Baby Driver

Baby Driver

Dir: Edgar Wright

Cast: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, Lily James

Jon Bernthal, Eiza Gonzalez, Flea

       When I first heard about this movie, I thought it was a sequel to Baby Boss but I was 

  half wrong. Baby Driver is the latest from acclaimed director Edgar Wright whose hits

  include Shaun of the Dead & Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

        It stars teen idol Ansel Elgort, as Baby, a young getaway driver who has hearing

   problems. To help him cope, he blares music on his Ipod while outrunning the police.
   When he's not driving around criminals, he meets Debora (James), a pretty, young
   waitress stuck in a dead end job whom he falls for. Together they dream of skipping
   town and ride off into the sunset.

       But before he can do that, he's coerced into pulling one last job for his boss 
   played by the devilishly Kevin Spacey. When things don't go as planned, the 
   doomed heist falls apart and must survive with the girl of his dreams.

   The Good: The music along with cinematography was stellar. The editing and pacing

   are buttery smooth for its runtime. Some of the scenes reminded me of the video game

   GTA where Baby constantly changes in and out of cars. 

   The Bad: The acting isn't all that great and became a little tedious to watch towards 

   the end. To keep the story moving, it leaned too heavily on its retro soundtrack.
   I had expected more out of it but was satisfied with how it turned out. There was
   one particular character that was introduced but never seen or heard from again. 

   Overall: Edgar Wright hits another home run in this heist movie that disguises itself

   as a coming of age story. If I want to sit and watch a movie with lots of car chases 

   this is the top of my list. The opening chase alone is worth the price of admission.

   Grade: C (7/10)

Annabelle: Creation

Annabelle: Creation

Dir: David F. Sandberg

Cast: Talitha Bateman, Anthony LaPaglia, Miranda Otto, Stephanie Sigman

      If you haven't been keeping track, Annabelle Creation is the prequel of the prequel 

  of The Conjuring 2 with a third Conjuring movie in development. 

      

      This is the latest from Swedish director David F. Sandberg (Lights Out). It tells
  the story of a grieving dollmaker (LaPaglia) and his wife (Otto) who open their
  doors to a small group of orphaned girls and their caretaker (Sigman). Creepy
  things start happening centering around a doll. They soon realize the house is
  haunted by the dollmaker's dead daughter.

      Talitha Bateman plays Janice, a polio stricken girl who investigates the house
 and finds that the spirit is after her. The girls team up to fight the demon that
 resides in the house.

  The Good : This film had a lot of effective jump scares that gave me a jolt out of
  my comfy chair. The sound effects that accompanied those creaking house parts
  made it all the more scarier.

  The Bad : Some of the scare scenes seemed predictable and the plot felt non-
  existent that caused it to drag on. It relied too heavily on some of the horror 
  movie tropes such as flickering lights, closing doors and creaky floorboards.
  It tried too hard to emulate the same religious theme that made The Exorcist
  so scary. 

  Overall : Annabelle: Creation is a step up from the first one and a decent horror
  flick to end the summer. It's an unnecessary entry to an unnecessary franchise.
  This film nods itself to The Conjuring Universe that has been established and 
  hints at another time jump to a new place: Romania. Until then, A:C will do 
  just fine for the time being. 

 Grade: B-

Top 15 Funniest Comedies Ever

Top 15 Funniest Comedies Ever

(In no particular order)

    I just thought I'd do something fun and make a list of the funniest movies I've ever seen

   1). Step Brothers (2008)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nEl04eG8Eg

   2). Ted (2012)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWT2hvcsWHQ

   3). Deadpool (2016)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E04mRYAe3T8

   4). Liar Liar (1999)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWF4FhdmjUg

   5). Christmas Vacation (1989)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzTA36-aw3I

   6). Bruce Almighty (2003)(gibberish clip)

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5uEM7XDADU

  7). Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1985)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2ttCXTD0Z8

  

  8). Zoolander (2001)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG0VyjZyO7Y

  9). UHF (1989)- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wBFoJ6Fi8c

 10). Tropic Thunder (2008)(war movie spoof)

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rQHHgHf5s4

 11). 21/22 Jump Street- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD-dHlw-Ayg

 12). The Other Guys- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZj9sGxpUm0

 13). Ace Ventura- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLi9Xa9EK-c

 14). Kung Pow- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRWxJiMM3Jg

 15). MacGruber- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrS3O02rnuE

Eatery 8 Pizza My Heart

Pizza My Heart

1590 Bothelo Drive

Walnut Creek

     Pizza My Heart is the latest pizza joint to open in downtown Walnut Creek, joining

   Extreme Pizza, Slice House, Skipolini's & California Pizza Kitchen. Located a block

   away from the theater, this pizza parlor offers many delicious toppings and flavors.

