HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, PG ( 1 hr & 38 min )

where: EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when: Tuesday ( Dollar Popcorn Day ), March 30th, 2010
show: 9:30 p.m.
costs: $17.50 Ticket + $0.00 small Diet Coke ( Free Drink Loyalty Reward ) + $1.00 small Popcorn = $18.50
auditorium: 12, with the I-Max 3-D screen
seat: 5th row, seat 6

synopsis: A runt of a Viking, Hiccup, by sheer luck, captures the most elusive and mysterious of all dragons: The Night Fury. When Hiccup decides to spare the dragon's life, whom he later christens with the name, Toothless, a strong bond of friendship, loyalty and trust develops between the two of them. And Hiccup gradually learns that what he and his people know about dragons are all based on wild speculations.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) New Viking village; 2.) Night Fury; 3.) Planning a sneak attack; 4.) Crash site; 5.) Dragon training; 6.) Missing tail; 7.) Dragon guide book; 8.) Second dragon training; 9.) Peace offering; 10.) A downed dragon is a dead dragon; 11.) New tail rudder; 12.) Today is about team work; 13.) Grass; 14.) Scratch; 15.) Spot light; 16.) Blacksmith shop; 17.) Defeated Vikings; 18.) Free fall; 19.) Little dragons; 20.) Everything is wrong; 21.) Half a breastplate; 22.) Elder's decision; 23.) You scared him; 24.) Let me show you; 25.) I'm sorry; 26.) Dragon swarm; 27.) Dragon queen; 28.) That's for everything else; 29.) Tournament; 30.) Captured; 31.) Nest; 32.) You throw your lot in with them; 33.) All-out battle armada; 34.) The crazy plan; 35.) Dragons' lair; 36.) Angry queen; 37.) Surprise attack; 38.) Proud to call you my son; 39.) Crash landing; 40.) You're in my house; and 41.) New Viking village life.

audience reaction: It was the last show for the day and, as such, no children were present in the audience for me to have a better feel for the viewers' reaction. But I would safely say that all the people who watched this movie with me liked it, at the very least.

recommendation: I love the I-Max 3-D animation in this movie! The perfect attention to detail is simply amazing, i.e. the hair, the fur, the clothes, the underwater scenes, etc. And I love how they put barnacles on the viking ships. Kids would love to see this movie.

spoiler alert: Somebody forgot to put scales on the fish--'must be the new CGI guy! ( Hey, Hollywood, can I have the new guy's job since I'm quite detail-oriented? ) At high speeds, the artificial tail rudder would get twisted out of alignment, making the flight erratically dangerous. How was Toothless able to fly to the rescue without somebody controlling his tail rudder?

fyi: In some parts of the Philippines, if a kid hiccups, it means that the kid is growing. Obviously, I didn't hiccup enough.

Whenever I would get a hiccup, and nobody would be around to make me feel self-conscious, I would raise my right hand above my chest and stomach to send calm, soothing energy into my body to get rid of the hiccup. It works almost instantaneously every time. I learned this trick on my own when I realized that I could manipulate my body's energy field--just one of the perks of doing meditation.

word of advice: Size does not always matter.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

tidbits: I needed to see this movie to unwind after a stressful and hectic day at work: Someone in my department called in sick, we were shipped too much of too many, the big bosses were making their rounds with the manager, and there were too many customers. And I didn't get enough sleep beforehand.

I was scheduled to come in to work today at 4:00 p.m. So, the night before, I went to see HOT TUB TIME MACHINE. And I blogged about it as soon as I got home and after I had eaten a late meal. At around 3:00 a.m., I decided to meditate first before going to sleep. By the time I finally went to bed, it was already after 4:00 a.m. No problem, my shift doesn't start for another 12 hours. Then, at 7:45 a.m., my answering machine kicked-in with a message from a co-worker asking me to come in early because we were a man short. But I needed my sleep. So I tried to catch more ZZZs until just before 11:00 a.m. After I dragged myself out of bed, I called my department and told them that I still had one errand to run before I could be at work by around 12:30 p.m.

But had I known what was in store for me, I wouldn't have voluntarily shown up early for work!

