Reviews

Overview

Cars--directed by John Lasseter and Joe Ranft which stars Owen Wilson and Paul Newman--is an animated movie about a race car. While on the way to a big race, the car crashes and destroys many belongings in a community. Because of this error, the car is sentenced to community service and during this service it bonds with the community's residents.

The Good

• It's an original children's movie that actually appeals to a larger audience thanks to its wit
• The detailed animation is impressive
  
• Cars provides a good lesson
  

The Bad

• Aside from getting used to a speaking stock car, there isn't too much

Final Opinion

Cars is another strong effort from Pixar. It's original, witty, and provides a good lesson. If you like animated films, it's worth a rental or purchase.

Want to learn more? Visit Amazon.com to read reviews and purchase the DVD.

Labels: Cars, John Lasseter, Owen Wilson

Overview

The new Apple iPod Shuffle is a compact and affordably priced iPod. The device is just 1.62 x 1.07 x .41 inches and it weights just half an ounce. The device can be clipped on to any piece of clothing so you can easily use it while you're active.

The Good

• Affordably priced
• Very small and portable

The Bad

• There's no screen due to its size, so you can't see what song you're playing on this iPod

Final Opinion

The Apple iPod Shuffle is a great addition to the line of iPods. While not having a screen is a bit of a negative, its compact size and low price point are hard to ignore.

Want to learn more? Visit Amazon.com to read more reviews and see the latest pricing.

Labels: Apple, iPod, Shuffle

Overview

The Simpsons--The Complete Ninth Season, directed by David Silverman, is a four disk set that consists of over 20 episodes. The season has several classic episodes, including one hilarious one that pitted Homer against the City of New York. New York prevailed as he left tired and frustrated. "Lisa the Simpson" and "Bart Star" are among the other strong episodes.

The Good

• The Simpsons is a hilarious show and some feel this season was around the series' peak
• There aren't many weak episodes included in this season of The Simpsons
  

The Bad

• There are not many unless you aren't a fan of the show

Final Opinion

The Simpsons--The Complete Ninth Season is a strong season of the show. If you're an avid fan of the series, this is worth purchasing or renting.

Labels: Bart, Comedy, Fox, Homer, The Simpsons

Overview

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama is a book where he highlights many of his ideas on how the nation can return to its former glory. Senator Obama is a fairly centrist Democrat who is empathetic and willing to work with everyone. He provides ideas on how the government can get back in touch with the people.

The Good

• It's a thoughtful analysis that avoids using divisive terms like "us" and "them"
• His ideas seem realistic and applicable; even if special interests might make their application challenging
  

The Bad

• There aren't many--even those on the right seem to feel that he did a nice job on this book

Final Opinion

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream is a great read. Many believe Senator Obama could be a future president, and it's hard to disagree. I'm excited about that prospect after reading this book.

Labels: Barack Obama, Democrat, politics, The Audacity of Hope

Overview

An Inconvenient Truth with Al Gore is a sobering documentary about global warming and its potential impact on the planet. The film highlights facts and helps encourage action so people can fix the current environmental issues before it's too late. The format is interesting, as Gore puts on an interesting lecture, although the film cuts away to some short off-site pieces periodically.

The Good

• It's an entertaining and compelling documentary about global warming that utilizes a unique format
  
• An Inconvenient Truth could encourage citizens to make changes to have a positive environmental impact

The Bad

• I don't see many--some tried to throw politics into this, but environmental issues shouldn't be political when the science behind it is sound
  

Final Opinion

An Inconvenient Truth is definitely worth watching. If everyone watches this movie and acts upon the findings, we'll all be better off. Kudos to Gore for continuing the fight against senseless pollution and waste.

Want to learn more? Visit Amazon.com to read reviews or purchase.

Labels: Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, Global Warming

Overview

Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas by Seth Godin is a series of essays on numerous business and marketing topics. He encourages readers to take risks and execute what makes sense to create truly remarkable products and services. He also addresses more broad topics such as management and change.

The Good

• It's easy to read thanks to being broken up into essays
• Small Is the New Big is also pretty broad, so it's very applicable

The Bad

• You may find yourself thinking a lot of it is quite intuitive--although not everyone applies what is intuitive

Final Opinion

Small Is the New Big is a great read if you're a marketer or someone involved in creating and managing change. The topics it covers aren't rocket science, but it certainly is interesting and important.

Labels: Marketing, Seth Godin, Small Is the New Big

Overview

The Devil Wears Prada is an adaptation of the book by Lauren Weisberger. The storyline is fair simple as it involves a recent graduate who takes a job as an assistant at a fashion publication. She wasn't into fashion, but she saw it as an opportunity to get into journalism. However, during her time there, she becomes obsessed with fashion and loses sight of her priorities. Meryl Streep plays the role of the editor-in-chief of the magazine and the movie is directed by David Frankel.

The Good

• It's an entertaining movie with a pretty good humor
• It has a good lesson, although that lesson is far from unique in Hollywood

The Bad

• It doesn't break any sort of new ground

Final Opinion

If you're a fan of light comedies/dramas, The Devil Wears Prada is worth watching. Just don't expect anything groundbreaking.

If you're interested in this DVD, visit Amazon for more information and reviews.

Labels: David Frankel, DVD, Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada