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. 

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

 


Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is the 2011 follow-up to the 2010 movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson. The rest of the cast includes Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Kelly Reilly, Eddie Marsan, and Geraldine James. This time, Moriarty is introduced in the flesh, as opposed to the shadowy figure from the first movie, and played wonderfully by Jared Harris. The movie incorporates elements of different Holmes stories, such as The Final Problem, and basically sets up a Holmes v. Moriarty showdown. I will not go into too much detail to avoid giving too much away, but if you have read the Holmes novels, you likely have an idea of the ending, although it does not follow the stories from the books word-for-word.

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is outstanding. The movie looks and sounds great in the HD format and the special effects look seamless with the practical effects. The extras are much like what was included in the Blu-Ray release of the first movie. The most extensive being the Maximum Movie Mode, which allows you to play the movie with behind the scenes material interjected. Then, there are some other behind the scenes features included as well. A lot to go through for people who like the bonus material.

Ultimately, if you liked the first movie, you will likely like this one, as it has a very similar tone and feel with an even better bad guy to be a foil for Holmes. You really cannot compare it with the BBC series Sherlock, as the movies and the series were really their own thing. It just so happens that, unfortunately, were released very close in time, and the series went on to be a very big hit. This, I think, is at least a part of why future movies have not materialized (not to mention Downey Jr. and Cumberbatch's commitments to the Marvel movies). It is definitely worth a couple of hours if you are looking for a good action movie.

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