where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Friday, March 23rd, 2012
show: 11:40 a.m. ( Extra Dollar Off First Show Matinee )
costs: $7.50 Ticket + $4.75 Pretzel Bites + $4.00 20 oz Orange Fanta soda = $16.25
auditorium: 2
seat: 3rd row, 1st column
synopsis/overview: In Panem, a post-Apocalyptic America, the government forces each of the 12 remaining districts to offer-up a boy and girl tribute each year to fight to the death with only one expected to survive and win, as a punishment for an unsuccessful uprising many years before. Everyone between the ages of 12 and 18 is compelled to enter his/her name in the selection process called, The Reaping. When Katniss's ( Jennifer Lawrence ) young sister is selected, she volunteers to take her place. And the boy selected, Peeta ( Josh Hutcherson ), is someone who has a crush on Katniss. As the fight for survival begins, Katniss's sense of Humanity and Peeta's feeling of Love serve as major life-threatening obstacles for them both.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Forty-two; 2.) Mockingjay pin; 3.) The Reaping; 4.) Mentor; 5.) "That is Mahogany"; 6.) "You have to make people like you"; 7.) Chariot of Fire; 8.) "Arrogance can be a big problem"; 9.) "She wasn't talking about me"; 10.) "Make sure they remember you"; 11.) Roasted pig; 12.) Scores; 13.) Hope; 14.) Separate training; 15.) Show; 16.) "Nice dress"; 17.) "That's bad luck"; 18.) Manners; 19.) "Can't sleep"; 20.) Trackers; 21.) Bloodbath; 22.) "Boom of a cannon"; 23.) Camera; 24.) Campfire; 25.) Alliance; 26.) Fireballs; 27.) Chase; 28.) Ointment; 29.) Tracker Jacker nest; 30.) Leaves; 31.) Two days; 32.) Signal; 33.) Pile of goodies; 34.) "You have to win"; 35.) Riot; 36.) "Give them something to root for"; 37.) Suspension; 38.) Camouflage; 39.) "You call that a kiss"; 40.) "You fed me once"; 41.) Generous hosts; 42.) "Just this time, 12, for Rue ( Amandla Stenberg )"; 43.) "Maybe Cato ( Alexander Ludwig ) likes berries, too"; 44.) Finale; 45.) Genetically-engineered beasts; 46.) Fight; 47.) Revoked; 48.) "Trust me"; 49.) "I'm not happy with you"; 50.) Bowl of berries; 51.) Interview; and 52.) "I don't want to forget."
audience reaction: The audience liked this. But it didn't get a "Hands Clapper" ending.
recommendation: I found this to be just an "Okay" movie. I fell for the advertising hype, to be sure. It is definitely a Chick Flick Action Movie for those of you who are into such movies.
spoiler alert! The blood was not drawn in a sterile manner. Whichever cameraman did the "Hand-Held Camera" scenes did a very poor job of it, like he had Parkinson's Disease or something--it took away from the pleasure of watching the scenes unfold! Oh, sure, pit a 12-year old against an 18-year old .... Ah, shouldn't this movie have been rated "R" for bloodbath involving kids? Why form an alliance when you're supposed to kill each other anyway? Why didn't the cameras show scenes of the tributes in their most--Ahem!--"private moments". When a girl and a spear-thrower died, no boom could be heard to announce their demise.
This movie is not really in keeping with the book that it was based on.
fyi: I really didn't know that this movie was based on a novel until I looked it up on the Internet after watching this movie. So, I spent over an hour's time reading-up on the movie plot and on its chapter summaries.
The Mockingjays in this movie are supposed to be hybrids resulting from a cross between female Mockingbirds and genetically-engineered male Jabberjays, which were released into the wild by the totalitarian Capitol Government. But, from what I learned in College Biology, birds from different species cannot interbreed even if they are genetically compatible because each species has its own distinctive set of courtship and mating rituals. In other words, they will not be able to understand each other's "language of love". The only way that a Mockingbird and a Jabberjay could ever mate, then, was if they were both hatched and raised in captivity and confined together in close quarters. In other words, forced into Inter-Species Sex! A process of UNnatural Selection. ( Those kinky scientists, I swear .... )
District 12 reminded me of pictures that I saw in my high school American History textbook of the coal-mining towns of the late 1800s . It simply had that Look and Feel to it.
word of advice: Leave it to Cupid to shoot an arrow into someone's heart.
Don't fall for the hype.
tidbits: After the movie, I headed straight for the Safeway grocery store on Admiral Callaghan Lane here in Vallejo, CA, to pick-up my prescription. On the corner of Admiral Callaghan Lane and Turner Parkway, there stood a homeless man on the center "island" holding a cardboard sign which read that he was homeless and hungry. I was on the outer left-turn lane; no cars were on the inner left-turn lane, as though everyone just wanted to avoid him. I felt bad for him, and especially more so because I was doing my Zhunti Mantra all the while that I was waiting for the traffic light to turn green. I usually don't give beggars money because they might just use the money they collected to buy alcohol, cigarettes and/or drugs. But how would my Yogi feel if he found out that I was being uncharitable toward a less-fortunate soul while I was reciting an enlightenment mantra, I asked myself. Okay, then, I need to come back here anyway to buy some stuff at the Dollar Tree Store in the Target Shopping Center; I'll be sure to get something for him to eat and drink, I said to myself.
After I got my prescription, I went to the Dollar Tree Store to buy a 3-litre Orange Soda, a jar of Applesauce and a can of Evaporated Milk. But I couldn't think of anything good to get for the beggar. In resignation, I just decided that I would just give him a dollar bill, instead.
I spent a long time waiting in line for my turn to get rung-up by the cashier because there was only one cashier at that store at that time. When I finally got back to the street corner, the beggar wasn't there anymore. Maybe, next time ....
Watching THE HUNGER GAMES got me hungry. So, I headed-on to the Selecta Pilipino Buffet on Springs Road. As I ate my lunch, I watched a Pilipino TV soap opera, the show was a continuation from yesterday's. And as with yesterday's episode, there was too much crying going on in today's episode. I told the proprietor, Ray P., about it. He said, "Yes, there is too much crying. It's so depressing to watch. Especially at night before going to bed." Ha, ha, ha.
Next, I went next door to the 99 Cent Only Store to buy a 24 oz bottle of Lemon-Lime soda, a bag of Granny Goose Corn Chips, a bag of Caramel Swirl Marshmallows, 3 bags of Trail Mixes to munch-on at work and 4 blue T-Shirts in XL size: One for me and the rest for Hector and one of his two sons living with him--the other one ( the "Baby Huey" one ) is just too big, an XXXL size is what he'd need which the store didn't have.
I had some of the Granny Goose Corn Chips earlier tonight. But I had to throw most of it away because IT WAS JUST TOO DAMN SALTY FOR ME! I think that I just bought a bad batch.
Newsflash:
Remember in my last blog, six days ago, I mentioned that six cop cars converged in front of a local school, Cooper Elementary School? Well, it turned out that somebody in the neighborhood called 911 about seeing six men wearing masks and carrying guns on school grounds. The men turned-out to be teenagers playing a game of "war" using air-soft rifles with the orange tips removed.
They would have looked like this:
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| No Orange Tips on these ones, either. |
And armed with weapons similar to these:
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| Orange Tip removed and looking very real! |
Anyway, the cops caught some of them who were then given a good "Talking-to" before being released into the custody of their parents. Could you just imagine what would have happened had the cops shot those stupid idiots ...? I guess the teens were just playing THE DUMBER GAMES! LOL
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