Take Me Home Tonight (2011)

Take Me Home Tonight (2011). This movie was actually pretty funny. Just like any comedy these days, it had its moments of boredom but overall I think it was worth the watch. I don't know how much of my enjoyment came from the actual movie or the decade it represents. The 80s were an interesting time for weird people, weird games, weird parties, and weird but memorable movies. This movie has Topher Grace (you know Foreman from That 70s Show) as the main character. Michael Biehn (from The Terminator) was his father and Dan Fogler (from ???...Mars Needs Moms...oh yeah, and Fanboys).

Teresa Palmer (most recently from I Am Number Four) is the hot, eye candy that Topher's character is obsessed with. Teresa's pretty hot. She looks a lot different from her roles in a couple of other movies but I would think that had a lot to do with the good costume and make-up design crews. The poofy-banged, heavily-hairsprayed hair has spot on. What's funny to me is that there is a scene where Topher and Teresa end up doing it on a trampoline (Go Topher!). She takes her top off but there is no showing of her hot topless body! Why!? Why, I say!? Especially since #1: there was previously shots of a very still-hot looking Angie Everhart boobs and #2: Teresa showed her boobs...a lot...in the movie Restraint. For one, there was really no need to show Angie's boobs (although I am grateful) but since you started it why not continue with it for Teresa? Tease me much!? For two, Teresa can show her boobies (a lot) in Restraint but now that she's become a little more mainstream with Number Four and Take Me Home she'll no longer show her breasts!? Tease me much more much!?

Oh yeah, Anna Faris was in it too but she didn't have a huge, important part. She was kind of hot looking too even in a homely 80s brunette kind of way.

FINAL VERDICT: Anyway, the movie was worth watching on Netflix and I would even recommend renting it at Blockbuster for $1.99. I feel that my time was not wasted and found it fairly amusing.

Grabber hand warmers from Dick's Sporting Goods

 

Got these a couple of weeks ago. My oldest is in the high school band and the football team is now in the playoffs. We bought these for our little band member because the weather is changing, getting colder, and will continue to get colder the further the football team progresses.

Anyway, turns out these little fuckers don't work worth a damn! I'm not sure if it's the brand or its the product in general. I've included the photos to show the brand as well as the simple instructions. In fact the instructions start with "Simply open the outer package and expose the packet to air." There are then some warnings about continuous contact with skin and the dangers of burning. BULLSHIT!

I "simply" exposed this product to the air and it NEVER got any hotter than body temperature. And the only reason it probably got that warm was because I held it between my palms, rubbed it, and even kept it in my pocket after the first hour of initial exposure. Never did I feel I was going to get burned by continuous exposure to my skin.

Again, I don't know if it's this particular brand or what because I play tennis with a guy that swears by them. Now, I've never touched his hand warmers or asked what brand they are so I'm not even sure if his worked like I just assumed they did.

Any thoughts because we bought ten pairs of hand warmers for the 'low' price of $.99 per pair.

Wrong Side of Town (2010)

Wrong Side of Town (2010). Watched this movie this morning on my sick day off. I have seen it pop up on my Netflix account a few times as a "new arrival," an "action thriller," or whatever. It sort of captured my interest each time I would read the brief synopsis but I would keep on browsing. I eventually put it in my queue and then I decided to watch it today.

I thought I would at least get to see a decent action movie but I was sorely disappointed. This movie was overall pretty lame. It did have action but it was very piss pour, predictable and horribly filmed. It "starred" Rob Van Dam...he was the main character anyway. What's funny is that the movie cover shows Dave Bautista in the center and larger than anyone else. Which would make one think he is the main character. Funny thing is Bautista's cameo isn't until at least 3/4 of the way into the movie and then he is shown briefly for a few other scenes.

For this movie, it's like the writers/directors/producers tried to take the good action flicks as well as the okay action flicks of previous wrestlers/athletes hoping they could produce an okay flick themselves. It really didn't work because even though the wrestlers act for the WWE they aren't really good actors if they're taken out of their comfort environment. Make sense?

With that in mind, Rob Van Dam sucks as an actor. I don't recall ever seeing him in my random viewings of the WWE program on television but he truly was unable to crossover to the big screen. Unlike the likes of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson..okay maybe even John Cena or Steve Austin..Rob Van Dam's movie just wasn't even worth the time and effort it took to make it.

Not even the gratuitous boob shots of Stormy Daniels and a few other girls could move this movie from a 1/2 star to 1 star. And I give the 1/2 star just because of the boob shots and being able to recognize Stormy Daniels!

FINAL VERDICT: You can definitely pass on this movie. You'd probably get more entertainment and value from watching an episode of Teletubbies!

Paranormal Entity (2009), Paranormal Activity 2 (2010), Red State (2011)

Red State

Paranormal Activity 2

Paranormal Entity

What do all these movies have in common?

They sucked! Not just sucked but royally sucked! Out of all three, I'd have to say that Red State was the "best" of them then Paranormal Entity then Paranormal Activity 2.

Red State was directed by Kevin "Silent Bob" Smith, right? So, I expected a little more...I mean not that he's a great director or story writer but I just expected with "experience" comes some sense of quality. It was an interesting concept and it had a few known actors but it was somewhat boring.

The only thing that gave Paranormal Entity any interest was that the movie showed some boobs of the "sister" character in the movie. Other than that, the movie was a complete and utter ripoff of Paranormal Activity. The movie did have a better overall story line even though it generally sucked. Again the only good thing and only difference is that this movie showed boobies. I don't recall boobies in the first Paranormal Activity.

Paranormal Activity 2 was a complete waste of time. For one, I don't even remember how the first one went because it obviously didn't make much of an impression. This one, however, made an impression...one of a total waste of my time, the studio's money and the crews' work. If the running time was like 80 minutes, I'd say that there was 65 mins of very boring shit and 15 mins of boring shit.

FINAL VERDICT: Hard pass on all three!

Limitless (2011)

Limitless (2011). This wasn't too bad of a movie. It sort of reminded me of the movie "Strange Days" with Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett albeit not exactly the same concept and all. For me, it just hinted to this movie.

The end was surprising. I didn't expect it to end the way it did but at the same time I didn't pay too much attention to what the movie was about initially. I did watch the movie but I didn't give it my full attention.

It had it's comedic moments as well as excitement and 'danger.' Some parts could have been written differently or edited out completely. Robert De Niro had a fairly minor part but I don't recall any of the advertisements using him as a part of the promotion. I think it was all on Bradley Cooper's shoulders.

FINAL VERDICT: Anyway, the movie wasn't too bad. If you have a cheaply priced Blockbuster or Netflix plan and can get it for about a buck or two, you won't be too disappointed.

