She's Got Views

I just finished Maniac and I'm dying to talk about its portrayal of Mental Illness, don't worry I won't be spoiling it as I feel that its one of those shows that you have to go into with as minimal context as you can, and just go with it. It was created by Cary Joji Fukunaga and Patrick Sommerville and stars both Jonah Hill and Emma Stone as our main characters, they both go through a pharmaceutical drug trial for an exciting new mental health drug. It's filled with so many symptoms of mental illness from addiction, to dissociation, hallucinations and mania to say a few. I will say it is very triggery for someone who has experienced mental illness for most of my life, but the conclusion is worth it. It's helped me release that it's ok to go through stuff, it's ok to be mentally ill and take extra care of my mind. I've laughed with this show, cried with this show, and let go of the deep shame that I have for my illness. I don't have the kno...

I did say last week that I was taken time off to grieve but after watching Frozen at the weekend I couldn't help but look at it from a Mental Illness perspective. I took this as a sign that I was ready to continue writing this series. Is Elsa a metaphor for Anxiety? The disorder that keeps me up at night seems to be prevalent in this film, even Grand Pabbie says it to a young Elsa at the start of the film, "Fear will be your enemy," and we see Elsa lash out at her coronation celebration. The fear she has inside her makes Elsa's powers go haywire, she fears her secret will be revealed to others around her, just as I feel people will find out I have anxiety just by being around me. But fear is not the solution, it ends up hurting the people Elsa loves the most, as she lashes out and pushes them away. She becomes so scared of hurting others that she ends up hurting them. Then when her powers get out of control she runs away and hides inside her own Ice Palac...

Before I go off and talk about Jessica Jones I thought it was important to talk about my own horrible week, but right now I can't seem to get the words to talk about it, and close family has just found out. I hope to talk about it with you when I feel a bit more able to talk about it, so right now you'll just have to settle for the fact that I had a horrible week. Much like Jessica Jones it's easy to try and reach for the bottle to dull my emotions, but unlike her I know exactly where that leads, and it's no help to anyone. Jessica has PTSD from abuse she received at the hands of the Purple Man before the show begins, and right now that is all I can relate too. She receives flashbacks to her past abuse during the first season, these cause her to have a panic attack, and she recites the phrase, "Birch Street, Higgins Drive, Cobalt lane," as a coping technique used to ground her back in reality. This I can fully relate too, I use objects to bring me int...

                                                                                                      Image Source Dementors have haunted me ever since I read The Prisoner of Azkaban way back in 1999. I was a Pre-Teen who was pretty much unaware of the depression that was just around the corner, in a way this book prepared me for what was to come, and after multiple reads, it became my go-to reference when explaining my depression. First off let's give a brief outline of Dementors, these magical wraith-like creatures can generally be found guarding Azkaban Prison, sucking the happiness, hope, and peace out of everyone around them. If you have had a horrible life marked by loss and abuse (just like Harry) you are much more affecte...

                                                                                      Image Source As some of you may know I myself suffer from mental illness, it can be hard trying to explain how exactly I feel the way I do, or how my illness affects me. This is why Television and Film can be so great, I can point straight to them and use them to educate others about my illness. Mental Illness does come with a ton of stereotyping, even today some writers get it wrong, or just stick with the broad symptoms that can fit any illness. I want to talk about those films and shows that get it right, and the ones which have helped me during my own turbulent time. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend                         ...

A few months ago I joined  The Wizarding World Book Club , ignorant of the fact most Potter related goodness comes throughout the year and not just the 31st of July I have now found myself rather behind. Typically I know I can catch up, but I thought I'd share my own review for each theme as I work my way through it, because why not. I think it's safe to say that I love all Potter related things, as I write I' m currently sandwiched between three potter related pillows and a Hogwarts blanket. I've read all the books too many times to count, I have even stood in line at midnight for some of them, and stayed up all night to read; not because I wanted to finish quickly to find out what happens, but because I couldn't put them down. I've cried with these books at weird places, I've even cried for Lord Voldemort after I cried for Sirius' death, I cried for his lack of empathy, love, and friendship. I have also felt safe, obsessed, and rather ecst...

