On Christmas day I went to see three movies and I am going to give short reviews of all three.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.
This movie was pretty good for a Chipmunks movie but it wasn't the best of the three. There was the saccharine disgusting, everybody learns a valuable lesson ending that most kids movies have these days. The songs were good, though. Hearing the Chipmunks and the Chipettes do Gaga was great. I thought the Castaway reference was a bit much. And there's the whole "OMG we're stranded on an island with an active volcano that's never been active in the last 10 years!" thing going on. The whole thing is pretty ridiculous, really. It's a good movie to take your kids to, though. I will say that much.
The Adventures of Tin Tin:
This movie was pretty awesome over all. It seems like the Mythbusters consulted on the movie because there were at least 4 proven Myths that I saw. There were several "well that's convenient" moments throughout the story but over all, it's really good. The Captain was hilarious.
Warhorse:
This movie was very beautifully done. Though there were moments that were kind of slow, but that's to be expected in this type of movie. I think my favorite part of the whole movie though was watching David Thewlis get chased off the property by a goose. They had a goose on the farm that was more entertaining than most well trained dogs. Honestly. The movie follows the story of one horse from birth to the end of WWI. It's crazy and miraculous and amazing and very well done.
Of these three movies, I highly recommend Warhorse and Tin Tin. Chipwrecked I only recommend if you want to turn your brain off for a little while.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Sherlock Holmes addendums and corrections
I would like to apologize to Kelly Reilly for getting her name wrong in the original review of the movie. She does such a wonderful job and is a very important part of this movie that I feel very bad for not getting her name right. That has been corrected, though.
Also, I forgot about the Men In Black 3 trailer before the movie. It looks very interesting and the actor they have playing young K could actually have been a young Tommy Lee Jones. I am looking forward to that.
There's another trailer that I forgot for a movie called John Carter. My mom seems to think that it's based on a book, which I will have to research. It's very well done and looks like an interesting story. I'm going to look more into that before I decide to go see the movie.
I've already made the addendum of my assessment of Noomi Rapace's performace as Madame Simza. It's been added to the original review of the film.
The movie was even better the second time because I was able to catch the jokes I missed the first time. Again I say, go see this movie.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
The first thing I would like to talk about are the trailers before the movie.
The Grey:
I think they could have come up with a better title for the movie, but over all it looks pretty cool. Liam Neeson is awesome as always. It's about a group of men stranded in the winter wilderness after a plane crash and they're trying to get home. I know we've seen this done a thousand times but it looks pretty cool anyway.
Hunger Games:
I haven't read the books but the trailer to the movie is making me want to do so. It's beautifully done and looks like it can be very, very good. I am looking forward to seeing this movie.
Battleship:
I have to say when I first saw this movie poster I thought it was something based on the board game, but I was totally wrong. There's an alien invasion and some more Liam Neeson. It looks really good.
Dark Knight Rises:
This is one I am most definitely looking forward to. Anne Hatthaway as Cat Woman is looking very promising. There's a villain that I don't recognize but then I am not that well versed in the Batman universe. I only know from the movies, the TV shows and the cartoons, and from what my brother has told me about the comic books. Gary Oldman is the best Commissioner Gordon ever, that's all there is to that. And I love Michael Caine as Alfred. I will be seeing this one when it is released, that's for sure. The entire theater applauded this trailer.
SPOILERS AHEAD! I say that only because there are details that I will reveal that might not be known already. I don't plan to go into great detail about the storyline because there is so much involved, but I do want to talk about the movie.
First off, my love for Hans Zimmer only grows more with each movie score of his I hear. Especially these movies. He reaches into his soul and pulls out wonderfulness. You feel like you're actually listening to Victorian era music. There's some English with a touch of Irish. The suspenseful tones make you bite your nails and the soft melodies make you cry your eyes out. Even in a movie like this one, Hans uses every instrument at his disposal to reach into your chest and just rip your heart right out with his bare hands. I love him more than I love John Williams and for those who know me, that's saying a LOT.
Guy Ritchie is a great director. He makes wonderful use of the slow motion. While there is quite a lot of it in this movie, none of it is unwarranted. It's done beautifully and just adds to the story.
Robert was once again brilliant as Sherlock Holmes. They did a very good job of making Holmes seem completely insane and obsessed with Moriarty, which anyone who has read the books and stories knows he was. He does seem a bit psychotic but it is truly fitting for Holmes, based on what I've read from the books. I was also very impressed with Robert's pronunciation of the German that Holmes speaks at one point. Knowing that Robert speaks no foreign languages and learns all his lines phonetically, and having experience with German being a rather interesting language, I give him kudos for that.
Jude was hilariously awesome as Watson. Getting completely hammered at his stag party, stumbling about and giggling at nothing. There were a lot of looks shared between Holmes and Watson that were wonderful and funny and just completely the kind of looks two very dear friends would share. And it was evident that it was one of those times when the lonely friend realized the friend about to get married was moving on and having another life that might not include him. But there were so many scenes when it was very obvious exactly how much Holmes means to Watson.
The performance I was looking forward to the most, however, was that of the magnificent Stephen Fry. Choosing him as Mycroft Holmes couldn't have been a more brilliant decision. Although he was quite a bit more active than Mycroft was in the books, he did a beautiful job. And the scene in which he spends the entire time naked was both hilarious and fantastic. Conveniently placed books and well chosen camera angles kept too much from being revealed but it was great all the same. And Kelly Reilly handling the reactions to seeing Mycroft naked was very funny and very well done.
