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Stuff to Binge On!
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!
It's difficult to know how to explain this film, it pays homage to so many other great horror movies, and yet still manages to deliver something completely unique and utterly compelling. Directed by Panos Cosmatos and co-written by Cosmatos and Aaron Stewart- Ahn, Mandy has received widespread critical acclaim for it's visual style, engaging soundtrack, originality and Nicolas Cage's epic performance.
In a secluded mountain cabin, Red (Nicolas Cage) and Mandy (Andrea Riseborough) live a peaceful and happy life. That is until a deviant hippie cult and a group of demonic bikers decide to invade their home and attempt to abduct Mandy.
With nods to Kubrick and Lynch, this is a trippy, blood soaked, revenge caper like no other. Deeply hypnotic, often disturbing and genuinely emotional, Mandy is definitely destined to become a cult classic and is a must see for fans of gory thrillers.
FINAL SAY: I'm your God now!
Happy 5th Birthday Spicywatch!
Spicywatch.com has just turned 5, hip hip hooray Spicywatch! Apart from my family and friends, I don't think that I have poured this much of my spare time and energy consistently into anything before, and for as long as I can remember, I don't feel like I have loved or enjoyed pouring my spare time into anything as much as I have loved sharing Spicywatch with all of you wonderful readers.
Watching and reviewing movies is not just a hobby for me anymore, it is an important part of my life now. For five years I have shared my thoughts, my opinions and my passion for cinema with you all, and so far I have managed to review 790 movies that I honestly believe are worthy of your time and effort to view. I look forward to one day having 1,000 movies on my Spicywatch genre lists that are worthy of your time, but it will take me quite a few more years to get that far.
Last nights celebrations were focused on the Best Music Moments in Cinema, which is a broad topic, but extremely fun one to investigate. Musicals were most welcome, but not mandatory, and as it turned out, there are actually a huge number of movies that have very significant and memorable music scenes in them that are actually completely non-musical movies.
My wonderful and supportive friends and family gathered in Enfield to share a drink and their cinematic loves with me; and we laughed, sang and got our groove on to some of the most unexpected (but mostly excellent) musical moments that we could find.
And here is the extensive list of best music moments in cinema (from every genre) as chosen by my nearest and dearest, that made it to the Spicywatch 5th Birthday celebration screening in my living room last night:
Baby Driver (Bellbottoms)
Pulp Fiction (You Never Can Tell)
Beetlejuice (Banana Boat Song)
The Skeleton Twins (Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Twist and Shout)
Coraline (Garden Scene composed by Peter Corrigan)
Pretty in Pink (If You Leave)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Heroes)
Napoleon Dynamite (Canned Heat)
Little Miss Sunshine (Super Freak)
Straight Outta Compton (Boyz N Da Hood)
The Blues Brothers (Shake Your Tail Feather)
Two Hands (These Days)
American Psycho (Hip to be Square)
The Lion King (Circle of Life)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Space Oddity)
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Ricky's Birthday Song)
Guardians of the Galaxy (Mr Blue Sky)
Moulin Rouge (Come What May)
Mean Girls (Jingle Bell Rock)
Trainspotting (Lust for Life)
Sound of Music (Edelweiss)
Reservoir Dogs (Stuck in the Middle)
O Brother Where Art Thou? (I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow)
Risky Business (Old Time Rock and Roll)
Easy A (A Pocketful of Sunshine)
The Mask (Cuban Pete)
Nacho Libre (Encarnacion)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Origins of Love)
The Big Lebowski (Just Dropped In)
Pitch Perfect (Riff off)
Purple Rain (Title Track)
Love Actually (Jump)
Bridesmaids (Hold on)
Little Fish (Flame Trees)
Slumdog Millionaire (Jai Ho)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Anything Goes)
Singing in the Rain (Title track)
And one of my all time favourites: Mulholland Drive (Llorando/ Crying)
It's David Lynch on overload in this extravaganza of the weird and inexplicable. This is probably Lynch's most notable and yet utterly confusing piece of work, but like all Lynch movies, you need to watch it with an open mind and a willingness to get lost in the complexities of characters, behaviours and occurrences.
A woman survives a double near death experience, only to find that she has amnesia. She hooks up with a wannabe starlet in Hollywood and the two attempt to unravel the truth of her past. However, their attempts only lead them further and further into a series of psychotic illusions that involve a mysterious blue box, a director named Kesher and a very strange night club called Silencio.
Between the cowboy, the terrifying hobo, the dwarf in the wheelchair and the myriad of other creepy characters, this is intense and confusing viewing. However, it is so well acted and unusually directed that it leaves you with an intensely insidious feeling, like you have just witnessed something taboo and perverse. Clearly, Lynch achieves all that he set out to do, which was to get a reaction out of his audience.
Naomi Watts is brilliant as the Betty/Diane characters, really demonstrating her range and ability as a young and upcoming actress at that time, obviously her roles would have been genuinely demanding given the extreme complexity of the characters.
This is not a movie that everyone will like, but I don't think Lynch makes movies for people to like, he makes his vision and the audience can simply take it or leave it, making him a true visionary and revolutionist in the filmmaking industry.
FINAL SAY: It'll be just like the movies. Pretending to be someone else.
Invisible 45
Every woman knows that when you become a mother you have to relinquish some of your...how can I put this....firmness? I know that with each child that I had things on my body got more saggy, a lot more stripy (stretch marks - the untold horror of pregnancy) and generally a lot softer and plumper. I put on around 5 kilos with each of my children that I have never been able to lose and I have a caesarean scar from my second pregnancy that an Ob Gyn once called 'distressingly large' and even encouraged me to sue for malpractice over, so yeah I have sacrificed some of my youthful suppleness and beauty for my children. And I suppose that I always knew that there would be physical sacrifices that came with being pregnant, that much I was ready for.
What I wasn't as prepared for was something that seems to happen to women around 45 years of age when they just suddenly become completely invisible to everyone. I am not even kidding, this shit really does happen and unless you look like Michelle Pfeiffer or some other waif like middle aged hottness, then odds are that it will happen to you too. You literally become unseen by everyone, not just men, everyone. Women, children and men will no longer see you unless you instigate the exchange and even then their interest will wane much faster than it did when you were young.
Thankfully, this is not just a phenomenon that I alone have experienced but in recent polls 43% of women around 45 years of age claim to experience the same effect, a feeling of being invisible. So even though women are generally looking fitter and more youthful in their 40's and 50's than they ever have before in history, they are still falling victim to the dreaded 'ghost' effect that occurs around 45.
Well, it turns out that there is some research being done around this very topic, and there does appear to be contributing factors to these feelings of invisibility that women seem to experience. An analysis was completed that looked at 414 popular scripted movies and TV shows that aired during one year (from September 2014 to August 2015). From that data it was found that men made up 80% of the characters over 40, leaving only 20% to females, and many of those women were significantly older than 40. It was also noted that nearly all of the love interest female parts were filled by women in their 20's (often partnered up with men in their 40's) and that the women over 40 that were cast usually got roles as hags, shrews, witches, nags, struggling mothers or grandmothers.
This form of media profiling certainly appears to be part of the problem and not part of a solution, and by only casting twenty somethings or insanely hot thirty somethings in romantic roles, the media is stereotyping what it means to be sexy or physically viable, but it even goes much further than that. When women were asked about attractiveness, over 80% of them said that youth was akin to attractiveness and that they knew that once they were over 40 years old that men would not find them as interesting! How grim is that? And even worse are the findings that women also admitted that they do not pay as much attention to or go out of their way for women over 40 unless they are seeking advise or selling them a product, which basically means that young women see me as either a counselor or a big misshapen money sack, any bloody wonders I feel like I am invisible!
This dreadful feeling of invisibility is also why millions of women are now turning to surgery in an attempt to turn back the clocks and be seen again, which is just so sad when you really think about it. In fact, now that I really think about it, I actually think that it just depends on who you are spending your time with when it comes to being seen. Women around my own age never make we feel invisible and men that are 10-15 years older than me seem pretty damn keen for a chat, so I suppose that it just depends where you are looking for that attention.
A 40 something women is never going to stand out in a nightclub full of skimpy-dressed hotties and that kind of invisible is fine with me anyway. Who knows? Perhaps being invisible to young people and middle aged men is a really a super-power and something to be enjoyed, maybe being unseen to leary eyes or unwanted attentions is a blessing. I mean I am not looking for wolf whistles or uninspired conversations with twenty somethings anyway, so I probably shouldn't be complaining. Being unseen and generally unthreatening can certainly be used to one's advantage. Everyone knows that you can get away with almost anything if no-one is ever actually looking at you, and maybe that is not such a bad thing at all!
Directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody, Tully is a raw and honest movie about modern motherhood. With a terrific cast, sharp dialogue and curious composition, Tully delivers something deeply concerning and perfectly poignant about the extremely prevalent and yet often unspoken social expectations of new mothers.
Marlo (Charlize Theron) has just delivered her third child. One of her children has autism and is struggling to fit in at school, her husband appears to be oblivious to the rising stress levels around him and Marlo is drowning in breast feeds and nappies. That is until Tully arrives, a young and vibrant night nurse that will change all of their lives forever.
Theron is incredible as Marlo, convincingly displaying all of the despondence and despair that caring for a young family can generate. She is well supported by Ron Livingston as the clueless spouse, Mark Duplass as the wealthy brother and MacKenzie Davis, who just shines as Tully.
I don't think that this film will appeal to everyone's tastes, especially since it touches on some pretty controversial motherhood issues, but I really liked Tully's brave new voice and views on modern motherhood.
FINAL SAY: Mom, what's wrong with your body?
Getting Along
Regardless of how amicable, nice, funny, mindful, considerate or generous you are in this life, you are eventually going to come against someone that you just don't like. It may be someone that you're related to, or someone that you work with or someone that has come into your life because they are associated with another person that you know, and you are not going to like this person. They are going to grind your gears and irritate you, they are going to annoy you and because they now exist in your life, you may not always have the choice to avoid them. And this is where you need to employ your best diplomacy and intelligence, and just get along.
