Hot Fuzz – Action Comedy Film

On By Rick McIn humour, movies, videoLeave a comment

An insane, over-the-top comedy.

Hot Fuzz is a 2007 British action comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg.

Pegg stars as Nicholas Angel, an elite police officer who is reassigned to a West Country village and investigates a series of gruesome deaths. Nick Frost co-stars as Police Constable Danny Butterman, Angel’s partner. …

Wright and Pegg spent eighteen months writing the script.

The first draft took eight months to develop, and after watching 138 cop-related films for dialogue and plot ideas

Influenced by American movies like Raising Arizona ,Bad Boys, & Point Break, the cinematography in Hot Fuzz (2007), shot by Jess Hall, parodies Hollywood action movies by applying a blockbuster visual style to a sleepy English village.

High-contrast lighting, wide-angle lenses, and rapid-fire editing.

The film features over 5,500 edits. Fast cuts connect quick “insert shots” (close-ups of objects like a gun, a pen, or a badge) with wide shots. This turns mundane chores into high-intensity action.

Director Edgar Wright frequently cuts to extreme close-ups of eyes, boots, and weapons to build dramatic tension.

The “Whip Pan”: The camera rapidly swings to the side. This creates a blur effect.

The “Crash Zoom”: The camera violently zooms into a character’s face during moments of sudden realization. It is a classic 1970s and 1980s cop-movie trope used for comedic effect.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Happy Canada Day 2026

On By Rick McIn government, human rightsLeave a comment

Idiot Trump in office — I’ve never been happier to be a citizen of Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is doing a good job protecting our sovereignty, building our economy.

As per the U.S. News Best Countries rankings, Canada is #5 in terms of quality of life, behind Sweden and Denmark.

If you don’t like Canada, you are free to leave. 😀

We don’t restrict personal freedoms as the ReTrumplican governments do in the USA.

Ironwood by Michael Connelly

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Ironwood (2026) is a crime thriller novel written by one of our best working authors, Michael Connelly.

The 2nd instalment in his Catalina series.

The book follows the investigative exploits of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Detective Sergeant Stilwell on Catalina Island, California.

A nighttime drug drop goes terribly wrong. Two cops are shot.

Another thread follows the cold case of female hiker who mysteriously disappeared on the island 4 years prior.

It’s Michael Connelly, so good.

Reviews are great.

BUT … for me, I find Stilwell less intriguing the Bosch or Renée Ballard series. And even the Lincoln Lawyer series.

Renée Ballard is in this one. Bosch mentioned.

Some were unhappy with the unresolved ending. BUT I’m keen to read book #3 and find out what happens next.

Immersive ➙ Arte Museum, Las Vegas

On By Rick McIn Art and beauty, music, travelLeave a comment

I do like these immersive audio video attractions.

Arte Museum is a South Korean immersive art franchise.

… self-guided exhibits spread across thousands of square feet. They use projection mapping, multi-image control, and sensor-based interaction technology …

I wandered the many rooms for about an hour.

When I visited their Las Vegas location in 2026, the current exhibit was partnering with the band BTS.

One room feature a 15-minute montage of some of the boy band hits. Visuals great. I wasn’t much impressed by the music, however.

As of September 2025, Arte Museum had received over 10 million visitors globally.

Click PLAY or watch it on Instagram.

Zoox Vegas

My First Robotaxi

On By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

Zoox is an American subsidiary of Amazon developing driverless vehicles.

I tried one of their robotaxis in Vegas.

A free public trial on the Strip has been ongoing since September 2025 running only 2 fixed loops.

They are symmetrical and bi-directional, meaning it’s not obvious which direction they will travel next.

I felt very safe over my 25 minute ride. But there have been accidents. Collisions with bicycles and scooters. A Zoox hit a car door while the driver was opening it, injuring the driver.

Certainly they are far, far safer than human operated vehicles.

Zoox Vegas
A.I. generated

Blue Man Group, Vegas

On By Rick McIn music, travelLeave a comment

I finally saw a Blue Man Group performance.

Launched in Manhattan 1987, Cirque du Soleil acquired Blue Man in 2017.

Three performers—called “Blue Men“—do not speak. They use music, colourful paint, and funny physical comedy to entertain the audience.

It’s worth seeing once, but I feel the novelty would wear off in a second viewing.

My main takeaways:

  • ideal for children & young people
  • percussion music is very good. Blue Man backed up by a 4 piece live band.
  • juvenile humour, but I had a lot of laughs
  • plenty of audience interaction. None of the victims are plants, as they are in some other Cirque shows.
  • ticket prices are way down in Vegas summer 2026. Fewer tourists.
  • acts change over time and are different in shows around the world

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The impossible song we’ll remember in 500 years

On By Rick McIn musicLeave a comment

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen

Although critical reaction was initially mixed, retrospective reviews have acclaimed “Bohemian Rhapsody” as one of the greatest songs of all time, and it is often regarded as the band’s signature song. 

So weird. So long. So original.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Amazing using the technology of 1975.

The band worked HARD on this track. Recorded at 5 different studios between August and September.

May, Mercury, and Taylor reportedly sang their vocal parts continually for 10 to 12 hours a day.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Rami Malek was the perfect actor to play Freddy.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Cycling Iowa in 2027

On By Rick McIn cycling, travelLeave a comment

The largest bike-touring party in the world is surprisingly … in Iowa.

RAGBRAI, short for Register‘s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, is a non-competitive bicycle tour across the U.S. state of Iowa from its western to eastern border. …

2023 had over 60,000 riders.

A new friend — Marco — has done it 3 times. And he’s planning on 2027 driving out to Iowa in his own support vehicle. Marco would like to put together a “team” as that’s easer, cheaper, and more fun than signing up with a company.

Count me IN. This adventure looks fantastic.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Recovery Agent by Janet Evanovich

On By Rick McIn books, moviesLeave a comment

The Recovery Agent is the first book in an adventure-mystery series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich .

Launched in 2022, the series introduces Gabriela Rose, a professional recovery agent who specializes in finding lost treasures and stolen heirlooms for wealthy clients.

Something of a silly Indiana Jones clone.

Suspend your disbelief.

I probably won’t continue with the series — though ex-husband, Rafer, is very entertaining. Laid-back, charming, and infuriating to Gabriela, Rafer is a slovenly surfer dude.

Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to Janet Evanovich’s bestselling Recovery Agent book series for a feature film adaptation, with Gal Gadot producing and potentially starring as globe-trotting agent Gabriela Rose.


Murder at the Patel Motel by Maulik Pancholy

On By Rick McIn booksLeave a comment

Entertaining.

The murder mystery itself is silly, however.

Co-writers Zackary Grady and Achilles Stamatelaky.

Estranged son, Milan Patel, organizing the Met Gala in NY City finally returns home to small town Montana.

At the arrival party, his father dies mysteriously.

Accident? Murder?

Murder at the Patel Motel is an Audible Original audio play with multiple narrators and sound effects, often described as feeling like an “old style radio play” …

… a lighthearted cozy mystery, “extra cheesy,” and genuinely funny rather than intense or gritty. …