Army of Thieves (2021)

Army of Thieves (2021). Watched this movie today. It was fairly good. It had action, comedy and suspense. There realy was a dull moment. In fact, to me, it may have been slightly better than its predecessor, Army of the Dead.

Although there were the typical action, heist scenes where they get in and out of places fairly unnoticed and unscathed, there were a few moments that kind of bothered me because they are happenings that wouldn't have happened in the sequence they did or at all.

First, there was one part where they Czech police started chasing Ludwig Dieter (a.k.a. Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert) after a heist but they would not have known that he may have been affiliated with the "thieves" until later if at all.

Second, Korina Dominguez had a police and Interpol cars roll up on her when they didn't even know who she was or how she may have been affiliated with the "thieves" (at least as far as I can remember).

Third, in the last heist/safe-cracking adventure, Gwendoline and Ludwig were driving on a road seemingly far away from where everyone thought they were going to be. They had a good hour or so headstart and yet, Brad and Rolph somehow caught up to them when they 'briefly' pulled over to empty the contents of the safe.

Similarly, the Interpol agents and local police also caught up with them even though they start out on the road AFTER Brad and Rolph did by at least 10-15 minutes or so.

Anyway, I guess I'm too picky to the details some times. I can't help it.

FINAL VERDICT: If you already have Netflix, then this movie is essentially free. Go ahead and watch it. You won't be disappointed in my opinion. You don't really have to see Army of the Dead before this one but there are a few references to that movie. This is a prequel to it so it should not be necessary to watch "Dead" before "Thieves". Again, this movie is worth the watch.

Feral State (2020)

Feral State (2020). Was bored at work today and thought I try to watch some mindless movie(s) on Hulu. This one came up and I thought it might be worthy of my mindless watching while multitasking at work.

For the most part, I didn't recognize anyone in the movie. And then, it turns out there is someone I've seen before previously in a movie or TV series. It is AnnaLynne McCord. Now I'm all for a strong, female lead but I'm not sure she can or did pull it off, especially in this role. She plays a detective who's married (to a man never seen) but has a side squeeze (with a woman). The main thing that distracted me from her role is that she's a detective in some seemingly po'dunk city and she doesn't seem too 'country' of 'tough' for the area she works in. Also, her shoes that she wears for work. You only briefly see them while she's trapsing through a crime scene of a burned house but they're just not fitting to the environment she's policing. Probably just a little detail only my nerdy ass would call out.

Anyway, the movie just kind of overall weird. There's a sort of an overall plot but then some weird story lines are briefly taken but never fully addressed/explained. Much of the scenes were random.

Overall the acting was subpar. Sometimes I can't believe how movies like this can get made.

FINAL VERDICT: If you want to waste your time after I've already wasted mine, then go ahead and watch this movie. If you have a more exciting life than I, then find something else to watch.

Crucial X6 2TB Portable SSD and Crucial BX500 2TB 2.5 inch SSD

A couple of weeks or so ago, I bit the bullet and purhased a Crucial X6 2TB Portable SSD from Crucial's website. They were running a little sale where I got like $60 off the MSRP of $249.95. I also talked myself into buying a Crucial BX500 2TB 2.5 inch [internal] SSD. It wasn't on sale but I figured that the discount on the X6 was enough to even out the extra purchase. I also thought that if I didn't like one or the other, I would return it.

I normally don't like to spend around or even spend $200 for an external hard drive but I needed to replace my Seagate Backup Plus 4TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0 that recently crashed after three years. It wasn't an SSD and the mechanical parts of the drive seemed to have failed to the point where I could not get any data off of it. It wouldn't even show and connect as a drive. Luckily, I'm a backup of a backup of a backup of a backup kind of guy and have many other smaller drives from 320GB to 1TB with my files spread across them all.

Anyway, I almost didn't get the SSDs because I could really save a lot of money if I just went with the standard mechanical hard drive. Amazon had a Seagate 2TB and 5TB for like $59.99 and $89.99, respectively. I just felt like I'd run into the same problem of the mechanical part crapping out on me. I mean the 4TB did last me three years but I've had hard drives last me much longer.

