Good and Bad... mostly bad
920320
I puchased the HP7680 from an Amazon vendor because of the good reviews. To start, the drivers and software for Microsoft Vista Operating System were not included... I soon found out why... they were/are not available and or will not work/load properly. Then I quickly found that the document feeder would not operate properly to send a fax or make copies. It made loud grinding noises and jam or just give an errror message. The down loaded drivers and software also would not load or run. I Called  technical support(in India)regarding both issues. They ran me through totally unrelated tasks via "the script" bebause I was told they "must" do it in order to pass my case to the next level. After an entire afternoon on the phone they finally relented and agreed to send a replacement. They had no fix available for the software problems, other than to tell me not to use the computer... just use the the printer/fax/copier using the controls on the unit. Printer number #2 arrived about one week later (my guess a refurbished machine). Well, the document feeder grinds, jams and does not feed the documents in straight. The printer aspect works fine as does the scanner if you place the document page by page under the cover. From my perspective the document feeder is just plain flimsily made... a bunch of plastic parts fit loosely together... plastic gearing that does not mesh properly... a poor design with cheap execution! I have requested a refund and awaiting a "case manager" to return my call within 24 to 48 hours... the first 24 have already passed. I am just plain tired and frustrated with trying to get/make the hardware and software to work properly.

p.s. My wife and I are not neophytes at using computers, faxes, and copiers.
3887705
Yet another entry into the "found footage" genre... "7 Nights" wasn't too bad, but it fell short on a few things. One of my fellow reviewers, Miss Catherine, pointed out that the "abandoned asylum" setting was definitely flawed. Everything looked WAY too modern, for one. The furniture looked like your standard run-of-the-mill office furniture you'd expect to find in an office setting. But the hardest thing for me to get past was some of the acting. These were supposed to be people who weren't scared of ghosts, yet the ladies kept screaming at any movement. Quite annoying. And when the group went on its initial exploration, one of the male team members kept saying "Stop... stop... stop... Listen to me... Stop..." I pretty much wanted to take my own life after noticing how lame some of this acting was. STILL... Not a bad story. Some scary moments, even though the "ghost girl" was slightly reminiscent at times of Sadako from "Ringu"...
2993946
This movie was definitely a mixed bag with lots of potential.  It wasn't bad at all, but a bit more polishing would have helped a great deal.  One thing many of these low budget films lack is time--they usually have to knock them out as quickly as possible, and that's where many of the problems come from with these films.  They don't have time to do rewrites and re-shoot scenes (the monster make-up could have used a boost and more originality in this shoot).  And it's too bad--this film really had something--they made an obvious effort to give the characters a backstory and depth--which I greatly appreciated, and something usually not seen in low budget films.  Unfortunately the pacing was a bit uneven and sometimes continuity in characterizations didn't fit--like "wait a minute--shouldn't that be something that other character would have said? Not him?"  The acting was also mixed--but the main players were fine. Overall, I really enjoyed how this well-known fairy tale was altered to offer something unexpected-- most of the changes worked very nicely and added a great deal to the story, greatly reviving and updating the tale.  Let's just say, this evil fairy does not get away clean while the castle slumbers!  Overall the story is enjoyable and the low-key humor (this is not a comedy), while involving subtle innuendo in some cases, was not juvenile or offensive (no fart jokes) and I wouldn't hesitate to allow even 'tweens to view this film.  There's sword-fighting and head-chopping but nothing overtly gory and doesn't even have any overt sex scenes Yes, it's a bit of a mish-mash overall, but for something different and a Saturday afternoon's entertainment, it's a fun break and a truly fresh view on the old Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.
368560
Not bad, but could have been better. I realize this type of scenario would naturally include violence, but this was a bit more gruesome than I prefer. I could also do without such an odd assortment of characters. A weak, sort of wimpy, gay kid gets paired with a girl who can destroy any boy with her self defense training, and a buff exchange student from Germany who takes a back seat to both of them. I may take a look at book 2, but that will probably be it if it doesn't get better.
4008535
Unlike most of the people who reviewed this book, I actually somewhat enjoyed reading it. However, there are major problems that prevent it from being upgraded from below average to good.

1. The setting. If we weren't constantly reminded that the story takes place in London, I probably would've forgot. No British slang is used except "bloody hell" once, and Kit calls her mother "mom" instead of "mum". The author should have done more research or just switched the setting to a major city in the U.S.

