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! 

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. 

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. 

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 ​

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MOVIES:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. 

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 ​

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....

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 ​

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”

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 ​

I failed to write on my blog last week because I was doing a major overhaul of my review materials. Not only did I re-sort all of my reviews into chronological order, I also did a massive statistical review of my website. This was hours of work, but also a labour of love. 
In total, I now have 888 reviews completed on Spicywatch and only 60 unreviewed films left in my catch up (back log) of movies to review. That may sound like a lot of reviews to catch up on, but when you have managed to already do so many, it is actually quite manageable and it will give me a project to work on over the Summer break. 
My wish list of movies that I would like to see is, in contrast to my 'to review' list, ridiculously long with 493 movies currently starring, and it just continues to grow longer and longer by the day. I have to admit that I may never actually get around to seeing all of the films that I would like to see in this lifetime, but at least I will never run out of viewing options. 
Below is statistical break down of the reviews that I have joyfully completed on my website so far, which may not be that interesting to you but was very interesting for me as the reviewer. I clearly watch a lot more Horror, Drama and Art House movies than any other genres and when it comes to Romance films, I obviously struggle to find ones that I like enough to review. 
I have reviewed movies that span across a 100 year gap and most of the films that I have enjoyed enough to review have been between 1997 and 2020.
I cannot accurately estimate how many movies I have actually seen in my lifetime, however if I use my statistics from the last five years as a base line and only count the last 20 years then I think that I can safely guess that I have already seen around 5,500 films to date, with only 880 of those making it onto my lists so far. 
​At this point it would also be fair to say that I probably only like around 16% of what I actually watch, which I think probably makes me a pretty fussy reviewer!
Anyway, as always thanks for your continued readership and I hope that placing my reviews in chronological order on their genre lists will make them more user friendly for you to peruse in the future. Happy viewing!
DRAMA:
Total - 130 
Oldest Film - Citizen Kane 1941
Newest Film - Nomadland 2021
​Year with the most reviews - 2014
HORROR, THRILLER, SUPERNATURAL:
Total - 113 
Oldest Film - Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror 1922
Newest Film - Fear Street Trilogy 2021
​Year with the most reviews - 2016
COMEDY:
Total - 92
Oldest Film - Duck Soup 1933
Newest Film - JoJo Rabbit 2019
​Year with the most reviews - 2007
ACTION, CRIME, WAR:
Total - 101
Oldest Film - Seven Samurai 1954
Newest Film - Nobody 2021
​Year with the most reviews - 2019
SCIENCE FICTION, SUPER, FANTASY:
Total - 110
Oldest Film - It's A Wonderful Life 1946
Newest Film - Love and Monsters 2020
​Year with the most reviews - 2017
ART HOUSE, MUSICAL, INTERNATIONAL:
Total - 112
Oldest Film - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Oldest film reviewed) 1920
Newest Film - Another Round 2020
​Year with the most reviews - 2004
GRITTY, CHALLENGING, DOCUMENTARY:
Total - 95
Oldest Film - Deliverance 1972
Newest Film - Swallow 2020
​Year with the most reviews - 2010 and 2011
ROMANCE, MATTERS OF THE HEART:
Total - 68
Oldest Film - My Fair Lady 1964
Newest Film - Palm Springs 2020
​Year with the most reviews - 2013
KID FRIENDLY:
Total - 67
Oldest Film - Wizard of Oz 1939
Newest Film - Cruella 2021
​Year with the most reviews - 2009 and 2016 

​THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
Release Date: 1920
Rating: PG
Running Time: 67 mins 
Considered the quintessential work of German Expressionist cinema, this classic silent movie is arguably the first horror film to have ever been made, and although it may not have the same clout that it had back in it's day, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari still has punch when it comes to unnerving its audience. 
A man retells his horrifying experiences after meeting Dr. Caligari at a town fair. Dr Caligari has a cabinet that contains a creepy somnambulist that can predict the future, but Dr. Caligari's arrival has also brought about a series of grisly murders to the town.  
There is a stark and twisted visual style to this movie that is absolutely amazing. Sets are askew, landscapes are jagged and the characters are all ghostly white with big black eyes. It is easy to see where Tim Burton may have gotten inspiration, because the odd angles and oblique lines are uncannily similar. 
Since you can watch the entire movie on YouTube for free these days, there is no excuse for not having seen this masterpiece of German cinema. I think it is a movie that everyone should make an effort to see for its vision and uniqueness, there really is nothing else like it. 
FINAL SAY: Dr. Caligari, you are one twisted sicko! 
3.5 Chilli Peppers

I have come to the end of another school holiday break and I am feeling exceptionally satisfied with the amount of things that I have squeezed into my time. It's quite amazing just how many things you can get done when you have some extra day time hours away from work to get things in order and also tackle a lengthy and much neglected 'to do' list. 
This winter break I have successfully :

• Hosted three guests for overnight stays at Enfield 
• Visited my mother and helped her to get some of her affairs in order
• Been to the hairdresser
• Had brunch with a friend
• Read a book
• Got my first Pfizer immunisation
• Had dinner at a restaurant with friends 
• Got my car serviced
• Listened to an audio book
• Went to the dentist for a check up
• Had my eyebrows done
• Had morning tea with a friend
• Watched a movie everyday 
• Hosted a dinner party
• Had lunch with a friend
• Went to see a specialist with Seth 
• Made an appointment to get my tax done
• Went clothes shopping 
• Chatted on the phone to family and friends

And I don't want to brag too much but while I'm on a roll I will just say that I still managed to meditate, do yoga, write in my journal, brain train, practise French and get in 10,000 steps every day as well. Not a bad effort at all and now you know why I feel so satisfied about how I've used my time. It was a productive and lovely break and I have genuinely appreciated every moment that I have had to share with my friends and family and all of the lovely things that I have had extra time to indulge myself in. 
I have managed to get six months worth of 'to do' list items sorted in two short weeks and I feel so ready to face the second half of the year now.  All of my happiness chemicals are also firing on full reboot because of the activities that I have engaged in these holidays. I got my dopamine (the reward chemical) kicking over by completing tasks and doing self care activities.  I got my oxytocin (the love hormone) stimulated through my friend and family time. My serotonin (the mood stabiliser) got a recharge from all of the meditation. yoga and nature walking. And my endorphins (pain relief) were ignited from all of the laughter, good food and wine and the extremely pleasant time that I spent  curled up in my favourite chair with a delicious coffee, excellent smelling incense burning and a bit of good quality dark chocolate whilst watching movies or reading. Talk about the perfect way to re-energise your senses and spend the darkest days of winter - so utterly delightful!

​THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU
Release Date: 2004
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 119 mins 
Another Wes Anderson tale of the weird, the wonderful and the awkward; The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a parody-homage to the great French diving pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Filled with all manner of unusual characters and occurrences, this film flies in the face of conventional comedy by being eccentrically funny and whimsically ironic. 
After his best friend Esteban du Plantier is brutally killed by a supposedly mythical 'Jaguar Shark', renown oceanographer and documentarian Steve Zissou vows revenge. A motley crew join Zissou on his research vessel Belfonte to assist with the tracking and documenting of this dangerous mission -  to find and destroy the Jaguar Shark. 
In true Anderson style, this is really wacky stuff, there are plenty of things happening on and off the camera that are so random and odd that you can't help laughing. I especially adored Pele dos Santos, the safety expert that also happens to be a Brazilian musician who sings David Bowie songs in Portuguese, acoustically throughout the film, gold! 
FINAL SAY: It's a documentary! It's all really happening! 
3 Chilli Peppers

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

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

​HORROR:

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

ACTION/CRIME/WAR:

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

COMEDY:

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

SCIENCE FICTION/ FANTASY:

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

ART HOUSE/ MUSICAL/ INTERNATIONAL:

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

GRITTY/ DOCO/ CHALLENGING

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

ROMANCE/ MATTERS OF THE HEART:

