I have made a out of the box decision with my Netflix workout plan. I have gone rogue. I am using Amazon Prime, and I am watching a TV series. I am binging my way through Star Wars Rebels. I am currently through the first 10 episodes. It is everything I had hoped the prequels were going to be. It is engaging, funny, and great storytelling. The animation is a little questionable at times, but it has moments of beauty. One of my favorite parts is listening to the score again.
Workout wise, things have been downhill. Life is busy and the last two days have had shorter walks and one missed walk. The last two days have totaled about 130 minutes and just over 7 miles. I do find that the switch the TV shows has lessened my workout desire. With a movie a day goal, there was a sense of urgency each and every day. While I watch Star Wars episodes, there are only 22 minutes long. I should probably watch 3 every time I walk. I haven't done that yet.
Hopefully the workouts get longer, and the calorie intake gets smaller.
Days: 48
Movies: 42
TV shows: 9
Minutes: 4193
Miles: 230.8
Pounds: 9
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Days 43-46: Donnie Brasco, Serpico & Star Wars Rebels
The last couple days have not gone great. My workout have not been regular and the eating has gone up. Stress is the main culprit again. It always seems to be. However, I did watch a couple great crime dramas with Al Pacino.
I started with Donnie Brasco and then went to Serpico. Both of them were on Netflix. Al Pacino and Johnny Depp were in Donnie Brasco. This might have been the last time Johnny Depp was really good in something. Al Pacino was great as the aging mobster. Definitely worth a watch for anybody who loves mob movies. I found myself thinking that Al Pacino's character in this movie was an alternate reality Rocky Balboa who never got a shot against Creed. It creates a whole new layer to the movie if you keep that in the back of your mind.
Next up was Serpico. This starred a young Al Pacino as a hipster 70s cop who did not want to take any money. It was a pretty bleak picture of 70s New York cops. One of my biggest take aways from this movie was that 70s movies were paced so much slower than the movies of today. Don't get me wrong, I liked this movie, one just has to have a little patience while watching it.
After 2 long crime dramas based on real life I needed a pick-me-up. So I finally decided to cross the line from movies to TV shows. I purchased the first season of Star Wars Rebels. I have heard a lot of amazing things about this show. It totally lived up to the hype. It was funny, it has adventure, it had great action, it had great music, it was Star Wars. It was more Star Wars than the three prequel movies that is for sure. I took in 3 episodes while I walked and it flew by. This is something that any parent could watch with pretty much any kid.
Overall
Donnie Brasco gets 265 out of 295.
Serpico gets 230 out of 295.
Star Wars Rebels gets 270 out of 296 (first three episodes)
Days: 46
Movies: 42
TV Shows: 3
Minutes: 4050
Miles: 223.4
Pounds: 9
I started with Donnie Brasco and then went to Serpico. Both of them were on Netflix. Al Pacino and Johnny Depp were in Donnie Brasco. This might have been the last time Johnny Depp was really good in something. Al Pacino was great as the aging mobster. Definitely worth a watch for anybody who loves mob movies. I found myself thinking that Al Pacino's character in this movie was an alternate reality Rocky Balboa who never got a shot against Creed. It creates a whole new layer to the movie if you keep that in the back of your mind.
Next up was Serpico. This starred a young Al Pacino as a hipster 70s cop who did not want to take any money. It was a pretty bleak picture of 70s New York cops. One of my biggest take aways from this movie was that 70s movies were paced so much slower than the movies of today. Don't get me wrong, I liked this movie, one just has to have a little patience while watching it.
After 2 long crime dramas based on real life I needed a pick-me-up. So I finally decided to cross the line from movies to TV shows. I purchased the first season of Star Wars Rebels. I have heard a lot of amazing things about this show. It totally lived up to the hype. It was funny, it has adventure, it had great action, it had great music, it was Star Wars. It was more Star Wars than the three prequel movies that is for sure. I took in 3 episodes while I walked and it flew by. This is something that any parent could watch with pretty much any kid.
Overall
Donnie Brasco gets 265 out of 295.
Serpico gets 230 out of 295.
Star Wars Rebels gets 270 out of 296 (first three episodes)
Days: 46
Movies: 42
TV Shows: 3
Minutes: 4050
Miles: 223.4
Pounds: 9
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Day 42: Parallels & Aziz Ansari at MSG
A movie called Parallels quickly rose to the top of my suggested list on Netflix recently. I had really no idea what it was about. I read the brief description about alternate realities and was pretty interested. I recommend this little 85 minute adventure to anybody who loves well made movies, or TV shows. I am still unclear what this was intended to be. It seems like they shot the first two episodes of a TV series and then decided to make it a movie instead. I don't really care about any of that. This was a riveting 85 minutes full of twists turns and fantastic science fiction. Think of a mix between Quantum Leap and Lost only the leaping is between alternate realities not time, and the mysteries are better than the ones presented on Lost.