Easier said than done though right? It is pretty hard to get along with someone that really ruffles your feathers and generally gives you the shits, but there are ways to get along, even in the face of great adversity.
The first thing that you need to accept is that you are not going to like everyone, and also not everyone is going to like you and that's totally OK. So OK in fact, that's it's practically perfect. Yep, that's right I said practically perfect. We all know that we do our best growing during our darkest times, so the people that we butt up against actually force us to grow in ways that we may not even recognise at the time. I have learnt more about myself through the people that I haven't liked than the ones that I have adored, and that is a fact. I may not want to go and have a BBQ with the people that I don't like, but I can recognise that these annoying individuals are triggering a very real and unpleasant reaction in me, which probably needs further investigation.
Sometimes the people that annoy me the most are really just people that have very different ideas, points of view or social boundaries to me, which means that we could never really be great friends anyway, but that doesn't mean that I need to treat them like crap, that would be stupid and illogical. Tolerating people that you really don't like very much is a skill that intelligent people have mastered, and I have found in the past that unintelligent people usually create their own dramas and demise anyway, so there is no need to engage anyone that annoys you any more than is absolutely necessary.
When dealing with people that you don't like, you absolutely must have a terrific poker face, a really good and convincing one. A face that you can wear over the top of gritted teeth or clenched fists that makes you appear to be calm, open and diplomatic. This is you having self control over your emotions, not stooping to anyone elses levels of behaviour or adopting anyone else's body language; in short you appear to be neutral and in control of yourself. Adopting a good poker face and calm exterior will allow you to gain the upper hand over people that you don't like every time. And if they don't like you, well at least they won't be able to say that you treated them poorly at any point in your exchanges. Mastering your emotional reactions will help you to manage difficult or unpleasant people, even if you only appear that way on the surface, it's always worth doing.
Sometimes the people that I find most annoying turn out to be people that I have just expected too much from. Just because you have yourself in check, that doesn't mean other people have as well. Expecting people to do as you do, or behave as you behave is just asking for trouble and will only lead to frustration and disappointment. Next time someone gets up your nose, check in and see what it is that you are expecting from them, odds are that it's more than they have the ability to deliver, so adjust your expectations and you'll find that you may not dislike the person as much as you thought that you did.
And when all else fails and you just cannot stand someone that you have to deal with regularly, then just take a deep breathe, give yourself some space from them as much as you can and take some time to address what it is about that person that is triggering you off so much. Is it an isolated comment? An ongoing action? A lifestyle choice? Or is it just the way that they make you feel? Have you yourself contributed to the bad blood that you have with this person? Is it fixable? Whatever the reason, really analyse whether this person is worth all of the anxiety, stress and energy that you are giving to them. If you think that they are, then you need to take steps to clear the air and move forward in your relationship with them, if you think that they're irrelevant, then just keep that poker face going and get on with things. And always remember that you do not have to get along with everyone and that it's totally OK to find some people as annoying as hell.
Let me just say, that I absolutely loved this movie. Written by Wentworth Miller and directed by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, this was the last film to be produced by Tony Scott, who passed away after production. Strongly influenced by Hitchcock themes, Stoker showcases the best use of dark and atmospheric imagery intertwined with a riveting narrative to play out like a gothic mystery that is guaranteed to keep you enthralled until the very last moments.
India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) is left alone with her rather unstable mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) after her father is killed in a tragic accident. However, when her charismatic and virtually unknown Uncle Charlie (Matthew Goode) moves in with them, India finds herself inexplicably drawn to his mysterious and increasingly suspicious behaviours.
Highly stylized in every sense, this is a beautiful and mostly melancholic movie that has an almost dream like quality to it. The tensions in Stoker run so high that they are positively palpable, I was just spellbound from start to end; the extreme close-ups, visceral music and stark imagery, I couldn't get this film out of my mind for days after. The acting here is exceptional, and it really galvanized Wasikowska's ability for me, definitely making her 'the actress to watch' from that point on.
FINAL SAY: We don't need to be friends, we're family.
Sports Minded
I am not what you would call sports minded, or sports orientated or even sports enthusiastic for that matter. I don't follow or participate in any team sports and I don't have a favourite team that I barrack for, not even in the AFL (Australian Football League) which often comes as a horrific shock to so many Australians when I tell them that. I have no idea who won the AFL Grand Final, ever for that matter. I don't know the names of any sports people and I never go to see people playing sports professionally. However, that does not mean that I do not recognise that sport is a strong and alluring form of entertainment to hundreds of thousands of people and that there are some huge benefits to being a part of a competitive team, but honestly, it's just so not my jam in any way, shape or form.
It's not that I have never been a part of a sports team in my life, because I have, on many occasions actually. You can't grow up in Australia and completely avoid being involved in some kind of sport at some point in your life. Australia and a love of all things sport related goes hand in hand, and when I was growing up if you weren't good at sports or interested in sport you were a total freak. Even the most unfit beer-bellied blokes in my street would talk about the footy, watch the cricket and squat on the couch to catch the highlights from the Bathurst car rallies. You don't need to be fit to love your sport in Australia, you just have to love it, and if you don't, well you are just weird.
Growing up I was on a softball team, a footy team, a table tennis team, a beach volleyball team and once I was even part of a calisthenic squad. As a teenager I danced ballet, ballroom and even tried my hand at Taekwondo, but none of it stuck. I always thought that TV sports were dead boring and could never see any purpose in watching other people 'do' sport. The only part of the Olympics that I have ever really gotten into was the opening ceremony, and I have always considered competitions that awarded people for being the fastest and strongest and most physical enduring really archaic and rather uninspiring. However, as I said earlier, I understand that it serves a purpose as entertainment, but it has just never entertained me.
I never kept up with any of the sports that I have been involved in, and over the years sports related activities have become of lower and lower priority and interest to me. I know that people are incredibly devoted to their sports, to their teams and to their sporting heros, but I am not and never will be a part of those ranks. And it still makes me an outcast to not be involved in, or at the very least enthusiastic about, sports. It is almost a prerequisite to society in Australia to love sport, in some way, in some fashion. And even though there's a plethora of sports to get behind and support, I honestly don't have any interest in knowing any more about any of them.
I completely understand that people devote their lives to their sports, and hey....go them! Seriously, big props to that, but it doesn't inspire me to get involved. From what I have gleaned about professional sportsmanship, and I can only give an outsider's perspective on this, it seems elitist, corrupt, controlled, sexist, marketed and unnatural in every way. I have seen interviews with sport people that have left me feeling very sad about how inflated their egos are and how little regard they appear to have for their young and influential fans, and nothing that I have learned about sports as an adult has made me want to get back on board yet.
However, that being said, every once and a while a sports story comes along that breaks the mold and makes me see how people can be reached through sports in enlightening and forward-thinking ways. Occasionally I can see how change can be garnered through a few brave and dedicated heroes of the sports arena, and how, just like any form of entertainment, it can be used for good or bad purposes. I just wish that a sports story would come along that would make me want to be more involved again, but it would need to be a pretty frickin amazing one to make that happen!
FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY
A biographical sports comedy/drama based on the 2012 documentary The Wrestlers: Fighting with my Family by director Max Fisher. With a surprisingly fresh dialogue (mainly due to Stephen Merchant's writing and directing) Fighting with My Family delivers an enjoyable, educational and entertaining look into the world of female professional wrestling.
A British amatuer wrestling family have their lives changed forever when they receive a call from an NXT executive requesting that two of their children (Zak and Saraya 'Paige' Bevis) try out for a spot in the WWE. However, when it is Paige that gets selected to join, Zak struggles to be supportive in the wake of his own lost dream, leaving Paige to face the cutthroat world of professional wrestling on her own.
This is a perfectly cast film, with Nick Frost and Lena Headey providing excellent support to Florence Pugh (Paige) as her enthusiastic wrestling parents, and also delivering some much needed levity and humour to an otherwise pretty predictable script. Vince Vaughn is also terrific as trainer and WWE representative Hutch Morgan and Jack Lowden steals the show with his pouty disposition and scruffy likeability as Paige's put upon brother Zak. Dwayne Johnson is playing himself here and also depicting his old wrestling persona 'The Rock' which is always amusing to me.
The cast really do make this movie, but I cannot deny that it was also really great to watch another female empowerment movie about a strong, determined women taking the lead, breaking stereotypes and kicking some arse along the way.
FINAL SAY: Dick me dead, and bury me pregnant.
3.5 Chilli Peppers
Life Is Like Dancing
I recently came into contact with a book called The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Wisdom by Don Miguel Ruiz. This book, which was first published in 1997 and has sold around 7.2 million copies in the US alone has been translated into 40 languages and was written by a Toltec spiritualist and self made shaman. Sounds like some weird stuff right? Well on some levels it is, but it is also the most inspiring, motivational and thought provoking material that I have encountered in some time and I loved the message being relayed in the text and really wanted to share it on my blog.
For those of you that have read this book or have already come against the theories outlined within it's pages, I apologise, but for anyone that hasn't encountered this book yet, then I think that you should read it as soon as you can. It's only around 160 pages long and yeah....sure, it's a bit alternative and spiritual in it's approach but it's also lovely to read and leaves you feeling so ponderous and hopeful that you can be a better version of yourself that by the end of it you will feel ready to tackle anything head on.
The book advocates personal freedom from beliefs and poorly designed agreements that we have made with ourselves and others that are creating limitations and unhappiness in our lives. In the book there are four new agreements for you to make with yourself that are simplistic but simplistically perfect at the same time.
1. Be impeccable with your word. Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.
2. Don't make assumptions. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.
3. Don't take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.
4. Always do your best. Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstances, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse and regret.
Don Miguel Ruiz's son Don Jose Ruiz subsequently released a sequel with his father that adds a fifth agreement to that list:
5. Be Skeptical, but learn to listen.
Which, let's be honest, is pretty sound advice on any level. I haven't read the The Fifth Agreement book so I can't really recommend it, but I do recommend The Four Agreements for no other reason than some life inspiration and food for thought.
