where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, December 14th, 2009
show: 3:00 p.m.
costs: $7.25 Ticket + $3.75 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $8.14 lunch at Selecta Filipino Buffet ( before the movie ) = $19.14
auditorium: 13
seat: 5th row, 8ht column
synopsis: A fresh take on a fairy tale classic.
A hard-working waitress, Tiana, wishing to have her own restaurant and a disowned prince, Naveen, hoping to marry rich both fall under a magical voodoo spell. And if they don't right the wrong, they will spend the remainder of their lives as frogs.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Charlotte and Tiana; 2.) Gumbo get-together; 3.) Wish upon a star; 4.) Restaurant fund; 5.) The prince; 6.) Dr. Facelier; 7.) Masquerade ball; 8.) The kiss; 9.) The alligator; 10.) The lovelorn firefly; 11.) The evil spirits; 12.) The rescue; 13.) Evangeline; 14.) Mama Odie; 15.) Mardi Gras parade; 16.) The cemetery; 17.) Late kiss; 18.) Twin stars; 19.) The wedding; and 20.) The restaurant.
audience reaction: The parents and their children enjoyed this movie.
recommendation: Go see this with young children.
spoiler alert! One scene frightened one of the kids in the audience--must have been the same kid in A CHRISTMAS CAROL show. Big Lou, the alligator, looks more like a crocodile with its narrow snout. How come the other alligators couldn't walk on their hind legs, and why did they disappear as soon as Big Lou showed up? In the presence of Big Lou, all the other bayou/swamp creatures lost their predatory instincts, why? Is this to suggest that music does, indeed, soothe the savage beasts? Or is Big Lou simply in possession of a powerful mojo? Why did Mama Odie cook-up a bath-tub full of Gumbo in the middle of nowhere in the first place? For such a squashed bug, Ray sure didn't look like one, but Naveen did a better turn as a squashed frog twice! In most species of fireflies, the males are the only ones flying around and signaling females on the ground as part of their courtship ritual.
fyi: I read an article a few years ago on bioluminescence. Apparently, for whatever quasi-practical reason, scientists want to produce glow-in-the-dark humans.
If you meditate long enough ( i.e. decades ), you may just glow in the dark--it's a given!
In Canada, the Geo Metro is called, the Firefly. I should use luminescent paint on mine.
I remember when one of our cousins, Jeannie, would drop-off her daughter, Michelle, for my sisters to babysit. Michelle was one hyper-active little girl. As soon as she stepped in the house, she would always asked, "Where's Reggie?" And Reggie, our deaf white cat with one yellow eye and one blue eye, would growl and hiss whenever he would see Michelle because he wouldn't want her playing with him at all. And at the end of each day, Michelle would be turned over to her mom with fresh scratches all over her arms!
word of advice: Some wishes have a funny way of coming true.
tidbits: Before going to the cinema, as I was eating lunch at the Filipino buffet of which I was the only customer, I couldn't help but notice that the proprietor was playing Hanukkah songs on the radio. And there I was, enjoying some delicious pork! Talk about guilty pleasure! What are my Jewish Ancestors on my mother's side going to think about me? It sure ruined the ambiance for me. As I was paying for my meal, I asked him if he knew that the songs his radio was playing were Jewish holiday music. "I didn't know," he answered. I hope that I got the message across: He needs to play "kosher pork music" for the Holidays to draw in the right clientele.
After the movie, I went to Chase Bank to deposit some money into my checking account. Then I went to CVS Drugs to buy some cold medicine, evaporated milk ( for my coffee ), and a mini digital camera.
