where: MAYA BAKERSFIELD 16 CINEMAS in Bakersfield, CA
when: Saturday, November 6th, 2010
show: 10:50 p.m.
costs: $9.00 Ticket + $4.25 small Popcorn + $3.75 regular Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $3.75 Nachos w/ Cheese = $20.75
auditorium: 16
seat: 4th row, 12th column
synopsis/overview: A dazed and confused road trip to L. A.
A soon-to-be father, Peter Highman ( Robert Downey, Jr. ), only wants to get back home in time for his baby's birth. But an obnoxious moron, Ethan Tremblay ( Zach Galifianakis ) decides to go along for the ride.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Baby names; 2.) Six-pack of 40s; 3.) Luggage checkpoint; 4.) Airplane; 5.) "No Fly" list; 6.) 90 friends on Facebook; 7.) Rental car; 8.) Waffle house; 9.) Drug dealer's house; 10.) "'You okay, Bubba"; 11.) Western Union; 12.) Restroom; 13.) Private moment in the car; 14.) Overpass; 15.) Car crash; 16.) Word of advice; 17.) Karma; 18.) "You'd better check yourself before you wreck yourself"; 19.) Drainage ditch; 20.) Suspicion; 21.) Coffee; 22.) "Eight cups ... full flavored ... robust blend--circle of life"; 23.) Zebra baby; 24.) Stoned; 25.) Glaucoma; 26.) Escape; 27.) Grand Canyon; 28.) Glove compartment; 29.) Acting exercise; 30.) Hospital; and 31.) "I survived him."
favorite scenes: I liked how the trailer spun around and traveled side-by-side with the truck.
And I liked the scene outside of the hospital when Peter did something to the dog. ( I don't know if the SPCA/Humane Society would consider the act an instance of animal abuse. )
audience reaction: The audience really liked this movie.
recommendation: I liked it, too. Go see this Comedy.
spoiler alert! Doesn't a person need to have some kind of permit to transport the cremated ashes of another person across state lines? Why didn't the bratty boy cry? When the car crashed, why didn't the dog fly around? If you look at the front edge of the crashed car's roof, you'll notice that it caved-in enough so that both driver and passenger should have suffered a serious case of head trauma. Why didn't the airbags deploy? Why was the pick-up truck driver just sitting there in his cab when he just witnessed a major car crash? Couldn't they have just used a vacuum cleaner to clean-up the spill in the kitchen? Why didn't the authorities put out an all-points bulletin about the stolen truck? There's no way that a truck's door can come-off that easily. And when the door came off, it should have dented the right front fender but didn't.
fyi: One time, back in Mindanao, Philippines, my family was driving back to Matina, Davao City from our trip to Kidapawan, Cotabato. My mother was driving the Toyota Land Cruiser. As we crossed one particular bridge, my mother hit a bump in the road at about 50 to 60 mph and, immediately, the SUV came to a crawl. We rode at a snail's pace until we came upon a car garage/residence. The mechanic found-out the problem: The distributor's base, just below the points and condenser, was cracked. He welded the crack and the SUV ran fine after that. I never gained confidence in Toyota SUVs after that incident because I know that had we used our Korean War-era Willys Jeep, instead, that incident would never have happened!
word of advice: Don't jump to conclusions based on hearsay and/or wild speculations.
tidbits: I wanted to have an early start on my planned road trip to Bakersfield. I had hoped to be on the road by 6:00 a.m., but I went to bed after 1:00 a.m. because my downstairs neighbor played her stereo rather loudly since she had some guests over. It was about 10:20 a.m. when I finally left my place.
Right where 580 forks into 205 to the left and I-5 to the right, I had to step hard on my brakes and swerve right to get onto I-5 at the last possible chance because I was expecting an off-ramp for 205, not a fork! Luckily, there were no cars close to mine at that time.
On I-5 where the windmill wind turbine generators are at, an interesting "crop circle" is visible to the south-bound motorists: a giant cross with a "Jesus Saves" message is spelled-out in a T-form.
At one point, I saw a red car traveling in the opposite direction with a tumble-weed on its hood. On both sides of the Interstate are barren fields with yellow picket signs that say, "Congress created the Dust Bowl." And it rained intermittently as I traveled down I-5.
Here is one interesting fact: On I-5, there is a mile-marker that says, "Bakersfield = 144 miles." The interesting fact about this marker is that it is exactly 144.4 miles from my condo's carport parking space, according to my trip odometer! How neat is that?
On CA-46, a.k.a. Paso Robles Highway, after I went through an underpass, I pulled-over at a Chevron gas station to get $6.00 worth of gas, to empty my bladder, and to ask for directions to 99. It turned out that I was headed in the right direction all along.
So, I got on 99, changed onto 204 and connected with 178, and I was well on my way to my friend's place.
My friend, Rey G., was a classmate and neighbor of mine in Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines. His family's house is directly across the street from my family's house. The last time that I saw him was in 1982!
