Truth or Dare

I saw the film Truth or Dare yesterday evening. It is a film concerning a group of college friends who know how to have a good time and are at a party. A socially awkward young man who isn't in the clique but who fancies one of the girls chooses her as the person he'd like to sleep with in a game of truth or dare. Unfortunately her boyfriend doesn't see the funny side and takes it badly and the party gets intense when he challenges and then punches the young stiff. The story skips forward a year the friends are travelling independently to a party after their first year of university. It transpires that it is the birthday of the chap who was punched. It is set on his family estate somewhere in the wilds of the country, the guests are directed on foot to an old lodge building a walk away. It turns out that the friends find the lodge but it is only occupied by the brother of the awkward young man. He turns out to be a strong, fit soldier who has done several tours of some war zone. The man whose birthday party it is doesn't show because his flight has been delayed, that's what the guests are told anyway. I won't spoil it but the story is a good one. The film is pretty enjoyable, I thought the acting was good and the script was interesting and had a good twist.

Star Trek Beyond

I went with my son to see this film at the cinema last week and enjoyed it. It's perhaps not an epic film like the previous one was (Into Darkness) but it is still an entertaining movie to watch. It recalls the mood of the original TV series quite well, carrying on the tradition from the first two films. This film is directed by Justin Lin, JJ Abrams was filming Star Wars so wasn't available. I don't think Justin Lin is as exciting a director as Abrams.

Physical activity

I wanted to write a blog post about my recent experience with exercise. I have been a home worker for a long time now and I religiously work long hours at my desk, sitting down. As I've gotten older I have started to notice how stiff I have been getting. I have put weight on around my middle too.
To help remedy this, I could consider a gym membership but I don't think I would keep it up and those memberships can be expensive plus you have to wait for machines to become free and then try to look as if you know what you're doing even when you don't. No, a gym is not for me, much too public and would make me feel inferior compared to the other men lifting large weights and looking all sweaty. I just cannot see myself driving to the gym in the cold, dark winter months.
I purchased a second hand Pilates book from a charity shop and got a few exercise out of it. I also purchased an exercise mat from Argos for £15.99 and I'm very happy with it. I unroll it by my side of the bed, so you don't need much room for one.

I bought a resistance band and a wobble board from Tiger, less than a tenner for both. You can do so much with a resistance band, they are awesome things and very cheap (£3 I think). At first I wasn't sure about it but after a few workouts I am impressed. The colour is pink, which is slightly off-putting but it does the job. The other thing I purchased from Tiger (a great shop) was a wobble board (plastic, £5). You stand on the board and tilt it just using your feet or you can try and balance it in the centre without the edges touching the floor.

Lastly, I have purchased 2 kettlebells (£4.99 and £15.99) and this is all I intend to spend for a while on exercise. The other option I have is to go to the local park, which is great because they have machines to practice on. You also get the benefit of being in the open air. It is very public but the people in the park are friendly and keep themselves to themselves.

I wonder how long the equipment in the park will last with vandals. I think it is brilliant to have this equipment out for the public to use though. My local park has six areas where there are different sorts of machines. Absolutely great!

2016 summer olympics

The opening ceremony of the Olympics summer games is this evening, actually tomorrow morning at midnight. I am looking forward to the games, I haven't anything in mind to watch really, maybe the judo but I expect I will catch a range of different events. They usually introduce a sport I'm less familiar with, which is a good thing I think.
What I'm most looking forward to though, is seeing how the games are influenced by the culture of Rio and the Brazilian people who I imagine are very relaxed and friendly. The setting and environment are fantastic and very picturesque.

The Reef

Saw this film last night. It's set in Australia and concerns a group of four friends coming back together, two are a couple and two were a couple who had split for a time. One of the guys runs his own business delivering boats to rich clients. The other three are meeting him to go on a boat trip together. There is a fifth person who  has been hired as a captain's mate. Now, the film sets up nicely but you just know that trouble is on the way.  And the film cleverly uses the environment, so that the audience sees what a hostile environment the sea can be and how vulnerable we are, even in idyllic weather. I enjoyed this film, it feels similar to Frozen - about the friends stuck in a ski resort.

Eden Lodge

I watched this film this week. It used a lot of cliched tactics but was well paced and well acted. It managed to steer its own path through a story that has elements of Psycho and Wolf Creek but not enough of its own original slant. I've got to give mention to the beautiful actress Aggy K Adams who plays the character Pomona. What starts out well doesn't really carry on. Shame because a lot of good elents are here but are just not used well enough. If you fancy a bit of entertainment withou having to think too hard.

Diary of the dead

Surprised that George A Romero put his name to this rubbish. It is supposed to be shot in the style of an amateur film maker. It comes across as a Blair Witch wannabe without the authenticity of Blair Witch. Not a very good film.

Siren

I watched this film this week, it was a film I was looking forward to after seeing a couple of trailers. However, after seeing it I was a little disappointed.  I don't know why I felt so disappointed, could have been the lack of gore maybe? The climax wasn't very satisfactory, the end credits appeared and I just felt so what. I didn't particularly like the actors, the casting felt wrong to me. The girl on the island wasn't very scary. It is not a film I could recommend but its not a badly made film, it just doesn't have a lot going on that make you empathise. I would rather see Frozen any day. A film I was reminded while watching. There was not a lot of use of the environment as something to be scared of: more could have been made of the scenery, instead of it just looking idyllic. I guess I felt apathetic to the plight of the characters. The boyfriend character was particularly unappealing.