MERRY CHRISTMAS

I went to see this tonight, a Bargain All Day Tuesday at the Century Hilltop 16 in Richmond, CA. The price of admission was $6.25. And I got a medium zero sugar Peace Lemon Tea for $5.70 at the concessions counter.

One fateful Christmas Eve, two strangers meet. And a web 🕸️ of deception and tragedy unfolds. 

-

Rated R(?), 2 h & 24 m

Auditorium 3, B-7

I snuck-in a little over a cup's worth of

this Indian snack mix to enjoy with

the movie. It's low in Carbs and

in Sodium. The Fat is only

at 10% and the kCal

is only 170. I'm 

eating it for

the Fiber

at 14%.

😋

What better way to enjoy a Bollywood or

Kollywood movie than to munch on

such a delicious & spicy snack?

🤤

This noir film thickens during the 2nd half. It is a well done film. Especially with its meticulous attention to detail. BUT ... they made a mistake in one particular scene: The shell casing which was extracted from the revolver had a crimped edge, suggesting that it was a prop gun which uses blanks. Granted, if you were to shoot someone with a blank bullet at pointblank range, your target would still sustain some serious or even life-threatening injury. And I don't think that the abusive husband would keep such a prop gun around. Also, the anticipated forensic report would cast a doubt on the murder case. 

What intrigued me about this movie is that its main stars are deeply connected to Christianity, with Katrina raised since childhood by her Christian mother and Vijay being married to a Christian. At first, I thought that it would have been appropriate to cast Freida Pinto and John Abraham in the leading roles because they're both Christians, not crypto-Christians. But that was before I learned of Katrina and Vijay's respective backgrounds.

And this movie couldn't have come at a better time than now, what with Modi's nationalism movement imperiling the lives of Indian Christians and converts through widespread persecutions ( Yes, I have my own sources ). But, correct me if I'm wrong. Are the Christian converts radicalized and violent? What happens when you marginalize people in your society and classify them through a Caste System? Of course, many become disenfranchised and find, in the case of Christianity, a better chance at life. They see what the Christian missionaries and volunteers are willing to do for the native people and are then drawn to it. 

https://www.quora.com/Why-most-of-Tamil-Actors-are-converts-to-Islam-and-Christianity

Just an FYI, I don't consider myself a "christian". I'm a Messianic. Messianism is closest to the teachings of Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, Himself!

Did you know that there are over 30,000 so-called christian denominations in the whole Wide 🌎 WORLD 🌍❓😧❗😦❓😮❗😯❓😲❗And only one of them can be the Right One❗😳❗🤯❗

TIDBITS:

In the late afternoon, I spoke on the phone 🤳 with a lawyer about the lawsuit that I intend to file against my union trust fund for Breach of Contract. The lawyer said that I should talk to the union lawyer about the matter. Fat Chance that the union lawyer will side with me ❗👎❗I'll have to go to a Lawyer Referral Service tomorrow and see if I do have a case for the Breach of Contract and for the city park's Gross Negligence regarding the Pitbull attack. I have 2½ more months on the Statute of Limitations.

I had to get 2 gallons worth of gas ⛽ before I got on the freeway. 

The freeway leading to and from the cinema was finally fixed after over 20 years of lame-ass repair work❗I thought that the 2nd lane from the right seemed smooth. Then, I remembered that they closed this section of the freeway last September to work on it. I hope that the problem is permanently fixed now. 🤞

Before the movie began, I reached into my pants pocket to get my little notebook 📒 ready for some note-taking. But, in my rush, I had left it at home!  🤦‍♂️

I was going to see THE BEEKEEPER movie after this. But I would have missed the 1st 20 minutes of the movie. I'll have to catch it some other day. 

