where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
show: 3:00 p.m.
costs: $7.25 Ticket + $3.75 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $1.00 Jack Link's Beef & Cheese combo + $0.74 Planters Honey Roasted Peanuts ( 2.50 oz. ) + $9.26 all-you-can-eat pizza & salad Wednesday Night Dinner Buffet at Mountain Mike's Pizza Restaurant = $22.00
auditorium: 2
seat: 4th row, 8th column
synopsis: Has LOVE, for you, ever been yet a vignette?
A florist named, Reed ( Ashton Kutcher ), delivers bouquets in the downtown Los Angeles area on Valentine's Day to people who are in one way or another connected to each other.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Yes! 2.) Angry driver; 3.) Tap dancer; 4.) Downtown Flower Mart; 5.) Wind-up toy; 6.) Former gymnast; 7.) 'Phone call; 8.) Elevator; 9.) Daddy juggles well; 10.) Airplane; 11.) One empty hand; 12.) Pretty girl talk; 13.) Receipt; 14.) Bi-Polar Paula ( Queen Latifah ); 15.) Sex plan; 16.) Reading me; 17.) Discretion; 18.) Rehearsing; 19.) Dosvidanya; 20.) Rear-ended; 21.) Boisterous brats; 22.) Not ready; 23.) Inkling; 24.) Low-rider; 25.) Airport; 26.) Televised tour guide; 27.) Blackberry relationship; 28.) Track field; 29.) Grandparents; 30.) Confession; 31.) Pretzel bet; 32.) S. F. hospital; 33.) News conference; 34.) The "Today's Special"; 35.) Golden Kadahi Restaurant; 36.) Chauffeured ride; 37.) "Entertainer"; 38.) Hollywood Forever Cemetery; 39.) Pinata; 40.) Tri-fecta; 41.) Burn, baby, burn; 42.) Reconciliation; 43.) Sing-along; 44.) Revelation; 45.) Dance; 46.) African queen; 47.) Late-night arrival; 48.) Simple; 49.) Flower flotilla; 50.) Awkward; 51.) Candid camera; 52.) Out-takes; and 53.) Bonus scene after the ending credits.
I think that this is the most number of scenes that I've ever noted on any one movie that I blogged about--and I purposely left-out 3 or 4 more scenes! This is how convoluted the movie is. And for its subject matter, Love on Valentine's Day, I don't think that it was even well worth it at all. Of course, I'm not speaking from a female's commercialized point-of-view.
audience reaction: There were some funny scenes that the audience seemed to like.
recommendation: I liked it enough to give it a fair recommendation.
spoiler alert! The Los Angeles demographics was inadequately represented. I mean, where were all the Asians hiding on this particular day? In study groups, in laboratories, and in libraries ...? Come on, now, even Asians are vulnerable to Cupid's arrows. Heck, if they want Asian men represented, they can come and get me, Cine-Man, anytime! What about the gangs called the "Bloods" and the "Crips", huh? They're from Los Angeles, too! They could have had a love story centered around this gang rivalry, a la Romeo & Juliet, right? But, then again, cute pretty-boy whitey, Reed, might have reservations about delivering red roses to the Crips! And Alphonso ( George Lopez ), the sidekick, got enough street-smarts in him to know better than to mess with either gang. Valentine's Day falls on a Monday for these years: 2000, 2005, 2011 & 2022. This movie was probably scheduled for release next year but, as with LEAP YEAR, they bumped-up the release date perhaps for fear of what December, 2012 may have in store for Hollywood. They're raking-in their profits now for just-in-case. After all, if you can't take it with you .... Two pairs of attractive teenagers with raging hormones practicing abstinence! ... today! ... in Los Angeles! ... hello ...? Wake up! What are the improbable odds of that being actually true? Zilch, nothing, zero, nada, zip! Why didn't they show Reed getting on the freeway in that low-rider? Simple, low-rider tires are for street cruising only; they are not speed-rated for freeway use. But, oh, how I wanted to see Reed speeding on the freeway on such a set of tires because I wanted to see how soon the tires would blow out! Unfortunately, no such luck--damn! There were too many stories going on which actually made for less content. If these people invest too much of themselves on just this one particular day, what will they do for the next 364 days of the year when, ideally, Love should be nurtured and Passion should be spontaneous?