I do believe that there is no actor currently living that could have played Professor James Moriarty better than Jared Harris. Everything I have seen him in he's been absolutely evil to the core and he is so very good and being so very bad. I was a bit surprised to find out that he can sing beautifully. He made me shiver with every look. He played a man as brilliant as Holmes and exponentially more diabolical. I believe that Moriarty is the embodiment of what Holmes could have become if he'd chosen a life of crime rather than a life of crime fighting.
The ending of the movie was very well done. It is almost exactly as it was described in the one story that does involve Moriarty written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Even taking place at the correct waterfall. The main difference is that Watson arrives to find only a note from Holmes, rather than seeing what happens with both Holmes and Moriarty. You are left to wonder if both of them perished or if perhaps there was some way in which one of them survived. I was very pleased to find that they had included that bit of the story in the movies.
(added 533pm) I feel completely horrible because I realized this morning that I forgot to talk about Noomi Rapace. She did a wonderful job, honestly. She was perfect for Madame Simza Heron. All of the action scenes were very well done and the emotional moments were heart breaking. She's a beautiful woman and a talented actress and I feel bad for not remembering, at 330am, to comment on her performance. These movies have been maid more closely to the stories in the books than any other Sherlock Holmes movie I have ever seen. The relationship between Holmes and Watson is definitely much more partner than detective and side kick. Holmes wasn't nearly as calm and dignified as he's been made out to be in the past. Watson was a lot more willing to call Holmes on his crap than I've seen in other embodiments of these two timeless characters. Robert and Jude have brought them as close to Conan Doyle's vision as humanly possibly without Sir Arthur here to tell us exactly what he imagined when he wrote the stories.
You should most definitely go see this movie. Everyone should. And I have to agree with the critics, it is better than the first one. The general story itself is better played out and it's just an over all well done movie. I don't know how else to put it. Go see the movie, you won't regret it, I promise.
The Grey:
I think they could have come up with a better title for the movie, but over all it looks pretty cool. Liam Neeson is awesome as always. It's about a group of men stranded in the winter wilderness after a plane crash and they're trying to get home. I know we've seen this done a thousand times but it looks pretty cool anyway.
Hunger Games:
I haven't read the books but the trailer to the movie is making me want to do so. It's beautifully done and looks like it can be very, very good. I am looking forward to seeing this movie.
Battleship:
I have to say when I first saw this movie poster I thought it was something based on the board game, but I was totally wrong. There's an alien invasion and some more Liam Neeson. It looks really good.
Dark Knight Rises:
This is one I am most definitely looking forward to. Anne Hatthaway as Cat Woman is looking very promising. There's a villain that I don't recognize but then I am not that well versed in the Batman universe. I only know from the movies, the TV shows and the cartoons, and from what my brother has told me about the comic books. Gary Oldman is the best Commissioner Gordon ever, that's all there is to that. And I love Michael Caine as Alfred. I will be seeing this one when it is released, that's for sure. The entire theater applauded this trailer.
SPOILERS AHEAD! I say that only because there are details that I will reveal that might not be known already. I don't plan to go into great detail about the storyline because there is so much involved, but I do want to talk about the movie.
First off, my love for Hans Zimmer only grows more with each movie score of his I hear. Especially these movies. He reaches into his soul and pulls out wonderfulness. You feel like you're actually listening to Victorian era music. There's some English with a touch of Irish. The suspenseful tones make you bite your nails and the soft melodies make you cry your eyes out. Even in a movie like this one, Hans uses every instrument at his disposal to reach into your chest and just rip your heart right out with his bare hands. I love him more than I love John Williams and for those who know me, that's saying a LOT.
Guy Ritchie is a great director. He makes wonderful use of the slow motion. While there is quite a lot of it in this movie, none of it is unwarranted. It's done beautifully and just adds to the story.
Robert was once again brilliant as Sherlock Holmes. They did a very good job of making Holmes seem completely insane and obsessed with Moriarty, which anyone who has read the books and stories knows he was. He does seem a bit psychotic but it is truly fitting for Holmes, based on what I've read from the books. I was also very impressed with Robert's pronunciation of the German that Holmes speaks at one point. Knowing that Robert speaks no foreign languages and learns all his lines phonetically, and having experience with German being a rather interesting language, I give him kudos for that.
Jude was hilariously awesome as Watson. Getting completely hammered at his stag party, stumbling about and giggling at nothing. There were a lot of looks shared between Holmes and Watson that were wonderful and funny and just completely the kind of looks two very dear friends would share. And it was evident that it was one of those times when the lonely friend realized the friend about to get married was moving on and having another life that might not include him. But there were so many scenes when it was very obvious exactly how much Holmes means to Watson.
The performance I was looking forward to the most, however, was that of the magnificent Stephen Fry. Choosing him as Mycroft Holmes couldn't have been a more brilliant decision. Although he was quite a bit more active than Mycroft was in the books, he did a beautiful job. And the scene in which he spends the entire time naked was both hilarious and fantastic. Conveniently placed books and well chosen camera angles kept too much from being revealed but it was great all the same. And Kelly Reilly handling the reactions to seeing Mycroft naked was very funny and very well done.
I do believe that there is no actor currently living that could have played Professor James Moriarty better than Jared Harris. Everything I have seen him in he's been absolutely evil to the core and he is so very good and being so very bad. I was a bit surprised to find out that he can sing beautifully. He made me shiver with every look. He played a man as brilliant as Holmes and exponentially more diabolical. I believe that Moriarty is the embodiment of what Holmes could have become if he'd chosen a life of crime rather than a life of crime fighting.