The only irritation with this whole movie are the names of the characters. Harold, B and Ronin quickly become Harry, Beatrix and Ronin (Ron). These three names seemed to be plucked directly from Harry Potter. I kept waiting for a Severus, Albus or Hermione to show up. Despite this one minor flaw, the movie was a pure joy to watch. This is saying something. Once I get hung up on something like bad character names I usually can't let it go. That fact that not only did I finish the movie, but really enjoyed it speaks to how well this story is done.
After that movie finished, I had some extra time. So I first finished watching Aziz Ansari's new MSG comedy special. I really enjoy Aziz. I initially discovered his comedy using the free online slacker radio app. He would appear on my comedy channel. I would get little 3-8 minute bits of his routines from his albums. I have to say, that is the perfect way to take in Aziz comedy. I have watched and listened to all his specials now, and I still think I enjoy him most in smaller doses. The special had a few huge laughs, and some smaller ones as well, but mostly seemed uneven.
The best news is that the scale no longer goes up to 297!
Parallels gets a 250 out of 295.
Aziz at MSG gets a 220 out of 295.
Days: 42
Movies: 40
Minutes: 3713
Miles: 204.8
Pounds: 10
The only irritation with this whole movie are the names of the characters. Harold, B and Ronin quickly become Harry, Beatrix and Ronin (Ron). These three names seemed to be plucked directly from Harry Potter. I kept waiting for a Severus, Albus or Hermione to show up. Despite this one minor flaw, the movie was a pure joy to watch. This is saying something. Once I get hung up on something like bad character names I usually can't let it go. That fact that not only did I finish the movie, but really enjoyed it speaks to how well this story is done.
After that movie finished, I had some extra time. So I first finished watching Aziz Ansari's new MSG comedy special. I really enjoy Aziz. I initially discovered his comedy using the free online slacker radio app. He would appear on my comedy channel. I would get little 3-8 minute bits of his routines from his albums. I have to say, that is the perfect way to take in Aziz comedy. I have watched and listened to all his specials now, and I still think I enjoy him most in smaller doses. The special had a few huge laughs, and some smaller ones as well, but mostly seemed uneven.
The best news is that the scale no longer goes up to 297!
Parallels gets a 250 out of 295.
Aziz at MSG gets a 220 out of 295.
Days: 42
Movies: 40
Minutes: 3713
Miles: 204.8
Pounds: 10
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Day 40-41: Ultimate Avengers 2 & Use Your Van
I have been having some stomach trouble lately. About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with what the doctors called "lazy stomach." My stomach digests food really slowly. It only causes problems for me when I combine stress, too much pop, and overeating. The bad part is that stress causes too much pop and overeating for me. Also teaching junior high students only causes stress constantly, so I will probably be fine. So every once in a while my stomach rebels and fills up with acid and I feel really sick. I tried to walk through it yesterday and only got 40 miles before having to get off the treadmill. Today I felt better and got in 80 minutes and 4.5 miles in. I had a really good eating day so I have high hopes for the weigh in tomorrow.
Yesterday I watched the animated movie Ultimate Avengers 2. This story features the Black Panther character heavily throughout the story. I am excited for him to appear in the next Captain American Civil War movie. While I hope Spiderman makes an appearance as well, I hope it does not diminish the role of Black Panther. I am going on another super hero kick as I simply can not wait for the new Avengers movie. At this point my expectations are so high they can not possibly be met.
So today I tried to calm myself down a little bit with a 2004 music documentary called Use Your Van. This movie features my favorite local musician Mason Jennings. He started to come to fame right at the end of my college time. He would often come and play our local coffee shop. I have seen him grow as an artist and person over the last 15 years or so. This documentary follows him and his band as they tour on his 4th record Use Your Voice. I should mention that the only reason I get to watch this is because my good friend from HS was cleaning out his DVD collection and sent this my way. A good music documentary about a fantastic singer/songwritier.
However after the documentary was over again I turned on a YouTube show called AMC Heroes. I regularly watch the YouTube show AMC Movie Talk about various movie news. This was the debut show of AMC Heroes that talks about everything superhero movies. So overall superhero fever continues to run wild here.
Ultimate Avengers 2 gets 230 out of 297.
Use Your Van gets 250 out of 297.
(yes the scale seems stuck on 297...)
Days: 41
Movies: 38
Minutes: 3609
Miles: 198.9
Pounds: 8
Yesterday I watched the animated movie Ultimate Avengers 2. This story features the Black Panther character heavily throughout the story. I am excited for him to appear in the next Captain American Civil War movie. While I hope Spiderman makes an appearance as well, I hope it does not diminish the role of Black Panther. I am going on another super hero kick as I simply can not wait for the new Avengers movie. At this point my expectations are so high they can not possibly be met.