Something I did find funny from my visit to get this movie at the brick-and-mortar Blockbuster store is the receipt. I can see one of the many reasons why BB is on harsh times. Look at the size of the printout of my receipt and I didn't even actually 'pay' for the rental at the store. I exchanged my mailer for an in-store rental. I just thought it was fairly ridiculous to get a receipt this long when maybe about 3-4 inches of it contained the pertinent information of the transaction like store address, date, and listing of movie rented. The rest is just useless and wasteful filler.

Oh well...

Hourglass (1996)

Hourglass (1996). This is another one of the many "worst movies I've seen."

One reason the movie sucked: it was edited for content. That's right. I'm watching a movie on Netflix that is dubbed...all the bad words are silenced and all the nudity scenes removed. WTF?

This movie had one of the hottest actresses I've seen (rated by looks not acting skills) in Sofia Shinas. And yet I didn't see a gosh darn shot of her naked body. WTF?

I have know idea how I found this movie or decided to watch it through Netflix but I've become a "random movie watcher" because I want to get all that I can out of my Netflix membership and especially before they raise the prices again. It turns out this movie was directed by C. Thomas Howell as well as "starred" him. I don't know who thought he was a good director or continued to let him direct anything after the few movies I've seen from him but I'm glad it stopped at some point in time. I think this movie went straight to DVD or was made for DVD. Either way, I think they got the USA Network or whatever cable television network version on Netflix instead of the actual unedited movie.

I would love to see the edited sex scenes but I don't think I could sit through the entire movie again! It was very difficult to watch it the first time but I persevered.

FINAL VERDICT: In case you didn't get the hint, DO NOT RENT THIS MOVIE. Again, allow me to waste my 120 minutes so you don't have to!

Country Strong (2010)

Country Strong (2010). I saw this a few days or so ago. Yes, I'm a little late watching this since it came out in 2010. Anyway, I intended to write some interesting things about it but I have since forgotten. There were a couple of lines from the first of the movie that I wanted to post about but I have forgotten what they were and I have already returned the movie.

I would say that I found this movie more entertaining and interesting than Crazy Heart. The ending was kind of predictable because these types of movies go one of two ways: (1) the singer rebounds then lives out their life or (2) they end up dead after that one last fantastic show. So, I will ruin the finale for you and say that the main character in this one was the latter.

FINAL VERDICT: It's worth the $2 rental or even better on Netflix since you pay a flat monthly fee.

The Day the Earth Stopped (2008)

The Day the Earth Stopped (2008). This is a total rip off of all the other "The Day the Earth..." died, stood still and any others like that.

What sucks is this movie sort of started out with so much potential. The "destroyer of earth" in the movie who just happens to be a very hot chick lands on earth and is totally and completely naked walking around the forest for about the first three minutes of the movie. I was thinking, "Damn, this may not suck after all!" Too bad that was the best part of the movie.

The sad thing about this movie is that C. Thomas Howell directed and "starred" in this craptastic version. There was also a brief appearance by Judd Nelson. Judd was billed as "starring" but he has like 5-10 minutes in the very last part of the movie. Poor Pony Boy and John Bender...are they this hard up for cash or to maintain work...because this isn't what I would want to be remembered for.

This movie was worse for C. Thomas Howell because if he wanted to be taken somewhat serious as a director, I'd have to say he failed. Don't get me wrong. I've always like the guy but his attention to detail is way off. Granted there are budgets and shit but this was made in 2008 and I think even something like iMovie could have edited out some of the flawed scenes. I'll just poke fun of a few.

First, this female destroyer lands on Earth naked. She's "saved" by Howell's character because he thinks she's been hurt or something because she's on a highway in the forest naked. He later finds out she's the other alien they've been looking for because they already caught one. Anyway, she's taken back to this makeshift base and clothed. She's wearing white sweatpants, a white wifebeater and a bra. She's a freaking alien for George Lucas's sake. She doesn't need or even care for using a bra! Hell, she's already flashed her boobies so what difference would a bra make anyway!?

Second, there is a part where Howell is relieved of duty because of his insubordination in not wanting to harm the femalien. He leaves the base but comes back because saving her is the right thing to do. He gets back inside the base just as the alien robots send out an EMP, essentially killing anything (which is everything in the world!) that runs on electricity for an uncertain amount of time. He gets the femalien to one of the governmental SUVs and it won't start. DUH! The femalien uses her powers to start the car and they escape. They are driving within the city when Howell decides to stop for some stupid reason in the middle of the street. He is dumbfounded and asks to the femalien, "How did you do that?" I mean really! Who the hell cares!? You escaped be happy and don't ask 'why' or 'how.' Idiot! So before he can get an answer this gun-wielding guy jumps on the hood and tells them to get the hell out of the car because he's carjacking them as they have the only running vehicle in town! The camera angle is behind the carjacker looking through the windshield and somewhat over the vehicle just in time to see a "boys in blue" vehicle pass by in the distance. "Only working vehicle" huh? That's what we call bad editing and as the director, Howell should have seen that.

Third, there is a 'chase' scene within the city near the end of the movie. Yes, after all the electronics have recovered from the EMP. Howell is once again in a hijacked governmental SUV and is being followed by other governmental SUVs. They make the same right turn over about 5-7 mins of run time. You can see the same building, the same fencing, the same road and the same random objects caught in the frame. Yes, it's the reuse of the same clip. The least they could have done was filmed it on a street without distinguishable scenery or props.

FINAL VERDICT: Well, I didn't go into this with high expectations to begin with. I felt like it was going to be a made-for-TV movie on the Sci-Fi channel but those movies are actually better! I mean this was made in 2008 and the technology was still very good with CGI and such that they could have created better footage in some teenage kids garage! If you have Netflix, the best footage of this movie happens in the very beginning with the femalien walking nude in the forest. After that, you can watch if you want as long as your expectations are low...very low.

King of the Ants (2003)

King of the Ants. I actually saw this movie few months or so ago through my Blockbuster Total Access Plan but I ended up watching a little bit of it on Netflix this past Saturday. It sounded and looked familiar but I had to log onto my computer to verify. Yes, I keep list of all the movies I've seen and approximately when except for the older ones because I didn't start the list until a couple of years ago. I do put in older movies but I just mark them as 'seen' without the 'seen on date.' Yes, I'm nerdy like that.

Anyway, I didn't realize that Kari Wuhrer was in this movie from the first viewing and thought I'd comment. I remember seeing Kari in a few 'B' movies in early the 90s. She was hot in a weird kind of way. She wasn't strikingly beautiful but she was attractive. She was becoming "famous" as like the Shannon Tweed of the 90s (Shannon was the straight-to-video B-movie queen of the late 80s and had some fairly large, natural breasts). Kari on the other hand didn't have these natural breasts. All the movies I remember seeing her in where she got topless, she had some overly stuffed, 'stretched' B-cups. It's almost like she already had the size but they maybe drooped or something because the surgery made them look like perfectly shaped small grapefruits that didn't touch each other. There was a valley that a freight train could drive through.

Anyway, without getting further off topic, after seeing parts of this movie again, I was wondering why she got implants to begin with because her boobs in this movie were fine. They weren't overly perky as with the implants but they were still attractive. I screen capped a NSFW pic here from the movie for reference.

After recent backgrounding on her (hehe, sounds dirty) at IMDB, it turns out she had her implants removed in in 2002 and 'Ants' was made in 2003. Good for her. She looks way better as a naturally boobied woman.

So, the point of the post was to criticize her implants but since she's had them removed what is there to criticize?

As far as the movie, you can pass on it. It wasn't that good even with the very minimal part of Kari showing off her sexy body. The acting sucked! The story line was subpar as well as the videography. George Wendt was probably the biggest name in the movie and it's sad to see that 'Norm' has lowered his standards unless he's made his gazillions and can make whatever the fuck her wants these days. There was a Baldwin boy cast (Daniel) but he's like the one nobody knows other than that he looks like a Baldwin and probably takes the roles his more famous brothers wouldn't take like Don Swayze.

FINAL VERDICT: Don't waste 102 minutes of your life because I have already wasted 204 minutes for you!

Land's End Men's Oxford Water Shoes

Lands' End was having a sale online about a week and a half ago. I purchased a couple pairs of Chino pants. I didn't know what Chino pants was at the time of thinking about ordering so I had to Google it. After educating myself that they were basically khaki pants, I decided to purchase two pairs. I got the Desert Khaki (on sale for $13.98 regularly $44.50) and Vintage Brick (on sale for $10.48 regular $34.50) colors. I haven't ordered pants from Lands' End before so I wasn't sure how they'd fit as far as the waist size compared to other stores. I figured $10 was a decent gamble to find out especially since I can return them for free at the Sears down the street or any other store that accepts Lands' End returns. I can also return via mail/UPS but it's like $7. I'm a fan of the FREE!

I did purchase a couple of outdoorsy shoes. I have previously purchased a pair of slippers, my current pair, from Lands' End about 4-5 years ago. I saw a really good deal on them. I think back then they were something like $40 and I got them for less than $10 including tax and shipping. Very good deal! So, I saw these Men's Oxford Water Shoes (pic to left). Regularly $39.50. I got them for $10.49. Again, I went with the knowledge of free returns at Sears and $10 was a good investment if they fit. So, I invested in two pairs. I liked the more sporty look of the Majestic Navy color scheme but also thought the Light Stone could double as somewhat of a casual dress (really just not so sporty on those days I want to differentiate). I really wanted the Rich Red color but they didn't have it in my size at the time of ordering. I like the boldness of the Rich Red but it also made me think of Tom Hanks in the movie, "The Man with One Red Shoe."

I ordered these items on August 17^th. I got them yesterday, August 29^th. I wasn't impressed with the shipping time but I guess I did have four items. I tracked the package and it seems that part of the problem was it was picked up by UPS in Illinois on 8/23 and then delivered to a local post office in Dallas, Texas on 8/26. Apparently, the local post office tried to deliver it to the wrong place on 8/27 and it was taken back to the post office. It seems it was sent to the wrong "local" post office and was transferred to another local post office on 8/29 and it was delivered the same day around 5:30pm. Not very good transit if you ask me but I guess I wasn't in a hurry for the items.

I opened the box and took out my shoes first. They were the most important part of the package I was looking forward to. The pants were ordered mainly for work so they were less exciting, although I may occasionally wear them outside of work. I first pulled the right foot of the Majestic Navy pair and tried it on. Perfect fit! Sweet! I next pulled the left foot of the Light Stone pair and tried it on. Another perfect fit although it was to be expected since the different pairs were the same size.

I walked around the house and even visited a few of the neighbors with the different shoes on. I got a compliment on both.

I do like them both but there is just something to me about wearing shoes without socks. I know these are "water" shoes and shoes in water feel much different than out of water but I didn't intend to wear them just in water. They don't have a lot of padding in the soles but they are comfortable albeit not for an extended amount of time...like the 4+ hours that I wore them one Friday evening.

Anyway, if you need a decent shoe for those hiking, camping and wading moments then this might be the shoe for you even if you have to pay full price.

Oh yeah, I haven't worn the Chico pants other than to try them on because the leg length is too long but I did like them as well.

Beastly (2011, Unknown (2011), Gnomeo & Juliet (2011)

I saw these some time ago...maybe at least a month ago. I've been busy.

Gnomeo & Juliet (2011). This wasn't too bad of a movie. The basis of the storyline is pretty obvious but they did it in a "cute" way. It wasn't written, filmed so childlike that adults won't enjoy it as well. A lot of the voice overs are easily recognizable but then others are like "who the hell are they?" I wouldn't run out and rent this unless (1) you have kids or (2) you have kids and there isn't anything else to watch that's say at a leve 6 or greater in excitement level to watch or do. It's not a bad movie. It's just not an "Oh my gosh, I am so glad I saw this movie" movie.

Unknown (2011). Without fully knowing what this movie was about, it had a surprising twist. I didn't expect this twist but I also don't fully pay attention to all the movies I watch at all times during the movie. The twist caught me a little by surprise. Overall this movie was pretty good. It's weird to realize how many movies Liam Neeson has been in over the past two years or so. The different plot lines like Liam's character's memory loss, the assassination plot, the trying to kill Liam's character even though he's the best...it's just all over the place but at the same time nicely pulled together in the end. It is a little predictable in the sense that you know the hero of the movie is going to turn out all right and this movie didn't disappoint in following along with this tradition. I'd say this is worth a rental. Maybe even a full-priced one...but on someone else's dime would make it even better.

Beastly (2011). I didn't know the concept of this movie when I first rented it. A few minutes in, I realized this was the retold concept of Beauty and the Beast. Someone at Disney or wherever must have decided it was time to bring this story to the teens that watch The Disney Channel. Smart idea but teenage angst and love stories is so overdone these days. Nowadays, I wouldn't have expected the "beast" in this movie to have any ill affects upon other people. He really just looked like any other tattooed freak. I mean in Beauty and the Beast the prince was a fully transformed "beast" so it would be freaky to see him for sure! If you have teenage daughters, this might be a good movie to pickup for slumber party or birthday party time. Other than that, it's passable. Been there. Done that. And the other ways were better.

Stone (2010)

Stone (2010). This movie is one of the slowest, most boring movies I've seen in a long time. I expected much more with well-known actors such as Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, and Milla Jovovich.