   Like Slice House, you can either buy it whole or just by each individual slice.

  Pro: The surf themed decor is nice to look at while waiting for ones pizza to

  be cooked. The surfer sculpture hanging from the ceiling resembles the Marvel
  hero Silver Surfer. Their prices on the menu are very affordable and won't put
  a dent in your wallet. Their employees were very courteous to us and very 
  helpful in serving me and my significant other. The seating area seemed clean
  and wasn't too crowded for a dinner time option.

  

  Con : Oh where do I begin?  The thin amount of cheese made each slice 

  taste bland. The grease and oil put on their slices dripped onto my hands and
  is not suitable for those with weak stomachs. Their cheese slices took over 
  10 minutes to be served as they didn't have anymore left & another pizza
  was being cooked in the oven. 

  Overall: PMH is not the worst place you can eat pizza but sadly it just did
  not live up to my expectations. For better tasting pizza, there are other
  places available mentioned above. I will be giving them the benefit of the
  doubt since they just opened hopefully improving on their food quality. 
  If not, I can't see them lasting very long in the saturation of Walnut Creek's
  pizza landscape.

  

  Rating: 3 / 5  stars

Solar Eclipse 2017

Solar Eclipse 2017

    The solar eclipse will be happening tomorrow around 9 AM. A solar eclipse is a 

  rare phenomenon in which the moon passes in a direct line between the Sun and

  the Earth. There have been eclipses in the last few years but not a total eclipse.

  The last time a solar eclipse happened was back in 1979.

      Take very special caution while viewing a eclipse. Do Not look up at the sky

  as it will permanently blind you. Either wear specially designed glasses or 

  welders goggles while viewing.

       If you want to view the eclipse without looking up, either watch it online 

   at Nasa.gov or cut a tiny hole in a cardboard box. Always have your back

   turned to the sun, do not look through the hole.

      For more information, watch this video from NASA

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21zamcOLwDM

      It is also important to remember to cut back on electricity while the eclipse 

  is going on. Be safe and have fun watching the eclipse tomorrow.

  Edit: The solar eclipse was not view-able that day as it was overcast and could only

  be seen if you lived in Lafayette or farther elsewhere. 

Life Hack Tips 2

Life Hack Tips 2

     1). Keep a dry erasable marker in your bathroom to write down any reminders 
           or jokes on a mirror.

       2). Turn on airplane mode on your phone for a slightly faster charge

       3). Boil fruit peels (lemon, oranges) to make your house smell nice & fresh

       4). Bring a small plastic bag to pick up any garbage while on any trails

       5). Use hand sanitizer to get rid of stickiness on hands

       6). To prevent sweating when coming out of the shower, turn down the water 

        temperature before getting out

  

       7). When refilling your water bottle at a gym, use the lower one so it won't spill 

       from being titled 

       8). If someone invites you to a party, be gracious and accept their invitation

       9). To keep your laundry smelling fresh, put some tennis balls in the dryer

     10). Get rid of blackheads by cutting a lemon in half and add 4 drops of honey before

      rubbing on your face, wait 5 minutes then wash with cold water

     11). Fill plastic water bottles a quarter of the way full before placing in freezer.

      This way when frozen, you can have ice cold water on the go.

What Grinds My Gears 2: Vertical Videos

 WGMG 2: Vertical Videos

     Ever since the invention of the Iphone, many people have been filming videos 

  of their pets, friends, random fights, etc. While it may look nice viewing it

  on the phone itself, when uploaded to Youtube or elsewhere, the large black

  boxes on the sides make it look terrible. 

  Here are a few examples of Vertical Videos-

  Popular movies shot vertically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRqs8jP1lXY

  Vertical Videos PSA : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2picMQC-9E

  Vertical Videos PSA 2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVabYHvD3vc

  Now here is a rock concert shot horizontally-

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFVPU2BGC38 

 See how better it looks in full screen rather than half screen. The human eye is

 not trained to see vertically, so please turn your camera phone sideways.