Tag: savvy consumer - Part 2

4/21/17 Freebie Friday: Android Apps

Welcome to DMM’s 4/21/17 Freebie Friday! Here are ten of the most downloaded AND highest-rated apps (4/5 stars or better) from Amazon’s Android App Store as of this writing. Remember that free apps may include in-app purchase (IAP) options or be ad-supported, but given that these apps have been given very high ratings by MANY consumers, where IAP links or ads are present they must be pretty unobtrusive. Descriptions below are from the apps’ product pages. Two Dots – CONNECT one Dot to another, sink anchors, make a line, create bombs, extinguish flames, and much more. Tetris Blitz – The Tetris® game you know and love, is now lightning fast, bite-sized fun for today’s players. Alice in the Mirrors of Albion – Get ready for a Lewis Carroll inspired hidden object game that takes you to a mystical Victorian-era London known as Albion, fraught with intrigue, crime, and danger. Rummy 500 – Challenge yourself…

DMM’s 4/14/17 Freebie Friday: New Age and Alternative Music

Welcome To DMM’s 4/14/17 Freebie Friday! I’ve got two digital albums to share today: a HUGE collection of indie music award winners, and the other an album for lovers of New Age. First up is Message, by Vyking. 11 tracks of instrumental New Age, with a good mix of upbeat electronic numbers and more contemplative pieces where a piano takes center stage. A nice backing track for any setting or activity where you’d like some music that’s pleasant, but not too distracting. Currently rated 5/5 stars.

4/3/17 Movie Monday: Flight of the Conchords

Welcome to DMM’s 4/3/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed. This week, I’m spotlighting the work of New Zealand musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. Everything featured here is currently rated 4.5/5 stars; these guys are good! Most people here in the U.S. got their first exposure to this musical comedy team in HBO’s One Night Stand: Flight of the Conchords (NR). This clip from YouTube captures their quirky style far better than any description could.

3/27/17 Movie Monday: New Releases

Welcome to DMM’s 3/27/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed. This week, I’m sharing my  take on two recent releases.   Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (PG-13) – currently only available for purchase, not rental. From Lucasfilm comes an epic adventure – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. In the first Star Wars movie ever released, A New Hope, Princess Leia hid the plans to the Death Star in R2D2, and the rebellion used them to destroy the Death Star. This movie tells the backstory of how the plans were stolen. It’s big and noisy, and all the critics who described it as first and foremost a war…

3/20/17 Movie Monday: Demons and Angels

Welcome to DMM’s 3/20/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week, it’s all about movies that pit angels against demons. I’m a sucker for this genre, and it’s one that many filmmakers seem fascinated by, too. Many of the modern interpretations explore the notion of angels not as loving, watchful caretakers, but as the footsoldiers of God. Here are a few of the most well-reviewed examples of the form. Legion (R) At a remote desert truck stop, the fate of the world will be decided. Evil’s armies are amassing. Armed and united by the Archangel Michael, a group of strangers become unwitting soldiers on the frontlines of the Apocalypse. Their mission: protect a waitress and her sacred unborn child from the relentless, bloody siege of the demonic legion.

3/6/17 Movie Monday: Smart Teen Comedies

Welcome to DMM’s 3/6/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies and videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week, I’m focusing on teen comedies that raise the bar. Note that I’m not saying these movies are necessarily recommended for anyone aged at least 13, since some of them have strong language and adult situations. But for older teens and adults looking to reminisce, these are all worth the watch. Easy A (PG-13) After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her reputation tarnished until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing. One of Emma Stone’s earliest starring roles, and definitely one of the first where she gets to show her comic timing chops. The excellent script hits all the usual…

2/20/17 Movie Monday: Tom Hanks Comedies

Welcome to DMM’s 2/20/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week’s focus is on lesser-known Tom Hanks comedies. Hanks has been known primarily for his dramatic roles for quite some time, but he got his start in comedies and all of these are winners.

2/6/17 Movie Monday: Three Takes On Snow White

Welcome to DMM’s 2/6/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week’s theme is three takes on that fairy tale classic, Snow White. Whether you’re looking for bright family fun, action and adventure or something a little darker, one of these is sure to suit the bill. Mirror Mirror (PG) One of the most beloved tales of all time comes to life in the spectacular Mirror Mirror, starring Lily Collins as Snow White and Julia Roberts as the evil Queen. A fresh and funny retelling of the classic fairy tale, the film also stars Armie Hammer Sean Bean, and Nathan Lane. This candy-colored version is directed by Tarsem Singh, the visionary auteur behind the painterly indie masterpiece The Fall, bold Immortals and spine-tingling The Cell. Like all of Singh’s films, this one is a beauty to…

1/23/17 Movie Monday

Welcome to DMM’s 1/23/17 Movie Monday, where I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week, I’m featuring a few lesser-known horror movies that offer some big names and are better than critics’ reviews would have you think. I’m not a fan of gratuitous gore, so while any R-rated horror movie will of course have some splattery deaths, none of these linger too long or lovingly on the blood and guts. Ghost Ship (R) In a remote region of the Bering Sea, a boat salvage crew discovers the eerie remains of a grand passenger liner thought lost for more than 40 years. This movie stars Juliana Marguiles, Gabriel Byrne, Karl Urban and Ron Eldard, and includes Emily Browning in one of her first big-screen roles. It’s hard to say much about the plot without spoilers, but…

New Feature: Movie Monday!

Since Music Monday has been getting pretty repetitive, with lots of Classical music and not much else, I’ve decided to introduce a new feature: Movie Monday. On Movie Monday I’ll help you tackle movie night with brief reviews of movies, TV shows and other digital videos you may have missed that are worth the rental or purchase. This week, it’s all about the action movies. Escape Plan (R) One of the world’s foremost authorities on structural security agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called “The Tomb.” Sylvester Stallone stars as Ray Breslin, the world’s top expert in structural security. When he’s framed for a crime he didn’t commit, his skills are put to the ultimate test in an attempt to break out of one of his own prisons. Co-stars some pretty big names: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Sam Neill, Vincent D’Onofrio and 50…