music (original score)
  • WINNER: The Brutalist — Daniel Blumberg
  • Conclave — Volker Bertelmann
  • Emilia Pérez — Clément Ducol and Camille
  • Wicked — John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
  • The Wild Robot — Kris Bowers
Music (original song)
  • WINNER: El Mal from Emilia Pérez; Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
  • The Journey from The Six Triple Eight; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
  • Like A Bird from Sing Sing; Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada
  • Mi Camino from Emilia Pérez; Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol
  • Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late; Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin
Production design
  • The Brutalist — Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia
  • Conclave — Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter
  • Dune: Part Two — Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
  • Nosferatu — Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová
  • WINNER: Wicked — Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Short film (animated)
  • Beautiful Men
  • WINNER: In the Shadow of the Cypress
  • Magic Candles
  • Wander to Wonder
  • Yuck!
Short film (live action)
  • A Lien
  • Anuja
  • WINNER: I'm Not a Robot
  • The Last Ranger
  • The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Sound
  • A Complete Unknown — Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco
  • WINNDER: Dune: Part Two — Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill
  • Emilia Pérez — Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta
  • Wicked — Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis
  • The Wild Robot — Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts
Visual effects
  • Alien: Romulus — Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan
  • Better Man — Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs
  • WINNER: Dune: Part Two — Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer
  • Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes — Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke
  • Wicked — Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould
Adapted screenplay
  • A Complete Unknown — Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks
  • WINNER: Conclave — Screenplay by Peter Straughan
  • Emilia Pérez — Screenplay by Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
  • Nickel Boys — Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
  • Sing Sing — Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John "Divine G" Whitfield
Original screenplay
  • WINNER: Anora — Written by Sean Baker
  • The Brutalist — Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
  • A Real Pain — Written by Jesse Eisenberg
  • September 5 — Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; Co-Written by Alex David
  • The Substance — Written by Coralie Fargeat
Picture
A REAL PAIN
Release Date: 2024
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 90 mins

A comedy-drama, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg who also stars in the lead role, A Real Pain delivers a thought provoking at relationship that is greatly bolstered by Keiran Culkin's incredible portrayal of Benji, a troubled young man who swings between being magnetically care free and offensively careless. Culkin landed the both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor off the strength of his role here and he shines very brightly as Benji. 
David and Benji, mismatched and once close cousins, take a pilgrimage to Poland using the funds that their deceased grandmother left for them. They join a Jewish heritage tour in the hopes of seeing the home that she grew up in and connecting with their Jewish family history. Along the way the odd couple cousins engage in a series of activities that has a profound effect of them both and upon their relationship with each other. 
I loved the way that this movie played out, with Benji's 'real pain' character actually being the main catalyst for change and growth in others, in spite of his own misgivings and at times complete disregard for social norms and etiquette.
A Real Pain is as charming as it is disturbing, brilliantly written and perfectly cast, it's one not to miss. 
FINAL SAY: We used to be different. 
4 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

The Golden Globes 2025

12/1/2025

0 Comments

 
There are good and bad things about having the Golden Globe Awards on so early in the year. The worst thing is that in Australia we always get movies later than the U.S. and this means that we aren't able to see everything before the event, which for me is kind of annoying. However, if you like to know in advance what is actually worth seeing, then this event will line up your viewing options for the next three months, and that could be seen as a very big bonus!
​It would appear that Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist have shot straight to the top of the must see lists for most, and in television it was Shogun's night across the board. However, at the end of the day all of the nominated films and programs are worthy viewing and my 'to see' list just grew another foot in length!
Hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, the awards night went off without any hitches and all of Nikki's jokes seemed to land reasonably well. No stars walked out or no-one got a slapping either which is always a good sign. Her pokes at Timothee Chalamet's facial hair were funny, her 'let's be honest Hollywood' quips were amusing and she may have just scraped in with her 'Diddy' jokes - but only just! And let's not forget this gem that she dropped - "The point of making art is not to win an award. The point of making art is to start a tequila brand so popular that you never have to make art again.”
Demi Moore gave a terrific speech about her years of service in the industry, Zoe Saldana delivered a heart felt speech that appeared to be genuinely emotional (but with actors who can really ever know?) and Tadanobu Asano from Shogun delivered the most amusing and excited acceptance speech for the evening. 
And just in case you missed it all, fret not, you know I got your back. Here are the nominees and winners for each award category:
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
  • Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez" — Winner
  • Ariana Grande, "Wicked"
  • Selena Gomez, "Emilia Pérez"
  • Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist"
  • Margaret Qualley, "The Substance"
  • Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy
  • Jean Smart, "Hacks" — Winner
  • Kristen Bell, "Nobody Wants This"
  • Quinta Brunson, "Abbott Elementary"
  • Ayo Edebiri, "The Bear"
  • Selena Gomez, "Only Murders in the Building"
  • Kathryn Hahn, "Agatha All Along"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
  • Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain" — Winner
  • Yura Borisov, "Anora"
  • Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown"
  • Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist"
  • Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice"
  • Denzel Washington, "Gladiator II"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama
  • Hiroyuki Sanada, "Shōgun" — Winner
  • Donald Glover, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
  • Jake Gyllenhaal, "Presumed Innocent"
  • Gary Oldman, "Slow Horses"
  • Eddie Redmayne, "The Day of the Jackal"
  • Billy Bob Thornton, "Landman"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series
  • Jessica Gunning, "Baby Reindeer" — Winner
  • Liza Colon-Zayas, "The Bear"
  • Hannah Einbinder, "Hacks"
  • Dakota Fanning, "Ripley"
  • Allison Janney, "The Diplomat"
  • Kali Reis, "True Detective: Night Country"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Television Series
  • Tadanobu Asano, "Shōgun" — Winner
  • Javier Bardem, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story"
  • Harrison Ford, "Shrinking"
  • Jack Lowden, "Slow Horses"
  • Diego Luna, "La Maquina"
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach, "The Bear"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy
  • Jeremy Allen White, "The Bear" — Winner
  • Adam Brody, "Nobody Wants This"
  • Ted Danson, "A Man on the Inside"
  • Steve Martin, "Only Murders in the Building"
  • Martin Short, "Only Murders in the Building"
  • Jason Segel, "Shrinking"
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
  • Peter Straughan, "Conclave" — Winner
  • Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez" 
  • Sean Baker, "Anora"
  • Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, "The Brutalist"
  • Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
  • Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"
Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television
  • Ali Wong, "Single Lady" — Winner
  • Jamie Foxx, "What Had Happened Was"
  • Nikki Glaser, "Someday You'll Die"
  • Seth Meyers, "Dad Man Walking"
  • Adam Sandler, "Love You"
  • Ramy Youssef, "More Feelings"
Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language
  • "Emilia Pérez" — Winner
  • "All We Imagine as Light"
  • "The Girl with the Needle"
  • "I'm Still Here"
  • "The Seed of the Sacred Fig"
  • "Vermiglio"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
  • Colin Farrell, "The Penguin" — Winner
  • Richard Gadd, "Baby Reindeer"
  • Kevin Kline, "Disclaimer"
  • Cooper Koch, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story"
  • Ewan McGregor, "A Gentleman in Moscow"
  • Andrew Scott, "Ripley"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
  • Jodie Foster, "True Detective: Night Country" — Winner
  • Cate Blanchett, "Disclaimer"
  • Cristin Milioti, "The Penguin"
  • Sofia Vergara, "Griselda"
  • Naomi Watts, "Feud: Capote vs. The swans"
  • Kate Winslet, "The Regime"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
  • Demi Moore, "The Substance" — Winner
  • Amy Adams, "Nightbitch"
  • Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"
  • Karla Sofía Gascón, "Emilia Pérez"
  • Zendaya, "Challengers"
  • Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
  • Sebastian Stan, "A Different Man" — Winner
  • Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
  • Hugh Grant, "Heretic"
  • Gabriel LaBelle, "Saturday Night"
  • Jesse Plemons, "Kinds of Kindness"
  • Glen Powell, "Hit Man"
Best Motion Picture — Animated
  • "Flow" — Winner
  • "Inside Out 2"
  • "Memoir of a Snail"
  • "Moana 2"
  • "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl"
  • "The Wild Robot"
Best Director — Motion Picture
  • Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist" — Winner
  • Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez"
  • Sean Baker, "Anora"
  • Edward Berger, "Conclave"
  • Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"
  • Payal Kapadia, "All We Imagine as Light"
Best Original Score — Motion Picture
  • Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, "Challengers" — Winner
  • Volker Bertelmann, "Conclave"
  • Daniel Blumberg, "The Brutalist"
  • Kris Bowers, "The Wild Robot"
  • Clément Ducol, Camille, "Emilia Pérez"
  • Hans Zimmer, "Dune: Part Two"
Best Original Song — Motion Picture
  • "El Mal," by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard (from "Emilia Pérez") — Winner
  • "Beautiful That Way," by Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li and Andrew Wyatt (from "The Last Showgirl")
  • "Compress/Repress," by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Luca Guadagnino (from "Challengers")
  • "Forbidden Road," by Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler & Sacha Skarbek ("Better Man")
  • "Kiss The Sky," by Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack & Ali Tamposi (from "The Wild Robot")
  • "Mi Camino," by Clément Ducol and Camille (from "Emilia Pérez")
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
  • "Wicked" — Winner
  • "Alien: Romulus"
  • "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice"
  • "Deadpool & Wolverine"
  • "Gladiator II"
  • "Inside Out 2"
  • "Twisters"
  • "The Wild Robot"
Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
  • "Baby Reindeer" — Winner
  • "Disclaimer"
  • "Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story"
  • "The Penguin"
  • "Ripley"
  • "True Detective: Night Country"
Best Television Series — Comedy Or Musical
  • "Hacks" — Winner
  • "Abbott Elementary"
  • "The Bear"
  • "The Gentlemen"
  • "Nobody Wants This"
  • "Only Murders in the Building"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama
  • Anna Sawai, "Shōgun" — Winner
  • Kathy Bates, "Matlock"
  • Emma D'Arcy, "House of the Dragon"
  • Maya Erskine, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
  • Keira Knightley, "Black Doves"
  • Keri Russell, "The Diplomat"
Best Television Series — Drama
  • "Shōgun" — Winner
  • "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
  • "The Diplomat"
  • "Squid Game"
  • "Slow Horses"
  • "The Day of the Jackal"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
  • Fernanda Torres, "I'm Still Here" — Winner
  • Pamela Anderson, "The Last Showgirl"
  • Angelina Jolie, "Maria"
  • Nicole Kidman, "Babygirl"
  • Tilda Swinton, "The Room Next Door"
  • Kate Winslet, "Lee"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
  • Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist" — Winner
  • Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"
  • Daniel Craig, "Queer"
  • Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
  • Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"
  • Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"
Best Motion Picture — Drama
  • "The Brutalist" — Winner
  • "A Complete Unknown"
  • "Conclave"
  • "Dune: Part Two"
  • "Nickel Boys"
  • "September 5"
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
  • "Emilia Pérez" — Winner
  • "Anora"
  • "Challengers"
  • "A Real Pain"
  • "The Substance"
  • "Wicked"
Picture
​WICKED- PART 1
Release Date: 2024 
Rating: PG
Running Time: 160 mins 

