Saturday, July 29, 2006

Miami Vice

Well I was very excited to see this movie after being a fan of the TV show for years but about an hour and a half into the movie, realizing that it wasn't about to end anytime soon I started to get bored and here is why:

There was some action and gunfire scenes which made up all that I would say is positive about the movie. Director Michael Mann used a lot of the same gunfight techniques as he did in "Heat" which was loud, realistic and kept you on your seat but the rest of the cinematography was in a word, bizarre. There was too much raw footage and after the first hour you were so sick of the "first person" camera view and the fact that they never seemed to use a floating camera balance that I felt queasy and eventually irritated. I realize that the idea behind this view and the directing was to give you a "real" first-person point of view but that is not why I go to movies. I go to movies to be thrilled, gripped, emotional and most of all, interested--this movie did hardly any of those things for me. The dialogue was for the most part incomprehensible and added to the irritation I felt while in the movie. The directing was terrible, with little focus on script development, character development or regard for moviegoers' time.

The acting was surprisingly terrible as well. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx were terrible and didn't display any character in the movie. Their talents far exceeded their performances and that in itself is tragic for the success of a movie with a hit cast and a great foundation. There were a few parts that reminded me of the TV show but the movie as a whole was so lackluster that I almost wouldn't want to watch the show again.

In any case, I wouldn't recommend paying full price to see this movie in the theaters. It might be worth a matinee price if you were really interested and just love the cast but there was hardly no theme and the screen play was just flat terrible. The movie as a whole was dull and slow.

I would wait for it to come out on DVD to watch it if one was at all interested. Either way this movie was terrible and as 'www.rotten.com' rated it (49% rotten) they were being extremely generous.

Oh yeah, and what's up with no car chases? In Miami Vice that is essential and at 2.5 hours long there should have been at least one. This was a unique movie that had a very interesting "style" but bummer. Miami Vice's movie grade is a C+. It was exciting in some parts, but not nearly groundbreaking enough for me to ever see it twice.

- Mitch

Friday, July 21, 2006

Record High Temperatures Hit The NW

Well there is not too much to say except that is is HOT outside. I hope everyone is staying cool and keeping themselves hydrated, both essential in heat such as we are experiencing right now. I was just in Issaquah, inland from the water and two temperature gauges (my car and a bank) said 108 degrees while closer to the water in Bellevue again with my car and auto dealer sign as a reference it said 104 degrees.

This is the hottest I've ever seen it around here and as our local King5 as well as the CDC and National Weather Service are reporting it is the highest and most smog ridden in Pacific Northwest history!

I wonder if it will be any hotter tomorrow, we shall find out but beating the heat is the rule of the game at this point. Too bad the only car I had to pull my boat and put it in the water is not available or one can bet I would be out soaking in the lake.

Enjoy the sun,

- Mitch

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

eBay Buyers At Their Worst

Over the last 5 years and 4 months I have been an eBay buyer and seller. I have been though almost all of the major changes ebay has seen and the most prominent I've noticed is the increase in members who have no common courtesy, morals or literary skills what-so-ever.

It seems as if no one who bids on items anymore reads the entire auction/listing page, they just see the item, look at the pictures and bid like wild monkeys to win. Take for instance this Bluetooth control box I sold a couple weeks back on eBay. The item worked fine when I sold it, the buyer bought it with "buy it now" and didn't pay insurance to have it shipped. Two weeks goes by and no problems at all until I get an email two days ago saying in broken English-text that the item is broken and does not work and they want a refund. The problem for them is that on my auction page my sellers policy and terms clearly states they have 7 days to return defective items for a refund and no refund is given without insurance on shipping. This buyer violated both terms and still wanted a refund!

I knew this next part was coming when I read that first email and gave them my kindly worded "no" and explanation as a response. The next day they filed a claim with paypal saying the item was "not as described" and they wanted their money back. Paypal then puts a hold on my money while they investigate. To make along story shorter I know I will win the investigation because the buyer didn't read the entire listing before bidding and didn't follow procedure accordingly but now my money is tied up for a good 30 days while I sit and twiddle my thumbs.

When did our world become so distrustful and irresponsible for our own mistakes and actions? This has happened repeatedly with eBay not just to me but to many of my friends who also use the service as a tool for interstate trade and commerce. Something should be done to weed out the individuals who clutter our economic and social system with their stupidity and ignorance. Wow, eBay can really make you heated it is sad that I hardly use it anymore and dead using it when I have to.

- Mitch

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

I saw this movie last night at the 12:01am showing in downtown Seattle. It was a lot of fun with each showing room playing the movie and all 12 rooms sold out. I went with my sister and her friends who were all dressed up as pirates (not myself) which added to the enjoyment.

As for the movie, this was a great sequel to the first except for one thing... they made too many references to the first movie and too many references to the ride. It seems as if Disney is still trying to assert that the movie is related to their themed ride in their parks while the first movie did more than enough of that. The biggest problem I saw is that they tried to make references but put just enough twist on them so that you found it out of place, if they would have left well enough alone it would have been alright. I wont give any of them away but for anyone who sees the movie you should know what I am talking about.

The cast was once again fantastic, there are plenty of twists and truckloads of humor in the sequel that made the first movie so enjoyable. Jonny Depp is still a fantastic actor and really brings the leading role of Captain Jack Sparrow to life. Kiera Knightly is absolutely gorgeous and appears to get even more-so with age.

The plot is in a way predictably unpredictable and follows the same theme as the first movie while tossing in more twists and turns. For anyone who doesn't understand the ending of the movie, there WILL be a third (slated for release in 2007) and I feel it will be just as entertaining as the first and second if Disney is able to retain the same actors and director. Speaking of director, Gore Verbinski has once again out done himself.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, I would give it two thumbs up and say it is well worth the overpriced cost of a theater movie ticket to see on the big screen. Overall grade for Pirates 2 is going to have to be a B. It's a decent sequel to the first but needs some work to move into the A category, and could have used some more fresh ideas.

- Mitch

Friday, July 07, 2006

First Post, First We-blog

Well I am told it is high time I started my own web log so that I too could have a creative outlet for my rants, raves and otherwise personal opinions. This seems like it might be a decent tool for all three things while avoiding the socialite catastrophe that surrounds Myspace and other internet "profile" sites.

Speaking of Myspace, it is just me or does the whole idea of the current Myspace community make one nauseous? I will admit I do have an account under my name Mitchell Greenblatt (Nickname: Mitch G) but I rarely, if ever use it. The one thing I try to do with Myspace is keep my "friends" list a list of true friends: people that I actually know, have met or have something in common with and would enjoy meeting. I was thrown off the bandwagon when I first signed up and started acquiring "friends" and this random lady from Spokane, Washington wrote me telling me I should drive over from Seattle to stay with her. All would have been grand except that she was never married, had a 4 year old child, was 30 years old herself and claimed to be a comedian by profession. That day I deleted any person I did not know and rarely logged on again. Who knows, maybe I will open up once more in the future.

Alright, that seems like enough for the first post. What what I will think to say (write) next...

- Mitch