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

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

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

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

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

Being an avid and addicted movie goer has also made me extremely hungry for great original stories. Unfortunately, the more books that you read and the more movies and television that you consume, the more that you will often feel that finding new, fresh and interesting stories becomes harder and harder. And quite honestly, it does. It just does, it gets harder and harder all of the time to find original, quality viewing. And there is so much crap to wade through in your pursuit of quality that it can become really laborious trying to find that next great thing. And it isn't just cinema addicts like me that are desperately thirsting for great new material, just about everyone does and there are a few main reasons that this happens. 
Firstly, stories activate parts of the brain that allow a receiver to turn parts of the story in to their own ideas and experiences, this is called neural coupling. It doesn't mean that you'll have delusions and believe that some sci-fi story actually happened to you, but it does expand your neural activity to form empathy pathways or understandings around the storytelling material that didn't exist before, which can make people more emotionally evolved and intelligent. Some listeners or viewers will even be able to mirror emotions and experiences and this can also create new pathways in brain activity, which is of course highly stimulating. 
Secondly, the brain releases dopamine into your system when you experience an emotionally charged event, even if you just witness it. The effect of viewing material that elicits an emotional response within you can be just as powerful as a real life experience and that dopamine release is highly addictive, which is why your brain will want to repeat the experience, hence the desire to find original and varied viewing experiences.
And lastly, when you are processing new ideas or facts, two main areas of your brain are activated, the Broca's and the Wernicke's areas. The Broca's area links to your speech, language and understanding of movement. The Wernicke's region of the brain is where your comprehension and understanding of language usage comes from. Those two parts of your brain light up like a Christmas tree when you see or hear something new, forming new pathways, expanding your vocabulary and strengthening your understanding of the world. 
Pretty clear to see why we all long to find the next new thing isn't it? Our brains and bodies are actually addicted to it. We all long for more stimulation, and for me that comes in the form of something fresh and original. It can be a TV program, a podcast or a book, but my ultimate passion  and deepest longing will always be for a movie that ignites my senses. 
And in my search for cinematic gold, I have a few handy tricks up my sleeve which may also help you to locate more quality and compatible viewing materials easily in the future. 

1. Before you watch anything, check the reviews IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. Anything that gets less than 70% or 7 out of 10 is probably going to be a waste of your precious time and more than likely unoriginal, so don't bother. 
2. Find an online reviewer that you agree with 70% of the time. It could be a YouTuber or a blogger - Spicywatch is an excellent reviewer (LOL), but find someone that you know has similar and consistent taste with you. For me that person is Chris Stuckmann on YouTube. 
3. Download the taste app, it will give you movie and TV recommendations based on the things that you have previously loved and it will also tell you where you can stream them, this app is a godsend for me. (Try the Goodreads app if you are looking for new reading material - it works in the same way).
4. Don't get sucked in by the feature films that appear when you go on to your streaming services. Just because a streaming service has been promoting something heavily that doesn't necessarily make it good or high quality, try not to be taken in by the flashy shorts and previews, learn to be discerning. 
5. Read reputable movie and TV magazines like Empire, Total Film or Film Comment to stay ahead of what is coming out. This will help you to keep your eye out for things that you are interested in and that are worthy of your time. 
6. Watch movie previews on IMDb and scan lists like 'best movies of 2019' to make sure that you haven't missed anything amazing. 
7. Keep a list of movies that you want to see somewhere so that you can refer back to it when you need something good to watch.
8. Record recommendations straight onto your phone as soon as you get them so that you don't forget the name of something that someone told you was excellent. 
9. Don't be afraid to watch old or classic material. Some of the best things you'll ever watch or read will not be found on the new release list. 
10. Share your amazing viewings with others, because as I said, we all hunger for quality storytelling. 

CITIZEN KANE
Release Date: 1941
Rating: PG
Running Time: 119 mins 
Cited by more directors than you can poke a stick at as one of their 'all time favourite' movies, Citizen Kane has been inspiring filmmakers and intriguing audiences for decades with it's mysterious plot line and noir film styling. Directed and written by, as well as starring in the lead role, Orson Welles who absolutely shines before and behind the camera in this masterpiece of classic cinema. 
Publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane's extraordinary, unusual and turbulent life becomes a source of great fascination after he passes away. A journalist is sent to investigate Kane's perplexing final utterance as he lay on his deathbed through a series of interviews and speculations from the people that were closest to him in life.  
This film is not only visually well ahead of it's time, it also sparks great debate and discussion, which is probably why so many schools still choose to study it in media and art. It's deeply esoteric and totally ambitious, but it delivers in all respects and will always be a movie that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. 
FINAL SAY: Rosebud.
4.5 Chilli Peppers ​

The Emmy awards were held last Monday, which I was again fortunate enough to be at home to enjoy - Hazar! This year was the first time that a big awards ceremony was held remotely due to COVID19 and I have to say that although yes, it wasn't as good as the usual extravaganza of glitz and glamour that we have come to expect from the Emmy's, however given the circumstances it was still really enjoyable and completely watchable. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel who apparently said "I don't know where we will do this or how we will do this or even why we are doing this, but we are doing it and I am hosting it" when he found out that the Emmy's were still going ahead in spite of the worldwide pandemic. And seriously, why shouldn't it go ahead? We need a little bit of celebration and frivolity right now and I always appreciate a good awards ceremony regardless of the format. 
Anyway, it was Schitt's Creek's night for sure when they won an incredible and completely deserving nine Emmy's in total and broke the record for the most wins in a single season for a comedy. And having seen almost all of the TV programs that won, I can definitely say that every winner was deserving and I was not surprised to see that Succession and Watchmen blitz the evening as well because they were easily two of my favourite TV programs of the year. 
And just in case you missed them, here are the nominations and winners of the 2020 Emmy Awards:
Outstanding comedy series

• Curb Your Enthusiasm
• Dead to Me
• The Good Place
• Insecure
• The Kominsky Method
• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• WINNER: Schitt's Creek
• What We Do in the Shadows

