THE RAID: REDEMPTION, R ( 1 hr & 41 min )

where:  CINE-ARTS @ PLEASANT HILL in Pleasant Hill, CA
when:  Saturday, March 31st, 2012
show:  2:55 p.m.
costs:  $10.50 Ticket + $4.50 medium 24 oz Diet Coke + $9.78 lunch @ China Wall Buffet in the Park 'n' Shop in Concord, CA, before the movie ( + $2.22 Tip ) = $27.00
auditorium:  5
seat:  5th row, Center Section, 7th column


synopsis/overview:  A drug lord/landlord  is holed-up in a tenement building that he rents-out to assorted bad guys and scum-bags because it's the only place in town where the local cops are afraid to go. But a S.W.A.T. team makes a daring raid to capture the boss. Their cover is blown soon enough, though. And they must fight their way to the top floor to fulfill their mission and try to survive their deadly task.


noteworthy scenes:  1.) "I'll bring him back"; 2.) Execution; 3.) New recruits; 4.) Necessity; 5.) Alarm; 6.) "They're here"; 7.) Snipers; 8.) "Fifth floor secure"; 9.) "Infestation"; 10.) Alone; 11.) Ambush; 12.) "I want this situation under control"; 13.) Secret hide-out; 14.) Butter knife and chopsticks; 15.) Elevator; 16.) "You have to break your way out"; 17.) Four machete guys; 18.) "Who ordered this hit"; 19.) One-on-one; 20.) "He just wants you home"; 21.) Fifteenth floor; 22.) Video monitor; 23.) Drug lab; 24.) Torture room; 25.) "You've been dead since he got the call"; 26.) Evidence; and 27.) "It just fits."


favorite scene:  I liked the Butter Knife and Chopsticks scene simply because it was so unexpected.

audience reaction:  The audience liked it. After the movie, the man behind me said to his wife, "That was pretty good." And his wife answered, "Yeah, it was."

recommendation:  I liked it, too. Go see this Action Movie.

spoiler alert!  I thought that S.W.A.T. vehicles were armored.  Why didn't the S.W.A.T. Team cut the power to the building before or just as the firefight began? Why didn't the S.W.A.T. Team have Night-Vision goggles? Why didn't the S.W.A.T. Team have Tear Gas? Why did they use an all-rookie S.W.A.T. Team? I don't know about the bad guys in Indonesia but in this country the bad guys have watchdogs! Do you see what happens if you're a bad guy and you eat dogs OR  if you're a bad guy who thinks that dogs are unclean and therefore are not to be kept as pets ...? That man with a sick wife must have been deaf because he didn't hear the footsteps behind him as he was opening the main door. Why would such a man and his wife choose to live in an apartment that was teeming with assorted low-life neighbors? The fight scenes were good but ... Quick-Kill Moves were not liberally employed in the kill-or-be-killed fights; I guess because such moves are not as exciting to watch. In such a situation, finishing-off the incapacitated bad guys would be justifiable "in my book". One of the reasons why the army of Alexander, The Great, was deadly in Unarmed Close Combat was simply because they shaved-off their beards and kept their hair short! What worked for Alexander and his men still works in this day and age.  What I'm getting at is that the bad guys with long hair in this movie could have easily been put under control had their hair been used against them. For a guy who lives alone, he sure has one big rice cooker--assuming that that is his apartment unit. Since he, of all people, knew about all of the hallway security cameras, he should have come-up with a better lie to say to his boss. That guy who was chained and used as a punching bag should have ended-up with cracked and/or broken ribs and rendered unable to fight! But he got up and fought anyway even with that stabbed-through right hand of his. And speaking of his right hand, he shouldn't have been able to make a fist with it--much less use it for punching--because the knife cut through the Ligaments ( and quite possibly the Tendons, too ) of his Middle Finger and his Ring Finger! The fresh slash wound on Rama's ( Iko Uwais ) Left Cheek didn't bleed even after it was repeatedly hit by the bad guys. He didn't have to catch the bad guy who got up on the table and charged at him; all he had to do was squat down and stand up at the right time to trip the bad guy and have the bad guy fall face-first against the floor! There were so many missed opportunities for the cops to permanently disable or kill the bad guys using nothing more than just simple Unarmed Close Combat Moves. Okay, that bad guy that they called, Mad Dog ( Yayan Ruhian ), was really short and skinny, so much so that they could just grab him--height and reach advantage--and easily swing him around the room like he was some kind of a rag doll. So, why didn't they keep doing this to him since it was pretty much the only thing that worked on Mad Dog?

