Author: Jen Blumberg

💫 Affirmation of the Week

inspirations

Happy Monday and Happy New Year!

Here’s your weekly inspiration! You can read the affirmation out loud to yourself, mediate on it for a few minutes, or simply let it ruminate in your subconscious.

These lovely illustrated cards are from a card deck called Spirit Junkie that I bought at a New Age shop last summer after getting a glimpse into my past lives. I know! Because, when in Sedona….

Spirit Junkie by Gabrielle Bernstein and Micaela Ezra
Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Author’s Site

What else you can expect to find here this week:

Reviews:

🎬 Empire of Light
📺 Fleischman is in Trouble
🎬 Amsterdam
📺 Kaleidoscope
🥕Balsamic Brown Butter Tortellini with Spinach & Hazelnuts

🎬📺📚 Best of 2022

books, film, tv

Here’s my list of 2022 favorites!

Film

Top Gun: Maverick
Emily the Criminal
Don’t Worry Darling
Flee
Blonde
The Worst Person in the World
Licorice Pizza
My Policeman
Turning Red
Belle

TV

The English
Industry
Severance
White Lotus (S2)
The Dropout
Search Party (S5)
The Bear
The Playlist
1899
Formula 1 (S4)
Inventing Anna

Books

Where the Crawdads Sing
Conversations with Friends
The Woman Destroyed
The Midnight Library
Beautiful World, Where Are You
Educated
Between Two Kingdoms

🎬 White Noise 🤩🤩🤩🤩

film

Funny, strange and beautiful. Based on a Don DeLillo novel, White Noise is about a family who must come to grips with the absurdities of life (and death) while trying to survive an “airborne toxic event.” Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig are my favorite writer/director pair, and I love almost everything they put out. Then, add Adam Driver on top. I mean, please! There were some truly epic scenes and laugh-out-loud moments in this film that will no doubt be remembered and quoted endlessly. Without giving anything away, I took particular joy in the German and river scenes. And, the 80s nostalgia and fashion were lots of fun. The way the characters talk to each other as if narrating their own stories takes some getting used to, but not so much that it distracts from the film overall. Ultimately, White Noise is a meditation on life, fear, death, and what it means to believe in anything. Definitely worth checking out. Also, the end credit sequence is killer — shout out to LCD Soundsystem!

Teaser Trailer
Full Trailer
Credits
Song

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Horror
Released: 2022
Running Time: 2h 16m
Studio: A24, Heyday Films
MPAA: R
Starring: Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle, Lars Eidinger
Director: Noah Baumbach
Writer: Noah Baumbach (screen), Don DeLillo (book)

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 63% Tomatometer, 45% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / LCD Soundsystem

Where to Watch: Netflix


🥕Recipe of the Week

food, recipes

Shawarma-Spiced Halloumi and Vegetables

This is one of my favorite recipes to make! It’s simple and doesn’t require any cooking. You basically just chop the block cheese and vegetables. Then, mix everything with the spices and olive oil. Put it all on a baking tray, and pop it in the oven for 35-40 minutes. And, voila you’re done!

I generally make this on the weekend, so I can eat it for lunch the next week. I substitute paneer for the halloumi, because it’s easier for me to get, but I’m sure the halloumi would be just as good. I also add whatever vegetables I have on hand and feel like roasting. The recipe calls for sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes and red onion. But, I add zucchini, carrots and red bell peppers as well. I also substitute red or golden baby potatoes for the sweet potatoes, because I’m not big on sweet root vegetables…

You can see the full recipe here.

Author’s Insta and Recipe Post
Author’s Site

The cookbook itself, Mediterranean Every Day is one of my favorites. Most of the dishes are simple to make, but delicious. I haven’t found a bad recipe in this book yet. And, I’m sure you’ll see me using it again. There’s also a section for cocktails and desserts! Americano Spritz or Chocolate Olive Oil cake anyone??

