Another whirlwind month slides by as I settle into my new employment and watch my grand-daughter grow more independent and beautiful by the day. I recently turned 51 and spent some time over the long weekend reflecting; as I do when I have a birthday, about the blessings that I have in my life. Whenever I have another lap around the sun, I am always blown away by how generous and kind my loved ones are and how terrifically my friends treat me. Again I was showered with love and attention, some gorgeous and thoughtful gifts and lots of messages and offers to share time in celebration of my life.  Blessings, so many blessings and much to be grateful for.
In the last month I have had so many reason to feel grateful, its hard to name all of them, but some highlights for me were The Bohemian Summer Festival, regular stays with Zoe, Ben and Freja in Bendigo due to work travel, Soundbathing with friends, my mums cast coming off the wrist that she broke in January, seeing Kinky Boots at Her Majesty's Theatre, Sip Champagne bar with Zoe, the Book Club group, trivia nights rebooting, Spicywatch movie night, the National Gallery of Victoria with Seth and watching the Oscars with my feet up and a glass of bubbles in hand!  A bloody amazing month and a reflection of how genuinely lucky I am to be able to engage and afford to be doing so many fantastic things. 
And, I also have my next month of movies lined up thanks to the awards season which always takes the thinking out of 'what to watch' for me for weeks to come. And don't worry - just in case you missed it, here are the nominees and winners in every category of the 2025 Academy Awards. Happy viewing!

Best Picture

• WINNER: Anora
• The Brutalist
• A Complete Unknown
• Conclave
• Dune: Part Two
• Emilia Pérez
• I'm Still Here
• Nickel Boys
• The Substance
• Wicked

Director

• WINNER: Anora — Sean Baker
• The Brutalist — Brady Corbet
• A Complete Unknown — James Mangold
• Emilia Pérez — Jacques Audiard
• The Substance — Coralie Fargeat

Leading Actor

• WINNER: Adrien Brody in The Brutalist
• Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown
• Colman Domingo in Sing Sing
• Ralph Fiennes in Conclave
• Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice

Leading Actress

• Cynthia Erivo in Wicked
• Karla Sofia Gascon in Emilia Perez
• WINNER: Mikey Madison in Anora
• Demi Moore in The Substance
• Fernanda Torres in I'm Still Here

Supporting Actor

• Yura Borisov in Anora
• WINNER: Keiran Culkin in A Real Pain
• Edward Norton in A Complete Unknown
• Guy Pearce in The Brutalist
• Jeremy Strong in The Apprentice

Supporting Actress

• Monica Barbaro in A Complete Unknown
• Ariana Grande in Wicked
• Felicity Jones in The Brutalist
• Isabella Rossellini in Conclave
• WINNER: Zoe Saldana in Emilia Perez

Animated Feature Film

• WINNER: Flow
• Inside Out 2
• Memoir of a Snail
• Wallace & Gromit: Vengence Most Fowl
• The Wild Robot

Cinematography

• WINNER: The Brutalist — Lol Crawley
• Dune: Part Two — Greig Fraser
• Emilia Perez — Paul Guilhaume
• Maria — Ed Lachman
• Nosferatu — Jarin Blaschke

Costume design

• A Complete Unknown — Arianne Phillips
• Conclave — Lisy Christl
• Gladiator II — Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
• Nosferatu — Linda Muir
• WINNER: Wicked —  Paul Tazewell

Documentary feature film

• Black Box Diaries
• WINNER: No Other Land
• Porcelain War
• Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
• Sugarcane

Documentary short film

• Death by Numbers
• I Am Ready, Warden
• Incident
• Instruments of a Beating Heart
• WINNER: The Only Girl in the Orchestra

Film editing

• WINNER: Anora — Sean Baker
• The Brutalist — David Jancso
• Conclave — Nick Emerson
• Emilia Pérez — Juliette Welfling
• Wicked — Myron Kerstein

International feature film

• WINNER: Brazil: I'm Still Here
• Denmark: The Girl with the Needle
• France: Emilia Pérez
• Germany: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
• Latvia: Flow

Makeup and hairstyling

• A Different Man — Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado
• Emilia Pérez — Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini
• Nosferatu — David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton
• WINNER: The Substance — Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli
• Wicked — Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth

Music (original score)

• WINNER: The Brutalist — Daniel Blumberg
• Conclave — Volker Bertelmann
• Emilia Pérez — Clément Ducol and Camille
• Wicked — John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
• The Wild Robot — Kris Bowers

Music (original song)

• WINNER: El Mal from Emilia Pérez; Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
• The Journey from The Six Triple Eight; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
• Like A Bird from Sing Sing; Music and Lyric by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada
• Mi Camino from Emilia Pérez; Music and Lyric by Camille and Clément Ducol
• Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late; Music and Lyric by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin

Production design

• The Brutalist — Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia
• Conclave — Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter
• Dune: Part Two — Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
• Nosferatu — Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová
• WINNER: Wicked — Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Short film (animated)

• Beautiful Men
• WINNER: In the Shadow of the Cypress
• Magic Candles
• Wander to Wonder
• Yuck!

Short film (live action)

• A Lien
• Anuja
• WINNER: I'm Not a Robot
• The Last Ranger
• The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

Sound

• A Complete Unknown — Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco
• WINNDER: Dune: Part Two — Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill
• Emilia Pérez — Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta
• Wicked — Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis
• The Wild Robot — Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo and Leff Lefferts

Visual effects

• Alien: Romulus — Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan
• Better Man — Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs
• WINNER: Dune: Part Two — Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer
• Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes — Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke
• Wicked — Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould

Adapted screenplay

• A Complete Unknown — Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks
• WINNER: Conclave — Screenplay by Peter Straughan
• Emilia Pérez — Screenplay by Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
• Nickel Boys — Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
• Sing Sing — Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John "Divine G" Whitfield

Original screenplay

• WINNER: Anora — Written by Sean Baker
• The Brutalist — Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold
• A Real Pain — Written by Jesse Eisenberg
• September 5 — Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; Co-Written by Alex David
• The Substance — Written by Coralie Fargeat

A REAL PAIN
Release Date: 2024
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 90 mins
A comedy-drama, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg who also stars in the lead role, A Real Pain delivers a thought provoking at relationship that is greatly bolstered by Keiran Culkin's incredible portrayal of Benji, a troubled young man who swings between being magnetically care free and offensively careless. Culkin landed the both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor off the strength of his role here and he shines very brightly as Benji. 
David and Benji, mismatched and once close cousins, take a pilgrimage to Poland using the funds that their deceased grandmother left for them. They join a Jewish heritage tour in the hopes of seeing the home that she grew up in and connecting with their Jewish family history. Along the way the odd couple cousins engage in a series of activities that has a profound effect of them both and upon their relationship with each other. 
I loved the way that this movie played out, with Benji's 'real pain' character actually being the main catalyst for change and growth in others, in spite of his own misgivings and at times complete disregard for social norms and etiquette.
A Real Pain is as charming as it is disturbing, brilliantly written and perfectly cast, it's one not to miss. 
FINAL SAY: We used to be different. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

There are good and bad things about having the Golden Globe Awards on so early in the year. The worst thing is that in Australia we always get movies later than the U.S. and this means that we aren't able to see everything before the event, which for me is kind of annoying. However, if you like to know in advance what is actually worth seeing, then this event will line up your viewing options for the next three months, and that could be seen as a very big bonus!
​It would appear that Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist have shot straight to the top of the must see lists for most, and in television it was Shogun's night across the board. However, at the end of the day all of the nominated films and programs are worthy viewing and my 'to see' list just grew another foot in length!
Hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, the awards night went off without any hitches and all of Nikki's jokes seemed to land reasonably well. No stars walked out or no-one got a slapping either which is always a good sign. Her pokes at Timothee Chalamet's facial hair were funny, her 'let's be honest Hollywood' quips were amusing and she may have just scraped in with her 'Diddy' jokes - but only just! And let's not forget this gem that she dropped - "The point of making art is not to win an award. The point of making art is to start a tequila brand so popular that you never have to make art again.”
Demi Moore gave a terrific speech about her years of service in the industry, Zoe Saldana delivered a heart felt speech that appeared to be genuinely emotional (but with actors who can really ever know?) and Tadanobu Asano from Shogun delivered the most amusing and excited acceptance speech for the evening. 
And just in case you missed it all, fret not, you know I got your back. Here are the nominees and winners for each award category:

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

• Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez" — Winner
• Ariana Grande, "Wicked"
• Selena Gomez, "Emilia Pérez"
• Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist"
• Margaret Qualley, "The Substance"
• Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy

• Jean Smart, "Hacks" — Winner
• Kristen Bell, "Nobody Wants This"
• Quinta Brunson, "Abbott Elementary"
• Ayo Edebiri, "The Bear"
• Selena Gomez, "Only Murders in the Building"
• Kathryn Hahn, "Agatha All Along"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Any Motion Picture

• Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain" — Winner
• Yura Borisov, "Anora"
• Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown"
• Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist"
• Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice"
• Denzel Washington, "Gladiator II"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama

