where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, December 20th, 2010
show: 10:35 p.m.
costs: $9.75 Ticket + $6.00 Snack Pack ( w/ a Dollar Upgrade for a Reese's Peanut Butter Cups ) = $15.75
auditorium: 2
seat: 4th row, 3rd seat
synopsis/overview: A fighter, Mickey Ward ( Mark Wahlberg ), who still has potential must step away from the shadow and bad influence of his older half brother, Dicky Eklund ( Christian Bale ), a has-been fighter, and his overbearing mother, Alice ( Melissa Leo ), for a shot at a title fight.
prediction: This movie is a strong contender for Oscars in the Best Actor and the Best Actress categories.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) TV documentary; 2.) Boxing gym; 3.) Crack-house; 4.) Bar; 5.) Visiting his daughter; 6.) Fetching Dicky at the crack-house; 7.) Alternate fight; 8.) Training proposal; 9.) Movie date; 10.) "The joke was on me"; 11.) Family discussion with Charlene ( Amy Adams ) present; 12.) Cambodian people; 13.) Movie about crack addiction; 14.) Police impersonation; 15.) Arrest; 16.) Courthouse; 17.) "Let her see who her uncle is"; 18.) The wake-up call; 19.) "No Dicky, no Alice"; 20.) The husband and wife fight; 21.) The girl fight; 22.) On the comeback trail; 23.) Prison visit; 24.) Sanchez vs. Ward; 25.) Locker room; 26.) Spar; 27.) Cake; 28.) "Let's make things right"; 29.) Ward vs. Neary; 30.) We; and 31.) Bonus scene during the Ending Credits.
favorite scenes: I liked the scene with the frying pan.
I also liked the girl-fight scene.
audience reaction: I really didn't hear anything from the others who were in the auditorium with me.
recommendation: I liked this movie. Go see it.
spoiler alert! I would have sued based on police brutality and excessive use of force. The bald spot on the back of Dicky's head looked very rectangular in the scene when he walked out of prison.
fyi: Dicky Eklund never reformed. He was in trouble with the law again just last year. And he had run-ins with the law in the years prior to that, too!
word of advice: Sometimes, it's your own family that's holding you back.
tidbits: The concessions clerk handed me the cup that goes with the snack pack so I could fill it with whatever drink I wanted to put in it. And I said to myself, Great, he gave me the cup so he could have all that room in the box to load me up good on popcorn. But when he handed me the pack and I looked in, I found out that he had left the cup holder area free of any popcorn! What a rip---! I mean ... it was late at night and they would be closing down the concessions area in about 30 minutes or less, and they couldn't give me extra popcorn?!?!?! WTF...? They would just be throwing the rest of the popcorn in the garbage anyway. What a cheapskate! Bad customer service, was what it was.
And as if that was not bad enough, they started the movie 15 to 20 minutes late! Geesh ....