The ending of the movie was very well done. It is almost exactly as it was described in the one story that does involve Moriarty written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Even taking place at the correct waterfall. The main difference is that Watson arrives to find only a note from Holmes, rather than seeing what happens with both Holmes and Moriarty. You are left to wonder if both of them perished or if perhaps there was some way in which one of them survived. I was very pleased to find that they had included that bit of the story in the movies.
(added 533pm) I feel completely horrible because I realized this morning that I forgot to talk about Noomi Rapace. She did a wonderful job, honestly. She was perfect for Madame Simza Heron. All of the action scenes were very well done and the emotional moments were heart breaking. She's a beautiful woman and a talented actress and I feel bad for not remembering, at 330am, to comment on her performance. These movies have been maid more closely to the stories in the books than any other Sherlock Holmes movie I have ever seen. The relationship between Holmes and Watson is definitely much more partner than detective and side kick. Holmes wasn't nearly as calm and dignified as he's been made out to be in the past. Watson was a lot more willing to call Holmes on his crap than I've seen in other embodiments of these two timeless characters. Robert and Jude have brought them as close to Conan Doyle's vision as humanly possibly without Sir Arthur here to tell us exactly what he imagined when he wrote the stories.
You should most definitely go see this movie. Everyone should. And I have to agree with the critics, it is better than the first one. The general story itself is better played out and it's just an over all well done movie. I don't know how else to put it. Go see the movie, you won't regret it, I promise.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Real Steal SPOILERS AHEAD
I got to go to an advanced screening of the movie Real Steal tonight. The movie stars Hugh Jackman and Evangeline Lily. It's amazing. It's pretty much a robot version of Rocky, but it's still fantastic. The movie is due out in theaters on October 7th and I highly recommend that everybody go see it.
Now, first and foremost I would like to give a huge, major thank you hug to Mr. Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks for making this movie in 2D. It could have been very awesome in 3D but until I get the 2D glasses from thinkgeek.com I still can't watch 3D movies and it's a relief to see that something like this is made for those of us that prefer 2D.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
The first thing we see is a down and out Charlie Kenton (played by Hugh Jackman) who is so desperate for money that he is putting his robot boxer in a ring against a bull. Yes, that's right, an actual living bull. Now there's the usual no animals were harmed disclaimer on this, but it's still a bull. And the bull ends up kicking the robot's metal ass.
Then we get to find out the heart of the story. Charlie has a son who has been living with his mother. The boy's mother dies and Charlie goes to sign paperwork so that Max, who is 11 years old, will go live with his aunt and Charlie doesn't have to deal with him. Charlie gets money from the boy's uncle and is willing to take him for a couple of months while the aunt and uncle are in Italy with some friends. Charlie uses that money to buy another robot, who then gets his ass kicked and torn to shreds.
They go to a junk yard and Charlie tries to find parts to put a new robot together. In all of this, Max finds a robot that Charlie wants nothing to do with but Max digs him out of the mud and gets him back to Charlies truck. They get him back to the gym, which used to train boxers and now trains boxing robots, only to find out that the robot still works and is a sparring robot with a shadow function. It's pretty awesome.
The kid gets the robot cleaned up and he talks Charlie into teaching him how to box. With the shadow motion, the robot dances before each fight, following Max's movements. He gets more and more fights, winning and winning and winning when nobody said he would, and finds his way into a sanctioned, league fight. Everybody is convinced that the opponent, Twin Cities, is going to win but in the end, Atom (Max's robot) manages to beat the crap out of him. During the fights they use voice commands to tell the robot what to do. So after defeating Twin Cities, Max gets on the mic at the match and challenges the Robot Champion known as Zeus to a match.
The problem comes when it's time for Charlie to take Max back to his aunt in New York. Max doesn't want to go but Charlie tells him it's for the best and that's that. Charlie heads back to the gym, and a woman named Bailey (played by Evangeline Lily) who eventually talks Charlie into going back and getting Max.
They get their fight with Zeus. Now the main thing about Zeus is that no robot has ever gotten past the first round without being annihilated. But Atom is different. Because he's a sparring robot, he is built to take a lot of punches. He's old and an under dog and he does take a hell of a beating but he gives as good as he gets. He gets knocked down more times than I could keep track of but he keeps getting back up. During the 4th round, though, Zeus gets in a blow that knocks out Atom's voice recognition programming and the bell rings barely in time for Atom to make it out of the round alive. The problem is, there's still one more round to go. Max switches Atom over to shadow mode and Charlie, a former boxer himself, gets to where Atom can see him and starts fighting the match for Atom. The pivotal moment in the movie comes when Bailey and Max are both watching Charlie as he's making the boxing moves for Atom. He was loving every minute of it, being able to essentially be back in the ring throwing those punches. Zeus is about to be knocked out and literally gets saved by the bell. The 5th round is the final round in the robot league boxing and it goes to the scores. The judges, of course, name Zeus as the winner because it would look bad for the under dog to win. The programmer of the robot is furious, though, and he storms out of the ring without saying a word. In the end, Atom is dubbed The People's Champion even though he lost the match, and everybody cheers.
I can continue to say that I have never seen a movie with Hugh Jackman in it that I didn't enjoy. He's very good at this type of role. The guy who thinks he's not worth anything but deep down you know he's worth more than his weight in gold. The rough and tumble, makes you want to smack him asshole that turns out to have a big heart that's in just the right place. And watching him throw those punches was beautiful. He had to have trained a lot to be able to look the way he did in this movie.
The real star of the movie, though, in my opinion is Dakota Goyo, the little boy that plays Max. That kid has attitude and swagger and he's about the same age as my daughter. He delivers lines like he's been doing it for decades and his comedic timing is pure genius. Dakota is going to go as far as he wants to go in this business. There's raw talent there that can not be taught and doesn't need much in the way of refinement. In my opinion, he was literally born to act.
