DVD/TV Series Review: Beavis and Butthead - The Complete Collection

 

One thing to be noted at the outset, this is not the complete series with the episodes as they aired. This is a repackaging of volumes 1-3 of the Mike Judge Collections, adding the fourth volume which was the limited run season that aired in 2011, and then the movie that was made during the original run of the series. In volumes 1-3 each volume is split between two discs. The first disc has the episodes and the second disc has the music videos that they could get the rights to. Anyone who watched the series in the 1990s, when it was originally on MTV probably remembers that in each episode, in breaks in the story, Beavis and Butthead would watch, and make fun of, music videos. Because of licensing issues, they could not get the rights to all of the videos that originally aired, so the solution was to remove the music videos and show just air the storylines (so each episode ends up being about 20 minutes long, give or take), and then showing the music videos on disc 2.  It should also be noted that not every episode that aired is included in the set. Most of the episodes that aired are included, but there are some missing. For the fourth volume, which is the 2011 season, all of those episodes are included as they aired. In that season, instead of watching primarily music videos, during the breaks in the story, they would watch, and rip on the MTV reality shows. 

The DVDs carry over all of the extras from the original individual collection releases. Those include deleted scenes, promo spots, and special appearances that Beavis and Butthead made (such as at the MTV music awards), and a multi-part behind-the-scenes/making-of retrospective where the creators of the show discuss how it was made, the influence on pop culture, and the like. The movie has a commentary track by Mike Judge which is really good, and the extras for the fourth volume include a good discussion from the Comic-Con panel between Johnny Knoxville and Mike Judge.

For most people, the show will probably be a blast from the past. You definitely have to enjoy juvenile and sometimes stupid humor, but masked in the humor was a commentary on topics like political correctness and the topical events that were happening in the 1990s. It is disappointing that not all of the episodes are included, and we cannot get the complete shows, as they aired, but this is probably the best set that is going to be released. So, if you were a fan of the show, it is definitely worth the pickup.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 26

Day 26 was the Recharge workout from CE. There is no huge update on it. My flexibility level remains the same and I have not noticed any big improvements or backslides over the course of the first month.

Textbook Review: Fundamentals of Electric Drives

 

This was the book required for my undergraduate electric drives class in my school's electrical engineering curriculum. This book is a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, according to my professor, it is pretty much the only textbook on electric drives that is suitable for an undergraduate-level class, as other textbooks get into detail that is appropriate for graduate-level classes. On the other hand, it has a lot of errors, most of which would be impossible to discover unless someone who knows the material tells you about them, such as errors in the equations. The book has a ton of equations, with little explanation beyond just a couple of examples in the chapter text of what they are useful for and how to apply them. The one plus is that the problem sets at the end of the chapter are short, but trying to figure out how to solve them with the instruction from the chapter text is not the easiest thing in the world. Unfortunately, the author of the book has passed away, so unless another professor takes up the mantle of updating the book and putting out a new edition, then this is the only edition that is going to be released, with flaws and all. So ultimately, if you are looking to teach yourself the material in the book, I would definitely look for a study guide so you can double check the material in the book, and if you have to use it for class, be prepared to ask a lot of questions.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Inferno

 

Inferno is the third movie in the adaptations of Dan Brown's novels based on the character of Robert Langdon (played in the movies by Tom Hanks). The movies are a bit interconnected, but mostly stand-alone stories, so this is somewhat of a sequel to the movies The Davinci Code and Angels and Demons, but you do not have to have seen those movies to follow most of what is going on in this one. The big thing you will miss if you have not seen the other movies is the development of the Langdon character because this movie pretty much just jumps into the story.

The main plot of this movie involves a plot by a billionaire scientist named Bertrand Zobrist (played by Ben Foster) to solve the world's overpopulation issue. Langdon wakes up in a hospital with no memory of the past few days and is immediately targeted by an assassin. With the help of his doctor, Sienna Brooks, played by Felicity Jones (probably best known for her role in Rogue One), he escapes and discovers he has clues to the plot, which points to some mass murder event and is based on Dante's Inferno (hence the title of the book). From there, as in the first two movies, the plot involves Langdon solving clues that point to even more clues, with a lot of twists and turns along the way.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great in the HD format (with a lot of great location shots from where the movie was filmed), and has a decent amount of extras. Those include over 27 minutes of deleted and extended scenes, short featurettes on each of the main characters, a featurette on the filming locations, and a director journal, which is basically 10 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage following Ron Howard around and interspersing his comments. Then there is a featurette on the darker imagery from the movie and some trailers for other movies.

