When you settle in to catch a flick at home, you typically like things just so: Your couch and your pillows and your treats and the socks you always wear when you watch a film and your go-to beverage. And you always check the thermostat to make sure your experience is not too chilly and not too warm.
There is no thermostat on the Pacific Ocean, the kind we can walk up to and fiddle with, so joining the fun at the Front Porch Cinema series is all about planning ahead. In other words, layering or at least packing a jacket.
The series is now firmly in the must-do, annual-sweet tradition category at Santa Monica Pier, a capper to the all of the summer cinema series that pop up around town. And our Southern California summer, of course, pretty much keeps on keepin' on, right through Halloween.
On the four-night, free-free-free docket for 2015? "Big Hero 6" opens up the outdoor movie watching good timez on Friday, Oct. 9, and "Ghostbusters" rounds it out on Friday, Oct. 30. "The Imitation Game" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" round out the middle part of the month.
Eat|See|Hear, that summertime alfresco movie outfit, and Fandango, that indoor movie ticketing-plus outfit, are pairing up to make this all happen, for you, for no cash. Did you miss the "free-free-free" part in the last paragraph? Three frees in a row is what we dealt ya, to drive the point home. You'll only need to pay for parking or the bus or treats.
And speaking of treats, there are pre-show cocktails to buy, and "small bites," at the Cinema Lounge, so arrive a bit early.
There's one extra evening, on Oct. 15, and its Lunafest, a night of short films "by, for, and about women." Details? They're here.
The Scene
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We weren't joshing in the whole "wee throw blanket" or "extra jacket" department. LA's summer may still be trucking -- weekend one of Front Porch Cinema will see temps again nudging the 90s -- but the Pacific has a knack for taking the edge of even the toastiest of days come nightfall.
The screen, by the by, is inflatable, so watching "Big Hero 6," with its inflatable hero (♥Baymax♥) feels right.
