Spot Reviews 12/13/24
Dec 13 2024
Love 911 (2012) [/] South Korean romantic drama film. In order to defeat a lawsuit, Doctor Mi-soo (Han Hyo-joo) has to convince firefighter Kang-il (Go Too) to file a complaint against the guy to ruin his credibility. When Kang-il reacts poorly and refuses Mi-soo becomes a volunteer medic and instead tries to seduce him. All the pretend and closeness and shared danger starts to bond the two together… It's a nice enough film, entertaining but not great.
To Your Last Death (2019) [/] Animated horror film. Terminally ill industrialist Cyrus (Ray Wise) lures his three wayward children to his high rise offices intent on killing them through various means. Miriam (Dani Lennon) is the sole survivor but is arrested by police. The Gamemaster (Morena Baccarin) offers to send Miriam back to redo it with her current knowledge but she has to be entertaining or the game will keep changing… It's very low budget with Adobe Flash-level animation. The story has a good premise though it is rather confusing. On the plus side it's very gory and has good voice acting. Overall I wouldn't recommend.
The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory (1987) [-] An old tv movie on The Alamo starring James Arness as Jim Bowie, Brian Keith as Davy Crockett, Alec Baldwin as Bill Travis, and Raul Julia as Santa Anna. Lots of character moments and subplots, probably all fictionalized. Battle scenes are ok — good action but hard to tell the various phases of the final battle. For the time it's not that bad but today it's rather dated.
Trader Joe's Root Vegetable Fries [/] This is sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips. Tastes just fine (i.e. can't tell it's carrots or beets). The bag I got had been thawed and refrozen so the fries were clumped together making it harder to cook right. I got four snack-sized servings and once it was perfect, three times ok.
To Your Last Death (2019) [/] Animated horror film. Terminally ill industrialist Cyrus (Ray Wise) lures his three wayward children to his high rise offices intent on killing them through various means. Miriam (Dani Lennon) is the sole survivor but is arrested by police. The Gamemaster (Morena Baccarin) offers to send Miriam back to redo it with her current knowledge but she has to be entertaining or the game will keep changing… It's very low budget with Adobe Flash-level animation. The story has a good premise though it is rather confusing. On the plus side it's very gory and has good voice acting. Overall I wouldn't recommend.
The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory (1987) [-] An old tv movie on The Alamo starring James Arness as Jim Bowie, Brian Keith as Davy Crockett, Alec Baldwin as Bill Travis, and Raul Julia as Santa Anna. Lots of character moments and subplots, probably all fictionalized. Battle scenes are ok — good action but hard to tell the various phases of the final battle. For the time it's not that bad but today it's rather dated.
Trader Joe's Root Vegetable Fries [/] This is sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, parsnips. Tastes just fine (i.e. can't tell it's carrots or beets). The bag I got had been thawed and refrozen so the fries were clumped together making it harder to cook right. I got four snack-sized servings and once it was perfect, three times ok.
Spot Reviews 12/06/24
Dec 06 2024
Inside Out 2 (2024) [+] In this sequel the four emotions have to deal with Riley (Kensington Tallman) entering puberty which causes new emotions to join the team. When crisis comes newcomer Anxiety (Maya Hawke) has a plan for Riley by ditching her old friends and hanging out with the older ice hockey team girls. Anxiety jettisons the old emotions into the wilds and now Joy (Amy Poehler) has to lead them back and save Riley… For a sequel this film is quite good though not quite as good as the original. A bit weird that most of the character growth is Riley and the new emotions rather than the old emotions.
Starstruck (2010) [/] Disney Channel movie. On a family vacation Jessica Olson (Danielle Campbell) has a run-in with pop star Christopher Wilde (Sterling Knight) and ends up hiding out from the paparazzi with him. She starts falling for his good looks while he likes that she’s genuine and not a fangirl. The turn comes when the media finally find out about the two and he has to throw her under the bus to protect his reputation. Can he make it up to her?… A perfectly fine Disney Channel teen romance movie.
Real Madrid: Until the End (2023) [-] Apple TV+ documentary about the Real Madrid (European football) club's 2021-2022 season when, after a few disappointing seasons, they won their 14th Champions League title. It's three episodes and each episode highlights a couple of the players whilst going through the regular La Liga season and the Champions League tournament (in soccer there are tournaments that coincide with the regular season so some teams or players have these extra games that count). I did find this documentary a bit boring since I'm not familiar with Real Madrid and I have no interest in European football (America's Major League Soccer is entertaining enough for me). I felt this documentary is more for fans of Real Madrid.