• Hiroyuki Sanada, "Shōgun" — Winner
• Donald Glover, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
• Jake Gyllenhaal, "Presumed Innocent"
• Gary Oldman, "Slow Horses"
• Eddie Redmayne, "The Day of the Jackal"
• Billy Bob Thornton, "Landman"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series

• Jessica Gunning, "Baby Reindeer" — Winner
• Liza Colon-Zayas, "The Bear"
• Hannah Einbinder, "Hacks"
• Dakota Fanning, "Ripley"
• Allison Janney, "The Diplomat"
• Kali Reis, "True Detective: Night Country"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Television Series

• Tadanobu Asano, "Shōgun" — Winner
• Javier Bardem, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story"
• Harrison Ford, "Shrinking"
• Jack Lowden, "Slow Horses"
• Diego Luna, "La Maquina"
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach, "The Bear"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Musical or Comedy

• Jeremy Allen White, "The Bear" — Winner
• Adam Brody, "Nobody Wants This"
• Ted Danson, "A Man on the Inside"
• Steve Martin, "Only Murders in the Building"
• Martin Short, "Only Murders in the Building"
• Jason Segel, "Shrinking"

Best Screenplay — Motion Picture

• Peter Straughan, "Conclave" — Winner
• Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez" 
• Sean Baker, "Anora"
• Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold, "The Brutalist"
• Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
• Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television

• Ali Wong, "Single Lady" — Winner
• Jamie Foxx, "What Had Happened Was"
• Nikki Glaser, "Someday You'll Die"
• Seth Meyers, "Dad Man Walking"
• Adam Sandler, "Love You"
• Ramy Youssef, "More Feelings"

Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language

• "Emilia Pérez" — Winner
• "All We Imagine as Light"
• "The Girl with the Needle"
• "I'm Still Here"
• "The Seed of the Sacred Fig"
• "Vermiglio"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Colin Farrell, "The Penguin" — Winner
• Richard Gadd, "Baby Reindeer"
• Kevin Kline, "Disclaimer"
• Cooper Koch, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story"
• Ewan McGregor, "A Gentleman in Moscow"
• Andrew Scott, "Ripley"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Jodie Foster, "True Detective: Night Country" — Winner
• Cate Blanchett, "Disclaimer"
• Cristin Milioti, "The Penguin"
• Sofia Vergara, "Griselda"
• Naomi Watts, "Feud: Capote vs. The swans"
• Kate Winslet, "The Regime"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• Demi Moore, "The Substance" — Winner
• Amy Adams, "Nightbitch"
• Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"
• Karla Sofía Gascón, "Emilia Pérez"
• Zendaya, "Challengers"
• Mikey Madison, "Anora"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• Sebastian Stan, "A Different Man" — Winner
• Jesse Eisenberg, "A Real Pain"
• Hugh Grant, "Heretic"
• Gabriel LaBelle, "Saturday Night"
• Jesse Plemons, "Kinds of Kindness"
• Glen Powell, "Hit Man"

Best Motion Picture — Animated

• "Flow" — Winner
• "Inside Out 2"
• "Memoir of a Snail"
• "Moana 2"
• "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl"
• "The Wild Robot"

Best Director — Motion Picture

• Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist" — Winner
• Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez"
• Sean Baker, "Anora"
• Edward Berger, "Conclave"
• Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"
• Payal Kapadia, "All We Imagine as Light"

Best Original Score — Motion Picture

• Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, "Challengers" — Winner
• Volker Bertelmann, "Conclave"
• Daniel Blumberg, "The Brutalist"
• Kris Bowers, "The Wild Robot"
• Clément Ducol, Camille, "Emilia Pérez"
• Hans Zimmer, "Dune: Part Two"

Best Original Song — Motion Picture

• "El Mal," by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard (from "Emilia Pérez") — Winner
• "Beautiful That Way," by Miley Cyrus, Lykke Li and Andrew Wyatt (from "The Last Showgirl")
• "Compress/Repress," by Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross & Luca Guadagnino (from "Challengers")
• "Forbidden Road," by Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler & Sacha Skarbek ("Better Man")
• "Kiss The Sky," by Delacey, Jordan Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Maren Morris, Michael Pollack & Ali Tamposi (from "The Wild Robot")
• "Mi Camino," by Clément Ducol and Camille (from "Emilia Pérez")

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

• "Wicked" — Winner
• "Alien: Romulus"
• "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice"
• "Deadpool & Wolverine"
• "Gladiator II"
• "Inside Out 2"
• "Twisters"
• "The Wild Robot"

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• "Baby Reindeer" — Winner
• "Disclaimer"
• "Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menendez Story"
• "The Penguin"
• "Ripley"
• "True Detective: Night Country"

Best Television Series — Comedy Or Musical

• "Hacks" — Winner
• "Abbott Elementary"
• "The Bear"
• "The Gentlemen"
• "Nobody Wants This"
• "Only Murders in the Building"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series — Drama

• Anna Sawai, "Shōgun" — Winner
• Kathy Bates, "Matlock"
• Emma D'Arcy, "House of the Dragon"
• Maya Erskine, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
• Keira Knightley, "Black Doves"
• Keri Russell, "The Diplomat"

Best Television Series — Drama

• "Shōgun" — Winner
• "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
• "The Diplomat"
• "Squid Game"
• "Slow Horses"
• "The Day of the Jackal"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama

• Fernanda Torres, "I'm Still Here" — Winner
• Pamela Anderson, "The Last Showgirl"
• Angelina Jolie, "Maria"
• Nicole Kidman, "Babygirl"
• Tilda Swinton, "The Room Next Door"
• Kate Winslet, "Lee"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama

• Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist" — Winner
• Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"
• Daniel Craig, "Queer"
• Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
• Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"
• Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"

Best Motion Picture — Drama

• "The Brutalist" — Winner
• "A Complete Unknown"
• "Conclave"
• "Dune: Part Two"
• "Nickel Boys"
• "September 5"

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• "Emilia Pérez" — Winner
• "Anora"
• "Challengers"
• "A Real Pain"
• "The Substance"
• "Wicked"

​WICKED- PART 1
Release Date: 2024 
Rating: PG
Running Time: 160 mins 
The famous musical and untold story of the Witches of Oz is brought to life on the big screen thanks to director Jon M. Chu. Wicked - Part 1 delivers a delightful, colourful and highly entertaining first chapter in this two part extravaganza with tonnes of singing, dancing and magical effects that will delight audiences both young and old.
Elphaba was born with green skin, which has made her an outcast all of her life. However, when she accepted into Shiz Academy (an esteemed school of magic) she learns that she has hidden and powerful magic within her that she has not yet tapped in to. She forms an unlikely friendship with Glinda, a popular and privileged witch; and the two begin an extraordinary adventure in the land of Oz. 
I wasn't expecting this to be as good as it actually was, and believe me when I say that the hype is truly deserving, this is fabulous watch and a lot of good fun. Ariana Grande is perfectly cast as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo is a powerhouse as Elphaba, and the two together are (pardon the pun) pure magic!
There's a lot to enjoy here and at almost three hours watch time, you get plenty bang for your buck out of this gem. 
FINAL SAY: Defying Gravity.
4 Chilli Peppers

Just like 2023, the viewing opportunities in 2024 presented themselves so fast that I found it pretty much impossible to juggle all of my streaming services and keep up with all of the new releases at the cinema. The over-abundance of new release material to trawl through was  absolutely phenomenal!
There was a head spinning amount of high quality viewing material to absorb this year, and I was very grateful to be constantly distracted from all of the drama that 2024 delivered with a saturation of fantastic cinematic offerings. I also, again, received many welcome high quality recommendations from friends and family throughout the year as well, which stretched my viewing choices even further. Long story short, we were all very spoilt for choice and if you couldn't find something to watch, then in my opinion, you just weren't trying hard enough!
I managed to get through 211 movies and 143 television series this year. Basically, I was flat out watching something every day of the year and I still didn't get to half of the material that still sits waiting on my 'to see' lists, which has now blow out to more than 600 titles, so it is fair to say that I am not going to be slowing down any time soon either. 
The task of seeing everything has become arduous beyond anyone's means, and unless you are willing to permanently strap yourself to the couch and do nothing but watch movies and TV, there is just no way that you can manage to see it all in one year. So now more than ever, you must be discerning, and hopefully this is where I can offer a hand and some sound advice around what you should be investing in your time in; if you haven't done so already. 
Again, I was thrilled to be able to view so many great movies and TV across all genres, for which I am always grateful. In particular, I again really appreciated seeing so many excellent horror, thriller and fantasy offerings this year; most of which boasted stunningly good visuals and terrifically original storylines. I am now sure that audiences are becoming more acclimated to a few jumps and jolts, and more and more people are embracing high quality horror, thriller and challenging viewing choices, because these genres do thankfully seem to still be on the rise. 
And so, without further ado....here is my selection for the best viewing experiences of 2024, full movie reviews can be found on the corresponding genre pages in the drop down menu above. 
BEST MOVIES (2024 release):
Anora - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Dune Pt2 - Sci-fi 4 Chilli Peppers 
Longlegs - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers
The Wild Robot - Kid Friendly 4 Chilli Peppers
Late Night with the Devil - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers
The Substance - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
Handling the Undead - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
Alien Romulus - Sci-Fi 4 Chilli Peppers ​
Hitman - Romance 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Iron Claw- Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers
MadS - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Oddity - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
Civil War - Action/ War 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice - Supernatural 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Smile 2 - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
Inside Out 2 - Kid Friendly 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
HONOURABLE MENTIONS - 2024 Release:
Speak No Evil- Horror 3 Chilli Peppers 
Heretic - Thriller 3 Chilli Peppers 
Abigail - Horror 3 Chilli Peppers 
Lisa Frankenstein - Comedy 3 Chilli Peppers 
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Action 3 Chilli Peppers 
Deadpool and Wolverine - Action/Super 3 Chilli Peppers 

