where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when: Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
show: 2:00 p.m.
costs: $8.00 Ticket = $8.00
auditorium: 7
seat: 4th row, 5th seat
synopsis: Under the tutelage of a great sorcerer, Balthazar Blake ( Nicolas Cage ), a reluctant protege, Dave Stutler ( Jay Baruchel ), acquires the magical skills of the long-sought Prime Millennian, as prophesied by Merlin ( James Stephens ), to vanquish an evil foe once and for all.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Britain, 740 A.D.; 2.) Grimhold; 3.) New York, 2000 A.D.; 4.) King Kong drawing; 5.) Note; 6.) Ring; 7.) Nesting doll; 8.) Pants; 9.) Grey wolf; 10.) Arcana Cabana kid; 11.) Braveheart; 12.) Tesla coils; 13.) Couple's home; 14.) Wolf pack; 15.) Puppies; 16.) "You should duck"; 17.) Car; 18.) Chinatown; 19.) Dragon; 20.) "Clear your mind"; 21.) Cops; 22.) Subway turnaround; 23.) Incantus, pocket edition; 24.) Merlin's Circle; 25.) Plasma ball; 26.) Drake Stone ( Toby Kebbell ); 27.) Uncle; 28.) Hiding place; 29.) "Enjoy the show"; 30.) Men's room; 31.) "... not the 'droids you're looking for"; 32.) Mops; 33.) Roof top; 34.) Yellow cabs; 35.) Reverse world; 36.) Distraction; 37.) Love triangle; 38.) Parasite spell; 39.) Special request; 40.) Knuckle bump; 41.) Persian quick rug; 42.) No choice; 43.) The truth; 44.) Better conductor; 45.) The gift; 46.) Morgana ( Alice Krige ); 47.) "Don't die and I'll tell you"; 48.) New jewelry; 49.) Old lady; 50.) The charging bull; 51.) The Rising; 52.) "What you did for me"; 53.) "It is you"; 54.) Electric cables; 55.) Science; 56.) CPR; 57.) "Breakfast in France"; and 58.) Bonus scene after the Ending Credits.
audience reaction: The audience liked this Fantasy/Action movie.
recommendation: I liked this movie, too. It's entertaining enough for the "summer action movie" crowd.
spoiler alert! In the Chinatown scene, a Chinese man sitting on a porch with two others was smiling for the camera when he should have been acting afraid, in grief, or consoling the lady beside him. How can Dave afford to pay the rent and the utilities on his science project? Balthazar said that there are no shortcuts to learning real magic, but ... wasn't he giving Dave a crash course in the magical arts all along? A Ford Pinto--are you kidding me? They were lucky that it didn't burst into flames when it was pushed back against another car--a reverse rear-end ( You have to know the history of the Ford Pinto to know what I'm talking about here. ). The setting for the bonus scene does not make sense to me at all.
fyi: In FANTASIA ( 1940 ), Mickey Mouse plays the role of The Sorcerer's Apprentice in a sequence of the same title. This movie pays homage to that animation classic. Which one do you like better, the man or the mouse?
Do you remember the four elements mentioned in the movie, THE LAST AIRBENDER? Well, THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE is focused on showing how to harness Earth energy. Such an energy is absorbed into your body through the soles of your feet ( I forget the Chinese name for it--'has to do something with a brook ); which is why Balthazar wanted Dave to use the "pointy old-man leather shoes" because rubber-soled shoes cannot conduct the energy. In Qi Gong, a bare-footed practitioner forms this energy ball--visible through Kirlian photography--in front of his/her Solar Plexus area which is midway between the navel and the tip of the sternum, just as shown in the movie poster above. This energy ball can be physically felt; but it is put to best use during an out-of-body-experience as a deadly defense against malevolent ghosts ( 'just something I learned from a Canadian psychic and later put to good use ). Note: I said, ghosts; it doesn't work against evil spirits! So, if you're in an encounter with an evil spirit disguised in human form, you're in deep trouble if you cannot tell the difference between a ghost and a spirit--only hard-earned experience can serve as your guide in this matter.
Yes, there is an effective defense against evil spirits. But that is a subject matter best reserved for another time in a more appropriate movie blog.
If I were a god, you'd assume that I'd have millions--or billions--of fancy, super-expensive custom-made shoes that would put Imelda Marcos' personal collection to shame! But that would really not be the case at all. Look at all the classical and/or ancient images ( i.e. paintings, drawings, carvings, statues, etc. ) of angels, demons, avatars, gods and goddesses; you'd be hard-pressed to find one wearing a pair of shoes or sandals! It is for the same reason as mentioned in a previous paragraph: They go bare-footed to best absorb Earth's energy since such entities "feed off" on energy.
And speaking of the soles of one's feet .... There is an ancient exercise developed by Tibetan monks that can open-up the energy receptor at the bottom of each foot. The area is about the size of a silver dollar coin and is situated partway between the rear edge of the heel and the tip of the long toe. You can tell when you've opened-up these receptors: The area on each foot will feel almost ice-cold for about a month and a half. What happens after you've opened-up these receptors? Well, for one thing, you'll acquire more energy than you know what to do with--even someone badly enervated by liver disease will get such an energy boost that even sleeping for five hours each day would be too much sleep-time for such a person!
Supposedly, a ghost tends to physically solidify in an area with an high electro-magnetic field. This is probably were the scriptwriter got the idea to have Dave use electricity on Morgana.
word of advice: Patience is a Virtue.
tidbits: Just to "kill two birds with one stone," I decided to see this movie after watching the 3-D showing of DESPICABLE ME.
I think Nicolas Cage, or somebody working for him, has been reading my blogs. Do you remember how I made the comment in an earlier blog that Nicolas Cage looks much better with a mustache or a beard? Well, he has a mustache in KICK-ASS and he has a beard in this movie and in an up-coming movie, as well. If this is true, well, then ... Hey, Nick! please cast me in one of your future movies--a speaking part, of course--and I promise to heap praises on it in my blog. Have your secretary get in touch with my Blogspot's accounts manager so they can set-up a meeting for us. THANK YOU, Thank You and thank you ....
