"EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert" Review

Yesterday, I went to the Red Rock 10 Theaters in Gallup to see the new Baz Luhrmann EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert movie. It is a documentary/concert film. Afterwards, I went to Jerry's Café for dinner before heading home.

The movie focused Presley's early residency at the International Hotel in Las Vegas (circa 1969) and some arena concerts circa 1971-1972.  

Reviews of the movie have been raving and, quite frankly, it didn't disappoint. The only narration was by Presley himself and not any talking heads of commentators. 

Much of the footage I had never seen before. The sharpness and color were great, as if the footage was shot only recently. What really impressed me was the sound. The theater had a great surround system and make one almost feel as if they were in the showroom. 

I was thinking during the movie that it was too bad my mother wasn't alive to enjoy it. She was the big Elvis fan in the family. 

I have to give this movie a strong A+ grade. 

EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert

The documentary by Baz Luhrmann opens in theaters this week. I have been seeing rave reviews.

The movie features long-lost films found at the Graceland estate and restored.

The Hanford Sentinel posted a review which starts with:

Over the years, countless attempts have been made to resurrect the King, whether it was movies, TV specials or musical ventures celebrating his artistry and legacy, attempting to bring him back and keep him among us.

No single project has done a better job of making Elvis feel present and alive than "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert," director Baz Luhrmann's dazzling documentary-slash-concert film, which lets us see and feel Elvis on stage, in his element.

It's a pure joy to see, to feel, to behold, as Elvis tells his story, in his own words, and hits the stage to let us bask in his greatness. The movie, meanwhile, helps to reclaim Elvis as a singular force of nature, an otherworldly dynamo, not the parody of himself with which we've come to associate his Vegas years.

The movie will be opening February 27 at the Red Rock 10 Theaters in Gallup. I'll be seeing it there.

To read more, go here.

Winchester Model 94 Review: The Wild West .30-30

Winchester Model 94 Review: The Wild West .30-30 video by Dad Defense.

Summary:

The Winchester Model 94 is more than a rifle — it’s American history.

In this video, I take a deep dive into the legendary Winchester Model 94, the lever-action rifle that helped shape the American frontier. From its origins and rise in popularity to why it remains iconic today, this review blends history, hands-on experience, and a real-world range test.

I head out to the range on a cold, slightly snowy day to put a Model 94 through its paces and see how this classic performs outside of perfect conditions.

What makes this review truly special is the opportunity to showcase a 100th Anniversary NRA Centennial Winchester Model 94 — a never-fired rifle that was generously loaned for this video. While it was not fired, I walk through its details, craftsmanship, and historical significance so viewers can appreciate what makes this rifle so rare and respected.

This is a Dad Defense review — honest, practical, and rooted in respect for history and responsibility.

If you’re a collector, shooter, or just someone who appreciates classic American firearms, this one’s for you.

Siskel & Ebert Review "Superman and the Mole Men"

Way back when, film critic Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert managed to give a mini review of Superman's first feature film, Superman and the Mole Men (1951) starring George Reeves, Phyllis Coates and Jeff Corey.

Their review was favorable, although they poked some fun with the Mole Men, saying they "looked like midgets wearing shower caps." They liked the nostalgia aspect of the movie.

They also take a look at Kirk Alyn's Superman (1948).

Mossberg 500E .410 Pump-Action Shotgun Review

MOSSBERG 500E 410 PUMP-ACTION SHOTGUN REVIEW by The Dog Pound with M-Dog

A couple of years ago, I came upon the Mossberg 500E shotgun in a stack of rifle cases left by my dad. I didn't know I had it. I tried it out and it is fun to shoot. It was made in the early 1960s before Mossberg added serial numbers. 

On the video, the summary:

The Mossberg 500E .410 Pump-Action Shotgun is a great shotgun for the new shooter / hunter to learn with or for the seasoned shooter / hunter to challenge themselves with.  This video will provide an up-close look at the shotgun and help you decide whether it’s right for you.  I hope you enjoy the video.  Stay safe and God Bless you and yours!

