Well, as I've blogged before, I try not to head into the city on Sundays. Nothing really opens until noon, so for an early riser like myself, there's really nothing to see or do. And Sunday tends to bring out more crazies. I'll never forget the time some guy in Best Buy completely lost his mind at DVDs being just $5 in the discount bin. "THESE MOVIES ARE CHEAPER THAN WHORES IN THAILAND!" he screamed loud enough for the whole store to hear. But to just dart in, catch a movie, and dart out? Yeah, I could do that.
As I was just heading in to catch the movie, I was off to the North Edmonton Commons power centre. Now, as I've blogged before, I'm not a big fan of power centres. They're not very pedestrian-friendly, so if you're early for your movie -- like I was -- there's really not much you can do in the way of wandering around and browsing in the other shops. And besides, it was Sunday. About the only thing open was Golf Town. So I went browsing in Golf Town.
I've only been out golfing a handful of times in my adult life, but I occasionally think I could really get into it. It involves a lot walking. I like to walk. As stores like Golf Town prove, golf is a sport where you can collect a lot of stuff. And as my collections of action figures and DVDs prove, I like to collect stuff. All the pieces are in place. But, as a store like Golf Town proves, golf gear is an expensive collection to collect. So when it comes to golf, I think I will stick to the mini variety.
Which reminds me. A couple of weeks ago when I was at West Edmonton Mall, to see Logan I think, I snapped this pictures of Professor Wem's Adventure Golf.
I was kind of stunned at how this quickly became one of the most-liked photos I ever posted to Instagram. I just snapped it because I've long looked out at Professor Wem's Adventure Golf in amazement. I've been going to West Edmonton Mall ever since it was built, but the mini-golf is the one attraction I've never partook.
Well, that's not quite true. I've also never been skating at the Ice Palace, and I've never spent a night in the Fantasyland Hotel. But as I don't skate, and the rooms at the Fantasyland Hotel can get pretty steep, Professor Wem's Adventure Golf is the only attraction within my grasp that I've never done. But yet I've walked by it countless times and never ventured in.
I've been walking past it long enough that I remember its history. When the Mall first opened in the 1980s, the mini-golf course was called Pebble Beach, and it was meant to be a mini-golf re-creation of the legendary Pebble Beach Golf Club in California. But they changed it in the mid-1990s, around the same time Fantasyland became Galaxyland. Did their licensing agreement with Pebble Beach expire? Did their lawsuit with Disney over the name "Fantasyland" make them gun shy, and they changed the name to avoid future lawsuits? Either way, the Professor Wem mascot was invented, and Professor Wem's adventure golf was born.
Maybe this'll be the year. It's the big 4-0 this year, so maybe a mini-golf party at West Edmonton Mall. Or maybe I'll just do what I always do on my birthday and catch a movie. And speaking of movies....
*pats self on back for awesome segue*
Kong: Skull Island!
As I've blogged before, as much as I love giant monster movies, my biggest complaint is they can never find anything interesting for the humans to do. They just kind of stand around, waiting for the giant monster to show up so they can react to it. So I really liked Kong: Skull Island for giving us some cool characters, and I found myself actually intrigued by them.
First we have Samuel L. Jackson as Lt. Col. Preston Packard. He leads the military escort to Skull Island. As most of his troops are taken down by Kong as soon as they land, he decides to take down Kong to avenge his troops. And as they days on the island go on, he grows more and more obsessed with taking down Kong.
Next up there's John C. Reilly as Lt. Hank Marlow. He was a World War II fighter pilot who crashed on the island and has been trapped there for almost 30 years. (The film takes place in the early 1970s, by the way.) Needless to say, his time on the island has made him a little bit loopy, but he's got the most experience with dealing with Kong and the other beasties on the island.
And there are some really good giant monster fights in the film as well. And, for those who haven't heard, this is in the same cinematic universe as 2014's Godzilla reboot, so there's a nice post-credits stinger setting that up.
Yes, for those who haven't heard, next in the cinematic universe is Godzilla 2 in 2019, now officially titled Godzilla: King of the Monsters. After that, Kong vs Godzilla in 2020.
But I quite enjoyed it. I give it a solid 3 Nibs. Full review on the website.
And then I went home. The end. Yeah, I know. I suck it endings.
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