Box Office Flop or Blockbuster 2020? - The Grudge (2020 film)

In 2004 Sarah Michelle Gellar was one of the biggest names in horror, in 2020 her hit film The Grudge has been remade.



So is it a Box Office Flop or Blockbuster? Firstly what is going on with film reviewing in January 2020, most films I have seen recently have hovered around the 20% mark on Rotten Tomatoes. So critically it's a flop, however it has already done $40M @ the box office. For a budget of $20M that ain't bad!

Yes The Grudge is back with Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir (the Bridge, US version), John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, and Jacki Weaver. Go Jacki Weaver!

No Sarah Michelle Gellar however in 2020, however I still did jump a few times! So for a horror film to get those jump scares it sort of gets a pass right?

We all know the story, so this film cuts to the chase fairly fast. I also give it points for remaining around the 90 minute mark.

Like comedies, horror films do not need to exceed two hours.

The Grudge opened today, with a few sessions each day and my random 5pm session was fairly poorly attended however some people are still working at that hour!

So what is the score for this reboot/remake, well it made me jump, it's creepy and that's what horror is all about, 2.5 Stars.

Triple J's Hottest 200, 2019

OK, so around one month ago, here was my 101-200, is there something in common with 101 on my countdown and Triple J's? Yes the Billie factor, my strange addiction, I picked it, #101! Even the Warmest Tuna's picked Adrian Eagle and that was with a pile of data!

OK so other than that little guess, the Hottest 200 on Triple J featured a number of my favourite tunes.

From Billie to Tyler, The Creator's great I Think (#104) to Joji's beautiful Sanctuary at #112, there were some solid songs in the list.

It was great to get a double from Allday and The Veronicas at #116 (Restless) and #130 with the beautiful Like a Version of Big Yellow Taxi.

I was happy to see Benee from NZ slay at #126 with Supalonely, following the great Tones & I hit The Kids are Coming at #125.

Finally Northeast Party House made the list (twice) at #128 (Magnify) and #133 (Dominos) both from their album Shelf Life arriving next month!

Thelma Plum and Confidence Man gave us great hits at #137 and #138 in the top half of the second countdown.

Whilst #167 was one of my favourite "rock" songs, On the Luna from Foals.

I thought Location {Feat. Burna Boy} by Dave would have placed higher than #173 considering all the airplay and hype JJJ announcers gave it.

Great to see Lizzo and Missy Elliot's Tempo drop in at #174. What a JAM!

Sadly Charli XCX & Christine and the Queens Gone only made it to #188, it was a tune I voted for so at least it made the list. Unlike Channel Tres :(

So Fidlar's By Myself was my highest ranking song I voted for, coming in at #12.

Here is the full Triple J lists, Top 100, Top 200. Happy reading friends.

Box Office Flop or Blockbuster 2020? - Like a Boss

Oh dear, is it two end of January flops in a row? What happens when I ask is Like a Boss a Box Office Flop or Blockbuster in 2020?

Here is the rude trailer first up...



So looking at it's box office ($22M) versus budget ($29M) things are not looking good. Whilst the reviews aren't much better. Sorry Rose I think Bridesmaids set the bar a little too high for chick comedies. Bridesmaids when it came it was a first, it was raw, laugh out loud funny whilst also having heart. Now in 2020 we get Like a Boss.

After the week I had, Like a Boss however was refreshing. A strange few castings like Jimmy O Yang and Salma Hayek, however Billy Porter and Tiffany Haddish shone.

Rose Byrne of course was sensational, not to mention Jacob Latimore (The Chi) was damn fine!

Jennifer Coolidge also needs a call out, some of her lines went down literally like a lead balloon. Her character was honestly the worst.

This all taken into account it's only 83 minutes while at least the first half is enjoyable the second half sort of drags a bit. Leave the emotions out, it's a comedy!

I'll pass this and a little bit, because the start of 2020, we need a laugh, Hollywood more comedies please. Like Now! 3 Stars.

