where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Saturday, July 25th, 2009
show: 1:15 pm ( extra dollar discount Morning Matinee )
costs: $6.00 Ticket + $4.25 medium Diet/Zero ( with Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $2.92 bulk Chocolate Candy ( assorted ) = $13.17
auditorium: 14
seat: 3rd row, 8th column
Grieving parents Kate ( Vera Farmiga ) and John ( Peter Sarsgaard ) decide to adopt a child to fill the void. At the orphanage, they bond with the very polite, artistically gifted and charming nine-year old Esther ( Isabelle Fuhrman ) who has a quaint penchant for old-fashioned dresses. Soon after they take her home to be a part of the family, things start to happen--and not necessarily for the better--as the plot really gets a twist near the end.
prediction: I have a feeling that Isabelle Fuhrman may get nominated for Best Supporting Actress. If Linda Blair ( of THE EXORCIST fame ) could win an Oscar, it's possible that Isabelle could, too, for her convincing performance in this movie.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Delivery room; 2.) Tucking-in daughter, Max ( Aryana Engineer ); 3.) Talk with husband about adopting; 4.) In the Art Room with Esther; 5.) The Welcome Party; 6.) Daniel ( Jimmy Bennett ) in the tree house with his friends; 7.) Dressing for the first day of school; 8.) Paint-ball target shooting; 9.) The school hallway; 10.) Esther's painting; 11.) The Rose Bush; 12.) The couple in the kitchen; 13.) The public playground; 14.) At the dinner table; 15.) The grocery store; 16.) The "Tchaikovsky Solo;" 17.) The couple's fight; 18.) The gun; 19.) Sister Abigail ( CCH Pounder ) driving back to the orphanage; 20.) Esther in Daniel's bedroom; 21.) The bouquet; 22.) The vise clamp; 23.) The SUV rolling backwards; 24.) Max's crayon drawings; 25.) Calling the Saarne Institute; 26.) In the tree house with Esther; 27.) The hospital; 28.) Alone with daddy; 29.) Call from Russian Doctor; 30.) Esther's bedroom; 31.) Going back home; and 32.) The pond.
audience reaction: The audience liked this movie a lot!
recommendation: This is not your typical "scary movie." It has no fancy SFX. It's an every-parent's-worst-nightmare-come-true type of movie but with comedy thrown-in for good measure! Go see this movie.
spoiler alert! You can't expect me to believe that Daniel and his friends can only come up with a Perfect 10 copy because, by today's standards, this magazine is lame. Max walking bare-footed on ice is unconvincingly acted--why they didn't incorporate a pair of booties into this scene when they wrote the script is beyond me. ( Yet another reason why Hollywood should hire me. ) You can't stay submerged in ice-water for long. My eldest sister, my brother and I were in Fort Bragg, CA years ago, swimming at the beach in about 45 - 50 degrees Fahrenheit temperature water--I couldn't even swim under water for more that five seconds because my body urgently wanted to conserve its heat; and the cold water made my old joint injuries come-a-calling-back just to say, "Hi, remember us?" So, it is hard for me to believe that they can go under ICE water for longer than five seconds. And I would love to point out the things that were wrong with Esther's medical condition, but that would just give the plot-twist away.
fyi: The scene wherein Esther's plaster-casted arm is shown brought to mind my youthful fascination with beautiful girls who had hairy forearms in a kinda-like "semi-simian" sort of way. I don't know ... they just looked attractive to me that way. But now it's: "If you dare wear short ( shirts ), Nair for short ( shirts ) ...."
word of advice: "Hell hath no Fury than a ( sexually unfulfilled ) Woman Scorned!"
tidbits: The title of this movie should be, FROM RUSSIA WITH BLOOD!
Esther and Tom Riddle ( Lord Voldemort ) would make for a perfect couple.
Illegal adoption is bad, in more ways than one.
I will have to remind myself to put on ear plugs next time that I go see a scary/horror movie!
Finally, regarding that trip to Fort Bragg in Mendocino County, CA .... On the way there, the radio on my sister's yellow Honda Civic started to play the John Denver song, Sunshine On My Shoulder. I started singing along with it but was abruptly shushed by my sister. Maybe this had something to do with me convincing her to jump into the water to join me and our brother. Boy! she was out of there before she could finish yelling at the top of her lungs because of the bitter coldness. Ha, ha, ha--oops! Uh-oh ... I think that she just read this! ( We were "Polar Bear Club" flunkies, all three of us, yup. )