Kajiken, San Mateo [/] Kajiken is a Japanese restaurant specializing in Aburasoba which is dry ramen (no soup but has sauces). I had Homura Aburasoba (spicy minced pork and poached egg). Tastes fine though I guess I'd rather have a good soup to go with my ramen.
Starstruck (2010) [/] Disney Channel movie. On a family vacation Jessica Olson (Danielle Campbell) has a run-in with pop star Christopher Wilde (Sterling Knight) and ends up hiding out from the paparazzi with him. She starts falling for his good looks while he likes that she’s genuine and not a fangirl. The turn comes when the media finally find out about the two and he has to throw her under the bus to protect his reputation. Can he make it up to her?… A perfectly fine Disney Channel teen romance movie.
Real Madrid: Until the End (2023) [-] Apple TV+ documentary about the Real Madrid (European football) club's 2021-2022 season when, after a few disappointing seasons, they won their 14th Champions League title. It's three episodes and each episode highlights a couple of the players whilst going through the regular La Liga season and the Champions League tournament (in soccer there are tournaments that coincide with the regular season so some teams or players have these extra games that count). I did find this documentary a bit boring since I'm not familiar with Real Madrid and I have no interest in European football (America's Major League Soccer is entertaining enough for me). I felt this documentary is more for fans of Real Madrid.
Kajiken, San Mateo [/] Kajiken is a Japanese restaurant specializing in Aburasoba which is dry ramen (no soup but has sauces). I had Homura Aburasoba (spicy minced pork and poached egg). Tastes fine though I guess I'd rather have a good soup to go with my ramen.
Marriage, Not Dating (2014) [+]
Dec 04 2024
Marriage, Not Dating is a South Korean romance drama.
Gong Gi-tae (Yeon Woo-jin) is a plastic surgeon who just wants to live alone in this specific house but mom Shin Bong-hyang (the veteran Kim Have-sook who I've seen in multiple K-Dramas) keeps setting him up on blind dates and badgering him for money.
Gi-tae helps his best friend Lee Hoon-dong (Hey Jung-min) break up with his girlfriend Joo Jang-mi (Han Groo) who was about to propose marriage. This leads to Gi-tae and Jang-mi not liking each other — well, she doesn't like him and he feels a bit sorry that she got dumped the way she did.
Gi-tae convinces Jang-mi to pose as his girlfriend — both in order to keep his mom away and to make Hong-dong jealous. Being forced to pretend starts to become more and more real especially for Jang-mi who is much more out there and shows her emotions. Gi-tae might feel the same but he's very introverted and instead treats her badly in order to keep her attention.
Complication is that Jang-mi moves on from Hoon-dong and pursues the handsome Han Yeo-reum (Jeong Jin-woon) who also likes her so Gi-tae is constantly interrupting their romance. Meanwhile Gi-tae's ex-fiancee Kang Se-ah (Han Sun-hwa) is back. She is also a doctor and they had an amicable breakup but she is secretly still in love with Jang-mi and a much more suitable match from Bong-hyang's perspective.
A side romance involves Jang-mi's friend and co-worker Nam Hyun-hee (Yoon So-hee) who pursues Hoon-dong after he dumps Jang-mi, though once he gets jealous Hong-dong pursues Jang-mi again (and she's moved on to Yeo-reum)…
Took a bit but I ended up liking this series. At first I thought Han Groo was over-acting but I think the character is more of a Lucille Ball physical comedy as Jang-mi is constantly accidentally hitting things or when she's "acting" she takes it way over the top. In contrast Gi-tae is a rather subdued character who likes Jang-mi but can't show his affections other than being mean to her which is off-putting.
Overall it's a good series.
Gong Gi-tae (Yeon Woo-jin) is a plastic surgeon who just wants to live alone in this specific house but mom Shin Bong-hyang (the veteran Kim Have-sook who I've seen in multiple K-Dramas) keeps setting him up on blind dates and badgering him for money.
Gi-tae helps his best friend Lee Hoon-dong (Hey Jung-min) break up with his girlfriend Joo Jang-mi (Han Groo) who was about to propose marriage. This leads to Gi-tae and Jang-mi not liking each other — well, she doesn't like him and he feels a bit sorry that she got dumped the way she did.
