KEANU, RATCHET AND CLANK

R,  1 hr & 38 min

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I went to see this movie yesterday, Thursday, April 28th, 2016, here in Vallejo, CA, at the CENTURY 14 VALLEJO, for the advanced screening at 7:00 p.m. in auditorium 5, 3rd row from the front, 6th column from the left. The price of admission was $11.50. And I bought a $7.05 medium Buttered Popcorn and a $0.65 medium upgrade on a free small Powerade Mountain Berry Blast ( free small drink on my movie watcher e-mail reward coupon ) at the concessions counter.

Quickie Review:  Two cousins will do anything to retrieve their adopted cat from a bunch of drug dealers.

The audience liked this movie, but nobody gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending. I liked this movie, too. Go see this improbably funny kitten rescue movie if you love comedy and/or you love cats--and cute kittens!

There is a Bonus Scene after the Ending Credits.

But I know of one critic who totally disliked this movie:

Don't you just hate critics?  I found this on the Internet.

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I wanted to go home. But it was still early. So, I went back in to see ...

R,  1 hr & 34 min

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I went to see this at 9:30 p.m. in auditorium 3, 3rd row from the front, 7th column from the left. The price of admission was $11.50. And I bought a $5.35 Snack Pack at the concessions counter.

Quickie Review:  Two unlikely heroes join the Galactic Rangers to save the galaxy from a planet-destroying madman.

The audience didn't like it simply because no one else was there to see it with me. I didn't like it. You might find playing the video game on which this movie is based on to be a more exciting, immersive time.

There are Bonus Scenes during and after the Ending Credits.

I couldn't help but notice the similarities ( in characteristic, in physique and in intellect ) between Capt. Qwark and The Tick:

I found this on the Internet.

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I broke an old record yesterday, Thursday! I ate 2 eggs for breakfast and 2 eggs for lunch---Not just any kind of egg, mind you, but ones whose egg carton showed an expiration date of October 10th, 2015--that's 6 months, 2 weeks and 4 days ( if I counted it correctly )!  Okay, I "cheated" a little, I must admit. I stored the eggs in near-zero degree temperature. But when I cracked the hard-boiled eggs and tentatively took a bite, I noticed NOTHING wrong with the taste; and the yolk looked liked that of a hard-boiled egg that just came fresh from a hen's butt ( cloaca )!  I mean, if I had some people do a blind taste-test on them, the subjects would swear that the eggs were fresh. Of course, the air pocket in each egg was bigger than normal, and I didn't do a float-test on them; but, for all practical intents and purposes, they could easily pass for being fresh eggs! AND YOU CAN TELL ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY THAT YOUR UNCLE CINE-MAN SAID SO!!!


*

FAN, PURPLE RAIN

I went to San Francisco, CA, to see two movies and to do a little bit of shopping in Chinatown. I parked my car at the El Cerrito Del Norte BART Train Station, in parking space # 604, to catch a train. I caught a San Francisco-bound transfer train at the MacArthur BART Train Station since there is no direct service to San Francisco on weekends.

I got-off at the Powell Street BART Train Station and entered the WestField Shopping Mall at the Subway Level. I was already late arriving there at 3:15 p.m. But I reasoned that previews were still being shown and that I would enter the auditorium just as the movie would begin. But I Took The Wrong Set Of Escalators And Got Lost, instead! I asked a security guard on the 4th floor how I could get on the right set of escalators. He told me to go down to the 1st floor and cut across the floor to the opposite side. I didn't know where to cut across, so I asked a Jewelry Department sales lady to point me the way.

As I cut across, I found myself on the 4th floor, with the 5th floor escalator just across the hallway beckoning at me. I was late for the opening scene then. And it didn't help that WOMEN riding the escalators stood on the left side Which Is Reserved For People Who Actually Do Walk Up The Escalator, Not For Lazy Fat Butts Who Can Barely Walk!

I missed the 1st 5 minutes or so of the opening scene. I stepped into the auditorium during the Carnival Talent Show scene.

