Drag Me to Hell

So this week's cinematic outing was the Sam Raimi directed horror flick 'Drag Me to Hell' starring Alison Lohman and Justin Long:


A lot of people are probably only familiar with Raimi from his work on the Spider-man films, but his Evil Dead trilogy (Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness) are horror classics, combing genuine scares and creepiness, with tongue-in-cheek, laugh out loud moments.

Basically, that same style is applied to his latest effort and although this isn't the scariest horror film around, it's one of the most entertaining I've seen in a long while - lightyears ahead of limp spooky-schlockers such as the silly and derivative The Unborn.

Premise - Christine (Alison Lohman in a hopefully break-through role) works at a bank and is keen on being promoted to Assistant Manager, a position she must earn by demonstrating ability to make tough decisions. When an old lady faces her home being repossessed by the bank, Christine refuses to grant her a third extension, thereby the old gypsy woman's wrath. The gypsy has a particularly nasty trick up her sleeve involving cursing Christine with the Lamia, a demon goat spirit that torments its victims for 3 days and on the final day dragging them down to burn in the depths of hell for eternity.

Without spoiling anything, the 3 days results in a campaign of misery and supernatural torture for the poor girl as she tries to find ways to rid herself of the terrible curse, and the thrills and spills along the way make for a hugely entertaining film - one minute you're jumping in your seat, then squirming in disgust, before big laughs and relief - a cycle which is repeated several times but never gets old due in part to a sense of fun and playful wickedness in the direction and set pieces, but also Lohman's acting and character.

I'd give this 4/5, I would have liked it to be a bit scarier and there is an obvious twist that plays out painfully slowly, detracting from some of the tension, but Raimi has once again breathed fresh life into the horror genre and I'm hoping this will cause other horror directors to up their game and not just churn out the same old tired remakes and sequels we've been subjected to recently (see Friday 13th, the Saw films, The Last House on the Left etc).

Hurricane

In the never ending quest to get big 'n' ripped, I've ordered and now received a 2.5kg bag of chocolate flavour Hurricane XS powder from http://www.myprotein.co.uk/



I've had it before but never took it regularly enough to make a proper difference I don't think.

Going to do it properly this time and have one in the morning and one in the afternoon on non-gym days, and one in the morning, one post-workout on gym days.

Hurricane XS is good because it's whey protein, creatine, glutamine and HMB all in one - no muss, no fuss. It's basically the myprotein equivalent of the Maximuscle Cyclone product.

Anyway, I have probably a month's supply (maybe less, I dunno - it's 2 scoops per shake) and I'll see how I go with it and order more if I manage to stick to the plan this time!

Here's what they say about it:

Hurricane XS pushes the boundaries yet again and adds something new to the much loved Hurricane®. With slower digesting carbohydrates the formula is more suited for consumption as either a meal replacement or post workout (PWO) offering. The carbohydrate source is based around the slow digesting carbohydrate choice of our Ultra Fine Scottish Oats to give a sustained release in energy and aid muscle building over a period of time. The protein chosen is now a combination of Impact Whey Isolate® and Impact Whey Protein® which is high biological value whey to aid muscle growth and repair. Whey Protein Isolate is the gold standard in protein powders.

There is 5g of Creapure® creatine in each serving to aid strength and an increase in lean muscle mass. No other supplement in the industry has the reputation for increasing lean gains and strength that creatine does. Creapure® is the advanced formula of monohydrate powder. More reps, more strength equals more gains.

Combined with quality training Hurricane XS will yield great results in both strength and size, whilst providing a fresh tasting shake to have on the go. We have now added 1.5g's of HMB per serving to increase lean tissue and stave off catabolism (muscle break down) and the most abundant amino acid (L-Glutamine - 5g per serving) is also added to aid your gains.
The science behind this formula is unrivalled, the gains fantastic!

Active Ingredients (per serving):
Creapure® Creatine: 5g
L-Glutamine: 5g
HMB: 1.5g

P.s. I love the big pouch that the powder comes in, it's resealable so I'll pour half of it into my plastic lock-tight container and leave the other half in the pouch. Man, I sound really dull...

Marco Blaze

Funny how certain porn stars seem to become the 'man of the moment' for a while. One of them currently is Marco Blaze:


From what I've read, actually seems like quite a nice guy. Living in London at the moment and studying for a second degree, so not the young, dumb and hung stereotype which is nice. Plus, he's now one of my Facebook friends, hehe! Still waiting for Daniel Carlos though... :-)

Can you tell what it is yet?

I love this picture.

Aussiebums

I want to look like this later this year for my beach holiday:
Well-proportioned, muscled, tanned and confident.

So I must make it so.

However, I'm not sure about the boardies. Yes they look good (on him) but what about the tan lines people?

Trying to decide if I'll order these:



(model not included...damn)


Or these (the reverse of the above, basically):



I'm preferring the look of the white crotch ones but am wondering - how see-thru will it be when wet?

Anyone know? I'm also a bit worried about the sizing - have some Aussiebums underwear and the Small size is fine on the waist but not so much on the crotch - should I risk Small or plump for Medium?? Arrrrgh!

Bank Holiday Weekend

Gym. Driving. Sex. Food. Bond. Sleep. Shopping. Sex. Food. Film. Sleep. Walking. Shopping. Food. Walking. Drinking. BBQ. Sleep. Country show. Hot. Food shopping. Chinese. Film. Sleep.

So that was my Bank Holiday weekend, how was yours?

In other news, I'm getting into those body moisturisers with a little bit of fake tan in them - 2 applications in and I have a nice sun-kissed glow. Next time I go swimming I want to be GORGEOUS!