fyi: I had this crush once when I was in first year high school at Ateneo De Davao in Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines. ( For the record, there's no junior high school in the Philippines, so students go from grade six elementary [ 6th grade ] to first year high school [ high school freshman ] ). There was a beautiful fair-skinned, light-brown haired Castilla ( Spanish ) Filipina in grade six in the school's elementary department right next to the high school department on the same campus. One day, when the school let-out early, I proceeded to the school bus terminal at the back of the campus and seated myself in my designated bus. Although she was supposed to wait in another bus, she came in my bus and sat on the bench in front of mine. She talked to some guy ( there were just the three of us in the bus ) but soon turned her attention to me and started a conversation with me. I panicked, gulped, and, at the earliest opportunity, bolted out the door. I think that I walked home that day.
Anyway, the guy she talked to was my classmate who was just a friend and neighbor of hers. This poor guy, who we nicknamed Aguila because of his facial deformity which made him look like an eagle, knew that I had a crush on J. V. So, he told me to give her something on Valentine's Day. I walked to downtown Davao City after school one day with my scrimped and saved ba-on ( lunch money ) to find something to buy at a shop or bazaar. I settled on a beautiful and cute hairbrush--Yes! Hey, I was young, so don't give me a hard time about it. Anyway, I gift-wrapped it as best I could and waited with 'bated breath for the special day to arrive.
Finally, it was Valentine's Day. I saw her out on the field as if waiting for someone. I started walking up to her from behind with the special gift in my hands. But a bunch of other guys appeared as if out of nowhere and ran up to her with Valentine's cards in hand. I froze on the spot! Why didn't I just get her a Valentine's card, I thought. Afraid that she would turn around and see me, I walked away quietly. It was just as well because had she turned around and seen me, I would have peed in my khaki pants ( high school students wore khaki pants and elementary school pupils wore navy blue pants )! And I don't have to tell you guys what happens if you get a pair of khaki pants wet.
One day, I saw a picture of a model in a magazine who looked like her. And being that I'm a talented artist , I drew it and colored it with pastel crayons so that I would have a "picture" of her to keep. ( Cue in Paul Anka's song, "Puppy Love." )
Ahh ... young love, how funny!
I wonder how she is these days ....
Something happened this Sunday, Valentine's Day, which I am at present not at liberty to divulge--too many gossip-mongers. And, no, nobody kissed my radioactive lips or tongued my radioactive mouth on Valentine's Day ( if you don't know what I'm talking about here, refer back to my tidbit on my blog for PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS ).
word of advice: "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Lord Alfred Tennyson
"Truth makes everything else a lie." Edgar ( Hector Elizondo )
"Too much of a good thing is bad." Shakespeare ( ? )
"Life imitates Art."
Love should be nurtured and Passion should be spontaneous. Cine-Man
newsflash: FriendsEat.com posted my blog for THE WOLFMAN at the # 1 spot on their Empire King Buffet blog list. They moved my WHEN IN ROME blog down to # 6. Those guys must like me a whole lot! Thanks, guys, and Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all of you. I bet that this blog will make it on their list, too! 'Gotta love their search engine. Now, I feel obligated to travel to Brooklyn, New York, to check out this particular restaurant, the Empire King Buffet. So, wish me luck on the California Lottery 'cause I plan on celebrating my win in Brooklyn, New York, via dinner and a movie ( Well, what else did you expect from Cine-Man? ).