*

THE MECHANIC, R ( 1 hr & 32 min )

where:  MOVIE2K.COM  on my laptop
when:  Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
show:  11:15 p.m.
costs:  $0.00  Free Download
auditorium:  My living room
seat:  My swivel chair

2nd time:

where:  CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when:  Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
show:  5:20 p.m.
costs:  $7.50 Ticket + $4.50 Pretzel Bites + $4.00 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $8.98 Mountain Mike's Pizza Restaurant's Wednesday Night All-You-Can-Eat Pizza & Salad Buffet Dinner after the movie = $24.98
auditorium:  12
seat:   4th row, 8th column 

synopsis/overview:  The best hit-man, Arthur Bishop ( Jason Statham ),  is fooled into killing the wrong target.  Now, he is out for revenge with the help of  an unlikely apprentice/accomplice.
 

noteworthy scenes:  1.) Swimming pool; 2.) New target; 3.) Parking garage; 4.) Cemetery; 5.) "What kind of person shoots someone in a wheelchair, anyway?"; 6.) Would-be car-napper; 7.) "You owe me now"; 8.) Animal shelter; 9.) Three-week assignment; 10.) Target shooting; 11.) Judgment calls; 12.) New roommate; 13.) Watch and learn; 14.) "A job"; 15.) Chihuahua and boys; 16.) Flunitrazepam [ Roofie ]; 17.) Change of plan; 18.) "Is it work or pleasure"; 19.) "I'm gonna call him, Arthur"; 20.) Luggage claim area; 21.) "File is a priority"; 22.) The new messiah; 23.) Adrenaline and epinephrine; 24.) "I'm hungry"; 25.) "Ketamine counteracts adrenaline"; 26.) Shoot-out; 27.) Rappel; 28.) Familiar face; 29.) "They played you so easily"; 30.) Hit-men; 31.) "I'm coming for you"; 32.) "I'm not a lefty"; 33.) Gun; 34.) Conversation in the truck; 35.) "You're gonna miss a good dinner"; 36.) "How much was Harry's ( Donald Sutherland ) life worth"; 37.)  Flushed-out; 38.) Bus; 39.) Garbage truck; 40.) Overkill; 41.) Hints; 42.) Gas pump; 43.) Note; and 44.) Surveillance tape.

audience reaction:  N/A

2nd audience reaction:  The audience seemed entertained by this, even the 6-year old momma's boy that some dumb-ass woman took with her to see this R-rated show.  I congratulate the woman for allowing her son to expand his vocabulary with the term, "Auto-erotic Asphyxiation," as mentioned and pornographically suggested in one scene in this movie--kid, don't do this at home!   L.O.L.

recommendation:  It was a good enough Action Movie.  Go see this on the big screen if you're a Jason Statham fan.

spoiler alert!  The bodyguards on watch should have noticed that something was amiss when their boss went swimming awkwardly and without turning his head to either side to come up for breath.  The overhead shot doesn't show the swimmer with his wrists held at all.  Why were there no sentries posted to guard/watch the perimeter of the villa?  During the target shooting, an ejected cartridge had a crimped opening, shown exiting in slow-motion ( Why would they use blanks for target shooting?  Ha, ha, ha.  This is a rhetorical question, by the way. ).  Why was  this particular shot shown in slow-motion for?  I want the Scene Editor's job!  Why didn't the hanged man's tongue stick out?  I see fingerprints all over the damn place!  What's so professional  about  leaving your prints at the scene of a crime?  The big guy could have easily gouged  the little guy's eyes out in the kill-or-be-killed fight.  Why was he the only one in the luggage claim area?   Why  did the hotel room have two-way mirrors?  It should be easy enough to tell whether or not the garbage disposal is grinding-up your hand.  Only $2.69 for a gallon of regular gas--when in heck was this friggin' movie made!?!?!?  He couldn't hear the gasoline splashing on the ground or smell its fumes ...?  Why didn't he see the note on the passenger seat right away?

fyi:  Even if a prop weapon is loaded with blank cartridges, it should not be aimed directly at someone because its blank's paper or plastic wadding can still cause serious injury, even death.  A promising young Hollywood actor was killed in this way:  Jon-Erik Hexum ( in 1984, at 26 years of age ).  And Bruce Lee's son, Brandon ( in 1993, at 28 years of age ), was killed by an unintentionally  squib-loaded prop gun.

word of advice:  "Revenge can kill you."  Arthur Bishop, the Mechanic

The best weapon is the element of surprise.

tidbits:  I had to see this movie again on the big screen to gauge the  Audience Reaction and because the movie2k.com version is short by seven minutes.  All that was missing was the Ending Credits--talk about a waste of my time and money!

attention:  It's that time.  So,  please, vote for me.  Thank you.