Brown & Decker Like Black & Decker, only not.

HEY! So big news! I'm pretty proud to say that Brown & Decker, once just a crazy dream, is starting to become a reality! There are actually REAL PEOPLE reading our blog right now! AMAZING!

For those who didn't know, yesterday was a pretty big day for me. Firstly, it was my 20th birthday - and I had a blast! Second, May 6/7th was the premier of Iron Man 2! More important than that, though, was our first public excursion with the arc reactors! We got a lot of attention at the theater, seeing as how we were the ONLY ones to do anything apart from wearing an Iron Man t-shirt. We brought a few to sell, and sell we did! Though we didn't have any business cards to hand out, we did manage to spread the word about this blog! (special shout-out to those two guys who parked next to us! WHOO!!)

That puts the Official Arc-Reactor inventory at only TWO LEFT! We're going to take a break from making any more while I'm on vacation for the next month, so send a message before your chance is GONE! Thanks to everyone who bought/reserved one!

Also, I thought it'd be fun to do a little review of the movie, so here it is...

For those of you who are worried about this movie, I say to you: don't be! Though Iron Man 2 may not be the glorious beacon of perfection that the first movie was, but it doesn't disappoint. Mostly.

One thing I heard my friends saying before we saw the movie is that they'd heard it went a little "Spider-man 3" with too many villains. I say that's a little harsh. Granted, Iron Man 2 has Tony Stark showing off not one, not two, but THREE new suits of armor, not to mention War Machine, Justin Hammer, and Whiplash/Crimson Dynamo. But I felt that they all got equal treatment in this film. There certainly wasn't the raping of beloved characters (i.e.- Venom) in Iron Man 2. I felt the large cast of characters was somewhat essential, as any one of them by themselves wouldn't have made for much of a movie.

Next up, Rhodey. Now it may just be me, but I liked Don Cheadle's Rhodey better than Terrance Howard's. But, then again, I really don't like Terrance Howard as an actor. I've seen him in a couple other movies, and I've not really been impressed. But Don Cheadle was fun to watch. I felt he was more of a fit for the tough War Machine character. But either way, by the time this movie hits the half-way point, you will forget that you were worried about the change in actors.

On that same note, War Machine! DAMN! WOW! The climactic fight scene at the end is what made this movie for me. You've gotta see it!

On a somewhat cynical note, I was not impressed by some of the special effects in this movie. For those of you who've seen Wolverine Origins, think back to the scene when he first gets his adamantium claws. That whole scene looked cartoony to me, and at times, the Iron Man armor feels the same. But that was one scene out the entire movie, and the rest of the time, it looks GREAT!

Next up is Mickey Rourke's, um... Whiplash? Crimson Dynamo? You'll be confused, too, but it's not a bad thing. The movie takes what was otherwise a pretty unremarkable villain - whiplash - and makes him... well, badass! Without ruining too much, I'll say that you shouldn't be worried that he won't fill the rolls of both villains.

Too wrap it up, I would say that, again, it's not as good as the first, but certainly one of the best super-hero movies to ever be produced, and a hell of a fun movie to watch. If the first Iron Man is a 10/10, than Iron Man 2 gets an 8.5/10 from me!

-Jimmy