2 hr & 22 min

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I went to see this on Sunday, April 24th, in San Francisco, at the CENTURY SAN FRANCISCO CENTRE 9 AND X-D, for the 3:10 p.m. show in auditorium 8, 4th row from the front, 8ht column from the left. The price of admission was $13.00. And I bought a $6.05 small Buttered Popcorn and a $2.45 (  $2.00-off on my movie watcher e-mail reward coupon ) small Lemonade/Fruit Punch at the concessions counter.

Quickie Review:  After being rejected by his movie idol, an obsessive ex-fan ( Shah Rukh Khan ) goes to extreme lengths to ruin the reputation, career and life of the popular movie star ( same guy ).

The audience liked this movie. I liked this movie, too. It was well-written and well-acted. Go see this Bollywood movie.

The tenement building chase scene and the on-foot chase scenes were all suspenseful.

I liked how they changed his nose to make him look slightly different. If you've read my posts far back enough, you would know of my father's side of the family's obsession with a long nose ( clearly, my siblings and I were all adopted )! Ha, ha, ha.

After the movie, I took the rear elevator down to the 1st floor and walked on Mission Street and past 4th Street to cut across the open space where the Jewish Museum is at. Then, I walked up Grant Avenue to get to Chinatown. Just past Commercial Street is a jewelry store.

I entered the jewelry store, Gold Wing Imports, to buy 4 Tense Wooden Watches for a grand total of $465.00. I asked for a quantity discount; otherwise, I would have had to shell-out $596.00 plus tax! I bought a wooden watch for myself, my brother and my 2 sisters. I'm glad that I wasn't charged an extra $0.10 for the plastic bag that I carried the watches in ( and I kept that plastic bag full of expensive watches close to my person all the time that I was in San Francisco and while I was train-commuting! ).

According to the sales girl ( I think that it's a family-run business because an elderly man came up from the basement to assist with the sales--and he looked liked her; well, don't they all? 'Just kidding ), the watches are splash-proof--water-resistant, just don't swim or shower with any of them on! I asked if the wooden watches were coated with some kind of water-proofing. She said that they weren't coated at all. When I got the watches home, I looked at the information booklet for my watch which says that it should be cared for like how one would with fine wood furniture. And the booklet specifically recommends Lemon Oil Furniture Polish. The watches all come with a two-year warranty.

This is the exact model that I bought for myself. I bought a darker model for my brother here in California. I found this image at the watch's website: tensewatch.com.

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This is the same watch that I bought for my sister in Michigan. I bought a darker model for my other sister here in California. I found this image at the watch's website: tensewatch.com.

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I always wanted to have a wooden watch of my own since I saw a man sporting such a watch about 3 years ago at the Safeway Supermarket in Benicia, CA. He said that he bought it at a flea market. Earlier this year, I saw another man in the same supermarket wearing the same kind of watch. I reasoned that it was a reminder meant for me. When I vacationed in San Francisco the 1st week of this month, I walked around Chinatown and came across the watch display for wooden watches at this particular jewelry store. And I said to myself that I will have to come back someday to buy some wooden watches---Promise fulfilled!

These wooden watches have been made since 1971. Yet, I saw the 1st kind just 3 years ago! Imagine that. Oh, by the way, these watches are made in Canada. The prices range from $115.00 ( ladies' quartz watches ) all the way to $970.00 ( top-of-the-line automatic watch ). The watches that I bought are all for $139.00 each if they are bought from the watch company website. I thought that it would be cheaper to buy them from the website ( you know, cutting-out the middleman ); but I was wrong. I really got a good deal on them.

Then, I decided to have dinner at the Snow Garden Chinese Restaurant just a block away ( the place that I mentioned to you at the start of the month ). I ordered the combo with Fried Rice, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Spring Roll and Sour Soup w/ Tofu. It also came with a small pot of Tea. I paid $13.00 + $2.00 Tip.

This picture is from my vacation during the 1st week of this month. I couldn't post a recent picture from my camera because something about my Google Chromebook doesn't want to upload the pictures. I'm gonna have to get another computer!

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I walked-up to the Box Office Counter to learn that the 7:30 p.m. show for PURPLE RAIN was near sold-out. I opted to buy a ticket for the next show, instead.

