Toppers

Toppers Pizza Place is a franchise with seven locations all over Ventura County.


Today, we went to the new location on the Channel Islands Harbor. It's an awesome location. There was fog and marine layer, but the Toppers sign shined bright. It was Friday night, it was the beginning of a long weekend, and for whatever reason, the place was PACKED. We got lucky and found two booths for ten people.

There were only two soda machines for the entire restaurant. The lines for each got pretty long. But behold, the future of soft drink dispensing:

They are pretty gnarly machines. With the touchscreen menu, you first select which brand you would like.

From there, you have different flavors from which to choose.

We're talking vanilla, orange, lime, and cherry Coke.
strawberry, rasperry, cherry Lemonade,
grape and peach Sprite,
and many more!

Of course, you could make these flavors with a regular dispenser by mixing the flavors yourself, without the long line, but technology makes it so much easier...

For desert, a freshly baked cookie topped with vanilla ice cream. They call it a Pookie. I think Maureen named it, haha. There's only one flavor, and the cookie comes with nuts. Pizookies from BJ's are better.

The Final Jam

Okay. I just watched Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. I love Disney on Demand =]

I didn’t have high expectations. (Side note: Ticketmaster released about 600 seats for the Irvine concert the other day. A pair of orchestra seats are available at the moment.) It seems like people aren’t excited about this. Why? Was it the off-screen relationship and breakup? Was it marketing? “It’s On” was Disney Channel’s summer slogan. Maybe it was too hyped.

However, I was kind of blown away by the movie! Grace and I YouTubed most of the official musical numbers last Friday. The songs tell the story, and they’re not cut too short. The scenes were cool, and they were way more amazing in context of the movie. I know the movie isn’t officially out yet, but I cannot wait to write my review! I have a lot to say, and I think I’ll try a more journalistic approach—or at least I’ll try to keep it up. No promises.

I give props to Paul Hoen and his direction. The film begins with the familiar faces of Mitchie and Connect 3 making their way back to Camp Rock for the summer. They didn’t have the boarding pass lanyards =[  The movie entered the “musical border” at “Brand New Day.” It flowed so well! The choreography was equipped with jazz hands/spirit fingers. It was the PERFECT opening number. We are filled with excitement, and we are ready for a terrific summer. Then, we learn a new camp has opened across the lake.

With Camp Star in business, there is lower enrollment at Camp Rock. At an opening bon-“Fire,” we discover Camp Star has more glitz and glamour. They recruit steal most of Camp Rock’s staff, and Camp Rock is forced to close down.

Mitchie won’t let that happen. She reassures her fellow campers that they “Can’t Back Down” in a huge and hard dance number. She and her friends take charge and become the new camp counselors.

At first, it is hectic. In a quick montage, we witness the chaos, but eventually everything starts to work itself out. There was a continuity error! After things improve and the montage ends, there is a scene where Shane tries to whisk Mitchie away from her clipboard. Unfortunately for him, Connie needs help in the kitchen. Connie says the situation isn’t working after we already saw it get better. To top it off, Mitchie is wearing the same outfit from the first hectic day. Yes, I noticed. Hello! It’s a distinct purple ensemble that she wore during the huge dance number!

They regain their confidence as the best camp and decide to challenge Camp Star. "It’s On" is so much fun! I want to do the dance when I’m at the Verizon Amphitheatre. There’s extra choreography I can learn! Axel turns the whole thing into a worldwide competition to be televised. It would have been more consistent if Hot Tunes TV  had broadcasted the show, not Hitz TV. (That is probably a really dorky thing to notice, but I can be hardcore.)

Shane really wants to spend time with Mitchie, but she’s too wrapped up in trying to run and save the camp. You kind of want to strangle her at times because you think, “Really? Who died and made you boss of everything?” But, then you understand she’s doing this to save something she really loves. Joe is so good at looking at her! You can always see love in his eyes.

Nate has a Romeo-and-Juliet love interest in Dana, whose father owns Camp Star. Nick does a really good job portraying an unintentional douche bag. He just didn’t know how to express himself. It was adorable! I love “Introducing Me.” I challenge Mr. Nick J to perform it in less than 2 minutes!

After only ten minutes into the movie, Kevin was already hilarious. He stood there, soaking wet, and didn’t say a word, and I could not stop laughing.

In the end, JASON GOT HIS BIRDHOUSE! It is the most ROCKING birdhouse EVER!

Connect 3 did not have to become brothers, but it was nice to see their brotherly love on screen. I can’t help but LOVE watching them perform "Heart and Soul." This image cracked me up:

What's with the horse? LOL

Frankie wasn’t as much of a scene-stealer as I thought he would be.