The story line was so sporadic that I didn't know this from that, what really mattered or what the hell the movie was actually about. It was just a miss mash of shit that wasn't even brought together very well. And the ending, what the hell was the significance of the bee noise? I don't know. I actually paid a pretty fair amount of attention to the movie and I guess I missed something somewhere.

On a perverted side note, Milla flashes her boobs a few times on camera. Gotta love her for it but it didn't make the movie any more likable. The wife and I were initially watching this movie together and the first time Milla shows her boobs the wife and I both were like, "What the fuck is wrong with her nipples?" They were enormously long and I actually like Milla's nude body in previous shots but this was just weird. The wife was sickened by the length (LOL). It's kind of like her boobs are like three inches thick (from chest to nipple) and then the nipple is like an inch and a half long. I've uploaded a screen capture of the offending (to some) image. NSFW pic here. Don't get me wrong. I'd still tag Milla with enthusiasm and glee but I'd have to wear protective goggles.

FINAL VERDICT: pass it and warn others to do so as well.

Drive Angry (2011)

Drive Angry (2011). I read some reviews before watching this movie on Blockbuster.com and a lot of them didn't like this movie. They compared it a lot to campy movies from the likes of the Grindhouse series. I thought it was a better movie than that when seeing the promos but I really didn't know the premise behind this movie. I tried to keep an open mind when starting it.

After watching it, I must say that it wasn't as bad as the comments/reviews on Blockbuster.com. I usually have low expectation of any of the movies I watch that way I can only go up...a lot or slightly...as the movie progresses.

Yes, some of the graphics, dialogue and action is like the Grindhouse movies or even Machete. I don't think it took away from the movie. There wasn't a whole lot of gross gore but there were moments of blood splatter from heads being shot and hands and/or legs being blown off. Nothing over the top like some of the movies I've seen. Some comments mentioned gratuitous boobs but I have to disagree. There were maybe 2-3 times I saw boobs for a max of 3-5 minutes and they totally went along with the scene...except maybe the last one where this skinny, naked girl gets tagged by Cage's character's shotgun near the end of the movie. That nakedness probably didn't need to be shown at the time.

It's a pity that Amber Heard didn't have a reason to disrobe. It may have made my rating of this movie much higher...NOT!

FINAL VERDICT: If you like quite a bit of action with a few shots of T&A thrown in, then you'll probably enjoy this movie. I won't be recommending it to anyone but if you happen to have the opportunity to watch it (for free-ish) then it's not a total waste of a couple of hours.

Season of the Witch (2011)

Season of the Witch (2011). Yesterday I picked up this movie. There wasn't a lot to choose from since it was Thursday and it's summertime. I should go earlier in the week.

Spoiler Alert!

Anyway, this movie turned out to be not what I expected. I mean the title has "witch" in it but it turns out there really is no witch. Instead there is a demon that has possessed a female and they think she's a witch...back in those witch-killing days of like 1300 AD.

Overall the movie wasn't too bad. The action was alright. The story was alright. So, I guess the movie was overall alright.

Funny thing is I got two movies at the same time. This one and Drive Angry which both just happened to have Nicolas Cage in them.

FINAL VERDICT: You can either watch it or not. Either way you won't be disappointed.

Multiple movie reviews as of July 7, 2011

Now that class is over, I have had a little bit of time to catch up on my movie watching. I've watched some movies that are recent and not so recent as well as adult-themed and kid-themed. I make a list of movies and I try to watch them as I get them or when I can. So, here are my thoughts on the ones I've watched:

No Strings Attached (2011). What can I say positive about this movie? It's very, very hard. It has Natalie Portman. She looks good in it and we get to see a little bit of her in just a bra and panty. Sort of worth it. Other than that, I don't think there is any else. I think the problem with this movie is it's WAY too predictable and it has already been done before as well as been done again (I've read there is almost an exact story in Friends With Benefits). I mean how many times can we see a movie about a slacker-type male that pursues or one-night-stands with a Type A personality, very smart, overly educated, somewhat successful female who doesn't want a relationship with him but he tries to be cute, romantic or whatever and eventually wins her affection!? Been there, done that...a gazillion times! Even though this movie has my woman, Natalie, in it I would have to say it's a pass. Ashton Kutcher cannot pull off the lovestruck slacker-type male. He can pull off slacker-type but that's it! I think the relationship that was between the two best friends of Portman and Kutcher was more interesting and more fun to see and they had minimal screen time. Anyway, watch this movie at a friends, or view it for cheap like if you already have Netflix of Blockbuster Total Access Plan. I really don't think this is worth a regularly priced rental.

Battle Los Angeles (2011). This movie reminded me a lot, a whole lot, of Independence Day but without garnering as much interest during the "slow" times and then slow to start action thereafter. It also had a hint of Transformers and even District 9. I don't know if it's because I have seen the previews or knew what to expect but the movie seemed too familiar and known to me. It felt like I was watching something I had literally already seen. The humans fighting back was predictable and expected. Finding out that the flying alien ships were drones, that there was a "control center" for these drones and knocking it out should/would give humans the advantage they were looking for was so Independence Day not to mention a few of the aliens had tentacles just like those in Independence Day. So this movie could have been called "A-Different-But-Still-Very-Similar Independence Day remake." I can't really say it was a horrible movie but I can't say it was that good either because of the too-close comparisons. If you go in knowing this movie is very similar, it probably is a good movie. If you start to compare it to others, you may start to think why you rented it.

Sucker Punch (2011). I blindly "rented" this movie based on the fact that it looked like it had interesting cinematography and the comments I've read from a techie blog that was tracking this movie before and after its release. After seeing the movie, I Googled it and found that it is another interpretation of Alice in Wonderland. I can sort of see this correlation but I can also say, "WTF ever!" Being that I didn't go into this movie knowing the background or anything, I would have to say it wasn't too bad. The cinematography was very interesting. The characters were interestingly matched from the "real world" to the "fantasy world" Babydoll creates. The action was fairly non-stop when those scenes were going on. The female characters were smoking hot and kicked ass. If I thought of this movie as anything more than an action flick with hot chicks, I would probably have been disappointed. As it is, I am disappointed that the female characters did not show a little bare T & A here or there because it kind of went with the plot line of the "job" they did in the fantasy prison. In the end, I was a bit confused on Babydoll's status: is she a vegetable or is she still aware even though she had a sort of lobotomy? It wasn't totally conclusive in my opinion which makes me think they could make a sequel of sorts. Anyway, I would rent it for cheap or borrow it from a buddy. I'm a tight wad and not many movies are worth the $1.99-$3.99 rental fee at Blockbuster. Maybe rent it at the Red or Blue Box for a $1, right?

