DVD/Movie Review: Havoc

 

Havoc was the movie that really broke Anne Hathaway out of the Disney mode. In it, she plays a rich Los Angeles high-school girl who hangs out with a bunch of kids who pretend to be a part of the hip-hop gangsta culture. When she ends up going to a party in East LA to hang out with actual gang members, she discovers that the life she thought it was and reality are two very different things. Part of the plot involves one of Allison's classmates making a documentary about the wannabe gangsta lifestyle of her and her friends. While I do not think it was all that integral to the plot, it did not distract from it.

Overall, I would say the movie is good but somewhat predictable and formulaic. It did show that Hathaway had real acting chops as she went from playing the wannabe gangsta chick to a "normal" acting rich suburban teenager to a very vulnerable kid when she was called out for the act she put on, with ease. And, of course, it was the first time she appeared topless on-screen diverging greatly from her Princess Diaries role. The movie also touts a strong supporting cast including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Freddy Rodriguez, Bijou Phillips, and Channing Tatum.

For those who get the DVD, there are no extras included. It is closed captioned, but that is it. I am not sure if the movie streams on any of the popular streaming platforms, so this may still be one that you want to pick up on disc even with the lack of extras. While it is not Hathaway's best movie, it is definitely worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of hers.  

Book Review: Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Leia Princess of Alderaan

 

This is one of the young-adult novels put out after Disney's takeover of Lucasfilm. So, it is included in the Star Wars canon, but like the other young-adult novels it is ancillary to the main storyline. It details Leia's life on Alderaan as she was a young teenager (between the events of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and A New Hope), including her Day of Demand, which was essentially a trial that allowed her to claim the right to the throne of Alderaan (and details the first clue that she was force sensitive), her time in the imperial senate, and the "mercy missions" that Darth Vader refers to in A New Hope. It also details how she got involved in the rebellion, details how she met Amilyn Holdo (Laura Dern's character from The Last Jedi), and even an encounter with Tarkin on Alderaan. We also get some insight into her relationship with Bail Organa and her adoptive mother Breha.

While it is a young-adult novel, the story is very well-written and very enjoyable for adults. It gives the backstory to the character that was never fleshed out in the movies, and the author does a good job of portraying Leia as different from the person she is when she is first introduced in A New Hope but hints at how she would grow into that person. If you are a person that only gets some, but not all, of the novels, this is definitely one that is a good pickup.

Workout Update: P90X Day 56

Day 56 was going to be back-to-back yoga days, but I opted to do x-stretch instead. It went well even though I was pretty tired by the time I was able to do it because of packing up my mom's stuff to move her into assisted living. So, I have been super busy the past few days and got in "extra" workouts by having to move a bunch of stuff around.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 55

 Day 55 was yoga-x again. Because I also have a very busy weekend, and I hate the second half of the workout, I again did the first 53 minutes or so and called it a day. I am definitely getting better at the first half of the workout, although it is still very challenging.

Workout Update: P90X Day 54

 Day 54 was the second day of core synergistics. Nothing more to say about it. I am still not a huge fan of it, and I struggle with most of the moves, but I pushed through and got it done. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 53

Day 53 was the middle of the recovery week, which meant x-stretch. This is actually the second x-stretch of the week since I did the workout normally scheduled for Sunday on Monday. Weirdly, I was not as flexible this time as I have been the past couple of times I did this one. Especially in my hamstrings.  But, I made it through and felt better after I was done. 

Book Review: Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindelwald

 

This is the second of what will be at least a trilogy of books/movies in the Fantastic Beasts prequel to Harry Potter. It is set in the late 1920s. Grindelwald, having been captured at the end of the first book, escapes in the process of being transferred for trial. Then the story jumps ahead in time a few months, and the rest of the story plays out.

The title is a little misleading as the story is as much about Leta Lestrange and Creedence as it is about Grindelwald. In fact, Grindelwald is in the movie very sporadically, and mostly toward the end. The story also picks up on the Newt-Tina and Queenie-Jacob relationships, and, as you would expect, throws a wrench into things. We also get the first real introduction to young Dumbledore, played in the movie by Jude Law. He, like Grindelwald, is not in the book a ton but is being set up for a larger role in the next book/movie.

Like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this is not a novelization, but a screenplay. So, it basically tracks the movie word-for-word. Nothing more gets fleshed out in the book, but unlike the Harry Potter novels, nothing from the book is missing from the movie. Also, it is fairly short, about 275 pages, and because the book has a lot of illustrations throughout, the pages are not full of text, so it is a much quicker read than a traditional novel. 

Overall, if you liked the first book/movie then you will probably like this one. While I still prefer the Harry Potter series to Fantastic Beasts, this is still a good story within that world and is definitely setting up the Dumbledore backstory we were all hoping for in the last few Harry Potter novels.

Workout Update: P90X Day 52

Day 52 was the Kenpo-x workout. It, like yoga, is the only "regular" workout that appears in the recovery week (and stretch if you do it as an optional Sunday workout). It was a bit harder to get motivated to do the workout because I was kind of tired, but once I got started, it went well.  

Workout Update: P90x Day 51

Day 51 was a return to core synergistics. It is, along with yoga-x, my least favorite workout in the P90X series. I hate the majority of the moves and am always tempted to just swap it out with cardio-x. But, I made it through the workout. It went about the same as the last time I did it. Some of the push-up moves I do on my knees, and others I can do some on my toes, some on my knees. The only moves that I cannot do very well at all are the Dreya rolls and bow-to-boat.  The others, I can at least struggle through the modified versions. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 50

 Day 50 was the start of the second recovery week. I did the x-stretch workout to save a bit of time. I plan to do both Yoga workouts back to back on Saturday and Sunday. So, I have basically done three straight days of stretching/yoga, which has helped my flexibility. Tonight is the core synergistics workout again. I am not really looking forward to it, but will get it done.