So, I am going to end this blog entry with my favourite quote from the book:
Life is like dancing. If we have a big floor, many people will dance. Some will get angry when the rhythm changes, but life is changing all the time.
This black-comedy/action film directed by Quentin Tarantino won major acclaim at the box office and became an instant cult classic. It was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and won the 1994 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, it resurrected John Travolta's career and galvanized Tarantino's abilities as a talented director.
This stylized "neo-noir" film connects four intersecting storylines involving a Los Angeles mobster, some small-time crooks, two psychopathic hit men, an aging boxer, a drug snorting gangsters wife, a gimp and a very mysterious briefcase. Yep, it really has got it all, and a stellar ensemble cast to bring it all together including Samuel Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth and Harvey Keitel to name but a few.
This type of gore driven, uber-violent action may not be for everyone, but I just loved this movie from start to end. It's a fun watch with a kick-arse soundtrack and loads going on to keep you entertained.
FINAL SAY: Just because you are a character doesn't mean you have character.
The Top Five
Managing the everyday pressures of daily life is one of the most important skills that anyone can have in their tool kit to enable them to thrive. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of articles, research papers and theories around what that tool kit should look like and the type of skills that are vital to hone for best success. So what skills are the experts and scholars of the world actually recommending that we have and how much actual success is really being experienced through the development of these practices?
After trawling the internet, reading some scholarly articles, investigating numerous case studies and perusing several self help manuals over the weekend for the answers to those questions, I have discovered that most 'experts' appear to unanimously agree on the following five 'must have' skills for coping with the everyday pressures of everyday life.
Now I am not claiming that these five tips are the holy grail for ultimate life satisfaction, but just about everything that I did read had these five pointers included in their success criteria for keeping stress levels low and life enjoyment high. I thought that it was interesting that it all pretty much seems to boil down to just five key pointers, and it certainly does align with my own opinions and theories for living a better life, however, as far as the actually information goes, well you can trash it or thrash it, the choice is entirely yours.
Do these five things actually work? Well I would have to assume that if everyone keeps on referring to them as the vitals in a pressure free lifestyle, then there must be some level of success attached to their implementation. It is pretty much impossible to refute a few of them for obvious reasons because they are total no-brainers and everyone knows that adopting them would bring about a level of detox and calm. I do think they are all safe to implement and can't see how any of them would add to anyone's stress load unless they chose a hobby that was stressful, which would be rather counterproductive. But as I said, I am just the messenger, so you make your own mind up.
So without further ado, here is what the experts recommend that you need to employ to get the stress levels in your life down to a minimum.
1. Share Your Feelings. Trying to cope alone is ridiculous and unrealistic. Call on your support network, rally around your friends and share your concerns. A problem shared is a problem halved.
2. Get Real. Drop the need to be perfect, learn to say no and be willing and open to compromise. Accept that you are only human and that everyone gets overwhelmed from time to time.
3. Be Healthy. Eat well, exercise, get enough sleep and cut back on caffeine, tobacco and alcohol. Taking care of your physical self will make your life much easier in the long run.
4. Deal with One Problem at a Time. Address where your stress is coming from and begin to eliminate what you longer need. Make a list, monitor where your tensions lie and make realistic and achievable goals to reduce the high stress tickets on your dance card.
5. Visualise, Meditate, Dance, Find a Healthy Outlet. Finding a relaxing hobby or pastime that you enjoy will not only make you happier and more able to cope with everyday stress, it will also give you something to look forward when you feel like your cup has runneth over.
And apparently that's it! Seems pretty simple in theory, but any fool knows that it's always the practice that takes all of the hard work.
A comedy-drama and coming of age tale, adapted from Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel of the same name and written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. It's Kind of a Funny Story finds its strength in its talented cast, who deliver a quirky and entertaining look into mental illness and relationships.
After contemplating suicide, stressed out teen Craig Gilner decides to admit himself into a psychiatric ward in an attempt to pick up some life management skills.
This is a touching and hopeful tale about people finding themselves and each other within the walls of the psychiatric ward. Zach Galifianakis, Viola Davis, Emma Roberts and Zoe Kravitz all bring some clout and credibility to the story, but it is Keir Gilchrist who steals the show with all of his teenage awkwardness and uncertainty.
The movie tastefully touches on depression, suicide, withdrawal and social anxiety without feeling cheesy or contrived, and although it isn't necessarily a game changer, it is enjoyable and delivers a positive message for overwhelmed teenagers.
FINAL SAY: I'd just live. Like it meant something.
The big movie event happened on Monday night, the Oscars. And although I wasn't exactly on the money with all of my predictions, I didn't do too badly. I honestly believe that all of the winners were extremely worthy of their accolades and as usual I really enjoyed watching the glitz and glamour of the night.
The highlight of the evening for me was definitely Olivia Colman's stirring and emotional acceptance speech for Best Actress in a Leading Role, I loved how she humbly got overwhelmed about her own talent and good fortune, blew raspberries at the camera and tearfully showed a very human and adorable side of herself to the world.
Most awkward event of the night was definitely Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga's provocative performance of Shallow, as they draped themselves over the piano and each other for the duration. Come on Cooper, your wife is sitting right there! All those sultry looks and longing glances, get a room guys, the writing is on the wall....here comes the next Brangelina! Seriously though, it was just plain weird and awkward. I do love Gaga but she is just OTT sometimes, and the fact that she has just left her partner has certainly exacerbated the Cooper affair rumours. However, to be honest, I really don't give a shit if they are hooking up or not really, but who doesn't like a good Hollywood scandal from time to time?
Most swag definitely goes to Spike Lee whose style (or lack thereof?) is both inspiring and amusing to me. I also loved his acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay and I respect his general lust for life attitude.
Most satisfying award recipient for me was Alfonso Cuarón taking Best Director for Roma, because he deserved it so completely. That film was a piece of personal perfection for him, and it was wonderful to see him basking in the glory of praise for that.
As always I loved the whole event, and now I cannot wait to sink my teeth into some new material that may prove to be worthy of some 2020 Academy Award attention.
Just in case you missed any of it, Here is the full list of 2019's Academy Award winners as they were presented on the night:
Documentary (Feature) — Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Free Solo
Actress in a Supporting Role — Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Makeup and Hairstyling — Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe, and Patricia Dehaney, Vice
Costume Design — Ruth E. Carter, Black Panther
Production Design — Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart, Black Panther
Cinematography — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Sound Editing — John Warhurst, Bohemian Rhapsody
Sound Mixing — Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, and John Casali, Bohemian Rhapsody
Foreign Language Film — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Film Editing — John Ottman, Bohemian Rhapsody
Actor in a Supporting Role — Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Animated Feature Film — Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
Animated Short Film — Domee Shi, Bao
Documentary Short Subject — Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton, Period. End of Sentence.
Visual Effects — Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm, First Man
Live Action Short Film — Guy Nattiv and Jamie Ray Newman, Skin
Best Original Screenplay — Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Green Book
Best Adapted Screenplay — Spike Lee, Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele, BlacKkKlansman
Original Score — Ludwig Goransson, Black Panther
Original Song — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt, "Shallow," A Star Is Born
Best Actor in a Leading Role — Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Best Actress in a Leading Role — Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Best Director — Alfonso Cuarón, Roma
Best Picture — Green Book
If you haven't already seen this movie, go out and rent it as soon as you can. Martin Scorsese's Casino is a piece of cinematic brilliance that I believe was his most ambitious, and easily his most underrated, body of work to date.
Spanning three decades, Casino chronicles the true story of a faction of the mob that ran the Las Vegas casinos. We get to see all of the greed, scandal and dirty tactics that went on behind the scenes at the casinos, but we also bear witness to all of the revolting dramatics that occurred in their obviously strained private lives.
This is a complex movie showcasing the absolute best of Robert De Niro as smooth talking Sam "Ace" Rothstein. This was a role De Niro was born to play, and he does it perfectly. Sharon Stone deserved the Oscar for her flawless portrayal of Ginger, and Joe Pesci is terrifyingly psychotic as Nicky Santoro.
FINAL SAY: Take the gamble.
And the Nominees Are...
The 91st Academy Awards are on tomorrow, which on top of the Golden Globes and the SAG awards I watch every year. This year I will be watching with a couple of good friends over coffee and nibbles, and I am so looking forward to it. I have managed to see almost all of the nominated materials over the course of the year and I am always keen to see if my personal opinions line up with the big guns at the Academy.
If you haven't stumbled across the Academy Award nominations yet, here is a run down of the big ticket awards (the ones that I like to know the winner of the most). If you are more interested in the sound, design, costume and cinematography awards then check online for those nominations.
I have underlined who I think the Academy will more than likely give it to and then my personal choice is in bold.
Actress in a Leading Role (Huge snubbing of Toni Collette in Hereditary here)
Actor in a Supporting Role (Huge snubbing of Timothee Chalamet in Beautiful Boy here)
Sam Elliot, A Star is Born
Richard E Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me
Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
As usual, the horror and sci-fi industry gets another shafting, as does some excellent art house material yet again, but no surprises there really. And even though I do believe that Toni Collette was the actress of the year in Hereditary, and Timothee Chalamet was epic in Beautiful Boy (and hey what about Paddington 2?) I won't be boycotting the proceedings. In spite of my moaning every year, of course I'm still going to watch the awards, I love the glitz and glam of it all! And who knows? Roma could repeat the 1997 A Life is Beautiful effort and sweep the Awards ceremony this year, it feels like it could be time to turn a spotlight on quality foreign cinema again.
The 91st Academy Awards will air on the NINE network at midday in Australia tomorrow (Monday 25th February) and then again at 7.30pm on GEM if you want to see them yourself.
A period tragicomic drama directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who shot to fame after he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Best Original Dramatic Score and Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards.
Set in the 1930's, Life is Beautiful tells the story of a playful Jewish Italian book shop owner named Guido that has his life turned upside down when he and his son become victims of the Holocaust. With his own blend of humour and imagination, Guido attempts to protect his son from the real horrors of the Nazi Concentration Camp.
Part of the idea for the movie came from Benigni's own family history, as his own father survived a three year term at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, so this was a very personal body of work. Benigni himself is just fabulous as Guido, bringing charisma and ingenuity to his character that translates beautifully.
