Continuing the music theme, I watched Oscar nominated Whiplash with Miles Teller and JK Simmons. There is a lot of drumming in this movie about a student and mentor. Keeping it short this movie is fantastic. The relationship between Miles and JK is an amazing ride. This movie is well written and superbly acted. Probably not enough has been said about Paul Reiser. JK Simmons is really amazing in this movie. It gets me excited for him possibly being in a Spiderman movie again.
The treadmill seems to be working. I walked for 123 minutes and just over 7 miles today. In the morning it did quit around the 55 minute mark. The treadmill starts to slow down on its own. Then it won't turn off unless I pull the safe key. The good news is my weight is back down to 297. Hopefully I can keep that going and get it to 295 by the 1 month period. That would make 10 pounds down in a month.
Whiplash gets my second highest rating of the last 29 days with a 295 out of 297.
Days: 29
Movies: 28
Minutes: 2622
Miles:144.1
Pounds: 8
Friday, February 27, 2015
Day 28: 20 feet from Stardom
Being inspired by the music in the movie Liberal Arts, I continued the music trend and watched the Oscar winning documentary "20 Feet from Stardom." This is the story of a group of backup singers and their triumphs and struggles in the music business. There is some great music in this doc. It made it very easy to walk through this movie.
My treadmill has been acting funny though. I am a little worried about it. I watched the first 70 minutes of this movie and then the treadmill slowed way down without my reducing the speed. Then when I tried to stop the treadmill it wouldnt stop. I had to pull the safety key to get the treadmill to stop. I tried again, but it ended up doing the same thing. Later I finished the movie and I ended up setting the incline to 1 and that might have helped. I am not sure what is going on. I hope it keeps working because I finally have an exercise plan that I am following and any hiccup could derail this whole train.
Overall 20 Feet from Stardom was very enjoyable and should be watched by any music fan.
It gets a 250 out of 299.
Days: 28
Movies: 27
Minutes: 2499
Miles: 137
Pounds: 6
My treadmill has been acting funny though. I am a little worried about it. I watched the first 70 minutes of this movie and then the treadmill slowed way down without my reducing the speed. Then when I tried to stop the treadmill it wouldnt stop. I had to pull the safety key to get the treadmill to stop. I tried again, but it ended up doing the same thing. Later I finished the movie and I ended up setting the incline to 1 and that might have helped. I am not sure what is going on. I hope it keeps working because I finally have an exercise plan that I am following and any hiccup could derail this whole train.
Overall 20 Feet from Stardom was very enjoyable and should be watched by any music fan.
It gets a 250 out of 299.
Days: 28
Movies: 27
Minutes: 2499
Miles: 137
Pounds: 6
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Day 26 & 27: White Birds In a World & Liberal Arts
Over the last 2 days I have walked 264 minutes and 14.7 miles. My weight went back up to 300 so I am a little determined to get it back down. Although my eating has still not gone down to where it should be.
During the 2 days I watched three very different movies. It started with White Bird in a Blizzard with Young Adult fiction queen Shailene Woodley. While her performance was good, the movie was full of people that were just unlikable. The movie is a mystery of sorts and has a nice little twist but it wasn't very enjoyable to watch. It is hard to watch movies where there are no likable people. Some movies and some TV shows can get away with this, White Bird was not one.
The second movie was In a World with the imeasurably likable Lake Bell. And if you want more than that, the movie has Nick Offerman, Demetri Martin and Tig Notaro. I will watch pretty much anything with those three names attached. Demetri actually does a pretty good job in the movie.
The third movie was Liberal Arts with two amazingly likable people Josh Radnor (Ted from How I met Your Mother) and Elizabeth Olson. The music in this movie alone makes it worthwhile. From the obscure indie music to the classical tracks this movie had me wishing that I had some quality headphones instead of the cheap white apple things I had in my ears. Not to get to spoilery but there is a series of scenes with a classical backing track that is just amazing in this movie. I was planning on walking for an hour tonight, but I had to up that to finish this movie. It was really great.
Whie Bird gets 150 out of 300.
In a World gets 250 out of 299.
Liberal Arts gets 260 out of 299.
Days: 27
Movies: 26
Minutes 2429
Miles: 133
Pounds: 6
During the 2 days I watched three very different movies. It started with White Bird in a Blizzard with Young Adult fiction queen Shailene Woodley. While her performance was good, the movie was full of people that were just unlikable. The movie is a mystery of sorts and has a nice little twist but it wasn't very enjoyable to watch. It is hard to watch movies where there are no likable people. Some movies and some TV shows can get away with this, White Bird was not one.
The second movie was In a World with the imeasurably likable Lake Bell. And if you want more than that, the movie has Nick Offerman, Demetri Martin and Tig Notaro. I will watch pretty much anything with those three names attached. Demetri actually does a pretty good job in the movie.
The third movie was Liberal Arts with two amazingly likable people Josh Radnor (Ted from How I met Your Mother) and Elizabeth Olson. The music in this movie alone makes it worthwhile. From the obscure indie music to the classical tracks this movie had me wishing that I had some quality headphones instead of the cheap white apple things I had in my ears. Not to get to spoilery but there is a series of scenes with a classical backing track that is just amazing in this movie. I was planning on walking for an hour tonight, but I had to up that to finish this movie. It was really great.