Overall, the movie is good, but probably not as good as the first two movies. The movie does adapt the book well, but like with the first two installments, there are definitely changes made. It seems more and more likely that this movie will be the last of the novel adaptations with Howard and Hanks at the helm, despite there being two other Langdon novels that could be turned into movies. In general, I would say if you enjoyed the first two movies you will probably enjoy this one, although maybe not as much. On the other hand, if you did not like the first couple of movies, this may not do much for you. That is, of course, unless the only reason you did not like the first two movies was because of the religious tones, but in that case, you are probably not ever going to watch this anyway. 

Product Review: MaxTeck USB 3.0 to HDMI External Video Card Graphic Adapter for Multiple Monitors

 

I got this to try and hook up a monitor with an HDMI connection to my computer. Unfortunately, it did not work either as just a plug-and-play device or trying to find drivers to get it to work. So, I would recommend looking for other options.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Interstellar

 

Interstellar was the first major movie written and directed by Christopher Nolan after his Batman trilogy ended. The basic plot of this movie is that in 2067 the Earth is becoming more and more uninhabitable because of a planet-wide blight/dust bowl, which is making it harder for food to grow. Matthew McConaughey plays Coop, an ex-astronaut turned farmer who is recruited for a mission to pilot an expedition to a series of possibly habitable planets to which advance scouts have already been dispatched. To get to the prospective planets, the ship must travel through a wormhole that opened near the planet Saturn. This requires him to leave his only child, Murph (played by Mackenzie Foy at the beginning of the movie, then by Jessica Chastain later on) on Earth, promising her that he will return. The rest of the cast includes Nolan veterans Anne Hathaway and Michael Caine, as well as Wes Bentley (from American Beauty), John Lithgow, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, and David Oyelowo.

The blu-ray has a ton of great extras, and the A/V quality is stellar. The most comprehensive extra is an almost hour-long documentary on the science of Interstellar, in which Nolan explains what they did to get as much of the science correct as possible. This included using a physicist as a consultant to do things like help create the CGI black hole, and how the time aspects of the movie would work. Then, there are a series of 14 making-of featurettes titled Inside Interstellar, which details the process to make various aspects of the movie, and then the three trailers for the movie are included.

Overall, the movie is great. It is well-written and very well-acted. As an engineer, I like that they actually get a lot of the science correct (although some of it is embellished for dramatic effect), and they get concepts like gravity around a black hole and the resulting time dilation effects correct. McConaughey and Chastain are definitely the standouts, as they get the most material to work with, but the entire cast does a great job with their characters. It is an awesome movie and definitely worth multiple viewings.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 25

Day 25 was the last Friday Fight 1 for this round. I think this was actually my best workout of month one (no better time for that to happen) as I was able to do a lot more modified moves than in the other workouts. This is still a tough one for me because I get very tired during jumping-jack-based moves and have always hated push-ups, but I am definitely getting stronger cardio-wise. 

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 24

Day 24 was the last Tabata Strength workout for this round. I definitely still get very gassed during the workout and am maxing out at the same point in the workout. But, I can definitely mix in more unmodified moves.

Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Charmed: Season 5

 

The fifth season of Charmed was another transitional season for the show. One big, ongoing storyline was brought to a conclusion and the season finale was used to almost reset the show going forward (potentially at least). The season starts with Cole, having essentially figured out how to get out of the version of Hell that he was in at the end of season four, doing (yet again) the dance between being good and being evil. A little after the middle of the season, the show had its 100th episode which was kind of a flashback episode showing pivotal moments in Piper and Leo's relationship. Unfortunately, the show did not bring back Shannen Doherty or use clips of her, but they did find a sneaky way to get the character of Prue included (kind of). The season begins and ends with two-part episodes, with the season finale introducing a new character going forward.

The show continued to get recognizable guest stars and musical acts including Jamie Pressley, Melinda Clarke (from The OC and Nikita), Mark Sheppard (from Supernatural), Tobin Bell (from the Saw movies), Emanuelle Vaguer, Billy Drago, Tony Todd, Erik King (from Dexter), Eric Dane, Zachary Quinto (from Heroes), Norman Reedus (from The Walking Dead), Drew Fuller, and Scout Taylor Compton (from the Rob Zombie Halloween reboots). The musical acts included The Flaming Lips, Michelle Branch, and Pat Benatar. 

