Welcome

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

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

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

Monday, April 18, 2022

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Career Opportunities

 


Career Opportunities is a movie that was written by the great John Hughes, who wrote and directed some of the most iconic movies from the 80s and early 90s The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Home Alone but was not nearly as good as any of those. The movie starred Frank Whaley, who has become a pretty decent character actor in his later career, as a slacker named Jim Dodge, a recent high-school graduate with no job but definitely has delusions of grandeur. His only talent seems to be impressing the local 12-year-olds. His dad gives him an ultimatum to get a job (and not get fired) or move out of the house. The problem is that nobody in town will hire him, knowing what a con artist he is. So, he is forced to take a job as the night janitor at the newly opened Target store. He ends up getting locked in with the local hot, but seemingly unattainable girl Josie, played by Jennifer Connelly. Then we get this mish-mash of a rom-com plot mixed with knockoff versions of Ferris Bueller (Whaley's character) and the home-alone burglars, played by Dermot Kieran Mulroney, who are bank robbers also looking to knock off the Target store.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality is good, but not great. It is a slight step up from the quality of the DVD release, but it definitely did not get a great remaster. The extras are fairly sparse. The main one is a commentary track on the movie by a film critic, and some trailers for the movie as well as other Kino Lorber releases.

Overall, the movie is fun, but kind of dumb. Connelly was just at the point of her career where she was about to become a bigger star, having transitioned from child actor to more adult roles in this movie and The Hot Spot. This was pretty much the last movie she made in which she would be there mostly for eye candy, which the cover of the Blu-Ray pretty much establishes that she was. In fact, I saw an interview with Whaley years later in which he said that they never actually took that picture, but that it was photoshopped for the movie poster to capitalize on her sex appeal. For many of us who were teenagers back in the early 90s, it worked because Connelly in a tight tank top was definitely the main attraction. But, Whaley did a good job as a wisecracking Ferris-lite type character. The plot was totally unrealistic if, for no other reason, there is no way a single janitor is the only employee in the store overnight, and could never really figure out exactly what kind of movie it wanted to be. But, if you turn off your brain and don't over-analyze it, the movie is pretty fun and a nostalgic blast from the past.

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