Workout Update: P90X Day 25

 Day 25 was x-stretch, which is done once as a part of the regular schedule in the recovery week and then once optionally (on day 7 if you want to do it). As I have said before, I really like this "workout" and try not to skip it if at all possible. I can definitely tell that I am getting more flexible in my hamstrings, although my back and hips are still very tight. But, in all of the moves that focus on the hamstrings, I am getting better. I have a few more days of the recovery week and then it is on to phase two. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 24

 Day 24 was Kenpo-x. It, and yoga, are the two main workouts that are repeated during the recovery week. Overall, it went fine. I had to do it a bit later in the day than I had planned, but I got it done and felt good afterward. I again skipped that 11 minutes of cold stretching that they do at the beginning, which drops it down to about 46 minutes.

Book Review: Star Wars The High Republic: A Test of Courage

 

A test of courage is a short story about a newly promoted Jedi Knight named Venestra Rwoh, who is given her first assignment to supervise a young inventor on a luxury starliner that is traveling to a space station called Starlight Beacon, which was opened after the hyperspace disasters. She is unique in that she was promoted to a full Jedi knight at the age of fifteen., so she is powerful, but still has teenage insecurities, which I think makes her a more interesting character. The ship is sabotaged by the Nihil, who have been the main antagonists of the High Republic novels, and Venestra becomes stranded on a moon with a Jedi Padawan whose master was killed in the first encounter with the Nihil, a couple of civilians, and a droid. The group has to survive not only the dangers of the moon itself but the threat posed by the Nihil.

As most probably know, the junior novels and young-adult novels are really telling ancillary stories to the main adult novels. They generally introduce some different characters or involve a side-mission that is tied into the main story, in this case, the conflict with the Nihil but is not as involved as the adult novels get. To that end, this is a good, but not great story. It is definitely more of a kid's book, but that does not mean adults cannot enjoy it. There is a bit less violence in it than the "main" canon novels have but there is still a lot of action in it (relative to how long the book is). The author also finds a way to incorporate the dark side of the force without it being in the Jedi vs. Sith context that has been in most of the novels, tv series, and movies. The Nihil make for good bad guys that present a challenge to the Jedi without being force users themselves. The book is relatively short, just over 200 pages, so it makes for a fairly quick read. While I do not think it is a book that most are likely to read over and over, it is a good short story ancillary to the main storyline.

Workout Update: P90X Day 23

 Day 23 was the first Core Synergistics workout. It is the workout that is done during the recovery weeks. It is honestly one of the workouts that I do not like all that much. Mainly because it has a couple of moves I really hate doing like the Dreya rolls. Mainly because I have never been able to do them all that well. There are some moves that use weight, but you are doing so many reps you really only need very light weights. For most of them, 3 lb weights were enough for me. There was only one move, the lunge, kickback, curl, press that 3 lbs weights were way too light for. Most of the moves do not require using any weight and are core-focused like bow, banana, and boat. Then there are a lot of push-up and plank-based moves in it. I definitely struggled with this workout but made it through. 

4k UHD Blu-Ray Review: No Time to Die

 

Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Michael G. Wilson, Lashana Lynch, Jeffrey Wright, Neal Purvis, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Ben Whishaw, Robert Wade, Daniel Craig, Barbara Broccoli

No Time to Die is the 25th overall Bond film and the final film in which Daniel Craig will be in the title role. As has been the case for all of Craig's films, this one is tied in with all the others and is a direct sequel to Spectre. While Christoph Waltz does return as Blofeld, the main villain of the movie is Safin, played by Rami Malek, who has a direct tie to Madeline Swann (again played by Lea Seydoux). In fact, the opening sequence of this movie does not involve Bond at all but shows the death of Madaline's mother when Madeline was a little girl. Then the movie jumps to the present where at Madaline's urging Bond visits Vesper's tomb in an attempt to get closure. He is ambushed by Spectre agents which sets off the big opening action scene. Of course, he survives and the movie does a five-year time jump at which point everything else plays out. 

The main plot involves the use of nanobots which can be used to kill specific people or even millions of people, which is what Safin intends to use them for. Bond has to take down Safin, but like everything comes with a price. All of the main cast returns for this installment, Including Jeffrey Wright. Ralph Fiennes, and Naomi Harris. Lashana Lynch is introduced as the newest 00, even taking up the 007 designation when Bond is retired. Ana De Armas is introduced as Poloma, a CIA agent operating in Cuba. She definitely fits the "Bond Girl" model, including the dress they had her fighting in. She was not in the movie for long, but the time she was in it was definitely memorable. I will not spoil anything, but as you can imagine not every character makes it out unscathed, but it is made clear that Bond will return in some form down the line. 

For those who get the 4k set, the movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. And, all of the bonus features are included on the UHD disc and start playing immediately after the credits if you let the credits roll all the way to the end. The longest of the bonus features is a 45 minute or so retrospective on Craig's Bond from the controversy regarding the announcement that he got the role to his last day on set during No Time to Die. Then there are a few shorter featurettes on the making of the movie. Not a ton of bonus material, but what was included was good.

Overall, I really liked the movie. I think it was a fitting end to this era of the Bond franchise, and leaves open the possibility of a hard reboot of the franchise or continuing with at least some of the characters that were introduced in the last few movies. It is definitely worth watching even if you are a casual Bond fan, or just want to watch a good action movie.

