Spring has sprung and it looks like things are only getting busier. With baseball right around the corner, I will soon be knee deep in fantasy and APBA baseball, all while trying to pack up and move to Texas and write movie reviews for what appears to be a very active summer season. Sometimes I wonder why I get myself involved in so many things. It's not like I get any compensation for writing reviews. I have posted yet another review, this time for The Bounty Hunter.

I've grown a little tired of the "seasons" approach with movie releases. Why should all of the blockbusters come out in May and June? Why do the Oscar contenders generally hit in November and December? Why is there so much crap in January and February? I would love to see big budget movies throughout the year and not concentrated to a select few months. Could Disney be breaking the system? It's March, and Disney is throwing out a heavy hitter in Alice in Wonderland. Or so it seems from the previews. Take a look at the review to find out if Alice in Wonderland lives up to the hype?

As a member of the "35" club for all of 10 days, I am amazed at how something so small irritated me to such a high degree. I guess it's been a few months in the making, but Saturday seemed to be the breaking point.

This all revolves around the Gamestop store in Midtown Village (Tuscaloosa). After Christmas, I went there to return a game of which I got a duplicate from a friend. Throughout the Christmas shopping season, Gamestop was eager to announce they would take any game back. What they forgot to mention is that they will only take games back (even an unopened game as the case was) as "used". I kindly pointed out to the cashier this was not logical. The game was unopened and the web site and e-mails mentioned that all returns would be honored. As it was a gift, I obviously didn't have a receipt, so the cashier wouldn't budge. I frankly stated that was "bullshit" and repeated the information present ion the e-mails I received before Christmas. At this point the manager looked up from the adjacent register and said "Not without a receipt and not if you swear at my employee." With that I took my game and proceeded to exit the store as the manager tried to be friendly now with a "Have a nice day" in a super sarcastic voice, at which point I emitted a "Screw you" loud enough for the entire store to hear. It was at this point I decided never to shop at that store again.

While I vowed never to shop there again, I was more than willing to go there and download exclusive Pokemon (don't judge me). As of this past weekend, I learned that there was a free demo of Monster Hunter Tri available exclusively at Gamestop. Hey, a free demo for a game I was eager to try out and I was in the area, so I stopped in to grab the demo and leave. The demos should be at the counter, free for the picking. Alas, there were no demos on the counter, so I asked a cashier.

Me: "Do you have the Monster Hunter Tri demos?"
Stupid Gamestop Employee (SGE): "*drool* uhhhhh, let me see. (to other cashier) Hey do we have those demos?"
Other Stupid Gamestop Employee (OSGE): "I don't know. Check over there."
SGE: "(walking to his right two feet and picking up a box clearly labeled as Monster Hunter Tri demo) "Is this it?"
OSGE: "I guess so."
SGE: "Can we give these out?"
Me: "Yes, they are free demos."
SGE: "Well, they were free a couple days ago. I don't know if they still are."
OSGE: "Those are for preorders."
Me: "No, Capcom has stated on their web site that the demos are free."
SGE: (standing there confused, staring at the box while drooling on himself) "What do we do?"
OSGE: "We have to do what it says on the box."
SGE: "It says it's five dollars. (it actually said $5 off and 500 Wii points for preorders."
Me: "No it doesn't. It says that you get five dollars off and 500 Wii points if you preorder."
SGE: "Should I give it to him?"
OSGE: "I don't care. Whatever."

At which point I grabbed a CD, stopped listening and walked out of the store.

So, why should this aggravate me other than the fact that these guys were complete idiots? I think it's the principle of the matter. It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to read a sign and understand the demo itself is not $5 nor is it for preorders only. It's a 20-minute demo for crying out loud. Why would I preorder something so that I can try out a demo and find out if I want to buy it? This defies every level of logic. Demos are to make you want to buy the game AFTER playing the demo. Never mind that the CD jacket has a big "Reserve Now" logo in the corner. Umm, if I had to reserve a copy to get the demo, why advertise for me to reserve a copy? That's like finding one of those banana stickers saying "Peel Me" on the inside of my banana. A little late to the party aren't we?

I should realize by now that Gamestop doesn't hire the most competent people. Most likely these guys were Xbox fan boys who cared little about anything without a big green X on it. And now I'm at a crossroads. Do I continue giving the overall Gamestop company my business by going to another store where I'm always treated nicely and the people there aren't bumbling fools (even if the store isn't as convenient), or stop buying used games (I probably should do the latter considering my collection is well out of hand). Honestly, the Monster Hunter Tri preorder bundle is enticing, save $5 and get free Wii points to download Wiiware or DSiWare titles. No clue what I will eventually do. I may not even buy the game. I'm thankful I have the demo because this game is very different from a hack 'n' slash action adventure game. If I can't figure out how to play the demo, I don't think I want to sink $45 in on a game. Time and practice will tell.

After several weeks of delays, I've finally posted my review for Valentine's Day. If you care to know why it has taken so long, read on. If not, just click the link above in the menu to read the review.

Due to some illness on Valentine's Day, I never made it to the theater. It was a week later before i saw Valentine' Day. The whole week before I saw the movie, I had given up playing video games in support of my wife who was battling some pain in her head and neck that doctors seemed to be unable to help relieve. For me, this was a difficult challenge as video games are a large part of my day for stress relief. So, like a junkie, once my week of sacrifice was over, I indulged with the extra time I had available.

This lasted up until this past weekend when I celebrated my 35th birthday. I'm not big on "working" while I'm partying. The first part of my weeks are typically very busy with classes, especially Tuesdays when I work an 11 hour day. And this past Wednesday, we braved the frigid temps to watch Alabama take on Georgia in some SEC baseball action.

That brings us to tonight. Now that I'm stuffed from dinner at Outback and trying not to break my jaw yawning, I present to you a review for a three week old movie. Considering Alice in Wonderland makes an attempt to dethrone Avatar at the box office this weekend, this review for Valentine's Day is officially irrelevant.