Due to the weather down here this summer (after starting off mild, this summer has been even hotter than normal), there is not too much to discuss this time. A few restaurants & other eateries have been visited for the first time in awhile; this includes Bruster's Real Ice Cream-always a treat-and one day when I picked up someone from the Orlando-Sanford airport, I was briefly in Daytona Beach to visit Buc-ee's and have lunch at a Larry's Giant Subs; it's a shame they haven't had an Orlando location in years as it's a place I still like eating at. Speaking of food, something I've done a few time in '23: make myself a cake. I'm no gourmet but if I knew it was surprisingly easy to make something that tastes fine even if I mixed it all together... it's something I should have tried much sooner.
Otherwise, I'll mention the films I've seen theatrically. First was Talk to Me, a horror film from Australia I had no knowledge of until it received buzz like a week before it came out. Honestly, most of the heavily-hyped genre efforts in the past decade I sometimes avoid, as the ones I have seen just come off as haughty and pretentious, which I don't love. Most are massively overrated, which sometimes means “atrocious.” Talk to Me wasn't atrocious; at the same time, it was yet another modern horror movie all about grief and loss. That's a tiresome cliché by now. Plus, the movie lost me with its entire premise, as it's way too absurd to believe. Heck, there is even a subplot over the lead girl having lost her mother; you'd think that would get a reaction out of me... but nope.
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem was due to nostalgia. For a few years as a kid, I was a big Turtles fan & loved the cartoon. I even saw the first two movies theatrically. However, after that I wasn't such a fan any longer. The animation style and the score/soundtrack was the highlight. It's a shame that the story is incredibly tired in 2023 as it has many tropes done many times by now. Far worse is that this has “modern humor”, which to me is another term for “unfunny humor.” If you love rambling BS, characters talking over each other, awkwardness and modern references, then this is for you! As it's not for me, it's a movie I was disappointed in.
Finally, Meg 2: The Trench. I saw the first one sitting right by an awesome family that included a dad who treated the movie like it was an MCU premiere. The crowd I saw this with I didn't love as much... yet I have to admit that a surprising amount did throw away their trash as they left so I can't get TOO miffed. Also, The Meg was something that Mom actually was a fan of-more than me, to be honest; she saw it theatrically once then saw it at home a few times. Hopefully she would have liked the sequel. My opinion: it is utter nonsense and kind of dumb; yet, it was dumb fun which at least wasn't pretentious and has action setpieces I can laugh with... or perhaps at. It was also watched in 3D, which only added a layer of fun as some gags were meant for that format.
I'll be back sometime in a few weeks; who knows when for certain. I should hopefully have more colorful tales to share.
