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. 

Sunday, December 4, 2022

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Animal Kingdom: Season 1

 


Animal Kingdom is a show that was adapted from an Australian movie of the same name about a crime family led by Janine "Smurf" Cody, played by Ellen Barkin. She has been running scams and thriving since the 1970s and enlists her adoptive son Baz, played by Scott Speedman, and her biological sons Deran, played by Jake Weary, Craig, played by Ben Robson, and Andrew, who is called "Pope", played by Shawn Hatsoy, to commit elaborate break-ins, steal whatever loot is available, and then divides up the bounty. Life for the Codys gets complicated when Smurf's estranged daughter dies of a drug overdose and the family has to take in Smurf's grandson Joshua, who is called "J", played by Finn Cole.

While the series does have a lot of action in it, at its core, and when it is at its best, it is really about a deeply dysfunctional family, apart from all the crime. It deals with issues like repressed homosexuality, transactional love, and manipulation. It even gives off some very creepy incest vibes between Smurf and her kids. The show definitely pushes the bounds of what can be shown on basic cable, with as much sex, nudity, and swearing as they can get away with. And, there is a student-teacher sexual relationship storyline that plays a big role especially later in the season. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray set, the ten episodes are spread across three discs. The A/V transfer is good, but not great, with a better audio transfer than video transfer. But, unless you are a big-time A/V wonk, it will probably not bother you. The extras include deleted scenes for most episodes, that range in length from about a minute to over thirteen minutes, then there are five short featurettes (all about two minutes long or less), and then a fourteen-minute making-of documentary. You definitely want to watch all the extras after watching the episodes, especially if you care about spoilers because the making-of-documentary does spoil some of the plotlines. 

Overall, the series is very good. It is well-written and very well-acted, with the standouts being Barkin and Hatsoy. Pope is not only very violent, as are all of the Codys but also mentally ill, and Hatsoy plays the character perfectly. It is most definitely not a family-friendly show, and there are some people who will be offended by some of the storylines. But, if you like crime dramas with a lot of action and are not bothered by violence, sex, and the like, it is definitely worth checking out.

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