Outstanding drama series

• Better Call Saul
• The Crown
• The Handmaid's Tale
• Killing Eve
• The Mandalorian
• Ozark
• Stranger Things
• WINNER: Succession

Outstanding limited series

• Little Fires Everywhere
• Mrs. America
• Unbelievable
• Unorthodox
• WINNER: Watchmen

Lead actor in a comedy series

• Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
• Don Cheadle, Black Monday
• Ted Danson, The Good Place
• Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
• WINNER: Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek
• Ramy Youssef, Ramy

Lead actress in a comedy series

• Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
• Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel
• Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
• WINNER: Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek
• Issa Rae, Insecure
• Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Supporting actor in a comedy series

• Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• William Jackson Harper, The Good Place
• Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
• Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Mahershala Ali, Ramy
• Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
• WINNER: Dan Levy, Schitt's Creek

Supporting actress in a comedy series

• Betty Gilpin, GLOW
• D'Arcy Carden, The Good Place
• Yvonne Orji, Insecure
• Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
• Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live
• WINNER: Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek

Lead actor in a drama series

• Jason Bateman, Ozark
• Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
• Steve Carell, The Morning Show
• Brian Cox, Succession
• Billy Porter, Pose
• WINNER: Jeremy Strong, Succession

Lead actress in a drama series

• Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
• Olivia Colman, The Crown
• Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
• Laura Linney, Ozark
• Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
• WINNER: Zendaya, Euphoria

Supporting actor in a drama series

• Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul
• Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale
• WINNER: Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
• Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
• Nicholas Braun, Succession
• Kieran Culkin, Succession
• Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
• Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

Supporting actress in a drama series

• Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
• Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
• Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
• Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale
• Fiona Shaw , Killing Eve
• WINNER: Julia Garner, Ozark
• Sarah Snook, Succession
• Thandie Newton, Westworld

Lead actor in a limited series or movie

• Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
• Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
• Paul Mescal, Normal People
• Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
• WINNER: Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Lead actress in a limited series or movie

• Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
• Shira Haas, Unorthodox
• WINNER: Regina King, Watchmen
• Octavia Spencer, Self Made
• Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere

Supporting actor in a limited series or movie

• Dylan McDermott, Hollywood
• Jim Parsons, Hollywood
• Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend
• WINNER: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen
• Jovan Adepo, Watchmen
• Louis Gossett Jr, Watchmen

Supporting actress in a limited series or movie

• Holland Taylor, Hollywood
• WINNER: Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America
• Margo Martindale, Mrs. America
• Tracey Ullman, Mrs. America
• Toni Collette, Unbelievable
• Jean Smart, Watchmen

Outstanding reality competition series

• The Masked Singer
• Nailed It
• WINNER: RuPaul's Drag Race
• Top Chef
• The Voice

Outstanding variety talk series

• Daily Show with Trevor Noah
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
• Jimmy Kimmel Live
• WINNER: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
• Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Outstanding variety sketch series

• A Black Lady Sketch Show
• Drunk History
• WINNER: Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Television movie

• American Son
• WINNER: Bad Education
• Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones
• El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

Writing for a comedy series

• WINNER: Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek
• David West Read, Schitt's Creek
• Michael Schur, The Good Place
• Tony McNamara, The Great
• Sam Johnson and Chris Marcil, What We Do In The Shadows
• Paul Simms, What We Do In The Shadows
• Stefani Robinson, What We Do In The Shadows

Writing for a drama series

• Thomas Schnauz, Better Call Saul
• Thomas Schnauz,
• Gordon Smith, Better Call Saul
• Peter Morgan, The Crown
• Chris Mundy, Ozark
• John Shiban, Ozark
• Miki Johnso, Ozark
• WINNER: Jesse Armstrong, Succession

Writing for a limited series, movie or drama

• Tanya Barfield, Mrs. America
• Sally Rooney and Alice Birch, Normal People
• Susannah Grant, Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon, Unbelievable
• Anna Winger, Unorthodox
• WINNER: Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson, Watchmen

Director for a comedy series

• Matt Shakman, The Great
• Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Daniel Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
• Gail Mancuso, Modern Family • Finale Part 2
• Ramy Youssef, Ramy
• WINNER: Andrew Cividino and Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek
• James Burrows, Will & Grace

Directing for a drama series

• Benjamin Caron, The Crown
• Jessica Hobbs, The Crown
• Lesli Linka Glatter, Homeland
• Mimi Leder, The Morning Show Mimi Leder,
• Alik Sakharov, Ozark
• Ben Semanoff, Ozark
• WINNER: Andrij Parekh, Succession
• Mark Mylod, Succession

Directing for a limited series

• Lynn Shelton, Little Fires Everywhere
• Lenny Abrahamson, Normal People
• WINNER: Maria Schrader, Unorthodox
• Nicole Kassell, Watchmen
• Steph Green, Watchmen
• Stephen Williams, Watchmen

ENOLA HOLMES 
Release Date: 2020
Rating: M
Running Time: 123 mins 
A crime/mystery period film based on the first book in the series of the same name by Nancy Springer which focuses on the adventures of Enola Holmes, teenage sister of already famous crime investigator Sherlock Holmes. Enola Holmes was distributed by Netflix streaming services when they acquired the rights for distribution from Warner Bros. because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Raised to be carefree and headstrong by her free spirited mother, teenager Enola Holmes becomes distressed when her mother goes missing in the middle of the night without explanation. An attempt to enlist the help of her two older brothers Sherlock and Mycroft proves disastrous, so Enola takes matters into her own hands and sets off to discover what happened to her mother for herself. 
I cannot deny that Millie Bobby Brown breathes some much needed fresh air into Baker Street with her effervescent and energic portrayal of Enola and she is definitely what makes this movie so delightful and enjoyable. She is however extremely well supported by Henry Cavill as Sherlock, Sam Claflin as Mycroft and Helena Bonham Carter as the mother of them all Eudoria Holmes. 
There is an infectious and intoxicating teenage energy to this movie that I really loved and I do hope that we will get to see further instalments of this series in the future. 
FINAL SAY: Sometimes you must dangle your feet in the water in order to attract the sharks. 
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