The famous musical and untold story of the Witches of Oz is brought to life on the big screen thanks to director Jon M. Chu. Wicked - Part 1 delivers a delightful, colourful and highly entertaining first chapter in this two part extravaganza with tonnes of singing, dancing and magical effects that will delight audiences both young and old.
Elphaba was born with green skin, which has made her an outcast all of her life. However, when she accepted into Shiz Academy (an esteemed school of magic) she learns that she has hidden and powerful magic within her that she has not yet tapped in to. She forms an unlikely friendship with Glinda, a popular and privileged witch; and the two begin an extraordinary adventure in the land of Oz. 
I wasn't expecting this to be as good as it actually was, and believe me when I say that the hype is truly deserving, this is fabulous watch and a lot of good fun. Ariana Grande is perfectly cast as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo is a powerhouse as Elphaba, and the two together are (pardon the pun) pure magic!
There's a lot to enjoy here and at almost three hours watch time, you get plenty bang for your buck out of this gem. 
FINAL SAY: Defying Gravity.
4 Chilli Peppers

0 Comments

The Best of 2024

5/1/2025

1 Comment

 
Just like 2023, the viewing opportunities in 2024 presented themselves so fast that I found it pretty much impossible to juggle all of my streaming services and keep up with all of the new releases at the cinema. The over-abundance of new release material to trawl through was  absolutely phenomenal!
There was a head spinning amount of high quality viewing material to absorb this year, and I was very grateful to be constantly distracted from all of the drama that 2024 delivered with a saturation of fantastic cinematic offerings. I also, again, received many welcome high quality recommendations from friends and family throughout the year as well, which stretched my viewing choices even further. Long story short, we were all very spoilt for choice and if you couldn't find something to watch, then in my opinion, you just weren't trying hard enough!
I managed to get through 211 movies and 143 television series this year. Basically, I was flat out watching something every day of the year and I still didn't get to half of the material that still sits waiting on my 'to see' lists, which has now blow out to more than 600 titles, so it is fair to say that I am not going to be slowing down any time soon either. 
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 in one year. So now more than ever, 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 so many great movies and TV across all genres, for which I am always grateful. In particular, I again 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 am now sure that audiences are becoming more acclimated to a few jumps and jolts, and more and more people are embracing high quality horror, thriller and challenging viewing choices, because these genres do thankfully seem to still be on the rise. 
And so, without further ado....here is my selection for the best viewing experiences of 2024, full movie reviews can be found on the corresponding genre pages in the drop down menu above. 
BEST MOVIES (2024 release):
Anora - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Dune Pt2 - Sci-fi 4 Chilli Peppers 
Longlegs - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers
The Wild Robot - Kid Friendly 4 Chilli Peppers
Late Night with the Devil - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers
The Substance - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
Handling the Undead - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
Alien Romulus - Sci-Fi 4 Chilli Peppers ​
Hitman - Romance 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Iron Claw- Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers
MadS - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Oddity - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
Civil War - Action/ War 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice - Supernatural 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Smile 2 - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
Inside Out 2 - Kid Friendly 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
HONOURABLE MENTIONS - 2024 Release:
Speak No Evil- Horror 3 Chilli Peppers 
Heretic - Thriller 3 Chilli Peppers 
Abigail - Horror 3 Chilli Peppers 
Lisa Frankenstein - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Action 3 Chilli Peppers 
Deadpool and Wolverine - Action/Super 3 Chilli Peppers 

Here are my top recommendations for pre-2024 releases that I didn't get around to seeing until 2023:
Poor Things - Art House 5 Chilli Peppers 
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Kid Friendly 4.5 Chilli Peppers
Pink Floyd: The Wall - Musical 4 Chilli Peppers 
Blackfish - Doco 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Killers of the Flower Moon - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
Departures - International 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Holdovers - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Tale of Tales - Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Rye Lane - Romance 4 Chilli Peppers 
Wild Tales - International 4 Chilli Peppers 
Society of the Snow - International 4 Chilli Peppers 
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
American Fiction - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Leo - Kid Friendly 4 Chilli Peppers 
For Sama - Doco 4 Chilli Peppers
Zone of Interest -  War 4 Chilli Peppers 
Dream Scenario - Art House 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
After the Wedding - International 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Babylon - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Bread and Tulips - International 3.5 Chilli Peppers 

Rent-a-Pal-Gritty 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Coffee Table - Gritty 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
All of Us Strangers - Romance 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Five Devils - International 3 Chilli Peppers 
Nyad - Drama 3 Chilli Peppers 
Blood and Gold - War 3 Chilli Peppers 
Sisu - Action 3 Chilli Peppers 

BEST TELEVISION SERIES 2024:
Baby Reindeer - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
Scavengers Reign - Sci Fi/ Animation 5 Chilli Peppers 
The Bear S3 - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
Mr and Mrs Smith - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
Boiling Point -Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
FALLOUT- Sci-Fi 5 Chilli Peppers 
The Boys S3 - Super 4 Chilli Peppers
One Day  - Romance 4 Chilli Peppers 
Love Has Won: Cult of the Mother God - Documentary 4 Chilli Peppers 
True Detective: Night Country -  Thriller 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Gentlemen- Crime/ comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Reservation Dogs S3 - Comedy/ drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
Yellowstone (Final Eps) - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Colin from Account S2 - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
ERIC- Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
House of the Dragon S2- Fantasy 3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power S2 - Fantasy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Shrinking S2- Comedy/ Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
What We Do in the Shadows S6 - Horror/ comedy  3.5 Chilli Peppers  
Secret Level- Animation/ Sci Fi 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Earth Abides - Sci Fi 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
3 Body Problem - Sci Fi 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
THEM 2: SCARE - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 

2024 TV HONOURABLE MENTIONS: ​
Kaos- Fantasy  3 Chilli Peppers 
Life and Beth S2 - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Love on the Spectrum S2- Reality 3 Chilli Peppers 
Nobody Wants This - Romance/ comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Mirror Mirror S3  - Documentary  3 Chilli Peppers 
Boy Swallows Universe- Comedy/ drama 3 Chilli Peppers 
Such Brave Girls - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
For Those About to Die - Period Drama 3 Chilli Peppers 
Ghosts S4-Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Baskets S4 - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Killing It S2- Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers
Fisk S3- Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers
Entitled - Art House 3 Chilli Peppers 
Mr Big Stuff - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Palm Royale - Drama/comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
It's Florida Man - Dramatisation  3 Chilli Peppers 
Queer Eye S9 - Reality 3 Chill Peppers 
Dick Turpin - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
How We Wore (Celeste Barber) - Documentary 3 Chilli Peppers ​
Picture
THE SUBSTANCE
Release Date: 2024
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 141 mins 

A satirical body-horror; written, directed and co-produced by Coralie Fargeat that is sure to raise some eye brows and churns some weaker stomachs with it's sickly, visceral and highly amusing stab at Hollywood's relentless cries for youth and beauty. 
Actress and fitness guru Elisabeth Sparkle has just turned 50 and her sleazy producer Harvey is already showing her the door. Unwilling to go down without a fight, Elizabeth orders a mysterious serum called 'The Substance' that promises a more youthful and perfect version of the self. Elizabeth immediately administers the serum and sets about re-establishing herself in Hollywood as Sue, a much hotter and youthful version of herself. But youth and beauty always has a price, and Elizabeth finds that she is now on a very slippery slope of desperation and depravity.
The Substance is a brilliant horror film; it has an interesting storyline, lots of gross out scenes and some really solid performances from both Demi Moore as Elizabeth and Margaret Qualley as Sue.  Honestly, this could be Moore's big come back film, she is just great in this.
In truth, there is a lot to like about this movie. Sure, the last half hour is straight up bonkers, but who cares? No-ones goes to see a body-horror flick expecting to see a completely sensible slice of cinema anyway, so just strap in and enjoy the ride, I guarantee that you won't forget it! 
FINAL SAY: There has been a slight misuse of the Substance.
4 Chilli Peppers 
​

1 Comment

2024 - What a Year!

1/1/2025

0 Comments

 
Looking back across the landscape of 2024, I see that overall it was a year of massive growth for me. I did a whole lot more than I expected to do, faced some pretty unpleasant situations and had some major celebrations and massive highlights along the way as well.
I do love to brag about my amazing yearly achievements, not because I want to rub anyone's face in them, but mostly because looking back and remembering a year completely really helps me to identify all of the joys, personal highlights and reasons to be grateful, of which I have many in my life. Just take a look over the epic year that 2024 was for me: 
JANUARY: 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene (FLOW), Fruit Picking, Spicywatch Movie nights started, joined the sangha, Seth's 19th birthday, Hepburn bath-house, Day-tripping around Victoria, Chinese New Year celebrations, tuned in to the Triple j Hottest 100.
FEBRUARY:  Freja was born! Blackberry picking. 
MARCH: International Women's Day, My 50th birthday, Joined the Women's New Moon Circle, Drag Bingo, Dahlia Flower Arranging Class with Seth, Mushroom picking, Bendigo Stupa - Enliven Festival 2024, Easter Sunday with the family. 
APRIL: Long Service Leave, Groundhog Day in Melbourne, French Cooking Class in Sorrento, Sanctuary Day Spa,  Trivia Nights Started, Surprise birthday lunch at Myra's, Craig's birthday.
MAY: Ghost Hunt at Barwon Estate, Fiji Holiday (Snorkelling and Kayaking), Heritage Week events and tours, Paris: Impressions at Bendigo Art Gallery. 
JUNE:  White Night, Mindful Mingle Started, Spicywatch's 10th Birthday, Ghost hunt at the Palais in Daylesford, Zoe's 27th Birthday.

JULY: Winter School Holidays, 9 to 5 The Musical, French Cooking Day in Enfield.
AUGUST:  Poco Film Festival, Yoga day at Rocklyn Ashram, Ghost Hunt at Bishop's Palace, Book week dress up, Bowling. 
SEPTEMBER: Girl's Night Out with Zoe, Day out with friends in Geelong, Zoe and Ben purchase their first house, Father's Day, Spring School Holiday Break, Ghost Hunt in Elmore, Day out with mum. 
OCTOBER:  Horror Movie Night, Jubilee Lake Picnic, Cave Hill Creek Camp with School, Overnight Freja babysitting, Halloween Trivia Night at Piano Bar. 
NOVEMBER: Accidentally Wes Anderson, Lunch in Buninyong with friends, Ghost Hunt at Bishop's Palace, Sanctuary Day Spa, 30th Wedding Anniversary,  Zoe and Ben's Housewarming, Winning the Trivia Night at Brown Hill. 
DECEMBER: Wreath Making, Colour Run, Forest Glade Gardens in Mt. Macedon, Year 6 Graduation and farewell, Christmas trivia, Landing a great new job, Christmas Drinks with friends, Christmas Day with the fam,  Midsummers Night's Dream at Kirk's Reservoir. 


