where: CINE ARTS PLEASANT HILL in Pleasant Hill, CA
when: Sunday, November 7th, 2010
show: 7:00 p.m.
costs: $10.25 Ticket + $4.50 medium Zero Coke + $20.74 dinner before the show @ Todai Sushi And Seafood Buffet ( + $3.01 Tip ) + $5.00 Benicia Bridge Toll = $43.50
auditorium: 1, the Cine Dome
seat: 6th row, 24th column
synopsis/overview: This sequel picks-up where the second sequel ( THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE ) in the trilogy left-off.
Lisbeth Salander ( Noomi Rapace ) is rushed to the hospital, charged with the attempted murder of her own father. Meanwhile, Mikael Blomkvist ( Michael Nyqvist ) sets about to try and prove Lisbeth innocent of the charge. At the same time, a secret group is conspiring to silence Lisbeth once and for all before she can name names.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) The possible hit-and-run victim; 2.) Newsroom; 3.) Two old men; 4.) Strategy; 5.) Confidential papers; 6.) Old killer; 7.) Smile; 8.) Right decision; 9.) News conference; 10.) Evil plan; 11.) Stolen/missing report; 12.) "My word is Law here"; 13.) Clandestine group; 14.) Pizza; 15.) Personal message; 16.) Blackmail; 17.) Constitutional defense; 18.) "Information for information"; 19.) Break-in; 20.) Central station; 21.) Teapot; 22.) Victor's place; 23.) Anonymous e-mail; 24.) "Legal introduction"; 25.) Bicyclist; 26.) United; 27.) Touch; 28.) Police; 29.) Wire tap; 30.) The investigative meeting; 31.) Restaurant; 32.) Court hearing; 33.) "381 days"; 34.) Wi-Fi connection; 35.) Evidence; 36.) Revised reports; 37.) Three versions; 38.) Free; 39.) TV news; 40.) Estate; 41.) Unwanted reunion; 42.) Bikers; and 43.) The good news.
audience reaction: The audience was in rapt attention.
recommendation: I liked this movie, too. It wraps-up the whole trilogy well. Go see this Crime/Courtroom Drama.
spoiler alert! The two police officers were too slow to react to danger. The bullet should have been embedded deeper in the brain and resulted in a more serious brain damage and/or paralysis. For a comparison, James Brady, former President Reagan's Press Secretary, was shot in the head with a .22 caliber bullet at close range in an assassination attempt on the president's life by John Hinckley, Jr. on March 30th of 1981, which left Brady partially paralyzed for life and unable to continue on with his job. The bullet used on Lisbeth was more than likely a 9 mm which is three times heavier than a .22 and has an impact velocity of 50 fps more than the .22. In other words, the brain damage suffered by Lisbeth when she was shot also at close range should have been considerably more--if she survived it in the first place! Her right arm was just temporarily paralyzed and should have therefore been not stiff at her side when she got back in her hospital bed. Lisbeth actually suffered two head traumas: From the bullet wound and from the surgical removal of a piece of her skull to remove the bullet. What I am getting at is this: Such head traumas would have shocked the hair follicles in the affected and surrounding areas to automatically go into the Catagen Phase ( resting stage ), then immediately into the Telogen Phase ( falling-out stage ). Therefore, the shaved area of her head should have taken a considerably longer length of time ( four months on average ) to start--I repeat, start--growing back the hair! ( Why doesn't Hollywood use Cine-Man's knowledge of Human Anatomy and Physiology to good use? ) I can just see copy-cats dress-up like Lisbeth Salander for their day in court--oh, boy, what a defense attorney's nightmare it will be. Why didn't the big goon use his hands to pry-off his feet? And speaking of the big goon, he was not deaf. So, he could have easily moved his other foot away.
fyi: The god of Hollywood movies answered my prayer because they cast a better looking actress, Rooney Mara, to play the part of Lisbeth Salander in the Hollywood version of this Swedish trilogy. I just hope that Rooney has shapelier and firmer breasts than Noomi Rapace!