You can't really be alive on the planet at the moment and not feel somewhat affected by the threat of the Coronavirus aka COVID -19. Even if you haven't yet gone all gung ho and stock piled enough toilet paper to ensure that you have a clean and dry arse until 2030 or smuggled away enough beans, rice, pasta and dry stock provisions for at least a month of basic apocalyptic cuisine, you'll still be feeling the rising concern and now unignorable reality that we are indeed facing a pandemic that is going to pose a serious threat to people with compromised immune systems, chronic health disorders and of course the very young, old and at risk members of our communities. 
Scary stuff, and something that no-one on the planet today has ever actually experienced before, because not only is the Coronavirus different from any other pandemic that we have seen before, but also due to our level of worldwide connection and travel demands, we are spreading it around at an alarming and seemingly uncontrollable rate.  
The last and most deadly pandemic that we faced was The Spanish Flu of 1918, which infected one third of the world's population. It caused somewhere between 20-50 million deaths, and although we have seen many other smaller scale pandemics since then, we have never faced something that has infected every continent of the globe (except the Antarctic) at such a ferocious rate. And this is why governments are now scrambling to work out a way to contain the spread as fast as possible. Hence the threat of a potential home lockdown for many parts of the world. 
At the moment, there are 147,000 reported cases of COVID-19 across the world, with 5,539 deaths. Shops, businesses, schools and non-essential public areas are closing in the US and France. Flights and travel has been restricted across the globe. Areas of Spain, China, Italy, Denmark, Norway, UK and Ireland have already started lockdown procedures with their citizens to inhibit the spread of infection. In short, this shit is getting real and pretty hard to ignore, even for the most cynical, flippant or suspicious people.
So what to do? Run screaming into the night and declare that it is the end of the world as we know it? Well, you could do that if you were a nutter, but if you really want to be proactive about it, here is my advice based on what I have read thus far about COVID-19.

• Stay calm - experts predict that 80% of the population won't require any or minimal medical care, so odds are you're going to be just fine.
• Minimise the stress to yourself by only having daily updates - find a reputable COVID -19 news and information page that you can check on once a day to stay abreast of developments and recommendations. 
• If you feel sick, don't go to work. Self quarantine for 14 days and avoid public spaces. 
• Wash your hands thoroughly and regularly when you have been in public spaces, use hand sanitizer when you enter your home, practice good personal hygiene, and try not to touch your face. 
• Practise social distance - 6 feet from others. No handshaking and use your elbow or hip to turn on switches, open elevators, turn door handles etc. 
• Each time you shop, add a couple of basic non-perishable items to your trolley. Aim to have a couple of weeks of food basics on hand at home just in case you are asked to go into lockdown. Consider any personal sanitary items,  pet supplies and medications that you may also require if you were in a lockdown situation and pre purchase wisely. Please note that a two week supply of food would never constitute 100 rolls of toilet paper, 30 packets of rice and 50 cans of tuna, so please be sensible and considerate when you are increasing your supplies. There are people out there that are really going to need certain items and taking them all is not only ridiculous but also extremely dangerous to the health and wellbeing of others, so shop with care and consideration.
• Do not watch the movie Contagion or the TV show Pandemic if you are already feeling really anxious about COVID-19. Not only are these programs un-directly related to our current reality in so many ways, they will only serve to send already vulnerable minds into an unnecessary tailspin.
• Look after yourself, rest well, eat well and above all else - stay calm. 

On top of watching way too many movies, I also watch an awful lot of television. And just like movies, I like to watch all kinds of genres of television as well. And yes, of course I have to wade through a lot of crappy TV viewings in my pursuit of quality. I cannot even begin to tell you about the hundreds of unfinished TV series that I have started but never actually got around to finishing because they just weren't good enough to hold my attention.
I am just as fussy about what I watch on television as I am when it comes to movies and that's mainly because I have to be discerning. Just one season of television can require anywhere from 8 to 24 hours to get through, so if I am going to invest in something then it had better be worth the effort.  
Fortunately, there are TV series that are so good that they can hold my interest for more than just one season, for many of them in fact, for years and years, and they are the ones that I seriously lament when they end. In short,  they are unmissable TV experiences. I'm talking about the kinds of TV series that I find myself talking about for years after I have watched them, and I have been fortunate enough to see quite a few absolutely brilliant television series that I would consider to be absolutely unmissable.  
I have made a list below of the TV series that I consider to be the best viewing experiences (so far). They are listed in no particular order because everything on this list is excellent and worthy of your viewing time. Some of these series are old, but they have stood the test of time and in my opinion, they are still worth hunting down and seeing if you missed them during their glory days. I couldn't even hazard a guess at how many hours it would take to get through this lists...hundreds, maybe thousands I would imagine, but I assure you that I did have hundreds of joyous hours watching them all when I saw them. 
I hope that you find something new to watch from my recommendations, happy viewing!

