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. ).
