Queen of Dreams Radio
Posts Tagged ‘Movies’
So, I don’t know what rock I’ve been hiding out under, but a few months ago, we toodled over to the Fairview shopping center to go to a movie, which ended up NOT to be the correct movie theater. The theater I thought was the correct location was not even open yet. It turned out to be the new Gold Class Cinema. I didn’t even bother to check it out as I thought it was just another new movie jaunt.
Apparently, my inner navigation knew I was meant to go there – eventually. Miss Debbie gave us a gift card for what I can only describe as a movie watching experience. One you will want to have for yourself at least once before you die – or many, many more times!
When I opened the card, I was shocked at the value of it – $100. I thought, ‘Wow, that will buy a lot of movies!’ Well, as it turns out, that’s not completely true because this isn’t just any movie theater.
This is the first class ticket equivalent for movie theaters.
When Mark and I went to see Inception last Friday night, we pulled up right next to a Bentley. Next to that, a rare Lexus, next to that a top-dollar Escalade. Hmmm, what’s going on here?
Let’s put it this way…this is the way to watch a movie. But it is not cheap. It isn’t SUPER expensive, either, though so hang in there with me.
We entered into the theater lobby that contained just two long staircases and two escalators. Everything was pristine, clean and stunning. The first thing I noticed as we stepped into the lobby was how cold it was in there despite a two-story building glass wall facing west at 4 in the afternoon and 108 degree Texas weather outside. Wow.
When we arrived at the ticket counter, the environment took on what Mark called an “airport bar” feel. I would say it was super chic, uptown style with modern accents. The staff was dressed in black and all were stunningly, model gorgeous. If the movie American Gigolo holds any of your memory’s brain cells, then you get the drift. Perfection.
We originally planned to go see Eat, Pray Love, but with theaters that only hold 40 people, two of the shows were already sold out. We settled on Inception, which friends told us was amazing. The tab for two tickets: $50.
Since we had a couple of hours before our show, we decided to have dinner. We ordered the sliders and a buffalo chicken sandwich. The sliders were $16 bucks for two sliders that were larger than most of the ones we’ve ever had (think Chili’s where they are two bites at most). These sliders were AMAZING and were a good five or six bites. The buffalo chicken sandwich was huge, but we didn’t like it as much. Then, we celebrated my birthday again (after all it was a birthday gift!) with Death by Chocolate… one of the BEST chocolate cakes we’ve ever had, and YES, we are chocolate cake experts. 
A cup of coffee, a glass of milk and we polished off that $100 gift card in less than two hours. We even added five bucks to what was left for the tip. **Note: Gold Class Cinemas has specials during the week, so go and have fun at a price that works for you!
So, let’s see… was it worth it? YES!
By the time we got to dessert, the frigid AC was beginning to make me feel like I was sitting in a sub zero freezer. Mark was in heaven as he is so hot natured. Ladies, take a sweater or don’t wear shorts and a tank top with a little wrap like I did.
We walked in and the 40 seats are actually recliners that go all the way back. Sandy, the bartender, told us that some people cover up with the blankets and actually fall asleep! I can see why because when we got to our seats, I curled up in my blanket and got oh so comfy! We sat in the front row, just 25 feet from the screen and it was amazing. WOW – yes, this is something even the most frugal person MUST experience! For us, we will definitely be going back!
Thanks, Debbie! And, thanks, too, for encouraging us to GO and have fun rather than saving it for a rainy day. That hot August day was the PERFECT day to go chill – literally!
P.S. I know you can order food for inside the theater, but I’m not sure how that would work out…we enjoyed eating dinner before the show. When I went to the bathroom midway through the movie, I noticed that a LOT of people enjoy their cocktails…one couple had a whole bottle of wine!
Looking for a Dream Life:
I’m so excited about this movie!!! I can’t WAIT! I have a very distant memory (but its never too late) of hearing about the book the inspired the movie (YEAH – it’s WRITTEN and DIRECTED by Nora Ephron!!!! – *Happy* DAYS!), but I just saw the trailer, and am SUPER excited now to read the book AND see the movie.
I have always loved biographies…learning about how people follow their dreams, how they drive through their fears, and this movie has lots on both.
The woman who wrote the book that inspired this gem is Julie Powell. She writes on her blog… From dead-end secretarial job to a 110-pound dog and a job writing in my pajamas… this is the story of Julie.
Here’s the movie trailer – see for yourself! Oh, and here’s a link to Julie’s book, too. Yeah for you Julie! And, for me, next stop – your book!