DVD/TV Series Review: ER - The Complete Series

 

At the time ER debuted it was the "It" show, meaning it was the show that, the day after it aired, people would talk about at work or school and even on talk radio. It instantly became the hot show of the season and a ratings giant for NBC. It told the story of a Chicago hospital, just known as County, and told the story of the doctors, nurses, and staff who worked there. It started out somewhat being told through the experience of a third-year medical student named John Carter (played by Noah Wyle) as he began the "hands-on" portion of his medical school training. The show had a true ensemble cast made up mostly of (at the time) lesser-known character actors. The most recognizable member of the cast at the time the show debuted was Anthony Edwards (who had been in Top Gun and had just come off a stint on Northern Exposure). Of course, cast members like Noah Wyle, George Clooney, and Juliana Margulies would go on to have huge careers after their run on ER, as would actors like Ving Rhames, and William H. Macy, while other actors like Laura Innes, Paul McCraine, and Eriq La Salle would transition from actors to directors after their time on the show.

The show can really be seen as two series. The first eight seasons and the final seven seasons. By season 15 there was an entirely different cast as new cast members were brought in to replace those who left. A few members of the supporting cast (mainly those who played nurses) did stick around for the entire series run, but pretty much all of the actors who played the doctors had turned over by the time the series ended. The show focused on all sorts of issues over the course of its run including drugs, AIDS, abortion, crime, racism, mental illness, and more. Sometimes there were cases of the week that took up most of the hour, other times it was just chaotic turnover in the ER with a show involving multiple storylines. The show took a lot of risks, including airing a live episode, killing off main characters, and generally putting characters through the wringer. An argument can be made that it did start to get stale by the end of its run, but overall it was a very well-written and well-acted show. And, the final season did manage to bring back some of the original characters to give those of us who watched at the beginning a boost of nostalgia. It also boasted a ton of guest stars who would become A or B list actors, including Mariska Hargitay, Ewan McGregor, Ron Eldard, Kristin Davis, Stana Katic, Kirsten Dunst, Lucy Liu, Thandie Newton, and Kat Dennings, to name just a few. And, some of the guest stars were already well-known, such as Rosemary Clooney, and Michael Ironside, Ron Rifkin, and Alan Alda.

There are a few different versions of the complete series set, but they all seem to just repackage the individual season releases. So, you get all of the bonus material that was originally released with the individual season sets. The bonus features varied from season to season, tailing off toward the end of the series as TV series on physical media were just starting to get cut back in favor of just streaming them. But, there were commentary tracks on some episodes, cast interviews, blooper reels, and the like, over the years. The series has not been released on Blu-Ray, and it would be a surprise if it ever gets one. Some older shows are getting Blu-Ray releases so it is not totally outside the realm of possibility that ER will get one someday, but it is unlikely. It is on multiple streaming services including Hulu and Peacock, so really, the decision of whether to shell out for this will depend on if you want to watch the DVD extras. It is definitely one of the best medical dramas that have ever been made and still holds up nearly thirty years after it originally aired and thirteen years after it ended

Workout Update: P90X Day 49

Day 49 was yoga-x. Again, because I did x-stretch the day before, I did just the first 55 minutes of this, up to the point where they end the moving asanas and the balance poses. Thankfully, I am getting to the point where the first portion of the workout does not seem as long, nor is it as hard to get through. So, I am improving. This upcoming week is the second recovery week, so I will have to do yoga two times this week. 

TV Series Review: Ringer

 

Ringer was the post-Buffy return to a starring role in a TV series for Sarah Michelle Gellar. It was a very uneven series that started out strong, got very silly in the middle, and ended strong, but bittersweet because it was canceled before it could really have any big payoff. Gellar plays twin sisters, one named Bridget who is a drug addict and stripper in Wyoming. The other is named Siobhan, a wealthy New York socialite married to a wall street investor named Andrew Martin (played by Ioan Gruffudd). Bridget, who is on the run from a mobster who she is supposed to testify against and believing her sister committed suicide, decides to take over her life. 

The show starts off very strong but gets very silly as the writers seemed to be going for a "Sixth Sense" like "twist" ending in every episode. Some of the twists were okay, but some were just dumb and after a while probably got to be too much for a lot of viewers, and the ratings pretty much tanked. The series was canceled after the first season, but likely sometime after the season finale was finished because it clearly was set up for a second season that never materialized. As a result, fans of the show were left with a very incomplete, and disappointing ending.

The show had a strong cast that included Mike Colter, pre-Luke Cage when he was still relatively unknown, Kristopher Polaha, who played Henry Butler, a friend of the Martin family, Nestor Campbell as FBI agent Victor Machado who was trying to take down the mobster Bodaway Macawi (played by Zahn McClarnon), and Zoey Deutch (who is the spitting image of her mother Lea Thompson). There were also very recognizable recurring cast members including Jonathan Banks, Sean Patrick Thomas, Madchen Amik, and Jamie Murray.

Like I said, the show started out very strong and does get pretty silly about halfway through the season. It takes a lot of suspension of disbelief to get through it, even moreso when the twists start getting totally ridiculous. Even people who really like the show will probably do some eye-rolling at some of it. Just know, that if you do watch it, it ends pretty abruptly with a shift in the storyline that never gets a chance to play out. It is not available on DVD. It has streamed on Amazon Prime and I think the Vudu streaming service, but as of now, it appears to be only available on the CW app (although they remove it from the app from time to time, so if you want to watch it make sure you do so when you see it available, otherwise it may be months before you get a chance to again).  

Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm

 

This is the second "main storyline" canon novel (basically meaning "adult" novel) set in the high-republic era of the Star Wars universe. As most know, since Disney took over, everything that is put out is considered canon, but the young adult and junior novels are ancillary to the main story that is told in the movies, tv-series, and adult novels. It takes place about a couple of hundred years before the events of the prequel and original trilogies. In this era, the enemy of the Jedi is not the Sith, but a group of pirates called the Nihil.  In this novel, the setting is a Republic fair on the planet Valo, put on by Chancellor Lina Soh, despite warnings of an attack. Most of the book involves the various Jedi trying to stave off the Nihil attack and keep the people safe. Within that is revealed in-fighting between members of the Nihil, whom each wants to take control of the group.

I think a lot of what has bogged down the two main novels is that it has a ton of characters, none of which is the focus. Unlike the prequel movies and novelizations which focused on about 4-5 Jedi and kept the rest in the background, the novels feel like an ensemble cast of characters that we don't really know and do not get much development. So, keeping straight who everyone is can be challenging, and getting invested in all of them is hard. And, I think it has been a mistake to exclude Yoda from the novels (aside from name-dropping him a couple of times). He is probably the most powerful Jedi at the height of his powers yet has been on the sidelines now for two major disasters in the Light of the Jedi novel and this one. 

Overall, the book is good, but not great. The author does a good job with the story and keeping the chapters relatively short. It does kind of jump back and forth between characters who get separated during the attack, so the storylines kind of shift all over the place. It can be hard, especially if you take a break from reading it for a day or so, to remember what was going on with the group that is discussed in the current chapter because they may not have been mentioned for three or four chapters. But, the fact that the chapters are short (about 10 pages at most, and some are about 2 pages) helps with that. It is definitely a "middle" novel that is setting up a larger battle/confrontation to come. It has a lot of action, and some suspense and drama. It is a fairly quick read (depending on how fast you read and how much time you devote to reading), despite being about 430 pages. If you are a fairly quick reader, and read a little every day, you can definitely get through this in a couple of weeks or less.

Blu-Ray/TV Show Review: Chuck Seasons 1 - 5 (Spoiler Free)

 

Chuck was a series that ran from 2007 to 2012. The basic premise was that a guy named Chuck (played by Zachary Levi) who works at a fictional equivalent of the Geek Squad (called the Nerd Herd) in a fictional version of Best Buy (called Buy More) had a supercomputer called the Intersect (basically a database with all the CIA and NSA secrets) beamed into his brain by his old college roommate who happens to be a CIA agent. He ends up with a CIA handler named Sarah (played by Yvonne Strahovski) and an NSA handler named John Casey. The theme of the show is basically a case of the week procedural in which Chuck has to use the information in his head to stop some evil plot.

The show was always on the brink of cancelation but had a massive fan campaign that managed to keep it on the air for five seasons. It did not air for five full seasons in large part due to the writer's strike that ended one of the seasons early and then having just a partial final season. So, it ended up with 91 total episodes. It was part action/adventure series, part love story (with the typical will-they won't-they get together between Chuck and Sarah), and part comedy. There are a lot of nerdy pop-culture references throughout the series including nods to Star Wars, Back to the Future, and Die Hard. It had a great supporting cast made up of mostly unknown character actors and managed to land a lot of great guest stars.

The show definitely lives up to the hype that its die-hard fans give it. Unfortunately, the year it premiered the Bionic Woman reboot series got all of NBC's promotional budget and Chuck was hardly mentioned at all. For a lot of people, the allure to the show was the commercial that featured Yvonne Strahovski in lingerie (which she was in a lot during the series), but it was really a well-written and well-acted show that should have gotten a bit longer run than it did. As far as I can tell, the complete series blu-ray set has the same extras that the individual season releases did, which, because the show was around before physical media really started to get scaled back, got a pretty good amount of extras. So, if you are looking for a unique comedy that is not a cookie-cutter sitcom, this is a good choice and holds up well even after fifteen years.

Workout Update: P90X Day 48

 Day 48 was x-stretch. Nothing major to report about this one aside from the fact that I could get a bit deeper in the hamstring stretches. Otherwise, it went pretty much the same. I still have to lose my gut significantly before I will be able to get better range of motion with some of the moves. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 47

 Day 47 was ab-ripper along with Legs and Back. Really, the only thing notable about this workout, is that I was finally able to increase the band resistance for the pull-down moves to 105 lbs. I still have 50 more pounds of resistance bands left to add. So, I definitely am going to need another modified round of P90x before I start doing actual pull-ups. But, I was getting anywhere from 8-13 reps with the bands. I am definitely not going to increase the resistance for the first workout of phase 3, but will re-evaluate after that workout.

Blu Ray/TV Series Review: Fringe: The Complete Series

 

Fringe was a very unique series that ran from 2008 to 2013. It was part police procedural and part supernatural thriller that involved a division of the FBI headed by Lance Reddick's character Phillip Broyles that investigated a series of strange phenomena that would come to be called "The Pattern". Anna Torv played FBI agent Olivia Dunham who investigated Pattern incidents with the help of a scientist who had been in a mental hospital for years named Walter Bishop (played by John Noble) who had studied similar incidents before he went crazy, and his son Peter (played by Joshua Jackson of Dawson's Creek fame) who was basically Walter's babysitter after he was checked out of the hospital. Of course, there was much more to the plot as the series unfolded with a lot of twists and turns. Some worked, some did not.

Fringe was a series that started out great and then kind of went off the rails a bit, almost like the series Lost. I would not say that the series was ever bad (although there were a couple of plot elements that were suddenly dropped and never returned to), I think the series did try a bit too hard to be unexpected and edgy and tried to shoehorn in plot twists where they were not needed. The acting was always great, especially on the part of Noble, and there was a very strong supporting cast throughout the series. This included Leanord Nimoy on what was his final major role in a TV series. He played a recurring character named William Bell who had a tangled past with Walter Bishop.