Gi-tae convinces Jang-mi to pose as his girlfriend — both in order to keep his mom away and to make Hong-dong jealous. Being forced to pretend starts to become more and more real especially for Jang-mi who is much more out there and shows her emotions. Gi-tae might feel the same but he's very introverted and instead treats her badly in order to keep her attention.
Complication is that Jang-mi moves on from Hoon-dong and pursues the handsome Han Yeo-reum (Jeong Jin-woon) who also likes her so Gi-tae is constantly interrupting their romance. Meanwhile Gi-tae's ex-fiancee Kang Se-ah (Han Sun-hwa) is back. She is also a doctor and they had an amicable breakup but she is secretly still in love with Jang-mi and a much more suitable match from Bong-hyang's perspective.
A side romance involves Jang-mi's friend and co-worker Nam Hyun-hee (Yoon So-hee) who pursues Hoon-dong after he dumps Jang-mi, though once he gets jealous Hong-dong pursues Jang-mi again (and she's moved on to Yeo-reum)…
Took a bit but I ended up liking this series. At first I thought Han Groo was over-acting but I think the character is more of a Lucille Ball physical comedy as Jang-mi is constantly accidentally hitting things or when she's "acting" she takes it way over the top. In contrast Gi-tae is a rather subdued character who likes Jang-mi but can't show his affections other than being mean to her which is off-putting.
Overall it's a good series.
The Struggle for Taiwan (2024) [-]
Dec 02 2024
The Struggle for Taiwan: A History America, China, and the Island Caught Between by Sulmaan Wasif Khan, Denison Chair in History and International Relations at the Fletcher School, Tufts University.
It's a political history starting from the end of the last Chinese Dynasty, when the KMT party was created and ending I guess late 2023 or early 2024 (book was published May 2024 so I guess published quickly to make it trendy).
The main part is Taiwan's political history from the KMT takeover through their dictatorship which ended in the 1970's and then democracy. Meanwhile you get things that the USA did or mainland China did as they evolve their relationship with Taiwan as a key bone of contention.
A lot of four on internal politics in Taiwan and USA since I guess there are more documents available whereas PRC (People's Republic of China) coverage is less and more guesswork.
The tone is rather 20-20 hindsight. The author points out a lot of mistakes each side makes without really going into "this is how these guys saw it so it makes sense from their POV".
My sense is that the bias is that the author would like to avoid war — several times he strings together a string of unlike what-if's that might have resulted in armed conflict and portraying it as a horror to be avoided. And maybe because of that I get the feeling the author would be just fine if the PRC took over Taiwan (without war, not necessarily peacefully though) and therefore ended that possible flashpoint.
This is my first book on Taiwan and the political history side seems ok. Did not appreciate the tone nor bias (I wouldn't say pro-PRC but more like pro-this problem should go away and if the price is Taiwan's current independence then that's fine).
It's a political history starting from the end of the last Chinese Dynasty, when the KMT party was created and ending I guess late 2023 or early 2024 (book was published May 2024 so I guess published quickly to make it trendy).
The main part is Taiwan's political history from the KMT takeover through their dictatorship which ended in the 1970's and then democracy. Meanwhile you get things that the USA did or mainland China did as they evolve their relationship with Taiwan as a key bone of contention.
A lot of four on internal politics in Taiwan and USA since I guess there are more documents available whereas PRC (People's Republic of China) coverage is less and more guesswork.
The tone is rather 20-20 hindsight. The author points out a lot of mistakes each side makes without really going into "this is how these guys saw it so it makes sense from their POV".
My sense is that the bias is that the author would like to avoid war — several times he strings together a string of unlike what-if's that might have resulted in armed conflict and portraying it as a horror to be avoided. And maybe because of that I get the feeling the author would be just fine if the PRC took over Taiwan (without war, not necessarily peacefully though) and therefore ended that possible flashpoint.
This is my first book on Taiwan and the political history side seems ok. Did not appreciate the tone nor bias (I wouldn't say pro-PRC but more like pro-this problem should go away and if the price is Taiwan's current independence then that's fine).
