where: AMC BAY STREET 16 in Emeryville, CA
when: Wednesday, October 6th, 2010
show: 10:00 p.m.
costs: $11.00 Ticket + $0.00 small Popcorn w/ Butter ( Wednesday Free Popcorn Special with a movie rewards card ) + $4.25 small Diet Coke + $1.25 Garage Parking Fee + $5.00 Carquinez Bridge Toll = $21.50
auditorium: 5
seat: 5th row, 10th column
synopsis: Gordon Gekko ( Michael Douglas ) is released from prison and is desperate to get back in the "money game" that he once commanded. To do this, he befriends and becomes a father-figure to Jacob ( Shia LaBeouf ), the fiance of his estranged only-daughter, Winnie ( Carey Mulligan ).
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Prison release; 2.) Talk show; 3.) Bonus check; 4.) Diamond ring; 5.) Wall Street panic; 6.) 15,000 jobs on the line; 7.) Federal Reserve Bank of New York; 8.) Public "execution"; 9.) Train platform; 10.) NINJA ( No Income, No Job/Assets ) Generation; 11.) Ten minutes; 12.) The "Rumor"; 13.) Locust Fund; 14.) Churchill Schwartz; 15.) House hunting; 16.) "What's your number"; 17.) "The best memory that I know is "Hurt"; 18.) Tulipomania; 19.) Restaurant; 20.) "He'll hurt us"; 21.) Chinese investors; 22.) "Parents are the bones on which children sharpen their teeth"; 23.) "Stop telling lies about me, I'll stop telling the truth about you"; 24.) Father/daughter talk; 25.) Biggest bail-out; 26.) Pregnant; 27.) Mentor/protege; 28.) Moral hazard; 29.) Taxi; 30.) Fusion simulation project; 31.) Zurich, Switzerland; 32.) Panicking mom ( Susan Sarandon ); 33.) Skipped town; 34.) "You're like him"; 35.) "Gordon Gekko is back"; 36.) "You left it all in ruins"; 37.) "We like bedtime stories"; 38.) News; 39.) "You look for the birds"; 40.) New alliance; 41.) "Definition of insanity"; 42.) Under investigation; 43.) Reconciliation; and 44.) Bonus scenes during the Ending Credits.
favorite scene: I liked where Gordon was on-stage talking about the "Ninja Generation."
audience reaction: The four people in the audience with me seemed to like this movie, especially the scenes with the old man doing his "flying birds" impression.
recommendation: I liked this movie. And I would have enjoyed it more had I actually seen part one. Go see this movie.
spoiler alert! I thought that his prison release would get some sort of media coverage, given the fact of who he is. It's hard for me to believe that they would go on a high-speed bike race on a country road like that, as if it were a "closed course". They should have done it on a race track. Does it make sense for a taxi driver to not only drive fast but recklessly, as well? Where's a traffic cop when you need one?
fyi: The "Great Depression" occurred when US banks called in some foreign loans to a bunch of Third World countries and they all defaulted on their debts.
If you research the stock trades just days prior to 9-11, you'll find that stocks on United Airlines and American Airlines were dumped. Meaning, some people knew what was about to happen and decided to cut their losses short! These people made tons of money on this "speculation," and all of it is Blood Money! No excuses. They are all accomplices to the crime committed.
The Bull market and the Bear market had their origin during Spanish colonial time here in California. The Spaniards would place bets on who would win the fight between a bull and a bear. The bull would always win. That's why when stocks go up, it's called a Bull market; and when stocks go down, it's called a Bear market.
word of advice: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket."
tidbits: And speaking of eggs, in the last week of May, I bought an 18-count carton of non-fertilized eggs. I ate most of it but kept forgetting about the rest. When I looked into my refrigerator last night, I noticed the egg carton once again. The expiration date on it says, "June 26, 2010." I opened it and found four eggs left. And they had no foul smell at all. So, I hard-boiled two of them. Honestly, I couldn't tell them apart from fresh-bought eggs! The eggs both looked fresh, smelled fresh and tasted fresh. Not bad for a couple of eggs that were at least 101 days past their expiration date! And I'm still waiting a few more days before I boil the other two. The things that I do for you people, I swear. Ha, ha, ha.
After the Ending Credits, as I was getting ready to leave, I noticed a couple in one of the back rows still sitting there and making out! Too bad they didn't ask me to join them. Otherwise, I'd have more interesting "tidbits" to tell.
Before going home, I again swung by my former place of employment in North Oakland to say "Hi!" to Mike A., in particular. And I bought three more bars of soap! ( I don't use them for bathing or washing, I use the soaps for something else more important. )
Note: I was going to see BURIED, originally. But I lost track of time as I was finishing my blog on CASE 39--and you all know what happened to it a few hours later when I got home and tried to do a correction! My second choice was HATCHET II, but the box office clerk told me that they only show it on weekends. I decided to see this movie, instead, as it was my only and final choice left.
