Good to see everyone getting it done.. im still doing the mad crossfit stuff with some strength & olympic lifts thrown in for good measure..but have been working more on paced stuff rather than flat out red lining, will leave that to the whipper snappers going well and looking to be nice and cut for the summer.

Never been one for 1 rep max stuff especially at my age as I dont want to hurt myself but I thought i should update some of my poorer PB's.. squat and deadlift mainly..

upped the squat from 150KG to 170KG..deadlift we are aiming for 200KG as I done 170KG a couple years ago with more left in the tank..not sure if I will go back to bench..was happy with 130KG..although I suppose 3 plates is should be a target

All very impressive numbers as it is! How long was it to get to 150-170?

was a bit odd really..i dont do a lot of squatting..i did 150 a couple of years ago and failed 160...started doing some squatting with the pt recently and found i was doing 150 for 5 reps pretty easy..so i said to him that i should be able to improve 1 rep from there.. so went 155..160.165.170.. and failed 175

Where did you fail the 175? Did you get out the hole?

Started on the way back up and just got stuck.. its the weirdest feeling literally not being able to move..just had to let it go.. might have been a bit of over confidence as the 170 went up pretty smooth and clean..had a second go but it wasnt happening lol

Good to see everyone getting it done.. im still doing the mad crossfit stuff with some strength & olympic lifts thrown in for good measure..but have been working more on paced stuff rather than flat out red lining, will leave that to the whipper snappers going well and looking to be nice and cut for the summer.

Never been one for 1 rep max stuff especially at my age as I dont want to hurt myself but I thought i should update some of my poorer PB's.. squat and deadlift mainly..

upped the squat from 150KG to 170KG..deadlift we are aiming for 200KG as I done 170KG a couple years ago with more left in the tank..not sure if I will go back to bench..was happy with 130KG..although I suppose 3 plates is should be a target

All very impressive numbers as it is! How long was it to get to 150-170?

was a bit odd really..i dont do a lot of squatting..i did 150 a couple of years ago and failed 160...started doing some squatting with the pt recently and found i was doing 150 for 5 reps pretty easy..so i said to him that i should be able to improve 1 rep from there.. so went 155..160.165.170.. and failed 175

Good to see everyone getting it done.. im still doing the mad crossfit stuff with some strength & olympic lifts thrown in for good measure..but have been working more on paced stuff rather than flat out red lining, will leave that to the whipper snappers going well and looking to be nice and cut for the summer.

Never been one for 1 rep max stuff especially at my age as I dont want to hurt myself but I thought i should update some of my poorer PB's.. squat and deadlift mainly..

upped the squat from 150KG to 170KG..deadlift we are aiming for 200KG as I done 170KG a couple years ago with more left in the tank..not sure if I will go back to bench..was happy with 130KG..although I suppose 3 plates is should be a target

I watched the first two Alien films recently. Never seen them before because I just assumed they were like the later ones which I thought were quite average. Man. They were both amazing, so much claustrophobic tension and each by a different legendary director.

Yup both just incredible..watched so many times..Aliens is one of my fave films ever..great combination of action/horror/sci-fi...still rememeber going to see it at the cinema

Well done everyone..finally won one thanks to everyone doing the admin side

[DUNE]

DUNE

Dune day has finally arrived..its been a while coming and I along with many others have been counting the days. I read the Frank Herbert opus as a young man. A great heaving volume bound in heavy red leather and numbering in excess of 800 pages. I remember it being heavy going, epic in proportion with layers of hard sci-fi,mysticism and religion.

Translating this to the big screen is a huge undertaking. They tried in 1984 with a messy adaptation that tried to fit the whole book into one film.Despite its many failings I liked the film,and still do but it did leave the door open for someone with a vision as great as the work itself.
Step forward Denis Villeneuve a director with a natural instinct for the visually spectacular.Dune is exactly this, beautiful to look at,a true masterpiece of cinematography. Like Blade Runner 2049 (also by Villeneuve) it conveys the epic proportions of the story from the endless swathes of desert waste to the monstrous space ships that hover along the horizon.

A good start is that they have split the book into two film parts, this being part one. The only downside is that part two hasn't been green lighted and that would be a travesty if they left it hanging like this. The two parts are necessary though. To cram like the original film would have left too much out.

So to the actual film.. ok so it looks incredible, although there were a few scenes where it was so dark I thought the projector had broke and I was just staring at a blank screen. Another huge plus is the sound and music, at various points even the cinemas exceptional sound system was struggling to handle the bassy reverbs of music and landing ships alike.

