TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

I haven't seen this movie yet but I bet it's not as bad as everyone says. Is what I wrote as a place holder for my draft post review of  Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania . Now that it's finally come to Disney+ for no extra cost, I can say I was right. Sure, it seems fans weren't rushing to rewatch it with a 70% drop off in its second week box office takings but it's still performed about the same as the other two Antman solo films. I'm not sure exactly why I skipped this one in theatres. Though I am sure the poor reviews had something to do with it. Obviously it took me so long to see it because, Disney, there is no way in hell I'm paying a premium price to rent a movie (or in this case, the only option was to buy it as a digital movie) when I'm paying for a monthly Disney+ subscription. The one thing I will not purchase is a movie as a digital only file. I want it on physical media or not at all (I have all the MCU movies on physical media - even the

I imagine the general story of how the world's greatest basketballer, Michael Jordan, was signed to Nike doesn't sound all that compelling on a surface level. From his point of view it was a few meetings and making the right choice of which shoe company to sign with. However Air fleshes the story out by finding the key players at Nike and showing the behind the scenes drama that enabled them to take a risk on, what was then an exciting, up and coming rookie, who already had a choice of two leading shoe companies to sign with. Matt Damon plays Sonny Vaccaro, the visionary at Nike who saw the future potential of Michael Jordan as a sure thing. He knew Michael wasn't just a great basket ball player but had to find a way to convince his CEO, Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), to make a winning pitch to the Jordan family, and particularly Jordan's mother (Viola Davis), that Nike had their son's best interests at heart. From what I understand both Ben Affleck and Matt Damon did

I listen to a lot of movie related podcasts, specifically comic book movie related podcasts like Kevin Smith's and Marc Bernardin's Fat Man Beyond show , where audience members or people online in chat get to ask the hosts questions.  The questions can range from genuine inquiries about the host's work, thoughts on films etc. to complete hypotheticals such as which superhero(es) would you invite over for dinner and discussion? Being in the comic book movie space talks of remaking and rebooting movies is very familiar territory for discussion and, for whatever reason, this got me to thinking about the idea of a movie game that would be easy to play, and have a memorable title that kind of explains itself. I already had 'Remake' and 'Reboot' on my mind which lead me to thinking of why not create a movie version of the verbal game 'F*ck, Marry, Kill' but with a little bit more of a positive spin. That's how I arrived at 'Rate, Remake, or Reboot&

If you've enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1 and Volume 2 then  Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3  will not disappoint. I would almost go so far as to call it the best in the series... except seeing the first movie for the first time is still one of my best memories of the MCU. While it's not essential to the story if you didn't see the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+ it does kind of lead into and set up where the Guardians are at in Volume 3 quite nicely. In this installment Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is still not coping with the loss of his timeline's Gamora (Zoe Saldada) when suddenly the team is attacked leaving Rocket (Bradley Cooper) in a very bad way. From then on it's a race to save Rocket as we learn quite a bit about his origin in the process. This movie is slightly darker than the first two and, if you're concerned about the animal cruelty that is causing some people to not want to see the film again, keep in mind, it's j

I honestly don't understand why Bullet Train didn't do well in theaters? It's basically a live action, bonkers, cartoon but it's fun, has witty dialogue, quirky characters, and plenty of action. It's definitely underrated as something that very much reminds me of a cross between a Guy Ritchie and Edgar Wright film in terms of how it's written, filmed, and edited. The plot centers around unlucky assassin, Ladybug (Brad Pitt) who is hired to retrieve a briefcase containing a ransom from on board a Japanese Bullet Train. Unfortunately he's not the only one after the case. Confusion and mayhem ensues. The only thing that really bothered me is that the movie seems almost devoid of regular people on the train and at any of the stations. Those that are present, including the staff of the train, seem to be blissfully unaware of what is happening around them despite the interior of the train becoming increasingly more damaged and the body count climbing. The further