Overall, I would say if you are into series that have supernatural elements like time travel, multiple dimensions, etc., you will probably like this series. Especially the first couple of seasons. There are a couple of versions of the complete series on Blu-Ray, but from what I can tell all of the features and extras are the same as those that were included in the individual season releases. So, if you have the individual seasons there is no need to double-dip to get additional bonus features.

Workout Update: P90X Day 46

Yesterday was day 46, which was the Kenpo-x workout. I managed to keep up with the people in the video for the entire workout and did not have to take any unscheduled breaks. So, overall, a really good workout. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 45

 Day 45, aside from being the halfway point for the first round of P90x was the Back and Biceps workout (along with ab-ripper as the warm-up). I was able to max out on reps on a bunch of exercises so the weight on those will increase either the next time I do this workout or in the shoulders and arms workout. As for ab-ripper, I still cannot hit all 25 reps on each move, but I am getting closer. This was also the first workout with 100 lbs of band resistance on the pull-down moves, and I was able to get 10-12 reps on everything but the corn cobs. So, I will probably add the 5lb band for when I do the legs and back workout tomorrow. 

Book Review: Cloak of Deception

 

Cloak of Deception is one of the novels that is relegated to Legends status since the LucasFilm buyout by Disney. It is set just before the events of The Phantom Menace. For those who hated all the political maneuvering and subplots of The Phantom Menace, this book has quite a bit of that. Set around that is a plot to assassinate Chancellor Valorum, with the strings being pulled by Palpatine. At this point, Palpatine is just a "lowly" Senator from Naboo and is getting ready for the eventual power grab that will enable him to eventually become Emperor.

Even though the novel is no longer canon, it ties into other storylines that are, including The Phantom Menace movie and the book Tarkin by the same author which is considered canon. This book also established Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's relationship and fleshed it out a bit. Of course, this aspect of the book has basically been replaced by the canon novel Master and Apprentice which is also set prior to The Phantom Menace. 

Overall, the book tells a good story. While some of the political subtexts that bogged down The Phantom Menace movie is in the book, it does not slow down the plot of the book. The book manages to weave in the action sequences between the slower parts that made it work. That is always one advantage of a book over a movie and it worked well here. And, as I said, parts of the book are kind of grandfathered into the canon based on the novels Darth Pleguis and Tarkin by the same author that made up a loose trilogy of novels about the events that lead up to and shortly after the formation of the Empire. It is definitely a good read for those who are fans of Star Wars novels.

Workout Update: P90X Day 44

 Day 44 was the plyometrics workout. Like was the case last time, I felt that I was getting better at some of the moves, while others I still had to modify. And, I had to take a couple of unscheduled rest breaks to catch my breath. But, I am getting closer to being able to do every move for the full 30 seconds or minute. 

Blu Ray/TV Show Review: Northern Exposure Complete Series (Region 2)

 

Northern Exposure was a breakout hit that ran from 1990 to 1995. It starred Rob Morrow as Joel Fleischman, a doctor from New York who was forced to move to a small remote town in Alaska called Cicely to work as repayment of his student loan for the state of Alaska underwriting his medical school education. It is basically a fish-out-of-water story as Dr. Fleischman adjusts to life in a small town full of quirky people. 

The show ran for a total of six seasons (with seasons one and two being extremely short, a total of fifteen episodes between them) and then full seasons from season three onward. Morrow had a widely publicized contract dispute with the powers that be that saw his role reduced over the course of the series until he was written out of the show entirely partway through the final season, after which the show just fizzled out and was canceled. The supporting cast included Janine Turner, as Maggie O'Connel, Fleischman's on and off again love interest, Barry Corbin as Maurice Minnefiled, an ex-astronaut who basically owns the entire town of Cicely, John Cullum as Holling Vincoeur, the owner of the local bar, Cynthia Geary as Holling's much younger wife Shelly, John Corbett as Chris Stevens, the DJ at the local radio station, Darren E. Burrows, as Ed, one of the local teenagers who is an aspiring moviemaker, Peg Phillips as Ruth-Ann, the owner of the local convenience store, and Elane Miles as Marilyn, Dr. Fleischman's office assistant. 

As many are aware, the show was released on DVD in the US back in the mid-2000s. The big controversy about those releases was that, from season three on, Universal did not pay for the rights to some of the original music, and replaced many of the songs, which, a lot of times were tied in to the storylines of the episodes, with canned instrumental music that was akin to Musak played in elevators. Many die-hard fans of the series hated those releases because of that. This set finally delivers the episodes with all of the original music. As someone who owned the DVD releases, I can confirm that songs that were definitely missing from the DVDs were put back in for this set.

For extras, some, but not all, of the material that was included on the US DVD releases are included here. It is missing some of the bonus features, but most of the extras like the deleted scenes and gag reels are included in this set. I believe the DVDs had some commentary tracks that were missing from this. One big drawback is that this set is not closed-captioned at all. Also, there is a weird audio issue in that when you are on the menu screen on each disc the theme song plays extremely loud, then when you go into the episodes the volume is very low. So, you have to turn up the volume to hear the dialog in the episodes, and if you go back to the menu screen before turning the volume down, you are blasted out of the room.

Otherwise, the A/V transfer is pretty good. The video quality of the Blu-Rays is, on the whole, better than the DVDs. However, some of the early episodes did not get as good a video transfer as later episodes. Soi, it is an upgrade, but not what I would call a reference-quality or extremely high-quality video transfer.

Overall, if you can get this set at a reasonable price (about $100 in US dollars) I would say it is well worth it. Because it is an import, the price can fluctuate, and if it goes out of print (or has done so), then it will be very overpriced. Also, note that it is a Region 2 set, meaning it will not play on Blu-Ray players sold in the US. I found it would not even play on my region-free player which plays other Region 2 discs just fine. So, you may have to invest in a Region 2 player (you can get one from Amazon UK for a decent price) and a power adapter to watch this. But, for fans of the series, it is the best way to see the show as it is unlikely there will every be a comparable release in the US.  