Evangeline Lily didn't have a very big part in this movie, but it was an important one. And yes, there is a difference. She plays the daughter of the man that ran the gym where Charlie trained. He didn't just run the gym, he was also Charlie's trainer. Bailey believes in Charlie to a point, but even the biggest fan has to give up at some point. He manages to talk her into giving him another chance and another chance. She watches the match with Twin Cities and she's there at the match with Zeus, cheering and crying and just having a good time. I have always loved Evangeline. She's a beautiful woman inside and out as far as I can tell and she was definitely perfect for the part of Bailey.
I would also like to give a little shout out for the fact that a lot of this movie is set in Texas. North Texas to be specific. One of the fights takes place at an arena in Dallas, just about a 45 minute drive from me. So I was happy about that. But the fights do take place all over the country.
And again I thank Steven for making this in 2D instead of going with the 3D craze that has started the past few years. Those of us who can't watch 3D movies for whatever reason thank you greatly.
Over all? I say go see this movie as soon as you can. The effects are amazing, and it's real robots, not CG, which makes it even better. And the music is fantastic. I gotta get the sound track to this movie because the songs just make you want to get up and dance. Especially the ones to which the robot dances. The film as a whole is great. It's rated PG-13 but that's just for violence and some mild language. By mild I mean there's the occasional shit here and there and some bitches and asses, like that. No F bombs dropped in this flick.
Even if the only reason you go to see it is to watch two robots beat the living snot out of each other, it's so worth it, trust me. GO SEE THIS MOVIE! You will NOT regret it.
Now, first and foremost I would like to give a huge, major thank you hug to Mr. Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks for making this movie in 2D. It could have been very awesome in 3D but until I get the 2D glasses from thinkgeek.com I still can't watch 3D movies and it's a relief to see that something like this is made for those of us that prefer 2D.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
The first thing we see is a down and out Charlie Kenton (played by Hugh Jackman) who is so desperate for money that he is putting his robot boxer in a ring against a bull. Yes, that's right, an actual living bull. Now there's the usual no animals were harmed disclaimer on this, but it's still a bull. And the bull ends up kicking the robot's metal ass.
Then we get to find out the heart of the story. Charlie has a son who has been living with his mother. The boy's mother dies and Charlie goes to sign paperwork so that Max, who is 11 years old, will go live with his aunt and Charlie doesn't have to deal with him. Charlie gets money from the boy's uncle and is willing to take him for a couple of months while the aunt and uncle are in Italy with some friends. Charlie uses that money to buy another robot, who then gets his ass kicked and torn to shreds.
They go to a junk yard and Charlie tries to find parts to put a new robot together. In all of this, Max finds a robot that Charlie wants nothing to do with but Max digs him out of the mud and gets him back to Charlies truck. They get him back to the gym, which used to train boxers and now trains boxing robots, only to find out that the robot still works and is a sparring robot with a shadow function. It's pretty awesome.
The kid gets the robot cleaned up and he talks Charlie into teaching him how to box. With the shadow motion, the robot dances before each fight, following Max's movements. He gets more and more fights, winning and winning and winning when nobody said he would, and finds his way into a sanctioned, league fight. Everybody is convinced that the opponent, Twin Cities, is going to win but in the end, Atom (Max's robot) manages to beat the crap out of him. During the fights they use voice commands to tell the robot what to do. So after defeating Twin Cities, Max gets on the mic at the match and challenges the Robot Champion known as Zeus to a match.
The problem comes when it's time for Charlie to take Max back to his aunt in New York. Max doesn't want to go but Charlie tells him it's for the best and that's that. Charlie heads back to the gym, and a woman named Bailey (played by Evangeline Lily) who eventually talks Charlie into going back and getting Max.
They get their fight with Zeus. Now the main thing about Zeus is that no robot has ever gotten past the first round without being annihilated. But Atom is different. Because he's a sparring robot, he is built to take a lot of punches. He's old and an under dog and he does take a hell of a beating but he gives as good as he gets. He gets knocked down more times than I could keep track of but he keeps getting back up. During the 4th round, though, Zeus gets in a blow that knocks out Atom's voice recognition programming and the bell rings barely in time for Atom to make it out of the round alive. The problem is, there's still one more round to go. Max switches Atom over to shadow mode and Charlie, a former boxer himself, gets to where Atom can see him and starts fighting the match for Atom. The pivotal moment in the movie comes when Bailey and Max are both watching Charlie as he's making the boxing moves for Atom. He was loving every minute of it, being able to essentially be back in the ring throwing those punches. Zeus is about to be knocked out and literally gets saved by the bell. The 5th round is the final round in the robot league boxing and it goes to the scores. The judges, of course, name Zeus as the winner because it would look bad for the under dog to win. The programmer of the robot is furious, though, and he storms out of the ring without saying a word. In the end, Atom is dubbed The People's Champion even though he lost the match, and everybody cheers.
I can continue to say that I have never seen a movie with Hugh Jackman in it that I didn't enjoy. He's very good at this type of role. The guy who thinks he's not worth anything but deep down you know he's worth more than his weight in gold. The rough and tumble, makes you want to smack him asshole that turns out to have a big heart that's in just the right place. And watching him throw those punches was beautiful. He had to have trained a lot to be able to look the way he did in this movie.
The real star of the movie, though, in my opinion is Dakota Goyo, the little boy that plays Max. That kid has attitude and swagger and he's about the same age as my daughter. He delivers lines like he's been doing it for decades and his comedic timing is pure genius. Dakota is going to go as far as he wants to go in this business. There's raw talent there that can not be taught and doesn't need much in the way of refinement. In my opinion, he was literally born to act.