I adored this film, it made it me laugh and it also made me cry. I didn't think that it was an insensitive holocaust movie, as some people believed it to be, but rather a hopeful and endearing piece that speaks volumes about endurance and creativity.
FINAL SAY: Buon Giorno, Principessa!
Fighting Compulsions
I have been listening to a really interesting audio book all about habits, it discusses why we have them, how they are formed and how we can create new and better ones. Obviously I am really interested in the topic of habit and had just recently blogged about good and bad habits on Spicywatch, so it seemed like a wild and also pleasant coincidence when this book popped up on my audio book recommended list free of charge! Bonus! So it was with much eagerness that I started listening to it and then ended up bingeing the whole book over the past four days and although some of the information wasn't exactly a revelation to me, some of it was downright fascinating.
The most interesting thing that I discovered about habits was how you can easily create new ones. Well, I must admit that when I say easily I say it quite loosely, because creating new habits is actually far from easy when you really get down to the brass tacks of it. According to research, the theory of it only taking around 21 days to create a new habit is absolute horseshit. It actually takes an average of 66 days to create a new habit, and that's the average so some people can require 100's of days to form a new habit, so it's safe to say that my theory of change taking substantial time is actually factual, so I was always right about that.
However, what I did find fascinating was the fact that managing our compulsions for instant gratification was a major factor in the success of our new habit creations. Basically, if you can focus on the long term benefits and not the short term gratification, then you are more likely to create good habits that will set you up for a better life. How do I know this? Well, a Harvard study was done on 1,000 four year old children in the 1970's where they gave each child one marshmallow and told them that they could eat it right away. However, the children were also told that if they could leave the marshmallow alone and wait whilst the tester left the room, then when the tester returned they could have two marshmallows. These children were all middle class children without any known external factors or diagnosis that may affect results; and their results were recorded.
The children were called back 40 years later as adults approaching their mid-life, and questioned about their lifestyles. All of the adults that had eaten the first marshmallow as a child and sought instant gratification had lower incomes, less employment opportunities due to their lower academic performance and had in many cases suffered from more marital and parenting problems and had a higher percentage of issues around substance abuse and alcoholism than the group that had waited for their second marshmallow as kids.
So what does all of this mean? That if you eat the marshmallow at four then you're doomed to a life of less? No, of course it doesn't! It means that if you know that you are an instant gratification kind of a person, then you will need to work a lot harder to maintain good habits and also conscientiously teach yourself to modify your impulses and focus on the long term greater good. Which basically means that YOLO isn't going to cut it if you want to get the best out of your life.
The good news is that no-one is a hopeless case and that anyone can make their lives better and adopt better habits. The secret is that by making bad habits harder to get to and good habits more rewarding, you can trick your brain into wanting to do more of the good stuff. For example, if what you want to achieve is more exercise then only let yourself watch your favourite show or listen to your really exciting novel or podcast when you are exercising. Or, if you want to stop drinking as much wine in the evening then make it harder to access by not having it the house ready to go, or putting in shitty tasks that you have to do to get that wine like doing two loads of laundry or picking up dog shit in the yard first and you will soon associate the wine with crappy feelings. Sounds pretty simple, but it's not because remember that you need to do it for around 66 days or more before your brain kicks into gear and accepts it as a new habit or lifestyle change.
So, yeah, it isn't really easy to make awesome or new habits, but the really great news is that it is never impossible. According to the habit book, you are literally never too old to create new and better habits in your life, so my best advice is to commit to a long term good habit and then just get a hustle on for goodness sake! There is no better time than right now!
Directed by David Russell, this 70's crime romp based on an actual FBI undercover investigation, is a magnificent mix of madness, comedy and deception. Rife with flamboyantly dressed criminals and speckled with fabulous '70's hits, this movie is a winner from start to end, mostly due to the faultless delivery of its strong and capable cast.
Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and his seductive scamming partner (Amy Adams) are forced to assist an arrogant FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) with his plans to expose a group of New Jersey power-brokers and the mafia through the corrupt connections of Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner).
Basically it's con-artists, criminals and Feds uncomfortably rubbing shoulders, and it's not a pretty sight. Bale, Renner and Cooper have fully committed to their hideously funny roles and Adams and Lawrence are bringing their best in every respect. This may be the most fun that I have had with a crime drama in a very long time, it's unmissable.
FINAL SAY: You're nothing to me until you're everything.
I Want to See More of You
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.
It is so unsettling to watch people being forcibly removed from their homes when the bank decides to foreclose. This bold movie from Ramin Bahrani doesn't sugar coat the realities of tying yourself to a home loan during a boom period, only to suffer the consequences when the market nose dives again. It is the reality of this movie that it makes it so harrowing and difficult to watch, but also so deeply poignant.
Unemployed and down on his luck tradie Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is evicted from his family home along with his son and mother (Laura Dern). Ruthless real estate broker Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) offers Nash a job after he repossesses his home, and gives him the chance to gain his family home back, but the stakes are high.
Tremendously well cast, this movie is passionately delivered. Michael Shannon never falls short on a script and has rapidly become one of my favourite actors, and it is easy to see why with films like this.
FINAL SAY: America doesn't bail out losers.
Finding A Hidden Gem
I love going to the movies or sitting down to watch a film and finding a hidden gem. Sometimes I get the most delightfully unexpected surprise from a movie that I wasn't expecting it from, and I just love it when that happens, it really spins my tyres! And it really doesn't happen as often as I would like, a lot of the time when I leave a cinema or get off the couch after a movie I am left with a rather underwhelmed kind of a feeling or even worse, I start to contemplate the hours that I just wasted and will never get back again!
Life is way too short to waste reading bad books, watching poor movies and wasting your precious and valuable free time having mediocre experiences. Especially cinematic ones, after all that's why you have me! I've already found heaps of hidden gems for you, so you can just relax and enjoy the movies that I consider to be the best (and unmissable) hidden gems that you may have accidentally missed or overlooked.
Now, don't feel bad about it, people actually miss a lot of top quality viewing experiences all of the time because smaller and independent movies just get squashed by blockbuster movies, and most people just aren't going to the movies to see small budget or independent films. They also aren't going to the cinema half as much as I am either I would imagine, so it's more than likely that you've missed some of these rippers along the way, not through any fault of your own, but just from a lack of exposure; but never fear....I've got your back!
In no particular order (and remember that my full reviews of these films are on their genre lists if you want more information), here are my top 20 picks for hidden gem movies that you may have missed:
The One I Love (Romance)
Don Jon (Drama)
The Cabin in the Woods (Horror)
The Only Lovers Left Alive (Art House)
Short Term 12 (Drama)
A Ghost Story (Art House)
Wind River (Drama)
Once (Foreign/Romance)
Calvary (Art House/Foreign)
Moon (sci-fi)
Ingrid Goes West (Drama)
Son of Rambow (Comedy)
Sightseers (Foreign)
In the Mood for Love (Foreign)
Young Adult (Drama)
Beautiful Boy (Drama)
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Drama)
Youth (Drama)
The Fall (Fantasy)
The Grand Seduction (Comedy)
I have only been back at work for two days and I have already found my number one hidden gem movie of the year! How good is that? And when you are as movie obsessed as I am and constantly thirsting for quality entertainment, then that is something to get happy about!
Green Book is my favourite feel good movie of the year! Directed by Peter Farrelly and based on the interviews that Nick Vallelonga had with his father and Don Shirley (as well as the letters that his father wrote to his mother from the road); this inspiring, touching, funny and at times deeply confronting tale is such a joyful watch.
Don Shirley is a sophisticated African-American classical pianist in need of a driver with some muscle to take him on tour across the deep south of America in the 1960's. Don ends up hiring Tony 'Lip' Vallelonga for the job, a fast talking Italian-American bouncer that proves to be so much more than Don had bargained for when he hired him.
Named after The Negro Motorist Green Book, which was an actual mid-20th century guidebook for African-American travellers that was written by Victor Hugo Green to assist them in finding hotels and restaurants that would accept them, Green Book is rife with political and social injustice. However, underneath all of the ugliness there is a wonderful tale about friendship, acceptance and courage.
Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali make the perfect odd couple as Tony and Don, delivering equal amounts of humour and heartfelt sincerity to their intriguing and evolving characters, and the real life story being delivered here is certainly one worth hearing.
FINAL SAY: The world's full of lonely people afraid to make the first move.
Run to Paradise
Tomorrow we leave for New Zealand. As a huge heat wave hits Victoria we are escaping to the cooler and more manageable climates of Auckland, Rotorua and Wellington for the better part of 10 days. This family holiday has been in the making for the last two and a half years and I have excitedly planned and booked this self guided trip around the North Island with a lot of enthusiasm and loving detail. I have tried to encompass all of the things that our family have show an interest in exploring whilst we're in New Zealand, even the things that may be pushing me well outside of my comfort zone like spelunking (caving) and zip lining, which means that without a doubt this is going to be an epic family adventure for all of us.
I am drawing the line at bungee jumping and zorbing though, happy for the kids to throw themselves off bridges and toss themselves down hills in giant plastic balls, but I am not willing to be involved in that kind of stuff and nonsense. The last thing that I need before I head back to work is a back injury, broken arm or leg or worse; no thank-you! I am going to leave the high impact action to the young and brave of heart, besides I am more than happy to wait out their high octane antics from the comfort of a good day spa with a glass of delicious New Zealand wine in my hand. Have at it kids, I'm happy to find my own fun!
This trip will be especially significant for Zoe because this trip is her 21st birthday gift - finally coming to fruition! It's one thing to give someone plane tickets and spending money as a gift, it's another thing altogether to finally get on to that flight and have the chance to spend that money overseas. So needless to say, the anticipation is high and the excitement has reached fever pitch.
We are all super excited to be going over to New Zealand as a family for what will probably be the last big overseas holiday that we all have together for quite some time. Zoe has overseas destinations that she wants to explore with her fiance and Craig and I have a few big ticket items to get done out here that will occupy our spending money for a while as well, so it's hard to say when we will have an opportunity as good as this again. In light of that, we are all heading to New Zealand with our sights set on having an absolutely marvellous time.
