HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, PG ( 1 hr & 38 min )

where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when: Tuesday ( Dollar Popcorn Day ), March 30th, 2010
show: 9:30 p.m.
costs: $17.50 Ticket + $0.00 small Diet Coke ( Free Drink Loyalty Reward ) + $1.00 small Popcorn = $18.50
auditorium: 12, with the I-Max 3-D screen
seat: 5th row, seat 6

synopsis: A runt of a Viking, Hiccup, by sheer luck, captures the most elusive and mysterious of all dragons: The Night Fury. When Hiccup decides to spare the dragon's life, whom he later christens with the name, Toothless, a strong bond of friendship, loyalty and trust develops between the two of them. And Hiccup gradually learns that what he and his people know about dragons are all based on wild speculations.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) New Viking village; 2.) Night Fury; 3.) Planning a sneak attack; 4.) Crash site; 5.) Dragon training; 6.) Missing tail; 7.) Dragon guide book; 8.) Second dragon training; 9.) Peace offering; 10.) A downed dragon is a dead dragon; 11.) New tail rudder; 12.) Today is about team work; 13.) Grass; 14.) Scratch; 15.) Spot light; 16.) Blacksmith shop; 17.) Defeated Vikings; 18.) Free fall; 19.) Little dragons; 20.) Everything is wrong; 21.) Half a breastplate; 22.) Elder's decision; 23.) You scared him; 24.) Let me show you; 25.) I'm sorry; 26.) Dragon swarm; 27.) Dragon queen; 28.) That's for everything else; 29.) Tournament; 30.) Captured; 31.) Nest; 32.) You throw your lot in with them; 33.) All-out battle armada; 34.) The crazy plan; 35.) Dragons' lair; 36.) Angry queen; 37.) Surprise attack; 38.) Proud to call you my son; 39.) Crash landing; 40.) You're in my house; and 41.) New Viking village life.

audience reaction: It was the last show for the day and, as such, no children were present in the audience for me to have a better feel for the viewers' reaction. But I would safely say that all the people who watched this movie with me liked it, at the very least.

recommendation: I love the I-Max 3-D animation in this movie! The perfect attention to detail is simply amazing, i.e. the hair, the fur, the clothes, the underwater scenes, etc. And I love how they put barnacles on the viking ships. Kids would love to see this movie.

spoiler alert: Somebody forgot to put scales on the fish--'must be the new CGI guy! ( Hey, Hollywood, can I have the new guy's job since I'm quite detail-oriented? ) At high speeds, the artificial tail rudder would get twisted out of alignment, making the flight erratically dangerous. How was Toothless able to fly to the rescue without somebody controlling his tail rudder?

fyi: In some parts of the Philippines, if a kid hiccups, it means that the kid is growing. Obviously, I didn't hiccup enough.

Whenever I would get a hiccup, and nobody would be around to make me feel self-conscious, I would raise my right hand above my chest and stomach to send calm, soothing energy into my body to get rid of the hiccup. It works almost instantaneously every time. I learned this trick on my own when I realized that I could manipulate my body's energy field--just one of the perks of doing meditation.

word of advice: Size does not always matter.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

tidbits: I needed to see this movie to unwind after a stressful and hectic day at work: Someone in my department called in sick, we were shipped too much of too many, the big bosses were making their rounds with the manager, and there were too many customers. And I didn't get enough sleep beforehand.

I was scheduled to come in to work today at 4:00 p.m. So, the night before, I went to see HOT TUB TIME MACHINE. And I blogged about it as soon as I got home and after I had eaten a late meal. At around 3:00 a.m., I decided to meditate first before going to sleep. By the time I finally went to bed, it was already after 4:00 a.m. No problem, my shift doesn't start for another 12 hours. Then, at 7:45 a.m., my answering machine kicked-in with a message from a co-worker asking me to come in early because we were a man short. But I needed my sleep. So I tried to catch more ZZZs until just before 11:00 a.m. After I dragged myself out of bed, I called my department and told them that I still had one errand to run before I could be at work by around 12:30 p.m.

But had I known what was in store for me, I wouldn't have voluntarily shown up early for work!

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, R ( 1 hr & 40 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, March 29th, 2010
show: 10:15 p.m.
costs: $9.50 Ticket + $3.75 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $1.00 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites ( bought at 99 Cent Only Store & smuggled-in ) = $14.25
auditorium: 7
seat: 5th row, 10th column

synopsis: Adam ( John Cusack ), his two good friends, Craig and Lou ( Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry ) and a tag-along, Jacob ( Clark Duke ), all stuck in a rut, accidentally get to travel back in time, while in a hot tub, to 1986 and get the chance to re-write their life story.

prediction: This movie is for this year what the movie, HANGOVER, was for last year!

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Cell phone screen; 2.) BMW; 3.) 'Phone message; 4.) Garage; 5.) Hospital room; 6.) Great White Buffalo; 7.) Phil, the bellhop ( Crispin Glover ); 8.) Hot tub; 9.) Calling an escort service; 10.) In the tub; 11.) Squirrel; 12.) Retro thing going on; 13.) What color is Michael Jackson; 14.) Bathroom; 15.) Stuck in the'80s; 16.) Recollections; 17.) Free spirit; 18.) Confrontation; 19.) Bubble bath; 20.) Three-way; 21.) Winter Fest; 22.) All about Cincinnati again; 23.) Elevator; 24.) Spies; 25.) Break-up note; 26.) You're gonna lose that arm; 27.) Sports bet; 28.) Predetermine life; 29.) A bet's a bet; 30.) Goading the loser; 31.) Hand soap; 32.) Scheming to exploit future trends; 33.) On stage; 34.) Alone again, naturally; 35.) Rooftop; 36.) Rescue; 37.) You finish this; 38.) Fight for Chernobly; 39.) Back to the future; 40.) Lougle maps; 41.) Lifestyle of the rich and famous; 42.) Cheers; and 43.) Motley Lue.

audience reaction: The audience really enjoyed this movie.

recommendation: I enjoyed this movie, too! Go see it with your 18 and/or over friends.

spoiler alert! Frying the wires, in all likelihood, would just cut-off the hot tub's power supply. There weren't enough people at the Winter Fest '86. Why didn't  Phil, the bellhop, just let go of the luggage while he was in the elevator? Lou could have easily ducked/countered the punches, since most of them weren't sucker punches.  Twenty-four years on the job, and still a bellhop?  Unbelievable!

fyi: I love how they revolved the story around the missing arm.

The casting agent did an excellent job of finding young look-alikes of the lead actors in this movie. Unlike the casting agent who found a young unlook-alike for Nicolas Cage in the movie, GHOSTRIDER ( 2007 ): That guy looked like a young Tom Cruise!

My mom had a hot tub installed in the back yard of her house. And in all that time that she had it, it was only used once when a couple of nieces came over for a visit.

I remember reading a Dear Annie ( or was it Dear Abby ...? ) article about a family who had a hot tub. At one time, they hosted a female Japanese exchange student. As they were all in the hot tub one day, they invited the Japanese girl to join in the fun. And join in the fun, she did--butt-naked! Apparently that's how they go hot-tubbing in Japan.

word of advice: If you're gonna host a beautiful Japanese exchange student, first make sure that you have a hot tub installed! Ha, ha, ha.

If you're ever offered a second chance, take it!

tidbits: I wanted to see this movie two days ago, on Saturday, but I ate too much at the buffet so I just went home. And I wanted to see it yesterday, a Sunday, but, again, I ate too much ( at home this time ) so I just stayed home. But tonight I didn't have enough cooked rice to eat with my chicken and sardines so I was able to go to the theatre since I didn't feel stuffed.

Before leaving the house tonight, I e-mailed a Yogi/Guru my request for Kriyaban initiation. I've wanted to do this for such a long time. My application was rejected five years ago. But I guess it's safe to assume that they don't remember me from last time and will accept my application this time around. Wish me luck.

Q: What do you call a leper in a hot tub?

A: Stew!

