Monday, June 15, 2015

JURASSIC WORLD, PG-13 ( 2 hr & 4 min )

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where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Thursday, June 11th, 2015
show: 7:00 p.m. 3-D Advance Screening
costs: $11.50 Ticket + $6.95 medium Buttered Popcorn + $2.95 medium Powerade Mountain Berry Blast ( $2.00-Off movie watcher email reward coupon ) = $21.40
auditorium: 10
seat: 4th row ( counting from the front ), 7th column ( counting from the left )


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2nd time

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Sunday, June 14th, 2015
show: 9:45 p.m. 2-D
costs: $8.00 Ticket + $ 6.95 medium Buttered Popcorn + $2.95 medium Powerade Mountain Berry Blast ( $2.00-Off movie watcher email reward coupon ) = $17.90
auditorium: 8
seat: 3rd row ( counting from the front ), 10th column ( counting from the right )

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3rd time

where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when: Monday, June 15th, 2015
show: 10:05 p.m. I-MAX 3-D
costs: $18.00 Ticket + $1.00 2.0 oz Madi K's Hickory Smoke flavored Almonds ( bought at the 99 Cents Only Store on Springs Road in Vallejo and smuggled-in ) = $19.00
auditorium: 12, with the I-Max screen
seat:  5th row ( counting from the front ), 6th column ( counting from the left )

synopsis/overview: Jurassic Park reopens as Jurassic World, with new bigger and badder dinosaurs on exhibit. And a really badass one that's the result of the genetic splicing of various inter-species DNA. As if tampering with Mother Nature is not bad enough, certain individuals work behind the scenes to exploit the genetic marvels for their own selfish greed.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Incubated eggs; 2.) "Are you gonna be okay"; 3.) "Consumers want them bigger"; 4.) E-Bay; 5.) "She ate it"; 6.) Field test; 7.) Stand down; 8.) "Ever wonder why there's a job opening"; 9.) Hybrid; 10.) "I got to eat, I got to hunt, I got to ... "; 11.) Mosasaurus; 12.) Classified; 13.) No Thermal Signatures Detected; 14.) Gas line; 15.) "The implant will shock it when it gets too close to a perimeter fence"; 16.) "Asset out of containment"; 17.) "I don't want two of everything"; 18.) "You're going after her with non-lethals"; 19.) Cuttlefish camouflage; 20.) "All of these exist because of me"; 21.) "How old"; 22.) "There's five dinosaurs"; 23.) "It's killing for sport"; 24.) "I was with the Navy, not the Navajo"; 25.) Old Jurassic Park garage; 26.) Aviary; 27.) "That's a first"; 28.) Flying terrors; 29.) "We work together"; 30.) "You're all relieved of duty"; 31.) "No, no. Him! Definitely him"; 32.) "Just hold hands"; 33.) "Your boyfriend's a badass"; 34.) "They're communicating"; 35.) "I can't wait to tell mom"; 36.) "Change of plans"; 37.) "I have a boyfriend"; 38.) Laboratory; 39.) Cornered; 39.) "We need more teeth"; 40.) "Why do you have to make it personal"; 41.) Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Indominus Rex; and 42.) Roar.

audience reaction: The audience liked it and gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.

2nd audience reaction: This audience also liked it and gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.

3rd audience reaction: This audience was not as enthusiastic as the first two in the sense that it didn't give this movie a "Hands Clapper" ending.

recommendation: I liked it. Go see this if you're a fan of the "Jurassic" franchise.

