Iowa Girl on the Go

With the Oscars race in full force, the year’s best movies being shown right now, and winter weather keeping us inside, this is a great time to see a movie. Fleur Cinema & Café is my favorite movie theater in Des Moines. I sort of think of it as a movie theater for grown-ups.

You can always count on the Fleur (4545 Fleur Drive) to have the best movies playing at any given time, and that’s the most important thing, of course. They’re grown-up, well-made movies. You never have to wade through a bunch of families with little kids, nor loud groups of teenagers.

The hip, jazzy décor is a bonus, as is the food selection: Rice Krispies bars (in two different flavors the last time I was there), cheesecake, chocolate cake, muffins, blueberry streusel cakes, biscotti, and brownies in addition to the usual movie popcorn. Drinks, too, are a big plus:  They sell beer (Sam Adams, Amber Bock, Coors Lite, Guinness), wine (Big House chardonnay and cabernet), bottled lemonade, Italian cream soda, coffee drinks (espresso, cappuccino, lattes, mochas, etc.), hot tea, hot cocoa, and chai. Take that, Cinemark!

In recent years, I’ve seen “My Week with Marilyn,” “Young Adult,” “Melancholia,” “The Queen,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Descendants,” “Black Swan,” “An Education,” and dozens of other independent and art films. They do offer Hollywood films, but only the best, Oscar-worthy kinds of films.

For example, right now they’re showing “The Impossible,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” and “Les Miserables.” I’ve seen two of the four, and I plan to see the other two. I am picky about movies…believe me, four-for-four would NEVER happen at any other theater.

Prices are reasonable, too: $6.50 for matinees, $8.50 for evening shows, $6.50 for seniors/kids.

The Fleur is also home to the annual Wild Rose Film Festival, which features student films, shorts, documentaries, international entries, animated films, and feature films. Last year’s festival was Nov. 8-15.