Men Who Stare at Goats

H and I finally got around to PPVing this movie after passing it over several times. I'd like to say it was worth the wait. What it was instead was just mediocre Saturday afternoon cable fare. When we didn't get the chance to finish it, we weren't upset.
It is not a terrible movie, it is just not very good. It takes itself too seriously while being chuck full of tired cliches. I think it was meant to be funny by contrasting the seriousness of the story telling with the ridiculousness of the story. Sadly, it just doesn't work.

Sherlock Holmes

We PPVed the new "Sherlock Holmes" over the weekend. I had high hopes for it since I'd heard good reviews and the cast was solid. Downey, Law, and McAdams usually do solid work. I also figured it would be pretty tough to botch Sherlock Holmes.
I was mostly satisfied. The cast does a decent job with a lame story. Holmes and Watson are like an old married couple. They constantly bicker, but you believe the genuine affection between them. Downey is well cast as the hard living, egocentric, difficult Holmes. Law's stoic and tight laced war hero Watson is a good counter to Holmes. McAdams is OK, but doesn't have the chops to equal Downey or Law.
The plot is the real weakness of the movie. The secret society conspiring to take over the world is tired. I also never believed that the bad guys had the gravitas to fool Holmes. The hinting at Holmes' real enemy lurking in the shadows felt like a set up for a sequel instead of a key plot point.
The retooling of Holmes as an action hero worked well for me. In fact, I felt that the retooled Holmes was better for the big screen than the more Victorian Holmes. The action Holmes made the movie more of an escapist flick.
Overall, "Sherlock Holmes" was well worth the six bucks it cost to PPV. It may well have been worth full price if I'd had a rough week at work.

Invisible Shield Failure

Since my iPhone 4 is so pretty, I didn't want to hide it in a cover. I did, however, want some protection for it. The best rated product I could find was Zagg Invisible Shields. They are supposedly clear plastic covers that prevents scratches.
I found them to be a total waste of money. Installing them is a process that is hard to get right. It also involves water.... Needless to say I was totally paranoid for awhile after doing the install.
It made my phone look cheap. It is shiny and the ends didn't lie flat. The edges kept pealing up and I couldn't use a bumper.
The worst part was that it made the awesome screen of the iPhone look crappy.
I cannot recommend these.