Ford Lobo, Dave's Hot Chicken, E.T., Fall & Orphan: First Kill

Since the last time I've written one of these, a few films on the big screen have been watched, along with other anecdotes. In terms of the Ford Lobo, that's what they call the F-150 in Mexico; they are quite similar although not exact. I mention that as the last time I was at Walt Disney World, I happened to park right behind one. From the license plate bracket, I know that the vehicle traveled from a border town across from the deep south of Texas to Florida-what a long drive.

The one interesting restaurant I tried out for the first time was Dave's Hot Chicken, a California staple... or rather, a small popular chain from out there which has opened up franchises in Florida. One will eventually be in Altamonte Springs but for now I had to go to the eastern part of Orlando-in fact, near UCF-to try it out. The menu is rather bare bones yet it worked for me; the chicken did have heat although it wasn't unbearably so. Two odd things happened on that day:

On the way to the restaurant, I saw a young teen male on a skateboard. Note that it was rainy weather and he had on no protection. That was a problem as he wiped out in front of me! Someone else did stop to check on this person who ended up lying on a patch of grass but I hope “concussion” was the worst injury he suffered rather than something far more serious.

Once I arrived at Dave's, I ate the food outside as it was too noisy inside; what a sound I was “treated” to close behind me: a boy who was like 8 years old barfed right in front of a door to Five Guys, which was next door! I don't know why he didn't go inside Five Guys to use the bathroom or even a trash can in there... that did not ruin my meal, which was rather tasty.

The three films I saw theatrically as of late:

E.T.: That played on IMAX screens; it was great to see in such a huge way. Yes the movie was a childhood favorite and I still think it's great now.

Fall: It was a movie I only saw one teaser trailer for and that's it. It's about two daredevils (who also happen to be young ladies) who climb a 2000 foot TV tower about to be torn down. Of course things go wrong and they get stuck up there. It's rather absurd and there are some bad plot decisions made; it's a shame as the two leads are pretty good in the role and it was interesting how the movie was about grief & confronting it. Speaking of absurd...

Orphan: First Kill: The entire premise of this is absurd if you've seen the original film and know what the sequel is about. I shouldn't have been surprised that they went the bizarre wacky campy role yet it still did. Many probably will scoff at it although the end product was so weird I was entertained. The original Orphan definitely is better and should be watched if you're a horror fan.

I'll be back at the very end of the month as I have a few plans in mind.

Marshmello's Limited Edition Coca-Cola, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Nope & Rock Bottom

Since the last time I did one of these, I do have a few events to recap. First off, yesterday I had a new beverage from Coca-Cola named after EDM DJ Marshmello. His music is fine when it comes to the electronic dance genre, but he's still a Canadian dude who wears a giant helmet which looks like a marshmallow. The flavor isn't marshmallow (that's instead Coca-Cola Starlight); instead it's strawberry and watermelon which is... odd yet it isn't terrible.

Late last month I had to make a run to the airport so I decided to make the short jaunt to Daytona Beach; after a trip to Buc-ees I ate for only the second time ever at the unfortunately-named Rock Bottom restaurant chain. They do have tasty food. The only other restaurant to mention was when I was in The Villages one evening and I was part of a small group that went to Augustine's 1812 House; it was fine Italian food.

I saw a pair of movies on the big screen and talk about a contrast. For the first time in several years I went to the arthouse joint in the Orlando area known as the Enzian to view David Lynch's 1997 movie Lost Highway. The other Lynch movies I've seen I managed to enjoy but I was worried that this would be too bizarre for me. Thankfully it wasn't strange to the point of being incomprehensible or insufferable. There are a few explanations as to what happened which don't require too much thought; this late night journey was a good one for me.

A few days later I saw Nope; the one time Get Out was experienced, I did enjoy that... Us not so much. Nope was even worse for me: characters I couldn't stand, a movie that felt like 230 instead of 130 minutes, a laughably bad climax where me and some others scoffed at the same time, and a waste of what was from description a nice premise. The fact that I had to use Wikipedia to figure out why there was a subplot involving a killer chimpanzee and how that possibly related to the main story: not good. Why many people think Nope is great: beats me.

A few days ago I returned to Walt Disney World (Hollywood Studios in particular) and FINALLY after the ride having been opened back in December 2019, I was able to go on Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. It's quite the impressive technical achievement with all that the ride entails. Without going into spoilers, the first part requires you to stand and walk around for a bit, yet it is great immersive theming. After that is the now-common Disney ride trope of “the ride is in a vehicle that moves around a flat floor without being on a track” but it was still fun. No disappointment here after waiting all that time.

I will return by the end of August.