Had a much needed day out with Zoe and Seth in the city yesterday. We meandered the streets of Melbourne for hours, stopping in at some of our favourite haunts and taking in all of the sights, sounds and smells of the big city environment. Melbourne is somewhere that I love to visit regularly because it doesn't matter how many times you go, there is always something new to discover and the shopping is always fantastic.
We hit up Lush for bath bombs, Haigh's for chocolate and Daiso for some random Asian goodies because those places are an absolute must for us when we go to Melbourne, and then we headed over to Chinatown for a huge teppanyaki feast for lunch which did involve Seth getting most of an omelette tossed into his face from our very cheeky chef. It was quite amusing for us, but not so amusing for Seth who was showered in hot egg pieces that were being flung straight off the steaming teppanyaki grill at his head, but it was all just part of the fun and no real harm was done.
We ended our fabulous day out exploring the Alice in Wonderland exhibition that is currently showing at ACMI, which was a feast for the senses and a real treat for me since I am such a massive Alice in Wonderland fan. The highlight of the exhibition was definitely the Mad Hatter's Tea Party where you entered a room and sat down for a 'virtual' seat at the Hatter's table. Cakes magically appeared on plates and virtual tea poured into cups as we sat amid the butterflies in the mushroom forest. It was pretty exciting and the kids that were sitting near to us were so delighted and enthralled by the scene that it was impossible to not get swept up in the magic of it all, I mean when do you ever get to attend a real Mad Hatter's Tea Party? 
In spite of the cold, wet and blustery weather trying to keep us at bay, we all had a great day out and managed to dodge the Melbourne showers as we went about our business. Today however, has been a completely different story with the rain completely overtaking our Sunday and forcing us all indoors and close to the heater. It has probably been the wettest day of the holidays so far, but I am not complaining because a day of curling up on the couch with Netflix is never a bad day in my mind.
I have managed to binge watch a couple of TV series and watch quite a lot of movies over the break so far. I am slowly making my way through my 'to see' list, which mainly consists of long and gritty movies that I haven't got the time or the mental stamina to deal with during the term. Here's one of my favourite viewings so far these holidays, but as I said, it's long and gritty, so do see it, but only when you're in the right frame of mind to do so, it's tough going.

BEASTS OF NO NATION
Release Date: 2015
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 137 mins
A gritty war drama written, co-produced and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga who also acted as his own cinematographer during filming. Based on the novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala, Beasts of No Nation comes on strong with it's striking and horrific depiction of a young boy who becomes a ruthless child soldier. 
Young Agu's Ghanaian village is torn apart when rebel and government forces begin fighting in the streets. His mother and sister flee for safety, his father and brother are murdered and Agu escapes capture by hiding in the jungle. He is found by a ruthless militia group that operate under a vicious commander (Idris Elba) and after undergoing a brutal initiation process he becomes a fully-fledged member and begins his transformation from boy to soldier. 
This is a sobering and uncompromising look at the human cost of war and the exploitation of the innocent and desperate. Idris Elba deservingly won a SAG award for his unforgettable and disturbingly good portrayal of the opportunistic sadist commander, and I am genuinely confused about why he didn't get an Oscar nomination that year as well. All of the child performances are amazingly good, especially Abraham Nii Attah who portrays Agu's transformation perfectly and was awarded the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival. 
Beasts of No Nation is by no means an easy watch, but it is most definitely a worthy one. 
FINAL SAY: I saw terrible things....and I did terrible things. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

I have been so overwhelmed by the amount of television series that are being offered this year. As it is I have an outrageous backlog of movies to catch up on, but now it seems like I also have a never ending amount of television episodes to catch up on as well. There is not nearly enough hours in the day now for me to get around to seeing everything that I want to see, I would have to take all of my long service leave and then spend it with my arse bolted to the couch to get through the stuff that I have banked up on my 'to watch' lists, it's absolutely nuts! 
At the moment I have around ten TV series on the go, which is not really that unusual for me, but I have had up to a 15 or more going at one time this year and that is just freaking insane, not to mention unprecedented as well. It is very bloody difficult to watch any movies when you are constantly in catch up mode of all of your TV programs, and to make matters worse, I have been completely hoodwinked by a few 'not so good' TV series this year that have really let me down and wasted my precious viewing time. First world problems I know, but it is true and I really hate starting something and not finishing it, but this year I have had no choice but to abandon some real TV series stinkers. 

​For those of you that may be contemplating watching something on TV, can I please forewarn you of the following series that you should avoid at all costs:
Electric Dreams - had some good moments, but not nearly enough of them.
The Exorcist - I blame S2, it nearly gave me a bleed on the brain- pitiful!
Re-mind - Re-think would have been a better name.
The Walking Dead (S8) - enough already - please STAAAPPP!!
Lost in Space - Bloody lost me completely, yawn fest. 
Requiem - The name says it all.
Gunpowder - Don't be fooled by the lure of Kit Harrington, this went nowhere!
Picnic at Hanging Rock - the original movie shits all over this boring reboot. 

