What a disappointment.
From the director of Heat and Collateral, Michael Mann gives us a Miami Vice that is utterly underwhelming. The story is convoluted and highlights the bad guys and girl, rather than on the two main characters Crocket and Tubbs. The problem with this movie revolves around the script and work done in the editing room. This is an hour and a half drama with nearly 45 minutes of sex scenes. Oh, and 15 minutes of action thrown in at the end.
While Colin Farrell as Crocket isn’t particularly memorable, he isn’t bad. There is intensity and a coolness factor lacking in his portrayal of Sonny. While Jamie Foxx is more enjoyable to watch as Tubbs and in many ways steals the show, he isn’t given much to do to stand out.
There are only a few reasons to watch this movie. Unique use of 50 caliber sniper rifles makes for an interesting assassination scene. The High Definition camera work is superb. There are crystal clear shots of a gulf-stream jet banking through the clouds with a beauty and splendor rarely caught on film. This may sound a little over the top but it is a thing of beauty in a film with few merits. Along with shots of nighttime
The final gun battle is executed with an attention to detail only possible for someone of Michael Mann’s caliber of filmmaking. Here is where he shines and finally makes good on what is nearly a wasted couple of hours. He knows where the camera needs to be to catch the right action. The automatic weapons fire is some of the most realistic sounding ever heard in a movie. Oh, and did I mention the 50 caliber rifles blowing apart everything it touches.
The action/violence world of movies has nearly done it all. To see something that feels fresh and still capable of holding the audiences attention is a rare thing indeed.
My prediction is this will be a fine movie to watch on DVD. Longer running times and boredom doesn’t quite set in the same way when in the comfort of your own home. Just stay clear of this one in the theaters.
With back-to-school season ramping up advertisers are putting a lot of products for the high school and college kid front and center.
Logitech X-230 - PC Multimedia Speaker System 2.1
Has decent sound for the price. Logitech is a good company that makes quality products with only a few exceptions.
Buy.com was offering this at 19.95 but has since sold out. A good price for a decent two-speaker system, perfect for the college kid where space is a premium and isn’t worried about paying top dollar for overrated speakers. Most speaker systems for computers aren’t that great. With little difference between those costing $100 and up from their low price competitors. If you don’t know about wattage, decibels, or ohms don’t bother paying more than $40 for a these speaker packages. It’s a waste of money.
Again, sound is important but if you don’t own a top of the line sound card paying a lot for computer speakers is insane.
Lexmark X2350 All-In-One Printer, Scanner, Copier
All in ones have been all the rage for some time now. For those working in cramped quarters an all-in-one is the only option. This Lexmark is currently on sale from Walmart for $39.88 with an added bonus of shipping for less than a buck. With only one printer cartridge to replace the busy student won’t be spending precious studying or partying time walking the aisles of Staples searching for printer ink. The scanner is decent for it’s price class providing all the features students should require. Though at only 15 ppm anyone doing intensive printing, more than a few hundred pages a day should pick up one of the cheap sub-$100 laser printers.
Here’s another good deal from Buy.com. As long as you don’t mind rebates, this 1GB USB flash drive is a steal at $17.95. For this price, typically, we have to look at off brand memory but prices have been falling and
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller
With a search of major online and brick and mortar stores the two lowest prices come from Overstock.com and Buy.com. With a low shipping price from Overstock.com the total comes to 44.35 while Buy.com is 39.99 with free shipping. Both are good deals. Pick them up before the sale is over.
If you own a 360 the wireless controller is the only way to go. Far superior to any branded or off brand Xbox controller of the past, the official Microsoft wireless controller is an all around great product. Simple to use the 360 has built in controls for up to four wireless controllers. They have no signal issues and connect quickly. The crew from
Sound like I’m a fan. That’s because I am. After years of testing nearly every controller on the market for the Xbox it’s nice to see Microsoft making a good controller. It isn’t a bad price for a good controller unless you’re trying to buy enough for your friends to play as well. At the regular retail price that’s makes playing with your friends a couple hundred dollar proposition.
Still by purchasing the additional plug and play rechargeable battery solution, it’ll pay for itself in just under 5 years. Just in time for the next consoles to hit the market.
Right now, for televisions that typical is made all the more potent. High Definition television prices have been dropping like mad. Just when you think they can’t fall any farther, they do. This won’t last forever. Soon, the market will fall in-line with consumers. Prices won’t go up but they won’t keep falling because of new products coming to market. Big innovations will slow. The glut of newcomer TV manufactures will dwindle.
I can’t say this is the time to buy a T.V. There are clearly better TV’s on the horizon. Worth waiting for? I really don’t think so. Once you’ve hit the 1080P HD level- there isn’t much left to improve upon. The next step is more features. Better looking pictures through improved black levels and contrast ratios. Cable-card and satellite built in-hook ups, and so on and so forth.
For the casual buyer, this is the time to buy. Besides these T.V aren’t rated to last forever like the one your family owned when you were a kid. Lamp life is an important factor for a number of these TV’s; a spec savvy customers have begun paying attention of late.