Here are my top recommendations for pre-2024 releases that I didn't get around to seeing until 2023:
Poor Things - Art House 5 Chilli Peppers 
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Kid Friendly 4.5 Chilli Peppers
Pink Floyd: The Wall - Musical 4 Chilli Peppers 
Blackfish - Doco 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Killers of the Flower Moon - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
Departures - International 4 Chilli Peppers 
The Holdovers - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Tale of Tales - Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Rye Lane - Romance 4 Chilli Peppers 
Wild Tales - International 4 Chilli Peppers 
Society of the Snow - International 4 Chilli Peppers 
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
American Fiction - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Leo - Kid Friendly 4 Chilli Peppers 
For Sama - Doco 4 Chilli Peppers
Zone of Interest -  War 4 Chilli Peppers 
Dream Scenario - Art House 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
After the Wedding - International 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Babylon - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Bread and Tulips - International 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Rent-a-Pal-Gritty 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Coffee Table - Gritty 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
All of Us Strangers - Romance 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Five Devils - International 3 Chilli Peppers 
Nyad - Drama 3 Chilli Peppers 
Blood and Gold - War 3 Chilli Peppers 
Sisu - Action 3 Chilli Peppers 

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

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

THE SUBSTANCE
Release Date: 2024
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 141 mins 
A satirical body-horror; written, directed and co-produced by Coralie Fargeat that is sure to raise some eye brows and churns some weaker stomachs with it's sickly, visceral and highly amusing stab at Hollywood's relentless cries for youth and beauty. 
Actress and fitness guru Elisabeth Sparkle has just turned 50 and her sleazy producer Harvey is already showing her the door. Unwilling to go down without a fight, Elizabeth orders a mysterious serum called 'The Substance' that promises a more youthful and perfect version of the self. Elizabeth immediately administers the serum and sets about re-establishing herself in Hollywood as Sue, a much hotter and youthful version of herself. But youth and beauty always has a price, and Elizabeth finds that she is now on a very slippery slope of desperation and depravity.
The Substance is a brilliant horror film; it has an interesting storyline, lots of gross out scenes and some really solid performances from both Demi Moore as Elizabeth and Margaret Qualley as Sue.  Honestly, this could be Moore's big come back film, she is just great in this.
In truth, there is a lot to like about this movie. Sure, the last half hour is straight up bonkers, but who cares? No-ones goes to see a body-horror flick expecting to see a completely sensible slice of cinema anyway, so just strap in and enjoy the ride, I guarantee that you won't forget it! 
FINAL SAY: There has been a slight misuse of the Substance.
4 Chilli Peppers ​

Last Friday night I attended a new moon circle and sound-bath. I go to this event each month and I love it. A group of very easy going, non-judgemental and welcoming women gather together at each new moon cycle to share ideas, exchange experiences, practise some sort of craft or art workshop and then wrap up the evening with a healing sound-bath meditation. It always happens on a Friday evening and it is a great way to set an intention and focus on what you might like to manifest into your world during the next month. I always look forward to the event and I always find that the couple of hours that I spend in the presence of these unique and inspiring women that share the circle, rejuvenates my spirit and always gives me pause for reflection. 
This month we were encouraged to write down the desires that we are hoping to manifest into our lives as we move into the influence of the new moon of Scorpio. I pondered this, and never one to rest on my laurels, I thought that my desires would come to me quickly because I am always looking for self improvement and a way to bring more joy into my world. And I was honestly stumped. Not because I lack desire or energy for new experiences but rather because I am just so damn content and grateful for the extremely abundant life that I already have. I have done so much work on myself and I have made so many positive improvements to myself in the last seven years that I am barely even a reflection of the person that I used to be. I have reached a point in my journey where the work that I have rigorously put into self improvement is genuinely paying off and the call to address my desires has really highlighted that for me. 
I have the most amazing relationships in my life now, ones that feel genuine because they are genuine. Ones that make me feel valuable and seen, ones that feed me and comfort me. And they are real and untainted, and I feel safe to be myself in my relationships and I feel safe to be transparent and I feel loved. I give love and receive love in equal measure now, in all aspects of my life. I let go and trusted the universe to have my back and it did, and I am happier than I have ever been in my entire life. 
I sleep well, eat well, exercise well and have balance in my work/life experiences. I have spiritual practises and hobbies that feed my soul, lift my sense of wellbeing and spark joy. I travel, I work, I cook, I clean, I write, I meditate, I garden, I draw, I celebrate, I contemplate, I lead, I follow, I share, I give, I laugh, I love and I listen. I have no hatred inside of me, I have no anger inside of me, I have abundance, I have trust and I look forward to being in my own space everyday because it brings me healing, it brings me smiles and it brings me growth. I love my home, I love my family, I love my friends and I love my life. And I say that without any hesitation or reservation because it is true - absolutely true. 
I forgive myself for all of the things that I did while I was learning to find my true self and I forgive others that I may have perceived to have been hurting me because I now understand that they were just trying to keep themselves safe in the only ways that they knew how to and I honestly wish nothing but peace and fulfilment for them as well. I accept myself and I completely understand that the road that I have travelled, although quite hard at times, has brought me here - to myself, to the truest version of myself that I have ever known. I am the healthiest and happiest version of myself that I have ever been in my entire life and it feels so amazing.  And all that I could possibly ever desire at this stage in my journey is to keep this feeling going, to keep feeling this connected and aware and open. 
So my deepest desire is to keep on keeping on and to continue to flourish and share my life openly and joyfully. To continue to be grateful, mindful and patient. To be open to new experiences, to be willing to help where and when I can and to live the next stretch of my life as authentically and kindly as possible - that is what I desire. 

DEPARTURES
Release Date: 2008
Rating: M
Running Time: 130 mins 
A Japanese drama directed by Yojiro Takita and, in 2009, the first Japanese production to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, Departures is a beautiful film in every respect. With it's touching depictions of relationships and the struggles we have to accept death as an inevitable part of life, Departures is both a meditation and celebration of the transience and beauty of life.  
Young cellist Daigo moves himself and his young wife back to his home town after he loses his job in Tokyo when his orchestra disbands. Disillusioned and desperate for work, Daigo applies for a job at a firm called NK Agent Office that claims to assist departures. Thinking that he will be working in travel, Daigo applies and is bewildered when he learns that NK actually deals with the dead, specifically with preparing bodies for cremation in a ceremony called encoffinment. As the months pass, Daigo find that he has a natural skill for the role, much to everyone's horror, and that the job allows him to reconnect with his past and renew his respect for the life that he has been given. 
Touching is an understatement, this movie will move you so deeply that you may find yourself crying more than once throughout the film, and although the topic of death may seem sombre, this film is actually incredibly uplifting and extremely life affirming. It's a delightful ride from start to end, make sure you don't miss this one. 
FINAL SAY: Fate brought you here. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

I have been chatting with a lot of people about success lately. And in general I think that most people measure success based on income, belongings, assets and achievements. Not everyone does, but many do. I think that it is the nature of the world to measure success by how much you have or how much you have to offer, but this feels wrong to me and it doesn't sit well with me. 
And let me explain my thinking here. I clearly have more than I could ever want for in this life, or any life for that matter, especially when it comes to my living conditions. I am super fortunate and for that I am eternally grateful. I have a beautiful home, a good car, a decent job that affords me many things, regular holidays and pretty much whatever I want when I want it. This in itself makes me far more well-off than millions of people on the planet, but I could compare myself to people who have much more money than myself and think - wow, I'm actually a failure. I don't have as much as....blah blah...and I haven't done enough with my life....I should have.....in the bank by now....I should be further along financially....I haven't …..
And I could go on and on and on, but I won't because I don't actually feel that way at all. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything because I know that I am not. And that is because I do not measure success based on income, belongings, assets or achievements. I think that real success looks totally different to that and it has nothing to do with money, property, profession or status. 
I think that real success looks and feels quite different to what most people assume that success will look like. 
To me real success is:

• enjoying and experiencing authentic relationships 
• having a regulated nervous system
• not comparing yourself to others
• showing up for yourself
• having a kind inner dialogue 
• being able to let go 
• owning your own behaviour 
• being aware of your words
• meeting personal goals 
• having authentic connections
• keeping healthy boundaries
• accepting your humanness and the humanness of others
• living your life in a way that feels right for you 
• being forgiving
• feeling positive about your future and yourself 
• showing gratitude easily 
• exchanging love and being willing to be vulnerable 

That's real success to me, that's the stuff that make people complete and whole. All that other stuff is lovely, don't get me wrong, the money and the assets make life comfortable and easy, but are they the true measure of success? 
We all know that some people have a lot of wealth in this world, at their fingertips 24/7 and it may make them feel like they are successful, but we also know that it can bring with it greed, anger, bitterness, selfishness or loneliness as well.
There are some successes that money cannot afford, and they are the successes that I am looking for in my life, they are the priceless things that make me feel grateful, wealthy and joyful; and I willingly invite more of that success into my life any day of the week. 