On a brighter note, there have been some unmissable moments as well, here are my faves from the year so far:
Mosaic - Steven Soderbergh does TV a big favour.
Britannia - Pagans and Romans and Druids - oh my!
The End of the Fucking World - kinda art house, definitely had a fresh perspective. 
Dirk Gently S2 - final season - boohoo!
Master of None S2 - keeps getting better!
Atlanta S2 - Good lord, amazing - not yet finished airing.
Handmaid's Tale S2 - okay not as good as S1 but still worthy - not yet finished airing. 
Peaky Blinders S4 - made up for a crappy S3.
Here and Now - welcome back Alan Ball, how I have missed you!
Ash vs Evil Dead S3 - mental horror fun.
Santa Clarita Diet S2 - surprisingly improved on the first season.
Love S3 - consistently great.
Barry - quirky dark comedy with Bill Hader, what's not to like?
Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events S2 - soooo good, even better than the first!
Swedish Dicks S2 - Ingmar and Axel rule! Love it!
One Strange Rock - Aronofsky does documentary and succeeds brilliantly!
Happy! - Utterly broken and yet still so damn entertaining. 

Hopefully you haven't succumbed to the unending amount of crap that is being rolled out on TV lately and wasted your precious viewing time as well. Perhaps my recommended list will offer you some relief and you can now begin to fill your time with worthy and noteworthy programming.
Anyway, on that note, I actually have a couple of shows that I need to catch up on, so I'll blog ya later, happy viewing!

Anyone that says that G rated movies are just for kids is an absolute frickin' idiot! Especially given the exceptionally high quality of children's movies that have been released over the last five years in particular. The standard and quality of children's cinema has really come a very long way from when I was a kid, and thank God for that because some of the bullshit media propaganda that we were subliminally subjected to as children was downright ridiculous and would never be tolerated by today's standards. 
There were depictions of sexual harassment, racism, homophobia, discrimination and violence in seemingly innocent cartoons from Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies that I can recall seeing as a child. Some television programs that I watched regularly as a child like Sesame Street, The Smurfs, Scooby Doo, Captain Planet and even The Muppets have all now been cited as having inappropriate or biased undertones which are thankfully no longer permissible in children's television. 
When you are a kid, you really aren't aware of the subtle undertones or subliminal messaging that you are being fed through seemingly innocent mediums, but as you get older and reflect back, you realise just how much of it that you were actually seeing and taking in on a daily basis and it is quite a disturbing realisation. 
​I know that when I was a girl, all of the Disney princesses were always saved by some kind of Prince Charming character and they all had incredible hair, svelte figures and immaculate grooming. Not one of them was ever capable of avoiding what appeared to be pretty obvious danger in my mind and none of them had the minerals to ever save themselves without male intervention. Generally, all the young female characters were damsels in distress and the older female characters were portrayed as evil witches, cruel stepmothers or rotund and ditzy nanna/ fairy godmother types. The heroes of the stories were always muscular male role models and after they swept in and rescued said 'damsels in distress'  they would promptly marry them and then it was expected that life would go forth happily ever after - END OF STORY.
People often argue that the Disney Princesses Belle and Mulan broke those stereotypical molds for Disney, but I wonder, did they really? I mean lets be honest, Belle had a raging case of Stockholm Syndrome and Mulan had to dress up like a man to be taken seriously, that is not exactly ideal now is it? Sure they were making improvements, but it was not until more recent years that a shift in gender stereotyping really came about.
Disney and Pixar alike have truly cleaned up their act and shifted their 'Princess' focus to more of a 'family bond' focus in recent years and it has been a very welcomed change. Now instead of the worn out and archaic 'Damsel in Distress' trope, we see more self empowered female lead roles in children's cinema. The hero is now often the heroine and the focus on self esteem, self awareness, family values and environmental issues has become far more prevalent. 
It is has now, more than ever before, become completely unfair to say that G rated movies are just for kids, because the standards of storyline, animation and character development in G rated movies is now higher than it has ever been in the past. Children's films really do deserve to get more attention and producers should be praised for their diligence in attempting to teach children about the more important and relevant issues of our current condition rather than just ensuring that the hottie gets to the ball on time to dance with the prince. 

COCO
Release Date: 2017
Rating: G
Running Time: 109 mins 
It seems that the Pixar/ Disney combo cannot put a foot wrong lately and Coco is another fine example of their terrific storytelling abilities and perfectly honed animation skills. Wisely released in Mexico the weekend before Dia de Los Muertos, Coco swiftly became the highest grossing film in Mexico and since then it has continued to receive worldwide praise and award accolades. 
12 year old Miguel's family owns a shoemaking business that has been passed down through the generations. Ever since grandma Coco's father abandoned her and her mother to pursue a musical career, the family have had a strict no music policy and an expectation that all generations will make shoes. However, secretly budding musician Miguel is desperate to enter the local Day of the Dead talent show and is willing to go against his family's wishes to do so, even is it means stealing a guitar from his musical hero Ernesto's mausoleum. By stealing from the dead, Miguel discovers that he has placed a curse upon himself which must be broken by sunrise to be undone. 
This is a heart warming family tale about remembering those that we have lost and treasuring our memories of them. I am a huge sucker for all things Mexican, especially anything to with Dias de Los Muertos, so I just adored this movie and thought that it was a moving and passionate tribute to Mexican culture and their incredible family bonds, both here and in the afterlife. 
FINAL SAY: Never forget how much your family cares for you. 
4 Chilli Peppers ​

It's that time again, the time for me to unleash my viewing loves and loathes for the year of 2017. In total, I watched 279 movies and 62 TV series in 2017, so yeah, it is fair to say that I have a robust addiction to entertainment and that I have a fairly good idea of what is out there.
My biggest undertaking for the year was a rewatch of the entire Lost Series, 121 episodes in total, and although it took me the better part of the entire year to get through, it was worth the effort. Next to the Twin Peaks Reboot, Lost was the next biggest mind fuck of the year for me.
I must say that the bar raises every single year for me because movies and TV are constantly improving in quality and there is a never ending stream of excellent viewing to be had. That makes it a lot harder for me to discern the best,  but also a lot more enjoyable in the long run.
However, without further ado, here are my picks for the best and worst of 2017, my full reviews of these movies can be found on their corresponding genre lists. 
BEST MOVIES OF 2017:

