where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
show: 2:00 p.m.
costs: $10.25 Ticket + $5.00 Snack Pack + $4.50 Pretzel Bites = $19.75
auditorium: 8, with the 3-D screen
seat: 6th row, 9th column
2nd time:
where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when: Sunday, December 5th, 2010
show: 4:20 p.m.
costs: $8.00 + $6.00 small Popcorn + $4.75 small Diet Coke + $7.77 Combo Meal @ Jack in the Box on Redwood Road after the movie = $26.52
auditorium: 13
seat: 4th row, 8ht column
synopsis/overview: An evil witch steals the king and queen's infant daughter, Rapunzel, to satisfy her own selfish needs. But a handsome stranger, Flynn, discovers their hideout and frees Rapunzel. Now, the evil witch will stop at nothing to get back what she thinks is rightfully hers and hers alone.
prediction: This will win an Oscar for Best Animation.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Magic flower; 2.) New magic flower; 3.) Flying lanterns; 4.) Daily routine; 5.) "They're meant for me"; 6.) "Mother knows best"; 7.) Secret passage; 8.) Closet; 9.) Tiara; 10.) Deal; 11.) Smoulder; 12.) Second thoughts; 13.) Wanted poster; 14.) Missing; 15.) Satchel; 16.) Snugly Duckling; 17.) "I had a dream"; 18.) "Live your dream"; 19.) Duel; 20.) Trapped; 21.) Eugene Fitzherbert; 22.) Teaming-up with the two robbers; 23.) "Turns brown when cut"; 24.) "All good things to those who wait"; 25.) Tug-of-war; 26.) Shake; 27.) Braid; 28.) Town square; 29.) "I bought them--most of them"; 30.) In the boat; 31.) Double-cross; 32.) Stars; 33.) "I'm the lost princess"; 34.) "What's the password"; 35.) Pantomime; 36.) Lured; 37.) Cut; 38.) Teardrop; 39.) Group hug; 40.) Party; 41.) Frying pans; and 42.) "They lived happily ever after."
favorite scenes: I liked how when the little girls braided her hair and put flowers in it.
And I liked the one where they were in that boat and all the floating lanterns were in the sky and were also reflected on the surface of the lake.
audience reaction: The audience truly enjoyed this and gave it a big "Hands Clapper" ending!
recommendation: I enjoyed this retelling, too. Go see it with your little brats.
spoiler alert! Since this is a children's movie, and an enjoyable one at that, I exempt it from my criticism. ( It does have quite a number of spoilers in it though, just to let you know. )
fyi: This movie, with its "nose" obsession, could have easily been written by me or some relative of mine from my father's side of the family. My father's side of the family has a distinctly Italian nose. And they are proud of their nose because it is what keeps them apart from the natives of Cotabato, Mindanao, Philippines. Funny thing is, my brother, sisters and I didn't inherit "The Nose." And every time our grandmother would come for a visit, she would line us up and pull hard on each of our noses while repeatedly saying, "Inat, ilong ( Stretch, nose )." But it was of no use since we were stubborn-nosed! Ha, ha, ha. I might have to have a nose job someday to make myself more presentable to my relatives. I sure would hate to be ostracized by said relatives simply because my nose doesn't measure up to family standards. The "Nose" knows, Toucan Sam would agree.
The flying lantern, the first hot-air balloon, was invented by the Chinese. It was originally used as a signaling balloon by military strategists. But it became popular with children at carnivals so that it was eventually added to their festivals. As such, it was given special significance so that releasing a flying lantern became symbolic of troubles and bad luck floating away.
Also, it is believed that some flying lanterns were mistakenly reported as UFOs.
CGI technology has improved considerably. I say this because the shoulders of the human characters in this animation movie moved more naturally. Unlike older--even more recent ( AVATAR included )--animation movies wherein the characters' shoulders were "boxy" and moved rather stiffly.
word of advice: Live your dream.
tidbits: I was gonna go to the first 3-D show at 11:20 a.m. But I got up late ( it was my day-off ). I tried to catch the 12:40 show. But I missed that one, too.
And since I had time to pick up my check and make a deposit at a bank, I went and did these first.
This is the first time that I've ever had buttery Pretzel Bites. They're quite good, actually. And I would have liked them even more if they weren't so salty. I would pick-off quite a number of salt chunks off of my pretzels before I would dip them in the cheese sauce which was the only way that I could enjoy them.
During the "Smoulder Scene", a kid behind me said, "What the hell ...?"