spoiler alert: Shouldn't the hatchlings have had an "egg tooth" and used it instead of clawing their way out of their shells? The Mosasaurus shown is more than 10x bigger than the actual one. If it already had the Great White Shark in its mouth, why does the next scene show a half-eaten shark in the water? If you're in a carnivorous dinosaur's enclosure and you're running away from it, would you stop in your tracks just to have it get a step or two closer to you before you turn and run away again? Pigs are smart creatures and apparently, according to this movie, they are better actors than goats are! Implants are supposed to be inserted where it cannot be disturbed. For such a fancy, high-tech park, the cellphone reception really sucked big time! With such long, scrawny necks, you'd think that the Apatosaurus dinosaurs would have been killed-off with a simple bite to their necks. The battery operated nightvision goggles still worked after so many years in storage--yeah, right .... The beautiful, hot and sexy redhead, Claire ( Bryce Dallas Howard ), running through the jungle in Stilleto High Heels gives redheads everywhere an undeserved reputation. Okay, here are the problems that I have with the 1992 Jeep Wrangler Rampage Sahara: Its tires should have been deflated and deformed and/or brittled enough to make its rideability questionable at best; its pistons should have been "frozen" because of rust build-up in the cylinders; its gas tank would have been bone dry; its fuel system would have accumulated rust particles by then; and its parking brakes would have been temporarily stuck---But the Jeep took-off like it had not been in storage at all ( only in Hollywood ... ). Owing to the anatomical structures of the Dimorphodons and the Pterosaurs, they wouldn't have been able to take flight from the ground in an enclosed space without the benefit of a strong headwind. The Pterosaurs in the aviary were bigger than the Dimorphodons, and both were carnivorous. So, why didn't the Pterosaurs make a meal of the Dimorphodons? Zach ( Nick Robinson ) developed two pimples near his lips because of the terror and stress caused by the dinosaurs? Wait a minute ... the search party soldiers who found the loose dinosaur were all killed. So, how in the hell did the tracking device implant turn up once again in human possession when panic and pandemonium ensued? Okay, that lab experiment was kept in isolation all of its life and never had any kind of interaction with any other living dinosaur! So, explain how it was able to communicate with the velociraptors in the first place. Why didn't the big calibre hollow-point bullets have any effect on their target?

When is Hollywood gonna use my expertise? I'd make an awesome consultant to Horror, Sci-Fi and Religious movie projects!

fyi: During the Dinosaur Age, the Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field were vastly different to what we are accustomed to now, meaning that untampered-with dinosaurs wouldn't necessarily be able to adapt and survive in our current world ( think: unacclimated saltwater fish in freshwater and vice versa--it's a loose analogy, I know ). Why do you think they became extinct?

Speaking of the Apatosaurus, scientists now generally believe that it is a species in its own right separate from that of the Brontosaurus. Yes, the Brontosaurus is once again accepted by the scientific community.  Fred Flintstone would be so happy.  Yabba, dabba, do!

The Dimorphodon is a type of reptile that flies. It is not a Pterosaurus ( also, a reptile ) which has a long pointed beak. Below, comparative anatomies among the Dimorphodon, thePterosaur and a typical bird is shown for reference.

Skeletal structure of a Dimorphodon.  I found this on the Internet.
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Skeletal structure of a Pterosaur. I found this on the Internet.

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This is a typical bird's skeletal anatomy. I found this on the Internet.
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As you can see from the above illustrations, the Keel Bone is more pronounced in a typical bird which enables it to fly off the ground with relative ease. But this is a relatively new ( just tens of millions of years ) development in avian anatomy.

Whereas, on the other hand, the Dimorphodons and the Pterosaurs lived for over 150 million years and developed flight characteristics well-suited to their prehistoric environment. Therefore, their Keel Bones were not as pronounced as that found in birds. So, did the Dimorphodons and the Pterosaurs fly or glide?

The Dimorphodons and the Pterosaurs lived near coastal areas to take advantage of the convective air currents to give them aerial lift. Unlike birds, most of their muscle mass was concentrated in their forelimbs to enable them to take flight. Birds, on the other hand, have big muscle mass in their hindlegs to enable them to fly from the ground. Supposedly, the Dimorphodons and the Pterosaurs used their forelimbs to "hop" into the air high enough so that they could then use their wings to gain altitude and maintain flight.

Since a bird has a highly pronounced Keel Bone, it has muscles that enable it flight through a figure-8 pattern.

But Dimorphodons and Pterosaurs didn't have such a pronounced Keel Bone. Therefore, it flew in a different pattern unlike that of a figure-8.

Attention, everyone: I am now about to propose a different flight characteristic inherent among the Dimorphodons and the Pterosaurs. Just remember, you read it here first. Here goes ....

To achieve forward motion, the Dimorphodon and the Pterosaur pointed their heads down to tilt their bodies and pushed with their wings. And as they raised their heads to level their bodies, they glided. Yes, their mechanism for flight involved a "Push-Glide" motion. They basically undulated across the sky! And I, Cine-Man, came up with this novel idea just today, June 15th, 2015.

word of advice: Don't try to improve on Mother Nature.

tidbits: When I arrived at the theatre, I noticed that there were just a few cars in the parking lot. I went there to buy a movie ticket early for a later show. But the box office clerk told me that there was not such a good turnout for the 7:00 p.m. 3-D advance screening because of the televised Warriors basketball game. Sweet! I could just go and see the first show, instead.