• IT  - Horror  4.5 Chilli Peppers
• A Ghost Story - Art House 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Mother! - Challenging 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Blade Runner 2049 - Science Fiction 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Baby Driver - Action 4 Chilli Peppers
• Dunkirk - War 4 Chilli Peppers
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 - Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers
• Logan - Super 4 Chilli Peppers
• Get Out - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• A Dark Song - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• T2 - Trainspotting - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Logan Lucky - Action/Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers

BEST CATCH UP MOVIES OF 2017: (Movies released before 2017 that I finally saw in 2017)

• La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) - Foreign 5 Chilli Peppers (Hall of Fame)
• Manchester by the Sea - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers (Hall of Fame)
• Moonlight - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Arrival - Science Fiction 4.5  Chilli Peppers
• Nocturnal Animals  -Drama 4.5  Chilli Peppers
• Hidden Figures - Drama 4  Chilli Peppers
• Moana - Kid Friendly 4  Chilli Peppers
• The Edge of Seventeen -Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
• The Conjuring 2 - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers
• Captain Fantastic - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
• Samson and Delilah - Gritty 4 Chilli Peppers
• The House of the Devil - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• The Mermaid - Foreign/ Fantasy 3.5 Chilli Peppers

WORST MOVIES OF 2017:

• Kong: Skull Island - Fantasy 2 Chilli Peppers
• The Great Wall - Action/ Fantasy 1.5 Chilli Peppers
• The Ghost in the Shell - Science Fiction 1.5 Chilli Peppers
• A Cure for Wellness - Horror 1.5 Chilli Peppers
• Loving - Drama 1.5 Chilli Peppers
• Valerian and the City of a 1,000 Planets - Science Fiction 1.5 Chilli Peppers
• Baywatch - Comedy 1.5 Chilli Peppers
• Yoga Hosers  -Comedy 1 Chilli Pepper
• The Bye Bye Man  - Horror 0 Chilli Peppers
• The Greasy Strangler - Art House 0 Chilli Peppers

BEST TV SERIES 2017:

• Big Little Lies - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers
• The Handmaid's Tale - Drama/ Fantasy 5 Chilli Peppers
• American Gods - Horror/ Fantasy 5 Chilli Peppers
• Atlanta - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
• Godless - Western 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Game of Thrones S7  - Fantasy 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Stranger Things S2 - Science Fiction 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Twin Peaks Reboot - Art House 4 Chilli Peppers 
• Mozart in the Jungle - Drama 4 Chili Peppers 
• Alias Grace - Historical Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
• AHS - Cult - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers
• Peaky Blinders S4 - Historical Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
• Better Things - Comedy 4 Chilli Peppers
• A-Typical - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Girls - Final Season - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• The Sinner - Mystery/Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers

As far as bad TV series go, well I was so busy watching really high quality TV that I managed to miss all of the shit this year, so I'm not even putting in a category for that. To be honest, I think that this year may have been one of the best of years for quality TV that I have ever known, which fills me with a lot of hope for 2018. 
Hopefully you will find something on my lists that you haven't seen yet and will now go and see on my recommendation. Also, you now know what to avoid like the plague if you should have the misfortune of coming across it.
I hope that the holiday period is being kind to you all, happy viewing!

IT
Release Date: 2017
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 135 mins 
A supernatural horror directed by Andy Muschietti and based on the highly successful 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King. Clearly audiences are thirsting for excellent retro horror tales because IT swiftly became the highest grossing horror film of all time and the third highest grossing R rated movie of all time. 
It's 1988 in a small American town called Derry and something insidious is lurking in the sewers; an ancient evil that feeds on the fears of children and presents itself as a clown called Pennywise. Seemingly invisible to adults, Pennywise starts to abduct the children of Derry, and turns its sights on a tight group of friends called The Losers Club. 
With all of the terrific friendship dynamics  and comradery of The Goonies, Stranger Things and Stand By Me  and all of the creepiness of a James Wan horror, IT has a formula that works on so many levels. Not only is there a creepy as all shit clown torturing the children, but all of the adults in Derry seem to be rather unpleasant as well which adds another layer of turmoil to this already emotionally affecting tale. 
IT is most definitely the best horror movie to come out of 2017. The acting is on point, with Bill Skarsgard delivering one of the most memorably disturbing horror characters of all time in Pennywise. He is however exceptionally well supported by a young and fresh faced cast who are all bringing their A game here as well, with notable performances being delivered by Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Nicholas Hamilton and Jeremy Ray Taylor.
The visuals are certainly dark, dreadful and nightmarish; but the coming of age story that is playing in the background is not at all drowned out by the grim effects, which was really pleasing to see. IT is a true horror gem and a must see movie for fans of quality horror.
FINAL SAY: We all float down here. 
4.5 Chilli Peppers ​

