Sunday Suggestions

While this is a rather outdated premise, I have always enjoyed sharing some of my hobbies, joys, and current interests with people. It’s a selfish endeavor in which I’ve partaken throughout my life. Sharing something great is always a good feeling, especially when the person with whom you shared the interest partakes and enjoys it as well. Think of it like telling another person that a new book was incredible, and then that person reads it, and it somehow changes his or her life. It’s a joyous feeling.

From this point forward, I will be doing a Sunday Suggestions post where I share a small list of my current likes and interests. The list each week might change, but for now, it will include the following topics and short descriptions of each:

Movie
TV Show
Food/Drink (Homemade Recipes)
Video Game
Book

Movie
Phone Booth
Starring Colin Farrell, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Radha Mitchell, and Katie Holms
Rated R
Released in 2002
Found on Hulu.com

Phone Booth is a small tale of the human psyche and how it can be broken down in extraneous ways when met with a sniper rifle laser and an enclosed space with no escape. A majority of the movie takes place inside a single pay phone booth in the middle of a large metropolis. Colin Farrell answers the phone and spends his time talking with a man that has a sniper rifle pointed at him in a relentless game of psychological cat and mouse. The movie is a little graphic with heavy language, violence, and sexual aspects, but the overall theme of the movie, along with a hardened climax that took my breath away, is one that makes you question your day to day actions as you traverse the trials and tribulations of life.

TV Show
Upload
Starring Robbie Amell, Andy Allo, Zainab Johnson, Kevin Bigley, and Allegra Edwards
Rated TV-MA
Released in 2020
Amazon Prime Original Series

Upload is a show that revolves around the idea of technological advance and finally looking past the uncertainty and unknown of death. Rather than a religious world where people pray to a deity and wish for a happy afterlife, people are able to be uploaded into a dream world afterlife. Think of it like a more advanced version of virtual reality. The show centers on a man named Nathan Brown, whose life was ended prematurely and he was forced to be uploaded into a world chosen by his girlfriend. Once there, he realizes that it wasn’t the world he wanted to be in, and he is forced to adapt while learning more about his death and the perils of life after death. It’s a dark comedy, but it has more heart than it first seems.

Food/Drink
Pulled Pork

Take a 3-4 pound pork butt/shoulder and trim off the excess fat. Rub a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ground mustard, and smoked paprika all over the pork, making sure to get the rub into all crevices. Wrap it and leave it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, sear the pork on high heat in a little bit of oil on the stove, around two minutes on each side until the outside is completely golden brown. Chop some onions and mushrooms and add them to a crockpot. Put the seared pork in the crockpot. Pour one can of root beer (or another cola of your choosing) over the pork. Add 3-4 tablespoons of liquid smoke. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Once done, pull the pork from the crockpot and drain about 75% of the juice from the pot. Put the pork back in and shred it. Add the drained juice as needed for moisture. Add in 1/2 cup of preferred BBQ sauce (more for taste if needed) and serve on a bun and enjoy!

Video Game
Stars Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Starring Cameron Monaghan, Daniel Roebuck, Debra Wilson, Elizabeth Grullon, Forest Whitaker, and JB Blanc
Rated T (Teens) by ESRB
Published by Electronic Arts
Developed by Respawn Entertainment
Platforms: PC, XBox One, PS4

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a single-player roleplaying game that takes place in-between episodes three and four of the movie anthology. The game follows the protagonist, Cal Kestis, as he is forced out of his private life as a scavenger and back into the Jedi limelight. I don’t want to give too much away about the story, but I will say that the end result truly makes you feel like you’re a Jedi during a time of uncertainty when most of the Jedi have been wiped out by the Empire. The gameplay is relatively linear and doesn’t allow for much exploration, but the combat, story, voice acting, and quality more than makes up for the lack of freedom.

Book
Critical Failures
Written by Robert Bevan
Released in 2013
Published by CreateSpace

Critical Failures is not that great of a book. I know I’m not the foremost authority on wonderful writing, nor do I have a book published, but the writing in this book is subpar. However, the concept of the book is dripping with flavor and fan service. The book is about a group of guys that get together to play a version of Dungeons and Dragons called Caverns and Creatures. They invite a Cavern Master (Dungeon Master) to run the game and consistently make fun of him. When he finally snaps, he gives them all a set of magic dice that forces them all to be warped into the game. They become their created characters and are literally forced to play the game as if it were real. Given my love of Dungeons and Dragons and the nuances of tabletop roleplaying games, it is a fascinating idea, even if it has been done before. The humor is crude and the writing lacks panache, but the overall story is quite fun for fans of roleplaying games.

Until next Sunday!