Product Review: Schick Xtreme 3 Fitstyle Refresh

If Michael Jackson were to write a song about this razor, it would be called “Bad.” If this razor were a woman, it would be Roseanne Barr. If this razor were a space shuttle, it would be the Challenger. If this razor were a car, it would be a Ford Festiva. If this razor were a Band-Aid, it would be the kind that doesn’t have enough adhesive to stick.

The Xtreme3 is loaded with three blades as the name would suggest. It’s called the Fitstyle Refresh because it has a strip below the razor with both a mysterious “pre-shave oil” and Vitamin E, meant to coat your skin as you glide along the rest of your face. Though marketed as having a “new refreshing scented handle for an invigorating shave,” I didn’t find that to be the case.

While I was shaving with it, I didn’t notice any additional scent, so I placed it directly under my nose to take a whiff and still couldn’t detect a scent other than a plastic handle. I smelled all four razors in the package and none of them smelled like anything.

According to the packaging the razor came in, the Fitstyle Refresh is the “#1 flexible blade disposable razor.” But I wouldn’t agree it all; I don’t even think it’s the #1 disposable razor in its own family, sort of like Emilio Estevez. There is no way it is better than the Schick Xtreme3 (Martin Sheen) or the Schick Hydro 5 Power Select (Charlie Sheen).

Compared to several of Schick’s other offerings, I wasn’t very impressed with the Xtreme3 Fitstyle Refresh. I found it to be incredibly stiff, like Newt Gingrich at a Wham reunion concert, because it didn’t move with the contours of my face at all. I know it’s a disposable razor, but there was no weight to it whatsoever, which I think was a problem in terms of effectiveness.

Several times during the shave, I had to re-shave an area more than once, particularly the area where my mustache would be if I could grow one. Which is pretty bad, because if you can grow a mustache, plan on shaving that area about five times. And getting way more chicks than me; congrats. Somehow, it took more skin off of my face than hair.

I was extremely disappointed with the lack of effectiveness exhibited by the Fitstyle Refresh. Ff you want a good disposable razor from Schick, check out the Schick Xtreme3 or the Schick Hydro 5 Power Select instead.

  

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Doing the Math: Here’s How CBS Can Subtract Sheen and Still Come Up With “Two and a Half Men”

If you’ve paid any attention whatsoever to the entertainment news coming out of Hollywood in the past few weeks, then you can’t help but be aware of Charlie Sheen’s increasingly strange shenanigans and how they’ve directly affected the rest of the cast and crew of CBS’s long-running and ridiculously-successful sitcom, “Two and a Half Men.” Who would’ve thought that the infamous hotel incident in October 2010 would’ve proven to be one of the lesser moments on the actor’s ever-lengthening list of embarrassing incidents?

Now, after making the decision to bypass traditional rehab in favor of curing his drug and alcohol issues with his mind, Sheen has been running off at the mouth so much that CBS has pulled the plug and decided to call off the remainder of the episodes that had been planned for this season.

But what of next season? More importantly, given all of the nasty remarks that Sheen’s made toward series creator Chuck Lorre, will there even be a next season?

We know that CBS, Warner Brothers Television, and Lorre have ostensibly ruled out continuing “Two and a Half Men” without Sheen, but if we’re to be honest, it seems like the better tactic would be for the whole lot of them to say, “Hey, Charlie, read our lips: one monkey don’t stop no show,” then find a new man to join Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones and keep the title intact. We know things are kind of crazy over there at the moment, though, so we thought we’d at least try to help them a bit with the casting process.

Sure, they say they won’t continue without Charlie…but, then, they haven’t seen our suggestions yet.

Read the rest of this entry »

  

Experience the horror all over again with “Apocalypse Now: Full Disclosure” on Blu-ray

Call it fate or just sheer coincidence, but the same week that Bullz-Eye announced the newest class of its Directors Hall of Fame, Lionsgate is releasing “Apocalypse Now” for the first time on Blu-ray. So what’s the connection? Well, the film’s director, Francis Ford Coppola, was one of our five inductees, and his work on “Apocalypse Now” played a huge role in him making the final cut. Obviously, the first two “Godfather” films are what Coppola is best known for, but his 1979 Vietnam War epic isn’t far behind. I’ve never really been a fan of the director apart from these three films, but while his career has certainly had more flops than successes, there’s a lot more to the man than his formative years behind the camera.

Although I have a deep respect for “Apocalypse Now,” if I had to sum up my feelings about the film in just one sentence, it would probably go something like this: It’s a great film, but it’s a flawed film. That might sound a bit harsh considering my four-star review of the movie, but it’s true. Of course, even for as good as it is, the story about the making of it is even better, and that’s where the new Blu-ray comes into play. Despite a 2006 special edition DVD called The Complete Dossier, the new three-disc Full Disclosure edition is a lot closer to the ultimate “Apocalypse Now” collection. For starters, it includes the 1991 documentary about the making of the film, “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse,” which Bob Westal calls “both a cautionary tale and an inspiration.” Much like “Lost in La Mancha” – the 2000 documentary about the act-of-god collapse of Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” – this first-person account (captured by Coppola’s wife, Eleanor) of the trouble-plagued production is one the most interesting films about the moviemaking process ever released, and it’s a must-have for any diehard fan or student of cinema.

In addition, both versions of the film – the original theatrical cut and the 2001 director’s cut, “Apocalypse Now Redux” – have been digitally restored in high definition with excellent results, delivering a sharper picture without making it look glossy like some of the other classic movies recently released on Blu-ray. There are also hours of bonus material to enjoy, including a pair of new interviews with actor Martin Sheen and writer John Milius that are loaded with anecdotes about their experiences working on the film, as well as a casting featurexte on the supporting actors that made up the PBR Street Gang. But while it contains some never-before-seen footage of Nick Nolte’s audition (who was ultimately never cast in the film), there’s no video or photographic evidence of Harvey Keitel’s two-week stint as Willard before he was replaced by Martin Sheen.

The recasting situation is mentioned briefly, but after last week’s Internet-fueled brouhaha over the Eric Stoltz footage that was released on the new “Back to the Future” Blu-rays, they could have at least included a few shots of Keitel in costume. I’m not sure if any even exist, but I have to imagine they do, so there’s always a chance that something from Keitel’s work on the film will pop up in the future. Of course, that means that “Apocalypse Now: Full Disclosure” isn’t as complete as it could be, but it’s still one of the best releases of the year, and worth upgrading to Blu-ray for if you haven’t already.