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

KID FRIENDLY:

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

Spicywatch.com has just celebrated its seventh birthday! And how she has grown over the years from a humble dozen or so movies reviews when I first launched her in May 2014 to the massive 873 reviews that she now has under her belt. In the 7 years that Spicywatch has been on the internet I have had over 100,000 hits and on average, good old Spicywatch manages to rustle  up around 2500- 6500 readers a month.
So naturally, I had to celebrate the wonderful and joyful occasion of Spicywatch's 7th birthday, especially since last year I couldn't really do anything significant due to COVID-19.  So in the spirit of all things seven, I asked my guests to investigate the 7 Deadly Sins of gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust and envy and then choose their favourite clips from any or all of those categories to share. 
The event was a small but meaningful gathering and everyone had clearly done their research because we traversed the genres like never before. To give you some idea of the range of the movies that had a clip in the mix, check out this movie list of just some that I can recall from last night's line up. 
GLUTTONY:

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

PRIDE:

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

ENVY:

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

LUST:

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

SLOTH:

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

WRATH:

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

GREED:

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

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

I love animated movies and contrary to what a lot of people think, they are not all made with only children in mind; in fact some animations are so adult that kids shouldn't go anywhere near them because they are so violent, crass and controversial. 
As graphic animation styles and techniques continue to develop, animated films continue to go from great looking to downright stunning. However, some older animations still hold up by todays standards, especially if they had kick arse storylines or a unique voice in their own right. 
And it is for all of these reasons that I really struggled to come up with a top ten animated films of all time list because there are clearly way more then ten amazing films to put on an animated list. So instead of a top ten, I have just created a list of what I consider to be the best animated offerings across the board order. Some of  them are stop motion, some are computer generated, some are adult and some are for big and small kids alike. 
What these movies do all have in common is that they are all true works of vision and genius and none of them should be overlooked or missed. They all scored at least 4 Chilli Peppers or more from me and you can find their full reviews right here on the Spicywatch genre lists - which I have added in brackets for you. 
So here is my list of what I believe to be - feature animated movies at their finest:

• Soul - 5 Chilli peppers  (Hall of Fame) 
• Kubo and the Two Strings  - 5 Chilli peppers  (Hall of Fame) 
• Fantastic Mr Fox -  5 Chilli peppers  (Hall of Fame) 
• Toy Story Series - 4.5 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse - 4.5 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright )
• The Jungle Book - 4.5 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Inside Out - 4.5 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Isle of Dogs  - 4.5 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Spirited Away  -  4.5 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Monsters Inc - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Onward - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Finding Nemo/ Dory - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Klaus - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Persepolis - 4 Chilli Peppers (Arthouse)
• Despicable Me - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• WALL-E -  4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Waking Life - 4 Chilli Peppers (Arthouse)
• Coco - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Southpark - Bigger, Longer and Uncut - 4 Chilli Peppers (Comedy)
• Akira - 4 Chilli Peppers (Arthouse)
• Shrek - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Paddington 2 - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• The Nightmare Before Christmas - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Coraline - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Moana - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• ​Zootopia - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• The Boy and the Beast -  4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• The Lego Movie - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)
• Mary and Max - 4 Chilli Peppers (Arthouse)
• A Christmas Carol - 4 Chilli Peppers (The Kids are Alright)

AKIRA 
Release Date: 1988
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 124 mins 
This Japanese animated post-apocalyptic action film is widely considered to be one of the best science fiction animation films of all time. Directed by Katsuhiro Ohtomo who also wrote the film with Izo Hashimoto, Akira was pivotal in launching the Japanese cyberpunk subgenre and had a massive impact on popular culture worldwide, paving the way for the growth of anime and Japanese pop culture in the Western world.  
It is 2019, 31 years after the nuking of Tokyo and another threat is looming. After a secret military project goes wrong, a rogue biker gang member discovers that he has been altered and is unable to manage the extraordinary changes that are happening to him. A few brave teenagers and a group of child psychics attempt to stop the threat and restore order to the already torn down city.  
Akira is a dark and violent offering that is both visually pleasing and dazzlingly original in it's presentation. The age of this movie has not affected its impact at all and although it is insanely convoluted and incredibly strange, it is also a visionary work of art that deserves at least one viewing in everyone's lifetime. 
FINAL SAY: There must be a future that we can choose for ourselves. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best motion picture, musical or comedy
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