BREAD AND TULIPS 
Release Date: 2000
Rating: PG 13
Running Time:  114 mins 
An Italian romantic comedy directed by Silvio Soldini that delivers a perfect hit of hopeful joy and renewed self discovery that is both refreshing and entertaining to watch.
Rosalba starts to see the realities of her marriage when her husband leaves her behind whilst on a family holiday. Tired of her routine as a housewife and under appreciated mother, Rosalba embarks on a trip to finally see Venice and experience a new way of being. 
Bread and Tulips is a lot like Shirley Valentine in premise but it contained a lot more heartfelt interactions, way less sarcasm and a lot less sex. Rosalba's charming character is just impossible to not fall in love with and she is perfectly portrayed by the always lovely Lucia Maglietta. The casting here is truly great, and I especially enjoyed Bruno Ganz as Fernando, Marina Massironi  as Gazia and Guiseppe Battiston as the hilarious plumber come private detective, Costantino.
This is a terrific slice of Italian cinema and a heart-warming tale that shouldn't be missed. 
FINAL SAY: I felt my phoenix rise from the ashes. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best visual effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One – WINNER
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Release Date: 2023
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 206 mins 
An American western and also a crime drama, directed and produced by Martin Scorsese, who co-wrote the script with Eli Roth. Based on the book of the same name by David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon is not just a movie, it an epic, with an all star ensemble cast and enough corruption and intrigue to keep viewers riveted for the almost three and half hour run time. 
In Oklahoma in the 1920's, a series of grisly deaths continues to befall the Osage Nation People that have a strong hold on the land; due to striking oil. Behind these murders is the land grabbing and influential cattle rancher William King Hale, who will even use his own kin (and any other means available) to take down the Osage members from the inside so that the land inheritances eventually fall into his own family's hands. 
This is a sad story, peppered with the worst kinds of people doing the worst kinds of things. The Osage Nation are represented beautifully, with the main focus firmly placed on Molly Burkhart, a headstrong Osage whose family owns oil headrights. She is portrayed perfectly by newcomer Lily Gladstone and she is extremely well supported by Leonardo DiCaprio as her conniving husband Ernest and Robert De Niro as the awful uncle William Hale. 
Parts of this film are really hard to watch; seeing gentle people being swindled and manipulated continuously is not at all joyful, however the strength, dignity and spirituality of the Osage shines through at every facet  of this movie, and overall, Killers of the Flower Moon delivers something reflective, noteworthy and valuable. A must see epic that deserved all of the accolades and attentions that it garnered. 
​FINAL SAY: Can you find the wolves in this picture?
4 Chilli Peppers ​

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

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

• Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers" — Winner
• Emily Blunt, "Oppenheimer"
• Danielle Brooks, "The Color Purple"
• Julianne Moore, "May December"
• Jodie Foster, "Nyad"
• Rosamund Pike, "Saltburn"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture

• Robert Downey Jr., "Oppenheimer" — Winner
• Ryan Gosling, "Barbie"
• Robert DeNiro, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
• Charles Melton, "May December"
• William Dafoe, "Poor Things" 
• Mark Ruffalo, "Poor Things"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Ali Wong, "Beef" — Winner
• Brie Larson, "Lessons in Chemistry"
• Riley Keough, "Daisy Jones & the Six" 
• Elizabeth Olsen, "Love and Death"
• Juno Temple, "Fargo"
• Rachel Weisz, "Dead Ringers"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• Steven Yeun, "Beef" — Winner
• Matt Bomer, "Fellow Travelers"
• Sam Claflin, "Daisy Jones & the Six"
• David Oyelowo, "Lawmen: Bass Reeves"
• Jon Hamm, "Fargo"
• Woody Harrelson, "White House Plumbers"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Television Series

• Elizabeth Debicki, "The Crown" — Winner
• Meryl Streep, "Only Murders in the Building"
• Hannah Waddingham, "Ted Lasso"
• Christina Ricci, "Yellowjackets" 
• Abby Elliott, "The Bear"
• J. Smith-Cameron, "Succession"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Television Series

• Matthew Macfadyen, "Succession" — Winner
• James Marsden, "Jury Duty"
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach, "The Bear"
• Billy Crudup, "The Morning Show" 
• Alexander Skarsgård, "Succession"
• Alan Ruck, "Succession"

​
Best Screenplay — Motion Picture

• Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, "Anatomy of a Fall" — Winner
• Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, "Barbie"
• Tony McNamara, "Poor Things"
• Celine Song, "Past Lives"
• Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"
• Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

• Jeremy Allen White, "The Bear" — Winner
• Jason Sudeikis, "Ted Lasso"
• Bill Hader, "Barry"
• Jason Segel, "Shrinking"
• Steve Martin, "Only Murders in the Building"
• Martin Short, "Only Murders in the Building"

Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television

• "Ricky Gervais: Armageddon" — Winner
• "Amy Schumer: Emergency Contact"
• "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage"
• "Wanda Sykes: I'm an Entertainer"
• "Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love"
• "Trevor Noah: Where Was I"

Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language

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

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

• Ayo Edebiri, "The Bear" — Winner
• Natasha Lyonne, "Poker Face"
• Quinta Brunson, "Abbott Elementary" 
• Rachel Brosnahan, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
• Selena Gomez, "Only Murders in the Building"
• Elle Fanning, "The Great"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama

• Kieran Culkin, "Succession" — Winner
• Brian Cox, "Succession"
• Pedro Pascal, "The Last of Us"
• Jeremy Strong, "Succession"
• Gary Oldman, "Slow Horses"
• Dominic West, "The Crown"

Best Motion Picture — Animated

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

Best Director — Motion Picture

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

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• Emma Stone, "Poor Things" — Winner
• Margot Robbie, "Barbie"
• Natalie Portman, "May December"
• Fantasia Barrino, "The Color Purple" 
• Alma Pöysti, "Fallen Leaves"
• Jennifer Lawrence, "No Hard Feelings"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama

• Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer" — Winner
• Bradley Cooper, "Maestro"
• Leonardo DiCaprio, "Killers of the Flower Moon"
• Colman Domingo, "Rustin"
• Andrew Scott, "All of Us Strangers"
• Barry Keoghan, "Saltburn"

Best Original Score — Motion Picture

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

Best Original Song — Motion Picture

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

Cinematic and Box Office Achievement

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

Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

• "Beef" — Winner
• "Lessons in Chemistry"
• "Daisy Jones & the Six"
• "All the Light We Cannot See" 
• "Fellow Travelers"
• "Fargo"

Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy

• "The Bear" — Winner
• "Ted Lasso"
• "Abbott Elementary"
• "Jury Duty"
• "Only Murders in the Building"
• "Barry"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama

• Sarah Snook, "Succession" — Winner
• Bella Ramsey, "The Last of Us"
• Helen Mirren, "1923"
•  Keri Russell, "The Diplomat"
• Emma Stone, "The Curse"
• Imelda Staunton, "The Crown"

Best Television Series – Drama

• "Succession" — Winner
• "The Last of Us"
• "The Crown"
• "The Morning Show"
• "The Diplomat"
• "1923"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• Paul Giamatti, "The Holdovers" — Winner
• Jeffrey Wright, "American Fiction"
• Matt Damon, "Air"
• Joaquin Phoenix, "Beau is Afraid"
• Timothée Chalamet, "Wonka"
• Nicolas Cage, "Dream Scenario"

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy

• "Poor Things" — Winner
• "Barbie"
• "American Fiction"
• "The Holdovers"
• "May December" 
• "Air"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama

• Lily Gladstone, "Killers of the Flower Moon" — Winner
• Carey Mulligan, "Maestro"
• Sandra Hüller, "Anatomy of a Fall"
• Annette Bening, "Nyad"
• Greta Lee, "Past Lives"
• Cailee Spaeny, "Priscilla

Best Motion Picture — Drama

• "Oppenheimer" — Winner
• "Killers of the Flower Moon" 
• "Maestro"
• "Past Lives"
• "The Zone of Interest"
• "Anatomy of a Fall"