Drama:
The Sopranos 
Six Feet Under 
Breaking Bad
Mad Men
Deadwood
Girls
Big Little Lies 
Better Call Saul
Master of None
Succession
Nurse Jackie 
Enlightened
Making a Murderer
Transparent
Mozart in the Jungle 
Peaky Blinders
Mr Inbetween 
Killing Eve
This is England 
Ozark
​
Comedy:
​Atlanta
Broad City 
The IT Crowd
Fleabag
Psychoville
Parks and Recreation
Derek
The Good Place 
Absolutely Fabulous
The Office (British version)  
Black Books
The Inbetweeners
Sally 4eva
Barry 
Seinfeld
Awkwafina is Nora From Queens 
The Detectorists
The Kominsky Method
The Community
Extras
Flight of the Conchords
Gavin and Stacey
Workaholics
The Let Down
This Country 
Bad Move 
Arrested Development
Please Like Me
The Righteous Gemstones 
Nighty Night 
Moone Boy
The Last O.G.
SMILF
Raised by Wolves
Uncle 
Better Things
​Swedish Dicks 
Avenue 5
Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet
Dave 

Sci-Fi/ Fantasy:
Firefly 
Mr Robot
Britannia 
Game of Thrones
The Dark Crystal
Lost 
Inside No. 9 
Black Mirror
Dr Who 
Stranger Things 
American Gods
Doom Patrol 
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Watchmen
Dirk Gently
The Magicians
Devs
Forever 
The ​Mandalorian 
The X Files  

Art House:
Twin Peaks
Kidding
Carnivale
​Perpetual Grace 
The Mighty Boosh

Horror/ Horror-Comedy:
American Horror Story 
Ash vs Evil Dead  (HC)
Penny Dreadful
Santa Clarita Diet  (HC)
Castle Rock
Buffy the Vampire Slayer 
Marianne 
Preacher (HC)
What We Do In The Shadows (HC)
The Servant 
Black Summer
Wellington Paranormal  (HC)

Outstanding Limited Series:
The Night Of (Drama) 
Lambs of God (Drama) 
Unbelievable (Crime) 
Sharp Objects (Crime)
Godless (Drama)
Escape from Dannemora (Drama)
Love, Death and Robots (Sci-fi) 
Chernobyl (Drama) 
Problems (Comedy) 
Trust (Drama)
A Young Doctor's Notebook (Drama) 
When They See Us (Drama) 
One Strange Rock (Documentary) 
The Act (Drama)
Good Omens (Fantasy)
The Miracle (Fantasy/ Foreign) 
True Detective Season 1 (Crime) 
Patrick Melrose (Drama)
Alias Grace (Drama)
Maniac (Sci-fi) 
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (Documentary) 
Les Miserable (Period Drama) 
Feud: Bette and Joan (Drama)
John Safran's Music Jamboree (Documentary) 
John Safran vs God (Documentary) 

So, the 2020 Golden Globe Nominations have been announced, which will pretty much dictate what I will be watching over my summer break. Yep, I am going to be hitting the couch and the cinema pretty hard over the next few weeks so that I can watch the actual Golden Globe Awards Ceremony live on Arena on January 6th and have some understanding of the content that has been nominated.
As an avid movie addict, I do feel very compelled to see at least 75% of everything nominated before an event of this calibre occurs in order for me to be discerning about whether a movie/program is worthy of the win or not. 
This year there is some really great news for those of you out there that don't like to go the cinema very often because quite a number of the nominated films and television programs are actually available through various streaming networks (which I have indicated below for your viewing ease) which means that you can watch a good swag of them from the comfort of your own couch in preparation for the big event. 
I cannot deny that there does appear to be a couple of incredibly great movies and television series that have been snubbed from the lists here, but this happens every year and I will get around to sharing my personal top pics of the year list very soon, so let's just go with what's been nominated here, and I will talk more about my personal choices for the best of 2019 in the very near future.
So, without further ado, here are the 2020 Golden Globe Nominations - happy viewing!
Best Motion Picture — Drama
1917
The Irishman - Netflix
Joker
Marriage Story - Netflix
The Two Popes - Netflix
Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Dolemite Is My Name -  Netflix
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Rocketman
Best Foreign-Language Motion Picture
The Farewell
Les Misérables 
Pain and Glory 
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Best Limited Series or TV Movie
Catch-22 - Stan
Chernobyl - HBO
Fosse/Verdon - HBO
The Loudest Voice - Showtime
Unbelievable - Netflix
Best Television Series — Drama
Big Little Lies - HBO
The Crown - Netflix
Killing Eve -  ABC iview or Stan
The Morning Show
Succession - HBO
Best Comedy Series
Fleabag - Amazon Prime
Barry - HBO
The Kominsky Method - Netflix
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Amazon Prime
The Politician - Netflix
Best Motion Picture — Animated
Frozen II
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
The Lion King
Best Director — Motion Picture
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
Sam Mendes, 1917
Todd Phillips, Joker
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Christopher Abbott, Catch-22
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Spy
Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice
Jared Harris, Chernobyl
Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon
Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Kaitlyn Dever, Unbelievable
Joey King, The Act - Hulu 
Helen Mirren, Catherine the Great - Foxtel
Merritt Wever, Unbelievable
Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited Series, or TV Movie
Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Andrew Scott, Fleabag
Stellan Skarsgård, Chernobyl
Henry Winkler, Barry
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited Series, or TV Movie
Patricia Arquette, The Act 
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
Emily Watson, Chernobyl
Best Score for a Motion Picture
Little Women
Joker
Marriage Story
1917
Motherless Brooklyn
Best Original Song
“Beautiful Ghosts,” Cats
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” Rocketman
“Into the Unknown,” Frozen II
“Spirit,” The Lion King
“Stand Up,” Harriet
Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy Series
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method - Netflix
Bill Hader, Barry - HBO
Ben Platt, The Politician - Netflix
Paul Rudd, Living With Yourself - Netflix
Ramy Youssef, Ramy - Stan
Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me - Netflix
Kirsten Dunst, On Becoming a God in Central Florida -  SBS
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Amazon Prime
Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll - Netflix
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag - Amazon Prime
Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama Series
Brian Cox, Succession - HBO
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones - Foxtel
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot - HBO
Tobias Menzies, The Crown
Billy Porter, Pose -Foxtel
Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show - Apple TV+
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies
Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show
Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture 
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Screenplay
Marriage Story
Parasite
The Two Popes
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
The Irishman
Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Annette Bening, The Report
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Daniel Craig, Knives Out
Taron Egerton, Rocketman
Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit
Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Ana de Armas, Knives Out
Cate Blanchett, Where’d You Go, Bernadette
Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart
Emma Thompson, Late Night
Awkwafina, The Farewell
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy