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010). I put this on my queue a long time ago when I thought my kids or the neighborhood kids would all want to watch it. I saw part of it on TV a few weeks ago and thought it looked cheesy. I was going to say that I saw it (even though not all of it) and remove it from my queue but I forgot. Once it came in the mail, I had to watch it because that's what I do. This is another one of those "don't take it too seriously" movies. For what it is...a kid's movie...it wasn't too bad. The bald cat, aka Kitty Galore, is just hilarious and gross looking at the same time. The acting by the human cast wasn't the greatest but the voice-over wasn't too bad. Again, it's a kid movie and that's the way I had to watch it. Kids around the ages of 4-7 might like the movie a lot. Anyone older may be wasting time and money renting it.

I guess that's all I got for now. On to the next round of movies until my vacation and then the start of the fall semester a few weeks later. Man summer has flown by!

Crazy Heart (2009)

Crazy Heart (2009). Finally got around to watching this movie. I had it at my home for almost two weeks but I had been busy with summer school, kids, family, and work. All good times but at least now I have been able to catch up on my movie watching.

I don't know what the big deal is about this movie. I think I remember Jeff Bridges being nominated for an Oscar or some movie award. Don't get me wrong. I think Jeff Bridges is a very good actor and he's played some great roles in some good movies. He's played some shit too but what thespian hasn't?

This movie was pretty slow to start and didn't pick up much pace to the end. It's a been-there-done-that-seen-it storyline and the performances of Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal didn't add any excitement to a tired, over-used plot. I don't think Bridges' acting was Oscar-worthy but what do I know. It's not like he lost weight, gained weight, or did any drastic physical changes for the role. He played a has-been, drunk country singer/songwriter.

It was neat to see/hear the singing "talent" of Bridges, Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell. I wouldn't have believed Farrell sang anything if I didn't see the song credits run with him listed as "performed by." It's not far-fetched to think he could pull off "country singing" since he's had to change his natural dialect (Irish, I think) for his various movie roles. But it was still weird to see him with a pony tail singing country music.

FINAL VERDICT: I personally think this movie is passable and forgettable. I'm not saying it was horrible but I am saying that given a choice, I'd much rather watch reruns of The Brady Bunch and I was never a fan of 'the Bunch.'

The Mechanic (2011)

The Mechanic (2011) I started this about two weeks ago. I thought I'd at least finish it even if it doesn't reflect my original thoughts.

This movie was pretty good if you take it for what it's worth: a high-action, fast-paced movie. What else would you expect from a movie with Jason Statham in it?

If you think too much about movies, like I sometimes do, you'd see that it's predictable. It's been done before in the same or close-to-it manner.

But don't think about the movie too much, enjoy it for what it is and it will be worth watching.

One thing that always interests me is how contract killers, spies, etc. always have the best fucking Internet connections and speeds in the most remote of places! I guess when you make the kind of money that contract killing can get you, you can build and have the best shit at your house!

House of 9 (2005)

House of 9 (2005). This movie is a lot like the movie Exam, which I've previously written about somewhere in this blog.

I think I read a description about how it was like Saw. It really isn't. There are no death traps that are accidentally triggered or have time limits. I'd say it is 95% more like Exam.

I don't recall how I came across this movie and put it on my Netflix watch instantly queue. I think it may have had something to do with Kelly Brook being in it. I'm sure I followed some filmography or suggested viewings from somewhere. Dennis Hopper was in it too but let's get back to Kelly Brook.

She actually wasn't as annoying in this movie as she is in some others I've seen her in. She didn't have that consistently annoying, whining voice she normally has. I guess it's because she's usually playing a victimized woman or something, I don't know. I think she looked younger in this one too and not as heavy as in others. Don't get me wrong. She's by no means fat or heavy but she was much thinner in this one than I've seen in others...but still not fat. Know what I mean?

SPOILER ALERT POSSIBLY AHEAD

Anyway, the movie plays out like any other of the same genre before it. "There can be only one" (that's from The Highlander movies) survivor and in the end she just happens to be it based on pure luck and predictable scripting. Just about every stereotypical thing was written in this movie...

• Cop is one of the captives and he assumes "leadership" without any actual voting/electing and everyone is okay with it (I wouldn't have been)
• Black man is a rapper, gets blamed for everything (although he did accidentally kill someone), cop rules him a threat and locks him in a room without any discussion and no one disagrees with the "due process"
• Priest (Dennis Hopper) is faced with protecting himself and others or taking a life. Chooses the latter. Has regrets but meets his maker later at the hands of another house mate
• Hot, pretty girl (Brook) ends up winning
• Winner is given the prize but instead of actual release looks to have been let out of one house into another house of previous winners. There is not continuation but one is led to believe that the "winners" can now become bigger winners by killing previous winners and taking their money

In the end, the movie was laughable, annoying, predictable and could have been much better with the addition of some boobies being shown. I mean come on, there were like 3-4 attractive females and not a one of them even so much had a nipple slip! FAIL!

FINAL VERDICT: This movie is passable. It's not even worth snagging from a friend. If you have Netflix already, then it might be one of those "just had to check it out" viewings but otherwise pass on it.

Skullcandy 2XL Shakedown Full Suspension Headband

Skullcandy 2XL Shakedown Full Suspension Headband. I purchased these a few weeks or so ago. I saw a link from some "links to deals" web site like Slickdeals. In fact, it could have been Slickdeals. Anyway, there was a really good deal for these over-the-ear headphones that I figured they were worth a try. I think the price was like $5.99/ea + s/h and maybe tax which made the total cost very close to $10. Again, worth it in my eyes because I could always eBay them for the exact amount I paid and possibly break even. Not to mention that I wasn't expecting or looking for them to be this fantastically sounding headphones. I was looking for decent, good sound cheaply priced. They would be put through a lot by me and my kids (I actually got three sets) so they would need to be somewhat sturdy and again costs low. But without some sense of quality sound, what's the point. Yeah?

