Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 41

For day 41, I just did the 645 cardio workout. I selected moves from Insanity (1-2-3 Heismans), P90X (jump switches), and Lift 4 (speed skaters and mountain climbers), and then did the regular pulse squats. Overall, it went fine and I was not too tired after yesterday's HIIT workout. 

DVD/Movie Review: Rush Hour

 

Rush Hour is a 1998 action/comedy starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Ken Leung, Tom Wilkinson, and Tzi Ma. At its core, Rush Hour is really a more current (at the time) spin on the various 1980s buddy cop movies. As even the director Brett Ratner admits in the commentaries, the script was pretty basic, not all that great, and formulaic. But what he really wanted to do was to blend Jackie Chan's action with Chris Tucker's comedic skill, and what resulted was a very funny movie that probably blew away everyone's expectations.

The storyline is pretty basic. The daughter of the Japanese counsel in America is kidnapped. The FBI takes the case, but the counsel wants a cop he trusts from Hong Kong (Chan) to help work the case. The FBI gets the L.A.P.D. to assign a cop (Tucker) to babysit Jackie Chan's character, and hilarity ensues. The thing that makes the movie work is the Chemistry between Tucker and Chan, and the fact that they both got what they really wanted to do reigned in a bit. Tucker could not go over the top with improvising lines because of Chan's language barrier, and Chan could not have a movie that was essentially one long fight scene. So what resulted was a movie that really did appeal to a broader American audience than, say, Rumble in the Bronx did. It made good use of the character actors that were cast in supporting roles. It has the great action that any fan of Jackie Chan would expect, just not as much of it as in his Chinese films, and Tucker was at the height of his comedic gold status, being just a couple years removed from his roles in Friday and The Fifth Element.

To me, the highlight of the DVD is actually the extras, from the behind-the-scenes features and the director's commentary track on the movie. You really get a sense of what it takes to get Jackie Chan to agree to do a movie (he basically has to approve everything) and some of the obstacles that they faced during the filming. The extras also include deleted scenes, cast and crew biographies, the music video for How Deep is Your Love, and the theatrical trailer. For those who like going through bonus material, it is quite good. While it is probably not going to be something that everyone likes, if you are a fan of action movies (especially martial arts movies) and/or buddy-cop comedies, it is quite enjoyable and worth checking out.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 40

Day 40 was the final workout in Week 6 of Lift 4, the legs HIIT workout. It was tough, but it had a good selection of exercises. Triple Bear is the only exercise in that group that I hate.  Then, I did a low-impact version of 645 cardio in the evening.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 39

Day 39 was the shoulders workout in Lift 4 (another interval workout) and 645 cardio in the evening. I maintained the increased weight for each set's resistance exercises.  I then did a low-impact version of 645 cardio in the evening to burn a few calories after dinner.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Role Models

 

Role Models is a 2008 comedy starring Paul Rudd, Sean William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Elizabeth Banks, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Ken Jeong, and Jane Lynch. This movie is pretty typical of Paul Rudd's more recent comedies. Rudd ( who was co-writer on the movie) plays Danny, a guy stuck in a dead-end job, pushing energy drinks on high school students in a stay-off-drugs campaign. Seann William Scott plays yet another version of Stifler. Scott has basically become a character actor playing a version of Stifler in every movie he does. In this one, he plays Anson Wheeler, the mascot for the energy drink company who works with Danny. He is basically a slacker with no responsibility, and that is a role that Scott can play very well. When Danny and Anson end up getting in trouble with the law, they are sentenced to community service, acting as big brothers for a couple of kids (Mintz-Plasse and Thompson) at a place called Sturdy Wings, which is run by Jane Lynch's character. From there, it is a pretty formulaic, raunchy comedy with lessons about growing up, responsibility, and, to some extent, family.