As if on cue, the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards happened on Monday at 10am. This was extremely fortuitous for me on so many levels. First and foremostly, I am currently on spring break which meant that I could be glued to the TV and watch it all unfold in real time, huge bloody bonus! And on top of that, my car was in for major repairs which meant that I was truly and genuinely housebound anyway, so winner, winner - the TV Gods spoke and I got to camp on the couch for three uninterrrupted hours straight without any guilty feelings whatsoever.
For a TV and movie addict, this was a very pleasant way to kick off my spring break and I must say that I was in total agreeance with the chosen winners in each category and highly recommend all of the TV series that won awards this year. Television just continues to go from strength to strength, and never before has TV ever been this consistently good. The Emmy award line up this year was staggeringly great and I don't think that the competition has ever been this fiercely competitive. All of the series nominated were really high quality which just galvanises the fact that television is better than it has ever been before. 
For anyone that missed all of the glitz, glamour and excitement, I have of course got you covered! Here is a list of the very deserving nominees and winners (in bold) for each category:
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul
Bodyguard
Game of Thrones
Killing Eve
Ozark
Pose
Succession
This Is Us

Outstanding Comedy Series
Barry
Fleabag
Russian Doll
Schitt’s Creek
The Good Place
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Veep

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
Kit Harington (Game of Thrones)
Jason Bateman (Ozark)
Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us)
Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us)
Billy Porter (Pose)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones)
Robin Wright (House of Cards)
Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder)
Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)
Jodie Comer (Killing Eve)
Mandy Moore (This Is Us)
Laura Linney (Ozark)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Henry Winkler (Barry)
Anthony Carrigan (Barry)
Stephen Root (Barry)
Tony Hale (Veep)
Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Alan Arkin (The Kominsky Method)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Sarah Goldberg (Barry)
Sian Clifford (Fleabag)
Olivia Colman (Fleabag)
Betty Gilpin (GLOW)
Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Anna Chlumsky (Veep)

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Barry “ronny/lily”
Fleabag “Episode 1”
PEN15 “Anna Ishii-Peters”
Russian Doll “Nothing In This World Is Easy”
Russian Doll “A Warm Body”
The Good Place “Janet(s)”
Veep “Veep”

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Barry “The Audition”
Barry “ronny/lily”
Fleabag “Episode 1”
The Big Bang Theory “Stockholm Syndrome”
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel “All Alone”
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel “We’re Going To The Catskills!”

Outstanding Comedy Actor
Bill Hader (Barry)
Don Cheadle (Black Monday)
Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek)
Ted Danson (The Good Place)
Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method)

Outstanding Comedy Actress
Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag)
Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)
Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll)
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)

Outstanding Competition Series
American Ninja Warrior
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Nailed It!
The Amazing Race
The Voice
Top Chef

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series
Emily Watson (Chernobyl)
Patricia Clarkson (Sharp Objects)
Marsha Stephanie Blake (When They See Us)
Vera Farmiga (When They See Us)
Patricia Arquette (The Act)
Margaret Qualley (Fosse/Verdon)

Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
A Very English Scandal
Chernobyl
Escape At Dannemora
Fosse/Verdon “Glory”
Fosse/Verdon “Who’s Got The Pain”
When They See Us

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series
Ben Whishaw (A Very English Scandal)
Stellan Skarsgard (Chernobyl)
Paul Dano (Escape at Dannemora)
John Leguizamo (When They See Us)
Michael K. Williams (When They See Us)
Asante Blackk (When They See Us)

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
A Very English Scandal
Chernobyl
Escape At Dannemora “Episode 6”
Escape At Dannemora “Episode 7”
Fosse/Verdon “Providence”
When They See Us “Part Four”

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series
Mahershala Ali (True Detective)
Hugh Grant (A Very English Scandal)
Benicio del Toro (Escape At Dannemora)
Sam Rockwell (Fosse/Verdon)
Jared Harris (Chernobyl)
Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us)

Outstanding Television Movie
Bandersnatch (Black Mirror)
Deadwood
Brexit
King Lear
My Dinner With Hervé

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series
Amy Adams (Sharp Objects)
Patricia Arquette (Escape at Dannemora)
Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon)
Joey King (The Act)
Aunjanue Ellis (When They See Us)
Niecy Nash (When They See Us)

Outstanding Limited Series
Chernobyl
Escape at Dannemora
Fosse/Verdon
Sharp Objects
When They See Us

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
Documentary Now!
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Late Night With Seth Meyers
Saturday Night Live
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
Documentary Now!
Drunk History
I Love You, America With Sarah Silverman
Saturday Night Live
Who Is America?
At Home With Amy Sedaris

Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series
Documentary Now! “Waiting For The Artist”
Drunk History “Are You Afraid Of The Drunk?”
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver “Psychics”
Saturday Night Live “Host: Adam Sandler”
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert “Live Midterm Election Show”
Who Is America? “Episode 102”

Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
The Late Late Show With James Corden
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul)
Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul)
Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones)
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones)
Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones)
Michael Kelly (House of Cards)
Chris Sullivan (This Is Us)

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Better Call Saul “Winner”
Bodyguard “Episode 1”
Game of Thrones “The Iron Throne”
Killing Eve “Nice And Neat”
Succession “Nobody Is Ever Missing”
The Handmaid’s Tale “Holly”

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Lena Headey (Game of Thrones)
Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones)
Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones)
Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones)
Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve)
Julia Garner (Ozark)

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Game of Thrones “The Last Of The Starks”
Game of Thrones “The Long Night”
Game of Thrones “The Iron Throne”
Killing Eve “Desperate Times”
Ozark “Reparations”
Succession “Celebration”
The Handmaid’s Tale “Holly"

Being a movie blog, it was hard for me to find a film to attach to this post, but after some consideration I decided to go with Paris is Burning in tribute to this year's Outstanding Competition Television series winner - RuPaul's Drag Race, which was clearly influenced by this outstanding and informative must-see documentary.