Evangeline Lily didn't have a very big part in this movie, but it was an important one. And yes, there is a difference. She plays the daughter of the man that ran the gym where Charlie trained. He didn't just run the gym, he was also Charlie's trainer. Bailey believes in Charlie to a point, but even the biggest fan has to give up at some point. He manages to talk her into giving him another chance and another chance. She watches the match with Twin Cities and she's there at the match with Zeus, cheering and crying and just having a good time. I have always loved Evangeline. She's a beautiful woman inside and out as far as I can tell and she was definitely perfect for the part of Bailey.
I would also like to give a little shout out for the fact that a lot of this movie is set in Texas. North Texas to be specific. One of the fights takes place at an arena in Dallas, just about a 45 minute drive from me. So I was happy about that. But the fights do take place all over the country.
And again I thank Steven for making this in 2D instead of going with the 3D craze that has started the past few years. Those of us who can't watch 3D movies for whatever reason thank you greatly.
Over all? I say go see this movie as soon as you can. The effects are amazing, and it's real robots, not CG, which makes it even better. And the music is fantastic. I gotta get the sound track to this movie because the songs just make you want to get up and dance. Especially the ones to which the robot dances. The film as a whole is great. It's rated PG-13 but that's just for violence and some mild language. By mild I mean there's the occasional shit here and there and some bitches and asses, like that. No F bombs dropped in this flick.
Even if the only reason you go to see it is to watch two robots beat the living snot out of each other, it's so worth it, trust me. GO SEE THIS MOVIE! You will NOT regret it.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Don't do business with Don Davis Auto Group ever.
On top of the fact that I was lied to repeatedly about the car that I purchased, I have had more problems with my 2008 PT Cruiser than my mom and dad have had with their 2001 and 2004 PT Cruisers COMBINED and that includes the fact that my mom's car is currently not running and sitting in our driveway.
Let's add to that the fact that I have had to replace the battery in this car EVERY SUMMER since I bought it. I managed to get a jump so I could take my car to the dealership at about 915am. I got there and they said "We'll take a look at it" even though I told them TWO WEEKS AGO when I brought it in that it was a bad battery. So, I decide to go look into the possibility of buying a new car while they're looking at my current car. FOUR HOURS LATER they still hadn't even pulled my car back to the repair bays to even figure out what was wrong. When they FINALLY pulled it back to look at it, it took another THREE HOURS for them to "figure out" that it was in fact the bad battery I had originally told them it was and to switch out said battery.
Two weeks ago I dropped my car off at about 11am because the battery was dead. It took them until THE NEXT MORNING to even LOOK at my car and then they told me "oh, it's just the connectors, we'll do the battery service and you'll be good." Well, it turns out that the "battery service" that they charged me $40 for, I could have done myself with a 50 cent can of Coke. All they did was clean off the battery cables. They claimed that they checked the battery and that the battery was good.
The kicker? If they had changed the battery two weeks ago it would have still been under the free replacement. As of last week, it wasn't under the free replacement anymore. So that means that I had to pay $88 for towing, $40 for the "battery service" and today I had to pay $106 for the new battery and labor. $32 worth of labor to change out the fucking battery.
All of this is on a 2008 PT Cruiser. Since I bought the car in 2008, I have had to replace the Cam Shaft Position Sensor Circuit and the Crank Shaft Position Sensor Circuit. I've had to replace the battery three times as of today. I had to get the brakes done within 6 months of buying the car. I have had to get new tires on the car twice. I have had to replace the wiring that controls the horn twice. I have had to place the wiring that controls the wind shield wipers and the turn signals as well as the switches that control them because the wiring burning out means that both switches burnt out. AND I was told that I need a new air conditioner compressor by one person, and a new air conditioner fan by another.
All of this amounts to repairs on the car in the amount of....roughly 1/3 the PURCHASE PRICE OF THE DAMN VEHICLE!
Don Davis lied to me about the warranty and refused to give me anything in writing. They lied to me about the condition of the car. They lied to me about the previous owner of the car. Hell, the VIN number pulls up for a BLUE car and my car is SILVER STEEL.
What does this all come down to? It comes down to the fact that I owe nearly 2 times what my car is actually worth so there is no way I can get rid of it until I get it paid off, because the longer I keep the car the less it is worth. So I am stuck in a fucking piece of shit car that is falling apart worse than my mistreated 1998 Mustang was when it was 10 years old.
In summer? DON DAVIS AUTO GROUP IS A LYING BUNCH OF THIEVES AND YOU SHOULD NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER do business with them EVER.
Let's add to that the fact that I have had to replace the battery in this car EVERY SUMMER since I bought it. I managed to get a jump so I could take my car to the dealership at about 915am. I got there and they said "We'll take a look at it" even though I told them TWO WEEKS AGO when I brought it in that it was a bad battery. So, I decide to go look into the possibility of buying a new car while they're looking at my current car. FOUR HOURS LATER they still hadn't even pulled my car back to the repair bays to even figure out what was wrong. When they FINALLY pulled it back to look at it, it took another THREE HOURS for them to "figure out" that it was in fact the bad battery I had originally told them it was and to switch out said battery.
Two weeks ago I dropped my car off at about 11am because the battery was dead. It took them until THE NEXT MORNING to even LOOK at my car and then they told me "oh, it's just the connectors, we'll do the battery service and you'll be good." Well, it turns out that the "battery service" that they charged me $40 for, I could have done myself with a 50 cent can of Coke. All they did was clean off the battery cables. They claimed that they checked the battery and that the battery was good.
