Tesla Cybertruck vs. Honda Ridgeline

Just yesterday it dawned on me where I’ve seen the Tesla Cybertruck before. In the last few weeks the Cybertruck has been popping up around town. They’re a spacey gray color except for that one black truck I saw at an intersection… and yes, black is better, even if my picture of it is terrible.

But these recent sightings finally connected to something in my brain. Long lost memories of… drumroll please…. 🥁…… the Honda Ridgeline from 2005! Remember that hideous thing? But I guess, as the saying goes, the Ridgeline walked so the Cybertruck could run.

I never really liked the shape of the Ridgeline so I guess I have to admit I don’t really like the shape of the Cybertruck, nor the probability that it’ll never be a real truck, capable of hauling things, towing things, and being the reason a woman loves a man.

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-Out of the Wilderness

The Meta Quest Crib Puzzle Commercial – The Music, the Actor, and More!

Mixed reality has never looked so meta. Well, Meta Quest, that is. In this installment of virtual reality, a husband is tasked with putting a crib together and instead of continuing with the instructions (because instructions are for losers!), he mounts the Meta Quest headset on his head and proceeds to dominate. Take a look then scroll down for more info…

This is less like MTV Cribs and more like a show on TLC because it’s an actual crib. For a baby. But as soon as the dad finishes the build, the villain appears with more obstacles. Oh oops, that was his wife with more baby furniture to assemble. A humorous end to the commercial where our protagonist did something well enough, he was asked to do it again. What’s that work phrase… be careful, if you do something too well they’re going to ask you to keep doing it… something like that. Meta Quest is actually ruining this guy’s life. He should admit he’s a failure and hire a handyman for this gig. After all, there are people out there who love puzzles. They might love songs about puzzles too, which this ad takes advantage of in reality reality. The song is called “The Puzzle Song” and it’s by Shirley Ellis from 1965.

The part of overtasked husband is played by actor Samuel Theophylus. Sam does a great job showing different types of emotions (which is very relatable for anyone who’s ever tried to put anything together…. like that time I installed a storm door). And we’ve all heard horror stories about assembling IKEA furniture!

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-Out of the Wilderness

For Nothing Is Impossible With Hollywood

I think it’s in the Hollywood Handbook somewhere…. checking…. it’s either Clooney 3:16 or Charlize 5:24…. found it! Charlize 5:24 says, “Your character may have flaws and hardships, but rest assured that nothing is impossible with Hollywood.”

If you haven’t seen a movie starring J-Lo, have you really seen a movie? She’s like the Nicholas Cage of actors! She’s in a new movie on Netflix called Atlas. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of humor from a sci-fi action movie (thank you Smith! (if you know, you know)). Something else stood out and I think it’s critical to have this particular quality if a movie is going to connect with the audience. It’s the element of adversity. Who wants to see a protagonist that never faces an insurmountable obstacle? Yes, I’m looking at you Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1! The audience needs to see that there’s something nearly impossible to overcome. We need… and want… to root for the person who’s trying to beat the odds.

The main character faces these obstacles and eventually gets to one that appears to be the end. My film instructor many years ago pointed out that this is called the low point of the movie. You think all is lost. It’s over. The bad guys win. But when all hope has disappeared something happens and the good guy overcomes. They get out of the situation they would’ve rather not been in. The cream rises to the top.

This storyline happens in Atlas and I was reminded of a movie I pretty much mostly hated. Yes, it’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1. It ticks me off so much when everything is possible. Not once in the Tom Cruise movie did it appear that Ethan Hunt was outmatched or even close to facing anything he and his team weren’t prepared for. I mean, he even jumped a motorbike off a cliff, proceeded to skydive down to a train, and I still got no satisfaction of the hero overcoming something that is impossible in real life. In other words, they had an answer for everything and it left me feeling bored and unmoved. Not once did I catch myself cheering for the underdog because, to be totally honest, the bad guys were the underdogs. Maybe I should’ve been rooting for them to overcome their obstacles?

