where: BRENDEN CONCORD 14 in Concord, CA
when: Thursday, October 14th, 2010
show: 6:10 p.m.
costs: $8.25 Ticket + $4.25 small Peach Tea + $13.09 lunch @ Todai Sushi & Seafood Buffet ( + $2.01 Tip ) + $5.00 Benicia Bridge Toll = $32.60
auditorium: 10
seat: 4th row, Middle Section, 6th column
synopsis: Sophie's Choice
Although Holly Berenson ( Katherine Heigl ) and Eric Messer ( Josh Duhamel ) cannot stand to be near each other, they discover that their mutual best friends, a married couple, chose them to be the appointed guardian of their only child, Sophie ( Alexis, Brooke & Brynn Clagett ), in the event of their untimely death. Now, they are forced to put their differences aside and juggle their careers and social lives in order to spend quality time and bond with their goddaughter.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) The Messer Debacle of 2007; 2.) Two-year scene series; 3.) Baby whisperer; 4.) The husbands; 5.) Sam ( Josh Lucas ), the Man; 6.) The call; 7.) Guardianship arrangements; 8.) "They're basically dogs"; 9.) "Keanu Reeves saves the bus"; 10.) "They picked us"; 11.) The relatives of Sophie; 12.) "Drug dealers or pimps"; 13.) "It's like SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE"; 14.) Juggling schedules and duties; 15.) The Wiggles; 16.) "Pop Face"; 17.) Pediatrician; 18.) "We want Sophie to avoid losing more people that she's close to"; 19.) The drive around the block; 20.) The basketball game; 21.) "She's not my kid"; 22.) Redecoration; 23.) Messer's neighbors; 24.) Baby's first walk; 25.) The grocery store; 26.) Dinner date; 27.) Hospital; 28.) "Dinner's on me"; 29.) The crash; 30.) A really cute couple; 31.) Special "fudge"; 32.) Kid's show; 33.) "CSI relationship"; 34.) Job promotion; 35.) Thanksgiving get-together; 36.) "Mama"; 37.) Airport terminal; 38.) The cry; 39.) "We're family"; and 40.) 2nd birthday & 1st anniversary.
audience reaction: The audience enjoyed this Dramedy.
recommendation: I enjoyed this movie, too. It's a perfect movie for couples in love.
spoiler alert! Why didn't any relative dispute the will? To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing as a rubber ducky that doesn't float. There were things done to the infant/toddler which border on--or which constitute--child abuse. A child that age doesn't cry on cue! How could the bus driver not see that thing? Only friends and neighbors were at the birthday party; none of Sophie's living relatives were there.
fyi: When I was living as a child with my family in Kidapawan, Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines, a neighborhood friend of mine told me about an accident that had just happened. A guy had a motorcycle and wanted to impress some girl. He had her hop on his motorcycle so they could go for a spin. Mind you, this was back when wearing a helmet was practically unheard of. I don't know if he did it on purpose just to impress her or if it was purely by accident, but he popped a wheelie which caught her unprepared. She wasn't holding on to him at that moment, and the bike didn't have a sissy bar, so she fell down and cracked her skull on the cement road. She died on the spot.
word of advice: Parenting is best done with both parents on hand.
tidbits: Before seeing this movie, I decided to eat lunch at Todai Sushi & Seafood Buffet at the Concord/Pleasant Hill Sun Valley Mall because it is under new management and because their prices are lowered. Some of the selections are new and, I think, have a decidedly Chinese influence. How much so? Well, I overheard a couple of their sushi chefs conversing in Chinese. And I don't know what the Japanese waiters and waitresses have to say about it--I didn't ask ( 'too busy pigging-out ). Just a point of observation here: All the Chinese and, now, Japanese waiters and waitresses that I've seen at buffet restaurants--without exception--are all skinny. Don't they feed them at all, not even so much as table scraps ...?
After lunch, I went for a little walk in the mall to find a bookstore. A Borders bookstore is just around the corner. I went in hoping to find a book on juicing. But they don't sell any at all.
Then, I had to hurry to the public restrooms to you-know-what. The toilet stall that I used, the one at the far end, has a toddler seat attached to the wall between the door and the toilet paper dispenser. And this thing has a seat belt on. So, in other words, not only does a parent subject his baby to the stench of his bowel movements but the baby is strapped in place and cannot jump off from such a height and crawl away to where fresh clean air is at! This is cruel and unusual punitive child abuse. I should report this to Child Protective Services.
And as I was washing my hands in the center section of the lavatory counter, the motion-activated faucet on the sink to the left of the one I was using just turned on by itself. I felt obligated to use it so I switched sinks. After all, who am I to argue with an invisible entity which knows lavatory sinks?
As I drove on my way to Harvest House Healthfood Store on Monument Boulevard. I noticed the Borders Bookstore ( I completely forgot about this one ) across the street from the Century 16 Downtown Pleasant Hill theatre. But I had in mind to see this movie at the Brenden Concord 14. So I kept to my plan.
I arrived at the Harvest House Healthfood Store at around 5:30 p.m. They have a good selection of juicing books there. I picked the cheapest one that I could find ( $13.06, with tax included ) since it's a gift for my friend, Hector, who wants to try juicing to get rid of his "nine-months pregnant look" potbelly. Ha, ha, ha. Then, I headed over to the Soaps aisle. I figured that since I was there, I might as well buy some more of the special soap that I'm hooked-on. But a little, old white lady was there putting up stock. And she was in my way. And just as I was about to reach out and grab a bar of Citrus-scented soap, she bent down! Hell, no! 'Ain't no way I'm touchin' some ol' woman's butt! ( But maybe if I get paid a million bucks to do so .... )
The Brenden Concord 14 has something in the main lobby that I've never seen before, there or anywhere else: A life-size coffin with a fake skeleton inside of it is cordoned-off in an area just below the staircase leading up to the men's room. This display is a publicity stunt for a "Haunted House" show across the street which ends the day after Halloween. Maybe, I'll check it out someday.
So, I was there in the 4th row, alone by my lonesome. Nobody was seated in the rows in front of mine, nobody was seated on either side of me and nobody was seated in the row behind mine. The nearest people were in the 7th row. I was happy with it because it meant that I could write down notes in the dark without interruption or inhibition. At approximately 6:50 p.m., it felt like somebody kicked the left armrest of my seat! I looked behind me to see if there was anyone there; of course, there wasn't. Maybe it was a ghost or spirit from the haunted house across the street which sneaked in to catch this show and to keep me company.
On my lunch hour earlier today, I read about the rescue of the miners in Chile. What an incredible and awe-inspiring rescue operation it was! You know that Hollywood will eventually come around and make a movie out of it. And when they do, I would like for them to use my services as a script consultant, technical advisor, and as a movie extra--Hey! I look like them after all and I know a smattering of Spanish words. I know, I know ... this is just shameless self-promotion, but if it gets me into Hollywood well, then, why not ...?