The kicker? If they had changed the battery two weeks ago it would have still been under the free replacement. As of last week, it wasn't under the free replacement anymore. So that means that I had to pay $88 for towing, $40 for the "battery service" and today I had to pay $106 for the new battery and labor. $32 worth of labor to change out the fucking battery.
All of this is on a 2008 PT Cruiser. Since I bought the car in 2008, I have had to replace the Cam Shaft Position Sensor Circuit and the Crank Shaft Position Sensor Circuit. I've had to replace the battery three times as of today. I had to get the brakes done within 6 months of buying the car. I have had to get new tires on the car twice. I have had to replace the wiring that controls the horn twice. I have had to place the wiring that controls the wind shield wipers and the turn signals as well as the switches that control them because the wiring burning out means that both switches burnt out. AND I was told that I need a new air conditioner compressor by one person, and a new air conditioner fan by another.
All of this amounts to repairs on the car in the amount of....roughly 1/3 the PURCHASE PRICE OF THE DAMN VEHICLE!
Don Davis lied to me about the warranty and refused to give me anything in writing. They lied to me about the condition of the car. They lied to me about the previous owner of the car. Hell, the VIN number pulls up for a BLUE car and my car is SILVER STEEL.
What does this all come down to? It comes down to the fact that I owe nearly 2 times what my car is actually worth so there is no way I can get rid of it until I get it paid off, because the longer I keep the car the less it is worth. So I am stuck in a fucking piece of shit car that is falling apart worse than my mistreated 1998 Mustang was when it was 10 years old.
In summer? DON DAVIS AUTO GROUP IS A LYING BUNCH OF THIEVES AND YOU SHOULD NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER do business with them EVER.
Friday, July 22, 2011
CAPTAIN AMERICA!!! Spoiler Alert ahead.
STAY UNTIL AFTER THE CREDITS! Which is the case with all Marvel movies.
SPOILER ALERT AHEAD! Don't read this if you don't want to know details about the movie.
The first thing that I have to say is that it still freaks me out to see Chris Evans head on a short, scrawny little body. It's just WEIRD! That's not him at all. And, after this movie, I officially no longer hate Chris Evans. I still don't like him all that much, but I don't hate him either. So that's a start.
I was very confused at the beginning of this movie. I couldn't get what was going on. Everything looked way too modern. It wasn't until the black mass appeared in the snow that I realized that they were finding Cap frozen in the ice. I knew about that part of his story but I didn't realize they were putting it in the movie at the very beginning.
Even though there were a lot of special effects in this film, it wasn't completely CG. I did like seeing Natalie Dormer even though it was briefly, but that was later in the film. She was the "The women of American owe you a debt of gratitude" or whatever the line was. It was a precursor to making her look like a slut so I didn't pay that much attention. I do know that it was in the trailer, though.
Stanley Tucci will always have a special place in my heart. And I love him as Dr Erskine. When Steve says "Where are you from?" and in his thick German accent Erskine says "Queens." That was too priceless.
There were only two people in Hollywood that could have possibly been cast as Colonel Chester Phillips. And since R. Lee. Ermie apparently wasn't available, the other option was the amazing Tommy Lee Jones. I love that man so much it's not even funny. And he did such a great job in this role. He's always been beautiful when it comes to delivering lines and he did it with gusto in this movie, especially since they gave him some of the best lines in the script. My personal favorite was "I'm not gonna kiss you!" So great.
Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark did a very good job. And there were a lot of scenes with Howard that the only thought I had in my head at the moment was "Like Father/Like Son." Especially the bit when Howard tests out the crystal and gets blown halfway across the lab. I had a momentary flash back to Tony first testing out the flight boots in the first Iron Man movie. VERY nice.
Everyone was very perfectly cast, although Neal McDonough will always creep me out. He did a good job as Dum Dum Dugan, though. I think we might get a chance to see him again at some point but I'm not really sure on that one. Depends on how they play this out.
The story was very well done and I am so glad that they did a great job on this. While waiting for the movie to start, with the theater completely quiet someone said aloud "Dear God please let them not have screwed this up." and of course the entire theater laughed.
There were moments that had everybody laughing and cheering. When Cap shows up with the 400 soldiers that he freed from the Red Skull, the theater erupted in applause. It was so great. There was a lot of laughing and a few "ooohs" in the appropriate places. And there were more cheers when Nick Fury showed up at the end. It was so great.
I think one of the best parts of this movie though is The Avengers trailer at the end. I am SOOOO looking forward to that movie and next summer can not come fast enough. There's a little bit of everyone in the trailer and Tony walking up to Thor, patting his arm and saying "Nice Swing" just made everybody laugh.
I have to admit that the musical numbers and the war bonds selling made me cringe. Especially the song that the girls sang. It just made me want to smack somebody upside the head repeatedly. And Chris even managed to look like he would really rather be doing anything else but that. So this has proven that Chris can at least act a little bit which has given me cause to not hate him anymore.
Over all the movie is very well done and I highly recommend it to any and everyone there is. I didn't see it in 3D and I'm personally glad I didn't, but there were a lot of parts in the movie that would be very cool in 3D if you can handle that sort of thing.
Go see this movie. That's all I'm saying.
SPOILER ALERT AHEAD! Don't read this if you don't want to know details about the movie.
The first thing that I have to say is that it still freaks me out to see Chris Evans head on a short, scrawny little body. It's just WEIRD! That's not him at all. And, after this movie, I officially no longer hate Chris Evans. I still don't like him all that much, but I don't hate him either. So that's a start.