Whie Bird gets 150 out of 300.
In a World gets 250 out of 299.
Liberal Arts gets 260 out of 299.
Days: 27
Movies: 26
Minutes 2429
Miles: 133
Pounds: 6
Monday, February 23, 2015
Day 25: Fluffy Movie
It has been a week of new Netflix releases. Yesterday was Robocop and today is the Fluffy movie with Gabriel Iglesias. It seemed very appropriate as the comic known as Fluffy talked about how he has lost 100 pounds. This was the main content of the first 10-15 minutes of the stand-up routine. It was pretty funny and obviously hit home as I too need to lose weight. So my new goal is to weigh less than this comic. As of when he made the movie he was around 350. I am sure he weighs less now. So my new motivation is to stay lighter than the comic famous for being big.
The movie overall fell pretty flat in the middle as he talked about his son and other family issues. As a teacher, I just couldn't help but think about this in terms of bad parenting decisions. However the set does end on an emotional and funny story about fathers. It had my tearing up on the treadmill.
Also I did tear it up on the treadmill today as I walked 121 minutes and 6.8 miles today. My legs hurt, but I hope to keep it going. Eating wise has been a bad couple days. Again I am scared to weigh in. We will see how tomorrow morning goes.
Overall the set by Gabriel Iglesias has some great moments, but long stretches of not so great moments. I think this was the weakest set I have seen from him. Maybe it is becoming more and more apparent that his audience is not me. This is entirely possible.
The Fluffy Movie gets a 200 out of 297.
Days: 25
Movies: 23
Minutes: 2165
Miles:118.3
Pounds: 8
The movie overall fell pretty flat in the middle as he talked about his son and other family issues. As a teacher, I just couldn't help but think about this in terms of bad parenting decisions. However the set does end on an emotional and funny story about fathers. It had my tearing up on the treadmill.
Also I did tear it up on the treadmill today as I walked 121 minutes and 6.8 miles today. My legs hurt, but I hope to keep it going. Eating wise has been a bad couple days. Again I am scared to weigh in. We will see how tomorrow morning goes.
Overall the set by Gabriel Iglesias has some great moments, but long stretches of not so great moments. I think this was the weakest set I have seen from him. Maybe it is becoming more and more apparent that his audience is not me. This is entirely possible.
The Fluffy Movie gets a 200 out of 297.
Days: 25
Movies: 23
Minutes: 2165
Miles:118.3
Pounds: 8
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Day 24: Robocop & McFarland USA
This Oscar Sunday I chose two movies that are on the opposite sides of the movie universe. Robocop, the 2014 reboot was an action packed and plotless fun ride. McFarland USA was an emotional true story adaptation that had me in tears numerous times. The most I have liked Kevin Costner since his NFL draft movie. Robocop was everything you would expect it to be, except it was actually pretty fun to watch. Great action and pretty decent acting for the popcorn movie that it was. Samuel L Jackson and Gary Oldman were pleasant surprises in their small roles.
Exercise wise it was a good day with 112 minutes on the treadmill and 6.2 miles. Eating wise it was sketchy. It always is on movie theater days. I love buttered popcorn. Other than the super large popcorn, I actually did pretty well. Too much pop as usual, but I can live with my choices today.
Overall Robocop gets 225 out of 297 for pure action packed fun.
McFarland USA gets a 240 out of 297 for a classic emotional Disney true story.
Days: 24
Movies : 22
Minutes: 2044
Miles: 111.5
Pounds: 8
Exercise wise it was a good day with 112 minutes on the treadmill and 6.2 miles. Eating wise it was sketchy. It always is on movie theater days. I love buttered popcorn. Other than the super large popcorn, I actually did pretty well. Too much pop as usual, but I can live with my choices today.
Overall Robocop gets 225 out of 297 for pure action packed fun.
McFarland USA gets a 240 out of 297 for a classic emotional Disney true story.
Days: 24
Movies : 22
Minutes: 2044
Miles: 111.5
Pounds: 8
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Day 23: Girl Most Likely
And now for something completely different as I dove into the sad world of Girl Most Likely. This Kristen Wiig. She is marvelous in the role. Matt Dillon is also in this with Annette Benning. Both are great as they always are. Matt Dillon's character is a little reminiscent of his Something About Mary Character...not sure what though. Darren Criss was the male love interest and he looked familiar the whole movie but I could not place him. After walking I looked him up and he was on Glee (which I watched for a couple seasons). He was good as well.
Overall another great workout and eating day so far. I am traveling to see my nephew's basketball tournament today and that will take up the entire day. So I did my entire walking workout in one shot. Hence the nice 98 minute movie choice. 5.3 miles in those 98 minutes. They went by pretty fast considering the movie was a little slow-paced and sad. Don't get me wrong, I love sad and heartbreaking movies. Actually I like them way more than my wife does. I once made her go to a Nicholoas Sparks movie on my birthday. Yep, that happened. The movie was good by the way, unless you ask her. She said I have never even heard of this movie, the opening credits started and the Sparks name came up, and she checked out.
Mild Spoiler for Girl Most Likely ahead:
Near the end of the movie Kristen Wiig's character puts on a big gray exoskeleton suit made by her brother. I will have to say that this scene was way better than Paul Giomatti's scene as Rhino in the amazing spiderman 2.