So, here are a few things I can share about these little babies:

• They don't exactly feel like the sturdiest headphones but they seem to be durable enough so far. I didn't expect top-quality but the plastic feels frail like a plastic water gun but also durable like that of the smaller Nerf guns.
• The cord is a little shorter than most headphones cords. I would guess it's like three feet versus the typical six feet. Do you really need that extra three feet? Sometimes. I mean if you are using the MP3 player pocket in your backpack while listening with these headphones, there may be an occasional pulling or tugging on the phones. I guess it entirely depends on how far down the MP3 player pocket is or how low you let your backpack hang down your ass. Either way, I wouldn't think three feet is very accommodating. At the same time, I had some earphones that had the six foot cord and at times I felt like it was too long.
• These are definiley on-ear headphones. They may be over-the-ear for some people with smaller heads/ears, like my kids, but they are on-ear for me. No a big deal, but don't expect them to be long-term comfortable.
• Speaking of comfortability. These are mildly comfortable after wearing for some time but sometimes get uncomfortable after much longer. The ear muffs are not the softest but I expected as much. I've worn them for an entire movie with mild irritation after 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Again, the muffs do not contain the most padding and the plastic/pleather covering tends to cause slight perspiration. I think I've experienced the perspiration with high-end headphones as well...it's just what happens when you cover your ear with no air circulation so I don't blame it on these. The headband securely holds the muffs on my ears but because of the lack of softness, my ears have gotten irritated a few times after extended use.
• The sound seems to be pretty good. I'm no audio expert but for what I've used them for, they have performed well. Decent bass and treble with enough seal on the ears to block out background noises...to an extent. I haven't reached that extent but I'm sure there is an "extent."
• These aren't ear buds. They are a little more cumbersome than ear buds...okay, a lot. These are not the type to fit snuggly and take up little space in a backpack or purse or whatever. Again, I didn't plan on walking around town with them...very often if at all...but I do like to be able to use headphones over ear buds on occasion.

I guess that's about all I can say about these so far. I use them on occasion like I said. The kids have started using them a little more than their ear buds but it turns out it's because they often misplace their buds and they have the headphones as back up. I think thye still sell these on their eBay listing for about the same price. It might be a decent gift for a teenager or a non-audiophile snob.

Just a shot of one of my headphones in the package before opening.

Danny's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que - Athens, TX

If you ever find yourself heading east on Hwy 175 in Athens, Texas, you should stop by this little place called Danny's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que. It's like a little country bumpkin dining hole. The people are courteous and friendly. The food is pretty good too.

It's been a few weeks since I had eaten there but, if I recall correctly, I'd suggest the special. I think it was like a two-meat deal. I think it was like $6.99 or $8.99. The other good deal was a full slab of the ribs. It was a lot of ribs for a low price of like $9.99. All these prices are guestimates but I think I'm pretty close. The point is that it was very reasonable for a lot of barbecue which isn't usually the case.

In case the link doesn't work here is the information for the restaurant.


DANNY'S
Smokehouse Bar-B-Que
903-675-5238
850 E Corsicana
Athens, Texas
(3/4 mile east of square on Hwy. 175)

Tron: Legacy (2010)

Tron: Legacy (2010). Picked this up the same day I exchanged for Black Swan and just got around to finishing it last night. The wife and I started Sunday afternoon but I had to do something while she continued to watch.

Anyway, after all the promos, hype and waiting, I was looking forward to seeing this movie. I don't know if it was because I saw Tron back when as a kid or if it was all the fantastical lighting of the cars, the people, and the Grid.

I don't know if it's because I'm an adult now but this movie didn't do it for me like the original. Truthfully, I cannot recall being wowed by any part of the movie. I can't say that I didn't "like" the movie in its entirety. I just can't recall coming away after watching thinking, "Wow! That part where [insert part] was really cool!"

I actually can't fully or partly remember all of the original movie but I do remember that it made an impact on me. I remember parts of it like I saw it yesterday. I remember the graphics, probably considered horrible to today's, but it was actually very consistent with the way the video games looked at the time. I remember playing the video game at the local arcade.

Okay, back to the "Legacy." The wife hadn't seen the first movie so she sort of had some questions at the start. I feel like a person could watch this movie without actually having to see the first. They did a decent job of doing a sort of "previously on Tron" recap at the first of the movie. Then there were parts in the movie where more things are explained like the fight between Clu, Tron and Flynn that even weren't known to those who have seen the original.

Overall, I think they could have spruced it up a bit. I mean more cool lighting, graphics, races, flying, action, etc., etc. I just found the acting sort of lifeless, except for Zuse. He was memorable.

If you want to see pretty lights, then this movie is for you. If you want to see a fairly hot looking Olivia Wilde, then this movie is for you. If you want to see a pretty good sci-fi action movie, then The Fifth Element is a better option or even The Running Man or Cyborg.

A few other comments in no particular order of appearance:

• I was sort of weirded out by the CGI of a young Jeff Bridges as Clu. He reminded me a lot of Prince Charming from Shrek 2...cool that they can do it but still creepy.
• I can understand how it's possible that Kevin and Sam Flynn are humans digitized into the Grid but how on earth can a created program exit the Grid into the real world? I just wasn't following that logic. Great that Sam has some really hot chick to explore...everything...with but is it really fathomable? I mean excluding some of what is truth and reality.
• And how did Sam get cut and bleed if he has been digitized into the Grid? It's not like "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." Sam went from 'real world' to 'computer world.'
• Tron was a "superhero" in the original movie. How the hell did he fall to Clu or get "temporarily converted" to the dark side?
• Bruce Boxleitner looks pretty good for his age. I'm impressed.
• Ten years or whatever it was after Kevin disappeared, Allan still has a pager? Really, with the advancements in technology...even something as simple as cell phones?
• Why the hell would the security guard take the risk of tight-roping the metal crane thingy at the first of the movie to try and capture Sam after he broke into the Encom Tower? I don't think that was within his pay grade. Seriously!

I guess that's enough ranting/babbling for now.

FINAL VERDICT: It's worth a viewing especially if someone else picks up the cost.

Black Swan (2010)

Black Swan (2010). I picked this movie up on Friday for the wife and I to watch sometime this weekend. We were able to watch it Saturday afternoon/evening. We both were excited to see this movie. We've heard it was "fantastic" and "so good" and blah, blah, blah. I usually take people's comments about a movie with a grain of salt. No one knows what I will like or how much I'll like it.

My reasons for wanting to watch it is Natalie Portman is in it and Natalie and Mila Kunis have a lesbian scene (my comment on this to come).

I was surprised to see the movie start off so quickly with the "craziness" of Nina. I mean within the first few minutes or so she started seeing/imagining things. I thought this was going to occur due to the fact that she was so goody goody and the pressure of having to perform a good and bad character caused her metamorphasis. Now, she could have imagined things and turn "bad" because of her purging but that wasn't clear in the story line.

A lot of people told me this was a total mind fuck but I came away with more of a mind massage which caused slight confusion. I guess I didn't pay enough attention because I still don't know for sure if Mila Kunis' character was real or something made up by Nina. I mean there were scenes where she was seemingly real like when the director tells her thanks for showing up when she arrived late and then the scene where she was dancing for Nina after their too-short-lived lesbian night.

Even though the movie started off quickly with Nina's craziness. The movie itself was pretty slow in the beginning...well, just about to half of the movie. It dragged way too slowly and I started thinking, "Who the hell thought this was fantastic!?" The movie overall was okay for me but I do think Natalie did a fantastic job. But I didn't expect anything else from her.