I love a good series; I am all over sinking my teeth into a trilogy of movies or a series of films or even a long running TV program, but when do you cut your losses on a franchise and say enough already! Unfortunately, sometimes it happens, even the biggest die hard fans and fangirls can have too much of the same thing. 
We have all been there, God knows that I have invested years of my life in staying up late to catch up on the latest episode of something that I have an addiction for, but in spite of all that, I do think that some movies and TV programs shamelessly flog a dead horse in the name of entertainment. Or should I say, in the hope of capitalising on their devoted fan base at the box offices despite the fact that they are clearly pushing the envelope with the quality of story that is being produced. 
Yep, I said it, sometimes directors, producers and writers need to have a good hard look at themselves and just stop themselves...really....please....just stop! There's a tonne of original material out there just dying to be made, so stop rehashing things over and over again Hollywood, I beg of you... for the love of god, have mercy! 
And believe me when I say that I have a fangirl's perseverance when it comes to series, sequels, remakes and rehashes; but sometimes even I need to check out. I can forgive an average season of a beloved TV series if it's followed up by a kick arse one, which they usually are, but if not - I'm out! And with movies, if the consecutive films appear to be on a downward spiral of crappiness and cannot live up to the first one, then I usually check out as well. 
Take the Alien franchise for example, a totally solid body of work and a worthy undertaking, and a series of films that I am personally a fan of. Love H. R. Giger's freaky art work, love Ridley Scott as a director, love science fiction as a genre, love horror/ sci-fi even more - I mean the films are legendary, no doubt about it - but how many of them do we really need? After almost nodding off during Prometheus and then recently finding myself contemplating the snack food in the cupboard for about twenty minutes whilst watching the latest installment Alien: Covenant, I am going to answer that question by saying about three less than there are already. It would appear that no amount of cool Xenomorph hybrid action, or even Michael Fassbender (am I really saying this?) can make me interested in seeing any more Alien films, they have literally been done to death now. TO DEATH!  And while I am on an Alien rant, let's be honest, there were some pretty dodgy moments on the way to the newest ones as well... Alien 3 - oh boy, don't get me started! And I haven't even bothered to mention the Alien vs Predator spin off series, because that is a whole other saga in itself, I mean come on, enough is enough!
Fair to say that I have loved them, and overall I respect them, but I have really had enough of them. I think that I have just paid to see my last Alien movie, but then again, it is always best to never say never - just in case!

George Andrew Romero was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer and editor, he was best known for his gorey and mostly satirical horror movies which were always about an apocalyptic future where the dead walk around (very slowly) and try to either eat people or 'turn' people into zombies through their infectious bite. In short, he was the father of the zombie apocalypse genre of films.
He passed away on July 16th this year at the age of 77 after a brief but aggressive fight with lung cancer, leaving behind a legacy of cult horror and undead movies that have generated a massive following and inspired hundreds of similar zombie related films and TV programs. Long time Romero fan Quentin Tarantino once presented George with a Mastermind Award at the Spike TV's Scream Awards and stated in his speech that the A. in George's name actually stood for 'a fucking genius.' He was both loved and adored by fans of the zombie horror genre and his presence in the horror film industry will most certainly be missed. 
Romero is probably most famous for for his 'Dead Series Trilogy' - Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead which all received incredible success, in fact Dawn of the Dead which was made with a 1.5 million  dollar budget when it was  released in 1978, grossed an incredible $55 million at box offices, swiftly becoming one of the most successful zombie cult movies of all time. 
In tribute to Romero, we had a pizza and zombie movie night on Saturday night, watching his 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead. Cheesy one liners, the slowest moving zombies ever and early 90's gore effects; put all of those together and you've got yourself a terrific B grade horror of cult standards that never fails to amuse and entertain.
It is the blend of extreme ridiculousness, intense gore and inevitable doom that has always made Romero films so memorable for me. Romero influences have spawned video games, movie remakes and even the hugely successful TV program The Walking Dead, and I think that it is fair to say that we will be seeing Mr. Romero's influences in modern media for many, many years to come. Just like his undead counterparts, George A. Romero's influences will continue to live on well beyond the grave. 

​DAWN OF THE DEAD 
Release Date: 2004
Rating: R 18+
Running Time: 101 mins 
Zack Snyder's homage to the great George A. Romero classic was always going to be a huge undertaking; cult film remakes often receive mixed and tepid responses. In my mind, Snyder's version only enhanced what Romero had laid down previously and offers viewers an A grade standard version of a B grade cult classic.
This movie is high tension gore-filled horror, less then ten minutes in and it's zombie apocalypse time. The zombies are fast moving, the infection is fast spreading and the hordes rise quickly which gives the film an ominous urgency. Our surviving characters take refuge at a local shopping mall (an obvious nod to consumerism) as they try to hatch an idea to escape from the city and their own inevitable doom. 
Ving Rhames rehashes his 'too tough to talk' role that he seems to play in every film he is in, and Sarah Polley does a decent job of the unlikely heroine - Ana the nurse. 
FINAL SAY: Get down with the sickness.
3.5 Chilli Peppers

When you are as cinema obsessed as I am, you tend to not only be interested in your own viewing pleasures, but also in the pleasures of other people's viewings. I find myself regularly engaging in conversations with people about what they have seen lately and what they have enjoyed. I am always on the lookout for something good to watch, so I genuinely like it when people offer me their recommendations.
Do I always concur with their choices? No! Of course not! And I know for a fact that they don't always agree with mine either. To be fair, I have already seen around 150 films this year and only 40 of them rated 3 Chili Peppers or higher and landed on my blog, so it could be said that a lot of what I see, I don't actually like that much. 
Is that because I am a tough critic? I don't really think that I am, I just think that there are a lot of really lousy movies and TV programs out there to wade through to get to the really good stuff. Aren't ya lucky that you've got me to do all the dirty work for you? 
Obviously, you can click on any genre list on Spicywatch.com to get a look at my latest movie recommendations, but TV is a different story. I don't have a TV tab, so I do feel that it is my duty to keep you all updated on the good stuff that I have been watching on the small screen from time to time. 
My top picks for 2017 small screen (so far) are:
Atlanta (SBS)
Big Little Lies (Foxtel) 
Twin Peaks (Stan) 
Feud: Bette and Joan (Foxtel) 
The Strange Calls (Stan)
Pramface (Stan) 
Getting On (Netflix) 
The Night Manager (SBS) 
Uncle (Stan)
​Vikings (SBS) 
Angie Tribeca (Stan) 
Workaholics (Foxtel and Stan) 
Sherlock (Stan) 
​Better Call Saul (Stan) 
No activity (Stan) 
Girls - Final Season (Foxtel) 
Orange is the New Black (Netflix and Foxtel)
Santa Clarita Diet (Netflix)
Please note: many of these programs are not in their first season, but many can be viewed from their first season on most platforms if you do need a catch up.
Hard to believe that I can fit so many TV shows in when I watch as many movies as I do, but hey, where there's a will, there's a way!  And mostly that will is a lot of late nights.