So I bid you all a fond farewell as I depart the country for a spell, I will without a doubt have wonderful tales to tell upon my return.
Just like Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, I am going on an adventure! Perhaps my most favourite adventure of all time and I cannot wait!
An historical period drama/ black comedy directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara. After winning the Grand Jury Prize at the 75th Venice International Film Festival where it had it's world premiere, The Favourite has since gone on to receive further critical acclaim, praise and accolades for it's screenplay, cinematography, music, costume design and the stellar performances of the three lead roles portrayed by Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.
In 1708 whilst Britain is at War with France, Queen Anne (Colman) sits on the throne entertaining eccentric behaviours and struggling with her unpredictable emotions and eating patterns. Sarah Churchill (Weisz) offers the Queen counsel, advise and comfort in many and varied ways, and has always held the Queen's attentions and affections. That is until her impoverish cousin Abigail Hill (Stone) arrives and seeks to gain the Queen's affections and adorations over Sarah. An unspoken and vicious competition commences as the two women vie for the Queen's favour.
I adore Yorgos Lanthimos as a director, he always brings a fresh and raw perspective to his storytelling and The Favourite may be my favourite of his movies so far. This film looks lush in every way, and the constant excessive indulgences really drive home the dreadfully wasteful and revoltingly spoilt lifestyles of the British Aristocracy of that period perfectly.
The acting is flawless and the three leads have been perfectly cast and the story is delivered in a wickly interesting way. Olivia Colman is looking mighty good for a Best Actress Oscar here, and Weisz and Stone bring a very real threat to the Academy Awards in their terrific support roles as well. This is unmissable stuff, a truly amazing cinematic experience.
FINAL SAY: As it turns out, I'm capable of much unpleasantness.
The Best Viewing Experiences of 2018
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
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
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
A semi-biographical drama that was written, co-produced, co-edited and directed by Alfonso Cuarón who based the film on his personal experiences growing up in Mexico City. ROMA won the coveted Golden Lion award at the 75th Venice International Film Festival where it had its world premiere, and has since received unanimous praise, critical acclaim and many other award nominations.
Set during the 1970's, we follow the daily experiences of Cleo, a young Mexican maid and nanny. Cleo works for Sofia and Antonio (a couple whose relationship is clearly in peril) in their home in Colonia Roma, a suburb of Mexico City. She loving cares their four children and Sofia's elderly mother; sharing their lives, their triumphs and their hardships as together they navigate the turbulent and politically charged environment that they are living in.
This film is so beautiful to watch, shot in moody black and white and full of lingering contemplative scenes, this is a film for true movie lovers and I adored it. Everything feels completely genuine and although this is just a movie about everyday people doing everyday things, it is absolutely engrossing and deeply affecting in every way.
Yalitza Aparicio is wonderful as Cleo and she is richly supported by a strong and capable cast here. I expect to hear a lot of Oscar and Golden Globe Award buzz around this film, and every bit of it would be deserved. This would be one of my favourite movies of the year and it should not be missed!
FINAL SAY: We are alone. No matter what they tell you, we women are always alone.
When people think of stalkers they think of famous people that are in the spotlight getting pursued by weirdos that send them creepy stuff like mutilated dolls in the mail or have creeps turning up at their houses in their underwear demanding a massage; but the truth about stalking is actually way more alarming and far more common than that.
It is only the celebrity stalkers that make it into the news, so we never really hear about all of the other stalking that goes on around us everyday. Turns out, that the real life everyday stalkers are actually very common and according to the National Centre for Victims of Crime statistics, one in 45 men and one in 12 women will be stalked by someone during their lifetime. How creepy is that? I bet you didn't know that there were that many people out in the world with stalker-ish qualities. I have to admit that I was pretty surprised when I read the statistics myself. So, obviously I wanted to know more about stalking, like why does a person stalk and how can you spot stalker behaviour before it gets out of control?
From what I have read, a stalker's main objective is to induce fear which they try to incite through methods of harassment and intimidation. The official definition of a stalker is anyone that creates unwanted contact between two people that directly or indirectly communicates a threat or places the victim in fear, which means that stalkers can be intentional or unintentional in their actions. 75% of all stalkers personally know their victims, so if you do find yourself being stalked, odds are that you will know the perpetrator.
Here are the seven types of stalkers to watch out for:
Domestic: A former spouse or paramour. This is the most prevalent type of stalking and can often manifest in the workplace. It also has the highest incident of putting innocent bystanders at risk.
Lust: A serial predator that stalks victim after victim. Serial rapists and murderers often begin as lust stalkers.
Love-Scorned: An acquaintance, coworker, neighbour etc. that desires an intimate relationship with the victim but is rebuffed.
Celebrity: Famous people stalker, aka. obsessive stranger.
Political: A person who's stalking is motivated by their political beliefs.
Hit: A person hired to stalk and murder a person.
Revenge: An angry, aggrieved, resentful and vindictive person that is seeking payback.
Unfortunately, there is no reliable profile to predict who is likely to stalk. Some patterns have begun to emerge from research, and although these fall short of providing a reliable or conclusive checklist, what has been discovered so far is interesting to say the least. Clinical studies have discovered that a large percentage of stalkers are:
Unemployed or under-employed
In their late 30's to late 40's
High school and/or college graduates
More intelligent than other forms of criminals
Mostly male
Often delusional
Sometimes narcissistic
Usually antisocial
Interestingly, in another study, most women said that they felt more afraid of being stalked by an unknown stranger than by someone that they knew. And I suppose that it is easier in some ways to see why an unknown predator would seem scarier, it makes them more unpredictable and mysterious. However, the truth is that the greatest danger of being stalked comes from the devil you know, not from the strangers, so don't get too complacent about odd behaviours in people that you already know.
Some potentially stalking behaviours to pay attention to would include:
Someone who has an unnecessary need to contact you but still does, their contact levels will be persistent and incessant. They will use calls, text, emails or even visit in person more often than you feel comfortable with.
Someone who seems clingy or keeps tabs on your goings on. They will always enquire about who you spend time with, where you are going and the details of your future plans.
Someone who knows more about you than you have told them. This means that they have enquired about you to other people or researched you through the people you know and your online profiles.
Someone who is socially awkward, says inappropriate things in large groups of people or is rude or mean to your friends. Many stalkers have these social traits.
Someone who cannot respect your personal boundaries and tries to contact you at inappropriate times, even after you've asked them not to.
Someone who drops in unannounced and hangs around when you don't want them to.
Someone that becomes aggressive, annoyed or intimidating when you try to set up personal boundaries or if you decline an invitation that they have initiated.
Someone that has left signs that they have been to your home, near your car, at your place of employment or on your social media accounts when you have not been there yourself.
Above all else, if you do feel like you are being pursued or stalked by someone in any way then you really need to take action. Firstly, by telling the person clearly that you would like to be left alone, then by increasing your own personal security (eg. telling friends and family about the stalker, changing your phone number, getting your locks changed, adjusting your daily patterns, not being alone as much as possible) and then if your stalker still doesn't get the hint, then you need to alert the police.
Remember that stalkers are not emotionally stable people, and therefore you cannot rely on them to make the right decisions, so always protect yourself first and never approach them alone. Hopefully, you will never need to employ any of this information, but with many things of an insidious nature, prevention and early detection can be key. So, don't feel like you ever need to put up with being intimidated by someone who attempts to gain your attention and friendship through means of fear, harassment and aggression becasue that's called stalking and it's illegal.
INGRID GOES WEST
A black comedy/drama directed by Matt Spicer and written by Spicer and David Branson Smith that premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Ingrid Goes West is a smart and satirical look into the vapidity of social media and the deeply disturbing social problems that have developed as a consequence of everyone's obsession with it, making this film as concerning as it is enjoyable.
Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza) has a history of mental illness and social media stalking. She discovers Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen) on instagram and instantly becomes obsessed with her boho chic lifestyle, which prompts her to move to LA in an effort to insinuate herself into Taylor's life.
Aubrey Plaza is dynamite as unstable Ingrid, and Elizabeth Olsen is perfectly cast as the vacuous Instagram junkie Taylor. This is a really watchable and modern take on the Single White Female stalker/thriller trope that will definitely leave you questioning how much you post on social media in the future.
FINAL SAY: #iamingrid
Can a Remake Be Better Than the Original?
So many people have asked me if I think that a remake can be better than an original version of a movie, and my answer is always the same: 'Yes! Of course it can!' With movie technology continually improving, we can now enjoy advanced CGI effects and superior sound and visual experiences, which in short means that we can have a more immersive cinematic experience than we ever could have had before. However, that does not necessarily make the original version redundant or of lesser value and importance, because if I was also asked if remakes were always better the original versions, I would most definitely answer 'Hell No!'
To this day I still watch a lot of classic movies, and by classic I mean movies from the 1930's to the 1970's. Movies from that time period didn't have a lot of options in the effects and sound department compared to today's standards, so they are often movies that relied on excellent acting and directing to deliver their stories. I have a stockpile of movies on my 'still need to see' list (which seems to be ever expanding and absolutely endless) and around 70% of them would fall into the classic film category. Most of them are very good, some of them are downright legendary and could not be improved upon by a remake, but some of them certainly could.
To be better than the original movie, there needs to be an improvement on all fronts, and not just in the effects department, because if the storyline is thin then my attention is never held for very long by CGI effects and all of the other bells and whistles that filmmakers feel compelled to throw at movies. For me, there needs to be something fresh about a remake that warrants the movie being remade in the first place. The perspective needs to alter in some way or the story has to become enhanced or given more depth or meaning in a remake. The actors need to be every bit as good and preferably better than the original actors and the director needs to be an avid fan of the original in a way that forces them to keep the integrity of the original intact, in other words it needs to not feel like a director's ego trip, which has happened so many times in remakes.
There have in fact been heaps of excellent remakes that are deserving of your time, even if you have seen and enjoyed the original version.
Here is my list of the best movie remakes that I have experienced, in no particular order:
Romeo and Juliet -Baz Luhrmann perfectly remixed this Shakespearean classic by installing a couple of modern heart-throbs and infusing it with a funky fresh soundtrack, and it is slice of pure brilliance.
Mad Max: Fury Road - I also really liked the original, but the heart-pounding, high octane, adrenaline rush action of the remake was just so damn good, oh and Tom Hardy was in it, definitely a bonus.
The Jungle Book - Jon Favreau's version of this Rudyard Kipling's classic is a perfect example of how CGI can be used to enhance an experience. It is magical!
Dawn of the Dead - This comedy/ horror homage to George A. Romero from Zack Snyder is a brain eating spectacular, so much blood and tasteless humour!
Blair Witch - I didn't really like The Blair Witch Project original, but I really got creeped out by the 2016 remake that was simply called Blair Witch. Kept me away from camping for years!
A Star is Born - remade four times, and finally they got it right! The onscreen chemistry of Coops and Gaga and the modern musical score made this new take an old romance a real winner.
Ghostbusters - The girls had a swing at it in 2016 and were every bit as good as the boys were in 1984, and they didn't try to 'remake' it so much as have another go at something similar and I enjoyed it a lot.
The Ring - The 1998 Japanese version was still really good, but the 2002 Gore Verbinski English language remake had an expanded storyline and some extra creepy CGI visuals. The acting was seriously stepped up in this version as well.
Bram Stoker's Dracula - Dracula has been done to death (pardon the pun) but when Francis Ford Coppola had a go, well it was just magic, finally something Stoker would've loved!
IT - Probably the best horror remake of all time, the effects and storyline have been fine tuned to perfection, unmissable remake material.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory -Tim Burton takes us on a delicious and disturbing romp into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory in this accurate realisation of Roald Dahl's classic tale that his own family were involved in creating.
King Kong - Peter Jackson's epic realisation of Skull Island and the tragic tale of Mighty Kong is by far the best version to see for all of it's impressive CGI effects and in depth story telling.
I was never a big fan of 1999 movie The Blair Witch Project, which got the biggest and most controversial movie advertising campaign that I can recall that year. And even though critics heavily disagree with me here and prefer the original offering to this new version; I am sticking to my horror loving guns when I tell you that this film is genuinely creepy as hell.
James's sister Heather went missing years ago in the Burkittsville forest whilst investigating the legend of the Blair Witch, convinced that she may still be alive, he rallies together a group of friends to join him in the woods in an attempt to find her and unravel the mystery of the Blair Witch.
The found footage film style does it make it hard to gauge what is actually going on all of the time, but this film is supposed to be disorientating, that's what the Blair Witch movies are all about so it didn't bother me in the least. I actually liked the 2000 version Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 as well, which also got an absolute slamming from critics.
The acting is actually pretty decent for a low budget horror movie and I thought that Callie Hernandez in particular was really strong, especially since she just needed to look convincingly terrified throughout, which she somehow managed to do with an escalating urgency.
I personally do find the idea of being lost in the woods for days and days on end (particularly in an unending darkness) a pretty scary and unsettling concept, so maybe that's why I like these movies as much as I do, that and the fact that they are about the legend of an old witch that haunts the woods, and I sure do love a witch tale.
FINAL SAY: There's something out there.
Men's Health Matters
Men's health is an extremely neglected issue, especially in countries like Australia where the term 'Man Up' or 'Don't be a Pussy' are the staple when it comes to male wellbeing. However, the truth is that the stoic, strong and silent male stereotype that Aussie males have happily hung their hats upon for decades has actually been incredibly damning for men.
Australia now has an alarmingly high suicide rate, and 75% of those suicides are men between the ages 15-44, which means that more men die of suicide every year than from road accidents. Suicide has now become the 10th highest cause of death among men, which means that it is an issue that we can no longer afford to ignore. Just today, 6 Australia men will take their own lives, and we desperately need to get to the bottom of what is going on and why this is happening.
The men that are taking their own lives come from all walks of life, they live in rural areas and cities, they are young and old and they have diverse employment, socio-economic statuses and cultural backgrounds, but they do have one thing in common, and that is the inability to reach out and share their troubles with others. Turns out that the strong male stereotype is so well ingrained that most men say that they are concerned or even afraid to show their true feelings, their worries, their anxieties and their burdens with others, even their closest family members and friends. This inability to share tends to push vulnerable men into drug and alcohol abuse, gambling addictions or other unhealthy outlets to try and cope with their emotions.
Essentially we have as a culture, disempowered our men to talk about themselves and their problems. Men are struggling to allow themselves to be vulnerable for fear of being singled out as weak; the pull to be an 'Aussie bloke' who can shoulder any responsibility has overridden men's ability to adopt introspection and let their guard down, and the results of this are just catastrophic.
So what can we do about it? First and foremostly, we have to acknowledge that what we are doing isn't working and that we need to make some serious changes to the way that we deal with men and their health and wellbeing issues. Organisation like Gotcha4Life and Movember are supporting programs directed specifically at men and agree that the approach needs to be different. Empowering and encouraging men to have deeper conversations about what is going on with them when they experience a crisis in their lives is the best place to start. We must make room for men to be in touch with the human parts of themselves, which means that they need the space to share, cry, mourn and feel weak from time to time without the fear of negative judgement.
We need to stop telling blokes to harden up or man up and we need to be better listeners and show support and understanding. We need to educate ourselves about men and their unique set of challenges and the heavy unspoken expectations that are placed upon them from an early age. These traditions of expectation have become so ingrained in Australian culture that it is going to take time to loosen the shackles of those constraints for men, but we have to start somewhere because male suicide is on the rise not the decline in Australia.
So start right away, tell the men in your life how much they mean to you and take more time to just sit and talk with them when you can. Allow time for them to bond with other men recreationally, and encourage them to spend time alone with other men so that they can learn to open up and share their thoughts and feelings in 'safe mate' circle of friends. Support and normalise emotional releases and remember that it is all of our responsibilities to make men feel valued, heard and supported so that they can face the challenges of their lives with dignity. Help men to understand that it is not only okay to feel weak, it is absolutely necessary sometimes, and that being an emotionless robot isn't of service to anyone.
It is time for us all to wave goodbye to the stoic Aussie male stereotype that we have all been conditioned to accept and expect for generations, because we know that we can all do a shitload better than that for our men. And I implore all men to reach out and share, because we are all here and ready to hear you and support you, and never forget that it's all gonna be okay, help is never too far away and it's totally okay to seek it out if you should need it.
Running Time 120 mins
It's been a while since I got all weepy at the cinema, but Beautiful Boy certainly provided me with plenty of heart wrenching material to weep over, and weep I did. Based on the best selling pair of memoirs (Beautiful Boy and Tweak) from father and son David and Nic Sheff and directed by Felix Van Groeningen, Beautiful Boy explores the difficult and ongoing struggles that families face when a child becomes a drug addict.
David Sheff is horrified when he discovers that his son Nic has become addicted to methamphetamines. Over the course of several difficult years Nic's family bands together in what seems like a hopeless and agonising struggle, as they attempt to save Nic from his addiction and himself.
This film is truly about enduring love and the absolutely powerless determination of a father's love for his mostly self destroying son. More of a journey than a movie, this film will touch and disturb you with it's unflinchingly ugly depictions of drug addiction and the harrowing struggles of a family that has been thrown into crisis because of that addiction.
Timothée Chalamet and Steve Carell deliver showcase performances that left an emotional imprint on me. Chalamet is fast becoming the 'one to watch' with his incredible onscreen presence and range, and he deserves to get some Oscar buzz for his efforts here.
Perhaps the most terrifying message that is delivered in Beautiful Boy is that drugs don't discriminate; the addicts in the film all came from good homes with loving families, but meth clearly doesn't discriminate and even the most fortunate are not immune to it's powers.
FINAL SAY: This isn't us! This is not who we are!
Pleasing Podcasts
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:
Something Amazing
Your Own Magic
Mind, Body Musings
LET IT OUT
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:
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:
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!
In spite of the tepid reviews from critics, I really enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody. This is a movie that has clearly been made for fans of Freddie Mercury and Queen, and if you don't like their music, you will, without a doubt, get nothing out of this movie.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a biographical film, directed by Bryan Singer, about the rock band Queen, with it's main focus firmly fixed on their lead singer Freddie Mercury and his life story up to Queen's Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in 1985.
Without a shadow of a doubt, the music makes this movie and it is a brilliant homage to the late, great Freddie Mercury who is stunningly well portrayed by Rami Malek who is just dynamite for the duration.
There are no surprises here though, the world knows exactly what became of poor Freddie, but the story of his climb to fame and struggles that he endured along the way are deeply entertaining. I was definitely dazzled by the music, costuming and atmosphere of Queen on stage, and would highly recommend this to fans of the band.
FINAL SAY: I pity your wife if you think that six minutes is forever.
And just like that, two weeks of holiday bliss has passed me by again. This time I got to do all of the things that I had set out to do at the beginning of the break. I read a novel, binge watched entire an TV series and saw some terrific movies, painted at the easel, went for a walk everyday, slept in, caught up with a some friends, chilled out with my kids, did yoga and meditation everyday, drank some good whiskey, replanted by garden beds and vegetable patch and just breathed in all of the fabulousness that a fortnight of respite can offer. For the first time ever, I did not run around, I did not make an extensive to do list, I did not chase anyone for a catch up; in fact I barely even left Enfield unless I absolutely had to, and it was one of the most peaceful breaks that I have enjoyed in some time. Above all else, I rested and I rebooted myself for the final and undoubtedly busiest term of the year which is probably the most important thing to do at this stage of the year.
