Who are the ultimate Fanboys?

Jay and I watched Fanboys last night. Of course we did. We actually had the DVD in our house a day before it was released. Yup. We had to watch it because it was about the ultimate Star Wars fans and because we are up there with some of the hardcore fans, we would at least "get it" (we did go to Celebration IV for our honeymoon after all).

POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT for those who care... Fanboys starts with a group of friends who loved Star Wars as kids. Now, as adults, they have grown apart. Eric works at his dad's used car lot. Linus, Hutch and Windows work at a comic book shop and antagonize the Trekkies...excuse me...Trekkers that enter the shop. It is 1998, six months before the release of Episode I, the most anticipated movie in history for die-hard Star Wars fans. Eric runs into his friends at a party and find out that Linus is dying of cancer and has only a couple months to live. Eric decides to re-visit a childhood dream of storming Skywalker Ranch in California to see Episode I before its release date, one last adventure for Linus.

It's actually a great road trip movie. There are many funny scenes and interesting cameos (like Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes). The cancer theme is not pushy or sappy, it is realistic with emotion. Jay said he read that the reason this movie took so long to come out and why it was such a limited release was because they tried to cut the cancer theme out and just make it about a bunch of guys who decide to steal from George Lucas. Really, without that theme, this movie would have had no direction and would have really stunk. I'm glad they stuck to their guns and made it a truer movie.

The only negative to the film is you REALLY have to know your Star Wars to get most of the jokes and homage lines and scenes and background noises. Sadly, I was laughing all he way through. Jay still had to point out some things to me I missed...and I got upset with myself about that ("I knew that one!"). If you are not a fan of Star Wars, you just won't get it. If you at least liked the movie, it is a cute, geek testosterone-driven road trip movie. If you know the name of Chewbacca's home planet, go buy a copy of the movie right now!
--your "Fangirl", Maegann

Jay gives this movie 4 out of 5 tacos

Yes, You Can Put Bacon in Anything

One day, Jay and I were joking around and we decided that bacon is so good, it can be put in any food product and make that product exponentially more delicious. Jay was even coming up with a way to make bacon ice cream. Why do we all have this Homer Simpson-like desire for bacon (yes, even those of you who refuse to eat it, the desire is in your genes)? Recently, I was wandering around Cost Plus World Market looking for a treat when I found Mo's Bacon Bar by Vosges. It's chocolate. With bacon. Applewood smoked bacon. Cue the Homer gurgle here....

So I brought it home as a little joke for Jay. we were afraid to try it. We stared at it for a long time wondering if it was going to be wonderful or disgusting. Still, it was bacon and has bacon ever let us down. We tried a bite. We fell in love. The chocolate is creamy and sweet and balances the saltiness of the bacon and smoked salt. The bacon is a little crunchy, so has a nutty texture. The combination takes a few seconds to get used to, but it's like that first time you got syrup on your breakfast sausage. After that moment, you wonder how you could even eat them apart again. At $6.99 for one bar, our love must be a fleeting and rare thing. If loving bacon chocolate is wrong....
--Maegann

The Day the Earth Stood Still (the classic version)

So Jay and I got this book called 501 Must-See Movies. It was published in 2004 and has a nifty checklist inside the covers to keep track of all the movies you watch. It spans from the very first talkies to modern-day classics. We thought it would be cool to watch as many as possible and have been slowly working through it. We saw Ben-Hur for the first time a couple months ago and wondered why we never saw it before...fantastic movie...go watch it if you haven't yet. Charlton Heston is just amazing.

This review is on The Day the Earth Stood Still. The old one. I still haven't seen the Keanu Reeves one yet and debating if I want to. As you can see in the pictures, looks like campy 50's sci-fi that would be fun to go all MST3K on. We watched it in Blu-Ray, black and white (and if you have a Blu-Ray, definitely watch that version!). It held our attention from the very beginning. The first thing we noticed is Robert Wise is one of the greatest directors of his time. He had creative shots that really built up suspense and made you feel like you were one of the characters in the movie. He used cut scenes often instead of dialog to get a feel of anticipation from all over the world.

The time was the 50's, so the Cold War was raging following a deadly World War. Aggression between nations, especially the U.S. and Russia caused paranoia throughout the world. Citizens of the U.S. felt that on any given day an atomic bomb would drop on them and "duck and cover" was the answer. Then this spaceship comes and an ambassador from another world comes to warn the entire world that if they don't stop their petty squabbling that there planet must be eliminated for the safety of the universe. Of course the xenophobic humans don't listen to helpful Klaatu and he gets shot a couple times.

This movie isn't a cheesy sci-fi flick. It has rich political undertones and fantastic directing and acting. Now, does the new version live up to the message? We shall see...
--Maegann

Jay gives this movie 4 out of 5 tacos.

