Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 48 and 49

Days 48 and 49 were the rest days for Dig Deeper. I still did my approximately two-mile morning walks and did some flexibility and mobility work each day. I did some foam rolling on Saturday and did the P90X stretch routine on Sunday. This upcoming week will be the last week of Phase 2 of Dig Deeper.

DVD/Movie Review: Fantasies

 

Fantasies is a 1981 film written and directed by John Derek. It starred Bo Derek (credited under the name Kathleen Collins) and Peter Hooten. The supporting cast includes Anna Alexiadis, Phaedon Georgitsis, Nikios Pashalidis, and Kostas Baladimas. The movie was actually Bo Derek's debut. It was filmed in Greece in 1973 and was titled Once Upon a Love, but was not released until 1981 after the movie 10, and an appearance in Playboy magazine made Bo a well-known star. She was about 17 years old when the movie was filmed and began a romantic relationship with John Derek (who was 30 years older than her) and eventually, in one of the most cringe-worthy Hollywood relationships, married him a few years later.

The DVD is a bare-bones release. The only extras are short filmography listings for John Derek, Bo Derek, and Peter Hooten. Otherwise, you just get the movie itself, and it does not play with captions. The film is absolutely awful. The writing and acting are horrible, and to the extent there is a plot, it plods along. In it, Bo and Hooten play Anastacia and Damir. Although Damir and Anastacia are not siblings, they grew up together in the same household after his parents died. He wants to revitalize the island where they live and make it into a tourist attraction, and she dreams of owning a fancy bathtub. The two start to have feelings for each other, despite considering themselves to be like brother and sister. They basically fight with each other through the entire movie while they are trying to figure out if they are in love. The movie does earn an R-rating as Bo Derek is nude a few times (although there are no sex scenes). Of course, the nudity would never be filmed today since she was 17 years old when the movie was made. Ultimately, the only thing this movie has going for it is that it was Bo Derek's first movie. While she was never considered a great actress, she was a big star during the 1980s, mostly because of her looks and willingness to take her clothes off in every movie. If you are looking for award-winning acting and writing, this does not have it. If you want to check it out for the sake of curiosity and accept it for what it is, it's worth watching but probably not one that you would return to much.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Enter the Ninja

 

Enter the Ninja is the 1981 action film starring Franco Nero, Sho Kosugi, Susan George, Christopher George, Alex Courtney, and Constantine Gregory that arguably launched the resurgence of martial-arts movies in the 1980s, specifically the Ninja genre. It was the first of what is called the "Ninja Trilogy," consisting of this film, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination. This film has no ties to the other two films, aside from featuring real-life ninjitsu practitioner Sho Kosugi (although he plays different characters in each film). In this film, Nero plays an American who goes to Japan to study ninjitsu. Kosugi plays Hasegawa, a ninja whose family lineage traces back to the ancient samurai, and does not believe an American should be allowed to be trained as a ninja. The film opens with a massive fight scene, which we eventually find out is Cole's final test to become a ninja. Once he graduates, Cole goes to Manila to visit his old war buddy, Frank Landers, who owns a plantation and is being pressured to sell his land by a wealthy CEO named Charles Venarious (played by Christopher George). When Cole dispatches his goons with ease, Venarious hires a ninja (Hasegawa) to take Cole out. 

The 4k release is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc (which just contains the film) and a standard Blu-Ray, which contains the film and the bonus content. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is excellent, and it is an upgrade over prior releases. The bonus content includes a commentary track by film historians Mike Leeder and Arne Venema, and trailers for several other films, including Koshugi's other movies. 