The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is good, but nothing to write home about. The extras include a couple of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, and 40+ minutes of deleted scenes. There is also a commentary track on the theatrical version of the film with director David Wain that is pretty funny in parts but mostly just talks about the various aspects of production. The movie is an above-average (but not great) comedy. Rudd and Scott play their characters well, but the standouts are Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Augie Farks, who follows up his great performance in Superbad as a different kind of nerdy kid, who is into live-action role-playing D&D-like games, Bobb'e J. Thompson as Ronnie Shields a foul-mouthed 11-year-old only child of a single mother, Jane Lynch as Gayle Sweeney the director of Sturdy Wings and former cocaine addict who has no problem oversharing about her days as a junkie, and Ken Jeong as King Argotron, the leader of the role-playing group. Elizabeth Banks is also in the film as Danny's girlfriend and lawyer. She does a good job with what she has to do, but once the kids are introduced, her character is pretty much sidelined for most of the movie. 

This is definitely not a movie for everyone. The R rating, is well deserved, mostly for the language. There are a couple brief flashes of nudity and a lot of suggestive sexual dialog. There is not much in the way of actual sex, but there is a ton of swearing throughout the movie. So if that would bother you, then it is best to skip this. But if you are a fan of recent adult comedies (think most of the Apatow movies), then you will likely enjoy this. It is not deep or complex in any way and does not really try to take itself too seriously. It is not something that was ever going to compete for an Oscar or even be mentioned among the greatest comedies of all time, but if you accept it for what it is and what it is not, it is an enjoyable way to pass an hour and a half or so.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Resident Evil Afterlife

 

Resident Evil Afterlife is the fourth installment in the Resident Evil franchise of action/horror movies starring Milla Jovovich. This one, released in 2010, is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and stars Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller, Boris Kodjoe, and Shawn Roberts. The events of the movie take place sometime after the events of Afterlife, in which Alice finds her other clones. It marks the return of Paul W.S. Anderson to the director role, having written all the movies but directed just the first. It starts out with Alice attacking the Tokyo umbrella facility, trying to take down Albert Wesker, who was shown basically as a hologram in the third movie. She ends up losing her powers and then ends up trying to evade another zombie horde while holed up in a prison and trying to find Arcadia and the refugees she sent off during the events of Afterlife.

I will not say more about the plot because to do so would spoil too much. The film brings back the character of Claire Redfield, played by Ali Larter, and also introduces the character of her brother Chris, played by Wentworth Miller. They are holed up with a new group of refugees, most notably the character Luther West, played by Boris Kodjoe. The climax of the film basically involves trying to take down Wesker and a rescue.

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is wonderful. I have the regular version, so I cannot tell you how the 3d version is, but it is much like the other films have been in 2d. The extras include deleted scenes, outtakes, multiple commentary tracks on the movie, and several behind-the-scenes and making of features. By now, almost everyone knows what the movies are and are not. Most likely, if you have liked the other movies, you will still like this one, although you have to be okay with it moving farther from the kind of basic zombie movies that parts 1 and 2 were and having ever-evolving threats. It will not win any acting or writing awards, but it is a good action, sci-fi, and horror blend and makes for an entertaining movie if you enjoy the genre.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 38

Day 38 was the rest day in Lift 4, so I did the two recovery workouts in the morning and then did the 645 cardio with higher impact exercises in the evening. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 37

Day 37 was the Back and Biceps workout in Lift 4, which was a 50/50 resistance/HIIT workout, so I did a less intense 645 cardio workout in the evening. Again, in the Lift 4 workout, I started using the heavier weight I used last week, but I had to reduce the amount of weight I was using in the second and third sets for a couple of them. Overall, however, both workouts went well.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 36

Day 36 was the start of Week 6 in Lift 4, which meant another Chest and Triceps workout, and then 645 cardio in the evening. The Lift 4 workout was a circuit workout (so no HIIT), which meant that I selected more intense, harder, higher-impact exercises for the evening workout. Both of them went pretty well, but I did have to drop the amount of weight I was using on the second and third sets of a couple of the resistance exercises. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

 

+++Warning, I will assume that anyone reading this has seen the movie already, so there will be some spoilerish material in the review, but I will not give away any major surprises+++++

The Force Awakens is the 2015 return to the Star Wars movie universe. It was written by J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan (who also co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi), and Michael Arndt, and directed by Abrams. It starred Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Issac, Lupita Nyongo, Domhnall Gleeson, and Andy Serkis (as the new characters in the franchise) and also saw the return of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hammil, Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew from the original trilogy cast. Of the legacy characters, Ford has the largest role in the movie, and Hammil has the smallest.

