Related Recs

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The Roxy

Staying at the Roxy in NY (formerly the Tribeca Grand) is akin to being on an elegant cruise in Manhattan. It’s my home away from home in the city. Everything is there: from live jazz in the massive atrium lobby with the glass elevator zipping up and down and the divine food and drinks (I recommend the lobster roll and a mescal cocktail) in recessed leather booths shaped like teacups, to the gorgeous red velvet theater below - which offers the best films on screen in Manhattan - curated by the brilliant Illyse Singer. After attending a killer film and fascinating Q&A, retreat to the Django, the speakeasy next door, which stays open til 4AM and is often where the hottest underground music acts play… What else could you ask for? 

@ondi-timoner

Jan 16, 2025

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Shaker square cinemas aka the old colony theater in shaker heights, oh

I have another indie theater that I prefer because it’s cozier, has better vibes, is much closer to me, and everybody who works there is genuinely passionate about film. It’s not really anything special visually but it’s a beautiful institution and it’s so fun to be there ❤️ But this one is an old art deco theatre designed by architect John Eberson (he designed Loew’s Paradise in the Bronx and the Paradise Theatre in Chicago)! It’s pretty run down/poorly managed and staffed but it’s a gorgeous building and definitely worth visiting. Not my photos but included for illustrative purposes!!

@taterhole

Nov 14, 2024

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letting me mansplain cinema film formats

Buckle up, kkelmyss. There are two film formats still projected in theaters today: 35mm and 70mm (aka 65mm). 35mm was repurposed from Kodak's 135 photographic film standard. Instead of running the film horizontally behind the lens, it was run vertically. This enabled more exposures per foot of film at less resolution. But as cinema grew in popularity, the desire for cleaner images and higher resolutions also grew. Larger exposure area was necessary to achieve this. Cinerama was a cumbersome, yet impressive, short-lived solution. This standard required three synchronized 35mm cinema cameras to record the movie and three synchronized 35mm projectors to display the three separate film reels as one large-format ultra-wide image. Insane and beautiful. VistaVision was a simpler solution. It simply rotated the 35mm film 90 degrees and ran it horizontally behind the lens like still cameras. This significantly increased the exposure area and thus the resolution. VistaVison was only relevant for about 10 years but laid the groundwork for future innovation. The format was famously used by ILM for its renowned special effects, starting with Star Wars. And was resurrected last year to film The Brutalist. 70mm was the straight forward answer to increasing exposure area—just make the film bigger. This standard was run vertically past the lens like standard 35mm and offered nearly double the resolution. 65mm film is actually used for shooting and the finished movie is transferred to 70mm film for projecting. The terms are used interchangeably because they both contribute the finished product. Lawrence of Arabia is a notable film shot using 70mm to accommodate its ultra-wide vistas. IMAX 70mm took inspiration from VistaVision. It rotates 70mm film 90 degrees and runs it horizontally behind the lens further increasing the exposure area and putting it within spitting distance of medium format photography. These are big-ass exposures. It's dramatically more expensive to shoot and project movies in this format. But it produces a gorgeous high-resolution image. And gives Christopher Nolan a huge hardon. Acquisition formats vary for movies. But when it comes to projection, there are predominantly only two film formats today. You're most likely to find a standard 35mm projector at your local independent theater. IMAX 70mm is the other and it's even rarer. Standard 70mm projection rarer still.

@lucius

Feb 11, 2025

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Top Recs from @duanereadeofficial

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Group Athletics/Activities

Sometime in 2018, back when the world was our oyster and NYC offered a Cheesecake Factory length menu of places to drink alcohol with friends and strangers alike, I lost interest in activities. ‘Activities?’ You may ask, ‘What do you mean by that?’ I’m talking card games, tennis, gingerbread house making, dodgeball, chess, you name it.  Now that bars slam their doors shut at 11 pm, I have been forced to refind the joy of games, crafts, challenges and group athletics. A game of pickup sticks among friends is actually an exciting change of pace from spending too much money on martinis till too late at night. Thursday afternoon kickball is a great way to get some sun and take out some pent up aggression. Activities forces you to put in effort and organize with friends as well as frequently pits you against them, strengthening bonds and competitive tension in a way that adds a little spice into your social life.

@duanereadeofficial

Mar 18, 2021

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Investing in Jordans

A month or so ago, I was with my good friend L.A. at a (party) non-super spreader intimate gathering where we discovered we were the same shoe size. At that exact moment (around 3 am probably), I was wearing Uggs and L.A. a pair of Kelly Green low Jordan 1s. The saying is true you know, that the grass is always greener on the other side, so we swapped shoes. The minute I put on the J’s something within me changed. The womb like body of the shoe around my feet, the effortlessly cool attitude, the feeling that I knew something other girls didn’t. I couldn’t take them off. I held on to them for a sheepish week before handing them back to their rightful owner and embarking on my search for my own perfect pair. It took me a while to learn the ins and outs of jordanism and to really pin point which style would really reflect my inner soul, but last Monday (March, 8th, 2021) I received my Air Jordan 1s SE Voltage Yellow sneakers from GOAT.com and ever since I’ve been standing taller and balling harder.

@duanereadeofficial

Mar 18, 2021

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Cupping (via Groupon)

The other day, I met up with a pal to get some coffee, I began to tell her all about the spring weather induced “health kick” I had enacted upon (which entails solely swapping breakfast pastries for acai bowls). I then fell into complaining about my back and somehow found myself saying, “I don’t know man, maybe I should get like cupped or something.” The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I was onto something. In another subconscious act of genius, my thumbs typed in groupon to my phone. I quickly navigated the mobile site (I haven’t used Groupon in years of course I don’t have the app) and found myself a coupon for a 16$ cupping session in Chinatown, 2 minutes later and a slightly confusing phone call later, I was scheduled for an 11:30am appointment the next day. I arrived at a terrifyingly tiny office on the second floor of a condominium building, filled with dozens of tiny old ladies speaking Mandarin. Eventually I was led into a tiny cubicle where hot glass vases were suctioned on to my back for ten minutes in order to move my chi( ?? ) After the treatment was over I began a plethora of google searching to understand what magic had just been enacted upon my mortal corpse. I’m still not quite sure what cupping is suppose to do but it did leave chic little octopus kiss-esk bruises on my back which make everyone think I’m an athlete.

@duanereadeofficial

Mar 18, 2021