1 hr & 51 min

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I went to see this movie on Sunday, April 24th, 2016 in San Francisco, CA, at the AMC METREON 16, on the 3rd floor, for the 8:10 p.m. show in auditorium 14, 3rd row from the front, 9th column from the left. The price of admission was $7.09 ( this place is a rip-off, considering that the Brenden Vacaville 16 only charged $5.00 for it the day before! ). And I bought a $3.99 20.0 oz ( 591.50 ml ) bottle of Dasani Water to wash down the PowerBar Peanut Butter Cookie Protein Bar that I sneaked-in.

I got to the ticket-taker station only to find out that the female idiot at the downstairs Box Office sold me a ticket for the 7:30 p.m. show. And it seemed that she also sold the same show to a bunch of others. Which got me to thinking, was the 7:30 p.m. show actually near sold-out? I, and some other patrons, had to go to the Guest Services Counter to get our tickets switched to the right showtime.

Quickie Review:  An arrogant singer/musician ( Prince ), from an abusive home, tries to make a name for himself in the music industry and win the heart of his love interest ( Apollonia ).

The audience in the 3/4th filled auditorium really loved this movie and gave in a rousing "Hands Clapper" ending. They also clapped for Prince during the introductory scene and in some other music scenes. And most of them stayed 'til after the Ending Credits--some even wanted to see it again. I liked this movie, too! Go see this movie! It's an eclectic electric musical.

This movie was a fitting send-off tribute to a great modern-day multi-talented musician! It's so sad that such a talented artist died too soon.

Confession time: I didn't want to see this movie when it came out in 1984 because I was extremely envious of Prince who seemed able to get any girl he fancied. But, through the years, I came to appreciate some of his songs. And I decided to finally see this movie to pay my respect.

On my way down the stairs at the Powell Street BART Train Station, on my way home, I spotted a hobo who was sleeping at the foot of the escalator, blocking people's access to it. I guess that if you're a hobo in a liberal city like San Francisco, you can be as rude and as inconsiderate as you like because "the world owes you a lot"!

Anyway, another hobo woke him up saying that somebody had stolen his bag and he tried to accuse the sleeping man of the theft. Is there a logic to that? How can someone curled-up asleep be able to steal someone else's property? 'Must've been on some kind of drug ....

I found this on the Internet. Someone sent it to my Facebook page. It's a good one, isn't it?

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Upon learning of Prince's death, the grieving Apollonia became inconsolable and could not be reached, according to some online news.

Today, Monday, April 25th, I learned on Facebook that Prince's body was cremated. He was worth around $300 million dollars. All of that money and they couldn't even afford a proper burial for him ...? I think that someone is trying to hide something because a conspiracy theory rumor has it that some music company wants to have exclusive rights to Prince's unpublished works! And you just can't exhume ashes for forensics!!!

My train ticket was $8.90 for a round trip. My Carquinez Bridge Toll Booth fee was $5.00. And my gasoline expense was approximately $3.00.

All-in-all, at $530.48, this is the most expensive movie trip so far--'glad I didn't have a date with me or it would have been twice as much! Ha, ha, ha. Of course, it goes without saying that the money I budgeted for my Fisherman's Wharf trip is bye-bye. Well, there is always a next time.

I had to use an old pair of glasses ( at least, 15 years old ) for this movie trip. My new one ( I got it a year-and-a-half ago ) is making me see double, especially whenever I am driving at night and have no visual frame of reference in the darkness. I went to my Optometrist last week. She told me that my vision has gotten bad, that my right eye is turning inward. The strange thing is that my old pair of glasses have both eyes aimed correctly, although the distance vision is kind of blurry. I am getting the new pair of eyeglasses sometime this week. And my Optometrist said that if it doesn't stabilize my distance vision, she will have to recommend me for surgery. I will have to bring in my old pair of glasses just to show her how my near vision is perfect with it and how my distance vision is not double, albeit slightly blurry. On a side note, according to her, my eyeballs look healthy on the inside!

I have always been a right-handed southpaw my whole life. My having a cockeye is probably the reason for it. When I was a kid in the Philippines, my playmates/classmates who noticed my eye condition would say that I was Manokon ( pronounced: Maa Nook Coon ), a Pilipino word for, Cockeyed. It is from the Pilipino word, Manok ( hen/rooster ).


