Happy Monday — here’s your weekly inspiration!
You can read the affirmation out loud to yourself, meditate on it for a few minutes, or simply let it ruminate in your subconscious.
Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein and Micaela Ezra
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Author’s Site
This Week’s Reviews
🎬 The Menu
🎬 Ticket to Paradise
📺 Break Point
A funny, absurd film set on a remote Irish island, where little ever happens — until now. One day, Colm (Brendan Gleeson) decides he no longer wants to be friends with his long-time pal Pádraic (Colin Farrell). We follow the story mainly from Pádraic’s point of view, who lives with his sister and their donkey on a small, cliff-side farm. Pádraic struggles to understand what he’s done to deserve this kind of treatment, least of all accept the matter. But, Colm’s mind is made up. He intends to spend his final years securing his legacy as a composer, and refuses to squander another precious hour engaged in dull conversation. We can all relate to some degree. Time is precious. People change. Not all relationships are meant to last forever. But, to what lengths would you go?! A charming, surprising film that will leave you perplexed until the bitter end.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2022
Running Time: 1h 54m
MPAA: R
Director: Martin McDonagh
Writer: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan
Studio: Film4 Productions, Blueprint Pictures, TSG Entertainment
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
Related Reviews & Articles
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% Tomatometer, 76% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / Rolling Stone / The Guardian / Mashable / NPR / DECIDER / New Yorker / DEADLINE
Where to Watch: HBO Max, Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube etc.
Happy Monday — here’s your weekly inspiration!
You can read the affirmation out loud to yourself, meditate on it for a few minutes, or simply let it ruminate in your subconscious.
Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein and Micaela Ezra
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Author’s Site
This Week’s Reviews
🎬 Banshees of Inisherin
🎬 Ticket to Paradise
📺 Welcome to Chippendale’s
📺 Break Point
I was too young to follow the story of Pam Anderson and Tommy Lee in real time, but of course, I’ve heard about the infamous sex tape. The first few episodes cover the intense love affair between Pam and Tommy — love at first sight if there ever was such a thing. We also quickly establish Rand Gauthier as the man who is out to get them. As the series continues, Tommy must reckon with the end of his Mötley Crüe music career, while Pamela struggles to rise above her Playmate status and beach babe role on Baywatch. The show digs into themes of celebrity, sexism, misogyny and how the internet dismantled privacy and changed the face of porn forever. If you lived through the 90s, you’ll love the fashion, music and lingo throwbacks. Loose jeans and “cool beans.” A time when grunge replaced punk, and Nirvana and Third Eye Blind were the hot, new acts in town. Though, I really could’ve done without the dick talk. But, the acting is superb. Definitely bingeworthy!
Genre: Biography, Drama, Comedy, Romance
Released: 2022
Running Time: 5h 40m
Creator: Robert Siegel
Starring: Lily James, Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogan, Nick Offerman, Taylor Schilling
Studio: Annapurna Television, Lionsgate Television
Distributor: Disney Platform Distribution
Related Reviews & Articles
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 79% Tomatometer, 67% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️✨
VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / The Guardian / DECIDER / New York Times
Where to Watch: Hulu, DIRECTV, Amazon, Google Play
this week’s playlist
in honor of David Crosby
Helplessly Hoping – Crosby, Stills & Nash
Staring at the Sun – Wooden Shjips
It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody – Weyes Blood
Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds
Entrance Song – The Black Angels
Dancing Barefoot – Patti Smith
Sunshine Superman – Donovan
Sexify is a fun, flirtatious watch. A Polish series about three female entrepreneurs in their early 20s, who create an app (Sexify) that promises to revolutionize users’ sex lives. Of course, they’re not without their own relationship problems. This second season focuses on the legal and financial hurdles that all promising start-ups face — running out of funding, investors wanting to take control, and competitors stealing ideas. But, the show largely rests on the partnership between the three founders and their own sexual explorations. The series is similar in tone to Sex Education (an excellent British show), and not nearly as graphic as Euphoria. It captures the Gen-Z approach to dealing with app-based sex, love and dating. This time with more tech and less high school.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2021