Ordering on the Crucial website was easy peasy. Shipping ended up being quicker than the website said by about a day or two. So instead of 5 days I got them in 3 days...I think.

Once I got them from the mailbox, I opened and inspected the packages. The X6 comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable that's about six inches long. The BX500 was just the drive which was to be expected. I already had a couple of USB 3.0 cables to connect to it. I connected each of the cables to their respective drive and connected to my computer: a Dell XPS13. The BX500 had to be formatted but the X6 worked as needed out of the box.

I immediately started backing up files to each drive with some software I like and use called SyncBackFree (I guess I need to write a review post on it some day). Back up to both drives went fairly smoothly. It wasn't extremely fast but I was backing up about 1TB of data and it was coming from an external USB 3.0 mechanical drive to the external SSDs. I backed up to each drive at separate times and each back up took about three hours. When I backed up about 200GB from my C: drive, the transfer was much faster.

One thing to note that I didn't pay much attention to is that the X6 came formatted as exFAT. I didn't find that out until about a week later when I tried to rip a DVD movie I own to the X6. When I was trying to do the whole process of ripping to converting to ISO then converting ISO to MP4, the process kept crapping out. That's when I realized the exFAT formatting because it wasn't allowing files over like 1TB to be created and saved. So I had to reformat the X6 to NTFS. This obviously erased all the files I had backed up so I had to do it all over again. Fun times!

That's about all I know so far. The drives perform as they should. I guess time will tell if I get at least three years out of them like I did the Seagate 4TB. My assumption is I should and would but who knows.

In the images below, image 1 is the X6 and the included USB-C to USB-C cable. Image 2 is the X6 next to an AirPords (1st gen) case and a SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD for size references. Image 3 is the X6 and the SanDisk drive again for more size reference.

That's my take on these two Crucial SSD drives. They are light, portable, fast and are working just fine right now. Hopefully, all will be well for many years to come. I do wish they were cheaper as I believe SSDs have been around for a while now and it'd be nice if they price drop to at least half of the cost I paid.

SIDE NOTE: I do own the SanDisk drive in the photos but have not written a review on it. It'll probably be the same as the X6 as they are basically the same but different companies and form factors.

Tucker's Place South County (St Louis, MO)

Tried Tucker's Place South County for the first time today. It was highly recommended by our hotel desk clerk for having VERY good burgers so thought we'd try it.

I split the Daily Special with the wife which was a hamburger well done with cheddar cheese, seasoned fries and a side salad with ranch on the side.

As far as the food goes:

• The side salad was pretty basic. I believe it was iceberg lettuce with shredded mozzarella and bacon bits on top. I think I remember maybe two cherry tomatoes but definitely one. The salad wasn't too bad. The amounts of mozzarella and bacon bits were generous.
• The burger was served like the old McDLTs back in the day: the 'cold' side was separated from the 'hot side. You can see in the picture how it was separated. You'll also see that there was no cheese on the burger. However, in the tiny little plastic 'bowl' to the right you will see a orangish-yellow goop. Turns out this was the 'cheddar cheese' which seemed to be cheese whiz instead of a slice of cheddar cheese. I was not expecting this so was kind of weirded out. I mean who doesn't really like cheese whiz. I just haven't had it since maybe the year 2000 or earlier. In its current presentation, it did not entice me to spread this onto my burger. Also, the burger was really well done versus just well done. It tasted okay but I would have expected a little more from a sit down restaurant.
• The fries we received were not seasoned. You see it as so in the photo. Our waitress did say, "Oops, forgot to season the seasoned fries. I'll be back with some seasoning." She returned with a small plastic bowl like which held the cheese whiz but contained the seasoning for the fries. I spread it over the fries but because the fries were no longer hot, if they were at all, the seasoning was not really sticking to or absorbing into the fries. I think they could have been good if the seasoning was properly applied at the right time.

