Space 220, Candyman, Malignant, No Time to Die, Last Night in Soho, Dune & Halloween Kills

I realize, this has been a LONG, LONG time coming. I haven't felt like doing one of these in months for a variety of reasons. It is nothing major or anything to be concerned about; it's more apathy than anything else, yet I am doing fine overall despite some ups & downs and not everything going as expected. Just note that I've overall been fine as of late, there is a reason why I am doing this now (and will post again tomorrow where I'll reveal more highlights of the fall season) and for certain I'll return on the last day of 2021 to talk about something which I won't reveal until then. For now, a special restaurant I visited then some of the movies I've seen as of late.

Space 220 is a new restaurant at Epcot and it is heavy on a theme-in this case, on a simulated elevator ride you are having (an expensive) dinner at a space station. As I've been interested in the topic since a little kid, I had the urge... so much so, I went there on opening day. There was a long wait but to me it was literally worth the wait. It is a one time only thing for me-it is an place that offers three course meals where I had such food as “burrata di mozzarella”, artichoke hearts, romesco, “haricot vert”, and “potato leek croquette”, which is way outside my usual wheelhouse. As I never eat at fancy restaurants, it was worth doing it once, although otherwise I am fine eating at sports bars and whatnot. The atmosphere there IS great.

Now, onto the movies I've seen theatrically...

Somehow I did not mention that I saw the Candyman remake/sequel back on the 1^st of September. It wasn't as good as I had heard. While it had some moments, it had major issues and the apparent message of “all white people are bad” was controversial...

Malignant: No surprise that many in the general public were baffled by this. It was made for a specific niche audience—one I happen to be a part of so I knew the influences and was able to guffaw at how bonkers it got in the final act.

Halloween Kills: Meh. I had major problems with the story, ones where the graphic violence on display couldn't help mask.

Last Night in Soho: While parts of the plot I could carp about, overall it was pretty good. Great lead performances, stylish atmosphere and a groovy soundtrack definitely help.

Dune: It was great. I've never read the book but this was quite the journey. The David Lynch original movie was compromised yet isn't as bad as you may have heard.

No Time to Die: Another “Meh”. It was way too long and a bad final act culminated in a decision I don't understand or agree with.

House of Gucci: It was fine, although talk about tone issues. Some performances are more nuanced while some (especially Jared Leto) are way over the top.

 

Oh, and I saw Gremlins theatrically last Friday night. It wasn't my first time as an adult; the movie s still an 80's classic.

Like I said, another one of these will go up tomorrow afternoon where I'll share the rest of the story.

Boise State, Candyman, Nathan's Hot Dogs & KN-95 Masks

Now I am finally caught up with whatever interesting events have happened to me as of late. I do have to note that I can't believe either the pandemic has gone on for 18 months; it's still being taken seriously by myself as just recently someone I know (not a family member) tested positive for the virus. At least I have enough masks to last for awhile, including a KN-95. Nothing more will be said about the pandemic or masks as some who possibly will read this are anti-mask and courting controversy is just not a good idea for myself.

On a happier note, the 2^nd of this month was the start of the college football season and for the first time I saw a game at UCF's stadium; it's been open since '07 yet the motivation only happened now. It was a big deal game against Boise State; Mom would have been real interested as she loved Boise's team for years—ever since they won a huge game in an upset as underdogs. Parking was a nightmare (the instructions the school gave for that was not entirely correct-always a good thing...) and due to lightning the 7PM kickoff did not happen until 9:45 but I was there the entire time and in an exciting bout, UCF won 36-31. Always nice was that I sat by random people who were not obnoxious idiots. As it took a long while to walk back to the car and the school's campus is on the East side of the Orlando metroplex area, it was not until almost 3 AM that I returned home! That said, it was a fun time and later in the year I plan on viewing at least one smaller-level football game in person sometime in the fall.

