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, April 21, 2024

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Iron Man 3

 


Iron Man 3 was the 2013 sequel to the two stand-alone Iron Man movies and, of course, was a part of the larger MCU. The movie was directed by Shane Black and brought back Robert Downey Jr., Gweneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Jon Favreau to reprise their roles from the earlier films. The major additions to the cast for this movie are Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce, and the movie was also Jenna Ortega's first film role (albeit a minor one). 

This movie follows up both on the previous stand-alone Iron Man films and shows the "post-Avengers" Tony Stark and the toll that the events of that movie had on him. There is a lot of misdirection in this movie, which even hinting about would give away too much. Some people hated the way that turned out, but I personally did not have much problem with it. Although the effect of the big twist did make the movie in a way similar (but not the same) as the plot in the second one. This film definitely ratchets up the action even more than Iron Man I and II. There are a lot more "big" action sequences in this movie, from Stark's house being blown up and a great mid-air rescue to the final battle. A lot is going on, and the effects are blended very well with live action shots so they look more "real" than in any of the other movies. The plot is somewhat convoluted and like I said above, has twists to it. Both the characters of Pepper and Rhodes have even more expanded roles in this movie. Robert Downey Jr continues to nail the Tony Stark role and mixes humor and intensity. Ben Kingsly is excellent in his role, he was very chilling as Mandarin, and is involved in one of the plot twists. There is also the usual after the credits scene involving a cameo by one of the Avengers.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is great. As far as extras go, there is about an hour of material from making of/behind-the-scenes features, a short film that reveals events after the end of Captain America, a short look at the next Thor movie, and a gag reel. In all enough to make those who like the bonus material happy. 

While an argument can be made that the superhero franchises are becoming over saturated, they do not seem to be slowing down over time. This movie definitely left open the possibility of further stand alone Iron Man movies, but also brought a sense of closure to the Tony Stark origin story. If you are a fan of the movies that have come before this one, then you will most likely like this as well.

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