2. Many plot points simply don't make sense. I find it hard to believe that a teen girl who is described as small and skinny would have the strength to push a grown man out of a window, or overpower someone twice their size in an alley. Also, why would the police let a random teenager into a crime scene or use her as a consultant? Plus why didn't anyone snitch on the location of the mailbox? There's no way the owners or workers at the cafe were unaware that it was there.

4. I found the ending to be unsatisfying. What will happen to Kit? Will she try to shift the blame on her mother? Will she be tried as an adult? There are too many unanswered questions in my opinion

Despite all of the issues, I still found it interesting, as long as I didn't think about it for too long.
445268
Though the concept is great --and so is the scenery-- in the first part (Northern Style) there is a huge difference in the sound/volume between the voice-over (way too low) and the music (way too loud). This improves in the second part (Southern Style), and it is much better in the third segment (The Great Cities). The narration is minimal, with not enough information. Many of the locations/landscapes are not identified, or completely wrong (Santa Croce in Florence is presented as the Synagogue--a mistake that has been corrected in the third part). And too many nice places have been overlooked altogether, while lingering too long on some others (of scarce significance). Some could question the choice of the musical background. Could have been excellent, but it is just mediocre, apart from the photography--which is superb! And the exclusion of some cities (notably Milan, Turin, Trieste, Assisi...just to name a few) and regions (both in the north and the south, including Sardinia) is unforgivable. Too bad. But it's a decent introduction to what Italy has to offer.
3960759
Okay this is bad. The director (Editor?) jerks you from scene to scene, the writing's labored and some things just don't make sense. In the beginning of the movie, for instance, it's stated pretty clearly that plain water will kill a vampire. (Disregarding of course the fact that blood itself is 83% water.) Later on though one of the heroes specifically chooses holy water as weapon so it's a little hard to figure. And as much as I like Michael Madsen I have to say, yeah, he's just awful here. That said though, this isn't as bad a movie as some of the reviews would lead you to believe. Most of the cast gives an honest effort (The Romanian prostitutes aren't half bad.), Kristanna Loken is about the sexiest vampire slayer ever and Michelle Rodriguez is a pretty close second. And in my book anyway, any movie with Meat Loaf in it gets an automatic two stars for cool. And while some of the special effects look like, well, special effects, some of the gore is pretty good. So here's what I'm thinking. If you're not into gore or vampires, don't bother with this one. But if you're sitting on the fence, yeah, go ahead, give it a try. Cause really, hot chicks and vampires, what have you got to loose? (Just, you know, bring popcorn.)
1442341
The book is good, but could have been better. Some of the dialog is, in a word, crummy. One situation in particular  (spoiler alert) when an Eastern European "Suit" is captured by American forces and taken to a safe house in Washington D.C., only to kill his three U.S. abductors and simply walk away from his house of detention is just complete BS. Still, the writer shows promise
..the beginning of the book reeled me in, the middle less so. And what's with the nonsense of making this book s two-parter, and directing the reader to another website in order to download the second half of the book? Did not like that at all.
4796137
I had heard this was bad, but I thought with this much star power how could I go wrong? Jet Li, Conan, Rambo,  McClain...  Each one of these stars had made iconic action pics.
And had improved their aim, too, I suppose, as the only thing I liked was that each and every star dispatched bad guys with starling accuracy for nearly two hours. Heads blown off, heads chopped of with tail rotor blades... What's not to like? With the awesome number of bad guys in the world today it was  nice to  see some get their come uppance.
But the script was bad, the rhythm was bad, the plot was  contrived, there were only a few moments of Jet Li...
Oh well.
1303136
I caught this film last night on satellite, and here is the short of it:

Nice effects, some nice editing, cool visuals...everything else leaves much to be desired.  Hayden Christensen is adequate for the role, but not the most gripping and charismatic fellow.  Sam Jackson does the best with his material and is his usual intense self while delivering the goods as a baddie.  However, the film-makers seem to have been so worried about keeping the pace of the film tight (barely a 90 minute film) that some scenes that may explain stuff further are just missing.  Who the hell are the bad guys really? How are jumpers born? The director seems to have wanted to leave some mysteries for the sequel (questionable if there will be one), but there just isn't enough to entice with the first film.
1455846
I'll start with the good:

Nice premise for a novel. And it starts out with a good teaser chapter. I was pulled in pretty quickly and the suspense and plot twists kept me interested all the way through. Phillips is good at plotting, no doubt about it.