I give Girl Most Likely 200 out of 297 (as that is what the scale now goes up to!)
Days: 23
Movies: 20
Minutes: 1932
Miles: 105.3
Pounds: 8
Overall another great workout and eating day so far. I am traveling to see my nephew's basketball tournament today and that will take up the entire day. So I did my entire walking workout in one shot. Hence the nice 98 minute movie choice. 5.3 miles in those 98 minutes. They went by pretty fast considering the movie was a little slow-paced and sad. Don't get me wrong, I love sad and heartbreaking movies. Actually I like them way more than my wife does. I once made her go to a Nicholoas Sparks movie on my birthday. Yep, that happened. The movie was good by the way, unless you ask her. She said I have never even heard of this movie, the opening credits started and the Sparks name came up, and she checked out.
Mild Spoiler for Girl Most Likely ahead:
Near the end of the movie Kristen Wiig's character puts on a big gray exoskeleton suit made by her brother. I will have to say that this scene was way better than Paul Giomatti's scene as Rhino in the amazing spiderman 2.
I give Girl Most Likely 200 out of 297 (as that is what the scale now goes up to!)
Days: 23
Movies: 20
Minutes: 1932
Miles: 105.3
Pounds: 8
Friday, February 20, 2015
Day 22: Thor: The Dark World
4 hours and almost 14 miles have been dedcated to the Thor movies over the last two days. It has been good to watch both of them back to back. It made the differences in tone and story so very obvious. The cornerstone of these movies are Thor and Loki. Their relationship is probably the most interesting one in the MCU at this moment. I can't wait for Thor 3 Ragnarok. Hopefully it is a fitting climax to the Thor trilogy.
I had a great eating day and workout day and got the scale to go under 300 for the first time in a while. So that milestone was worth celebrating. Also reached 100 miles in this journey.
Thor gets a 245 out of 299 (because that is what the scale currently goes up to!)
Not sure where to go next movie wise.... We will see what tomorrow holds.
Days:22
Movies: 19
Minutes: 1834
Miles: 100
Pounds: 6
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Day 21: Thor
The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to be explored in depth. It almost seems a little sad at this point. Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons sad. However the first Thor movie is the Best. Thor. Movie. Ever. Great story. Chris Hemsworth and Tim Hiddelston are perfect. I was surprised as to how poorly the graphics have held up. They seemed a little poorly done at times.
I also realized I never saw the after-credits scene in the theater. I am sure I walked out to soon. I did see it somewhere once, but it must have been on the internet. I love the after credit scenes. Partly because I love movie trailers almost as much as movies themselves.
We seem to be back on track eating and workout wise. Walked in a total of 7.2 miles today while watching Thor and some SNL40 clips. Today was a good day for eating, so I am excited to see what the weigh in says tomorrow morning.
Thor gets a 250 out of 301 rating.
Days: 21
Movies: 18
Minutes: 1728
Miles: 94.3
Pounds: 4
I also realized I never saw the after-credits scene in the theater. I am sure I walked out to soon. I did see it somewhere once, but it must have been on the internet. I love the after credit scenes. Partly because I love movie trailers almost as much as movies themselves.
We seem to be back on track eating and workout wise. Walked in a total of 7.2 miles today while watching Thor and some SNL40 clips. Today was a good day for eating, so I am excited to see what the weigh in says tomorrow morning.
Thor gets a 250 out of 301 rating.
Days: 21
Movies: 18
Minutes: 1728
Miles: 94.3
Pounds: 4
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Day 18: Kingsman: Secret Service
In my effort to see 365 movies in 365 days, I am counting on seeing some movies in the theater to catch me up. On Sunday I saw Kingsman: Secret Service. I wasnt sure what to expect going in beyond that it was not 50 Shades of Grey.
I was completely blown away on how good Kingsman was. I didn't know it was Matthew Vaughn, I didn't know it was based on a graphic novel, and I didn't know Mark Hamill would be in it. However this movie was simply amazing. Great action, great humor, and great writing. The movie definitely earns its R-rating through violence alone, but tack on some crude and hilarious humor as well.
I didn't really know the name Matthew Vaughn too well. However he has done some of my favorite movies. He was behind Kick-Ass and Stardust. Both amazing movies. If your family has not seen Stardust yet, I highly recommend it. It is currently available on Amazon Prime and Netflix. It is a fantastic and underrated fantasy adventure.
I give Kingsman a 288 out of 301.
Days: 20
Movies: 17
I was completely blown away on how good Kingsman was. I didn't know it was Matthew Vaughn, I didn't know it was based on a graphic novel, and I didn't know Mark Hamill would be in it. However this movie was simply amazing. Great action, great humor, and great writing. The movie definitely earns its R-rating through violence alone, but tack on some crude and hilarious humor as well.
I didn't really know the name Matthew Vaughn too well. However he has done some of my favorite movies. He was behind Kick-Ass and Stardust. Both amazing movies. If your family has not seen Stardust yet, I highly recommend it. It is currently available on Amazon Prime and Netflix. It is a fantastic and underrated fantasy adventure.
I give Kingsman a 288 out of 301.
