Rainy Day Activities

     The Bay Area has been experiencing massive downpour of rain for the last few weeks.
Here are a few of the things I like to do when it's raining hard outside:

  1. Work in my puzzle book 
  2. Watch the movies I got for Xmas
  3. Listen to some music on my stereo
  4. Watch funny videos online
  5. Play some video games

20 Life Hacks

     To break up the monotony of my movie related posts, I thought I'd provide some 
useful information you can use.
     (via Reddit's Life Pro Tips forum)

    1. If you lose your cursor on your screen, right click your mouse and it should show up.

    2. Drink a glass of water to feel more awake in the morning

    3. A damp piece of paper towel can help open jars and bottles more easily.

    4. To save money on Christmas wrapping paper, buy it a few weeks after the 
        holidays.
    5. To unclog drains, pour a pot of boiling water down to loosen food and hair.

    6. To lose weight, eat smaller portions.

    7. Place a small bowl of lemon juice in the microwave and heat it up to loosen
       food particles stuck to the ceiling.

    8. To cure hiccups, either eat a spoonful of peanut butter without chewing it 
      or drink some water with your head tilted back.

    9. Ketchup can be used to clean old pennies, rubbing alcohol for quarters

   10. To clean your computer monitor, open your screen to a white page.

   11. Scrape a knife along the bottom of a mug to sharpen it.

   12. If you can't keep your hand on the sidewalk for 5 seconds, it's too hot for your 
   dog to walk on it.

    13. Run a band-aid under warm water to make it easier to pull off

    14. A staple remover can also be used to open keyrings

    15. Use bread bag tags for labeling cords.

    16. Check your local grocery store for free boxes

    17. Rub wax on your shoe laces to prevent them from coming undone.

    18. To remove a popcorn kernel, brush your teeth.

    19. Keep a bar of soap in your drawer to keep your clothes smelling fresh

    20. Place a newspaper at the bottom of trash bag to prevent seepage.

    If you have any you'd like to share, feel free to add your own in the comments
    below.

2017 Anticipated Movies

   Here's my top 10 list of most anticipated movies: 

     dates subject to change

    1. Star Wars: Episode VIII (December)
    The saga continues in the next chapter of the Star Wars Universe. This time Rian
    Johnson sits in the director chair.
     
    2. Fast 8/ Fate of the Furious (April 17)
    Dom betrays his friends and turns to the dark side by a villainous woman.

    3.Kong: Skull Island (March 10)
    A group of researchers track down the gigantic creature in the deep jungle.

    4. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 (May 5)
    Starlord & his ragtag alien friends return in this sequel to 2014's surprise hit
    
    5. Alien Covenant  (May 19)

    6. Wonder Woman (June 2)
      DC unveils its first female superhero movie in their cinematic universe.

    7. Justice League (November)
      Batman & Wonder Woman recruit other heroes to stop an sinister force

    8. John Wick Chapter 2 (February)
      Hitman John Wick is brought out of retirement in this sequel to the surprise hit.

    9. Spiderman : Homecoming (July)
     Peter Parker deals with being being a superhero and a teenager in high school
    in this reboot from Sony & Marvel Studios joint production

   10. Kingsman: Golden Circle (October)

What movies are you looking forward to seeing this upcoming year?
 Let me know in the comments below

Emoji Movie Controversy

 Popeye cancelled for  The Emoji Movie?

   Later this summer, Sony Animation will release "The Emoji Movie". It is an animated

movie based on the popular emoticons on mobile devices. Genndy Tartakovsky's Popeye 
movie was supposed to be released instead. 

     Sony Animation is making a huge mistake by not green lighting a Popeye cartoon.
Releasing an Emoji movie makes sense financially because many kids today know what 
that is. It's a shame they couldn't make a Popeye movie also. I used to watch him when 
I was little. I'm sure most people would watch it too. 

      It goes to show Sony is creatively bankrupt and scraping the bottom of the barrel.
I hope Emoji movie bombs so bad, Sony loses money and goes out of business. 

 edit: The Popeye movie has been cancelled; Genndy has released his pet project, "Samurai
Jack" for Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Director: Gareth Edwards

    Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Forest Whittaker, Mads Mikkelsen,

 Alan Tudyk (voice)

       When Disney bought out the Star Wars franchise in 2012, it set out to not only 

  make more movies but spinoffs as well. Rogue One is set just before A New Hope.

       Felicity Jones plays Jyn-Erso, a young woman who learns her father worked 

 for the Imperials and helped building a moon sized weapon called the Death Star.

 She and a few handpicked soldiers from the Rebel Alliance guide the effort to 

 destroy what her father had created. A reprogrammed droid, K2-S0 (Tudyk) joins

 them and provides comic relief during the intense battle scenes.

        

      While the movie is quite long, clocking in around 2h/15m, it doesn't shy away 

 from the grittiness that is war. While I enjoyed most of the movie, I couldn't help

 but think that this was nothing more than a big budget fan film. Director Gareth

 Edwards took the beloved Star Wars franchise and made it completely dark. 

  

       Despite the PG 13 rating, this movie is definitely not for small children who

 are easily scared. Not that it's gory but is just grim and serious in tone. It's not 

 a story worth telling. 

Grade: C (6/10)