                       Picture courtesy of Warner Bros Some of you may already know it; but my obsession with Harry Potter is always at an all time high. I always start the first book by Christmas (1) , read on until July, stop for a break before finishing them in September.  I've also re-watched Fantastic Beasts, which has made me wonder what could actually be in store for the Potterverse in the next few year's to come (2) . A Secret Magical War inside World War II? Grindelwald (3) will almost definitely have a hand in fighting beside the Nazi's, using Hitler as his own puppet, and fighting against Dumbledore (4) , and the rest of the magical allied force.  Newt Scamander (5) will also be fighting with the allies (6) , and using a whole bunch of Magical Creatures to fight back the army that Grindelwald will have gathered over the five films. I might just want it so much that I've already written it in...

                                                    ........ Image courtesy of paradigmalibu These last few months I've felt as if I have dropped the proverbial ball, my mind has been witness to a stand off between Mental health disorders and things from my past I'd rather not constantly have to relive. It's buried itself into my soul while operating my mindless drone of a body, I've relived every conversation I ever had; thought of Friends long gone as I struggle to open up about my disability. I don't even like calling it that as it feels disrespectful to people like my parents; who's struggle and sheer joy of receiving two disabled free babies has been with me my entire life. But I am not OK - I feel like I have to admit that to the world. A miscarriage has taken me back mentally to a place I've not been for a very long time, and I'm petrified t...

With a huge hit at cinemas "It" fever has definitely swept the entire globe. I decided that instead of being scared out my mind in the theatre that I would read the book so I received very few surprises while I was watching; therefore I wouldn't look so much like the scaredy cat I actually am. It is pretty messed up, alot of extremely horrible things happen during this book but you will love it. Stephen King writes in such a way that draws the reader in, when I sat down to read a chapter I would put the book down three hours later, my day passed me by, and I would want to read more. The book jumps between four timelines so it can be a bit hard to keep track of where you are at times if you are just beginning, during the two main timelines the same characters are used so it really does take some time to get the hang of things. That really is the only bad thing I could say about it, the writing is fantastic, the pay off is worth it, and there are many more elements...

Spoilers are ahead for the latest Game of Thrones episode Eastwatch, if you haven't caught up then please come back when you have. There are always such great performances in the Game of Thrones universe, it is always going to be hard to pick one specific performer of the week, but I decided to take a crack at it anyway. This week was no exception; Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) was great when he was pulled out of the lake by Bronn (Jerome Flynn) to see the devastation from last week's episode, and Cersei (Lena Headey) brought it in her enemies speech. Dany's (Emilia Clarke) show of complete strength but moment of weakness when Jon (Kit Harington) spoke about his new plan to go capture a Wight where both great scenes to watch, Jon's interaction with Drogon was probably my favourite moment of the episode, Arya's (Maisie Williams) face reading techniques were so good that they lead me to think she knows exactly what Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) is up too, and Sa...

I am so excited for tonight’s season seven premiere of Game of Thrones that I’m actually contemplating staying up to watch it when it airs at 2 am. I have been pondering these predictions since the last season came off the air over a year ago, and I’m using complete gut instinct so I could possibly be wrong. Spoilers for the rest of the show are ahead, and I will also be using some book speculation to come to conclusions, so tread carefully. Littlefinger plots too much I have been predicting the death of Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen) since the start of season six; part of me wants some justice for his antics, but the other part of me actually wants to see where his big plan will take him. I’m conflicted (which is where the show wants me to be), but I think after what he did with Sansa that it is now time. Littlefinger will end up plotting too much this season; he will try to break apart the Stark family for his own gain, and he will suffer the consequences. I am positive ...

This trailer opens with the beautiful Light of the Seven  by Ramin Djawadi - which you will remember from Cersei's trial last season - the first shot we see is Sansa (Sophie Turner) walking away from the Weirwood, she looks as though she is burdened by something (or possibly someone), and she begins to look around as if she wants to turn back but forces herself not to as a voiceover from Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) begins to talk over her.     "Don't fight in the North, or the South, fight every battle everywhere, always in your mind," The next shot we see is the gate of Castle Black opening, if you look really hard you will notice that it is, in fact, Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Meera (Ellie Kendrick) arriving at the wall, we then see a shot of Jon (Kit Harington) beyond the wall which could mean those specific rumours about them trying to capture a White Walker could be true. The next thing we see is an army wearing Kingsguard colours marching into a...