 Best director, motion picture
Chloe Zhao, Nomadland

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

Best limited series or TV movie
The Queen's Gambit 

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

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

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

Best TV series, drama
The Crown 

Best motion picture, foreign language​
Minari (USA) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best motion picture, animated​
Soul 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When you're regularly asked to social distance, stay at home and keep away from crowds of people it can become pretty easy to feel completely disconnected from the rest of the world. All of your travel plans have been cancelled, concerts and live performances aren't even an option and all of your best laid plans for the last three months have come to a grinding halt, and let's be honest about it, it doesn't really feel that great does it? Some days it can be really hard to find the joy when you're just doing the same monotonous things, feeling cut off from everyone and craving more physical contact.  
When these kinds of feelings last for long periods of time, people can start to feel downright depressed, which is the last thing that anyone needs to be feeling when we are already in the midst of a pandemic. It's all stressful, worrying and uncomfortable enough thanks, no one needs to be feeling depressed on top of it all and that's why maintaining human connection is more important than ever as we navigate these difficult times. 
Here are some sure fire ways to make sure that you are staying connected with the world whilst also maintaining a sense of inner peace of harmony. 
Adapt: Try to keep doing as many of the things that you were doing before COVID-19 hit, just adapt them. Workout online instead of at the gym, go for long walks or ride your bike in nature as a form of exercise, schedule your eating times to happen at the same time as a friend so that you're still socialising, have movie nights with small groups in your home instead of going to the cinema. Get creative with how you can socialise in small groups in your own home eg. have themed dinner party nights, trivia nights, movie nights, cooking classes, game nights or home spa treatments. These will give you something to look forward to and keep you socialising in small groups in safe spaces. 
Touch: Touch is such a rich source of affirmation, security and safety and many of us not only crave it but actually need it. This is probably one of the toughest things for single people to combat during a pandemic, because you just can't go around hugging everyone when you run the possibility of either contracting or passing along a deadly virus, not to mention it's really just generally not okay. In order to counterbalance the loss of the comfort that comes from hugs and physical closeness psychologists recommend a daily call to someone in the form of a Skype, Zoom, Facetime or Meets app situation. Something face to face and regular will help to alleviate the loneliness and feelings of isolation for people that are alone, and for everyone else - well take some comfort in the fabulousness of your relationships and hug the people in your home for longer, kiss your partner more often and just fully enjoy being close to people when you can be safely. 
Self talk: Focus your energies and your internal dialogue around what you can control and not on what you can't. Instead of saying to yourself 'how long will this all last for?' learn to ask yourself this important question every day:
What do I need today in order to feel satisfied, safe and connected? 
Spend more time exploring your own wants, needs and requirements and less time on the 'what if's' around this whole pandemic experience. By learning to attend to your own needs, you will find more joy, a sense of inner peace and maybe even spark some interest in a new activity or hobby to fill in your free time in satisfying and self-connecting ways. 
Talk It Out: If you are feeling anxious, worried or fearful, that's okay - you're not alone! You are allowed to feel those things and you should share those thoughts with others. By talking out your concerns with friends or family, whether it's face to face or over the phone you will reduce your stress levels and give people an awareness about what is going on for you. A reduction in socialisation and connection is genuinely difficult for many people and being honest about your emotions and reaching out to others will definitely build stronger connections and help to alleviate anxiety. 
Get Moving: Whether you like to exercise or not is not really relevant because the science is in! And the fact of the matter is that exercising releases heaps of feel good chemicals like dopamine, endorphins and serotonin, and they lift your mood, reduce your stress and they're completely free as well. You can't argue with that now can you? Exercise is a great way to meet up with friends, get some fresh air  and sunshine into your system and kick off those feel good chemicals, so try to incorporate at least 30 minutes of exercise into your routine a day. It may not always connect you with others, but you will definitely feel better for doing it. 
Be Zen: You know that I love a good meditation, I can't even go a day without it anymore. And there are some kick arse meditation apps out there that are not only great for triggering mindfulness and calm, but are also social and free as well. Check out Insight Timer or Smiling Mind for some inner connection zen time, you won't regret it. 