So today I tried to calm myself down a little bit with a 2004 music documentary called Use Your Van. This movie features my favorite local musician Mason Jennings. He started to come to fame right at the end of my college time. He would often come and play our local coffee shop. I have seen him grow as an artist and person over the last 15 years or so. This documentary follows him and his band as they tour on his 4th record Use Your Voice. I should mention that the only reason I get to watch this is because my good friend from HS was cleaning out his DVD collection and sent this my way. A good music documentary about a fantastic singer/songwritier.
However after the documentary was over again I turned on a YouTube show called AMC Heroes. I regularly watch the YouTube show AMC Movie Talk about various movie news. This was the debut show of AMC Heroes that talks about everything superhero movies. So overall superhero fever continues to run wild here.
Ultimate Avengers 2 gets 230 out of 297.
Use Your Van gets 250 out of 297.
(yes the scale seems stuck on 297...)
Days: 41
Movies: 38
Minutes: 3609
Miles: 198.9
Pounds: 8
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Day 39: Pride & Prejudice
During the month of February our staff would recommend books for I Love to Read month to the rest of the staff. At one point I mentioned Seth Graham-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I recommended the book for anybody who found Pride and Prejudice "a little boring." Within minutes I had an email from my principal proclaiming that the book was not boring. He even brought me his DVD copy which he happened to have on him. Well I thought today was as good a day as ever to watch.
To be honest I wasn't expecting much. I had tried to read the original Jane Austen classic a couple of times, never having made it more than half way through. I thought it was going to be a brutal 2 hour walk on the treadmilll.
I was initially taken back at how amazing the cast was. Keira Knightly, Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone and Carey Mulligan are all amazing. They are indeed great here as well. This movie is very well made. It was absolutely stunningingly beautiful to watch. Not only the scenary but the craft of some of the long takes used in various scenes was a thing of beauty. I am not sure I would have even liked this movie 5 years ago. This movie made me laugh and cry. I will probaby try to read the book again, however I may start with re-reading the zombie version first.
Pride and Prejudice gets a 260 out of 297 (because that is what the scale currently goes up to).
Days: 39
Movies: 36
Minutes: 3488
Miles: 192.2
Pounds: 8
To be honest I wasn't expecting much. I had tried to read the original Jane Austen classic a couple of times, never having made it more than half way through. I thought it was going to be a brutal 2 hour walk on the treadmilll.
I was initially taken back at how amazing the cast was. Keira Knightly, Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone and Carey Mulligan are all amazing. They are indeed great here as well. This movie is very well made. It was absolutely stunningingly beautiful to watch. Not only the scenary but the craft of some of the long takes used in various scenes was a thing of beauty. I am not sure I would have even liked this movie 5 years ago. This movie made me laugh and cry. I will probaby try to read the book again, however I may start with re-reading the zombie version first.
Pride and Prejudice gets a 260 out of 297 (because that is what the scale currently goes up to).
Days: 39
Movies: 36
Minutes: 3488
Miles: 192.2
Pounds: 8
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Day 38: Nebraska, Hobbit 3, Goon & Ultimate Avengers
I have been a little busy lately. The good news is that I have still been walking and watching movies. The bad news is that I have eaten poorly. To steal a line from the incredible Kyle Kinane, I have eaten like Doc Brown fuels the Dolorian at the end of Back to the Future. My weight has held steady though so that is good. I did have one day in there where I did not walk at all. I had horrible valid excuses in both the morning and the night. It just made me feel worse though.
Over the past few days I have taken in quite a few movies.
Nebraska stars Will Forte and the amazing Bruce Dern as a son and father reconnecting on a trip to Lincoln Nebraska to collect the father's "winnings." At times hilarious, at times painfully slow, but overall a very enjoyable movie.
I then watched the third and final installment of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. When it was originally in theaters our family went to watch. However we have a 6 year old who is not old enough to watch any Battle of Five Armies. So being the amazing dad that I am, I went and saw the new Annie movie with my 6 year old. (Annie was a piece of garbage by the way). However Hobbit was pretty good. The battle was magnificent and it made a nice conclusion to the trilogy while also serving as a fantastic setup for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I want to watch again.
Goon is a 2011 hockey movie based around a true story. Sean Williams Scott (of American Pie fame) plays a hockey player whose main job is to fight the other team. Scott is surprisingly good in this role. Liev Schreiber is also very good as a legendary hockey player brute. Surprisingly bad is Jay Baruchel. He is the voice the the main character of How to Train Your Dragon, and played a big part in This is the End. In those movies I liked him a lot. However here he was mostly annoying. I actually found myself making comparing his character to Jar Jar Binks. I couldn't figure out if it was the writing or the acting or the directing. I just found that whenever his character was on screen, I wanted him off screen. However overall the Goon movie was surprisingly good and enjoyable.