fyi:  The fighters didn't get very sweaty and/or really short on breath even in the intense and long fight scenes because ... most of the fight sequences were done in "half speed" and the scenes were then speeded-up in the final edit. 'Sorry to say ....

Contrary to what some other reviewer said, Wire-Work was definitely used in some of the "Falling Down" scenes. 'Think about it ....

word of advice:  Simple Self-Defense Moves can end a deadly fight quickly. ( Which are the Simple Self-Defense Moves, you ask? They're usually the ones that your Martial Arts Instructor { who just wants to avoid a potential lawsuit } tells you not to use on your Sparring Partner--usually [ So pay close attention ]! The other ones, you'll just have to discover on your own; hopefully, not the hard way. )

tidbits:  I made a deposit at the Chase Bank branch inside of the Lucky's Supermarket here in Vallejo, CA, first thing this morning. The teller gave me a Dum-Dum Lollipop after the transaction.  I don't know why since "Dum-Dum" is also a slang for, "Silly and Stupid person"---Hey! wait a minute ....

Then, I went to AJR's Watch Repair at the Mi Pueblo Shopping Center here also in Vallejo, CA, to have two links removed from the strap of the new watch which I bought at the Super Wal-Mart in American Canyon, CA, the night before. The watch is a fancy-looking generic "no-name" all-metal watch with Day-Glo illumination. I paid $13.88 for the watch and $7.00 for the strap adjustment.

I'm tired of buying plastic watches because the straps pop-out with just a slight tug and they dry-up, get brittle and tear apart easily.

At the concessions counter, they have a display ad for Icee collectible cups to promote the upcoming THREE STOOGES movie. I wanted to get the "Curly" cup but, would you believe it, they were all out of cups. "Oh, wise guy, 'ey. Hey, Moe! Hey, Larry! Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck."

While waiting for this movie to start, I realized that I had forgotten to swallow a Lecithin capsule after pigging-out at the buffet. So, I popped my Lecithin capsule into my mouth and "washed" it down with the soda. But ... the "horse pill" got stuck sideways in my throat! And I wasn't about to Heimlich Maneuver it out myself since I needed to swallow it. No matter how hard I tried to swallow and no matter how many sips of the soda I used to try to "wash" it down with, it stayed stuck in my throat until the gelatin capsule melted enough for the whole thing to slide down my throat. And it took approximately 10 minutes for it to do so.

I probably have said this already, but I always take a Lecithin Capsule after pigging-out on a High-Fat, High Cholesterol meal because it keeps my Arteries smooth afterwards so that I don't get that sluggish feeling which always follows such a heavy meal. And Lecithin is good for the Liver because it keeps the Liver from forming Liver Stones. Lecithin granules work even better and faster than capsules! But I just use the capsules because they are more convenient.

*

PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 56 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Friday, May 28th, 2010
show: 12:01 a.m.
costs: $10.00 Ticket + $5.25 small Popcorn ( w/ Butter ) + $4.00 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke = $19.25
auditorium: 13
seat: 5th row, 9 column

2nd time:

where: UA EMERY BAY STADIUM 10 in Emeryville, CA
when: Sunday, May 30th, 2010
show: 8:30 p.m.
costs: $10.75 Ticket + $0.00 small Popcorn ( w/ Butter; Free movie-watcher reward ) + $4.50 small Diet Coke + $4.00 Bridge Toll = $19.25
auditorium: 3
seat: 5th row, 12th column