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.
  • 72 books - a new record for me!
  • Workouts - 5 times a week.
  • 211 movies.
  • 11,500 average steps a day.
  • 143 TV series 
  • 22 brunches/ lunches and  delicious restaurant meals with family and friends. 
  • A daily French lesson on Duolingo.
  • Brain Gym everyday for 10 minutes.
  • A daily journal entry. 
  • 12 Spicywatch movie nights and 8 cinema visits. 
​
Woohoo! That's a lot of 'doing' for one year! 
And now, as 2025 commences I wonder what will arrive in the next 12 months. A new job on the horizon and a lot of new experiences to be had that's for sure. Let's hope that it's as equally fortuitous and joy filled as 2024 was because the last 12 months were a total game charger for me!
Picture
ANORA
Release Date: 2024
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 139 mins 

A comedy-drama, written, directed and edited by Sean Baker; Anora premiered in May 2024 at the 77th Cannes Film Festival where it won the Palme d'Or and quickly became the 'must see' comedy of 2024. Anora comes on like a fever dream, taking unpredictable turns and unleashing something that is equal parts seriously screwball and surprisingly sensitive, making it one of the most original films of 2024. 
Anora 'Ani' Mikheeva is a twenty three year old stripper just making ends meet when she is introduced to Ivan, the twenty one year old son of a wealthy Russian oligarch. The two spend a whirlwind week together with Ivan paying Ani $15,000 to be his girlfriend. Whilst the two are partying in Vegas, Ivan asks Ani to marry him at a Vegas chapel. However, once the news of Ivan's marriage to a stripper reaches home, things take a turn for the worst. 
Mikey Madison is fantastic as Anora and completely embodies the sassy, smart talking  character with an infectious energy. She is extremely well support by Mark Eydelshteyn who plays Ivan and Yura Borisov, Paul Weissman, Karren Karaqulian and Vache Tovmasyan who make up the Russian gangster crew. 
This is a very funny movie, I laughed out loud so many times that I almost got tossed out of the cinema! Easily the funniest film of 2024, Anora is a fabulous offering that shouldn't be missed. 
FINAL SAY: I don't have Instagram. I'm an adult, man!
4 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

Slow Living

26/9/2024

0 Comments

 
My mindful practises have expanded over the school holiday break and I am now embracing slow living. Slow living is kind of like mindfulness, but it is really more focused on grounding and re-setting yourself than needing to be mindful.  Lord knows that I spend a lot of time in mindful contemplation, so the idea of just switching off every now and again, or just doing something for the utter joy of it certainly has great appeal to me also, and nothing provides more time to meander and marinate than a school holiday term break, so I've been embracing the slow with both hands. 
To be totally honest, I actually do crave slow, even though I am often moving at break neck speed and over filling my life to the brim with exciting adventures and opportunities. From time to time I just have to escape everyone and everything for a few days and I will find myself searching for slow rather than mindful ways of being. And one of the best things about slow living is that it totally fills my hedonist bucket because there is a lot of 5 senses stimulation involved in slow living, and who doesn't want more of that action?
Still not sure what slow living might involve? Well here's a list of ways to kick your slow cooker into gear:
  • Spending 15 minutes outside with a good coffee in the morning.
  • Eating by candlelight.
  • Not using your phone/Ipad/device for an entire day.
  • Picking out a new books at the library/ bookstore. 
  • Selecting a new gin/ whiskey or wine at a tasting.
  • Picking fruit/ vegetables or herbs. 
  • Listening to an audio book in the bath. 
  • Making your own pizza - base and all. 
  • Watching the sunrise or sunset. 
  • Writing in a journal.
  • Having a long breakfast or brunch and making it from scratch. 
  • Giving someone a really long hug or cuddling on the couch.
  • Having a candlelight shower.
  • Sketching, painting or modelling without purpose or plan. 
  • Wearing your cosiest clothes all day. 
  • Making a pot of soup and homemade bread. 
  • Cutting flowers from your garden and arranging them. 
  • Hanging at the farmers market and tasting something new. 
  • Listening to music or watching an old classic movie. 
  • Handwriting someone a letter. 
  • Reading in bed. 
  • Knitting, sewing, crocheting or stitching something. 
  • Changing the linen on your bed. 
  • Finding a new cheese at the local deli. 
  • Sleeping in and having breakfast in bed. 
  • Planting vegetables, herbs or flowers. 
  • Baking biscuits or cupcakes.
Getting the idea now? Slow and steady, deeply enjoyable, filled with sensorial joy and just what one needs when they are on an early spring break. Ah, slow living, if only all the days could be so marvellously gentle. 
Picture
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN
Release Date: 1948
Rating: PG
Running Time: 83 mins 

If you haven't yet had the joy of seeing this cult classic, do yourself a favour and take a look. Considered the 'OG' of the horror/comedy genre, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a treasure-trove of classic horror iconography and mighty fine example of old school slapstick comedy. 
Baggage clerks Chick and Wilbur are given the unfortunate job of delivering two large crates to a 'house of horrors' wax museum. Unbeknownst to them, the contents of the crates is none other than Count Dracula in his coffin and Frankenstein's monster, both of whom awaken and with the help of a femme fatale named Dr. Sandra Mornay, begin to exact a devious plan. 
There are few things to really love about this film, the first is seeing Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula, Glen Strange as Frankenstein's monster, Vincent Price as the Invisible Man (keep your ear open for that one) and Lon Chaney Jnr as the Wolfman. The other thing that I really enjoyed was that they chose to make the real villain behind it all a woman, which wasn't a plot line utilised a lot back in the day, and last but not least; well how can you not love a bit of Lou Costello? With his over acting, wheezy, bumbling gestures and silly carry on, he totally steals the show. For me, this is the finest offering that Abbott and Costello have made together and it shouldn't be missed. 
FINAL SAY: I've had this brain for thirty years. It hasn't done me any good!
4 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

The Big 50!

23/3/2024

0 Comments

 
Another whirlwind month passes me by, and boy what a month it has been! I kicked off my birthday long weekend in style with a trip to the movies to see Dune Part 2 in Gold Class and then followed it up the next evening with a New Moon women's circle and sound bath session. Went to the Begonia festival, out for lunch and to the theatre with my mum the day before my birthday and then on my actual birthday I was spoilt rotten by my loving family and generous friends who showered with both attention and affection in buckets.
I had breakfast made for me, a gigantic flashy chocolate fudge cake and Thai food from my favourite Thai restaurant in Ballarat. And the gifts! Holy cow was I spoilt! So many generous offerings and lots of wonderful follow up adventures to be had as well that were gifted to me. Craig got me a Fitbit and my favourite French perfume, Seth got me a Dahlia flower arranging class and lunch - just for the two of us, Zoe got me a pass to the spa for a sauna, soak and a massage at Sanctuary Day Spa, Helen got me tickets to see Groundhog Day at the theatre in Melbourne in April and Michelle got me a French cooking Class in Sorrento that she is taking me to in April as well. Winning!
On top of that I went out to Drag Bingo with my work team, for a night of too many cocktails and so many belly laughs. Around 25 people came out to celebrate my 50th from work, which was just incredible; it was an amazing night! Georgia took me out for a Japanese dinner and wants to take me to Melbourne for a night out down the track and I also received a number of very kind messages and lovely gifts from many other people that share their time and energy with me. It was stunningly overwhelming, emotional and deeply moving for me. Turns out that turning 50 is not a bad thing at all, its a bloody awesome thing! And this year is shaping up to get better and better as it goes along. 
You would think that I couldn't top becoming a Bibi and turning 50, and yeah okay, maybe I can't actually top those things, but more joy is definitely coming! I start my long service leave in a few weeks and will be having a couple of months off work which is awesome on its own, but Craig and I have also decided to get away together for a break and we are heading to Fiji for a holiday in May. An overseas holiday - oh joy - it has been 5 years since Craig and I have travelled overseas together so we are really looking forward to this get away. And the extra time off is going to give me so much more time with Zoe, Ben and Freja as well. The distance between us has been really challenging since Freja arrived in the world and I am looking forward to having more quality time with my now extended family over the next couple of months - I just cannot wait! So yes! Life is beautiful and filled with joy and bursting with opportunity and good fortune, and I am so grateful for everything that I am experiencing. 
Oh, and let's not forget that the Oscar's also happened the day after my birthday this year as well, which just happened to be a public holiday so Helen and I hit the couch with some bubbles and a giant wedge of cheese to take it all in.
And just in case you missed it, here are the (not at all surprising) results:
OSCARS 2024 FULL LIST
Best picture
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

Best actor in a leading role
Bradley Cooper – Maestro
Colman Domingo – Rustin
Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer – WINNER
Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Best actor in a supporting role
Sterling K Brown – American Fiction
Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer – WINNER
Ryan Gosling – Barbie
Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

Best actress in a leading role
Annette Bening – Nyad
Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan – Maestro
Emma Stone – Poor Things – WINNER

Best actress in a supporting role
Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple
America Ferrera – Barbie
Jodie Foster – Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers – WINNER

Best directing
Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet
Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese
Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan – WINNER
Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos
The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer

Best animated feature film
The Boy and the Heron – WINNER
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best adapted screenplay
American Fiction – WINNER
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

Best original screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall – WINNER
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
Past Lives

Best cinematography
El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer- WINNER
Poor Things

Best costume design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER

Best documentary feature film
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol – WINNER

Best documentary short film
The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop – WINNER
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó

Best film editing
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things

Best international feature film
Io Capitano
Perfect Days
Society of the Snow
The Teachers’ Lounge
The Zone of Interest – WINNER

Best makeup and hairstyling
Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER
Society of the Snow

Best original score
American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things

Best original song
The Fire Inside – Flamin’ Hot
I’m Just Ken – Barbie
It Never Went Away – American Symphony
Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) – Killers of the Flower Moon
What Was I Made For? – Barbie – WINNER

Best production design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER

Best animated short film
Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko – WINNER

Best live action short film
The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – WINNER

Best sound
The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest – WINNER

Best visual effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One – WINNER
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Picture
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Release Date: 2023
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 206 mins 

An American western and also a crime drama, directed and produced by Martin Scorsese, who co-wrote the script with Eli Roth. Based on the book of the same name by David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon is not just a movie, it an epic, with an all star ensemble cast and enough corruption and intrigue to keep viewers riveted for the almost three and half hour run time. 
In Oklahoma in the 1920's, a series of grisly deaths continues to befall the Osage Nation People that have a strong hold on the land; due to striking oil. Behind these murders is the land grabbing and influential cattle rancher William King Hale, who will even use his own kin (and any other means available) to take down the Osage members from the inside so that the land inheritances eventually fall into his own family's hands. 
This is a sad story, peppered with the worst kinds of people doing the worst kinds of things. The Osage Nation are represented beautifully, with the main focus firmly placed on Molly Burkhart, a headstrong Osage whose family owns oil headrights. She is portrayed perfectly by newcomer Lily Gladstone and she is extremely well supported by Leonardo DiCaprio as her conniving husband Ernest and Robert De Niro as the awful uncle William Hale. 
Parts of this film are really hard to watch; seeing gentle people being swindled and manipulated continuously is not at all joyful, however the strength, dignity and spirituality of the Osage shines through at every facet  of this movie, and overall, Killers of the Flower Moon delivers something reflective, noteworthy and valuable. A must see epic that deserved all of the accolades and attentions that it garnered. 
​FINAL SAY: Can you find the wolves in this picture?
4 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

Sweat Baby, Sweat Baby...

