Fast X (2023) Trailer Review

This is my first time reviewing a trailer.  I just couldn't help it.  When I saw the trailer for Fast X, I laughed out loud.  Then Jason Momoa showed up.  So I'm definitely seeing this movie, even though I never watched Fast & Furious 2 ~ 9.  I watched only 1/3 of Fast & Furious Presents:  Hobbs & Shaw (2019).  I could barely remember The Fast and the Furious (2001) that started it all.

I noticed The Rock is not in Fast X.  Wonder why.  Is it because the movie can contain only so much muscles at one time?

Math Teacher prediction:  Jason Momoa joins the family and becomes one of the good guys.

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Banana Bread, ver. 1.0

Dry Ingredients:

• 1¾ cups flour
• 1 tspn baking soda
• ½ tspn baking powder
• ½ tspn pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ tspn salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 5 bananas (ripe)
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup coconut oil
• ⅓ cup honey
• 1 tspn vanilla extract
• 3 tbspn chia seeds

Notes:

1. Pumpkin pie spice is not normal.  Normal people use cinnamon.  I don't like cinnamon that much, and Math Teacher bought pumpkin pie spice during Thanksgiving thinking we'd make pumpkin pie.  That didn't happen.  So now I have a lot of pumpkin pie spice left.  Anyway, cinnamon is the first ingredient listed on the pumpkin pie spice label; so good enough for a novice baker like me.
2. I know chia seeds are not wet ingredients, but I don't like them crunchy.  I like them soaked in liquid and plump up a bit.  So I dump them in with the rest of the wet ingredients so they can be yummy.

Steps:

1. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Definitely do this step first.  Then I'll have clean measuring cups and spoons for the wet ingredients.
2. Smoosh the bananas in another large bowl.
3. Scramble the eggs into the smooshed bananas.
4. Add the rest of the wet ingredients into the banana-egg bowl.  Combine well.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Fold the mixture and make sure no flour lumps.  If the mixture looks dry, smoosh in another banana.  I started out at four bananas and then ended up using five.
6. Dump the mixture into a loaf pan; it can be greased or not.  I use a nonstick loaf pan; the coconut oil in the mixture is greasy enough to slide the bread out easily.
7. Bake at 180℃ for 40 minutes.  Check for doneness by inserting a chopstick into the thickest part of the bread.  If the chopstick doesn't come out clean, bake another 5 minutes.
8. Let the bread cool enough to handle, then transfer to a rack to cool off even more.

This is 12 servings.  I thought Math Teacher and I would have it for lunch for a whole week. The two of us devoured the bread in three days.  This recipe is that good!  😋

John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

2 hour and 49 minutes were too long, or I was hungry so I couldn't wait for some action scenes to be over.  For example, when John Wick fell down the stairs, the first two flights were good, but the last two flights, c'mon, that was ridiculous.

Speaking of ridiculousness, why didn't John Wick die falling off three floors, but his opponent died?

Do not watch this movie with logic and plot.  This movie has become a commercial for men's formal wear and beautiful cities.  When John Wick was in Osaka, they basically piled on all the tropes.  Cherry blossom, samurai warriors, sumo wrestlers, and honorable yakuza leader.  Has Hiroyuki Sanada become the de facto Japanese gravitas actor?  It was Ken Watanabe before.  Now Hiroyuki Sanada is in Bullet Train and John Wick.

The most unrealistic thing about this movie was the subway train was absolutely empty when John Wick stepped on.  Then Hiroyuki Sanada's daughter happened to get on the same train and the same car, one out of at least 10 cars for any given subway.

Then John Wick went to Paris.  Oh, the beautiful Paris.  I'm sure there were tons of tropes in the movie for Paris, but I wouldn't know any.

Math Teacher didn't like the people lost respect and fear for John Wick.  In Chapter 1, John Wick was "the one you sent to kill the Baba Yaga."  In Chapter 3, the final opponent was honored to fight with John Wick.  In Chapter 4, the villains just grabbed guns and shot him up.  No more respect. 