So, once again ... O god of Hollywood movies, thank you for answering my prayer. And if it is not too much to ask of you--and I know it isn't--please have Hollywood take notice of my work and hire my services as a script consultant, technical advisor, scene editor, script writer and actor. Thank you in advance, O lord. Amen. Oh, and by the way, please make sure that Rooney Mara has nice, firm boobs--thank you!
word of advice: Don't leave any loose ends.
tidbits: I woke up at around 6:20 a.m. Having had just a little over four hours of sleep because I did my sound meditation prior to retiring for the night. I had my alarm clock set to go off at 10:15 a.m. So, I tried to get more sleep, but with no luck at all.
At around 7:15 a.m., I decided to have breakfast at the Burger King beside the Motel 6. I had pancakes, sausage, orange juice, scrambled eggs and hash browns. Then, I walked into the gas-mart next door to buy a banana and a 14 fl oz bottle of Zero Coke for my road trip home. And some kid was outside asking for spare change, but I didn't give him any.
Back at my motel room, I hopped back in bed in the hope of catching some more zzzs. But ... no such luck. So, I got in the shower at around 9:45 a.m. And I checked-out at 10:45 a.m. I had it in mind to complain about how the cleaning lady had "cut corners" to clean my room, but the old white man ahead in line of me beat me to it since he had a similar complaint--and he even complained about there being a fly in his room. Sheesh!
I went to get a full tank of gas at the Chevron gas station across the street. I spent $21.00 for a full tank. And I called my friend, Hector, and told him that I've taught my friend, Rey, how to make Arroz Con Gandules. And I told Hector that Bakersfield is a beautiful place; then I told him to keep his relatives away from this city or the property values are gonna go down. Finally, I started my home-bound trip at around 11:10 a.m. after emptying my bladder first.
One thing that I noticed about my Bakersfield trip is that there are lots of Chevron gas stations along the way. And Chevron--as some of you may already know--is the only gas that I put in both of my cars. I needlessly worried that I'd be forced to put an inferior brand of gas in my tank. It was like my blue Hyundai Accent died and went to Chevron gas station heaven! Or if my Accent was a male dog, it was as if it discovered a virgin forest with lots of trees to claim as its own.
When I drove-up Fairfax to get on the highway, I saw either before or after the Pentecostal Church a dead black Chow Chow at the curb. It had a trail of blood so that it either was pulled off the road or it crawled there after it was run-over. Poor dog.
As I traveled north on 99, I kept a watch on the exits because my exit, CA-46/Paso Robles Highway, was coming up. And it's the one right after CA-44, according to my hastily-written note. Well, I came upon CA-44 and, as I passed it by, I realized that CA-44 and CA-46 both have the same off-ramps! I was gonna turn around at the next exit but couldn't see an on-ramp for the opposite direction. When I passed by that exit, it was then that I saw the on-ramp, a looped one. Of course, how could I forget that not all on-ramps are straight---Duh!
I exited at the next off-ramp and looped back onto 99 South.
I was on-course once again as I traveled west on CA-46/Paso Robles Highway. Soon, I felt the urge to empty my bladder--damn that Zero Coke! So, I pulled into a Carl's Jr./Green Burrito Restaurant in Wasco to empty my bladder and to have a light lunch. I chose the $3.89 Burrito combo meal with a medium-sized fountain drink of Lemonade and Raspberry Tea--my answer to the Arnold Palmer softdrink.
Further west on CA-46/Paso Robles Highway, I came upon a military convoy of Humvees traveling in the opposite direction. There were thirteen of them, all olive drab in color except for one which was painted in desert camo. I guess the desert camo Humvee driver got lost, too, and ended-up following the wrong convoy! 'See what happens when us guys don't stop to ask for directions?
Then, I got onto the northbound I-5. It rained every once in a while with crazy drivers passing me by at over 70 mph, the posted speed limit. Once, I had to go up to 80 mph just to pass by a couple of 18-wheelers and this idiot in a black Volvo SUV was tailgating me--the asshole wanted me to go faster than 80 mph in the rain! What a nut!
I saw a dead gray tabby on the side of the interstate. Poor cat. I also saw a ran-over hawk further up the interstate.
Later, the stench of urine and cow dung permeated an area. And I saw the source of it, not visible from the southbound direction: A sea of cows practically for as far as my four eyes could see! That can't be sanitary or healthy for the cows--and/or for us! So, that is how beef, milk, butter and ice cream originally smell like. Okay ....