23/1/2024

0 Comments

 
Don't misread that blog post heading and think that I have gone all fitness mad or anything, because I definitely have not! I have however, entered into the dreaded and controversial period of my life that is commonly known as 'menopause' but really should be called 'fresh hell for women who think they have already experienced everything.'
​So far it has been extremely hot, intensely sweaty and just generally quite gross. This recent wave of menopause has collided with the awards season, so I have been happy to sweat it out on the couch with The Globes, The Emmys and The Critic's Choice Awards which although not at all surprising when it comes to the actual winners, has provided me with some much needed distraction from the hot, flushing and ever present fevers that is my unfortunate, but clearly rapidly declining, hormonal levels. 
So far it's been all 'Sweaty Betty' and 'No Sleep Susan' and I haven't had too many other symptoms, well none that have caused me as much distress and annoyance as a lack of sleep and the constant swampy humidity of my own body. I am managing to get some incredible internal body temperatures these days, and although I haven't exactly been shoving thermometres inside of myself to check on that, I have taken to sleeping with an ice pack on my chest at night, which I believe is a fairly powerful indicator that I am burning up.
In general I am just a big old 'Clammy Sammy' and my body is behaving like I have permanently moved to Northern Thailand by generally being slick and sticky most of the time. Mmmmm, so sexy right? Clearly no, and poor Craig keeps waking up during the night dreaming that he is sunbaking on a beach, only to discover that he is just dealing with the radiant heat that is pouring off of my body during the nocturnal hours. I swear that if I could harness the energy that my body is giving out I could run the lights in our home for months. 
It is like riding a wave of internal combustion, one minute I'm a roast chook, the next I'm icy cold and all of that occurs in a mere matter of minutes. It is just crazy, and I have no idea how long this will last for either. Being a woman is such a thankless roller coaster and now that I am turning 50, hitting menopause and also on the precipice of becoming a grandmother I am starting to see why women become quite cranky at this stage of life. You turn a certain age (by the way menopause usually hits between 45-55 so women beware) and you are suddenly thrust into a fever dream of early crone-hood that is a bit debilitating and quite scary really. I hadn't even though of myself as old (well, not THAT old) and suddenly here I am - an almost 50 year old menopausal grannie! How the hell did that happen?
Only a year ago I was just a mother in her 40's and now...well, old women's business! And I wasn't prepared for old women's business and I don't even know that first thing about menopause, so this has been a true trial by fire - internally, externally, literally and metaphorically as well. Needless to say I have had to trawl the internet for information about menopause and general 'old lady' business as a consequence. And I even went to the local library to borrow books on the topic; god forbid should anyone see me at a book store buying an old lady manual like 'Everything you wanted to know about menopause but were too afraid to ask,' but I really need to educate myself somehow!
And because this has all happened so rapidly, I also needed to do the old 'self litmus' test, you know what I am talking about, when you start asking yourself the 'is this normal?' questions that you only ever worry about when your body starts doing weird shit that it wasn't doing before, like producing more heat than lava. And guess what? Turns out it is normal! So yay, but also boo as well really. 
​Anyway, the summer of 2024 will go down as the sweatiest summer of my life now, well I hope it will be because I really don't want several years of this, but according to everything that I read so far, unless you want to go on Hormone Replacement Therapy, which has a host of it's own issues and symptoms, you just have to suck it up really and go along for the ride and just calmly wait for my body to completely dry up like an old husk of its former self. And that can take anywhere from 6 months to 7 years, so yep, there could well be a few more sweaty summers ahead of me yet! Ah, the true joys of being a woman. Turns out that a vagina really is the gift that just keeps on giving! 
Picture
POOR THINGS 
Release Date: 2023
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 142 mins 

If you are looking for something completely out of the box and utterly unique then look no further, Poor Things delivers on all counts. Brilliantly fantastical, artistically designed and continually teetering on the verge of being absolutely bonkers, this latest offering from visionary director Yorgos Lanthimos is not only his best work, but for me, is one of the best movies of 2023. And after garnering lots of attention for it's salacious behaviours and just as many accolades for it's terrific performances and original story-telling, Poor Things quickly became the must see movie of the year. 
Dr. Godwin Baxter, a Frankenstein-eque surgeon, discovers the beautiful, pregnant but unfortunately dead body of a young woman by the edge of a London river. He decides to transplant the brain of her still alive but unborn baby into her adult body and re-animate her, creating 'Bella' a child-like adult in search of delicious and daring experiences. 
This is a wildly original romp into madness and hilarity with Emma Stone delivering at her best as Bella, Mark Ruffalo amusing completely as the lecherous deviant Duncan Wedderburn and Willem Dafoe bringing hideous-genius to life as Dr Godwin Baxter. However underneath all of the hilarity is a story that delivers like a modern day fairy-tale of self discovery, enlightenment and deliverance that is both playful and contemplative. 
The fantasy design and costumes are strikingly good, the details are just amazing, from start to end. I am fairly sure that this is a film that people are going to talk about for years to come, and one that is destined to become a cult classic. For me, Poor Things hits all the right notes in all the right order, and I couldn't help but applaud it and award it a Hall of Fame - 5 Chilli Peppers of greatness. 
FINAL SAY: I have adventured it and found nothing but sugar and violence. 
5 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

The Golden Globes 2024

13/1/2024

0 Comments

 
​​​The Golden Globe Awards Ceremony happened very early this year; Monday 8th January to be exact, so I was able to sit back, pour a wine and watch everything unfold in real time. Unfortunately, this year kind of delivered like a limp bit of celery and although many valiantly tried, there wasn't a lot of laughs to be found in the mix. In fact the whole night seemed a tad surly and disjointed, which is not what the Golden Globes need after only rising from the ashes of their 2022 controversy last year.
New host Jo Koy certainly fell flat with his lame jokes about 'Barbie's boobs' and he desperately struggling to maintain interest and applause at every turn; he even tossed the writers under the bus in an attempt to save himself at one point. Comics Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell's attempts at silly dance moves during an award presentation were tepidly receive and it just all felt a bit flat and dull to be honest. Not to mention all of the behind the hand/ bitchy banter  that appeared to be going on in the audience, and some actors even just up and left before the ceremony ended! So weird and a bit disrespectful really. 
And although all of the winners were of course super deserving, it was all extremely predictable and left me a tad underwhelmed this year, which was a shame. 
But never mind, I still
 now have a swag of films and TV to catch up on and my viewing choices are all laid out for the next few weeks, so that's a definite plus. 
And just in case you missed it, here are the nominees and winners:


Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
  • Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers" — Winner
  • Emily Blunt, "Oppenheimer"
  • Danielle Brooks, "The Color Purple"
  • Julianne Moore, "May December"
  • Jodie Foster, "Nyad"
  • Rosamund Pike, "Saltburn"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
  • Robert Downey Jr., "Oppenheimer" — Winner
  • Ryan Gosling, "Barbie"
  • Robert DeNiro, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
  • Charles Melton, "May December"
  • William Dafoe, "Poor Things" 
  • Mark Ruffalo, "Poor Things"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
  • Ali Wong, "Beef" — Winner
  • Brie Larson, "Lessons in Chemistry"
  • Riley Keough, "Daisy Jones & the Six" 
  • Elizabeth Olsen, "Love and Death"
  • Juno Temple, "Fargo"
  • Rachel Weisz, "Dead Ringers"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
  • Steven Yeun, "Beef" — Winner
  • Matt Bomer, "Fellow Travelers"
  • Sam Claflin, "Daisy Jones & the Six"
  • David Oyelowo, "Lawmen: Bass Reeves"
  • Jon Hamm, "Fargo"
  • Woody Harrelson, "White House Plumbers"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series
  • Elizabeth Debicki, "The Crown" — Winner
  • Meryl Streep, "Only Murders in the Building"
  • Hannah Waddingham, "Ted Lasso"
  • Christina Ricci, "Yellowjackets" 
  • Abby Elliott, "The Bear"
  • J. Smith-Cameron, "Succession"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Television Series
  • Matthew Macfadyen, "Succession" — Winner
  • James Marsden, "Jury Duty"
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach, "The Bear"
  • Billy Crudup, "The Morning Show" 
  • Alexander Skarsgård, "Succession"
  • Alan Ruck, "Succession"
​
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture
  • Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, "Anatomy of a Fall" — Winner
  • Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, "Barbie"
  • Tony McNamara, "Poor Things"
  • Celine Song, "Past Lives"
  • Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"
  • Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
  • Jeremy Allen White, "The Bear" — Winner
  • Jason Sudeikis, "Ted Lasso"
  • Bill Hader, "Barry"
  • Jason Segel, "Shrinking"
  • Steve Martin, "Only Murders in the Building"
  • Martin Short, "Only Murders in the Building"

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television
  • "Ricky Gervais: Armageddon" — Winner
  • "Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact"
  • "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage"
  • "Wanda Sykes: I'm an Entertainer"
  • "Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love"
  • "Trevor Noah: Where Was I"

Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language
  • "Anatomy of a Fall" (France) — Winner
  • "The Zone of Interest" (United Kingdom)  
  • "Society of the Snow" (Spain) 
  • "Fallen Leaves" (Finland)
  • "Past Lives" (United States)
  • "Io capitano" (Italy)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy
  • Ayo Edebiri, "The Bear" — Winner
  • Natasha Lyonne, "Poker Face"
  • Quinta Brunson, "Abbott Elementary" 
  • Rachel Brosnahan, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
  • Selena Gomez, "Only Murders in the Building"
  • Elle Fanning, "The Great"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama
  • Kieran Culkin, "Succession" — Winner
  • Brian Cox, "Succession"
  • Pedro Pascal, "The Last of Us"
  • Jeremy Strong, "Succession"
  • Gary Oldman, "Slow Horses"
  • Dominic West, "The Crown"

Best Motion Picture — Animated
  • "The Boy and the Heron" — Winner
  • "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
  • "Elemental"
  • "The Super Mario Bros. Movie"
  • "Wish"
  • "Suzume"

Best Director — Motion Picture
  • Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer" — Winner
  • Martin Scorsese, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
  • Greta Gerwig, "Barbie" 
  • Yorgos Lanthimos, "Poor Things"
  • Bradley Cooper, "Maestro"
  • Celine Song, "Past Lives"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
  • Emma Stone, "Poor Things" — Winner
  • Margot Robbie, "Barbie"
  • Natalie Portman, "May December"
  • Fantasia Barrino, "The Color Purple" 
  • Alma Pöysti, "Fallen Leaves"
  • Jennifer Lawrence, "No Hard Feelings"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
  • Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer" — Winner
  • Bradley Cooper, "Maestro"
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
  • Colman Domingo, "Rustin"
  • Andrew Scott, "All of Us Strangers"
  • Barry Keoghan, "Saltburn"

Best Original Score — Motion Picture
  • Ludwig Göransson, "Oppenheimer" — Winner
  • Robbie Robertson, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
  • Mica Levi, "The Zone of Interest"
  • Daniel Pemberton, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" 
  • Jerskin Fendrix, "Poor Things"
  • Joe Hisaishi, "The Boy and the Heron"

Best Original Song — Motion Picture
  • "What Was I Made For?" by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell (from "Barbie") — Winner
  • "Dance the Night" by Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt (from "Barbie") 
  • "Addicted to Romance" by Bruce Springsteen (from "She Came to Me")
  • "Road to Freedom" by Lenny Kravitz (from "Rustin") 
  • "Peaches" by Jack Black, Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Eric Osmond and John Spiker (from "The Super Mario Bros. Movie") 
  • "I'm Just Ken" by Andrew Wyatt and Mark Ronson (from "Barbie")

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement
  • "Barbie" — Winner
  • "Oppenheimer"
  • "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"
  • "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"
  • "The Super Mario Bros. Movie"
  • "John Wick: Chapter 4"
  • "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1" 
  • "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" 

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
  • "Beef" — Winner
  • "Lessons in Chemistry"
  • "Daisy Jones & the Six"
  • "All the Light We Cannot See" 
  • "Fellow Travelers"
  • "Fargo"

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy
  • "The Bear" — Winner
  • "Ted Lasso"
  • "Abbott Elementary"
  • "Jury Duty"
  • "Only Murders in the Building"
  • "Barry"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama
  • Sarah Snook, "Succession" — Winner
  • Bella Ramsey, "The Last of Us"
  • Helen Mirren, "1923"
  •  Keri Russell, "The Diplomat"
  • Emma Stone, "The Curse"
  • Imelda Staunton, "The Crown"

Best Television Series – Drama
  • "Succession" — Winner
  • "The Last of Us"
  • "The Crown"
  • "The Morning Show"
  • "The Diplomat"
  • "1923"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
  • Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers" — Winner
  • Jeffrey Wright, "American Fiction"
  • Matt Damon, "Air"
  • Joaquin Phoenix, "Beau is Afraid"
  • Timothée Chalamet, "Wonka"
  • Nicolas Cage, "Dream Scenario"

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
  • "Poor Things" — Winner
  • "Barbie"
  • "American Fiction"
  • "The Holdovers"
  • "May December" 
  • "Air"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
  • Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon" — Winner
  • Carey Mulligan, "Maestro"
  • Sandra Hüller, "Anatomy of a Fall"
  • Annette Bening, "Nyad"
  • Greta Lee, "Past Lives"
  • Cailee Spaeny, "Priscilla

