What I've Been Watching: December Edition

Hello lovelies! So here's my first post of 2018! I'm still not used to the fact that it's now 2018; I've written down 2017 about five times this week already, oops! Haha. After the challenge of blogging everyday last month for Blogmas, these last five days have been a very much needed break. I'm now ready though to get back to sharing with you guys and really upping my blogging game for this new year ahead of us! I thought I'd kick start the blogging year with my monthly edition of What I've Been Watching. I hope that everyone enjoys these posts, and that they give you some inspiration on what to add to your own watch lists. I wasn't sure if I should keep posting them to be honest, so your feedback would be very much appreciated! I hope you've all had a lovely first week of 2018. Enjoy reading :) 

Cracks (2009)

This movie was actually my favourite watch of the entire month! I chose to watch it because a) it's a period drama, they are just my thing :) & b) because it stars Juno Temple, and she's one of my favourite actresses. It also stars Eva Green, who I really liked in Mrs Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), and I was intrigued to see her play another role. Cracks is an independent movie and I enjoy watching these kinds of movies, as I find that compared to mainstream movies, they have a lot more attention to detail and some very interesting and diverse storylines and characters. This one is set in an all girls boarding school in England back in the 30's and follows a group of students and one of their favourite teachers (played by Eva Green). When a new student arrives at the school from Spain, this particular teacher develops an obsession with her, and the movie is all about the consequences of this for both teachers and students.

I'm going to talk about a spoiler now (oops!) so please keep scrolling if you'd rather find out for yourself whilst watching. The movie includes a scene where we witness sexual assault committed by a woman, and this is one of the only movies that I have ever seen this in. When we see this crime being committed in the media, it's almost always a man who is the perpetrator, so it was very different and an important message to people watching that women can be abusers too. In today's society it is still something that's not really spoken about, and women don't get prosecuted as much as men for this crime :( Another interesting thing is that I don't remember there being any men in the entire cast of the movie at all, I could have just forgotten but there were no men in the main cast. Overall, this movie was definitely something unique and I certainly recommend it. 

Texas Killing Fields (2011) 

Whenever I'm bored, I always have a search through the filmography of the actors and actresses I like and watch some of their other roles. I was looking for movies starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who has fast become one of my celebrity crushes after watching him play Negan on AMC's The Walking Dead (one of my favourite shows!), when I found this movie. Norman Reedus who plays Daryl Dixon on the show will forever be my top #MCM but Jeffrey is gorgeous and thus, I was compelled to watch him playing another character. Chloe Grace Moretz is in it too and she's fantastic! Texas Killing Fields grabbed my attention because it's a crime movie and is based on actual events. Well, the area were it is set is a real location and is actually famous for all of the murders that took place there in the 70's. The movie tells the story of two detectives who are investing local murders of young girls in their hometown, and when a girl that they both know well gets abducted, they work to find her before she endures the same tragic fate. It was a pretty good movie, and it was interesting for me especially to see Mr Morgan playing such a kind-hearted character, the complete opposite of how his character is in The Walking Dead. It's a good movie to watch if you're not really a fan of horrors or thrillers, but still enjoy milder crime dramas! 

Hush (2016) 

I watched a lot of thriller, mystery and horror shows and movies in December, and this one was definitely the worst! And I don't mean worst as in it was the most shocking, I just thought it was a pretty crappy movie. I've included it anyway because not everything we watch is gonna be great and I wanted to save you all the time watching it, haha! It wasn't the worst horror movie that I've ever seen and if you weren't obsessed with the genre like me, spending pretty much all of your free time watching them, then you might actually enjoy it :) So don't just take my word for it, watch it for yourself and let me know what you think. If you've already watched this movie, I'd really love to know what you thought of it in the comments. Anyhow, Hush is about an author who is deaf-mute and lives alone, who ends up being the victim of a serial killer. The movie had so much potential to be great, because the storyline was a really interesting one. For example, we witness the first killing of the movie happen in front of the glass doors of the main characters kitchen, whilst she is preparing her dinner and is blissfully unaware of the atrocities that are taking place literally right next to her! If the serial killer was clever then it could have made for a brilliant plot, but unfortunately he wasn't. He was so bad! My friend & I certainly had a good laugh watching it, which is not the desired effect you want when watching a 'scary movie', haha! It's available to watch on Netflix, so check it out if I've made you interested enough :) 

Dark (2017) 

It only took me a couple of days to binge watch the entire series of this on Netflix, so I can definitely say that I liked it! The trailer made it look awesome, with a lot of it looking like something straight out of the mind of Stephen King, with sci-fi thrown into the mix. It actually ended up being more mystery and science-fiction themed than the trailer made it seem, but it was still a great watch nonetheless. The whole premise of the show was time travel, and how events in the past have influenced both the present and the future. In Dark, we follow the lives of several families in a small town in Germany, where there has been a history of children disappearing. I really like when shows give us an insight into the lives of all of the characters so that we get to see things through the perspective of individuals and how things can be viewed differently by various people. It also means that the storyline is usually pretty intricate, and I'm all about complexity  and the 'little details' when it comes to shows. This story is very centred around the town's police officers as they work to discover the root cause of the vanishing children and other strange occurrence taking place in the area. I absolutely love that the show was made originally in German because it got to watch it in the language that I'm currently learning :) It was actually the first original Netflix series to be made in German too. They've released an English dubbed option for those of you that prefer not to have to read subtitles and such. Has anyone else been watching this show? I'd personally give it a 7 out of 10 because I enjoyed it but it was got a bit slow in parts. 