3rd time:

where: CONTRA COSTA STADIUM CINEMAS in Martinez, CA
when: Monday, May 31st, 2010
show: 7:30 p.m.
costs: $18.00 Ticket + $4.25 small Popcorn ( w/ Butter ) + $3.50 small Diet Pepsi + $5.40 Double Cheeseburger Mini Meal at the Benicia MacDonald's ( this includes a $1.99 Shrek collector's drinking glass ) + $4.00 Bridge Toll = $35.15
auditorium: 7, D-BOX CHAIR-equipped
seat: f 5 D-Box

synopsis: A good king adopts a street orphan, Dastan ( Jake Gyllenhaal ), who is betrayed by someone close and dear to him fifteen years later. He flees his adoptive family. And with the aid of a beautiful princess, Tamina ( Gemma Arterton ) he safeguards a magical dagger that has the power to make its possessor travel back in time.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Adoption; 2.) Sparring match; 3.) Holy city of Alamut; 4.) Wall climbing; 5.) Eastern gate; 6.) Dagger; 7.) Victory; 8.) Vow; 9.) Rank of great Persian warriors; 10.) First wife; 11.) Betrayed; 12.) Push button; 13.) "Walk of the man who just lost everything"; 14.) "Delicate constitution"; 15.) Deal; 16.) Ostrich race; 17.) Ruse; 18.) Diversion; 19.) Avrat; 20.) Death mask; 21.) Secret meeting; 22.) Nut cracker; 23.) Bevy of beauties; 24.) Council; 25.) Hassansins; 26.) Tamsin ( sand storm ); 27.) "Coming with you"; 28.) "Just one ostrich"; 29.) Dust devils; 30.) Instinct; 31.) "Secret government killing activity"; 32.) "Tax-free"; 33.) Original promise; 34.) Attack; 35.) "We make our own destiny"; 36.) Duel; 37.) Decoy; 38.) Sands of time; 39.) "Not a coward"; 40.) "One of us"; 41.) Secret passageway; 42.) Snake bite; 43.)"Listen to your own heart"; 44.) Admission; and 45.) "I look forward to the day that we do".

audience reaction: The audience liked this swashbuckler action/adventure movie.

recommendation: It's good enough for me to give it a "Go See" recommendation if you're into action films.

spoiler alert! I have an issue with how they put an historical setting to this movie: The Persian Empire stretched from the Chinese Steppes all the way to the Mediterranean ( This is not a verbatim notation of mine ). Because, then, they took liberties by introducing inventions that probably were not yet in common use in the actual time setting for this movie. To wit:

The crossbow may not have yet been in common use by the Persians in the 6th Century BC, the likely time setting for this movie. There's evidence for its use by the Chinese in the 5th Century BC, 'though.

Horse stirrups, the kind shown in this movie, was not yet invented.

The key that Dastan used is a key made for use on a Warded Lock which was not known to the Persians before Alexander, the Great, conquered Persia.

The "halberd" that one of the Hassansins used was not invented yet. It was invented about two thousand years later, mainly for use against armored horsemen!

The bolt-shooting bracelets, or armlets, worn by another Hassansin were a technologically unfeasible weapon for the time period.

As for the other things wrong with this movie ....

The mughal sultan, i.e. the fat guy eating the walnuts, throws-off the historical perspective of the movie once again because the Mughal Empire came into power in the early 1500 A.D. and stayed in power until the 1800s when the British Empire took over the Indian subcontinent. And sultans are Muslim rulers. But, again, Islam was instituted around the first half of 600 A.D.--practically a thousand years after the time setting for this movie! ( Why doesn't Hollywood hire the services of Cine-Man as a Facts Checker?

If all it takes is for a little piece of rock to get the whole place a-tumblin' down, then that secret hiding place should have collapsed many years ago because that region of the world experiences many earthquakes--'remember the earthquake in Iran that killed many people just a few years ago? Just recently, on May 14th of this year, there was a magnitude 5.1 earthquake at around 6:50 p.m. in the state of Bushehr. And three days later, on the 17th, there was a magnitude 4.1 earthquake at around 12:37 p.m. in the state of Khuzestan. In fact, practically every day of this month alone, Iran has had earthquakes in one state or another. It's all listed on the Internet.

