reviewer

Joy Ride 2 was released in October 2008 but went straight to video. Don’t know why it did. It wasn’t that bad. The acting from the four main characters was what kept this film together. The direction was good, but the only thing wrong with this film was that it was far fetched. The original Joy Ride starred Paul Walker and Leelee Sobieski. The characters were likeable and the story was adventerous and nervewracking. It is one of my favorite horror films. Joy Ride 2, however, is not.

The film stars Laura Jordan, Nicki Aycox, Nick Zano, and Kyle Schmid. The two girls portray sisters who decide to travel to Las Vegas. One girl is engaged and takes along her fiance while her sister decides to pick a guy she met on myspace on the way to the city. Eventually, their car stalls out during their trip down a dirt road and they decide to walk. Along the way, they come across a house that has no electricity and appears that no one has lived in for years. Of course they find a car that just so happens to have the keys in it. They decide to take off with it promising to each other that they will return the car. The engaged girl decides to leave her cell phone number so that the owner can call her. Of course he does, but after he manages to take off with the girl’s fiance. And of course he is a killer who drives an 18 wheeler. He holds the fiance for ransom as the remaining three have to do everything they are told by the man behind the wheel. They are harrassed, belittled, and manipulated into embarrassing situations until the next person is taken.

Joy Ride 2 doesn’t compare to the first which is probably why it did go straight to video but it is definitely better than many movies that are released in theatres such as P2 and The Devil’s Rejects. The acting in the film is very good and they made you care about them. I just wish the torture scenes were kept out of the film. It wasn’t in the first and shouldn’t have been in the second. Otherwise this film would have been much better and probably more successful for the original Joy Ride fans. Also, if the killer was made more human like in the first rather than some unbeatable killing machine then it would be more realistic.

I bought a PT Cruiser about three years ago. I reached 65,000 miles and had to get a tune-up. No big deal. At least that’s what I thought. I ended up paying $150 at the local mechanic shop. I found an honest mechanic nearby and when he turned around and charged me triple the amount of money than the original cost I questioned it. He told me it was because of the labor. In most cases it isn’t difficult at all to pull out the plugs and replace them but for some reason these spark plugs were extremely difficult for them the deal with.

One month later my car started acting funny. I took it back to the mechanic and asked them to check it out and they wanted to suddenly charge me $75 for a diagnositic test. I left and went to another mechanic a friend recommended me to. I was charged $35 for the same test and they told me it had to do with the tune-up. I returned to my mechanic and explained to them the situation. They ran a test of their own for free and told me it had to do with the computer to the car. Then the mechanic told me I would have to go to the dealership in order to get this replaced.

I wasn’t happy with this at all. I couldn’t imagine having to pay hundreds of dollars for something that shouldn’t be wrong with the car at only 65,000 miles. I went to the dealership and they told me it was needing a tune up. I can’t say what I was thinking since it wasn’t very nice but I ended up forking up another $250. Has anyone ever paid $400 for a tune up? Has anyone ever paid $250 for a tune up? I know I neeeeevvvver have.

I spoke with the woman at the dealership asking why I would need another tune up after getting one not too long ago. She said that the dealership is only place I was able to take the PT Cruiser. This is how Dodge/Chrysler has set it up so that owners of this vehicle have to come to their shop.

I informed my mechanic that if he gets anymore PT Cruisers that he will not be able to do a tune up on them since the dealership made sure of this. The dealership also makes sure that PT owners among other cars out there have to go to them so that they make all of the money while raping people at the same time. Something that should only cost $50 will quadruple at the dealership. Beware all PT Cruiser owners! You may have to go to the dealership for more than you realize.

Before purchasing my next car I am going to investigate what I would need to go to the dealership for and would it be worth getting then. The mechanic told me that a law is going to be passed to get all dealerships to stop doing this since it is not only hurting the pockets of many car owners but also the small businesses that rely on the income of their mechanic shops as well as the mechanics themselves.