*

A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING, R ( 1 hr & 37 min )

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I went to see this on Saturday, April 23rd, 2016, in Napa, CA, at the CENTURY NAPA VALLEY AND X-D, in auditorium 9, 5th row from the front, 1st seat from the right.  The price of admission was $12.00. And I bought a $6.05 small Buttered Popcorn and a $2.20 ( $2.00-off movie watcher e-mail reward coupon ) small Lemonade/Fruit Punch.

Quickie Review:  A desperate salesman ( Tom Hanks ) goes to Saudi Arabia to try to sell a holographic telecommunication system to the king. His local driver ( Alexander Black ) and a female doctor ( Sarita Choudhury ) help him learn about the way of life in the desert kingdom.

The audience liked it. I liked it, too.

Go see this movie. To paraphrase Borat, "This is for cultural learning of Saudi Arabia for make benefit incredulous salesman of America. Please watch this movie film ... or I will be execute!"

I liked the local driver. He had a good on-screen persona.

The name, Sarita Choudhury, sounded familiar to me. So, when I got home, I googled her name. Yup, I saw her for the first time 20 years ago in the movie, KAMA SUTRA, at a rinky-dink old theatre, the Orinda Theatre in Orinda, CA. It's the only other movie that I saw her in. She was so beautiful back then. Well, she still is. But this 20-year time has not been so kind to her face.

One Saudi Arabian character in the movie said, "We don't have unions. We have Pilipinos." True, there are a lot of Pilipinos working in Saudi Arabia, doing jobs that the Arabs feel are beneath their dignity. Did you know that in Saudi Arabia, Pilipinos are derogatively referred to as, "Brown Niggers"? Yeah, I think that that also holds true in some other Middle Eastern countries.

And, sad to say, some Pilipinos have been beheaded in Saudi Arabia. When it comes to beheadings, ISIS has a long way to go if it wants to play catch-up with Saudi Arabia!

If life was better for the majority of the people in the Philippines, Pilipinos would rather work in the country than go abroad to some other country just to support their loved ones at home. The Philippine economy is actually on a fast-track for improvement. Now, if only political corruption--unchecked and rampant--at the local and national levels could be gotten rid off.

I have a cousin who works hard in the Middle East just to support his family in the Philippines. Most of the money that he makes, he wires to the Philippines. Especially since he has a daughter and two sons going to school. They're doing well in school, at least. He has a medical condition that needs to be attended to, but he would rather save his money for his wife and kids than take care of his health problems. He is so looking forward to his retirement. And I worry for him.

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I drove to Vacaville, CA, first because the BRENDEN VACAVILLE 16 had a tribute show to the late artist formerly known as, Prince. Prince's movie, PURPLE RAIN, was shown at 7:00 p.m. The parking lot was almost packed because it was a Saturday and because of the Prince movie. I got in line with just five minutes to spare before the start of the movie. I looked up at the Show and Price Listing. The movie was priced at only $5.00. Yay .... When my turn came up to buy a ticket, the box office clerk told me that the movie had already sold-out! I mouthed, F-ck ....

I drove all the way to Vacaville, a distance of about 23 miles ( 37 kilometers ) just to be told that the movie was sold-out. Dang it! Then I remembered that there was a 7:35 showing of, A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING, at the Napa City theatre.

I hurried back to my car as I texted a post to my Facebook page to let my friends know that the Prince movie was sold-out.

I got back on the 80 Freeway to head south. I knew that Highway 12 connects to Napa; but at its junction with Highway 29, I forgot whether to turn left at the light or to turn right. I was thinking that I would need to take a left turn at the light. But I didn't want to take a chance since I was on a very tight schedule.

I exited at the American Canyon Off-ramp. And drove down the winding road until I got to Highway 29. There, I made a right to head to Napa City. When I got to the intersection of Highway 12, I realized that I would have had to take a right to go to the theatre. I'm glad that I didn't take Highway 12 like I wanted to do earlier or I would have been late for the movie. But now I know for next time.

I stepped into the auditorium with just a minute to spare before the movie started.

I, once again, parked at the very far end of the parking lot, hoping that I could jog back to my car. But there were cars coming and going in the parking lot. I just walked it because I didn't want to risk getting hit by a car.

There is a Jack In The Box Restaurant just a block away. But it was around 9:35 p.m. and I believe they close at 10:00 p.m. I decided to go to the MacDonald's Restaurant in the Wal-Mart Super Center in American Canyon for dinner because they close at midnight.

