So we went to see 12 Years a Slave and I had meant to secure tickets at the Walker for Wednesday but I slipped up in my wifely planning ahead duties and it was sold out. So the next available showing that worked for us was today in Uptown and previously I've avoided the Uptown area as it's not a favorite of mine. I have my reasons, and they are many. However we decided to give it another go since it's been awhile.
We first hit up one of my favorite places for a slice, Mesa Pizza. Now being a U of M alum, Mesa was a staple of my college diet and every time I'm near campus I try to work in a stop. I've long been a fan of the Steak and French Fry and lately the Triple Smoked to snack on with my usual Orange Fanta. However I've never been to the Uptown location and was hopeful the same variety was available.
The Uptown location reminds me of what the Dinkytown location used to look like in my college days pre-remodel and expansion. It's about as big with just two tables and a bar with barstools lining the perimeter. However since we happened upon the joint at 3pm it was thankfully mostly deserted. Plenty of space to sit and munch and to take photos of my food and not be judged.
I asked for anything with BBQ sauce and was presented with Pulled Pork and Crispy Fried Onions which I have not yet tried! Their BBQ sauce is a delicious tangy and spicy balance and is the same they use on their Steak and French Fry and Triple Smoked slices. The pulled pork was extremely tender and well shredded on each slice. I was apprehensive about the fried onions, but they were absolutely delicious and unlike the french fries on the Steak and French Fry slices, extremely crispy and added a pleasant crunch to a mostly soft mouthful. I think I might have a new favorite! Yea it doesn't photograph well :)
Todd was looking for his favorite, the Buffalo Chicken but they were all out. Instead he opted to try the Spicy Chicken and Chicken Burrito Slices (two slices, what a fatty, right?). The spicy chicken had a lot of veggies and a hot sauce on top that Todd extremely enjoyed. However the Chicken Burrito was a bit of a disappointment. The burrito had a base of rice and beans besides crust which added up to a lot of dry carbs and besides the melted cheese there was no sauce. A nice, spicy green enchilada sauce would have added a lot to the taste and palatability. Any sauce really would have been nice.
We headed over a half hour early for our 4 o'clock movie at the Uptown Theatre. I have not been to this theatre yet as I prefer the West End Showplace Icon and Walker but wanted to give it a go. Going early proved to be a rather big mistake as the theatre is closed for cleaning prior to and a rather large crowd had gathered in the lobby to the point of claustrophobia. A rather talkative old women slowly backed me into a trashcan and about gauged out my eyes throwing her hands up in crazy gestures while talking. There really was no reason to arrive early for us since I had purchased my tickets online and there's assigned seating.
Now when I have a somewhat bad experience I often wonder whether it was the result of the random chance visit or a regular situation at a given place. In this particular case I tend to think it was a little of both for various reasons.
Our seats were not where they had appeared to be on the seating diagram online when I had chosen them, but that was of minor circumstance. The real frustration was the crowd. The audience was annoying and rude through-out. Besides the usual theatre occurrence of latecomers we had ushers in the middle of the aisles with flashlights looking at tickets well past the previews. I'm not understanding as to why this was being done in the aisles and not at the doors. It was over two hours but the amount of people getting up and in front and going behind us was ridiculous. The people passing behind us constantly grabbed at our headrests to our seats to use as guide rails which would jerk our heads down suddenly and violently. A man two rows ahead answered his phone, mid-movie and luckily for me someone else yelled at him, although I was adrenaline-rush mad for minutes afterwards. But mostly it was the annoyance how every squeak and creak echoed in the auditorium.
The theatre seems to have no stereo sound nor sound buffering one is accustomed to in a regular cinema. Because of this every single noise and sound around you is much more noticeable and distracting. The sound at points was also very difficult to hear, but also I'm slightly hard of hearing so that could have been the case as well I freely admit. Dang rock music in my youth.
The movie however was powerful, intense and very moving. I highly recommend it, I'm not much of a film reviewer but I was very impressed with the quality of the acting and directing. Even what would normally be considered stock footage of waves in water, and rain falling down came across as extremely intense and powerful. I felt like I was being mentally tested at times with scenes that made me squirm in unpleasant tension for what seemed like far too long in a very realistic way. Techniques in handling torture can be found here, might come in handy while watching. But trust me, it's completely worth it and for more than just social awareness.
So in short I loved the film, I disliked the theatre and I just in general have an irritation with everything Uptown. I hate the parking situation down there, the crowds and the mobs of insufferable hipsters. One particular trendy male in his black The North Face jacket and hipster glasses caught Todd's particular wrath when he sashayed lazily in front of our car diagonally across the street, Starbucks in hand. 'What the hell is he doing drinking that at 6:40 at night?" I don't know, Todd but he looks sure damn cool doing it.
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