This movie was written clearly to cater to the fans of the original trilogy who were disheartened by Lucas' abandoning anything close to a good script and overuse of CGI in the prequel trilogy. This movie goes back to the roots of Star Wars, blending many practical effects with CGI, putting out a good story, and getting good performances out of the actors. The focus of the story is very much on the new characters, Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren, BB-8, and Poe. All the original main characters are in the film to various degrees, with Harrison Ford doing much of the heavy lifting, returning as Han Solo. It is very much meant to mirror A New Hope. The journey of the main character is intentionally paralleling the journey Luke took in the first movie. While I am not one who thinks it is an outright ripoff of Episode IV like some do, the fact that they were going for that tone and certainly had scenes that mirrored a lot of what was going on in that movie and had some of the same lines (some subtle and some very much not) I do get the criticism.

I ultimately give this movie an incomplete grade until this Trilogy is played out. There are three main things I think need to be cleared up in the subsequent movies or canon novels that are coming down the line, and then some other things that would just be nice to know. The first big point is obviously who Rey is. That character is obviously the one the whole new trilogy is going to be based around, so an explanation of who she is is essential. Likewise, Snoke's identity has to be revealed. They are setting up that he is an Emperor-like figure, powerful in the dark side. But it is known that during The Emperor and Vader's time, there were two Sith, a master and an apprentice. So there needs to be an explanation of how Snoke came to be in order to make sense of his seducing of Kylo Ren to the dark side. Then I think there needs to be an explanation of the new force powers we see in the movie. Kylo Ren, who J.J. Abrams made clear leading up to the movie is not a Sith lord and is not fully trained, is using powers that have not been shown in any previous movie (I have not seen The Clone Wars or Rebels cartoons, so I am not sure about what has or has not been in them). Not to mention the skills that the other character was able to learn so quickly.

The things I believe some kind of explanation would be nice are why Finn deserted, for example. He was on his first mission early on in the movie, and his only act of disobedience was to defect. That is not something that seems realistic for a soldier who was bred from childhood to be a Stormtrooper and obey orders. Then things like how Mas came to obtain Luke's old lightsaber, what were the main characters doing in the years after Return of the Jedi, etc. Obviously, some of those things will be told in Episodes VIII and IX and likely fleshed out in the new Cannon novels, but when those points are known, then I think this movie's piece in the larger puzzle can be better evaluated.

I do think that there are certainly imperfect parts to the story. Like Leia basically ignoring Chewbacca at a certain point, not going to find Luke herself when they figure out where he was, basically redoing a trench run to blow up the base, and things like that. With that said, I do think the movie made for a very good return to the Star Wars cinematic universe and gave a boost of nostalgia for those of us who grew up with the original films. I am not one of those who utterly loathed the prequels, but I certainly can be counted among those who think that Lucas took on way too much on his own in making them and lost sight of what made the original movies the classics they are. And I am one who loathes the endless of amount of CGI and tweaks and additions that he put into the original trilogy.

For those who get the actual Blu-Ray, the movie looks and sounds great as you would expect. The extras, of course, vary depending on where you buy it, with the studio doling out retailer-specific extras. To my knowledge, none of them have an audio commentary on the film itself. For the Amazon version, the main extra is an hour-long behind-the-scenes and making-of feature called "The Story Awakens," where the cast and crew talk about the process of creating the movie from pre-production and casting to the end. Then there are several shorter features, all pretty much under 10 min on building BB-8, creating the various creatures, breaking down the fight scene in the forest at the end of the movie, John Williams returning to score the movie, ILM creating the digital effects, deleted scenes and a short feature on the charitable work done by the studio, cast, crew etc around the movie. Good for what is there, but sucks that all the bonus content was again split up like is happening on a lot of the major releases. And a commentary track including the various trailers would have been nice. Thankfully Harrison Ford participated a lot in the extras, which is something given his rumored dislike for the character of Han Solo and the movies overall. He seemed appreciative of being in the movie, respectful to the fans, as well as being honest and sincere with that 10-20 years ago, he probably would not have agreed to come back.

