How much can you do in a day?! I don't know, but I've been doing some unintentional experimentation within the realm of productivity lately, as a precursor to the great trip I'm now just about to head out on.

The other day I posted 66 new (though I've been watching and writing up drafts for them sporadically throughout the year so far) movie reviews, and additional ones on 21 Jump street, 22 Jump Street, Black Panther, Return To House On Haunted Hill, Machete, Tiger Cage 1 and 2 and In the Line Of Duty 3 and 4. More ITLOD reviews later. Realized I'd reviewed them all before after preparing new posts for them, and those take some extra time to combine.

I'll go through the new ones I posted after summer too. Public reminder. I'm pretty impressed with myself though. Was thinking I'd go for a hundred but as it turns out I didn't actually have a full hundred lined up so...

Hey have I mentioned I've been back at the cinema again?

Watched this great thing the other week at Westfield's Mall of Scandinavia. Throwing the company name out here too in case it's international.

It's a pretty luxurious establishment compared to the standard mall around here, with a gigantic mirror entrance, fountains and icicle chandeliers and bathrooms like I wish we had at home and wouldn't mind the traveling time just to visit... but the construction's sub-par. Apparently it's a fire hazard. The roof was on the verge of caving in the winter after it was built... anyway it's a nice place - and the nearest place - and a large place so there's room to socially distance - so that's where I went.

The seating was sparse, they had a pretty creative typographical hand-sanitizer and social distancing promo before the film, and all new commercials (all enjoyable too - didn't realize I've actually been missing the commercials), and trailers for a brand new Guy Richie movie I have to see (last time I was at a cinema it was for an early screening of this) and a Furious 9 (will also see) trailer with a little covid message built-in that felt suitably personal even though the movie franchise as a whole just seems to be getting way overblown and unrelatable lately but this movie was a blast. And we were less than ten people in the room.

Also got my old contest-entry artwork An Isle A Minit converted to pixel recently thanks to @IdiotOnTheInternet! Finally got some ISRC codes registered with IFPI for last year's mixtape! Finally finished a batch of background art for @Mabelma that I should've been done with months ago! I'm about to voice a few lines for an upcoming game project right after I post this and here is an an article on the complex issue of Flash, of its life and death, and moving on, and the NG community, with an appreciable amount of recognizable usernames in quotes - among them one epic scripture a la the master @FUNKbrs. Yours truly though not included. Should've posted in more relevant threads.

The article's a little long but good. Good read.

@ChibiWilli's doing comissions too. I should've mentioned this months ago.

Check it out anyhow. You could get a spot in his book too.

In more real news I think I saw a short-tailed weasel or mink the other day, attended a two day midsummer party (saw said animal briefly on the way home from the first half of said party), and went road tripping with my nephew in the middle of a heatwave recently with 32°C outside and no air-conditioning in the car. We blasted EUROPE's Wings of Change on the highway with windows rolled down entirely, stopped for a swim in Gävle and finally arrived for a short weekend in Östersund at 2:35 AM Saturday morning. It rained all Saturday. Drove back on Sunday.

At the point of arrival it was just 5°C up there btw. Soo cool. Wish I could've stayed longer.

Short but memorable trip. We drank incredible amounts of H2O along the way, I'm impressed I didn't pass out or get heatstroke during the drive, the way back was better considering we were heading from the coldest point to the warmest one at a pace where the warmest one had also substantially cooled down before our arrival, and a new trip's coming up soon now! A longer one this time. So I'll see you in a bit.

Time to finally jump offline and wander... in time.

Woo! It's not just around Christmas apparently. We passed the most recent thousandth in the middle of the year this time. Spring, 2021, probably? The count's up at 3,152 now and counting...

Not sure why I see the need to post about numbers like this. As if the social involvement on a blog is the best indication of accomplishment and reach, or the writing itself a quality measured by number more so than wisdom and/or witticism, but regardless of the reason I do have a thing for numbers! it seems the higher they are the worthier a cause for celebration, and in this dystopian world we can use any cause we get can't we?

It is nice this place still garners a little activity too; maybe more so now than in a while now...

If you haven't ever left a comment here before why not leave one today!

I'll be back to respond in a couple months or so.

In the post-apocalyptic world of 1990s Nevada, a rock 'n' roll samurai on his way to Lost Vegas takes a young orphan boy under his protection as Death and his metalhead Horsemen chase after them.

Now this is just perfect. Just awesome. Just a vibe. Just all out there in the desert badlands, heading towards a post-apocalyptic Oz, a blade-wielding wizard king and a kid, in a world where pretty much everyone but the midget comes off at least a little crazy.

Don't miss Death or the happy cannibal family in particular.

This is why I watch B-movies still! It's a ride. A creative and fun and fascinating one - at times a violent and dramatic one - at times a nonsensical and silly one - at times a serious and confounding one - all the way, all character and atmosphere and chemistry and style, and I love it.

Jeffrey Falcon and Justin McGuire. What a duo.

Unfortunately though this was Falcon's planned grand American debut that didn't really work - he did some HK movies before I hope to watch later. Seems it was the last movie he did, and that is a shame. The kid though? Became a stuntman. And the guy who played Death actually did kickstart his acting career with this one.

Weird are the ways... but this one's one for my all-time favorites when it comes to off-beat B-movies. Second only to maybe Return of the Killer Tomatoes and Adventures of Johnny Tao.

Hope Falcon'll just jump right back in some day and make the promised sequel here there never was.

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome

This could've been a documentary. It could've been a movie. Somehow they managed to do both!

The black and white pictures from the actual thirties occasionally mixed in with the new footage - ending with the new scene first in black and white before it fades to color, was a nice way of adding in some actual footage. And they managed to enact the story in the maybe most authentic way I've seen one of these movies done before, short of maybe Mesrine (highly recommended if you haven't seen it - it's like a French counterpart of this). The only thing they don't show in the old footage is Bonnie and Clyde by face, and that's probably a good thing, that might've be the one thing that stood out as different.

Maybe the language too.

Maybe also that driveways weren't dug deeper despite the thin wheels of the time. Small things like that.

For the most part though this felt impressively authentic, though no doubt somewhat sensationalized. They couldn't know what they actually spoke of when they were alone in the car, could they? It all ends up maybe a bit more poetic than the real thing was. Though you wonder about certain details. If they were real or not. The second sight. The bickering between them. Was it all Bonnie after all?

The end's sad, and brutal, but in a way glorious, and no doubt that's why we still remember these names with such ease. A hundred years later.

If they had just grown up just a little differently maybe we wouldn't have known them at all...

 rated 4.5/5: almost awesome

Had to see the movie where Will Smith played the genie. :) Wasn't expecting much but maybe a good time, and it delivered beyond expectation!

Will Smith's great. Not only is he ALWAYS great, but he actually looks a lot like the Genie of old too. Facial features somewhat characteristic... no? Charisma the same? Okay honestly I don't remember all that much from the animated 1992 alternative at this point, but I do get a sense of déjà vu now looking back. Maybe I'm just imagining him as the old one too though...

The story otherwise is one of life. An Arabic night epic like no other, starring the ragged street thief Aladdin (Mena Massoud) and the beautiful princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), an impossible love, made all the more impossible by the ambitious but also somewhat nefarious and evil Jafar - advisor and second only to The Sultan.

The Sultan loves his daughter, and ever since her mothers death he keeps her trapped within the castle walls, until the day she runs into Aladdin on the street market. AKA souk.

So maybe there's a little little focus on her being trapped there too, as there's a little little focus on the genie being ditto, as there's a little little focus on a perceptible sense of stagnation when it comes to our main character Ali the one and only, and none of the cast members is really the best singer (first Will Smith bit had me hyped for more though), but they do have dance scenes! And flashiness. And desert dunes, impeccable special effects for the most part (carpet ride hmmmm), appreciable magic, exotic ladies (wouldn't have minded even more exotic costumes though), emotional turmoil and a showdown like no other...

It really surpassed my expectations. Aladdin's wish? Had a blast with this. Probably way more so than if I saw the animated version of it from back in the day right after.

Seen a lot of hate - or at least memery - regarding Will Smith's role but... you know what? He fits perfectly.

Like a genie in a bottle.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

They really brought it back with this one! Could've had a better cover though. Even if I do appreciate the twist. Flipped it around a bit. Changed the angle, though they kept the scene the same...

This one did more than just repeat the first all over again in a new way though, like the last one did. They settled on an exotic little cove, mixed in a little more relatable save-the-world-from-rising-oceans and save-the-sea motives instead of the god complex and science ones, found a great main actress with Tania Raymonde, and a bad-ass bodyguard with Shaw (Emerson Brooks). He really went out with a bang; the best way possible. Feels.

I love the location (south Africa if you're wondering), I love the underwater filming, I love the casual clothing this new milieu allows, the focus on water, the refreshing levels of lighting compared to the previous, the sometimes psychedelic and synthy soundtrack that doesn't seem to directly play on the old Jaws inspirations any longer but actually brings in something new, and the plotline progresses nicely!

Feels like the whole pre-destruction phase didn't really contribute that much, after a while the intrigue started feeling drawn out, and the coastal town destruction showed the budget, but when they're back to the sharks again it's like they found their place, and those essential moments are where this movie really shines. From the first half of a body rolling by to that heavy pressure ending. And when they do have their occasional human dialog swap it's not all bad this time either. The hearing aid bit. Shaw's determination. The final dive. The script felt way better overall, with gems strewn around even the drawn out parts.

Couldn't have asked for a more conclusive finale! They bring it all full circle in a good way, and found a small but solid cast for closure.

I really enjoyed this. Now hope they don't try to milk it further ad wind up disappointing again...

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle