Enlarge / L to R: Jon Bernthal, Eiza González, Ansel Elgort, and Jon Hamm have just robbed a bank. (credit: Working Title)

Baby Driver is the new film from Edgar Wright opening in theaters this week. I’m here to tell you it’s jolly, jolly good. Consider it an old-school, analogue, manual transmission alternative to the CGI, self-driving car nonsense that was the most recent Fast and Furious movie, if you will.

With that out of the way, let’s unpack a little more. Written and directed by the brain that gave us Spaced, Shaun of the Dead (and the rest of the Cornetto trilogy), and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, the film is a heist caper that focuses on the role of the getaway driver—the titular Baby, played by Ansel Elgort. Orphaned at a young age, he learned to boost cars and drive them with no small measure of skill. But one day he stole the wrong car, one belonging to criminal mastermind Doc (Kevin Spacey); one carrying a rather valuable cargo that left Baby in hock and working heists to pay off his debt.

Baby is an unlikely member of Doc’s constantly rotating crew of tooled-up robbers, one the others (including memorable roles from Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, Eiza González, and Jon Hamm) don’t exactly trust. He’s a quiet chap, eyes hidden behind dollar-store sunglasses, white Apple earbuds almost permanently affixed to his ears. The reason for the latter is a case of tinnitus—the result of the same car crash that orphaned him—and also the excuse for the movie’s relentless, deep-cut soundtrack. But despite his youthful looks and semi-detached presence in the briefings, it quickly becomes clear there’s no one else you’d rather have behind the wheel.

Enlarge / Sen. Richard Shelby, (R-Ala.) speaks during a Senate Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing in 2016. (credit: NASA)

As part of the annual US budget process, the NASA administrator meets with the appropriations subcommittees in the Senate and House to discuss the president’s budget request. Under the new president, NASA doesn’t yet have an administrator, so acting administrator Robert Lightfoot is making the rounds. On Thursday morning he met with the Senate’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.

Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) chairs this committee, which writes the budget for NASA and therefore wields extraordinary power over the nation’s civil space activities. During Thursday’s hearing, Shelby renewed his longstanding concerns about the space agency’s commercial crew program—the NASA-funded efforts by Boeing and SpaceX to develop capsules and rockets to carry US astronauts to the International Space Station.

The agency had hoped for an operational capability by the end of 2017, but now that is likely to slip into early or mid-2019. Shelby asked about rising costs and delays. “What assurance can you give this committee that there will be no more cost increases or delays?” Shelby said, querying Lightfoot. “Can you do that?”