Why You Shouldn’t Trust Online Cruise Reviews

Above, onboard entertainers during a cruise to Havana, Cuba. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On occasion, I will peruse reviews of travel experiences by ordinary people. Naturally, different people have differing opinions. That's where the proverbial "grain of salt" comes in. 

One may have enjoyed the experience while another was totally miserable. This goes for cruises.

Reviews are subjective. Some may even be shills for a cruise line company.  

Above, yours truly at the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, Cuba. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky.

Cruise Hive posted an article on why people should not trust online cruise reviews. 

They begin it with:

Have you ever been told to not believe everything you hear or read on the internet? This advice holds true for cruise ship reviews.

While many cruise guests like to read reviews of different ships before booking their sailing, this isn’t always the best idea.

Here are six reasons why you should think twice before you let online cruise ship reviews determine your vacation plans.

To read more, go here. 

Miroku Winchester 94 Review (Video)

It is interesting that Miroku Corp. of Japan is licensed to manufacture Winchester rifles, such as the Winchester 94 lever-action. But the average Japanese citizen cannot own pistols or rifles. 

Japanese citizens are allowed to own shotguns for hunting and trap and skeet shooting. But, people have to go through a lengthy licensing process in order to do so.

It is said that Miroku's Winchester 94 rifles compare favorably to the pre-1964 Winchester 94s manufactured in the U.S. I have one made in 1962.

Here's a review video by Gun City:

The Best Lever Action Rifles of 2025

Above, a collection of classic lever-action rifles on display
 at the Billy the Kid Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Originating in the 1800s, lever-action rifles have been around ever since. Some are classic old favorites. Some are new on the market. Regardless, lever guns are here to stay.

Field & Stream (Richard Mann) tested and reviewed lever action rifles currently on the market and posted the best picks for 2025.

They begin with:

Most of the talk in the rifle world these days about bullets with high ballistic coefficients, high-magnification trajectory-compensating riflescopes, and rifles guaranteed to deliver one-hole groups. But while today's long-range practitioners argue about the best high-dollar tripod to shoot from, there are folks out there filling freezers and putting antlers on the wall with lever guns just like their grandad used to use. 

The lever-action rifle has evolved a fair bit over the last century, and with refined designs and modern ammunition, it's now more capable than ever. Maybe somewhat surprisingly, in the midst of today's long-rage craze, manufacturers are still introducing new lever-action rifles, and hunters are buying them up as fast as they hit gun-shop racks. There’s a wider variety of lever guns to choose from now than at any other time in recent memory. So, which one should you get? To help you with that, I've narrowed the field to a manageable number. Below are my picks for the nine best lever guns currently on the market.

To read more, go here. 

"Superman and the Mole Men" (1951) Review (Video)

Above, George Reeves and Phyllis Coates photo from Superman and the Mole Men autographed by Coates.

Last evening, I viewed this review of the "pilot" movie to the Adventures of Superman, "Superman and the Mole Men" (1951) starring George Reeves, Phyllis Coates, Jeff Corey and Walter Reed. It was the first Superman feature movie.

The story involves an oil well in Silsby, Texas that was the deepest oil well at six miles deep. The mole men came to the surface from the well.

Here's the review: 

Interestingly, although Silsby, Texas of the movie was fictitious, there is a Silsbee, Texas near Beaumont. 

Here's its location: 

Flagstaff KOA Review Added

Above, The Beast at the Flagstaff KOA. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before things fade in memory, I added my review of the Flagstaff KOA Holiday to RV Life Campgrounds review website.

To access it and over 400 other reviews of the KOA, go here. 