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, R ( 1 hr & 40 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, March 29th, 2010
show: 10:15 p.m.
costs: $9.50 Ticket + $3.75 small Diet/Zero ( w/ Barq's & Cherry flavors ) Coke + $1.00 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites ( bought at 99 Cent Only Store & smuggled-in ) = $14.25
auditorium: 7
seat: 5th row, 10th column

synopsis: Adam ( John Cusack ), his two good friends, Craig and Lou ( Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry ) and a tag-along, Jacob ( Clark Duke ), all stuck in a rut, accidentally get to travel back in time, while in a hot tub, to 1986 and get the chance to re-write their life story.

prediction: This movie is for this year what the movie, HANGOVER, was for last year!

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Cell phone screen; 2.) BMW; 3.) 'Phone message; 4.) Garage; 5.) Hospital room; 6.) Great White Buffalo; 7.) Phil, the bellhop ( Crispin Glover ); 8.) Hot tub; 9.) Calling an escort service; 10.) In the tub; 11.) Squirrel; 12.) Retro thing going on; 13.) What color is Michael Jackson; 14.) Bathroom; 15.) Stuck in the'80s; 16.) Recollections; 17.) Free spirit; 18.) Confrontation; 19.) Bubble bath; 20.) Three-way; 21.) Winter Fest; 22.) All about Cincinnati again; 23.) Elevator; 24.) Spies; 25.) Break-up note; 26.) You're gonna lose that arm; 27.) Sports bet; 28.) Predetermine life; 29.) A bet's a bet; 30.) Goading the loser; 31.) Hand soap; 32.) Scheming to exploit future trends; 33.) On stage; 34.) Alone again, naturally; 35.) Rooftop; 36.) Rescue; 37.) You finish this; 38.) Fight for Chernobly; 39.) Back to the future; 40.) Lougle maps; 41.) Lifestyle of the rich and famous; 42.) Cheers; and 43.) Motley Lue.

audience reaction: The audience really enjoyed this movie.

recommendation: I enjoyed this movie, too! Go see it with your 18 and/or over friends.

spoiler alert! Frying the wires, in all likelihood, would just cut-off the hot tub's power supply. There weren't enough people at the Winter Fest '86. Why didn't  Phil, the bellhop, just let go of the luggage while he was in the elevator? Lou could have easily ducked/countered the punches, since most of them weren't sucker punches.  Twenty-four years on the job, and still a bellhop?  Unbelievable!

fyi: I love how they revolved the story around the missing arm.

The casting agent did an excellent job of finding young look-alikes of the lead actors in this movie. Unlike the casting agent who found a young unlook-alike for Nicolas Cage in the movie, GHOSTRIDER ( 2007 ): That guy looked like a young Tom Cruise!

My mom had a hot tub installed in the back yard of her house. And in all that time that she had it, it was only used once when a couple of nieces came over for a visit.

I remember reading a Dear Annie ( or was it Dear Abby ...? ) article about a family who had a hot tub. At one time, they hosted a female Japanese exchange student. As they were all in the hot tub one day, they invited the Japanese girl to join in the fun. And join in the fun, she did--butt-naked! Apparently that's how they go hot-tubbing in Japan.

word of advice: If you're gonna host a beautiful Japanese exchange student, first make sure that you have a hot tub installed! Ha, ha, ha.

If you're ever offered a second chance, take it!

tidbits: I wanted to see this movie two days ago, on Saturday, but I ate too much at the buffet so I just went home. And I wanted to see it yesterday, a Sunday, but, again, I ate too much ( at home this time ) so I just stayed home. But tonight I didn't have enough cooked rice to eat with my chicken and sardines so I was able to go to the theatre since I didn't feel stuffed.

Before leaving the house tonight, I e-mailed a Yogi/Guru my request for Kriyaban initiation. I've wanted to do this for such a long time. My application was rejected five years ago. But I guess it's safe to assume that they don't remember me from last time and will accept my application this time around. Wish me luck.

Q: What do you call a leper in a hot tub?

A: Stew!