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, PG ( 1 hr & 30 min )

where: AMC BAY STREET 16
when: Wednesday ( Free Small Popcorn Day ), March 24th, 2010
show: 8:50 p.m.
costs: $10.75 Ticket + $4.25 regular Diet Coke ( No Ice ) + $1.00 upgrade-to-medium Popcorn + $4.00 Bridge Toll = $20.00
auditorium: 9
seat: 5th row, 10th column

synopsis: Greg Heffley ( Zachary Gordon ) starts middle school self-consciously and desperately tries anything and everything to fit-in with the cool kids, even going so far as to take for granted his long-time friendship with Rowley ( Robert Capron ).

noteworthy scenes: 1.) First day rush; 2.) Bully brother, Rodrick ( Devon Bostick ); 3.) Breakfast table; 4. ) Summertime growth spurt; 5.) Serape ( Mexican shawl ); 6.) Fregley's ( Grayson Russell ) secret mole; 7.) Angie ( Chloe Grace Moretz ) 8.) Cheese touch; 9.) Boys' room; 10.) Cafeteria; 11.) Wanna play with me; 12.) Bicycle; 13.) Middle school yearbook; 14.) Bathroom; 15.) Patty ( Laine Macneil ); 16.) Wrestling; 17.) Bulking-up; 18.) Bulldog class; 19.) Shirt & tie; 20.) Awesome to be me; 21.) Fashion make-over; 22.) Cute butt; 23.) Halloween urban myth; 24.) Northside; 25.) In the Devil Worshipper Woods; 26.) Safety patrol; 27.) Arm cast; 28.) Sympathy sheet; 29.) Cartoon sketches; 30.) Mrs. Irvine ( Karin Konoval ); 31.) Zooey mama; 32.) Suspension; 33.) You only care about yourself; 34.) Team captain; 35.) Best friend; 36.) Fregley's house; 37.) Soprano voice; 38.) Stage play; 39.) Flyer; 40.) Magazine; 41.) Mother & Son Sweetheart Dance; 42.) Playground confrontation; 43.) All meaningless; and 44.) Way too smart for me.

audience reaction: The audience liked this.

recommendation: I enjoyed this movie. Go see it with your middle school-age kids.

spoiler alert! No cheese slice would last that long on a blacktop because it would get stepped-on, eaten by a scavenging animal, dried and turned to dust by the heat of the Sun, or diluted and washed away by the rain or the melting snow. Greg's handwriting is too perfect to be that of a sixth grader's. What parent in his or her right mind would want his/her son to ride a pink girl's bike to school and/or anywhere lots of other kids his age hang-out? All the wrestlers wore what look like court shoes to me when they should have been wearing wrestling shoes--I wrestled in high school so I know what wrestling shoes look like. And this movie gives out the bad message that it is okay to start, and have, a "disposable-type" of friendship with an "innocent by-stander" just to spite your best friend; but if and when you do make-up with your best friend your "innocent by-stander friend" gets left behind holding an "empty bag" of friendship--and this is a definite "No-No" in the Rules of Friendship Book!

fyi: "Middle School" ( Grades 6, 7 and 8 ) is a term that was first used in Bay City, Michigan, in 1950.

I had this classmate, a cataract-eyed and harelipped William C. ( who happens to be a distant relative of mine on my father's side ) in Grade 6 at Rizal Memorial College, Elementary Department, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, who always carried a pair of drumsticks with him, whose favorite song was The Guess Who's "American Woman" ( 1970 ), who talked about wanting to immigrate to the USSR, and who "matured" ahead of everyone else in class. Just for laughs, whenever the home-room teacher wasn't watching, he would put his booger on the partition wall and, worse, he would yank-out some of his pubic hair and put it on some other boy's desk--yuck, gross!

My point is, instead of boogers, why didn't they use pubic hair since most of the kids in this movie are right around that age of "self-discovery" ( as in: Ahh! what's that )?

Shortly after my family moved to our brand new bungalow in GSIS Heights Subdivision in Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, I read a newspaper article which stated that salicylic acid kills the bacteria responsible for ringworms. And I knew from a previous article that underarm odor is caused by bacteria living on the hair and armpit skin of a person. So, I came upon the novel idea of liberally using salicylic acid on my armpits for odor control. And it work! I wonder why nobody came up with this idea before, I asked myself. My armpits were completely odor-free for three whole days. But after three days, my underarm odor came back with a super-strong vengeance! Oh, well ... at least I tried ....

word of advice: Don't be somebody else, be yourself.

"Our choices make us who we are." Susan Heffley ( Rachael Harris )

Don't get someone into an "innocent by-stander" type of friendship.

tidbits: I spent the day at my friend Hector's place in Oakland, CA, because I bought Corned Beef for St. Patrick's Day but couldn't eat it all by myself. So I just kept it in the freezer until I could find the time to go to Oakland so that I could cook it for everybody. I also baked a Strawberry/Raspberry/Blackberry Cobbler for dessert. I know that two of them in the family are borderline Diabetic but, hey, not my problem .... What a fine friend I turned out to be! Ha, ha, ha.

On the way home, I decided to see this movie at AMC Bay Street 16 because I haven't seen a movie at this particular theatre for so long.

P.S. I would have published this movie blog sometime yesterday were it not for the fact that I was blocked access to my blog site for over 24 hours. I had to re-write most of what you see here today, Friday, March 26th, late in the evening! I don't know what happened. I tried other blogspot.com sites but couldn't gain access on any of them. I tried using different search engines but still couldn't access any blog site. Fandango.com was inaccessible to me, too, for about half a day yesterday. My Gmail account was acting-up, too. And, now, my MagicJack and my Opera browser are also acting-up. My virus and malware protection turned-up nothing. I guess I'll just have to turn my computer off to reboot it. Whatever .... ( I don't know much about computers. )

OUR FAMILY WEDDING, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 30 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, March 22nd, 2010
show: 11:50 a.m. Extra Dollar Off First Show Matinee
costs: $6.25 Ticket + $5.75 Kid's Pack ( w/ Dollar Upgrade ) + $6.49 Lunch @ Wendy's Restaurant ( Bacon & Blue Cheese Burger Combo with Side Salad substitute [ w/ Ranch Dressing ] and small Lemonade ) = $18.49
auditorium: 3
seat: 3rd row, 7th column

synopsis: Our families' meddling ....

A young couple, Lucia and Marcus ( America Ferrera and Lance Gross ), very much in love, plan on getting married. But will their families' inter-racial differences ruin it all for them or will their love survive the "... slings and arrows of outrageous ..." situations?

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Daddy 'phone calls; 2.) No parking zone; 3.) Restaurant; 4.) When things calm down; 5.) Guy talk; 6.) Abuela ( grandmother ); 7.) Police department; 8.) Life doesn't always make sense; 9.) Smudge; 10.) Bathroom; 11.) Our marriage, their wedding; 12.) Seating arrangements; 13.) Dinner jacket; 14.) Bridal gown; 15.) Make-out point; 16.) The garage; 17.) Traditional Mexican wedding; 18.) Baseball game; 19.) We speak every Sunday; 20.) Front porch; 21.) Cake tasting; 22.) Couch; 23.) Radio call-in; 24.) Night club; 25.) Parking lot; 26.) I'm a wife, I'm a mother; 27.) Stand-up for me; 28.) I love what I do; 29.) Best friend; 30.) Even when I'm mad at you, I still love you; 31.) Dominate their brain; 32.) Never laughed at my jokes; 33.) Serenade; 34.) Graduation photo; 35.) You two were meant for each other; 36.) Wedding cake; 37.) The goat; 38.) You're her choice; 39.) Mariachi; 40.) Dance; and 41.) Photo montage during the Ending Credits.

audience reaction: The audience enjoyed this Rom-Com movie.

recommendation: I liked it as it was funny, informative, and revealing about what takes place leading up to a wedding--OMG! I'm sounding like I'm entertaining the thought of a married life. LOL.

spoiler alert! Both bathroom scenes were hard to swallow, especially the one with the wet Viagra tablets ( Brad [ Forest Whitaker ] didn't notice it at all? ) and the goat overdosing on said tablets ( it would have died of a massive heart attack brought on by a massive hard-on! ). The two scenes with the broken vases were also hard to believe. Likewise, the cake-fight and what followed after a wedding cake was smashed were ridiculous. Does a DJ of a LOCAL radio show actually make enough money to afford an expensive home, fancy cars, parties, one-night-stands with desperate groupies, the services of a lawyer, wedding costs, and college tuition for his son on top of all these? I don't think so!

fyi: I was invited to a wedding once where someone actually went to all the trouble of baking an home-made three-tiered wedding cake. It was leaning almost precariously to one side. I made fun of it, calling it The Leaning Tower of "Cake-sa", not knowing that the lady who made it was standing next to me--awkward!