Spot Reviews 11/29/24
Nov 29 2024
Green in My Heart (2020) [+] Hour-long K-Drama romance story. College best friends — new director Han Seo-Rin (Jun Hyo-seong) and popular actor Cha Soo-Hyuk (Choi Kyu-Jin) — are reunited for her first film in Korea. He still professes his love for her but she wants to remain friends since the lead actress is his public girlfriend (a publicity stunt but she actually wants to be his girlfriend). Lots of little flashbacks to fill in the story. Very tight story with little characterization but it still works.
My Last Love (1999) [/] Romantic drama tv film starring Nancy Travis as Susan, a terminally ill mom who moves back to the West Coast to arrange her last months. She meets Michael (Scott Bairstow) and can't help falling for him, who is fine that she has a strong-willed daughter, Carson (Jamie Renee Smith). It's a nice story with little drama points -- such as Susan's parents being upset when she wants Michael to adopt Carson after Susan dies -- that don't blow up and ruin the theme.
Alto (2015) [/] Romantic comedy small film. After she finds the dead body of a mafia goon, struggling musician Frankie (Diana DeGarmo) comes to the attention of the local mafia boss, the FBI, and the boss's daughter Nicolette (Natalie Knepp). Although Frankie just accepted her boyfriend's marriage proposal Nicolette starts to bring out feelings Frankie didn't know she had (and it helps that Frankie and her fiancée have quite different ideas of what their marriage will be like). It's a nice film for the apparent budget. With Annabella Sciorra as Frankie's mom.
Go Back to China (2019) [/] Los Angeles native Sasha (Anna Akana) is forced by her estranged father Teddy (Richard Ng) to move to China and work in his toy factory. She befriends older half-sister Carol (Lynn Chen) and two half-siblings (because Teddy kept cheating on his current wives and then remarrying). Working at the factory Sasha also learns to take on responsibility and goes from spoiled brat to a more mature adult. It's an entertaining coming of age story though could use more production.
My Last Love (1999) [/] Romantic drama tv film starring Nancy Travis as Susan, a terminally ill mom who moves back to the West Coast to arrange her last months. She meets Michael (Scott Bairstow) and can't help falling for him, who is fine that she has a strong-willed daughter, Carson (Jamie Renee Smith). It's a nice story with little drama points -- such as Susan's parents being upset when she wants Michael to adopt Carson after Susan dies -- that don't blow up and ruin the theme.
Alto (2015) [/] Romantic comedy small film. After she finds the dead body of a mafia goon, struggling musician Frankie (Diana DeGarmo) comes to the attention of the local mafia boss, the FBI, and the boss's daughter Nicolette (Natalie Knepp). Although Frankie just accepted her boyfriend's marriage proposal Nicolette starts to bring out feelings Frankie didn't know she had (and it helps that Frankie and her fiancée have quite different ideas of what their marriage will be like). It's a nice film for the apparent budget. With Annabella Sciorra as Frankie's mom.
Go Back to China (2019) [/] Los Angeles native Sasha (Anna Akana) is forced by her estranged father Teddy (Richard Ng) to move to China and work in his toy factory. She befriends older half-sister Carol (Lynn Chen) and two half-siblings (because Teddy kept cheating on his current wives and then remarrying). Working at the factory Sasha also learns to take on responsibility and goes from spoiled brat to a more mature adult. It's an entertaining coming of age story though could use more production.
Wolfs (2024) [+]
Nov 27 2024
Wolfs is an Apple TV+ movie starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt as two nameless freelance fixers working one night in New York City. A dead Kid (Austin Abrams) in a high end hotel is an inconvenience for the powerful woman who was having sex with him and the powerful woman who owns the hotel. They both bring in their own fixers to clean up the situation and to make sure their respective interests are handled they force both wolfs to work together in this job.
The job gets weirder when the Kid has a backpack full of cocaine bricks and it turns out he's not dead. So now the wolfs have to make sure the drugs are returned and that the Kid won't talk about this. More complications follow…
This is a high end movie. Clooney and Pitt are great verbally sparring with each other. Cinematography is really nice. It's shot at night so not that many characters or extras around. Great atmospheric music. Very entertaining movie and probably would have done well theatrically.
The job gets weirder when the Kid has a backpack full of cocaine bricks and it turns out he's not dead. So now the wolfs have to make sure the drugs are returned and that the Kid won't talk about this. More complications follow…
This is a high end movie. Clooney and Pitt are great verbally sparring with each other. Cinematography is really nice. It's shot at night so not that many characters or extras around. Great atmospheric music. Very entertaining movie and probably would have done well theatrically.
