Friday, July 26, 2019

Everything Is Mostly Awesome

Slept in this morning. Kicked off a late and sunny day with breakfast and Goof Troop. Bored, PJ and Max run off to the big city to find a little excitement, but they're definitely feeling those "Big City Blues" when they lose their money and desperately chase a bill all over town. They learn a lesson in what it's like for a real runaway when a homeless man finds them and helps them home. Meanwhile, their dads are having far less luck looking for them, thanks to a cab driver who stiffs them and takes them in circles.

Headed out as the next episode was beginning. I'd been hoping to go to the movies today. After the long week I'd had, I figured I needed it. Locked my bike at the back of the fire department, then went to pick up the bus at City Hall. It was on time, and while the traffic was a little stop-and-go due to a repair project on the White Horse Pike, it wasn't really that bad. I hopped off the bus in Somerdale around 12:30.

It was a tough choice, but I ended up seeing The Lion King remake. Surprisingly, the theater wasn't that full, despite it having only been out for a week. Only three of the last four rows were remotely full. I easily found my seat and stayed there this time.

(The movie was...ok. I'll go further into my opinions on my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog tomorrow.)

As for the commercials, the most interesting of the upcoming movies advertised for me was Cats. On one hand, Jennifer Hudson gets to sing "Memory." I know she can raise the roof on a good song - Dreamgirls is one of my favorite musicals. On the other hand, the CGI cat people look a little too uncanny valley, and I suspect actors in cat costumes pouncing on giant sets would go over better onstage. I probably won't see it until January in any case. I'm afraid my Christmas movie-going is reserved for Rise of Skywalker. (Other commercials of mild interest include a film continuation of Downton Abbey, the remake of Mulan, and Playmobil: The Movie, which basically looks like a rip-off of the Lego films.)

Despite it being 3 PM by the time I made it out of the theater, it wasn't really that hungry. I strolled down the hill and went to the Taco Bell in front of the bus stop for lunch. Needless to say, they weren't really busy that late in the day. I used their nifty self-service monitor to buy their crunchy taco/quesadilla combo and a low-sugar Baja Blast. The creamy salsa in the quesadilla was way too spicy and too messy. Too bad, because the chicken and melted cheese was pretty darn good, and it was just the right size, not too big like some restaurant quesadillas. The taco was your usual taco, filled with cheese, lettuce shreds, and ground beef.

I noticed a bench on a strip of land behind Taco Bell's drive-through area when I was walking to the theater. Since I had a little time before the bus appeared, I took a leaf from the lions and basked in the sun. The weather was perfect for it. It was absolutely gorgeous, bright and breezy and hot but not humid, like it was last weekend.

Strolled around to the bus stop about five minutes early. The bus was about ten minutes late, not bad during rush hour. I actually had fewer problems getting home. There was no traffic, and the bus wasn't full. I got off at the dentist's office across from 7-11 and City Hall, grabbed my bike, and headed home.

I was only there long enough to use the bathroom and make a grocery list. It was so nice, I decided to get the grocery shopping done. I didn't really need a whole lot, anyway. The Acme is having a big sale on Skippy for 88 cents. Quaker cereals were on sale, too; went with Cinnamon Life. Had online coupons for the Acme's generic Greek yogurt, almond milk, vegetable chips, and the organic fruit spread. Found cans of the Acme's chicken soup and Campbell's Cream of Mushroom on the clearance racks. Bought Irwin's Spiced Wafers for a snack this week.

Not really happy with my schedule this week. On one hand, Sunday and Tuesday off, the latter for counseling, and slightly more hours. On the other hand, I don't have another day off after Tuesday, which means missing the Farm Market next week and likely working 7 days straight through again. To be honest, I'm probably lucky I got the schedule I did at all. The Acme was stone-cold dead when I was there, and that was during the height of rush hour on a Friday.

Ran some Goof Troop as I put everything away and made a tasty Blueberry-Peach Smoothie with vegetable chips for dinner. (The vegetable chips were even yummier, other than being a tad salty.) A superstitious Pete wants to "Rally 'Round the Goof" when a fortune teller insists that Goofy is a good luck charm. Pete lets him drive in a road race, but may end up making his own luck when Goof falls asleep behind the wheel.

Pete and Peg go through "Window Pains" when Peg and the kids start a window-washing service to earn money to buy Pete a car. Pete thinks they're trying to win a busy neighbor contest and begins a service of his own, despite not being a fan of heights. Goofy's the one who ends up stuck between Pete and Peg's stiff competition.

Went out shortly after the episode ended. Tonight is Oaklyn's Final Friday block party, which they have on the last Friday of every month in the summer. By 7 PM, it had gotten a little cloudy and a bit cooler, but otherwise was still a gorgeous evening. This was reflected in the huge crowds bunching around the line of food trucks on West Clinton Avenue. I considered getting a doughnut, but I really wasn't that hungry. I just strolled through, watching parents enjoy fried goodies and beer from Tonewood Brewery and kids get their faces painted and twisted balloon creations from a gentlemen who made balloon swords and belts.

Took the long way home down Kendall and across Goff. The cool breeze ruffled colorful gardens filled with lilies, roses, geraniums, and gladiolus. Kids who weren't with their parents on West Clinton chased each other down the street; their parents mowed their lawns.

Grabbed the last of the black cherry ice cream when I got home while playing Lego Star Wars. Finally got through "Chancellor In Peril" tonight, completing Revenge of the Sith and the Prequels. Had less luck on "Through the Jutland Wastes," which I tried three times. Got pretty close the last time. I'll try again tomorrow.

Finished the night with The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Everything isn't awesome for Emmett (Chris Pratt) and his friends following an invasion of Duplo blocks. It isn't awesome for the young boy who owns him, either. Now a jaded teen who is tired of sharing his collection with his sister, he turns everything but Emmett's home into a wasteland. Though everyone else in the world is in despair, including Emmett's girlfriend Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Emmett remains upbeat. His faith is shaken when a doll named Sweet Mayhem (Stephanie Beatriz) in a pink sci-fi outfits whisk his friends away to the Systar System, where everything is pink, pastel, or covered in glitter. Wyldstyle doesn't trust their Queen Waterva Wa'Nabi (Tiffany Haddish), especially when she wants to marry Batman (Will Arnett), but she's not as bad as she thinks.

Meanwhile, Emmett gets help finding his friends from super-macho Rex Dangervest (Pratt), who is basically all of Pratt's action roles rolled into one Lego figure. He seems super cool at first, with his gun-wielding dinosaurs and incredible moves. Emmett thinks he's the one who can help him save the others from "Armamagedgeon"...but the only thing that can really save them is rallying together, both the figures and their brother and sister owners.

Very interesting take on regret, compassion, sharing our creativity, and the importance of working together. Pratt had a ball sending up his recent tough-guy image, Tiffany Haddish made a nice queen (and did surprisingly well with a song number midway through), Banks had a much greater role this time around as Wyldstyle, and Beatriz did well as the not-so-tough Lego Friends astronaut. Great animation too, especially with the stickers and drawings of the Systar System.

This didn't do quite as well as the first one, with audiences or critics, when it came out this winter. I'm wondering if some critics are just feeling Lego fatigue after the spin-offs The Lego Batman Movie and Lego Ninjago Movie and the announcement of the Playmobil film. Not to mention, the first movie was such an unusual success, it was probably going to be a hard act to follow for any sequel. Still, if you're a fan of the other Lego movies, this one is highly recommended...but yeah, see the original Lego Movie first to get a better gist of the characters and these films' unique universe.

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