PARIS IS BURNING
Release Date: 1990
Rating: M
Running Time: 71 mins
Ever wondered where Madonna got her idea for Vogue? And where RuPaul got his 'fierce' drag competition ideas? Well look no further, because Paris is Burning will answer all those questions and more.  
An American documentary, directed by Jennie Livingston, that chronicles the drag ball culture of the mid to late 80's in New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay and transgender communities involved. This invaluable documentary shines a spotlight on the Golden Age of New York City drag balls and offers a thoughtful exploration of race, class, gender and sexuality in America during the 80's. 
​Elaborately structured drag ball competitions offer contestants the opportunity to 'walk' and be judged on their 'realness' by prominent members of the scene who have established 'houses' that serve as intentional families, social groups and performance teams.
Through a series of ball footage reels and interviews with prominent members, we gain an intimate and insightful understanding of the struggles, strengths, pride and humour that exists within this colourful subculture. 
This is an intelligent, at times troubling, but also desperately hopeful piece that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime.
FINAL SAY: It is so obvious that if you have captured the great white way of living, or looking, or dressing, or speaking - you is a marvel.
3.5 Chilli Peppers ​

One of the things that I do enjoy most about a mid-winter break is the ability to catch up on some late night viewing and couch potato antics without any guilty feelings whatsoever. Not having to get up and go to work in the morning allows me to indulge in the pleasure of watching entire seasons of television programs and back to back movies, and honestly it is just heaven. With a good strong coffee in hand, a couple of fluffed up pillows and a cosy blanket, I have managed to wonderfully while away many of my holiday evenings in front of the idiot box and I am more than happy to share my joyful at home viewing highlights with you, should you also wish to indulge in some quality lounge room viewing. 

As far as television goes, there has been no shortage of high quality, engaging programming to get completely lost in this year. I have watched a tonne of television this year, more than I ever have before and a lot of it has been of a really high standard as well. The best that I have seen and would highly recommend so far this year are: (in no particular order) 
Escape at Dannemora (Stan) - dramatisation
Sally 4Ever (HBO - Foxtel) - comedy
After Life (Netflix) - comedy drama
Les Miserables (BBC - Foxtel) - period drama
Game of Thrones - S8 (HBO - Foxtel) - fantasy drama
American Gods S2 (Amazon Prime) - fantasy drama
What We Do in the Shadows (FX - Foxtel) - horror comedy 
This Country (Stan) - comedy mockumentary 
Forever (Amazon Prime) - fantasy drama
Killing Eve s2 (ABC iview) - crime drama
The Last O.G. S2 (Stan) - comedy 
The Let Down S2 (ABC iview) - comedy 
Bad Omens (Amazon Prime) - fantasy drama
Detectorists S3 (ABC iview)  - comedy 
Gentleman Jack (HBO - Foxtel) - period drama
Bridget & Eamon (Amazon Prime) - comedy 
Euphoria (HBO - Foxtel) - drama
Chernobyl (HBO - Foxtel) - dramatisation 
The Act: Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose (Hulu - Foxtel) - dramatisation 
Perpetual Grace (Stan) - art house 
Big Little Lies S2 (HBO - Foxtel) - drama
Stranger Things S3 (Netflix)  - science fiction

To be honest, quality movies to view at home have been a little thinner on the ground, but it is often quite hard for me to find things that I haven't already seen on streaming channels because I go to the movies so often. Seth and I have been trawling through a lot of classic horror, which SBS on demand has an excellent selection of, should you need to sate a yearning for retro horror like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Hellraiser or Scanners. Aside from that Amazon Prime has the largest B grade horror library that I have ever encountered, admittedly it is mostly shit, but you can find the odd retro gem in there as well like Night of the Living Dead, Carrie,  Zombieland and the Friday the 13th Series. 
However, without further ado, here is a list of the best movies that I have watched on the couch (not at the cinema) this year so far: (again listed in no particular order)
Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool - Netflix (Romance) 
It's Actually a Funny Story - Netflix (Drama)
Suspiria - Amazon Prime (Horror) 
Hush - Netflix (Horror) 
Tully - Netflix (Drama)
The Poughkeepsie Tapes - Stan (Gritty) 
Observance - Amazon Prime (Horror)
American Animals - Foxtel (Crime) 
I am Mother - Netflix (Sci-Fi) 
Pin Cushion - SBS on demand (Gritty) 
Mandy - Foxtel (Horror) 
Full reviews of all of these films can be found on the corresponding genre lists in the drop down menu above if you're looking for more information.
Happy viewing my friends! 

I have just reached the halfway point of my Autumn holiday break; the time has gone so fast and man oh man, I have been so damn productive! I'm actually pretty chuffed about how much I have managed to get done and genuinely pleased with my consistent efforts to use my time wisely. I've been ticking boxes like a boss, catching up on all of my 'to do' tasks and generally taking care of business in a way that I can't usually manage when I am working and it's been bloody amazing!
In the last 7 days I have serviced my car, been to the dentist, seen the doctor, had a stay in hospital to get something corrected that I've put off for way too long, caught up with my parents, hung out with my kids, had my eyebrows done and my hair trimmed, celebrated a friends birthday, gone to the movies (twice actually), checked out the Picasso collection at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, completed an online PD module, finally put all of my New Zealand holiday photos into an album, planned my Easter Sunday gathering and even spent some time drawing and painting. Phew!
Next week I have another art gallery visit, a few blood tests, a catch up with some friends, an overnight trip to Queenscliff, Craig's birthday and also Easter to wrangle; basically a walk in the park after last week's mammoth effort. I am hoping that there will be some room for at least one more decent sleep in before it all comes to an end!
I'm also quite proud of the fact that even though my usual routine has been totally thrown out of the window, I've not compromised on my daily yoga practises, walks, meditation, reading, podcast listening, TV binging or movie watching over the holiday period. I have read almost three books in 10 days and faithfully watched at least one film a day since I went on holidays over a week ago. For some unknown reason a large majority of those films have unintentionally been horror movies, but as a huge horror fan this has presented me with some surprisingly enjoyable viewings.
When it comes to TV, like 95% of the rest of the world, I am most excited about Game of Thrones returning tomorrow to kick off the final and most anticipated TV episodes of all time; which I fully intend to faithfully glue myself to the couch for every Monday evening, for the duration. I can't recall a time when I was so looking forward to a TV show returning before, and I suppose that's because we really don't have to wait for programs to come out that often anymore.
G.O.T. has been an 8 season, 9 year viewing commitment, which is rare even for an avid viewer like myself. The last show that I faithfully watched without missing an episode for 9 entire seasons was Seinfeld which ended in 1998, so yeah, it's been a while since I've been this committed to a TV show. Apparently if you watch the first 7 seasons of G.O.T. all up, it would take two days, 15 hours and 30 minutes, which is how much of my life I have given to the show so far, and clearly I am willing to offer even more! Even though I often tire of a lot of long winded TV series, G.O.T. hasn't worn me out yet, so bring it on I say! I am ready for all of the scandal, dragons,  and visceral goings on that Season 8 can deliver, and if any of the other seasons are something to go on, there is definitely going to be some surprises in store!

