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Showing posts from December, 2020

Coming 2 America Two Trailer

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Coming 2 America is set to release in March 2021 on Prime. I am late on the reaction to the trailer that came out recently but I was hesitent to even watch it. Coming to America is one of my asbolute all time favorite movies for several reasons. First it is a geuninely funny romantic comedy with a predominatley all black cast in a time when that was unheard of. It was also the first movie that I saw in the theaters. My older brother took me to see it and it is a time, I will never forget. Since then, I have seen the movie countless of times and have enjoyed it each and every single time that I have watched. Therfore, I have been nervous ever since I heard they were going to do a part two. How can they top the first one, or, at the very least, create a reboot that is just as good? Reboots are not usually better and very rarely just as good.  When the trailer came out, I was in no rush to watch it. However, eventually I did and it got my hopes up a little bit. Many of the same characters

Soul Move Review

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Disney Pixar released Soul on Christmas and I have to admit, I was skeptical at first. I read so many negative comments based on the preview from people wondering why the main black characters could not stay in their human form the entire time. In Princess and the Frog, Tiana did spend almost the entire movie as a darn frog, and with this being the second major project with a black main character some were disappointed by the fact that Joe Gardner appeared to turn into a soul. Skepticism aside, I decided to watch and so glad I did.  I have been pleasantly surprised by two movies over the weekend, Slyvie’s Love and now Soul . Yes, Joe Gardner played by Jamie Foxx did turn into a soul. However, unlike The Princess and the Frog, it was not for the majority of the film and the impact of his character in human form really overshadowed the time he spent as a soul. Moving beyond that, there were so many elements that were enjoyable about this feature. The one thing that may have disappointed

Let those Negative Thoughts go

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  Affirm: I release every negative thought from yesterday and resolve to be mindful of the good in this moment.  Let go. When I share these things, it is not because I have the answers or my life is super perfect or even close. I share them because these are the tools that I use not to fall into a cycle of stress and negativity. This is my stress well journey. Sometimes, I have thoughts of not being good enough or not meeting up to even my own expectations that bring my whole vibe down. I cannot allow those thoughts to linger.  I have to remind myself to let them go and be grateful for the good in my life right now, and there are many. I am fortunate. That does not mean that we are free from negative thoughts or self-doubt. This is a daily practice. There are always things from the past that we can carry forward that if we allow can hold us down. Let go. Breathe. Be. Live beyond those energy drainers.

Read With Me: Duke and I Session 1

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Read with me: Duke and I Part 1 I had my first Read with Me session last night on FB live and IG. It was a lot of fun. Please join me next week as we continue the shenanigans. Check out the video below. 

Shonda Rhimes brings Quinn's Bridgerton to Life

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Shonda Rhimes is bringing Julian Quin's Bridgerton series to life on Netflix. I am actually pretty excited about it because I love historical romance novels and used to devour them in my younger years. So when I saw the trailer for this, I ran out and purchase the first book in the series. As you may or may not know it will be the first read of my Read with Me Bookclub post .  So I get my book home and realize, that it is kind of familiar. I stroll over to my library and low and behold, I have the mass market edition from many years ago. Naturally, I took the new one right back to the store and got my refund, to spend on another book of course.  At any rate, the trailer looks interesting and scandalous, to say the least. I can't imagine pairing Shonda Rhimes penchant for drama with a period piece that already has its own set of melodrama written into it. I am looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I want to finish the first book again before I start watching. So it may be a few

Sylvie’s Love Movie Review

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 Sylvie's Love Spoilers sprinkled throughout.  Sylvie’s Love is everything I wanted The Photograph, with Issa Rae, to be. Whatever the missing piece that held me back from loving ThePhotograph was, Sylvie’s Love had it. Starring, Tessa Thompson, and Nnamdi Asomugha as Sylvie and Robert respectively, Sylvie’s Love took the audience back to back to the late 1950s where guy meets girl, falls in love, loses girl, and well, you know how the story goes. Robert a talented saxophone player gets a job in a record shop just to meet the beautiful girl he spots in the window, and their love blossomed from there.  I love Tessa Thompson. She is beautiful and quirky but that as Sylvie, she was poised and reserved. In contrast, her cousin Mona, played by Aja Naomi King, was definitely quirky and bold and beautifully spirited. I enjoyed their onscreen friendship as what a true girlfriend should be to each other. True girlfriends should be able to be about their business and life but always there f

Read with Me

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I love books! I love the written word. I used to devour them at the rate of one a week. My favorite genre is romance, particularly historical romance. Yes, I would kill a good period-error romance. One day, I will tell you of my introduction to books and how I even wrote a few. I still fancy myself an undiscovered talent. In my mind, I just haven't written the book that has led to my discovery as of yet.  Image by  Yuri_B  from  Pixabay   Unfortunately, I have fallen off of reading and have been meaning to get back into it. It is one of my most favorite things to do and brings me great pleasure. Whenever you can engage in something so simple that brings you joy, you should. It is a great stress reliever for me and for some reason, I have not been able to get back into it like I wanted to. If I could even read one book a month that would be great.  My lack of reading though has not stopped me from purchasing books to add to my library. I am happy that I expanded myself to reading mo