I did go to the Empire Buffet here in Vallejo, CA for dinner on Valentine's Day. If only so that I could cast admiring glances at the owner's beautiful china-doll daughter. Wow, she's quite a dish! Anyway, back to the food .... They had Peking Duck, one of my favorite Chinese buffet staples, which is quite good ( the way they make it ) but which they rarely have except for that night. There must have been something special going on since the place was packed. Of course, I just kept to myself with my Peking Duck on rice. Oh, how yum-yummy it was for my hungry tummy. ( P. S. Don't get me wrong. I ate a bunch of other dishes, as well. I'm all for getting my money's worth! )
tidbits: On my way to the theatre, I swung by the CVS store, first, to buy the snacks to nibble on during the show since I hadn't had anything, yet, to eat all day.
Once at the theatre, I gave one of my Cine-Man business cards to the assistant supervisor after I told him that I'm the unofficial movie reviewer at work. I had asked him what new movies will be coming out on Friday, to which he answered, "SHUTTER ISLAND." Great, only one movie for me to review.
And since it's Wednesday Night All-You-Can-Eat Pizza and Salad Dinner Buffet at Mountain Mike's Pizza Restaurant, I decided to take advantage of it. But some of the slices that I ate had a funny, somewhat bitter, aftertaste. It was as if they used too much yeast or the crusts were undercooked or both. If I get seriously sick within the next 24 hours, you, my blog readers, are my witnesses.
After dinner, I went to the Dollar Tree Store across the parking lot at the Target Shopping Center to buy a 2-pack of popcorn tubs, a pair of barber shears, a 4-pack of AAA batteries, a bottle of Silkience shampoo, and a 3-pairs pack of shoelaces ( No, I'm not planning on doing a "David Carradine", iykwim [ wink, wink ] ).
newsflash: FriendsEat.com posted my blog for THE WOLFMAN at the # 1 spot on their Empire King Buffet blog list. They moved my WHEN IN ROME blog down to # 6. Those guys must like me a whole lot! Thanks, guys, and Happy Belated Valentine's Day to all of you. I bet that this blog will make it on their list, too! 'Gotta love their search engine. Now, I feel obligated to travel to Brooklyn, New York, to check out this particular restaurant, the Empire King Buffet. So, wish me luck on the California Lottery 'cause I plan on celebrating my win in Brooklyn, New York, via dinner and a movie ( Well, what else did you expect from Cine-Man? ).
I did go to the Empire Buffet here in Vallejo, CA for dinner on Valentine's Day. If only so that I could cast admiring glances at the owner's beautiful china-doll daughter. Wow, she's quite a dish! Anyway, back to the food .... They had Peking Duck, one of my favorite Chinese buffet staples, which is quite good ( the way they make it ) but which they rarely have except for that night. There must have been something special going on since the place was packed. Of course, I just kept to myself with my Peking Duck on rice. Oh, how yum-yummy it was for my hungry tummy. ( P. S. Don't get me wrong. I ate a bunch of other dishes, as well. I'm all for getting my money's worth! )
tidbits: On my way to the theatre, I swung by the CVS store, first, to buy the snacks to nibble on during the show since I hadn't had anything, yet, to eat all day.
Once at the theatre, I gave one of my Cine-Man business cards to the assistant supervisor after I told him that I'm the unofficial movie reviewer at work. I had asked him what new movies will be coming out on Friday, to which he answered, "SHUTTER ISLAND." Great, only one movie for me to review.
And since it's Wednesday Night All-You-Can-Eat Pizza and Salad Dinner Buffet at Mountain Mike's Pizza Restaurant, I decided to take advantage of it. But some of the slices that I ate had a funny, somewhat bitter, aftertaste. It was as if they used too much yeast or the crusts were undercooked or both. If I get seriously sick within the next 24 hours, you, my blog readers, are my witnesses.
After dinner, I went to the Dollar Tree Store across the parking lot at the Target Shopping Center to buy a 2-pack of popcorn tubs, a pair of barber shears, a 4-pack of AAA batteries, a bottle of Silkience shampoo, and a 3-pairs pack of shoelaces ( No, I'm not planning on doing a "David Carradine", iykwim [ wink, wink ] ).