Workout Update: P90X Day 43

 Day 43 was the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout, and ab-ripper. Overall, it went well. I was able to increase the amount of weight on a couple of moves and did better on some of the push-up moves. I still had to do some of them on my knees but was able to do a couple of them on my toes. While it is not my favorite workout of the P90X resistance workouts, I do like the flow and the fact that it is one of the shorter ones. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: A Dangerous Method

 

A Dangerous Method is about the relationship between Carl Jung (played by Michael Fassbender), Sigmund Freud (played by Viggo Mortenson), and Sabina Spielrein (played by Kiera Knightly) and the birth of psychoanalysis. The "method" is the talking cure that Freud developed and Jung put into practice. One of the people Jung used the method on was Spielrein, who went from being his patient suffering from "hysteria", to his mistress, and then a colleague after Jung encouraged her to go to medical school after which she also became a psychiatrist and became a psychoanalyst. 

Many people may watch the movie just because of the joke about a particular scene made on an episode of Family Guy (and yes, that scene is quite something), but the movie is really quite good outside of that. Knightly really shines in her role as Spielrein, playing someone that goes from crazy and playing in the mud to being a doctor herself, but always seemingly on the edge of slipping back into hysteria. The movie also does a great job detailing the complicated relationship between Jung and Freud from their initial meeting to their eventual falling out. The movie spans a nine-year period of time in the 1900s that ends just before World War I begins. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the extras are fairly light. There is a commentary track on the film with the Director, David Cronenberg, which provides a lot of detail about the story and some about the filming process. Then there are a couple of short behind-the-scenes features. What was included was good, but not extensive. Although, I would not expect more bonus material from a lower-budget independent movie.

Overall, the movie is well-written and very well-acted. It is very much a period piece and tries to be an accurate historical drama. In fact, much of the script was put together based on the extensive correspondence between the real people that have been preserved over the years. So, if you are a fan of historical dramas, especially ones that are not massive blockbusters, this is definitely worth checking out. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 42

 Day 42 was yoga-x. Because of a time crunch, I had to cut it off after 50 minutes (basically up to the point where they do crane). I was also pretty tired during the workout, but I managed to make it through. Although, I did have to go into child's pose a few more times than I normally do. Otherwise, not too much to say about this one. It went about the same as it has the past couple of weeks. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 41

 Day 41 was x-stretch again. Not really any new progress to update with this workout. It went about the same as it has the last few times. No new flexibility gains that I noticed.

DVD Review: Family Guy Season 16

Family Guy has been around long enough that anyone reading a review of it by now is aware of what it is. It follows the same story-of-the-week (sometimes with or without a side story) procedural format. While they do make callbacks to old jokes and references to past episodes, you really do not have to watch from week to week to follow what is going on (for the most part). There are some two or even three-part episodes from time to time, including this season. But, for the most part, the episodes are stand-alone. 

The show continues to be irreverent, making jokes about anything and everything, including the show itself. It is definitely adult humor, especially on the DVDs as the episodes are uncensored and they do drop in swearing that does not get put on the broadcast versions of the episodes. For me, the standout episodes of the season are the season finale in which Peter has a conversation with God. The Putin episode (mainly for the well-inserted Access Holywood Tape joke), the episode in which Brian enters himself into a dog show, and the body-switching episode. 

For those who are looking at the DVD set. As you are probably aware, the quality of the extras on the DVD releases has gone down as the years have gone by. For this set, you just get deleted scenes and an animatic of one of the episodes that is longer than the regular episode and have a commentary track on it with a couple of the writers. They are okay but not nearly as extensive as what the older DVD releases got. But, of course, as physical media has been slowly dying, especially when it comes to TV series, the fact that any DVD release happens is lucky.

Overall, the season is good. I still think the series was at its best in its first couple of years before it was canceled by FOX, but it managed to find a formula that works and has kept it on the air for years since it was brought back. As for whether it is worth getting the DVD set, it boils down to whether you want the uncensored episodes, as I have heard, the streaming version of the show is the same as the broadcast version. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 40

 Day 40 was the legs and back workout and ab-ripper for the warm-up. I was again dealing with a family-medical issue yesterday, so I had to workout much later in the evening than usual, but I was able to get it done. And, I was able to do at least 12 reps on all of the pull-up moves with the 95lbs of band resistance. So, I will be increasing that to 100 for next week's workouts, which is the last week of Phase Two.

Product Review: CCINEE 30PCS Artificial Tulip Flowers

These are fake tulips. They actually look very realistic, and it is not until you are up close to them where you can touch them that you can really tell they are fake. I did not have any problem with any of the flowers arriving broken, and you get enough to put in a couple of mid-sized vases. The only thing you do not get from these is a real flower smell. But otherwise, they look nice as a centerpiece on a table or on a shelf.

Workout Update: Day 39

 Day 39 was Kenpo-x. Nothing much to update about the workout. I was able to keep up with the people in the video for all of the moves, although I am definitely still working on getting my form back when it comes to the kicks.  Hopefully, that will get better by the time I am at the end of phase three toward the end of the first round of P90X.

Product Review: Polar Aurora 4'x10'x2 Thick Folding Mat

 

It is a good mat for higher impact activities like plyometrics, martial arts, and probably even some gymnastics moves. For yoga, it is good for some types of moves (like frog, camel, etc.) and not great for others (mostly balance moves because you can sink down into it a bit which can throw your balance off). Basically, any yoga move in which it is helpful to pad your knees or shoulders is wonderful. Any moves that require you to be on one leg for an extended period of time, it may cause you to lose your balance too much. For people who do the Team Beachbody workouts, it is great for most of the workouts in P90X, all of the Insanity workouts, and any of the other workouts that require you to jump around.