8mm (1999) 

I always try to watch a selection of older movies as well as new releases. I stumbled across this one on a list of someone's favourite movies on tumblr and since it was another crime-themed one, I thought I'd give it a watch. It stars Nicolas Cage as the lead role, and I have so many mixed feelings about Nicolas Cage as an actor! He's been awesome in some roles and then in others, he's been laughable. I think that the actor himself is great but he keeps choosing to be in some seriously rubbish movies! Are you a fan of Nick Cage? 8mm is about a private investigator who is hired to find out the truth behind a film that a widow has discovered in her late husband's safe. It appears to be a snuff film (which is a movie in which someone is actually murdered) and it's the job of the P.I. to research it's origins and report back on his findings. As he delves deeper and deeper into his investigations, he gets himself in trouble with some sinister characters, but you'll have to check it out for yourselves to find out what happens. It stars quite a few other famous actors, including a young and very good looking Joaquin Phoenix ;) and also Peter Stormare, who I've enjoyed in every movie I've seen him in. There were some parts of the movie that were a little too unrealistic and annoying, but altogether I thought it was good and I'd watch it again :) 

The OA (2016)

It seems as though I've been getting into the habit of saving the best show until last, so here we go again, haha! The OA was my absolute favourite watch of all of the December. I just couldn't stop watching it, and I ended up binge-watching the entire series in one sitting! It stars and is co-directed by Brit Marling (oh, and also written by her too!), and it really like her as an actress! I have been a fan of hers since watching The East (2013) that she stars in with Alexander Skarsgard (one of my favourite actors). All of the movies she's been in have very interesting, quirky storylines and many of them include something to do with cults, which is another area of psychology and criminology that I find fascinating. I watch a lot of documentaries on the topic :) This Netflix supernatural/science-fiction/mystery drama series is all about a girl who goes missing and when she resurfaces again after seven years, she's a completely different person. She has endured some strange things and she is finding it very hard to deal with life away from the people she spent the last seven years of her life with. The show also involves some supernatural occurrences, like the fact that when the main character went missing he was blind, and when she comes home, she has full vision again! There's so much more I wanted to tell you all about the story but I don't want to spoil it! It was very unique and I just loved it. It's a 10 out of 10 stars from me, and I can't wait for the next season! 

Well, those were six shows/movies that I watched last month. It was actually really tough to choose which ones to include in today's post because I watched so so much, including a Netflix original thriller movie with the longest title ever: I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House (2016). I think that's the longest movie title that I've ever seen... what other movies with super long titles have you guys seen? I also watched the notoriously shocking movie that has been banned in so many countries, A Serbian Film (2010). It definitely lives up to it's reputation and includes some very disturbing scenes :O I always let curiosity get the better of me and I wanted to see if the movie was as bad as everyone said it was, and yeah it certainly had several taboo and very gross scenes in it! On a lighter note, I watched the 2011 Puss in Boots movie on TV over Christmas and that was really good. It made me cry too! That cat is just too adorable! What was your favourite movie that was on TV at Christmas Time? I usually look through the TV guide magazine to see what's on over the holiday season, but I didn't this year and I regret it a little!

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Have you seen any of the shows and movies I've mentioned today?

What was your favourite watch of December? 

What I've Been Watching: November Edition | Blogmas #4

Hey lovelies! I hope that you are all enjoying my blogmas posts, it's certainly been fun writing them and giving myself something exciting to think about everyday :) I got some more Christmas presents in the post today and I am definitely looking forward to wrapping them. I just love preparing presents for people, putting some TLC into choosing the paper and the gift tags and bows and gift bags, even though I am literally so bad at wrapping things neatly! I just adore the look on my loved ones faces when I give them their presents. Nothing quite compares to seeing people smile! Just talking about it is making me excited, haha. Before I get carried away talking about Christmas though, on with today's post. It's a new month and so it's time for a new What I've Been Watching post! I have to admit that I have been spending a lot of time in bed lately, and thus Netflix really has been my best friend so expect to see quite a few TV series on my post today. I hope you enjoy reading guys! 

Krampus (2015)

Well straight away, here I am with more Christmas talk, haha! This movie is a festive-themed horror, for those of you who are not a fan of the over-joyous Christmas family movies. If you follow on Instagram, you may have seen my post the latest additions to my Funko Pint Size Heroes Horror Classics collection If not, find it here. Anyhow, I finally got the super cute Krampus figure and it prompted me to finally watch the movie! I love all things German and I'm also a fan of folklore and legends passed down through the generations, so I was curious about the tale of the anti-Santa Claus that comes to punish bad children. I wanted to see if it was cheesy or not, as many modern horrors seem to be, but I was surprised to find that I enjoyed it! With the help of a newly discovered app called Rabbit, me and a good friend of mine from overseas were able to watch the movie together, which was awesome! If you have friends or family abroad, or are in a long-distance relationship, I recommend checking out the app for yourself :) So, what's Krampus about? It focuses on one particular family, who's arguing and lack of festive spirit unleashes the 'wrath of a fearsome demon'. You'll have to watch it to find out for yourself if Christmas cheer overcomes evil! 

