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star trek red t shirts

    Star Trek Retrospective: Episode 77 The Savage Curtain

    By Dave / 27th October, 2013 / star trek red t shirts, star trek t shirts, Star Trek T-Shirts, T-Shirts / No Comments

    Star Trek T ShirtsYes I’m back on this.  I can’t start a project and let it fail after only completing 2/79 parts.  It would be much more my style to have it fail after completing 76/79 parts.  Also I personally own so many Star Trek t shirts that every morning as I get dressed I feel guilty for letting this series fall by the wayside and I have enough guilt for actual bad things in my life.

    So the Savage Curtain.  If there were one item to epitomize what was wrong with Season 3 it would have to be Abe Lincoln in space (yes, the suicide planet, hippies in space, and telekinetic Greeks all have their place but this one is at the top.  For the record Spocks Brain was at the end of Season 2).  Honestly, how does having Kirk and Spock dream up good guys and bad guys and get into a fist fight with them tell the turd monsters (sorry, the Excalbians)?  What if Kirk had slipped on a rock and broke his skull open, leaving the Excalbians understanding of good and evil to a minor twist of fate?

    (Honestly I don’t think good and evil are that hard to understand.  I have an understanding and am happy to have chosen ev…I mean good!)

    For that matter, who appointed Kirk and Spock as the universal representatives of good?  Wasn’t it established in The Enemy Within that Kirk is comprised of both good and evil parts?  I’d say a laundry list of intergalactic booty calls and half breed alien bastard children might have a thing of two to say about him from a moral perspective.  Didn’t he let a super hot innocent girl walk in front of a truck in order to save his future?  What about the other future full of people that he just destroyed?  And Spock would let 1,000,000 people die if it meant saving 1,000,001 people.  Not a lot of morality in that equation.

    Finally, the real problem with this episode is they were really running out of ideas and opted to just remake Arena without the Gorn.  I’m not saying I hate this episode.  Only that the signs that the series was running out of steam were pretty strong.  I sometimes wish for a fourth season but really when you think about it this shows the trend.  Who knows what bad ideas would have arisen in season 4?  A racist cartoon rabbit that talks with a lisp?  Kirk being replaced by a captain with no hair?  A complete reboot where the entire universe gets more stupid and Star Wars-y with no nod towards Gene Roddenberry’s vision?  No, in those halcyon days such things were decades in the future.

    Dave

     

    The Raid Redemption Review

    By Dave / 1st April, 2012 / Star Trek, star trek red t shirts / 4 Comments

    Ever wonder what a rated R action movie is supposed to look like?  Now you can find out.

    Wow.  That pretty much sums up this movie in a word.  Easily the best action movie I have seen in years, possibly decades.  On par with Die Hard, First Blood, Lethal Weapon, or any other top action movie (even the Road Warrior, and if you know me you know that is saying a lot).  This film takes the crime action and martial arts genres and melds them seamlessly with great characters and some of the most amazing action camera work ever.

    Let me talk a little about the camera in this film.  Most action films plant the camera at mid range and then use dumb quick cuts to generate action.  If they want to make the audience feel like they are in the scene they don’t use a steady cam and let the Blair Witch effect take over.  However, as jumbled up as you may be in a fight scene your eyes don’t really jitter around like that.  What this movie does is incorporates the camera into the fight choreography, dodging in an out, panning with the fighters, diving in, and placing you in the action better than anything else I have ever seen.  The last time I felt that close to a fight I was one of the ones fighting.  Truly great.

    The martial arts is also great.  The film is Indonesian (with my new favorite director Gareth Evans.  Sorry Scorsese.  He has also done Footsteps and Merantau, both of which I am going to track down) and most of the stars are experts in Pencak Silat.  There are no dumb wire fight scenes.  All the fighting seems really cool and brutally realistic.  Even the gun action is great.

    The story is of young Rama (Iko Uwais-Merentau is his only other film credit), a new officer leaving his pregnant wife after a short training montage to join his team of elite cops.  They are raiding crime lord Tama (Ray Sahetapy-Dilema, Demi Dewl, Jinx), a brutal man who rules his 30 story slum tenement filled with the scum of the earth with an iron hand.  He has two main henchmen: amazing martial artist Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian-Merentau.  He and Iko did the fight choreography) who lives only to fight, and brain man Andi (Doni Alamsyah-Fiksi, Merentau, Hearts of Freedom), and an army of thugs and psychopaths.  The cops stealth into the building, taking out spotters and guards as they progress, but are spotted.  Tama wakes up the whole building and all hell breaks loose.

