where: CINE-ARTS @ PLEASANT HILL in Pleasant Hill, CA
when: Sunday, November 8ht, 2009
show: 7:00 p.m.
costs: $10.00 Ticket + $3.75 small Coke Zero = $13.75
auditorium: 4
seat: 5th row, 5 column
synopsis: Amelia Earhart's ( Hilary Swank ) story from gutsy farm girl to reckless legendary aviator is unfolded before the Big Screen.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Eventful meeting with Putnam ( Richard Gere ); 2.) Meet the Fokker plane; 3.) Wales, instead of Ireland; 4.) Lucky Strike cigarette endorsement; 5.) Meeting with Elinor Smith ( Mia Wasikowska ); 6.) Introduction to Gene Vidal ( Ewan McGregor ); 7.) The wedding vows; 8.) The rigged contest; 9.) The 99s; 10.) Second Atlantic crossing; 11.) Ireland, instead of Paris; 12.) Product endorsements; 13.) Spending time with the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt ( Cherry Jones ); 14.) In the elevator; 15.) The love letter; 16.) Resignation; 17.) The ill-fated Electra; 18.) Oakland to Honolulu; 19.) The run-way crash; 20.) New Guinea; 21.) Alcoholic Fred Noonan ( Christopher Eccleston ); and 22.) USS Itasca.
audience reaction: The audience, mostly adults and senior citizens, were in rapt attention.
recommendation: I like historical period pieces because they allow me to indulge my need for vicarious experiences and would recommend this to any like-minded soul out there.
spoiler alert! Although some critics complained that this movie focused more on the love triangle dynamics, I find it an integral part of Amelia's character make-up and don't see it as predominating the story line. If anything though, a movie of an historical nature and of such magnitude should be fleshed-out more--they should have added an additional 30 to 45 minutes' worth of scenes to this movie, at the very least.
fyi: It is only now as I do this blog that I find out that George Putnam is the man behind the Putnam book publishing company!
I didn't know that mid-air refueling was already being done back then. I thought this was an innovation of the '60s.
Howland Island was never reached by Amelia Earhart. It is a two-mile long coral island where a landing strip was especially built for Earhart. The strip has since deteriorated from non-use.
I first learned of Amelia Earhart back in the Philippines when I would peruse my parents' Reader's Digest collection as a young boy eager to know as much as I could about the country that would eventually become my homeland for the better part of my life.
word of advice: Sometimes, it is an excellent idea to listen to--and heed--free advice. And never take your communications instruments for granted!
tidbits: If the make-up department put bags under Hilary's eyes, she would have made for an almost exact look-alike of Amelia.
I went to Fry's Electronics to look for the expansion base for my Compaq Presario laptop but they don't sell it anymore. I guess I'll have to buy it directly from HP. Then, I went to the China Wall Buffet, just a block away, for dinner before the show. An Hispanic mother-daughter tag-team rudely cut in front of me at a food counter ( such bitches )--if the daughter wasn't so hot, I would have cussed and sworn-up a storm!
There was this book on the "sleeping prophet" Edgar Cayce that I read some years ago which claims that through his prophetic vision, Mr. Cayce saw that Amelia Earhart survived the crash landing, was captured by the Japanese, and subsequently died of dysentery while being held as a prisoner.