There will ultimately be a lot of subjectivity in liking or disliking this movie. It is not perfect, but realistically, aside from maybe Empire Strikes Back, none of the movies have been all that close to perfect. I think most people in their 40s and 50s who were kids or teenagers when the original films came out and loved those will mostly fall somewhere on the like-to-love spectrum on this movie. If you were a casual fan of any of the movies, then I think you will probably be a casual fan of this. If you are one who loved what Lucas did with the prequels and the special editions, then you may fall somewhere between disappointment and hate. Realistically almost everyone has seen this at least once by now, so you know where you fall. While some whiny "fans" shit on the movie (and the prequel series as a whole), I think this is a good movie that was setting up a good storyline. The one thing I do think that the producers can be ripped for is the decision to have three different directors do each movie and have total control over the storyline of each movie. I think the prequel trilogy would have been much better if at least the same writers wrote all three movies. Since that did not happen, the prequel trilogy became a mess. That said, the movie is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Punisher (2004)

 

The Punisher is a 2004 action movie starring Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Rebecca Romijn, Laura Harding, Ben Foster, and Will Patton. The story is entertaining and well done for what it is. The movie basically involves two revenge stories. In the first, Travolta's character, crime boss Howard Saint, seeks revenge on Frank Castle for the death of his son during an FBI bust of a smuggling operation. The second involves Castle getting revenge on Howard after Howard orders Frank and his family killed when he finds out Frank's identity. Frank survives the attack on his family and takes on the persona of The Punisher. 

The original Blu-Ray release is a very bare-bones, single-disc release. You just get the theatrical edition of the movie without any bonus content. So, if you only get movies on physical media when there is a lot of bonus content, you may just want to look for this on a streaming service.

This was a comic-book-based movie that occurred before they became popular, so the studio did not invest in anything near the amount of production that goes into today's comic-book movies. Hence, this mainly had B-level actors (depending on where you want to put Travolta and Rebecca Romajn on the hierarchy). There is not a ton of action aside from a few sequences, but it is very violent in those sequences. The storyline is as much about Castle forming the plan to take down Saint and his empire as it is about the execution of the plan. The writing and acting are okay. Both are somewhat over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek at times. Thomas Jane plays the emotionally detached Castle very well but does keep a sense of morality and goodness to him, even when he is doing very bad things. Travolta plays a very good bad guy, even though he does overact at times. Ultimately, the movie is something where if you have a couple hours spare time you can have it on in the background and still easily follow what is going on. It is certainly not the best comic-book movie or the best live-action version of The Punisher, but it is worth checking out if you do not expect it to be anything more than it is.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 35

Day 35 was the two Lift 4 recovery workouts in the morning and 645 cardio in the evening. For the evening workout, I did the hardest exercises that I could do for 30 seconds without modifying them. So, I was pretty wiped out by the end and managed to work up a good sweat. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 34

For Day 34, I just did the 645 cardio workout. It was what I would describe as moderately intense, with exercises that were a bit more challenging for me (like Mountain Climbers and the switches from P90X) but not as intense as plyo jacks.  

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 33

Day 33 was Legs in Lift 4, another 50/50 workout, followed by 645 cardio in the evening. The Legs workout was very challenging, mostly because the HIIT moves were very tough, especially after your legs were burned out. Again, I selected lower-impact cardio exercises for the 645 workout. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 32

Day 32 was shoulders intervals in Lift 4 and the 645 cardio workout. Both of them went fine. Of course, I selected lower-impact exercises in the evening cardio workout since the Lift 4 workout had a HIIT component.  I was able to increase the amount of weight for the various resistance exercises, and again, the microplates really helped. Although, I have discovered that they can fall off the 15 lb dumbbells so when I need to use 17.5 lbs, I do try to use the Bowflex weights. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Martian

 

The Martian is a 2015 Sci-Fi/Adventure movie directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Kristen Wig, Michael Pena, Sean Bean, Donald Glover, and Jeff Daniels. The movie is adapted from a book by the same name about an Astronaut named Mark Whitney, played by Matt Damon, who ends up getting stranded on Mars when the rest of his crew leaves believing that he died. The story basically revolves around his efforts to stay alive and communicate with NASA with the equipment that is left behind, and the concurrent plan to rescue him.