Kind of went hell for leather with my final days of leave by ramming in as much as I could, and now here I am on the final Sunday afternoon before I return, pretty much knackered out completely. 
Spent my Australia Day in full on chore mode, cleaning and polishing the house within an inch of it's life whilst I listened to the Triple J Hottest 100. It's kind of a tradition around here to listen to the entire broadcast every Australia Day, this year my vote (Redbone by Childish Gambino) came in at number 5, that's the highest that any song that I have ever voted for has been on the poll. My picks are lucky to clock the top thirty, does this mean my tastes are getting more mainstream or that Redbone was just that bloody good that everyone loved it? I am going with the latter. After bopping around and singing into various mop and duster handles for hours; Seth, Craig and I headed down to Lake Wendouree to watch the sunset over the foreshore and to see the obligatory annual fireworks display, gotta say, pretty good this year, the finale was truly banging. 
​Spent Friday binging out on movies and TV series, my final chance to burn the midnight oil and stay up until 3am watching back to back crap, god I'm gonna miss my long TV embraces when I go back to work. 
Saturday was Chinese New Year, year of the Rooster; so Helen and I got together for a serious a Yum Cha feast out in Enfield that included green tea, potluck soup, pork buns, pork and chive dumplings, prawn crackers, fish balls, spring rolls, prawn toast and prawn har gow. There was so much food that we had another go for dinner as well. And of course, we always leave room for fortune cookies. My fortune said - What we see is mainly what we look for. Unbelievable, talk about a fitting fortune given the way that this year is panning out, it may as well have said When you get everything that you want, then what do you want?
Spent the final day of my holidays with my family out at the Buninyong Winery. I am a serious advocate of this place, and have sent dozens of people out there over the years, but the service today was nothing short of shithouse. A two hour wait for pizza? I was actually really embarrassed, because this is the first time that I have chosen the venue for our family to meet, and when I say family, I mean 17 of us in total. Aunts, uncles, cousins, the lot. So yeah, I was really disappointed that they couldn't even get a pizza on the table in under two hours. And they really didn't seem too phased about it either, the owners were just chilling out having a smoke and a drink on the lawn, it was pretty weird to be honest, and they certainly weren't apologetic about making us wait for two hours! I don't think that I will ever take a large group out there again, and I know that I will never get Craig out there again, he carried on like a pork chop about the service all the way home, which made me feel even worse! A bit of a bummer really, because in spite of the crap service the food was pretty good, and the weather was beautiful, maybe they just need a bigger woodfire oven or something? Oh well, cest la vie, shit happens, not worth getting upset over a late pizza now is it? 
And that's all there is folks, the holidays have drawn to a close and the curtain has fallen. Tomorrow I return to work at 7am to attend mass and get myself right with God before the new school year begins, I cannot believe that it is all starting again already! There is never enough time, never. 

It would be fair to say that I watch a shit load of movies. I don't always watch new movies though, so I don't get to the cinema as much as one would imagine. However, last year I still managed to watch about 220 movies over the course of the year, which is a pretty good effort I think, especially since I also watched about 30 TV series as well. 
In my pursuit of quality viewing, I naturally encounter some pretty dodgy shit as well, and I had more than my fair share of disappointments both at the cinema and on the couch over the past year.
​I felt that it was only fair to share my highlights and lowlights of 2016 with you, so that I may steer you in the right direction for any future viewings.
Please note that these are in no particular order.
The Best Movies of 2016:
The Hunt for The Wilderpeople
La La Land
Kubo and The Two Strings
Deadpool
The Jungle Book
The Lobster
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Finding Dory
Swiss Army Man
The Witch
The Little Prince
10 Cloverfield Lane
Midnight Special
Zootopia
The worst films I saw in 2016 (not all 2016 releases):
Assassin's Creed
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Zoolander 2
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Nice Guys
Central Intelligence
Suicide Squad
Chappie
Anomalisa
The Dressmaker
The best movies I watched in 2016 that were not actually released in 2016 (aka. catch-up movies) :
Youth
There Will Be Blood
American Hustle
The Revenant
Sightseers
Adaptation
Raging Bull
Scarface
Apocalypse Now
Tangerine
Hateful 8
The Room
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl
Straight Outta Compton
Wages of Fear
The Skin I Live In
The Best TV Series of 2016: 
Stranger Things
Broad City
Game of Thrones
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Preacher
Twin Peaks
Haters Back Off!
Upper Middle Bogan
Love
Peaky Blinders
The Night Of
Better Call Saul
Raised by Wolves
Black Mirror
TV Series that I Tried to Endure 2016 but just couldn't:
Westworld
iZombie
Wayward Pines
​Scream Queens

So there you have it, the best and the worst of 2016 for me. Hopefully, you will be inspired to watch something on my good list, and even though the bad list stuff was shithouse to me, I know that many people will totally disagree with my choices.
In truth, I believe that all movies deserve to be seen, even the bad ones, because someone put their heart and soul into making them, so who am I say that they aren't worthy? At the end of the day, regardless of whether it's good, bad or ugly, it's all entertainment and that is never a bad thing in my mind. So with that, I will leave you with what I consider to be the most shamefully overlooked movie of 2016, a gem of a film and one that the whole family can enjoy. 

