MILLION DOLLAR ARM, PG ( 2 hr & 3 min )

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I went to see this sometime last week here in Vallejo, CA, at the CENTURY 14 VALLEJO.

Quickie Review: A sports agent, out on his own, searches for a new baseball talent in a most unlikely of all places: India. Based on a true story.

The audience liked this movie. I did, too. And this movie got a good "Hands Clapper" ending since it's a "feel good" family movie that you ought to go see.

I'm sorry that I didn't do this using my standard movie review format because I didn't know how this movie would play out. I just "popcorned" this movie, instead ( i.e. I just sat back and enjoyed this movie like an average everyday movie watcher with a bag of popcorn and a cup of drink ).

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GODZILLA, PG-13 ( 2 hr & 3 min )

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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

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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 ....

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.

They planned on doing some sequels for the 1998 Godzilla but decided not to go ahead with their plan when this particular remake bombed at the Box Office.

word of advice: Family is family.

tidbits: I started my day by taking my car in to the shop for a diagnostic and repair.

The sign reads: "SunShine Sanwish Original B.B.Q. Pork B.B.Q. Chicken Buy Five Gave One Free."

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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.

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.

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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!

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.

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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.

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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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THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2, PG-13 ( 2 hr & 21 min )

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where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Friday, May 2nd, 2014
show: 10:40 a.m. Extra Dollar Off First Show Matinee in 3-D
costs: $10.25 Ticket + $5.85 small Buttered Popcorn + $0.50 ( Cine-Mark E-Mail Movie Watcher Discount Coupon ) medium 30.0 oz Powerade Mountain Berry Blast = $16.60
auditorium: 7
seat:  6th row ( counting from the front ), 8ht column ( counting from the left )

2nd time

This is not the same size as the other two movie posters shown here because Fandango changed its format and I am forced to search the Internet now for the right posters to use on my blogs.

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where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when: Sunday, May 4th, 2014
show: 7:00 p.m. I-Max 3-D
costs: $18.00 Ticket + $5.00 small 32.0 oz Fruit Punch + $13.57 dinner @ Great Moon Chinese Buffet Restaurant ( plus $2.00 Tip ), at the opposite end of the shopping center from the movie theatre, before the movie = $38.57
auditorium: 12
seat: 6th row ( counting from the front ), 6th column ( counting from the left )

3rd time

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where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, May 5th, 2014
show: 3:20 p.m. 2-D
costs: $6.00 Ticket ( I was given a "Senior Citizen" discount--Heck! I know that I don't look that old but I ain't complainin' ) + $5.85 small Buttered Popcorn + $0.50 ( Cine-Mark E-Mail Movie Watcher Discount Coupon ) medium 30.0 oz Powerade Mountain Berry Blast = $12.35
auditorium: 8
seat: 5th row ( counting from the front ), 8ht column ( counting from the left )

synopsis/overview:  Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man  ( Andrew Garfield ), is torn between his love for Gwen Stacy ( Emma Stone ) and his promise to Gwen's dying father, Police Capt. George Stacy ( Denis Leary ), who left him with a premonitive warning. But his relationship problem soon takes a "backseat" when he goes toe-to-toe with three formidable foes: Electro ( Jamie Foxx ), Hobgoblin ( Dane DeHaan ) and Rhino ( Paul Giamatti ).

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Delete files; 2.) Plane; 3.) Car chase; 4.) Clumsy pedestrian; 5.) Graduation ceremony; 6.) The promise; 7.) Menace to society; 8.) Chimney; 9.) Spider-man fan; 10.) Laundry Sheriff; 11.) Gwen and Max/Electro in an elevator; 12.) "The Osborn Curse"; 13.) TV news; 14.) Accident; 15.) "We're not friends"; 16.) "I'm here for you"; 17.) Surveillance; 18.) Morgue; 19.) Car headlight; 20.) "Have you been following me"; 21.) Spider Sense; 22,) Times Square; 23.) Power surge; 24.) Fire hose; 25.) Rubberized; 26.) "Rubberized"; 27.) Secret file; 28.) Experiment; 29.) "I'm dying"; 30.) Video; 31.) Spider-Man's blood; 32.) Blocked access; 33.) Diversion; 34.) "That's why I need you ... to help make his choice clear"; 35.) "You do realize, you keep me in prison run on electricity"; 36.) "I am Electro"; 37.) "There's something you're not telling me, Aunt May ( Sally Field )"; 38.) "Personal visit"; 39.) "My fair lady"; 40.) Tokens; 41.) "Another option"; 42.) Special Projects; 43.) "You're gonna die a horrible death, like your father"; 44.) Train car; 45.) Human DNA; 46.) "I need you"; 47.) "That's just not the answer we're looking for"; 48.) Spider venom; 49.) I Love You; 50.) "I'm following you"; 51.) Blackout; 52.) Magnetism, 53.) Mass panic; 54.) Jumper cables; 55.) "I hate this song"; 56.) "My choice"; 57.) Overload; 58.) Near collision; 59.) Harry's realization; 60.) The fall; 61.) Gwen's "Hope" speech; 62.) Spider-Kid; 63.) "There's no place like home"; and 64.) Bonus Scene ( unrelated? ) during the Ending Credits.
  
