What's Wrong With the Punisher Franchise?

Welcome back to my humble blog noble followers. This week I felt like discussing something which bothered me this weekend. The wife and I saw the Punisher movie in the theaters this weekend and didn't care for it. We both agreed that this movie missed the boat on what the Punisher is. The Punisher is not a sensitive do-gooder who questions why he's being a vigilante. The Punisher is an emotionally withdrawn man who is more likely to pistol whip you than threaten to do something.
Goddamn it Lexi Alexander! The Punisher is not a three dimensional character! The appeal of the Punisher is that he is an undeveloped character. The Punisher is an obsessed, fanatical vigilante who's sense of right and wrong is black and white. Vigilantes don't need pep talks. They need more bullets and bigger guns! Maybe the era of vigilantes in movies are over. Maybe society has decided that there is no longer a place for private justice. I don't have answers to those questions, but I do know how to fix the Punisher film franchise. It's a simple equation, more guns, a higher body count, and no family feel-good moments.
The original 1990 Punisher flick had the right actor and feel for the Punisher but the movie was so-so. The Thomas Jane version was a solid revenge flick, but it didn't feel like the Punisher. This one had great action, but tried to do too much. It felt so forced seeing the Punisher sorry for himself. The Punsiher I know is entirely devoid of emotion. For a semi-green director, I will let this one slide. I was happy that the newest movie tried to be more faithful to the comic, and for that reason I will give a sequel (if they make one) another chance. Until then, "I still talk to God sometimes...(wondering why they can't make an awesome Punisher movie)."

Death to Apple!

Greetings again my fellow nerds, I know its been awhile since I've written, but college is a lot of work. I want to discuss technology with all of you. Like many people out there, I am not an Apple consumer. I despise how they ship defective products and do little to correct their errors in addition to the bourgeoisie attitude associated with purchasing their products. Instead I run Windows Vista on my little budget laptop, and utilize an mp3 player for my musical tastes.
Recently I discovered that Amazon has musical downloads. I have to say that it is pretty amazing. Most songs are the usual price of 99 cents, but you can get a lot of songs for like 89 and 79 cents. To be honest, I'm just happy that someone has decided to compete with Apple and not just lay down and declare Apple master of the universe. Suck it Steve Jobs! I have the power.....

The Much Anticipated Return of TV

It's that time again readers-the return of television! All of the good shows are returning. Heroes, Smallville, Supernatural, and the Shield. I'm quite happy that I don't have to put up with anymore bullshit reality television. But I feel that we should all take a moment to think about the shows we enjoyed that didn't make the cut from last year. I know that I'm going to miss Moonlight, and I was begining to grow fond of New Amsterdam. I think I'm really going to miss the show Dirt. All of those shows had a lot of potential, and I feel they were cancelled before they had a chance. I guess that's why they put all these shows on DVD.
By the way I will have to recommend the Birds of Prey show now on DVD. By no means is it a great show, but nearly every woman on the show is hot! And I am interested in alternate future shows and stuff so its pretty good. So the next time you dance with the devil under the pale moonlight, I'll have a new post for you.

Nerd Tech Desparately Needed

We all have our gadgets and what not that make our lives easy, but what about the stuff we don't have? As kids I'm sure everyone remembers hearing about flying cars of the future and space exploration along with priced to own jetpacks. I think I speak for everyone when I say, "where the hell is my jetpack!" I'm not saying that I have some great need for a jetpack or anything, I'm just saying that I would love a jetpack.
I'm gonna take a gamble and tell you all about the gadget that I truly can't live without-the sony slim PSP. I can imagine that many of you are scratching your heads over this confession but I assure you that this is an amazing device. My PSP has become my sole music player. With the right software you can convert all your videos to play on your system as well. If you're within a wireless hotspot, your PSP allows you to chat with others over skype as well as control your PS3. It's definitely my favorite gadget. A keyboard attachment to this device is all it needs to make it even better when browsing the web. Until next time, continue taking the red pill and, "Long live the new flesh!"