I made a detour at Fairfax to check-in first at Motel 6 on East Brundage Lane. When I got to E. Brundage Lane, I had to maneuver between two tumble-weeds that were on the road. As I was about to pull into the motel parking lot, I changed my mind because I figured that my friend was probably worried about my present whereabouts. So, I headed up to the highway, missed the left turn on Niles, turned back to get to the Niles cross-street, made a right, and at the intersection of Niles and Fairfax I made a U-turn to get back to the motel to sign-in anyway! And I asked the front desk lady, Annie, for directions to any nearby theatre. She photo-copied directions for the two closest ones: Maya and Fox. And as she was making the photocopies, I walked on over to the gas-mart at the corner to buy a copy of the local paper. I went back to the front desk to get my room key and the photo copies. And I dropped-off my bag in my room, # 115 ( I had a hard time opening the door and had to have one of the cleaning ladies open it for me ). Then, I headed-off to my friend's house.
When I got to my friend's house, he asked me if I wanted to go eat-out. I told him, No, because I was planning on cooking some Arroz Con Gandules for him and his wife who was presently at work in another part of town. As the dish was cooking, Rey took notes of the recipe so that he could give it to his wife. I brought with me extra ingredients so that she'll have everything handy when she decides to give it a try.
As we waited for the dish to cool down after I finished cooking it, he took me for a car ride around his neighborhood. He took me to Ming Lake and to Hart Campground Park. He also showed me the bicycle paths that he uses for recreation and for his commute to work.
After Rey and I finished eating dinner, his wife, Sharon, called for him to go pick her up. When we all got back home, Sharon tried the dish that I made and liked it. And the both of them agreed that the dish will be the one they make for their church's potluck. Then, we reminisced about the old neighborhood. Rey then took pictures of us in the living room. And we talked some more until it was almost 10:00 p.m. At which point, I decided that it was time for me to go to my motel for some much-needed shut-eye.
As I got off the highway at the Fairfax off-ramp, I made a mistake and cross the intersection until I realized that I was going in the wrong direction. Then, I went back to the intersection and made another mistake when I turned left--Hey, it was dark! So, I turned around again and pulled-in at a shopping center so that I could pull out my map and look at how I made both mistakes. Then, I turned right down Fairfax and noticed the Pentecostal Church ( which I had noticed earlier in the afternoon on my way to Motel 6 ) on the left and knew right there and then that I was headed in the right direction--third time's a charm.
When I got back to Motel 6, I was still feeling wide awake because of the Cafe Vida Mocha Cappuccino instant coffee that I tried at my friend's place. So, as I sat in my car, I deliberated whether or not I should go see a movie in Bakersfield. My curiosity and my need for a new movie venue to blog about won me over.
MAYA BAKERSFIELD 16 CINEMAS is a new theatre. It is beautiful and large. And I especially liked how the front row seats are far away from the movie screen, unlike how they are situated at my local haunts in neck-straining proximity to the screen ( the Century 16 Bayfair in San Leandro, CA, is the worst )!
But as beautiful as the new theatre is, my movie-watching experience was less than pleasurable because some inconsiderate bitch seated in the row in front of mine and two chairs over to the left was constantly texting on her cellphone all through the movie! Cellphones are not only contributing factors to car accidents these days but are also encouraging people to be downright rude and inconsiderate! Trust me when I say that cellphone-obsessed girls are a big turn-off for me.
audience reaction: The audience really liked this movie.
recommendation: I liked it, too. Go see this Comedy.
spoiler alert! Doesn't a person need to have some kind of permit to transport the cremated ashes of another person across state lines? Why didn't the bratty boy cry? When the car crashed, why didn't the dog fly around? If you look at the front edge of the crashed car's roof, you'll notice that it caved-in enough so that both driver and passenger should have suffered a serious case of head trauma. Why didn't the airbags deploy? Why was the pick-up truck driver just sitting there in his cab when he just witnessed a major car crash? Couldn't they have just used a vacuum cleaner to clean-up the spill in the kitchen? Why didn't the authorities put out an all-points bulletin about the stolen truck? There's no way that a truck's door can come-off that easily. And when the door came off, it should have dented the right front fender but didn't.
fyi: One time, back in Mindanao, Philippines, my family was driving back to Matina, Davao City from our trip to Kidapawan, Cotabato. My mother was driving the Toyota Land Cruiser. As we crossed one particular bridge, my mother hit a bump in the road at about 50 to 60 mph and, immediately, the SUV came to a crawl. We rode at a snail's pace until we came upon a car garage/residence. The mechanic found-out the problem: The distributor's base, just below the points and condenser, was cracked. He welded the crack and the SUV ran fine after that. I never gained confidence in Toyota SUVs after that incident because I know that had we used our Korean War-era Willys Jeep, instead, that incident would never have happened!
word of advice: Don't jump to conclusions based on hearsay and/or wild speculations.
tidbits: I wanted to have an early start on my planned road trip to Bakersfield. I had hoped to be on the road by 6:00 a.m., but I went to bed after 1:00 a.m. because my downstairs neighbor played her stereo rather loudly since she had some guests over. It was about 10:20 a.m. when I finally left my place.