Movie-wise, I've seen a few. On Netflix I did see He's All That, which was a poor version of She's All That... but was not as awful as you may heard; it has nothing to do with the small role from Rachael Leigh Cook, I swear! On the big screen, The Protege was not a must-see yet was still a fun action film. Candyman, that was disappointing. For the original's flaws, at least it was a solid and interesting story which had nice scares. The new one had various story issues-especially in the final act-and possibly was anti-white... certainly it was anti-cop. Lord, it's also incredibly unsubtle. Restaurant-wise, I went or got food from some familiars-one that was new was in Kissimmee's Old Town: Nathan's Hot Dogs. As long as you go there during a non-busy time and parking is not an issue, Old Town is still pretty cool. Instead of a hot dog I had my “almost always” of a burger and fries—it was fine.

I will have more to discuss when the next one of these is done-which will be in a few weeks' time.

Jungle Cruise, Hyundai Santa Cruz, & The Delta Variant Blues

First off, apologies for not doing one of these much sooner; there just hasn't been enough motivation until now. However, I for sure will return a week from today-or perhaps in six days, on the 13th-as I will need another one of these to cover what I've done the last time I posted here. Presumably no one will fault for me for feeling blah in the latter half of the summer season... besides COVID still being a big deal down here & the Delta variant being a thing (nothing else will be said about that, for risk of getting someone upset in some way), July of last year was when Mom passed away and early August was when she was buried in the northern part of Illinois. I don't believe either that it's been a year since all of it happened; things not having changed too much since the beginning of 2020-at times 2021 seems like 2020 Part 2-does cloud one's sense of time. Thus, I'll try to be positive here; I won't talk about the snafu that resulted in me swearing off the restaurant chain Hurricane Grill & Wings forever-I used to like them...-or how Florida traffic hasn't improved, or how no matter the line of work in Florida, it is seemingly impossible for someone to return your phone call or e-mail as if they don't want your money...

Instead, there isn't too much to say in Part 1. At least the Olympics happened; while they weren't quite the same, it was still a nice diversion. The marquee sports were cool, although it was also nice to see niche events that otherwise are unable to be seen by me: archery, water polo, handball, field hockey, diving, etc. Movie-wise, I've seen some theatrically. That G.I. Joe Snake Eyes film was a total meh... just like all the other G.I. Joe live-action films. Jungle Cruise turned ludicrous and was rather blatantly patterned after the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, yet the charm of The Rock & Emily Blunt was a big asset so it wasn't something I hated. 

For restaurants, many were revisits and some I went with other people; at more than one it had loud obnoxious people and I've grown more tired of that... otherwise can't complain about revisiting Gator Joe's or exposing the people I was with to the tasty local seafood joint 145 Degree Seafood Boil. It was funny that one day there was discussion w/ me and someone else about the brand new Hyundai Santa Cruz, a slightly-raised crossover vehicle w/ a pickup bed that is the new El Camino. It was a shock to see a Santa Cruz in a parking lot just a few hours after that conversation. The only new place I visited was one I stumbled upon online one day: Kiwi's Pub & Grill in Altamonte Springs. While the New Zealand theming wasn't as strong as it could have been, otherwise it was a fine sports bar which had decent food & nothing to really carp about.

When I return in six or seven days time, I will have more to discuss: college & pro football, more movies, and perhaps another new restaurant to give quick thoughts on.

A Quiet Place, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Nick Filet & Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

I do apologize for getting this out late in the month when I had the idea to have it done early in July. Part of me was putting it off and part was waiting to update until after Tropical Storm/Hurricane Elsa... turns out, that did not pass anywhere close to where I live. Honestly, there's only a few things to mention as the rest is probably too mundane.

Late last month I saw both A Quiet Place and its sequel back to back theatrically in a 2 for 1 screening they had one night across the country. Believe it or not it was the first time seeing both; December of '18 someone I know asked if I had seen it yet and I had to tell them “no”. Even if they don't read this, eventually this person will be informed that I enjoyed both movies, and in a rare example the second was a little better than the first.

