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, December 3, 2024

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Luke Cage Season 1

 


The 13-episode first season of Luke Cage was released on Netflix in September of 2016. It was the third of the four Marvel Netflix series (including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Iron Fist) that exists within, but ancillary to, the Marvel Universe/MCU. It starred Mike Colter, Simone Missick, Theo Rossi, Alfre Woodard, Mahershala Ali, Frank Whaley, and Erik LaRay Harvey. Rosario Dawson also appears as her character, Claire, who was first introduced in Daredevil. Luke Cage (Colter) made his first appearance in season 1 of Jessica Jones (which is referenced throughout the series) as the owner of a bar. Now, he turns up in Harlem, working in a barber shop and as a dishwasher at a club owned by the local gangster (played by Mahershala Ali). It is partly an origin story for the character and part a fight to take down the local mob, corrupt cops, and politicians, with a bit of a Cane and Abel story and a lot of social commentary thrown in (yes, it does have a take on BLM for any snowflakes out there who cannot handle that). There is no direct tie-in from this storyline to what plays out in The Defenders (which will bring together all the characters from the Netflix shows like The Avengers), but it does end on a bit of a cliffhanger.

The show is well-written and acted. While Mike Colter does much of the heavy lifting, the rest of the cast comprises many great actors, some great character actors and others of more notability. It is a true ensemble cast, however, because when the show aired (and arguably even now), none were really A-list actors (although Mahershala Ali is getting close). While set in NY like the other Netflix shows, it tells its own story and has its own feel.

The Blu-Ray set is a four-disc set. The A/V quality is good, but the set is light on extras. It is a bit more than a MOD set, though, as it has a 22-minute roundtable discussion with some of the cast members with interview clips of the showrunners. It was not bad for what was included, but it was not a ton of material. If you are a fan of Daredevil and Jessica Jones, this is definitely worth checking out.

No comments: