where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Thursday, May 15th, 2014
show: 7:00 p.m. 3-D
costs: $14.25 Ticket + $5.85 small Popcorn w/ Butter + $4.10 small 16.0 oz Powerade Mountain Berry Blast = $24.20
auditorium: 2
seat: 3rd row ( counting from the front ), 5th column ( counting from the left )
2nd time
where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Sunday, May 18th, 2014
show: 8:00 p.m. 2-D
costs: $10.25 Ticket + $5.85 small Popcorn w/ Butter + $4.10 small 16.0 oz Powerade Mountain Berry Blast = $20.20
auditorium: 7
seat: 4th row ( counting from the front ), 8ht column ( counting from the left )
synopsis/overview: A couple of monsters threaten the very existence of humankind as they go in search of their sole source of food: Radioactive energy. But Godzilla comes out of nowhere to restore the balance of nature.
noteworthy scenes: 1.) Giant fossil; 2.) Freshly-made trail; 3.) "This is a pattern"; 4.) Nuclear power plant disaster; 5.) "I don't get much visitors"; 6.) "It's clean"; 7.) Electro-Magnetic Pulse; 8.) Cocooned monster; 9.) MUTO [ Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism ]; 10.) "Ancient alpha predator"; 11.) "There! Something responded"; 12.) Airport Shuttle; 13.) Russian submarine; 14.) "I have no power"; 15.) Tsunami; 16.) Flares; 17.) "Mommy, look! Dinosaur"; 18.) "I guess we're monster-hunters now"; 19.) "He's hunting"; 20.) "Where you put all your nuclear waste"; 21.) Las Vegas; 22.) Mating call; 23.) "He's here to restore balance"; 24.) Pocket watch; 25.) "This is what I do. This is my job"; 26.) Highway gridlock; 27.) Rail bridge; 28.) "All BART Stations are designated shelters"; 29.) Golden Gate Bridge; 30.) Falling fighter jets; 31.) Chinatown; 32.) "No extraction plan"; 33.) "Let them fight"; 34.) Nest; 35.) Twenty-seven minutes; 36.) Gasoline tanker; 37.) Skyscraper; 38.) Climactic battle; 39.) Helicopter; 40.) Reunited; and 41.) Reawakened.
audience reaction: For this advanced screening, I was surprised to see a bunch of old farts in the auditorium with me. They must be fans of the original Godzilla of the '50s and '60s fame. Unfortunately, I didn't hear any "Hands Clapper" from them.
2nd audience reaction: The audience gave this movie a "Hands Clapper" ending.
recommendation: I liked this reboot. I specially liked how they wove the monsters' need for radioactive energy into the story. Go see this if you're a Godzilla fan.
spoiler alert! The term "alpha predator"--or even just "predator", for that matter, denotes a carnivorous creature which eats its prey--but nowhere do we see Godzilla eating either of the monsters. He didn't even bite the wings of the smaller monster or the neck of the bigger monster. Usually, a train car ( the airport shuttle train, in this case ) has emergency brakes and emergency door release handles near the doors--well, at least, in the ones that I have been on. The lead train car usually has a driver in it but this one doesn't have one. If his father died--presumably--in 1945, that would make him, by my calculation, at least 69 years old this year. But the actor playing the role is only 54 1/2 years old! So, either they cast the wrong actor to play the character or this particular movie character found the secret to the "Fountain of Youth"! When the husband called her at the hospital, the call was put on hold for her; but when she went to pick-up the telephone handle you can see that the "Hold" button wasn't even flashing! Was that a BURNING battle tank floating in the river? One BART Train Station in particular, the Powell Street Station in San Francisco, CA, is a Hobo Hang-out. But I didn't see any hobos taking shelter at a BART Station ( I guess because they were already there first? ). That bird hit the school bus window hard enough to crack the glass but it was still able to fly off? I'm not sure if a fighter jet can spin around like that as it falls down from the sky without any motive power. Why was there only one fighter pilot who was able to eject from his disabled jet? I've been to the Chinatown in San Francisco many times but the Chinatown Gateway in this movie looked different. What I've noticed about Godzilla movies are these two recurring scenes: Mt. Fuji in the background and a Temple. I didn't see a Temple in this movie. And why was the climactic scene set in Chinatown when there is actually a Japantown nearby? Twenty-seven minutes is not enough time to carry a nuclear warhead ( more powerful than either one of two Atomic Bombs dropped in Japan ) "one click" ( 1 kilometre ) to a dock, load it onto a boat--that has to be hot-wired first--and send it off far enough for it to detonate without harming any human population. Comparatively speaking, Godzilla was more massive than the skyscraper that fell on him and should not have caused him to fall down to the ground--it would be like a human standing next to a stack of EMPTY cardboard boxes that toppled over on top of him which would never cause him to get pushed down to the ground. When Godzilla got up and walked towards the San Francisco Bay, there were lots of people on the street in that traffic jam ( ? ) who would not have been able to get out of his way in time.