Alias Grace (2017)

Back in July, I watched the new Hulu production of The Handmaid's Tale, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood. After watching the show and really enjoying it, I decided to read the book too. I also loved this, and so when I heard that Netflix's new show Alias Grace was also adapted from a novel by the same author, I just had to give it a watch! It was definitely a great storyline, one of those that has you really thinking, it keeps you on your toes as the saying goes. The main character is Grace Marks, who has been convicted of murder and is sentence to life in prison, and the story is apparently based on actual events too which is cool. As we watch Grace Marks tell her story to a young psychologist, it has you questioning whether you are a good judge of character and it's interesting to see the various sides of the story. If you enjoy period dramas and murder mysteries, then this is sort of like the two mashed together! Let me know what you think if you've watched it or you do after reading my post :) I think I'm going to give the book a read now, and maybe a couple more from Margaret Atwood too. 

Top of the Lake (2013)

This show was a very compelling and emotional watch. It is a mystery crime drama set in New Zealand, and is co-produced by the British & Australia-New Zealand BBC and by Sundance TV in the US. It follows the attempted suicide and later disappearance of a 12 year old girl who is from a notorious criminal family within the town where the story is set. Before the young girl goes missing, the local police discover that she is also pregnant and launch an investigation into the circumstances surrounding it. In the show, we follow Detective Robin Griffin as she works on the case and searches for the missing girl. I don't know how else to explain the show without giving too much away, but there are a lot of interesting characters. The whole series is on Netflix and is great to binge watch! I recently just found out that there was a sequel released too so I will be checking that out as soon as I finish typing up today's post. I've seen quite a few movies and shows set in New Zealand and have very much liked all of them. They just seem to be more realistic and have complex storylines, which is something that I really enjoy. Oh, and the filming locations are always so beautiful :) 

The Sinner (2017)

This USA Network/NBC series was recommended to me by the lovely Nat over at ThereMightBeCoffee via a twitter conversation :) Once I finished watching Mind Hunter, which was pretty good but nothing special for me unfortunately, I loved straight onto The Sinner. I'd seen people talking about how much they were enjoying the show online, and I can now see why! It was a fantastic show, another one to get your brain cells working and have you pondering about the different scenarios and storylines that occur throughout the show. It's another crime drama (they are apparently my favourite thing right now!) and is about a seemingly ordinary woman who's happily married, is a doting mother, things are going great for her and then one day she suddenly snaps and kills someone. 'The Sinner' explores mental illness and what can drive someone to commit the ultimate sin. It's one of the best shows I've see this year so definitely one that I'd recommend. 

It Follows (2015)

I thought it was about time that I mentioned another movie, haha! Last month, other than Krampus, I watched quite a few horror movies. This movie was one that my friend suggested we watch and I thought I'd give it go, even though when it was released two years ago, I was put off when I heard it had a supernatural theme. I'm really not a huge fan of the modern supernatural genre, all the 'Paranormal Activity' movies in my opinion were not great. Not that most horror movies are realistic, but at least with some of them there is a possibility of the scenarios happening and lots of them are inspired by real life crime stories. However when it comes to supernatural movies, I don't believe in ghosts and ghouls haunting people/places, so they are not thrilling to watch for me, and often bore me a little. Sorry if you're a supernatural/paranormal fan! The trailer for this movie however did look good so I thought why not! It wasn't actually all that bad, there were parts of the movie that I loved and then there were parts that I thought were pretty crappy, random or just didn't fit in with the storyline. When it comes to the story. it was different than I expected which made me more curious to keep watching to find out what happened. It is an independent movie (It Follows debuted at the Cannes Film Festival) and I really do enjoy them, as I feel they focus more on the details VS big production movies. I thought it was sort of a teenage coming of age-esque story mixed with a horror movie. I feel like the movie had many hidden meanings and messages, especially with regards to mental illness and also sexually-transmitted diseases. Has anyone else seen this movie? If so, I'd love to hear what you make of it? 

Godless (2017)

I've saved the best until last, as this Netflix original series was my favourite watch of the entire month! I really like films set in the Wild West era, I have since I was young, and I thought that nothing compared to the oldies until I watched this one. Godless is set in America during the 1880s and is all about an ex-member of a gang of outlaws (played by Jack O'Connell, who is pretty good-looking too ;) haha. You may remember him from the TV show, Skins), who is being pursued with a vengeance by the ruthless leader of the gang, Frank Griffin. It is a brutal series which really reflects the ferocity of the period, and also the resilience of the people surviving through these though times. There's lots of badass woman in it too! I want to talk so much about it but I'm trying to avoid spoilers. I'm very much looking forward to another season! Please let there be another season!

