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. 

Saturday, April 13, 2024

DVD/Movie Review: A Knight's Tale

 


A Knight's Tale is a movie from 2001 starring Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell, Mark Addy, Laura Fraser, and Alan Tudyk. In the movie, Ledger plays William Thatcher, a squire to a man named Sir Ector, who dies before competing in a jousting tournament. Willam, along with the other squires, Roland (Addy) and Wat (Tudyk) devise a plan to have William impersonate Sir Ector in order to win the tournament and then devise the identity of a Noble named Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein for William so that he can continue to participate in other competitions. Paul Bettany, in his breakout role in the US, plays Geoffrey Chaucer, a destitute con man with a gambling problem who agrees to forge a patent of nobility for William (and to be his hype man) in return for his protection (and payment). Fraser plays Kate, a widowed blacksmith who makes and repairs Williams's armor, Shannon Sossamon plays a noble lady named Jocylen and love interest for William, and Rufus Sewell plays a count who is a rival to William both in the competitions and for Jocylen's affection.

This is a movie that does not take itself too seriously. That is evident from the opening scene, where a medieval jousting match is set to Queen's We Will Rock You. In fact, there are rock songs from the 1970s and 1980s throughout the movie. The strength of the movie is the cast. If the Joker in Dark Knight ended up being Heath Ledger's signature role, this is the one that established him as having Hollywood lead potential. His character, William, was a blend of heroic, prideful, stubborn, and naive, and he pulled them off very well. As well as adding an element of humor. 

The supporting cast was also great. Paul Bettany stole nearly every scene he was in, especially when announcing William's matches. Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, and Laura Fraser all did great in their respective roles as William's crew. I also thought Shannyn Sossamon did a fair job as the love interest, although her performance was nothing to write home about. It was one of her first movie roles, and she was relatively green. The role called more for her to look pretty than it did for an Academy Award-winning acting performance. Looking at the movie now 20-plus years later, it was definitely a breakout movie for Bettany and an establishing movie for Leger (whose breakout was in 10 Things I Hate About You a couple of years before this). It surprises me that Sossamon did not have a bigger career after this movie because, while she was very green when it came out, she certainly had the potential to be a bigger star than she ultimately became. 

The DVD has a decent amount of extras, including a commentary track on the movie with the director, Brian Helgeland, and Paul Bettany, an HBO first-look making-of special, several behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, trailers, cast filmographies, production notes, and more. If you have a computer with a CD drive, the DVD also includes a screen saver (which may or may not be able to be installed on contemporary operating systems).

Ultimately, the movie is not going to appeal to everyone. It does not even really attempt to be a very serious or overly dramatic movie and certainly does not try to be a historically accurate period piece. It was meant to be a fun, even silly at times movie that blended action and comedy and mixed in a little bit of drama. To that end, it pulled it off well. And if you are a fan of those kinds of movies or any of the actors involved, it is a fine way to spend a couple of hours. 

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