For those who get the blu-ray, it is yet another region-free set. There are no extras, just the episodes themselves, but there are captions in English and German for those who want and/or need them. The show gets a decent HD presentation, but given that the show has a lower budget than some shows had, the special effects can sometimes look very cheesy in HD. 

Overall, the season is a good one. Some of the issues that the show has always had, like relying on too many soap-operaish elements do remain in this season. And, as it has the last few seasons, it criminally underuses Dorian Gregory with Darryl only appearing in a handful of the episodes. On the plus side, they still show off Alyssa Milano's midriff and cleavage at every chance they get, and Rose McGowan, who was still hot and not crazy (at least recognizably so) at that point. Holly Marie Combs really did the heavy-lifting acting wise however and she definitely got the best material to work with and did a lot with her character. Ultimately, I think if you enjoyed the first four seasons of the show you will like this one, unless you only watched it for Shannen Doherty, in which case you probably will not.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 23

Day 23 was the last Sweat Intervals workout for this round. Again, I was able to do a few more reps of unmodified moves but maxed out pretty much at exactly the same point as I did last week.  

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: A Bigger Splash

 

A Bigger Splash is a 2015 movie starring Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Dakota Johnson. Swinton plays Marianne Lane, a rock singer who is vacationing in Italy with her boyfriend Paul ( Schoenaerts). Fiennes plays Harry Hawkes, Lane's ex-boyfriend who shows up at the villa Marianne and Paul are staying at with his previously estranged daughter, Penelope/Pen (Johnson). The plot basically involves Harry trying to win Marianne back and Pen trying to seduce Paul. It becomes a tale of jealousy and animosity, with a bit of a twist ending.

Overall, the story is okay, but a bit predictable. The movie is odd in a lot of respects, the first being that Swinton barely talks in the movie because her character had surgery on her throat. At most, she can whisper, so Swinton has to basically act non-verbally the entire movie. Fiennes' character, Harry, on the other hand, is totally extroverted and talks too much. Fiennes goes really over-the-top with his performance which some may like and some may find annoying. Johnson really seems out of place trying to play a seductress, which she does not have the personality for. Yes, she is hot and has no problem getting naked for a role (which she does in this movie), but she just does not seem to have the personality type to pull off the role she was trying to play.

For those who get the blu-ray, the A/V quality is good for a movie that is not special effects-laden. The extras are very bare bones, just the trailer, a stills gallery, and a handful of very short (anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes) featurettes that amount to being short character profiles

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 22

 Day 22 was the Tabata Strength workout again. As was the case with Monday's workout, I was able to do about the same amount of unmodified moves but I maxed out a couple minutes later than I did last week. This workout is still very tough because there is only one rest period, after the warmup, then you go from the five-minute mark to the end without stopping. I think once I lose about 20 lbs, it will make getting through this one easier, but not easy by any means.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 22

Day 22 was the last Cardio Challenge for this round. I would say that I did about as many unmodified moves during this workout as I did last week, and I maxed out at pretty much the same point during the workout as I did last week. So, no huge amount of progress was made during this workout. 

DVD/TV Series Review: Bad Judge: The Complete Series

 

Bad Judge is a show that got ragged on by the critics who totally overlooked the fact that it was a sitcom, and not supposed to be an accurate portrayal of how court typically works. It stars Kate Walsh (from Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice) who plays Rebecca Wright, a criminal court judge who basically presides over arraignment court for a person's first appearances after they are arrested and booked, who is still a wild child who goes out and gets drunk, has boy toys and drives around in a ratty van that is always breaking down. Basically, a judge who is herself one or two steps away from appearing in arraignment court. The concept of the show is basically like the show Night Court, except this one is set during the day in Los Angeles instead of New York. The show basically alternates between the quirky cast of characters that come through the court and the goings on in Rebecca's personal life.

The DVD set is basically a MOD set that does not have any extras. Had the show aired a couple of years later it would likely not have even gotten this release. So basically, you just get the 13 episodes spread across two discs and nothing else.