OPPENHEIMER 
Release Date: 2023
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 180 mins 
Possibly the most anticipated film of 2023, Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer delivers an epic biographical tale that received massive critical acclaim. It also became the third highest grossing film of 2023, the highest grossing World War II film, the highest grossing biographical movie and the second highest grossing R rated film as well. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named Oppenheimer one of the top ten films of the year, and it is certainly already receiving a lot of pre-Oscar buzz. 
The movie is based on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American theoretical physicist credited with being the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in The Manhattan Project - the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons. Closely following the 2005 biographical novel American Prometheus by Kai Bid and Martin J. Sherwin, the film chronicles the career of Oppenheimer from his personal highs and successes to his fall from grace in the mid 1950's.
Cillian Murphy is nothing short of perfect in his portrayal of Oppenheimer and he is very well supported by a star studded cast that includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Robert Downey Jr, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh. 
At three hours run time, Oppenheimer is not a film for light weight movie goers; extremely political and scientific in its delivery (neither of which bothered me) but you do need to be attentive if you want to really appreciate and follow the storyline. Visually it's a masterpiece, and an unforgettable cinematic experience. I went in with little to no knowledge about J. Robert Oppenheimer before I watched this, and I learned a lot; not only about the man himself, but also about nuclear weapons, the arms race and the lack of concern or care for life in general when it comes to the way in which these weapons are used.  Not an easy watch, but a very worthy one for sure. 
FINAL SAY: They won't fear it until they understand it. And they won't understand it until they've used it. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

Just like 2022, the viewing opportunities in 2023 grew so fast that I found myself yet again juggling all of my streaming services and struggling to get to the cinema often enough because as always, I seemed to have an over-abundance of new release material to trawl through.
There was a head spinning amount of high quality viewing material to absorb this year, and I was very grateful to be constantly distracted from the political and environmental disasters of 2023 with cinematic offerings. I also received many welcome high quality recommendations from friends and family throughout the year as well, which has stretched my viewing choices as well.  Long story short, we were all very spoilt for choice in 2023, and if you couldn't find something to watch, then in my opinion, you just weren't trying hard enough!
I managed to get through 180 movies and 160 television series this year. Basically, I was flat out watching something every day of the year and I still didn't get to half of the material that still sits waiting on my 'to see' lists, which has now blow out to more than 580 titles, so it is fair to say that I am not going to be slowing down any time soon either. 
The task of seeing everything has become arduous beyond anyone's means, and unless you are willing to permanently strap yourself to the couch and do nothing but watch movies and TV, there is just no way that you can manage to see it all in one year. So now more than ever, you must be discerning, and hopefully this is where I can offer a hand and some sound advice around what you should be investing in your time in; if you haven't done so already. 
Again, I was thrilled to be able to view so many great movies and TV across all genres, for which I am always grateful. In particular, I again really appreciated seeing so many excellent horror, thriller and fantasy offerings this year; most of which boasted stunningly good visuals and terrifically original storylines. I am now sure that audiences are becoming more acclimated to a few jumps and jolts, and more and more people are embracing high quality horror, thriller and challenging viewing choices, because these genres do thankfully seem to still be on the rise. 
And so, without further ado....here is my selection for the best viewing experiences of 2023. 
BEST MOVIES (2023 release):
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Kid Friendly 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
Oppenheimer - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
The Banshees of Inisherin - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Saltburn - Thriller 4 Chilli Peppers 
Talk to Me - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
Barbie - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
John Wick Chapter 4 - Action 4 Chilli Peppers
Evil Dead Rise- Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
The Killer - Crime/ Action 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Leave The World Behind - Sci-Fi 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves - Action/ Super 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Guardians of the Galaxy VOL 3 - Super 3.5 Chilli Peppers 

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

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

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

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

TALK TO ME
Release Date: 2023
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 95 mins 
An Australian supernatural horror, directed by Danny and Michael Philippou. Talk To Me made its worldwide premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and has been seriously creeping out audiences ever since. With a virtually unknown cast and a seriously unsettling storyline, Talk To Me is destined to become a cult horror classic. 
A group of teenagers get their kicks from conjuring spirits, filming the outcomes and posting them onto social media. With the aid of a mysterious embalmed hand they are able to allow entities to possess their bodies, but as with all stories of possession, things go wrong and the consequences are of course, dreadful!
This is a genuinely gripping horror tale that had me captivated from start to end. Touching on concepts of grief, loss and the desperate need for belonging when it comes to teens, this film plays out in believable and disturbing ways, with the main actors giving convincing and emotional driven performances. 
Talk To Me really does get under your skin, and it also delivers enough gore and shock value to appease hardcore fans of horror. 
FINAL SAY: I let you in. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

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 ​

When we set about changing ourselves or 'fixing' ourselves as many people like to term it these days, we set out to transform ourselves and ultimately (in the best setting) we set out to heal ourselves. You see, we would not need to change or fix ourselves if we had not experienced something that damaged us, deformed us or broke us in the first place. So in order to change or fix the things that we don't like or want in our lives any longer, we have to go through the processes of healing ourself, and that comes in stages. 
As with all significant change or new-ness we resist, even if it is good for us, we still resist because we are ding dongs that like to hold onto predictability and perceived safety. So it is hardly surprising to see that the first stage of healing is denial.
DENIAL: 
Denial is our greatest barrier to healing ourselves. It is generally the longest leg of the healing journey because we resist it so much. Recovery cannot begin until unveiling and acceptance happen first. 
SHOCK:
Once you stop denying your need to heal you may experience some unpleasant feelings like: numbness, anger, pain, rage, guilt, vulnerability or shame. Don't fight these feelings, they are part of the healing journey and need to be dealt with. 
​RECOGNITION:
Recognition and acceptance are the greatest liberators. Now that you are aware, the once stagnant waters can begin to flow again. You will start to clear out the old to make way for the new. Work through your feelings and reactions with an open heart.
ACCEPTANCE:
Healing is a journey that ebbs and flows like the ocean. One moment you're all over it and the next you're no where close to where you want to be. This up and down is very normal and you need to be gentle with yourself here; good days and bad days are part of healing. 
RELEASE:
Recognise that while you may not be where you want to be, you can release the idea that you have to anything but here and now. 
REFLECT:
Make space to witness your progress from a third person perspective. Take a step back and survey the story that you are now experiencing. Breathe deeply and reflect on how far you have already come. 
EMPTINESS:
Take time to mourn the old version of yourself that isn't serving you any longer. See how you are growing and changing and developing better ways to be. This is also a time when we may feel the need to release certain people that are associated with our old selves from our lives. This is because they no longer fit into your new lifestyle choices. This shedding can be difficult and leave us feeling spiritually or emotionally naked. 
INTEGRATION: 
Integrating new strategies that will stick is difficult. It takes time and repetition to replace old habits with new and better ones. This process can be challenging but it is also deeply rewarding and important work. Don't give up, keep going!
TRANSFORMATION:
You are now making constant changes that you feel are most appropriate for your journey. You are in control of your own destiny, you are not the person that you were and you have healed yourself. Congratulate yourself and celebrate your transformation. 

It is really important to remember that healing and change, in any guise, takes time and commitment. It is often slow and challenging and it can be trying and traumatic. If you cannot do it alone, seek professional assistance or personal guidance from a trusted friend or companion. The road to healing is fraught with danger and difficulty, be aware that every set back is part of a process and every attempt to heal yourself is a worthy undertaking. Be kind to yourself, be patient and be willing to fail, succeed and find a better you in the process. 

FLEE 
Release Date: 2021
Rating: M
Running Time: 90 mins
A Danish adult-animation documentary film directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen that received unanimous acclaim from film festivals and critics alike for its excellent animation, story, thematic content, subject matter and LGBT representation. And there is certainly no denying that Flee is deeply and profoundly affecting from start to end. 
A man under the alias of Amin Nawabi recounts the trauma and terror of his hidden past which included fleeing from his home country of Afghanistan to Denmark. 
Through gripping, candid and distressing storytelling, we come to view a plight that is practically incomprehensible to most westerners. Flee is essentially a survival story about one man trying to make sense of his shattered past and traumatic experiences in order to embrace the man that he is today. 
I saw the English language dubbed version which has Riz Ahmed and Nikolai Coster- Waldau performing as the narrators, and I would definitely recommend this version to English speaking viewers. The film also contains archival film footage of actual  events in Afghanistan around the time that Amin fled, and this really adds to the overall impact of this powerful and unforgettable film. 
It's definitely not a pleasant story but it is certainly one that needs to be heard by everyone. 
FINAL SAY: We have no idea what's going to happen to us. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 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 