"Ashton Kutcher as Superman" AI Image by picfinder.ai I recently watched Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon's latest Netflix original movie, Your Place or Mine  and, while the movie was entertaining enough, all I could think about is that Ashton Kutcher is at the point in his career where he could probably play a really great, modern take on a Chris Reeve style Superman . Which seems outlandish and left field but back in the day Ashton actually screen tested for the role in the ill fated Superman Flyby, and then turned it down because it didn't feel right (after trying on the Superman suit). Ashton is mostly known for playing comedic roles with a kind of naïve goofiness but weirdly he looks very comfortable playing super rich millionaire types. Possibly a bit of art imitating his real life where he's made some very smart business investments and career choices. Case in point is this latest film, Your Place or Mine, where Ashton plays a highly intelligent and s

My partner, Enigma and I stayed overnight one weekend at an Airbnb in the Adelaide Hills to attend a wedding and needed something to do the following day to make our stay more of a weekend away. Enigma suggested a visit to the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden followed by lunch at the Stirling Hotel. If you're curious about our Airbnb stay it was in a self contained guest house known as Borow in the township of  Uraidla. Definitely a very pleasant stay, but more functional than a relaxing getaway in itself. Best suited to someone touring the Hills region and just in need of somewhere comfortable to wind down at the end of the day that's more roomy and homelike than a hotel room. Mount Lofty Botanic Garden I've visited the Mount Lofty Summit several times over my last 23 years in SA, most recently as part of a guided bus tour , and I've never heard of the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden . Enigma and I were expecting something along the lines of the Adelaide Botanic Garden which i

Mini Figure Version of the Liquefying Robot after escaping its cage. This development in the ongoing march to the inevitable robot uprising is not quite as scary as the headline sounds, unless you're a Lego Mini figure, in which case you had better hope they don't hand this abomination a laser gun and program it to destroy. Chinese Scientists have made a breakthrough in robotics by creating a machine that is able to turn itself into a liquid and then reform back into a solid .  In one demonstration a tiny robot, the size and shape of a Lego mini figure, liquifies itself to escape through the bars of a cage and then reforms, like a very early 'proof of concept' prototype of a  T-1000 Terminator  from the movie Terminator 2 . Fortunately the process isn't lightening fast and, since the robot liquifies itself through heat rather than nanobot technology, one imagines a human sized version would require considerable power and an  extremely high body temperature to achiev

The Advanced Bowl - Adelaide City Skate. I'll begin by saying Adelaide City Skate is one of the best skate parks I've ever skated. Officially opened in September 2022, it replaces the old City Skate that was just down from Adelaide Central Train Station. Located at Gladys Elphick Park/Narnungga (Park 25), Corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue, Adelaide, it's a full roller sports plaza with something for all skill levels. The first time I heard about this skate park is was a concept plan floating around on the internet, maybe a year or two ago. The next time I heard anything about it was when my partner sent me pics from the window of a building she was in couple of weeks ago. Adelaide City Skate Concept Plan. A little bit of research took me to the park's website and I was surprised to see that concept plan in all its completed glory. Show's how much I pay attention to the news. Thanks to my current lack of skating ability I was excited for this park to be buil

For the first time since the start of the MCU, with exception to the Black Widow movie that was released when the pandemic was still a factor, I actively decided not to see a Marvel film in the cinema. I liked the first Black Panther movie and, at the time, was really looking forward to seeing more of Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, first seen in Marvel's Civil War Movie . However the run time of Wakanda Forever  (2 hours 41 minutes) combined with the reviews, that were great but described the movie as more 'heavy going' on account of Boseman's passing, weren't really setting me up with the promise of a great time. Ultimately I decided to wait for it to come to Disney+. After having seen the movie, I feel I made the right choice for me. I have no doubt Wakanda Forever would've been spectacular on the big screen in terms of the effects and action, but it's also, has an excessive amount of people shouting at or being angry with each other. The film open

Much like the first Shazam movie  Shazam! Fury of the Gods  is a solid family film with a little bit of edge to it (you may want to see it before you show it to your youngest kids for the scare factor). Also, like the first movie, it's fairly well written, well acted, has really good special effects, and generally a fun time at the movies. Shazam 2 picks up at least two years (maybe 3-4 years, since Billy is about to turn 18 in this movie but one character specifically says 2 years at one point). The Shazam family have gotten a bit of a reputation as some what incompetent super heroes despite trying their best to be a great hero team. Unfortunately, Billy, breaking the wizard's staff at the end of the first movie, allowed two of the daughters of the Titan Atlas to cross into the human realm, and they want to reclaim what has been taken from them. Shazam 2 totally works as a standalone movie or as part of a two movie arc. While it does reference other superhero characters you r