Megyn Kelly: Democrats Embarrass Themselves

 Review of last night's joint session of Congress by President Trump:

The Restored "The Searchers" Blu-ray

The Blu-ray of the newly-restored The Searchers (1956) with John Wayne, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood, Jeffrey Hunter and Vera Miles arrived two days earlier than expected. John Ford directed.

I have an older DVD version of The Searchers, but the new restored Blu-ray tops it by leaps and bounds. It is absolutely gorgeous!

The Blu-ray source was the original camera negative. Monument Valley, unless you're there, has never looked so good. I was able to see details in scenes I was unable to see before. 

Included are featurettes of the making of The Searchers in and around Monument Valley and the premiere in Chicago. There's also more to enjoy.

It was well worth the wait since the restored movie was premiered in Hollywood early last year.

Interestingly, I've met three of the actors of The Searchers: Patrick Wayne, Hank Worden and Henry Brandon.

If you are a fan of John Wayne or westerns in general, do yourself a favor and get this Blu-ray!

My grade: A+.

Winchester Model 12 Pump Shotgun Review

Above, the Winchester Model 12 shotgun after I first brought it home. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The only gun I bought this year was the Winchester Model 12 shotgun. It was manufactured in 1919, but age hasn't caused any problems with shooting it (since I had Loeffler's Guns Etc. in Grants, New Mexico coached me on its workings). I had to buy it in April as New Mexico started imposing a 7-day waiting period in May.

I shot it last month and it worked great. It hit what I was aiming at (an old political yard sign). Not bad for a shotgun over 100 years old.

Before buying it, I was on the lookout for a shotgun best suited for trap shooting. I bought a Remington Model 870 Express last year, but that wasn't suited for trap shooting. I couldn't hit the broadside of a barn when we went trap shooting in Lake Havasu, Arizona. I did much better with a borrowed shotgun during a previous trap shoot. Still, I like the Remington for regular target plinking.

Guns.com (where I bought the Winchester Model 12) posted a review of the Model 12 and it begins with:

The Model 12 is a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun that is iconic in that it has the classic features that make a pump gun so appealing. It may not be the first, but it certainly trained generations how to shoot airborne game among many other things. The Model 12 was also used by the U.S. military, with roots going back to before World War I.

My father grew up shooting an old Model 12, and he was barely a teenager when it was given to him by my grandfather. He used it for hunting pheasants and ducks in the marshy wetlands beyond grandpa’s pasture. As a child, I remember seeing dad tinker with it amongst his other guns.

The Model 12 uses traditional wooden furniture, with an easily identifying ribbed front grip. A shallow rib runs the length of the barrel, with a targeting bead on the muzzle end. The barrel itself is 30 inches long and has a 3-inch magnum chamber. It features a familiar safety at the front of the trigger guard and an action release just behind it. The tubular magazine holds six 2.75-inch shot shells, and it is clamped to the barrel at the front of the tube.

I looked up the serial number and, if the internet is to be believed, this gun was manufactured in 1917, making it 105 years old.

To read more, go here. 

"Reagan" Review

Yesterday, I went to the 2:30 screening of Reagan at the Red Rock 10 Theaters in Gallup. I found myself the only person in the auditorium although one other person paid for a seat. Then again, the whole theater complex was devoid of cars in the parking lot.

Before the movie started, I was bombarded with trailers of upcoming movies, primarily the Christmas holiday movies. I found this funny since we're not out of summer yet.

This has to be the first movie I've ever seen for the first time where I knew pretty much exactly what line of dialog was going to be spoken next. I guess I am too well-versed on the subject.

The movie covered Reagan's life from Dixon, Illinois to his passing. The end credits featured photos and videos of Ronald Reagan along with his funeral.

On Reagan, I thought that Dennis Quaid did a good job portraying Ronald Reagan. To his credit, he did not try to do an imitation of him (Rich Little-style). Reagan would be a hard historical figure to portray anyway. I feel that Lane Smith as Richard Nixon in The Final Days (1989) and William Devane as JFK in The Missiles of October (1974) did much better in portraying those presidents.

