where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, November 30th, 2009
show: 9:50 p.m.
costs: $9.50 Ticket + $11.03 ( + $1.02 tip ) INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES' ( IHOP ) Ultimate Bacon, Eggs & Sausage Combo w/ Pumpkin Pancakes ( topped w/ whipped cream & butter pecan syrup ) = $21.55
auditorium: 6
seat: 2nd row, 7th column
synopsis: A bored fox, tired of the domestic life, reverts to his former chicken-stealing ways. And in so doing endanger himself, his family and the rest of the animal community as a trio of farmers hunt down Mr. Fox at whatever cost.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) The squab farm; 2.) The promise; 3.) Boggis, Bunce and Bean; 4.) Cousin Kristofferson; 5.) Existentialism; 6.) Master plan; 7.) Boggis' chicken farm; 8.) Bunce's smokehouse; 9.) Whack bat; 10.) Bean's cider cellar; 11.) Rat security; 12.) Emergency meeting; 13.) Fox tail; 14.) Escape; 15.) Siege; 16.) The other animals; 17.) Bad song; 18.) Fire hose; 19.) Flint mine; 20.) Rat versus Fox; 21.) The rescue; 22.) Trade mark; 23.) Rabid beagle; 24.) The wolf; and 25.) The supermarket.
audience reaction: The teens and young adults who were the only ones with me in the auditorium seemed to enjoy this claymation movie .
recommendation: Although kids will mostly enjoy the simple charm of this movie, it's more suited for adults.
spoiler alert! I could draw-up a list of all the illogical things about this movie, but that would just defeat the movie's creative reason for being since it's a fantasy story about a fantastic fox. But I do have an issue with the ending: The message seems to be that it's okay to steal--or shoplift--so long as you don't get caught. And I don't like this message since I, Cine-Man, am also Retail Guy!
fyi: One time years ago in Oakland, CA I was put in charge of ordering for the food department at the drug store where I worked at. One particular week, we had a great sale on gallon-size apple juice, the kind that comes in a glass jug ( I can't remember what brand ). We soon ran out of apple juice and the store had to issue lots of rainchecks. I ordered double the quantity in a hurry, then I mailed-out the rainchecks. When the shipload arrived two days later, the assistant manager called me to the warehouse and showed me the pallets upon pallets of what I had ordered: Apple CIDER, not apple juice! And he asked me what I was going to do about it. And I said, I think I'll take my lunch break now. Then I walked away. The assistant manager and the warehouse man burst out laughing! Ah ... the good old days.
Just for the Holidays, IHOP is featuring four new kinds of pancakes in the menu: Pumpkin, Eggnog, Gingerbread, and I can't remember the last one.
word of advice: Don't be selfish, inconsiderate and/or irresponsible. Don't break a promise.
"Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's property."
"Thou shall not steal."
"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you."
tidbits: I was gonna eat at MacDonald's before the movie, but I already had a MacDonald's burger a couple nights ago. So, I thought of eating at the Wendy's Restaurant across the street from the cinema. Then I remembered that there's an IHOP across the lot from it. So I decided to eat at IHOP instead.
As I sat at my table waiting for my meal, a couple of white teenage boys came in and were seated at the table next to mine--and the one behind me reeked of marijuana so much ( Dear Lord! ), enough so that even Bill Clinton, himself, would admit to being guilty of inhaling had he been there with me! I read somewhere that marijuana stimulates one's appetite, and this kid sure had a voracious one. But I noticed that his friend only ate half of his crepes and drank only half of his shake--probably the designated driver.
One of the effects of inhaling marijuana is a reduction in short-term memory. Now, if I can only remember what I'm suppose to write next .... Huh? Something about a pancake, I think ....