While I was eating my dinner of Double Cheeseburger ( I didn't eat the bun ) w/ Side Salad, a former co-worker of mine came over to say, "Hi!" I saw him two nights earlier at the MacDonald's in the Target Shopping Center in Vallejo. I think that he is following me around---Night Stalker Alert!  Ha, ha, ha.


*

THE JUNGLE BOOK, PG ( 1 hr & 45 min )

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where:  EDWARDS FAIRFIELD STADIUM 16 & I-MAX in Fairfield, CA
when:  Thursday, April 14th, 2016
show:  10:00 p.m. I-Max 3-D Advanced Screening
costs:  $16.00 Ticket + $4.89 16.9 oz ( 500 ml ) bottle of Dasani Water = $20.89
auditorium:  12, with the I-Max 3-D screen
seat:  5th row from the front, 6th seat from the right

2nd time

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where:  CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when:  Sunday, April 17th, 2016
show:  9:40 p.m. 3-D
costs:   $14.50 Ticket + $1.00 medium upgrade on a Free Small Buttered Popcorn ( free offer on my movie watcher e-mail reward coupon ) + $4.85 medium Powerade Mountain Berry Blast + $1.50 Kernel Season's Cheddar flavored Popcorn Seasoning = $20.35
auditorium:  7
seat:  6th row from the front, 12th column from the left

3rd time

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where:  CENTURY 14 VALLEJO in Vallejo, CA
when:  Tuesday, April 19th, 2016
show:  4:10 p.m. 2-D
costs:  $6.25 Ticket ( All-Day Tuesday Bargain Special ) + $0.00 small Buttered Popcorn ( free offer on my movie watcher e-mail reward coupon ) + $4.85 medium Powerade Mountain Berry Blast ( w/ a bit of Fruit Punch flavor mixed-in ) = $11.10
auditorium:  7
seat:  6th row from the front, 6th column from the left

synopsis/overview:  A young orphan named Mowgli ( Neel Sethi ), is rescued by a Black Panther and raised by a pack of Wolves. Later on, he is forced to embark on a journey which will have an indelible effect on him and the jungle creatures close to him.

noteworthy scenes:  1.) "Run with the pack"; 2.) Law of The Jungle; 3.) Water truce; 4.) "No more tricks"; 5.) "Strong odor"; 6.) Promise; 7.) Decision; 8.) Jungle creators; 9.) Ambush; 10.) Stampede; 11.) New clan leader; 12.) Flash flood; 13.) Snake; 14.) Story; 15.) Red Flower; 16.) Payback; 17.) Three spectators; 18.) Harvest; 19.) "Nature's ointment"; 20.) Propaganda; 21.) Hibernation; 22.) Distress call; 23.) "I know he's special. I raised him"; 24.) Rejection; 25.) Abduction; 26.) Bad news; 27.) "A bird! That can't be a good sign"; 28.) Audience with the King; 29.) Flame torch; 30.) "I think they're afraid of something else now"; 31.) Solidarity; 32.) "Fight him like a man"; 33.) Dead tree; 34.) "Anybody teach you to jog"; and 35.) "Now, he can climb."

favorite scene:  I liked the scene wherein the Bear picked-up the Pig.

audience reaction:  The audience liked this movie and gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.

2nd audience reaction: The audience liked this BUT did not give it a "Hands Clapper" ending.

3rd audience reaction:  The audience liked this and gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending.

recommendation:  I liked this movie, too! Go see this movie, and be sure to stay for the Bonus Scenes during the Ending Credits. There's also a dedication to the late Gary Shandling and to some other man at the end of the Ending Credits.

spoiler alert!  I don't know why there was a Black Panther in the movie. A Leopard would have made more sense. But a Lion would have been better in the fight scenes. Pigs don't have sweat glands and would have wallowed in the water at Peace Rock to cool-off. The Tiger was stampeded from its right side; but, then, the whole herd is shown stampeding to the left to get down to the dried river bed. If I were a prey creature, I wouldn't go around making so much noise. Instead of scooping-up water, why didn't he just roll around in the stream? Why couldn't the Panther and the Bear follow his scent? The Tiger should have said, "No fangs," instead of, "No teeth."

fyi: The Black Panther/Jaguar is the 3rd largest cat. The Tiger is the largest. And the Lion is the 2nd largest. But, of all the Tigers, the Siberian Tiger IS the largest! A Lion is still no match for a Tiger. A Lion is like an average man compared to a bodybuilder when you match it in size to a Tiger. And the two have different fighting styles: A Lion is a "puncher" and a Tiger is a "boxer."

During the time of the Roman Empire, Tigers were forced to fight Lions in the arena. The Tigers almost always won the fights.

In India, a pack of stray dogs cornered and attacked a Tiger. The Tiger managed to kill 32 dogs before it was, itself, killed.

Is it just a coincidence or do all Disney bad-guy characters have a scarred face?

I simply am impressed by the animation work in this movie!

word of advice:  There is a Chinese saying: "The Tiger is the most gentle creature in the jungle because it knows it is King."

tidbits:  The King's saggy "man boobs" were very disturbing for me to look at on the Giant Screen! How am I gonna "unwatch" that?

After the movie, I went to the Wal-Mart Super Center in Fairfield to buy a pair of sneakers. But I didn't know that they now close the store at midnight. It used to be open 24 hours.

2nd tidbits:  I went to the Wal-Mart Super Center in American Canyon and bought a pair of sneakers.

3rd tidbits:  Before seeing this movie, I dropped-off some bill payments at the post office. 

Then, I went to the Grocery Outlet Bargain Market to buy a health bar, a jar of chocolate-flavored Peanut Butter, a bottle of Lecithin capsules and a bottle of MSM ( Methyl Sulfunile Methane--for cell-building and for allergies ) capsules.

I went to the Selecta Pilipino Buffet on Springs Road to have lunch and to buy some lottery tickets. I also called my optometrist to set-up an appointment for Friday at 9:30 a.m. because my eyeglasses are making me cross-eyed at times. So much so that I find myself switching eyes as I drive my car!

Then, I went to the Southampton Shopping Center in Benicia to buy a shower curtain liner and some mechanical pencils at the Dollar Tree Store. I also went to the nearby healthfood store to buy a bottle of Olive Leaf Extract and another bottle of Raw Organic Multiple Glandular Supplement. I paid about $34.00 for everything.

And I stopped at the local CSAA to pay my monthly bill for my car insurance. Afterward, I noticed that I still had plenty of time to go home, check my mail box, and drop-off my purchases before the movie started. So, I did just that!

I used a pencil to take movie notes for the first time, today! It was not affected as much as an ink pen would be if there was some popcorn grease on the paper.  But the writing was not as dark as an ink pen's so that it was hard to see what I just wrote during the night scenes.

Some kids in the audience screamed when the Tiger climbed up a tree to chase after Mowgli.


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Q:  What do you get after a forest fire?

A:  Crispy critters!




*

DEMOLITION, EYE IN THE SKY, IT'S A MAD MAD MAD MAD WORLD

R,  1 hr. & 40 min

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I went to see this on Tuesday, April 12th, 2016, in Napa, at the CENTURY NAPA VALLEY AND X-D, for the 8:00 p.m. show in auditorium 6, 4th row from the front, 6th column from the left. The price of admission was $6.50 ( All-Day Bargain Tuesday ). And I bought a Nachos w/ Cheese for $5.40 and a small Lemonade--they don't have Powerade Mountain Berry Blast--for $0.00 ( free on my movie watcher e-mail reward coupon ).

Quickie Review: This movie is about how one man's eccentric way of coping with the untimely loss of his wife affects those around him.

I don't know how the audience reacted to this. Although it did have some funny moments. This is not my kind of movie. You may want to wait to rent this.

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R, 1 hr & 42 min

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I went to see this movie at 10:15 p.m., immediately after I saw, DEMOLITION. I bought a Lite Bites for $6.80 at the concessions counter.

Quickie Review:  This movie deals with the moral issues and legal ramifications of executing a preemptive strike on known terrorists.

You know what I think? If you betray your country, join a terrorist group, and kill many innocent people, you are deserving of the death sentence--and to Hell with "political correctness"!

The audience liked it. I liked it, too. Go see this if you're into Suspense/Thriller type of movies.

