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Have you seen our jockey?
Jul. 29th, 2003 11:19 amI didn't post about this, but the cruise certificate that my mom gave Monte and I turned out to be a scam.
The "free cruise" in fact was free, plus $90 per person "processing fees" plus port charges and taxes - said port charges being TWICE the amount the cruises charge. So the "free" cruise would've been more like $600 for the two of us.
And that's only if we took their base-level room: a bunk-bed room on the lowest deck. Needless to say, bunk beds and honeymoons do NOT go together. But the flyer said, "room upgrades available for an additional charge" which is language that implies that you would pay the difference in cabin price.
Ah, no.
The second you ask for something other than their original "free" cabin, they quote you full price. And their full price is MORE than what the cruise lines are charging. In one case, by $1000.
Eat. Me.
So, I did some investigating yesterday and it looks like a cruise is still very do-able. It just won't be "free". It will be cheaper than the "free" cruise would've been though!
I got home last night and we looked at what I'd found online, and then we headed out for Seabiscuit. I don't know if I was just in the right mood, I don't know if I'm just a sucker for these kinds of movies, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a genre film, that genre being the "success story" or "rags to riches" or "underdog". Whatever you call it, you know exactly how it's going to go. Nonetheless, both Monte and I were tense during the races, exciting at the wins, and thoroughly engaged in the movie. And there were even a couple of laugh out loud moments.
I think it's probably the best I've seen Tobey Maguire. Of course, that's because Tobey has done the same sort of role up till this point - the stoic, quiet guy. Even in Spiderman, he was primarily the quiet nerd. I was starting to think that's all he was capable of doing. This movie proved that theory wrong. He's belligerent, he's scowly, he's passionate, he wears his wounds on his sleeve.
And of course, I'm a huge fan of any movie with Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper in it, not to mention William H. Macy.
I like sports movies, even bad ones. I like horse movies, even bad ones. I like feel-good movies, even schmaltzy ones. So, of course I liked this movie. But it's not bad, it's not schmaltzy.
Oh - and the pseudo-documentary touches worked fine for me. It may have been that being warned about them was enough to defuse them. I did not, however, care for the final voice-over by Tobey. It was a little too manipulative (and it was almost eerily like the trailer for Radio that Monte and I laughed at before the film..."We didn't teach Radio, Radio taught us."). And if there was going to be a final voice-over, they should have used the same voice-over guy.
I liked the historical aspects of it. I liked getting to understand why this horse was that famous - not just because he won alot, but because of the context. And I liked getting to watch the three separate stories slowly come together in the one story about the horse.
Yep, I liked it.
The "free cruise" in fact was free, plus $90 per person "processing fees" plus port charges and taxes - said port charges being TWICE the amount the cruises charge. So the "free" cruise would've been more like $600 for the two of us.
And that's only if we took their base-level room: a bunk-bed room on the lowest deck. Needless to say, bunk beds and honeymoons do NOT go together. But the flyer said, "room upgrades available for an additional charge" which is language that implies that you would pay the difference in cabin price.
Ah, no.
The second you ask for something other than their original "free" cabin, they quote you full price. And their full price is MORE than what the cruise lines are charging. In one case, by $1000.
Eat. Me.
So, I did some investigating yesterday and it looks like a cruise is still very do-able. It just won't be "free". It will be cheaper than the "free" cruise would've been though!
I got home last night and we looked at what I'd found online, and then we headed out for Seabiscuit. I don't know if I was just in the right mood, I don't know if I'm just a sucker for these kinds of movies, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a genre film, that genre being the "success story" or "rags to riches" or "underdog". Whatever you call it, you know exactly how it's going to go. Nonetheless, both Monte and I were tense during the races, exciting at the wins, and thoroughly engaged in the movie. And there were even a couple of laugh out loud moments.
I think it's probably the best I've seen Tobey Maguire. Of course, that's because Tobey has done the same sort of role up till this point - the stoic, quiet guy. Even in Spiderman, he was primarily the quiet nerd. I was starting to think that's all he was capable of doing. This movie proved that theory wrong. He's belligerent, he's scowly, he's passionate, he wears his wounds on his sleeve.
And of course, I'm a huge fan of any movie with Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper in it, not to mention William H. Macy.
I like sports movies, even bad ones. I like horse movies, even bad ones. I like feel-good movies, even schmaltzy ones. So, of course I liked this movie. But it's not bad, it's not schmaltzy.
Oh - and the pseudo-documentary touches worked fine for me. It may have been that being warned about them was enough to defuse them. I did not, however, care for the final voice-over by Tobey. It was a little too manipulative (and it was almost eerily like the trailer for Radio that Monte and I laughed at before the film..."We didn't teach Radio, Radio taught us."). And if there was going to be a final voice-over, they should have used the same voice-over guy.
I liked the historical aspects of it. I liked getting to understand why this horse was that famous - not just because he won alot, but because of the context. And I liked getting to watch the three separate stories slowly come together in the one story about the horse.
Yep, I liked it.