Best Motion Picture — Drama
  • "Oppenheimer" — Winner
  • "Killers of the Flower Moon" 
  • "Maestro"
  • "Past Lives"
  • "The Zone of Interest"
  • "Anatomy of a Fall"
Picture
OPPENHEIMER 
Release Date: 2023
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 180 mins 

Possibly the most anticipated film of 2023, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer delivers an epic biographical tale that received massive critical acclaim. It also became the third highest grossing film of 2023, the highest grossing World War II film, the highest grossing biographical movie and the second highest grossing R rated film as well. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named Oppenheimer one of the top ten films of the year, and it is certainly already receiving a lot of pre-Oscar buzz. 
The movie is based on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist credited with being the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in The Manhattan Project - the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons. Closely following the 2005 biographical novel American Prometheus by Kai Bid and Martin J. Sherwin, the film chronicles the career of Oppenheimer from his personal highs and successes to his fall from grace in the mid 1950's.
Cillian Murphy is nothing short of perfect in his portrayal of Oppenheimer and he is very well supported by a star studded cast that includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh. 
At three hours run time, Oppenheimer is not a film for light weight movie goers; extremely political and scientific in its delivery (neither of which bothered me) but you do need to be attentive if you want to really appreciate and follow the storyline. Visually it's a masterpiece, and an unforgettable cinematic experience. I went in with little to no knowledge about J. Robert Oppenheimer before I watched this, and I learned a lot; not only about the man himself, but also about nuclear weapons, the arms race and the lack of concern or care for life in general when it comes to the way in which these weapons are used.  Not an easy watch, but a very worthy one for sure. 
FINAL SAY: They won't fear it until they understand it. And they won't understand it until they've used it. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

0 Comments

The Best of 2023

7/1/2024

0 Comments

 
Just like 2022, the viewing opportunities in 2023 grew so fast that I found myself yet again juggling all of my streaming services and struggling to get to the cinema often enough because as always, I seemed to have an over-abundance of new release material to trawl through.
There was a head spinning amount of high quality viewing material to absorb this year, and I was very grateful to be constantly distracted from the political and environmental disasters of 2023 with cinematic offerings. I also received many welcome high quality recommendations from friends and family throughout the year as well, which has stretched my viewing choices as well.  Long story short, we were all very spoilt for choice in 2023, and if you couldn't find something to watch, then in my opinion, you just weren't trying hard enough!
I managed to get through 180 movies and 160 television series this year. Basically, I was flat out watching something every day of the year and I still didn't get to half of the material that still sits waiting on my 'to see' lists, which has now blow out to more than 580 titles, so it is fair to say that I am not going to be slowing down any time soon either. 
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 in one year. So now more than ever, 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 so many great movies and TV across all genres, for which I am always grateful. In particular, I again 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 am now sure that audiences are becoming more acclimated to a few jumps and jolts, and more and more people are embracing high quality horror, thriller and challenging viewing choices, because these genres do thankfully seem to still be on the rise. 
And so, without further ado....here is my selection for the best viewing experiences of 2023. 
BEST MOVIES (2023 release):
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Kid Friendly 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
Oppenheimer - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
The Banshees of Inisherin - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Saltburn - Thriller 4 Chilli Peppers 
Talk to Me - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
Barbie - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
John Wick Chapter 4 - Action 4 Chilli Peppers
Evil Dead Rise- Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Killer - Crime/ Action 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Leave The World Behind - Sci-Fi 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Action/ Super 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Guardians of the Galaxy VOL 3 - Super 3.5 Chilli Peppers 

HONOURABLE MENTIONS - 2023 Release:
Skinamarink- Horror 3 Chilli Peppers 
No Hard Feelings - Comedy  3 Chilli Peppers 
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - Action/ Adventure 3 Chilli Peppers 

Here are my top recommendations for pre-2023 releases that I didn't get around to seeing until 2023:
Pinocchio - Kid Friendly 5 Chilli Peppers 
Aftersun - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
Triangle of Sadness - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
The Menu - Drama  4 Chilli Peppers
You Wont Be Alone - Art House 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Worst Person in the World - Art House 4 Chilli Peppers 
Paul Dood's Deadly Lunch Break-  Art House 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Delicious - International 4 Chilli Peppers
Boiling Point - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
RRR - International 3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Call - International 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Marcel the Shell with Shoes on - Kid Friendly 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Wildcat - Doco 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
A Man Called Otto - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Bones and All - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Survivor- War 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Where the Crawdads Sing - Romance  3 Chilli Peppers
Deerskin-Art House 3 Chilli Peppers 
Baby Teeth - Romance 3.5 
Be My Cat: A Film for Anne - Gritty 3 Chilli Peppers 

BEST TELEVISION SERIES 2023:
Lessons in Chemistry - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
The Bear S2 - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
Succession S4 - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
The Last of Us- Sci-Fi 5 Chilli Peppers 
Love and Death - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers
Tiny Beautiful Things  - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Fall of the House of Usher - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
Beef - Drama/ comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Slip - Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Dave S3 - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Righteous Gemstones S3 - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Platonic - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
Life and Beth - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
GEN V- Super/ Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
Copenhagen Cowboy - Fantasy/ Art House 4 Chilli Peppers
Shrinking - Comedy/ Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Interview with the Vampire - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
Mythic Quest S3- Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
FISK S2- Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Our Flag Means Death S2 - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Mirror, Mirror by Todd Samson S3 - Doco 3.5 Chilli Peppers 

2023 TV HONOURABLE MENTIONS: ​
1899- Fantasy  3 Chilli Peppers 
Down for Love - Reality 3 Chilli Peppers 
The Big Door Prize - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Poker Face  - Crime 3 Chilli Peppers 
Cunk on Earth - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Daisy Jones and the Six - Drama 3 Chilli Peppers 
Always Sunny in Philadelphia S16 - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Somebody, Somewhere S2-Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
High Desert - Comedy/ Crime 3 Chilli Peppers 
Jury Duty - Reality/ Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers
Aunty Donna's Café- Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers
Deadloch - Crime/comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Swarm- Horror  3 Chilli Peppers 
War on Waste  S2- Doco 3 Chill Peppers 
The Traitors - Reality 3 Chilli Peppers 
What We Do in the Shadows S4- Horror/Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers ​
Picture
TALK TO ME
Release Date: 2023
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 95 mins 

An Australian supernatural horror, directed by Danny and Michael Philippou. Talk To Me made its worldwide premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and has been seriously creeping out audiences ever since. With a virtually unknown cast and a seriously unsettling storyline, Talk To Me is destined to become a cult horror classic. 
A group of teenagers get their kicks from conjuring spirits, filming the outcomes and posting them onto social media. With the aid of a mysterious embalmed hand they are able to allow entities to possess their bodies, but as with all stories of possession, things go wrong and the consequences are of course, dreadful!
This is a genuinely gripping horror tale that had me captivated from start to end. Touching on concepts of grief, loss and the desperate need for belonging when it comes to teens, this film plays out in believable and disturbing ways, with the main actors giving convincing and emotional driven performances. 
Talk To Me really does get under your skin, and it also delivers enough gore and shock value to appease hardcore fans of horror. 
FINAL SAY: I let you in. 
4 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

Fill Your Own Cup

8/10/2023

0 Comments

 
Sometimes no matter how mindful you are, how much time and effort you put into yourself or how invested you are in your own wellbeing, something will happen and the wheels will just fall off your wagon. Now, this doesn't mean that you have completely derail, leaving the tracks only to plunge head first into the nearest ravine and catch on fire at the bottom, quite the opposite actually. If you get really good at filling and replenishing your own cup regularly, you will never need to have a full scale derailment again. You will not only be able to sit with your disappointments and discomforts, you'll also be able to bounce back like a boss. 
So what's the secret? Well of course it's hardly a secret but it does require you to be attentive to your own needs and aware of what may be leaking out of your cup before you get too depleted. First and foremost, and I know that you've heard me say this a million times but if you aren't doing the simple necessities well, then you have to start there. Are you eating well? Are you sleeping and resting well? Are you getting enough exercise or activity in your life? If you answered no to any of what I like to call the 'Holy Trinity' of health, then take stock and sort your shit out asap. 
Unfortunately everyone is not wrong about you needing to eat a rainbow of healthy foods, get 6-8 hours of sleep a night, drink 6-8 glasses of water a day and take in around 10,000 steps and half an hour of activity as a base line on the daily. If you are failing on of these fronts, you will feel tired, moody, emotional and probably pretty crappy for the most part. Your body is going to be struggling, so always check in with the 'Holy Trinity' before going anywhere else when your cup needs a top up.
After the 'Holy Trinity' is in order, it's time to get meeting your other needs. Check in with your balance between connection with others and your alone time. Both of these things are equally important. You need alone time to connect with yourself and to reflect on your needs and explore your desires. And you need healthy relationships and moments of connection with others to help you to understand your own value, be of service to others and explore your personal expressions of love and sexuality. However, lots of people over-do one or the other and this can leave you feeling out of balance, lonely or exhausted.  Have a think about how much time you are devoting to others and how much you are devoting to yourself. How do you spend your time with yourself? How do you spend your time with others? Are you using your time wisely? How can you improve on your relationships? How can you use your time alone in a healthy way? 
Another thing that really fills up diminished cups is time in nature and time to be creative. It has been scientifically proven that when people spend some time in nature everyday, especially early on in the day, they experience a much higher level of joy and appreciation in their daily lives. Equally valuable is any time set aside for creative output on a daily basis; a spot of painting, a little mindful colouring, daily journaling, scrapbooking, knitting, sewing, modelling or even cooking up a storm in the kitchen are great ways to stimulate the creative juices and getting a feeling of flow back into your life. 
So in short, start with checking your:
  • Sleep
  • Diet
  • Activity 
And then look at:
  • Your relationships and connections with others.
  • Your time spent alone and your allocation of time for reflection. 
And last but not least try to:
  • Spend some time in nature
  • Be creative
Simple enough, and fairly obvious, but sometimes, we are just so busy being inside of our selves that we fail to step back and make sure that we are filling our own cups properly. Take a little time this week to do a self check, and never forget to fill your own cup and check in with yourself regularly. 
Picture
NO HARD FEELINGS 
Release Date: 2023 
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 103 mins 

A coming of age film directed by Gene Stupnitsky from a screenplay that he co-wrote with John Phillips, No Hard Feelings swings between inappropriately raunchy behaviours and painful helicopter parenting with an effortless ease that makes it a fun and enjoyable comedy from start to end. 
32 year old Maddie Barker is facing bankruptcy when an opportunity arises for her to get a car free on Craigslist. The only catch is that she has to  "date" a socially awkward and shy 19 year old boy named Percy because his wealthy parents can't deal with him leaving for college without any prior female socialisation or sexual experience. She also has to make it seem natural, so Maddie sets out to secretly seduce and socialise Percy and finds much more than she had bargained for. 
There is nothing astoundingly original or interesting about this tried and tired old movie trope, but Jennifer Lawrence makes this film great by delivering her usual high level of funny and sincere on screen as Maddie. Any icky feelings or controversy around the somewhat questionable storyline is cancelled out by the way that film constantly fails to condone or promote Maddie's crappy choices and immaturity. The teenagers in the film are obviously far more aware and mature than Maddie is and the whole point of the movie is to point out how childlike and pathetic some adults can be, which is easy to see when they are surrounded by capable and intelligent young individuals. 
Overall this is just a low-stake comedy film with higher than expected outcomes, watch it for a giggle. 
FINAL SAY: This kid's undatable!
3 Chilli Peppers ​