So, these are my six favourite watches of November. I watched quite a few other shows, but many of them are still ongoing so I’ll probably include some of those in my December edition. I’ve watched a few more movies too, including going to see Thor: Ragnarok at the cinema with my friends, which was an awesome movie! It made me laugh a lot and who doesn’t love hot dudes in armour? #TeamLoki ♥ Let me know if I’ve given you all some inspiration on what to add to your watchlist next. Have an awesome week everyone! 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

What have you been watching lately? Have any recommendations?

See you guys tomorrow for Day 5 of Blogmas. If you haven't checked out my previous posts, you can find them here. 

What I've Been Watching: October Edition

Hi guys! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. I absolutely love Bonfire Night, even though it's origins make it a little strange of a celebration but oh well, haha! It doesn't seem like Autumn is in full swing until this occassion has come and gone. I adore bonfires, all of the pretty colourful lights that fireworks create, the smell of burning wood and paper in the air and the fact that it brings people together. I had a lovely evening last night with my family, setting some fireworks off in our garden and lighting a mini bonfire. I just wish that we had gotten some marshmallows to top it all off! Anyhow, today's post is this month's installment of my 'What I've Been Watching' series. If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know sometimes these posts can contain little unintentional spoilers, when I'm explaining briefly what the movies or tv shows I've watched are about, but I try to keep these to a minimum. I hope that reading my post gives you some inspiration on what to include in your next binge watching session :) Enjoy! 

 What Happened To Monday? (2017)

I first heard about this movie in a post by the lovely Georgina over at She Might Be Loved, in her 11 Things You Need to Watch on Netflix This Month post, and it sounded like a really interesting movie so I couldn't not give it a watch when I have the Netflix app at my fingertips and I'm laying in bed at night, my insomnia refusing to let sleep happen. The movie is a sci-fi dystopian drama set in the future in a world that's overrun with people, too many people for the resources available. So in a bid to solve this problem, a one-child-per-family law is implemented. The story is centred around seven sisters (septuplets) who must avoid government detection in a system where multiple children are torn away from their parents. What will they do when one of their siblings goes missing? I'd explain more, but you should watch it and find out for yourself! I'm really into the dystopian genre, so I enjoyed this movie. There were parts that I didn't like so much, but overall it was a good watch. I'd like to read the book that it was based on, which I think is The Steven Sisters novels by Lucinda Riley. Has anyone ever read these? 

10 Cloverfield Lane (2016) 

It was all about science fiction for me this October, especially with the release of Netflix's Stranger Things season 2! I watched another brilliant sci-fi movie at the start of the month. 10 Cloverfield Lane is about a woman (played by the gorgeous Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who after a car accident wakes up in a bunker with two men, who tell her that there has been a catastrophic chemical attack and that they can no longer go outside. Eventually she will discover for herself what has gone on in the world outside of the underground bunker. Usually I have a google first to read the movie outline before choosing whether or not to watch it, but for this one I just saw that it was a thriller and decided to just go straight in without a clue what to expect. It's one of those movies that you think might go one way as you watch it but then things unexpectedly change. I like being surprised like this, unless the plot changes ridiculously to something implausible. I'd give this movie a 7 out of 10. Let me know what you all think if you've watched it or decide to after reading my post :) I'm hoping that there's a sequel. 

Cardcaptor Sakura (1998-onwards)

It recently came to my attention that there was going to be a new season of Cardcaptor Sakura released in 2018 after apparently 15 years since they made the last episode. I watched quite a few episodes of 'Cardcaptor Sakura' on Cartoon Network when I was really young, and I didn't remember much about it other than that I loved it! I have been meaning to get myself up to date with all of episodes for ages now and I thought it was about time that I did, in time for the new 'Clear Card Arc' season! I'm still getting through the episodes (slowly but surely) but I thought I'd include it anyway. The Japanese anime series, created by the iconic all-female manga artist group CLAMP, is all about a ten year old girl called Sakura who stumbles upon a book filled with magical cards in the basement of her house, which she then accidently releases and thus it's up to her to find each of the cards, known as Clow Cards, to put them back! Only people with magical abilities themselves can release these cards and with the help with a mythical creature known as Kerberos (Kero for short), Sakura uses these newly-discovered 'powers' to re-capture the Clow Cards. It's a really adorable anime, and even though it's aimed at a younger audience, it's awesome and I love it, and it has a huge fanbase all over the world. People of all ages love Cardcaptor Sakura and you might to! Give it a watch and see :) 

 Gerald's Game (2017) 

We are seeing so many of Stephen King's novels adapted into movies this year, most famously with the new release of the IT movie, which I adore and have now watched several times! There's also a new tv series made for The Mist, and two movies released by Netflix '1922' and 'Gerald's Game'. I am yet to watch the tv show but I have seen the movies and they were fantastic. Gerald's Game was my favourite out of the two and it was one of my favourite watches of the month. I now have a mighty need to add the novel (of the same name) to my reading list, because I enjoyed the movie so much! So what's the movie about? A couple with relationship problems decide to take a break for the weekend in a remote holiday home and after experimenting with a kinky game shortly upon arrival, the main character is left handcuffed to a bed after something tragic happens to her husband. With no hope of rescue, what will become of her? Will she be able to escape? Head to Netflix to find out. What I loved about this storyline/plotline was the realistic element, it made it such a compelling movie to watch! I mean, you could actually be partaking in a similar sexually-adventurous scenario and have something like that happen to you! It has you pondering throughout, what would I actually do in that situation? I am very much into psychology and so I thoroughly enjoyed the psychology basis of the movie, with the main character experiencing visions caused by her 'near-death experience'. It's an A* from me for 'Gerald's Game'! 