audience reaction: The audience liked this movie. But it was only in Fairfield, CA, that I noticed someone give this movie a "Hands Clapper" ending.

recommendation: I liked this one best of all the Spider-Man movies in terms of Aerial Acrobatics and Web-slinging. Go see this movie if you're a Spider-Man fan.

spoiler alert! Surely, a scientist ( or anyone for that matter ) who could afford to live in a house doesn't need to buy a no-name wrist-watch ( I could have sold him one of my fake Rolex watches ). If I had a wife and some bad guy shot her and I was somehow able to wrestle the gun away from the bad guy, I'd shoot him dead more than once! The bad guy driving the truck had enough time to shoot Spider-Man in the legs! Speaking of shooting, Spider-Man's web-shooters had nothing about their construction and small size to suggest that they could shoot webs out at a bullet-like velocity. And Spider-Man should not be able to launch himself into the air from the ground because the gears in his web-shooters would not have the capability for quickly reeling-in his webs. Why didn't the ambulance come to a screeching halt when it hit Spider-Man? When Spider-Man stopped the bus from flipping over and squashing the Chinese dad and son, the soles of his Spider-Man shoes should have been torn-off from the shear stress imposed upon them. If "The Osborn Curse" is passed down from parent to child, it would become less severe with each succeeding generation; but this movie shows Harry with an accelerated case of the genetic curse even though we can readily surmise that the genetic aberration was never present in Harry's mother's side of the family--unless his parents had an incestuous relationship! One scene showed Spider-Man jump off a building and, while he was free-falling, kick-off. But why would he be able to when he was already in midair and had no wall to push-off from? If a body is in a morgue and it is already covered-up on an examination table, more than likely it was already dissected for the required Forensic/Pathology report---Duh! Wait a minute .... In the Times Square fight, why did some billboards fall from a number of buildings because of the electrical surge they got from Electro? It makes about as much sense as billboards falling from buildings because they got struck by lightning bolts! When Spider-Man caught the flying patrol car to keep it from squashing a police officer, its roof should have caved-in. Isn't ordinary water a good conductor of electricity? All of that electrically charged water on the street would have been dangerous to the cops ( and the pedestrians? ) but not to the firemen who would have worn waterproofed boots. Just because Electro was bitten by a bunch of Electric Eels it doesn't mean that he could breathe underwater! Even if Electro could disappear into thin air, his strong electro-magnetic field would betray his presence since it would affect nearby machineries and appliances that run on electricity! Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider whose venom was miniscule in amount compared to the toxic mega-dose that Harry was injected with--and which should have killed him in the process! That had to seriously hurt when Spider-Man snatched Gwen from the sidewalk! Why didn't the cop with the bullhorn help Gwen free herself from the spider web restraint? In the power plant fight with Electro, Spider-Man's body was exposed to an explosion in mid-air and should have been injured by the blast's debris. If you were to go flying around like the Hobgoblin who didn't wear goggles, you'd eventually get something in your eyes! I am one to assume that Harry Osborn is the Hobgoblin, but this movie bills him as the Green Goblin ( I'm confused now ). If Spider-Man were to shoot a web at a heavy-enough object to keep it from falling to the ground, the thinness of his web would certainly cut into the palm of his hands once the falling object reaches terminal velocity in mid-air! Why did none of the clock's gears hit Gwen on their way down? Since Harry knew Spider-Man's true identity, he could have easily hired an assassin--or more--to go to where Spider-Man lives and kill him or take his Aunt May as hostage. Why didn't the cops shoot Rhino in the face when he opened-up his face shield? Rhino would never have been able to hide from the cops and the reporters since his armor suit was easy to spot. This movie ended abruptly! And ... three scenes from the preview were deleted from this movie ( the "Web Design", the "Isn't That The Question Of The Day" and the "Not Everybody Has A Happy Ending" scenes ).

When is Hollywood ever gonna use my services as Cine-Man, Technical Adviser?

fyi:  According to an on-line article, because fans complained, Spidey doesn't use the Bing search engine in this movie like he did in part one ( 2012 ). This time around, he's using Google.

Below are webs spun by spiders on drugs compared to that spun by a normal spider:

I found this on the Internet. Of course, how spiders react to drugs is not necessarily how us human beings would.