The only drawback I have noticed is that the seams will start to split open after a while. Nothing so bad that a strip of duct tape does not cure it, but given that it is not an inexpensive mat that could be a deal-breaker.

Workout Update: P90X Day 38

 Day 38 was the back and biceps (with ab-ripper as the warm-up). Overall, the workout went well. I was able to hit 10-12 reps on all of the pull-up moves (using bands) on everything except the corn cob pull-ups. I only got 5 of those, and that was as much because of limited space as it was the amount of band resistance (95 lbs still) that I was using. So, I am going to do one more workout with the 95lbs (legs and back tomorrow) and then up the band resistance for pull-ups to 100lbs. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 37

 Day 37 was Plyo-x.  I found that I am getting to the point where I am able to keep up with the people in the video a lot more consistently. Some moves I still have to modify, even more than the modifier, Pam, does. However, for many moves, I can jump (not just the toes barely off the ground type jumps) for the entire 30 seconds. So, it is definitely a work in progress, but heading in the right direction.

Workout Update: P90X Day 36

 Day 36 was the chest, shoulders, and triceps workout, with ab-ripper as the warm-up. I still do not like 90% of this workout. But, the one thing I do like is that it is one of the shorter resistance workouts. That is always nice, especially when adding ab-ripper to it, which adds an additional 16 minutes to whatever workout you are doing that day. I must say that this round of P90X is going by pretty quickly. I have just one more week in the "regular" part of phase two, then will be at the next recovery week. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 35

 Day 35 was a shortened version of Yoga x. I basically did it up through the balance moves and then stopped when they transitioned to the stretches. I did this for a couple of reasons, the main one being I was feeling a bit queasy as I go toward the end of the moving asanas, and it was getting a bit late in the evening. It is still a very tough workout, mainly because it is so long and has some very advanced moves, especially when you consider there was no meaningful yoga workout in Power-90, but I am getting better at it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 34

Day 34 was legs and back along with ab-ripper x as the warm-up. I was finally able to hit 10-12 reps on the pull-ups using 95lbs. So hopefully, next week I can bump it up to 100 lbs. I want to be able to do 10-12 reps on all pull-up moves before I start doing bodyweight pull-ups. This will probably be in a second round of P90x where I will transition from using the bands to doing "regular" pull-ups. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 33

 Day 33 was x-stretch. I again had to mix up the workouts this past week because my schedule was thrown off. So, I changed up so the Saturday workout switched to Friday, so I was not doing resistance and abs two days in a row. Overall, the workout was fine. Nothing new to report about it. 

DVD Review: The Good Doctor Season 3

 

Season three of The Good Doctor starts shortly after the events ending season two, with Shaun asking Carly out on a date. Said date ensures, about as you would expect, and the rest of the season pretty much is centered around Shaun's interpersonal relationships. That is not to say that the medical aspects of the show are ignored, but the procedural case-of-the-week stuff does kind of take a backseat to the more soap operaish elements.

All of the major characters get storylines of varying degrees. Claire and Morgan each get major storylines and a lot of character development. Antonia Thomas and Fiona Gublemann really shine in their roles this year, and each will have major arcs going into season four (at least they are set up to be major arcs). The season does not really end on a cliffhanger, but more of a shock that will have a huge impact on the hospital. 

For those who get the DVD set, the twenty episodes are spread over five discs. The only extras are on the last disc, and those include a short gag reel (about 4 minutes) and 21 minutes of deleted scenes. There are no commentary tracks or behind-the-scenes material.

Overall, the series continues to be very well acted and pretty well written. As I said above, the focus of this year is a lot more on the various character relationships than the medical cases. And yes, there is a lot of sex talk, which does turn some people off. But, it is still a medical drama, and the medical cases are still important to the show. Freddie Highmore's acting continues to be top-notch. He can go from playing Shaun as unintentionally funny to sad, to angry on a dime. Some of his best acting is in an episode toward the end of the season in which Shaun's father is dying of cancer and Shaun goes to see him on his death bed. I cannot say that everyone will like the direction the show went in this year, but I think most fans of the show will still like it. 

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

 

This is, of course, the book that launched the multi-billion dollar franchise about the orphaned boy named Harry Potter that finds out he is a Wizard when he turns 10 years old, and has been accepted to Hogwart's School for Witches and Wizards. It would eventually spawn seven books, eight movies, a spin-off series, and a play. For the few who do not know the story, this book basically establishes Harry learning that his parents were Wizards and killed by an evil wizard named Voldemort, who also tried to kill Harry as an infant. The attempt to kill Harry failed, and Harry was sent by Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts to live with his aunt and uncle and then chronicles his first year at Hogwarts where he meets two schoolmates who would become his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermoine Granger. 

For those who have seen the movie but have not yet read the book, this is the shortest of the novels so it has the least amount of material removed in the movie adaptation. That said, the movie did change some things and did shorten some sequences. For example, the opening sequence with the Dursleys is more extended in the novel and things like the trip to the zoo play out a bit differently than was shown in the movie. But, all the main plot points from the book ended up in the movie, especially once Harry gets to Hogwarts, so that will not be much different.

The book is age-appropriate for kids about 10-11 years old and up. Rowling intended that the kids reading it would be about the same age as the characters in the book, so for the first novel around 10-11 years old. The books get increasingly darker and more adult with each new book, but really for this book a kid only really needs to understand the concept of death and "good guys" versus "bad guys". Otherwise, the novel is pretty tame. It has a good blend of humor, action, and suspense, and touches on themes of family, friends, right vs. wrong, and the like. Even though it is technically a "kids book" it is enjoyable enough for an adult, and even though it was written in the mid to late 1990s, it holds up well enough to be enjoyable even years later. It can easily be enjoyed by people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, etc., whether your first experience with the Harry Potter universe was as a young kid, as a teenager, or (as in my case) as an adult because of watching the movies. And, because it is only a few hundred pages and meant for young kids to be able to read it, adults who are fairly quick readers can probably get through it in a couple of days without a problem

Ultimately, by now anyone reading this likely knows enough about Harry Potter to know the overall story and knows whether they like it or not. But, if you are just getting introduced to the series and are looking at the reviews if you are into fantasy novels or themes like magic, this is definitely worth reading. While it is nowhere near the best book of the series, it does a good job establishing the main characters, telling the stand-alone portion of the story, inviting the Sorcerer's Stone, and setting up what is to come down the line. 

