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. 

Showing posts with label Inside Out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inside Out. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Inside Out

 


Inside Out is a great Pixar movie. Probably not as good as Toy Story, but definitely as good as some of the others that came after Toy Story. It is about a girl named Riley (voiced by Kaitlyn Dias) who is forced to move halfway across the country because of her father's new job. Her emotions, Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), and Anger (Lewis Black) control her actions, and her experiences become memories, stored as colored orbs, which are sent into long-term memory each night. The aspects of the five most important "core memories" within her personality incorporate the form of five floating islands. Joy acts as the leader, and she and the rest of the emotions try to limit Sadness's influence. On her first day of school, a sad core memory is created, which Joy tries to dispose of and inadvertently sucks Joy, Sadness, and the core memories out of Headquarters, leaving Anger, Fear, and Disgust to take control of Riley. Hence, on the outside, she becomes a moody teenager. Most of the movie takes place inside Riley's head as Joy and Sadness try to get the core memories back to Headquarters.

The story is one of those that can appeal to kids and adults alike. It will probably have the biggest emotional impact for adults who have children and experience their changing emotions as they grow up, but even if you are an adult without kids, it will definitely have something that reminds you of your childhood and teenage/young adult years. The acting is phenomenal with Poehler great as the lead, and all of the supporting characters doing a wonderful job in their roles. Lewis Black can melt down with the best of them, and having Anger fly off the handle provided some of the funniest moments, along with disgust hating everything. And, Richard Kind as Bing Bong steals pretty much every scene he is in.

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is great, and there are a lot of extras. Those include a commentary track on the movie, and several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes that range in length from just under five minutes to just under twenty minutes. Then there are three different trailers. So, a lot of good material if you like watching the extras.

Overall, the movie is very good. It goes from being a fun, funny kid's movie to a tear-jerker, sometimes within a single scene. It has a good message and is something people of all ages can enjoy for a long time. It is one of those timeless movies that will be just as good twenty or thirty years from now as it was when it was released. Definitely worth the pick-up.