As far as the service goes, the server was fairly good with some assistance from what I think was the busser. The busser was the one who followed up with us for refills and to clear any dishes that needed it. When we were sat in our booth, our server probably didn't show up for a good 10 mins or so. No worries as we weren't in any hurry. The place did seem a little busy since it was lunchtime on Friday. We also did have to wait about 10 mins to be sat.

The restaurant seemed old. Like the carpet, booths and decor seemed really dated. I don't know how long it's been around but it felt like it could have been since the early to late 90s.

FINAL VERDICT: Overall, I thought the food I had was just okay. Maybe the burger would have been better at medium/medium rare but I don't think I'll return to find out. Substituting what seemed to be/was cheese whiz for an actual cheddar cheese slice is not redeemable for me. I would not have ordered it if I knew it was not a slice of cheddar cheese. The restaurant seemed to have an older crowd (60+) of repeat customers. Others may have a different experience, but I just don't feel like I can justify returning./p>

The Eliminators (2016)

The Eliminators (2016). Watched this on Hulu this evening. The movie stars Scott Adkins and Stu Bennett. The former you should be familiar with. The latter is known for the "I Am Venegeance" movies and a bunch of WWE shows.

The movie kind of gets to the action fairly quickly. Not to spill too much of the movie but Adkins's character gets into some early trouble. He protects his home and kills three violent intruders with their own gun. The British police arrest him albeit he's handcuffed to a hospital bed in the hospital as he sustained some injuries in the tussle. (Remind me to never move to the UK and protect my house during a robbery/break-in)

This tussle sets off a chain of events that had nothing to do with the original altercation.

Just like all the other action-adventure genre movies, the shooting accuracy of everyone in the movie is super atrocious. I mean do they really think people who are watching are THAT dumb? Probably more of the fact that people are not as judgmental as I am.

Also, the fighting is like "How many work boot heels can someone take to the face/head before they are hurt or stay down?" Oh and also, apparently metal baseball bats are easily blockable by human forearms.

FINAL VERDICT: Despite all the faults I begrudgingly overlooked, this movie isn't too bad. It's kind of the same old same old but if you have Hulu, you already pay for it so it's worth a watch.

Marvel's M.O.D.O.K (2021)

Marvel's M.O.D.O.K. (2021). I have been seeing ads and previews for this show. It looked like it would be interesting. I finally got around to starting watching it.

It "stars" Patton Oswalt as M.O.D.O.K. There are a few other voices one will probably recognize but it depends on the episode.

I power binged the first half of the season and then a few weeks later I completed the second half. Overall, there were parts of the show that were funny. There were also parts that were boring and drawn out. It's pretty gory and graphic with killings and death and all but I guess it falls in line with the story of M.O.D.O.K. wanting to take over the world and be supreme leader. I'm actually not completely sure of the overall theme or purpose of the show, other than 'take over the world,' which is why I couldn't binge the entire series in one sitting. I kept getting distracted thinking about the purpose and then boredom.

FINAL VERDICT: If you have a Hulu subscription, then you could give it a try. Others might get into it more than I did. However, for me, I expected different, better and more...especially from Patton. I'll probably keep watching if there's a second season but we'll have to see.

Boogie (2021)

Boogie (2021). Rented this movie from Redbox after reading the synopsis. It seemed like a decent story line so I used one of my many promo codes to rent this for the low low cost of $.60.

I don't really recognize any of the cast's names but a few might be have been in other movies.

The movie is centered around the main characater, Alfred 'Boogie' Chin. I'm not going to repeat the synopsis or anything as you can read it and/or watch the movie yourself if interested.

What I will say is that Boogie was a character that was difficult to want to follow and like. He's a self-centered, egotistical and mysogynistic Asian-American. He seems to be trying too hard to fit in as Black but then he says he doesn't fit in anywhere. I'm sure this is exactly the way the writer wrote the character but it was kind of off-putting especially when trying to engage in conversation with a female.

I'm not offended by this kind of speech. It's just there was not really any context given or built up to make you think he was going to be this way. I think character development is an overall issue in the movie.