Overall, the show was good, and if it would have had enough time to really find its footing could have been very good. Certainly, for those of us who know anything about how the law and the legal system work, you have to ignore some things that the writers just get totally wrong (e.g., the fact that Rebecca would be writing an appellate court brief for any reason). Even with those issues, it was well-acted and had a great cast. Tone Bell who played the bailiff for Rebecca's courtroom, Tedward, pretty much stole every scene he was in. It also had a good guest cast including Angela Kinsey (from The Office) and Ryan McPartlin (from Chuck). Chances are, most people who are looking at this by now are doing so because they watched the show when it originally aired and looking to get the DVD. I do not know if it streams for free on any of the streaming services, but if you get the DVD set, you do not have to worry about it coming and going from the streaming services. If you are just looking for a sitcom, the show is good, but really never got a chance to find its footing or get a proper resolution before being canceled.

Product Review: Marilyn Monroe Wall Calendar (2017)

 

I am one who gets a new Marilyn Monroe calendar every year. I try, as much as possible, to go for ones that have pics that are not widely seen/well-known pictures of her. That, especially if you get calendars featuring her every year, is hard to do, but this one has a good variety. It does include some iconic shots such as the subway grate shot from The Seven Year Itch, but it also includes some pics that look to be more behind-the-scenes shots from photo shoots she did and are not ones that are some of the extremely popular pictures taken of her.

Product Review: Ninja B39010 Foodi NeverStick Premium 10-Piece Bakeware Sheet Set

 

This is a set of bakeware put out under the Ninja line of products. It is very heavy-duty and easy to clean. I have only made a couple of things on the cookie sheets so far, so if discover anything else worth noting I will update the review. But, when making biscuits they turned out perfectly and did not stick at all, and cinnamon rolls slid around like hockey pucks on the ice. Just nudging them with a spatula released them without a problem. 

The only thing I would have liked is a bit different selection of pans. You get two round cake/pie pans but only one bread pan. Personally, I would have liked a second bread pan and one less of the pie pans, especially since you also get a square cake pan. Also, it would have been nice to have a round baking sheet to make baking a large frozen pizza easier and a deep roasting pan. The pan that they call a roasting pan is pretty shallow and would be useless for something the size of a turkey. The selection aside, the pans are very high-quality, can be washed in the dishwasher, although they are easy enough to clean in a sink with some soap and a sponge that you do not need to put them in the dishwasher, and are much heavier than most other bakeware. They are certainly more expensive than a lot of other bakeware, but that is definitely a get-what-you-pay-for kind of situation. These are definitely worth it.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Forrest Gump

 

Chances are that most people looking at this by now have seen the movie at least one time, but for those who have not, Forrest Gump is the iconic 1994 movie directed by Robert Zemeckis (probably best known for directing the Back to the Future movies) and starring Tom Hanks as the titular Forrest Gump, basically telling the story of his life to random strangers while sitting on a bus stop in Georgia. Throughout the movie, we see that he was involved in many events throughout his life that allowed him to meet historical figures like JFK, President Johnson, and more. The movie is basically a history lesson of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, as told through the eyes and experiences of Forrest. The movie is notable for two things, the first being the almost seamless incorporation of Tom Hanks as Forrest into historical footage (basically an early version of the concept of Deep Fakes) in which it actually looks like Hanks belongs in the footage, and the second is Tom Hanks' wonderful portrayal of a developmentally disabled person. The movie also had a very strong supporting cast including Sally Field, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and a young Haley Joel Osment in his first movie role.

There have been many versions of the movie on physical media over the years. The Sapphire series edition blu-ray, which was released in 2009 includes all of the extras released on the 2001 DVD, including two different commentary tracks on the movie, the first one involving Zemeckis, producer Steve Starkey, and production designer Rick Carter, and the second one by Producer Wendy Finerman. The other legacy extra is the ability to play the "Musical Signposts of History" version of the movie. This is a series of sidebars hosted by former Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres, in which he discusses the trivia of the film's many songs, while Zemeckis and music producer Joel Sill (both in archived footage) talk about song inspirations. When enabled, the film turns off and switches to these sidebars before resuming. The bulk of the extras are included on the second disc which includes several new making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes which range from about 15 minutes in length to around 30 minutes in length. Then there is a 55-minute roundtable discussion with Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Eric Roth, and Robert Zemeckis discussing the film at the University of Southern California. Then the rest of the legacy extras are included which are basically a series of short featurettes that each run about 2 minutes, give or take, and the theatrical trailer. So, if you like watching bonus content, there is a lot here for you. And, the A/V quality of the blu-ray is wonderful.