Box Office Flop or Blockbuster 2020? - Underwater

2020 has been an interesting start to the year for film. Honestly this Lunar New Year long weekend's films are really nothing to get too excited about. I read somewhere January was a bit of a dumping ground for films, honestly looking at the Hoyts website right now, I think the below films are being dumped by their respective studios -

Dolittle (huge critical and box office flop)
Go! (sad the only Aussie film on at present has such a limited presence this long weekend)
Just Mercy (looks interesting but way too serious for a long weekend after our wicked Summer thus far)
Like a Boss (looks like it has potential, however most of the funny bits may very well be in the trailer)
My Spy (the trailer, the poster, it all looks wrong)
Spies in Disguise (do I need to say more...)

and finally today's film, Underwater.

Answering the question Box Office Flop or Blockbuster? Well....



Financially it's a monster flop, not to mention it's very limited sessions week one of release. Actually all the new movies have limited sessions versus Bad Boys for Life.

So Underwater, it's enjoyable, to the point but something about Kristen Stewart is just not right. After her last major flop Charlies Angels (the reboot no one asked for) you would think she would try to redeem herself?

Well honestly this film was a lot more enjoyable, however Stewart is just not that likeable, why? I can't put my finger on it.

At least the film sticks to a tight 90 minutes. It's fast paced, however it's pacing is not the major issue, it's cast are mismatched. TJ Miller delivers some fun lines whilst Stewart just looks grumpy.

Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist) is a little deer in the headlights, but overall on a hot summers day, it was enjoyable to watch an underwater disaster film.

Is it telling mining companies but drilling into the ocean could only release dangerous beasts killing entire crews? There could be an environmental message in there too.

Either way, it's not amazing, it's not bad, it gets a pass mark (or even just slightly above) 2.75 Stars.

Triple J's Hottest 100, 2019

So I posted a few lists over New Year's, they were my 200 best songs of the year. The songs I liked whilst also being extremely successful either in Australia or across the Globe in Tones & I's case.

This weekend whilst Triple J has unveiled it's Hottest 100 (Hottest 200 on Monday) I have now completed my Best 100 tunes of the past decade.

There is two parts so, for Part One 100-51 click here or Part Two 50-1 go here.

For a recap here is the links to my best 200 songs of 2019 -

1-100, 2019
101-200, 2019

Now a quick reaction to the Hottest 100 for 2019 on Triple J.

So of course Billie Eilish deserved number one, I just thought the first ever female act to top the list would be Australian, most likely from Unearthed? Anyone Tones & I still got a solid three tracks in the countdown. However Billie went off, five tracks in the top 100!

Billie still has a song or two up here sleeve, with my strange addiction missing in action. However clearly releasing everything i wanted in mid November was good scheduling for the countdown voting. It blasted in at number 16! From memory only The Weeknd's current tune Blinding Lights (number one now on my Fresh Friday Countdown) was released after everything i wanted. Hitting the stands on November 29th.

Aussie songs completely slayed with 65% of the first 100 being Australian! Shame my favourites (at present) Northeast Party House missed the boat so far. Here is hoping for some big entries between 101-200 on Monday.

Thelma Plum also made history yesterday, becoming the highest ranking Indigenous Australian artist in Hottest 100 history. Man I remember when her beautiful first track Father Said broke my heart. I remember hearing her voice on the radio thinking, damn she is ace!

G Flip (legend!) and Lime Cordiale also had great days, getting four tunes each in the countdown, however one can not look past Flume. He released an experimental mixtape, joint EP and a few singles last year, however with no full length album he still got so close, he came in at number two.

Rushing Back with Vera Blue from Flume clearly was a dark horse of a tune, I loved it, but did not think it was going to reach number two. I do feel however Lizzo should have been top 10 or at least top 20 with Juice, it came in at 28 with very little airplay on Triple J but a lot of love on sister station Double J.

Speaking of 28, I though 27 Vossi Bop from Stormzy would have been top ten for sure. That tune was massive in April/May upon it's release.

Other thoughts, I just can't wait till Monday, I generally love the 101-200 list, some of my votes are currently missing. Let's hope Charli XCX and Christine and the Queens awesome Gone will be number 101!

The Witcher...

Of all the Summer TV series I have smashed through, I could only commit to one episode of The Witcher. Not even Henry Cavill could save this dud, Entertainment Weekly critic Darren Franich said of the series, "my destiny is to never watch this borefest ever again", awarding the first season an F rating. I agree 100%

If I can save you around 8 binge hours, here it is.



