We Are Alone.

Good morning, ladies & gents.  At least, it's morning right now as I type this...it may not be to you now as you read.  Anyway, there are just a few things I felt like chatting about on this gloomy day.  (It's about to start raining at any moment here in Austin.)

First of all, the new Alamo Drafthouse location on Slaughter Lane is in the process of training their new servers so, this week, they're showing films that are almost out of theaters or about to be available on DVD and Blu-ray for just $2!  Yesterday afternoon Jason and I went to see Melancholia and check out the new location.  When you first walk inside the building, your eyes are immediately attracted to the awesome 'Alamo' sign above the ticket counter/box office.  It's made to look like it's cracked in half and the top is falling off to the side, sort of how the Titanic looked in vertical position as it was beginning to sink and people were sliding down it.  But the coolest parts of the sign are these eel-like green monsters coming out of the wall behind the sign.  These monsters are actually coming out of all of the walls in the main lobby area of the theater.  Pretty schweet.  However, that's pretty much the coolest part of the lobby area.  Other than that, it resembles your run-of-the-mill Cinemark or Tinseltown unfortunately.  It just doesn't have that Alamo Drafthouse character that you get at the other locations.  Inside of the actual theater where you watch the film looks pretty much the same though, except for one change of design.  Instead of long, counter-like tables that barricade everyone in which is sucky if you suddenly have to pee because you have to crawl under the table/counter (bad for dresses, skirts, tall people and/or those who do not like touching a dirty cinema floor), they decided to go with individual tables per every two seats.  This is much better because now there's a gap through which to exit when you feel you've completely filled your bladder with whatever beer was on the "Badass Tap" that night.

The menu is the same as the one at South Lamar, aside from a few different beverage options.  I tried the Circle Brewing Texas Hefe, a safe choice because I'll drink any Hefeweizen.  Jason ordered a pint of the Jester King rotating, but was sorely disappointed when he was served a barley wine, Old Guardian.  We brushed it off though since it was just the third day of training for the new hires.  We were both pretty happy with the large popcorn we shared, drizzled with melted butter and sprinkled with parmesan and romano cheeses.  Yum!

Photo credit: magpictures.com/melancholia

About the film, Melancholia.  I absolutely loved it.  It is by far one of the most emotional, as well as
one of the most beautiful, films I've ever seen.  It focuses on Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and their not-so-great relationship, mostly due to Justine's manic depression.  The severity of Justine's disease parallels the threat to life on Earth as the small, blue planet Melancholia moves closer and closer to our atmosphere.  My only complaints are that it is a little slow-moving at times, and I feel some things aren't explained quite as well as they could be.  However, it is breathtaking, though-provoking and extremely powerful, especially in the final moments.

Photo credit:  magpictures.com/melancholia