Back at the apartment complex where my family lived in Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, the Ilocano family next door decided to cook a goat for a party. So they took a goat to the empty lot next to the apartment and forced it to drink a litre of sugar cane vinegar. It bleated and gurgled all the while until it died of vinegar intoxication. Although I partook of the dishes that they cooked with it, what I witnessed gradually made me lose interest in goat meat.

word of advice: Love is blind.

tidbits: At 2:15 p.m., when I was eating my lunch at Wendy's, I noticed a fake Great Horned Owl on the roof of the IHOP across the lot. Then I saw a pigeon land next to it. Yup! it didn't fool the pigeon at all. Maybe I'll get a BB gun and knock down the fake owl one of these nights.

And when I went up to the counter at 2:22 p.m. to get a refill on my lemonade, I noticed a sign saying that they are skimping on tomatoes and will add a ( paper-thin ) tomato slice to a customer's order only if the customer specifically asks for it because the tomato freeze in Florida supposedly made tomatoes a scarce commodity. Come on! Hot-house Tomatoes ( a.k.a. Steak Tomatoes ), the kind used in burgers, is on sale right now at Safeway for $1.99 a pound. Why couldn't Wendy's just send one of its employees to the Safeway grocery store just a mile down the road and buy-up a bunch of tomatoes? Otherwise, its patrons are just being charged the same price for less. What a scam! Come to think of it, their new burger, The Bacon & Blue Cheese Burger, doesn't show a tomato slice in the poster!

Here's a new jingle for Wendy's: Yes, we have no tomatoes. We have no tomatoes today!

The next time that I eat at a burger joint, I'll be sure to bring my own tomato! And should I decide to go to MacDonald's, I'll be sure to bring an onion, as well! Have you noticed the onions on a MacDonald's burger ...? They probably use a magnifying glass and tweezers to put onions on their burger buns!

One night years ago, I went to a Nation's Restaurant in Napa, CA. I ordered extra onions on my burger. When I took a bite out of it, tears rolled down my eyes! Yup! you get what you ask for if you eat at Nation's. Now, that was what I call "A real burger for a real man"!

HACHIKO: A DOG'S STORY, G ( 1 hr & 33 min )

where: MOVIE2K.COM
when: Sunday, March 21st, 2010
show: Late Night
costs: $0.00 Download
auditorium: Living Room
seat: My Swivel Chair

synopsis: A music professor ( Richard Gere ) comes upon a lost Akita puppy at the train station. What follows is an undying bond of love and loyalty between master and dog that is beyond reason and comprehension.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Shinto shrine; 2.) Train station; 3.) Organ; 4.) Bedroom; 5.) Playtime; 6.) Popcorn time; 7.) Chasing after his master; 8.) Skunk; 9.) Daily routine; 10.) The ball; 11.) The unexpected; 12.) Test of loyalty; 13.) News report; 14.) Old Hachiko; 15.) Meeting with mistress; 16.) The hot-dog vendor; 17.) The dream; and 18.) Dedication to Hachiko.

audience reaction: N/A

recommendation: I liked it and would recommend it to anybody who wants to see a good family movie. And it goes without saying that dog lovers will like this tear-jerker of a movie, too! Have lots of Kleenex tissues handy.

spoiler alert! Transplanting the setting of this movie, which is based on a true story, here in America instead of keeping it in Japan just dilutes the "authentic feel" of the movie.

fyi: I like how the dog's P.O.V. was done in black-and-white since dogs don't see in color.

I actually came across this true story back when I was in first year high school at Ateneo De Davao, High School Department, Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines. It was required reading for my English Literature Class. It left an indelible impression in me.

Akitas are probably the most loyal-to-its-master kind of dog.

I'm not sure if this movie was ever shown on the Big Screen. It would have made for a perfect Christmas movie last year! It just goes to show that Hollywood doesn't always know what's good for it!

word of advice: Treat animals, not just your pets, with respect.

If you want to watch a featured movie on Movie2K.com, press "Start" then let it run for a few seconds just to make sure that your computer is actually playing it, then press "Pause." Then go do something--anything--for about 30 minutes or so while the movie buffers, then go enjoy the movie. There's no time limit of 72 minutes on this one so you should be able to see the whole thing uninterrupted in just one sitting.

tidbits: The idiot living above my unit was doing some plumbing work in his kitchen early last night and ended-up leaking water into my unit. I only found out around midnight when I took an "intermission break" from watching this movie. I slipped a note under his door threatening to take him to court if he doesn't fix the problem right away. This is not the first time that this has happened. I already filed a report on him with the H.O.A. and will do so again!

THE BOUNTY HUNTER, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 46 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Friday, March 19th, 2010
show: 4:40 p.m.
costs: $7.25 Ticket + $2.00 Donation to Variety, The Children's Charity + $3.75 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $2.36 bulk Chocolate Candies + $13.75 Dinner after the show at Empire Chinese Buffet ( + $2.25 Tip ) = $31.36
auditorium: 7
seat: 5th row, 8ht column

synopsis: Milo ( Gerard Butler ), a bounty hunter, is happy at the prospect of an easy payday when he gets the job of hunting down his bail-jumping ex-wife, Nicole ( Jennifer Aniston ), a news reporter who is hunting a lead on a murder case. But Milo couldn't be more wrong about this particular job.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Road shoulder; 2.) Fourth of July Parade; 3.) Who's Mr. Ed; 4.) Less creepy option; 5.) Trees or cement; 6.) Court room; 7.) Bail bonds office; 8.) Chewing gum; 9.) Nicole's place; 10.) Jimmy's apartment; 11.) Kitty ( Christine Baranski ); 12.) Race track; 13.) Cab drivers; 14.) Car trunk; 15.) Bookie joint; 16.) Hot girlfriend; 17.) Craps table; 18.) Hotel room; 19.) Wrong man; 20.) Tazer; 21.) Pedicab; 22.) That's real; 23.) Track vet; 24.) Black SUV; 25.) Golf course; 26.) Blue Ink Tattoo Parlor; 27.) Cupid's Cabin; 28.) Favorite question; 29.) Candle-light dinner; 30.) Hallway to Bliss; 31.) Wedding photo; 32.) Confidential calls; 33.) Switched places; 34.) Ten bucks; 35.) Tattoo parlor office; 36.) Double D's parking lot; 37.) Irene's ( Cathy Moriarty ) money; 38.) Depository; 39.) Horse tranquilizers; and 40.) 117th Precinct.

audience reaction: The audience liked it.

recommendation: It's amusing enough to while the time away. And did I mention that it stars Jennifer Aniston?

spoiler alert! When Nicole threw the glass object at the front door, a piece got stuck in it, but it disappeared in the next shot when Milo stuck his head out of the bathroom; the next day, the piece reappeared in the door. Does a cell phone still work after it has been freshly-dunked in the water? ( I don't want to personally find out just to satisfy my curiosity--volunteers, anyone ...? ) At the police depository, their friend didn't notice their car parked in the lot. The police technician didn't offer support or even called for back-up right away. Stewart ( Jason Sudeikis ) can easily sue Irene and her henchmen, and have them put in jail, and then have the authorities put an end to her illegal gambling operation.

fyi: I entered the women's room by mistake once and even used a toilet stall at the Edwards Fairfield Stadium 16 & I-Max back in September of 1999 when I went there to see the Alec Baldwin movie, OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE. No wonder when I walked-in, it seemed odd that the room was sweet-smelling, clean, and had nothing but toilet stalls with urinals nowhere in sight! As I emptied my bladder, some young white person went and occupied the stall directly across from the one that I was using. When I stepped-out of the stall, I noticed the person's thongs ( flip-flop sandals ), which were visible under the door, had an unusually thick sole--not the type that you would see a boy put on. Then it hit me--Whoopsie! When I walked out of there, I looked at the sign by the door and, sure enough, it was the women's room. Ahh! Just then, a male employee walked towards the men's room at the opposite end as I apologetically--and with a big, wide grin--admitted to my faux pas!

