John Wick Chapter 2

John Wick: Chapter 2

Dir: Chad Stahleski

Cast: Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Ruby Rose, Laurence Fishburne

     In John Wick 2, a mobster's priceless car gets totaled while chasing a bad guy 

  on a motorbike. Wick gets into a fist fight with an Asian gang. That's just the 
  first 5 minutes. 

     Keanu Reeves stars as the titular character, a hit-man who's brought out of retirement

 one last time to kill the sister of a powerful, underground mobster. He travels to Italy

 and is dressed in the finest clothing Italy has to offer. John is armed with an array of

 guns to take care of some business. Wick kills people left and right, all without
 breaking a single sweat in his expensive suit. 

     Like most movie sequels, this one pales in comparison to 2014's surprise hit
 of the year. The action sequences are few and far in between the slow exposition
 scenes that good films succumb to. Returning to direct is Chad Stahleski who also
 served as Keanu's stunt double in "The Matrix" trilogy. 

  The Good:

      The opening car chase scene and the absence of the shaky-cam during the fight
 scenes that is prevalent in today's action films. The fact that no dog was harmed
 or killed to motivate John Wick was a huge plus for me. 

  The Bad:

     I didn't really care for the paper thin characters or the slow pacing of the film.

 The expectations I had for this movie wasn't met and failed to deliver. I thought

 the dialogue was laughably bad as well as the story itself.

    Overall, John Wick Chapter 2 is not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination.

 It's a decent movie that requires little to no brainpower to enjoy. If you have nothing
 else better to do on the weekends, it's definitely worth the watch.

Grade: C+ (7.5/10)

Annoying TV Commercials

Annoying TV Commercials

         We've seen them all. You're sitting watching your favorite program when it goes

   to break. Some are good while some are bad. Here a few of the ones that I hate the 

   most. 

   1. Sonic Drive in Guys

     This ad features two dorks sitting in a car about how much they love the food they're

  eating. While it's cheaper to run ads nationally, it doesn't help the fact that the nearest

  Sonic is in the next county, two hours away. 

  2. McDonalds Breakfast crew

    This ad features a cheery woman singing while some McD's employees deliver 

  coffee to migrant workers on a farm and to some firemen. I can't stand her irritating

  voice. 

  3. Kars for Kids 

     Do I need to explain this one ? 

  4. Chevy focus group

    This ad features a pretentious hipster from Chevy talking to kids about how great

 their cars are and how wifi is necessary for them to watch movies. When I used to go 

 on car trips as a kid, all I ever did was read comic books and listen to my tape player. 

 Kids today have it so good when it comes to keeping them busy. Although Chevy 

 says they're real kids, it's just downright exploitative. 

  5. Honeynut Cheerios Dancing (recorded off tv)

   This one depicts dads dancing to generic music with their kids for no reason. What 

 does dancing with your kids have to do with eating cereal? I'm not trying diss this 

 commercial but it doesn't many any sense at all. 

  6. Hyundai Ioniq

   This annoying commercial features hard working people singing about whether or not 

 they should buy a hybrid car due to the connotation it has.  

 7. Amazon Alexa 
  
    These ads feature off camera people asking the tiny device questions. I hate this
   commercial because it encourages people to be lazy and not bothering to take 
   the time to look it up yourself. You gain absolutely nothing from it.

Chris Cornell RIP (1964-2017)

    Chris Cornell (1964-2017)

       It is with a heavy heart that Soundgarden & Audioslave singer Chris Cornell 

   has passed away. The 52 year old was found unresponsive in his hotel room shortly

   after a sold out show in Detroit. The handsome rocker whose distinctly gravelly

   voice was unmatched and turned the rock world on its ear. He was the voice
   of a generation when there wasn't one.

       Cornell's struggle with alcohol and drug usage were evident in most of his 

  songs. Shortly after Mother Love Bone's singer Andrew Wood's passing in 1990,

  he formed Temple of the Dog with the then unknown Eddie Vedder. The band was

  a tribute to his close friend who died of an overdose.

       He also formed Soundgarden with musicians Hiro Yamamoto and Kim Thayil

  in the mid 80's. The band rose to prominence during the early 90's as part of the 

  Seattle grunge scene along with Nirvana & Pearl Jam. After the release of 

  Badmotorfinger, they released their best selling album to date, Superunknown

  in 1994. Their most popular song, "Black Hole Sun" rose to top of the rock 

  charts and was in constant airplay on rock stations during that time. His band
  was the quintessential soundtrack to the 90s youth/teenage rebellion.