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If Peter Parker had biological web-shooters instead of mechanical ones and he was high on Caffeine and/or Marijuana, his web-slinging ways would be immensely compromised. And, so, by logical extension, kids, listen to your Uncle Cine-Man: Don't do Marijuana and/or drink Caffeinated Drinks!

In his book, Your Body's Many Cries For Water, Dr. Batmanghelidj said that insects know better than to eat any part of a Coffee Plant and generally avoid it because the Caffeine in the plant alters their brain's chemistry/functionality and makes them readily prone to predation.

And speaking of spiders, in a goat barn in Logan, Utah, some "... crafty researchers inserted spider genes into each of the goats' DNA. Now the goats create silk protein in their milk, which the researchers can now harvest just like they would from a spider." ( According to a current on-line article by Agora Financial )

I found this on the Internet--and I forgot to use it on my blog for part one!

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The "Tobey Maguire" suit that Andrew Garfield uses in this sequel is better-looking than the one he donned in part one.

The scene at the end with the little kid wearing a Spider-Man costume highlights what will eventually happen if a superhero keeps his true identity a secret: He'll lose-out on ad sponsorships and marketing tie-ins in a big way!

word of advice:  Be careful who you make friends with.

tidbits: On my way to see this movie, I almost created an accident on the intersection of Fairgrounds and Sereno Drives. There was some roadwork being done very near the intersection. So, I assumed that the traffic lights were turned-off ( it stayed "red" when I got there ) and that cross-traffic was on a "first-come, first-cross" basis. When the SUV to the left of the intersection finally crossed, I made my left turn just as two other cars were nearing the intersection! Luckily for me, both of them were making a right turn at the intersection. When I looked in my rear-view mirror, it was when I realized that the cross traffic had the right-of-way because the traffic lights were functional after all! Opps! my bad ....

At the concessions counter, I asked the clerk to put extra butter on my popcorn and--boy--did she ever! Because I noticed that my near-empty popcorn bag felt heavy as I made my way out of the auditorium with it. Once I was in the well-lit hallway, I looked in the bag and there was about a half cup of excess butter at the bottom!

Here's an update on the "Rachelle Valenzuela" character who has been charging my savings account for services rendered: I found-out on the Internet that there is a certain person by this name who runs a Massage Parlor--ahem! Geez, I wonder what kind of "massage" a guy could get for just 25 bucks? Hmmm .... I don't even want to volunteer an answer to that. Just let your sexually-creative mind fill-in the blank.

Anyway ....

I met with my Surgeon acquaintance and inquired of him about any Stem Cell work done to rebuild eroded jaw bones. He said that it's a complicated process requiring the use of 3-D imaging and bio-scaffolding AND WHICH IS STILL IN THE RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTATION STAGE--meaning, insurance will not cover it yet. I'd have to wait a few more years before I can have my jawbones rebuilt through Stem Cell procedures.

2nd tidbits: I found out today that some of my co-workers were let-go: One for stealing, another one for using an "inappropriate comment" ( not once but twice ) and, yet, another one for "No Call/No Show." I think that they just wanted to get fired so that they will be able to collect on unemployment pay and take a long "vacation".

When I got to Fairfield, I still had enough time to have dinner at the Great Moon Chinese Buffet. But I didn't get my money's worth because I could only eat two plates' full! 

3rd tidbits: I had a chiropractic appointment at 9:30 a.m. I asked my Chiropractor if Chiropractic Care will work on someone with Scoliosis because one of my cousin's daughters has it. My Chiropractor told me that he personally knows of a patient who has Scoliosis, and whose doctors told her that if her condition worsened that they would have to fuse some of her vertebrae and insert rods in her spine to correct the condition. But her parents took her to a Chiropractor, instead, who, with regular Spinal Adjustments, was able to reduce the patient's spine's scoliotic curvature from 23 degrees down to 13 degrees ( a non-scoliotic spine is at 0 degrees curvature ). So, I private-messaged my cousin about it and he responded that he will look into it.

After my spinal adjustment, I went across the street to do a little bit of shopping at the Dollar Tree Store.

And I went to the nearby Big-5 Sporting Goods Store to buy a tally counter since I lost the tally counter that I keep in my car. I need a tally counter whenever I do my Zhunti Mantra. I like it better than using Prayer Beads.

After the movie, I went to the Dollar Tree Store in the Target Shopping Center close to where the movie theatre is at. I went there to buy an elastic strap for my tally counter. While I was at this particular dollar store, my nose bled. But it was a minor one, not like the usual gushers that I was prone to having.

After I was done shopping at the dollar store, I went to the nearby MacDonald's Restaurant to have a light dinner. I was practically the only diner there from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. I guess the other usual diners where out celebrating Cinco de Mayo at some other "appropriate" venues.


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