where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Wednesday, February 12th, 2014
show: 4:50 p.m. matinee
costs: $7.75 Ticket + $2.00 upgrade on a Free Small Popcorn ( Cinemark E-mail Coupon ) + $4.75 large Powerade Mountain Berry Blast + $1.50 Kernel Season's White Cheddar Popcorn Seasoning = $16.00
auditorium: 11
seat: 4th row ( counting from the front ), 8ht column ( counting from the left )
synopsis/overview: In the year 2028, a world-wide technology conglomerate, OmniCorp, has cornered the robotics market and has its peace-keeping drones deployed to all the hot-spots in the world, making its investors very rich and very happy. But the American public is vehemently opposed to having the streets of America patrolled by drones. When an honest cop, Alex Murphy ( Joel Kinnaman ), is almost killed in an assassination attempt, the CEO of OmniCorp, Raymond Sellars ( Michael Keaton ) sees an opportunity to create a prototype law enforcement cyborg that the public will be more accepting of. Officer Murphy is an instant hit as he efficiently keeps the neighborhoods safe from the bad guys. But a criminal records software installed in his brain forces him to override his programming and makes him hunt down the bad guys responsible for the assassination attempt on his life.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Operation Freedom Tehran; 2.) "Robophobic"; 3.) "Dumb or dirty"; 4.) Missing rifles; 5.) Shoot-out at a restaurant; 6.) "What do your machines feel"; 7.) Potential source of revenue; 8.) "They want a product with a conscience"; 9.) OmniCorp Rehab Center; 10.) Potential candidates; 11.) Car bomb; 12.) "Time is the one thing you don't have"; 13.) Dream; 14.) "It's not a suit, it's you"; 15.) "Let him run"; 16.) "Shut him down"; 17.) "The reality of the situation"; 18.) Live chat; 19.) Maintenance protocols; 20.) Simulation room; 21.) Brain implant; 22.) Testing facility; 23.) "Illusion of Free Will"; 24.) "I think we're all curious to find out"; 25.) "You're the right color now"; 26.) Crime Data CCTV Footage Uploads; 27.) Press conference; 28.) "Completely unaware of the monster in their presence"; 29.) Drug lab; 30.) Live debate; 31.) "Somehow, he's overriding the system's priorities"; 32.) "His Dopamine levels are going back to normal"; 33.) "You don't have a kid, I do"; 34.) "He's off solving his own murder"; 35.) "Some idiot used an unencrypted 'phone"; 36.) Fingerprints; 37.) Bad cops in the police department; 38.) Off-line; 39.) "Nest of vipers"; 40.) "What's bigger than Hero"; 41.) Deal; 42.) "They're not waking him up"; 43.) Repealed; 44.) "He wants you dead"; 45.) "Security situation"; 46.) "You're just a robot"; 47.) "I'm ready"; and 48.) Uphold.
favorite scene: I liked the scene in the testing facility wherein he tazed the bad guy.
audience reaction: There was just a mild reaction from the audience.
recommendation: I liked it enough. It is not on par with the original ( I was hoping to see a Baby Food scene and a "You're Fired" scene ). But it is a good enough Action Movie. Go see this if you're an Action Movies fan.
spoiler alert! Any determined bad guy could have access to one or more of those red bands. The bad guy could have shot at Officer Murphy by aiming under the dumpster bin. Why couldn't he turn off his car alarm even though it wasn't tampered with in any way? Primary Mistake: In the car bomb scene, Officer Murphy's chest and face were more exposed to the blast than his abdomen and groin areas were for the simple reason that the driver's side door served as a barrier and deflected most of the blast's force; but the window would have been shattered and his face was readily exposed to the blast. So ... his Brains, his Eyes, his Ear Drums, his Heart and Lungs would have all been ruptured by the powerful blast--we're talking instant death here, folks! But, let's go along with the assumption made in this movie that his Lungs, Brains, etc. weren't damaged by the bomb's blast. We still cannot find any justification for why they did away with most of his body parts and left him with nothing more than a Hand, a Face, his Brains and his Lungs! ( Kinda like a sick and twisted version of a Mr. Potato Head. ) So, we are shown a scene wherein his Lungs were rapidly expanding and contracting. But ... the lung action is wrong on a number of points: The Diaphragm Muscle is responsible for expanding and contracting the lungs--I didn't see any indication of the Diaphragm Muscle; the Lungs looked free-floating ( not encased in its Pleural Sac ) and they should have been kept in place by Suspensory Ligaments since internal organs are kept in place that way--I didn't see any Suspensory Ligaments; it would be pointless for the Lungs to expand and contract when no Heart is present--I didn't see a heart ( maybe because that "chest thing" blocked the view ); his Inhalation and Exhalation were done at a normal rate even though his Lungs were rapidly expanding and contracting to move a substantially greater volume of air! His robot body would be heavier than a normal human body; so, that scene wherein he was sitting in the passenger seat of the SUV would have made the vehicle visibly lean more on its right side! In his shoot-out test against the "tin men," he didn't run out of bullets when he should have! The 3-D image of Officer Murphy's skull didn't look Caucasoid to me--I would notice something like that because I studied Anthropology in college. The only thing that I could think of that would lower his Dopamine levels was if he had Kidneys in the first place that would break down the excess Dopamine and carry it out of the body through his Urine! His motorcycle had foot pegs but had no visible foot brake or shifter yet it sounded like it was going through its gears. Shouldn't that have been, "He's off solving his own bungled-up murder"? The scene wherein he investigated the crime sight of the bungled-up attempt on his life showed video feeds that could not possibly have come from CCTV cameras, judging from the angles and positions of the shots; it looked more to me like certain video feeds came from his across-the-street voyeur neighbor's camera. Officer Murphy, your across-the-street neighbor is a pervert who's been stalking your wife and/or son--arrest him! Ha, ha, ha. Whatever blasted a big hole in his face shield should have subsequently done some damage to his face as well. His robotic left hand should have been more precise in its target acquisitions! Where exactly did he get hit that caused him to get knocked down and to pass out?
When is Hollywood ever gonna realize that it's in serious need of my services as Cine-Man, Technical Adviser?
fyi: Taser is an acronym for "Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle" ( www.dailywritingtips.com ).
I wondered if his suit came with a vibrating dildo attachment---Hey! I hadda ask that question of myself because he had a "love interest" in this movie.
A coworker of mine was in the auditorium, too. He sat in one of the back rows seats. He later told me that he didn't like the movie. He said that it was the stupidest movie that he had seen so far ( but I wouldn't go so far as to say that even though I got a long list of spoiler alerts on it ). He said that he wanted to get his money back.
word of advice: Technological advances do not always benefit mankind.
tidbits: I bought a large size Popcorn because I hadn't had a bowel movement in the last 24 hours. I usually have two or three a day---Whoa! too much information. 'Sorry .... Ha, ha, ha.
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