I never knew how watching a few loaves of bread could get so suspenseful! What's next, watching paint peel off a wall?

For these two movies, I purposely parked my car at the far end of the parking lot. That way, I would be forced to jog to my car after watching the last movie. I mean, you surely don't want to take your time walking across a dark and lonely parking lot in the middle of the night. Well, do you? But, seriously, I did it so that I could get a little bit of jogging exercise thrown-in.

On my way home, I stopped by the Wal-Mart Super Center in American Canyon, to buy a pair of casual shoes And A Folding Knife w/ Belt Clip. The knife was just for $1.97 before tax. I'm glad that I didn't buy a knife in Chinatown last week!

I also went to the Bicycle Department to browse around. I saw a helmet that I really liked. But I decided to hold-off on buying it.

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G, 3 hr?

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I went to see this movie on Wednesday, April 13th, 2016, in Napa, at the CENTURY NAPA VALLEY AND X-D, in auditorium 10, 2nd row from the front, 6th column from the left.

Quickie Review: A group of strangers try to rescue a dying man. Before the man kicks the bucket--literally!--he tells the group about a hidden stash of cash kept under a "big w" somewhere in a town park. Greed takes over and it soon becomes a winner-take-all mad, mad, mad, mad race to try and get to the cash ahead of the rest.

The audience liked this movie. Some even gave it a "Hands Clapper" ending. I liked it, too. Go see this movie.

There are Bonus Scenes during the Ending Credits.

The first time that I saw this 1963 movie classic was probably around 1966 or so; I could only remember the Fire Ladder scene. A few years later, it was shown on TV; the scene with the Three Stooges stuck out the most.

I liked the entrepreneur's wife, the female officer and the bikini dancer. 'Sorry ....

I googled Santa Rosita Park and learned that it was built specifically for this movie. It was demolished two years ago, sad to say.

As with last night, I parked at the far end so that I could jog back to my car.

I went back to Wal-Mart because I held-off long enough!

I decided to buy the Zefal Reflectorized Bicycle Helmet after all. The selling point for me are the 3 red reflectors in the back.  This helmet is rated for bicycle use only,  but it won't be the first time in my life that I've used such a helmet while riding on a scooter!

I found this on the Internet.

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Besides, a bicycle can go really fast down a hill,  probably faster than my scooter can! So, if it's rated for a bicycle, it should be okay to use on a scooter that goes slower downhill. And I just like the looks of this helmet--if you see it in person and look at it from the side, it kinda looks like the Star Wars' Storm Trooper's helmet.  It will look great on me once I start riding on my scooter again.

In 1984, I bought a blue semi-automatic Honda Passport 70cc scooter. A few months later, after it had stopped raining, I had an accident on it which made me slide on the road face-down.  'Good thing I had a full-face helmet on! Or my "handsomeness" would have been compromised---Ahem!

I found this on the Internet. 

When I took it to the Oakland Honda Motorcycle dealership for inspection,  I noticed a new scooter for sale which came in red and in blue, and which had two back wheels. I was immediately taken by it and decided to trade my 70cc Passport for a red 2-stroke 1984 Honda Gyro NN50MD 50cc. What I lost in cc's, I more than gained back in "cuteness overload".  Sweet ....

The "Gyro" name is actually an acronym for "Great Your Recreation Original"! Something obviously got lost in the translation.  But it sounds better than, "Ygor," which sounds like a hunchbacked horror movie character's name.  If you're very tall and you ride on this scooter, you just might look like a hunchback after all. Ha, ha, ha.

Here's a little bit of 1984 Honda Gyro trivia for you: An ad poster for a red Gyro featured Janet Jackson with it.

I found this on the Internet. I still have to spiff-up my scooter. Mine is exactly the same as this one except that mine came with a rear cargo box. I want to replace the OEM cargo box because its hinges were all molded plastic and now they're of no use. I'll replace it with a cheap one sold on e-Bay for less than 20 bucks.

After a few months of riding my Gyro, I--once again--got into an accident! I rear-ended a car which stopped on a yellow light. I guess the driver didn't know that a yellow traffic light means Floor The Gas Pedal, dammit! It, too, happened right after it had rained--my scooter's brakes were probably still wet from the rain. The front basket was messed-up. But it could have been worse had I not made it a habit of putting a Kryptonite Lock across the basket. I paid the guy $300.oo for the damage done to his rear bumper. I got a replacement basket for my scooter.