The End of the F***king World (2017)

I'm not really a massive fan of comedy series or movies. Sure, there are movies that do make me very nearly PMSL but in general, I don't usually watch comedies unless they include some of my favourite actors of the genre. I love Jim Carrey, Steve Carrell and Will Ferrell to name a few, however I wouldn't choose to go watch a comedy at the cinema.  When it comes to comedy, dark humour is my preferred type and this is why I enjoy animation series like Rick & Morty so much. When I saw the advert for the new channel 4 show, The End of the F***king World, as it is a dark comedy, coming-of-age drama combination I thought I'd give it a try. It features two quirky teenagers who end up going on a trip across country filled with young romance and self discovery, with both of them getting into some tough situations. After watching the first episode I couldn't stop, even though I couldn't tell if I liked it much or not, I had to see it through until the end! Do you ever feel like that after watching something... unsure of whether you actually liked it or not? I thought the two main actors were fantastic (Alex Lawther & Jessica Barden) so I'll definitely be watching other stuff that they've starred in. But I wasn't sure about the show itself. It's certainly worth a watch if you have some time to waste, since 4oD (I can't get used to calling it All 4) put the whole series up after episode 1 was shown on TV. Anyone else watched it yet? 

Leatherface (2017)

It wouldn't feel right if I didn't watch horror movies in October with it being Halloween-time, the month for all things spooky to be celebrated! I watched quite a few movies of this incredible genre, mostly old classics that I've seen again and again, but this was my best movie of the October! I really enjoyed this latest movie in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, which shows us the origin story behind Leatherface, the iconic horror protagonist. I always wonder about how the 'bad guys' in horror movies came to be so I really like movies like this one which give us an intepretation of where it all began. If you search on google, the description that first pops up about this movie is as follows: 'A violent teen and three others kidnap a young nurse while escaping from a Texas mental instituation. Pursued by a vengeful sheriff, the disturbed young man embarks on a murderous rampage that shapes him into a legendary killer known as Leatherface'. I am more times than not left disappointed by modern horror movies, however I was impressed with this one :) The first Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie (1974) is one of my top 10 favourite horror movies, and I thought this one was an awesome additon to the franchise!

I hope you all enjoyed reading about my top six watches of October 2017. I watched ALOT last month so it was tough to decide which to include in today's post! I started watching the STARZ series Black Sails which I've had on my to-watch list for a few years now, and also a couple of interesting documentaries, including one called 'Head Cases: Serial Killers in the Delaware Valley (2013)' which is interesting as it's a finctional, re-enactment style movie. I'd love to know if I've encouraged you to watch any of these movies/shows.

Thankyou for reading! 

♥

What movies/tv shows have you been enjoying lately?

If you didn't catch last month's post, you can check it out here.  

What I've Been Watching: September Edition

Hi everyone! I've been super stressed for the last few days... our internet has been messing up constantly and so I've not been able to blog for what feels like ages! I even had to use the data hotspot from my iPhone just to get Friday's post up! I'm so relieved that it's all back in working order... that is for now!! We are currently in the process of changing our internet provider so hopefully I won't have to deal with a continuous lack of connection and annoyingly slow streaming for much longer :( Here's the latest in my monthly 'What I've Been Watching' series, finally! I always try to keep spoilers to a minimum and just give you all a rough outline of what the movies or tv shows I've watched are about; apologies if I end up giving a little too much away. I hope you all enjoy reading!

 The Frankenstein Chronicles (2015)

This TV show was brought to my attention by an advert that kept popping up whenever I was watching something on ITV and that advert definitely sparked my interest right away when I noticed that it was a period drama with a spooky/fantasy/paranormal twist. That's my favourite genre when it comes to shows. However, the thing that most compelled me to watch it was the fact that Sean Bean was playing the main character! The show is set in Victorian London, where after discovering a strange apparently reassembled body washed up on the shores of the Thames river, plus several other similarily grotesque bodies, a police inspector suspects the culprit might be scientist trying to bring people back from the dead. It is a new take on the 19th century novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and I really enjoyed it. I have just found out that ITV have recently started filming a second season too! 

