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 Michael Bay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Michael Bay. Show all posts

Friday, April 5, 2024

DVD/Movie Review: The Island

 


The Island is a 2005 movie directed by Michael Bay and starring Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean, and Djimon Honsou. It was one of the few Michael Bay movies (along with Armageddon, Bad Boys, and Pearl Harbor) that is not explosion-laden the entire time. While there are explosions in this movie, to be sure, there is also good, quality acting, a story with some substance to it, and comedic elements that were not stupid or cheesy. The movie also has a good supporting cast including Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi.

The premise is that rich people can pay 5 million dollars to have themselves cloned as an insurance policy. Think instant organ donation. The clones are marketed as being held in stasis until needed, where in reality they are kept alive in an almost cult-like community until needed. That is as much of the story as I will give away, but the movie centers around the ethical dilemma that surrounds the program.

The acting in the movie is good all around. Scarlett Johansson (who was in her first major role after Lost in Translation) and Ewan McGregor play the parts of the escaped clones very well. McGregor also has to play the "real" person who interacts with his clone which he also does a great job with. Sean Bean plays the main bad guy role as the one who runs the cloning center. He did very well portraying the fact that his character basically had no morals and only cared about money. I personally think the best supporting performance was from Djimon Hounsou who basically plays a bounty hunter tasked to track down the escaped clones. He has to strike a balance between a guy doing the job he was hired for, and not truly believing in the ultimate purpose.

The DVD has a handful of extras, including a director's commentary track on the movie and a few making-of featurettes. Excluding the commentary track, the bonus features clock in at around half an hour in total. 

It does have some of the hallmarks of a Michael Bay summer blockbuster, but even if you are only lukewarm to his other movies, this one is worth giving it a chance. It is definitely more than just things blowing up. While it is certainly not an Academy Award winner or something that will keep you thinking about it for days after you watch it, there is enough substance to the story to make it worth seeing.