Epinions Recent Reviews for mtarasev

Return to simple scheme - on a grand (that is long-long) scale

Tue, 19 Jul 2005 23:10:48 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - The Half-Blood Prince appears to be an attempt to revert to the successful simplicity of the Sorcerer’s Stone and the Chamber of Secrets. However, comparable story line would, and in my opinion does, look lonely on the 560+ pages of the Half-Blood...

For a sleepy afternoon (very sleepy)

Sun, 23 May 2004 10:35:18 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - We liked Bring it On, that’s why we checked out Bring It On Again. Alas. The sequel is somewhere between real bad and boring. It’s mean, but true. Characters: We have all new characters in the Bring It On Again. However, these “new”...

High Sea Disaster

Wed, 17 Mar 2004 00:52:09 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - Some movies make you think. They raise questions that you want, but often can not answer. “Master and Commander” is one of such movies. The question that it posed is simple and to the point “What is the movie about?” I truly do not know...

Amazon.com: Delivery right on time. Very Nice.

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 15:45:33 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - My daughters recently pre-ordered two copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix" from Amazo...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - at least it's politically correct

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 15:25:39 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - We've been waiting for a long for the new installment in the Harry Potter series. Finally, it's here...

X2 Does not measure up

Fri, 16 May 2003 13:09:44 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - As much as I liked the X1 I did not like X2. Did not like, probably, is a bit strong - indifferent will be more precise.

It is always hard to make another volume in a series. For a sequel to be successful it must build on the existing...

Mangled book turn into a so-so movie

Wed, 26 Mar 2003 16:50:36 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - Like a lot of other people around, I'm a sucker for movies based on good books. I should learn better by now: with a few notable exceptions (Lord of the Rings will be one such in my opinion), the films suck. Still, time after time my enthusiasm for the...

The MATRIX - The Communist Manifest of the New Millennium

Wed, 2 Jan 2002 16:11:02 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - The MATRIX - The Communist Manifest of the New Millennium

"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles". (All references

are from the Manifesto of the Communist Party")

...

Next Card Customer Service - another horror story

Thu, 6 Sep 2001 14:40:39 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - The card itself is nothing to scream about. The into rates are nice, but extremely short lived, the regular interest is a bit above average, the "rewards" program do not make a lot of sense to me (will your future reward be worth the fee?), but customer...

Ask about Cash Back!

Wed, 5 Sep 2001 18:29:08 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - These days's credit card offers multiply like fruit flies. Naturally, with offers in plenty we should ask: " If I'll take your card what will I get?" It could be low interest, additional benefits or, what I like best for a "permanent" card, the one I'll...

Out of sync and getting worse

Wed, 4 Jul 2001 11:42:23 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - Standard Federal Bank is not all bad. Truth to say, until about a month ago I would have say it is really decent. It does not pay any interest on his checking accounts, but them many of the traditional banks (as opposed to internet only banks) do not pay...

Richard takes on communism.

Mon, 21 May 2001 12:10:24 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - It's always sad to see a decline of a good series. It would be better to just kill the heroes then to make them participate in a farce forced on them.

The latest volume (so far) of the Sword of Truth - Faith of the Fallen. What's it all...

Running with the Demon - a run to lose weigh.

Tue, 15 May 2001 11:05:06 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - It is very sad when you take up a book and start reading and you feel that you, probably, already read it. And the worst part is you are not totally sure… It means that the book did not leave an impression (either good or bad) to make a distinct enough...

Cure for insomnia

Wed, 9 May 2001 17:14:12 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - In my life I encounter, probably, less then a dozen books that once started I could not make myself finish. I did finish this one, but it was more a tribute to my iron will then to any qualities of the story.

The classic conflict between Good...

God, even Naked, is an easy way out

Tue, 1 May 2001 18:03:50 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - It's always fun to paint the hero into the corner, it's that much tougher to get him out of it. Unfortunately, in the "Naked God" Hamilton used the really easy way. Really disappointing…

The series started nice with a lot of action, plenty of...

Spellsong trilogy - what you should not do in realm building

Fri, 6 Apr 2001 12:59:18 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - The series started decent. However, after the first volume ("The Soprano Sorceress) the plot deteriorated to a series of predictable problems with obvious outcomes.

In Fantasy the author can impose whatever rules and laws of the universe he...

Enterprise - on the level

Fri, 2 Feb 2001 17:39:41 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - In the last two weeks I rented from Enterprise three times and the experience was most satisfactory.

The best thing I can say about Enterprise is that for smaller cars their prices are really competitive. Using coupons I'm regularly getting in...

CITYBANK card - be ready for trouble

Wed, 18 Oct 2000 17:26:38 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - I have a CityBank Gold MasterCard and it's a shame. All in all, it's a good offer, but the card is unlucky (at least to me) and the service is more often bad then good.

City Bank Gold is a decent offer - no annual fees, good credit limit, all...

Travelocity Flight Reservations: Best fare? No way!

Fri, 13 Oct 2000 18:14:47 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - Do you really get the best fare possible with Travelocity? The answer is "NO". Fast and easy it is, but often you can get a lower (in some cases a whole lot lower) rate dealing directly with the airlines.

Travelocity flight...

Ememories.com: Good value - recommend to everyone

Wed, 21 Jun 2000 19:46:16 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - Forget about the free camera. Oh, I did receive it and used it, and got great prints back. The camera is not important. We are talking about the service and not about marketing gimmicks.

And as for the service, so far, I'm very much satisfied...

Cyberrebate.com: Opinion on "Opinions" on CyberRebate

Wed, 31 May 2000 12:35:27 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - Most Opinions on CyberRebate program tells us more about the people who wrote them, then about the program itself. You can call it unfortunate or curious, but in any case that's extremely frustrating.

* * *

All I wanted to know...

Bad experience is contagious - former: "Our" one is great!

Fri, 5 May 2000 18:06:54 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - Some time ago I wrote a complimentary opinion on Denny's (see below), however, now I must edit it. Our latest experience was a nightmare and even fondly remembering previous highly satisfactory visits I would not risk going to that Denny's again. What if...

Block Financial TaxCut Deluxe: TaxCut'99 - unsatisfactory experience

Mon, 3 Apr 2000 18:01:40 GMT

rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - This is certainly the once and only time I used TaxCut. Compared to manual preparation TaxCut is easy and wonderful and all the good things some people say about it. However, compared to other tax preparation programs I used, Tax Cut is really...

JumpStart 5th Grade: Jo Hammet, Kid Detective: JumpStart 5th Grade: Fun... once in a while.

Mon, 27 Mar 2000 17:04:41 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - JumpStart 5th Grade is not bad, but it's not extraordinary good either. Compared to the other JumStart titles it's a throwback. Some kids could enjoy it, but most I assume will not.

Here are some impressions I gathered looking over my 4th...

Discover: It pays to carry it - if you are careful.

Mon, 6 Mar 2000 21:01:39 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author mtarasev - Personally, I like Discover very much. However, this card is not for everybody. It all depends on you spending/payment patterns.

Why I like Discover:

- Cash Back. Hey, if I can get some money back why not get...