Crikey I have been watching a lot of movies lately, some good, some bad, some awful and some amazing. Talk about burning the midnight oil, it is nothing for me to stay up until the wee hours getting my fill of cinema in. However, I am a bit of a tight arse when it comes to paying for movies, I really do love the cinema but generally, I try to get my flicks for free when I can. No, I'm not a downloading demon, in fact there are tonnes of ways to get movies legally for free, if you just know how.
One of my favourites is to use of Apple TV and an ipad, there a quite a few television apps out there that are not only free but have a good array of movies and TV series that can be thrown up onto Apple TV from your mobile device for big screen viewing. Some free apps that I regularly use are:
SBS on Demand
ABC iview
9jumpin
PLUS7
Tenplay
Crackle
And if you already have a subscription - Foxtel Go and Netflix, but these aren't technically free. 
Another fantastic way to get tonnes of free movies is through your local library. If you have a library card (the library is free to join of course) you can go online and order whatever movies you like. The local library has pretty much everything, and if they don't have it, they will order it in from another library. They even send an email to let you know when your order is ready to collect. I have saved hundreds (possibly thousands by now) of dollars hiring for free from the library, and you get to check them out for two weeks at a time, bonus! 
I have a list as long as my arm (probably longer if the truth be told) of movies that I want to see. Some have been recommended to me, some I have seen a preview of and I want to see and others are just movies that I never got around to seeing but really need to; and I am managing to whittle through that list for next to nothing. So you don't need to break the law or spend a fortune to see really good movies, you just have to to be willing to seek them out. 
I would say that 85% of the movies that appear on my genre lists would be available to see for free, so....what are you waiting for? You have the genre lists, go and watch something awesome for free!  
Watched this corker for free last night, can't get it out of my mind. 

Naturally, being an avid viewer of all things movie related, I have watched my fair share of TV series. I almost put in a category just for TV but then I thought that I would just be punishing myself to review hundreds of episodes of my favourites. 
I sometimes actually get a bit obsessed with TV shows, making it an almost ritualistic routine to watch and catch up on episodes, and I must admit that I have been known to get so hooked that I have viewed entire series in a weekend on DVD. I'm not proud of that, but some series are really just that good. 
It would be really unfair of me to not share my best recommendations with you, so here they are, my faves in no particular order and yes, if you're going to go there you need to start at season one and watch them all (or at least catch up because some are still going)

• The Sopranos (crime/drama)
  
• True Detective (crime/drama)
  
• Arrested Development (comedy)
  
• Madmen (period drama)
  
• The Community (comedy)
  
• Breaking Bad (crime/drama)
  
• Firefly (sci-fi)
  
• Game of Thrones (fantasy)
  
• Vikings (period drama)
  
• Six Feet Under (drama)
  
• Orange is the New Black (drama)
  
• Call the Midwife (period drama)
  
• American Horror Story (horror)
  
• Girls (drama)
  
• Episodes (comedy)
  
• Derek (drama)
  
• The Returned (sci -fi)
  
• Hello Ladies (comedy)
  
• The IT crowd (comedy)
  
• Psychoville (comedy)
  
• Life's Too Short (comedy)
  
• Nighty Night (comedy)
  
• Nurse Jackie (drama)
  
• Extras (comedy)
  
• Love My Way (drama)
  
• Top of the Lake (drama)
  
• The Slap (drama)
  
• The Inbetweeners  (comedy)
  
• Flight of the Concords (comedy)
  
• Summer Heights High (comedy)
  
• The Big C (drama)
  
• The No. 1 Ladies Detective (crime/drama)
  
• Black Books (comedy)
  
• Carnivale (horror)
  
• The Office (UK) (comedy)
  
• Problems (comedy)
  
• Moone Boy (comedy)
  
• Enlightened (drama)
  
• An Idiot Abroad (reality)
  
• Weeds (crime/drama)
  
• United States of Tara (drama)
  
• The Mighty Boosh (art house)
  
• The Walking Dead (horror)
  
• The Misfits (comedy)
  
• Absolutely Fabulous (comedy)
  

However, if you don't like series and feel like watching a movie about the dark side of TV, then I recommend:

THE TRUMAN SHOW 
Release Date: 1998
Rating: M
Running Time: 103 mins
What would life really be like under the microscope? The Truman Show sets out to answer that question by creating a movie that looks at reality TV on overload. Another brilliant offering from director Andrew Niccol, this movie was a clear stab at the influx of reality TV programs that shot up around the late 1980's and had viewers obsessing over the trivialities of peoples everyday lives. 
By following the life of Truman Baker from his birth through to maturity the general public get to watch every voyeuristic moment of Truman's existence, because Truman is on TV 24/7! The only problem is that everything in Truman's life is fabricated, acted and set up for the public's entertainment. Poor Truman is the only one oblivious to the charade, but as he gets older he starts to piece together the damaging truth about his own fake reality. 
Jim Carrey is utterly amazing as Truman, with an exceptionally strong support from Laura Linney as his fake wife and Ed Harris as the inventor of The Truman Show. 
FINAL SAY: On the Air...but unaware!
4 Chili Peppers

Finally, a snow day! 
Unfortunately we got our snow between Mt Warrenheip and Ballan on our way to the Melbourne Museum. Not ideal, especially since I just crap myself when I have to drive in snow, so it was a slow trip to say the least. However, all things considered, it was pretty spectacular being caught in a snow globe for 20 minutes.
I was kicking myself that I didn't get to the optometrist earlier because I really could've used my glasses on the highway for extra visibility. Yeah, that's new too - I now need to wear glasses for driving and long distance viewing. Had a test on Tuesday, blind as a bloody bat these days, getting old is so depressing! Things just start going wrong or worse heading South. Gross; getting older is gross! I must find a way to put to a stop to it immediately! 