The movie itself is very cheesy and not particularly well-written or acted. It very much has the feel of a low-budget action film with some cheesy comedy sprinkled in here and there. The commentary track is quite interesting as Leeder and Venema give a pretty good breakdown of the film's interesting production history, including the fact that martial artist (and the guy who broke up Elvis and Priscilla), Mike Stone, was originally supposed to play the role of Cole. However, when the producers found out that Franco Nero was in the Philippines, they offered him the role despite the fact that he had no martial arts experience (which absolutely shows when he is doing action scenes), and Stone was relegated to being his stunt double and the fight coordinator. Having Stone in the role would have at least made Cole look the part, as Nero was hilariously bad during the fight scenes and could not even do a proper front kick, much less do anything that came close to looking like a trained ninja. You can also tell the movie did not have anyone paying attention to continuity, because in the opening sequence alone Cole would have a bow and arrow in one scene, then have two swords, then have one sword and a dagger, then would magically have the bow and arrows again, only to have them disappear after shooting an arrow and starting to run without actually dropping the bow. And all the ninjas that it looks like Cole is killing during his test are magically okay despite being run through with a sword or having throwing stars stuck in their forehead.  

Of course, nothing in the movie is all that realistic, and it presents a very over-the-top and exaggerated representation of ninjutsu (which is a real style of martial arts). But it is not really a movie that you watch because you are looking for it to make sense, have great acting, or for the continuity. For many people who were kids in the 80s and into martial arts, this will absolutely be a blast from the past (even if you notice the flaws you did not notice then). Ultimately, if you can accept it for what it is, it is entertaining, even if it is in a Mystery Science Theater 3000  "so bad it's good" way and worth checking out in 4k. 

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Fall Guy

 

The Fall Guy is the 2024 movie adaptation of the 1980s TV series. It was written by Drew Pearce and directed by David Leitch. It stars Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Hannah Waddingham, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the leading roles. The supporting cast includes Winston Duke and Stephanie Hsu, and there are cameos by Jason Momoa and the stars of the TV series, Lee Majors and Heather Thomas. Gosling plays Colt Seavers, the stunt double of the world's most famous action star, Tom Ryder (played by Taylor-Johnson), and is dating camera operator Jody Moreno (played by Blunt). After he is injured performing a stunt, Colt shuts out everyone and works as a valet at a restaurant. He is convinced to return to stunt work to work on a major production directed by Jody and starring Ryder, arranged by the film's producer, Gail Meyer (played by Waddingham). He is led to believe that Jody asked for him, but when he arrives on set, he finds out there is a lot more to the story, as Jody has no idea he was hired, and Ryder has disappeared. 

The 4k set is a three-disc set, containing two UHD discs and a standard Blu-Ray.  One of the UHD discs (and the standard Blu-Ray) contains the theatrical version of the film and the bonus content. The second UHD disc contains the extended version of the movie (which adds about 20 minutes to the runtime). The only extra on that disc is a commentary track by the director and one of the producers. The A/V quality of the UHD discs is excellent, especially if you have a large screen and a Dolby Atmos surround system.  The bonus content includes commentary tracks on both versions of the film. It is actually the same commentary track on both versions of the movie, just with the discussions during the scenes added to the extended edition removed for the theatrical version's track. The commentary tracks provide a lot of good information on the movie's production, how some of the stunts were done, etc. The other bonus features (which total about an hour) include a gag reel, alternate takes, and several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes that vary in length from a few minutes to about 20 minutes. 

The movie is very good. It is a great blend of comedy and action, and it seems like everyone had fun making it. It is a movie about a movie as well as an ode to all the people who work behind-the-scenes on films. In fact, the "important" people are made to look the worst in the movie. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is awesome playing an awful character, who was basically written as a stereotypical Hollywood brat/prick, and Waddingham was great as the producer who enabled him. Gosling again proves that he can do comedy, especially deadpan comedy, and Blunt continued to show her range, incorporating action, drama, and comedy into her performance. It can definitely be a little cheesy and goofy (by design), and almost everything about the movie is over-the-top, but it works. Ultimately, if you are a fan of action-comedies, this is absolutely worth checking out.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 47