Days: 20
Movies: 17
Day 20: Barefoot
To continue my movies about crazy people, I watched Barefoot starring Evan Rachel Wood and Scott Speedman. This movie seemed to be the opposite of Silver Linings Playbook which was smart, well written, and superbly directed and acted. I know Evan Rachel Wood is talented. I have seen the talent in many of her other movies: Across the Universe, King of California, The Wrestler, just to name my favorites. I do not know much about Scott Speedman. Looking at his IMDB page he seems to play the eye candy in a lot of his roles. Sadly, that is really all they both serve as here.
I remember listening to an interview with Kevin Fiege about how they structured Iron Man. They flipped the timline in the first 10 minutes so you could see a likable Tony Stark. If they hadn't you would have been exposed to a very unlikable Tony Stark as your first impression and you might want him to rot away in that cave. However, by flipping the timeline you get a good first impression and root for him through his struggles. Barefoot spends the first 45 minutes of the film trying to make sure you know that Scott Speedman's character has no redeeming value. He is so unlikable I found myself rooting against the two main characters getting together. In the last 30 minutes they do a couple things to try to make you root for him, but also continue to make sure you know he is an idiot. The lone acting spotlight was of course the amazing JK Simmons. Always great.
Workout wise, yesterday was bad as I took the evening off of walking because my right big toe is sore. Then I had to stay home with my sick daughter and that always leads to bad eating decisions. I am a little afraid to weigh myself. Hopefully a day of fasting for Ash Wednesday will even out the fat tuesday that took place.
Overall, I rate Barefoot a 100 out of 301.
Days: 20
Movies: 16
Minutes: 1593
Miles: 87.1
Pounds: 4
I remember listening to an interview with Kevin Fiege about how they structured Iron Man. They flipped the timline in the first 10 minutes so you could see a likable Tony Stark. If they hadn't you would have been exposed to a very unlikable Tony Stark as your first impression and you might want him to rot away in that cave. However, by flipping the timeline you get a good first impression and root for him through his struggles. Barefoot spends the first 45 minutes of the film trying to make sure you know that Scott Speedman's character has no redeeming value. He is so unlikable I found myself rooting against the two main characters getting together. In the last 30 minutes they do a couple things to try to make you root for him, but also continue to make sure you know he is an idiot. The lone acting spotlight was of course the amazing JK Simmons. Always great.
Workout wise, yesterday was bad as I took the evening off of walking because my right big toe is sore. Then I had to stay home with my sick daughter and that always leads to bad eating decisions. I am a little afraid to weigh myself. Hopefully a day of fasting for Ash Wednesday will even out the fat tuesday that took place.
Overall, I rate Barefoot a 100 out of 301.
Days: 20
Movies: 16
Minutes: 1593
Miles: 87.1
Pounds: 4
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Day 19: Silver Linings Playbook
Apparently I decided that things have been too happy in my movie viewing lately. I clicked on the Oscar nominated Silver Linings Playbook in my Netflix queue. First things first, this is mostly watching two mentally ill characters make bad decision after bad decision. Some of it is comical, some of it is touching, but mostly it is sad. But let's make one thing clear, Bradly Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are amazing in their roles. Robert DeNiro is even good.
This movie is amazingly written, directed and performed. One of my favorite parts was that throughout the film Jennifer Lawrence's character chases Bradley Cooper's character, figuratively and literally. Near the end of the movie those roles reverse, figuratively and literally. Another good thing about the movie is that Bradley Cooper's character lost a ton of weight by working out, so that is inspiring a little bit. Although it is hard to imagine fat Bradley Cooper. Although when the movie got a little too heavy handed and dark, it was fun to picture Bradley Cooper's character replaced with Rocket Racoon from Guardians of the Galaxy (who Bradley Cooper voiced). I would actually like to see a reedited version of this movie with a CGI Rocket. That would make this movie much more watchable. Don't get me wrong, I thought this movie was very well done, I just don't ever want to see it again.
And speaking of bad decisions, I weighed myself today after a very questionable weekend and it was bad news. Up a pound and a half. So the scale again reads 301. This probably makes me more sad than the movie. I thought I was going to get under 300, which is psychologically a huge goal to conquer. Now I have taken a big step backwards.
Overall Silver Linings Playbook gets a 280 out of 301.
Days: 19
Movies: 15
Minutes: 1508
Miles: 82.6
Pounds: 4
This movie is amazingly written, directed and performed. One of my favorite parts was that throughout the film Jennifer Lawrence's character chases Bradley Cooper's character, figuratively and literally. Near the end of the movie those roles reverse, figuratively and literally. Another good thing about the movie is that Bradley Cooper's character lost a ton of weight by working out, so that is inspiring a little bit. Although it is hard to imagine fat Bradley Cooper. Although when the movie got a little too heavy handed and dark, it was fun to picture Bradley Cooper's character replaced with Rocket Racoon from Guardians of the Galaxy (who Bradley Cooper voiced). I would actually like to see a reedited version of this movie with a CGI Rocket. That would make this movie much more watchable. Don't get me wrong, I thought this movie was very well done, I just don't ever want to see it again.
And speaking of bad decisions, I weighed myself today after a very questionable weekend and it was bad news. Up a pound and a half. So the scale again reads 301. This probably makes me more sad than the movie. I thought I was going to get under 300, which is psychologically a huge goal to conquer. Now I have taken a big step backwards.
