TAKEN 2, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 32 min )

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where:  CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when:  Friday, October 5th , 2012
show:  7:15 p.m.
costs:  $10.50 Ticket + $3.21 lunch @ MacDonald's Restaurant before the movie + $2.37 dinner @ MacDonald's Restaurant after the movie = $16.08
auditorium:  14
seat:  4th row, 11th column

synopsis/overview:  In Istanbul, Bryan Mills ( Liam Neeson ) and his wife, Lenore ( Famke Janssen ), are abducted  when the father of one of the kidnappers that Bryan killed tracked them down with revenge in mind.

noteworthy scenes:  1.) Cemetery; 2.) Boyfriend; 3.) GPS; 4.) Torture; 5.) Canceled reservations; 6.) Surprise; 7.) Magical; 8.) "He's in the lobby"; 9.) Followed; 10.) "I'll blow his brains out"; 11.) Instructions; 12.) Memory aid; 13.) Shooting victims; 14.) Mini-phone; 15.) Case; 16.) Grenade; 17.) Rooftop; 18.) Photos; 19.) Thirty minutes; 20.) Second grenade; 21.) Steam; 22.) Soccer game; 23.) Rooftop chase; 24. Five minutes; 25.) Van; 26.) "No, I just shot one of them"; 27.) Railroad track; 28.) US Embassy; 30.) "At least, my daughter is still alive"; 31.) 'Phone ring; 32.) "And I will kill them, too"; 33.) Gun; 34.) Department of Motor Vehicles; and 35.) "Don't shoot this one."

audience reaction:  The audience liked it. And some people in the audience gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.

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

spoiler alert!  The henchmen were given the order to take them alive. Yet, in the first car chase, the henchmen shot at him like they wanted to kill him. Did Kim ( Maggie Grace ) have to go running around with her shirt mostly unbuttoned? The slash wound to the neck was not deep enough so that the victim could have prevented much blood loss simply by raising the shoulder and tilting the head toward the raised shoulder to "pinch" the wound close and give it time to get coagulated. Kim was still on a Learner's Permit as a driver and practiced driving on at least two vehicles that had an Automatic Transmission; but the taxi that she drove was a Manual Transmission that she was, somehow, able to handle without a problem---Hah! 'not happenin' in real life. When the car drove through the US Embassy gate, the soldiers didn't shoot at the sides of the car. They didn't have to call somebody to keep the soldiers from shooting at them; all they had to do was yell out loud, "Don't shoot! We're Americans." If you have a beautiful and sexy woman all tied-up and helpless, and you have a pair of scissors in your hand, you'd want to get her undressed at the very least, wouldn't you? So, imagine my  disappointment upon realizing that the bad guy was too stupid to do something better with his pair of scissors! As I've said it before, you cannot titillate if you don't show a tit ( nipple )!!! In his one-on-one fight with the bad guy, if he only gouged the other guy's eyes out and/or kicked him in the balls--and there were quite a few opportunities for Bryan to do either one--the fight would have ended sooner. And why didn't they factor-in ricochets in the shoot-out scenes?

fyi:  You would think that after the bombing of a US Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, back in October 23, 1983, which cost the lives of 241 American Servicemen, we Americans would have already come up with a contingency plan that would keep a runaway or speeding vehicle driven by a suicide bomber from crashing through a checkpoint so easily.

But this movie shows a US Embassy's security checkpoint so easily breached. 

If I were in charged of security for that embassy, I would have installed machine gunners on either side of the driveway, have RPGs at the ready, installed pop-up tire-shredders, and I would have designed the entrance in such a way that vehicles would have to negotiate a winding path and have no easy access to a building's parking garage and/or 1st floor. It only makes sense.

word of advice:  If you want to kill someone, do it at your very first opportunity!

tidbits:  After I got off from work, I went to the Benicia Rite Aid Drugstore to get a Flu Shot for $29.99. I could have gotten it for free at my HMO, Kaiser Permanente Hospital, had I wanted to. But I need to have as many tax write-offs as possible when I go file my 2012 Income Tax Return so that I will get a bigger Income Tax Refund from Uncle Sam.

The pharmacy tech who gave me my Flu Shot was either new at the job or she was in awe of my imposing studliness because her hands were trembling as she gave me my shot in my left upper arm ( or she could just have been lusting at my manliness--or maybe she was just on a Caffeine High--whatever ... ).