    After the initial gun fight sequence (started off in the dark in the coolest way possible) this movie shifts gears smoothly from action to survival/horror.  Granted, none of the bad guys are zombies (that we know of) but a lot of really cool horror elements are incorporated, like good guys hiding around the corners while the bad guys are tapping their machetes along the wall looking for them.  The survivors of the first big fight split up.  Rama is trying to save the life of his injured friend Bowo (Tegar Satrya-Negeri 5 Menara) while his Sergent Jaka (Joe Taslim-Rasa, Karma) head in a different direction with Lt. Wahyu (Pierre Gruno-True Love, London Virginia, Ekspedisi madewa) and another red shirt (Dead Man Walking image courtesy of the Star Trek T-Shirt category).

    This is where the martial arts action really unfolds.  Rama kicks and punches his way through a corridor of bad guys (and to anyone who thinks there was too much of the fighting, or that some of the fight scenes went on too long, it is obvious you have never really developed an appreciation for martial arts movies.  Perhaps you should go see the Lorax).  Some cool plot twists develop, although if you are here for an amazing story I think you walked into the wrong theater.

    The stars.  Amazing action.  Three stars.  Really great camera work.  Three stars.  Fight choreography that is second to none.  Two stars.  For the most part really good characters, especially the villains.  One star.  Overall a wonderful film experience.  Three stars.  Total: twelve stars.

    The black holes.  I hate giving any, as I loved this movie on almost all levels, but have to be honest.  The story was pretty simple and even the plot twists no big deal.  One black hole.  Some of the dialog felt forced and artificial, especially the cussing.  This film was written in English and translated for the actors to speak in Indonesian.  It felt culturally out of place.  One black hole.  I could give a third for some cheesy CGI blood, but honestly it was hardly noticeable.  Two black holes. 

    A grand total of 10 stars, one of the best scores I have given in a long time.  Should you see it?  Abso-freaking-lutely.  You will have to look hard for it since American theaters won’t show anything that doesn’t have Brad Pitt or the like in it, but it will be worth the search.  See it in a theater to encourage other good movies to be made and released here.  Date movie?  Hell no, but drag her ass to see it anyway.  If she puts up with it you know she’s a keeper, and who knows?  You might awaken a sleeping love of martial arts movies in her and you next date could be a Bruce Lee marathon.  Even if she dumps you at least you have exposed her to a great film, thus incrementally increasing the culture level of this country.

    The one thing that drives me nuts about this film is not the movie itself but rather that it painfully illustrates how lame the vast majority of Hollywood action extravaganzas are.  Action isn’t about how many explosions you can fit into ten minutes of film or who has the biggest CGI budget.  It’s about the action.  This film is like the svelte, athletic person entering a room full of fat people.  All of a sudden everyone in the room just looks fatter.  They are already working on an American remake and I would bet a large sum of money that it will not be half as good. 

    Thanks for reading.  Go see this movie.  Follow me on Twitter @NerdKungFu or email me with suggestions or questions at [email protected].  If you have a comment about this film feel free to post it here.  Something came out recently called Intruders with no fanfare that looks creepy as hell.  I might go see it tonight.  Talk to you soon.

    Dave

     

    Happy New Year.

    By Dave / 1st January, 2012 / star trek red t shirts, star trek t shirts, T-Shirts / No Comments

    And a 2011 movie recap.

    So I have been working on my movie awards (the Nerdies) and in preparation for this created a data base of all the movies I reviewed last year.  It was a lot.  90 movies, to be precise.  Kind of a staggering amount, and I saw a lot of crap and a lot of good stuff.  If you are interested in any of these reviews (most are pretty good in my less than humble opinion) you can choose the month on the right and scroll until you find it, or just search it out on Google.  Here is the list:

