Presented as part of their Dinner & A Movie Series
Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm, June 29th through July 1st.
Located near the heart of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Cinespace is a self-described cinema/restaurant/lounge that offers dinner and a movie every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:00pm. Next weekend is the annual screening of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. A cleaver choice, this is the ideal film to kick off the 4th of July Holiday weekend. Set in a small seaside town reliant on the tourist trade of summer, Jaws should be a summertime staple for any classic cinema fan. This is a piece of pure entertainment, wonderfully lacking any hint of social significance.
Roy Scheider plays the everyman protagonist whose safe little world is traumatically endangered by an extraordinary antagonist. A relentless, 25-foot-long “killing machine” (nicknamed “Bruce”) is on the prowl off the coast of the New England resort town where he lives. Now no one in the water is safe. So, the police chief (Scheider) teams up with a scientist and a grizzled sailor to kill the shark that is menacing the seaside community and scaring away the tourist dollar. Spielberg chose to do something unheard of at the time; he hid the bad guy in the primeval deep from the rest of the world, and the audience, until late into the story. It is the old-fashioned use of anticipation that creates the tension and keeps the suspense going throughout this exceptionally well-crafted film without the use of a single computer-generated effect. It’s also notable that, although scary, there is very little blood or gore (don’t forget the floating head), making this as much a family-friendly film as any so-called horror film can get, keeping it palatable viewing during a nice meal.
Originally released in the summer of 1975, the international commercial success of Jaws helped coin the phrase “Blockbuster” (along with Star Wars two years later) due to the long lines of people wrapped around city blocks waiting to buy tickets. Its success was due in no small part to the excellent cast, including a riveting performance by Robert Shaw as the perfectly creepy shark hunter, Quint. You’ll be just as engrossed as Sheriff Brody and marine biologist Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) when the old sea salt gives the best telling of a “ghost story” ever captured on screen. Be warned, while technically proficient and dazzling, Spielbergs’s masterpiece of action and suspense is just as effective today as when it was released over thirty years ago, responsible for giving millions of viewers an irrational fear of the water.
Before the movie Cinespace is open for Happy Hour (from 6:00 to 7:30pm) with 2 for 1 drinks and half-priced appetizers. The dining room is designed to provide a good seat from nearly every perspective, and has a brand new summer menu from Chef Steven Rea. The California cuisine offers some typical choices such as a spinach and artichoke dip appetizer, Chinese chicken salad, and fire-grilled pizzas, but also provides some more elaborate fare like the pan-seared filet mignon for those who really want to make a night of it. Since the movie is included in the price of a meal you really get a good deal for your money. Much larger than you might expect, the second floor venue is 8,500 square feet of spacious accommodations. Besides the main dining/screening room (which has its own complete bar at the back), there’s a comfortable lounge with another large bar, a second dinning area on the smoking patio and a dance floor for the club that starts up after the screenings at 10:00pm. Many special events have taken place in this very cool and hip Hollywood venue, including private screenings, wrap parties and fashion shows.
For reservations and film information on other upcoming screenings and events call 323.817.FILM (3456) or visit www.cine-space.com for reservations and information.