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Just inside the gate is this water bowl (Chozubachi) where visitors can purify themselves by washing their hands and adopting a humble kneeling altitude. On our weekend away the main thing my partner, Enigma, wanted to see was the Himeji Japanese Garden in the parklands along South Terrace, Adelaide CBD. Fortunately it was less than five minutes walk, just up the road from Hotel Alba, where we were staying. I don't know much about even my own garden, other than how to cut the lawns and hack away branches when things become over grown. Oh... and to add water during the Summer... so I'm just going to reproduce the first three paragraphs about the Himeji Garden taken from the sign near the entrance: About Himeji Garden Himeji Garden celebrates the Sister City relationship between Adelaide an the ancient Japanese city of Himeji. Situated 480 kilometres south-west from Tokyo, Himeji is renowned for the oldest wooden castle in Japan registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983.

As part of our trip into Adelaide to spend a gifted voucher to The Meat & Wine Co Steakhouse Restaurant my partner, Enigma, thought it would be nice to make a relaxing weekend of it by booking a stay in a city hotel for a couple of nights. As the Adelaide Fringe Festival was in full swing all places we've previously stayed at were booked out. Fortunately the Hotel Alba , 226 South Tce, Adelaide, who are relatively new, had rooms available at a great price.  With four levels you get a choice of city or park views. We chose park. While I'm sure the city views were great as well, I feel like maybe, even on level four you'd be seeing quite a few air-conditioning units of the surrounding buildings in the foreground. At the time of our stay the hotel's restaurant and pool area was still under construction - or maybe refurbishment as the pool was there, filled with water.  The friendly and very helpful reception staff suggested we could go to the nearby Terrace Hotel  for

My partner, Enigma, and I were gifted a voucher at Christmas to The Meat & Wine Co Steakhouse Restaurant Located in the historic Elder House, 39 Currie Street Adelaide CBD. For us, this kind of premium restaurant is not something we'd ever really contemplate going to because the pricing is it bit more 'posh' than we're usually prepared to spend on a meal. Despite that, the Afro-centric inspired theme of the restaurant, while still emanating a premium experience, felt very welcoming and homely. Its wooden table tops, African patterns, and rope stylings (that made me think someone must be very much into giant macrame) made for a very unique setting. Our wait staff were very helpful, friendly and accommodating, answering any questions we had. Not unexpectedly the food was some of the best we've ever eaten. Though we like a good steak we did notice that there is quite a range of vegan options if that's your dietary preference. For entree we had the Garlic Bread

Back in August of 2021 I made a final skateboarding video for my TET Life YouTube channel explaining that I wouldn't be making any more videos documenting my skateboard progression on account of some fairly painful stress injuries to both my feet.  At that time I'd already stopped skating for about seven months. I was also planning on closing down some of my Print on Demand Stores, primarily my Threadless and BoardPusher stores. I'm tentatively planning to restart making fortnightly videos (or possibly even weekly) for my TET Life channel and, for those of you following just this blog, I wanted to post this mid February 2023 update video to let you know what I was thinking moving forward. As you may have seen in the video I'm planning to possibly combine some skate footage with creating my art perhaps? At this stage I'm not sure? I do want to make videos for my TET Life channel and, since my feet seem to be relatively fine again, it would be nice to maybe film som

Ever since Dwayne Johnson started promoting Black Adam  with his The hierarchy of power in the DC UNIVERSE is about to change catchphrase my expectations for the film were lowered. Not that they were high, or even that I had any, because I'd actually never heard of Black Adam until Dwayne was announced as taking on the role. However, the idea that a supporting character from Shazam's comics was gunning to be seen as the most powerful superhero of all DC, telegraphed to me that maybe Dwayne was serving himself more than serving the character and the character's fan base. Especially because Dwayne was always pushing for a Superman, Black Adam show down. While I do like Dwayne Johnson, his whole campaign for this film felt like he was hijacking DC more than wanting to be a part of it. As it turns out, he kind of was, by putting himself and his production company in the running for being the Head of DC Films at Warner Brothers Discovery. His whole plan seemed to revolve around