A Cure For Wellness (2016) 

I wanted to watch this movie when I discovered that actress Mia Goth was in it, because she was fabulous in her role in the two-part movie, Nymphomaniac, which I thought was great! She has very unique look and in this movie in particular, I realised that she has a look that would be awesome in a horror movie! A Cure For Wellness is defined as a 'science-fiction psychological thriller' movie, in which a young executive is sent to the Swiss Alps to a remote spa centre to inform his company's CEO of a problem that requires him to head back to America. This spa appears to be idyllic, the perfect tranquil location to receive treatment for the stresses of life and for ailments, but the executive (played by Dane DeHann) soon comes to learn that all is not as it seems. There are strange goings on at the wellness centre, patients disappearing and curious 'therapies' available, and it's not long until the lead character discovers the eerie history of the land where the centre is built and about it's previous occupants. I'd say more about what happens but I don't want to spoil it! It's a long movie, 2 hours 26 minutes to be exact, so it is slow in parts but I prefer long movies with more detail, extra time to tell us more about the characters and such. I always enjoy movies with a science or/and medical theme, so I liked it a lot. If you give it a watch, let me know what you think :) 

Electrick Children (2012) 

Apart from A Cure for Wellness, this was the only other non-horror movie I watched last month (I went to see the new IT movie and it was AMAZING!). I'm a big fan of different movies, the kind that are released at film festivals, independent ones with quirky storylines and often a more realistic feel than mainstream movies. I like discovering new actors and the fact that these movies are for the most part less dramatic, without those scenes added just for the entertainment factor, but this does not mean that they are any less entralling with dynamic, interesting characters! Electrick Children is not the typical coming-of-age movie, even though it is based on a journey of self discovery, of acceptance and friendship. The leading role played by an actress known for 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)', Julia Garner, is a 15 year old girl who has been raised in a polygamous Mormon community, so a big theme of the movie is her discovery of the World outside of her religious upbringing, which has left her very naive and impressionable. Without giving too much away, she discovers that she is pregnant and believes that a forbidden cassette tape must have had something to do with it after she listened to it. This is how little she understands about reproduction, however it may also be her mind's way to coping with the trauma of abuse. After her family tell her that her marriage has been arranged, she runs away and goes in search of the artist from the casette tape. Also starring in this movie is Rory Culkin, younger brother of Macaulay Culkin, who I've never seen before so that was cool! Are you a fan of independent movies? I'd love some recommendations!

 Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017) 

Last month, I watched A LOT of documentaries and reawakened my passion for them! I absolutely love documentaries, especially documentary movies where the running times are longer than an hour. I am very much into crime documentaries and at the moment, HBO ones seem to be my favourite (although my all-time most beloved documentaries will always be those presented by Louis Theroux!). I've just chosen the two documentaries that I found most interesting to talk about in today's post but I also saw The Imposter (2012), The Pig Farm (2011) and The Fear of 13 (2015), all of which I'd recommend watching, although the Pig Farm one dragged on a little. Anyhow, 'Mommy Dead and Dearest' is a fantastic documentary, following a murder investigation involving Gypsy Rose Blancharde who was charged with planning the murder of her mother, with her boyfriend actually committing the killing. The documentary makers interviewed several people including Gypsy Rose herself, and explored the circumstances that drove her to plan such a horrific act. We discover that Dee Dee Blancharde (the mother) suffered with a mental illness which caused her to convince everyone in her life (family, neighbours, doctors) to believe that her daughter was severly ill, which one day Gypsy Rose would find out after growing up completely in the dark about the deception her mother had created. Feeling trapped in her life, Gypsy Rose searched for an escape and found one when he met her boyfriend, who was later convicted of the murder. What caused him to kill his girlfriend's mom? Why did Gypsy Rose decide to go to such diabolical measures to get away from her mother? Watch this documentary and find out! 

 Hemlock Grove (2013)

I'm not gonna lie, I'm literally just watching this series because my current #MCM is in it, haha! With the release of the new adaptation of Stephen King's IT, tumblr seems to be filled with gifs and photographs of the gorgeous Bill Skargaard (who plays Pennywise the Clown in the new horror movie), and saw a couple from this show that made me have a mighty need to watch it! Hemlock Grove is a Netflix original horror series filled with supernatural beings. I love horrors, the paranormal and hot blood-covered men (yes, we already know I'm weird!). The series is based in a former steel town in Pennsylvania which is home to an array of extraordinary characters, and when a teenager is found murdered in a most shocking way, there is a hunt for her killer. Thus, we discover more about the strange people who live in this anything-but-normal town. Overall, it's a great show to binge watch (there's three seasons up on Netflix guys!), but there are quite a few 'corny' parts, which you see a lot with many modern horrors, both tv series and movies alike. Bill Skarsgaard and Landon Liboiron are in it and that makes it worth watching in my opinion! *insert 28 heart-eyed emojis here*

 Thought Crimes: The Case Of The Cannibal Cop (2015) 