The third and hopefully final trailer for Avengers Age of Ultron was released. So I again needed to watch a superhero movie. The animated Ultimate Avengers satisfied the craving. Based on Mark Millars Ultimate series, this is another version of the Avengers origin story. Interestingly it contains Ant-Man and Wasp. A nice preview of their upcoming movie as well!
Nebraska gets a 200 out of 296.
Hobbit gets a 250 out of 296.
Goon gets a 220 out of 297.
Ultimate Avengers gets a 225 out of 297.
Days: 38
Movies: 35
Minutes: 3362
Miles: 185.4
Pounds: 8
Over the past few days I have taken in quite a few movies.
Nebraska stars Will Forte and the amazing Bruce Dern as a son and father reconnecting on a trip to Lincoln Nebraska to collect the father's "winnings." At times hilarious, at times painfully slow, but overall a very enjoyable movie.
I then watched the third and final installment of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. When it was originally in theaters our family went to watch. However we have a 6 year old who is not old enough to watch any Battle of Five Armies. So being the amazing dad that I am, I went and saw the new Annie movie with my 6 year old. (Annie was a piece of garbage by the way). However Hobbit was pretty good. The battle was magnificent and it made a nice conclusion to the trilogy while also serving as a fantastic setup for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I want to watch again.
Goon is a 2011 hockey movie based around a true story. Sean Williams Scott (of American Pie fame) plays a hockey player whose main job is to fight the other team. Scott is surprisingly good in this role. Liev Schreiber is also very good as a legendary hockey player brute. Surprisingly bad is Jay Baruchel. He is the voice the the main character of How to Train Your Dragon, and played a big part in This is the End. In those movies I liked him a lot. However here he was mostly annoying. I actually found myself making comparing his character to Jar Jar Binks. I couldn't figure out if it was the writing or the acting or the directing. I just found that whenever his character was on screen, I wanted him off screen. However overall the Goon movie was surprisingly good and enjoyable.
The third and hopefully final trailer for Avengers Age of Ultron was released. So I again needed to watch a superhero movie. The animated Ultimate Avengers satisfied the craving. Based on Mark Millars Ultimate series, this is another version of the Avengers origin story. Interestingly it contains Ant-Man and Wasp. A nice preview of their upcoming movie as well!
Nebraska gets a 200 out of 296.
Hobbit gets a 250 out of 296.
Goon gets a 220 out of 297.
Ultimate Avengers gets a 225 out of 297.
Days: 38
Movies: 35
Minutes: 3362
Miles: 185.4
Pounds: 8
Monday, March 2, 2015
Day 30-32: Pain & Gain, Guardians and Obvious Child
The last couple days have been pretty busy. I am really starting to worry about the treadmill and how long it is going to last. The random slowing down has slowed down, but it has just started making weird noises. It sounds like a belt or something but I know nothing about motors. Over the last 3 days I have watched three great movies though.
Pain & Gain is a crime/true story/comedy with the Rock and Mark Wahlberg. It was a really fun watch. Although it is about body builders and was directed by Michael Bay, it was all good fun.
I then got to watch Guardians of the Galaxy again, but this time with a commentary provided by the movie podcast Modern Myth Media. I have never really listened to commentary tracks too much before. It was pretty fun with some good insight. It did make me want to redo Guardians but this time with James Gunn commentary.
Lastly was Jenny Slate's Obvious Child. A little slow and awkward at times, but it definitely had its funny moments. I was introduced to Jenny Slate on Parks & Rec. Her character there is hilarious and a little annoying. Here she is very charming, but less funny. Overall a fun, but slow movie.
Pain & Gain gets150 out of 297.
GotG gets 270 out of 298.
Obvious Child gets 125 out of 297.
Days: 32
Movies: 31
Minutes: 2942
Miles: 162.3
Pounds: 8
Pain & Gain is a crime/true story/comedy with the Rock and Mark Wahlberg. It was a really fun watch. Although it is about body builders and was directed by Michael Bay, it was all good fun.
I then got to watch Guardians of the Galaxy again, but this time with a commentary provided by the movie podcast Modern Myth Media. I have never really listened to commentary tracks too much before. It was pretty fun with some good insight. It did make me want to redo Guardians but this time with James Gunn commentary.
Lastly was Jenny Slate's Obvious Child. A little slow and awkward at times, but it definitely had its funny moments. I was introduced to Jenny Slate on Parks & Rec. Her character there is hilarious and a little annoying. Here she is very charming, but less funny. Overall a fun, but slow movie.
Pain & Gain gets150 out of 297.
GotG gets 270 out of 298.
Obvious Child gets 125 out of 297.
Days: 32
Movies: 31
Minutes: 2942
Miles: 162.3
Pounds: 8
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