    War Horse 30-Dec-2011 9 4 Good movie, but hard to watch if you like horses
    The Darkest Hour 28-Dec-2011 7 9 Invisible aliens land to steal resourses and PG-13 dissolve most of humanity.
    The Adventures of TinTin in 3D 27-Dec-2011 4 8 Tintin proves you don’t need a bad actor to have a dull performance.
    The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo 22-Dec-2011 14 5 Great mystery movie as long as you can stomach bad accents and rape.
    Mision Impossible Ghost Protocal 21-Dec-2011 13 5 Tom Cruise delivers a decent performance in spite of one of the worst villian motivations possible.
    Young Adult 18-Dec-2011 6 4 The movie equivelent of eating celary: you will not gain anything from it, but neither will you be hurt by it.
    Sherlock Holmes: a Game of Shadows 17-Dec-2011 14 2 Entertaining, and at least they tried to make sure all the characters actually had appropriate accents.
    New Years Eve 16-Dec-2011 1 16 Ever want to feel like you are being water boarded while watching a film?  Then this is the film for you.
    I am Singh 4-Dec-2011 6 13 This film drives a dead point straight into your brainpan.
    Arthur Christmas in 3D 1-Dec-2011 Fun, as long as you can watch Justin Beiber without killing someone.
    The Descendants 27-Nov-2011 9 5 Somehow drama seems less impactful when it is occuring in paradise.
    Hugo 3D 26-Nov-2011 9 4 Taxi Driver it is not.
    The Muppets 25-Nov-2011 12 3 Best puppet movie I have seen in a long time.
    The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 1 22-Nov-2011 4 10 Can someone tell me when vampires became so wimpy?
    J Edgar 20-Nov-2011 8 4 A decent character study, and a mediocre History Channel documentary.
    Jack and Jill 18-Nov-2011 2 17 The only thing you could regret doing more than watching this is eating a huge bowl of Ex Lax ice cream.
    The Immortals 3D 16-Nov-2011 7 7 If you feel like you want to see a movie where you really don’t care who wins, this is the one.  Also really stupid headgear.
    Tower Heist 9-Nov-2011 11 4 Fun and entertaining, if you can believe a window washing crane can life a car made of gold that must weigh in at 100 tons.
    In Time 30-Oct-2011 9 7 This movie won’t make you want to kill yourself, but neither will it inspire you to take up running.
    Johny English Reborn 26-Oct-2011 3 6 Toxic waste martini.
    The Three Musketeers in 3d 23-Oct-2011 5 13 A mediocre Resident Evil sans zombie, Umbrella corp, good story, and believable action.
    Ides of March 20-Oct-2011 7 5 What’s more boring than a presidential primary campaign?  How about a movie about one?
    The Thing 17-Oct-2011 12 3 One of the few prequils that didn’t put a bullet in the rest of the series.
    Footloose 15-Oct-2011 3 8 What part of the original screamed out “Remake me scene for scene?”
    Dream House 9-Oct-2011 4 5 This movie is actually like three smaller movies fed into a blender and set to puree.
    Real Steel 8-Oct-2011 13 3 Who doesn’t love big robots beating on each other?
    What’s Your Number? 2-Oct-2011 6 8 This movie clearly illustrates the danger of reading those dumb relationship articles in women’s magazines.
    50/50 1-Oct-2011 11 3 Decent movie, if you like stories about cancer.
    Abduction 28-Sep-2011 2 13 This movie is less like watching a film and more like running a marathon wearing underwear that is three sizes too small.
    Killer Elite 27-Sep-2011 6 10 The only thing this movie killed was my sense of faith in the honesty of film marketing.
    Moneyball 26-Sep-2011 12 4 Surprising good.  Go A’s!
    Bucky Larson: Born to be a Star 20-Sep-2011 3 13 The main character has massive buck teeth and his name is Bucky.  Do you really need anything more to understand how much this movie could suck?
    Straw Dogs 19-Sep-2011 5 8 Basically a Roadrunner cartoon, if Wile E Coyote was a gang of white trash rapists.
    Drive 18-Sep-2011 10 6 This movie felt short on both driving and acting.  In retrospect I think I was overly generous with the stars.
    Warrior 14-Sep-2011 10 2 What is this strange, new feeling you humans call excitement?  I think I like it.
    Contagion 12-Sep-2011 9 3 If you have a friend who doesn’t wash his or her hands after using the bathroom tie them down and clip their eyes open A Clockwork Orange style and force them to watch this one.
    The Guard 11-Sep-2011 10 3 An Irish bad boy cop movie.
    Apollo 18 6-Sep-2011 9 1 Everyone else seems to think this one sucked, but it scared the hell out of me.  Maybe I was a little Monty Hall with the stars.
    The Debt 3-Sep-2011 6 5 This movie answers the ultimate filmaker question, “Can an exciting spy thriller be filmed entirely in a crappy East German apartment?”  The answer is no.
    Saving Private Perez 2-Sep-2011 10 5 Not bad, as long as you are ok with the US Army looking about as effective as a troop of Boy Scouts.