Therefore, I applaud the filmmakers to have the guts to end John Wick and to end this franchise.  Nowadays people want to squeeze more money out of nothing, but the filmmakers here gave John Wick a fitting farewell.

Batman (1989)

Have You Danced With The Devil In The Pale Moonlight?

你是否曾與惡魔月下共舞？

That was such an iconic line.  I waited and waited, and it didn't disappoint.

This was my second time watching the movie, and it still held up.  I mean, I could nitpick on some things, such as:

• Why did Vicki Vale wear white all the time?  And the dress didn't get dirty at all.
• Why did everyone know where Vicki Vale live?
• Where did Batman and Joke get documents on everyone and everything?  Did they both have snitches everywhere?

Overall the movie was great after 30+ years.

Jack Nicholson had the best scenes and best shots.  Usually those shots were reserved for handsome leading men, but Jack Nicholson as Joker was awesome.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)

Math Teacher enjoyed the movie.  It was funny, heart-warming, with some chuckling one-liners.  The Dad said, "So that's why our house keeps getting struck by lightning."  Hehe.

The villains were great.  Helen Mirren was hilarious.

Shazam had a huge crush on Wonder Woman.  That was funny, too.

As for me, I couldn't get over the fact why the wizard had to give away the power to a bunch of children.  The wizard was wise and powerful; he could've defeated the villains himself.  Also, why did the villains lock him up and not kill him?

Math Teacher told me not to think about it with logic.  So don't think; just enjoy the ride.

Cocaine Bear (2023)

The trailer led me to believe it was laughed-out-loud funny in every scene.  It wasn't so.  It was more amusing than hilarious.  Too much character background intro; it could've cut out about half an hour.  However, 90 minutes was good enough brain-less entertainment on a Sunday night.

Don't think too hard on which characters deserved to die and which did not.  It would take away the fun.  Just enjoy the bear basking in the cocaine powder shower.  That was a glorious sight.

BASEL ajirochaya #3

BASEL ajirochaya changed, for the worse.  😭  Now it's called "ilcicci cafe".

It renovated so now there are more seatings, but the menu shrank.

It used to have large a dessert selection; now it dwindled to half.

It used to sell foreign cheeses, now completely gone.

The flavored water used to have at least five different kinds of citrus, herbs, and fruits.  Today Math Teacher could barely taste anything except plain water.

It used to take credit card, now cash only.

What's worse, it used to serve food.  Now the food menu may or may not come back in March or April.  On its website, it obviously states it serves food.

What's in place is fancy ass knife and fork utensils.  Why do I need a knife for eating a mousse cake?  That's just wasted resource to wash one more knife.

The staff gave us dry napkin and wet napkin.  Why do I need dry napkin when I can wipe everything with wet napkin?  That's just wasted resource to throw a piece of paper away.

The chamomile tea is imported from Italy!  Wow!  The flavor is so light it's difficult to say it's chamomile.

The cake is still delicious.  But, with all these changes, I need to re-assess.  It's not easy for me to go to BASEL ajirochaya.  There are so many other options.  It's time to try other dessert shops with better offering and less wastefulness.

The Princess Bride (1987)

This movie was wonderful.  Limited special effects, simple story, but it won people over with colorful characters.

The two main characters were my least favorite.  I loved everyone else, including the villains!  The giant was adorable.  The prince was cute in his purple fluffy skirt.  The witty/witless short dude plopped dead.  Hilarious!  Inconceivable!

And of course everyone's favorite.  "My name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die!"  There were so many quotable lines in this movie, but this one got repeated again and again so it was all everyone remembered.

I watched this movie a few years ago, and I did not like Buttercup.  This time I disliked her less.  As I grew older, I finally understood some of her facial expressions when she looked at Westley.  That dumbfounded expression at Westley's stupid-ass words.  That was basically my face to Math Teacher everyday.