Workout Update: P90X Day 22

 Day 22 was the first day of the recovery week, which meant doing Yoga-X again. For this one, I went up to the Yoga belly 7 exercises and then bailed out of it. But, I did do all of the moving asanas, even warrior three and the half-moon series, but I used a chair to keep my balance since I could not get to the floor with my hands. I don't think I will ever like this workout, but I can tell that I am getting better at it, little by little. Years ago when I was in better shape I could do most of the moves (pretty much everything but shoulder stand into plow and wheel). I could even do crane for about 30 seconds. But, I am basically starting at square one again. I really wish the Power-90 Master's Series would have had a full beginner yoga workout that would have been a transition to this workout. That is the one thing that the Master's Series lacked. At the beginning of the cardio 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6 workouts there were some sun salutations that were done as a warm-up, but they lasted a total of about four minutes, which is not nearly enough preparation for this workout. Going from essentially no yoga in power-90 to a very long program with some very advanced moves in p90x was the one thing I think the two workouts series did wrong. 

4k UHD Blu-Ray Review: Spectre

 

Spectre is the 24th James Bond movie and the fourth with Daniel Craig in the role of Bond. It begins in Mexico City where Bond, acting on a posthumous message from M (Judi Dench's version of the character), is trying to take down a terrorist plot. He discovers that the plot involves an organization called Spectre, led by Ernst Blofeld (played by Christoph Waltz), who has been responsible for many of the tragedies in Bond's life. I will not go too much more into the plot, but the movie has ties to the other Craig installments but mostly stands on its own. 

For those who get the 4K disc, the movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. There are two discs, the UHD disc that just has the movie itself, and the regular Blu-Ray that has the extras. Those include a featurette on the opening sequence (which is the longest of the extras at 20 min) and then a series of video blogs, a photo gallery, and trailers for the movie. Not a ton, but what was included is good. 

Overall, the movie is good, but not great. I know Bond aficionados found it underwhelming, given that Blofeld was the "big bad" that ties all of the movies together, and found his reveal to be less than menacing. I am very much a casual fan of Bond, so the fact that Craig's movies departed from the way the other movies were set up was not a big deal to me, and thus the big reveal of the villain was not a let down for me. I would say that if you are generally a fan of the Craig films you will probably like this movie. If you have been lukewarm to them in general, then this movie is probably not going to convert you into a fan. 

Book Review: The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

 

The Only Plane in the Sky is a book by Jared Graff that details the events of 9/11 using quotes from different people that were involved in the events of that day. The author has used quotes from survivors, people who talked to people on the planes before they crashed, government officials, and even just people who lived through the day. The book is divided into chapters, and then in each chapter, there are quotes from people discussing the topic of the chapter. So, it does not quite read like a traditional book. Each quote identifies the person giving it and where they were (if they were in the buildings). If you have watched any of the documentaries on 9/11 you will know that some of the quotes the author uses are lifted from interviews that people have previously given about 9/11, but the author also conducted quite a few first-hand interviews. Because the book was written in 2019 some of the material he included was from a modern-day perspective on how a person's life had changed since that day.

Overall, the book is very good. It is very emotional in parts and does include some material that I had never heard about despite watching many of the 9/11 documentaries and reading a lot of books about 9/11. It can be very jarring getting a first-hand account of what happened by the people who lived it, and you get a sense of just how lucky some people got where literally being able to turn a corner was the difference between living and dying. I highly recommend this for people who experienced 9/11 or are just into history, current events, etc. 

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II

 

This is mostly a good story, but it introduces a huge continuity problem with the original novels and movies. I cannot say what it is without spoiling it, but if they were ever to make this into a movie, there would definitely have to be some kind of explanation given to make the reveal at the end make sense. The story is set 19-23 years after the events of the Deathly Hallows. The first "scene" is actually a version of what we see at the very end of Deathly Hallows Part II where Harry and Albus discuss what happens if Albus is sorted into Slytherin. Then, the next few years pass by within a handful of pages and the main portion of the story plays out from there. I will not give too much away, but it involves Albus and Draco Malfoy's son messing with time and then trying to undo the mess they make. 

To be clear, the book is not a novel. It is the script of the play. So, it definitely does not read like any of the other books, It does not have chapters, but does have the act and scene breaks, which makes it a bit easier to read sometimes at least when it comes to the length of the breaks. If you are a person like me who will always try to get to the end of the chapter before stopping reading, when you have very long chapters, it can be a bear to get to the end of the chapter (especially at night). Here, the scenes tend to be shorter (sometimes a page or two) so if you are getting tired, you get a lot more potential stopping points.

Overall, I think the story is a good one (aside from the continuity issue) that mixes the original characters with the newer characters very well. All of the main characters (Hermoine, Harry, and Ron) are in the book and even some of the more ancillary characters (like Neville) do show up even if for a very short time. I like that it gives some closure to Harry and Draco's relationship (more than we ever got at the end of Deathly Hallows), which for me, was one of the best things about the book. It is certainly not what I would call a perfect story, but with a few tweaks, it could be made better and easily adapted into a new movie (if the cast were up for doing another one). 