    One Day 31-Aug-2011 4 12 It’s been three months and I’m still trying to scrape this one off my cerebral cortex.
    Our Idiot Brother 30-Aug-2011 11 5 As long as hippies don’t put you into a murderous frenzy, this movie is kind of fun.
    Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark 28-Aug-2011 15 6 A great case study of creepy terror and neglectful parenting.
    Columbiana 27-Aug-2011 7 8 Another movie that sucked me in with a great trailer.  This is a sequel that really shouldn’t have been made.
    Attack the Block 26-Aug-2011 9 3 Decent movie, but it really felt like a student film with a modest budget.
    Fright Night 3D 21-Aug-2011 7 7 Funny, but it couldn’t decide if it was comedy or terror.
    Conan the Barbarian in 3D 19-Aug-2011 7 18 Sucktastic.
    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II 17-Aug-2011 13 4 Good movie, but I spent months thing it was the Deathly Hollows, as in a geographic location like Sleepy Hollow.
    Tree of Life 14-Aug-2011 6 14 I wish I could bottle up this film and throw it into the sun.
    30 Minutes or Less 12-Aug-2011 10 4 Funny movie, but I challenge anyone who has seen it to remember any specific funny lines or scenes a week afterwards.
    The Help 10-Aug-2011 10 4 Good movie, and managed to not make me feel guilty for being born white.
    The Change Up 8-Aug-2011 3 12 Did I really watch this turn on my birthday?  I have no self love whatsoever.
    Rise of the Planet of the Apes 6-Aug-2011 14 0 Really, really, really good (really).
    The Smurfs in 3D 3-Aug-2011 9 2 Another case of nostalgia overcoming my normally vicious reviewing instincts.
    Crazy, Stupid Love 1-Aug-2011 7 12 They got the stupid part right.
    Cowboys and Aliens 29-Jul-2011 13 4 I still can’t figure out why this movie didn’t make more money.
    Friends With Benefits 28-Jul-2011 9 5 I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would, but when I think back the stuff that annoyed me is what sticks in my head.
    Capt. America: the First Avenger 22-Jul-2011 17 8 A good, of very PC, comic book movie.
    Winnie the Pooh 20-Jul-2011 Yes, I reviewed this one.
    The Zookeeper 17-Jul-2011 6 14 I don’t really want Kevin James to die.  I just want him to go away and never impact my optic nerves ever again.
    Horrible Bosses 12-Jul-2011 6 9 What’s a good recipe for a script?  How about a story where you hate every character in it equally?
    Midnight in Paris 11-Jul-2011 9 4 If you can stomach a lot of Owen Wilson this one is pretty good.
    Bad Teacher 9-Jul-2011 9 6 Pretty much Cameron Diaz’s last chance to play the hot chick.
    Larry Crown 4-Jul-2011 10 5 Decent in a middle sort of way.  Designed to appeal to middle aged middle America.
    Transformers Dark of the Moon in 3D 30-Jun-2011 16 14 Probably the longest review I wrote all year.
    Troll Hunter 19-Jun-2011 12 1 This is what movies should be like.
    Green Lantern 18-Jun-2011 7 17 God aweful.
    Super 8 12-Jun-2011 12 7 Decent movie, but I still hate you J.J. Abrams.
    X-Men First Class 4-Jun-2011 18 4 My favorite comic book movie of the year.
    The Hangover Part II 31-May-2011 10 17 Transexual sex jokes a go go.
    Bridesmaids 26-May-2011 14 7 An R rated movie that didn’t drive me nuts.
    Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides 23-May-2011 11 9 More brain candy from Johnny Depp
    Priest 18-May-2011 7 5 Catholic priest super ninjas.
    Dylan Dog, Dead of the Night 12-May-2011 5 13 An attempt to make a movie that was so bad it was good that resulted in a film that was just bad.
    Thor 9-May-2011 15 6 More proof that women dig a hot bod more than any amount of personality, wit, or a connection.
    Fast Five 7-May-2011 12 5 I never would have imagined that a driving movie would be fun to watch.
    Water for Elephants 4-May-2011 6 11 I wish they had used to water to drown the scriptwriters.
    Hanna 19-Apr-2011 10 7 Anyone have an idea why the kick ass teenage super spy in every movie has to be a waifish girl?
    Source Code 15-Apr-2011 6 2 Groundhog Day meets Die Hard. 
    Arthur 13-Apr-2011 6 4 A drunken rich reprobate stubmles across NYC and learns nothing.
    Your Highness 10-Apr-2011 9 3 Not only fun, but kind of what I imagine most real quests to have been like.
    Sucker Punch 28-Mar-2011 12 8 If you can see this as a visual comic book it is brilliant.
    Rubber 24-Mar-2011 7 4 If you can’t say something surreal, say gophers like pink bubblegum.
    Paul 23-Mar-2011 16 1 I liked this movie.  It is nerds doing what nerds do, with an alien.
    Battle: Los Angeles 16-Mar-2011 12 9 Aliens are here after our water, because it is such a rare item in the universe.
    Drive Angry in 3D 2-Mar-2011 8.5 8 Kind of reminiscent of the Terminator if the Terminator was both hornier and more robot-like.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    I Am Number Four