With COVID-19 numbers having a sudden resurgence in Victoria, driving yet another four weeks of 'state of emergency' alarm bells, there is nothing better than having a good laugh to take your mind off it all. I mean sure, I don't want to be flippant, but really what can you or I even do about a global pandemic except stay home and find new ways to distract ourselves from it all? Nothing that's what. This bloody pandemic is beginning to feel a lot like being in the goddamn mafia - every time that you think that you're out, they pull you back in! And all of this push and pull on restrictions is quite frankly exhausting and annoying.
So here I go, I am about to try and distract you from all of the woah, annoyance and confusion by sharing with you a couple of my favourite jokes. Will they make you laugh? Well, I hope so, but in the very least they will provide you with at least 5 minutes of distraction and right now, who doesn't need more of that? So here goes nothing....
Best Clean Jokes:
I took the shell off my racing snail, thinking it would make him run faster. If anything, it made him more sluggish. 
What's green, fuzzy, and if it fell out of a tree it would kill you? A pool table. 
Best Racial Joke:
What would The Jetsons be called if they were black?
The Jetsons, you fucking racist!
Best Religious Joke:
How does Moses make his coffee?
Hebrews it.
Best Knock-Knock Joke:
Knock, knock
Who's there?
Ice Cream Soda
Ice cream Soda Who?
(screamed out loud) I scream soda people can hear me!
Best Chicken Joke:
Why did the chicken go to a seance?
​To get to the other side.
Best Animal Joke:
I once had a goldfish that could break-dance on a carpet, but only for like 20 seconds. 
Best Chuck Norris Joke:
Chuck Norris once wrestled a thirty foot snake, and then he realised he was just masturbating. 
Best Sex Joke:
A man escapes from a prison where he's been locked up for 15 years. He breaks into a house to look for money and guns. Inside, he finds a young couple in bed. He orders the guy out of bed and ties him to a chair. While tying the homeowner's wife to the bed, the convict gets on top of her, kisses her neck, then gets up and goes into the bathroom. 
While he's in there, the husband whispers over to his wife: "Listen, this guy is an escaped convict, he's still wearing his prison clothes! He's probably spent a lot of time in jail and hasn't seen a woman in years. I saw how he kissed your neck. If he wants sex, don't resist, don't complain... do whatever he tells you. Satisfy him no matter how much he nauseates you. This guy is obviously very dangerous. If he gets angry, he'll kill us both. Be strong, honey. I love you!" 
His wife responds: "He wasn't kissing my neck. He was whispering in my ear. He told me that he's gay, thinks you're cute, and asked if we had any Vaseline. I told him it was in the bathroom. Be strong honey. I love you, too!"
The Joke That I Always Tell When I'm Asked to Deliver a Joke (adults only):
A couple were on holidays in the Greek islands. Whilst they were there they enjoyed a cruise around the beautiful Aegean sea, listening to their guide tell them all about the ancient Greek myths surrounding the area and the hidden city of Atlantis.
As they made their way back to the shore they noticed that the boat's captain had a head the size of a tennis ball, which struck them both as odd and quite disturbing. The woman could not stop staring at the captain's head and as they disembarked he approached the lady and said to her "I noticed you staring at my head earlier."
"Yes" she replied embarrassed, "I am very sorry if I offended you."
"It's okay," said the captain, "it happens all of the time. There is actually a mythological story as to how I got this way, would you like to hear it?"
"Yes," said the couple sitting down to enjoy another wonderous ancient tale. 
"One day," started the captain, "not far from this very shore, I was out fishing. As I pulled up my net, inside I realised that I had caught something very special."
"What was it?" the couple asked.
"It was a mermaid, a real life mermaid. And she was the most beautiful creature that I have ever laid my eyes upon."
"Wow" said the couple.
"Yes, and as I hauled her up onto the boat I was stunned by her incredible beauty and she said that she would grant me any wish that I wanted if only I would let her go free." 
"What did you wish for?" asked the couple.
"Well, naturally because of her incredible beauty I asked her to make love to me, but she said she could not. 'I have only a tail and no womanly body parts, so I cannot make love to you.' she said to me"
"So what did you ask her for instead?" asked the couple.
"I asked her for a little head."