The original Blu-Ray release is a single disc with the movie and a decent amount of extras. The Blu-Ray's A/V quality is outstanding, and the movie looks and sounds great in HD format. As for extras, there are probably between an hour and a half to 2 hrs worth. The biggest is a mock documentary telling the story that plays out in the film, mainly from Sean Bean and Jeff Daniel's character's perspectives. But most of the cast is involved. There are also some commercial-like vignettes promoting the Mars missions, including one done with Neil Degrasse Tyson. Then there are some behind-the-scenes and making-of features as well. A decent amount for those who like to go through the bonus material.

Overall, the movie is wonderful. The screenplay was great and the acting is superb on all fronts.  I have not read the book, but apparently, the writers did not change much from the book. For those who are into science or engineering, it is enjoyable because they based things on real science, and although they certainly did take liberties with some things, they kept most of those liberties plausible. And for those who are not very science literate, the film did a good job of not being so technical that everything would only be understandable to scientists and engineers. It is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Primal Fear

 

Primal Fear is a 1996 movie starring Richard Gere, Edward Norton, and Laura Linney. It also includes a great supporting cast, including John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, and Andre Braugher. The movie was made at a time when Gere's role as a leading man was winding down, and it was Edward Norton's first major role. The movie plays on a variation of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Norton plays Aaron Stamper, a 19-year-old alter boy who is arrested for the murder of an Archbishop. Gere plays Martin Vale, a criminal defense attorney who agrees to represent Stamper.

The original Blu-Ray release is a single disc with just the movie itself and no bonus features. The A/V quality is fine, but it did not get a great HD restoration and transfer, so it is not a huge upgrade from the DVD version. The movie has been released on 4k-UHD which does include some bonus content, so if you don't have the movie on physical media or really love it and don't mind double or triple-dipping, you may want to opt for that version.

The movie is outstanding. It is well-written and very well-acted. Norton was excellent as well and really stole every scene he was in, playing an alter boy arrested and on trial for killing the local bishop. Gere had the smarmy criminal defense lawyer role nailed, balancing an "I don't care if you are guilty or innocent " attitude with really caring for a client he truly believes is not guilty. While it is likely that a lot of people reading this will have seen the film multiple times and know how it plays out, I will not spoil the movie on the off chance that someone out there has not seen the movie. What I can say is there are a lot of real-world parallels to what has played out with the church in real life with sex scandals and allegations of corruption and the movie does have some twists throughout. Some of the twists are predictable, and others are not. While Gere and Norton are certainly the main attractions in the film, the supporting cast are all wonderful. Laura Linney is great as the prosecutor and former flame of Richard Gere's character. It is a great legal drama that is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 31

Day 31 was the rest day in Lift 4, so I did the two recovery workouts in the morning and the 645 cardio routine in the evening. I cannot say that my flexibility has really improved during this round of Lift 4. Ultimately, I want to lose enough weight that doing yoga becomes easy again because that helps the most with my flexibility. But, I have a ways to go before I get there.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 30

Day 30 was the Back and Biceps circuit workout (yay, no HIIT) in Lift 4 and 645 cardio. Again, I was able to use the microplates to gradually increase the weight on some of the exercises, which helped a lot. In the evening, I did the 645 cardio workout with more intense/higher impact exercises like squat jumps and jump-knee switches from P90x.  

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 29

Day 29 was the start of week 5 in Lift 4, which again meant increasing the weight for the resistance exercises. Today's workout was the Chest and Triceps 50/50 workout. Using the microplates to increase the weight gradually is working out quite well, especially for exercises like the chest flys and triceps kickbacks, where I can maintain proper form if I go up by 2.5 lbs but cannot if I increase by 5 lbs. In the evening, I did the  645 cardio workout again choosing exercises that have less impact since I did HIIT in the Lift 4 workout.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Presitge

 

The Prestige is a 2006 thriller written by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan and directed by Christopher Nolan. The movie stars Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, David Bowie, and Andy Serkis.  It is one of Christopher Nolan's lesser-known and less popular films (despite all the A-List actors in the movie), yet one of his best. It was made between the first two movies in Nolan's Batman trilogy. Nolan is known for working with many of the same actors in his movies, and this one, of course, includes Bale and Caine. The movie is, at its heart, a story of a rivalry between two magicians in the Victorian era (played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale). Thrown in is a bit of the Tesla/Edison rivalry, a revenge tale, lost love, and frankly just some general weirdness.