Product Review: Altus Athletic Pull-up Bar

 

This is a sturdy pull-up bar. One drawback is that the mounting brackets may be a bit too large for your particular door frame, at which point you will have to determine if you want to send it back or damage the door frame to install it. There are things that flip up from the bracket that kind of secure the bar into the bracket, which, depending on the size of your door jam, may not flip all the way open unless you take a chunk out of the wood. If they cannot flip all the way up, the bar will not go into the brackets. Damaging the wood is not a big deal if you own your home, but could definitely be a big deal if you are renting. Either way, you have to screw the mounting bracket into the door frame, which, if you are renting, may not be allowed anyway.

The other drawback is that once the bar is in the brackets it can be very hard to get it out of them. It is definitely secure in the brackets and really, the things that flip up from the brackets are totally useless because it is secure in the brackets whether those are flipped up or down. But, when you want to take the bar off the door, getting it out can be a pain. 

That said, once the thing is on, it is sturdy. I have never felt like the bar was ever going to come out of the brackets or that the brackets were going to come loose from the door frame. So, if you can live with the drawbacks, this is definitely a good option, and much safer than some of the "no-install" pull-up bars. 

Product Review: LPOW Forehead Thermometer

 

This is a fairly standard forehead/no-touch thermometer. It is powered by two AAA batteries, which are included. It can be operated in two modes, body and surface. The first is exactly what it sounds like, taking your body temperature. The second is for taking the surface temperature of objects. You can also set it to display degrees Fahrenheit or Degrees Celsius. The main trick that I have found is when taking your body temperature, it is best to aim low on your forehead. The instructions kind of say this, but not explicitly. My only real complaint is about the instruction booklet. It is pretty small and the print is tiny. So, if you are over the age of 40 and your eyes have begun to change so you need reading glasses or progressive lenses, the instruction manual will be a chore to try and read. Just from messing with the buttons on the unit, I can tell that there are some other settings/features, but I am not in a big hurry to try to read through the instructions to figure them out. But, if you want it just for taking your temperature, without the need for sticking a thermometer in your mouth, this is a good option. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 32

Day 32 was the back and biceps workout, and again using ab-ripper as the warm-up. Ab-ripper went well. I mostly did 20 reps on the exercises again, but there were a couple of them that I could hit all 25 reps. As for the main workout, I really like the back and biceps workout. It alternates between the two muscle groups switching between two back exercises and two bicep exercises. One of the back exercises is some variation of a pull-up, and the other is something like lawnmowers, a version of heavy pants, back flys, etc. The total time is about 51 minutes including warm-up and cool down, so it goes very quickly. It is very challenging and will give you a good pump. So far, phase 2 is going well, even though the overall schedule got turned around a bit. 

Book Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

 

Fantastic Beasts is, of course, the prequel to the Harry Potter series, set in the same universe, but in the mid to late 1920s as opposed to the early1990s, which was when Harry Potter started at Hogwarts in the novels. Unlike the Harry Potter books, this is not a novel. It is a screenplay for the movie. As such, it is pretty much, scene-for-scene, and word-for-word what you see in the movie. There are no "extra" or additional storylines included in the book that were not in the movie. It also, clearly, does not read like a novel, but more like a script. 

The story is set in New York in the mid-1920s. Newt Scamander (who coincidentally writes a book of the same name that Harry has to purchase for class years later) travels from England to New York in order to release a creature into its natural habitat. He has a run-in with a Muggle (or no-maj as they are called in the United States) named Jacob Kowalski and in the process, a creature called a Niffler, which is pretty much a kleptomaniac gets out and starts causing havoc. Newt's beasts also get blamed for wreaking destruction throughout the city which is actually caused by something more sinister.

While the story is set in the Harry Potter Universe, the story is definitely not a carbon copy of the Harry Potter story. Due in large part to the fact that most of the characters from the Harry Potter novels and movies are not yet born when this is set. The only characters that were seen or mentioned in Harry Potter that are established to be around now are Dumbledore (who is mentioned in the book) and Grindewold, who the book establishes as the main antagonist of the time period.  He is basically the Voldemort of his time, with a goal to start a war between the magical world and the nonmagical world. The other main characters in the book are Tina Goldstein who works at the US version of the Ministry of Magic and her sister Queenie, TIna's boss at the Perceval Graves and Credence Barebone 

Overall, the story is very good. I like the fact that it is different than the Harry Potter world. For example, wizards and no-majes in the US are totally separate from each other, and wizards and witches are forbidden to marry a no-maj. And, the story is not focusing on a young Dumbledore (at least not at this point), using Newt and Tina as main characters along with Queenie and Jacob. So, as long as you accept that this is not a carbon copy of Harry Potter, it is enjoyable. Although, I do think it would have been better as a traditional novel as opposed to just a screenplay which may be difficult for some people to stick with reading. 

DVD Review: Family Guy Season 15

 

Season 15 of Family Guy pretty much follows the same format that it has used. The episodes are all stand-alone stories of the week, but there are callbacks to old jokes and references to past episodes. By now, anyone who is thinking about buying the show, especially on DVD, knows what it is and what it is not. Like the more recent DVD releases, this is uncensored, so there is a lot stronger language than what can get broadcast on TV, including some f-bombs here and there. There are a lot of good episodes this season, but honestly, the season finale, "A House Full of Peters" was probably my favorite of the bunch. There is not really a stand-out episode this season (like the "Family Guy Presents" episodes in which Stewie and Brian go on some adventure) but there were not really any duds either.