The Witcher hopes to be the next Game of Thrones, fantasy favourite, however it's more of a fantasy fail. Only for fans of the book, or for those with extremely low expectations. #AVOIDTHE WITCHER

#SUMMER-BINGE-FEST - Unbelievable

It has to be said, I have been smashing a number of series of late and Netflix has been on high rotation this week. First The Crown, now Golden Globe and SAG nominated Unbelievable.



Starring Aussies Toni Collette as Det. Grace Rasmussen and Danielle Macdonald as Amber alongside Nurse Jackie's Merritt Wever as Det. Karen Duvall. The story revolves around Kaitlyn Dever as Marie Adler a victim of sexual abuse based on "An Unbelievable Story of Rape" (2015), a Pulitzer Prize-winning article by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong for ProPublica and The Marshall Project.

Unbelievable is 8 outstanding episodes of television for Netflix, critically acclaimed whilst according to Netflix (they seldomly do this) 32 million subscribers have viewed this series.

Admittedly the series was released around peak US season so I am late to the show. However I think I had all eight episodes done and dusted in 3 days.

Landing on streaming service Netflix on September 13, this show is already a critical hit as well as a much talked about series, you know in the office when someone says, have you seen ..... on Netflix yet? Well this series is one most people in and around my office space had either heard of, or watched.

It's only mid way through the summer binge period, however with a number of shows returning I may have to slow down my current binge speed. Station 19 and the spin off of 9-1-1 starting next week, along with the superhero CW shows also back, I may slow down.

However I will continue to bring you more TV and film reviews as I go.

So if you are free this weekend and the rain that is forecast falls, Unbelievable is totally watchable over the weekend.

Till next time, TGIF...

The CW renewed Dynasty.... WHAT?

And in Australia, why is it not on Netflix? Why I ask, why?

Surely it's renewal has a lot more to do with Netflix, rather than the appalling ratings on The CW. Buried on their schedule on Friday nights at 9pm, the show really jumped the shark last season.

Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to watch a single third season episode yet, however one can only tell from it's ratings it's still a trashy affair.

The show even with a week's worth of catch up viewers is still well under one million viewers. Netflix must be seeing amazing numbers worldwide, surely?

Either way The CW renewed almost it's entire schedule earlier this month. So All American, Batwoman, Black Lightning, Charmed, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Dynasty, The Flash, In the Dark, Legacies, Nancy Drew, Riverdale, Roswell New Mexico, and Supergirl will all be back late 2020 and through the first half of 2021.

To stay up to date with all the latest TV renewals make sure you visit HERE. Speaking of other exciting Netflix renewals (similar to Dynasty traditional TV seems not to work, ratings wise but streaming does) You will be back in 2021.

That's a LONG ass wait!

Either way in Australia we are still waiting for Dynasty to come back for a third season, come on Netflix, at least release the first Fall (USA) nine episodes, please?

#SUMMER-BINGE-FEST - The Crown

Catching up over summer on some of Netflix's biggest 2019 titles is lot's of fun. Where in Australia we have been given non stop bushfire news coverage, the tennis, cricket of I'm a Celebrity...

The Crown's third season is miles ahead of the above below average entertainment.

All besides the brilliant news coverage provided by the ABC, it always amazes me that in the age of streaming Australian networks at summer just give up. I guess it's non ratings but still. Some of the shit airing on Aussie TV right now is appalling..

Olivia Colman stars as Elizabeth, along with the delicious Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, Elizabeth's younger sister.

Colman had big shoes to fill as everyone loved Claire Foy, however Colman has already picked up a Golden Globe for her performance.

Let's hope the fourth season as well as the second with Colman/Bonham Carter in main roles returns at the end of 2020.

The Crown is so important right now with all that is happening with Prince Andrew and Megxit.

Oh the Royals, if ever there was a time for Australia to become a republic, it's now right?

The Crown it's outstanding, highly entertaining summer viewing, catch up on all three seasons right now on Netflix.