0 Comments

Northern Exposure

25/9/2023

0 Comments

 
I have just returned from a weeks long holiday in the Northern Territory of Australia, primarily the Yulara area near Uluru. I travelled with a friend and it was both of our first times in the NT and also our first time travelling together; and to be 100% honest, it couldn't have been a more enjoyable trip. Everything, from the moment that we departed for the red centre to the time that we touched down back in Victoria went like clockwork. No hiccups, no problems and no distress, just a smooth sailing and very delightful holiday, and a mighty fine first introduction to the joys of the Northern Territory. 
In the space of six days we saw the three 'big' rocks of the area - Uluru, Atila and Kata Tjuta, all of which hold a special, strange and ancient magic to them. My favourite by far was Kata Tjuta also known as The Olga's which means 'many heads'. The rocks themselves look like sleeping indigenous giants at Kata Tjuta, and although I also loved Uluru, the sunrise at Kata Tjuta  is an undeniably spiritual place to be. I definitely felt like there was a strong spiritual presence at Kata Tjuta, something sacred and powerful; but all three rocks are kind of like an ancient holy trinity that really need to be seen to be fully appreciated. 
In spite of the incredible heat that we 'Ballaratarians' are most certainly not used to (Uluru was averaging 35 degrees most days) we still somehow managed to clock up over 85,000 steps in total which equates to over 66 kilometres of walking in six days, and some of those steps were done whilst walking (struggling, panting) straight up the side of Kings Canyon, which almost slayed me completely!
We also did some fantastic garden and bush tucker workshops to learn about the medicinal, culinary and cultural significance of the flora in the area, which I would highly recommend. And we enjoyed an amazing dot painting session with an indigenous elder woman called Evelyn who was a total boss. And now, thanks to Evelyn, I feel like I actually understand the stories in the indigenous paintings that I see. Needless to say, I have purchased one from a local to put up on my wall to commemorate my journey and can interpret everything that is featured in it as well. 
We took in the Field of Lights installation one evening, which houses over seven football fields of tiny colour changing lights that magically alter and shimmer against the darkness of the desert. We also managed to catch sight of most of the sunrises and sunsets which offer so many shades of pink, peach, purple, blue and gold, and some of the most incredible photo opportunities on the planet. 
We happily walked the base of Uluru, visited GOCA (the Gallery of Central Australia), went on a trip to Curtain Springs where we saw some of the vast Northern salt lakes, some cattle stations and a few wild brumbies. Then we got super gutsy and headed to King's Canyon where we did the full 3.5 hour rim walk in the blazing midday sun (death became me). And to top it all off we even learned all about 'The Dark Emu' in the sky, a dark space between the stars in the Milky Way that the local indigenous people navigate by.
In short, we had a hectic, heavenly and incredibly rewarding trip to the red centre that I would recommend that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime. It truly is a place like no other place that I have ever gone to before and I have some marvellous memories to keep from my adventures in the NT. From the red desert sands to the fields of wildflowers, from the giant monolithic rocks to the tiny lizards that scuttle about on their back legs and from the ritzy five star spa stays to the backpackers bar, there is something to suit everyone's taste, capability and price bracket in the NT. And what a gift it was to see it all with a dear friend and to have the time off to enjoy it completely. Feeling very grateful and also a little tired, but wow, what an amazing trip we had!
Picture
THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT
Release Date: 1994
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 104 mins
An Australian drama comedy written and directed by Stephen Elliott, 'Priscilla' was certainly instrumental in bringing Australian cinema to worldwide attention for its positive portrayal of LGBT individuals, and with helping to bring LGBT themes into the mainstream. 
The story follows two drag queens and a transsexual as they travel across the Australian outback in a silver and hot pink bus called Priscilla, peddling their unique style of cabaret entertainment. Along the way the men share in the trials and tribulations of their lives and adventures. 
​This is hands down the best drag queen movie that I have ever encountered, it is a true extravaganza of sequins, glitter and glam wardrobe attire. There is also a stirringly emotional undertone about the ugly prejudices that have been endured, and sacrifices that have been made by these men in order for them to live their lives by their own terms.
​Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce are all solid and do a marvelous job of singing, dancing and lip syncing their hearts out under the harsh Aussie sun.

FINAL SAY: That's just what this country needs, a cock in a frock on a rock. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers

0 Comments

I Will Try To Fix You

20/8/2023

0 Comments

 
No one has it all worked out, and it is important to remember that, especially if you are prone to playing the comparison game. Everyone will try to make their lives look more rosy and put together than they really are, and that's not because we are liars or deceivers, it's because we are living in a world that praises perfection and leaves very little room for error.
People don't want the world to know about the things that they are getting wrong, they want the world to see them striving, not surviving. And honestly, I don't think that there is anything wrong with that, fake it until you make it and focus on the wins, it's not a bad way to be. However, we all really know that no-one has it all together all of the time and that we all have work to do on ourselves from time to time - or my case; most of the time! If you have read my blog posts more than once, you will quickly work out that I am more than happy to let the world know when I stumble and falter and it is often, very often actually. The most important thing to focus on when you do have moments of doubt, self loathing or turmoil is what you need to do in order to lift yourself back up again. 
I recently stumbled across this terrific trouble shooting guide from @anxiousheartguide that outlines where you may need to invest some time and effort based on the area in your life that that you are struggling in. Now like all the advice/ opinion that I post on my blog, none of it is fool proof or guaranteed to fix you or your problems. However, in saying that, it certainly won't hurt you to consider the options and if, like me, you have nothing to lose then you too may find this little tip sheet pretty helpful. Thrash it or trash it? It is totally up to you.

TROUBLE SHOOTING GUIDE TO KNOWING WHAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON:
STRUGGLE: clingy or needy behaviours
WHERE THE WORK IS: independence and self worth

STRUGGLE: overanalysing and worrying
​WHERE THE WORK IS: mindfulness, meditation and journaling

STRUGGLE: overprioritizing other

​WHERE THE WORK IS: self worth and therapy

STRUGGLE: inability to self sooth or regulate

​WHERE THE WORK IS: therapy, EFT, somatics

STRUGGLE: Intolerance of partner availability 

​WHERE THE WORK IS: hobbies, personal interests 

STRUGGLE: losing yourself in a relationship 

​WHERE THE WORK IS: finding and committing to your values, passions 

STRUGGLE: dependency and 
co-dependency
​WHERE THE WORK IS: independence and interdependence 

STRUGGLE: Intolerance to being alone

​WHERE THE WORK IS: solo passion projects and friendships

STRUGGLE: Timidity  and lack of confidence 

​WHERE THE WORK IS: Assertiveness education and classes 

STRUGGLE: 
Oversharing
​WHERE THE WORK IS: sharing self in increasing increments 

STRUGGLE: Fear of criticism or rejection

​WHERE THE WORK IS: Vulnerability and open communication 

STRUGGLE: Need for constant reassurance 

​WHERE THE WORK IS: Trust building and self esteem

STRUGGLE: Moodiness, impulsivity, instability 

​WHERE THE WORK IS: Therapy, meditation and mindfulness

STRUGGLE: Jealousy or insecurity

​WHERE THE WORK IS: vulnerability and open communication 
​
STRUGGLE: stuffing down words, needs or upsets 

​WHERE THE WORK IS: open communication and trust 

STRUGGLE: Dealing with the bullshit patriarchy
WHERE THE WORK IS: Watch the Barbie movie and have a laugh!
(Lol - that one was mine!) 
Picture
BARBIE
Release Date: 2023
Rating: PG
Running Time: 114 mins 

A fantasy comedy directed by Greta Gerwig, who wrote the screenplay with Noah Baumbach; Barbie, which is based around the Mattel fashion dolls called Barbie, hits all the right notes and delivers something that is extremely funny, undeniably woke and fantastically pink in every way. 
Barbie (Margot Robbie) and all the other Barbie versions have the most perfect life in Barbieland. It's all smiles and parties in this matriarchal wonderland where Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling) and all the other Ken's exist only to make the Barbie's happy. However, when Barbie gets pulled into the real world due to an outside influence, she discovers that she has not been the perfect role model in the real world that she thought she was. And Ken, who rides along with her, discovers how the patriarchy works, and soon everything in Barbie's world begins to fall apart. 
This is laugh out loud material from start to end. The costumes, sets and designs are dazzling, the soundtrack is fun and thoughtfully put together and Robbie and Gosling are hilariously great as Barbie and Ken. What I wasn't expecting was for it to be so genuinely moving and poignant about the purpose of being a female role model; there is a genuinely great message being conveyed here that will hopefully not be lost on younger audiences.  And Ken's grappling of the what patriarchy looks like in extreme was also really well fleshed out and explored. 
Not just a pink flash in the pan, Barbie is a movie that people will go back to and play again and again for the laughs and the tears, not unlike the beloved doll herself. 
FINAL SAY: Humans have only one ending. Ideas live forever. 
​4 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

Getting Along

4/6/2023

0 Comments

 
Everyone wants to feel like they are liked and they belong. For some people fitting in and being liked is like second nature, they just have a way about them that makes people enjoy their company and a certain way of engaging others that makes people desire more time with them. For other people however, being in social situations can feel more like navigating shark infested waters than being natural. It is actually very unnatural for some and no matter what they do or how they do it, they seem to make mistakes; stumbling about in social interactions making one bumble after another.
These kinds of people often struggle to make connections with others or just generally feel like they aren't running with the crowd. It can lead to them having difficult feelings of isolation or inadequacy, and can even lead to social anxiety and depression. And although there is no cure for being socially awkward, there are some nifty little psychological tricks that you can implement that will make people like you more than they did before. And the best part of all is that you don't  have to a lot to make these things work, just a few small changes and you'll be off and running. 
Firstly, if you want to be liked in your workplace and avoid all the drama, compliment people behind their back instead of whinging or bitching about them behind their backs. People will fast identify you as a good guy and will also not feel safe to whine or bitch to you, since you don't engage in that kind of chatter. This will keep you out of idle gossip and will help you to find the good in your colleagues. 
When you say "you're right" instead of "I know" it will remove the asshole factor from your listening methods. Validating people's feelings and keeping your own on the shelf is smart and it will make people feel like you're an awesome listener. Everyone loves being right and they will like it when you tell them so, just make sure that you're "righting" to empower and not joining in the hate-fest banter. 
Instead of asking "Do you have any questions?" ask "What questions do you have?" The first almost always results in silence, while the second helps people feel comfortable to ask, like you think that there should be questions and you're expecting to be asked. People will respond in kind.
When you have something important to say to your kids, say it in a very quiet voice so that they listen. Kids are really immune to yelling and shouting, but whispering never fails to get attention. You can be guaranteed that they will turn to you and ask you "what did you just say?" and bam! You've got their attention without a rant, rave or raised voice. 
If someone is escalating and you need them to calm down so that you can communicate with them, simply ask them questions about numbers or personal information. People need to access certain parts of the brain for fact recall, and it is almost impossible to do so when they are angry. If you ask the right questions, they will be forced to let their guard down to provide the answers and within moments, they will be deescalated.
Shy people are always super reluctant to speak, and when they do, they usually want to keep it short and sweet. To keep a shy person talking, nod your head when they speak whilst you are looking at them.  This will make them feel validated and push them to provide more information or share more. 
And last, but not least, say hello to everyone you know whenever you see them. At work, in the supermarket, at the doctors office, if you bump into someone you know, don't ever pretend that you don't know who they are. When you pass people at work, acknowledge them and try to say their name, and always do it with a smile. This is super simple, but effective. People will always remember if you snubbed them or didn't acknowledge them when you saw them, and not just for that day either. Research has shown that people remember this kind of snubbing for years, so make an effort to raise a hand to wave and flash a smile when you see a familiar face. 
And there you have it, a few sure fire ways to get along better with others. Sure, if you try them you may not have people fawning all over you at the next workplace gathering, but at least you won't have to worry about being at odds with others or being seen as the social pariah or wicked witch of the office anymore. And when all else fails, then just do what I do and head to the grimoire and cast a likability spell over those mother fuckers! 
Picture
THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK
Release Date: 1987
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 118 mins 
I am still trying to find another person that will agree with me about this film, most people hated it. Yes, it's got a ridiculous and implausible story line; of course three of the hottest women on the planet would fall for an aging and overweight Jack Nicholson, and sure his magical penis would make them all a little magical too. OK, I can see that there have been massive liberties taken here, but I don't care, I still like this film! 
Based on John Updike's novel of the same name and directed by George Miller, who has directed and written a slew of successful movies, The Witches of Eastwick is a fantasy-comedy with a strong cast and a quirky story line.
Three talented and beautiful women (Cher, Susan Sarandon and Michelle Pfeiffer) are living out their lonely and man-less lives in a small town. When an intriguing and promiscuous man arrives named Daryl Van Horne (Jack Nicholson), their lives are turned upside down as he unleashes new and dangerous powers within them. 
Essentially this is a supernatural battle of the sexes, it is bewitchingly funny and has a worthy underlying message about the pitfalls of meddling with magic. I really enjoyed the interactions between the cast members and the scale to which things escalate is hilariously played out. If you like a little supernatural sprinkled onto your comedy, then you will love it too. 
FINAL SAY: Have another cherry. 
3 Chilli Peppers