This release is fairly light on bonus features. There are deleted scenes for every episode that run from a few seconds to a few minutes. There are no commentary tracks on any episodes or any interviews with the cast or anything like that. There are two tributes, one to Carrie Fisher and one to Adam West, who died in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The tribute to Fisher was mostly the writers talking about their love of Star Wars and how much they enjoyed working with her on the series. The tribute to West was basically a collection of the more memorable scenes of his character from the series with a tribute card at the end of it. 

Overall, the show is what it is. If you have been a fan, it is worth watching. If you have never been into it, this season will not change your mind. A case can certainly be made that the series is getting long in the tooth, but I think the writers continue to come up with good story ideas, so I do not think it has gotten to the point where it is totally stale, or the writers are not coming up with new ideas. So, if you are a fan of the show it is worth watching. Whether you think getting the DVD is worth it vs streaming, I do not know if the streaming versions are censored (I believe they are the broadcast versions), but that is one consideration, and you do get some bonus features that you will not see if you just stream it. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 31

 Day 31 was Kenpo-x on my altered schedule. It went fine. I again skipped that cold stretching that they do as the warm-up and just started with the workout itself using the twist and pivot and punches to warm-up. The workout went pretty much as it has the past couple of times I did it, so no big changes to report.

Book Review: Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama that Unfolded in the Skies Over America on 9/11

 

Touching History is a book written by a former pilot and airline instructor, Lynn Spencer. It tells the story of 9/11 mainly from the perspective of the air traffic controllers and military personnel, starting at the time air traffic control lost contact with flight 11 and ending with the military patrols that were flying over all the major cities in the days after the 9/11 attacks. Therefore, the book does not focus much on what was happening in any of the buildings or even a ton about what was happening on the planes aside from talking about some of the things that were relayed from passengers or flight attendants to the airlines. She did not even focus much on the known discussions and messages left by passengers to their loved ones (with a few exceptions). 

The main takeaway from the book is just how unprepared everyone from air traffic control to the airlines, to the military, was for an attack like this. As anyone who grew up in the 1970s or 1980s remembers, when planes were hijacked they would force the pilots to land somewhere and have a list of demands they wanted to be met as they negotiated with authorities. There was almost never collateral damage on the ground, and planes were never used as missiles. So, it seemed that very few people had any real idea of what was actually going on even after American 11 hit the first tower, really until Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. The book also details experiences of other flights, some of which were considered to be hijacks even after they landed safely, and details one flight that was very likely a 5th plane that would have been hijacked (that was never mentioned in the 9/11 report) had it got in the air (it was caught up in the ground stop) that had 4 or 5 Arab men sitting in first class who ditched their luggage when the plane went back to the terminal in which box cutters and Al-Queda documents were found. It also details the chaos both from the FAA standpoint and pilots in the air when the ground-stop order was issued and trying to land all of the planes currently in the air or coming to the US from overseas. 

Overall, the book is very well written and has a lot of detail that has not been widely revealed to the public. It is more of a just presenting the facts kind of book, but the author does a great job conveying the emotion that the various people involved had while the events were unfolding. She also does a great job conveying the inability of the FAA and air traffic control to effectively communicate with the military because they were all using different systems and different lingo, and how even the different branches of the military had a hard time communicating with each other. I would consider this a must-read for anyone who is into history or just researching, or interested in learning about, the events of 9/11.

Workout Update: P90X Day 30

 Day 30 was the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps workout and ab-ripper. I again used ab-ripper as a warmup doing 20 reps for each move. Then, the main workout was the first resistance workout of phase two. I will be honest, I am not a huge fan of this workout (mainly because I hate all of the push-up moves they are doing). I liked the push-up exercises from the Chest and Back workout, but hate pretty much every single move in this one. I do like the shoulders and triceps moves that they picked for this workout, but that is the only redeeming quality for me. This was supposed to be the Day 29 workout, but this week's schedule got turned around, but I am going to adjust as I need to and keep at it.

Workout Update: P90X Day 29

 Day 29 was the beginning of phase two. It was supposed to be the Chest, Shoulders and Triceps workout, but I swapped with Plyometrics so I could do a shorter workout since my schedule was thrown off by an emergency errand. Plyo went pretty well, although my body did have to adjust a little to it since I had not done it in over a week. I still have to modify some moves (like the guitar hops) but I am getting better on others (like the jump-knee-tucks). Anyway, the schedule will be a bit out of wack this week, but I am going to adjust and keep going.

Workout Update P90x Day 28

 Day 28 was Yoga x, the last day of the recovery week. I did most of the workout (up to yoga belly 7). and for the harder moves at the end of the moving asana series (warrior 3, half moon, etc.) I used a chair to balance myself, which worked very well. It was a lot easier to do it that way than to fall all over the place if I try to do them without the chair. Hopefully, by the end of the 90 days I will be able to do them without a chair assist and without losing my balance every two seconds. 

Workout Update: P90x Day 27

 Day 27 was x-stretch again. I was going to do yoga, but as I do a lot, switched them up. Nothing really to report on this one. As I said the last time, I can tell I am getting a bit more flexible, but definitely not as flexible as I would like to be. 

Workout Update: P90X Day 26

 Day 26 was the second time of doing Core Synergistics in the recovery week. While I still do not like the workout all that much, I did feel it went a bit better than the first go-around. I still cannot do a full Dreya Roll to save my life, even a full modified one, and bow-to-boat was still very hard, but otherwise the rest of the moves were better than when I did it on Monday.