Favorite Comic Book Heroes

I grew up loving the traditional comic book heroes. Superman, Batman, Captain America and of course Spiderman. As I got older my tastes changed. I moved on to more violent heroes like Wolverine, the Punisher and Spawn. Now as a twenty-five year old adult, I'm more drawn to the antiheroes. The two books I can't peel my self away from are Moon Knight and Captain America. Initially I was very opposed to any kind of replacement of Steve Rogers as the star spangled avenger. After reading more and more of this book, I find that I can't wait to read the next one. The story of the former sidekick knowing that he can never truly fill the shoes of a legendary hero is just so damn good! Moon Knight is just a guilty pleasure to read. I never followed Moon Knight until about six months ago, and man I'm hooked. It's one of the strangest stories I've ever read. You never truly know if Moon knight is a hero given power by an Egyptian god of vengeance, or if he's just some fucking loon in a suit! I enjoy every issue, but the biggest hangup I have is the art. The book is meant to have a gritty feel, but I feel the art is sub par. Most people probably know nothing of this character or care because of the lame art currently on the book. Hey Marvel, how about waking up and putting Yu or Epting on this book to attract readers! Until next time, I hope you enjoy my readings.

My First Hobby

At some point every red-blooded American male had picked up a comic book or two. For me it was when I was six years old admiring my older brother's small number of comics he had "liberated" from the pediatrician's office. My mind reeled over the ideas and possibilities where people had superpowers and secret identities with the responsibility of protecting people who did not. That spark would light the fire which would lead to a collection of comics so large, that my wife would constantly shake her head at the space required to store them all. I'm quite proud of my collection, its not by any means great, but I can brag that I have tons of x-men comics. I have every issue of Uncanny X-Men from issue number three hundred through issue four hundred and eight. Does anyone else have a collection they're proud of?

TV SHOWS CANCELLED BEFORE THEIR TIME

Hello again fellow nerds! Today I figured I would blog about a subject that is truly close to heart for me. That subject to me is sci-fi shows which were canceled too early. I'm sure all of us has our own Moonlight, or Tekwar, or Crusade that we wish had been allowed to have another season. I got into this nostalgic mood this morning when I was watching a DVD I purchased awhile back. The DVD was Space: Above and Beyond. For those unfamiliar with that show, allow me to give the gist. Sometime in the future, an alien force attacks a human colony, starting the first intergalactic war. The show follows the Marine Corps' 58th squadron from bootcamp through months of serious combat. The show aired from 1995-1996 on Fox. Looking back on this show nearly twelve years later, I find that the special effects still look good, and that the acting is believable. I think I have more of an appreciation of the show after serving in the Marine Corps for five years myself. Looking back at this show, I'm quite fond of some of the issues presented in it which made this futuristic show feel relevant in then, and now today's society. So I encourage you all now to think about a TV show that you loved, that was ended prematurely. I would love hear about it. Until then, "...I'm gonna go out into God's sky and remove one of his creatures, and then drink a bottle of scotch as if it were his blood and celebrate his death."

Gamestop's Revenge

After doing some online research and waiting on hold for roughly ten minutes I finally spoke with a member of Gamestop's customer service. I retold my story of my UMD purchase. I was actually surprised by the answer I got from the service rep. He informed me that the district manager has the authority to remove the media from the boxes. I was also informed that the store should be willing to give me a refund if I returned the UMD. I think later on this week I will attempt to put this policy into action. In the meantime, the only fault I can find with this policy is that you truly don't know if what you're buying is "new." If anyone can find any federal or state laws on the return of media, I would greatly appreciate any links. Til then, be sure to trust your feelings young padawan.

Gamestop Policy

This Sunday I had an interesting thing happen to me when I went to my local Gamestop. I purchased an NEW umd movie for my Sony PSP. The clerk then took the empty display box and brought out an envelope with the disc inside. I told the clerk, "hey, I wanted a new copy of the disc." The clerk then responded that the disc was new, but that they remove all of the discs from the packages to deter thefts. What's interesting is that I was at another location the day before and they had their umd movies in the box at the display area. I wonder what the corporate policy is on this whole matter? This may not seem important to some, but this "policy" affects the average consumer when it comes to the return policy. When I worked retail, we were told that it was California state law that we could not except returns of media if the package had been opened. The thinking behind this law is that you could buy a dvd or cd, take it home, and burn it to your computer and return it for a full refund. The problem with the gamestop "policy" is that if you tried to return the disc before you have even viewed it, by law you could not return it. Over the next few days I will research this further and bring you fellow nerds the actual policy from Gamestop and the link to the law. Until then be sure to recharge your dilithium crystals, and set phasers to stun!

Welcome, welcome

Hi, welcome to my first actual post. I'm here to bring you all of my own opinions on all things nerd. Whether it be star trek, comics, video games, or just stuff from an obscure television show, you can bet that I have some sort of an opinion on it.