I do have a Natalie crush and Mila was pretty hot too. I didn't get too excited by them though because I felt they both were too damn skinny. Yes, it goes with the characters of the movie but I felt kind of grossed out at times. Anorexia is NOT attractive at all and neither is just being that skinny for any reason.

I think Barbara Hershey did a great job at being a weird, overprotective, controlling mother. It was indicative of the craziness to come when you see that Nina's room is decorated like a 12-yr-old's and she was like what, 25?

I was left further confused by how Nina was able to perform an entire dance scene after the (supposed) fight with Lily and the mirror shiv in her gut. The wife and I guess that Nina was going to die after the final act but we were thinking more of the mattress missing when she jumped off the top of the stairs and hitting the floor, breaking her neck.

Verdict: If it wasn't so damn slow and boring at the start, I'd watch it again. I think there were some very good performances. I think Natalie desereve whatever awards she received for her dedication to her craft similarly the way Matt Damon did for Courage Under Fire and Tom Hanks did for Philadelphia/Cast Away. I was creeped out by the skinniness of Natalie and Mila as well as the way Natalie's skin would occasionally look like a plucked chicken's body.

I Spit on Your Grave (2010)

I Spit On Your Grave (2010). I previously typed about this movie before (I think) it even came out because of the previews and trailers. I put it in my queue as soon as it came to Blockbuster and it's now been a few days or so since I watched it.

I don't recall exactly what I said although I could search and read the post. I just don't feel like it. I do think I remember I had some strong opinions about the stupidity of the woman telling complete strangers in the "redneck-ish" country area where she was staying and that she was alone. STUPID!

Anyway, this movie is worth a look. It is quite graphic, to an extent, with the attack, on the woman. I mean, I've seen similar scenes and such in other movies so it wasn't over the top in that sense. The steps she takes in her revenge isn't something new either. Having both of them in the same movie is fairly interesting.

I found myself going from pissed off at her ignorance and stupidity (which yes, she didn't ask for what she got but she could have taken all precautions possible to make sure she was "safe") to a "fuck yeah" attitude when she was able to exact her revenge. The shit she did to these guys was AWESOME! It's exactly what I would hope to do to anyone that did that to me or mine.

There were parts of the movie that were a little drawn out and predictable. Occasionally when they showed the victim, she reminded me of the character from The Ring that came out of the well. These shortcomings were definitely made up with the lead (only?) female character's acts of revenge.

I did find it interesting that the cover for the movie is an ass shot that I do not recall seeing in the movie at all. Usually cover art, reflects something from the movie in some form or fashion. I guess the current cover art is related, it just doesn't seem too directly related to me. I know too much thinking on my part again.

FINAL VERDICT: Worth a RedBox or Blockbuster Express rental, borrowing from a friend, or a coupon from any rental place. It wasn't a bad movie. It just wasn't a movie that captured and maintained your attention. I think running time is like an hour and a half to two hours. It could have been cut to forty-five minutes to an hour.

Going Overboard (1989)

Going Overboard is one of the worst movies I have ever seen!

Taking more advantage of my Netflix instant watching, I put this movie in my queue. I didn't think it would be bad bad. I figured it would be definitely watchable. I mean it has Adam Sandler in it and he hasn't really made a bad bad movie (IMHO). There have been questionable ones but they have not been the kind of movie where you want to take a dull, rusty knife to your own jugular just to feel something other than the pain from watching this BAD BAD, DISGUSTINGLY HORRIBLE movie!

I think I read that Sandler made this movie before he started on Saturday Night Live. He still has the similar delivery he had after this movie and he was much skinnier (weren't we all) but the script and filming was just downright piss poor!

The movie couldn't even have been saved by the many bikini-clad girls. For one, none of them got naked. And for the other, none of them got naked.

Now, I don't think they were taking this movie seriously to begin with but if you are going to put forth the effort and currency, I would think they would have done something a little better. This movie just seemed like a teenager's film project, like The Human Centipede but way worse.

What was amusing about the movie is to see the younger version of the guys (as well as he doesn't put in present movies like Burt Young) that Sandler puts in his movies nowadays. I don't know their names but I can say that one was his best bud in The Wedding Singer.

FINAL VERDICT: Not worth the film it was shot on, the DVD disk it was probably sold on, or the bandwith usage through Netflix. It was one of the hardest movies I have had to watch because I really, really, really wanted to just stop it and watch something else!

Follow-up comments on some products I've purchased

I was perusing some hit stats for my blog and I saw some search terms that pointed people to my most awesom thoughts. The ones that meant something to me were the ones where I purchased an item and I didn't follow up with what I thought about that item. What an injustice to my readers. So, I thought I would follow up on a few products that I have purchased within the past year or two. I'm not going to link to the original posts as they are searchable and will be found quite easily.

Anyway, here it goes:

Remington Dual Flex Cordless Shaver—This this is a complete and utter piece of shit! I didn't expect much from the $19.99 price tag but I expected something a little better than I got. The dual blades/shavers are worthless. I felt like I was using an old cheese grater on my neck. In fact, after using this once and only once, I had nicks and cuts near/around my Adam's apple. Talk about BURNS! I thought maybe using this as a fuzz buster instead but I'm sure it would have shredded my clothes as it did my neck. Again, I didn't expect much but a new rechargeable and portable shaver would have been very nice to replace my very old other one (I forget which brand and model). I washed the Dual Flex very well with soap, water and Sea Breeze then promptly returned it to Walgreen's.

ASUS G50VT-X5—This is one beast of a notebook. I purchased it as a desktop replacement although I had no intention on replacing or foregoing having a desktop. This thing is heavy. It's not overwhelmingly so but it isn't a thin portable like some of these other notebooks and netbooks. I purchased knowing this in advance. This thing is pretty fast. It runs Vista which after having 7 afterwards on my machine at work, I would upgrade the G50VT if it was near-free for me to do so. Since it's not, I will stick with Vista for now. I've had this for a little over a year and have not had any problems up until about a month ago. I think I posted about it crashing on me. After I got a new hard drive and reinstalled my software (this machine came with restoration software and disks...a big plus in my book for ASUS!), I focused on the seemingly bad hard drive to hopefully get my files off it. I back up every night to multiple hard drives but the one thing I didn't back up was my Outook.pst file. I keep all my email that matters filed in different folders within Outlook and this hadn't been backed up since maybe a month or so before. The nice thing about the G50VT is that it has a spare HD bay for expansion. I had a 500 GB in there before the crash which was one of my backups locations. When the crash happened, I thought I'd use the 500 GB to replace the failed 320 GB. For some reason I couldn't get the 500 GB to recognize for re-installation. Luckily, I had another 500 GB that I used. I was able to insert the "bad" 320 GB into the expansion bay and get my files. In fact, the 320 GB was not bad at all. It was fully and properly functioning. After some tinkering and swapping, I found that the 500 GB I originally had in the expansion bay was bad and it was causing the notebook to not boot or anything but turn on. Yippee for me as I didn't have to take it in for service! Since the reinstall though, I think I've noticed that the machine runs a little hotter and the fan runs more. I'm not sure why or if it was the same before and I just didn't notice. I use this machine every now and then because I decided to purchase the Alienware M11x to be my portable powerhouse notebook for school and personal use.

