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.