double feature
11.3.10Although it may seem a bit like all I do during my free time is eat out and go see movies, my recent cinematic excursions are really not all that frequent. I followed up last week's film, Last Train Home with The Last Station, which although featuring rail travel was considerably different in theme but still brought me to tears in the darkened theatre.
The movie (this time accompanied by miss sarah) was preceded with dinner. Eats were procured at local establishment Phobulous, which was selected more for its convenient location directly across from the Garneau Theatre.
I don't dislike Phobulous, the decor is pleasant and the service decent (although the waitress did not appreciate my attempts to pronounce the items on the menu). However, when I first arrived the place smelled disturbingly of chlorine, almost overpoweringly so. But the food arrived quickly and really there's not much you can do to screw up a rice vermicelli bowl. Plus it is right across from the theatre, so once we were finished all we had to do was walk over and buy our tickets (no line that night), all with time to spare.
We were the first to arrive in the theatre, so for a few minutes we had the place entirely to ourselves. Unlike the bloated cineplexes that have 12 theatres in them, the Garneau is an old style movie house (not unlike the theatre I grew up with), with one giant room that boasts ample seating. We had our pick of any spot in the house, but we elected to remain on the lower level this time as we sat in the upper level when we watched Crazy Heart with Tom a couple weeks ago.
Some of the seats are a bit creaky (not unlike the Metro), but these theatres have a character to them that the other theatres can't compare to. The Garneau may be a bit tired in places, but I love going to see movies there. I wish that more theatres these days had kept with the dramatic flourish of pulling back the velvet curtain to reveal the screen.
I'm so glad that when I sold the condo that I didn't move very far. I had grown rather fond of my location and if anything I've improved on it. The view from my apartment may not be as exciting, but where I live is quieter, it's closer to the High Level Bridge and two parks. If I had a bike I could probably make it from my apartment to the Garneau in five minutes. There's even a new coffee shop opening up beside the theatre. It would have been really hard giving up this convenient location for somewhere else in the city. I don't know where I would go if I ever had to move again.
The new building is also a bit more inviting at night. There is usually at least one household that is still awake when I arrive home late. Whether my neighbours are as friendly as the old building has yet to be seen.
I like the simplicity of a night out at the Garneau. It's a quick jaunt across the bridge, so if I wanted to I could make up my mind last minute to see a show and walk over without having to coordinate transportation. It's never too fussy there. The films are generally ones that I wouldn't be able to see in other theatres and I'm usually delighted by the varying styles of cinematography and the lack of huge explosions onscreen. Plus, they don't judge when you pay almost entirely in dimes.
and yes, that's what I did.
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