Day 47 was the final workout of week three of Phase 2 in Dig Deeper: bis and tris. This is still a very challenging workout. I had to use the same weight I used last week for almost all of the exercises, but I did increase the weight for the last 3-minute burnout block, alternating the 90-degree rotations and triceps kickbacks. Going from 8 lbs (which was not exactly easy) to 10 felt like a huge jump, especially in the last minute. At the end of the night, I did the upper body foam rolling routine from 645, which helped loosen me up a bit.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 46

Day 46 was the shoulders, glutes, and abs workout. This is a harder workout for me, but I challenged myself to increase the weight I used where I could and took advantage of "getting stuck" and not doing lateral raises through the full range of motion, which allowed me to use 15 lbs instead of 12. That burnout at the end is still killer, even with 3 lb weights, but the burn did not hit until I got to the very end, so I am going to try it using 5 lbs next week. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 45

Day 45 was the legs workout. This is actually my favorite workout of the program so far. It is short, but challenging. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for a couple of the exercises and will be able to increase the weight for others next week.  

Book Review: Dragonlance: Barbarians Vol 1: Children of the Plains

 

Children of the Plains is set during the early Dragonlance era, about 4000 years prior to the Cataclysm. It was first published in 2000 as a mass-market paperback and co-authored by Paul Thompson and Tonya Cook. It tells the story of the early barbarians/plainsman, specifically a group of nomads and a group of settlers. It begins with a nomadic family being attacked by a group of predators. Only two of the family members survive, although neither is aware that the other lives. One becomes a leader of a nomadic tribe, and the other, through a friendship with a dragon who saved him from the predators, becomes a leader of a group of settlers. Years later, the brother and sister discover the other is alive. Within that story, there is a conflict between humans and elves, humans and elves and dragons, and dragons versus each other. 

The paperback version of the book is just over 300 pages and reads fairly quickly. While it does provide a backstory for some of the conflict between humans and elves that exists in the books set during the War of the Lance, especially the Chronicles and Legends trilogies, it is a self-contained story that does not require reading any of the other books to follow. The story is not nearly as good as in the Chronicles and Legends trilogies, but it has enough action to make it enjoyable. Ultimately, it is not one of my must-reads in the series, but if you are a fan of the Dragonlance series and want stories that add context to the more well-known novels, this is worth checking out. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 44

Day 44 was the chest and back workout again. I was able to increase the amount of weight from last week for some of the exercises. For those that I had to use the same weight as last week, I will be able to increase the weight next week. So, I am progressing and am getting appreciably stronger and leaner during this phase.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 43

Day 43 marked the start of the third week of the second phase of Dig Deeper, which meant doing the total-body workout again. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used from last week for some of the exercises, but I had to keep all of the weight in the final burnout block the same. Even bumping the weight up a little changes the workout quite a bit, especially when you are doing the 1-3 tempo lifts 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 41 and 42

Days 41 and 42 were mostly rest days. I did, however, do my morning walk each day, and yesterday did the P90x stretch routine in the evening. My range of motion continued to improve, but was not extremely different from last week.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 40

Day 40 was the end of week 2 of the second Phase in Dig Deeper, which was the bis and tris workout again. It was again challenging, especially since I increased the amount of weight I used for most of the exercises. I will have to hold them (at least during the first sets) next week, since I was reaching failure in pretty much every set. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Desperately Seeking Susan

 

Desperately Seeking Susan is a 1985 comedy starring Madonna, Rosanna Arquette, Aidan Quinn, and Mark Blum in the lead roles, and John Turturro, Laurie Metcalf, Robert Joy, Will Patton, and Steven Wright in supporting roles. Giancarlo Esposito also had a very minor speaking role. It was directed by Susan Seidelman and was filmed in New York and New Jersey. In it, Arquette plays an unfulfilled upper-middle-class housewife named Roberta who reads the personal ads and becomes fascinated by communications between Susan (played by Madonna) and her boyfriend, Jim (played by Joy) that often begin with the line Desperately Seeking Susan. When one of the ads proposes they meet in Battery Park, Roberta goes to spy on the meeting and becomes fascinated by Susan's freewheeling lifestyle. Roberta ends up getting hit on the head, losing her memory, and believes herself to be Susan, and finds herself in danger when she is mistaken for Susan.