     

    23-Feb-2011 3 12 This movie makes me weep for the next generation.  (I’m Number One Image courtesy of the Star Trek T Shirt category)
    The Green Hornet 22-Jan-2011 10 9 Never let Seth Rogan write another super hero movie.
    Season of the Witch 16-Jan-2011 8 8 This film was like a contest between the story, the action, and the acting to see who could suck the most.  I think the audience lost.
    True Grit 5-Jan-2011 11 5 A lot of fun, really, and the best remake of the year IMO.
    Date reviewed stars BHs notes

    The 10 Best Star Trek TOS Episodes

    By Dave / 15th September, 2011 / star trek red t shirts, star trek t shirts, T-Shirts / No Comments

    So no movie to review, and I have been promising to finish my Star Trek movie retrospective, but the problem is I am up to Generations and have been repressing that one like a childhood memory of molestation.  I have had a tough couple weeks, especially in the dating world, and have decided to do something that I know will put me in a good mood and a smile on my face: my top 10 best TOS episodes of all time.

    The hardest part was actually narrowing it down to 10.  My short list had 22 on it (and to be honest, my long list has 79 if you know what I mean) and I have spent a lot of time thinking about the episodes and what they all mean to me.  You will notice I am more inclined to go with the darker episodes, so don’t hate spam me with questions like “Why didn’t you have The Trouble with Tribbles or Shore Leave on here?”  Those were fun, but the cute episodes I consider pretty light weight compared to these others.

    10.  The Conscience of the King.  This one doesn’t appear on a lot of top 10 lists, but I loved it.  Dark and sinister, with Kodos the Executioner trying to repress his past and redeem himself in raising a pure daughter in the arts, with characters from his past wanting to hunt him down.  I think my favorite scene is when Kirk has Anton Karidian read the proclamation Kodos made at the execution of the colonists, although his death scene at the end of the episode was great too.  “The revolution is successful, but survival depends on drastic measures.  Your continued existence represents a threat to the well-being of society.  Your lives mean slow death to the more valued members of the colony.  Therefore I have no alternatvie but to sentence you to death.  Your execution is so ordered.  Signed, Kodos, governor of Tarsus Four.”

    9.  The Gamesters of Triskelion.  I know.  Kind of dopey and campy.  But as a kid I used to love the Star Trek fight scenes, and this one is full of it.  Also, if you want to see Kirk at his macho, over the top best, this is the episode to use.  Plus, I had many a young teenage fantasy about the green haired girl in the silver lame’ bikini.  (episode images all courtesy of the Star Trek t shirt category).  Plus, this episode introduced us to Quatloos, a form of currency I plan to use to replace all other money when I conquer this pathetic planet.

    8.  Charlie X.  Wow, even putting these in order is hard.  I have a good idea what is going to be my number one and two, but this one was hard to place.  Poor Charlie.  Honestly, nothing wrong with him other than the normal hormones all teenage boys are subject too.  That and unimaginable power with no behavior governor.  Anyone else get bothered by the fact that the Thasians were able to return Yeoman Rand but Yeoman Tina Lawton seems to remain an iguana and the guy in the gym, Sam, remains lost in the nether?  It goes to show you don’t have to be on an away mission to suffer the fate of all no name red shirts.  Anyway, when I was first really into Star Trek I was feeling pretty alienated from all my peers (plus a bunch of other guys who really weren’t my peers at all), so the plight of Charlie at the end really spoke to me.  When he fades out of sight at the end I feel really sad.