Workout Update: P90X Day 21

 Day 21 was the last day of phase 1, the x-stretch workout. Unlike the yoga workout, I really like this one. It flows much better and ends just when it gets to the point where it starts to feel too long. Personally, I like doing it back-to-back with yoga because I feel like I make better progress stretching two days in a row than I do separating them. This upcoming week is recovery week which means yoga twice and core synergistics (my second least favorite workout) twice. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 20

 Day 20 was yoga. I still hate it, mostly because it is way too long and has moves that I think can easily be eliminated from it and still keep it very challenging. I did skip the very end of the moving asana portion (the last series with warrior three, standing splits, half-moon, and twisting half-moon) but did do "yoga belly seven" since I skipped ab-ripper on Friday when I did legs and back. I will never like this yoga workout as much as the one in P90x 2 or P90x 3, and I do not feel bad about cutting it short when I feel I need to. Some people may disagree with that approach, but I think as long as you do some yoga as a part of the program, you will get the benefits of it.

Workout Update: P90x Day 19

 Day 19 was the last legs and back workout of the first phase. I again used 95lbs of band resistance for the pull-down moves and was getting anywhere from 6-10 reps, so I am going to stick with that until I can hit 12 reps on all the pull-down moves in one of the pull-up heavy workouts (in phase 2 is it the back and biceps workout and the legs and back workout). Aside from that, all the leg-focused exercises went okay except the single-leg wall squats. I almost made the full minute but had to stop with about 8 seconds left. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 18

 Day 18 was the Kenpo workout. I again skipped the cold stretch open and just used the twist and pivots and punching as the warm-up. This, plus that active rest period gives you more than enough time to get warm before you start to kick, which is really where you would be liable to pull something if it was going to happen. The workout went pretty well. I am still a bit slower than they are on some of the moves, but I am faster than them on others. Overall, I think it went well.

Workout Update: P90X Day 17

 Day 17 was the shoulders and arms workout. It is my second favorite resistance workout behind "back and biceps". I was able to increase the weights on a couple of the moves for this workout and hit max reps on other moves so the next time I do the workout, I will be able to increase those. This week is the last week of the first round before the recovery week. So, the next time I do this workout will be in round three. I also did ab ripper as the warm-up. I am still doing 20 reps for all the moves (aside from the mason twist), but during the first week of round two, I am going to try and hit 25 reps for each one. 

Book Review: Star Wars The High Republic: Into the Dark

 

Into the Dark is a young adult novel set during the High Republic Era, which occurs a couple of hundred years before the Battle of Yavin/The Original Trilogy. The events in the book run concurrently with those in the "regular" canon novel, Light of the Jedi, overlapping with the hyperspace disasters that are occurring in that novel. It is mostly set on a space station in the outer rim, which has a lot of dark side energy surrounding it and sets a group of Jedi against the Nihil and a new threat. It also jumps between the "present-day" and events that occur twenty-five years earlier, so it is not super easy to follow at all times, especially since all of the characters in the book are new.

The good thing about the High Republic era is that it is not just a rehash of the Jedi vs. Sith conflict, and introduces a lot of new characters. The downside is that it is harder to be invested in characters that will, for the most part, be dead by the time the prequel trilogy even starts. This novel did a fairly good job introducing the group of characters and giving them enough of a backstory that the readers can try to get invested in them. Obviously, the Skywalkers are not even a thought at this point, and whatever the two Sith who are out there (assuming this is post-Darth Bane and the rule of two) are doing, they are not a part of the story at this point (if they ever will be in the high republic novels). Certainly, there is room for the characters to be developed in subsequent novels. The Nihil is definitely set up as a threat to the Jedi and the Republic overall, and the book just really scratches the surface of their group. 

Even though this is a young-adult novel, so it is considered ancillary to the main canon storyline, it is written well enough that adults can easily enjoy it. It is a fairly easy read, but I personally find the novels that have the characters from the movies to be the easiest read because I do not have to remind myself who the characters are when I pick the book up after a few days away from it. Overall, it is not what I would call one of the must-read novels, but it is something that most people who collect the novels will enjoy reading once. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 16

 Day 16 was plyometrics again. It is probably the workout I like the best of any of the non-resistance workouts. It does run a little bit long for my taste, but you can always make it shorter by skipping the "sports bonus" at the end. But, by the time I get to that I always just figure what is three more minutes? I can definitely tell that my stamina is better and I do not have to modify as many of the moves. 

Blu Ray Review: The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone

 

The Godfather Coda is a remastered and re-edited version of The Godfather Part III. To be clear, the plot of the movie is exactly the same. The movie was really just re-edited a bit to change the beginning of the movie and the very end of the movie. The movie actually starts out with the storyline of Michael working with the Catholic Church to buy the company and then transitions to the party that originally started off the movie. So, it basically rearranges some of the scenes and incorporates some of the originally deleted scenes. I think this was done to put the main plot of the movie up front, and then remove the shot of the Twin Towers that was originally used in the movie's opening sequence. 

While I am not one who totally despises Part III, it is certainly not anywhere near the same league as Parts I and II, and many of the same problems with the movie (e.g., Sofia Coppola's horrible acting and non-existent chemistry with Andy Garcia) are still there, and present the same problems as the original version. That said, I do think the overall "redemption" story for Michael that Puzo and Coppola were trying to go for was a good one. I have always thought his attempt to go totally legitimate while dealing with the consequences of the past was a great plot for the movie, and Pachino does a great job in that role.

