With Love, Carly, Evan T. and The Editor

Good day everyone! The Editor, Even T. and I sat down last night and were discussing the blog, and what upcoming things we would like to talk about when it dawned on us that we have never really asked YOU, the readers what you'd like us to cover! Silly us... We're working on making the site better, and we'd like to have your help to do that. Please comment and let us know what you'd like to see more (or less) of, and we'll make it work.

We love hearing from you guys, and we'd like to know what we can do to make your experience a little bit better. :-)

Evan T. Reviews Transformers: Dark of the Moon!

They pushed it up and released it early so you get the early review! Fresh off the midnight release, here's a review.

If you remember from last movie we learned something about the transformers, some government douche doesn't want the Autobots in America, Sams mom says something crraazzyy, Megatron played second banana to a new baddie and Sam yells "Bumblebee" and "Optimus" several times. Now that you are caught up, you're ready for Dark of the Moon. This movie we learn something about the transformers, some government douche doesn't want the Autobots in America,  Sams mom says something crraazzyy, Megatron played second banana to a new baddie and Sam yells "Bumblebee" and "Optimus" several times. Even with that this movie is easily a huge advancement over the last.

The story in this movie is SO much easier to follow and makes the bare minimum of sense required for me to like a movie. There was a new writer for this movie because the the writers (Yeah, two people wrote that last flick) of the last two movies thought they might risk getting stale. One movie too late, guys.

Most of the main characters return with a couple of notable exceptions. The Autobot Twins, Mudflap and Skids, are thankfully absent from this film. As the Jar Jar Binks of this franchise I was happy to see them gone. I was not, however, happy to see Megan Fox gone. I'm a big fan of her, um, her "work". Yeah, her "work" Something went down whether you believe that Micheal "Baysplosions" Bay dropped her or it was The Spielberg himself she's gone and now the female costar is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and her lips. They do as well as Megan did. Not a whole lot of acting prowess needed but she is good looking. Good work casting agents!

I didn't read a lot about this movie and went in a little blind. I was happy to see Patrick Dempsey (who easily produces the best acting on screen), John Malkovich, Alan Tudyk and Ken Jeong in the film. A fair amount of comedy finds it's way into the movie but it doesn't feel forced. Transformers: Dark of the Moon also steps up the robot carnage with different colored liquids used as blood flying from laser shots and a full on execution of a robot on screen.

Also of note are "The Wreckers", a trio of Autobots who transform into N.A.S.C.A.R. cars that have guns all over them. There is something spectacularly 'Merican about that and I really loved that. Also braking the tradition of import vehicles being Decepticons is Mirage, a Ferrari 458 Italia, who speaks with an Italian accent. So fantastic. Oh, don't worry, there are still import Decepticons, most notably Soundwave who has become a Mercedes SLS AMG. Hmmm, maybe it's just the German automobiles who are evil? Last movie there was Sideswipe, an Audi R8. At least they are bad ass cars...

All in all it was a good film and if you enjoy the series or want a nice action movie check it out.If nothing else, you will see John Malkovich play fight with a giant robot.

BONUS- A few posts back Carly expressed her thoughts on why she doesn't go to see movies in the theater. I understood but I have that same feeling right about now. I had a fantastically obnoxious couple who sat next to me at the midnight showing of the new Transformers movie. I definitely felt enriched by the whole experience. When I thought, before the movie started, that I would have to deal with these two people all night I was unhappy. Then their two friends came in and sat in the row in front of them. The friends gave great thoughts on the need for popcorn and added a interesting smell to the theater. Like cheese and peanut butter. Their running commentary and insightful quips of "Damn", "Wow" and "That's Shockwave. He's a whole big ass robot" really increased my enjoyment of the movie. But not nearly as much as constantly being touched by the fat girlfriend as she lumbered around in her seat. She only knocked my drink bottle over twice. While I wont go Carlys route I will be more careful of where I sit, for sure.

Comic Book Garage Sale!

Good morning! I know I promised you a movie review today, but the movie wasn't really that good to begin with... The Editor and I have been doing a little house cleaning over the last few weeks, and we've managed to get enough comic books around for a pretty big comic book garage sale! There are a lot of really awesome titles in the mix, so be sure to check them out if you're interested. Some of the highlights include:

*Akira
*The Amazing Spider-Man #583 (the one featuring Obama)
*Captain America First Series
*Catwoman Third Series
*Cyberfrog
*Dark Tower
*Deadpool
*Fables
*Huntress
*Identity Crisis
*JLA and JLA Classified
*Justice
*Marvel Superhero Squad
*The New Mutants
*Psylocke
*Robin II
*The Walking Dead
*Wolverine


In addition to these titles, there are like, a bajillion more. Come check out our big sale HERE at Atomic Avenue!