Take a look at this picture below of my medium Buttered Popcorn and my medium Powerade Mountain Berry Blast. Now, take notice of the small "water" courtesy cup sitting on top of my medium fountain drink cup. Do you see a straw poking out of it? Well, I just came up with an ingenious idea ( many decades in the making ): I poked a hole through the bottom of the small cup so that I could stick my straw through it to secure the small cup in place while I carried my concessions purchase with me into the auditorium. I filled the little cup with pickled, sliced Jalapeno Peppers to top my popcorn with. Mind you, a small 4.0 oz can of Sliced Jalapenos is about $1.50 at the grocery store. And I filled that small cup with about $3.00 worth--sweet! ( And, Yup, I'm definitely gonna feel it the next day. Ha, ha, ha. )



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2nd tidbits: On my way to my car in my carport, Rusty, the old orange tabby cat, approached me, meowing for some food. I always keep a can of cat food in my car to feed him with. When I got back home from the theatre at around 1:00 a.m., he came back again, meowing for more food. I only had a bit of dry cat snack left for him. 

There is a lady living in the adjoining building who leaves dry cat food for Rusty everyday. But Rusty is not the only stray cat hanging around at the condo complex where I live. But he's the oldest. I first saw him soon after I bought my condo unit back in 2001. For Rusty to come back about 4 hours later to beg for more food from me means that he is not getting enough food from the lady, that he has younger and stronger competition for the limited food supply. It's not only other cats that I've seen eating his food; I've also seen a skunk and a raccoon helping themselves to Rusty's meal.

But I like Rusty. He reminds me so much of my late, beloved orange Manx tabby, Winky. So, I feed Rusty whenever I can.

3rd tidbits: I went to the Selecta Pilipino Buffet on Springs Road here in Vallejo for lunch. And to buy some lottery tickets.

And I went next door where I bought some more canned cat food and dry cat snack for Rusty at the 99 Cents Only Store. I bought a 3.0 oz jar of Pounce Cat Treats Moist Chicken Flavor and two 3.0 oz cans of Nutra Selection Gourmet Mixed Grill. 

For myself, I bought a 4.2 oz bottle of 100% Pure Honey ( brand? ) from India. 

Sometime ago, they sold a dark colored honey from Vietnam--it tasted like soy sauce! I kid you not. Maybe, just a little. 

After I was done shopping, I went to the local CSAA office to pay on my car insurance.  Then, I availed myself of their facilities to empty my bladder. It stank so badly in the men's room because the toilet in the handicap stall was purposely clogged and unflushed! Some people can be such inconsiderate, disrespectful lowlifes, I swear. 

Then, I went to the Admiral Callaghan Lane Target Shopping Center's MacDonald's Restaurant to start this movie blog. This was where I came up with the Push-Glide idea at around 5:00 p.m.

Later, I went to the opposite end of the shopping center to partially finish this blog at Starbucks before I went to Fairfield to see this movie for the third time in I-Max 3-D.


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I was at a bakery shop. I spotted a beautiful, hot and sexy Blonde. I decided to "break the ice" by paying her a compliment. I said, You'll look great as a Redhead!

"Wow, you really think so?" she asked.

Sorry to say, I didn't meet her at a bakery. I found her on the Internet. Sigh ....
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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

SAN ANDREAS, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 54 min )

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I went to see this in 2-D on Thursday May 28th, 2015, here in Vallejo, CA, at the CENTURY 14 VALLEJO for the 7:00 p.m. advance screening in auditorium 8ht, 4th row ( counting from the front ), 8ht column ( counting from the left ). The price of admission was $11.25. And I bought a Lil' Bites Pack w/ Powerade Mountain Berry Blast ( $7.60 ) at the concessions counter.

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And I also saw this movie in I-Max 3-D on Monday, June 8ht, 2015, in Fairfield, CA, at the EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX. The price of admission was $18.00. I bought a small Pink Lemonade ( $5.25 ) at the concessions counter. I also smuggled-in a 2.0 oz pack of barbecue flavored roasted Almonds ( $1.00 ).