Now, the bad:

First, some of the stuff here is just not believable. The character of Donald Stephenson, for example: he has THREE doctorates (math, astrophysics, and chemistry) which is rare if not unique, and THREE Nobel prizes (only one person -- Linus Pauling -- has ever won two that were unshared). It's easier to believe the government has been hiding a UFO for 60 years than to believe in someone with 3 PhD's and 3 Nobel prizes. It just stretches credibility past the breaking point.

Second, the characters are extremely thin. Heather, Jennifer, and Mark are so generic they could be anyone, really. And the bad guys -- Dr. Stephenson, for example -- are not provided with any significant backstory or motivation for their actions. One of the axioms of good fiction is that every character, including the antagonists, believes he/she is the hero of their own story -- i.e., that their own actions are justified and noble. Not so here; as I said, paper thin characters. Phillips should read some Dean R. Koontz to learn how this is done.

Third, Phillips constantly breaks the "Show, don't tell" rule of fiction. He should show us what his characters are like, through their words and actions. But instead he does too much telling. At one point he even clumsily interjects that one character (Heather) is an INTP (on the Myers-Briggs type indicator scale).

Finally, some of the prose and similes he uses are almost at Dan Brown levels of cringeworthy painful awkwardness. Example: "She stormed past him, sweeping into the classroom like an ancient pterodactyl swooping down on its prey." Ugh, really?

The novel reads as if it is juvenile fiction, in terms of its very simple narrative style and lack of depth, yet much of the subject matter (sex and violence) puts it well into the adult fiction realm. Phillips is truly talented at architecting and plotting a story, and I hope he can improve his characters and prose over time.
2371003
I'll start with the good stuff (there's not much): they were easy to pair, easy to opperate (volume buttons, playback control, etc was easy to use) and the sound quality was good with music and calls (when they stayed connected).  Initially I was impressed, and I really wanted to like these, but that's about it for the good stuff.  As for the not so good stuff: The part that wraps around the ears is too bulky; they weren't uncomfortable to wear, but as soon as I would start to sweat (even a little) they would start to slide around on my ears, add any sudden movement (you know, like you would do in "sports" and they would completely fall off).  I tried all 3 of the eargels that were included and could not get them to stay put.  I also had problems with them staying connected.  Like most (all?) bluetooth headsets, they recommend using an armband when outdoors so that the bluetooth can work propperly; I did this and the sound still cut out frequently (once every minute or two, and occasional several times per minute), I've tried others that work much better. For a product marketed as a "SPORT" headset, these were useless.  If your primary desire is too listen to music while indoors and sitting still, these would be okay, but there are better options for that too.  If your physical activity involves very little movement of your head (weight lifting, or eliptical machine use, maybe) then these might be okay for you too, but if you plan on biking or running (especially outdoors) don't waste your money on these.
1579479
Here we have a docudrama on what might happen when it comes to exocism. It begins with a preacher talking to two other people as they begin to film him and his ministry in action, and the preacher being filmed is doing it because he wants to expose something. In some ways he seems to want to help and in others he seems to want to get away with some rigging and purely devious stuff. From the beginning of it you could see what the man was going to do, and that "doing" amounted to him really pulling the wool over some true believer's eyes. The problem with a scam like that is the notion of running into something terrible and what that terrible might do.
If only the movie would have stuck with that.

While The Last Exorcism would have made a great B-movie, the hype behind this thing really threw me for a loop. I liked the way the characters were designed and I liked the idea of what was going on, but I really didn't get some things. The preacher, for example, was a fake. He had told us that and he even mocked the people he was supposed to help because they thought their could be a way out. Then the preacher begins to stay and, well, i wondered why that would happen now. Even worse, I wondered why the preacher would do what he did at the end (no spilers), and why the people would go along with him.

There were a lot of things like this playing through the storyline, and the acting was subpar. I really think the notions hurt the people as they tried to give it their all and that seemed like it was caused by the shortsightedness of others. Me - I think a lot of things are like this and it isn't surprising. Possession is like a Haunted Home story - it take a good eye to get it right.

5 for originality
2 for the overasll way it came out.
3 total (rounded up)
This might not be one for anything above a rental.

