where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Thursday ( THOR'S DAY ), November 7th, 2013
show: 3:15 p.m. to 9:51 p.m. ( 6 hours and 36 minutes Marathon )
costs: $25.00 Ticket + $7.50 large Popcorn w/ Butter ( w/ free Kettle Corn Refill ) + $0.00 medium 30 oz Powerade Mountain Berry Blast + $4.50 medium 30 oz Fruit Punch ) = $37.00
auditorium: 2
seat: 6th row ( counting from the front ), 7th column ( counting from the left )
2nd time
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where: AMC METREON 16 in San Francisco, CA
when: Friday, November 8th, 2013
show: 5:15 p.m.
costs: $12.50 Ticket + $1.04 16.9 oz 7-11 Water ( bought at the 7-11 on 217 Sutter Street and smuggled-in ) + $3.25 Pork and Salted Egg Zongzi ( bought at the Eastern Bakery in Chinatown and smuggled-in ) + $8.59 2-entree Fried Chicken Drumsticks and Fried Garlic Rice ( at Inay's Fast Food Pilipino Restaurant at the AMC Metreon Ground Floor Level ) after the movie + $8.20 BART Train Ticket + $5.00 Carquinez Bridge Toll ( on the way home to Vallejo, CA ) = $38.58
auditorium: 15, on the 3rd floor
seat: 4th row ( counting from the front ), 13th column ( counting from the left )
3rd time:
where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Faifield, CA
when: Sunday, November 10th, 2013
show: 9:00 p.m. I-Max 3-D
costs: $18.00 Ticket + $11.83 dinner @ Hometown Buffet before the movie = $29.83
auditorium: 12, with the I-Max screen
seat: 5th row ( counting from the front ), 5th seat ( counting from the left )
synopsis/overview: Over a millenia ago, Odin's ( Anthony Hopkins ) father, Bor ( Tony Curran? ), defeated an Evil Elf, Malekith ( Christopher Ecccleston ), and his army in the dark world of Svartalfheim. In retreat, Malekith vowed to get his revenge and plunge all of the Nine Realms into Darkness. When a rare 5,000-year cycle cosmological event called "Convergence" starts to re-align all Nine Realms, an unwitting and unlikely host of the Evil Ether ( the source of Malekith's power ) reawakens the dormant Malekith. As all the Realms fall in danger of being conquered by Malekith and plunged into total darkness, Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ) and his human friends must put their collective trust in his brother, Loki ( Tom Hiddleston ), to help them put an end to Malekith's evil plan.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Dark elves; 2.) Birthright; 3.) "Perhaps, next time we should start with the big one"; 4.) Awkward lunch date; 5.) Stonehenge; 6.) "I haven't seen anything like this since ... New Mexico"; 7.) Car keys; 8.) Teleported; 9.) "I can't see her"; 10.) "You were gone for five hours"; 11.) Rain; 12.) Slaps; 13.) Explosion; 14.) "Quantum Field Generator"; 15.) "You told him about me"; 16.) "It's defending itself"; 17.) "The last of the Kursed"; 18.) "Convergence"; 19.) Prison break; 20.) "It's only because I worry over you that you've survived"; 21.) Stealth attack; 22.) "I will have what is mine"; 23.) "We are all but defenseless"; 24.) "No more illusions"; 25.) "Brother, you look ravishing"; 26.) "I can feel the patriotism surging"; 27.) "That was for New York"; 28.) "Evidently, it won't be a lie"; 29.) "I am pressing it gently"; 30.) "The aether has found its way home"; 31.) "Trust my rage"; 32.) "This is getting weird now"; 33.) Starlings; 34.) The trick; 35.) "I didn't do it for him"; 35.) 'Phone call; 36.) Portal; 37.) Coat rack; 38.) Underwear; 39.) Greenwich; 40.) "What the hell just happened"; 41.) Teleportation fights; 42.) Train; 43.) "No, thank you"; 44.) Bonus Scene during the Ending Credits; and 45.) Two Bonus Scenes after the Ending Credits.
audience reaction: The audience liked it and gave it a Hands Clapper ending.