Back in the late '80s, when my mom went to Europe on a solo trip, I let her borrow my Tazer for personal protection. On her return flight to the US, she was detained by the airport security when they found the Tazer on her person. Yup, I could just imagine them mistaking my frail, little old mother for a terrorist. Ha! It's all about racial profiling, I'm telling you.

Pig-out Man's Food Review: Empire Chinese Buffet didn't have Peking Duck ( is it more politically correct to call it Beijing Duck? ) this time. And no Vegetable Tempura. And no Orange-glazed cream-filled Cake either. But they had Papaya slices. Whenever I pig-out, I always cap my meal with Pineapple Chunks ( or Pickles, if there are no Pineapple Chunks ) because its Bromelain Enzymes help with my Protein digestion. And since the Papain Enzymes in Papaya also help with Protein digestion, it was a welcome added bonus to the usual fare. But their Seafood Delight is one of my stand-out favorites, although at times they leave out of the mix certain items such as Zucchini, Carrots, and/or Bell Peppers. And I've eaten their Seafood Delight enough times to be able to make it myself--and improve on it! ( Now, if I could only find some unwitting "guinea pigs" for the taste test--I think that it's time again to visit my friends in Oakland, CA. )

word of advice: Seek counseling if you have a bad gambling habit.

tidbits: Before the movie, I made a quick trip to Chase Bank to check on the status of a cheque that I forgot to enter in my cheque log. At least I got served by Erilou again. What's so special about her? Nothing, except that she is one exceptionally hot-looking Pinay ( pronounced: "pee-nigh", slang for Filipina )! ( That makes four exceptionally hot-looking Pinays that I've seen here in Vallejo, CA, through the years. )

The DIARY OF A WIMPY KID was sold-out for the 4:15 p.m. and the 7:00 p.m. shows. And I needed to see something light after REPO MEN. So I decided to watch THE BOUNTY HUNTER.

During the movie, in the scene in which Milo was snoring, I thought that the Dolby Stereo Surround Sound System was working exceptionally well until I realized that a man in the audience seated a few rows above mine was actually fast asleep! Ha, ha, ha. Talk about perfect timing.

After the movie, as I walked to my car, I looked-up at the marquee for the movie listings. They had wrongly spelled-out one: SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUER!

Then, I decided to end the night with dinner at Empire Chinese Buffet. And the owner's hot-looking daughter was there--she works from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. And I still don't know her name. Why don't they wear name tags like others do in other restaurants? Oh, forget it. If they do, their names would probably be written in Chinese, anyway.

I was gonna do this blog yesterday, except that I was preoccupied with trying-out two kinds of blog widgets. Maybe a few of you noticed last night the added features on my blog site. But when I checked with my Windows Task Manager, I found out that the two widgets were adding too much to my PF Usage--almost at 100 %. So I uninstalled them ... and doing so messed-up my Google Chrome, forcing me to shut-down my computer for at least 16 hours! I shall re-install them someday when I can afford to buy a better computer with lots of Gigabytes.

P.S. This afternoon, I installed a new Firefox Fox Persona Screen Skin on my computer: The ALICE IN WONDERLAND 2. It looks nice. I had the MechQuest skin before this one.

REPO MEN, R ( 1 hr & 51 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA

when: Friday, March 19th, 2010

show: 2:00 p.m.

costs: $7.25 Ticket + $5.75 Kid's Pack ( w/ the $1.00 upgrade ) = $13.00

auditorium: 14

seat: 7th row, 8ht column

synopsis: In the near-future, humans in need of replacement organs have the option of choosing mechanical ones. The only problem is, if the patient becomes delinquent on payments, the mechanical organ company sends out a technician, i.e. a repo man, to repossess it.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Union man, Remy ( Jude Law ); 2.) Rough-housing with Jake ( Forest Whitaker ); 3.) Pancreas guy; 4.) Union men barbecue; 5.) Taxi; 6.) Nest; 7.) 32 1/2; 8.) Jimmy T-Bone ( RZA ); 9.) 3 knock-outs; 10.) Hospital; 11.) Luggage; 12.) Welcome back present; 13.) Problem; 14.) Past due; 15.) Knocking them dead; 16.) Not cut-out for sales; 17.) Knock-out # 4; 18.) Singer ( Alice Braga ); 19.) Altered bar code; 20.) Two parts of the same puzzle; 21.) Want the option; 22.) What brand are your lips; 23.) Cautionary tale; 24.) Bionic ear; 25.) Trap; 26.) Typewriter; 27.) Larry, the Lung; 28.) Airport; 29.) Bleeding; 30.) Freeway off-ramp; 31.) Surgeon; 32.) Rigged defib; 33.) Hunt; 34.) Welcome to your world, repo man; 35.) Subway train; 36.) The 3 guards; 37.) Assembly lab; 38.) Business suit types; 39.) Organ data bank; 40.) Is she worth it; 41.) Repossession Mambo; and 42.) Tropical paradise.

audience reaction: The audience seemed to like this gory slash-fest of a Sci-Fi movie which is an exaggerated satire on the preposterous premise of corporate greed run amock.

recommendation: This movie is strictly played for laughs, albeit a bloody one at that. This would be a great movie for pre-med and law students to poke fun at!

spoiler alert! All the patients who signed the contract did so "under duress"; or to be more specific about it, did so Coactus Volui ( consented under compulsion ), nullifying the contract. I could just envision all the lawsuits filed against this company! The company employed the services of "killers for hire." Why didn't the police do anything about such premeditated murders? Why didn't anybody on the train alert the security/undercover cop about Remy's estranged wife? In the cases wherein a patient had more than one artificial organ replacement done, why didn't the company first do a "credit history" check? All the field surgeries were done under less than ideal conditions, setting the stage for massive blood loss and septic shock. Were the repo men, a.k.a. "technicians", surgeons? Apparently, no! So, they shouldn't have been performing surgical procedures without the knowledge and guidance of a surgeon. Speaking of surgeons, how in heck did a little girl become one? ( Doogie Howser, M.D., look-out! ) Since a person can still live on just one kidney, why did someone go ahead and have an artificial one put in? Since most of the patients/victims died, anyway, why didn't the repo men go ahead and harvest real organs on the side to increase business and commission payments since I'm quite certain that there is still a market for real organs in the future, and because the repo men are employed in a business that is immoral, unethical and downright illegal to begin with? Lastly, why didn't it occur to anyone to add/purchase "delinquency insurance"?

fyi: Would you put a brand-spanking-new V-12 engine ( if you can fit it in ) in an old and rusted-out beat-up Yugo? No, because such an engine would rip the old Yugo apart since they would not be compatible with each other to begin with! This is a perfect analogy for the people in this movie who had the artificial organ transplant procedure done on them. Such organs would need to be calibrated properly to "custom-fit" its respective recipients. Without such a calibration done first, the patient would suffer undue anatomical/physiological stresses. And I don't think that the company hawking such organs sold calibration-capable models--at least, I didn't see any reference to it at all; all of their artificial organs were pretty much of the "cookie-cutter" variety. This is something to think about, for you future artificial organ inventors out there.

word of advice: If you want something done right, do it yourself.

tidbits: Before going to see this movie, I swung by the CSAA office first to pay on my car insurance.

Then, I stopped-off at Postal Annex to put my 'phone bill in the mail-drop. Mike, the proprietor, was outside the front door smoking. I asked him if the reason why he's outside was because his air conditioner was on the blink. No, he told me that he was just out there indulging in his nasty habit: smoking. He added that he's been smoking since he was 14-years old when he had a paper route and could then support his habit. I told him that I quitted when I was 13, that I started when I was four. He was incredulous! I had to explain to him that in the Philippines it's not uncommon to see little boys ( 1st and 2nd graders ) with a lit cigarette in one hand and an opened beer bottle in the other hand. ( Had someone told me early enough that continued smoking would stunt my growth, I would have grown-up to be a basketball player! )

I was going to see the 1:45 p.m. show of the movie, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID. But it was sold out.

SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE, R ( 1 hr & 44 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, March 15th, 2010
show: 12:05 p.m. Extra Dollar Off First Show Matinee
costs: $6.25 Ticket + $3.75 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $8.93 Lunch ( + $1.07 Tip ) at Empire Chinese Buffet after the show = $20.00
auditorium: 14
seat: 5th row, 7th column

synopsis: Nerdy beanpole loser, Kirk ( Jay Baruchel ), has the hots for smart blonde hottie, Molly ( Alice Eve ), who's attracted to him. But he's having second thoughts about their fledgling relationship.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Rehearsing a line for his ex-girlfriend, Marnie ( Lindsay Sloane ); 2.) At his parents' house with Marnie and her new boyfriend ( ? ); 2.) Airport security; 3.) Rude bitch, Patty ( Krysten Ritter ); 4.) Aladdin's magic carpet ride; 5.) Hockey game; 6.) Molly's into you; 7.) Bowling alley; 8.) Honest mistake; 9.) "Rescue" call; 10.) First kiss; 11.) Meeting with Kirk's family; 10.) Slap-shot regatta; 11.) Molly's place; 12.) Marnie; 13.) All it takes is one; 14.) Tarmac; 15.) Fighter plane; 16.) Movie theatre; 17.) "Japanese-looking"; 18.) Prep work; 19.) Helping hand; 20.) Katie's ( Kim Shaw ) 21st Birthday party; 21.) Defect; 22.) Bedroom; 23.) Branson-bound; 24.) Coffee shop; 25.) To the rescue; 26.) "Long" flight; 27.) Delayed; and 28.) Re-union.

audience reaction: The audience enjoyed this unlikely Rom-Com movie.

recommendation: I liked it, too. Go ahead, indulge your fantasy.

spoiler alert! Since they drank some wine first, couldn't Kirk have used that as an excuse for the wet spot on his pants? But, then again, the situation would have called for some quick thinking on his part. Why does Molly's ex-boyfriend's flight jump-suit have the American flag on the left shoulder? In the US military, the flag is on the right shoulder of the uniform. Kirk's lavatory sink was too low, about as low as a urinal! With the stunts they pulled, all four friends would have eventually gotten themselves fired in real life. And what would Molly think, then, of her unemployed loser-boyfriend, Kirk?

Molly lied--she actually wore underwear! Oh, darn ....

fyi: Jay Baruchel has an annoying "Ed Sullivan"-type of a whiny voice. And when I look at his face in the movie poster, I think to myself, Hey, a Leprechaun! ( 'Must be the season. )

I couldn't help but notice how Alice Eve looks like a young and slender Anna Nicole Smith. I don't know if you've noticed, but she has two different colored eyes: Her right eye is gray and her left eye is blue. If she were a white cat, with those eyes of hers, she'd probably be a deaf one! ( My family used to have a white cat with different colored eyes, and he was deaf. )

Speaking of Aladdin, soon after Disney's Aladdin movie came out, it was reported in the news that a poster for the movie that was sold in stores had a phallus shown in the background! I and a co-worker went to look at the poster the next day and, sure enough, it had a phallus cleverly disguised as one of the castle's towers. I have to buy one later because this will be a collector's item worth lots of money someday, I told my co-worker before we clocked-in for work. But wouldn't you know it, the poster was removed before I even got a chance to buy it on my lunch break! I should have bought it right away when I still had the chance.

Talk about dysfunctional American family, Kirk's is high on the list!

Is it just me or do all Dodge/Plymouth vehicles, no matter which model, have a problem with body paint peeling-off after just a few years? Because most cars I see on the road with peeling-off paint are Dodge/Plymouth ones.

It looks to me like the screenwriter for this movie, John Morris, has a serious unfulfilled high school fantasy.

In San Francisco, CA, I had an SFSU Co-Ed sit astride my right thigh once. I was worried that she would break my leg because she acted like she was riding a bucking bronco! Yup, she left a mark ... a wet one ( Ahem! ). I think that she marked me as her personal property. Does "Bucking Bronco" sound to you like another perfect name for Cine-Man? Well, what do you think ...?

word of advice: Dream on!

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

tidbits: I had in mind to see this movie in Fairfield, CA. But I didn't get any sleep the night before so I decided to just see it here in Vallejo, instead. I dozed-off two or three times in the first ten minutes of the show, but I was good-to-go after that.

I wonder how many takes it took for them to get the "dog scene" with Captain Pickles right. Hmm ....

Q: What goes 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1?

A: A "Perfect 10" girl getting old, fat and ugly!

GREEN ZONE, R ( 1 hr & 55 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Friday, March 12th, 2010
show: 11:30 a.m. Extra Dollar Off First Show Matinee
costs: $6.25 Ticket + $2.50 Dibs Bite-Sized Chocolate Ice Cream + $1.00 Nestle Goobers Chocolate-covered Peanuts ( bought at 99 Cent Only Store & smuggled-in ) + $3.75 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $4.47 salad lunch ( Side Salad w/ Ranch Dressing, Chili w/ shredded Cheese & chopped Onions and Lemonade ) at Wendy's after the show = $17.97
auditorium: 13
seat: 4th row, 6th column

synopsis: Take a Ba'ath in Iraq.

As US Army Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller ( Matt Damon ) and his men unsuccessfully search for stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction ( WMDs ) in Iraq, they learn of a cover-up involving unlikely collaborators.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) March 19th, 2003; 2.) Looters; 3.) Toilet factory; 4.) Our intel; 5.) Saddam International Airport; 6.) Military briefing; 7.) Traffic jam; 8.) Green Zone; 9.) Al Mansour; 10.) Freddy ( Khalid Abdalla ); 11.) Deck of cards; 12.) Helicopters; 13.) 1987; 14.) Poolside; 15.) Reporter Lawrie Dayne ( Amy Ryan ); 16.) Interrogation; 17.) Poundstone ( Greg Kinnear ); 18.) Don't be naive; 19.) Langley confirms; 20.) Battered prisoner; 21.) Where's Al Rawi? 22.) Room 1206; 23.) Meeting in Amman, Jordan; 24.) Safe-house; 25.) Message to Al Rawi ( ? ); 26.) The deal? 27.) Celebratory dinner at the palace; 28.) Blue force tracker; 29.) Kill, no catch arrest; 30.) Disbandment of Iraqi Armed Forces; 31.) Kidnap; 32.) Your government wanted to hear a lie; 33.) Chase; 34.) 'Not for you to decide what happens here; 35.) Intel report; 36.) I know what you did; 37.) Pandemonium at the conference; and 38.) See attached.

audience reaction: After the movie, one of the patrons talked to one of the employees about how much he liked the movie.

recommendation: I like this movie because it gives justification to my Conspiracy Theory standpoint. But ... this movie will strike a raw nerve through the cross-section of movie-goers worldwide, especially in the Middle East. And Bush supporters will take offense to this movie. Sadly, we don't really know what happened in Iraq and why they happened. All we have are the tragic aftermath of "bad intel": Resources wasted and precious lives lost. This movie is in a spate of anti-American movies being churned-out by Hollywood in recent years that further cement the rest of the world's perception of us as "The Ugly Americans." Go see this only for its entertainment value as an Action Movie, and for nothing else.

spoiler alert! It sure took the US soldiers long enough to realize that a machine gun could easily take-out the sniper in a known position! And don't they have grenade launchers and RPGs? The female reporter opened her hotel room too soon, as if she was in the habit of making personal 'phone calls in her doorway. When Miller walked towards the bus kiosk, you could see that his gun holster was empty, but in the next shot the gun was in place! Why was the prisoner untied? And why did the guard look away from the prisoner after the general ordered the guard to kill him? How in heck did "limp-along" Freddy know where to go and ... catch-up on the action?

fyi: Go to YouTube and watch, "Depleted Uranium ( My Public Service Announcement )."

According to one of my sources, George Sr. assured Saddam Hussein that the US won't interfere if he attacked Kuwait; after all, Iraq was our ally against Iran. But the US coveted Kuwait's oil reserves and stepped-in to aid Kuwait. During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Kuwait's Dinar devaluated to almost zero in its exchange rate with the US Dollar. Countries and private parties scooped-up Kuwaiti Dinars and waited for the war to be over so they could realize an immense profit on their monetary investment, which they did!

Fast forward to 2003 .... Because the US humiliated Saddam Hussein before the whole world and, more importantly, before his fellow Arab Muslims, "So-damn Insane" stopped using US Dollars as the standard petroleum currency. He switched to using Euros, instead. Because this move on Saddam's part would further devaluate the US Dollar, George Jr. declared war on Saddam, using Al Qaeda and WMDs as excuses.