This is a single-disc release. It has a decent, but not great, A/V transfer. For the audio-nerds out there, the audio tracks are 2.0 digital tracks, which may not easily play on a 5.1 or 7.1 surround system without messing with the audio settings on your blu-ray player. The bonus content includes the film's trailer and alternate/extended ending. There is also a commentary track on the film by the director and the two main producers. The most interesting part of the commentary was hearing about the decision to cast Madonna, how her mega-stardom really hit as the movie was filming, and how they had to hire more security toward the end of filming because she was getting mobbed every time she was in public. When she was originally cast, she was still mostly popular in the NY dance club scene where she would perform. However, she released the Like a Virgin album while the movie was filming, and that, along with the release of this film really moved her from a star that had a couple of songs with radio play and videos on MTV into the superstar she became. One funny item from the commentary was one of the producers saying Madonna wanted to get into acting because she did not think she would be able to do the kind of performances she did in the clubs when she was 40, but she would be able to act. Of course, she was playing stadium shows well into her 50s and has only been in a handful of movies after making this one. 

The movie is a good comedy, but it is a bit dated. It very much has the feel of a 1980s romantic comedy, but it had a good enough script that it is enjoyable even years later. It is rated PG-13, but it could have easily earned an R-rating. Rosanna Arquette is topless in a couple of scenes, but in shadow and obscured so you do not see much; Madonna is in a see-through bra in a couple of scenes, and there is a lot of swearing and smoking. It is also interesting to see Laurie Metcalf, John Turturro, and Giancarlo Esposito early in their careers. Madonna was okay, despite never having acted before. But she was almost playing a fictionalized version of herself, so she did not have to do a lot. Arquette did most of the heavy acting work, even though she became overshadowed by Madonna's growing popularity. Ultimately, while it is not the best comedy of the 1980s, it is still worth checking out.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 39

Day 39 was shoulders, glutes, and abs again. This one was challenging, both because of the 7-7-7 format for the shoulder exercises and because the 60-second ab exercises were no picnic either. The glute-focused exercises were not too bad, though one of them requires decent balance, which can be challenging, especially since it is toward the end of the workout when you are already tired. I was able to increase the weight I used for some exercises from last week and will be able to increase some next week.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 38

Day 38 was the Phase 2 legs workout, and it is one of the shortest workouts of Dig Deeper, at least so far. Even though it is short, it is challenging. I was able to increase the amount of weight I used for most of the exercises, and I will be able to increase a bit more next week. I also notice my range of motion for the squats and lunges continues to get better.  

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 37

Day 37 was the second Chest and Back workout of Phase 2. I was again able to increase the amount of weight that I used from last week for some of the exercises and kept others the same. The burnout block of weighted push-up rows is still killer, and the hardest exericse in the bunch for me to get through.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 36

Day 36 was my second go at the total body workout from the Sculpt and Define Phase of Dig Deeper. I was able to increase the amount of weight that I used for a couple of the exercises from last week, however, I kept the weight in the final block (the burnout block) the same. I also noticed that I was able to hold the ab/core exercises longer in all three sets than I could last week. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Days 34 and 35

The weekend days were the two off days for Dig Deeper. I again did the two-mile walks I have been doing daily for a few months. I also did the P90x stretch routine on day 35. One thing that I noticed is that I was able to get into the low squat and hold it for 30 of the 45 seconds. That was the best I have been able to do in that move for years. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 33

