Epinions Recent Reviews for dlockeretz

A Walk You'll Want To Take

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:23:41 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - It's not often that I find have to pace myself when reading a book. (Food is another story, but I digress). I wanted to plunge farther and farther into "A Walk in the Woods", but this is writing to be enjoyed slowly. Bryson's eye for...

A valuable guide to a trail-rich area

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 15:04:34 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - This is a book I had been waiting for. Southern California's Inland Empire, while sometimes mocked by locals, is an area rich with hiking, ranging from easy strolls in urban parks to 10,000-foot plus mountains. "Afoot and Afield in...

There's more to So-Cal than Disneyland!

Wed, 4 Feb 2009 13:27:59 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - I credit this book with rekindlng my love of hiking and the outdoors. Growing up in the northeast, I was fortunate to be able to go on several hiking, backpacking and camping trips each year, but when I moved to the Los Angeles area, somehow all that got...

The Continuation of the Neil Saga

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:13:52 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - After reading Neil Peart's harrowing, ultimately triumphant account of his darkest times in "Ghost Rider" and taking an enjoyable dual jaunt with him along the roads of the southwest and through his childhood in "Traveling Music", I was glad to have the...

The Simpsons Movie: Ninety percent "Woo-Hoo", ten percent "D'Oh!"

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 02:52:36 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - I was both optimistic and worried about the long-awaited "Simpsons Movie." The optimism came because I am a longtime fan of the show, and I believed that Messrs. Groening, Brooks et al would realize that this film would have expectations to live up to...

Healthy Cynicism: Stossel Breaks It Down

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 12:55:11 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - John Stossel of 20/20 will no doubt open some eyes with "Get Out the Shovel". The book is interesting and fast paced, but it's not quite the shocker that Stossel seemed to be going for. Stossel, who describes himself as a political libertarian,...

Sorry, Da Vinci Fans - This Is Brown's Best Book

Tue, 15 Aug 2006 12:13:55 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - Having read "Angels and Demons", "Digital Fortress" and the obligitory "Da Vinci Code", I was aware that Dan Brown had published another book, but it wasn't until an acquaintance said that "Deception Point" was his best that I decided to give it a shot...

Tough Break

Sun, 4 Jun 2006 21:30:31 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - Give Hollywood credit. It seems the film industry has finally figured out that saccharine, unrealistic romantic "comedies" that walk on eggshells are dead, as are movies whose excess of bodily-function based humor can't compensate for a lack of a plot,...

Music from the Open Road

Sat, 12 Nov 2005 17:52:21 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - Neil Peart is best known as the drummer and lyricist for Rush, the Canadian progressive rock trio. While Rush is a band that has always had a rather niche appeal, Peart's words reached many non-followers in 2003 with his memoir "Ghost Rider", written...

It's Not Hard To "Guess"

Sat, 2 Apr 2005 15:35:24 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - I learned something valuable from this movie. Predictable laughs, at least, are laughs, and when the only kind of laughs to be found in a movie are predictable, you learn to like them. "Guess Who" is a very mildly amusing movie that crams about five...

Team America: World Police: Bring On The Montage

Sat, 23 Oct 2004 15:36:23 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - The prevailing opinion that anyone who likes "South Park" will enjoy this movie is pretty much correct, but it overlooks one thing: "South Park" episodes are only half an hour long. That said, any 100-minute comedy with 30 minutes of true, unabashed...

When Santa Attacks

Fri, 26 Dec 2003 22:25:10 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - That "Bad Santa" is offensive should shock no one. What should be known is that the movie doesn't entirely deliver what it promises. There are some things about this movie that I really liked. There is something refreshing about a film whose main...

Did I Miss Something?

Sat, 4 Oct 2003 02:39:33 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - When I go to see a movie, I don't care if the camera is hand-held or what angles scenes are shot. I don't care how purposely understated it all is. All of the directorial sophistication in the world is meaningless if it doesn't add up to a satisfying wh...

"Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver."

Sat, 20 Sep 2003 16:06:39 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - "American Pie" meets "Annie Hall"? Well, maybe. "Anything Else" is good enough to be more than a gimmick, but it stops well short of being a watershed. There are a lot of good ideas at work in this movie, but somehow they don't add up to a convincing w...

1978: The Tumultuous Season

Sat, 6 Sep 2003 16:23:54 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - In the history of baseball, there are a few teams that stand out. The 1978 Yankees are one of those teams, not because they were a morally exemplary bunch, but because they withstood turmoil, strife, instability and infighting to overtake a strong Boston...

A mixed blessing

Mon, 16 Jun 2003 20:12:40 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - I am somewhere between greatly relieved and terribly disappointed. It's like a tie in a game that c...

The first day of the rest of your life

Wed, 28 May 2003 18:43:17 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - "About Schmidt" isn't the acidly humorous portrait of tense family relations the trailers make it out to be; Kathy Bates doesn't even appear until well into the second half of the film. It also isn't all that incisive, inspiring or, least of all,...

Take That, Kerry Livgren

Fri, 7 Mar 2003 15:32:05 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - "Old School" strives to be this generation's "Revenge of the Nerds", or at least this year's "Van Wilder", but despite some moments of definite promise, it just doesn't make the mark set by those two afforementioned masterpieces.

Oh, "Old...

Can Someone Get That Fire Escape Out Of My Eye, Please?

Mon, 17 Feb 2003 00:27:57 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - "Final Destination 2" is basically a more heavy-handed, gorier and slightly less credible rehash of the first one. Basically, it is a slasher film, except the killer is fate. As with the original movie, "Final Destination 2" pulls a group of people out...

Relax...It's Just A Movie

Thu, 6 Feb 2003 19:11:52 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - "National Security" will never go down in history as one of the great comedies. The satire is predictable, the dialogue is rather formulaic and the plot is choppy. But the scathing reviews that I've been reading make me wonder if people simply have...

The Pros and Cons of Soy Cheesecake

Mon, 13 Jan 2003 00:45:34 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - For someone who, like most men between the ages of 20 and 50, is not exactly nuts about romantic comedies, "Two Weeks Notice" is a refreshing change. It is smart, well-paced and gratifying. It manages to stand out as a high-quality romantic comedy...

We The Jury, Find The Defendant, William Lester Suff...

Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:43:55 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - When William Lester Suff was arrested in 1992 for the murder of two prostitutes, it was not headline news outside Riverside County, east of Los Angeles. Even when the case was brought to trial in 1995, with Suff being charged for thirteen murders, it...

Don't Fear the Reaper

Mon, 23 Dec 2002 00:52:00 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - Sitting on a jumbo jet awaiting takeoff for Paris, high school senior Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) has a frighteningly realistic vision of his own death on board the very aircraft. Awakening in a panic, he instigates a scuffle which results in his removal...

Read This Review Or You'll Be Whacked!

Tue, 10 Dec 2002 14:43:03 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - Anybody can start a film off with a brutal knife/gun murder scene, but only Martin Scorsese (or perhaps Kubrick) could use it as a segue into a sentimental walk down memory lane.

The opening, in which Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) reminisces about...

"Sphere" Doesn't Roll

Tue, 19 Nov 2002 14:39:03 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author dlockeretz - I don't read Michael Crichton's novels because I want any kind of profound insight into the human condition--I read him because he's darn entertaining. Crichton understands technology and how it relates to the human experience. He knows how to get the...