Again, not a big deal. I endured and completed the movie over two days. It took two days mainly because the movie didn't pull me in as a viewer. There were a few amusing conversations for a change of pace but I just didn't really feel a liking of any of the characters.

FINAL VERDICT: Although I didn't seem to say many positive things, the movie wasn't horrible. If it comes on a streaming service you already pay for or you have a promo code for Redbox to makes this movie rental really cheap, then you could take your own chance on watching and see what you think about this movie. Otherwise, you can pass and watch/rewatch the original Space Jam as it's a much more enjoyable basketball movie.

Mesay High Definition Monocular Telescope

Saw a deal on the Mesay High Definition Monocular Telescope (link to product page while it lasts) via Boing Boing Store back in like late September 2020. At the time it seemed like a good sale/deal and I was weak.

I read the description and was sucked in by the bragged-about magnification. I was also intrigued by the cellphone holder/attachment and tripod. I figured even if the magnication wasn't as high as advertised that it still had to be good enough. Right?

I justified a needless purchase to myself until I pulled the trigger.

Instantly I had buyer's remorse and regret. I really didn't need this and I knew the details of the product could not be as fantastical as it seemed.

I couldn't believe I fell for it and berated myself for being weak.

Yeah, all this I did to myself for what? A product that I now was going to have to wait a few weeks for as I think it was coming from China.

I think I received the product in like 7-10 days. It came in a box in a padded yellow envelope.

The product page had this description:

With dazzling 50×60 magnification capabilities, bring this item to range on someone over 3,000 feet away — and you'll be able to see their face. Need to read something like a house number or a sign from almost 10,000 feet away? You're covered there, too.

Let me just state for the record: Lies, LIES, LIES, LIES

"At just 6.5 inches long" there is no way this has a magnification as powerful as they claim. This monocular seems comparable to my 10x50 binoculars and nothing strong. I think the only benefit is the cellphone attachment but I haven't had a chance to test it out, yet.

Below are my pics of the monocular out of the box. Nothing spectacular.

FINAL VERDICT: I would pass on this monocular unless you can get it for a VERY cheap price. It could be nice for 10x50 power in a lighter monocular versus a heavier binocular. Once again, I was wrapped up in my fetish for lights and lenses. HA!

The Marksman (2021)

The Marksman (2021). Rented this from Redbox. I once again used my "assumptiveness" and figured the movie couldn't suck since Liam Neeson stars in it.

I was right. It didn't suck. It wasn't the best but it wasn't bad either.

There are parts that as a detail-oriented person continue to piss me off about movies with shoot outs and car chases but if I just remember to enjoy the movie for what it is, all would (should) be well.

However! The title of the movie is "THE MARKSMAN". With that in mind, one would think that the main character is a good...nay stellar...nay excellent shot with a weapon. But the entire continued story line is based upon the failure of this so-called marksman missing two of his three targets at the beginning of the movie.

Yes, yes. He was being shot at and under duress but he's a former Marine AND MARKSMAN! I mean he missed scope shots.

Anyway, there were a few other irritating scenes but nothing too bad to disuade me from continuing to watch and complete the movie.

FINAL VERDICT: I rented it for $1.14 because I had a coupon code. I would've been satisfied with the movie had I paid full rental price of $1.95. So, yeah. In my opinion, this is surely rentable and watchable.

Breach (2020)

Breach (2020). Another movie I found and watched via scrolling through Amazon Prime today.

I've seen this movie show up on Redbox and was tempted once or twice to take a chance on it. I only gave it an inkling of a thought because it had Bruce Willis and Thomas Jane. I mean I know that Bruce hasn't been in the best of movies these days. It's almost like he's got so much money that he's like "Sure, what the hell, I'll do your shitty movie for a thousand million bucks" or he's in need of money but unless he's totally fucked up his finances, I'm leaning towards the former. Thomas on the otherhand probably needs money.

The story line of this movie is like many movies these days and, in fact, probably over the past decade: been there, done that.

Turns out Thomas's screen time was very limited. I think he probably got his 15 minutes of 'fame' spread over the course of the movie. Bruce, on the otherhand, was present almost nonstop although his character was fairly lame.