After I got my Flu Shot, I drove to the Columbus Parkway MacDonald's Restaurant to have a light lunch. I ordered an Angus Snack Wrap and a large cup of Powerade Mountain Berry Blast for $3.21.

As I ate my lunch, I accessed MacDonald's Free Wi-Fi to surf the 'net and to check on my e-mails. I also bought and downloaded Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to my computer. I think that I paid $35.73 for it with my credit card.

Then, I got a refill on my drink so that I could take it to my car and fill-up my empty 32.0 oz Powerade bottle. Hey, I ain't one to pass-up on a free refill!

On my way to the theatre, I realized that I still had enough time to do a quick shopping trip at the Dollar Tree Store in the Target Shopping Center on Admiral Callaghan Lane. I bought some canned food, some napkins, some paper plates, and some 2.5 litre sodas.

Near the end of the movie, in the scene wherein Bryan saved his wife, the two guys seated to my left started giggling. I failed to see the humor in that scene.

After the movie, I went to the MacDonald's Restaurant in the Target Shopping Center to have a light dinner. I ordered a Cheeseburger and a large cup of Powerade Mountain Berry Blast for $2.37.

And I accessed their Free Wi-Fi to start my blog on this movie.

At just before closing time, I went and got a refill on my drink because I had another empty 32.0 oz Powerade bottle waiting for me in my car--hey, I'm not cheap, I'M SMART!

*

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3-D, PG ( 1 hr & 35 min )

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where: AMC BAY STREET in Emeryville, CA
when: Sunday, September 30th, 2012
show: 10:20 p.m.
costs: $15.50 Ticket + $4.75 20.0 oz VitaminWater Essential Orange + $1.50 Parking Fee + $5.00 Carquinez Bridge Toll = $26.75
auditorium: 4
seat: 5th row, 11th column

synopsis/overview: Count Dracula is a single parent of a beautiful baby girl--and an overly protective one at that! And for good reason: Humans Hate Monsters. One day, he decides to build a hotel for monsters only. And the monsters love it. They can be themselves far from the cares of the mortal world and its hateful humans. But, over a hundred years later, a young human discovers the hotel by accident. To make matters worse, the Count's daughter and the human become infatuated with each other.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Hotel; 2.) Zombie construction workers; 3.) One hundred eighteen years old; 4.) Paradise; 5.) "Dad was right"; 6.) Tourist; 7.) Costume; 8.) "Classic human paranoia"; 9.) Hotel for Monsters; 10.) "You didn't have clothes on when you were a bat--or were they bat-sized"; 11.) "Boy, that kid smelled"; 12.) Secret passages; 13.) "That's kind of racist"; 14.) Bingo; 15.) Charades; 16.) Kick scooter; 17.) Scream cheese; 18.) Swimming pool; 19.) Hypnosis; 20.) Sunrise; 21.) Sauna; 22.) Time-out; 23.) Flying tables; 24.) "That was fun"; 25.) "Why did that hurt me"; 26.) Kitchen; 27.) The Legend; 28.) Werewolf family in bed; 29.) Little touches; 30.) "Doesn't exist"; 31.) The translation; 32.) "Behold, the human"; 33.) "Don't hurt me"; 34.) "Will you erase my mind"; 35.) "Zing"; 36.) Angry guests; 37.) Shirt; 38.) Sheep in the middle of the road; 39.) Monster Festival; 40.) "This is how I'm represented? Unbelievable"; 41.) Personal message; 42.) Sunburned; 43.) "It comes with an accessory"; 44.) Kiss; 45.) Party; and 46.) Bonus images during the Ending Credits.

favorite scenes: I liked the Zombie Construction Workers scene.

I liked The Legend scene.

I liked the Werewolf Family In Bed scene.

I liked the Sheep In The Middle Of The Road scene.

audience reaction: The audience liked it. But it didn't get a "Hands Clapper" ending.

recommendation: I liked it. Go take your little brats to go see this movie.

spoiler alert! None of the monsters noticed that they were hugging a human whose body was considerably warmer than any of theirs. And the bat should not have been able to catch-up with the plane.

fyi: Count Dracula doesn't say, "Blah, blah, blah."

It is The Great Dingbat, the vampire dog on Saturday Morning Cartoon Shows on TV back in the '80s, who says it in his famous oft-repeated line: "I am The Great Dingbat. And I love chocolate. Blah, blah, blah."

