[Movies] Deadpool 2 (2018) Review

So the first Deadpool movie was an odd surprise of a hit despite it going against what we can call conventional Hollywood wisdom when it comes to how superhero movies are supposed to "work". And with its success came the assurance that a sequel would be made to continue to capitalize on the success of that first venture.

Deadpool 2 is the odd realization of that expectation and the seeming fantasy of these R-rated superhero movies continues on in a grand fashion. The first movie was already pretty crazy and it boggles the mind to consider how things might continue on and build on that first movie.

The marketing behind this movie was pretty top notch ranging from materials that presented the movie in the style of other movies to very unusual product partnerships. The trailers were cut in a manner that hyped certain aspects of the movie and made it seem closer to a more traditional superhero movie but the final product was totally different. And I loved every bit of that.

[Books] Bossypants Audible Review

As I had already listened to the audio book edition of Amy Poehler's Yes Please, I suppose it was only a matter of time before I'd get around to listening to Tina Fey's Bossypants to sort of complete the set, in a manner of speaking. Both are talented women who shined during their years on Saturday Night Live together. Since then both have moved on to their own successful careers in entertainment and periodically return to SNL to reprise some of their more popular roles.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of this book as the title was a little weird (and often printed smaller than the name of the author). Was this supposed to be a book of management tips maybe? Was this a big reveal that Tina Fey actually has gorilla arms?

Spoiler alert: those aren't her arms.

[Books] The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 8) Review

So we're not at the part of the series where the usual "format" to things has changed as the Baudelaire orphans are no longer assigned to a guardian of some sort at the start of the story. Now they're really on their own and doing their best to avoid falling victim to Count Olaf's latest scheme to get their fortune.

The Hostile Hospital is an odd transition in the series as this time around we more or less have to start right in the action as the orphans don't start the story in the relative safety of Mr. Poe. Now it's not clear if he's still willing to help them as everyone is convinced that they're criminals (or at least orphans with very similar names who are guilty of murdering Count Omar as based on the news reports.

But we're also at a point when we really start to see the orphans grow as they struggle to cope with all the dangers in their lives. They have to find a way to surviev on their own and the deck does seem to be stacked against them.

[Games] Happy Salmon Review

I didn't know how to react when Tobie excited picked up a copy of Happy Salmon while we were browsing board games. As is often the case, he had heard about the game somehow and was VERY happy to see it in stock and tried to quicky explain the game mechanics while we were at the shop.

As much as most of our games are a lot more complicated and require some serious thinking, we're not immune to the lures of a good party game. And this family-friendly game is proving to be one of the more brilliant ones that is becoming quite popular in the convention circuit because of course it is.

And in our own experiences of playing the game, it truly is proving to be a very fun game indeed.

[Movies] Monty Python: The Meaning of Live (2014) Review

As an odd sort of companion to Monty Python's final live performance, Monty Python Live (Mostly): One Down, Five to Go, the documentary Monty Python: The Meaning of Live was created to take a look at the behind-the-scenes of this production and try to capture what it was like for these men to come back together after so many years to bring back to life their old sketches from their television days.

I suppose this makes sense when you take a moment to think about it. Having the Pythons come back for a reunion performance was quite the historic moment and why wouldn't a documentary film crew want to cover that? And as the show was a blatant effort to raise funds to deal with legal expenses, companion material like this documentary just play into the whole shindig to push all the hype possible.

Capitalist cynicism aside, this was still a pretty fun piece and it just goes to show that there are so many fascinating facets to the Pythons that we'll probably never tire of efforts like these.