Do: Outdoor Cinema at Gasolina

I love outdoor cinemas.  They are right up there with toasted marshmallows, rainbows and sleep-ins.  When we were in Australia, every summer we would head to the outdoor cinema at least once.  We would collect a bunch of friends, pack a picnic, blanket and a bottle of wine, head down to the gardens to watch a classic film.  Those evenings were some of my favourites.  

To be honest, outdoor cinemas are a terrible way to watch movies.  Sitting still (or at least trying to) on the ground for 2 hours is uncomfortable; your view will almost inevitably be obscured by one or more heads; and the sound quality is generally rubbish.  Really, a cinema is a much better place to see the latest blockbuster.  But even so, there's something about sitting on the grass watching a movie outside that makes me extremely happy.

So, of course, it was only natural that I wanted to check out the Flicks 3 Open Air Cinema at Gasolina. Unfortunately we couldn't make it for their first event a few weeks ago, but on Friday we decided to have a date night and check it out. 

There are a few rules for choosing a film to watch in the outdoors:

1.  Don't go to a film with subtitles.  This is because, as mentioned above, there will almost inevitably be someone's head smack bang in the middle of where you are trying to read.  I learnt this the hard way watching The Beuna Vista Social Club.  Other than the subtitles, it's the perfect film to watch outdoors, but I spent the whole moving craning my neck to peer around the people sitting in front of me to figure out what was being said.

2.  Don't choose a movie with a complex plot.  The outdoors are distracting.  Plus people do not feel the same responsibility to be quiet when watching a movie outside.  So don't watch anything that requires concentration.

3.  Do see something you've seen before and loved.  Then it won't matter that you can only see half the screen, that you can't hear half the dialogue and that the people in front of you keep moving about every 5 minutes to refill their wine glasses (okay, so they probably don't actually get up every 5 minutes... but trust me, it feels like it).

4.  Do see a classic film.  They just work, I could watch Breakfast at Tiffany's at the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne a million times over.

So, as you can imagine, I was pretty happy that the first movie on Friday was Top Gun.  We rocked up reasonably early and grabbed one of the lovely daybeds.

As you know, I'm a fan of Gasolina.  Unfortunately, the menu has changed and the BBQ is not as good as it used to be.  On the movie night they offered a limited menu of salads and pastas, all of which were $5.  We demolished a linguine carbonara and a Ceaser salad before the movie began.  We then sat back with a Mojito and enjoyed the film (Mojitos make up for just about all the failings of outdoor cinemas listed above).

The Flicks 3 has all the shortcomings of any other outdoor cinema (especially the poor sounds quality), plus the centre of BKK isn't really dark enough and the were plenty of mosquitos.  So, you know, they're not exactly the perfect conditions for watching a movie.  But being curled up on a daybed, sipping mojitos in the cool evening air made it worthwhile.

More people turned up for the second movie.  A lot more.  It became quite cosy and  there was a distinct shortage of comfy spots.  The Flicks 3 could do with a bit of tweaking (more cushions, better sound and a non-smoking area), but it's certainly a nice way to while away a warm evening.

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