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, PG ( 1 hr & 30 min )

where: AMC BAY STREET 16
when: Wednesday ( Free Small Popcorn Day ), March 24th, 2010
show: 8:50 p.m.
costs: $10.75 Ticket + $4.25 regular Diet Coke ( No Ice ) + $1.00 upgrade-to-medium Popcorn + $4.00 Bridge Toll = $20.00
auditorium: 9
seat: 5th row, 10th column

synopsis: Greg Heffley ( Zachary Gordon ) starts middle school self-consciously and desperately tries anything and everything to fit-in with the cool kids, even going so far as to take for granted his long-time friendship with Rowley ( Robert Capron ).

noteworthy scenes: 1.) First day rush; 2.) Bully brother, Rodrick ( Devon Bostick ); 3.) Breakfast table; 4. ) Summertime growth spurt; 5.) Serape ( Mexican shawl ); 6.) Fregley's ( Grayson Russell ) secret mole; 7.) Angie ( Chloe Grace Moretz ) 8.) Cheese touch; 9.) Boys' room; 10.) Cafeteria; 11.) Wanna play with me; 12.) Bicycle; 13.) Middle school yearbook; 14.) Bathroom; 15.) Patty ( Laine Macneil ); 16.) Wrestling; 17.) Bulking-up; 18.) Bulldog class; 19.) Shirt & tie; 20.) Awesome to be me; 21.) Fashion make-over; 22.) Cute butt; 23.) Halloween urban myth; 24.) Northside; 25.) In the Devil Worshipper Woods; 26.) Safety patrol; 27.) Arm cast; 28.) Sympathy sheet; 29.) Cartoon sketches; 30.) Mrs. Irvine ( Karin Konoval ); 31.) Zooey mama; 32.) Suspension; 33.) You only care about yourself; 34.) Team captain; 35.) Best friend; 36.) Fregley's house; 37.) Soprano voice; 38.) Stage play; 39.) Flyer; 40.) Magazine; 41.) Mother & Son Sweetheart Dance; 42.) Playground confrontation; 43.) All meaningless; and 44.) Way too smart for me.

audience reaction: The audience liked this.

recommendation: I enjoyed this movie. Go see it with your middle school-age kids.

spoiler alert! No cheese slice would last that long on a blacktop because it would get stepped-on, eaten by a scavenging animal, dried and turned to dust by the heat of the Sun, or diluted and washed away by the rain or the melting snow. Greg's handwriting is too perfect to be that of a sixth grader's. What parent in his or her right mind would want his/her son to ride a pink girl's bike to school and/or anywhere lots of other kids his age hang-out? All the wrestlers wore what look like court shoes to me when they should have been wearing wrestling shoes--I wrestled in high school so I know what wrestling shoes look like. And this movie gives out the bad message that it is okay to start, and have, a "disposable-type" of friendship with an "innocent by-stander" just to spite your best friend; but if and when you do make-up with your best friend your "innocent by-stander friend" gets left behind holding an "empty bag" of friendship--and this is a definite "No-No" in the Rules of Friendship Book!

fyi: "Middle School" ( Grades 6, 7 and 8 ) is a term that was first used in Bay City, Michigan, in 1950.

I had this classmate, a cataract-eyed and harelipped William C. ( who happens to be a distant relative of mine on my father's side ) in Grade 6 at Rizal Memorial College, Elementary Department, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, who always carried a pair of drumsticks with him, whose favorite song was The Guess Who's "American Woman" ( 1970 ), who talked about wanting to immigrate to the USSR, and who "matured" ahead of everyone else in class. Just for laughs, whenever the home-room teacher wasn't watching, he would put his booger on the partition wall and, worse, he would yank-out some of his pubic hair and put it on some other boy's desk--yuck, gross!

My point is, instead of boogers, why didn't they use pubic hair since most of the kids in this movie are right around that age of "self-discovery" ( as in: Ahh! what's that )?

Shortly after my family moved to our brand new bungalow in GSIS Heights Subdivision in Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, I read a newspaper article which stated that salicylic acid kills the bacteria responsible for ringworms. And I knew from a previous article that underarm odor is caused by bacteria living on the hair and armpit skin of a person. So, I came upon the novel idea of liberally using salicylic acid on my armpits for odor control. And it work! I wonder why nobody came up with this idea before, I asked myself. My armpits were completely odor-free for three whole days. But after three days, my underarm odor came back with a super-strong vengeance! Oh, well ... at least I tried ....

word of advice: Don't be somebody else, be yourself.

"Our choices make us who we are." Susan Heffley ( Rachael Harris )

Don't get someone into an "innocent by-stander" type of friendship.

tidbits: I spent the day at my friend Hector's place in Oakland, CA, because I bought Corned Beef for St. Patrick's Day but couldn't eat it all by myself. So I just kept it in the freezer until I could find the time to go to Oakland so that I could cook it for everybody. I also baked a Strawberry/Raspberry/Blackberry Cobbler for dessert. I know that two of them in the family are borderline Diabetic but, hey, not my problem .... What a fine friend I turned out to be! Ha, ha, ha.