From an Amazon Review…
Julie & Julia is the story of Julie Powell’s attempt to revitalize her marriage, restore her ambition, and save her soul by cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I, in a period of 365 days. The result is a masterful medley of Bridget Jones’ Diary meets Like Water for Chocolate, mixed with a healthy dose of original wit, warmth, and inspiration that sets this memoir apart from most tales of personal redemption.
When we first meet Julie, she’s a frustrated temp-to-perm secretary who slaves away at a thankless job, only to return to an equally demoralizing apartment in the outer boroughs of Manhattan each evening. At the urging of Eric, her devoted and slightly geeky husband, she decides to start a blog that will chronicle what she dubs the "Julie/Julia Project." What follows is a year of butter-drenched meals that will both necessitate the wearing of an unbearably uncomfortable girdle on the hottest night of the year, as well as the realization that life is what you make of it and joy is not as impossible a quest as it may seem, even when it’s -10 degrees out and your pipes are frozen.
When I was little, my mom would pack my brother and me up and head to the movies. It wasn’t every week for this single mom, but it was at least a couple of times per month.
My mom says raising me was like trying to parent a little old lady. I totally can relate as parenting Chance – even from the time he was so little – was like being in the room with a little old man. That said, one day my mom took us to see A Star is Born, and right in the middle of some love scene, I leaned over and said, “Mom, this isn’t an appropriate movie for kids to see.” I was just eight at the time.
Now, looking back, I can see how she could be torn between reaching out for a taste of magic and being hit right in the face of being the 28-year old single mother of two children. I could sense the difference in my mother after the movie, though. She seemed lighter, happier, reset in some sort of very good way.
It would be many years later that I would begin to know what my mother found in the movies. I can remember vividly going to the movies to find that ‘feeling’ of ‘total possibility.’ I would pay my $3.25 and practically run into the movie to drink in all the feelings of ‘yes, this too is possible for you.’ I even wrote reviews for my school newspaper in 8th grade. Describing the fine points of each movie in almost excruciating detail, loving the movies so very much.
In my mid 20s, I went to see a movie…some chick flick I can’t even recall. I remember feeling so depressed. Where was my magical feeling of ‘anything is possible?’ Where did it go? At the time, I was married to my first husband and we would pick apart the story lines. This didn’t make sense, and who could even BELIEVE that plot? I would talk to my mother about movies and she would say, “Geez, Tina, can’t you just go to a movie and WATCH it? Does a movie have to be so complicated?” I didn’t tie two and two together (my feeling of depression to being overly analytical) until many, many years later.
Her simple nature was bumping up against my big brain – the intellectual side of me that is quick, keen on seeing patterns, strategic for sure, and hungry for a challenge. The truth was, my life had lost its magic and its challenge. I was bored on many levels, and everything reflected it – including the movies.
Jet forward nearly 15 years (don’t you love hindsight?) and about eight months ago, as I laid in bed half meditating and half wondering about things. I wondered…where is the magic of the movies I had when I was a kid? I so want to feel that feeling again. I began to notice how I felt when I would watch a movie. The anticipation of the delicious nature of it, the enthusiasm for the feelings I would get from it, and ultimately whether or not these matched up with what actually happened. Little by little, I could feel the magic coming back. For one, I reached more and more for movies that make me laugh. For silly, ‘not thinking’ kind of movies, and those about romance. I’ll share more about what guidance I also received about capturing the magic in another post.
The result is that I’ve been in my spirit a majority of the time, and I am happy to say that I just got back from seeing Monsters VS. Aliens and that feeling is BACK! I laughed so easily at the jokes – even the jokes in the previews for upcoming movies – and that delicious feeling of magic enveloped me. At various moments I had thoughts of the people who created this movies and how much work they must have done, but how proud they must be. And another of how grateful I am for this amazing feeling of being uplifted!
As we got up to leave, I realized that it is like the book Polar Express … the magic doesn’t leave us, we leave the magic. The magic is always there – the connection to that feeling is always calling to us, always asking us to come home – because that magic is who we really are. When we are apart from that magic, we are disconnected from that love, that magical sense of possibility. And, that is why movies are a great reminder of what is possible…even outside the movies.
Oh, and mom…I’m not over-thinking the simplistic plot, the formulaic monsters (taken from old favorites from the fifties), the reference points to other alien-type movies put out by Spielberg (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and the improbability of monsters captured by the U.S. Government being set free. Nope…I’m just staying with the magic. And it feels GREAT!
Monsters VS. Aliens, DreamWorks Pictures