All the other campers had smaller roles this time around. I’m glad they let Alison shine as a dancer. B-girl Shorty from the Beat Freaks and Courtney Galiano from SYTYCD got a lot of camera time.

Here is another dorky thing to notice: each girl basically sports a distinct hairstyle throughout the movie. It’s not exact like in the first film. There are slight variations. For example, Ella wears a hat mostly, but she also wore headbands. Mitchie mostly wears red hues, Shane wears blue, like in the first film.

I wasn't fond of Joe's leather jacket during "What We Came Here For." It looked like he borrowed it from Camp Star. I did love the use of beach balls. It would be awesome if they do that on tour. My little brother is going through a henley phase, and that's basically all Shane wore.

I won’t spoil the ending. I LOVE how the result of Camp Wars was revealed. It was INTENSE. Demi’s eyes and everyone’s facials were greatly performed.

I want to sing na, na na na na, hey ya!

The final scene warms my heart. “Our Song” is the PERFECT ending number. I truly wish that would happen to me in real life. I want to sing with my friends (and an awesome boy ;]) around a campfire.

A Camp Rock 3 isn’t necessary, so please don’t.

In summation: I loved this movie!

CR2 Soundtrack

I bought the Camp Rock 2 Soundtrack today.

"Brand New Day" is the first track. The first line is "Last year's old news." I think that is very appropriate because a LOT seems to be different this time around. They're not regular campers, they're counselors.

This soundtrack is much more tuned for a musical than the last. Camp Rock songs were regular songs that just happen to fit into the scene. Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam songs actually tell a story.

"Rock Hard or Go Home" is a random way to end the tracklisting. It's not sung by any of kids, so I don't care to try to like it.

The Camp Star songs are more hip-hop-y. No reprise of the "Too Cool" shoulder thing by Tess/Megan =/ I like the chorus of "Tear it Down."

I love "Introducing Me"! It's so much fun when it gets fast =] I hope he sings this on tour. Question: how do you use "dude" as an adjective or an adverb?

"Wouldn't Change A Thing" > "I Gotta Go My Own Way" from High School Musical 2. I'm sure this scene will be amazing. I'd love to see it on tour, but if it's too awkward for Joe and Demi, I understand.

JB--I mean Connect 3 teaches campers how to rock out in "Heart and Soul." I guess there won't be any more hip-hop dance teaching from Shane? There's a lyric about fist pumping... are you serious?

I'd compare "You're My Favorite Song" to "You Are the Music in Me" from HSM 2, but it's acoustic. It's cute. Is this how Shane and Mitchie make up?

I think it's interesting that I compared songs to HSM2 istead of CR1. I'm able to compare songs from all HSM movies to each other, but I guess that could just come with the genre and less changes in those movies.

By the way, one of the "Road to Camp Rock 2" episodes showed the cast in the studio. I spotted Drew Ryan Scott giving direction, but he isn't credited as a writer on any of the songs.

RENT at Hollywood Bowl

My mom and I decided to Park & Ride to the Hollywood Bowl. We had a nice charter bus. Most of the passengers bought their bus tickets for $8 as they boarded. We prepaid on Ticketmaster for $5 + $1.75 service fee, so we saved $1.25.

This was my first time at the Hollywood Bowl.

I love the view of the Hollywood sign!

There were searchlights shining at opposite ends. I definitely had that "Hollywood" feel! I really like the atmosphere. Everyone was just kicking back, having a picnic. Courtney and Keri brought Panera sandwiches for everyone. They were yummy. Also, 75-cent seat cushions are totally worth it! The screens are big, but I liked looking through my binoculars.

8:30 rolled around. The lights turned off. The National Anthem was played on the electric guitar. After a closer look, you see that the guitarist has his back to the audience, and he's wearing a sleveless black tee with plaid pants. It's Roger (Aaron Tveit)! Once he finished, he took a seat, and Mark (Skylar Astin) came out to start the show.

"Rent" was really strong. I was pumped! As I was writing this blog, I learned that Benny is played by Collins Pennie, who was in FAME!

I fell for Aaron Tveit. He looked a lot older than Tripp van der Bilt in Gossip Girl. I LOVE how he was about to strangle Mimi during their argument at the beginning of "Goodbye Love."

I have always felt that "Out Tonight" is a difficult song to nail. Sorry, but Vanessa Hudgens did not nail it. Her peformance was better than the video I saw on YouTube from the night before, but there were times where the notes were just off for me.
BUT her performance got better throughtout the night. "Without You" was really good!