2nd audience reaction: This San Francisco audience liked it even more and gave it a Hands Clapper ending as well as Hands Clapper scenes! And a man seated in the row behind mine who claimed to be an "avid movie buff" said to the two ladies with whom he had a chat, "I give it a B +." To which, one of the ladies followed with, "It is definitely a solid B +!"
Both group of audiences liked Stan Lee's cameo scene with the shoe. And the audiences totally enjoyed the scene with Loki in his various disguises as he tried to annoy his brother, Thor.
And during the Ending Credits, the San Francisco audience clapped their hands when Tom Hiddleston and Rene Russo's names were shown in the Cast of Characters. They also clapped their hands after the Ending Credits when Thor reunited with Jane ( Natalie Portman ), and when the Frost Monster from Jotunheim was shown chasing after a flock of birds.
3rd audience reaction: This Fairfield crowd was essentially clueless! 'Not enough reaction from this bunch.
recommendation: I liked it. Go see this movie.
spoiler alert! In a war or battle, Technology has an upper hand on Strategy. In this case, in the battle at Vanaheim, the bad guys had bolt-shooting "rifles" that could have given them an unfair advantage had they shot at the defenders from a distance since they had the "reach" advantage. Speaking of the battle scene in Vanaheim, Sif ( Jaimie Alexander ) didn't follow through with her sword after she blocked an enemy's attack. It's rather unfair that an American ( i.e. Jane ) was depicted as having no modicum of social propriety when in the presence of royalty--and divine royalty, at that! Exactly how long does it take to eat a slice of bread? Darcy ( Kat Dennings ) was still chewing on some bread when Jane decided to join her in her red Volvo station wagon. The prison didn't have toilets and showers! Why didn't Asgard have an outer perimeter defense? Why did none of the starlings fly up Darcy's skirt ( I pose this question from a logical standpoint, not from that of perversity )? When no blood gushed from the cut-off limb, that should have tipped the Dark Elves into thinking that something was amiss! When the aether started to float in the air, Thor could have twirled Mjolnir fast enough to generate a tornado and carry the aether to a safe, far away distance in outer space and blasted it again with a bolt of lightning! When the Kursed deflected Thor's hammer, why couldn't Thor get it back---Was it because Mjolnir got knocked unconscious by the strike? Since Thor is not only the God of Thunder but is also a master weather manipulator in any Realm, why wasn't he able to control the dust storm in Svartalfheim? Dr. Selvig ( Stellan Skarsgard ) mentioned that ancient peoples from Europe, Asia and The Americas left archaeological structures to mark the previous convergence; but such structures were not all built at approximately the same time and, therefore, would not have documented the same event! And you would think that the Frost Monster from Jotunheim would have already been chased and surrounded by the police and the military instead of being allowed to chase after birds unhindered.
Had Odin used this ( see accompanying photo below ) to keep watch over his people, the Dark Elves would have been readily distracted while in flight and would've had all of their spaceships shot-down or accidentally crashed! Ha, ha, ha.
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| Asgard's "Ass Guardian" keeping watch over everybody---Bottoms up! Up and away! Ha, ha, ha. I found this on somebody's Facebook page. Someone who I thought was the oldest brother of my brother-in-law in Michigan. But, how fortuitous--I was really meant to find this while doing my blog for this movie!!! |
fyi: "... (T)he earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep ...." Genesis 1: 2, Old Testament Of The Bible.
There is an odd rare phenomenon called, "Point (?) Rainfall," which is exactly just the opposite of what's shown in an early scene in this movie. It is so rare that it is not described in most scientific journals. Basically, it is rain that falls on just a very small area while the surrounding areas remain dry.
Please re-read my blog on THOR ( May, 2011 ) to understand why the scenes with Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, shouldn't have worked!
word of advice: A mother's love and sacrifice speak volumes.
tidbits: The movie audiences seemed to all be rooting for the anti-hero, Loki, instead!
I had my very first marathon event when I went to see this on Thursday ( Thor's Day ). For THOR 1, the first movie, I had Buttered Popcorn and Powerade Mountain Berry Blast. For THE AVENGERS, the second movie, I had Kettle Corn and Fruit Punch. For THOR: THE DARK WORLD, the third and final movie, I just had a cup of drinking fountain water because I had my fill of Popcorn and Kettle Corn by then; besides, they didn't allow for a third refill ( what a rip-off )!