    7.  The Galileo Seven.  This one was all Spock, all the time.  He is in command and it is his call to deal with his dwindling crew and the giant creatures attacking them.  You get to see into his logical mind deeper than most episodes.  I especially loved his argument at the end of the episode where he makes the claim that he had logically concluded that the only recourse left was to act in an illogical manner.  Awesome.

    6.  the City on the Edge of Forever.  I told you at the beginning the I am drawn to the darker episodes, and there is absolutely nothing happy about this one.  Dark and grim, with Kirk having to make horrible choices in order to protect the future as he knew it.  Also, I would like to mention that everyone acknowledges Star Trek for inventing the cell phone, but the fact is they also came up with the iPad (or just tablet) in this one.  Spock uses his tricorder to record the historic tracts the Guardian is showing him and then later replays them on the screen.  Steve Jobs, Gene Roddenberry has beat you out once again.

    5.  Amok Time.  Yes, I know.  This is the penultimate episode and should be higher up, but my placement is for this is not about this one being bad as the next four being amazing.  Greatest fight scene of all time, and proof that Kirk can lose to someone (Spock actually beats his ass on two separate occasions).  Still not sure how they got that script past Shatner’s ego.  Anyway, some really cool Spock moment.  I love the cello music they play whenever he is doing all his Vulcan meditation.

    4.  Arena.  Does it say something about my brain that three of these 10 are about personal combat?  I really was born in the wrong millennium.  Anyway, Arena is all good with no fluff.  The Gorn captain is so cool, and Kirk gets to show all his best shoulder rolls and flying kicks, to no effect.  What do you really think kicking a walking alligator is going to do?  Kirk gets to explore his resourcefulness, and in the end proves what noble creatures humans are at heart.

    3.  Spectre of the Gun.  Wow.  Star Trek managed to find a way to get cowboys in space in a cool way (eat your heart out, Joss Whedan).  Not only that, but they did it during the dreadful third season (we don’t need to talk about Abraham Lincoln in space).  The whole virtual reality concept was literally decades ahead of its time, and really led to an amazing story.  They added a little camp at the end when Kirk feels the need to beat the hell out of what is effectively a figment of his own imagination, but the scene where the crew is standing in front of the Earps as bullets pass harmlessly through them will always remain with me. (I am, by the way, a huge Firefly fan.  I’m just saying Star Trek beat them to it)

    2.  Space Seed.  Even putting aside the fact that this episode led us to the Wrath of Khan, this was such an awesome story that it makes my face hurt from smiling thinking about it.  The great Khan Noonien Singh (great name, by the way.  If any of you are having a child soon I recommend considering it) in all his super human glory.  This show also featured excellent examples of the crew’s discipline and loyalty.  Even Lt. McGivers comes around once the love glow faded and she remembered her duty.

    1.  Balance of Terror.  When the TOS episodes started to become available in DvD but before you could buy entire seasons, this was one of the few I bought.  I could watch this episode over and over again.  Great space battles (in all their Das Boot glory) but more importantly, a steady buildup of tension that very few other shows or movies can possibly match.  First time I watched this I was rooted to the screen, my whole body tingling.  Not only that, but you really feel a connection with the Romulan commander unlike any other villain in the series.  When he is forced to eject the body of the Centurion I was honestly moved.

    Furthermore, this episode deals with stuff normally excluded from the shows, including Federation politics and inter species racism.  As an aside, the Romulan commander was played by Mark Leonard.  He later played two other different Star Trek rolls, being the only actor to portray three different characters in the series.  Can you name the other two?

    Anyway, I know there is any amount of argument that could go on here.  This is the list for me, however.  Feel free to respond here or sent me a message on Twitter @Nerdkungfu (follow me too, dammit.  I need followers).  I am willing to discuss episodes until the cows come home.

    Dave

     

    Nerd Dating: Online Dating pt 18: Keeping the conversation going.

    By Dave / 7th March, 2011 / star trek red t shirts, star trek t shirts, T-Shirts / No Comments

    OK, you sent out about 100(,000,000) emails to assorted women and got one back.  Your job is now to keep the conversation going until she is comfortable enough with you to agree to meet up.