I was very confused at the beginning of this movie. I couldn't get what was going on. Everything looked way too modern. It wasn't until the black mass appeared in the snow that I realized that they were finding Cap frozen in the ice. I knew about that part of his story but I didn't realize they were putting it in the movie at the very beginning.
Even though there were a lot of special effects in this film, it wasn't completely CG. I did like seeing Natalie Dormer even though it was briefly, but that was later in the film. She was the "The women of American owe you a debt of gratitude" or whatever the line was. It was a precursor to making her look like a slut so I didn't pay that much attention. I do know that it was in the trailer, though.
Stanley Tucci will always have a special place in my heart. And I love him as Dr Erskine. When Steve says "Where are you from?" and in his thick German accent Erskine says "Queens." That was too priceless.
There were only two people in Hollywood that could have possibly been cast as Colonel Chester Phillips. And since R. Lee. Ermie apparently wasn't available, the other option was the amazing Tommy Lee Jones. I love that man so much it's not even funny. And he did such a great job in this role. He's always been beautiful when it comes to delivering lines and he did it with gusto in this movie, especially since they gave him some of the best lines in the script. My personal favorite was "I'm not gonna kiss you!" So great.
Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark did a very good job. And there were a lot of scenes with Howard that the only thought I had in my head at the moment was "Like Father/Like Son." Especially the bit when Howard tests out the crystal and gets blown halfway across the lab. I had a momentary flash back to Tony first testing out the flight boots in the first Iron Man movie. VERY nice.
Everyone was very perfectly cast, although Neal McDonough will always creep me out. He did a good job as Dum Dum Dugan, though. I think we might get a chance to see him again at some point but I'm not really sure on that one. Depends on how they play this out.
The story was very well done and I am so glad that they did a great job on this. While waiting for the movie to start, with the theater completely quiet someone said aloud "Dear God please let them not have screwed this up." and of course the entire theater laughed.
There were moments that had everybody laughing and cheering. When Cap shows up with the 400 soldiers that he freed from the Red Skull, the theater erupted in applause. It was so great. There was a lot of laughing and a few "ooohs" in the appropriate places. And there were more cheers when Nick Fury showed up at the end. It was so great.
I think one of the best parts of this movie though is The Avengers trailer at the end. I am SOOOO looking forward to that movie and next summer can not come fast enough. There's a little bit of everyone in the trailer and Tony walking up to Thor, patting his arm and saying "Nice Swing" just made everybody laugh.
I have to admit that the musical numbers and the war bonds selling made me cringe. Especially the song that the girls sang. It just made me want to smack somebody upside the head repeatedly. And Chris even managed to look like he would really rather be doing anything else but that. So this has proven that Chris can at least act a little bit which has given me cause to not hate him anymore.
Over all the movie is very well done and I highly recommend it to any and everyone there is. I didn't see it in 3D and I'm personally glad I didn't, but there were a lot of parts in the movie that would be very cool in 3D if you can handle that sort of thing.
Go see this movie. That's all I'm saying.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows Part 2
If you have not read the book and have not yet seen the movie, beware there are spoilers ahead.
I so loved this movie, I really did. There were things that I saw differently in my head when I was reading the books but that's always going to be the case. What I saw in my head might not have been possible with special effects, and there's always different interpretations of things.
There were also parts that I didn't remember. Honestly, I totally forgot that Fred dies until a friend of mine reminded me earlier today before I went to see the movie. And that part was so horrifically sad. All of the deaths hit hard, especially the characters that I really liked. I love Fred and George. YOU DON'T SPLIT UP THE TWINS, MAN! YOU JUST DON'T! Okay, I'm over that now. And Remus and Tonks dying was just wrong on so many levels, but then I hated all of the deaths in this series. Every last one of them. Although I think the deaths that hit me the hardest were Dobby and Snape.
I would like to take a side note and say that I have always loved the casting in these movies. Every part was cast so beautifully. Although I will, until the day I die, say that Emma Watson was too pretty for Hermione and Imelda Staunton was too pretty for Delores Umbridge. They did, however, play the parts wonderfully and I am glad that those two were cast. My favorite cast members, however, have got to be Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman. Alan Rickman as Snape was just pure genius. That's all there is to it. Absolute, complete and utter genius. I love the way he managed to make it look like Snape just glides across the floor. And I love how you could simultaneously love and hate the man at the same time. Alan Rickman was perfect for Snape and I am so glad that he did it.
Snapes death was so sad and Rickman played it so well. Although I have to say that the collection of his last thoughts went very differently than described in the book. I will say that it was done well, and this was a lot easier special effects wise, but I was slightly disappointed at that.
Now, onto my love of Maggie Smith. Since the day I found out she was being cast as McGonagall, I have been cheering and wanting to hug the casting director. I've had a girl crush on this woman since she played the Mother Superior in Sister Act. I know that her career has spanned a lot longer than that, but that was my first exposure to her and I've loved her ever since. And I really, really wish that they had put "Do you need a cough drop, Delores?" into Order of the Phoenix because she would have played that line so beautifully. And my favorite part of this movie will always be "I've always wanted to use that spell!" She looked like a little kid at Christmas when she said that. It was wonderful. That woman just makes my life, that's all there is to it.
Ralph Fiennes played Voldemort so well. He has a wonderful voice and you almost hate to see him play the villain but he did it wonderfully and I loved that he was cast as Voldemort. When it comes down to it, I loved the entire cast. That's the only way to say it. Ralph was so deliciously evil that you really wanted to hate him but you couldn't help but love the wickedness. There's a tiny little evil part of me that almost wanted to cheer for him. He was too good to die, really. But that was the story so it had to happen. Although with the scene were he breaks up into tiny little pieces and flies away, I'm very glad that I wasn't able to watch this in 3D because I didn't need to see that coming flying at me. Just saying.