Overall, the movie is awesome and holds up very well even 25+ years later. The role is one of Hanks' best, and he deserves all of the accolades he got for it. If you have not seen the movie, it is most definitely worth watching and if you already love the movie the bonus material you get makes picking up the blu-ray well worth it.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Pray for Death

 

Pray for Death is one of the movies that Sho Kosugi made after the widely popular "ninja trilogy" movies made during the early to mid-1980s (Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination). In this movie, Kosugi plays a retired Ninja Warrior named Akira Saito, now working in an Office job in Japan. His American-born wife Aiko convinces him to move to Los Angeles where they open a Japanese restaurant, and immediately are targeted by a local crime boss Mr. Newman (played by Michael Constantine), and his enforcer Limehouse Willie (played by James Booth). Basically, much like Revenge of the Ninja, the plot involves Akira and his family being threatened until he has to dust off his ninja skills and take out the bad guys.

Overall, I would say that the movie is decent but not as good as Revenge of the Ninja or Ninja III. But, you obviously know going into a movie like this that you are getting it for the action, the ninja weapons, etc., and not the overall quality. This is also the first movie I have seen in which Kosugi was given a lot of dialogue and not overdubbed. In the Ninja Trilogy, at least some of his lines were very clearly overdubbed, and although he does speak with an accent, you can easily understand him. Also, this one did away with the ninja-versus-ninja final battle. That required the movie raising "regular" bad guys to the level of a ninja, which destroyed a bit of the mystique of ninja invincibility. I was not a huge fan of the ninja uniform that Kosugi wore in this movie, but that is a minor point.

For those who get the blu-ray, the extras include part 1 of a two-part interview with star Sho Kosugi discussing his life growing up and his career. The second part of the interview is available if you buy the Rage of Honor disc, so it kind of sucks that you cannot get both parts on this disc if you do not want the other movie. It also includes an archive interview and Ninjitsu demonstration with Kosugi from the film's New York premiere, and the theatrical trailer. So, the extras are good if you want to watch them. While the movie is not great, if you were a fan of Kosugi's other work, it is still worth checking out.

Study Aid Review: Schaum's Outline of Basic Electrical Engineering 2nd Edition

 

The title of this guide may lead some to think that this is really a starting point for someone that is either at the beginning of an electrical engineering degree program or thinking about electrical engineering as a major. And it is really not that so much as it is a guide that takes the large concepts that you learn throughout the course of an electrical engineering degree like circuits analysis, electronics (circuits made of diodes, transistors, etc.) digital logic, electric drives, etc., and condenses them into one guide. So, it is more a review of the core concepts of an electrical engineering curriculum and can be used as a primer once you graduate to brush up on concepts, prepare for the PE exam (for those who will take it), etc. It is not necessarily a guide that will be extremely helpful to use in an introduction to electrical engineering class that many schools have that gives you an idea of what you can do with the major, may have you build a couple of basic soldering projects or the like. It has some calculation mistakes in it (which knocks it down a star for me), but if you need to brush up on the theory for some reason, this is an excellent guide to get the big picture without all of the fine detail.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 21

Day 21 was the back and biceps workout from P90x again. I was able to hit 10 reps on just one of the resistance moves, so the weights will be staying at the same level for next week's workout. I was able to get a couple of more reps on some of the pull-down moves, at the end I was very tired, so on the max rep choose which kind you want to do at the very end of the workout, I was only able to hit 7 reps (with using 150 lbs of band resistance).  

DVD/TV Series Review: Kath & Kim: Season 1

 

Kath and Kim was a US adaptation of an Australian TV show starring SNL's Molly Shannon as Kathleen Day and Selma Blair as her daughter Kim Day. Kath is an overachieving go-getter who runs a salon out of her kitchen, and Kim is a slacker who wants to get by on her looks and her husband's, Craig, played by SNL's Mikey Day, meager paycheck. Kath has recently started dating the owner of a sandwich shop at the local mall, Phil, played by John Michael Higgins, and when Kim separates from Craig, she moves back home and basically gets in the way.

The show is one of those show-about-nothing sitcoms. There is a weekly theme or plot line but they are mostly self-contained. The plot lines that do go from episode to episode are really about Kim wanting to get back together with Craig, but wanting him to put in all the effort. The show is definitely a commentary on the whole celebrity culture (as Kath and Kim love reading the tabloids) and people who think they have a chance to become rich and famous themselves. The entire cast is great, but to me, Selma Blair is the standout playing a poor version of a spoiled rich brat. Plus, Selma Blair was definitely hot as fire as she was in skimpy outfits in pretty much every episode.

