Welcome

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

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

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

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

DVD/Movie Review: Clueless (Whatever! Edition)

 


Clueless is the iconic mid-90s coming of age movie starring Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, and Paul Rudd (in one of his first roles), and sporting a supporting cast of Breckin Meyer, Donald Faison, Wallace Shawn, Dan Hedaya, and Stacey Dash. It is loosely based on Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma, and directed by Amy Heckerling who also directed the 1980s coming of age classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The movie is basically set around the life of pampered rich girl Cher (played by Silvertone) who can argue anything to get what she wants, as taught to her by her lawyer father (played by Hedaya). In her high school, she is the leader of a group of girls just as vain and clueless as she is, including her best friend Dionne (played by Dash). Brittany Murphy plays Tai, a new student at the school whom Cher takes on as her charity case to make her over into one of the groups. When Tai's personality changes Cher then sees firsthand how she treats people and ultimately learns to grow up. The other big plot revolves around Cher's love life. She tries to make out with her school crush and is surprisingly rebuffed, and then falls for Rudd's character, which is a bit creepy given that he is her stepbrother.

For those who get the Whatever! edition of the DVD, the extras include the trailers, a bunch of behind-the-scenes featurettes (seven in all ranging from about three minutes to almost twenty minutes), and then a bunch of previews for other movies. So, if you like bonus material, you get a good amount here.

Overall, the movie is a classic. It is very funny and has some dramatic moments. Yes, the thought of Cher and Josh becoming a thing is a bit creepy and is probably not something that would be added to the storyline if it was made today, but it was not the focus of the movie by any means. Of course, the various actors have gone on to have wildly varied careers since Clueless with Silverstone basically having retired from acting, Rudd making blockbuster movies (and hardly aging), and Murphy having tragically passed away after her career hitting a bit of a slump. It would be nice if they make a 20th-anniversary Blu-Ray within the next couple of years and get the cast together to do a commentary track and new cast interviews. Who knows whether that will actually happen, but for now, this is a great version of the movie (there is a Blu-Ray upgrade of this set floating around out there), and it is definitely worth watching.

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