The film keeps to the book pretty well as we explore the great houses of the imperium and all the double dealing and political intrigue/backstabbing that goes on within them. The desert planet Arrakis is the only place in the universe that holds deposits of the spice used by the mysterious navigators to enable safe interstellar spaceflight.Therefore making it the most valuable commodity there is. The House Atrides is instructed by the Emperor to take over the running and mining of the spice from the resident bad guys, the Harkonnens. However it is all part of a plot for the Emperor to allign with the Harkonnes to attack and destroy the House Atreides. Thats the basics and throw in the shadowy religious Bene Gesserit sect who seem to possess some kind of mind powers along with their dark plans and the indigenous Fremen, you have a vast and complicated set of story lines.

The cast is excellent, all top of their game and the young Timothee Chalamet comes across excellent as the young Paul Atriedes, slight of stature but tough and deadly in equal proportion.

The effects too are incredible, the 'Thopters ( insect like helicopters) are the pick.

Due to its depth and complexities, and the fact its trying to stay faithful to the book the film to some may seem ponderous as we flesh out in movie time the various groups and characters. The film is over two and a half hours long and in this society of low attention span many may think it boring. I think a knowledge of the book is a distinct advantage as the uninitiated maybe be confused by all the complexities. Yes there are mutliple injections of action but these are spaced out by story building and dialogue.

Its a tough ask bringing this to the screen and to expect the average moonhead to keep with it before reaching for their phone in frustration to check that latest instagram post from some numbskull that seems to influence their daily life. I for one thoroughly enjoyed it, I knew what to expect though and I was as enthralled and excited as I was all those years ago as I ploughed through Herberts pages my mind filled with epic scale Sci-fi skullduggery.

Dune is not for everyone, lots will says its slow and boring but these are the same people that laugh at videos of people tripping over.Its a cerebral piece, beautiful to look at and as a deep as an ocean.

To the avergage viewer with little knowledge of the text it is based on its probably a 5/10

To me its an 8/10

A fillet mignon amongst the Hamburgers

28th Minute

Good Luck!

Off to see Dune Friday..

Massive fan of the book... keeping everything crossed they make a good fist of it

2 weeks to go to bench max attempt.....

Had a great day today hitting a couple of doubles at 140kg which moved really well. Had a decent pause on each rep as well.

For slingshot I went 150, 160 and then a slightly crazy attempt at 170kg....

I was never likely to get the rep but it felt fine un-racking and very solid on the descent. Managed to get it off the chest to about half way but then it just stopped and there was no way I was going to get it moving again. I'm pleased I tried it as now on my 1RM day I won't be overwhelmed when I un-rack a chunky weight. I've un-racked for a PR in the past and just thought "what the f**k am I doing here....." and mentally that's it you're never getting it.

All looking good for a shot at 150kg max if everything clicks in to place on the day which would be amazing.

The mental aspect is weird..ive gone in before thinking im never gonna do this and then same weight felt good and positive and bang it goes up..

Interesting to read that the Sopranos series fans were disappointed with Many Saints...

As someone who hasn’t seen a single episode of the series, but who really enjoys the genre, I must say that it was largely enjoyable. Perhaps I’m easily pleased, but I enjoy seeing the recreation of the previous eras. I think they did a decent job of the mid-sixties in this film.

I would definitely agree that Tony Soprano was very much a bit-part in this film, so agree that it was oversold on the basis of detailing his childhood and ascent into the mobster life. To that extent, I understand your ire as Sopranos fans. Setting that aside, though, I thoroughly enjoyed the meandering plot lines, and most of the characterisations. It wouldn’t surprise me if Ray Liotta was nominated for best supporting actor in the various gong-shows. Glancing at Wiki I believe the script was subject to some criticism, but it was good enough for me.

So, if what you expect from a New Jersey mobster flic are some psychotic anti-heroes engaging in dangerous liaisons, casual murder and double-crossing, set in some lovingly reconstructed 1960s settings, then this film won’t disappoint. Given that young Tony is still a young lad at the end of this film, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Sopranos sequel Part II in the near future. In the meantime, I think I might just go and see it again and seek out the Sopranos on streaming services.....

Watch the Sopranos..it is must watch

[The Many Saints of Newark]

The Many Saints of Newark

The long awaited Sopranos prequel has finally arrived. I would like to preface this by saying I am a massive Sopranos fan..and it is one of my favourite TV shows ever. So anticipation is high and I settle down once again to immerse myself in the lives of New Jersey wise guys.

Set in the late sixties we join the oft mentioned and seen predecessors of the original series, Johnny and Junior Soprano and the legend that was Dickie Moltisanti.

Now the long promised prequel was always marketed as a kind of Tony Soprano origin story, we would find out about big Tonys early years and how he became our favourite Capo.

What we actually seem to have is the story of Dickie Moltisanti, his tribulations and ongoing gang war with a former black employee who decides to set himself up a rival numbers racket is the main crux of the two hour film. Sure we get to see the young Tony, played admirably by the late James Galdofini's actual son.the likeness is obvious and adds a nice wrinkle to the tale, but his part in the actual tale is minimal. Sure we get he looked up to Dickie more than his father probably and that it was Dickies influence that pushed him to a life with the mob,but this plot point could have been hammered home easily in two minutes of screen time. What we wanted to see was the rise of Tony,yes his formative years but then the path to where we joined him at the start of the TV series.