This documentary was really interesting; it was one of those shows that really gets you thinking and considering what you believe to be right or wrong. In Thought Crimes (2015), we are introduced to the case of Gilberto Valle who has been accused of conspiring to kidnap women. The most shocking element of his apparent plan was that it involved murder and/or cannibalism. He argues that his 'plans' were all fantasy, which he was discussing with other like-minded people and that he never really intended to carry out any of the things he said online in 'dark web' forums. His case was a very tough one to prosecute because the arguement arose on whether people could ethically be charged for their deepest thoughts and fantasies. People should be allowed to express their desires, because there's a lot of people especially within fetish communities who fantastise's, however bizzare or taboo to the non-kink world, are purely fantasy-based and are of course never intended to be a reality. So even if people think what the hell! about this guy's thoughts- he cannot help what his preference are, and is it harmful for him to think about or discuss them just within the realm of fantasy? The documentary questioned, do we start prosecuting people based on fantasy-talk, even if it seems very detailed? This is potentially pushing taboo sexuality back into the shadows, and constricting freedom of speech rights. Or, should people who display these interests be monitored in case they could commit crimes in the future? It makes you think, how do we really know that some people won't go on to actually try to carry out their fantasties? It was highlighted that Gilberto had researched keywords on google and discussed specifics about what he wanted to do and who with. A lot of what he talked about online was shocking, but there is still no definitive proof that he would have ever commited these acts. It is understandable that some of his fantasties would have been detailed, since it's natural for someone to think about sex a lot since it is one of the driving instincts of humans, and many people have intricate ideas of how they would like their deepest, and sometimes darkest, fantasties to play out. I don't want to explain anymore about the storyline because you should go watch the documentary :) I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

So, these were my six most enjoyed watches of September. Have you seen any of the shows or movies that I've mentioned? I'm super happy that I'm managing to keep up with my movie-watching streak, especially when it comes to horror movies! I re-watched part 1 & 2 of 'Stephen's King IT (1990)' and the new Annabelle: Creation, plus I've already watched four this month and we are only 10 days in, haha (I mean, is it even Halloween if you don't watch horror movies!?). You'll have to wait for my October edition to read all about them! 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

What TV series are you hooked on right now? 

 Also, I'd love to know what your favourite spooky movie is!

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What I've Been Watching: August Edition

Happy Thursday! Well, it's not very happy for me, haha! I'm full of a cold, have swollen and red-raw tonsils, can't stop coughing and had around 3 hours sleep because I couldn't breathe very well. I really hope that this bug or whatever it is passes soon, because I have plans for the first time in ages next week. I'm off to see the new version of IT with my best friend, and I'm really looking forward to it! Fingers crossed that these cherry soothers that I've been stuffing into my mouth for the last several hours help speed things along! Anyhow, on with today's post... you may have seen last month that I started up my 'What I've Been Watching' monthly series again (you can see the post here if you haven't read it already). Well it's time for my August edition! I've watched A LOT of movies and documentaries this month, so I've just choosen a few to discuss. I will try to keep spoilers to the minimum, however I'll be talking about what the movies are about, my favourite parts, etc! I hope you all enjoy reading :) 

 The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015) 

I was searching for more movies starring actor Ezra Miller when I came across this one. I think he's an awesome actor! I've loved his character in every movie I've watched with him in it so I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this movie even before I read up about it. The Stanford Prison Experiment was a really interesting movie, and it was definitely my cup of tea since I love psychology! It is based on a real experiment which took place in the early 1970's at Stanford University in America. The experiment was conducted by Dr Philip Zimbardo and his team, and involved students participating in a simulation of a prison environment. Some of the students were assigned roles as the guards and others as the prisoners. I love that the movie was historically-based and that Dr Zimbardo himself was a consultant on the movie so a lot of the movie was very accurate in depicting what really took place during the real experiment. It was fascinating and also scary how 'passionate' the students playing the guards got about their roles. I would love to tell you more about the movie, but I don't want to spoil it! It's worth a watch guys :) Let me know what you think if you check it out. 

Missing 411: The Movie (2016) 

I adore a good documentary and this one didn't disappoint! It was one of those documentary movies that get you really analysing the facts put before you to come to your own conclusions about what you think actually happened. Missing 411 is about the massive number of people who go missing in National Parks across America, many of which are children. Some of them are never seen again, others bodies are found months and even years later. A lot of them in questionable and strange circumstances. Despite all of these mysterious occurances, the authorities in charge of governing National Parks in the States still have not set up a database of missing people. Why? It is certainly weird. I can't say much else without feeling like I'm revealing too much. I'd give this documentary 3 out of 5 stars. 

Harlots (2017) 

I was reading a post on facebook by Buzzfeed (but don't quote me on that!) that was recommending other shows you might enjoy if you like Game of Thrones. Due to the history-based elements in Game of Thrones, there were lots of period drama series on the list, most of which I'd already watched since period dramas are my thing! History geek me very much enjoyed this ITV drama, and it was also awesome to see Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay (she played Sybil on Downton and is just so gorgeous) playing one of the main characters! As the title of the series suggests it tells the story of sex workers, living in 18th Century London. It centres around a brothel owner and the girls who work for her. It is based on a book called 'The Convent Garden Ladies' by Hallie Rubenhold. During Victorian Britain, life for women was very tough and the only way many of them could ensure their survival was to work as a sex worker or marry a wealthy man. The aim of many of the sex workers in this time period was to be asked to become mistresses to high-society men. The drama is about the women and different brothels competing with one another, plus dealing with the other perils of life in the 18th Century. It is filled with such strong female characters and I liked it so much that I binged watched the entire first season over 24 hours! I really enjoy ITV period dramas in general, they've aired some great ones like Ripper Street & Poldark. Enjoy history like me? Then give 'Harlots' a watch!