The graphics and CGI were circa 2000s or even earlier. And as mentioned, the plot has been done many times before in the same AND different ways so therefore was very predictable. Even though the story line has been done before, it initially seemed like it would be a decent movie. WRONG!

FINAL VERDICT: This movie is highly passable. I watched it because it was 'free'. I would have been very disappointed if I had rented it from Redbox for $1.80+tax and even more so if I wasted my Redbox points on it to make it a 'free' rental. It just wasn't written well, filmed well or acted well.

Smiley Face Killers (2020)

Smiley Face Killers (2020). Watched this movie today on Amazon Prime. I thought it might be at least an okay movie because in the description it said, "From writer Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho, Less Than Zero)...". I don't know of the writer specifically, but those two movies were fairly good and interesting so that's where my assumption came from.

Well, my assumption was wrong.

The movie is loosley based on real events. If those real events had feelings, they'd be hurt, disappointed and embarrassed.

This is defintely one of the worst movies I've watched...and I've watched a shit ton of movies.

There are many facets to this movie that sucked: the acting, the directing, the filming, the story line, the lack of a clear story line. I could probably find more but why? It just wasn't good or even okay.

One known name in the movie is Crispin Glover. I guess you could call his character a central character but he doesn't have a lot of screen time. You also can't tell it's him because he's wearing a mask or just has a jacked up face.

FINAL VERDICT: The lowest I usually rate a movie in my own rating system is 'dislike'. I do have a rating of 'hate' and I'm sorry to say that this movie fits that rating perfectly. It was a waste of time, effort and money by the writers/directors. Just stay away from this one. Trust me!

Last Days in the Desert (2015)

Last Days in the Desert (2015). Ran across this movie while browsing the Redbox Free on Demand movies. I read the brief synopsis and thought it sounded somewhat interesting. Also, I saw Ewan MacGregor and Ciaran Hinds were in it so thought it couldn't be too bad.

I was wrong.

The movie was boring and just dragged on. I thought it would get better the more I watched but it didn't. It just dragged and dragged and...dragged.

I don't really know what the point of this movie is/was or how it even got made. Well, actually, I've seen quite a bit of movies that got made but I have no idea how or why. Just add this one to the long list.

FINAL VERDICT: I would pass on this movie. It's just another waste of time. You'll never say that you enjoyed this movie or recommend it to another person.

1 Night in San Diego (2020)

1 Night in San Diego (2020). Watched this movie via Hulu. After reading the synopsis, it seemed like it would be a funny movie.

The two main characters are played Jenna Ushkowitz and Laura Ahsley Samuels. Jenna I recognizee from being in Glee and...that's about it. Laura seems to have had parts in a few movies and TV shows but nothing I recall seeing her.

I thought this movie would be similar to those like Road Trip but I was wrong. Well, there were some (very few) similarities and there were a few (very few) very funny parts and some funny parts but mostly the movie didn't keep my funny bone tingling or my interest piqued.

FINAL VERDICT: You can definitely pass on this movie. Sometimes the trailer shows all the good parts of a movie and people would say, "Just watch the trailer and you've seen the best parts of the movie." As far as this movie, the trailer can't even save it.

Tuscany Condos of Dallas (Dallas, TX)

I lived in The Tuscany Condos of Dallas for about two years. We signed a two-year lease to get a 'better' monthly rental rate. It wasn't too bad a deal at the time and we wanted some stability in our living quarters as the past two we were only there for a year each because the owners decided to sell when our lease ended.

The image to the left is a stock photo from their website. This is what they call the "gym". It looks way, way better in this photo than it does in reality.

It is essentially the bottom floor of a smallish two story building in the gated parking lot. It smells a bit dank and stale. They did seem to make some "improvements" to the place since we moved out but it's still kind of sketch feeling. Even though there is a keypad to open the door, I would not feel comfortable with any female working out in this 'facility' alone and most definitely not alone in the evening/night. It just really didn't feel safe being detached from the facility itself so was rarely used after dark if at all.