Alienware M11x—I got this thing for a really good deal a month or two ago. I probably could have waited a month or so and gotten the better deals on the i5 that I am seeing now. My thought is that I really wasn't going to use the M11x for high-processor-requirements like gaming as much as just simple things such as school, email, and Internet. I say that but I am sort of disappointed about not waiting a month or so to get the faster speed at basically the same price. Oh well! The M11x is a pretty nice machine. I like how it is zippier than my Samsung netbook and occasionally it'll open a browser window or Office file faster than my ASUS-G50VT (which is sort of weird). I'm digging the slightly larger than a netbook screen and the backlit keyboard. The casing is slick and appealing but definitely prone to fingerprinting just like the LCD screen. I haven't played around a lot with all the features like overclocking and the Aliensense because I don't need to overclock right now (and don't have the time to play around right now) and I prefer to type in my password than wait for the camera to recognize my mug for no-typing logging in. It works but my typing is faster especially in low-light situations.

I've been pretty happy with it up until the day that I could no longer use it. One day, I took it out of my bag. Hit the power button and it turned on. I got the cool LEDs to light up around the computer base and keyboard but nothing else. No boot up. No Windows loading screen. Nothing. I thought this could be a hard drive issue so I removed the bottom cover and removed the hard drive. I connect the HD to my ASUS via USB to SATA cables and the HD shows up in My Computer. I am able to copy, paste and remove files without issue for a few hours. I decide it must not be a HD issue. I put the HD back into the machine and turn on the power. Voila! I have boot up, Windows logon and I am able to see my username's desktop and all. I work on it for a few hours and go to bed. I wake in the morning and turn the M11x off. I wait a few minutes and power it back on. Same as before: no boot up, no Windows loading, nothing! I repeat powering down, uplugging the power cord, removing the battery, replacing the batter, plugging in the power cord and powering on many, many times with the same result: Nothing!

A few days later I am finally able to call Dell/Alienware support. I don't know if all Dell machines are like this but it was VERY nice to have the Alienware "brochure" that had all my machines information on it like customer service phone number, specs of my machine, the customer support tag, the type of service plan I have, along with other information. It was beneficial to have all this in one place. I call from my work around mid-afternoon on a Friday. I get some Middle Eastern person who's name I could not understand and could barely comprehend his English speaking. I was polite and told him I was having trouble hearing/understanding him and he made effort to be more clear. After some time, he "asked his supervisor" some questions and they said I needed to have the machine in front of me so they could troubleshoot some more to make sure they ordered the correct part for service. WTF!? When did I become part of Dell's technical support team? The way I see it is that they should send someone out (I have next day home service as part of my plan) to assess my issue and then if they have to take my machine or return another day with parts, that's what THEY should do! I paid for the service to be done for me not for me to be part of the service I'm paying for! Anyway, I told them I'd have to call them back when I got home from work or in the next day or so. He gave me a different 866 number to call and said it would be direct to their department and anyone would be able to help me due to the notes he has placed under my file on their system.

I was finally able to call the 866# he gave me this past Tuesday (Gimme a break! I've been busy with work, kids and school). When I called the first time, it rang about 10x and then it sounded like someone picked up the line and hung up. I didn't know for sure until a recording came on that said, "If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again." I called the number a second time and a recording came on that said something about "Thank you for using [something]" and my call was forwarded through some phone system, I guess. Finally, a woman picked up and I told her I was calling about following up with getting my Alienware serviced. She responded confusingly, "I'm sorry what were you calling in reference to?" I repeated and she said, "Sir, you have reached [so-and-so] Apartments." I was like, "This is NOT Dell Computers customer service?" "No sir." "Okay, thanks!"

That's as far as I've gotten so far because I had some more homework and shit to do the past few days. I may go home this evening and try again but I might have something to do. I will definitely follow up Friday evening or sometime Saturday because they are available 24/7. It's just my schedule that's fucked up.

I can say that 1) I'm not impressed with the stability of the M11x since it's been two months and something is wrong with it and 2) Dell/Alienware customer service so far has has somewhat solidified all the negative comments I've read online over the years about their poor service. Hopefully, it will get better when I have time to call them again.

Tachyon XC HD Helmet Cam—I've tried to get my use out of this little toy. It's a toy to me because I really didn't need to buy it. I just thought it was cool and had to get it.

Anyway, I have posted a short video before so you can just search "Tachyon" on my blog to find and see it. It's nothing spectacular since it was my first use but it shows the quality of the video pretty well. I've made another short driving video but I haven't edited it yet.

My plan is to take it with me in the next few days, weeks or probably months on my helmet during a bike ride but it depends on when I get a chance to do it.

So, look forward to seeing some more videos from the Tachyon soon. They are big files so it takes me some time to edit and such with my limited knowledge of video editing tools.

HTC Evo Shift—I've had this phone for a few months now. I've gotten a little more used to it. I like the phone much better than my initial introduction with it. All the features of it are pretty cool. The touch screen is fast and responsive. The apps that I've downloaded and used have been useful and have so far been without issues. It came with quite a few apps already installed which I have used and like as well.

One issue I have is the emailing function. I have my SBCGLOBAL.NET email set up with my phone for sending and receiving. When I am typing a message, it doesn't automatically create punctuation like my Blackberry did. For instance, words like "can't," "won't," "wouldn't," or "I'm." It even doesn't automatically add a period when I space-space at the end of a sentence. Luckily, the slide-out keyboard has a dedicated period key but it still would be nice for it to auto-end a sentence.

I downloaded the app Handcent SMS for texting. It does what the email should with the auto-punctuation. It also makes texting kind of fun because it puts the text messages in bubbles. I like this SMS app over the built-in app.

There was another issue I had with the phone but for some reason I can't remember what it was. I remember talking to my wife about it because she had the same issue with her Evo. I'm sure it'll come back to me soon.

I'm still getting familiar with other functions of the phone that I may not use as often. Overall, I don't think it was a bad purchase or upgrade from the Blackberry. It's taking some time to get used to the different functions compared to my Blackberry but I did have the Blackberry for almost six years and this one just for a few months.