And, now, we have President "I'm-a-nut-job" of Iran deciding to switch to Euros, too! What do you think will happen if the Iranians do away with the US Dollar as their standard petroleum currency even though the rest of the OPEC are on the Dollar standard?

Those who served as Iraqi translators for the coalition force and the Americans are being systematically hunted down and executed in their own country. Hundreds already have been killed. Efforts are underway to relocate the rest of them to the US and other countries.

When I vacationed in Michigan with my eldest sister and her family in the summer of 2006, we went to a resort town where the main street was lined with shops on either side. My sister and I went into one in particular. I browsed around and happened upon an Iraqi Deck of Cards. I don't know why it was there and why it was offered for sale. But, I didn't mind because I bought it as a souvenir. It's somewhere in my room. I don't want to touch it more than I have to because I want its value to be increased when I do decide to sell it someday.

word of advice: Human life is the most precious of all resources, use it wisely.

If you're an American, don't see this movie in a Muslim country.

tidbits: Today at work, while taking my break at around 6:35 p.m., my co-worker, Sean, told me about Jefferson Airplane's song, "White Rabbit," which is based on the story of Alice In Wonderland. I told him that I will watch it on YouTube when I get home. ( And I had it in mind to add to my previous blog on the movie, ALICE IN WONDERLAND. )

Wouldn't it be funny if a bunch of Iraqi investors buy-up the rights to G.M.'s HumVee division?

ALICE IN WONDERLAND in 3-D, PG ( 1 hr & 49 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, March 8ht, 2010
show: 2:00 p.m.
costs: $10.25 Ticket + $3.75 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $10.00 Lunch ( Food and Tip combined ) at Empire Chinese Buffet before the show= $24.00
auditorium: 8, with the 3-D screen
seat: 4th row, 11th column

synopsis: In this re-telling of a classic fairy tale, Alice ( Mia Wasikowska ), now a young woman, is lured back into the whimsical and magical world she first entered into as a little girl. While there, she reunites with her childhood friends, discovers her true self and contends with the evil Red Queen ( Helena Bonham Carter )

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Moon; 2.) Bedroom; 3.) Not properly dressed; 4.) Party; 5.) Rabbit in a waistcoat; 6.) Gazebo; 7.) Garden; 8.) Oraculum; 9.) Confrontation; 10.) Red castle; 11.) Cheshire Cat; 12.) Tea party; 13.) White Queen ( Anne Hathaway ); 14.) Moat; 15.) Croquet; 16.) Royal court; 17.) White palace; 18.) Bandersnatch; 19,) Rescue; 20.) Potion; 21.) bamboozled; 22.) Mad Hatter's ( Johnny Depp ) Dance; 23.) Chessboard battle field; 24.) Six impossible things; and 25.) The apprentice.

audience reaction: The audience seemed captivated by this movie. A little boy seated a few rows behind mine sounded like he enjoyed the movie.

recommendation: I liked this "Hollywood" version, especially the one with the Cheshire Cat. I don't particularly care at all for the "hooked on hookah" Caterpillar. This would be good for older kids.

spoiler alert! This is just a "different take" on the children's classic. Alice's dress is made of the same material used by the Incredible Hulk for his super-stretchy underwear and pants, 'though one would be right to think that no such material was available back in the 1880s. The heads in the moat were all in the same stage of putrefaction even though they weren't all disposed off at the same time, i.e. the Red Queen didn't have a bunch of people decapitated all on the same day. The heads should each have, at least, been half water-logged and half sun-burned. Don't they have bows and arrows? The Jabberwock didn't take advantage of its air superiority to bombard Alice with rocks and branches. The Jabberwock should have used its fiery breath and tail even more. While using its fiery breath, the Jabberwock could have easily used its wing to slap the shield away from Alice's hand. The decapitated head spiraled down the stairs when it should have easily fallen down the side. Why does the White Queen have thick, jet-black eyebrows? The White Queen's wavy and twirly hand gestures were downright annoying. This movie showed what happened to the Red King, but what happened to the White King? And based on my knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, I could cite a number of reasons why the Red Queen's disproportionately-sized head ( which is bigger than that of one suffering from Hydrocephalus ) is physically impossible.

fyi: Back when I was a boy living in Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, I met another boy who had Hydrocephalus. If I recall properly, I think that he was from my birth city of Kidapawan, Cotabato, as well--I think that I saw him there years earlier before my family moved to Matina--being that a head of that size is practically impossible to miss and very hard to forget. I didn't know what this condition was back then. I would look at him and say to myself that he was lucky to have such a big brain because I equated brain size with level of intelligence. I figured that with his super-sized head, he was probably a super genius!

In the opening scene of this movie, pay close attention to the full moon as the clouds float across in front of it so you'll see, for but an instant, a semblance of the Cheshire Cat's face.

I absentmindedly typed-in an "R" for this movie's rating. It's rated PG, but I think that it would be better rated as a PG-13. According to the Rating Board, "There is no drug use content in a PG-rated motion picture.... Any drug use will initially require at least a PG-13 rating." And we all know that the Caterpillar wasn't blowing bubbles with its hookah! This is a big goof by Disney and the Rating Board. Why didn't Disney hire the services of Cine-Man as a Rating Advisor, huh?

Speaking of a "different take" on the children's classic, go to YouTube and check-out the version by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers titled, "Don't Come Around Here No More" ( 1985 ). It's a mad, drug-induced musical version that's worth a look-see. There's also another one by Jefferson Airplane called, "White Rabbit" ( 1967 ), as pointed out to me by a new co-worker, Sean.

In the Philippines, there is a caramel candy called, "White Rabbit." This is one of the best-selling candies there.

Food review by Pig-out Man: Empire Buffet, today, had Vegetable Tempura and Orange Cake with cream and glaze. In all the years that I've eaten here, this is probably the first time that they carried these two items, a welcome change from their usual offerings. I liked their Tempura and their Orange Cake, though. But I really missed the original Smorgabob's Great Buffet Smorgasbord Restaurant because their menu offerings changed from day to day. It's too bad that Empire Buffet put Smorgabob's out of business.

word of advice: Follow your dreams ( just don't sleep-walk while doing so ).

tidbits: Before going to the cinema, I stopped-off at the Chevron gas station on the corner of Couch Street and Redwood Avenue to buy lottery tickets ( $6.00 ), a Contra Costa newspaper ( $0.81 ), and to get some gas ( $3.19 ) for my Geo Metro.

Then, I went to the Dollar Tree Store to buy a can of Goya Red Beans and two boxes of Cookie Dough Bites in Peanut Butter flavor--I didn't know that it came in this flavor, too. Now, I do!

And I had a quick lunch at Empire Buffet before I headed-off to see the movie via Sonoma Boulevard and Marine World Parkway.

The Red Queen reminded me of the back-stabbing bitchy old lady that I worked with at my other job. When is she gonna blow her brains out like she threatened to do at one time? Yes, off with her head! Ha, ha, ha--( snort! ). I'm bad. Sorry ....

After the movie, I swung by Postal Annex to check my mail box and found out that my box rent was due. And I walked into the CVS drug store to buy a 4-pack of toilet tissue and a dozen-count of eggs. I will need to fill-out another "CVS Rewards Card" application since my card doesn't scan anymore and since my 'phone number isn't recognized anymore, either.

On the way back home, I decided to take the long way via Marine World Parkway, Sonoma Boulevard and Redwood Avenue. My car was in front at the intersection of Redwood Avenue and Tuolomne Street at about 4:30 p.m. as I waited for the traffic light to change so I could make a left turn. As soon as the light turned green, a fire truck at the back of the line on Tuolomne Street suddenly turned-on its siren and put on its flashing lights, forcing me to pull over immediately at the curb in front of the Shell gas station--I didn't know that the black Lincoln Town Car behind me needed to get to the gas station--in effect, I inadvertently blocked the way temporarily. Oops! not my fault. I think the driver of the fire truck just wanted to cut in line ahead of everyone else--maybe he needed to go "potty" or something ( Don't you just hate that? Talk about abuse of power, position and privilege. ).