Telly Leung did well as Angel, just as the role demands. He kept up Angel's charm and talent. Skylar Astin as Mark and Tracie Thoms as Joanne brought it as well.

Wayne Brady was very good as Collins. He started off with a higher singing voice than he ended with. Is that just me who noticed?

Nicole Scherzinger was extremely good as Maureen. This version of "Over the Moon" added some hip hop. She was SANS COWBELL. Uh, weird! I can't remember if Joanne mentioned it during "We're Okay." Other than that, it was really good. It makes you forget that Maureen isn't supposed to be super talented.

If you didn't love her before, you ought to now!

There were a couple of technical glitches. "Christmas Bells" wasn't as epic as I wanted.

Other changes I noticed:
- The absence of Mark's interruption/introduction at the beginning of "Life Support"

- Maureen is from Jersey, not Hicksville?

- They cut a verse from "Happy New Year"
- "Seasons of Love B" was cut =/
- They cut out the orgy part of "Contact." It went straight to Angel singing "Take me.."
- They don't admit the truth of about Evita to Benny.
- Collins doesn't rewire the ATM.

There are two giant screens on each side of the stage. They were utilized well. During "What You Own," Mark wark was shone on one side, while Roger was on the other. Then, at the appropriate moment, the scene collided. Some actual footage was shown from Mark's film.

I love this picture during "Seasons of Love"

This picture is from "I'll Cover You (reprise)" without Angel.

I liked the blocking after Mimi jumps over the moon. That final image of everyone singing on the table warms my heart. After "Finale B" ended, the lights went out. The actors took their positions in line at the end of the stage to sing an encore of "Seasons of Love". There wasn't a proper curtain call, and Neil Patrick Harris did not come on stage to bow or anything!! That bummed me out a bit. He obviously is a big part of the reason people came out to these shows.

We had 20 minutes to get back to the buses. We followed the massive crowd down the hill. That was a dumb move. If we had gone down through the seats first, we would have saved 10-15 minutes. Tip for next time!

CR2 "Book"

I finally bought the Camp Rock 2 Junior Novel. I had trouble finding it in stores. The cover art isn't even on websites.

The first Camp Rock was about Mitchie getting over her insecurities and coming out of her shell as a person and a performer. This one shows her leadership ability as she fights to keep Camp Rock open.

I don't think it was necessary for Connect 3 to suddenly become brothers. Fans aren't used to them not being brothers? Well, in Camp Rock, they're not supposed to be Nick, Kevin, and Joe of Jonas Brothers or their fictional parody band JONAS. It's Nate, Jason and Shane of Connect 3.

Frankie Jonas plays the scene-stealing junior-rocker, Trevor.

Jason gets a birdhouse!

The first junior novel told the story way better than the movie. The movie underdeveloped the characters and storylines. For example, they didn't show Shane overhearing campers discussing his stupid, cookie-cutter popstar stuff. This is why he started writing a new, different sounding song, "Play My Music." Also, they didn't show Tess and Ella talking about lip gloss in their cabin, so the "BTW, you're lip gloss is SO NOT glossy!" line came out of nowhere.

I'm hoping this doesn't happen again for Camp Rock 2. Don't tell me it can't be done because the High School Musical 2 junior novel was on point! (I read because I'm too antsy to wait for the movie.)

Summer Belongs to You!

You gotta believe in something. So, today I believed in you and you came through.
We made it. I've never been so proud.
I know it's perfectly implausable, but we accomplished the impossible. Now there's something that I've got to say out loud:
Time is what you make of it, so take a chance.
Life is full of music, so you ought to dance.
The world's a stage, and it's time for your debut!


Don't waste a minute sitting on that chair
The world is calling, so just get out there

Candace's verse spoke to me! I really wanted to go outside and play after this song and this awesome, epic Phineas and Ferb episode! But it was 9pm by that time and dark outside.

"City of Love" was really cute. I thought, you know, the two of you-- a boy, a girl -- alone in the city of love... Poor Isabella! "Rubber Bands, Rubber Balls" was really funny! I bought the soundtrack on iTunes. It's totally worth it to me.

P.S. The Summer Solstice is the FIRST day of summer, but whatever! I loved "the visual gag" in the beginning and when Phineas found a sponge and a starfish on the beach.

Inception

Inception is the movie to watch if you want to know what happens after Teddy Daniels escapes from Shutter Island, after Tom Hansen's 500 Days of Summer, and after Juno graduates from high school.

Or perhaps those movies were really just the dreams of Cobb, Arthur, and Ariadne.

I liked this movie way more than Shutter Island. Dreams are more interesting to me than craziness.

Not to spoil the end, but I think he IS d__!