Welcome

Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.

I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.  

I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time.  As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree. 

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

4k UHD/Movie Review: Wonder Woman

 


Wonder Woman was the follow-up movie to Batman v. Superman and is told mostly as a flashback telling Diana's origin story. There are a couple of scenes set in the present that ties both to Batman v. Superman, and the upcoming (at that point) Justice League movie, but most of the movie is set in the past.

This movie was one that people saw as saving the DCEU, as pretty much all of the other movies had been shit on by critics, unfairly for the most part. However, this movie had a lot better character development and setup, and honestly, it should have been a follow-up to Man of Steel. I think if the sequence had gone Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, a stand-alone Batman movie to introduce Ben Affleck's version of Batman/Bruce Wayne as well as Joker and Harley Quinn, then Batman v Superman, I think the Snyderverse would have fared much better than it did.

Most of the story in this movie is set during World War I. There are some scenes with a young Diana growing up on Themyscira, but the bulk of the story comes after Steve Trevor (played by Chris Pine) accidentally ends up in Themyscira while fleeing the Germans. He tells Diana about the war, and she is convinced that it is the doing of the god Aries, and sets out to find and kill Aries. From there it is mostly a period piece with Diana trying to integrate into early 1900s society, help fight in battles, and aid Trevor and his team to find a weapon being developed by an evil German doctor. There is a strong supporting cast including Robin Wright, Connie Nielson, David Thewlis, and other recognizable character actors.

For those who get the 4K disc, it is a two-disc set with just the movie on the UHD disc, and all the extras on a regular blu ray disc. The movie looks and sounds great in UHD, especially if you have a large screen and a soundbar. There are over two-hour's worth of extras including several behind-the-scenes features on making the movie, as well as several features on the overall character of Wonder Woman, and how the character has evolved over time.

Overall, the movie is great. It has a great blend of action and humor, and has a message without getting too preachy about the message it was trying to send. Gal Gadot does a great job with the character. There was, of course, a lot of consternation when she was cast, especially since she did not fit the mold of Lynda Carter, the only other woman to play the character in live-action. Carter was definitely bigger than Gadot (although Gadot is slightly taller) and in other areas (boob size) that even Gadot joked about. However, Gadot is much more athletic than Lynda Carter, so she brought a lot more to the fight scenes than was ever done in the TV show. The script was good, and all of the actors did a great job with their parts. It is still probably the best movie in the DCEU and is definitely worth the pick-up. 

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