Archive for October, 2006
Where I got it – The R-Type
I picked up a R-Type arcade machine in the dead row at the Indianapolis USAmusements auction in October of 2006. There was a note on the cabinet that said “works, needs monitor”. That is pretty risky to just believe, but I waited just in case. I couldn’t look inside of the cabinet, but when the R-Type came up for bid it didn’t matter. The arcade machine went for a whopping $25, and I figured at the very least I could make that money back if it didn’t work.
Justin was down for the weekend, so he had the van, which was another motivator because I could easily get the R-Type home. So, with the charge for parking added in plus tax and gas, I paid about $33 for the whole thing.
Cars (2006)
Who’s Voice is in it
Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy
What was good
As you can tell from the rating everything. But what really struck me was how realistic things were. The reflections on the surfaces and the backdrops, it is all just so breaktaking. They take the best pieces of the characters and animate them in such a way to give them more depth, and giving just enough human qualities to non human objects. I feel like a broken record, but it was one of the most amazing things
I have ever seen, and I think that had to do because they chose cars as subject matter.
What sucked
I honestly can’t think of anything.
Who should go see this
Everyone. I think that Pixar keeps raising the bar, and that is exactly the way it should be. There is more adult humor, not quite like Shrek, but there is something there for everyone. Romance, some animated action, humor, a great story, and visuals. Having seen it twice now, I really know that kids think it is funny, which is expected but good to know.
Elizabethtown (2005)
Who’s in it
Kirsten Dunst, Orlando Bloom, Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Biel
What was good
The first half hour to forty five minutes of the movie. It was intriguing, quirky, and seemed to be engaging. Bloom created this terrible shoe that bombed and lost his company an astounding 972 million dollars. Then, on the same day, his dad died. There were even funny parts in his interactions with his boss (Baldwin).
What sucked
Pretty much everything else. He gets on a plane to go get his dad, who is in Kentucky somewhere, and the movie gets derailed. I think it tries to give the viewer a first hand sense of what it is like to start from scratch in getting to know your roots, but it also tried to throw in there the mixed emotions that he is dealing with from his failure, which is strange and uncommon. He meets Kirsten Dunst who is a flight attendant for about 10 minutes in the good first part of the movie. She is fun and quirky, and her part isn’t bad, nor their relationship. The movie just doesn’t seem to know when to end, and wanders all over the place trying to get there.
Who should go see this
I don’t think I’d recommend this to anyone. I like Bloom, and even more so Dunst. I was glad I watched it with her, but not glad enough for the two plus hours long this movie is. I guess if you like strange movies, see this. The director also did Almost Famous, and Vanilla Sky. This is more like Almost Famous, but that movie was more focused, you just don’t leave with any sort of fuzzy feeling, and dammit, you rent a movie for entertainment, not to think too hard.
Found one Jr. Pac-man owner with Sideart
I did find one collector online on a prominent collecting site who lives out east named Richard Ford, and who had posted one photo of his Jr. Pac-man machine. I knew he had the original with sideart in tact, but at this time I wasn’t sure that I was going to pursue getting a copy of the sideart.