Unlock! (2017) [+]
Nov 25 2024
Unlock! Is a series of puzzle-solving board games. Each comes with three puzzles and each puzzle is based on a set of custom cards.
You begin with a start card which has a drawing and maybe some numbers. Numbers correspond to other cards which you then display and they might have numbers. A card can also tell you what old cards to remove as the story progresses and this also helps so you don't have to consider useless cards.
Some cards have a blue number and some cards have a red number. Sometimes the solution is to combine appropriate blue and red cards (e.g. a blue key with a red door) — add their numbers and that gives you a new card to flip.
These games feature a mobile app. The app keeps track of the timer (an hour timer seems typical), there is a button to subtract 1m penalty (some cards are traps to discourage random guessing), and in the end it rates you one to five stars. Some cards have a machine symbol which then the app shows you the machinery to manipulate. The app can also give you three clues for each card (affects your score).
The "add two cards to find third card" was very familiar and when I looked at Space Cowboys they also did T.I.M.E. Stories which are also cool mystery stories though they don't use an app but instead have tokens and resources which Unlock! Does not have.
We played an adventure in a circus. This one had cards you lay and overlap to reveal new numbers (edge of one card is the tens-digit and overlap shows the one-digit). You also built a circus tent in the end with certain cards and if you look at it just right a number was revealed. Also there is a sheet where you slot in circus act cards and when you turn it over there is a simple math formula to reveal another card.
The second adventure you used a ray gun that transfers your mind into various animals. This one had a recording that you play and then hover the phone over the right card to reveal the clue (the app uses the camera and can somehow identify cards). You also used the app to view cards and see hidden things. And use the app to simulate shooting an animal with your ray gun to switch minds (and in one puzzle the animal kept moving around the card so you had to figure out that you had to shoot where it would appear next).
These are fun detective solving sort of games. Too bad this format you can pretty much only play each adventure once. Still, quite enjoyable experiences.
You begin with a start card which has a drawing and maybe some numbers. Numbers correspond to other cards which you then display and they might have numbers. A card can also tell you what old cards to remove as the story progresses and this also helps so you don't have to consider useless cards.
Some cards have a blue number and some cards have a red number. Sometimes the solution is to combine appropriate blue and red cards (e.g. a blue key with a red door) — add their numbers and that gives you a new card to flip.
These games feature a mobile app. The app keeps track of the timer (an hour timer seems typical), there is a button to subtract 1m penalty (some cards are traps to discourage random guessing), and in the end it rates you one to five stars. Some cards have a machine symbol which then the app shows you the machinery to manipulate. The app can also give you three clues for each card (affects your score).
The "add two cards to find third card" was very familiar and when I looked at Space Cowboys they also did T.I.M.E. Stories which are also cool mystery stories though they don't use an app but instead have tokens and resources which Unlock! Does not have.
We played an adventure in a circus. This one had cards you lay and overlap to reveal new numbers (edge of one card is the tens-digit and overlap shows the one-digit). You also built a circus tent in the end with certain cards and if you look at it just right a number was revealed. Also there is a sheet where you slot in circus act cards and when you turn it over there is a simple math formula to reveal another card.
The second adventure you used a ray gun that transfers your mind into various animals. This one had a recording that you play and then hover the phone over the right card to reveal the clue (the app uses the camera and can somehow identify cards). You also used the app to view cards and see hidden things. And use the app to simulate shooting an animal with your ray gun to switch minds (and in one puzzle the animal kept moving around the card so you had to figure out that you had to shoot where it would appear next).
These are fun detective solving sort of games. Too bad this format you can pretty much only play each adventure once. Still, quite enjoyable experiences.
Spot Reviews 11/22/24
Nov 22 2024
Never Been Kissed (1999) [/] Nerdy newspaper copy editor Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore) gets her big shot at being a reporter by going undercover at a local high school to do a story on how today's teens live. Although she first starts out with the geeks, led by Aldys (Leelee Sobieski), she manages to turn herself into a popular girl and starts having the time of her life, including a possible romance with history teacher Sam (Michael Vartan), which suddenly becomes the story since Josie is masquerading as an underage high schooler... It's an ok film but the high school stuff seems rather stereotypical. Has Jessica Alba before Dark Angel.
