Maybe Hollywood is getting too excited about saving money and cutting corners by spending $15,000 on a movie and trying to turn it into $100 million in profits. This has happened in the past, but I wouldn’t think of this as a common, typical formula for success.

Another great movie “could have been” for the record books, this one had some freaky moments, and definitely was going down the right path, only to stretch out most of the nearly 100 minutes as “filler” minutes rather than scary moments.

In summary, I’d say there was enough quality content for the first HALF of a really great supernatural horror flick. So, where’s the 50% refund for half of my $11.50 ticket price? And I must say, we weren’t the only ones wishing for some cash back on this over-hyped rip-off.

Stay home, see something else, don’t even rent it.

It wasn’t a complete loss, some of the “beauty is skin deep” moral of the storyline apply to us today, with our shallow, surface values, plastic surgery, weekly visits to the salon. Have we lost something…human? If this technology existed and was affordable as it was portrayed in the movie I believe we might fall into this trap.

Normally I’d say go see this one in the theater, and that it was at least entertaining, but I can’t recommend this one. Maybe a rental when there’s nothing else to watch.

Finally, the really sad story here may be that Bruce may not have much more box office draw after this one.

And then there are the actors. I’m not sure if it’s fair to say it’s his best ability, but may I at least put forth that Mr. Tarantino has a gift when it comes to casting? From Brad to Mélanie and from Christoph to Eli, everyone was perfect.

This may have a been a semi-silly, obnoxious, Tarantino-style, WWII flick but it was also a dramatic, intense, revenge fantasy I won’t soon forget.

Ship was a prisoner relocation ship (dropping off prisoners to mars?), prisoners briefly took control, computer locks down ship. They end up at Earth because it was nearby. This explains EVERY story hole.

1) Why aliens were initially “locked” in the ship and humans had to CUT into it.

2) Why they were vicious criminal types,

3) Why there was a “nice” alien, he was the CAPTAIN of the prison ship (and why he didn’t take any of the other aliens back with him). and finally…

4) DISTRICT 10 story line… 2.5 Million “bad aliens” and the next movie HUMANS and GOOD ALIENS (that return with original captain) fight the bad aliens TOGETHER.

Whaddaya think?

VERY REAL Reality TV…Joan persists in pigeon-holing Annie until the squeaky wheel, and with blind loyalty from her supporters wins out. Par for the course, politics as usual in American Corporations. Performance again loses to politics. Another reason to love working for ones self, and another reason Corporate America is a failure.

What we witnessed this 8th season on Celebrity Apprentice was very realistic. It has also been my experience watching, co-workers, like children, bicker and fight until the “more popular” of them wins out among their peers. Be consistent, break someone down over time and gain popularity through friendship and humor. Being more effective in business, more experienced at the task at hand and more productive has nothing to do with it. Which is unfortunate, because it’s a business they’re both working for.

Pocket Aces Don’t Help Promiscuous Pit Viper

Joan, being funny and clever and having been in the public eye much longer (possibly too long) has won the popularity hand. And that’s proved better than pocket Aces for Annie Duke. You see, Joan was playing with a hand Annie simply could never be dealt.

When I was new to corporate politics, in the early 90′s, I watched a newly appointed department manager be unseated within days by someone who actually cried to their manager to steal the position. Unbelievably, the “cry baby” was rewarded. The qualified candidate’s placement was second guessed and they were demoted. I then had to work with the new manager and the demoted manager as well. What fun!  This was so unbelievably destructive to the company on so many levels, and ultimately, the endeavor was a failure due to the fact that crying has never proven to be an effective business tactic long term.

We all wonder how GM, Chrysler, Ford have unbelievably unqualified people at the top…this is how. Cry babies and kiss-asses are the general breed that want to climb the ladder. People that are good at what they do, and love what they do, by nature, simply aren’t that political. Ultimately, it is very rare that someone truly earns these upper management positions. And those that do, don’t often see failure like the typical American Corporation has been experiencing lately.

Mommy Help Me!

Finally, it was never really mentioned on the show, but am I the only one that sees a HUMONGOUS character flaw in Melissa and Joan that baby Rivers called out to mommy for help, almost as if it were a reflex, whenever she was in trouble?

This is unbelievable.  1) For Melissa to be so co-dependent on her mother at her age is embarrassing for both of them and 2) What motivates a mother to raise her child to rely on her in such ways?

It’s a Stretch

It tells me enough that someone would feel so insecure about themselves and their appearance to have their face artificially stretched out to the point it becomes painful to look at.  Let alone the butt of so many jokes.

It was already a far reach for me to maintain respect for Joan after that.  Maybe she had me convinced too.  I don’t think she’s all bad.  She’s clever and witty and has been around a long time.  For her age she’s still punching along.  There’s much to be said for that.  But it’s not enough to have carte blanche.  I’ve seen enough ego from her to last 100 lifetimes.

Annie We Love You!

Annie, I just want to say that what happened to you makes you more a real person.  Anyone who doesn’t make it through the cut-throat, back-stabbing world of corporate politics is more than OK in my book.  At the tables you have to be cold and calculating.  But I’ve seen enough to know you’re definitely the Queen of Hearts to me.

On to new features

Well, now with an even smaller device, there is less room for buttons, knobs and switches. The only control on the device is a 3 position power switch. Off, on with shuffle and on without shuffle. Where did the controls go? Apple has moved the Shuffle’s controls to the headphone cable. Volume, track advance and playlist selection.

Multiple Playlists

Apple finally added multiple playlist capability with the Shuffle. However, with such overly-simplistic controls, the user may initially have a hard time figuring out the push, hold, click, press combinations to finally get the playlist or song they want.

Shuffle Speaks

As usual, Apple must innovate, why we here at ErixClix love them so much. The new Shuffle isn’t just smaller, it now speaks to you. Without a screen and with new multiple playlist capabilities, navigating your tunes might be confusing. Press and hold the center button on the controller and the iPod will speak the title and artist of the song you’re currently listening to. Continue to hold and after a short beep, it will help you navigate your playlists. The voice differs whether you’re syncing your iPod Shuffle with a Mac or Windows. From the video on Apple’s web site it sounds like the Mac voice is much more intelligible. (Yet another excuse to finally upgrade to a Mac!)

iPod Shuffle

As the worlds smallest 4GB music player, offered in silver or black and retailing for $79.00, we believe this new iPod Shuffle has been advanced more than enough to make this a great buy. Adding voice, multiple playlists and getting even smaller, it’s at least the most inconspicuous way to carry 1,000 songs around wherever you go!

See the iPod Shuffle at Apple’s Web Site

Aside from a few action scenes that were not only hard to believe but actually even looked as fake as they actually were (not Spielberg’s usual M.O.), the movie was fun and interesting.

Have blockbusters from this production crew been so successful in the past that our expectations are set so astronomically high they can never again be met by the same filmmakers?

Or did this movie fall short for many because of an overcooked storyline due to the fact that Indy’s aging and they wanted to squeeze too much of an “end-all” storyline into what is likely his last adventure? (referring to Harrison Ford’s character of course.)

Finally, I think it’s great to go to a real movie theater and see a new Indiana Jones flick.  That was probably worth the price of the ticket just for the nostalgia.

Internet Movie Database link to this movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367882/