On the way home, I decided to see this movie at AMC Bay Street 16 because I haven't seen a movie at this particular theatre for so long.

P.S. I would have published this movie blog sometime yesterday were it not for the fact that I was blocked access to my blog site for over 24 hours. I had to re-write most of what you see here today, Friday, March 26th, late in the evening! I don't know what happened. I tried other blogspot.com sites but couldn't gain access on any of them. I tried using different search engines but still couldn't access any blog site. Fandango.com was inaccessible to me, too, for about half a day yesterday. My Gmail account was acting-up, too. And, now, my MagicJack and my Opera browser are also acting-up. My virus and malware protection turned-up nothing. I guess I'll just have to turn my computer off to reboot it. Whatever .... ( I don't know much about computers. )

OUR FAMILY WEDDING, PG-13 ( 1 hr & 30 min )

where: CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when: Monday, March 22nd, 2010
show: 11:50 a.m. Extra Dollar Off First Show Matinee
costs: $6.25 Ticket + $5.75 Kid's Pack ( w/ Dollar Upgrade ) + $6.49 Lunch @ Wendy's Restaurant ( Bacon & Blue Cheese Burger Combo with Side Salad substitute [ w/ Ranch Dressing ] and small Lemonade ) = $18.49
auditorium: 3
seat: 3rd row, 7th column

synopsis: Our families' meddling ....

A young couple, Lucia and Marcus ( America Ferrera and Lance Gross ), very much in love, plan on getting married. But will their families' inter-racial differences ruin it all for them or will their love survive the "... slings and arrows of outrageous ..." situations?

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Daddy 'phone calls; 2.) No parking zone; 3.) Restaurant; 4.) When things calm down; 5.) Guy talk; 6.) Abuela ( grandmother ); 7.) Police department; 8.) Life doesn't always make sense; 9.) Smudge; 10.) Bathroom; 11.) Our marriage, their wedding; 12.) Seating arrangements; 13.) Dinner jacket; 14.) Bridal gown; 15.) Make-out point; 16.) The garage; 17.) Traditional Mexican wedding; 18.) Baseball game; 19.) We speak every Sunday; 20.) Front porch; 21.) Cake tasting; 22.) Couch; 23.) Radio call-in; 24.) Night club; 25.) Parking lot; 26.) I'm a wife, I'm a mother; 27.) Stand-up for me; 28.) I love what I do; 29.) Best friend; 30.) Even when I'm mad at you, I still love you; 31.) Dominate their brain; 32.) Never laughed at my jokes; 33.) Serenade; 34.) Graduation photo; 35.) You two were meant for each other; 36.) Wedding cake; 37.) The goat; 38.) You're her choice; 39.) Mariachi; 40.) Dance; and 41.) Photo montage during the Ending Credits.

audience reaction: The audience enjoyed this Rom-Com movie.

recommendation: I liked it as it was funny, informative, and revealing about what takes place leading up to a wedding--OMG! I'm sounding like I'm entertaining the thought of a married life. LOL.

spoiler alert! Both bathroom scenes were hard to swallow, especially the one with the wet Viagra tablets ( Brad [ Forest Whitaker ] didn't notice it at all? ) and the goat overdosing on said tablets ( it would have died of a massive heart attack brought on by a massive hard-on! ). The two scenes with the broken vases were also hard to believe. Likewise, the cake-fight and what followed after a wedding cake was smashed were ridiculous. Does a DJ of a LOCAL radio show actually make enough money to afford an expensive home, fancy cars, parties, one-night-stands with desperate groupies, the services of a lawyer, wedding costs, and college tuition for his son on top of all these? I don't think so!

fyi: I was invited to a wedding once where someone actually went to all the trouble of baking an home-made three-tiered wedding cake. It was leaning almost precariously to one side. I made fun of it, calling it The Leaning Tower of "Cake-sa", not knowing that the lady who made it was standing next to me--awkward!