Day 33 was the final workout of the week and the fifth of Phase 2. It is Biceps and Triceps (and it also incorporates ab exercises in the final three sets). This one has four sets in all. The first block just has a biceps exercise followed by a triceps exercise. In this one, the ab exercises are performed for 60 seconds (once) at the beginning of blocks 2-4, followed by a biceps exercise and then a triceps exercise.   You go back to the 1-3 time-under-tension format for the exercises, so your arms will pretty much feel like cooked spaghetti noodles by the end of it. The final block is the burnout block in which you do 90-degree rotations followed right into triceps kickbacks. You do each for 30 seconds, alternating them for the final three minutes of the workout.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 32

Day 32 was the Shoulders, Glutes, and Abs workout from Phase 2 of Dig Deeper. This one follows a slightly different format than the first three workouts. This has three blocks and a burnout exercise. In each of the blocks, you do a shoulder exercise, then a glute-focused exercise, and then an abdominal-focused exercise. The difference is that in the shoulder exercises, you lift using a 7-7-7 format: seven reps on one arm, then seven reps on the other, then seven reps with both arms. You do not use the 1-3 tempo, but you are doing two more reps. The glute exercises are performed for 12 reps and do use the 1-3 lifting tempo. The burnout exercise is holding a light weight at 10 and 2  and then doing raises (think the Y-raises if you have done Lift 4), but alternate arms, seven reps with the right arm, seven reps with the left arm, followed immediately by six reps on the right arm, and you pyramid down until you do one rep on the right and one rep on the left. 

It is a tough workout, especially toward the end. The abdominal exercises are all performed for 60 seconds. They are all bodyweight exercises, but they are challenging, especially as you start getting tired. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 31

Day 31 was the Sculpt and Define phase leg workout in Dig Deeper. It has a similar format to yesterday's workout. This one has three "regular" blocks of work that alternate a quad-focused exercise with a hamstring-focused exercise. You again lift with the 1-3 tempo, going one count up and three counts down. Then, the burnout exercise is squats around the bench for 45 seconds, repeated for 3 sets. In the first set, you use the heaviest weight you used in blocks 1-3; in the second set, you drop down (I used 30 lbs in the first set and dropped to 20 in the second); and in the third set, you just use your bodyweight. It is another tough workout and definitely works your legs well.

DVD/Movie Review: Fair Game

 

Fair Game is an extremely cheesy 1995 action-romance film starring Cindy Crawford and William Baldwin. The supporting cast includes Salma Hayek and several recognizable character actors, including Christopher McDonald, Jenette Goldstein, Miguel Sandoval, Steven Berkoff, Marc MaCaulay, and Dan Hedaya (in an uncredited role). In it, Crawford plays a civil attorney in Miami named Kate McQuean who threatens to have a ship sized to pay for alimony. Unknown to her, the ship is actually owned by a criminal who is in league with ex-KGB members who then target and attempt to kill Kate. Baldwin plays Max Kirkpatrick, a Miami detective assigned to a case in which Kate was hit by a stray bullet during a drive-by shooting, and interrupts the attempt on her life when he goes to her house to follow up on that case. From there, the movie becomes a cat-and-mouse chase in which Kate and Max have to try to avoid the Russians.

The DVD is very bare bones. The movie plays as soon as the disc loads. There are no bonus features on the disc. It does not even have a menu screen, but the movie does play with English captions whether you want them on or not.

The movie was not particularly well-written or acted. It was a low-budget action film that served as a vehicle to help Crawford parlay her extremely successful modeling career into an acting career. She was not a horrible actress, but she was not really given great material to work with. This was also one of Hayek's first roles in a Hollywood film, but her part was very small; she was in just a couple of scenes. You pretty much know what the film is going into it; an action film with two good-looking leads, that plays on the fact that Crawford was one of the biggest (if not the biggest) supermodels in the world at the time. It is hard to expect much when one of the leads is very pretty but with no acting experience, and the other is one of the "other" Baldwins, not named Alec. As I said above, it is very cheesy, and almost nothing in it is realistic or makes a lot of sense. It is basically a movie in which you turn your brain off and just go with it. There is a lot of violence and some sexual content and brief nudity (Crawford is topless a couple of times and you see "notalec" Baldwin's ass), so it earns an R-rating. Ultimately, it is absolutely not a must-see film, but if you want to watch an action movie, you can accept it for what it is, and do not expect it to be something it's not, it is worth checking out. 