    This is actually a lot harder to do than you would think.  The problem is if you exchange too many emails she will either get bored or come to the conclusion that you have something to hide (missing limb, frequent and fragrant flatulence, etc).  It’s like trying to drop excess weight to keep a helium balloon from going down in piranha infested water and the only thing you have left to drop is your excess blood.  You have to balance out enough weight lost without bleeding to death (while the piranhas get driven into a frenzy by all that blood dripping into the water).

    Honestly, I tend to treat this like I would going for the first kiss while dating.  3-5 emails seems to be the correct number.  Each email needs to both tell her something about you (not too much) and keep her interested enough to reply.  The best thing to do seems to be to ask her a few questions about herself related to her last email while answering her last set of questions with as few details as possible.  By the way, if she is not asking you questions than odds are she is just killing time at work.  You can probably let the thread drop.

    The thing about these is never volunteer extra information.  You need her to feel like you are doing her a favor even telling her your name.  Also, by keeping detains low you will intrigue her and make her want to see you face to face, where the implication is you will be more forthcoming.  If you give here everything she has no reason to email you again.

    Here are a few examples.

    She asks: “Where did you go to college.” The correct answer would be “UC Irvine.  Where did you go?” The incorrect answer would be “UC Irvine.  I studied studio art.  It’s kind of boring but I had some fun.  All my best friends came from there, and my frat voted me “Most likely to bazooka barf on Yeager” three years in a row.” See, if you had gone with the first answer she would have been forced to email you again with questions like “What did you study?  Did you like it?  Have you ever projectile vomited while drinking Yeager?”

    She asks: “Did you have pets as a kid?” and you answer “We had a cat and a dog.” She will then ask stuff like “What kind of dog?  Is he still alive?  Is there the slightest chance he’s actually a werewolf trapped in canine form?”

    See how that works?  Answer her questions, but leave the subject open for more questions.

    Also be sure to ask her questions.  Never get too specific or detailed or she will conclude you are likely a stalker of some kind (probably correctly).  Here are some innocuous questions you can feel free to use.  “Where did you grow up?  Where did you go to school?  What did you major in?  Do you have any brothers or sisters?  What do you do?  Do you like it?”

    The one thing to remember is any details you are given you will have to remember and reference when you do meet here, so don’t do too much or you will strain your brain.

    Incidentally, this exchange is exactly like the game point in a tennis (or, for the less athletically inclined readers, ping pong) match.  You hit the ball into her court, she returns, rinse and repeat.  If the ball gets dropped for any reason it’s game over.  If she fails to respond to your last email you must have butchered it and no amount of “Hey, you never replied to my last email.  Everything OK?” will get the ball bouncing again.  Go back to spamming new girls.

    That’s it for today.  I think it safe to assume most of you actually communicate better via email than in person so I won’t burden you with too much detail.  Next post we will talk about actually meeting with your girl.

    I want to mention real quick that this weekend I will be at the Star Trek Convention in San Francisco this weekend and will very likely be wearing this Star Trek red T shirt just because I like to live dangerously.  This show will feature the vaunted Leonard Nimoy as well as the great Michelle Nichols, so if you are in the Bay Area be sure to stop by and say hi.  I will have a new girl working with me on Saturday as well so if you see a cute nerdish girl there while I am trying to get Nimoy’s autograph be sure to say high to Angela.

    Nerd Dating: Online Dating pt 6: translating online post speak into English

    By Dave / 29th January, 2011 / Movie T-Shirts, Star Trek, star trek red t shirts, T-Shirts / 2 Comments

    Yet more odeak translations.  I seem to have a never ending supply of these.

    “Social drinker.” Unfortunately this is a suspiciously vague term.  It can easily mean someone who has a drink while out on a Friday night, or a glass of wine with a nice dinner.  The problem is no one is ever going to put “Alcoholic” in their profile and will usually default to this term, so it can also be a prelude to Leaving Las Vegas.  You will have to dig deeper.

    “Love to party!” For a girl this is just what it says.  She gets bored easily and wants to hit a different club every night.  Expect all kinds of fun and exciting adventures of the “and then I wrapped my car around a tree” variety.  The good news is you will never have to have a serious discussion with her about your feelings.  The bad news is she will probably get bored of you pretty easily and run off with a guy with a better car.  For guys, this usually is a code word for alcoholic or drug addict.