Overall Silver Linings Playbook gets a 280 out of 301.
Days: 19
Movies: 15
Minutes: 1508
Miles: 82.6
Pounds: 4
Day 17/18: Captain America The Winter Solder
Continuing the super hero theme, and my celebration of the Spiderman/Marvel announcement I re-watched Captain America 2. This movie is my second favorite of the MCU. This is a little strange as Captain America 1 is probably my least favorite of the MCU. This movie is really setting the stage for Civil War. This really becomes even more glaring on the rewatch. I am not sure what is going ot happen in Avengers 2, but I can already see the line forming between Iron Man and Captain. Seeing Chris Evans go up against Tony Stark will be amazing, especially with Spiderman, Blank Panther and who knows who else along for the ride.
The walking continues to go well, but watching these super long movies has thrown off the routine. A movie a day was a goal that was easy to track. Now I am off that routine as some of these movies have taken longer than that to watch, and I have had some busy days with only 1 walking session. The pounds continue to come off slowly, mostly because my eating is not under control yet. I am making slow progress in this area, but have constant little relapses. For example, I ate at a pizza buffet on a Saturday and did well. In fact I lost half a pound that day. However, the next day my family ended up at a breakfast buffet. This did not go so well. I am trying to look at it as doing well 50% of the time. I am afraid to weigh myself after that weekend debacle.
Captain America 2 gets a 295 out of 300 (as hopefully that is what my scale still goes up to)
Days: 18
Movies: 14
Minutes: 1449
Miles: 79.4
Pounds: 5 (hopefully)
The walking continues to go well, but watching these super long movies has thrown off the routine. A movie a day was a goal that was easy to track. Now I am off that routine as some of these movies have taken longer than that to watch, and I have had some busy days with only 1 walking session. The pounds continue to come off slowly, mostly because my eating is not under control yet. I am making slow progress in this area, but have constant little relapses. For example, I ate at a pizza buffet on a Saturday and did well. In fact I lost half a pound that day. However, the next day my family ended up at a breakfast buffet. This did not go so well. I am trying to look at it as doing well 50% of the time. I am afraid to weigh myself after that weekend debacle.
Captain America 2 gets a 295 out of 300 (as hopefully that is what my scale still goes up to)
Days: 18
Movies: 14
Minutes: 1449
Miles: 79.4
Pounds: 5 (hopefully)
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Day 15/16: The Avengers
I am really excited to see Spiderman joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So after watching The Amazing Spiderman, I went right into the Avengers. Seeing him join this team, or even just Captain America and Iron Man in the Civil War movie is going to be fantastic. I sometimes forget how amazing the Avengers movie is. It is pretty much a perfect superhero movie. Watching the movie with headphones and no other distractions was nice. I even caught some things I had never seen or heard before. Of course the great scenes still get me. They make me laugh, cry and of course make my jaw drop in awe.
The last couple days have been busy at work and home so walking has happened less. With increases in stress come increases in eating as well. But thankfully the slow weight loss continues. I know to keep it going I am going have to get more control over my impulses. Hopefully success will help with that.
Overall Averngers gets a 300 out of 301. One of my favorite movies of all time.
Days: 16
Movies: 13
Minutes:1275
Miles: 70
Pounds: 4
The last couple days have been busy at work and home so walking has happened less. With increases in stress come increases in eating as well. But thankfully the slow weight loss continues. I know to keep it going I am going have to get more control over my impulses. Hopefully success will help with that.
Overall Averngers gets a 300 out of 301. One of my favorite movies of all time.
Days: 16
Movies: 13
Minutes:1275
Miles: 70
Pounds: 4
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Day 14: The Amazing Spiderman
With the amazing news this weeks that Spiderman will appear in a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film and be rebooted (again), I thought I would revisit the Andrew Garfield Amazing Spiderman movie. This is my favorite of the Spiderman movies we have had over the last 20 years. Although it has been awhile since I have seen the Sam Rami trilogy. While those first two Rami movies might have been better made, I much prefer Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone to Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. Andrew Garfield is the best Spiderman we have ever had onscreen. The only sad news about the Sony/Marvel deal is that he is out as Spiderman.
Revisiting the movie was a good experience. The movie is solid, although after watching Amazing Spiderman 2 crapfest in the theater, I did see some foreshadowings in the first one.
Exercise wise, yesterday was a good day. 101 minutes and 5.7 miles. I pushed myself pretty hard and feel good about that. I am starting to get a little soreness in my left ankle. So I will have to keep an eye on that. Eating wise went pretty well yesterday. We have gone to making some calorie friendly soups for work lunch. My wife made a glorious squash soup and I made an okay red pepper bisque. Also, I am getting a little better about eating at night. It helps to have some fruit around to eat instead of something "carby." Pomegranites have been my choice of late. They are tasty and take a while to eat so that makes them perfect for a nighttime snack.
I did not finish the Spiderman movie because it is so long. However I will finish it tomorrow. Not sure if I will follow it up with the Sami Rami trilogy or maybe the Avengers to see them back to back so I can try to get a clearer picture of how these two universes will mesh. It seems it might be a superhero heavy movie week for me, which is always a fun time.
I will not rate The Amazing Spiderman as I have not finished it yet. However the scale still goes to 302.