There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane (2011)

Last month, I decided to give HBO documentaries a watch since I'd only ever seen fictional series produced by them. I started off with 'There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane', which covers the story of Taconic State Parkway Crash that took place in 2009 and was one of the worst accidents in US history apparently. The crash occured when a woman drove head-on into oncoming traffic and caused the deaths of the driver herself, her young passengers and also the people in the car she collided with. There was only one survivor of the horrific crash and that was the driver's 5 year old son. The documentary consists of interviews with people that knew the driver, Diane Schuler. Her immediate family were trying to clear her name after police reported that there was alcohol and cannabis found in Diane's system. As a result, she was branded as a unfit, irresponsible parent which her loved ones disagree. The documentary, through these various interviews with people who knew Diane, people involved in the case such as detectives and such, they all paint different pictures of what actually happened and what Diane was really like. I hope I didn't give away too many spoilers, but I cannot recommend this documentary enough. I enjoyed listening to all sides of the story and coming up with my own opinions. If you decide to watch it for yourself, please let me know what you think about it! 

The Duke Of Burgundy (2014)

I stumbled upon a gif from this movie over on tumblr and was very curious about the theme of the movie. It is centered around two women, who are in a Dominant and submissive relationship dynamic, and I was pleased to see a modern movie depicting a kinky dynamic that wasn't based on a heterosexual relationship or anything like the disaster that is Fifty Shades of Grey. It was certainly a unique movie with some very interesting cinematics and lots of imagery. I didn't know this before watching the movie but The Duke of Burgundy is actually a species of moth, and the movie very cleverly in my opinion, uses imagery of moths throughout. I was curious to see how the D/s relationship was depicted in this movie, and was impressed to find that it did not mimic the representation of D/s that many other movies do. They always focus on the control of the Dominant over the submissive, but in this movie we see that the submissive is very much in control of most of the aspects of the relationship. In real life, this is very much the case and what lots of people don't release is that the submissive is the one who controls the dynamic. Another cool thing about this movie, directed by Peter Strickland, is that there was no men in it whatsoever! I love quirky movies and this one was differently like nothing I've watched before :) 

Game of Thrones Season 7

{There will be spoilers here guys!} As all of my regular readers will know, I'm a big fan of George R.R. Martin's novel series 'A Song of Ice and Fire', which inspired the HBO series named after the first book in the series. I love love love it! Even if you don't personally watch GoT, you'll know that on social media throughout last month, Season 7 of the series was all anyone talked about! I don't blame them of course because it was an amazing season, but I'm biased. If you watch Game of Thrones but have not caught up with all of the episodes of S7, skip this section because **SPOILERS** are coming your way! So many things happened on this season, it was an explosive one indeed! Quite literally, since Daenerys' biggest dragon, Drogon, absolutely scorched most of the Larrister Army! This was definitely a very impressive scene and had be panicking for the safety of so many characters. In this season, Tormund appears a lot to my delight since he's a yummy man indeed. It was lovely to hear the conversation between him and Sandor (The Hound) about Brienne. It was adorable! This season didn't disappoint when it comes to death and destruction that's for sure. As we finally saw the end of creepy LittleFinger just when they made it seem like his scheming plans would work in his favour, and it was epic! As much as I try to dislike Cersei, she is pretty badass and I can't help but admire her determination and drive. She was great in this season! Finally, we were all devasted when we watched the fall of Viserion, one of Dany's beloved dragons! I was freaking out a little too because I couldn't be sure what had happened to Rhaegal for a while, and he's my favourite of the dragons (mega nerd!) but all was well with him when I saw him flying over the Dragon Pit in King's Landing. I wasn't surprised with what happened to Viserion as I suspected one of the Dragon's being controlled by the Night King all along. The season ended with a mix of happiness and sorrow, with Jaenerys finally becoming a thing but then, what happened to Tormund? I'm prepared for a riot if he's not safe! Who's with me!? Oops, I wrote a lot about GoT. I don't know how I'm going to cope until it's back on *cry cry* 

I hope you all enjoyed reading about some of my favourite watches of August. I watched quite a lot of movies this month and I'm proud of myself for getting back into this hobby after spending so long with no motivation to watch stuff! I watched several thrillers, with my favourite being Rupture (2017). It was different and although crappy in places like many horror/thriller movies nowadays, it definitely wasn't the worst I've seen. I watched various documentary movies, a few movies with actress Juno Temple in because I think she always does an awesome job too. I watched Child Genius on Channel 4 and also the first few episodes of the new Season 3 of Rick & Morty. It was awesome as expected! 

Thankyou for reading! 

 ♥

What did you watch in August? 

I'm always looking for recommendations!