This movie gives new meaning to the expression: "She's my old lady." Ha, ha, ha.

word of advice: Love them, nurture them, raise them well, and hope for the best.

tidbits: I went to Berkeley, CA, today because they have a parade on the last Sunday of September every year. I arrived in Downtown Berkeley at 10:45 a.m. by way of BART Train ( I left my Hyundai Accent in the parking garage at the El Cerrito Del Norte BART Station ).

At 11:00 a.m., I went to the MacDonald's Restaurant on the corner of University and Shattuck to wait for the parade. I ordered a Powerade Mountain Berry Blast drink, one medium fries ( free ) and a pumpkin pie, all for $1.63. I also did my Zhunti Mantra while I waited for the time.

Twelve o'clock came, and no parade. Twelve-thirty came and went, and still no parade! And there I was ready and waiting with my digital camera to take pictures of the crazy people, funny floats and NAKED PEOPLE!!! But no parade .... What a let-down! Don't tell me that Berkeley decided to clean-up its image and banned the Last Sunday of September Parade F-O-R-E-V-E-R!!!!!!! Aargh .... Talk about "raining on one's parade."

Well, it did rain last year so I didn't go.

And, to think, I took today off and last year's last Sunday of September off, too, both for nothing!

But I do have pictures of naked people at a Berkeley parade from a few years back. I'll have to post those on my blog someday, if only to prove to you, my readers, that I am not making it up about such a parade.

Anyway ....

While I was at the MacDonald's Restaurant, a young, fat dark-haired white teen came in and sat with an old white man across the aisle from my booth. The teen was waiting for someone. After about 30 minutes, a little old white lady pushing a walker came in and sat at the booth directly in front of mine. The teen went over to join her. And the old man followed.

"Good morning or good afternoon since it's almost noon," said the old man.

The old lady said to the old man, "I want to sit with him alone!"

The old man, obviously embarrassed and humiliated,  got up and went to occupy a window seat.

And the old lady said to the teen, "You can sit with him if you want. I don't want to be crowded. Besides, he's boring." She made this comment well within hearing distance of the hapless old man. ( Geez, what a bitch this little old lady was getting to be! I say this because I think that she was too old to be having a PMS episode. )

In the course of her conversation with the teen, she mentioned her cellphone number to him so he could get a hold of her easier because she was having a hard time hearing her home 'phone ring whenever someone would call her up.

At around noontime, the little old lady had an argument with the teen, to the point where she said, "I don't want you f-cking with me." The teen got up and left the restaurant without saying anything.

At 12:12 p.m., the little old lady started to walk up to the counter to order some "Mini Meal." And, as she did, she looked at the old man seated by the window and ordered him, "You stay away from me!" ( Geez, what a bitch, twice! )

At 12:16 p.m., I could hear the little old bitch at the order counter ask the employees if they found her glasses that she left on the counter yesterday. An employee checked the Lost and Found Box but turned-up nothing.

As the little old bitch hobbled back to her booth, she said loudly, "G-ddam lazy!" ( Geez, what a bitch, thrice! )

The old man said out loud, "They looked! I know. Because I lost some stuff yesterday, too." ( What is it with old people misplacing stuff in the first place ...? )

The grumpy little old bitch said nothing.

By the way, the grumpy little old bitch's cellphone number is: 1 ( 510 ) 841 - 505* ( the last number is between 7 and 9 ). Go ahead, be my guest and bug her anonymously on the 'phone. She deserves it! Maybe, you can even call her Collect. And, if you'd like to, you can Cross-Reference her number in an on-line Reverse Directory to get her name and address so you can "TP" her dwelling place, too. Ha, ha, ha. That should teach her to be nicer to people next time.

All the while that I was at MacDonald's, a young homeless white couple with an infant was outside the door begging for money or food. I felt bad for them, especially since they had a baby with them. I was gonna buy them some combo meal when I got done waiting for the time but some patrons beat me to it. So, as I exited the restaurant, I just gave the man a dollar bill, instead.

When I got back to the El Cerrito Del Norte BART Station to fetch my car, I decided to shop at the Dollar Tree Store across the street from the train station and at the new Safeway Supermarket next door to the station.

Then, I went to Hector's place in Oakland, CA, to make use of his son Isma's Wi-Fi. And, despite the culinary disaster of last week, I decided to make the same dish again, Jambalaya with Sausage. And it came out good this time.

The service was slow at the movie theatre's concession counter because they only had one employee there to help the patrons.

And the image quality of the movie wasn't good either: It was slightly out of focus.

A little girl in the audience laughed at the Zombie Construction Workers scene because she totally understood it!