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 30

Day 30 was the second workout of the Sculpt and Define phase, which was Chest and Back. It features 4 main blocks, each with a chest-focused exercise followed by a back-focused exercise. You are again lifting with the 1-3 tempo, lowering the weights for a count of three, and lifting them for a count of one. Some of the exercises are the same as those in the Phase One workouts, and others are new or variations of exercises previously done. The burnout exercise at the end, which is its own block, is push-up rows. You do three sets that each last 45 seconds, doing as many reps in each set as you can in the allotted time. It is a tough workout, but I definitely felt like I had gained strength during Phase One. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Excalibur

 

Excalibur is a 1981 film telling a variation of the legend of King Arthur, co-written, co-produced, and directed by John Boorman. It stars Nigel Terry, Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren, Liam Neeson (in his first film role), Patrick Stewart (in one of his early film roles), Cherie Lunghi, Robert Addie, and Nicholas Clay. The supporting cast includes, Gabriel Byrne, Boorman's children, Katrine and Charles, and Clive Swift. Over the years, there have been many variations of the Arthurian legend. This is definitely one of the darker ones. Merlin (played by Williamson) was not the noble, wise wizard that he is in other variations, and this version of Arthur (played by Terry) grew up as a commoner only to discover who he was when he pulled Excalibur from the stone. It is very violent and there is some sexual content and nudity in the film. 

The blu-ray release is very substandard. It did not receive a good HD transfer at all, and as a result, the A/V quality is quite bad. The video quality is barely better than a DVD, and the audio is out of sync at times. Also, the menu pages are very hard to navigate and barely respond when you push buttons on the remote. I initially thought the batteries in my remote were dying, but I confirmed they were fine, and the issue was with the disc itself. As a result, depending on what blu-ray player you have, it may be hard to turn on captions or change the audio setting. The only bonus feature is a director's commentary by Boorman. It is also hard to access, given the issue with the menu pages, but once you do, Boorman provides a lot of good information about the film and behind-the-scenes information. 

The movie is okay, but not great. It is actually better to watch it while listening to Boorman's commentary track, because you get a better idea of what he was going for. Without that context, it just seems like the movie never really figures out how it wants to tell the story and does not present a cohesive one. There are time jumps in the movie that make it hard to follow at times. But they had to be used because Boorman wanted to tell the entire story of Arthur's life in a two-hour-and-twenty-minute film. The dialogue was not particularly well written, so despite featuring many great actors, they did not have much good material to work with. It is interesting to see Liam Neeson in his first film, Patrick Stewart early in his film career, and Helen Mirren relatively early in hers. However, there are many other versions of the story that are much better than this one out there. Ultimately, you are not missing much if you skip this, but if you are a big fan of any of the actors or are really into the story of King Arthur, then it is worth checking out.

Workout Update: Dig Deeper: Day 29

Day 29 was the start of Week 5 in Dig Deeper, which meant the transition to Phase 2 of the program, the Sculpt and Define Phase. In this phase the workout splits are different, and the number of reps you do in each set is different. It also incorporates some new exercises into the mix, but also uses some of the exercises from Phase 1. The first workout of the week is a Total Body Workout. It has four total blocks, each with three exercises. Most of the exercises in this workout use a 1-3 tempo to create time-under-tension, so you do 1 second in the lifting portion of the exercise and 3 seconds in the lowering or negative portion of the exercise, performing 12 reps for each exercise. The third block is a burnout block that repeats three of the exercises from the workout (incline chest press, reverse lunges, and hammer curls), which you do back-to-back performing each exercise for 45 seconds instead of doing 12 reps. I started the workout trying to use the same weights that I used for the exercises in last week's upper body 2 and lower body 2. I could use the same for some of them, but went up or down for sets 2 and 3 as needed.