Overall, the condo we rented wasn't too bad. It was three bedrooms and two bath on the first floor. It was fairly spacious although it lacked any kind of real storage. The pantry was a smallish closet. The bathrooms had no storage other than the under-sink cabinet. The bedroom closets weren't too bad but not very deep. Essentially, the layout and structure of it felt like a condo one would rent on a beach or something where the point was temporary living for like a few days to a max couple of weeks. 

Our landlords were dicks when we had to move out. We were painless tenants and hardly needed anything or complained. But they were so focused on getting someone into our place within days of our exit because they didn't want to lose ANY money that we had some "conversations" that weren't so pleasant at the end. This is not a ding on the overall property, as each 'condo' is privately owned. Just something to know in case other owners are little cock-sucking money-grubbing bitches!

Anyway, some other's experiences may be better or worse but our ex-landlords had three different tenants within three years after we left. To me, that speaks volumes of what kind of landlords they are/were.

FINAL VERDICT: The Tuscany Condos property at large was fine and fairly decent. Just be aware of the landlords, ask around if you can but just know that you could get pieces of shit like we did!

Finding Ohana (2021)

Finding Ohana (2021). Watched this today as I saw it was newly released on Netflix. I also read someone said it was kind of like The Goonies so it had my interest piqued.

After watching, I would say it had some similarities to The Goonies like there is a map, a secret treasure, possibly cursed treasure, puzzles and traps to solve to obtain treasure, and along the way a bond between family and friends is built.

The film stars Kelly Hu who many might recall seeing as the sorceress in The Scorpion King opposite Dwayne Johnson or as Lady Deathstrike in X2: X-Men United. She plays the mother of two of the children who find adventure.

Branscombe Richmond plays her father. He's played minor roles in many movies and TV shows as well as mabye a couple of lead or co-lead roles. I recognize him as Bobby Sixkiller in the TV show Renegade. He's playing a Native Hawaiian in 'Ohana' but he's actually Native American and I believe I've seen him play Mexican characters who are usually bad guys.

Anyway, the 'main' characters are the 'kids' played by what I would consider unknowns or up-and-comers...at least to me they are.

One of the lead female kids is Pili and the actress who plays here is a little over the top with her portrayal and mannerisms. It just seemed a little overdone. One of the lead male kids is her brother, Ioane, and although his acting is not as overdone, it doesn't always seem genuine...like I felt like he was acting and not actually feeling his character, if that makes sense. The other two kid actors playing Hana and Casper came across with more ease in portraying their characters.

One surprise actor who had a bit part but is very recognizable (to me anyway) is Ke Huy QUan who I can still see as the little Asian kid from The Goonies and Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom.

Overall the movie was a good, family-type movie. It had some fun, comedy, sadness and rejoicing. Although much of it was predictable, I didn't feel like I wasted my time watching.

FINAL VERDICT: If you already have Netflix or a family/friend does, this movie is a good, quick watch for a bit of fun.

Zacurate Pro Series 500DL Pulse Oximeter

Zacurate Pro Series 500 Pulse Oximeter from Amazon while the link lasts.

Not much to write about this. I purchased from Amazon after seeing on CNET (I think) as one of their recommended products. I think it was like $20 total.

I ordered the product and in about four days, it was delivered.

I opened the box. It had the oximeter, a small instruction booklet, a silicon cover, a lanyard, and two AAA batteries.

I put the batteries in the oximeter then the oximeter in the silicone cover. I attached the lanyard and turned on the oximeter. I put it on my finger and it gave me a readout that I can only assume was fairly accurate. I did it a few more times to see if there was any measurement variation. My pulse and oxiygen levels varied by 0 to 3 points but that was it. There were no extreme differences readings.

FINAL VERDICT: Although I've only tested it around ten times, it seems to be doing the required job. For the price of close $20 and being recommended by one of the review websites I 'trust', I'd say it was worth it for now as only time will tell for sure of it's longevity.