Thank you
3498295
I have to admit that it's hard to love the movie Watchmen. In my opinion, it's not as great as I had hoped. The only good things about this are the fantastic action and visuals. The fascinating character of Rorschach is also a welcome addition. But sadly, everything else doesn't add up. The characters aren't fully fleshed out (even the flashbacks aren't enough). The script needed some improvements (there were some silly dialogue here and there). Malin Akerman and Matthew Goode were horrible in this movie (couldn't they have at least tried?). Of course, it's just my opinion. It's fine my me if you love Watchmen. But to me, this didn't keep me interested. I give it a D instead of an F, mainly because of Rorschach and the special effects.
4126386
The Good:

- Excellent turn-based fighting. Before it gets boring, it's a blast. And it gets boring not because of the system itself, but because of the enemies you fight, repetition and lack of imagination.

- Excellent fighting menu, very user-friendly. Probably best I have seen in years.

- Excellent effects for spells and fighting.

The Bad:

- There is no story. Every time the characters talk, you wish they would not do it. The lines they say are about as deep as 'Star Wars : Episode Two'. Remember that 'it's like sand, it gets everywhere' line? That's this game.

- Adventure mode is terrible. Basically, you run through empty levels and enter combat mode when attacked by enemies that you cannot see. Almost all turn-based games show you the enemies, giving you the option to avoid fights, but not this one.

- The Map. Too small, cannot be zoomed out enough. Map does not show the real level. You get to a point that there is on the map and then something totally different shows up as a new map. Does not make any sense.

- Save points. Later in the game, you may fight even for one full hour without being let to save (battle of Helm's Deep comes to mind). And since it is very easy to die, you will have to fight same battles all over again.

- Character development. There is none. You need to use the characters, because that is the only way they get better. But since you can only have 3 characters out of 6 in a fight, it means 3 will not gain skills. This will force you decide which 3 you want to use and keep using same spells and moves over and over again. Which brings me to:

- Fighting: Maybe LOTR is not the best game to be turn-based. You fight same orcs over and over again, for 40 hours! It takes a lot of time, fights are the same (orcs have a whoopin' 5 moves they do all the time!) and since you cannot see them in Adventure mode, you cannot avoid them.

- Movie sequences. All of them are in very poor quality.

- The RPG statistics: I do not know how this engine works, but I have seen this many times in the game. Even with 100 Dexterity, a fighter would still miss a ladder. I could understand - not easily, but I would make an effort - how he could miss a boss, but a ladder?! Come on ... Increasing strength, dexterity or spirit, all seem to do nothing.

- Linear story. You follow one path and cannot change anything about it.

Too bad. With a story and more variation, this game could have worked. As it is though, I would not recommend buying. There is no replayability and the game is not interesting enough to be worth owning. Maybe next one will be better ... you know EA, they keep adding a couple of things and release it again ...
2154531
The movie is over two hours and twenty minutes long, and would have been much better with about 45 minutes or so left on the cutting room floor.

It's too bad because the story-telling could quite have been quite good had it been a little more focused.  Ishii could have used a trusted friend insisting that he cut his favorite parts.

The story he is mostly charming, but suffers from too many subplots. In fact pretty much everything is a subplot because there are so many characters. As a result none of the pieces ever get fully developed. Without giving away the end, it's unfortunate that the resolution of one of these subplots winds up acting as a deus ex machina for all the others.

Paradoxically, while the movie was overly long, the story of Haruno family would have made a great 13-part series. That way we could have really gotten to know everyone and the story would have been able to build to the point where we could get a reasonable resolution for all the characters.

As it is you have to take everything in all at once, and the result is disappointing.
876958
Hopefully I got a bad unit, as the cons outweigh the pros.

Cons:
* There's a terrible hiss when on, even at a low volume.  If you have it on a desktop in front of you, it's VERY noticeable.  However, when you play  music you can't really hear it (until the music/movie/whatever goes quiet). When you're a few feet away, the noise dissipates.
* There is a jarring, invasive, horrible clicking noise when a track pauses, or when you restart a track.  Basically, anytime there's a silence of more then one second.
* All the controls are on the bottom.  This is NOT noticeable in any of the images, nor the product description.
* The device will not pair if charging.  When the instructions say "fully charge before pairing", they mean it.
* The buttons take a lot of pressure to put down, and must be held for longer then expected
* The AUX in is on the bottom of the unit - the BOTTOM!  Thus, you can't use this as a stand an aux-player at the same time; you need to flip the unit upside down.

Pros:
* The thing is LOUD, like apartment filling loud when at max volume
* BASS is surprisingly good (Not amazing, but for the price point, very good)
* MIDS / HIGHS are also very good
* Seems durable
* Rubber has a good grip