Winter, Movies and Shoes. Oh My!

Winter hit the Triangle hard this week. It was twenty degrees when I left the house this morning which is not sleep in the carcass of a dead horse cold, but chilly all the same. And what better way to spend a cold winter night than at the movies?

Cary's First Flurries of 2016

When the Academy Award nominations came out, I was shocked to learn that I had seen four of the eight best picture nominees.  Because of one of my new favorite places, Frank's, I have become a semi-cinephile. Since I am already half way there, I am going to try to see all eight nominees.  And from the aforementioned horse carcass, the astute reader may have guessed my fifth Oscar potential was Revenant staring Mrs. Tom Brady's ex-beau, Leonardo DiCaprio

Revenant a great movie, but out of the seven movies I've seen over the past year it is not my top pick.

Here is my list so far:

7. Bridge of Spies - I would describe this movie as perfectly serviceable, like a pair of Dansko work clogs.  Well made, well acted and a good story, but it lacks pizzazz. Definitely watch at home material.  

They will save your feet.

6. Heart of the Sea - If we are going to stick with the shoe analogy, and why not, I am going to go with some sparkly spiked heeled Jessica Simpsons. The CGI is flashy and looks great, so it is definitely the kind of movie to go out for, but the quality of the story is lacking so it is not something that is going to last. (The Heart of the Sea is one of Yankee's favorite books, and he was very disappointed in the movie interpretation, so he puts this movie at a distant last. Having never read it, that was not an issue for me.)

Flashy and worth wearing - at least once.

5. The Martian -  Toms. Definitely Toms. They are fun, uber comfortable, and make your heart happy wearing them.  Matt Damon was lovable as always. The film makes you feel like humans have actually walked on mars and because of this I give it a 'Worth Going to the Theater' recommendation.

Oh so wearable

4. The Big Short - I am think a great pair of Kate Spades here. They seem very conservative and even a bit everyday, but they are really very fine, special shoes. I think in delivering the impossible, this movie went even beyond the whale in The Heart of the Sea and the bear mauling in Revenant. This movie made the financial meltdown entertaining and almost understandable. It was interesting, funny and frightening all at the same time. Plus Ryan Gosling and Brad Pitt in the same movie? Worth the price of admission right there.

Simple. Timeless.

3. Revenant - Think Frye boots here. The attention to detail is unmatched in a movie/shoe that is readily available to the masses, and it has a longevity none of the other movies have.  In the same way that you can look fabulous wearing a pair of Campus boots from 1975, this movie will be watchable for decades to come. Even with a great story and high caliber acting, the true star of the film was without a doubt, the cinematography, and not just for the huge majestic mountain scenes, but also the stunning beauty and realism of the bear mauling. Because of this, Revenant is a must-see-on-the-big-screen film.

Just as beautiful and stylish as the day they were made 40 years ago.

2. Straight Outta Compton  - Converse All Stars have been around for almost a century and are very affordable and yet, when you see someone wearing them, you know that is a cool person. The same goes for the story of NWA - cool, very cool. This film successfully tells a very interesting story, with good writing, acting and music.  Sadly it had no chance of being nominated since the entertainment business is portrayed as, well, less than stellar.

Cool. Cool. Cool.

1. Mad Max: Fury Road - A fabulous, funky pair of Marc Jacobs. If you have not seen it, don't laugh at my number one pick. This movie has it all -  a strong story, almost non-stop action, and stunning cinematography. This is the kind of movie that movie theaters were made for. I saw it at the theater and recently watched it at home, and I like it so much I would probably watch it again.

They have it all - quality, beauty and pizzazz!

If I see any of the other nominees, I will be sure to let you know what its spirit shoe is.

Cary's Newest Movie Theater

I hate going to movies. It is extremely rare that I go to any movie that does not have the words Harry Potter in the name. It's not that I don't like movies, because I love me some celluloid entertainment. It is the theater part I hate, in particular it is that one person in every movie who talks constantly or plays games on his phone or  eats candy covered in crinkly wrappers. For some reason those people always choose to sit right next to me or behind me. I guess it is the downside of my magnetic personality.

The reason I was willing to go to a movie in the first place.

Yesterday, though, I was so desperate to get away from our box filled home, that I suggested we go to the  Frank Theater's Cinebowl and Grill that recently opened at Parkside Town Commons in West Cary.  After Yankee got over his shock, he jumped at the chance (he is just as sick of boxes as I am).

Let me just tell you, Frank's is not your typical movie going experience. The difference started when I went online to buy tickets. They have assigned seating. The front to rows are the Rockers and the rest of the theater are Dine & Recline. We went for Dine & Recline not because we particularly wanted to dine or recline, but because we did not want to sit in the front two rows. It was a matinee, so Dine & Recline was $10 as opposed to the Rockers which were $8. At night they are $10 & $12 and on the weekend the Dine & Recline shoots up to a stunning $15. If you order your tickets online, there is a $1.25 service charge per ticket, so then you are looking at $16.25 for a movie (a bug-eyed smiley face emoji would be perfect here). Once you get to the theater, you go to machine and swipe your credit card to get your tickets.

Just a word about the building itself. As the name implies, it is not just a movie theater. There is a bar and grill, a bowling alley and an arcade. We did not use any of those options, but they looked nice.  There is a traditional box office where you can buy tickets and concessions. The theater is not huge. The two rows of rockers look like a typical theater, but that is where typical stops. the rest of the theater is made up of sections of big, cushy chairs that almost fully recline. The way the theater is designed you have tons of personal space so talkers/texters just are not an issue. Each chair has a little table that swings into place in front of it with a menu sitting on it. A server comes by to see if you want any food. We ordered sliders, and OMG they were delicious.

So once we scarfed down the sliders, we settled down to watch Straight Out of Compton.  It was a great movie. There was one thing that that was driving me crazy during the whole movie though, and it was not talking or texting. It was the fact that the actor playing Ice Cube looked exactly like Ice Cube. I don't mean he resembled him a little, I mean it was like they went back in time and plucked a young Ice Cube out of the late '80's and brought him back to play himself. It was freaky. I commented on this to Yankee after the movie, and he told me it was because the actor is his son.

I think it would be really weird to play your dad in a movie about his life. First of all, that actress you are snuggling up with is playing your mom. Awkward.  Thank goodness, she was one of the few women in the movie who was not topless. And the scene where there are two little kids playing in the back ground? One of those kids is you and the other is your sibling. Weird.

Anyway, I have to say this was the best movie going experience I have ever had. I think now that I know how fabulous Franks is, I will probably see more than two movies a year.