Kingdom Rush Frontiers TD+ (2021) [/] Tower defense game in the Kingdom Rush franchise and available for Apple Arcade. It's the usual bad guys use paths to get to your base and build towers to shoot them. Some towers send out troops to fight and slow down the bad guys. You also have a hero who you can move around and activate special powers and you have a few magic spells of your own. Kind of difficult even on casual and I always find it annoying when the base towers have no range and everywhere the paths are wide.
LEGO Star Wars: Castaways+ (2021) [/] In this LEGO game you are a random person who is marooned on a planet where a bunch of other people have been marooned. Do missions, level up your character, get better weapons. Missions are 2-1/2D where you go around breaking things, activating things, shooting enemies. Looks nice, has good on-boarding, and it's an MMO-like world. But I didn't really find it interesting.
Trader Joe's Gourmet Fried Onion Pieces [/] It's a can full of bits of battered fried onion usable sprinkled on food. Not really that crisp nor tasty though not horrible. I'd say doesn't really add to whatever food you sprinkle it over unless that food is really bland. I've used it with rice, scrambled eggs, spaghetti. Maybe I just haven't found the right food.
Kingdom Rush Frontiers TD+ (2021) [/] Tower defense game in the Kingdom Rush franchise and available for Apple Arcade. It's the usual bad guys use paths to get to your base and build towers to shoot them. Some towers send out troops to fight and slow down the bad guys. You also have a hero who you can move around and activate special powers and you have a few magic spells of your own. Kind of difficult even on casual and I always find it annoying when the base towers have no range and everywhere the paths are wide.
LEGO Star Wars: Castaways+ (2021) [/] In this LEGO game you are a random person who is marooned on a planet where a bunch of other people have been marooned. Do missions, level up your character, get better weapons. Missions are 2-1/2D where you go around breaking things, activating things, shooting enemies. Looks nice, has good on-boarding, and it's an MMO-like world. But I didn't really find it interesting.
Trader Joe's Gourmet Fried Onion Pieces [/] It's a can full of bits of battered fried onion usable sprinkled on food. Not really that crisp nor tasty though not horrible. I'd say doesn't really add to whatever food you sprinkle it over unless that food is really bland. I've used it with rice, scrambled eggs, spaghetti. Maybe I just haven't found the right food.
Surfside Girls (2022) [+]
Nov 20 2024
Surfside Girls is an Apple TV+ teen girls half-hour mystery series running 10 episodes.
Teen best friends Jade (Miya Cech) and Sam (YaYa Gosselin) live in the small California coastal town of Surfside where the most exciting issue is the nearby cliff unnaturally eroding into the sea. In the first episode Sam almost drowns but ends up in hidden cave where she picks up a doubloon (gold coin) and eventually is visited by Remi (Spencer Hermes-Rebello) a ghost pirate teen.
Apparently whatever is causing the cliff to erode is also destroying Remi's home, a ghost pirate ship. Jade and Sam agree to help Remi find the cause. Meanwhile Jade and Sam have issues of their own, mostly that Jade is a science geek going to summer science class and her new smart friends make Sam rather uncomfortable and left out. This eventually leads them to break up for an episode or two until their investigations bring them back together.
Since it's half hour episodes things move fairly quickly. As a teen series there are no high stakes or melodrama so it's pleasant watching. Overall it's a good family series.
Teen best friends Jade (Miya Cech) and Sam (YaYa Gosselin) live in the small California coastal town of Surfside where the most exciting issue is the nearby cliff unnaturally eroding into the sea. In the first episode Sam almost drowns but ends up in hidden cave where she picks up a doubloon (gold coin) and eventually is visited by Remi (Spencer Hermes-Rebello) a ghost pirate teen.
Apparently whatever is causing the cliff to erode is also destroying Remi's home, a ghost pirate ship. Jade and Sam agree to help Remi find the cause. Meanwhile Jade and Sam have issues of their own, mostly that Jade is a science geek going to summer science class and her new smart friends make Sam rather uncomfortable and left out. This eventually leads them to break up for an episode or two until their investigations bring them back together.
Since it's half hour episodes things move fairly quickly. As a teen series there are no high stakes or melodrama so it's pleasant watching. Overall it's a good family series.