True Blood Season 4!

Good morning everyone! Another Monday, another weekend passed, and me still with child... The new season of True Blood premiered last night,and I have the whole scoop on it! Check it out over at Big Shiny Robot! I'll be back atcha tomorrow with an all new movie review.

Things You Should Be... Friday!

Things You Should Be Listening to...

The Howard Stern Show- Like a fine wine, The Stern Show just keeps getting better with age. It doesn't even matter whether or not they have a hot celeb interview, they keep it entertaining every day. It's my constant source for news and celeb gossip, and every once in a while Benjy does something very entertaining, like throwing himself down a flight of stairs while dressed as a horse or bringing a little lightheartedness to a press conference (Anthony Wiener anyone?). Stick around after The Stern Show for The Wrap Up Show as well, where you'll get a full recap of everything that happened on The Stern Show that day by the guys who work behind the scenes.

Things You Should Be Watching...

Archer- Now that Summer is here, it's a great time to be watching all of those awesome shows you didn't know about during the regular season. Archer is an animated spy-series TV show that features the voice talents of H. Jon Benjamin, Aiysha Tyler, Chris Parnell and like, half the cast of "Arrested Development". It's hilarious.




Sharktopus- Half shark, half octopus, all blood thirsty. This SyFy original movie will blow you away with its horrendous acting and shitty CG. Watch Eric Roberts shed his last ounce of dignity on this "it's so bad it's good" Summer must watch!




Things You Should Be Reading...

The Magneto Testament- One the most amazing Marvel stories I've ever read. If you enjoy a dramatic story, are a history geek like me, and love the X-Men, this is the story for you. Set in Nazi occupied Germany in WWII, the story tells the amazing origin of one of Marvels most beloved antiheroes. After reading this book I thought that there should be a copy of it in every high school history in the country.

Star Wars Role Playing Game Species and Classes Edition- This one is more for myself than you guys, lol. We're balls deep into the "Star Wars" role playing game right now, and being the bad nerd I am, I've never seen "Star Wars".... Now I have to create a back story for my character, and I'm not sure how well that's going to go... She's a Roodian soldier, if anyone wants to help me out with that one ;-)

She looks like this, only a sexy lady version

J.K. Rowling Makes Big (?) Announcement

 The owls have been gathering for about a week now, and J.K. gives us (some) of the information we were looking for... Check out the article I wrote for BSR HERE to see what Pottermore is all about!

Nerding 101: Cycle Counting

It's that time of year again! The time of year where the days are getting longer and hotter, and the kids are home from school. Over here in our household, that means only one thing- cycle counting time! I don't know how I did it, but I just managed to make that sound waaaaaay more exciting than it is.

Cycle counting is when you take alllllll of the comic books you own and go through each and every one. Since The Editor and I have our super spiffy database, we start by printing out a summary of all of the comics we own, and then try to make the summary match what is in the boxes.

We generally do the cycle twice a year. It takes close to five hours for us to do completely, but this time will vary depending on how many comics you own. The Editor and I have somewhere around 8-10k, I believe. Cycle counting is a perfect time to pull any comics that you don't want anymore. Some people have a hard time getting rid of comics, but if you have a series you didn't like as much as you thought you would, or some oddball numbered comics just hanging around, it's better to weed out the old to make room for the new. Nobody likes a hoarder.

After you've pulled out the comics that you would like to get rid of, you can put together a list of what you have and put it up for auction on Atomic Avenue to make a little cash, so you can buy MORE comics. ;-)

Cycle counting is also the perfect time to check the conditions of your bags and boards. If the comics are looking a little beaten, perhaps it's time to get some new protection for them. And if you're one of those people who has unprotected comics, you might as well just put them ALL on Atomic Avenue and start to collect digital comics, because Carly is disappointed in you (I'm sure you're soooooo heartbroken about that).

Anyhoo, that about sums it up. As a comic collector, cycle counting just makes life a little easier knowing what you have in stock. If you have any questions, or are totally lost on what I'm talking about, let me know in the comments! :-)

P.S. Since it's new comic book day, if you're interested in what I'm reading or if you'd like to see some of the new titles for the week, click HERE.