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. 

Friday, October 8, 2021

4kUHD/Movie Review: Shazam

 


Shazam is a 2019 action/comedy in the DCEU starring Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Grace Caroline Currey, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Michelle Borth, Djimon Hounsou, John Glover, Ian Chen, Cooper Andrews, Ross Butler, Jovan Armand, Megan Good, DJ Cotrona, and Adam Brody. Shazam is one of the lesser-known (at least to the non-comic book fans) of the DC Superheroes. If you are old enough, you may remember the cartoon that was on TV back in the 1980s. 

In the story, Shazam is a superhero with powers similar to Superman. He is actually a kid named Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel) who is given powers by a Wizard (Hounsou) that allows him to become a superhero with powers when he says the word Shazam, which transforms him into an adult wearing a super-suit with a huge lightning bolt on his chest. Billy is a kid who bounces in and out of various foster homes after running away from them, trying to track down his mother, whom he has not seen since getting lost at a carnival when he was a little kid. Hounsou's version of the Wizard Shazam is looking for a champion who is pure of heart to inherit his powers to battle the embodiments of the Seven Deadly Sins and their champion, Doctor Sivana, played by Mark Strong. I will not say what roles the supporting cast plays because it would spoil the end of the movie, but all of the actors do a great job with their characters.

The movie is really an origin story with Billy trying to figure out his superhero powers. Levi does a great job of playing a 14-year-old kid stuck in an adult's body, and you get that he would be a kid, not necessarily being a serious hero, when he gets these cool powers. Mark Strong did a great job as the bad guy and really played a great villain. The movie really seems to be what DC wanted for its movies, as a mix of action and comedy with a dash of seriousness mixed in. It feels a lot more like a Marvel movie than the other "Snyderverse" movies. 

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular blu-ray disc. The UHD disc just has the movie on it, and the extras are all on the regular blu-ray. The film looks and sounds great in the UHD format, with an excellent A/V transfer. The extras include several behind-the-scenes and making-of features of various lengths, about 37 minutes of deleted and alternate/extended scenes, a gag reel, and a feature on the character of Shazam through the years. All in all, about two hours worth of bonus material (give-or-take). 

Overall, the movie is very good. Like I said, the tone is definitely different from the other DC movies, especially those directed by Zach Snyder, but it fits given the storyline. It is definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of superhero movies and have not reached the superhero fatigue point yet. 

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