Squats

OMG I had not done any squats for a while due to a) lazyness and b) daily cycling but I thought it was time to get back into them this past friday...

OUCH! I wasn't even doing that much, 17.5kg on each side, plus the bar (I'm not totally sure but I think that weighs 5-10kg?) and I did 3 sets of 8 reps.

My quads have been sore ALL weekend, and being a Bank Holiday that's a long weekend to be sore! They have only just about recovered! Still a bit twingey!

Still, the new Aussiebums I'll be buying shortly (see Aussiebums post) will thank me for it when my legs are filling them out as nature intended.

Gymspiration 2

OK, OK so yes it's another porn star, but come on - Francois Sagat definitely has one of the best bodies in the business!

Slightly more bulky than my previous example but I'd love to look like Francois. He's also pretty cut and has a great six pack, I'm not that fussed about getting a six pack as I think it's more the cherry on top but it does complete the look I guess. I think one thing he has in his favour is being slightly on the short side (5'8 or thereabouts I believe, I'm 6') which I think is good for a bulky muscle look.

Definitely wouldn't want to be bigger than this though, I think this is the limit! What do you think? Whenever I can't be bothered to go to the gym I think "What would Francois do?" hehehe ;-)

Also good - again, he's gay (go team!) and he keeps his chest hairy, I wonder what he'd look like smooth?

Film Review

Just a few comments on films I've seen recently and what I thought of them...

X-Men Origins: Wolverine


Yes, Hugh Jackman got into incredible shape for it and he did look fantastic, but sadly the Wolverine film failed to deliver. Some decent action set-pieces aside, the plot was weak and the characters poor, a lack of tension (since it's a prequel you kind of know the ending) and some bad casting meant this was a very average start to the summer blockbuster season.

Generous Rating - 3/5 (extra 1 for Hugh Jackman's hotness)

Coraline



Not having received the same level of publicity of Wolverine, some of you may not be aware of Coraline, but you should be! From the same guys that brought us The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline is a stop-motion animation adaptation from the fantastic fantasy author Neil Gaiman's book that weaves a spell-binding tale of a girl trapped in a nightmare reality... everything about this film is spot on, the sumptuous visuals and the soundtrack work so well together and lend this film a totally dreamlike quality. Far from a mere kid's film, this is actually quite dark and scary towards the end! One of the best animated films of all time, I think!

10/10

Star Trek



I'm not a Star Trek fan so went into this with no expectations really, other than being a fan of JJ Abrahms other work (e.g. Cloverfield and Alias, not so much Lost). Was pleasantly suprised, it's a very entertaining sci-fi actioner that refreshes the tired franchise and despite some limited characterisation, there's not really a dull moment. I really enjoyed it - and it seems the general public agrees, as this is sure to be one of the highest grossing films of 2009's box office.

8/10

P.s. in future I will try and write far more detailed film reviews, as I watch a lot of films (Film being a main interest of mine) and always have an opinion! Next film is probably going to be Drag Me To Hell, so check out the review sometime next week!

Workout

Currently feeling like my workout is getting kinda stale, having done pretty much the same stuff for quite a while now.

Typically consists of 3 sets of 8 with heaviest weight manageable, (which is 17.5kg dumbbells for hammer curls and 27.5kg dumbbells for other free weights, currently)

Free Weights

3x8 @ 17.5kg hammer curls

superset with:

3x8 @ 27.5kg dumbbell bench press (flat)

then:

3x8 @ 27.5kg dumbbell single-arm bent over row (using bench - think that's the right name!)

superset with:

3x8 @ 27.5kg dumbbell pullover

After this I've e started to do some more shoulder/traps work, using a big weight plate, but I must admit I don't know what the name of the exercise is! Basically, I grip the weight plate at one end at the handle, using both hands, and I pull it up until my hands touch my chin, then lower. Repeat as needed. If anyone can tell me the name for this, please do!

That's with a 25kg plate, which I am also using 2 of to do shrugs.

That's all I'm currently doing regularly free weights-wise, although I sometimes squat and deadlift and want to do these a lot more (good for growth all over, I know).

Machine Weights

I tend to stick to a few machines and again do 3 sets of 8 reps with the heaviest weight I can adequately manage with good form. Machines are:

Chest Press - 55kg (sometimes 1 set of 55 and next two of 47.5kg if feeling weak)
Seated Row - 50kg
Shoulder Press - 35kg

Dipping Station - I am not yet dipping full bodyweight; I put the pin just below the main pin, so I think that's taking, what, 5kg off? Not sure. Will hopefully start full bodyweight dips later this summer.

Been doing - 2 sets of 8 reps of dips (leaning forward to target pecs, yeah!)
2 sets of 8 pull ups - not sure what the grip I use is called, my elbows are basically at right angles
Sometimes might then do some Lat Pull downs or Cable Flyes if I'm feeling energetic, but usually that's about it. Not sure where to go from here - apart from the aforementioned incorporating more squats and deadlifts into my routine. Will try and keep a more careful track on weights etc though and aim to go up to the next size dumbell by July...

Gymspiration

I work out a few times a week but need to be a bit more consistent! I would like to build a well-proportioned, lean muscled body. Therefore I'll post some pics that inspire me to keep working out!

Here's the first entry - Pedro Andreas/Daniel Carlos.




I like this guy's physique because he is well-proportioned and a decent size, but also looks athletic, though I could do without the big tattoo on the arm in the second pic personally (and the piercing).

What do you think? A good target for me to aim for? I also like the fact he's gay - go team!

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