The Blu-ray release is just a single disc with the movie and the extras on it. The A/V quality is outstanding, and it was a reference-quality disc when the movie was released on physical media. The extras include about 20 minutes worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a few scenes that highlight the high-definition aspect of the Blu-ray, and various artwork. What was included is good, but there are not a ton of extras. It is hard to say too much about the movie without giving away too much of the story, but like many of his non-Batman movies, there are some blink-and-you-will-miss-it moments in this one, points where you are wondering exactly what is going on or where the story is going. Unlike Inception, however, which is left kind of open-ended, this story gets pretty well wrapped up by the end. Ultimately, the movie tells a unique story, and probably not everyone's "cup of tea." If, however, you are generally a fan of Nolan and/or the various actors involved then it is definitely worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Ant Man

 

Ant-Man is one of the 2015 entries into the MCU slate of movies. It continues the MCU storyline and is set after the events of The Age of Ultron. It even ties back somewhat to the Agent Carter TV series, with Hailey Atwell and John Slattery appearing as aged versions of Peggy Carter and Howard Stark at the beginning of the movie as a setup for the rest of the plot. There are even tie-ins to the next Captain America movie (with a post-credits scene) and, ultimately, to the Avengers Infinity Wars movies (which will include Ant-Man). Without giving too much away, Michael Douglas's character Hank Prym, one of the original S.H.E. I. L.D. agents and inventor of the ant man suit, a technology that allows humans to shrink to the size of an ant, and gain the equivalent of an ant's strength to its size hires burglar Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd to break into his former company and steal a second suit being developed by Prym's one time protege now rival Darren Cross (played by House of Cards' Cory Stoll). Evangeline Lilly plays Hope van Dyne, Prym's daughter, who reluctantly helps Lang train to become Ant-Man.

There are multiple physical media releases of the movie now. The Blu-ray's A/V quality is very good, as has been the case with the other MCU movies, especially the more recent ones. For extras, the single-disc version includes a few short behind-the-scenes and making-of features, about 10 minutes worth of "news" footage that helps flesh out some of the characters' backgrounds, some deleted scenes, and a gag reel. While the extras that were included are good, they are not as extensive as the releases of some of the other movies have received.

I think those who are fans of the Marvel Universe movies and TV shows will enjoy this. The tone of the movie is different enough that if you are having superhero movie fatigue, you can find it enjoyable because it is definitely not like any of the ones that have come before it. While some of it is a bit silly, to be sure (but really, all the superhero movies are to some extent), this movie embraces and even plays on the silliness in a tongue-in-cheek manner. The acting is very good, and the movie does well staying on the fringes of the larger MCU storyline while telling its own story. At its core, the film is a heist movie wrapped up in a superhero movie. It is like Oceans 11 meets The Avengers. It does very well as the origin story for the various stand-alone characters yet blends into the existing Marvel Universe, with the biggest cross-over being the meeting between Ant-Man and Falcon about halfway into the movie. Paul Rudd does a great job of being a hero who is willing to break the rules or the law to do the right thing. He also brings an air of every man (he did not have to get ripped for the movie like Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth did for their roles) and brings the smart-ass quality that he is known for from his other work. The movie has a good blend of action and humor (probably more humor than the other MCU movies combined) and is absolutely worth the time to watch.

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 28

For day 28, I did both the Lift 4 recovery workouts in the morning and the 645 cardio workout in the evening. In the 645 workout, I chose exercises that were more challenging for me and involved more jumping.  

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 27

For day 27, I just did the 645 cardio workout in the evening with higher-impact exercises since it was a rest day in Lift 4. 

Workout Update: 645 Cardio/Lift 4 Day 26

Day 26 was legs, which was the HIIT-only workout, doing the four exercises in each block for 1 minute, 45 seconds, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds for three regular rounds, and then two bonus rounds in which you do all four exercises for 30 seconds back-to-back without any rest. This was a tough workout, but it was easier than the week 2 version of the workout. Then, I did the 645 cardio workout in the evening with lower-impact exercises.