There are some actors that I just can't get enough of. Every time that I see them in a trailer for an upcoming movie I get really excited because I am enthralled by their talent, dedication, diversity and onscreen presence. Some actors just can't put a foot wrong in my mind, they always give 100% and they never seem to be cast in crappy pointless movies, but sometimes I wonder if it is just their presence that makes a movie a winner for me.
I believe that on some occasions that certainly may have been true, particularly if I am only interested in the actor from a pervy perspective. Hey, don't judge me, I am human, I know a super hot actor when I see one, but the super hot actors (Michael Fassbender you know that I am talking about you!) aren't always in great movies, in fact they are often cast in pretty shitty movies quite a lot. I almost walked out of Assassin's Creed (almost) and if Fassbender hadn't been shirtless for 70% of that film, I definitely would've left!
However, I digress, what I am trying to say is that the actors that really have me riveted to my seat during a film are actually not the 'hot' ones, they are the ones that have the most stage presence. The actors that I feel an emotional connection to when they are on screen are the actors that I want to see more of, and there are quite a few of them that I just can't get enough of.
Here is my list of the top ten best actors (that I just can't get enough of) who are still on screen at the moment. 
1. Michael Shannon: He always plays such a nasty bad guy and  such a sweet good guy, I just love his intensity so much. 
First love moment: the good advice older brother in Mud. 
Favourite Shannon role: the creepy weirdo in Bug.
2. Kate Winslet: She is a gorgeous creature and a super talent. I adore her British accent and her advocacy of 'less photoshop more realism' for famous women. 
First love moment: Hugging a deshevilled and red dress clad Harvey Keitel in the back of a ute in Holy Smoke.
Favorite Winslet role: Her confused gorgeousness in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. 
3. Mahershala Ali: I can not look away when this man is on screen, he just demands attention and I am happy to give it to him.
First love moment: The unlikely drug dealing father figure in Moonlight. 
Favourite Ali  role: The uptight pianist in Green Book. 
4. Olivia Colman: I loved her way back when she was Sophie in Peep Show, and she has just gone from strength to strength since then. 
First love moment: The achingly damaged charity shop worker in Tyrannosaur.
Favourite Colman role: The clueless queen in The Favourite. 
5. Sarah Paulson: Paulson is easily the one of the best things about AHS and one of the reasons that I am so hooked on the series. I adore her beauty and her unwavering commitment to non-conformity and self empowerment for women.
First love moment: Tortured and enduring wife of Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave. 
Favourite Paulson role: Gorgeous ex-love of Mark Duplass in Blue Jay.
6. Timothee Chalamet: Okay, I admit he is young and gorgeous, but he is also extremely talented and he has so much range for such a young actor. That chiselled face, I cannot look away and I don't want to!
First love moment: His first love summer in Call Me By Your Name. 
Favourite Chalamet role: His heartbreaking drug addicted arse in Beautiful Boy. 
7. Sam Rockwell: So much swag and talent in such a small guy. He is insidious, he is in absolutely everything and does all genres well; he is always terrific. 
First love moment: His solo space-capades in Moon.
Favourite Rockwell role: The racist, angry and volatile cop in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
8. Octavia Spencer: Charming, this women is so damn charming and her smile makes me feel so happy. She is super talent and an inspiration to plus sized women everywhere. 
First love moment: 'Eat my Shit' Minny in The Help. 
Favourite Spencer role: Brilliant African American NASA lady in Hidden Figures.
9. Amy Adams: Why is this woman not drowning in accolades? She is clearly one of the best actresses of her generation, she can do no wrong in mind. 
First love moment: Gorgeous double crossing grifter in American Hustle.
Favourite Adams role: Alien conversationalist in Arrival.
10. Paul Dano: Recently blew my mind in Escape at Dannemora, Dano always brings something memorable and noteworthy to the screen. 
First love moment: Dealing with Daniel Day Lewis' milkshake rant in There Will be Blood. 
Favourite Dano role: Love inventor in Ruby Sparks. 

Who are your favourite actors? Leave your comments below, I'd love to know who you love to watch. 