       Shortly after Soundgarden's breakup in 1997, Cornell decided to pursue 

  a solo career. He released Euphoria Morning. The critically acclaimed album

  didn't sell well and was a commercial dud. But it didn't stop Cornell. In fact,

  the track "You Know My Name" was the theme song to the 2006 James Bond

  reboot "Casino Royale".

      During that time, he collaborated with ex-Rage Against the Machine 

  musicians to form Audioslave. Their eponymous album titled Audioslave

  sold over 3 million copies. Their hits included Cochise, Show me how to 

  Live & Like a Stone. 

     While his talent maybe gone, his music will live on forever in the hearts
 and souls of many fans and aspiring rockers to follow. 

  Goodbye Chris, you will be missed.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

           

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Dir: James Gunn

        Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillian, Bradley Cooper &

   Vin Diesel (voices), Kurt Russell, Pom Klementieff

   some spoilers ahead

       At some points during the GOTG 2, Gamora (Saldana) shoots a refrigerator sized 

  cannon while Yondu (Rooker) slaughters alien men with a whistle controlled arrow.

  But no weapon can control the cuteness that is baby Groot, a tiny tree that dances 

  to ELO during the opening scene.

      Marvel's favorite band of cosmic heroes are back in this sequel from 2014's

  surprise hit. This time, Peter Quill's (Pratt) lineage is explored and learns who

  his father may be.

      

      After fighting a ginormous alien, the team is attacked by a race of golden

  skinned aliens called The Sovereign. They are after valuable batteries that 

  Rocket Raccoon (Cooper) stole from them. Our heroes make the jump to 

  hyperspace where they crash land in a forest world. There they meet a middle

  aged man (Russell) claiming to be Peter's dear old Dad. 

      Hot on their trails are the Ravagers, a group of intergalactic pirates who raised

  Peter since being abducted as a boy. Silently working with the Guardians is
  their disgraced leader Yondu (Rooker) who vows revenge against the men
  who ousted him. The muscle of the group, Drax (Bautista) is treated like comic
  relief with funny quips.

     This movie felt like a step down from the original probably because this scifi

  flick is more story driven than action oriented. Each character is better fleshed
  out and we get to learn more about them. The plots themselves are contrived
  while the humor felt forced making the jokes fall flat. The touching scene made
  me want to cry hard. 

     Russell's subplot smelled awful alot like another well know space opera that

  explored the father-son dynamic. But they did it better and it was more believable.
  This story was watered down and contributed little to the MCU. The first one was
  so good because it had heart and characters that we've never seen before. Perhaps,
  next time James Gunn can return to what made the first GOTG movie so great,
  a sense of fun and adventure. 

     Grade: C (7/10)
Baby Groot: A

Panic Attack Relief

     Panic Attack Relief

      Sometimes, just before I go to bed at night, I get panic attacks. The attack can 

  happen at anytime for no reason. One of the things that helps me is by listening to

  nature sounds on my laptop. Called white noise, many people use it to get to sleep

  faster. To me, the sounds help relax my body and mind. 

  

      Some of the sounds I listen to are of the rain, garden fountain and submarines.

 When I put on my headphones, I close my eyes and imagine being there. I focus 

 mostly on the sounds & within a few minutes I am calm again. Guided meditation

 that I listen to in school helps me relax as well. 

Eatery 5: Ed's Mudville Grille

 Ed's Mudville Grille

6200 Center Street

Clayton, CA

     When you step into Ed's Mudville Grill, you'll feel like everyone knows your name.

   Established in 1994 by the Moresi brothers, this lively sports bar is the perfect spot

   to meet up with friends when out & about in downtown Clayton.

      You'll enjoy their appetizers during happy hour along with their delicious daily

   specials. Their menu offers a wide variety of tempting comfort food classics

   at reasonable prices. 

  

      Pro

      The employees are very accommodating to the group that I came with. They 

   were even polite enough to refill my drink. The bacon wrapped hot dogs are

   to die for along with the hot fries served on the side. The sports memorabilia 

   & autographs plastered on the walls is nice to look at while watching the game

   on their thirteen TVs.

     Con

    It can get quite crowded & pretty loud when you come but that's to be expected

    at your typical sports bar. Thankfully, they had more tables out on the deck. The
    narrow hallways made it difficult to get to the bathroom when there alot of 
    people inside.

    Overall: it's a good place to have a bite to eat and watch the game with some
   friends, just make sure to pack along some earplugs.

   Rating: 3.5/ 5 stars