Fun For All

Please everyone in your party at Pinstack, San Antonio's premier entertainment destination

If you've been seeking a new go-to spot for major fun with top-notch eats and drinks, check out Pinstack — It's the ideal spot when you're looking for fun things to do. But even though it's bursting with games and other good times, Pinstack is not a kids-only zone.

The state-of-the-art entertainment concept from Dallas also boasts a modern American menu and extensive bar offerings, making it ideal for date night, happy hour, corporate events, girls' night out, and adult birthday parties in addition to Family Funday.

Plus there's even a free loyalty app that racks up points and dispenses birthday credits and exclusive offers.

San Antonio recently bowled into town November 2022, joining the Austin location that opened in 2020 — take a closer look at all the exciting activities that await you.

Spare a strike
True to its name, Pinstack is best known for bowling, including a more intimate set of lanes reserved for VIPs (or at least VIPs for a day). Go beyond tradition Ten Pin and try Angry Bird bowling, and don't forget to take advantage of the bumper guards and ball ramps for the "bowling impaired."

Still, if rolling strikes doesn’t quite strike your fancy, the whopping 50,000-square-foot space is packed with plenty of other diversions.

High above it all
Active types will appreciate the six-lane, LED-lit rock climbing wall and high ropes course that hangs 20 feet above the video game floor.

Game on
Who says arcade games are just for kids? Charm your companion with your mad Skee-Ball skills or play a friendly game of air hockey with your pals. A wide selection of video games, from retro to of-the-moment virtual reality, presents a challenge for even the most skilled gamers. Stand in awe of the World's Largest Pac-Man, get nostalgic with Pong, or test your accuracy with virtual axe-throwing.

Beep beep
When was the last time you hopped into a bumper car? Relive those State Fair feels and safely let out any road rage in Pinstack's bumper car area. There's also a laser tag course where players dodge glowing pillars and tackle obstacles while fog and high-intensity music pump through the rooms.

Exceptional eats
No lukewarm nachos or stale popcorn here. Pinstack serves modern American classics that you can enjoy in its full-service restaurant, out on the climate-controlled patio, or lane-side while bowling. Delicious items such as grilled mahi mahi, the Twenty Dollar Burger (stacked high with black pepper sausage, an onion ring, and bacon-wrapped jalapenos), the giant KingPin pizza, and signature mac & cheese pops populate the menu, along with vegetarian-friendly options.

Crafty cocktails
Of course there are also two full-service bars — one in the restaurant and one near the bowling lanes — featuring an extensive cocktail list, 12 wines on tap, and 24 draft beers, including local craft brews. Order up A Grand Decision, the 21 oz. frozen margarita made with Patron silver, or indulge a sweet tooth with stacked shakes and adult shakes like the Churrochata, a Fireball and RumChata concoction that's sure to spice up your visit.

Time your visit
Daily specials abound, from Bowl + Bite Mondays (4-11 pm) where draft beers are $3 and appetizers are half off, to Wine Down Wednesday with 50 percent off all wine bottles. All video games are half price all day on Tuesdays, too. And don't forget about Happy Hour, with runs Monday through Friday, 4-7 pm, and features $3 domestic pints, $5 craft pints, and $5 margaritas and house wine.

Pinstack San Antonio is at 742 NW Loop 410, suite 201 (726-999-2800) and Pinstack Austin is located at 500 W. Canyon Ridge Dr. (512-580-0555).

Photo courtesy of Pinstack

Margaritas are $5 during happy hour.

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Movie Review

Thriller A Different Man shows dark side of wishing for a different life

Photo by Matt Infante/courtesy of A24

Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan in A Different Man.

Movies that deal with physical or psychological differences in humans tend to be earnest affairs, with the affected person either rising above the odds or teaching people around them a lesson in compassion. Nothing of the sort is featured in A Different Man, where the only lesson learned is one of humility by the main character with the physical difference.

Edward (Sebastian Stan), whose face and head are enlarged from an unspecified condition, is an actor who makes a meager living starring in workplace education videos. He lives in a drab, rundown apartment, and seems generally depressed, just trying to get through each day without suffering some kind of humiliation.

His outlook starts to change when Ingrid (Renate Reinsve) moves in next door and treats him with kindness. Whether to attract her attention or to get out of his malaise, Edward agrees to an experimental treatment that promises to get rid of his condition. It’s no big spoiler to say that it works, but what happens after is a surprise, especially when Oswald (Adam Pearson), a man with a similar condition but a much sunnier disposition, comes into his life.

Written and directed by Aaron Schimberg, the film is nowhere near as straightforward as that synopsis makes it sound. Schimberg inserts all kinds of weird details, including a never-ending leak in Edward’s apartment and odd time jumps, that keep the audience on their heels. And while it would be wrong to say that Edward’s condition is ignored by others in the film, as he gets more than a few stares, few people actively comment on it.

In fact, Schimberg seems much more interested in Edward’s mental health than his physical state. His personality stands in stark contrast to that of Oswald, who seems to approach every situation with positivity and confidence, as if his condition didn’t even exist. The film has a lot going on after the two meet, but the push and pull between how each man approaches the world provides the central conflict.

Consequently, the film often plays out more as a comedy than as a drama. Edward’s post-transformation world is even stranger than the one he inhabited before, and every interaction he has is laced with an undercurrent of artifice, with no one acting in a normal manner. Edward finds himself in increasingly absurd situations that test his mental wellness, and the oddness of them elicit laughs more than anything else.

Stan is a chameleon of an actor who’s played everything from a Marvel superhero to an upcoming turn as a young Donald Trump. He plays both sides of Edward well, giving off a sad-sack energy no matter his physical state. But it’s Pearson who steals the movie, as he projects a spiritedness that turns Oswald from someone who might be pitied into someone who’s a force of nature. Reinsve makes for an able foil for both characters.

A Different Man is a film that’s in conversation with the recent The Substance, as they both deal with people who seek to change their appearance, albeit for very different reasons. In both cases, it falls under a “be careful what you wish for” scenario, with the solution not necessarily delivering the result the person wanted.

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A Different Man is now playing in theaters.

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