Days: 14
Movies: 11.6
Minutes: 1123
Miles: 61.8
Pounds Lost: 3
Revisiting the movie was a good experience. The movie is solid, although after watching Amazing Spiderman 2 crapfest in the theater, I did see some foreshadowings in the first one.
Exercise wise, yesterday was a good day. 101 minutes and 5.7 miles. I pushed myself pretty hard and feel good about that. I am starting to get a little soreness in my left ankle. So I will have to keep an eye on that. Eating wise went pretty well yesterday. We have gone to making some calorie friendly soups for work lunch. My wife made a glorious squash soup and I made an okay red pepper bisque. Also, I am getting a little better about eating at night. It helps to have some fruit around to eat instead of something "carby." Pomegranites have been my choice of late. They are tasty and take a while to eat so that makes them perfect for a nighttime snack.
I did not finish the Spiderman movie because it is so long. However I will finish it tomorrow. Not sure if I will follow it up with the Sami Rami trilogy or maybe the Avengers to see them back to back so I can try to get a clearer picture of how these two universes will mesh. It seems it might be a superhero heavy movie week for me, which is always a fun time.
I will not rate The Amazing Spiderman as I have not finished it yet. However the scale still goes to 302.
Days: 14
Movies: 11.6
Minutes: 1123
Miles: 61.8
Pounds Lost: 3
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Day 13: Three Days to Kill
Coming off the fantastic action movie John Wick, I thought I would continue the action movie trend with Three Days to Kill. The good news is that it was long and I walked 113 minutes today and 6 miles. This got me over the 1000 minute mark so far with my Netflix diet.
The movie was terrible. It wasn't really Kevin Costner either. It was the script, directing and pretty much everything else. Although Hailee Steinfeld as the daughter was good, and Amber Heard was good as whatever she was supposed to be. As the initial credits were rolling I saw written by Luc Besson. I recognized his name but I couldnt place from where. I believe I first became aware of him after watching last summer's crapfest Lucy, which he also wrote. After digging around on his IMDB page I realized I should just stay away from his movies. The only exception was that he wrote the Professional which I rather enjoyed. Although that was over 20 years ago.
As far as the day goes, school was closed today because of weather. So I was home the whole day. This is always bad for my eating. I need routine, and lounging around the house all day with my children is not the routine that is helpful for controlling my calorie intake. So I am sure my scale will be back up tomorrow. However, for today it was down to 302, so that is (was) progress.
All in all I give Three Days to Kill a 100 out of 302.
Days: 13
Movies: 11
Pounds Lost: 3
Minutes: 1022
Miles: 56.1
The movie was terrible. It wasn't really Kevin Costner either. It was the script, directing and pretty much everything else. Although Hailee Steinfeld as the daughter was good, and Amber Heard was good as whatever she was supposed to be. As the initial credits were rolling I saw written by Luc Besson. I recognized his name but I couldnt place from where. I believe I first became aware of him after watching last summer's crapfest Lucy, which he also wrote. After digging around on his IMDB page I realized I should just stay away from his movies. The only exception was that he wrote the Professional which I rather enjoyed. Although that was over 20 years ago.
As far as the day goes, school was closed today because of weather. So I was home the whole day. This is always bad for my eating. I need routine, and lounging around the house all day with my children is not the routine that is helpful for controlling my calorie intake. So I am sure my scale will be back up tomorrow. However, for today it was down to 302, so that is (was) progress.
All in all I give Three Days to Kill a 100 out of 302.
Days: 13
Movies: 11
Pounds Lost: 3
Minutes: 1022
Miles: 56.1
Day 12: John Wick
I have been taking Sunday mornings off so far. My body is not used to all this exercise and a day off a week is good to help the body heal. At least that is my excuse to sleep in before church every Sunday morning.
With Monday morning, I needed a kickstart. So I decided to rent a movie. I went with John Wick, the Keaunu Reeves revenge vehicle. I have never been a huge fan of Reeves, I loved the Matrix trilogy (yes all three movies) but other than that he has not done much that I have enjoyed. Okay Bill & Ted was pretty hilarious.
That all being said, John Wick was spectularly awesome. I can not recommend this film highly enough. The action is great, the story great, and the pacing is perfect. Keanu Reeves is amazing as a hitman out for revenge.
The movie was so great, I ended up walking all in one session. It flew by so fast. I walked 95 minutes and 5.5 miles and it seemed like 20 minutes. The movie is fast-paced, full of action, and even has some funny lines in it.
You will notice my scale has not really changed much lately. I am finding it hard to keep my eating under control. With all the walking and keeping my metabolism up, it is harder to control the cravings to eat. If I could just stop eating (mostly at night) I feel the weight would come off faster.
Overall John Wick gets a 275 ouf of 303 (that is still how far up my scale goes up)
Days: 12
Movies: 10
Minutes: 909
Miles: 50.1
With Monday morning, I needed a kickstart. So I decided to rent a movie. I went with John Wick, the Keaunu Reeves revenge vehicle. I have never been a huge fan of Reeves, I loved the Matrix trilogy (yes all three movies) but other than that he has not done much that I have enjoyed. Okay Bill & Ted was pretty hilarious.
That all being said, John Wick was spectularly awesome. I can not recommend this film highly enough. The action is great, the story great, and the pacing is perfect. Keanu Reeves is amazing as a hitman out for revenge.