When the ancient floor, ceiling and walls collapsed all around him, Dastan still got out of there with no sand in his hair, face, eyes and mouth--Wow! Simply amazing.

And for all of you horndogs out there, I have good news and bad news. First, the bad news: When Tamina gets out of the water, don't expect to see a "wet T-shirt" shot--it was edited out. Now, for the good news: Some newspapers' Friday "movie guide" have a photo still of this particular scene wherein Tamina has an actual "wet T-shirt" look--Quick, get a magnifying glass! And to think that an earlier Disney movie by the same producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL ( 2003 ), has its leading lady, Keira Knightley, in a "wet T-shirt" scene! I don't know what happened between then and now but I think all of you horndogs out there should complain about it. The "down-blouse" shot of Tamina as she dangles precariously on a cliff face just doesn't "cut" it.

fyi: I stopped short on my synopsis. Otherwise, I'd give the plot away. But you probably will figure that one out easily by yourself early on in the movie.

Back in the Philippines, my father had a Geologist couple as clients. One day, the wife told me that somewhere deep in the densely forested region of Mt. Apo one may come across ostriches. I don't know if they are a native or an introduced species. But they are there, according to the lady geologist. She even told me that they lay giant eggs many times bigger than a chicken egg. She promised to bring such an egg over some day, but she never did or wasn't able to.

2nd fyi: I was in Oakland for my friend's birthday party barbecue ( since I'd have been a fool to refuse a "free food" offer ). After the party, and on my way home, I wanted to swing by a theatre in Martinez, CA, to check out their D-Box chair; but I missed the 7:30 p.m. show and I didn't want to wait and see the 9:55 p.m. show, so I decided to go to Emeryville, instead, and rack-up rewards points on my movie-watcher rewards card.

3rd fyi: The first movie that I saw here at Contra Costa Stadium Cinemas is Jackie Chan's RUMBLE IN THE BRONX ( 1995 ) back when I worked as a dental lab tech in Concord, CA.

I was not at all impressed by the D-Box chair. All it did was rotate left, rotate right, tilt back and forth, sway, shake, and vibrate. You can get the same effect in any theatre wherein an obnoxious, spoiled little brat is seated directly behind you and kicking and pushing against the back of your chair besides his/her oblivious-to-the-fact parent/guardian! And another thing, if they really want their D-Box chairs to impress and please people, then they should move the vibrating mechanism away from the kidney area and put it strategically you-know-where--ahem! ( That would be SWEET! )

word of advice: Don't bite the hand that feeds you.

tidbits: When Dastan and Tamina finally kissed each other, some people in the audience clapped their hands--Women!

When I stepped out of the auditorium, the hallway smelled awfully bad, as if a skunk had sprayed the area. The main lobby and the men's room, as well, smelled of skunk "perfume". When I walked out into the parking lot, again, the strong skunk scent permeated the surrounding area.

Speaking of skunk, did you know that their anal area has a white rectangular patch? Trust me, I know. You're a prime target if you can see it that clearly since a skunk has a shooting range of about 12 feet! This trivial fact will come in handy if you want to pull a prank on an unsuspecting victim--just be sure you have lots of hydrogen peroxide handy to neutralize the smell.

2nd tidbits: After we ate at the barbecue, my friends and I gathered in the living room to watch a taped UFC fight ( number 114, I think ). As we sat around, I noticed that in the roomful of white and colored people, I had the whitest legs--my legs stood-out like "Michael Jackson-white" in color compared to all the other legs around mine! Ha, ha, ha. How funny is that?

3rd tidbits: As I sat in my D-Box chair, I couldn't help but wonder if the bitch that sat behind me yesterday in the Emeryville theatre auditorium was there behind me in the Martinez theatre auditorium, too! The effect was essentially the same! Whenever my seat would move, I couldn't concentrate on what was going on on-screen because I would be reminded of my unpleasant experience from the day before. Folks, it's not worth paying extra for a D-Box experience when you can always have a disrespectful, rude, obnoxious and inconsiderate bitch, or whatever, sit behind you and give you the same effect for free.