You can buy the cookbook here:

Google Books
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

🎶 Music of the Week

music

Jen’s List #1

Happy Friday, Happy Listening and Happy New Year!

City of Angels – Ladytron
Mangrove – Toukan Toukän
Glory Hallelujah, I’m Gonna Fly Home Soon – Natalie Bergman
Für diesen Moment – Alexander Eder
Renaissance (White Lotus) – Cristobal Tapia De Veer
Anti-Hero – Taylor Swift
Plastic (Extended Mix) – New Order
Free – Florence + The Machine

🎬 Spirited 🤩🤩

film

I’m not sure what happened here. Granted, my friend talked through half the movie, so I may have missed some critical elements, but overall, I thought this film was a disaster and was unable to keep my attention or interest. I’d just watched Elf earlier in the day, which had me laughing in stitches, like always. But, Spirited felt like a waste of talent for both Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. I just couldn’t buy into Ryan Reynolds’ character as the villain, whereas my friend couldn’t buy into the idea of Will Ferrell as Scrooge. And, the opening songs about capitalism and corporate culture were cringeworthy. The only saving grace of this film were the remaining musical and dance numbers, which by and large, were quite good. Overall though, this film couldn’t decide want it wanted to be. Drama, comedy, musical? And, all the jumping around in time made my head spin. Will definitely not be watching this one again next Christmas.

Trailer

Genre: Comedy, Family, Musical
Released: 2022
Running Time: 2h 7m
Studio: Apple Original Films
MPAA: PG-13
Starring: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer
Director: Sean Anders
Writer: Sean Anders, John Morris

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 69% Tomatometer, 80% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️✨

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / NPR

Where to Watch: Apple TV+

📺 The English 🤩🤩🤩🤩✨

tv

This show was recommended to me by a friend, and I watched the whole series in two days. The performances by Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer and Rafe Spall were incredible. I’m not big on Westerns, but I loved this show, and did not see the twist coming! Not only is it a commentary on European colonialism and a truthful representation of the Native American’s fate, but the cinematography and scenery of the American West are breathtaking. It made me yearn for the wide open spaces of Colorado. The growing bond between Cornelia and Eli had me invested throughout. And, while Cornelia’s mission to do justice by her son serves as the central driving force here, Eli’s character and story are just as fascinating. At its heart, this is a story about the losses we carry, the distances we’ll go to seek revenge and how to suffer with dignity. It’s also a story about finding home — when the one you had was brutally taken from you.

Trailer

Genre: Drama, Suspense, Western
Released: 2022
Running Time: 51min (per episode)
Studio: BBC/Prime Video
Starring: Emily Blunt, Chaske Spencer, Stephen Rea, Rafe Spall
Director: Hugo Blick
Writer: Hugo Blick

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 8.0
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% Tomatometer, 79% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times

Where to Watch: Prime Video

🎬 King Richard 🤩🤩🤩 ✨

film

The Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscar slap aside, King Richard is an incredible true story of the two Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, who grow up in Compton and go on to make tennis history, in no small part due to their father’s grand plans for them. Will Smith’s character, Richard Williams (the king himself) is one of a kind, and clings on with stubbornness to his own peculiar ways, despite all professional advice to the contrary. Unlike most sports films, there are few pump-em-up training or music-driven championship scenes. Instead, the film focuses on character building and family dynamics. At its core, this is a story about discipline, putting family first and overcoming adversity against all odds. The film drags a bit in the middle, and missed several opportunities for heightened emotional intensity, in my opinion. Overall though, it’s definitely worth a watch.

Trailer

Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Released: 2021
Running Time: 2h 24min
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
MPAA: PG-13
Starring: Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Bernthal
Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green
Writer: Zach Baylin

Related Reviews & Articles

IMDB Rating: 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Tomatometer, 98% Audience Score
Roger and Ebert: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
IndieWire / VARIETY / Hollywood Reporter / New York Times / NPR

Where to Watch: HBO Max, Apple TV, Amazon, YouTube