Could the Onion Knight turn out to actually be the Prince that was promised? Reddit User FollowTheBeard  seems to have some pretty convincing evidence that this could be the case. Spoilers ahead for everything Game of Thrones related so if you haven't caught up by now I urge you to come back when you are. For those of you not familiar with the Prophecy of The Prince that was Promised or Azor Ahai as he is called by Melisandre (Carice van Houten) it states as follows.  "When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake the sleeping dragon." - Melisandre This theory could apply to a number of characters, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) are both prime candidates for the Prince(ss) that was promised, but it wouldn't be Game of Thrones if it was predictable.  Lightbringer "In the Ancient Books it is written that a warrior will draw a burning sword ...

SPOILERS AHEAD... I've spent a long time away from writing, occasionally popping on to write or I'll write about something and end up not posting it because I have been very depressed recently. My mother got very sick right around the same time that I had a miscarriage, I also suffered trauma from the miscarriage itself, which I had no idea could actually happen but it does around 25% of the time. My head has not been in a very good place recently, with the tests and the panic attacks. I had lost my voice and forgotten how to write, but then I went to see Wonder Woman. For two hours that film made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me feel strong. I felt as though I had to power to do anything, be anything, I went through something terrible and I would make it to the other side stronger. For two hours I forgot about everything I'd been through and just focused on this fun action flick, at no point was I worried or anxious, I just got to see one of my childhood h...

It's that time of year again, you know when Amazon pits pilots against each other and only one can reign supreme (well except last year when the three shows got greenlight). This year the pilots were all very different from one another so we can only hope that all will be made as I really enjoyed them all in completely different ways. Oasis This show is based on the 2014 novel, The Book of Strange New Things, and is set in a poverty ridden London in the year 2032. It follows chaplain Peter Leigh (Richard Madden) who is unexpectedly sent for by David Morgan (Jonjo O'Neill) to go on a mission to the Oasis on the edge of our solar system which is currently under construction. This savior for the 1% is not quite what it seems and a series of unexplainable accidents keep happening. The performances in this show are really good, at no point was I taken out of this show, the story is very interesting (even if it is a bit God focused for my own taste), and it ends on a rea...

Loot Crate is such a great service, monthly pop culture items send to your door, it is every collector's dream. So when I heard that Loot Crate was asking customers to make there own dream crate I couldn’t help but jump at the idea. My actual dream crate has sadly become a reality so I decided that I needed to dream bigger (which at first sent me into a spiral of over creating) in order to achieve this goal, and my idea is pretty out there but stick with me.  I chose to settle for the BLOOD crate, which at first must sound very unappealing but stick with me, and I promise you this isn’t vampire related. I decided to incorporate two of my pop culture loves Tarantino, and Game of Thrones. At first, these two don’t seem to share a theme, but when you think about it these are both extremely bloody categories, main characters die, and both aren’t shy on focusing on humanities flaws.  I would include a Bolton T-Shirt and have it center on the Flayed man as nothing in ...

The Rogue One Trailer actually got me really pumped for the film, yes we know how the story ends, but I'm interested to see how we get there. Today I am going to breakdown the second trailer frame by frame, and hopefully point out some things you guys may have missed. The trailer begins with (what I think looks like) an imperial shuttle landing on Jyn Erso's (Felicity Jones) home planet, as it lands Jyn's Father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) watches from his farm and his voiceover states, "whatever I do, I do it to protect you." Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) and a bunch of Shadow Troopers walk towards the farm. The trailer then cuts to a scene between Galen and a young Jyn, he asks her if she understands the point he made before which she does. Then the trailer cuts to a tense scene between Krennic with his Shadow Troopers and Galen as Jyn watches on as she hides in the long grass. Jyn then wakes up in a prison cell which she shares with another creatu...