When the plot of the movie doesn’t bring the protagonist down to their knees, crushing their hopes and dreams leaving only a sliver of light, then what are we even watching? I need the underdog story. I need someone who’s been beat down to rise up and become the hero we want. When every solution is already at their fingertips, there’s no growth. There’s no character arc that will satisfy the audience.

Can you name a few movies that do this well? How about films that totally miss the mark, like Mission: Impossible? Share your thoughts in the comments…

-Out of the Wilderness

The Eminem “Houdini” Video – Who’s Sherri Papini, Steve Miller Band, and More!

Just in case anybody forgot that Eminem is the best rapper of our generation, their generation, her generation, his generation, future generations, past generations, all generations, he’s just released a music video for a new song called “Houdini” and the video is as fun as you’d want from a song named after a famous illusionist. But there’s more to the story. Check out the video then scroll down for more info!

Credits. The entertaining video was directed by Rich Lee who’s done a music video or commercial that you’ve seen before. It’s a matter of probability and yes, you’ve seen his work whether you know it or not. The Director of Photography was Chris Probst. Producers are Justin Diener, Kathy Angstadt, and Lisa Arianna. The Production Company is Synapse and AI was done by Metaphysic.

I noticed another credit on the Shady Records Instagram post about the new single. There’s a shout out to the Steve Miller Band and now that I’ve done research, I realize how far ahead everyone else already is! But I’m caught up, y’all. The chorus of “Houdini” samples SMB’s “Abracadabra”…. take a listen to the 1982 track below.

Who is Sherri Papini? Eminem references a kidnapping as he drops the name Sherri Papini. It was in 2016 when Sherri allegedly went missing by way of kidnapping but years later she admitted the whole thing was a hoax. Jail time and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, Sherri is pretty much just the butt of jokes now, and I guess she gets a line in an Eminem song, too.

There’s Eminem, then there are all the other rappers. With a new album due out this summer and fresh off a wedding celebration where his daughter wed her fiancé, Eminem is looking to have a great year and that’s not a hoax.

-Out of the Wilderness

The New Publix Experience Commercial – The Actress, the Music, and More!

I’m under the impression that Publix can’t make a bad commercial and I have new evidence. In a new ad called “Enjoy the Publix Experience,” Publix takes us through all the seasons from blooming flowers to the snowflake freezer aisle. We’re along for the ride as a shopper finds everything she needs………. but who is this shopper, anyway? The answer is below but first take a look at the minute-long ad featuring a song from nearly 30 years ago…

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The Actress. It looks like she’s moving in 3/4 speed as she takes in the wonders of all Publix has to offer. You might recognize the actress from HBO’s “Euphoria.” Here’s Aja Bair’s bio from IMDb:

Guest starting as Jade in Episode 7 and 8 of Season 2. Her television appearances include hit shows like Kenan, Key & Peele and Cougar Town. Aja made her feature debut in the box office hit Bad Teacher with Cameron Diaz. She recently appeared in For When You Get Lost which premiered at the Austin Film Festival winning the audience award.

In an Instagram post about the Publix shoot, Aja said “Spent a week in Florida riding around on a grocery cart in a Publix in the middle of the night and I highly recommend it 💯These were some fun night shoots and they made me look so cool 🛒”… and here’s a clip of her on the show “Kenan.”

The Music. The soundtrack of this Publix commercial is a song from 1997. It’s The Verve with “Bittersweet Symphony.” Here’s the full song which has over a billion views on YouTube 😮…

The song is based on a sample of a Rolling Stones song called “The Last Time,” the orchestral version at least. It’s easy to hear the similarities…

Publix ads always work, don’t they? I can think of only a few I would’ve done differently but they still take the #1 spot for consistently having the best commercials on TV. What are your thoughts on this one and which pub sub are you getting for dinner tonight?

Publix Fill Your Cup Commercial – It’s A Vibe

Publix Pulls Heart Strings in New Christmas Ad

Publix Thanksgiving with Original Song “I Remember This”

Publix Thanksgiving Commercial – Dad’s a Loser and Mom’s Depressed

-Out of the Wilderness