Columbia City
Saturday night, Susan and I hired Nana to babysit so we could do the dinner-and-a-movie thing down the road in the Columbia City neighborhood. An excellent meal, complete with wine, appetizer, pasta, and desert was had at La Medusa. We crossed the street to take in Michael Mann’s latest men-at-work flick, Collateral, at the new Columbia City Cinema. Wow. What a great theater. Bigger than expected, this newly created “old” movie house inside an old lodge feels like the Harvard Exit but more comfortable and not so musty. It may feel like an art house, but the programming is decidedly first-run Hollywood, which is a bit disappointing. However, with the way most art houses have disappeared over the last decade, showing Hollywood will likely improve its survivability. (Oh, and Collateral wasn’t too shabby, either. Quite thrilling up until the final act at which point the tight narrative flew into the stratosphere in the traditional Hollywood way, that is, the hero wins and gets the girl.)
It sure is nice to have good restaurants and a movie theater within walking distance. Now, if we could only get out of the house more often…