The only extra included was a very short introduction to the movie by Francis Ford Coppola, which details what he was going for with this revision. There is no director commentary or any featurettes explaining what was re-arranged or why particular edits were chosen, which would have been nice. You really have to either watch the original version first or remember every scene from the original version to tell what is different. 

As I said above, the movie is nowhere near as good as Parts I and II, which were all-time classics. That said, I think it is still a good conclusion to Michael's story, even though I do like the original ending to the movie better. I don't think there was ever going to be a way to make this movie be what the first two installments were, nor do I think this needed to be a separate release. It is inevitable that the movies are going to get a 4k UHD release, and are very likely going to be released as a set, and this could have easily just been included with that as an alternate cut. That said, it is worth watching at some point for die-hard fans of the Godfather movies.

Book Review: Star Wars: Secrets of the Sith

 

Secrets of the Sith is not really a novel. It is a cross between a journal/handbook written from the perspective of Palpatine after the events of The Last Jedi, but before the events of The Rise of Skywalker, and a picture book. In it, Palpatine basically lays out the history of the Sith, referencing Darth Bane, and his master Darth Plageius. He describes how he corrupted Anakin and turned him to Vader, and his plans for Rey. He also made it clear that his "son" who eventually became Rey's father was more a son in the Bobba Fett to Jango Fett sense than a real son.

The book is a very quick read. Even if you read slowly you can get through it in an hour or two (at the most). It has a lot of pictures, including the first canon look at Darth Plageius (although you really don't see much of him aside from his glowing eyes behind a hood). Of course, the Darth Plageius novel, which was really more about Palpatine's rise to power than it was about Darth Plageius was relegated (mostly) to legends status when Disney took over. I say mostly because the Tarkin novel by the same author, which was grandfathered into the canon novel set referred to events that occurred in the Darth Plageius novel, which bootstrapped some of that material into the canon.

Overall, I would not call this a must-have book. It is almost more of a coffee table or display book than it is something you would ever read more than once. It does have a pull-out poster, so if you are an ultra die-hard Star Wars fan, it will give you something to hang on the wall. But, it does not go much beyond what you learn from the movies, aside from clarifying or fleshing out a couple of points that you may have missed watching the movies.

Workout Update: P90X Day 15

 Day 15 was chest and back with the ab-ripper warm up. The workout was very good. I was able to get another couple of reps on all of the push-up moves in, except the dive bombers at the very end of the workout. I was toast by then and could barely eke out 5 reps. I stuck with the 95lbs of band weight to do the pull-downs, and that was still very difficult. I was able to do between 6-10 reps on the various pull-down moves. If I can hit 12 reps in all of the pull-downs in the legs and back workout on Friday then I will up the band resistance again, otherwise, I will stick with the 95lbs.

Workout Update: P90x Day 14

 Day 14 was yoga, again. It is the bane of the P90x workouts. It is about 45 minutes too long, and even the first 50 minutes (which is the most difficult part of the workout) seem to go on forever.  I decided I will stick with it up to the point where they get to the "yoga belly 7" moves. I don't think there is really a reason to work abs in the yoga workout, especially if you do the workout on day 4 when it will be sandwiched in between two ab-ripper workouts in which Tony explicitly says do not work abs every day. And really, the first hour is the traditional yoga and after that, it is more stretching work which is repeated in the x-stretch workout, but I like the stretching because it really focuses on hamstrings which are my big weak point when it comes to flexibility. I know some people who do p90x stick with yoga until the moving asanas are over, but I think it is helpful to do the balance moves and the stretching which is why I made the decision to go farther into it. 

DVD Review: Family Guy Season 14

 

Season 14 of Family Guy continues to follow the pattern the show has followed for years. A story of the week, with pop culture and/or political jokes thrown in throughout the episodes. It is really the formula that has worked for the show for years, and they seem to be content with it. By now, the show has been around long enough that people know whether they like it or not. I personally still find it entertaining, although I do not think it is as good as it was during its original run on FOX before it was canceled and brought back. The DVDs do have the advantage of being uncensored, so the jokes can be a bit edgier and they do swear a lot, including dropping more than a few f-bombs throughout the season. The big "special" episode of the season was the season finale where Brian and Stewie travel to India to meet a call center worker that Brian falls in love with over the phone. There are some Bollywood references and a spoof of Slumdog Millionaire. 

For those who get the DVDs, the extras include commentary tracks on select episodes and deleted scenes for every episode. The deleted scenes are accessible from the extras menu on the main screen for each disc, but if you want to listen to the commentary tracks, you have to go into the menu for each individual episode menus, then go into the extras menu for the specific episode. So, it is not extremely convenient. The commentary tracks do not include any of the cast members, usually the writer and director of the episode and one of the producers (not Seth McFarlane). They are good, but not a must listen to. There is also a full animatic/storyboard sequence for one of the episodes.

Overall, the show is still good, even if it is getting a bit long in the tooth now. If you are a fan you will probably like this season, even if you do not love it as much as you have in the past. If you have never liked the show there is nothing about this season that is likely to change your mind. 