*

LOOPER. R ( 1 hr & 59 min )

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Quickie Review:  Time-travel is a reality in the future but is outlawed. The mob has access to the technology through the black market. And they use it to send people that they want assassinated back in time to where an assassin, a "looper", waits to finish the job. Joe ( Joseph Gordon-Levitt ) has an easy life as a looper until the day the mob sends back his future self ( Bruce Willis ) for him to assassinate.


I went to see this after work today, Saturday, September 29th, 2012, here in Vallejo, CA, at the Century 14 Vallejo, for the 4:30 p.m. show in auditorium 8, 6th row, 10th column.

The audience liked this movie. But it didn't get a "Hands Clapper" ending.

I liked it. But I wasn't totally impressed by it. It's a good Action/Sci-Fi movie for fans of such a genre.

That little brat sure can act well!

Here are the things that didn't make sense in the movie: The people who control the time machine could teleport people to any place in the past ( as evidenced by the somewhere-in-China scene ) with pin-point precision. Since this was the case, the future mobsters didn't really have a need for loopers at all! They could just have teleported their weighted-down victims to manifest in the deepest part of the ocean--or in any shark-infested water--and let nature apply the finishing touches to their work. Also, no stray bullets ricocheted in some of the shoot-outs where they would be expected to ricochet in a real firefight. What was the point of using Blunderbusses when Shotguns would have easily done the job better? And that kid was less than 10 years old--more like 5 or younger ( even the child's toys suggested such an age range ).

After the movie, I overheard a woman behind me say to another, "It was a great movie. 'You didn't even watch it." That person must've fallen asleep throughout the movie.

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When I got home, I tried to sign-up for Juno's Turbo Dial-up Internet Service but my computer failed to connect with any of their numbers. Yup, that ransomware that corrupted my computer last month really messed-up my connection! At least, I can still connect to the Internet through a Wi-Fi service.

I think that I will just have to buy another computer since my laptop is seven or eight years old now, and obsolete by today's standards. But I will keep my old one and upgrade it myself someday.

*

HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 41 min )

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Quickie Review: A mother and daughter move into a new place which is right next door to a house where a husband and wife were brutally murdered by their own daughter who then mysteriously disappeared into the woods. The lone survivor, a son, is a recluse that the new girl next door takes a liking to, much to the concern of her own mother.

I went to see this today, Wednesday, September 26th, 2012, here in Vallejo, CA, at the Century 14 Vallejo for the 11:35 a.m. first show matinee in auditorium 13, 5th row, 8th column.

The first show matinee is an "Early Bird Special" when patrons get to pay a dollar less for any 2-D movie. ( And I wouldn't pay more for this movie. )

There was only one other person in the audience with me. So, I couldn't gauge any audience reaction to this movie.

This movie was slow on the delivery and low on the suspense. It felt like a made-for-TV movie to me. There's an interesting twist to the movie, though, I must admit. You may want to wait for this to come out as a DVD rental.

I believe that it was the Jennifer Lawrence fans who put this movie in the Top 10 at the Box Office in its first weekend. It will probably start dropping down the list starting this week.

Right off the top, this movie felt amateurish for these five reasons: 1.) The cop's badge didn't show his town/city jurisdiction; 2.) Hypodermic needles are available only by prescription; 3.) Chloroform, sedatives and tranquilizers are hard to acquire if you're not in the medical profession; 4.) Those kids had school records. So, how did they explain the disappearance of one of them? ; and 5.) Again, if you shoot at a target in an enclosed area and you miss, the bullets will ricochet if they don't penetrate anything! I could say more, but I'll just end-up giving the subplot away.

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I went to my periodontist today, at 7:00 a.m. sharp, for a deep cleaning. And even though I was numbed first with some anesthetic, I could still feel some pain from the root planing and probing done on my left upper and lower jaws. I had to find a way to distract myself to lessen the pain's intensity. So, I decided to think of something pleasant. I thought of a beautiful, hot and sexy stripper with no facial, tongue or body piercings, no tattoos and no fake breasts--just an all-natural girl with a firm body doing a private and personal "interactive show"--ahem--with me. Hey, it worked! I barely felt the pain. Embarrassingly, though, it gave me an erection, too. I probably blushed. I had to cover-up myself "down there" to keep the hygienist from noticing and thinking that I'm just a kinky pervert who is "into pain". Ha, ha, ha. Well, at least my "plumbing" still works! LOL

Then, I went to the Dollar Tree Store two blocks away in the Target Shopping Center to do a little bit of shopping.