That time has rolled around again, the time for me to collate all of my viewing efforts and put forward my recommendations for the best viewing choices of 2018. As I have mentioned before, quality television really dominated my time this year and I gave more 5 Chilli Pepper ratings to TV series than I gave to movies this year. To be honest, overall I do feel that the quality of movies this year was not as strong as it was in 2017, and I feel like I watched a lot more mediocre movies than I did last year as well, but sometimes that happens. 
In total I viewed 253 movies in 2018 and 133 TV series (some of which had several seasons). I have watched programs across every genre, and I can honestly say that there were excellent offerings in all of those genres in both movies and television. This year I am not going to list my least favorite viewings for 2018 because I have made myself a new years resolution to be more positive and to not focus on the negative things, so to list the worst things I saw in 2018 would be counterproductive to that resolution. Besides, as I have said before, even if I didn't love it, doesn't mean that someone else won't or that it is rubbish. At the end of the day, even the movies that we don't really enjoy have required a lot of time, money and effort to be produced; to shit on someone else's dream or vision is a pretty lousy thing to do, so I am choosing not to go there. 
I hope that you find something on these lists that you have not seen yet and can hopefully now explore. For full reviews of all of the recommended movies below, just go to the appropriate genre tab at the top of the page.
So without any further ado, here are my TOP MOVIE CHOICES (2018 release):  

• ROMA - Foreign 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Hereditary - Horror 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
• Beautiful Boy - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
• Isle of Dogs - Kid Friendly 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• BlacKkKlannsman  - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
• A Star in Born - Romance 4 Chilli Peppers 
• The Tale - Gritty 4 Chilli Peppers 
• Paddington 2 - Kid Friendly 4 Chilli Peppers 
• Avengers: Infinity War -  Super 4 Chilli Peppers 
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs - Art House 4 Chilli Peppers 
• Upgrade - Science Fiction/ Action 4 Chilli Peppers  
• John Leguizamo: Latin History for Morons - Documentary 4 Chilli Peppers 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• A Quiet Place - Sci-Fi/ Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Annihilation - Sci-Fi 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Black Panther - Super 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Ready Player One - Fantasy 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• The Breaker Upperers - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Searching - Crime 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Game Night - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Love, Simon - Romance 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Bohemian Rhapsody - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers
• Blockers - Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers

Here are my top recommendations for pre- 2018 releases that I didn't see until 2018: 

• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers (Hall of Fame)
• Bright Star - Romance 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Wind River - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
• Good Time - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
• The Shape of Water - Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers 
• Coco - Kid Friendly 4 Chilli Peppers 
• Mudbound - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
• Call Me by Your Name  - Romance 4 Chilli Peppers 
• Ingrid Goes West - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers 
• Beasts of No Nation - Gritty 4 Chilli Peppers 
• The Tunnel - Foreign 4 Chilli Peppers 

BEST TELEVISION SERIES of 2018: 

• Master of None S2 - Comedy/ Drama 5 Chilli Peppers 
• One Strange Rock - Documentary 5 Chilli Peppers
• Atlanta S2 - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers
• Sharp Objects - Crime 5 Chilli Peppers
• Patrick Melrose - Drama 5 Chilli Peppers
• Kidding - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Who is America? - Comedy/ Documentary 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Here and Now - Drama 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Maniac - Sci-Fi 4.5 Chilli Peppers
• Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events S2 - Fantasy/ Kid Friendly 4.5 Chilli Peppers 
• Mosaic - Crime 4 Chilli Peppers
• The End of the Fucking World S1 - Crime 4 Chilli Peppers
• Dirk Gently S2 - Fantasy 4 Chilli Peppers
• Barry S1 - Crime/ Drama 4 Chilli Peppers
• AHS - Apocalypse - Horror 4 Chilli Peppers
• Mr Inbetween - Crime 4 Chilli Peppers
• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat - Documentary 4 Chilli Peppers
• Just Another Immigrant - Comedy  4 Chilli Peppers
• Mr Mercedes S1 - Crime  4 Chilli Peppers
• Wanderlust - Drama  4 Chilli Peppers
• The Miracle - Foreign  4 Chilli Peppers
• Anne with an E S2 - Drama 4 Chilli Peppers

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Britannia S1 - Fantasy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
• Ash vs Evil Dead S3 - Horror/ Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
• Swedish Dicks S2 - Comedy/ Crime 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
• Future Man - Sci-Fi/Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
• GLOW S2 - Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
• The Detectorists S2 - Comedy/ Drama 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch - Horror 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
• Wellington Paranormal - Horror/Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 
• The Kominsky Method - Drama/ Comedy 3.5 Chilli Peppers 

I absolutely love podcasts. I have a number of shows in my podcast library on my phone that I regularly listen to. Just like the recent rise in accessible quality television, podcasts are fast following suit with a wider variety of entertaining shows becoming available daily and I have become pretty hooked on a number of them.
Cooking, cleaning, gardening or even exercising, I find that even the most menial  and mundane of tasks can be elevated to enjoyable if you have a good podcast to tune into whilst you are doing it, and I wanted to share some of my very favourite finds with you all. 
First and foremost I think that I need to list my fave movie/TV podcasts, because I do like to stay ahead of what is being released and what looks worthy of a trip to the cinema to see, and these podcasts are my go-to's on the subject of quality viewing:

• The EMPIRE Film Podcast
• WHO Magazine's TV Binge List 
• Man vs Movies
• Mad About Movies
• Film Junk

Next are my 'Feel Good' podcast faves, which offer me motivation, inspiration and stimulation when I am feeling like I need a lift:

• Dear Sugars
• Something Amazing
• Your Own Magic
• Mind, Body Musings
• LET IT OUT
• All in the Mind
• Happier with Gretchen Rubin
• Mindfully
• The Lively Show
• The Pineapple Project
• The Good People Effect
• Beautiful Anonymous
• Ladies We Need to Talk
• Meditation Oasis
• Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness

Here are my favourite 'Freak Me Out' podcasts, which can be supernatural, crime or just plain weird, but I do like a good freaky tale from time to time:

• Lore
• The Other Stories
• Something Scary 
• Unravel True Crime

And lastly, but certainly not least are my fave comedy podcasts because we all need a good laugh from time to time:

• My Dad Wrote a Porno
• Comedy of the Week - BBC Radio 4
• The Cracked Podcast
• Conan O'Brien Needs  a Friend

So there you have it, my favourite regular podcasts, I hope that you can find something inspiring to listen to yourself, and if you have any amazing recommendations please let me know.
Honestly, with you would think that I wouldn't have time to squeeze in any movies with all of the podcast listening that I do, but trust me, I still do!

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