I hope that I at least made you smile a little today!

Did you ever think that you would be alive to see a pandemic? Of course you didn't,  because we all think that major tragedies like global pandemics and world wars are the sorts of things that only happened in the past and certainly not during our modern and civilized times. And yet, here we all are in various states of isolation, silently watching on from our windows as the world seems to fall apart around us. And even though history allowed us to see the patterns of time that showed us that another worldwide flu would arrive again (just like it has every other 100 years or so) to create widespread damage and havoc. We still, in spite of our better knowledge, just weren't prepared enough for this on a global scale. And for that reason we were too slow to respond, too inexperienced to know how to deal with it and in some parts of the world, absolutely shit at containing it. 
COVID-19 has now officially changed every person's life on the planet in some way, shape or form. No-one can really say that they have not felt the effects of COVID-19 and be telling the truth, because it is impossible to not be feeling the effects in some way. Even if it is only something as basic as the way that you shop, things are not the same, things are different and people are behaving differently as well. Never before have I looked at people going to events, out for dinner or engaging in simple gatherings in movies or on TV with such an intense longing. The simple act of being out for coffee at a cafe or walking through the gardens and seeing children playing happily or having a gathering of friends and family around for a meal or a drink; these things all seem incredibly desirable and appealing in ways that they have never been before. 
And what this has all made me realise is, that not only do we take all of this freedom and socialisation for granted most of the time, but also how desperately we need each other, in ways that we may not have appreciated before. People need people, they just do. We weren't meant to be alone, we aren't designed to be solitary creatures. Humans are meant to roam in packs and being in isolation has made that all the more prevalent for me, and that's a pretty big comment when its coming from an introvert like me because I usually crave isolation and alone time; but clearly too much of it is not ideal for anyone, not even the introverts of the world. 
Sure there may be some people who are still loving all this separation from society, and at first I think that the novelty of it all did seem slightly more magical and ideal than the reality of the situation actually is. I know that there were a lot of people who were high fiving themselves over the possibility of working from home, but now that the reality and the loneliness of that has really sunk in, truth is that it is not easier or more desirable to be at home 24/7. 
For this reason, I have chosen to be on site at work for two days a week, directly working with the children of essential workers. It is actually nice to get away from the confines, routine and monotony of working from home. You can only do so many Google Meets and Zoom conferences before you start to go a little bit bonkers from all of the screen time. And having a reason to go for a drive and get out of the house that isn't related to groceries or exercise is actually a pleasure. Yep, you heard it here, physically going in to work is actually quite pleasurable. I never thought that I would ever say that, but there you have it. Turns out that COVID-19 really has changed me and maybe I am not as much of an introvert as I thought that I was, or maybe this is just a consequence of too much time at home.
I cannot deny it, I sure am missing my regular trips to the movies and the dinners and drinks that usually accompanied those journeys. I guess it is true, you really don't know what you've got 'til it's gone....'cos man oh man I would really love a choc-top ice-cream, a double feature movie in a huge spacious theatre and some friendly face to face, after movie chatter right about now! Ahhh, to brighter days and wider spaces ahead my friends, but in the meantime - stay well and yeah you know, even though you don't want to anymore, stay at home!