Workout Update: P90x Day 13

 Day 13 was x-stretch again. I again flipped yoga and x-stretch because of the timing of the workout on Saturday. I had to do it later in the day and did not want to do over an hour of yoga. I am definitely getting more flexible. Slowly but surely. I am not anywhere near as flexible as anyone in the video, but I do the best I can on everything. I can definitely tell I can go further down on the split leg and two-leg hamstring stretches and am getter better at some of the others. There are some like the move where you sit in a pretzel position and twist back that I plain just have to lose more weight before I will be able to do it well again because my gut is still too big. But, my hamstrings and lower back have always been tight, even when I was in better shape, so I know it is going to take a while to get where I want to be.

Workout Update: P90x Day 12

 Day 12 was legs and back again. Nothing too notable about this workout other than I upped the total band resistance for the pull-downs to 95 lbs. I could only hit 8 reps on pretty much all of those moves at that weight so I am going to stick with that at least for this next week's chest and back workout, then I may bump it up again for the legs and back workout on Christmas eve. I again used ab-ripper for the warmup and was able to hit 20 reps on all the moves, having to pause a couple of times. Honestly, my nutrition has not been all that great this past week, and may not be for this next week, but I am just going to keep going with the workouts and try to keep the junk food to a minimum.

Workout Update: P90X Day 11

 Day 11 was the Kenpo-x workout. I again totally skipped the "warm-up" and just used the twist and pivot and punches to warm myself up. Since the kicking exercises do not start until after the first active break (where you do jogging in place, jumping jacks, and x-jacks) you will be sufficiently warm by the time the kicking starts that you should not be in any danger of pulling something (unless you really slack on the other exercises). This is another workout where I really like the pace. It does not ever seem to be going on too long (especially if you skip the 11 minutes of stretching at the beginning) and is over before it starts to get boring. It is definitely not the same as taking an actual martial arts class (at least a taekwondo class) and they really do modify the moves to keep you from pivoting during kicks, which, if done incorrectly can lead to injury. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 10

 Day 10 was shoulders and arms again. I was able to increase the weights on a couple of the exercises in this workout, and max out on a couple more (hit 11 reps) so I will be increasing the weight on those next week. This is actually one of my favorite P90X workouts. The pace is great, and it gives a great pump on all of the "glamour muscles" that Tony talks about at the beginning. I also did ab-ripper as the warm-up, and was able to increase the reps to 20 for each exercise (modifying a few of them still). 

Workout Update: P90X Day 9

 Day 9 was my second go-around with Plyo-X. I was a bit tired when I did the workout and had less energy the first time around. So, I found myself having to pause more and do a bit more modification of the moves, but I made it through to the end, including the "sports bonus" Overall, I like the pace of the workout and most of the moves are doable for someone at an intermediate level. 

Workout Update: P909X Day 8

 Day 8 was the second time doing the Chest and Back workout and using ab-ripper-x as the warmup. Overall, I thought the workout went well. I was able to get a couple more reps in on each of the push-up moves, and 1-2 more reps on all the pull-up moves, even increasing the band resistance up to 90lbs. I am doing all the push-ups on my toes even though it means I am sacrificing depth right now. I figure that will come as I get stronger. For ab-ripper I did 15 reps of all the moves (aside from mason twist). I am almost to the point where 15 reps are easy, so I think on Friday I am going to increase that to 20 reps. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 7

 Day 7 was the dreaded Yoga-X, which at some point is the bane of the people doing P90X. It is an hour and a half long, and the first 50 minutes or so, is very tough. Basically, you do moving asanas for the first 50 minutes, which get progressively more difficult, especially if you are not super flexible and/or have the greatest balance. I do think the "yoga belly 7" moves are pretty unnecessary especially if you do it on Thursday (or whatever your day 4 would be) like the regular schedule would have you doing since it would be sandwiched between two days of doing ab-ripper-x.  Overall though, aside from being a bit long, it is a good, challenging, yoga workout. I do think it would be a lot better pared down to 60 minutes, but it is a yoga program that beginners can modify to their performance level and "grow" into.

4kUHD/Movie Review: Gladiator

 

Gladiator was a massive success of a movie, winning Oscars for, among other things, Best Picture and Best Actor at the 2000 academy awards. It starred Russell Crowe as a general in the Roman Army named Maximus, who, at the beginning of the film, is leading the army against the last expansion of the Roman Empire under Emporer Marcus Aurelius (played by Richard Harris) in Germania (which is now Germany and the surrounding countries). Marcus Aurelius is dying and trying to convince Maximus to become the leader of the Empire, having made the decision that his powers will not transfer to his immoral son Commodus (played by Joquin Phonix). Needless to say, things go sideways and Maximus ends up becoming a slave and forced to fight as a Gladiator in the servitude of Proximo, a former Gladiator played by the noted English actor Oliver Reed. The main cast is rounded out by Connie Nielsen who played Lucilla, daughter of Marcus Aurelius, and Djimon Hounsou, who plays Juba, another slave in servitude to Proximo. 