The movie was so great, I ended up walking all in one session. It flew by so fast. I walked 95 minutes and 5.5 miles and it seemed like 20 minutes. The movie is fast-paced, full of action, and even has some funny lines in it.
You will notice my scale has not really changed much lately. I am finding it hard to keep my eating under control. With all the walking and keeping my metabolism up, it is harder to control the cravings to eat. If I could just stop eating (mostly at night) I feel the weight would come off faster.
Overall John Wick gets a 275 ouf of 303 (that is still how far up my scale goes up)
Days: 12
Movies: 10
Minutes: 909
Miles: 50.1
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Day 10: Guardians of the Galaxy
Coming off the disaster that was Peep World, I finished up Guardians of the Galaxy today. I watched another 45 minutes in the morning and the last 40 minutes in the afternoon. All together 4.5 miles walked today.
This is about the 10th time I have seen GOTG. Every time is it almost as good as the first time. The jokes still hit, the action is still fun, and the characters are amazing. James Gunn is becoming one of my favorite directors. I have heard his movie Slither is great as well. I will have to check that one out soon.
Guardians gets a 270 out of 303. (thats how far up my scale goes)
Days: 10
Movies: 9
Minutes: 814
Miles: 44.6
This is about the 10th time I have seen GOTG. Every time is it almost as good as the first time. The jokes still hit, the action is still fun, and the characters are amazing. James Gunn is becoming one of my favorite directors. I have heard his movie Slither is great as well. I will have to check that one out soon.
Guardians gets a 270 out of 303. (thats how far up my scale goes)
Days: 10
Movies: 9
Minutes: 814
Miles: 44.6
Friday, February 6, 2015
Day 9: Peep World & Guardians
I continued my Rainn Wilson movie track from Super to Peep World, a four-star comedy on Netflix that has Lewis Black, Ron Rifkin (Parks & Rec), Rainn Wilson, Sarah Silverman, Judy Greer (Arrested Development), Michael C Hall (Dexter), Kate Mara and Lesley Ann Warren. I love all these actors. So a comedy with a good rating and this cast had me Super excited.
I had a little trepidation going in because of the running time. Seventy-nine minutes is pretty short for a feature and if a movie can't get to 90 minutes, it makes me worried.
20 minutes into this movie, I was wondering how I would ever make it through this walk. Being so bored during the movie/walk I started thinking about how sore my legs and back were. This is the first bad movie I have picked for this Netflix diet so far. Thirty minutes in I could not take any more. I quickly switched over to my Vudu account and watched 30 minutes of Guardians of the Galaxy. This kept the chain alive by connecting two James Gunn movies, and also this movie is fo fun and amazing.
So tomorrow I will finish up Guardians of the Galaxy.
Peep World does not get a rating because I didn't finish the movie.
My scale still goes up to 303 by the way.
Days: 9
Movies: 8
Minutes: 733
Miles 33.1
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Day 8: Super
Fresh off my Justice League movie, I continued the superhero trend by going with James Gunn's movie Super. I believe the only other Gunn directed movie I have seen is Guardians of the Galaxy. Although I have heard amazing things about his other movies as well. As soon as I saw Rainn Wilson was the lead, I was completely in.
I was going to be busy tonight, so I walked the whole 92 minutes and 5 miles in one session. It went by really fast because Super was so good. Rainn Wilson was awkardly great, the rest of the cast was amazing, and the movie was very James Gunn. The ending is amazingly fun, violent and gross. I did notice the soundtrack was also quite good and wondered if that is a constant theme in all James Gunn movies.
I was pretty sore after walking this morning. My hips, knees and back all ache pretty good. I am hoping that will heal up by tomorrow morning enough for me to walk. My stomach also has to heal up a bit. About 5 years ago I was diagnosed with "lazy stomach." Combine this with stress and bad eating habits, and it can result in an ulcer. I got some medicine this week to help heal the lining of my stomach. It says to take on an empty stomach and not eat 2-3 hours before or after taking the medicince. And the directions say to do this four times a day. So I am supposed to not eat for 6 hours to take this medicine 4 times a day? With this medicine and some walking, losing weight will be so easy.
I think if I lose a bunch of weight doing this I will call it the Nettflix diet. The motto will be: Binge TV shows, not food."
So overall Super gets a 290 out of 303 (because that is what my scale goes up to)
Incidentally the highest rating for any movie yet by percentage.
Days: 8
Movies Watched: 7
Minutes Walked: 673
Miles Walked: 37
I was going to be busy tonight, so I walked the whole 92 minutes and 5 miles in one session. It went by really fast because Super was so good. Rainn Wilson was awkardly great, the rest of the cast was amazing, and the movie was very James Gunn. The ending is amazingly fun, violent and gross. I did notice the soundtrack was also quite good and wondered if that is a constant theme in all James Gunn movies.
I was pretty sore after walking this morning. My hips, knees and back all ache pretty good. I am hoping that will heal up by tomorrow morning enough for me to walk. My stomach also has to heal up a bit. About 5 years ago I was diagnosed with "lazy stomach." Combine this with stress and bad eating habits, and it can result in an ulcer. I got some medicine this week to help heal the lining of my stomach. It says to take on an empty stomach and not eat 2-3 hours before or after taking the medicince. And the directions say to do this four times a day. So I am supposed to not eat for 6 hours to take this medicine 4 times a day? With this medicine and some walking, losing weight will be so easy.