I am so very, very happy that Neville got to save the day. He's always been the klutz, the bumbler, the one that messes things up. I loved to see him coming into his own and being brave and standing up against the bad guys. Killing Nagini was just the icing on the awesomeness cake that Neville had become. I didn't remember him being in love with Luna but it really fit. Those two are perfect for each other. And Luna is definitely one of my favorite characters because she is so lovably weird. She seems like someone that I would have been very good friends with had we gone to school together.
Over all this movie was perfect. It was beautifully done and absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet seen it. And if you haven't read the book yet, do it. Trust me, you won't regret it. But start from book one, if you haven't. One of the things that I love about this series is that you can't just pick up a book in the middle and know what's going on. You have to read it from the very beginning to know what's happening. J.K. did that brilliantly.
I didn't really like the age progression at the end but it was definitely better than having other actors come in. And to be honest, it looked like they only really age progressed the guys. All they did with Emma and Bonnie was change their hair a bit and they looked older. But the guys needed some computerized help. And poor Daniel looks like he's one of those guys that just thinks about not shaving and has a beard like Hagrid's. They probably had to take a lot of shaving breaks throughout this movie, just so that he could look the way he did. And make up only covers up so much. But I digress.
Go see the movie. Take the time to read the books. Pick a character and fall in love. Be one with the stories. You will not regret it, seriously.
I so loved this movie, I really did. There were things that I saw differently in my head when I was reading the books but that's always going to be the case. What I saw in my head might not have been possible with special effects, and there's always different interpretations of things.
There were also parts that I didn't remember. Honestly, I totally forgot that Fred dies until a friend of mine reminded me earlier today before I went to see the movie. And that part was so horrifically sad. All of the deaths hit hard, especially the characters that I really liked. I love Fred and George. YOU DON'T SPLIT UP THE TWINS, MAN! YOU JUST DON'T! Okay, I'm over that now. And Remus and Tonks dying was just wrong on so many levels, but then I hated all of the deaths in this series. Every last one of them. Although I think the deaths that hit me the hardest were Dobby and Snape.
I would like to take a side note and say that I have always loved the casting in these movies. Every part was cast so beautifully. Although I will, until the day I die, say that Emma Watson was too pretty for Hermione and Imelda Staunton was too pretty for Delores Umbridge. They did, however, play the parts wonderfully and I am glad that those two were cast. My favorite cast members, however, have got to be Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman. Alan Rickman as Snape was just pure genius. That's all there is to it. Absolute, complete and utter genius. I love the way he managed to make it look like Snape just glides across the floor. And I love how you could simultaneously love and hate the man at the same time. Alan Rickman was perfect for Snape and I am so glad that he did it.
Snapes death was so sad and Rickman played it so well. Although I have to say that the collection of his last thoughts went very differently than described in the book. I will say that it was done well, and this was a lot easier special effects wise, but I was slightly disappointed at that.
Now, onto my love of Maggie Smith. Since the day I found out she was being cast as McGonagall, I have been cheering and wanting to hug the casting director. I've had a girl crush on this woman since she played the Mother Superior in Sister Act. I know that her career has spanned a lot longer than that, but that was my first exposure to her and I've loved her ever since. And I really, really wish that they had put "Do you need a cough drop, Delores?" into Order of the Phoenix because she would have played that line so beautifully. And my favorite part of this movie will always be "I've always wanted to use that spell!" She looked like a little kid at Christmas when she said that. It was wonderful. That woman just makes my life, that's all there is to it.
Ralph Fiennes played Voldemort so well. He has a wonderful voice and you almost hate to see him play the villain but he did it wonderfully and I loved that he was cast as Voldemort. When it comes down to it, I loved the entire cast. That's the only way to say it. Ralph was so deliciously evil that you really wanted to hate him but you couldn't help but love the wickedness. There's a tiny little evil part of me that almost wanted to cheer for him. He was too good to die, really. But that was the story so it had to happen. Although with the scene were he breaks up into tiny little pieces and flies away, I'm very glad that I wasn't able to watch this in 3D because I didn't need to see that coming flying at me. Just saying.
I am so very, very happy that Neville got to save the day. He's always been the klutz, the bumbler, the one that messes things up. I loved to see him coming into his own and being brave and standing up against the bad guys. Killing Nagini was just the icing on the awesomeness cake that Neville had become. I didn't remember him being in love with Luna but it really fit. Those two are perfect for each other. And Luna is definitely one of my favorite characters because she is so lovably weird. She seems like someone that I would have been very good friends with had we gone to school together.
Over all this movie was perfect. It was beautifully done and absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet seen it. And if you haven't read the book yet, do it. Trust me, you won't regret it. But start from book one, if you haven't. One of the things that I love about this series is that you can't just pick up a book in the middle and know what's going on. You have to read it from the very beginning to know what's happening. J.K. did that brilliantly.
I didn't really like the age progression at the end but it was definitely better than having other actors come in. And to be honest, it looked like they only really age progressed the guys. All they did with Emma and Bonnie was change their hair a bit and they looked older. But the guys needed some computerized help. And poor Daniel looks like he's one of those guys that just thinks about not shaving and has a beard like Hagrid's. They probably had to take a lot of shaving breaks throughout this movie, just so that he could look the way he did. And make up only covers up so much. But I digress.
Go see the movie. Take the time to read the books. Pick a character and fall in love. Be one with the stories. You will not regret it, seriously.
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