    “Love to dance!” Most women love to dance, so this is a bit of a catch phrase.  Honestly, don’t read too much into it, unless it is combined with “Love to Party” in which case there is a pretty good chance she is a stripper.  Most men hate dancing, so if a guy uses this it probably means he is kind of a phony and trying to impress women.  If he honestly likes dancing double check to make sure you aren’t actually in the “Men seeking Men” category.  If he is strait and claims this to be honest you are required to test it to the max by dragging him to every dance club within 20 miles to see if he has the stamina and can actually dance.

    “Love sports.” If this is a woman, it is very likely she grew up with multiple older brothers and is kind of a tom boy.  This is great, but be aware that she is probably both willing and capable of kicking your ass.  This can also be the phony equivalent of a guy claiming to love dancing, so if you meet her and she seems kind of girly ask her if she knows how many points a touchdown is worth (6, for those of you who don’t actually follow sports).  If this is a man than this guy has burned out multiple women in his dating history by choosing sports over his relationship and is desperately hoping to meet a girl who will sit there quietly watching football with him and get him the occasional beer.

    “Love to travel.” For both men and women this is the equivalent of a station identification.  It really means nothing.  Everyone loves to travel.  However, be aware that both men and women who travel by themselves or with one or two friends of the same gender are generally going to other countries to have casual sex with foreigners (or locals, depending on how you look at it).  I would find out what countries the person has traveled to with what people and compare it to this article on Dating Guys and Girls in Foreign Countries.  If a guy tells you he loves to visit Thailand or Brazil make him wear two condoms.  If a girl tells you France or Italy you do the same.

    “Very sensual.” I’ve never seen a guy use this description, but this is usually code speak for women that means really horny.  This is great, but be aware that this is often a phrase used by prostitutes and people that want to spam you with sex site emails, so be aware.  Women can more or less assume all guys are really horny.

    “Really into my work.” For women this can often be translated into “I work too many hours and am feeling frustrated by my personal life.  My biological clock is ticking away and in order to be a complete person I need to have a child as well as be wildly successful in my career.”  If you date her you can expect a lot of scheduling conflicts and hassles getting her alone, but when you do she will probably jump your bones.  If a guy uses this phrase he is probably married and looking for a mistress.  Expect a lot of booty calls.

    “In graduate school working on my masters or PhD.” Find out what field.  If it’s business, law,  or something technical than cool.  If it is something in humanities than expect to have him or her never be gainfully employed.  Also, if this is a second or more post-graduate degree he or she is working on than odds are this person is a perpetual student and in addition to never getting a real job has probably never had a real job.

    That’s it for today.  Tomorrow I will talk about specific jobs and careers on profiles and what they translate into.

    Yesterday’s question, Sandmen versus Red Shirts, is a puzzler.  The fact is the Red Shirts are actually trained for combat, while the Sandmen are trained to hunt down single people running away with a red crystal flashing on the palm of their hand.  However, Red Shirts are the Three Stooges of combat, and tend to die with alarming regularity.  I will have to bet on the Sandmen.  (Red Shirt image courtesy of the Star Trek Red t shirt category).

    Today I will shift from Star Trek and ask what would happen if a squad of Sandmen went against half a squad of Stormtroopers from Star Wars.  Who would win?

Welcome to the Raging Nerd Blog

Readers from our previous incarnation may well wonder why we fell off and then had to change our URL but the fact is I got busy and stopped writing for a while. During that time someone bought up our URL. However I always felt the blot name didn't really accurately represent all the bile I had to share with the world regarding most nerd topics (like my burning hatred for JJ Abrams)so in truth I am quite happy with the new URL.

Disclaimer-You might not like some of the things you read on this blog. You might not like any of the things you read on this blog.

It should be noted that all opinions and theories offered up on this site are just that: opinions and theories. We the writers have no inside information on Hollywood or the film development process and except for a single film class in college and a couple of books have no formal education in film. Views regarding the value or lack thereof of any film on this blog are strictly our own opinions based on what we like (and having seen thousands of films) and should not be considered an authoritative recommendation. We invite you all to see every movie we review and then decide for yourself the relative value of the film and these reviews. In fact, feel free to post comments on these reviews and we will be happy to debate it with you should you feel we am off base. Bottom line, these are all our own opinions, make up your own mind, and if a film looks interesting thanks to the extensive marketing campaign go see it. Someone has to keep really good trailer makers employed. We really don't expect most of you (or any of you, for that matter) to agree with us (me in particular although it puts a smile on my face when you do).


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