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 ​

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

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

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

The whole gang congregated upon Enfield for a Chinese New Year's celebration and feast that stretched out for two days and forced everyone into stretchy pants due to the copious amounts of eating that we undertook. We ate and we ate and we ate, it was crazy! But it was also so lovely to come together and celebrate something a little different, festive and fun. 
This year is 'The Year of the Tiger', which happens to be my Chinese astrological sign so it was a little 'extra' celebratory for me. Chinese New Year has become quite a tradition in our home. Generally, we do something every year to celebrate this event. We all love to read about our Chinese horoscopes, feast upon an array of Chinese goodies and get together in February for a relaxed time in the mellow warmth of late Summer.
This year the cuisine went above and beyond and saw Craig and I preparing components the evening before and well into the next evening. It was over 24 hours of prep and cooking! In fact it was such a huge effort and undertaking that I have flat out refused to cook at all today because I am just all cooked out for a little while now.
​
Here's what we managed to come up with all on our own for a mighty Lunar New Year feast:
DRINKS AND NIBBLES: 
Melon and coconut cocktails 
Peach and Raspberry Iced Teas
Aloe Vera Water
Milk tea
Shrimp jerky
Prawn crackers
Panda biscuits
Coconut biscuits 
Ball cakes 
ENTREES:
Prawn gyoza
Veggie Spring Rolls 
Mini Beef Dim Sums 
Coconut and Lime Panko  Prawns 
MAINS:
Char Sui Smoked Pork
Sticky Chicken and Trout 
Special Fried Rice
Prawn and Mushroom Udon Noodles 
DESSERTS:
Coconut Milk Junket 
Fresh Mango
Raspberry Jelly
Mango and Green Tea Pocky 
Fortune Cookies

Now can you see why we needed stretchy pants and I cannot bring myself to enter the kitchen today? Hardly surprising that we were still eating Chinese food the next day right? It was a mammoth amount of food, and of course there are still a lot of leftovers to enjoy over the coming days because it was such a huge feast. 
But what a delightful celebration! Sure the food is amazing, and we are very fortunate to be in a position that we can have such an extravagant spread at our home - that alone is great cause for celebration. However, it is mostly about having the opportunity to gather the whole family together for a shared meal and experience that makes these kinds of events something to cherish and appreciate; especially when we have had to have so much time apart over the last few years because of the pandemic restrictions.
It's wonderful to share time together and be in the good company of those that we love most and I think that is what I like most about celebrating Chinese New Year as a family. 

I've always loved films that don't follow a linear path. I love strange and eccentric films, honestly, I think that I like 'strange and eccentric' anything really but movies, music and literature that pushes the boundaries has always had a special place in my heart. 
Who doesn't like a bit of bizarre and surreal speckled into their everyday lives? Well, I'm sure there are actually quite a lot people who don't like material that challenges, confuses or disturbs them, but boy, they are really missing out on all of the fun, aren't they? Some of my favourite films of all time are weird as hell!
Some film makers and directors have practically specialised in producing absurd, unusual and inexplicable films, they've made a household name for themselves out of it. Take David Lynch, Harmony Korine, David Cronenberg or Yorgos Lanthimos to name but a few. If people weren't into weird, then these guys would never had made it big in Hollywood. And I for one, love to ask myself 'what the fuck did I just see?' after viewing a movie because then I know that what I have seen will leave me thinking. It will leave me pondering for days, going back to it in my mind and turning it over like an unsolvable puzzle box. 
And isn't that what we want from artistic and creative film making? Something that makes us think, something that will stretch our boundaries and push our limits. Well, maybe you don't, perhaps I am part of a small group of weirdos that does enjoy this type of cinema, but over the years I have reviewed an array of edgy, unusual, confronting and just plain weird films. Films that weren't just odd, but were, in my opinion also very, very good. And today I am sharing the pick of the litter here for you. 
If you are looking for something quite left of centre but also deeply engaging, then I suggest that you take a look at these beauties.
Full reviews can be found in the appropriate genre list tab. 
ART HOUSE/ MUSICAL/ INTERNATIONAL

• The Lighthouse
• Sorry to Bother You 
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 
• The Killing of a Sacred Deer 
• Dave Made a Maze
• Swiss Army Man 
• The Lobster
• The Mermaid
• The Brand New Testament
• The Skin I Live In
• Kung Fu Hustle 
• I Heart Huckabees 
• Dogville
• Mulholland Drive
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch
• Being John Malkovich
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 
• Pi
• Delicatessen 
• Wild at Heart 
• Blue Velvet 

GRITTY/ CHALLENGING

• Titane
• Swallow
• Mother!
• Enter the Void
• Dogtooth
• Requiem for a Dream
• Irreversible 
• Dancer in the Dark
• Gummo

HORROR

• Saint Maud
• Possessor
• Midsommar
• Mandy
• Hereditary 
• Susperia
• A Dark Song
• The Neon Demon
• Kill List
• Martyrs
• Jacob's Ladder

SCIENCE FICTION/ FANTASY

• Color Out of Space
• Vivarium
• Annihilation
• The Cell
• The Endless
• Predestination
• Under the Skin
• Melancholia
• The Fall
• The Fountain
• Mirrormask
• Donnie Darko
• eXistenZ
• 2001: A Space Odyssey 

​TITANE
Release Date: 2021 
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 108 mins 
A French language film written and directed by Julia Ducournau that got tongues wagging, not just because it won the 2021 Palme d'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, but also for its intense, jaw dropping concepts and striking imagery. 
Alexia, a dancer with a metal plate in her head due to a childhood accident, has an unusual affinity with cars. She also has an affinity to killing and does so ruthlessly. However, after a sexual encounter with a vehicle (yep, you read that right, a car) she finds herself pregnant and on the run from the law.  Alexia decides to take on the persona of a child that went missing a decade ago in an attempt to go into hiding. The lost boy's father Vincent, a lonely fire captain, is also desperate for a new beginning and he takes Alexia in and allows her to charade as his son. 
This is a seriously provocative and original film. However, it is also not an easy watch by any stretch. There is a lot of graphic body horror and some deeply disturbing depictions that some people may find too much. However, for all of its ugliness, Titane is really about desperate, lost people that genuinely crave love and meaningful relationships, which makes it equal parts distressing and emotional. 
Agathe Rousselle is giving everything here as Alexia and spends much of the movie involved in awkward, weird and revolting interludes. Vincent Lindon brings the term 'damaged' to new light with his misogynistic firefighter crew antics and desperate need to hold back the ravages of time on his body. 
There's a lot to like and also a lot not to like in Titane. I suggest that you see it for yourself and be the judge. 
FINAL SAY: It's very solid. It's titanium. 
3.5 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 ​

It was another strange year of cinema to say the least. I cannot deny that the home viewing opportunities in 2021 grew so fast that I found myself juggling all of my streaming services and an abundance of new release movies to no end. There was a head spinning amount of material to absorb and we were certainly spoilt for choice. If you couldn't find something to watch in 2021 then you just weren't trying hard enough!
I devoured 213 movies and 142 television series this year. Basically I was flat out watching something every day of the year and I still didn't get to half of the material that is on my 'to see' lists. 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. 
However, like I do every year, I did give it my very best shot and I did see a great deal of incredibly good things. 2021, just like 2020 managed to deliver greatness across all of the genres, for which I am always grateful. In particular I really appreciated seeing so many excellent horror and science fiction films this year; most of which boasted stunningly good visuals and terrifically original storylines.
And so, without further ado....here is my selection for the best viewing experiences of 2021. 
BEST MOVIES (2021 release):
The Power of the Dog - Drama  5 Chilli Peppers (Hall of Fame) 
Dune - Sci-Fi 4 Chilli Peppers
Nomadland - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Promising Young Woman - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Don't Look Up - Sci-Fi 4 Chilli Peppers
CODA - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
Pig - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
Saint Maud - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
Bo Burnham: Inside  - Comedy  4 Chilli Peppers
The Last Duel - Action/Period  4 Chilli Peppers
Encanto - Kids 4 Chilli Peppers
The Dig - Drama   3.5 Chilli Peppers
Nobody - Action 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Mitchell's vs The Machines- Kids  3.5 Chilli Peppers
Fear Street Trilogy - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Cruella - Kids 3.5 Chilli Peppers

2021 HONOURABLE MENTIONS:
Palmer - Drama 3 Chilli Peppers
The Conjuring 3 - The Devil Made Me Do It - Horror 3 Chilli Peppers
Army of Thieves-  Action 3 Chilli Peppers 
Finch - Sci-Fi 3 Chilli Peppers 

Here are my top recommendations for pre-2021 releases that I didn't see until 2021:
Portrait of a Lady on Fire - Romance 5 Chilli Peppers (Hall of Fame) 
The Father - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
The Trial of the Chicago 7 - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always - Drama  4 Chilli Peppers
Another Round - International  4 Chilli Peppers
One Cut of the Dead - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
The King of Staten Island - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers
Possessor - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers
You Were Never Really Here - Gritty 3.5 Chilli Peppers  
Host - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
On the Rocks -Drama  3 Chilli Peppers
The Dry - Drama  3 Chilli Peppers
Hillbilly Elegy- Drama 3 Chilli Peppers
Blinded by the Light - Drama 3 Chilli Peppers 

BEST TELEVISION SERIES 2021:
Ted Lasso S2 - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
Midnight Mass - Horror 5 Chilli Peppers 
Succession S3 -  Drama 5 Chilli Peppers
The White Lotus - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
Mr Inbetween S3 - Crime 5 Chilli Peppers
Britannia S3 - Fantasy 5 Chilli Peppers 
EVIL S2 - Horror 5 Chilli Peppers
It's a Sin - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
Wandavision - Super 4 Chilli Peppers 
Reservation Dogs - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
American Gods S3 - Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Black Summer S2- Horror 4 Chilli Peppers
Mare of Easttown - Crime 4 Chilli Peppers 
SEE S2 - Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Brand New Cherry Flavour - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers 
What We Do in the Shadows S3 - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Love on the Spectrum S2 - Reality 4 Chilli Peppers 
Resident Alien- Sci-Fi 4 Chilli Peppers
Ghosts S3 - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers 
Foundation - Sci-Fi 4 Chilli Peppers 