0 Comments

Smoothing Out

19/3/2023

0 Comments

 
So it is exactly one month since I blogged about re-committing to my wellness and starting my weight loss journey once again and I did say that I was going to be totally transparent about that journey and update my progress every month; so here I am, baring myself to the world again and being 100% transparent about how the journey is going. 
At this stage, I would say that I have experienced the highs and lows of any new journey. I have had good days and bad days. I have lost two kilos on the scales, which is not a lot but it is consistent progress that equates to half a kilo a week. I have not been strict or restrictive with myself because if I make the journey too hard I know that I will quit, slip or give up. If I get hungry I eat, I am not starving myself or being ridiculous. I am not trying to get thin, I am trying to get back to a healthy BMI because I want longevity and best health for life. 
You may have noticed that after I posted about my re-commitment to wellness, I posted about the Stages of Healing, about the process of change and the stages that we have to go through to make real life changes. I wrote about that because I have been going though those stages since I re-committed. I have had a pretty deep dive into why I feel the need to be a certain size and weight and why I cannot accept myself as I am. I mean, it's not like a few extra kilos has made me sick or incapable, on the contrary, I am healthy as a horse, rarely ever getting ill and I have an abundance of energy and a great mindset. I have also been investigating what has led me to fail time and time again to keep the weight off that I have lost so many times before, am I on a cycle of self sabotage and if so, why? 
And I have come to understand that it is not my fault that staying lean is hard for me, I honestly don't think that I meant to be lean. This is why I am not looking for lean, or skinny or thin, because I also know without a shadow of doubt that being lighter or thinner will not make me better, happier or more complete. In the end all that it will do is drop me into the healthy BMI range, which is literally only around a stone of weight difference, so why all the fuss? Do people like me less for being heavier? Does my husband love me less? Do I have less opportunities? No, no and no to all of these. 
However, I did like feeling lighter and knowing that I was in my healthy weight range. I did like that my clothes felt better on me and things on my body looked tighter when I looked in the mirror.  I did enjoy being able to wear more flattering outfits. However, in saying all of this, I know that it sounds and seems so stupid and shallow. I never care about other people's body shapes and genuinely believe that all bodies are good bodies. I know full well that no-one is just the size on their dress label or the number on their scales, so why does it bother me so much about myself? Why am I so obsessed with my own physical inadequacies at the moment? 
You see what I mean? I am deep in the Stages of Healing with all of this. I know that for longevity, I must stay within a heathy BMI range, that is a fact. On the other hand, I also know that a healthy BMI range doesn't necessarily constitute a 'be all end all' when it comes to the 'wellness' scale. It is literally just a number on a scale and doesn't really tell a person anything more about their wellness than their weight; it doesn't consider mental wellness, relationship happiness or general lust for life does it? And I have those things in buckets, and yet here I am writing about eight kilos of weight like it is going to change me profoundly. Which I know it won't because I got down there less than 3 years ago and it didn't make me better than I am now. 
However, I have worked my arse off on improving myself. I have put in countless hours to get my mental, emotional, relationship, spiritual and intellectual health in good order. I have done the Stages of Healing on myself over and over and over. I have shed my skin, bared my soul and completely re-invented my life from the steaming shit pile that it once was and I have worked so hard to get to where I am now. And I honestly feel like getting back into my healthy weight range will be the last rung on a ladder of self improvement that I have been climbing for almost a decade now. Every other time that I have lost the weight and then it put it back on again was because I lacked some other important aspect of the self, some vital piece of the puzzle that needed to be put into place first. Well not this time, this time I am ready. 
As I said previously, this time I am not looking for quick fixes or diets or fad fixers. I am looking for a lifestyle change that will mean that I don't need to keep trying to get to my healthy BMI, I will get there and I will stay there this time.  Slowly and surely and trusting the process along the way, I will get there. I have officially moved out of denial and shock and I now have recognition, I recognise what needs to be done and I know that I have the fortitude to do it. So yeah, that's where I am on the journey. I am in recognition mode, soon to be acceptance I believe. I'm on the road again, I'm working to improve myself again, I'm putting one foot in front of the other and I will get there. 
I'm smoothing out my triangle of sadness....don't know what that means? Well, check out the movie and see for yourself. 
Picture
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
Release Date: 2022
Rating: M
Running Time: 147 mins 

A drama with a speckling of black humour that was written and directed by Ruben Östlund in his English-language feature film debut. Triangle of Sadness takes some seriously unexpected twists and turns and is broken into three very distinctly different parts. 
A bickering model couple find themselves out at sea on a luxury cruise aboard a superyacht that is chock full of extremely wealthy and influential people. The captain spends most of his time drunk and hiding in his cabin, and when the yacht passes through a particularly severe storm things go from bad to worst rapidly. 
​This film is pretty unhinged, mostly whacky and at times desperately funny. It takes loads of swipes at the obscenely affluent and although none of the motely crew of characters are particularly likeable, this is still very entertaining. The ensemble cast is tremendously good throughout, elevating the storyline and delivering what may be the most original and grotesquely enjoyable film of 2022. 
FINAL SAY: In Den Wolken!
4 Chilli Peppers

0 Comments

And the Oscar Goes To...

13/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Spent the Labour Day public holiday swanning about the house all day watching the 95th Academy Awards Ceremony. It was a beautiful sunny day, but there was no outside frolicking for me in the morning. Instead, like the movie obsessed beast that I am, I sat through the entire 4.5 hour Oscars ceremony, sacrificing what may be one of the sunniest mornings of Autumn so far. Please don't judge me too harshly though because I did get out for a long walk in the afternoon!
Host Jimmy Kimmel delivered well, speckling the ceremony with humour and interest, and he couldn't resist the opportunity to take a poke at Will Smith for his ridiculous and violent outburst at last years Oscars event. This year was far more subdued and civilised and no-one walked away with a slapped face or offended feelings. It was definitely a huge sweep for Everything, Everywhere All at Once with 7 wins and All Quite On the Western Front with  5 wins; both of which were my top two movies choices for 2022, so I wasn't surprised. I did think that The Banshees of Inisherin would've got a few nods, because I adored it so, but overall, there was no doubt that the winners were deserving. 
Some highlights for me were Jamie Lee Curtis' acceptance speech for best supporting actress in Everything, Everywhere All at Once. She has been making films for 40 years and it was great to see her get some serious recognition. I also loved seeing composer MM Keeravani sing his acceptance speech for winning Best Original Song for RRR's 'Naatu Naatu' and I was genuinely touched by John Travolta's emotional presentation of the Memoriam, where he had to push back his remorse about the loss of his good friend Olivia Newton John last year. 

And just like that, it's all over and done for another 12 months, so now I'll need to keep my eye for the next big thing on the horizon. Back to the cinema again for me!
And just in case you missed it all...you know I got you covered! Here are the nominees with the winners for each category highlighted and underlined. 

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

And here's a little hidden gem that was nominated for Best Animation at the Oscars this year, but couldn't stand up against Guillermo del Toro's juggernaut film: Pinocchio. Darling Marcel the Shell with Shoes On may not have garnered a lot of attention, but I do recommend a look should you get the chance. 
Picture
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON
Release Date: 2022 
Rating: PG
Running Time: 89 mins

A stop motion animation based on the shorts of the same name by Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer Camp, who both take up the title roles in this movie length adaptation. Poignant, profound and utterly heart-warming, this movie has tonnes of spirit and will leave you with delightfully warm, fuzzy feeling afterwards. 
An adorable shell named Marcel becomes the main character in an online documentary series by recently separated Dean. Marcel discusses everything about life amongst the clutter at an Airbnb; explaining the highs and lows of life for himself, his beloved Nana Connie and their pet lint ball, providing both insightful contemplations  and inspiring resilience along the way. 
This darling little film is definitely not just for children, Marcel The Shell With Shoes On provides many laughs and life lessons along the way for adults as well. Marcel is beautifully voiced by Jenny Slate and her Nana by Isabella Rossellini and although he may be small, Marcel is probably going to leave a big impression on you. 
FINAL SAY: I couldn't tell you, but the space in my heart gets bigger and louder everyday. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

The Golden Globes 2023

16/1/2023

0 Comments

 
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)
Picture
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 
​

0 Comments

The Best of 2022

8/1/2023

0 Comments

 
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 

Picture
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT 
Release Date: 2022
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 142 mins 

An epic, German language, anti-war film based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. Directed by Edward Berger, this timeless retell of the classic 1930's adaptation packs a punch, both visually and emotionally, with its scathing critique of the idea of nationalism, control and power. 
Three idealistic German soldiers head off to war in the spring of 1917. As they experience the realities and the traumas of war, their lives are shattered by the realisation that there are no heroes in war, only survivors. 
All Quiet on the Western Front is a stand out war movie. It touches upon the desperation, the loneliness and the unrelenting chaos of war in the most unflinching ways. You will squirm, you will feel shocked and horrified and if you're anything like me you will probably cry a little too.  There are a lot of big concepts and big emotions being dealt with here so don't expect an easy ride.
Felix Kammerer is incredible as Paul Baumer, the naïve German soldier that transitions from boy to killing machine in space of 2 hours. Kammerer convincingly delivers one of the most harrowing and disturbing roles of the year with startling believability. 
​All Quiet on the Western Front is easily one of my favourite movies of 2022.  
FINAL SAY: What is a soldier without war?
4 Chilli Peppers

0 Comments

What Do You Know of Love?

