Watch this week: Black Adam

The formulaic comic-book movie is the story of the title character (Dwayne Johnson), a nearly 5,000-year-old former enslaved person with powers beyond those of any mortal. With Johnson’s star power, it is one of the best DC superhero films to date, and gives the audience everything they want, along with things they never expect. A whirlwind of a movie where the characters whiz around the screen, hammering away at one another, as well as any solid object that happens to be in the way and bodies and debris soar far more frequently than viewers’ spirits.

Binge this week: From Scratch

A Virgin River-type straightforward romantic series with small town vibes, a formula that works for Netflix and for those who love tear-jerking drama. From Scratch is based on Tembi Locke’s memoir of love and loss where two attractive people fall in love over great food. What begins as a swoony romance in its first episodes becomes a heartrending story of loss and resilience by its last. Zoe Saldaña and Eugenio Mastrandrea’s chemistry is intense and the characters are so endearing that you will miss spending time with them when it’s over. Keep a tissue box handy!

Follow this week: The Journal

This daily news podcast from the Wall Street Journal churns out an in-depth news story for each day of the week examined through a business lens. The stories including subjects not limited to the US, include US politics, world politics, science, technology, economics, and more are thoughtful and well-produced. Different from the tone of a newspaper, the concise, relevant and straightforward approach provides detail and context of one interesting story instead of skimming more than one story, which you can get by scanning headlines of your favourite websites.

Read this week: The Facebook Narcissist 

Finally, a book dedicated to exploring the relationship between narcissism and social media. Lena Derhally, a licensed psychotherapist certified in Imago therapy, examines how narcissism relates to the “influencer” and celebrity culture, cyberbullying, cyberstalking, trolling, and victim blaming. Since social media is here to stay, the thought provoking and well-researched book educates us he thought provoking and well-researched book educates us he thought provoking and well-researched book educates us to use social media positively and as a tool to improve the world, and change the narrative.

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