On a lighter and far less funky note I have had some stellar encounters this week. Here is the stuff that made me smile the most:

• Got to see a work colleagues amazing new property, full of dark Gothic woods and stained glass features- drool!
• Got my zen on at Body Balance.
• Played the Lego Movie Game on PS3 and it was awesome!
• Caught up with my folks and had a lovely Ukrainian lunch - yummy!
  
• Kick started Seth's need for braces by tackling the orthodontist and found out that I have a couple of years before I need to freak out - yay!
• Had churros at my fave Spanish Restaurant in Ballarat.
• Got a foot and a head rub off hubby - oh yeah! 
• Saw the amazing First People's exhibition and dinosaurs at the Melbourne Museum.
• Went to the Experience Latrobe University Day with Zoe in Bendigo.
• Had a mid-week dinner with my best bud Helen (thanks for cooking Helen x) 
• Helped put together 40 capes for the PBIS launch day at work and scored a tasty morning tea as reward.
• Started watching Call the Midwife series one, good viewing. 

I have seen a variety of movies this week, here is the worst and the best that I saw. 

THE HANGOVER PART 3
Release Date: 2013
Rating: MA 15+ 
Running Time: 100 mins
Okay, first just let me say that I am not proud of this, but in my defense it was after midnight and free to watch on Foxtel.
This is clearly below average viewing; following the same ridiculous formula as the other Hangover installments, but not nearly as watchable as the first one, which I did enjoy. 
That said, Chow's karaoke version of Nine Inch Nails 'Hurt'' earned this movie a chili pepper straight off the bat, I was in tears! But the laughs were too sporadic and there were far too few of them. It is slightly better than the 2nd but this just has to stop now please!
FINAL SAY: An empire of dirt
1.5 Chili Peppers 

THE DEAD GIRL 
Release Date: 2006
Rating: MA 15+
Running Time: 85 mins
This was an interesting movie, told from the perspective of five different women that were all impacted by the death of a girl. These five short stories intersect each other and each character has their own unique set of struggles to deal with.
We meet the stranger, the sister, the mother, the wife and the dead girl over the short span of this film, making the pace fast but still reasonably fleshed out in character development.
Ironically the role of the dead girl is played by Brittany Murphy, who herself had an untimely death only 3 years later. Brittany does a fabulous job of her role, as does the rest of the extremely strong cast including Josh Brolin, James Franco, Toni Collette, Giovanni Ribisi and Rose Byrne. 
FINAL SAY: Thought provoking
3 Chili Peppers

So much for having a quiet holiday break, today is the first day that I haven't had anything on. Not that I want to complain because it's not like I'm doing it hard, shopping and family time is hardly a chore! 
I spent a good part of the weekend in the kitchen prepping for Zoe's seventeenth birthday. It is a tradition in our home that on your birthday you get to have whatever you want for dinner. Usually I opt to go out since I generally do most of the cooking, which I clearly must be pretty good at since everyone else chooses a three course extravaganza that I get lumbered with cooking. It can be an adventure for me, often I am cooking things for the first time, which can be very risky, but I am always up for the challenge. 

So, Saturday and Sunday I shopped and prepped what I could. Zoe had asked for a pecan pie instead of a cake, which was a different choice, but pie is the best comfort food in Winter and I do make a mean pie. Pil Pil prawns for starters and an assortment of beef and chicken tacos in hard and soft shells for the main course. Quite possibly the weirdest combination of foods in history, but that's what you get with teens - weirdness. 
The big day was Monday and after opening an assortment of beautiful and insanely generous gifts, my parents came over to celebrate with Zoe. We had a homemade soup for lunch and a giant cream filled chocolate sponge which my mum purchased from Rosehart's bakery, I can't claim that one. By the time they left, Zoe was so cashed up with birthday money that it had started to make her edgy, the shops were calling! So she spent the arvo shopping with her boyfriend and we all spent the evening eating too much food and all hanging out together. I am so lucky to have Zoe, she is a constant source of pride for me, smart and lovely.....and 17! I can hardly believe that she sits on the brink of adulthood now, where did that time go? 

Off to Geelong for the day on Tuesday, I had a date with my nemesis the Periodontist and Zoe still had shopping fever so the day was a mixture of agony and ecstasy. But I do the love the sea and the salty air, even on the coldest of days, which we have bad plenty of. 

Yesterday we cleaned out all of our clothes cupboards and headed to the Salvos for donating and perusing the second hand goodies. I am a sucker for other peoples trash, I adore markets, second hand shops and Op shops. I can look at clothes, books, dishes, ornaments and any assortment of crap for hours, happily. Poor Seth finds this process most boring, and after being dragged around to various shops for two days he was getting the shits. There was much foot tapping and eye rolling, he had his own shopping agenda, he was in search of the Lego Movie PS3 game. He had saved up for weeks to get it and all of this other shopping stuff was just standing in his way. So the hunt began. Turns out that 99% of the population in Ballarat also had saved to buy this game on the holidays because it was hard to find. After many dramatic departures from various stores - I thought I was going have to resus him on the street; we finally found it at JB Hi-Fi for a price higher than expected, of course! Anyway, we got it. Trouble and strife averted! 