I think if I lose a bunch of weight doing this I will call it the Nettflix diet. The motto will be: Binge TV shows, not food."
So overall Super gets a 290 out of 303 (because that is what my scale goes up to)
Incidentally the highest rating for any movie yet by percentage.
Days: 8
Movies Watched: 7
Minutes Walked: 673
Miles Walked: 37
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Day 7: Justice League Throne of Atlantis
So I thought that coming off of my last movie about a man wearing a mask (Frank) I would go all out with the mask theme and watch the animated Justice League: Throne of Atlantis. I love super hero movies. This might have started with the classic 80s cartoon SuperFriends. This 75 minute movie seemed like the best Super Friends episode ever. I actually believe I heard about 3 sound effects from the original Super Friends show.
The worst part about the Super Friends show was Aquaman. His weird color scheme and totally lame powers made him no one's favorite. However, in the last couple years, through Injustice Gods Among Us and the New 52 Justice League graphic novels he has become amazing. I read the third Justice League novel about which this movie was based (i think). Aquaman was incredible in the story. The movie softened him a bit. It kind of split the difference between New 52 and SuperFriends Aquaman. This was a little disappointing, but overall the story was fun and I just gets me really excited to get to the DC Justice League movies coming in the next couple years.
The walking was a little shorter than normal, but my body probably needed that. I walked for 75 minutes and about 4 miles today.
Overall i give Throne of Atlantis 240 out of 303 (because that is what my scale goes to)
Days: 7
Movies: 6
Minutes Walked: 581
Miles Walked: 32
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Day 6: Frank
So on this day I watched continued the cool music trend off of Swingers and watched the movie Frank. It was weird. I am not sure what else to say about it. I don't think I ever want to watch it again. It was full of weirdness, great performances, and some laughs.
Michael Fassbender and Maggie Gylenhal were incredible. The main character throughout the movie was fine at best. I was surprised to see the movie was based on a newspaper article. I really don't know much about the background of this movie, but it seems like it might be fascinating.
I have to admit I did spend some of the movie thinking about the Frank head vs the Magneto helmet,
Overall a 200 out of 304 (because that is what my scale still says...)
Days: 6
Movies: 5
Minutes Walked: 507
Miles Walked: 28
Michael Fassbender and Maggie Gylenhal were incredible. The main character throughout the movie was fine at best. I was surprised to see the movie was based on a newspaper article. I really don't know much about the background of this movie, but it seems like it might be fascinating.
I have to admit I did spend some of the movie thinking about the Frank head vs the Magneto helmet,
Overall a 200 out of 304 (because that is what my scale still says...)
Days: 6
Movies: 5
Minutes Walked: 507
Miles Walked: 28
Monday, February 2, 2015
Day 5: Swingers
Coming off Chef, I thought I would continue down Favreau lane with Swingers. It is remarkable that this was almost 20 years ago when this came out. I had never scene the movie in its entirety. Overall it was very enjoyable. It seemed to have many references to other films, I doubt I caught them all or even close to them all. I only caught and appreciated the obvious ones. The movie seemed almost like an Outsiders movie for the 90s. So many stars, a retro setting, and a gritty feel to the film that was reminiscent of early 80s classic. I might have to revisit some Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's music, or some Squirrel Nut Zippers. The music was great.
Super Bowl Sunday was of course a tough day for eating. I did stay away from snacks for the family that were just going to be eaten by me. We made some puppy chow for the kids, had some goldfish crackers and made a couple brats. We did have some appetizers earlier in the day as we watched Puppy Bowl. As usual, good intentions paved the road to over eating and regret. Throw in the fact that I didn't walk on Sunday morning because I overslept, and I am scared to step on that scale.
Overall though Swingers was very enjoyable. I believe I enjoyed Chef better, but problaby moreso because I am 38 years old and relate much more to 48 year old Favraeu, than to a 20's something single Favreau and friends out and about on the club scene. Seeing the grind of the singles dating scene reminded me how grateful I am to be happily married for 15 years with 3 kids.
So, Swingers gets a 210 out of 304. (because that is how far up my scale currently goes)
Days: 5
Movies: 4
Minutes walked: 410
Miles walked: 22.6
Super Bowl Sunday was of course a tough day for eating. I did stay away from snacks for the family that were just going to be eaten by me. We made some puppy chow for the kids, had some goldfish crackers and made a couple brats. We did have some appetizers earlier in the day as we watched Puppy Bowl. As usual, good intentions paved the road to over eating and regret. Throw in the fact that I didn't walk on Sunday morning because I overslept, and I am scared to step on that scale.
Overall though Swingers was very enjoyable. I believe I enjoyed Chef better, but problaby moreso because I am 38 years old and relate much more to 48 year old Favraeu, than to a 20's something single Favreau and friends out and about on the club scene. Seeing the grind of the singles dating scene reminded me how grateful I am to be happily married for 15 years with 3 kids.
So, Swingers gets a 210 out of 304. (because that is how far up my scale currently goes)
Days: 5
Movies: 4
Minutes walked: 410
Miles walked: 22.6
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