Above, Nancy and Ronald Reagan at the Town & Country Hotel
 in San Diego in September 1979. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The main problem I had with Quaid's Ronald Reagan was not from his acting, but that he looked strange on horseback. Reagan was 6'1" and Quaid is an inch shorter. Yet when he was on horseback, he looked as if he were 5'10" or thereabouts. Maybe it was his body shape? I think the camera angles could have been better during the horseback riding scenes. By the way, the scenes involving Reagan's ranch, Rancho del Cielo, were actually filmed at the ranch. That was a nice touch.

The supporting players all did good work with Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan and Jon Voight as former Soviet KGB operative Viktor Petrovich (a fictional character) as standouts. It was nice to see Jennifer O'Neill as the older Nelle Reagan. I hadn't seen her in years. 

The movie has not impressed the critics (22% likeability), but audiences has given it a 85% likeability rating at Rotten Tomatoes (at this writing). Go figure.

There was nothing in the movie what would tarnish Reagan's legacy. In fact, the movie only fortified it.

My grade: B+.

"Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" Review

Above, at Red Rock 10 Theaters. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Gallup to see Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. We had a full house in the auditorium.

Let me just start off to say that I found it entertaining. We're talking about a Legendary/Warners Godzilla movie, not Shakespeare. There are a few things that I see as flaws. To give any of them away would be spoilers. There was also some shark-jumping. 

The MonsterVerse movies all play like a Heisei Gamera movie, not a Godzilla movie.

It is amazing that Godzilla x Kong had a budget of $135 million. But the money did not show up on the big screen. I saw a number of not-so-good shots. They were on a par with Godzilla vs. Kong, quality-wise. With that amount of money spent and the number of special effects people working on it, it makes the special effects of Godzilla Minus One all the more remarkable, considering the movie cost Toho around $15 million to produce. It is no surprise to me why Godzilla Minus One got a special effects Oscar whereas none of the MonsterVerse movies ever did. I have the feeling Legendary/Warners wanted to rush out a movie.

Right now, Godzilla x Kong is around 60% at Rotten Tomatoes by the critics. It is around 93% by fans. At this same point, Godzilla Minus One was in the upper 90s by fans and the critics. 

Toho should use a paraphrase of Kentucky Fried Chicken's slogan: We do Godzilla right!

My grade: B+

Following the screening, I headed to Jerry's Cafe in Gallup for a great chile relleno/enchilada combo dinner. 

Considering we're to get another round of snow, I am glad to get out of the house to see a movie and go out to dinner.

WTF?

Well, here's a first for me.

Earlier this morning, I posted a blog article on "What Ammo Shortage?" on Facebook an hour or so ago. It was about how I haven't found any evidence of ammunition shortage in the Gallup area. It just discussed the availability of ammunition. I wasn't selling anything. The shop I referenced was unnamed and no prices were posted.

Then, about an hour ago, Facebook Nazis removed the post saying that goes against "Community Standards" on "government restricted or banned" items. Since when has the "government" banned items on social media that are protected under the Second Amendment? 

I have requested a review of the removal. I have noticed that some Winchester rifles and shotgun pages are having some posts removed as well lately. Administrators at those pages are also requesting reviews.

Crazy, just crazy!

UPDATE:

Facebook refused to restore the post, so I appealed to the Oversight Board for a review.

‘Godzilla Minus One’ Is The Best Godzilla Film Ever Made

Above, a scene from Godzilla Minus One. Photo by Toho Co., Ltd.

Not enough good things to say about Godzilla Minus One have been said. But the review by Bob Grimm in the Sacramento News & Review comes awfully close to it.

Starting today, the movie will see an expansion of locations (2,500), this includes the Red Rock 10 theaters in Gallup. It has already broken records for a Japanese live-action movie in the U.S. box offices, deservedly so.