Just don’t be suckers. Do your homework? Know what you want before you shop. Make sure what the correct size T.V is for your viewing area. Pay attention to little things if you plan to put it in a bedroom. Such as does it have a bright blue light on the front of it that stays lit when the T.V is not turned on? (There are a few of these offenders. And you’ll be rightfully pissed when you get home and try to go to bed with these blue-eyed Cyclops staring back at you.)
-Listen to salespeople but never trust they have all the facts. Look up the specs on the T.V. Read reviews from the experts and more importantly from people who actually own the T.V.
Then don’t over think it to death. Remember this is supposed to be a fun purchase. It’s an exciting new world for home entertainment.
I’m addicted to looking at electronics stores I’ve shopped all the majors and stop in any of the minors that I run across. I’m a regular fixture in Best Buy,
There seems to be a major difference in which Fry’s you visit. In
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of Fry’s. They have the most potential as an electronics brand to make good on their promises to consumers shopping for electronics. Best Buy never will.
Fry’s is one of the few electronic stores where you can actually find nearly every type of electronics and gadget known. (Okay, not quite but their selection is superior to anything you’ll find in any of the other giants of the industry.) If only they could see how close, they are to becoming the ideal for consumer electronics shoppers. A touch of greatness you’ll see if you visit a couple of the stores I’ve seen in
American Home Shield- With a recent plumbing and appliance problem I sent in a request for service with AHS. Sending one by website and the other by phone, the service stated within four hours a contractor would contact us. The contractor for the dishwasher called in time and more than 8 hours later the plumber still hasn’t made contact. At face value this makes the website portion faster. Of course this isn’t a full proof method as it relys on reliance the contractor will contact us in time. Regardless, they are only at 50% compliance with contacting to set up an appointment. Being it is now after 5pm it looks like we will finish the day with a dishwasher and kitchen sink still not in working condition and no appointment scheduled to take care of the problem.
Note: the appliance contractor said they wouldn’t schedule an appointment until a plumber solved the water issue coming into the kitchen.
For now, we will be eating off paper plates and plastic silverware.
Spring and early summer tends to be bit lackluster in the technology department. Consumers and technology pundits alike tend to have little to inspire them in the second quarter. Everyone is out enjoying their boats and barbeques since there is little to keep them indoors at this time of the year. Other than rehash all the cool stuff we are waiting for in the coming months, let’s review some of the crap from this year so far. Okay, so I don’t have enough room to go over all of the crap instead I’ll concentrate on some of the items that were underwhelming or should’ve been better than it turned out.
-Unexciting Format War
Long gone are the glory days of format wars. When titans of industry fight for consumer dominance with conflicting proprietary products. Sony seems always to be in the center of the arena- this time is no different. Except for the lack of excitement, even with early adopters. There are distinct camps in this war, Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Each is supported by entertainment and technology companies.
There is clearly defined difference between the two. However, at the end of the day consumers don’t care enough to make a difference. Few seem to notice their new HD televisions lacks HD content. So, these releases are only for early adopters who are willing to pay excessively and who care about the quality of what they watch. Something average consumers have again and again shown to the negative. Ease of use will always win out over quality. (MP3’s anyone.) And with the dual format VHS/DVD players on the market most consumers know it is only a matter of time before a 3rd party vendor releases a machine with both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. That is if both formats survive long enough to matter. It’s a huge case of hurry up and wait since as HD sets penetrate the market eventually consumers will be wondering where to find HD movies. Until then be prepared to be underwhelmed by this lackluster fight.
There are those detractors who say consumers will be reluctant to convert their DVD libraries to the next gen-HD after already going from VHS to DVD. While this conversion may not come at the brisk pace with which DVD took over the video world, DVD’s will begin to show their age and lack of resolution in years to come. As new releases come readily to the HD world and DVD sales begin to wane, the public will have little choice but adopt High Def. It’s only a matter of speed, availability, and price.
Spring and early summer tends to be bit lackluster in the technology department. Consumers and technology pundits alike tend to have little to inspire them in the second quarter. Everyone is out enjoying their boats and barbeques since there is little to keep them indoors at this time of the year. Other than rehash all the cool stuff we are waiting for in the coming months, let’s review some of the crap from this year so far. Okay, so I don’t have enough room to go over all of the crap instead I’ll concentrate on some of the items that were underwhelming or should’ve been better than it turned out.
-Unappealing name change- Nintendo Wii
There are some products that are in desperate need of a name change. Touareg The next-gen console from Ninetendo wasn’t one of them. Originally known as the Revolution and only recently changed to the Wii, gives us one of the worst changes in a product. Revolution is a far superior name to the Wii (pronounced Weeeeee). It’s not a good idea to change a name to something most people aren’t certain how to even pronounce, let alone know what it means.
Enter ‘Worst product names’ into Google and you’ll find a plethora of links naming the Wii as the worst name change.
Spring and early summer tends to be bit lackluster in the technology department. Consumers and technology pundits alike tend to have little to inspire them in the second quarter. Everyone is out enjoying their boats and barbeques since there is little to keep them indoors at this time of the year. Other than rehash all the cool stuff we are waiting for in the coming months, let’s review some of the crap from this year so far. Okay, so I don’t have enough room to go over all of the crap instead I’ll concentrate on some of the items that were underwhelming or should’ve been better than it turned out.
-Worst Video Game Tie-in--- X-men the official Video Game