By the way, I had to empty my bladder before seeing this marathon. I used the first toilet stall---And, boy! did it stink like hell!!! It smelled like the last person to use it smeared his poop all over the door and walls of the stall! I was just glad that my sense of smell was nowhere close to that of a scent hound or I would have dropped dead from the stench!
2nd tidbits: Well, my vacation is coming to an end. Yup! I spent my vacation blogging about my vacation from two years ago! Ha, ha, ha.
Anyway ....
I went to my workplace in Benicia, CA, to pick up my vacation cheque. But, wouldn't you know it, they forgot to issue me a paycheque! They must think that I work for free!!! This is exactly why I have to budget my spending money. Luckily for me, I had a contract bonus cheque waiting for me; it was just half the amount of my usual pay but it would have to do until I get paid for my vacation.
'Time for some "Financial Stretching Exercises!" Oh, boy! I'm expecting to get a great work-out this whole week. Ha, ha, ha.
After I cashed my contract bonus cheque, I went to the nearby MacDonald's Restaurant on East 2nd Street to do a bit of blogging while I waited for the time for me to leave for San Francisco, CA.
I left my car in the parking garage at the El Cerrito Del Norte BART Train Station and boarded a San Francisco-bound train.
I got off at the Montgomery BART Station and went to the 7-11 on Sutter Street to buy a bottle of water as I was thirsty. Then, I walked on up to Chinatown via Grant Avenue.
As I passed by a tourist shop in Chinatown, three white teen-age girls were comforting a little white girl who was standing outside the store and sobbing. The little girl couldn't find her mother. How irresponsible was that?!?!?! Kids get kidnapped, raped, sold into slavery, killed and/or have their organs harvested in all parts of the world, even here! That mother needs to be seriously reprimanded!
When I got to the corner of Grant Avenue and Clay Street, I turned left and walked up the hill to search for a restaurant that a Chinese co-worker recommended. I found the restaurant, Capital Chinese Restaurant. Their prices were reasonable. Yet, since I was on a strict budget, I forewent dining at the place.
But the main reason why I went to Chinatown was to search for the Buddhist Nun who I encountered last April. I wanted to donate $60.00 to her monastery because of the money that I found a few nights ago. But I couldn't find the Nun; I looked around to see if I could spot a Buddhist Monk--no such luck! Next time, I will come back here in the morning. If I don't come across either a Nun or a Monk by then, I will just go to their monastery and donate the money there.
On my way to the AMC Metreon, I came upon an old Chinese street musician ( and Tai Chi master? ) playing his instrument on the sidewalk next to the Old Saint Mary's Catholic Church. I put 50 cents in his instrument case.
As I sat in the 4th row in AMC Metreon's auditorium 15, I soon realized that the row was a main thoroughfare. I will have to sit someplace else next time I find myself in this auditorium.
I had a light dinner after the movie at the ground floor level as I updated this blog.
When I got back in Vallejo, CA, I had a craving for some ice cream and dessert. I stopped at the Safeway Supermarket on Admiral Callaghan Lane to buy a Tres Leches Strawberry Parfait and a container of Mango Sherbet. But the couple ahead in line of me at the check-out line had a shopping cart full of groceries. I just put back my two items and left.
Then, I went to the Food Maxx Supermarket across the freeway on the corner of Toulumne and Redwood Streets to buy a close-out snack-size pack of Taleen Japanese Style Peanuts, Strawberry Parfait and Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream. I paid $5.21 total for my purchase.
3rd tidbits: As I was about to enter the Edwards Fairfield Stadium 16 & I-Max theatre, a white teenager asked me if I could spare him $2.00 because he was short on money for a ticket purchase. I asked him what movie he was gonna see. He said that he and his two buddies were there to see BAD GRANDPA. I told him that I will give him the $2.00 if he followed me inside to the box office so I could see him using the money to actually pay for a ticket. He declined. I think he just wanted to scam me. And I just saved me a couple of bucks---Hey! I'm on a tight budget, after all.
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