24/7/2022

0 Comments

 
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
Picture
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 
​

0 Comments

The Winter Long Weekend

13/6/2022

0 Comments

 
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 
Picture
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 
​

0 Comments

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

4/6/2022

0 Comments

 
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! 
Picture
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 
​

0 Comments

Using the Time

24/4/2022

1 Comment

 
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. 
Picture
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 
​

1 Comment

Ragdoll

14/3/2022

2 Comments

 
On 28th January 2020 the first case of the Covid-19 pandemic arrived in Australia. And for over two years I have been blogging on and off about it. I've written about lockdowns, vaccinations, self care and mental wellness around the pandemic and although it had touched many around me, I had been fortunate enough to avoid contracting it myself. 
Well, on March 9th 2022 that all ended when that crusty bastard known as the Omicron variant finally made it's way all the way out to bum fuck nowhere (aka Enfield) to track me down, slap me down and steal my lunch money.
Poor Seth was the first to succumb to it, then I contracted it four days later and then just when Craig thought he was going to have a little freedom from his close contact isolation, he got it on day seven of exposure. Yep, we all got a go around, aren't we lucky? Thank goodness that we have all had three vaccination boosters, which meant that our symptoms were mostly moderate and thankfully also short lived. The middle two days were definitely the hardest, which for me coincided with my birthday which made it all the more painful to be honest. I mean no-one wants Covid-19, but they especially do not want it on their birthday; talk about a Debbie downer event. 
I became a proper Moaning Myrtle for a few days there. I felt tired, achy, melancholy and when I wasn't burning up, I was shaking with the chills. It was the pits! Seth was still in recovery himself, Craig was working from home so he was busy which meant that I was pretty much left to my own whiny devises for a few days, getting sadder and sicker by the hour. It was so gross and yuck! Worst still was my complete inability to move around a lot because it hurt to do that and my complete brain fog that prohibited me from being able to focus on any one thing for more than 5 minutes at a time. 
I couldn't go for a walk, or do yoga, or watch a movie, or read, or draw, or hold a conversation and I certainly could not complete even the most basic of tasks like cooking or cleaning (even myself - what a pong dog!). It was hard, and so many people were calling me for my birthday and making a genuine effort to be delightful for me and I was just like...what?...huh?...I can't focus right now....I need to lie down. And of course all of the cool plans that I had to go out for dinner on my birthday and the trip to Melbourne to see Moulin Rogue that I had planned were all kaput! Everything gone up in a big puff of covid-fuck-you -smoke! So, yep, I got low for a couple of days. I got run over by a bus, rag dolled down the side of a mountain and lay there at the bottom having a big fricken sook for a couple days and feeling desperately sorry for myself. 
Not my best days, I am willing to acknowledge that. And then on day four I thought, yeah fuck this shit, I am not doing this shit anymore. And I got up, got showered and pulled my shit together because I haven't come this far to only come this far. I haven't worked my ass off on myself, on my wellbeing and my zen to let some pandemic come and take me down. So I said no to all of my whiny first world bullshit problems and did a big turn around, I looked for the positives:
1. I am not going to die (big fricken plus right there)
2. I have people here to keep an eye on me
3. I have loads of people offering me support and love  
4. I am isolating in lovely Enfield where the birds are singing and the green is on fleek
5. I have more than a week off work mid-term 
6. I can watch crappy reality TV because I have good streaming services
7. I have plenty of food, toilet paper, clean water and cosy/comfortable places to rest 
8. I am over the worst of it and I am doing fine
9. Nothing is lost, it's just on pause 
10. There will be other birthdays...lots more of them. 
And then boom, a shift in my mindset occurred and I dusted myself off and realised that although painful, sometimes 'going wrong' can actually be a deeply cathartic experience. There's nothing like a little comedown to make you appreciate your usual health, vitality and capabilities so much more. As I said in my last post, I had been living my best life this year, going out every weekend and having a lot of wonderful and fulfilling experiences, and every intelligent person knows that if you eat high on the hog every damn day then eventually you'll get sick. It was just our turn, it happens to us all, it was a setback and nothing more than that. The fact that I can even have Covid19 and still find a silver lining makes me a pretty lucky person in my eyes, I got this. 
Picture
RON'S GONE WRONG
Release Date: 2021
Rating: PG -13
Running Time: 107 mins 

A computer animated, science fiction/ comedy film directed by Sarah Smith and Jean- Phillipe Vine. This is the first animation feature film from Locksmith Animation and TSG Entertainment; and a mighty fine effort in my opinion. 
A tech giant known as 'Bubble' has created the B-Bot. A robot companion that is designed to help children to make friends. Pretty soon everyone has one, except for Barney, a struggling social outcast who is desperate to fit in.  Barney believes that everything is finally going to change for him when he gets a B-Bot for his 12th birthday. However,  unbeknownst to him, his B-bot called Ron has been damaged, making it unlike any of the other bots on the market. 
This is some seriously funny material, I was laughing out loud a lot of the time. The voice actors, who delivered their material remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic are all genuinely terrific, especially Zac Galifianakis who brilliantly voices Ron and pretty much steals the entire show. However strong performances must also be acknowledged from Jack Dylan Grazer, Ed Helms and Olivia Colman. 
​Aside from all of the humour, there is also a super strong message here about friendship, acceptance, understanding and the gross misuse of social media platforms by young people today that I think that many children would benefit from hearing. 
Overall, Ron's Gone Wrong is a  hidden gem that you may have overlook amidst the giants of 2021, but it is definitely worthy of your time. 
FINAL SAY: A bird has commented on your face. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers 
​

2 Comments

The Ins and The Outs

7/3/2022

0 Comments

 
So, I have happily been living my best life. Doing lots of things, getting out amongst the people and having a bloody lovely time. Dinner with friends, a big live music event, an athletics event, a day at the spa and woohoo, with my birthday coming up I was getting pumped for a few nights out, a long weekend (which always occurs around my birthday) and a visit to Melbourne to see Moulin Rogue. 
And then on Saturday poor Seth tested positive to covid-19 and everything had to come to a grinding halt and we were all thrown into seven days of isolation. Oh well, no point crying over spilt milk as they say. Such is life - c'est la vie! Things happen and I have clearly had a very good run over the last couple of months so I have nothing to complain about, and besides as yet (fingers crossed it stays this way) Craig and I have both been testing negative so far; so as long as I don't contract the virus myself over the next four days, I could still make it to Moulin Rogue and all will not be lost. 
​This is the first time that Craig has had to work from home and it's a whole new world for him. Finally, he is getting to see that not being on site is far from ideal and that things are actually ten times harder and twice as annoying to co-ordinate from a distance. Also, I am not sure how I am going to put up with his crazy antics for the next week because, although he is amusing himself around here being loud and a boisterous, he is actually annoying the shit out of Seth and I  who just want to chill out, rest and watch movies.
I don't have to work from home this week, because I really can't, so I have taken the week as sick leave. So I just want to enjoy the down time to be honest. However, it's a bit hard to do that when you've got a bear sized man meandering about the house shouting out random things, talking to himself about work and just generally poking everyone in the ribs because he can't manage being locked up at home and it's only Monday for fuck sake! 
God only knows what state we all be in by Friday if he doesn't manage to calm his farm a bit. Because although a week of no work and relaxation sounds like heaven, it is anything but when you have to be locked in with someone who is not coping well with the situation and cannot read the room and gauge their actions based on the people around them. 
This could actually be a very long week....
Picture
BO BURNHAM: INSIDE 
Release Date: 2021
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 87 mins 

Written, directed, filmed, edited and performed by comedian Bo Burnham during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown of 2020, this unique film is a collection of Burnham's songs and skits in response to his deteriorating mental health and the world's obsession with social media during isolation and enforced lockdowns. 
This entire film feels deeply personal, and that's because it is. We literally get an intimate glimpse inside the head of Bo Burnham, delivered through original music, stand up comedy and meta-commentary. What Burnham manages to do in 87 minutes is take his audience on a ride, delivering something that feels so fresh and genuine that you can't look away.
It's a little bit theatrical, quite heavy on the sarcasm, with a smattering of dark humour and some beautifully bleak and honest storytelling about the social and emotional effects of isolation, in a word it's riveting!
Critics lauded the special's presentation of the Covid-19 pandemic, which he never actually mentions by name at any stage during the film, and he became the first person to win three Emmy's individually in a single year after he took the directing, writing and music direction awards in 2021. 
Bo Burnham: Inside was definitely my favourite comedy of 2021 and it shouldn't be missed.
FINAL SAY: White woman's Instagram!
​4 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments

The Golden Globes 2022

16/1/2022

0 Comments

 
Sadly, because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was mired in racial controversy, The Golden Globes annual event was completely devoid of all stars and all cameras this year. Which also meant that it couldn't be televised - I mean, not a lot of point televising an awards ceremony if the stars aren't even going to be there right? So, for the first time in years, I didn't get to enjoy the glitz and glamour of it all from the comfort of my couch with a champers in my hand, I just had to wait to hear the results like everyone else did - via the media. 
It’s was a unfortunate downgrade of what used to be one of the glitziest awards shows in Hollywood. But after investigations by The Los Angeles Times and New York Times revealed a series of ethical lapses within the H.F.P.A. and a membership devoid of Black voters, Hollywood’s major publicity firms cut off the show’s access to stars. How on earth this has happened in this day and age seriously perplexes me, but at least the scandal has been brought out into the light for rectification. 
Naturally, the H.F.P.A. has since announced its new rules and has now admitted 21 new members, including journalists of colour; which is better late than never I suppose, but its pretty damn hard to make amends now.
And it still remains to be seen if Hollywood will even acknowledge Sunday’s awards ceremony, which is a genuine shame for the recipients, because in my opinion they were all most deserving of their wins. 
Below is the complete list of winners. 
Best Motion Picture, Drama
“The Power of the Dog”
Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
“West Side Story”
Best Director, Motion Picture
Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Rachel Zegler, “West Side Story”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture
Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Will Smith, “King Richard”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick … Boom!”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
Best Screenplay, Motion Picture
Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”
Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Hans Zimmer, “Dune”
Best Original Song, Motion Picture
Billie Eilish, “No Time to Die”
Best Motion Picture, Animated
“Encanto”
Best Motion Picture, Non-English Language
“Drive My Car”
Best Television Series, Drama
“Succession”
Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy
“Hacks”
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
“The Underground Railroad”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Drama
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, “Pose”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Jeremy Strong, “Succession”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown”
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Supporting Role
Sarah Snook, “Succession”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy
Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Michael Keaton, “Dopesick”
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Supporting Role
O Yeong-su, “Squid Game”
Picture
THE POWER OF THE DOG
Release Date: 2021
Rating: M
Running Time: 126 mins 

An intelligent and genuinely intriguing film; written, produced and directed by Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog is mesmerising and disturbing in equal measures. With marvellous sweeping landscapes and enough sideways glances to make anyone uncomfortable, its hard to look away from the screen whilst you are watching this. After winning the Best Motion Picture - Drama at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, The Power of Dog swiftly gained attention and became the buzz film of early 2022.
The Burbank brothers are wealthy ranchers from Montana. One is a mild mannered gentleman named George and the other is a severe and intimidating cowboy named Phil. When George falls for a widow named Rose and brings her and her impressionable son Peter to their ranch to live, tensions rise as Phil attempts to assert himself over the newcomers. 
This is a slow burning western drama, so it isn't going to appeal to everyone, but it certainly appealed to me.  The cast is unbelievably good here, with Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons delivering their finest, but it was young Kodi Smit-McPhee that stole the show here with his  unassuming observations and contemplative behaviours as Rose's son Peter that really engrossed me. 
I loved this film from start to end, it explores the hardest of the hard and also the tenderest of souls, which is a contrast that I am always drawn to, and just like all of Jane Campion's efforts, this was a total winner for me.  
FINAL SAY: Deliver my soul from the sword. My darling from the power of the dog. 
5 Chilli Peppers 
​

0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

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

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Action
    Art House
    Comedy
    Disasters
    Drama
    Eating Out
    Fantasy
    Foreign
    Gatherings
    Gritty / Documentary
    Horror
    Kid Friendly
    Life
    Mum Stuff
    Romance
    Science Fiction
    TV
    War

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo from Crysco Photography