I let a girl, whom I was dating in college at the time, borrow my scooter so that she could save up enough money faster for a car. She ended-up rear-ending somebody in a Volvo Station Wagon, of all cars. The car's rear bumper was not even damaged! But the replacement front basket was damaged. I didn't have the basket replaced this second time around. The damage to the basket could've been worse had she not put the Kryptonite Lock across the basket. She also somehow damaged the engine cover--I really don't know how she did it---My best guess it that she rode off a curbside and the rear corner of the engine cover got dragged against the curb. She and I are not in contact anymore.

I'm gonna have to remove the front basket someday, hammer-out the dents, take it to an auto body shop to get sandblasted clean of rust, then give it a nice thick coating of white liquid rubber.  Also, I will need to fix the small access plate's attachment to the underside of the right-side handlebar cover using some liquid weld.

The 1984 Honda Passport 70cc also came with an optional front basket. But the Passport basket is two inches shorter than the Gyro front basket, although the width and depth are identical. I thought about using the Passport's front basket to replace my Gyro's basket until I compared the dimensions between the two of them.  Not only that, but the Passport basket's attachments are at the bottom. Whereas,  the Gyro basket's attachments are in the back--too much extra work to adapt the Passport's basket to my Gyro.

By the way, the Honda Passport/Cub/Super Cub, is still being mass produced to this day. It's a Guinness Book Record Holder for the most vehicles sold. It is being sold these days as a rebadged scooter, the Sym Symba 100cc, and some non-Honda authorized cheap Chinese knock-offs. The Taiwanese Sym company actually produced the Honda Passport/Cub/Super Cub at some time for Honda. I wish I had kept mine because that thing could climb up a hill with ease!

The last time that I rode my Gyro was in September of 1996. Yep, it's practically been 20 years since I last rode it. I stopped riding it because, unlike when my family used to live in East Oakland where there were lots of flat roads for me to go scooting on, there are just too many damn hills here in Vallejo--it actually would be faster for me to walk up a very steep hill than to ride my scooter up the hill!

There's a Honda Motorcycle Dealership here in Vallejo, and it had done maintenance services on my Gyro before. I'm waiting for a response from Scootling, a scooter shop in New Zealand, to see if their Italian-made 70cc Gyro engine upgrade will be compatible with mine. If their 70cc engine isn't compatible with mine, I'll have the local dealership put a performance exhaust on my scooter and, maybe, de-restrict the engine ( if that's possible ) to give it more horsepower, higher top speed and hill-climbing ability. I'm also gonna order a universal windshield for it in Florida. And I'm gonna buy a replacement brake lever for it because the one on it right now has cracked due to "old age". The brake lever is sold in the UK. The UK shop could possibly also locate for me an engine cover and the wheel center caps that I need to really spiff-up my Gyro to near-original specs!

I don't know why I didn't get an original windshield for it when I had the chance. And I don't know why I didn't get a replacement engine cover for it when I still had the chance to do so. If I can't fix the cracked engine cover,  I'll try and fabricate a fiberglass replacement for it.

My Gyro could only go 33 mph on level ground on a warm day. It could go 37 mph downhill, tops. Such mph are very slow, based on today's standards.

In the '70s, a British scooter company came out with the Ariel 3, the Gyro's precursor.  And, just like its successor, both 3-wheelers were not popular with scooterists because of their anemic 50cc engines and their low top speeds which were near-identical.

But the Gyro is still being produced--I think--for the Japanese market. And there are places in the world where Gyros are raced against each other. I hope that the 70cc upgrade will fit mine.

My particular Gyro was only produced in small numbers for 1984. The 1985 and 1986 models are completely different in design. The Honda Gyro only had a 3-year run in the United States. So, the 1984 Gyro is considered a rare classic and would fetch a handsome price from an appreciative collector if it's in excellent condition and it has low mileage on it. My scooter only has a little over a thousand miles on the odometer! But I don't know if I'll part with mine. Although I must say that I live in a not-so-good part of town and my Gyro might just end-up being targeted by would-be thieves, like my 1994 Geo Metro was.

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