2021 TV HONOURABLE MENTIONS: ​
Master of None S3- Drama  3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Young Offenders S3 - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
BUMP - Comedy - 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Behind Her Eyes - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Cowboy Bebop - Sci- Fi  3.5 Chilli Peppers 
Loki- Sci-Fi/ Comedy  3 Chilli Peppers 
Scenes from a Marriage - Drama 3 Chilli Peppers
Valley of Tears - Drama 3 Chilli Peppers
Nine Perfect Strangers - Drama 3 Chilli Peppers 
Mr Corman - Art House 3 Chilli Peppers 
The Kominsky Method S3 - Drama 3 Chill Peppers 
AHS Double Feature - 3 Chilli Peppers 

PIG
Release Date: 2021 
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 92 mins 
An American drama, written and directed by Michael Sarnoski in his directorial debut. And I think that it would be fair to say that the subject material here certainly had people raising their eyebrows with scepticism, but in all honesty, Pig is one of the most unexpectedly heartfelt and affecting films of the year, so don't be mislead.
A hermit truffle hunter named Rob (Nicholas Cage) has his truffle hunting pig stolen and will stop at nothing to get it back again, even if it means venturing back into a world that he abandoned long ago. 
As far as the storyline goes, we have all seen this before; a damaged, lonely man becomes attached to his pet and it gets taken from him, hello John Wick. However, it isn't very far into the movie that we see that this is not just a film about avenging a stolen pig, it is actually about having the courage to choose what you really want out of life and the pure joy of simple pleasures. 
Nicholas Cage is bringing his all and hasn't been this good since Leaving Las Vegas, he is actually that good. It's a riveting performance and testament to the fact that he still has it. Alex Wolf is equally good along side of Cage and the two are a powerhouse of emotion together.
I adored the contemplative tone of this film from start to end, I thought that the film's strength dwells in its simplicity. In my opinion, Pig is definitely one of the best drama offerings of 2021.
FINAL SAY: We don't get a lot of things to really care about.
4 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

Just spent the last fortnight in a state of complete and utter holiday bliss. The sun was out almost everyday and when it wasn't, well it really didn't matter because it just gave me plenty of opportunity to laze about at home and do all of the things that I love to do. I have read seven books, binge watched entire TV series, done 40 minute of yoga each day, slept in for at least half of those days and also watch a movie everyday for 14 days straight and I don't feel even slightly guilty for indulging my passions or getting as much rest and relaxation time in as possible. 
I brunched with friends, picnicked in the local gardens, played tennis twice, walked 10,000 steps a day, meditated for hours, had my first restaurant lunch in months and caught up with family. I baked, cooked, drew, journaled and sat about on Pinterest to my hearts content and I have loved every moment of it. I have zero regrets and tonnes of gratitude for just how rejuvenating and rested I am feeling right now. 
I could mention how out of hand the COVID numbers are and how depressing it is to still be in a pandemic, but I'm not going to go there. Instead I am going to draw your attention to the mighty fine Emmy Award Winners for 2021 (which just happened to air on the very first of my holiday break- just to add a little icing to my happy time cake). And if you haven't seen the list yet, it's impressive and will definitely give you something to turn your attentions to if you need some distraction from the miserable state of the world right now. 

​Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live
Aidy Bryant, Saturday Night Live
Rosie Perez, The Flight Attendant
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks
WINNER: Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
Juno Temple, Ted Lasso

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
WINNER: Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
Brendan Hunt, Ted Lasso
Nick Mohammed, Ted Lasso
Jeremy Swift, Ted Lasso
Paul Reiser, The Kominsky Method
Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Hacks

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Jean Smart, Mare of Easttown
WINNER: Julianne Nicholson, Mare of Easttown
Kathryn Hahn, WandaVision
Phillipa Soo, Hamilton
Renee Elise Goldsberry, Hamilton
Moses Ingram, The Queen's Gambit

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Jonathan Groff, Hamilton
Anthony Ramos, Hamilton
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, The Queen's Gambit
WINNER: Evan Peters, Mare of Easttown
Paapa Essiedu, I May Destroy You

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
The Boys (Rebecca Sonnenshine, Episode: "What I Know")
WINNER: The Crown (Peter Morgan, Episode: "War")
The Handmaid's Tale (Yahlin Chang, Episode: "Home")
Lovecraft Country (Misha Green, Episode: "Sundown")
The Mandalorian (Dave Filoni, Episode: "Chapter 13: The Jedi")
The Mandalorian (Jon Favreau, Episode: "Chapter 16: The Rescue")
Pose (Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Steven Canals, Janet Mock, Our Lady J, Episode: "Series Finale")

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Bridgerton (Julie Anne Robinson, Episode: "Diamond of the First Water")
The Crown (Benjamin Caron, Episode: "Fairytale")
WINNER: The Crown (Jessica Hobbs, Episode: "War")
The Handmaid's Tale (Liz Garbus, Episode: "The Wilderness")
The Mandalorian (Jon Favreau, Episode: "Chapter 9: The Marshal")
Pose (Steven Canals, Episode: "Series Finale")

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
WINNER: Gillian Anderson, The Crown
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Emerald Fennell, The Crown
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid's Tale
Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid's Tale
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale
Madeline Brewer, The Handmaid's Tale
Aunjanue Ellis, Lovecraft Country

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Michael K. Williams, Lovecraft Country
Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale
Max Minghella, The Handmaid's Tale
O-T Fagbenle, The Handmaid's Tale
John Lithgow, Perry Mason
WINNER: Tobias Menzies, The Crown
Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian
Chris Sullivan, This Is Us

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
The Amber Ruffin Show
A Black Lady Sketch Show
WINNER: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Conan
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Jimmy Kimmel Live
WINNER: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show
WINNER: Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
The Flight Attendant (Steve Yockey, Episode: "In Case of Emergency")
Girls5eva (Meredith Scardino, Episode: "Pilot")
WINNER: Hacks (Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky, Episode: "There Is No Line")
PEN15 (Maya, Erskine, Episode: "Play")
Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Episode: "Make Rebecca Great Again")
Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Episode: "Pilot")

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
B Positive (James Burrows, Episode: "Pilot")
The Flight Attendant (Susanna Fogel, Episode: "In Case of Emergency")
WINNER: Hacks (Lucia Aniello, Episode: "There Is No Line")
Mom (James Widdoes, Episode: "Scooby-Doo Checks and Salisbury Steak")
Ted Lasso (Zach Braff, Episode: "Biscuits")
Ted Lasso (MJ Delaney, Episode: "The Hope that Kills You")
Ted Lasso (Declan Lowney, Episode: "Make Rebecca Great Again")

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Aidy Bryant, Shrill
WINNER: Jean Smart, Hacks
Allison Janney, Mom
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
WINNER: Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
William H. Macy, Shameless
Kenan Thompson, Kenan

Outstanding Competition Program
The Amazing Race
Nailed It!
WINNER: RuPaul's Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice

Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Hamilton (Thomas Kail)
I May Destroy You (Sam Miller, Michaela Coel, Episode: "Ego Death")
I May Destroy You (Sam Miller, Episode: "Eyes Eyes Eyes Eyes")
Mare of Easttown (Craig Zobel)
WINNER: The Queen's Gambit (Scott Frank)
The Underground Railroad (Barry Jenkins)
WandaVision (Matt Shakman)

Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
WINNER: I May Destroy You (Michaela Coel)
Mare of Easttown (Brad Ingelsby)
The Queen's Gambit (Scott Frank)
WandaVision (Chuck Hayward, Peter Cameron, Episode: "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!")
WandaVision (Jac Schaeffer, Episode: "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience")
WandaVision (Laura Donney, Episode: "Previously On")

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
WINNER: Kate Winslet, Mare of Easttown
Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You
Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen's Gambit
Elizabeth Olsen, WandaVision
Cynthia Erivo, Genius: Aretha

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Paul Bettany, WandaVision
Hugh Grant, The Undoing
WINNER: Ewan McGregor, Halston
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Leslie Odom Jr., Hamilton

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Emma Corrin, The Crown
WINNER: Olivia Colman, The Crown
Uzo Aduba, In Treatment
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale
Jurnee Smollett, Lovecraft Country
Mj Rodriguez, Pose

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Regé-Jean Page, Bridgerton
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Billy Porter, Pose
Jonathan Majors, Lovecraft Country
Matthew Rhys, Perry Mason
WINNER: Josh O'Connor, The Crown

Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
Celebrating America – An Inauguration Night Special
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards
The Oscars
The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show Starring The Weeknd
WINNER: Stephen Colbert's Election Night 2020: Democracy's Last Stand Building Back America Great Again Better 2020

Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
Bo Burnham: Inside 
David Byrne's American Utopia
8:46 - Dave Chappelle
Friends: The Reunion
WINNER: Hamilton 
A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote

Outstanding Comedy Series
Black-ish
Cobra Kai
Pen15
Emily in Paris
Hacks
WINNER: Ted Lasso
The Flight Attendant
The Kominsky Method

Outstanding Drama Series
The Boys
Bridgerton
WINNER: The Crown
The Mandalorian
Lovecraft Country
Pose
The Handmaid's Tale
This Is Us

Outstanding Limited Series
Mare of Easttown
I May Destroy You
WandaVision
WINNER: The Queen's Gambit
The Underground Railroad

​AND...the best movie I watched over the spring holiday break was...