Grimm's review begins with:

I’m enjoying the new Godzilla TV show, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, on Apple TV+. (Kurt Russell is god.) The new Godzilla x Kong trailer, the preview for the next overblown Godzilla film from Legendary Entertainment, looks OK.

But nothing in the Godzilla realm beats what is currently playing in movie theaters, the absolutely marvelous Godzilla Minus One.

The latest from Toho Studios, this Japanese film—the 33rd Godzilla movie from the studio—set right after World War II is not only the best Godzilla movie ever made; it’s one of the best monster movies I’ve ever seen. Godzilla is as terrifying as ever; the acting and underlying story are first-rate; and the message about the aftermath of war and dealing with our internal fears is done astonishingly well.

This is the first time Toho International has booked a movie themselves in U.S. theaters on a wide scale. I am pleased to see that it is paying off in spades for them. 

To read the full review, go here. 

They're Raving About "Godzilla Minus One"

Due to the snowstorms that hit New Mexico this week, I have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to see Godzilla Minus One in Albuquerque (that's the nearest town to me where it's being shown). 

However, those who have seen it are raving about it. I've a feeling that Toho is feeling great these days.

Here's a couple of typical examples:

"Holy shit. Godzilla Minus One is the best Godzilla movie I’ve ever seen. Godzilla is a huge dick in this movie, absolutely feral. He goes after individual people and his eyes are super creepy. It’s also a really rousing adventure and redemption story. Hard not to get choked up when they break out the original Godzilla theme music. It’s not just a great Godzilla movie—it’s a great movie." - Bill Breedlove.

"I can't say enough good things about this movie. I heard a friend call it the Gone With The Wind of Godzilla movies and I completely agree. It's getting stellar reviews as well which is not common for any kaiju movie. When the movie ended the entire theater was cheering or crying or both. Of course I'm biased because I'm a big fan but It's easily the best movie I've seen in the last 20 years. Period! The story was like no other Godzilla movie that's been made before it. My recommendation is to see it in IMAX while you can." - Dennis Reid.

 

My thanks to those who posted reviews without spoilers!

Shoddy Binding On 2024 Whitman Coins Red Book

Above, the 2024 Red Book. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The 2024 A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book) by Whitman Publishing, LLC arrived in today's mail.

I hadn't purchased one since the 1976 Bicentennial Edition.

Well, I have to say I am very disappointed in it without even reading about any coins. 

This review I posted at Amazon explains it all:

The guide book arrived, but the spine of the book was not bound onto the pages. It appeared that no glue or stitching was used on the binding. Not what one would expect for a new hardbound book. Very disappointing.

Above, after gluing the cover onto the spine. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I gave it two stars because of this. After posting my review, I noticed that other purchasers had similar problems with their book purchases.

They also pointed out whom they feel is the culprit: China. The book was made in China.

Above, "Printed In China", that should tell you something. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Larry Lucier (who was with me when I opened the shipping box) and I glued the cover onto the spine. We shouldn't have had to do this. At least the book is usable now.

Whitman Publishing had better find a book company to make their books in the U.S.

I sent Whitman a complaint message.

Money Magazine's Review of Progressive RV Insurance

Above, camping at Lake Cachuma. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For those who are looking to change their insurance carriers on their RVs or who are new (or about to be new) to become an RV owner, the following should be put under consideration.

It is Money magazine's review of Progressive RV insurance, including pros and cons.

I insure my motorhome through Progressive and have done so for the five years since I've owned it. I find the premium to be reasonable. So far, I have had no need to file any claims. (Knock on wood.)

The review begins with:

Progressive is the largest motor insurance carrier in the U.S. and provides some of the best RV insurance because of its different coverage types. The company also offers numerous add-ons that allow you to customize your policy. Read our Progressive RV insurance review below to learn about its coverage, pricing, customer satisfaction and the pros and cons of buying a policy with this company.

To read the review, go here.