Finding grace and calm during the busier times of the year is always a challenge, so setting yourself up correctly at the launch pad is always a very wise choice. In 2007, Randy Pausch (a professor from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who had terminal cancer) made a final lecture, entitled Last Lecture, about the most important lessons that he had learned in his life. The lecture became an internet sensation, inspiring millions of people around the globe and spawned an international best-selling book that would be interpreted into 35 languages. In his lecture Randy eloquently says, among many other pearls of wisdom, "we cannot change the cards that we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
The most resilient and impressive leaders of our time have used this philosophy to stay the the course and to show courage in the face of adversity. The people that use the most challenging times of their lives as valuable teaching moments (for themselves or others) are the wisest and strongest people. And the bottom line is, that in the struggle, there is real growth. And even though I would love to swan around in downward facing dog and wander about the Enfield forest every other afternoon, that is not the only way that my soul is going to get fed. By avoiding all contact, challenge and confrontation I am not really stretching my boundaries as a person and I am not really fulfilling my potential to make a difference. The struggle is important, the struggle is valuable and the struggle is necessary.
So raise a glass to challenge, welcome some adversity into your life. Don't let it make you furious, let it keep you curious. Like I said in my previous writings, it's all about turning straw into gold and finding the joy in all states of being. Yes, there is a time for rest and relaxation, but there is also a time for action and progress and I recognise that the time for me to pick up my tools and continue with the work at hand has arrived, and I feel like I am ready and recharged for the task ahead. This time, I welcome the return.
A biographical drama produced and directed by James Franco, who also plays the lead role of Tommy Wiseau in the movie. The Disaster Artist is based on Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell's 2013 non-fiction book of the same name and chronicles the making of Tommy Wiseau's 2003 film The Room, which is widely considered to be one of the worst movies to have ever been made.
19 year old Greg Sestero meets the mysterious and flamboyant character Tommy Wiseau at an acting class. A friendship is created and the two move to Los Angeles to pursuit acting careers together. After many failed auditions and casting attempts, Wiseau writes his own script entitled The Room and sets about making a movie himself.
With his unending money supply, his strange European accent, his unusual temperament and his incredibly mysterious approach to his actual age and heritage, Tommy Wiseau may well be one of the weirdest and most deluded characters that Hollywood has ever spawned; and it does make for some riveting (albeit disturbing) viewing.
The Franco brothers make a formidable team here, with both James and Dave showcasing their talent and ease with each other perfectly. They are well supported by Ari Graynor, Zac Efron, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Jackie Weaver and Paul Scheer to name but a few and the overall effect is humorously catastrophic from start to end.
FINAL SAY: Just because you want it doesn't mean it can happen.
Mental wellness is something that most of us will struggle with at some point in our lives. Even the most seemingly 'put together' people have lapses into the world of imbalanced thought and mental challenge from time to time, they are just a lot better at hiding it from everyone. However, whatever walk of life you are from, whatever your background is, whatever your social standing is, you will inevitably, at some point, feel not so fantastic, wonder what the hell you are doing with your life and question whether you are operating at your best.
It's completely normal to not feel 100% mentally balanced all of the time, hell some people lead very regular lives and feel mostly mentally unwell a lot of the time, it's just not something that a lot of people feel comfortable about proclaiming to the world, because no-one really wants to appear like they haven't got their shit together. However, letting pride dictate how we deal with our mental health issues is archaic and unproductive to societal wellness and we really need to strive to move away from that outdated and counterproductive mindset. We all really need to know, that it is totally okay to not feel okay all of the time.
As time rolls on and the methods of researching mental health improve, we are learning how to diagnose, treat and support each with our mental wellness; the old school shame and stigma that was attached to mental health is now being shed and people are feeling more comfortable to come forward, share their stories and be honest about how they are feeling, and in turn receive better support than they ever have been able to before.
It is a brave new world when it comes to mental health. Gone are the days of closet depression and hidden anxieties as people are now learning to recognize and own their individual mental wellness levels. More people than ever before are seeking treatment and support and we are slowly but surely learning tolerance, detection, prevention and intervention that will definitely set us up for a brighter future together in the coming years.
And the real work surrounding mental wellness is something that we need to be vigilant about every day. Each of us must make an effort to recognize the signs within ourselves that tell us when our levy has run dry or we have met our own personal limits. And those limits are unique for everyone, and we must respect that and support that understanding. We must become ninjas at recognizing when we are at the top of our game and when we may be feeling weak. When we are at our peak, we have an obligation to assist those that may be feeling weak, and when we are weak we need to feel safe and secure enough to seek support from the strong. We all owe it to each other to be tolerant, supportive and unwavering in our commitment to our own mental health and our support of the wellness of others.
R U OK? Day is coming up on Thursday September 13th, which is a national day dedicated to reminding us that we need to check in with each other and support each other with mental wellness. Don't forget to check in with your friends, family, work colleagues and community on that day, and every other day that you can when you are feeling strong enough to support the wellbeing of others. Mental health is the responsibility of us all and it's not something that we can ever afford to ignore.
An intriguing psychological thriller from director Steven Soderbergh that was created in secret and shot entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus. Since premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival, Unsane has been successfully making us all feel like we are just a bunch of untalented hacks! When a director can produce something this good with just an iPhone 7, you have to be impressed, and I am sure that we are now going to see a string of movies shot in the same fashion, all struggling to match up to this first impressive effort.
Sawyer Valentini has been wrestling with her mental wellness after being relentlessly pursued by a stalker. She makes an appointment with a counselor at the Highland Creek Behavioural Centre and unknowingly commits herself to being admitted. Sawyer believes that her stalker is working at the facility in an attempt to get closer to her, which escalates her counselor's desire to extend her stay.
Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard and Juno Temple star in this mysterious tale, and although it's not the best thriller that I have ever seen, it certainly kept me interested and I couldn't help admiring how much an iPhone managed to enhance the overall effect and claustrophobic feeling of the movie.
FINAL SAY: I'm not fucking crazy!
Last night I went to see BlacKkKlansman at the cinema, which I really enjoyed and felt was very 'of the moment' given the climate of racial tensions around the globe at the moment. The movie really got me thinking about how undeniably evident it is that we have such a long way to go when it comes to tolerance, equality and prejudice, and I feel really overwhelmed by the amount of hate that still exists in our so called civilised and evolved world. And all of that hate does pose some concerning questions around the true nature of how evolved we really are.
I only recently discovered that it is frowned upon to use the term #alllivesmatter. I must have been living under a rock for the last 3 years, because I had always believed that it was a slogan associated with a person's respect for every living thing - equally - every human, every animal and every plant - EVERYTHING LIVING! But apparently that hippy theory of mine is definitely not the case.
To use or support #alllivesmatter is considered deeply offensive because white people have used it as a form of racial slander against the #blacklivesmatter campaign, which in turn created further tensions and stirred up more hate and fighting, and now there is no way that I can use that term in good conscience.
I am so naive about the whole topic that I literally had no idea that it was even racially linked! I genuinely do believe that all lives matter but I am definitely not going to use that term again because for one thing, I am white and for another, I am afraid that I will offend someone unintentionally if I do use it. I am most certainly not at a racist, and I would not like to be mistaken for one just because I ignorantly misused the term #alllivesmatter.
There is just no room in this world for all of the hate and all of the tension that is occurring on a daily basis. There is absolutely nothing to be gained from everyone pointing out how different we all are from each other all of the time, what we really should be working harder to do is to find more common ground. We are all more alike than we are unalike, and when it comes to this beautiful planet of ours we really are all on the same side.
We need to unite and together we need to march for peace not power. We need to celebrate our differences and empower each other to love and most importantly to heal from a very fractured past. We need to learn to stand tall side by side, against tyranny and oppression, and find peaceful ways to move forwards together with our energies firmly invested on nurturing our planet...but we all know that we are not even close to achieving that goal right now.
While our planet, the one place that we all share together and the one thing that we all have in common withers beneath our feet, we - the people of the globe, would still rather fight and disempower and hate and rape and pillage and steal and condemn; and honestly it just breaks my heart that we are still so damn disillusioned and blinded that we can't see how easy it would be to just love one another instead.
Call me a hippy, call me a dreamer and yes, I suppose that I am both of those things, but you cannot deny that the world would be a far better place to live if we could all just move forward together with a greater purpose. I would love to see that happen in my lifetime, but in reality I am happy to plan and work towards it happening in my grandchildren's; because like I said, we've got a long way to go and the work needs to start now.
A biographical drama directed by Spike Lee and based on the 2014 memoir Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth. I was unsuspectingly lured to the cinema by what appeared to be a pretty amusing trailer for this film, but trust me when I say that a lot of what is happening in this movie is anything but funny. There is certainly a very serious and important message being conveyed in BlacKkKlansman and after premiering at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival the movie has gone on to receive great critical praise for its ultra-relevant subject material.
In the 1970's, an African American Detective at Colorado Springs police department sets out to infiltrate and expose the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
With a sharp script and stellar performances from John David Washington (Denzel Washington's son) as Ron Stallman, Adam Driver as Detective Flip Zimmerman and Topher Grace as David Duke, BlacKkKlansman is gripping from start to end. The 70's have been captured perfectly here from the clothes, the language, the film production and even the style of screen shot, this film has been thoughtfully and authentically produced, and I was completely absorbed throughout every moment.
This is a movie that people are going to be talking about after they have seen it, and so they should, it is excellent and definitely a must see for 2018.
FINAL SAY: Power to the People!
I adore music and just like movies and TV, I love music in all forms and all genres, with the exception of Country and Western and Scream-O, I just can't get into them, and I sincerely apologise to any die hard C & W or S-O fans out there, but I have tried both and they are definitely not for me. However in saying that, I do respect that both of those music genres have a lot of avid fans. And I also strongly believe that any form of music that can transport you to another place or make you feel a certain way is a success on some level. Whether you like a certain style of music or not is irrelevant anyway, because music is an art form and it is not supposed to appeal to everyone's tastes, and like art is about finding a form that suits you and your personal taste the best.
It is music's unfailing ability to create a mood, set a scene or transport you to another time that appeals to me the most. I have music compilations on Spotify for every mood and moment, from deep transcendental meditations to high energy dance music, and I regularly listen to them all.
The other day while I was perusing Pinterest I came across a list of 30 questions about music that was a lot of fun to complete. The list of questions had me rummaging about through my old CD collection and scrolling through my playlists and reminiscing about all of my favourite songs. I found myself downloading and listening to a heap of songs that I had long forgotten about, and because I had such a great time answering the questions on that list, then I thought that I should share it with you all so that you can have a go at answering them as well.