Let me mention the other two movies I saw between then and now: Summer of Soul, a great documentary about a series of concerts held in Harlem back in '69 that featured an amazing lineup of talent (Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Sly and the Family Stone, Mahalia Jackson, Gladys Knight and the Pips, etc.) and the footage shot was never seen until now. The second was Escape Room: Tournament of Champions. The first one was silly yet fine. This sequel was quite a bit dumber and had an even worse ending than the original.

To mention a few other quick notes before closing this out:

Late June I returned to Walt Disney World, Epcot in particular. While a rainy day, it was still fun and believe me, it was different being there alone compared to escorting my sister and two typical young boys around.

I've seen a few different examples of the brand new Ford Mustang Mach-E; it's not an electric version of the traditional sporty coupe... rather, it's an electric crossover SUV! No one understands the name either unless it was to get attention... which has worked. At least it looks real nice.

The last two times I've had a haircut were April and yesterday. Indeed, both were much-needed.

The one interesting restaurant I've been to is one I discovered online. In Dr. Phillips is a quick service place known as Nick Filet. I can't explain that name either or its logo of a random bearded dude, but it's a chain from Pennsylvania which has the gimmick of offering pieces of filet mignon as burgers. It's not the cheapest place but at least it was good.

I'll return sometime in August... who knows when exactly.

The Baltimore Orioles, Graffiti Junktion, Yeoman's Cask & Lion, & Walt Disney World Adventures

I'll start this off chronologically, which is also starting off with the most interesting event in the preceding month: for the Memorial Day weekend and a few days after, one of my sisters and two of my nephews were down here for the purpose of the boys' visiting Walt Disney World for the first time ever. I escorted them around all four parks and they loved some of the rides. For me, I went on some rides for the first time in ages or for the first time ever (the Tomorrowland Speedway, the Astro Orbiter, Slinky Dog Dash) and that was nice, although of course the best aspect was spending time with them when otherwise I only get to see them a few days each year. It was still bittersweet in a way as if mom was still around, she would have taken them to WDW instead and I know she would have loved the experience. That said, I was happy to escort them around instead.

What I wasn't happy about: Memorial Day, the gang plus dad went to a restaurant in town for dinner. My sister asked how Graffiti Junktion was... this local chain was only visited by me once a few years ago and I recalled that it was fine. It wasn't fine this time. Besides not having enough wait staff for everyone there, our waitress was just bad at her job; even worse was that some in our party had fine food but others-including me-had a bad-tasting meal. So yeah I will never go there again and I recommend that others follow my lead. At least I went to a restaurant new to me I liked: Yeoman's Cask & Lion... yes, a joint with a British theme, located at the Margaritaville resort in Kissimmee. That is a place worth visiting if you're able to.

On the 11^th of this month, I went to my first baseball game since August of '19; it was the Tampa Bay Rays hosting the Baltimore Orioles. The crowd was less than usual due to restrictions (insert your own Rays attendance issues jokes if you have any) but I was still happy to return and discover that for better or for worse, Tropicana Field was the same as it was during my last visit. Baltimore-a rebuilding team which may be fine in a few years but has the misfortune of being in a very tough division-had a 2-0 lead before the Rays came back and won 4-2. Until the last week, Tampa was one of the best teams in baseball. It's just a shame that Major League Baseball decided it was a wise idea to have a midseason change and eliminate “foreign substances” from being used as pitchers when they've unofficially been used for decades... and as I saw in person, they also need to fix their instant replay system as even with that too many calls are not ruled right. Typical MLB...

I should be back sometime around the 4^th of July as I know there will be a thing or two to discuss between now and then.

Fazoli's, Pepsi Blue, White Castle & Other Bits of Nostalgia

I am pushing this out right before Memorial Day weekend as I actually have plans for the extended weekend (and a few days after) which I'll explain sometime in June when I return. As typical in the past year or so, things have been not exciting aside from events that I mostly won't share here. At least I feel better than I did the last time one of these were typed up... at least this time there was no random person that completely acted rude to me when I needed them to fix something-long story. There have been ups and downs; at least things are more normal now than this time in April. I once again visited restaurants I had been to before-such Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux-although that was fine because I really dig their food; I also returned to Blaze's Pizza at Disney Springs. A new (to me) place was visited... for years I drove by Fiddlers Green Irish Pub & Eatery in Winter Park and finally one night it was time to try it out. It had fine food and was a nice cozy place.