Remember, you are Priceless

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Drew Barrymore  came out a few years ago on SZA’s Ctrl album, and it is a whole mood. There are lyrics in there that call out to me because sometimes we just feel a certain way and it is okay as long as we do not stay there.   I get so lonely I forget what I'm worth. We get so lonely we pretend that it's worse. I'm so ashamed of myself, think I need therapy. Sometimes we fall into that trap and allow ourselves to be treated as if we are worthless. We may find ourselves in situations that we would not normally be in. It happens. That is life. Remember that you are worth all the treasures in this world and definitely worth the effort to pull ourselves out of a less than desirable situation. Do not ever forget your worth because as long as you draw breath you are worthy of it and nothing is more important and precious than breath. I love it when she sings “Collect your soul, get it right.” I think of this for myself. Our self-worth is a matter of our soul. It is a matter of wh

Ava Movie Review

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Ava came in hot this week on Netflix and landed at the number one spot at one point. I normally do not do reviews for movies that I do not care for, and it actually takes a lot for me not to like a movie. I am a lover of the arts and I like most movies because I take them for what they are. I will enjoy a good B/C movie just as must as a star-studded high-quality blockbuster. I can think of a handful of movies that I outright hated and that list is few. The list of movies that I do not care about, on the other hand, is a little bit longer.  Ava is one of those movies that I do not really care for. I wanted to like it. I really did. I wanted to enjoy it like I enjoyed Salt or Columbiana or Peppermint (now playing on Netflix as well) but I just didn’t. The cast was dope. Jessica Chastain, Colin Farrell, John Malkovich, Geena Davis, and Common all bless this movie with their star power, and unfortunately, that was not enough.  Chastain plays an accomplished assassin, Ava, who has major

Throw me some Shade

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“ Don’t cast a shadow on anyone unless you’re providing shade.” -Terri Guillemets No tea, no shade is now one of my favorite things to say right before I say something that would be construed as shady. If I am being totally honest, no construing needed. It is just plain old shady. Shade today and shade in this quote clearly do not mean the same. To throw shade is to make a veiled disparaging comment towards someone or about someone or something. At times this comment may be well deserved and most of the time, probably not even warranted. Nevertheless, it is something that most people are guilty of whether it be in jest or with hurtful intent.   In another sense though, shade is not necessarily negative at all. This shade can be where one goes for protection against the harshness that comes at us. When I think of shade, I think of someplace I can go for some rest. Do not throw shadows of doubt or insecurity or fear my way. Instead, give me a safe place in which I can catch my breath a

Tenet Movie Review

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Tenet is now available for streaming and probably still playing in theaters somewhere, and 👏 I  👏 w ant  👏 t o  👏 s ee  👏 i t  👏 a gain! That is saying a great deal since, I am not that crazy about time travel films however, this is one that I need to see again. On my spectrum of science fiction films that I enjoy time travel ranks lower than most. I have to go with alien/space movies, superhero, disaster films, genetic/virus, fantasy, and then time travel. So, me wanting to watch it again is a pretty good sign. Or I just want to feast my eyes on John David Washington again.  Directed by Christopher Nolan, Tenet follows a young secret agent, known as the Protagonist, as he tries to save the world from ultimate collapse against a foe who manipulates time to his nefarious advantage. The movie also stars Robert Pattison (who I am partial to after watching that darn Remember Me movie and Twilight of course lol) as Neil another unsuspecting secret agent who does not really know what h

Chloe x Halle: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

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Chloe x Halle has been on my favorite list ever since I discovered them singing away on Youtube before they were signed to Beyonce's record album. I was equally excited to see them in concert as I was to see Beyonce when they opened for her second On the Run tour. When I think of stress less, uplifting music, their album is my go-to. So, I was excited to see their Tiny Desk (Home) Concert uploaded to Youtube about a week ago. It is a lovely 20 minutes and that last song- 🔥🔥🔥!

All the Way Up

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Nothing can stop me, I’m all the way up! I do not always feel the hype. If I am being honest, lately I have felt like I struggle to get through the day. No doubt COVID fatigue is setting in or has already set it. Regardless, I find that I cut myself short of the accomplishments that I have made for the day. I do not give myself credit for getting my butt out of bed and getting to work and handling my affairs for the day. True, I do not always do it with the zest that this life deserves but I have made it through the day. We do not give ourselves credit enough for getting through. We need to do better. I know life is not perfect or what you hoped it would be. Things right now make be looking bleak. Every day seems to be a new challenge that we have to deal with. Maybe a family member has taken ill or money has fallen short. There will definitely always be something on the horizon to challenge us. Yet, we rise to the occasion. It may not feel like it at the moment but as long as you a

I Don't Feel Like It

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There are so many things that I have to do- want to do. Things that I know I really should do. Things that if I did them would make me feel better about myself and have a sense of accomplishment. The problem is that I do not want to do them because I just don’t feel like it. I find myself telling friends and family that you have to push through that feeling regardless to get to a place where you start to reinvigorate yourself, and now that it is happening to me, I am struggling with taking my own advice. I just don’t feel like it.  Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear. - Dan Millman One of the biggest contributors to feelings of the stress of our own making is this I-don’t-feel-like-it attitude. Imagine all the things we would not get done if we listened to feeling and did not do all the things we did not feel like. We are not children. Most of the time, we do not have the luxury of l