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, May 31, 2026

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Emily the Criminal

 



Emily the Criminal is a 2022 crime drama written and directed by John Patton Ford. It stars Aubrey Plaza and Theo Rossi. The supporting cast includes Megalyn Echikunwoke, Jonathan Avigdori, Bernardo Badillo, and Gina Gershon. In it, Plaza plays a woman named Emily who works as an independent contractor delivering food for a catering company, while barely making ends meet. Her coworker connects her with a "dummy shopper" service that runs a fraudulent credit card ring, promising $200 for an hour of work. After making a purchase without getting busted, she is offered the chance to return the next day to make a riskier purchase and earn $2000. She ends up getting sucked in deeper with the group, while falling for one of the leaders (played by Rossi), and soon finds herself in over her head.

The blu-ray release is very bare-bones. There are no bonus features, just the movie itself. The A/V quality is good, but since this is a lower-budget independent film, it did not get the type of transfer that a massive summer blockbuster does. That said, A/V quality is fine for a film that does not rely on CGI effects. 

The movie is good. It is well-acted and mostly well-written, although parts of the movie are a bit predictable. Plaza definitely shows her acting range with this part. Of course, she is most well-known for playing a very dry comedic role on Parks and Recreation, but she absolutely has dramatic acting chops and uses them well in this role. Ultimately, if you are a fan of independent dramas and/or are a fan of Aubrey Plaza, this is absolutely worth checking out. 


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