The 4k Blu-ray set is actually a three-disc set. The UHD disc has both the theatrical version of the movie and the extended edition (which adds about 20 minutes to the total run time). The 4k transfer was done very well, and the movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. On the UHD disc, the only extras are the commentary tracks. The commentary track on the extended edition of the movie includes Ridley Scott and Rusell Crowe, and on the theatrical version, the commentary track includes Scott, the editor, and the cinematographer. All the rest of the extras are on the "regular" Blu-Ray discs. On each version of the movie, there is an option to watch an in-movie experience in which facts about the movie pop up at the bottom of the screen. On the left side, there are video clips that are made available as the movie goes along that gives topical information and/or behind the scenes clips, and on the right side, there is a list of topics that you can select to be played when the second disc (with just special features on it) is played. 

The second disc, as I said above has just special features on it. And there is a shit-ton of features. The topic portal will play the behind-the-scenes and making-of clips from the topics you chose while watching the in-movie experience (or you can select them on that screen). If you play them all, it is about six hours in length. Although some of the same clips and soundbites are used for multiple topics so it does get a bit repetitive. Then, there is a three hour and twenty minutes long series of making-of features, with some material repeated from the topic portal clips, but some of its own material as well. Then there is a journal that Spencer Treat Clark (who played Lucilla's son) made during the production of the movie. It is not a video journal though, so you have to actually read it on the screen and flip through multiple pages. It is just a massive amount of bonus material if you like going through it. My favorite features were the ones detailing how they finished the role of Proximo when Oliver Reed died with about three weeks left in production, the pains that arose during production of the movie, and the stand-up comedy/Gladiator Q&A set that Russell Crowe did a few years after the movie come out.

Overall, the movie has been around long enough now that most people will know if they like it or not. For most people, the decision is really going to be whether to invest in the 4k UHD upgrade (especially for those who, like me, already double-dipped for the original Blu-Ray release). Personally, I think the A/V upgrade made the triple-dip worth it for me. The movie looks and sounds great on UHD, and is a noticeable upgrade from the blu-ray transfer. It is a great movie, with a great story, and, if you love bonus features, this has about as much as any movie has put out. I highly recommend the movie and the 4k UHD upgrade. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 6

 Day 6 was the stretch workout. I was going to do Yoga, but the day kind of got away from me and by the time I had time to workout, I did not want to spend an hour and a half doing it. So, I swapped and did x-stretch on Saturday and did Yoga today (Sunday). I really like x-stretch because it has all the good parts of the Yoga video without (mostly) the hard parts. The one real advanced move it has is shoulder stand into plough, which, even when I have been in my best shape and most flexible, I have never come close to doing. So, when that comes up I just use my yoga strap and try to extend my legs up and keep them totally straight, which gives me a really good hamstring stretch. Plus, I like the fact that the workout is under an hour, which, for a p90x workout is saying something.

Workout Update: P90X Day 5

 Day 5 was my first go around with the Legs and Back workout, which essentially alternates leg exercises with pull ups. The leg exercises are mostly repeats or variations of the moves that were used in the Master's Series workouts, so there was really nothing very new (aside from the chair lunges at the very beginning). Then, the pull ups were the same (with some omissions) as in the chest and back workout. 

I again used ab-ripper x as the warmup as opposed to doing it at the very end, and again got through 15 reps for each of the moves (and 50 mason twists). And, on the pull ups I added the 5lb band so I was doing a total of 85lbs of resistance. Overall, the workout went well. The big thing about the p90x workouts is that they are all very long. You will be devoting at least 45 minutes each workout, with the longest being the Yoga workout (which clocks in at an hour and a half). That is really the one big drawback, the other being it gets a bit repetitive in the last few weeks. But, it is a good workout series that has a good track record of getting people results.

Workout Update: P90X Day 4

 Day 4, for me, was the Kenpo-X workout. If you follow the schedule, day 4 would normally be Yoga, but since that one is the longest workout, at 90 minutes, and is probably the hardest workout (at least for those of us who are not very flexible), I moved it to Saturday so I could do it whenever instead of being stuck doing it after work as I generally am on the weekdays. 

Kenpo is a decent workout, especially the few times you do it. As you get in better shape, it becomes one of the easier workouts, but for the first go-around, I was definitely having a hard time keeping up with them. A couple of times I just had to cut the number of reps off at 20 because they were done way ahead of me. The only thing I am not a big fan of from that workout is the warmup. In other videos, Tony goes on talking about how you do not want to stretch a cold body, and Kenpo dives right into stretching without any kind of warm-up. So, I usually just start the workout right away and use the punching exercises as the warm-up. 

Last night I had a cheat meal at Olive Garden, but otherwise ate according to the Portion Fix nutrition plan. So, overall, the day went well. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 3

 Day 3 was the shoulders and arms workout. That workout is basically 5 blocks of three exercises. You do the three exercises, repeat them, then take a break and move to the next block. Each block has a shoulder-focused exercise, a bicep-focused exercise, and a tricep-focused exercise. The workout goes by pretty quickly, so you get a nice calorie burn and I was feeling pretty tired at the end. I again did ab-ripper x as the warmup as opposed to waiting until after the main workout to do it. I did 15 reps of all the moves (except the mason twist at the end, I did a modified version (kept my heels on the floor) and did all fifty reps). 

Overall, I felt good today during the workouts. I was a bit sore from days 1 and 2, but that pretty much went away after I was warmed up. I followed the portion fix plan very well yesterday. I am going to have a cheat meal tonight for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday, but I already got my workout in, so I am all good there. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 2

 Day 2 was the plyometrics workout. I actually felt very prepared since many of the moves in this workout were in the Master's Series workout. The only move I cannot do is the rock star hops (they tweak my back) so during those, I just jogged in place. I did have to modify some of the moves and was pretty tired at the end of the workout, but I made it through. I definitely think I will be able to keep up with everyone without having to modify (aside from the rock star hops) by the time I am into phase three. Overall, it is a great cardio workout. I do have some residual soreness from Monday's workout which, I hope will be gone after today's shoulders and arms workout (or at least new parts of my body will be sore). 

Workout Update: P90X Day 1

Yesterday was Day 1 of P90X. So, it was the chest and back workout and ab-ripper x. I actually did ab ripper before the main workout instead of after and used it to enhance the warmup that comes before the chest and back workout. Ab ripper is substantially harder than ab-ripper 100 and 200 in Power 90. I definitely could not do 25 reps for every move. Some of them I could, and some I could only do 10-12 reps. 

In the main chest and back workout, for the push-ups I did them all on my toes, none off of the knees. My reps ranged from about 10-15 reps depending on the type and whether it was in round 1 or 2. This workout only has three moves that use weight, the heavy pants (which I used 30 pounds for and got 9 reps in), Lawnmowers (which I used 35 pounds for and got 8 reps), and back flys (which I used 25 pounds for and got 8 reps). For the pull-up moves, I used bands. I have bands that have a weight correlation, so I used 80lbs. All of the moves were very challenging with that amount. I am going to try adding the 5lb resistance band when I do the legs and back workout on Friday. The hope is that each week I can add another 10 lbs onto the band resistance. I think I can get it up to about 150lbs of resistance if I stack all the bands together, so by the time I get done with the 12 weeks I hope to be there so that when I do a second round of P90x I can start doing regular pull-ups. 

For nutrition, I am going to try to follow the portion fix system as much as possible. I am on Plan D, which will have me eating between 2100 calories and 2299 calories per day. It uses the colored container system, so you just have to fill the containers and don't have to count calories down to the exact number.  I am still going to allow myself a few cheat meals per week (or one cheat day) depending on what is going on. For example, my mom's birthday is on Thursday so I plan to have a cheat meal for dinner that day, then we are doing a small get-together on Saturday to have a pizza party, which will be another cheat meal. But, aside from that, I am going to stick to the plan. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 55

 Day 55 was the last day of the Master's Series. It was actually a rest day, so I just did x-stretch from P90x. Today will actually be day 1 of P90X, and I will be doing chest and back and abs. I plan to do the ab workout first as a warm-up and then skip most of the P90x warm-up. Overall, I liked the Master's Series workouts, but they are definitely not my favorite workouts of those I have done. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 54

 Day 54 of the master's series workouts was the core cardio workout. It is definitely not my favorite of the group (mostly because of the Dreya Roll push-ups, which are a harder version of the Dreya Rolls in P90X, which I have never been able to do well). But, it is a very challenging workout, that could have easily replaced the core synergistics workout in P90x. I plan on doing the x-stretch routine today, and then tomorrow starting in with P90x chest and back. 

DVD Review: Family Guy Season 13

 

The big "event" of Season 13 of Family Guy was the crossover with The Simpsons in which the Griffons find themselves in Springfield. All of the major Simpsons characters appeared, and there were inside jokes and callbacks to things from the past of both shows. From there, the season pretty much played out as it always has, basically having a storyline or two of the week in a given episode, but not really any kind of story arc extending through the season.

For those who get the DVD, the episodes are uncensored (they drop f-bombs quite frequently) and, because the show is still popular, you do get some extras. These include a making-of feature on The Simpsons episode, deleted scenes, an animatic version of the episode where Brian and Stewie take Chris through time to teach him history, and commentary tracks on select episodes. My only complaint is that the commentary tracks are not accessible through the extras menu. You have to go into the menu for each individual episode to see if there is one available for that particular episode. So, if you use the "play all" feature to watch the episodes, then go into the extras menu, you have no way of knowing which episodes have commentary tracks and which do not. Aside from that, you get a good amount of material if you like going through the bonus features.

By now, anyone who is considering getting this knows what the show is and what it is not. The jokes can be very offensive and almost no topic is off-limits. While I still think that the original run of episodes from before FOX canceled it after the second or third season was the best, it is still a strong series (if you like adult (sometimes very adult) humor). If however, you have never been a big fan of the show, nothing about season 13 is likely to change your mind. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 53

 Day 53 was the last cardio 5-6 and ab-ripper 200. I was a bit tired during the workout, but still got it done, and managed to get a good calorie burn. Also, I discovered that yes, the original Power 90 workouts, including the Master's Series workouts, are on Beachbody On Demand. It is definitely not clear if you try to search for them before you sign up. The only indication is that the newer P90 workouts are on the streaming platform. However, once you sign up, if you browse the programs, you will see them in there. It is considered one of their "classic" programs (which, as far as I can tell, includes pretty much every program pre-P90X), but it is there. 

If you have not heard, Beachbody has created a streaming platform that has most, of the workouts that they have ever produced. As far as I can tell, the only workout that was available on DVD that is not on the online platform is the Les Mills Combat workout. I think that was a temporary arrangement between Beachbody and Less Mills, which is likely why those workouts are not on BOD.  And, I believe that at least some of their newer workouts are only released on the streaming platform, and not on DVD. 

