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, May 11, 2024

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

 


At World's End is the 2007 entry into the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and was the final film in the original Pirates trilogy. The movie was directed by Gore Verbinski (who directed the first two movies) and brought back the main cast members, including Johnny Depp, Keira Knightly, and Orlando Bloom, and sees the return of Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa. This movie is set a few months after the events of Dead Man's Chest, with the group trying to find a way to rescue Jack from Davy Jones' Locker and then take down Lord Cutler Beckett and Davy Jones.

This seems to be the movie in the franchise that people either love or hate. I happen to be one of the (seemingly) few people in the middle. I do agree that the film is way too long. At just under 3 hrs, it takes much longer to get where it ultimately went than needed. That said, like all the movies, the visuals were stunning, the special effects even more seamless than in the first two movies, and the final battle between the Royal Navy, The Black Pearl, and the Flying Dutchman was awesome. Some of the humor of the first movie was sprinkled into this one, but on the whole, it had pretty much the same darker tone as Dead Man's Chest. Depp and Geoffrey Rush played off each other well, which provided most of the comedy.

The A/V quality of the movie on Blu-Ray is again outstanding. The extras are similar to what was included for the others. There are lots of making-of and behind-the-scenes features, a gag reel, and some deleted scenes. There are not as many deleted scenes for this movie's release as there were for the first two movies.  At this point, you will likely know how you feel about the movie (and the franchise in general). While the movie could have easily been cut down by about 20-30 minutes, it brings the original story to a satisfying conclusion and has a good blend of action and humor. If you like the films and want the extras, then the Blu-ray is definitely worth adding to your collection.

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