This could easily have been a standalone gangster flick and no knowledge of the series would not have been a disadvantage and it would have been a distinctly average one at that.

The performances ranged from great to laughable, Alessandro Nivola was excellent and I like him as an actor,he like a few like him is just built to play wise guy gangsters..He just looks the part. However he is overshadowed by a double bit part played by Ray Liotta. Ray just owns the screen, his granite look and tough guy delivery are totally believable. He also has the best line in the movie, as Dickie mulls over some of his advice he chuckles and says ' Hey..Whaddya I know..I'm a murderer'

On the other end of the scale the guy playing Silvio looked like he was doing a skit from Saturday Night Live and Junior was more wooden than Pinocchio. Gandolfini's son held up well and thanks to his genes came across well.

Tony's father Johnny Boy Soprano,played by the always excellent Jon Bernthal, was not explored at all and a great actor was wasted.

Overall I was disappointed, I feel a great opportunity has been missed and fantastic characters wasted.. A few references and nods to the TV Series were nice but this one deserves to sleep with the fishes..

4/10

Excellent review Dean.

I've never known Bond to be given so much dialogue. Some sections were almost monologues. No wonder it was almost 3 hours.

Lol yeah... gave him such extra depth other than cold assassin..they nearly went too far but just about saved it

[No Time To Die]

No Time To Die

So off to the comfy recliners at the localish Odeon which may be needed as this Bond stretches for over 2 Hours forty minutes.. Yikes!

Five minutes to the off the screen goes blank and my recliner won't recline...oh oh..Fifteen minutes pass and some poor spotty school kid is sent in to tell us this screen has suffered a power cut and they are seeing if they can fix it. I chuckle inwardly; I doubt there is someone out there in an ill fitting uniform that knows what a circuit breaker is. Five minutes pass and a visibly shaken youth reappears accompanied by a young girl who announces they can’t fix the screen and that all other screens are booked until midnight so they will have to refund. The chorus of woes rise as each new one takes the momentum of the last. However a quick scan of the nearby cineworld shows a decent amount of seats available for the showing in half an hour. So we hotfoot it like a sensible clear thinking adults rather than a moaning five year old joining an endless queue for a refund they could get simply via email.

We make the Cineworld in good time; they haven’t even started the trailers yet and settle in to some non reclining bum numbing seats.

The movie picks up where Spectre left off with a sequence that would only be apparent if you had paid attention in the aforementioned Spectre and set up some of what was to come. We then join a loved up Bond and his latest lady enjoying the fruits of a new romance and our hero acting like a love sick puppy. I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach, and it’s not that Friday Cod and chips I just devoured. However fears are allayed as an excellent action sequence kicks in and we are off and running.

The film bowls along quite nicely with plenty of action. Some of the stunt work is excellent although in the light of films like John Wick and the like the gunplay seems a little outdated. Nevertheless the plot is reasonable enough and the excellent Rami Malek comes across well as a softly spoken villain and manages to carry a good dollop of menace along the way.

We get our usual strong female leads in Lashana Lynch as the first woman double O and Ana de Armas as a CIA agent. I must say I preferred Ana's character and hoped to see more of her. She was almost like a female Bond, cool wise cracking and absolutely deadly. Lashana seemed a bit wooden and contrived and seemed desperate to look as cool as possible.

So we crash bang and wallop across the globe in usual Bond fashion with lots of Aston Martins thrown in for good measure and all in all found it a very enjoyable romp in true James Bond fashion. The film completes the Daniel Craig arc nicely and I liked the thread of story that ran through all the films he appeared in, it gives it an extra little level.

It will be interesting to see where they go from here but more like this wouldn’t be a bad idea.

8/10 with an extra helping of Mushy Peas

No time to die.

9/10 fantastic film but see it soon.

off to see it tmmr..crossing fingers not too much Woke nonsense embedded in it

Any training updates from anyone?

I'm 5 weeks away from a 1RM attempt so in to the low volume stuff now. Reps for the next 5 Saturdays are 2, 3, 2, 4 and then the singles

I missed last Saturday as I was on holiday but the week before was a solid 8 at 115kg all paused. In the week I'm getting to about 10 at 100kg but Saturday always seems so much better.

Trained yesterday and struggled to hit 8 at 100kg so the week off and the holiday food/drink definitely took a toll. Got to get up to 120kg tonight but I'm still aching so God knows what will happen.

 

Doing some more strength stuff as well as conditioning ..back on the bench too..currently doing clusters which are two reps 15 sec rest for 4 sets so 8 reps in total.... 110kg this week..were going up pretty smooth..working on lat stregth as well as my pull ups are literally embarrassing.. as well as the usual conditioning madness