2020 OSCARS Nominations | Predictions

Another day another awards show nominations announced. My predictions in bold and red (as usual, if you are a regular reader):

Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Actor
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy

Best Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Best Directing
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips, Joker
Sam Mendes, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
The Two Popes

Best Original Screenplay
Knives Out
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Animated Feature Film
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4

Best Cinematography
The Irishman
Joker
The Lighthouse
1917
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Best Costume Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Best International Feature Film
Corpus Christi (Poland)
Honeyland (North Macedonia)
Les Misérables (France)
Pain and Glory (Spain)
Parasite (South Korea)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
1917

Best Original Score
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Original Song
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” Rocketman
“I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough
“Into the Unknown,” Frozen 2
“Stand Up,” Harriet

Best Production Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
1917
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
The Lion King
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

#SUMMER-BINGE-FEST - The Boys

Catching up over Summer on a number of 2019 series is always easy when the week to week shows take a wee break. Currently a number of my #RATED shows are on short or longer (Empire, How to Get Away with Murder and 9-1-1) breaks.

I will soon reveal my Summer #RATED list, rating each show I have watched week to week or binge watched over the summer slack period.

With all of The CW shows returning over the next week (Arrow is back Wednesday - Australian time) my schedule will soon be busy again.

So I managed to return to a show which launched on my mother's birthday back in late July, The Boys.

Another superhero series, which was more of an anti superhero series. Think Titans but more graphic and less a bad Robin, but a twisted Aquaman.

Chace Chawford is delicious as the Deep (the fake Aquaman) whilst Erin Moriarty as Starlight is the shining light vs Kiwi Antony Starr's evil Homelander.

The show features heaps of C bombs and extreme violence. Elisabeth Shue is also extremely likeable as an evil corporate type.

This will not be everyone's cup of tea whilst it is definitely an adult's only affair. The Boys is streaming on Amazon Prime. A second season has already been ordered so keep an eye on Amazon Prime for the release date of it's second season.

Box Office Flop or Blockbuster 2020? - 1917

Oh yes Golden Globe award winning 1917 gets asked the big question, flop or blockbuster?



This one continuous shot war film is solid gold! So I say this is a blockbuster. Already winning best drama picture and best director at the recent Golden Globes, 1917 will open well in Australia.

Opening on Christmas Day in the USA, the 10th January in the UK and this week in Australia.

George MacKay as Lance Corporal Will Schofield and Dean-Charles Chapman as Lance Corporal Tom Blake star as the main two soliders in this epic World War 1 story.

Sam Mendes has made this film so well, it is compelling, engaging whilst the entire movie you feel part of the film. As the one shot approach puts you the audience right bang in the middle of the battlefield.

For the BAFTA Awards the film is up for nine big awards, yes it is the award season with one show after another in coming months.

This is a well made, refreshing take on true life war stories. With a lot of war films coming before 1917, this does feel extremely original.

I enjoyed this film, shame my bladder was being a pain, 3.5 stars.

Box Office Flop or Blockbuster 2020? - Bombshell

More the question is the miniseries The Loudest Voice better than movie Bombshell? Also is it a Box Office Flop or Blockbuster?

Coming months after The Loudest Voice aired on Showtime, Bombshell is screening in Australia this weekend for some limited previews.

It opened in the US a wee bit before Christmas so again Australia is getting a film with a fair bit of Australian home grown talent involved, late.

Disappointing when two of the three main roles in the film are played by well liked Australian leads. They are also leading the way with SAG, BAFTA and Critics Choice Movie Awards nominees.

Anyone to the questions above, better than The Loudest Voice, no, The Loudest Voice over seven episodes was allowed more time with the subject, therefore exploring the vile Aisles over a longer time frame. The film lacks history of Fox News rise to number one cable news network. Theron, Robbie and Kidman are all incredible, however Naomi Watts as Gretchen Carlson in the Showtime series was also outstanding.



Is it a blockbuster or flop at the box office? Sadly it's a massive flop, only generating over 28 million thus far at the US box office, this has to be disappointing.

Sadly Americans clearly are over Fox News bashing. Even though the station deserves all the criticism it gets, it seems people are turned off by the way the women are treated in the film and reliving the vile ways of Roger Aisles and Bill O'Reilly. Both who got significant pay outs after they were fired by the Murdoch's. So it was a bittersweet win for the women.

The cast in the film is extremely impressive, Margot Robbie is really outstanding, Theron looked exactly like Megyn Kelly, not only looking like her, but sounding identical to her.

I enjoyed the film (despite knowing how it would all play out) whilst enjoying all the wonderful women slay against Roger. Also the big question, who played Roger better Russell Crowe (recent Golden Globe winner) or John Lithgow? To me it was Russell Crowe hands down.