Running Time: 40m
Creators: Kalina Alabrudzinska, Małgorzata Biedronska, Piotr Domalewski
Starring: Sandra Drzymalska, Aleksandra Skraba, Maria Sobocinska
Studio: Akson Studio
Distributor: Netflix
Related Reviews & Articles
IMDB Rating: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Tomatometer, 82% Audience Score
DECIDER / Thrillist / Daily Beast / DEADLINE / Hollywood Reporter
Where to Watch: Netflix
One of the best films I’ve seen so far this year. Of course, I knew the story already. The #metoo movement. The allegations around Harvey Weinstein and what became of him (read: jail). But, She Said is the story of the investigative journalists who broke the momentous news despite the forces of power playing against them. With the support of the New York Times editorial board, these two women fought to bring this article to life. They managed to tell the stories of those who were afraid to speak out. Thanks to their passion for the subject and their relentless pursuit in exposing the culprits, they encouraged key figures to speak out publicly against long-standing sexual abuse practices in Hollywood, and the work place as a whole. You could say they gave this movement its legs. Wonderful, relevant watch. A film about journalism at its finest. Highly recommend.
Genre: Drama, History
Released: 2022
Running Time: 2h 9m
MPAA: R
Director: Maria Schrader
Writer: Rebecca Lenkiewicz (screen), Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey (New York Times)
Starring: Zoe Kazan, Carey Mulligan, Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher, Frank Wood, Adam Shapiro
Studio: Annapurna Pictures, Plan B Entertainment
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Related Reviews & Articles
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 87% Tomatometer, 91% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / The Guardian / Empire / TIME
Where to Watch: Peacock, Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, RedBox etc.
Happy Martin Luther King Day — here’s your weekly inspiration!
You can read the affirmation out loud to yourself, meditate on it for a few minutes, or simply let it ruminate in your subconscious.
Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein and Micaela Ezra
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Author’s Site
This Week’s Reviews
🎬 She Said
🎬 Ticket to Paradise
📺 Welcome to Chippendale’s
🎬 Banshees of Inisherin
📺 Sexify
🥕Pot Roast Soup
Chilling, eerie and haunting. The Pale Blue Eye is a tale of murder and deceit that gravitates toward the occult. At first, you’ll want to escape into the untouched, snowy woods of the Hudson Valley, where Detective Augustus Landor lives alone — his own family gone. But then, we discover a U.S. cadet has hanged himself and had his heart cut out. Landor begrudgingly takes the case. But, it won’t be his last murder investigation.
I read Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart in school, and it’s the kind of story that sticks with you. Harry Melling does a fantastic job of playing the poet, and there are references to Poe’s other work throughout. Christian Bale is equally great as Detective Landor, and so are the supporting performances. The perfect watch for a gloomy winter weekend.
Trailer
Genre: Crime, Horror, Mystery
Released: 2022
Running Time: 2h 8m
MPAA: R
Director: Scott Cooper
Writer: Scott Cooper (screen), Louis Bayard (book)
Starring: Christian Bale, Harry Melling, Simon McBurney, Timothy Spall, Harry Lawtey, Toby Jones, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Gillian Anderson, Robert Duvall
Studio: Cross Creek Pictures, Streamline Global Group, Le Grisbi Productions
Distributor: Netflix
Related Reviews & Articles
IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 64% Tomatometer, 73% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / Vulture / Rolling Stone / The Wrap / DEADLINE
Where to Watch: Netflix
Happy Friday & Happy Listening!
A Feeling That Never Came – First Aid Kit
Motions – Kerala Dust
Variations – Nicolas Jaar
Make you move – Camp Claude
Glass Dubplate – Populous
I Contort Myself Thinking About You – Moscoman, Tom Sanders, Teleman
Last Chance – Thornato, The Spy from Cairo
Mount Bloom 