where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Saturday, July 10th, 2010
show: 8:30 p.m.
costs: $10.00 Ticket + $5.25 small Popcorn ( w/ Butter ) + $4.00 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke = $19.25
auditorium: 14
seat: 4th row, 7th column
2nd time:
where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when: Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
show: 11:45 a.m.
costs: $12.00 Ticket + $6.25 Nacho Chips w/ Cheese Dip + $4.75 small Zero Coke = $23.00
auditorium: 11, with the Real-D 3-D screen
seat: 4th row, 7th column
synopsis: A highly ambitious bad guy, Gru, has his eyes set on the moon as he plans on stealing it to become the greatest villain in the whole world. But when three orphan girls enter into his life, he discovers another side to his self that can derail his plan and change his self forever.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Pyramid; 2.) Coffee shop; 3.) Gru's home; 4.) Minions; 5.) Girls' orphanage; 6.) Gru's mom; 7.) Lending institution; 8.) Flashback; 9.) Shrink ray; 10.) Mid-air snatch; 11.) Girls' bedroom; 12.) Vector's fortress; 13.) Light bulb moment; 14.) Adoption; 15.) Balloon; 16.) Toilet; 17.) Food/Water/Pee-pee/Poo-poo; 18.) Cookie robots; 19.) Anti-gravity serum; 20.) Store; 21.) Toy; 22.) Dance class; 23.) Infiltration; 24.) Glow stick; 25.) Shark; 26.) Light bulb moment, again; 27.) Amusement park; 28.) Cotton candies; 29.) Diagrams; 30.) Childhood disappointments; 31.) Pep talk; 32.) Rocket; 33.) Photo album; 34.) Mr. Perkin's son; 35.) "'Like Santa"; 36.) Zerox machine; 37.) Spanish dictionary; 38.) Moon; 39.) Boxes of shame; 40.) Swan Lake ticket; 41.) Launch; 42.) Mobility scooter; 43.) Dance recital; 44.) Note; 45.) Father to the rescue; 46.) Escape pod; 47.) Chase; 48.) "Nefario Principle"; 49.) "I got you!"; 50.) The Unicorn Story; 51.) Kisses; 52.) Private and exclusive dance recital; and 53.) Bonus scenes during the Ending Credits.
audience reaction: The audience, especially the little ones, enjoyed this movie, as evident in their infectious laughs. This movie got an "Hands Clapper" ending from the kids in the audience.
recommendation: I enjoyed this movie, too. This movie is aimed at little kids, much younger than the demographic that TOY STORY 3 aims for. The little ones, mostly girls, will like this movie.
spoiler alert! Because this movie is geared at little kids, I had to suspend most of my disbelief--saved for these: That bit about the troubled financial institution was way over the heads of most in the audience ( too adult a subject matter ). Also, that low, low, low tide would never happen in real life because the gravitational field of the Moon would still be the same ( the shrunken Moon would be just like a mini Black Hole ). There are other things wrong with this movie, but they are all from an adult's point-of-view; so, they don't count.
fyi: Attention, Kids .... If you shrink the Moon to a very tiny size, it would still weigh the same. So, you cannot carry it around because it would be very, very heavy. Also, the Moon is like a giant magnet that gets stronger the closer it gets to Earth. And depending on where it is in space, the Moon can get hotter than the hottest place on Earth and colder than the coldest place on Earth, too.
2nd fyi: I went to see this in 3-D mainly for the roller-coaster scene. I should have moved my body in-sync with the roller-coaster motion on-screen for a more realistic and heightened "feel". Overall, it was well-worth the extra money that I paid for admission and the extra miles that I put on my car since I didn't have to write down any notes in the dark and since I was able to enjoy every scene shown as just one of the regular everyday-kind of people in the movie audience.
word of advice: Spend some quality time with your kids.
tidbits: I will have to see this again in 3-D because the "Roller Coaster" scene is well worth the extra money.
I had plenty of time to catch the last show for the movie, PREDATORS, but I changed my mind at the last minute because I had to be at work early the following day.