Freaky (2020)

Freaky (2020). Rented this movie from Redbox today. I read the synopsis and it seemed like it would at least be somewhat entertaining. The one of the main characters is played by Vince Vaughn — probably the only "known" actor in this movie. The other main character is played by Kathryn Newton who I sort of recognized but I still had to click on her IMBD page.

Basically, this movie is Freaky Friday (1976) or whatever newer version of it with the same premise but with a darker occasional comedic turn of events. The happenings and deaths are somewhat contrived and predictable for me but that's probably because I have seen a shit-ton of movies with the happenings and deaths.

This is one of the very few if only movie where Vince Vaughn isn't constantly rambling about shit in one of his diatribes or monologues. It was a slightly welcome change. The overall acting wasn't too bad. But again, some of the scenes were just too much "yeah, I knew that was going to happen."

FINAL VERDICT: I got this from Redbox as a discounted rental with a coupon code. Instead of $1.95 it was $0.60. I figured with such a low rental cost it was worth a looksy. While I did find the movie a little entertaining and a different spin on the usual storyline, I don't think I would have like to have spent more than the standard Redbox rental fee of $1.95. If you find this on a streaming service you currently pay for or find a good rental price, I don't think you'll regret it.

Big Al's Smokehouse BBQ (Dallas, TX)

Visited Big Al's Smokehouse BBQ today. I've been meaning to try this place for years but would forget about it so never made it by. I think I used to receive coupons to this place back when there was the super saver coupon packet that would show up in the mail every week. It was that same packet that I'd get the BOGO rib plate dinner coupon to Spring Creek Barbecue. Haven't seen that coupon packet for a long, long time.

Anyway, about a week or so ago, I saw some advertisement that they extended a special from January to continue through February which is a Saturday-only Pork Rib Rack BOGO. That means two racks for the price of one which is priced at $28.00 before tax. With only two more Saturdays in February, I figured I could jump on it today since the snowpocalypse has passed and who knows what next week will bring.

The restaurant wasn't very busy I'm sure because of the weather just getting better but there were about 5 people in the socially-distanced order line and about 3 tables occupied and spread out across the dining area. So I got in and out within about 10 minutes.

The photo shows what I ordered: the ribs after I sliced a few from one rack, a pound of brisket, a pint of fried okra, a pint of potato salad, a pint of mac-n-cheese, and a side (pint?) of banana pudding. I got it to-go as I was taking it home to feed the family.

So, here's what I thought:

• Ribs were tender and tasted okay but mostly flavorless except for the slight bark on them.
• Brisket was tender enough, not too moist or too dry, but like the ribs were mostly flavorless, maybe less so, except for the bark on them.
• Fried okra wasn't as crispy as my family preferred. Now in its defense, I did have to drive about 15 minutes home while the okra was in a bag so there could have been moisture build up which may have been absorbed by the okra. I just can't be sure. However, I have driven for about the same time with okra in a container from other places and it was still crispy.
• Potato salad was tasty. It wasn't "mustardy" or "mayonaissey" but it did have a tint of sweetness. I'm not a huge potato salad person but I could eat this again.
• Mac-n-cheese was different, a good different. It was more of a dry mac-n-cheese versus the typical runny, cheesy kind. It was actually pretty good and I would order again.
• Banana pudding was pretty tasty. It wasn't full of a lot of wafer but the pudding flavoring was good. I would order again.

So that's my brief overview of my first visit to Big Al's.

FINAL VERDICT: I think it wasn't too bad but, for me, there are other barbecue places closer to me, better flavor and about the same cost or less. If it were not for the BOGO deal, I probably would not have ordered a rack of ribs as $28 is a little pricey to me. I mean it could be exactly what a per-pound charge would cost at other places but don't know for sure. Maybe the Meat Lovers Plate or Dinner Plate is a better deal to try this place out if they aren't running the BOGO rib deal. Again, the barbecue wasn't bad. Other people may find it to their liking. It just wasn't as flavorful as I prefer.

