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 Megan Fox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Megan Fox. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Jonah Hex

 


Jonah Hex is a movie from 2010 starring Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, Michael Fassbender, Michael Shannon, Wes Bently, Lance Reddick, and Megan Fox. This film seems like it would have been much better as a sequel than the original movie. I have a feeling, however, that the filmmakers were concerned this was the only shot they had at a Jonah Hex movie (and it probably was) and decided to tell this one instead. The problem is that the backstory is so rushed that there is not much in the way of character development. You get the basic details (Hex was a soldier in the Confederate army, who refused to execute an order of his commanding officer, Quentin Turnbull (played by John Malkovich) and in the process kills Turnbull's son (who also happens to be Hex's friend). Hex's family is then killed in front of him, he is branded on the cheek (giving the facial deformity) and left to die. In the process of being healed by the local Indian tribe, he gains the power to talk to the dead.

The A/V quality of the blu-ray is okay, but not what I would consider to be reference quality. The special effects look pretty seamless, and the colors and contrast look good in HD. The extras include a picture-in-picture mode that allows the movie to be played interspersed with interview segments with the cast and crew. There is also an 11-minute backstory on the character of Jonah Hex, focusing on the comic book origins and about 5 minutes of deleted scenes.

Overall, the movie is okay, but I think Hex's origin story should have been fleshed out in detail. The entire movie clocks in around 80 minutes and that story is probably given less than 20 minutes. Aside from knowing who the good guy and bad guy are, we have no real reason to be invested in any of the characters. This is a shame, given that the supporting cast is made up of some very good actors (Michael Fassbender, Lance Reddick, etc). Megan Fox was pretty much the same as always. She looks pretty and has a couple good one-liners, but her character is not in the movie all that much until the end. And again, there is no backstory for her character so the only reason we are supposed to care about her character is she is pretty and loves Jonah Hex. I think the movie would have been better served to have been a little longer, with the first half giving a true backstory of the events that lead up to the start of this movie, then Hex going after Turnbull initially, and then his transition to a bounty hunter. If that movie did well, then a better version of this movie could have been made and with characters that people actually are invested in, they may have been able to get at least a couple movies from the story.

I have never read the comics, but from reading other reviews, it seems like the filmmakers diverged a lot from the source material. If you are a fan of the comics and changing the story would piss you off, then I would say skip this entirely. For everyone else, the movie is entertaining enough. It could have been better, but with the short running time (especially for comic book movies) it gets in and out pretty quickly.

Saturday, April 6, 2024

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Jennifer's Body

 


Jennifer's Body is a 2009 movie starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody, J.K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, and Chris Pratt. The movie was written by Diablo Cody and is a blend of horror and comedy. The movie does as much to make fun of the horror genre as it does to actually be a horror movie itself. It tells the story of two lifelong friends (Fox and Seyfried) that have grown apart, and Seyfried's character only realizes it after Fox's character is possessed by a demon and starts killing off the boys in their high school. It is not just a hack-and-slash kind of movie, and if that is something that you need in a horror movie, then best to just skip this. 

The A/V quality of the movie on Blu-ray is very good, and for those who do get the discs, there is quite a bit of behind-the-scenes and making of material. You also get the theatrical and unrated versions of the film. The unrated version just adds a little more footage but is not radically different than the theatrical version. There are commentary tracks on both editions of the movie by Cody and the director of the movie, Karyn Kusama. Then there are deleted scenes, a gag reel, trailers for other movies, and almost an hour's worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes.

Ultimately, whether you like this or not is going to be totally subjective. I don't think you have to like it because Diablo Cody wrote it, or a particular actor or actress is in it, but chances are if you are fans of any of the individuals involved, and the horror genre (depending on your tastes) you will like it. There are funny moments, gory moments, and even dramatic moments in the story, and they all work well. The acting is decent to good. The script was good. The script was generally much better than what you get in a lot of horror movies, but there were some eye-rolling moments here and there. There is not the gratuitous nudity that you get in a lot of horror movies. Megan Fox is in some skimpy outfits, but everything stays covered up. There is however a good two-minute sequence of her and Amanda Seyfried making out which is as spectacular as it sounds (if you are into that sort of thing). So, if you are looking for something that is not a cookie-cutter kind of horror movie, this is worth the time to watch.