I would also like to note that it is a lot of fun to complete this list after you've had a couple of drinks, and it would probably be really good fun to complete with a friend and/or partner as well, but you can always just go solo as I did and still have a blast belting out your old favourite tunes.
So, without further ado, here is the list:
1. A song you like with a colour in the title.
2. A song you like with a number in it.
3. A song that reminds you of the summertime.
4. A song that reminds you of someone that you would rather forget about.
5. A song that needs to be played LOUD!
6. A song that makes you want to dance.
7. A song to drive to.
8. A song about drugs or alcohol.
9. A song that makes you happy.
10. A song that makes you sad.
11. A song that you never get tired of.
12. A song from your preteen years.
13. One of your favourite songs from the 80's.
14. A song that you would love to have played/ or played at your wedding.
15. A cover song that you love.
16. A classical song that you love.
17. A duet song that you would be willing to perform at karaoke.
18. A song from the year that you were born that you love.
19. A song that make you ponder life.
20. A song that you want played at your funeral.
21. A favourite song with a person's name in the title.
22. A song that motivates you to get going or move on.
23. A song that you think that everyone should listen to.
24. A song that you love by an artist that has died.
25. A song by a band that you wish were still together.
26. A song that makes you think about falling in love.
27. A song that breaks your heart.
28. A song by an artist with a voice that you love.
29. A song from your childhood.
30. A song that you think best sums up who you are.
There you go, hours of musical thinking, pondering and some deep emotional responses to get through on that list, and I still haven't even finished my own list completely yet, it's a work in progress.
If this list doesn't define some of your musical preferences for you, then I don't know if anything will, but anyway, just go and get lost in some musical memories for a few hours because it's just a really nice thing to do a rainy day.
Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, and based on his experiences in the Princeton High School Studio Band, this film took the cinematic world by surprise with it's gripping and inspiring story about an ambitious young drummer. J.K. Simmons won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his disturbing portrayal of the abusive teacher Fletcher, and the movie has since gone on to win a host of over 80 other film awards.
When Andrew (Miles Teller) finally gets accepted into a prestigious jazz music academy for his drumming abilities, he thinks that his dreams have come true. However, he soon realises that his teacher, Professor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), is a tyrannical perfectionist that will push Andrew to his limits and beyond.
There is such a raw intensity to this movie; watching the determination of Andrew as he struggles with his emotional abuse in search of his artistic glory is pretty tough going. When it comes to Whiplash, it truly is a case of 'the agony and the ecstasy,' and with that heart thumping soundtrack racing along in the background all of the time, it keeps a dramatic and intense pace.
FINAL SAY: Were you rushing or were you dragging?
I hate to admit it, but I am secretly obsessed with finding out what Myers-Briggs personality type people are. I know that people say that the test is a certain amount of bullshit, but I find it really interesting to know what people come out as when they take the test. I do think that the test results make it a lot easier to understand how other people are perceiving the world around them, what makes them tick and how they will apply themselves to problems or team tasks. Call me naive, but I do think that there is something to the Myers Briggs test and most people do appear to suit their report results fairly well.
As with all types of personality tests, there is never going to be any test that offers 100% accuracy. Some people will definitely get different results on different days, and I can see how mood could seriously affect the results in a personality test. Also if a person is neurotic or not able to own certain truths about themselves, that too could seriously alter the accuracy rates of this type of test.
So I guess what I am trying to say is, that although I do not believe that the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a definitive personality test to run your life by, I do believe that it is deeply interesting, and if you've not taken the test yet (or haven't in a long while) it is worth a revisit just for the fun of it.
I have taken the test 4 times now, and every time I come out as an INFJ. I have had a ten year stretch between the first and the last time that I sat the test and it seems that I have not changed at all in that time, because I still got the same result. I am always:
The thing that I love to do the most with my results (because I clearly have nothing better to do with my time) is to type my personality type into google to see which famous characters have the same personality type as me. Kind of sad I know, but if you haven't already realized this by now, I am a huge pop culture fan, so of course I want to know who I am most like in my favourite TV shows and movies!
Here are some famous INFJ characters that share my personality type:
Galadriel (Lord of the Rings)
Remus Lupin (Harry Potter)
Daenerys Targaryen (GOT)
Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)
Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby)
Doctor Strange (Marvel)
Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy)
Elsa (Disney Princess)
And in the real world, some famous INFJs include:
Martin Luther King Jr.
But enough about me, you must be intrigued to know who you are most like by now yourself. You are literally only one google click away from total geekdom right now, and for that I do apologise!
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Harper Lee and regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, To Kill a Mockingbird has received overwhelmingly positive responses from critics and audiences alike since it's release. It deservingly won three Academy Awards, including a Best Actor Academy for Gregory Peck for his stirring portrayal of the lawyer Atticus Finch.
A lawyer (Peck) who is raising his two children alone in a racially divided town in Alabama, agrees to defend a young black man who has been accused of raping and savagely beating a white woman. As the evidence surrounding the case is presented, it becomes clear that the accused is not guilty but convincing a completely white jury in a small town of that, presents the biggest challenge.
This powerful movie about racial discrimination speaks volumes about the social climate in Alabama during the 1930's and could certainly be viewed as historically significant for it's honesty and accuracy. It has definitely stood the test of time, and makes for compelling viewing even today. It is an unmissable cinematic experience that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime.
FINAL SAY: Remember it was a sin to kill a mockingbird.
4 Chilli Peppers
You Think You Know People
You think that you know people....but you never really do. We allow ourselves to believe that we know our family, our spouses and our friends pretty well because we like to think that we do, but the reality of that is actually quite different. When you spend a lot of a time with a person you like to think that you get a sense of who they are, what they believe in and what they stand for, but essentially we are all just compartmentalising people and putting them into pigeon holes that we feel comfortable with, and that does not necessarily portray who they really are at all.
According to Nicholas Epley, author of "Mindwise: Why We Misunderstand What Others Think, Believe, Feel and Want," you probably don't know anyone nearly as well as you think you do. And you may also have a poor idea of how they'd assess you. Essentially, we fundamentally view ourselves from a very different perspective than other people do because we have a ton of information about ourselves. Based on that, we understand ourselves far better than others, and we also make our assessment on others based on that inner understanding of ourselves; which is where the problem lies. We automatically assume that other people are wired like we are, which is of course so very far from the truth; just because you are looking at the same thing, doesn't mean that you are seeing the same thing, and that leads to a lot of misinterpretation and heartache.
Trust me when I say that I have been seriously deceived by people in the past that I wrongly believed that I knew really well. I have been utterly flabbergasted by the things that people who I truly loved and cared about, people that I thought were part of my tribe, have been cruel enough to do and say without a second thought. People that I trusted and defended and fought to protect, people that I thought felt the same way about me, but it was all just an illusion of love, they never really cared for me at all, in fact they hated me and the worst part of all was that I didn't even know how much they hated me. I completely misread these people and made a wrong assessment about who they were and how they felt about me.
I cannot tell you how damaged that misinterpretation has left me as a person. You don't ever get over a hurt that deep, not ever. And I have been forever changed by my past experiences in ways that I wish that I hadn't, because I really miss feeling like I can trust people and open up to them, but I will never be able to completely trust like that ever again now. When you love people with all of the love that you have to give and they hurt you so viciously, there is really no coming back from that. All that is left in their place now is a raging sense of injustice and a shattering awareness that you can never really know anyone, no matter how much you want to think that you do. Assuming that people are feeling the things that you want them to feel is the most foolhardy thing in the world to do and I never want to go through that in this lifetime again.
Once bitten, twice shy they say, and I am now tremendously shy, perhaps to the point of paranoid, but I have certainly learned that there is a huge difference between knowing someone and thinking that you know someone, and I will not make that mistake or get too comfortable with anyone like that, ever again.
How on earth did Amy Adams not get nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role in 2016? It is mind boggling to me, given the strength of her performance here and also in Arrival, but I digress, let's get back to the movie at hand.
I have to say, I loved this movie, I absolutely loved it. Writer/ director Tom Ford has married together a unique blend of intrigue and drama that really worked for me, and although I know that this film is not going to appeal to everyone's taste, there is no denying that it will get under their skin one way or another.
A wealthy artist and gallery owner finds her life turned upside down when an ex-lover contacts her after a 19 year hiatus and presents her with a violent and upsetting manuscript that is dedicated to her.
The movie plays out with three storylines running at the same time, which added a lot more complexities and layers to an already exceptionally heavy and emotional script. This is thinking man's drama at its best, beautifully shot and deeply compelling and thank goodness, the most original film of 2016 by a long mile. All of the actors, not just Adams, are all flawless. Jake Gyllenhaal is the best that I have seen him in years, Michael Shannon delivers as brilliantly as he always does and Aaron Taylor-Johnson gives new meaning to the word creepy.
Expect it to stick with you, because it's one of those kinds of films.
FINAL SAY: When you love someone you have to be careful with it, you might never get it again.
So Much to See and So Little Time!
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!
An Australian mystery/ drama directed by Peter Weir and based on the novel of the same name by Joan Lindsay. Lindsay was deliberately ambiguous about whether the events of the story really took place, and although the story is in fact entirely fictitious, many people believed that the tale was based on actual events that had occurred at Hanging Rock.
On Valentine's Day 1900, a group of schoolgirls visited Hanging Rock, Victoria for a leisurely picnic. Under mysterious circumstances, two of those schoolgirls and one of their teachers went missing and were never seen again.
Inspired by the themes in Frederick McCubbin's impressionist paintings of the Australian Bush, Picnic at Hanging Rock is a masterpiece of filmmaking. Every shot feels like a piece of art, the composition is just perfect. On top of that, the soundtrack is deeply haunting, the schoolgirls are whimsically fragile and romantic, and the Australian bush is correctly depicted as dangerously alluring.
Weir is clearly making a statement here about the culture clash that occured between the early European settlers and the ancient indigenous landscape, and it makes for some truly riveting viewing.
FINAL SAY: What we see and what we seem are but a dream, a dream within a dream.