Back at the apartment complex where my family lived in Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, the Ilocano family next door decided to cook a goat for a party. So they took a goat to the empty lot next to the apartment and forced it to drink a litre of sugar cane vinegar. It bleated and gurgled all the while until it died of vinegar intoxication. Although I partook of the dishes that they cooked with it, what I witnessed gradually made me lose interest in goat meat.

word of advice: Love is blind.

tidbits: At 2:15 p.m., when I was eating my lunch at Wendy's, I noticed a fake Great Horned Owl on the roof of the IHOP across the lot. Then I saw a pigeon land next to it. Yup! it didn't fool the pigeon at all. Maybe I'll get a BB gun and knock down the fake owl one of these nights.

And when I went up to the counter at 2:22 p.m. to get a refill on my lemonade, I noticed a sign saying that they are skimping on tomatoes and will add a ( paper-thin ) tomato slice to a customer's order only if the customer specifically asks for it because the tomato freeze in Florida supposedly made tomatoes a scarce commodity. Come on! Hot-house Tomatoes ( a.k.a. Steak Tomatoes ), the kind used in burgers, is on sale right now at Safeway for $1.99 a pound. Why couldn't Wendy's just send one of its employees to the Safeway grocery store just a mile down the road and buy-up a bunch of tomatoes? Otherwise, its patrons are just being charged the same price for less. What a scam! Come to think of it, their new burger, The Bacon & Blue Cheese Burger, doesn't show a tomato slice in the poster!

Here's a new jingle for Wendy's: Yes, we have no tomatoes. We have no tomatoes today!

The next time that I eat at a burger joint, I'll be sure to bring my own tomato! And should I decide to go to MacDonald's, I'll be sure to bring an onion, as well! Have you noticed the onions on a MacDonald's burger ...? They probably use a magnifying glass and tweezers to put onions on their burger buns!

One night years ago, I went to a Nation's Restaurant in Napa, CA. I ordered extra onions on my burger. When I took a bite out of it, tears rolled down my eyes! Yup! you get what you ask for if you eat at Nation's. Now, that was what I call "A real burger for a real man"!

HACHIKO: A DOG'S STORY, G ( 1 hr & 33 min )

where: MOVIE2K.COM
when: Sunday, March 21st, 2010
show: Late Night
costs: $0.00 Download
auditorium: Living Room
seat: My Swivel Chair

synopsis: A music professor ( Richard Gere ) comes upon a lost Akita puppy at the train station. What follows is an undying bond of love and loyalty between master and dog that is beyond reason and comprehension.

noteworthy scenes: 1.) Shinto shrine; 2.) Train station; 3.) Organ; 4.) Bedroom; 5.) Playtime; 6.) Popcorn time; 7.) Chasing after his master; 8.) Skunk; 9.) Daily routine; 10.) The ball; 11.) The unexpected; 12.) Test of loyalty; 13.) News report; 14.) Old Hachiko; 15.) Meeting with mistress; 16.) The hot-dog vendor; 17.) The dream; and 18.) Dedication to Hachiko.

audience reaction: N/A

recommendation: I liked it and would recommend it to anybody who wants to see a good family movie. And it goes without saying that dog lovers will like this tear-jerker of a movie, too! Have lots of Kleenex tissues handy.

spoiler alert! Transplanting the setting of this movie, which is based on a true story, here in America instead of keeping it in Japan just dilutes the "authentic feel" of the movie.

fyi: I like how the dog's P.O.V. was done in black-and-white since dogs don't see in color.

I actually came across this true story back when I was in first year high school at Ateneo De Davao, High School Department, Matina, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines. It was required reading for my English Literature Class. It left an indelible impression in me.

Akitas are probably the most loyal-to-its-master kind of dog.

I'm not sure if this movie was ever shown on the Big Screen. It would have made for a perfect Christmas movie last year! It just goes to show that Hollywood doesn't always know what's good for it!

word of advice: Treat animals, not just your pets, with respect.

If you want to watch a featured movie on Movie2K.com, press "Start" then let it run for a few seconds just to make sure that your computer is actually playing it, then press "Pause." Then go do something--anything--for about 30 minutes or so while the movie buffers, then go enjoy the movie. There's no time limit of 72 minutes on this one so you should be able to see the whole thing uninterrupted in just one sitting.

tidbits: The idiot living above my unit was doing some plumbing work in his kitchen early last night and ended-up leaking water into my unit. I only found out around midnight when I took an "intermission break" from watching this movie. I slipped a note under his door threatening to take him to court if he doesn't fix the problem right away. This is not the first time that this has happened. I already filed a report on him with the H.O.A. and will do so again!