And I went to the nearby MacDonald's Restaurant to have a Mango/Pineapple Smoothie as I finished-up my blog on the movie, END OF WATCH. It was hard to concentrate on what I was writing because some workers were fixing the roof. But I managed somehow to finish my blog just in time to go see this movie.

After the movie, I went to the American Canyon Safeway to get $20.oo worth of gas just to take advantage of my 10 cents off a gallon gas reward.

I was gonna have lunch at the Jack In The Box Restaurant next door to the Safeway gas station but there were a bunch of unruly high school kids hanging around in the parking lot.

So, I went and had lunch at the Golden City Chinese Buffet at the Rancho Square on the corner of Sonoma Boulevard and Mini Drive. But I think my body is starting to "complain" about my food binges at buffets because I'm starting to experience pain and discomfort now and can no longer eat as much as I used to. Oh, well, it's probably for the best anyway--IT IS FOR THE BEST!!!

*

END OF WATCH, R ( 1 hr & 49 min )

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Quickie Review:  Two police officers patrol the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles. By chance, they uncover a major drug smuggling operation which puts their lives in danger.


I went to see this today, Tuesday, September 25th, 2012, in Emeryville, CA, at the UA Emery Bay Stadium 10 for the 7:50 p.m. show in auditorium 5, 4th row, 10th column.

Today at UA Emery Bay Stadium 10 is "All-Day Five Dollar Tuesday" plus it is also a "$2.oo Small Popcorn w/ a Regal Rewards Card Day". Of course, the parking lot was full as Tuesday is the day to go to the movies at this theatre.

The audience really liked this movie.

I liked it, too. Go see this if you're into "Buddy Cops" movies.

The on-camera chemistry between the two lead actors, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, is very good, lending credibility to their roles.

I particularly liked the scene wherein one of the cops got into a fight with a man inside of that man's house.

I guess that cops are exempt from the "Seatbelt Law".

There is a reason for the title chosen for this movie. And you're not gonna like it--I didn't.

Damn! that PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchise sure got everybody using hand-held cameras, including the bad guys.

This movie doesn't come with an American Humane Association Disclaimer in the Ending Credits. So, more than likely, that poor cat in the opening chase scene actually got run-over! Poor cat .... Why did the cat cross the road? I guess because it wanted to play "chicken".

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I was at my friend Hector's house in Oakland, CA, earlier in the day. I used his son's Wi-Fi to work on my blog. All the while, Sylvester, the kitten, was on "attack mode"! See the evidence for yourself:

Here he is again:, wedged between my legs and clinging to my crotch while dangling at the edge of the couch.

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He's just waiting to pounce on either one of my thumbs in this shot.

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He spotted an inattentive thumb in this one.

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Hey! watch where you scratch or claw at, you stupid kitten.

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He's going for the camera strap in this shot.

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He's waiting for my thumbs here.

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Later on, Hector's son, Isma, showed me a nature documentary on YouTube about four ( 4 ) male lions attacking, killing and eating a rival male lion. I've never seen something like that before! I always thought that the Big Cats just simply kill their rivals over a territorial claim. I remember seeing a documentary years ago in which some lions killed a leopard and simply just walked away from their kill, as though to use it as a deterrent to other would-be interlopers.

Then, I started to cook some Jambalaya for dinner. But ... the glass lid of the pot that I used just popped and cracked all of a sudden, and pieces of glass fell into the pot! I ended-up just throwing away the food--what a waste.

That's Three ( 3 ) Bad Things that happened to me within a six ( 6 ) day period at Hector's place. Last Wednesday, I got a parking ticket for parking in front of Hector's house because nobody reminded me that it was Street Sweep Day for that side of the street. That was $66.oo out of my checking account, all wasted on the damn ticket. What really got me about it though was that Hector's other son, Tito, parked his old, non-operational Cadillac Deville in that Same Spot For About A Year AND NEVER GOT A TICKET!!! And last Friday, I decided to play it safe and parked my car on Hector's lawn only to get my left shin skinned by my Hyundai's driver's side door when it started to close by itself as I began to step out of my car!!! Ouch ....

Since three ( 3 ) means "Yes" in the Occult and Supernatural World, I think that my Yogi is "telling" me to lessen the frequency of my visits to Hector's place and get on with my Spiritual Cultivation. After all, I cannot expect to have a "different tomorrow" if I keep doing the same thing that I've been doing over and over again, i.e. avoiding responsibility for my own future and spiritual well-being ....

*