ANOTHER ROUND
Release Date: 2020
Rating: M 
Running Time: 117 mins 
A Danish film originally entitled Druk or "binge drinking" that was directed by Thomas Vinterberg and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.  Another Round went on to great acclaim; winning the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards and then two BAFTA's in 2021. 
Another Round cleverly uses a mixture of dark humour and drama to address sensitive topics like alcoholism, mid-life crisis and pressure in the workplace to create a thought provoking and affecting dialogue.
Four teachers undertake an experiment to test the Finn Skårderud theory that human's are born with a blood alcohol content (BAC) that is 0.05 deficient. By imbibing just enough alcohol to maintain a 0.05 BAC reading, as long as they don't drink after 8pm and abstain altogether on the weekends, the four friends make a pact to see how this experiment will affect their lives. 
As you would imagine, getting partially drunk at work on the daily is challenging, especially when you are a teacher and the results are somewhat amusing but also quite disturbing.
Mads Mikkelsen delivers another solid performance in the lead role and he is very well supported by the Thomas Bo Larsen, Lars Ranthe and Magnus Millang as the drunken brotherhood. This film says a lot about our social attitudes towards drinking, our tolerance and acceptance of it as a readily available and social stimulant and just how easily excessive drinking can destroy lives and relationships. Another Round is truly food for thought and it really made me reassess the way that I approach alcohol in my everyday life. 
FINAL SAY: We're not alcoholics. We decide when we want to drink. An alcoholic can't help himself. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

I'm not sure what the hell is going on with me at the moment. It could be a side effect of lockdown, it could be that I am tired of feeling like an irrelevant shit kicker and it might be none of those things at all. Maybe it is just the season of the witch - who knows really? Whatever is going on, I have become absolutely incapable of putting up with being treated disrespectfully.  
Maybe when you get to my age you start to think that it is high time to throw caution to the wind and be honest about how you feel. Now I do realise that in becoming especially vocal about your needs and wants (particularly when you are a female of a certain of age) that you can present yourself as a menopausal, troublesome, problematic bitch. And to be honest I am also okay with that as well because how other people choose to perceive me is actually way more about them than it is about me anyway, and I can honestly say that I am not calling anyone out on anything that I wouldn't be comfortable to be called out on myself. 
What I have been doing is setting some pretty clear boundaries around what I am comfortable with, what I will not tolerate and how would prefer to be spoken to. I do this without any malice or entitlement or intent to harm others. I do this because it is something that I believe that everyone should be doing and it is something that I need to do for myself in order to feel self empowered and clearly interpreted.  If anyone should take this as me being a tenacious bitch to them, well that is unfortunate for them.
You see what I have learned from all the lockdowns and the general 'pandemic-stricken' state of the world is that people are really not very concerned with anyone else's lot in life, not genuinely anyway. They will say that they are and they will ask all the right questions but when push comes to shove, rarely do people actually have your back or best interests at the forefront of their thinking. They are far too occupied with their own lot in life and I am totally okay with that - it's fine and reasonable and I have no ill feelings around any of that. But what it does mean is that if you aren't willing to stand up for your own welfare you will get overlooked, mistreated and disrespected. 
Now this kind of treatment is not happening because people set out to treat you like a piece of shit, it just happens because people are so busy in their own affairs that they don't realise that they are treating you like a piece of shit. I get that, I know that I have unintentionally been shitty to people myself because I have gotten pre-occupied in my own dramas and dilemmas. And hey, if a pandemic is not a good enough reason to get caught up in your own shit, then what is right? 
I understand why it happens and I get why it happens, but I also know without a shadow of doubt that if you don't stand up for yourself and put some boundaries in place around the way that people can treat you, then you will be setting yourself up for more bullshit as things progress. Please sir may I have another? No, no, no - don't mind my shattered feelings in any of this or consider my personal hardships, you just keep on wiping your dirty hands on my back as you roll on by.  I got this!
Well, sorry I don't got this! None of has got this! And I am tired of all the bullshit! I am so tired of people going off half cocked and treating people like they don't matter or aren't important. WE ARE ALL IN THIS SHITTY PANDEMIC! All of us, and we all have our own personal struggles and challenges to face being in the world right now.  If the only kindness that you can deliver right now is to yourself then do that, just don't treat everyone around you like a piece of shit in the process. 
Can't say anything nice? Then don't say anything at all! Don't like how things are going? Try telling someone who can actually do something about it instead of whinging and being sour all the time. Need some help? Fucking ask for some then! This will all go along a heck of a lot easier if people would just own their shit, set some boundaries and be a bit frickin' nicer all around. Yes, I know I am being short and blunt and yes, you can call me tenacious B if that feels right for you, but please, I implore you, try a little tenderness! Show some respect and decency to your fellow humankind.
​It's really not that difficult. 

BURNING
Release Date: 2018
Rating: MA 15+ 
Running Time: 158 mins 
A Korean psychological thriller co-written, co- produced and directed by Lee Chang-dong. Based on the short story "Barn Burning" by Haruki Murakami, this movie subtly twists and turns around itself, winding faster and faster all the way to the end of the film, delivering one of the most riveting and ambiguous narratives that I have seen in very long time. 
Jong-su falls for his childhood friend Hae-mi and the two start an intimate relationship. Hae-mi leaves for Africa and asks Jong-su to care for her mysteriously elusive cat in her absence. When Hae-mi returns she has a new man in her life, a wealthy and unusual character called Ben. 
If you are looking for some contemplation, then look no further because Burning provides ponderous interludes in bucket loads. The cast are amazing, with Ah-In Yoo and Jong-seo Jun delivering equally strong and captivating performances, however it was Steven Yeun's eerie portrayal of Ben that had me most intrigued.
You may have some unfulfilled questions when the film reaches its end, depending on how you interpret the material; or like me, you might feel like it all came together perfectly. And I think that is actually the biggest charm of this film - its just so open to interpretation. 
FINAL SAY: They are called the great hungry. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

As lockdown 5.0 extends for more days than any of us would have liked or could have predicted, I continue to search for happy distraction in my life. So far  I have cooked, exercised, cleaned, sketched, meditated and baked away some of my free time in an endeavour to not be glued to the screen for hours on end.
God knows that there are literally thousands of movies on my 'to see' list not to mention the numerous TV series that I could dive head first into right now but as I said, that does mean a lot of screen time, and when you are already average around 5 films a week, you need to have other outlets.
​Thankfully, I also like nothing better on a cold winter's day than curling up with a good book. I like to listen to audio books and I also like to sit and relax with a good old fashioned print novel as well, I will take my books in any form and I try to get through at least a couple of books a month, regardless of the weather.
During this particularly frigid spat of weather that we are experiencing in Western Victoria right now and the lockdown restrictions keeping everyone at home for most of the time, it's good to have something lovely to do. Reading for me, is one of those lovely things. A great book, a big cuppa and a comfy couch...hmmm, simply heaven and a terrific way to pass a few lockdown hours away on the weekend. 
So what would I recommend for a good, cosy Winter read? Well, I have made a list of the 10 best books to read yourself and the 10 best audio books that I have listened to on Audible in the last 2 years for you to consider. All of the ones to read to yourself are also probably available in audio format if you like to read on the go, the choice of how to digest the material is of course completely up to you. 
All of these books are excellent and will provide you with a fabulous distraction from any lockdown annoyances, happy reading/listening!
​READ TO YOURSELF:

• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delta Owens
• Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
• Honeybee by Craig Silvey
• Circe by Madeline Miller 
• Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline 
• Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe 
• Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 
• Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton 
• Educated by Tara Westover 
• Modern Love by Aziz Ansari 

LISTEN TO IN AUDIOBOOK FORM:

• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Narrated by Frankie Corzo) 
• Working Class Boy by Jimmy Barnes (Narrated by Jimmy Barnes on Audible) 
• Bunny by Mona Awad (Narrated by Sophie Amos) 
• Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (Narrated by Neil Gaiman on Audible) 
• So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson (Narrated by Jon Ronson on Audible) 
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath  (Narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal on Audible) 
• Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jnr. (Narrated by James Franco on Audible) 
• The Rules of Backyard Cricket by Jock Serong (Narrated by Rupert Degas on Audible) 
• Teresa Raquin  by Emilie Zola (Narrated by Kate Winslet on Audible) 
• Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid  (Various Narrators on Audible) 

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.