Distorted (2018)

Distorted (2018). This was another one of those movies in my Hulu "my stuff" that I saw was expiring. It has been in my queue for some time but just hadn't gotten around to watching it. I put it in my queue to watch thinking it would be worth a watch but then I would find other movies that seem a bit more interesting. But an expiring item seems to be the way to push me to watch.

This lead characters are played by Christina Ricci and Brendan Fletcher (who I always think is Donnie Wahlberg when I first see him in a movie, I think because of his voice and looks at a quick glance). John Cusack is also in the movie but only for like twenty minutes tops.

The movie was not like what I expected based on the synopsis on Hulu and IMDB. I guess it's because it was pretty vague. Also, the way the movie started made me think it was a different kind of movie than I originally thought. I mean I don't really know what I thought because I have ADHD (not really but maybe).

FINAL VERDICT: If you already have a subscription for streaming and this movie is on it, it might not be a bad option if only a last option. I would not rent it but 'free' might be worth it.

The Villainess (2017)

The Villainess (2017). Had this movie in "my stuff" on my Hulu account for a little while now. It shows that it's expiriing but, of course, doesn't show when so I figured with the snowpocalypse going that I'd use the opportunity to watch it.

I think I know why I've been postponing watching. It's because it has no English audio and I'd have to read subtitles so I can't multi-task while watching the movie. However, as mentioned above, it's expiring so I had to buckle down for some reading.

The movie started off with some pretty good action. Some graphic bloody fighting and violence with a majority of it shot in the first-person view. Reminded me a little bit of Hardcore Henry. The middle of the movie lulled a little bit with some slower action and storytelling. There were some flashbacks throughout the movie for reference. The end was filled with the same bloody fighting as in the beginning.

This wasn't too bad of a movie. I did have to watch it over two days. Partly because we were without power for most of the past two days and partly because I just couldn't sit and read subtitles for the entirety of the movie in one sitting.

FINAL VERDICT: I would recommend this movie. I would have enjoyed it and watched it much sooner had there been English audio. Although tedious to read subtitles, they didn't interrupt or takeaway from the action when it occurred. So, yeah, definitely watch it on Hulu for "free".

Born a Champion (2021)

Born a Champion (2021). Finished watching this movie today. It took me a few days because we've been having power outages (more like power out) over the past few days. If not for this, I probably would have finished in one sitting.

This movie stars Sean Patrick Flanery. If you're any kind of movie person, you would know he was in Boondock Saints I and II — which were both pretty good movies (one better than two), The Dead Zone TV series, and Powder.

It also has Dennis Quaid but he doesn't really make an appearance until the latter part of the movie.

The love interest to Flannery's character is played by Katrina Bowden who isn't highly recognizable to me but she is pretty attractive so I won't forget her now. ;-) She's played in various other movies but they look like bit parts and nothing major.

Anyway, the movie is actually pretty good. You can find the synopsis but it's essentially about a fighter, of jiu-jitsu to be exact. The love story isn't a big part of the movie but the relationship plays a role in each of the characters' decisions and such.

FINAL VERDICT: I would recommend watching it. It's a good little story, although sad in parts, but overall a good movie. I paid $.60 to rent it from Redbox with a coupon but I wouldn't have felt bad if I paid the entire $1.85 rental fee.

The Breadwinner (2017)

The Breadwinner (2017). Was randomly browsing movies in Netflix on my phone because my power was out and saw this animated movie. It looked interesting so I clicked on it and what do you know, this movie was leaving Netflix in a few days. So, I decided I would give it a try.

Even though this was a movie about living in Afghanistan, it had English audio. It wasn't really a family movie but it could be a movie watched with family. I think it's rated PG-13 but probably because there are some violent scenes. Nothing too graphic but I guess enough for the MPAA to rate it as PG-13.

The story is kind of sad but it kind of has a happy ending. The way people and women were treated by the Taliban in Afghanistan seemed to be based on real life but here nor there, it pissed me off to see it...even in animation form.

FINAL VERDICT: It's worth a watch. I'm not sure where it will be available next since it's leaving Netflix in a day or so. If you find it somewhere else, I don't think it would be a waste of time to watch.