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 Legion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legion. Show all posts

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Legion: Season 1

 


Legion is a crazy, mind-bending show created by Noah Hawley, the creator of the Fargo TV series on FX. It is a story about mutants set in the X-Men universe centered around David/Legion (played by Dan Stevens), who is one of, if not the most powerful mutant in the X-Men universe, having very strong psychic powers (among others). The cast is rounded out by Fargo season two alums Rachel Keller and Jean Smart, Parks and Rec alum Aubrey Plaza, Katie Aselton (from The League), Bill Irwin, and Amber Midthunder. There are also a bunch of great character actors that round out the cast. The 8-episode first season aired during the winter and spring of 2017.

If you follow the comics, you know who Legion's father is and why he is so powerful. His parentage is hinted at in the first season but never outright given away. The season is mostly centered around fixing what David has always assumed to be a mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia, to be exact). Still, as we find out throughout the season, it is a combination of his powers manifesting and something else. It is a trippy show that is hard to follow (especially on the first viewing), jumps around a lot in the story, and just gets weird at times. That said, it is very well written and acted, and it makes sense after a while. Plaza steals every scene, and she takes advantage of the opportunity to ham it up when called for (which seems to suit her personality). Stevens and Keller are great in their roles as lovers who cannot touch each other (because she switches bodies with whomever she touches). Jean Smart is great in a Professor-X-like role as the mentor for the group. There is also the requisite shadowy government organization trying to hunt the mutants down, playing one of the antagonist roles.

The Blu-Ray set is a two-disc set, and the show (which has a lot of special effects) looks and sounds great in HD. It is a very visual show, so the high-definition format really pops. The extras include deleted scenes (about a half-hour's worth) and several behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes. Good for what is there, but not too extensive. The show packs a lot into the 8-episode first season and sets up the recently aired second season well. If you are a fan of the X-Men comics or movies, it is definitely worth checking out.