關雲長 / The Lost Bladesman (2011)

I don't know why they called him "Lost".  Guan Yu wasn't lost.  Physically he knew where he was, where he needed to go, and how he needed to get home.  Mentally he was loyal, faithful, unwavering in his conviction.  So, that was a strange title.  The fight scenes were ok.  Some quick cuts; some difficult maneuvers.  Overall, it was one hour too long.  Too much talking, not enough fighting.

甄子丹演關公真不像

關公很大的壓迫感

甄子丹比較修長

他們故意畫眼線眼影讓甄子丹像點，可我看得就怪。

然後給關公感情戲

誰要想像關公談情說愛呀，起雞皮疙瘩！

好像也沒有過五關斬六將

我算算，好像只有過四關斬三將

還是我昏睡過頭了

曹操話說了一個多小時，我這現代人沒耐心聽。

The Professor and the Madman (2019)

Math Teacher read the book.  He was intrigued that it was made into a movie.  It turned out they over-dramatized the whole story.  Math Teacher said everyone in the book was actually nice, decent human being.  Everyone was quite helpful and dedicated to their job.  Well, that didn't make a good movie, right?  So, there was quite a lot of shouting in the movie when it wasn't necessary at all.

But seriously, how fun could it be for two men deciding on words in a dictionary?  I mean, it was a great history to learn, but it was not a story of more than two hours.  This belonged on History channel, as a one-hour special, or as a segment with other short and interesting history tidbits.

History channel, call me!

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Banana Bread, ver. 5.1

I read a recipe of banana bread with sour cream.  I had sour cream leftover so I thought I'd try.

The basic ingredients were almost identical, such as 1/2 cup of butter.  See Pumpkin Pie Spiced Banana Bread, ver. 5.0.  I followed the new recipe by adding in 1/2 cup of sour cream, a few handfuls of chopped walnuts, and a few handfuls of chocolate chips.

Nope.  Nuh uh.  I didn't like the tangy flavor of the sour cream.  It was strange.  Also, I'm not sure if it was the sour cream, but the banana bread was greasy.  The past recipes also called for 1/2 cup of butter, and I never thought it was greasy.  Maybe sour cream did something to the butter?  I'd never try this again.

See the bottom of the bread?  I didn't mix the batter well.  So, remember to mix the batter really well, or the texture will be dense and chewy, and that's not good.

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Banana Bread, ver. 5.1

I really liked the additions of both walnuts and chocolate.  In the past I added only either walnuts or chocolates.  This time I added both.  Walnuts made the bread feel healthy.  Chocolate made it luxurious.  Yes!  From now on, I'm adding both walnuts and chocolates to the banana bread.

The Fall Guy (2024)

This was a great summer entertaining movie.  All the actors are likable.  Both leads had great chemistry.  I enjoyed it from beginning to the end.

Because this movie was made in homage to stunts people, there were no time to rest.  They threw in everything.  Car chase, boat chase, jumping onto helicopter, one-on-one fights, one-on-many fights, many-on-many fights, hero drowning in the water, hero walking away with explosion in the background.  So much!  It seemed the actors really enjoyed themselves making this movie.

SPOILER ALERT!

They hid this so well, but Jason Momoa had a 15-second cameo.  I was surprised.  It was absolutely wonderful!

Barbie (2023)

This movie did not deserve the praise nor the diss it received.  It was a basic summer entertainment, especially good for an in-flight free movie.

Where people perceived as pandering, I thought it was simply bad writing.  This was especially true for Ken.  They touted this as woman power movie, but they gave Ken great depth and character development.  It showed me these people didn't really know how to write women.

For a true woman power movie, watch Wonder Woman (2017) and Mad Max:  Fury Road (2015).

American Fiction (2023)

The trailer led Math Teacher to believe this was a comedy and a satire; he highly recommended it.  When I saw this in the airplane, I clicked on it.

No~ this was a learning movie.  There were a few chuckles, but basically it made me think and reflect.

Then the airplane landed with only five minutes left in the movie.  So I didn't see the ending!  😢

Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Wonder Woman (2017) was such a great movie.  Gal Gadot was so strong and beautiful.  She smiled; she cried; and she kicked ass.  She also learned a great lesson and became more mature.  This was good writing that demonstrated character depth and development.

Then Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) completely undid its woman power.  From sleeping with a man without his consent, to invisible airplane parked in a museum but somehow had jet fuel in its tank, to a magical phallic rock, this movie had no entertainment value.

Evils of the Society

A wise friend once said, The Three Evils of the Society:

1. Religious Organizations
2. Political Parties
3. Homeowners Associations*

Recently I applied for home loan; my old internet company AT&T was hacked; and my mother-in-law was scammed by fake Hewlett Packard tech support.  So I had to deal with credit monitoring agencies.  I decided, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse:

1. Religious Organizations
2. Political Parties
3. Homeowners Associations
4. Credit Monitoring Agencies*

*I actually wanted to switch #3 and #4 because I believed credit monitoring agencies contributed nothing to the society except chaos, but Math Teacher hated Homeowners Association with all his being.  So HOA stayed at #3.

Because obtaining a home loan, I had to deal with insurance company.  My old insurance agent retired without telling anybody.  It took at least a year to plan for retirement.  I had recently spoken to his secretary.  Two weeks later I received an email saying he retired.  His secretary mentioned nothing.  He was like, fuck you all!!  Therefore, Honorable Mentions / Necessary Evils:

1. Banking & Financial Services
2. Insurance Companies

This list is not all-inclusive.  I will update as things come up.