Sadly Bombshell suffers from bad timing, if The Loudest Voice wasn't such a recent TV smash, then maybe this would be bigger.

Still a good film, an important film, so men, women out there, if you see poor behaviour at work, report it, speak out, don't let powerful evil men (or sometimes ladies, generally men though, do better guys) get away with it.

3 Stars.

#SUMMER-BINGE-FEST - The Gloaming

The Gloaming is the third (and final) new series this summer period which landed on Stan on 1 January 2020.

The eight-part drama is set in the beautiful Tasmania, it literally looks a million bucks.

Starring a number of familiar faces, Emma Booth as Molly McGee, Ewen Leslie as Alex O’Connell, Aaron Pedersen as Inspector Lewis Grimshaw and Martin Henderson as Gareth McAveney.

I must say I much preferred this over the Stan drama The Commons. Unfortunately The Commons failed to connect with me, however now I am back at work, I have found some other streamers have actually enjoyed the series.

Briefly the plot, centres around troubled police woman Molly McGee, who leads an investigation into the murder of an unidentified woman. Molly has to team up with Alex O'Connell, a man she hasn't spoken to in 20 years. They discover that the murder has links to a cold case from the past.

It's slightly gothic, it's a long form murder/thriller mystery and it's local.

The Gloaming is already not everyone's cup of tea (I have spoken to) however I thought it was a decent effort from Stan.

Stan have one more release this summer which is actually heading to the cinemas as well. For a limited time, True History of the Kelly Gang will appear at some select cinemas ahead of landing on Stan Australia Day.

It's been a big summer for Stan, honestly a well programmed season. I hope for more originals throughout the year as Stan really needs to shine up against the latest Disney and Apple + streaming services.

You can check out The Gloaming below which I can now say I have binged my way through all eight beautifully shot episodes.

2020 BAFTA Nominations | Predictions

My predictions in bold and red (as usual, if you are a regular reader):


Best film

1917

The Irishman

Joker

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Parasite


Outstanding British film

1917

Bait

For Sama

Rocketman

Sorry We Missed You

The Two Popes


Film not in the English language

The Farewell

For Sama

Pain and Glory

Parasite

Portrait of a Lady on Fire


Animated film

Frozen 2

Klaus

A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Toy Story 4



Director

1917 - Sam Mendes

The Irishman - Martin Scorsese

Joker - Todd Phillips

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood - Quentin Tarantino

Parasite - Bong Joon-ho



Original screenplay

Booksmart - Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman

Knives Out - Rian Johnson

Marriage Story - Noah Baumbach

Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood - Quentin Tarantino

Parasite - Han Jin Won, Bong Joon-ho


Adapted screenplay

The Irishman - Steven Zaillian

Jojo Rabbit - Taika Waititi

Joker - Todd Phillips, Scott Silver

Little Women - Greta Gerwig

The Two Popes - Anthony McCarten



Leading actress

Jessie Buckley - Wild Rose

Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story

Saoirse Ronan - Little Women

Charlize Theron - Bombshell

Renee Zellweger - Judy



Leading actor

Leonard DiCaprio - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Adam Driver - Marriage Story

Taron Egerton - Rocketman

Joaquin Phoenix - Joker

Jonathan Pryce - The Two Popes



Supporting actress

Laura Dern - Marriage Story

Scarlett Johansson - Jojo Rabbit

Florence Pugh - Little Women

Margot Robbie - Bombshell

Margot Robbie - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood


Supporting actor

Tom Hanks - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Anthony Hopkins - The Two Popes

Al Pacino - The Irishman

Joe Pesci - The Irishman

Brad Pitt - Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood



EE Rising star award

Awkwafina

Kaitlyn Dever

Kelvin Harrison Jr

Jack Lowden

Michael Ward


Full ABC news story, HERE

Summer Lists (you may have missed)

From my music blog Flashing off the Record, here is some of the best music from the previous year. More music lists to come, so keep checking back at Flashing off the Record.

First up though, my Hottest 100 votes for 2019, see the Warm Tuna's for 2019 HERE. That however comes with a big spoiler alert :)

Part One - The 200 BEST Songs of 2019 {200-101}

Part Two - The 200 BEST Songs of 2019 {100-1}

Australian Artist Singles of 2019 

Box Office Flop or Blockbuster 2020? - Jojo Rabbit

The question for JoJo Rabbit, is it a Box Office Flop or Blockbuster in 2020? It's hard to tell is the easy answer.