fyi: Do you guys remember the 1998 Godzilla? If so, can you tell me it that Godzilla was a female? Since it laid eggs, more than likely it was. I'm guessing ....
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| This is my "collector's item" Godzilla cup-holder from the 1998 remake. I never got to use it because it wouldn't hang on my car's passenger's side window. I bought it at the local MacFrugal's before it became Big Lots! and before the store went out of business. I wonder how much this will fetch on E-Bay. |
word of advice: Family is family.
tidbits: I started my day by taking my car in to the shop for a diagnostic and repair.
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| The sign reads: "SunShine Sanwish Original B.B.Q. Pork B.B.Q. Chicken Buy Five Gave One Free." |
I went to the Sunshine Bakery, a Vietnamese bakery, to have a light breakfast as I waited for my car to get worked on next door at Wheel Works.
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| This is Wheel Works. I took this picture outside the front door of Sunshine Bakery. |
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| That's my blue Hyundai Accent that you see. The mechanic just got done test-driving it and was in the process of parking it. |
I took my car to the shop because it was having a problem with acceleration and with keeping itself running when I go across an intersection after coming to a complete stop once I'm off the freeway. I thought that it was the fuel pump acting-up, or something to do with the vacuum system. But when it is at speed and I tap the accelerator, it would respond; and it would come-on fast when I turn the ignition key on. The mechanic determined that the problem was caused by fouled-up spark plugs. And, to think, I, myself, changed the plugs about two years ago. I know I've said that I mainly put Chevron gas in my car's tank but, to save on money, I've been using cheap gas occasionally--and it ended-up costing me lots of money in the long run. The bill for the diagnostic and the parts ( spark plugs and ignition wires ) and labor came to $360.81!
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| This is a new discount store here in Vallejo, CA, which took over the spot formerly occupied by Grocery Outlet ( which moved to another location across the freeway ). This new discount store, Dollar General, is on the corner of Tuolumne and Redwood Streets. There are a bunch of Dollar General stores in Michigan. Not everything is sold for a dollar at this store. I think of this store as a "mini-me" version of a Wal-Mart Supercenter. |
I checked out the new Dollar General because I've never been in one before. I bought a can of Mixed Nuts.
I went to see my doctor on Monday, May 12th. And he gave me two options: 1.) Go on a diet, exercise and lose weight or 2.) Go on blood pressure medication. I've been dieting and exercising ever since because he wants to check on me once a month for the next 6 months!
For my diet, I have a fruit and vegetable green smoothie for breakfast. I mix in a blender a couple pieces each of Strawberry, Pineapple chunks, Peach slices, Mango slices and Red Grapes. I also put in a tiny piece of Banana, three thin slices of Pears or some Blueberries. I add in a handful of Kale and another handful of Spinach. And I put in 1/2 teaspoon of Bone Meal and 1 teaspoon of Kyo-Green ( powdered mix of Barley Grass, Wheat Grass, Brown Rice, Chlorella and Kelp ). And I blend it all up with a cup of water.
For lunch, I eat a slice of Cheese, a handful of Mixed Nuts and a piece of Banana. I wash it all down with a bottle of GT's Kombucha Raw Probiotic Multi-Green or a bottle of KeVita Raw Probiotic Living Greens.
For dinner, I have a huge serving of Green Salad topped-off with Cheese, Ranch Dressing and a piece of meat.
For my exercise program, since I live near a local park, Dan Foley Park, I decided to do trail hiking and trail jogging. The pictures below are of Lake Chabot at Dan Foley Park here in Vallejo. In the background, you can see parts of the local amusement park, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom.
Interestingly, and for a reason completely unknown to me, there are actually three ( 3! ) Lake Chabots in the area. And they're not even connected to each other since they are cities far apart from each other!
2nd tidbits: In the lobby, after the end of the movie, I overheard a male patron say, "That was awesome!"
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