Quickie Review:  When the long-delayed earthquake, dubbed "The Big One," finally hits Southern California, a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot and his estranged wife fly to San Francisco to rescue their daughter.

The audience seemed to enjoy it.

I, on the other hand, didn't enjoy it as much because I studied Geology in college and was disappointed at seeing all of the mistakes made in this movie, mostly from a scientific point-of-view.

Here Are The Things That I Found Wrong In This Movie:  Why didn't the girl, trapped in her SUV, get her eyes sandblasted with sand even though she was directly under the rescue chopper's downdraft? Forget "magnetic pulse rate" machines, animal behavior is the best predictor of temblors! I don't know why the seismology department didn't have lab animals handy for cross-reference study. Yes, according to what I learned in my Geology class, Southern California is long overdue for a massive quake. And if such a quake is as massive as the one shown in this movie it will destroy power lines BEFORE any chance of an electrical fire can happen! The cell phone towers would have also been destroyed so that cellphones would be out of service; and landline 'phones would have been shut down by the overwhelmingly sheer number of calls trying to get through. The San Andreas Fault runs along the left side of the State of California. On the left side of the fault is the Pacific Plate, on the right side of the fault is the North American Plate. Where the two plates meet is a "Strike-Slip" Fault. Also, it is a Subduction Zone where the Pacific Plate goes under the North American Plate as they slowly slide past each other, the Pacific Plate in a Northwesterly direction and the North American Plate in a Southeasterly direction. The Pacific Plate goes under the North American Plate because it is "thinner." So, for this movie to suggest that a new fault line inland from the San Andreas Fault can easily carve out a semi-circular chunk of real estate in the thicker crust of the North American Plate is nonsense!

I found this on the Internet.
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Even if they could have traveled all the way to San Francisco via helicopter from Bakersfield, 90 minutes is not enough time.

Why was the trunk of the limousine left unlock? An earthquake doesn't move from one city block to the next. It covers a whole expanse of land when it occurs. In a San Francisco street scene, the ground opened up and showed a BART Train car fall down; and it didn't look like a lead car or a caboose. So, what happened to the rest of the train? Also, I think that this train scene was oriented in the wrong direction ( but I'm not so sure unless I can watch it again in a frame-by-frame mode ). That shard of glass shouldn't have penetrated so deeply into his thigh because it was a free-falling object, not a blast projectile. The water in the San Francisco Bay by the AT&T Ballpark didn't look too agitated even though the area was experiencing a massive quake.

Considering that the climactic scenes were in San Francisco, the tsunami was shot from the wrong direction, from the Marin County side instead of from the San Francisco side of the bay. The boats and ships should have gone the opposite way and made a left towards Sausalito Bay where they would still be beached but would relatively fair better than if they were to head out to sea because the tsumani was funneling into the San Francisco Bay. But ... speaking of the tsunami, it was all wrong. A tsunami always originates out at sea when a fissure is created almost instantly in a plate in the Pacific Ring Of Fire and, almost as fast, is "slapped" back together again! The undersea fissure is usually hundreds of miles long and is created in just about a minute's time! Now, if you refer back to the San Andreas Fault map, you will notice that the San Francisco Bay is very tiny and,  hence, cannot possibly generate the tsunami shown in this movie. To recap, the San Andreas Fault is a "Strike-Slip" where tectonic activity forces the Pacific Plate to subduct under the North American Plate which cannot, therefore, allow the plates to split apart and slap back together again. Such a plate tectonic activity only occurs far offshore in the ring of fire where pieces of the Pacific Plate are more dynamic. The water in the drowning scene was too clear and it had the wrong tint: It should have had a bluish tint to it since it was supposedly seawater. There were no dead bodies floating around. Only one animal was rescued, a dog! ( I'm a cat-person, if you don't already know. ) And there was only one fish--during the ending credits--which was shown twice swimming diagonally from the lower left of the screen.

I waited 'til the end of the Ending Credits to see which "expert" Seismologist or Geologist they used as the consultant for this film. I didn't see any names. Maybe, I blinked at the wrong time!

You know what would really make for great Sci-Fi movies? If Hollywood would just swallow its pride and finally use my services as Cine-Man, technical adviser! Ahem.

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