I was feeling sleepy behind the wheel, probably because I had breakfast and lunch ( not because I only had a little over four hours of sleep ). But I couldn't allow myself to fall asleep because the long distance drive was my perfect excuse to rack-up as many Zhunti mantras as I could possibly recite--and I need to do a million of it. It will probably be another full year before I reach the million mark. So, I kept myself awake and kept on keeping on with my mantras--talk about dedication and discipline. ( I'd make a good monk, I tell you. )
Later on, I felt another urge to empty my bladder. Damn that Zero Coke--again. I pulled into a Chevron gas station somewhere ( in Modesto, I think ) to empty my bladder and to get a small fountain drink of Lemonade and Raspberry Tea mix. While there, I called my brother to ask him which one of our relatives is gonna have the pay-per-view Pacquiao fight. And I will be sure to teach that cousin how to make Arroz Con Gandules, too! I'm taking this rice dish away from my Puerto Rican friend, Hector, and all the other Puerto Ricans in the world because they don't deserve to have a claim on it--bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha--snort!
So, I got back on I-5 and---Opps! I shot pass the 580 connector. Nah ... that couldn't have been right because, according to my calculation, I still had about forty miles to go before I reach the connector. But, silly me, I used the southbound calculations instead of having the northbound mileage calculations worked out. Whoopsie ... no wonder I'm not a mathematician! Ha, ha, ha. But, no worries, I could still connect with 205 West to get me back to 580 West. But I had to look at the map to find out where the connector is located. And for me to do that, since I'm very near-sighted, I had to take off my glasses ( while driving in the rain, no less ) to look at the map. That was probably when I missed the connector because I traveled for miles and miles past Tracy--almost to Sacramento--before I detoured in a residential area to head south on I-5 until I saw the 205 West connector. Well, at least now I know about 205 and will use it the next time that I go down to Bakersfield. But, if anyone asks, just tell them that I took the scenic route ( my getting lost twice will just be our own little secret ).
When I got on 680 North, I planned on stopping by the Harvest House Health Food Store in Concord, first, to buy more soap, then going to Todai Sushi and Seafood Buffet Restaurant at the Sun Valley Mall, second, before seeing this show if only to rest and digest ( the meal ) before heading on home. But because I got lost twice, I had to scratch-off the health food store trip from my to-do list since there was no time for it.
I think Todai, under new management, is leaning more towards Chinese fare. I say this because they have a Mongolian stir-fry section now, only thing is that they call it the "Hibachi" grill. Yeah, right .... 'Can't fool me. Oh, and I emptied my bladder there at Todai, too!
As I was on my way out of the shopping mall, some bitch cut me off at the four-way stop! And she had the f---ing nerve to stare at me as she crossed the intersection. I should have chased the bitch down and reminded her that according to the driver's handbook, I had the right-of-way since I was on her right---Woman driver!
At the Cine Dome, I had time to use the restroom for the "number 1" and the "number 2" before the show. And when I had my softdrink ( the Zero Coke culprit ) rung-up, the concessions clerk asked me if I am a movie reviewer. How did he know that? I guess my alter persona is starting to show. Hmm ... I guess that was a good sign. ( Or, maybe, just maybe, he saw my notepad in my chest pocket and took a wild guess. Maybe .... But I doubt it. )
On my way home, I took a quick trip to the local Chevron gas station in Benicia to fill-up my tank since my fuel gauge showed that I had less than a quarter tank of gas left. I spent $28.00 for a full tank and only then learned that I still had over three gallons left in my tank.
When I got to my carport, I noted my round trip mileage. I traveled for a total of 696 miles according to my trip odometer. If I didn't do any side trips and had not gotten lost twice on the way home, I could have probably shaved-off the additional 96 miles. This trip is the farthest that I've ever driven in my whole life. 'Personal record, Yay!
And when I calculated the mpg, I found out that my stick shift Hyundai Accent did 39.12 mpg even with me averaging 70 mph on my trip. And, to think, I thought that I was only going to get 35 mpg. I wonder what my mpg would have been had I not gone faster than 65 mph. Well, there's only one way to find out ....