Spot Reviews 11/15/24
Nov 15 2024
The Ramen Girl (2009) [+] Having moved to Tokyo to be with her boyfriend, Abby (Brittany Murphy) is suddenly there on her own after he breaks up and leaves her. Not knowing any Japanese and not wanting to go back to her parents, Abby is kind of aimless until one night she sees that a Ramen shop is open down the street. A bowl of Ramen changes her outlook on life and soon she demands that Ramen shop owner Maezumi (Toshiyuki Nishida) teach her how to make Ramen. With no language in common he still agrees and proceeds to put Abby through grueling tasks. Turns out he is a master Ramen chef and sees Abby as a way to pass on his tradition... Kind of a low key movie but it works because Brittany Murphy was really charming.
The Dynasty: New England Patriots (2024) [/] Apple TV+ documentary series of ten 30-minute episodes chronicling the Patriots mostly from when Bill Belichick became head coach through to when Tom Brady left the team... I liked the first couple of episodes which was from when Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994, having Bill Parcells as coach for two years then Pete Carroll for two years then Belichick. Drew Bledsoe was the quarterback and quite good then they drafted Tom Brady, Bledsoe got hurt and Brady did enough to supplant him... The rest of the documentary though tends to focus on the controversies more than the football. Spy Gate, Deflate Gate, Bill vs Tom. Not that interesting to me. In the end it was an ok and somewhat interesting documentary from a viewer who is more interested in NFC and West Coast football.
Terminatrix (2013) [-] A very low budget sci-fi film. Fifty years in the future a prototype android, Lia (Samantha Ruston), is sent to wipe the last rebel group led by Cass (Kasey Williams). The rebels capture Lia, Cass talks her into changing sides, and Lia goes on to kill her creator, Dr. Peter Hess (Roberto Lombardi), who made Lia in the image of his murdered wife. Murdered by his first android Genesis (Chris R Notarile)... There's a whole first act that's fairly irrelevant other than to let write Notarile act as Genesis and give Hess a reason to make a female android -- but it's 15 minutes that could have been shortened to one allowing more time for the rest of the film. Huge amount of talking and close up head shots I guess to hide that the locations are just whatever was available and to avoid actors having to move around. CGI is very cheesy with computer graphics for gunshot hits though very quick cuts hides stuff pretty well.
Trader Joe's Seasoned Waffle Cut Fries [/] These are easy to heat. About 20 minutes at 400 degrees turn over halfway through. They are a bit too seasoned for my taste though maybe ok with a dipping sauce of some kind. A bag of 20 oz was four or five small snack-sized servings.
The Dynasty: New England Patriots (2024) [/] Apple TV+ documentary series of ten 30-minute episodes chronicling the Patriots mostly from when Bill Belichick became head coach through to when Tom Brady left the team... I liked the first couple of episodes which was from when Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994, having Bill Parcells as coach for two years then Pete Carroll for two years then Belichick. Drew Bledsoe was the quarterback and quite good then they drafted Tom Brady, Bledsoe got hurt and Brady did enough to supplant him... The rest of the documentary though tends to focus on the controversies more than the football. Spy Gate, Deflate Gate, Bill vs Tom. Not that interesting to me. In the end it was an ok and somewhat interesting documentary from a viewer who is more interested in NFC and West Coast football.
Terminatrix (2013) [-] A very low budget sci-fi film. Fifty years in the future a prototype android, Lia (Samantha Ruston), is sent to wipe the last rebel group led by Cass (Kasey Williams). The rebels capture Lia, Cass talks her into changing sides, and Lia goes on to kill her creator, Dr. Peter Hess (Roberto Lombardi), who made Lia in the image of his murdered wife. Murdered by his first android Genesis (Chris R Notarile)... There's a whole first act that's fairly irrelevant other than to let write Notarile act as Genesis and give Hess a reason to make a female android -- but it's 15 minutes that could have been shortened to one allowing more time for the rest of the film. Huge amount of talking and close up head shots I guess to hide that the locations are just whatever was available and to avoid actors having to move around. CGI is very cheesy with computer graphics for gunshot hits though very quick cuts hides stuff pretty well.
Trader Joe's Seasoned Waffle Cut Fries [/] These are easy to heat. About 20 minutes at 400 degrees turn over halfway through. They are a bit too seasoned for my taste though maybe ok with a dipping sauce of some kind. A bag of 20 oz was four or five small snack-sized servings.