Blu-Ray/Movie Review: 300

 

300 is a movie that very loosely interprets the battle of Sparta between 300 Spartan warriors against the invading Persian army directed by Zack Snyder and starring Gerald Butler, Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, and Lena Headey (among others). This is not, and was never meant to be, a historically accurate version of the 300 Spartans. While it is based on an actual event, it is an adaptation of a graphic novel version of the story. There is a lot of action and over-the-top violence as well as some sexual content and nudity. Personally, I think the best performances in the movie come from Dominic West and Lena Headey. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality (for the initial release anyway) is very good. The visuals really pop and the special effects look authentic. The extras include a commentary track on the movie by Zack Snyder, several making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and trailers. Ultimately, if you are looking for accuracy or a documentary with an accurate representation of the Battle of Thermopylae, this is not it. If you are looking for an action movie with great visuals, good fight sequences, and good acting, you will probably find this to be entertaining and worth the time to watch.

Book Review: The First Commandment (Scot Harvath Series #6)

 

The First Commandment, published in 2007, is the sixth book in the Scot Harvath series of action-thrillers written by Brad Thor. The events of the book are set about a week after the end of the prior novel, Takedown. In it, Harvath is told to stand down and not look for the person who shot Tracy, but as more people connected to him are attacked, Harvath has to figure out who is going after the people he loves while also avoiding capture by government agents who are told to take him dead or alive. The story is a good mix of action and suspense and keeps readers engaged.

The hardcover version of the book is just over 400 pages. The style and tone of the book are very similar to the other books in the series and it reads as fast (or as slowly) as the other novels. As in the other novels, Thor weaves real-world elements into the fictional storyline, including the debate that was occurring after 9/11 about how the US should go after and treat terrorists. This book ends with the story wrapped up and concludes without a hint of where the storyline in the next book is going to go. If you liked the prior books in the series and/or like similar books (such as the Mitch Rapp series), this is absolutely worth the time to read.

Workout Update: Lift-4/645 Corrective and Foam Rolling- Round 2 -Day 43

Day 43 was the start of week 7 in Lift 4, which is the first of two "shred weeks" and I did the corrective shoulders routine from 645.

The Lift 4 workout was a chest and back circuit workout (so two quad blocks) with alternating chest and back exercises in the first block then two chest exercises followed by two back exercises in the second. Then, after you are toast, you do three sets of burnout, doing regular push-ups, back extensions, and wide push-ups. Then, of course, you finish with three sets of core. Needless to say, this is a tough workout. I had to decrease the amount of weight I was using on multiple exercises. It is a shock to the body, but a good one.

Book Review: Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia

 

The High Republic Character Encyclopedia serves a couple of different functions. First, it is a catalog of the various characters who have appeared in the High Republic novels and comic books. The characters are categorized by what group they are affiliated with (e.g., Jedi, Nihil, Path of the Open Hand, etc.). Each character has a write-up that gives information such as their species, what book or comic they first appeared in, and major events they participated in. The more central characters get longer write-ups (about a page and a half or two) and the minor characters get about a paragraph. There are pictures of some of the characters and others are just listed by their name. While the book covers most of the characters, not every character that has appeared in the books has an entry. The second function of the book is to summarize the first and second phases of The High Republic era and chronicle the major events that have led up to the forthcoming third phase. 

The hardcover version of the book is 200 pages long, but because the book has a lot of illustrations, the actual text is much shorter. Therefore, the book can be read very fast and easily finished in a day or two. This is not likely going to be a book that casual Star Wars fans will get into because most of the characters in the book have not appeared in the movies or the various TV series. I would not call this one of the must-read books but for anyone who has read some or all of the High Republic-era books, it is worth reading once.

Book Review: Navigators of Dune (Dune #6)

 

Navigators of Dune is the 6th book, chronologically, in the Dune franchise of novels written by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert. It is the third book in the "Schools of Dune" trilogy, which is the second prequel trilogy (again chronologically) to the original Dune trilogy. This book, published in 2016, is set about 10,000 years before the events of the original Dune storyline. The book ties up some of the storylines that were started in the earlier novels and sets up the origins of storylines that will have consequences and/or be instrumental down the line such as the Sisterhood's breeding program, the Spacing Guild, and the human computers. And, of course, the Harkonen-Atreides feud continues to play out. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 400 pages long. There are a lot of characters in the book, but thankfully, most of them carry over from the prior novels in the trilogy so it is not very hard to keep track of who is who. Like with the prior books, there are a few different main storylines. Two of them are interrelated and intertwine quite a bit, and the third is on its own. The book has a good balance of action and downtime (which is mostly used to set up the next action sequence). The book does a good job of continuing the backstory to bring the readers to the original Dune novels while still being suspenseful and entertaining. It is absolutely worth reading.