BROOKLYN'S FINEST, R ( 2 hr & 13 min )

where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA

when: Friday, March 5th, 2010

show: 10:15 p.m.

costs: $10.50 Ticket + $5.75 Kid's Pack = $16.25

auditorium: 5

seat: 4th row, 7th seat

synopsis: A burned-out loner cop, Eddie Dugan ( Richard Gere ), with an unremarkable track record is counting down the days to his retirement and playing it safe, not knowing that his last and final day on the force will inter-twine with the lives of two narcotics cops in a crime scene in the high-crime rate area of the city.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Cemetery; 2.) Sparse bedroom; 3.) Confessional; 4.) Locker room; 5.) Desk, suit, tie; 6.) Seven days from today; 7.) Out of zone; 8.) Meter maid; 9.) Not enough; 10.) Night club; 11.) New house; 12.) Latina Hooker ( Shannon Kane ); 13.) Raid; 14.) Chase; 15.) Need for an high-profile arrest; 16.) "Dude"; 17.) Card game; 18.) Re-appeal; 19.) $100,000 reward; 20.) Fabricate the news; 21.) Second raid; 22.) Convenience store incident; 23.) Internal Affairs investigation; 24.) Taco sauce & gasoline; 25.) "Streets got an expiration date"; 26.) Record activated; 27.) Gambling club; 28.) Men's room; 29.) Retirement day; 30.) Drive-by shooting; 31.) "Monkey shit"; 32.) Back at the hooker's apartment; 33.) Van; 34.) Confrontation; 35.) Cross paths; 36.) Elevator; 37.) Kidnap victims; 38.) Chasing down the suspect; and 39.) The struggle.

audience reaction: The audience was obviously entertained by it.

recommendation: I liked it, too, especially the second encounter with the prostitute which had some laugh-out-loud shots!

spoiler alert! When the cop confronted the arguing couple, the angry man assaulted the rookie cop. Isn't this a basis for a citation and/or arrest whether or not it falls outside of a precinct's zone? How the hell did a white cop catch-up to a fleeing black suspect who had such a wide lead on him in the first place? Why would a prostitute have lots of images of Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary, and the Saints hanging all over her apartment which just serve to do nothing but distract and/or delay the "activity"? I mean, the sooner you can get a client off, the more money you can make. And isn't that the point? Why didn't Eddie call for back-up? Why did the cop shoot first without ordering the "suspect" to "drop his weapon"? One of the squibs used to simulate bullet wounds blew in the wrong direction: The dorsal and ventral SFXs looked the same ( the dorsal should have carried a lesser charge ).

fyi: I remember back at Ateneo De Davao in Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, in both the Elementary and High School Departments, when we would have periodic confessionals with the priest. I would always want to be as far back in the line as possible so that some of my classmates and I could find the time to come up with the assorted sins that we would need to confess to the priest for God's forgiveness. We always decided on the same run-of-the-mill sins to confess. Even in High School when the campus was no longer Co-Ed but the high school hired a hot and sexy teacher, anyway, who would always parade around in a short miniskirt, and who would always be followed by a throng of lustful students especially whenever she needed to walk up and down the stairs, Yes! even then, we would always manage to decide on the same sins to confess to the priest--and nobody would ever confess to lusting after the teacher! ( Well, at least, not to the priest, himself, anyway .... It just goes to show the value of a "confession". )

I had this co-worker once, years ago, who I had a crush on. She was from New York. She looked like the Hollywood actress, Olivia d'Abo. She told me that she moved into an apartment somewhere in East Oakland, CA, whose previous tenant was a prostitute. She said that the walls of the apartment was plastered with pictures and posters of naked women! No wonder she didn't let me help her move-in. Darn it!

word of advice: Play it safe.

Experience counts for something; so, listen to the advice of an elder.

tidbits: After work and before going to Fairfield, I went to the 99 Cent Only Store on Springs Road here in Vallejo, CA to buy more boxer shorts. They are made of 100% polyester and are mis-labeled as "XXL" when they are actually just an "M" in size. I don't care what the label says 'cause they fit me just fine--and I can always remove the labels anytime that I want to.

And the place also has red "leg warmers" of the kind used by ice hockey players. At first, I thought that they were just scarves with holes to stick your hands in. I didn't know that there was even such a thing as hockey player's leg warmers! So, I bought a pair. It will come in handy when I go to snow country. I think that I'll swing by that store again tonight after work so I can buy some more "leg warmers."

Then, I bought $4.00 worth of gas at the Chevron gas station across the street.

After that, it was off to Fairfield for the 9:40 p.m. I-Max 3-D ALICE IN WONDERLAND show. The only problem was that there was a long line formed for the four other later shows since the 9:40 show was already sold out! I drove over 17 miles and was not about to turn around "empty-handed". I decided to see BROOKLYN'S FINEST at 10:15 p.m., instead, since I was going to see it sooner or later, anyway.

Not only do the bad guys in this movie launder money, they iron them, too! What a nice touch. I was quite impressed.

After watching this movie, I changed my mind about celebrating my future California lottery win in Brooklyn, New York, at Empire King Buffet because it might just turn out to be my last supper! Ha, ha, ha.

THE CRAZIES, R ( 1 hr & 41 min )

where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when: March 1st, 2010
show: 3:05 p.m.
costs: $0.00 Free Re-Admission Ticket + $4.50 small Zero Coke + $1.00 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites, Mint Flavor ( Monday Dollar Candy Deal ) + $7.58 Lunch at Great Wall Chinese Buffet before the show ( + $1.00 Tip ) = $14.08
auditorium: 16
seat: 4th row, 5th seat

synopsis: The local townsfolk of Ogden Marsh, Iowa, unsuspectingly drink contaminated water which turns them into mad, bloodthirsty killers who turn against each other. The government, aware of the situation, takes drastic measures to contain the problem.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Baseball game; 2.) Coroner's report; 3.) Farm house; 4.) Pilot; 5.) Cargo plane; 6.) Mayor's place; 7.) No signal; 8.) Funeral home; 9.) School bus; 10.) High school; 11.) Pitch-fork; 12.) Three hunters; 13.) McGregor farm; 14.) The Duttens' house; 15.) Nursery room; 16.) Car wash; 17.) G-man; 18.) Road block; 19.) Trucks; 20.) Diner; 21.) Garage; 22.) Race against time; 23.) Onward to Cedar Rapids; and 24.) Bonus scene during the Ending Credits.

audience reaction: I didn't hear any reaction from anyone in the auditorium with me.

recommendation: As far as horror movies go, this one is not scary at all. Wait for this to come out as a rental.

spoiler alert! Why wasn't Sheriff Dutten ( Timothy Olyphant ) put on administrative leave pending the result of a psychological evaluation? Isn't this considered "Standard Procedure"? Why was Dr. Dutten ( Radha Mitchell ) wearing stiletto pumps? ( Very unprofessional, and very impractical for someone who's supposedly pregnant. ) Pvt. Billy Babcock ( Joe Reegan ) was rifle-butted on the left side of his face but no mark or bleeding was shown. The Sheriff's hand should have gotten contaminated and/or infected as a result of the fight--pay attention to what he does with the knife. Why didn't the soldiers use thermal imaging and/or night vision goggles? Why did Deputy Russell ( Joe Anderson ) empty-out his gun for? I wouldn't have, considering what the outcome would be, and considering what he had already done. Ogden Marsh was supposed to be a farm community yet, curiously enough, I don't think that I noticed any farm animals moseying about or acting wild and crazy. In fact, I don't think I saw any animal at all--there was talk of catching a big catfish, but this doesn't count!

fyi: First food review by Pig-out Man: I liked Great Wall Chinese Buffet's Beef with Broccoli because the beef was tender, the broccoli was crisp and because the sauce tasted good, although it was slightly on the sweet side. And I liked the rice because it was easy to shape into a cross on my dinner plate. No, I'm not being overly religious. I always have my rice shaped into a cross on my plate whenever I eat at a Chinese buffet so that I can have four compartments for dishes to prevent their flavors from mixing with each other. The funny thing, though, is that I don't have this rice habit whenever I eat at a Filipino buffet. Weird .... On the down-side of my food review, the waitresses are plain-lookin'--not one of them can hold a candle to the owner's daughter at the Chinese buffet in Vallejo ( That's one for the home-team. Yeah! ).

The last time that I went to Grand Rapids, Michigan, back in the summer of 2006, I had to change planes at Chicago International Airport. When I looked at the flight schedule board for arrivals and departures, I couldn't find Grand Rapids listed anywhere. Cedar Rapids was the only "... Rapids" listed. I became frantic because I didn't know which terminal to go to to catch the transfer flight. I went walking up and down looking at each terminal to see which had Grand Rapids-bound passengers waiting to board the plane. I asked a desk clerk at a terminal for assistance but, rudely, he said that he has to take care of his passengers first. As I waited patiently--No! make that, impatiently--I noticed another worker standing around talking with another co-worker. I went up to him and asked for his assistance in locating the terminal for Grand Rapids. He went up to a nearby board and pointed it out to me, there at the top ... where the Sun's glare was at its brightest! ... was Grand Rapids. Oh, how I felt like an idiot, then! If my sister in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is reading this, please ... don't have me transfer in Chicago ever again. Thank you.

When I studied Anthropology and Geology, one of the things which puzzled me the most was how, through the centuries, countless graves and out-houses have supposedly contaminated well water. Yet, somehow, here I am blogging and here you are reading. I should have asked my Microbiology professor to shed some light on this puzzle. But, just the same, play it safe when you're in unfamiliar territory and don't drink the water.

word of advice: Water is a precious resource. Don't take it for granted. Don't waste it. Don't contaminate it.

tidbits: I went to Chase Bank, at the Target Shopping Center here in Vallejo before I went to Fairfield, to deposit some money into my checking account.

I didn't eat the Cookie Dough because I was still too full.

This movie only has two songs listed in the Ending Credits. I was kind of hoping that they would have the zombie-like people do a dance to Gnarls Barkley's song, Crazy, as an homage to Michael Jackson's Thriller video. Nope, never happened. Darn ....

On my way home, I swung by the Bank Of America on Springs Road, here in Vallejo, to put money in my savings account. Then, I went to Selecta Filipino Buffet to buy some lottery tickets. Finally, I went to the 99 Cents Only Store next door to buy a can of chocolate-flavored coffee, evaporated milk, and a movie script ( in book form ) for the movie, NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.

While I was walking down the Candy Aisle at the 99 Cents Only Store, I noticed that my Mint-flavored Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites box was sticking out of my jacket's left hand pocket. I had forgotten to leave it in my car! And I couldn't leave the store then to go to my car because they might think that I shoplifted something. So, surreptitiously, I tucked it away in my pocket. But, once I got to the check-stand, it was sticking out again. But, thank God that they don't sell the Mint-flavored kind and that I had my movie ticket stub in my t-shirt's chest pocket, as well as my Cine-Man card handy, for my other alter-ego, Alibi Guy, was ready for just in case.

Back at the condominium complex where I live, Rusty, the orange tabby stray cat, greeted me and I gave him some dry cat food. Whenever I have to use my Geo Metro, which I park in the overflow parking lot, I would always carry some cat food with me just in case I come across Rusty either when I'm coming or going. He's a good cat who always shares his food with another stray cat whenever the other one is around--if he senses the other cat nearby, he would always go fetch him first. But I haven't seen the other cat in so long. If only I lived on the first floor, I would give him a nice, warm pet bed to sleep in on my deck.

COP OUT, R ( 1 hr & 50 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA

when: Sunday, February 28th, 2010

show: 12:40 p.m.

costs: $7.25 Ticket + $5.75 Kid's Pack ( w/ upgrade ) + $5.05 Salad Lunch ( Caesar Side Salad, 99 cent Chicken Nugget, Mandarin Slices & Lemonade ) at Wendy's Restaurant after the show = $18.05

auditorium: 13

seat: 5th row, 8th column

synopsis: A veteran cop, Jimmy ( Bruce Willis ), and his partner of nine years, Paul ( Tracy Morgan ), go on a search for his stolen mint condition baseball card which he needs to pay for his daughter Ava's ( Michelle Trachtenberg ) upcoming wedding. Soon, they find out that it has fallen into the hands of a vicious baseball memorabilia-obsessed gangster named, Poh Boy ( Guillermo Diaz ), who'll stop at nothing to keep his new-found collectibles addition away from its rightful owner.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Happy anniversary; 2.) Interrogation; 3.) Pursuit; 4.) 'Phone call; 5.) Church; 6.) Bad guy; 7.) Sports memorabilia shop; 8.) Stake-out; 9.) Mom & son; 10.) Stand-off; 11.) Annoying Parkour burglar, Dave ( Seann William Scott ); 12.) Poh Boy; 13.) Car for card; 14.) Carnapper; 15.) Boots; 16.) Mercedes; 17.) Cemetery; 18.) Gabriela ( Ana De La Reguera ); 19.) Batting cage; 20.) Restaurant; 21.) Ballistic match; 22.) Nanny cam; 23.) Meeting; 24.) Video; 25.) Flash drive; 26.) Translation; 27.) Jail cell; 28.) Slip & fall; 29.) Gay cousin; 30.) Shoot-out; 31.) Shoe; 32.) Overkill; 33.) Hostage crisis; 34.) Baseball card; 35.) Wedding; and 36.) Bonus scene.

audience reaction: The audience enjoyed the funny scenes.

recommendation: I enjoyed it, too. It's a light comedy that's primarily aimed at teens and young adults.

spoiler alert! Although Jimmy's comment about the "Yippie kai aye, mother----er!" expression drew a laugh from me, there were too many references to past "Buddy Cop" films for the audience ( myself included ) to care about. Paul talked too much, especially about the perceived infidelity of his wife, Debbie ( Rashida Jones ). These cops committed police brutality, excessively used force, assaulted with a deadly weapon, and searched without a warrant, and probably committed a few more abuses of power and authority, enough to get them suspended or kicked-off the force. If you keep me in the trunk of a car for two days, I'd most likely do these two things: Wet my pants and soil my undies--more than once, each! Newborn babies don't wink. Why did the priest ( Ray Quinlan ) use Psalm 23 for the wedding ceremony? I mean, is walking down the aisle similar to walking "...through the valley of the shadow of Death"? The only way that you can use Psalm 23 in a wedding ceremony is if you reword it. Let's see how it goes ....

THE SHOTGUN WEDDING PSALM

Your dad has a shotgun, I shall not run. He maketh me to settle down with his daughter. He leadeth me beside your shrill mother. He removeth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his reputation's at stake. Yea, 'though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death, I will fear no in-laws, for thou art with me. His rod and his bat, they discomfort me. He preparest a banquet before us in the presence of all of my homies. He annoyest my dad with tales of toil--his mouth runneth over. Surely, curses and regrets shall follow me all the days of my life, as we dwell in the house of your dad for ever. ( This must be why I didn't become a priest! Ha, ha, ha. )

fyi: The scene in the church illustrates a point: People feign godliness just to impress others.

A male Parkour practitioner is called, Traceur, and a female one is called, Traceuse.

I know from my study of Anthropology back in college that Bonobo chimps are very sexually promiscuous, that the males are well-endowed, and that sex to them is so commonplace as to be taken to mean as simply an act of greeting ( something like a hand-shake ) and as a way to re-enforce bonds among clan members. But Bonobo chimps are not the only non-human primates that engage in oral sex; monkeys do, too. But the subject of sexually transmitted diseases among non-human primates was never discussed in class, not even in my Microbiology class.

I wonder if the primatologist, Jane Goodall, has some censored films of "monkey business" in her archives. Come on, Jane. Don't be selfish; don't be shy. Show us!

word of advice: If you're a female primatologist doing a field study on Baboons, don't ever wear eye shadow--never, ever!

If you want to spend tons of money on your daughter's wedding, first make sure that she and your soon-to-be son-in-law are truly in love with each other. Otherwise, it's just lots of money down the financial drain.

tidbits: FriendsEat.com put my blog for THE WOLFMAN in their listing for Autumn Moon Chinese Buffet in Mesa, Arizona, too! I just found out last Thursday that FriendsEat.com's search engine has been tracking my blogs since December 22nd ( at least ) of last year. That was when they put my blog on ME AND ORSON WELLES in their listing for Cinema Cafe Restaurant in Virginia Beach, VA. But I don't know why my Orson Welles blog was posted since I didn't go to any restaurant that day.

I think that I now have another "hat" to wear: Food Critic! I had better pay closer attention to whatever I stuff my mouth with from now on. Maybe I'll call myself, Pig-out Man.