I thought that I would settle in last night to watch some catch up TV, only to discover that all of my series have now ended! In the last two months I have lost Mad Men, Game of Thrones, American Horror Story: Coven, Vikings, the Walking Dead and Girls!  Leaving me with nothing to watch, what can be done? Go to the movies, there was nothing else for it, so off I went to a 9.30pm horror movie with Zoe. Only 4 other people had the guts ( or sense?) to join us! 

 THE BABADOOK
Release Date: 2014
Rating: M 
Running Time: 92 mins
This is a low-budget Australian movie; filmed in Adelaide and a debut offering from director Jennifer Kent. The Babadook cleverly encompasses all of the confusion and edge of your seat discomfort that quality psychological horror should offer. It is not reliant on blood n' gore to tells its story but instead takes us deeply into the disturbed and paranoid minds of its damaged characters. 
Amelia (Essie Davies) is a grieving widow that is struggling to control her eccentric and insomniac six year old son Samuel. Plagued with insecurities, Samuel believes a demonic presence called The Babadook is going to kill them, and begins to make life increasingly difficult when he starts acting irrationally in public; forcing them to stay at home and comfront their demons head on. 
This movie has all of the obligatory horror themes; the spooky and grim house, the scary cellar, the squeaky stairs and even the bad flickering lighting. But beyond that there is a sophistication in this story that is reminiscent of early Kubrick and Polanski horror movies that leave you wondering if the nightmares are just external manifestations of the delusional characters. 
Noah Wiseman is an amazing young talent, embodying the cute and the creepy elements of Samuel perfectly and Essie Davies is at her best as the pale and exhausted Amelia. This is a really terrifying movie and a feather in Australian cinema's cap for sure, prepare to be disturbed. 
FINAL SAY: You can't get rid of the Babadook
4 Chili Peppers

Finally got around to watching the recorded Game of Thrones episode that was waiting for me, and after 40 minutes of tepid viewing I was just about to call it a night when I saw a man's head get exploded with another man's bear hands (my apologies if that was a spoiler for anyone). Now that shit will totally mess you up at 11.30pm at night after a couple of drinks. You can't just unsee that, you can't just pretend that didn't happen. 
Great, now I'm awake! And perusing the channels for something mundane to watch that doesn't involve head explosions, I had salmon for dinner for Christ sake! So I need something funny and probably a bit silly that won't keep me up. And then I found it, already on my list and awaiting review. 

THE FRIGHTENERS
Release Date: 1996
Rating: M
Running Time: 110 mins
This early contribution from Peter Jackson is a winner; it is witty and clever. Horror/comedy is easily one of my favourite genre combinations and this is a great example of how it can be done well. 
Michael J Fox is Frank, a man that finds himself with the ability to communicate with the dead after a tragic accident. He uses his unique talents to con money out of the living that are desperate to make contact with their dearly departed or keen to remove an annoying poltergeist. But the arrival of a grim reaper like entity into Franks life sets things into a spin and the movie soon becomes a mystery/thriller with lots of plot twists and intrigue. 
The three ghosts that help Frank with his pursuits add color and comic relief continually throughout the movie and the creepy under-cover FBI agent Milton Dammers played by Jeffrey Combs is quite unsettling with his mutilations and women issues.  
FINAL SAY: Hilariously frightening!
3.5  Chili Peppers

Spent hours on my website yesterday, felt a bit guilty so I took my son and his friend out to a cartooning camp and then took hubby out for dinner to a local Spanish cafe that I have fallen in love with. Isn't it always the way that when you want to really blow someone away or you've fluffed something up that it falls short when it comes to the crunch.  
Such was the Spanish dinner expedition. 
My husband (Craig) is really not fond of social outings, and eating out virtually makes him get hives - that's okay, not everyone likes to eat out. He just likes quiet spaces and no frills, so it has to be simple and easy.  So I considered his disposition and then I coerced him into coming to the Spanish Cafe with the promise of great food and atmosphere. 
Lets just say that it was a huge failure. 
Firstly, the place was pretty crowded, which is never a good start, and the drink that we had in the Irish Pub before hand wasn't awesome either- that place was already 3/4 full of loud half pissed people which hubby also hates. 
So the Spanish place is busy and the only table offering is olives - which he hates (YAY) and then comes the menu - YIKES!! The prices had been jacked up since my last visit 5 weeks ago and a lot of the tapas that I go for are missing, worst still only Spanish beer on the menu. Breathe....be cool....fudge your way through.
Maybe a nice sangria to start, they're always nice - IF YOU DON'T HATE MULLED WINE! What the fuck was I thinking? Needless to say I drank a whole jug of sangria myself and went a head and tried to order what I thought he might like. He found the calamari OK, the garlic prawns a bit off putting and then my final hope - the pulled pork. BABOW - It was much fattier than I recalled and no crunchy pig skin joy anywhere. 
It's cool - churros will save the day. No, not this day! $80 and 20 minutes later we're heading home and hubby says he feels sick. Perfect - boy I know how to show a guy a good time. 
In the door and not exactly on great terms, I hit the Jamiesons and the couch, watching TOSH.O I promise myself to not initiate a dinner date for another 12 months at least. 
Oh, Spanish why did you have to fuck up tonight?