It was a strange choice for a Boxing Day release and honestly not my first choice to see this movie going season. That said, I was pleasantly surprised.

Young Roman Griffin Davis as Johannes "Jojo Rabbit" Betzler is outstanding, as is Scarlett Johansson as Rosie Betzler. Taika Waititi along with directing the picture also stars as Adolf Hitler, yes Adolf.



The trailer doesn't give away the film actually has friendship at the centre of the film. The movie is actually beautiful in parts.

I got a bit emotional yes, so this film succeeded with me, forget hate embrace understanding and love. A good message for 2020 right.

When will the world take Taika Waititi's message on board? 2020 has commenced and it's not that great that far. So it's entertaining films like this, we need right now. Like pop music, good films like this allow us a distraction, an escape from everyday reality.

Taika Waititi has slayed of late, first Boy then the brilliant Hunt for the Wilderpoeple, the third Thor film, not to mention the upcoming fourth Thor film, Thor: Love and Thunder.

Waititi is on top of his game right now, Jojo Rabbit gets a solid 3 Stars.

#SUMMER-BINGE-FEST - Orange is the New Black, Season Seven (final)

Returning for the post Christmas/2020 leg of Summer is my TV series, #SUMMER-BINGE-FEST. Last year I smashed through some Jessica Jones, Jack Ryan, Bloom, House of Cards and even some Mystery Road. I did also smash through the sixth season of Orange is the New Black. This summer it's time for the final seventh season.



If you are not up to date, well get up to date, it's the seventh and final time around for the women in and outside of Litchfield prison.

Released on July 26, 2019 my mums birthday, I usually leave OITNB until end of year forced leave. Between Wentworth and starting (two episodes in) the Turkish version of Wentworth The Yard on Netflix, one can only handle so much women's prison drama.

Wentworth season seven was outstanding, so after having my mind blown there, it was time for a break from ladies prison dramas.

Orange is the New Black this year concludes with its 91st episode, following seven seasons commencing in 2013. Netflix farewells one of its first ever Netflix Original titles.

With House of Cards gone, OITNB was the last OG Netflix standing, it's also one of the most watched Netflix series since the streaming service launched.

The streaming service always holds viewership figures close to its chest, so how many people have enjoyed this show is really anyone's guess.

So as I write this I am up to episode ten (yes it's been a busy summer season of streaming for me) it's been an interesting ride thus far. With a number of the inmates on the outside, it's made for a more interesting round of origin stories and stories from the outside.

Will I miss this show? Yes, the characters are real, diverse and this years focus on ICE has given it a real spin on America in 2020.

So Orange is the New Black, this is my last post featuring you (unless something major happens between episode ten and the series finale.

More #SUMMER-BINGE-FEST coming soon with the new STAN title, The Gloaming.

I'm also hoping to get off to the movies today, however if you feel like some online shopping today and require a new t-shirt, grab THIS. All profits from the sale of this t-shirt will be donated direct to the Rural Fire Service RFS.

Box Office Flop or Blockbuster 2020? - Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

In 2020 I will be asking, Box Office Flop or Blockbuster 2020? For Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker it's an easy one, Box Office Blockbuster.

Now I was late on the Star Wars bandwagon this year, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the conclusion of the Skywalker saga.


Look, I have loved Star Wars since a child, Return of the Jedi was always my favourite of the three original films. I am not sure my favourite film of the latest trilogy however this film does a nice job of tying up all the loose ends.

Rey, Finn and Ben Solo's love triangle was one of the interesting elements of this film, however I also found myself laughing out loud to C-3P0.

It was a fun way to start New Years Eve seeing this big blockbuster, I am not sure if like in the past I would see it again at the cinema, however it really is the best option at the box office right now. However The Gentlemen is now open, which I was lucky enough to see a little while back.

On Star Wars I did go into this film a little biased after the excellent series The Mandalorian, which as per my review, I strongly urge you to watch.

So Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is 100% worth the price of admission, the film looks amazing, it's huge battle scenes, some familiar faces returning, it's massive.

I was a big fan of this conclusion to the saga, along with The Mandalorian Disney is on a roll. Go see this now, it's this or Jumanji right?

4 Stars.