For those who get the DVD set, the 17 episodes are spread over two discs. There are commentary tracks on many episodes, a gag reel, and deleted scenes for people who like to go through the extras.

Overall, the show is very funny but got canceled before it really had time to find its footing. It was definitely on the goofier end of the sitcom spectrum, which may have been what doomed it as the female leads were both kind of vain and vapid and the male leads were doofuses. There was some character development over the course of the season, but it did not last long enough to do a lot of major character development. The show had a good supporting cast including Melissa Rauch in her second TV role and the one she had just before her big break on The Big Bang Theory, and the recognizable character actress Justina Machado. The show was also able to land Pamela Anderson in a guest-starring role. While I do think it is a show that is worth watching, just be aware that it never really gets a decent conclusion.

Product Review: M&M'S Peanut Chocolate Candy, 38-Ounce Party Size Bag

 

This is a large bag of Peanut M&Ms. Larger than what you can find in most grocery stores, and around the size that you can get at the warehouse clubs (in the plastic containers). So, if you like Peanut M&Ms and like the convenience of getting things through Subscribe and Save, this is a good option.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Enter the Ninja

 

Enter the Ninja is the first of the Cannon Films' Ninja Trilogy which consists of Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination. It is really only considered a trilogy because the same production company made all of the films, and real ninjutsu practitioner Sho Kosugi appeared in each of the movies (although he played completely different roles in each movie).

The basic plot of Enter the Ninja is that a mercenary named Cole, played by Franco Nero, is trained as a ninja in Japan. The movie opens at the completion of his ninja training in a great action sequence. One of his fellow students, Hasegawa, played by Sho Kosugi, resented having an American trained as a ninja, which sets up the end of the movie. The main part of the story starts when Cole goes to visit his war buddy Frank Landers (played by Alex Courtney) and his newlywed wife Mary Ann Landers (played by Susan George), who are the owners of a large piece of farming land in the Philippines. Cole soon finds that the Landers are being repeatedly harassed by a local land baron, Charles Venarius, the wealthy CEO of Venarius Industries, in order to get them to sell their property because, unbeknownst to them, a large oil deposit is located beneath their land. Most of the middle portion of the movie involves Cole beating up the local henchmen Venarius has hired to bully and coerce the Landers. At the end of the movie, we get the classic ninja-versus-ninja battle between Cole and Hasegawa.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality is good, but not great. It is much better quality than the picture and sound on the VHS, which is how many of us in our mid-forties or older saw the movie when we were kids. But, it did not get a high-quality restoration and transfer given that it was an independent 1980s martial arts film. There are no extras on the blu-ray aside from the trailer for the movie.

Overall, this movie is a blast from the past for those of us who saw it as kids. Chances are, if you were into martial arts at all in the late 70s through the early to mid-80s, you probably loved this movie when the horrible acting and cheesy fight sequences (and Nero's 70s porn stache) were easily ignored. It is kind of hilarious to watch Nero in the fight scenes in which he is not in the ninja costume because it is clear he had zero martial arts training or skill. But, when the stunt guy is in the costume and fighting with Kosugi, those are good fight sequences. Kosugi was still pretty green as an actor (not that he was ever a great actor), but he could pull off the menacing bad guy very well. It does have one sex scene (which is pretty tame) and a lot of violence (but even that is tame by today's standards), as well as its fair share of stupid comedy (including a guy with a hook for a hand). You definitely have to take this movie for what it is, and as long as you do not expect more from it than being a cheesy action movie with ninjas, it is enjoyable. If you are looking for an academy award winner, this is definitely not something you will be interested in.

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 20

Day 20 was the CE Recharge workout. Nothing new to report on this one as my flexibility has not changed much at all from the last few times I have done this.  

Workout Update: Insanity Max 30/Chalean Extreme/Body Beast/P90X Hybrid Day Round 2 Day 19

Day 19 was Friday Fight again. Now that I am a few weeks into doing this mixed modified and unmodified version of the workouts, I am noticing that I can do more unmodified moves in each workout, but I have to take longer breaks because I am getting gassed a lot faster in each workout. There are some moves that I still cannot do totally unmodified yet, so I do them partially modified, or do one or two unmodified reps and then switch to the modified versions. Doing the workouts unmodified is MUCH harder than the modified versions, and there is definitely a reason that everyone in the videos is in very good to great shape. But, I plan to keep on plugging away until I can do all of the workouts unmodified the entire time.