You must see Star Trek!

I did not grow up on Star Trek, and really never cared to. I watched some Next Generation, but only because I was in love with Wil Wheaton at the time. I think I saw a couple movies, but don't remember them. Jay and I decided to start watching Season 1, which turned out to be a great idea because it made me appreciate the great character acting in the new Star Trek movie.

This is a fun movie! As one critic said, it's the Star Trek movie for everyone! Very funny, action packed, and a creative story line. The was a four issue comic book prequel that came out a few months ago. We sold out of those so fast at Get Stinky! The prequel helped set the scene for the movie so you had more answers about why the tattooed Romulans are there and how Spock is two places at once (and Sylar as Spock? It works, friends, it works). The actors had all the character mannerisms down. Watching some of the old TV show helped me identify the small quirks. Simon Pegg as Scotty was a riot.

The summer movie season just started, but I have a feeling this one will be at the top of the list for awhile!
--Maegann

Clone Wars Trailer! Is it August 15th yet?

So they just released the full length trailer for the CG Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, due to be released August 15th in theaters. This will precede the CG series that will be showing on the Cartoon Network.

See the trailer here!!

Frack! You Haven't Watched Battlestar Yet?!

Jay and I are trying to catch up and re-watch the first three seasons of Battlestar Galactica. Season four starts on April 4 and we are way excited. Season three was a weird season. It seemed to lull you into sleep with back-story and character development, then all of a sudden... BANG! A cliffhanger ending that most of us have had to wait nearly a year to see the resolution. If you haven't gotten into this show, you are missing out. It has been acclaimed as one of the best shows on television right now. Most of the actors are no names before this show aired. Edward James Olmos presents his best acting since Stand and Deliver (did you know he was in Blade Runner, too? He even made up a new language for his character!). I had heard of Mary McDonnell, but never remembered anything she was in. Everyone else is new. These actors are brilliant. Not good guys or bad guys, but just people going through immense drama.

With the acting and directing and the effects, watching an episode of Battlestar is like watching an Oscar-caliber movie (compared to some of the movies out there these days, that's not saying much). So, why haven't you watched it yet? Especially to all you Browncoats out there and Buffy the Vampire Slayer addicts, Joss Wedon has said it is one of his favorite shows right now. Rumors say that he was slated to direct and episode of Season Four, but it just didn't work out. If the reason you haven't watched it is because of the old-school show, dismiss that. This Battlestar is nothing like that.

Anyhoo, we're off to watch another episode this fine Sunday morning with our coffee. Jay and I finally got around to playing some Star Wars Miniatures. We've had the Force Unleashed set for months and haven't used them. Now, with the Legacy of the Force coming out soon, we figured it was time. So, go get the first mini-series of Battlestar and let us know what you think. If it doesn't make you want to go through Season three and find out what's All Along the Watchtower... well, there's no accounting for taste.

"Starbuck is frackin' awesome" Mae

We Want To Be Like P. M. Dawn

Well, hello gang! This is the first installment of Stinky Rambles and Rolls. Aren’t you excited? (…cricket cricket….) Well, aren’t you? (…cricket cricket…) Sorry, we’re listening to Kenny Rogers and Ronnie Milsap singing “Make No Mistake She’s Mine”. Why does Jay have this on his iPod? I hope a more exciting song comes on so this blog doesn’t turn into a disaster. Anyhoo, we want to use this blog to communicate to you about anything new that may be happening at our store. We will be talking about new products coming out, products we discovered which we are excited about, and any other “newsworthy” happenings we may come across in this field.

What field is that, you ask? In Jay and Mae’s world, that means “anything cool”. We are passionate about comic books, movies, toys, books, games, and collectibles. We like all things fun. That is why we have arrived to this place. What better way to live one’s life than to play? What better way to make a living than with playthings? We want to share our passion with you because we know you love this stuff too. We’ve had long conversations with many people about comics and movies and the next line of Star Wars Miniatures coming out.

This blog is meant to be interactive. Give us feedback, but really only good feedback. Also, if you find something cool you want to share with the rest of the world (yes, the internet is worldwide now! Amazing!) let us know and we may or may not give you props. We will invite you to help us review B-movies and the latest Joss Whedon project. You can also tell us what things to order so we can remember to get an extra one for ourselves.

So, Stinky is going to ramble because that’s how he rolls. Okay, that sounded kind of cheesy, but doesn’t it just roll off the tongue? It gets stuck in your head like that P.M. Dawn song that you don’t remember the title of, but really want to go through all your old tapes to find out. We want to be like that.

“Today I’m Irish” Mae (and Jay helped a bit)