There are essentially two different subscriptions you can get. One for just Beachbody on demand which has the workouts like PIYO, Insanity, P90X, etc. You can also subscribe to their BODI service that has live workouts and includes their nutrition platforms Portion Fix and 2B mindset. The best price is if you get an annual subscription. The fee for an annual BOD subscription is $99, and if you add BODI, it jumps up to $299, so it will be about $320 with tax (depending on where you live). You would still need to purchase some program-specific equipment (like the wall/door mount for the 9-week Control Freak program that is used for some of the exercises), although as I was browsing the videos for that program it looks like there is an "off the wall" version that does not use the wall mount. But otherwise, for about $25 per month (or less) you get access to 100s of workouts, and as long as you have something like an Amazon Fire Stick or a Roku you can watch them on a TV. Plus, if you travel a lot you can download the BOD app on your phone or tablet and do them wherever you happen to be without having to lug DVDs around like the old days. 

Anyway, tonight is my last regular workout for the Master's Series, then I will be starting P90x on Monday. I have really not lost much weight over the 8 weeks, mostly because I have not been following a strict nutrition regimen since my mom has been in and out of the hospital this past month.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 52

 Day 52 was the UML workout again. Now having done the workout a handful of times, overall I like it. It is very challenging. A lot of push-ups and a lot of difficult ab moves, some of them are more difficult than any of the moves in the ab-ripper workouts, including ab-ripper-x. It is a relatively short workout, about a half-hour after the 5-minute warm-up and stretch. And, almost all of the moves can be modified to your current fitness level, which is great. The only drawback is that it is on DVD only, so if you want to get a Beachbody on-demand subscription (which is how all the new workouts are being released), you cannot do this one. There is, however, a similar workout from the P90 series which basically replaced the original Power-90 and Master's Series workouts.

4KUHD Blu-Ray review: F9

 

F9 is the latest installment in the Fast and Furious movie saga. As anyone who has followed the progression of the movies knows, it has deviated a lot from the first handful of movies and has become just kind of a tongue-in-cheek action franchise with over-the-top stunts, plots that get more and more stupid over time, and the theme of family. If you watch the Honest Trailer for the movie, it pretty much knocks it out of the park in terms of a review. Basically, the movies are now almost breaking the fourth wall telling the audience, yes we know this is crazy and makes no sense (mainly through Ludacris' and Tyreese's dialogue), but just go with it. 

This version centers around Dom's long-lost and never mentioned brother Jacob, played by the combination of John Cena and Finn Cole (from the great show Animal Kingdom playing young Jacob). The film does (via flashbacks) explain why he was never mentioned, so there is at least that. Of course, he ended up becoming a super spy, working with Mr. Nobody before going rogue and then ends up going against Dom and the crew. Mostly all of the main cast returns (aside from The Rock, who had a very public falling out with Vin Diesel)  as well as some of the old cast. Jordanna Brewster reprises her role as Mia, and as the movie trailer and the box cover to the Blu-Ray spoils, they came up with a way to resurrect Han, with Sung Kang returning to the franchise. Helen Miren has a small role and Jason Statham has a very brief cameo appearance. The film continues to keep Brian alive offscreen and finds ways to keep from having to show him, as the role will never be recast after Paul Walker's death. 

For those who get the UHD set, there are two discs, one UHD and one "regular" Blu-Ray disc. The content on each is identical (including the bonus features). There are two versions of the movie, the theatrical version, and the director's cut, which has a few additional minutes of footage at the beginning of the movie. There is about an hour's worth of bonus features including several behind-the-scenes and making-of features that run anywhere from about three minutes to thirteen minutes, and a short gag reel. So, there is a lot of material for those who like the bonus features.

Overall, the movie is what it is. It makes little to no sense plot-wise and no human could survive the action sequences if they were real. But, as long as you are one that can suspend your disbelief and just enjoy a movie with lots of explosions, car chases, and fights, you can enjoy this. The acting is so-so. You can tell the actors have fun with it and do take the work seriously, even if they know the absurdity of the plot and the stunts. At this point, there have been enough movies that you know what they are and what they are not. So, if you have been a fan, you will probably like this one. If not, there is nothing about this one that is likely to change your mind.

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 51

 Day 51 was a rest/stretch day so I did the T25 stretch. I also did ab-ripper 200. Both of those went fine. I can almost actually do all 200 reps without pausing. I did have to pause for a few seconds on the last move after 10 reps. But aside from that, I did not have to stop or pause at all. So, overall, I think the Master's Series workouts went well. I do plan on getting a membership to Beachbody on Demand to do the other workouts. I was going to wait until I finished with Power 90 since the original Power 90 workouts are not on BOD. Just the P90 workouts that were made after P90X3, and are a bit better lead-in to that program than into the original P90X workouts. 

Workout Update: Power-90 Master's Series Day 50

 Day 50 was cardio 5-6 again. The workout went pretty well. About the same as it did the last few times. I am going to wait to do ab-ripper with tonight's stretch (most likely T25 stretch) routine. Just a few more days of the Master's Series and I will be starting P90x on Monday.