where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CAwhen: Friday, January 15th, 2009
show: 4:25 p.m.
costs: $7.25 Ticket + $4.75 Kid's Snack Pack + $7.13 large MacDonald's Black Angus Bacon Cheeseburger Value Meal ( # 13 ) before the movie = $19.13
auditorium: 2
seat: 4th row, 5th column
synopsis: A Chinese secret agent, Bob Ho ( Jackie Chan ), on-loan to the CIA, finishes-up what he thinks is his last mission. But, as he contemplates marriage, one of his girlfriend Gillian's ( Amber Valletta ) kids, Ian ( Will Shadley ) unsuspectingly downloads a secret file which makes a Russian mob hunt them down, exposing Bob's secret identity and putting innocent lives at stake.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Skirt; 2.) Far East Pen Industries; 3.) Manhole grate; 4.) Kids' opposition; 5.) News report; 6.) Farren's outburst; 7.) Pig & bacon; 8.) Volunteer baby-sitter; 9.) Stockholm, GBH; 10.) Fresh Prince of Belarus; 11.) Stink bomb; 12.) Bed-time; 13.) Breakfast; 14.) Wedgie; 15.) Princess Nora ( Alina Foley ); 16.) Principal's office; 17.) Mission accomplished; 18.) Tuxedo; 19.) Test; 20.) Smart; 21.) Sugar rush; 22.) Singing Nora to sleep; 23.) Spy gadgets; 24.) New and improved breakfast; 25.) Rooftop; 26.) Cowboy; 27.) Iggy Pop and David Bowie Concert in China CD; 28.) Break-in; 29.) Bad guys; 30.) Restaurant; 31.) The turtle; 32.) The watch; 33.) Hotel; 34.) 'Phone call; 35.) Ring and belt; 36.) Orphan; 37.) Break-up; 38.) Runaway; 39.) Download; 40.) Bike; 41.) It's Halloween; 42.) Taking candy from baby; 43.) The Russians are coming; 44.) Future cyborg; 45.) Good guys; 46.) "Mom"; 47.) "Bob"; and 48.) Out-takes.
audience reaction: The audience, especially the kids, enjoyed it.
recommendation: I liked it. It's good entertainment for a young family.
spoiler alert! Gillian didn't want her stepdaughter, Farren ( Madeline Carroll ), to wear short skirts but she did anyway without objection. When the manhole grate was cut-through, the bars didn't make a loud clanging sound when they hit the sewer floor. Nora was obviously wired to an harness in her stunt scenes, for insurance purposes. What happened to the cat and pig? Speaking of insurance, Jackie Chan said in an interview that he doesn't like doing action films in the US because of our prohibitive insurance policies. If you think that his stunt work ( with and without a body double ) in this movie are rather tame, it's only because Jackie Chan has insurance agents looking over his shoulder! Cut the guy some slack! Let's see how you do when you get to be his AARP card-carrying age--he'll be 56-years old this April 7th.
fyi: If you noticed in Jackie Chan's earlier movies, he almost always used Mitsubishi vehicles. But he uses an Hyundai Elantra in this one. One would think that this is quite a radical departure from the norm for Jackie Chan, until one realizes that the first Hyundais sold in this country, the Excel, was nothing more than a re-badged entry-level Mitsubishi--and I still see some of them driven around in the streets.
I love watching Jackie Chan movies because he doesn't rely much on wire-work and because he always makes use of ordinary objects as improvised weapons in his films. And, besides, he is an overall good guy.
word of advice: Emulate Jackie Chan and keep fit.
"What you call boring, I call dependable." Gillian
To an orphan, "Family is who you love and who loves you." Bob Ho
tidbits: When one of the on-screen characters made a reference to peeing in a bottle, a little girl behind me said, "Eeyew ...."
After the movie, I went to the CVS Drugstore on Sonoma Boulevard to see if they sell rice cookers. But they don't. They used to back when it was Longs Drugstore. I noticed that CVS has fewer selections than Longs had. If variety is the spice of ( retail ) life, then CVS's flavor leans towards the bland side.
Next, I went to the 99 Cent Only Store on Springs Road to buy a pair of work socks. And I found more health bars to buy! I also bought sliced mango in a can. Plus, I found two last pairs of boxer shorts in my exact size. What a deal!
Lastly, I went a few doors down to Island Pacific Grocery Store to look for a Philippine-made food flavoring mix, Maggi's Magic Sarap. But they don't sell it here--that's three Pilipino stores I'd been to that don't carry this mix anymore. I'll have to go to the Sea Food City Grocery Store in Concord, CA on Sunday after work to see if they have it. I ended-up just buying two cans of Spanish-style sardines ( oil & tomato sauce-packed ), Taho drink, and a Bibingka cake.
The Bibingka cake was a disappointment when I finally tasted it as soon as I got it home. It doesn't have that authentic taste of the original Philippine version.
Speaking of Bibingka, in Rob Schneider's DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO ( 1999 ), his father shows him a "Bibingka" in one particular scene--only thing was, it was a CUPCAKE! I, and all the other Pilipino-Americans in the audience, had a good laugh at that one! How could that Pinoy half-breed goof that one up? I hope his Pinay mother spanked him after the premiere of that movie!