The rest of this short entry will concern nostalgia; recently I was at the Magic Kingdom and for the first time in years I went on the Jungle Cruise ride; it was as cheesy and corny as ever. A few weeks ago I saw Top Gun theatrically-yes, really. Speaking of cheesy and corny... finally, a few times I was reminded of being a young adult in Illinois before I moved down here to Florida. To my surprise, in a Walmart cooler I saw that Pepsi Blue has made a return for this summer season. It tastes exactly like how I remembered... many will think that's a bad thing but to me it was more odd than bad. It will be drank a few times in the upcoming months. Not that long ago, Fazoli's returned to Florida after being gone for years; those in the Midwest will be surprised to hear that; as one of the few locations is in my town, that will be visited more than once in a blue moon.

Finally, the restaurant just opened in Orlando that has had hours long waits ever since the door first opened is... White Castle. I know people in Illinois will HOWL with laughter when they hear that WHITE CASTLE has been so popular, every day for a few weeks now people have had to wait hours at the drive-in and in the restaurant. I have no idea why Floridians are so insane for burgers that I don't even eat (way too many onions) and the rest of the food is acceptable at best and many-including me-only ate there late at night after a drunken night out or in my case, the times I was around Chicago attending a wrestling show and needing a quick bite before going back home. Needless to say, it will be a long while before I can discover if their chicken rings combo is as OK as I remembered.

When I return sometime in June, I'll have some pretty exciting things to share; stay tuned...

Second Vaccines, Wawa Pasta, Internet Issues, Weeb Establishments & Mortal Kombat

The reason why I did not post this late last month was that I've had Internet issues which I don't even want to get into as I wish for this to be positive instead of negative. Just note that these issues have finally been fixed just earlier today. Things haven't been great since I received the second vaccine on the 19^th but that has nothing to do with the vaccine itself aside from it making me feel puny (to borrow a term I heard elsewhere) for about a day-when the first shot did not have that effect on me. Of course I am glad to now be fully vaccinated; that is one less thing to worry about. Despite what's happened to me as of late, I can't complain; a sobering reason why: something terrible happened recently to two people I know... I feel horrible for them both.

I will mention a few positives that have happened for me. I've been forced to go to Starbucks a few times as of late (long story) and at least they have some tasty drinks that aren't coffee-which has way too much caffeine for me, to be honest. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to try any restaurants new to me but at least recently I returned to a Miller's Ale House, which has tasty food; hopefully that will change this month. At least I discovered that at some (but not all) Wawa convenience stores they now offer pasta. It was not an A+ meal but it did taste fine, especially for the price. One night last month I had to pick up someone late from Orlando International; to kill time I visited a place I heard about from someone I know. Ready Game Begin is a joint which has computers for people to game that way, along with the modern consoles to play various videogames, an anime store, anime playing on a TV (when I was there, it was One Piece), and even a small cafe which offers a few food & drink items. I posted about it on Facebook and the person who I figured would love to visit the place... I was correct. It was nice to pay a flat fee and spend some time playing fighting games, such as the latest Mortal Kombat. Speaking of that...

Recently I saw the new Mortal Kombat movie on the big screen; in the 90's I played the first few games at the arcade and as an adult, some of the games were played on console. Yet I am not a superfan of the property, so that does affect my opinion. While I do get why some were disappointed or didn't even like it at all, my opinion was that it was a goofy movie which at least was entertaining nonsense and had the gory moments you'd expect from a game that got a LOT of heat in the 90's for having those graphic kills. Another movie I saw theatrically was one of those pretentious horror movies-which have become popular in the past decade even though most of the ones I saw were overrated to me-called In the Earth. It's set in the woods and only has a few characters; while having some interesting ideas, overall it was not that enjoyable to me so my opinion was “meh”.

Barring any new issues/complications, I will be back late this month with hopefully a surplus of positive, interesting tales to tell.