Right where 580 forks into 205 to the left and I-5 to the right, I had to step hard on my brakes and swerve right to get onto I-5 at the last possible chance because I was expecting an off-ramp for 205, not a fork! Luckily, there were no cars close to mine at that time.
On I-5 where the windmill wind turbine generators are at, an interesting "crop circle" is visible to the south-bound motorists: a giant cross with a "Jesus Saves" message is spelled-out in a T-form.
At one point, I saw a red car traveling in the opposite direction with a tumble-weed on its hood. On both sides of the Interstate are barren fields with yellow picket signs that say, "Congress created the Dust Bowl." And it rained intermittently as I traveled down I-5.
Here is one interesting fact: On I-5, there is a mile-marker that says, "Bakersfield = 144 miles." The interesting fact about this marker is that it is exactly 144.4 miles from my condo's carport parking space, according to my trip odometer! How neat is that?
On CA-46, a.k.a. Paso Robles Highway, after I went through an underpass, I pulled-over at a Chevron gas station to get $6.00 worth of gas, to empty my bladder, and to ask for directions to 99. It turned out that I was headed in the right direction all along.
So, I got on 99, changed onto 204 and connected with 178, and I was well on my way to my friend's place.
My friend, Rey G., was a classmate and neighbor of mine in Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines. His family's house is directly across the street from my family's house. The last time that I saw him was in 1982!
I made a detour at Fairfax to check-in first at Motel 6 on East Brundage Lane. When I got to E. Brundage Lane, I had to maneuver between two tumble-weeds that were on the road. As I was about to pull into the motel parking lot, I changed my mind because I figured that my friend was probably worried about my present whereabouts. So, I headed up to the highway, missed the left turn on Niles, turned back to get to the Niles cross-street, made a right, and at the intersection of Niles and Fairfax I made a U-turn to get back to the motel to sign-in anyway! And I asked the front desk lady, Annie, for directions to any nearby theatre. She photo-copied directions for the two closest ones: Maya and Fox. And as she was making the photocopies, I walked on over to the gas-mart at the corner to buy a copy of the local paper. I went back to the front desk to get my room key and the photo copies. And I dropped-off my bag in my room, # 115 ( I had a hard time opening the door and had to have one of the cleaning ladies open it for me ). Then, I headed-off to my friend's house.
When I got to my friend's house, he asked me if I wanted to go eat-out. I told him, No, because I was planning on cooking some Arroz Con Gandules for him and his wife who was presently at work in another part of town. As the dish was cooking, Rey took notes of the recipe so that he could give it to his wife. I brought with me extra ingredients so that she'll have everything handy when she decides to give it a try.
As we waited for the dish to cool down after I finished cooking it, he took me for a car ride around his neighborhood. He took me to Ming Lake and to Hart Campground Park. He also showed me the bicycle paths that he uses for recreation and for his commute to work.
After Rey and I finished eating dinner, his wife, Sharon, called for him to go pick her up. When we all got back home, Sharon tried the dish that I made and liked it. And the both of them agreed that the dish will be the one they make for their church's potluck. Then, we reminisced about the old neighborhood. Rey then took pictures of us in the living room. And we talked some more until it was almost 10:00 p.m. At which point, I decided that it was time for me to go to my motel for some much-needed shut-eye.
As I got off the highway at the Fairfax off-ramp, I made a mistake and cross the intersection until I realized that I was going in the wrong direction. Then, I went back to the intersection and made another mistake when I turned left--Hey, it was dark! So, I turned around again and pulled-in at a shopping center so that I could pull out my map and look at how I made both mistakes. Then, I turned right down Fairfax and noticed the Pentecostal Church ( which I had noticed earlier in the afternoon on my way to Motel 6 ) on the left and knew right there and then that I was headed in the right direction--third time's a charm.
When I got back to Motel 6, I was still feeling wide awake because of the Cafe Vida Mocha Cappuccino instant coffee that I tried at my friend's place. So, as I sat in my car, I deliberated whether or not I should go see a movie in Bakersfield. My curiosity and my need for a new movie venue to blog about won me over.
MAYA BAKERSFIELD 16 CINEMAS is a new theatre. It is beautiful and large. And I especially liked how the front row seats are far away from the movie screen, unlike how they are situated at my local haunts in neck-straining proximity to the screen ( the Century 16 Bayfair in San Leandro, CA, is the worst )!
But as beautiful as the new theatre is, my movie-watching experience was less than pleasurable because some inconsiderate bitch seated in the row in front of mine and two chairs over to the left was constantly texting on her cellphone all through the movie! Cellphones are not only contributing factors to car accidents these days but are also encouraging people to be downright rude and inconsiderate! Trust me when I say that cellphone-obsessed girls are a big turn-off for me.
