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| Proposed alternate movie poster! Ha, ha, ha--snort! |
where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when: Monday, February 8ht, 2010
show: 11:15 a.m.
costs: $7.50 Ticket + $4.50 small Zero Coke = $12.00
auditorium: 4
seat: 4th row, 4th seat
synopsis: Two holes are better than none.
Soldier boy, John Tyree ( Channing Tatum ), out on leave, through happenstance, meets conservative girl, Savannah Curtis ( Amanda Seyfried ). They soon fall in love with each other. But priorities and obligations force them apart. They correspond with each other to keep in touch and to keep the "flame of love" going, not knowing that Fate is about to rudely intervene and deal them a bittersweet hand.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Coins; 2.) Pier; 3.) Barbecue; 4.) Primal; 5.) Pick-up; 6.) Restaurant; 7.) Numismatist; 8.) Conservative lifestyle; 9.) Montage; 10.) 12 months; 11.) Fight; 12.) Note; 13.) Double lasagna; 14.) Dear John; 15.) Dear Savannah; 16.) Full moon; 17.) Favorite coin; 18.) Warm milk; 19.) 9-11; 20.) Changed mind; 21.) 15-year wait; 22.) Re-enlist; 23.) Airport terminal; 24.) Long-delayed news; 25.) Bazaar burqa mamas; 26.) Ambush; 27.) Extending; 28.) Stroke; 29.) Reading his letter; 30.) Rain surfing; 31.) Funeral; 32.) Camp Horse Sense; 33.) Master plan; 34.) Dinner conversation; 35.) Father's collection; 36.) Anonymous donation; and 37.) Chance meeting.
audience reaction: Although it was seen by a predominantly female geriatric crowd ( who probably have their own love stories to tell from the Korean and Vietnam War eras ), I didn't hear a peep or a sob or a sniffle from anyone of them. It was just plain quiet. Too quiet for the type of movie that it supposedly is.
recommendation: Forget what the other critics say: This isn't a "tear-jerker" kind of a "Hen-picked" flick ( I say "Hen" because the majority of the female crowd are older women, not "Chicks" [ young girls ] ). This is just a love story worked around 9-11. If you're an "hen" who wants to vicariously relive a bittersweet romance, then this movie may just appeal to you.
spoiler alert! When was the last time that you saw anyone walking around with a pen handy? Even people who go shopping for groceries, or whatever, and have in mind to pay for their purchases with a cheque don't necessarily have the common-sense presence of mind--in most cases--to take a pen with them before they leave the house ( this observation is based on my years of retail experience )! The only guy I personally know of who has a pen handy whenever he goes out, is I! In fact, I had four pens with me today. The Afghan man in the bazaar who tried to warn the army patrol about the ambush is "dead-meat" in real life! John didn't properly assess the situation before trying to take a fallen comrade out of harm's way ( but I guess we can chalk this one up to "human error" ). I knew something was up when I observed the first horseback-riding scene. Why was John so overly nice to someone who figuratively "ripped his heart apart"? Not I! No, sirree ( there are other chicks in the coop ).
fyi: There is a rare coin worth lots of money. It's a 1972 double-stamped copper penny. I've been keeping an eye out for it for many, many long years. If you find one, give it to me! I'll gladly pay you twenty bucks for it. ( And I hope that you're stupid enough to sell it to me for that set price. ) But if you do sell it to someone else, give me a 10% commission for letting you know of its potential worth.
There should be a law against sending an only son/child off to war.
On September 10th, 2001, on my way to work in Oakland, CA at around 10:15 p.m., I was busy talking to myself after I exited the freeway. When I crossed a particular intersection and drove by a Muslim center, I said to myself, You know, if the United States ever gets attacked, they should burn this place down! Upon realizing what I had just said, I uttered, Why in Hell would I say something like that ...? I dismissed it as just mindless babble.
The next day, I drove to Benicia, CA to work at my other job. On my commute, all the radio stations that I tuned-in to in my Geo Metro played no music at all. Instead, they were all talk shows talking about The Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, The Civil War and Pearl Harbor; and I really didn't get the gist of it all. Anyway, at work, while standing at my assigned checkstand ( 6 or 7 ) during a lull, I overheard the checkers on 1 and 3 talking about war and an attack on American soil. I asked them what they were talking about. Surprised at my seeming lack of information ( I didn't watch the news or read the paper before leaving for work ), they told me about what had just happened earlier in the day. When I took my break and went to the breakroom, that was when I realized the gravity of the situation because the TV news showed the planes crashing into the twin towers. I forcibly kept myself from crying even though my eyes welled with tears.
Greatly distressed by the events, I had trouble sleeping for over a week because I "saw" myself on the floor of the buildings that were hit, and in the planes, as well, as if I were in with the victims on that fateful morning. I felt solely responsible for the tragedies because of my vague premonition on September 10th. Had I been neither lackadaisical nor desultory in my meditation and in my spiritual cultivation, I would have had a clearer premonition of the events which were to transpire and would have, then, been able to warn the authorities and helped to avert the attacks. I became so depressed that I almost took my life in the morning of September 17th with my own rifle. And I would have, if not for a sign from my beloved, deceased orange Manx cat, Winky. ( But this is another story best saved, perhaps, for another time. )
word of advice: Marry for the right reasons.
Never turn your back on the enemy.
tidbits: After the movie, I went back to the box office to ask the clerk if they were having a midnight show for THE WOLFMAN this Thursday night. He said, "No." But their schedule on the Internet for Thursday does list a midnight show for THE WOLFMAN, VALENTINE'S DAY and PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS. I guess that I'll just take a chance and swing by on Thursday night, just in case.
Three little old ladies were sitting on a park bench one warm spring day. All of a sudden, a pervert in a trench coat walked up to them and flashed them. The first two little old ladies, each, had a stroke. But the third little old lady was so shocked that she didn't even want to take a look at it!
