Weekend Round-Up: Spendy Cupcakes, Comix & Salsa Dancing

Because L. and I both work day jobs, a lot of our exploring the city is done on the weekend. In the spirit of providing as much first hand experience of Montreal as possible, I had been wanting to do some sort of Weekend Round-Up feature for a while now, but I would usually forget until Wednesday, at which point the previous weekend was starting to get fuzzy and it stopped seeming all that relevant. I was hoping to have this post up on Monday, which would have made more sense, but we're a girl short at work right now so I actually have something to do during the work day. So here you go:

Friday: Hooked up with MC as I was going to be in her hood running some errands and I wanted to drop off Alain's metro card which he had given me last weekend as he was going to be out of town for a week and figured I could use it. Had a very girly evening of buying Organic shower gel, $15 worth of cupcakes at Petits Gateaux & body butter at Bella Pella. Grabbed dinner at our new addiction, Thai Express & met up with L. at our new favourite video store, Club Video Beaubien. Rented The Getaway (original), Pump Up the Volume & Shampoo. Watched Pump Up the Volume, which is AWESOME and the only Christian Slater movie Kim and I didn't watch during a sleepover night because her mom rented us If Looks Could Kill instead.

Saturday: In an effort to break out of our usual routine we opted to explore the Mile End neighborhood which is basically the area between us and The Plateau on St-Laurent. It is a predominently Anglo & student hood, with lots of cool boutiques and bagel shops. Had brunch at tiny, but packed Brazilian restaurant with roasted fruits. Found Drawn & Quarterly, a very nice store specializing in alternative and indie-press comics and novels. L. hinted strongly at wanting the Rick Trembles book, I finally picked up Therefore, Repent! and butted in on conversation about Vancouver and the till. Found another Organic supermarket with a huge selection of wellness & cosmetic products. Will pick up foundation there when I am all out. Headed up to Plaza St. Hubert to try on Yoga pants at Belle & Rebelle. On the way there we stopped in to Studio 9, which I had been avoiding it because it is so close, but I will have to start a box or something there. Didn't really find any pants & went home. I worked on computer (hello, editing!) while L. cleaned. Sorta participated in Earth Hour by watching the Habs game by candlelight with no heat (it's better than nothing, right?). After the game, Alain & MC came by to watch my recently purchased (for $9.99, natch!) Showgirls VIP Limited Edition Box Set. I made the mistake of the playing the drinking game with red wine. Tried watching Shampoo after Alain & MC took off, but my tummy would have none of it. Vomited red potato chips into the sink and called it a night.

Sunday: After Saturday night's adventures, opted to join Annie for Salsa Dancing classes in the Village instead of our planned outing to the Wine & Spirits Salon. Met Annie & Mel for breaky first at their favourite weekend haunt, Coco Gallo (after we introduced them). L. and I managed to get through the lesson without breaking up or physically harming each other, so that was good. Had coffee in the village with Annie and her friends before departing to wander downtown prior to getting to Comedyworks to see Andrea in a best of Open Mike showcase/contest. She won in a tie. Stumbled home & passed out by 11:30 pm.

French Slang Saturdays: Ben

Today's slang word is a good multi-purpose word and adopting it's usage is one of the fastest ways to sound like a native Quebequer.

Ben [adj]: Literally: very. Can be used literally, at the beginning of a sentence or as a pause the same way as "well..." or to add emphasis.

This one might take longer to load because it is a bit longer than the previous videos, but that's because there are so many ways to use the word. I've also upped the production values a bit with the introduction of titles and transitions (oooh, impresive!)

Microbrasseries & Brew Pubs I Have Been To

In an attempt to refine L.'s pallet in preparation for The Great Home Brew Adventure, Alain has been dragging us all over Montreal to experience some of the many Microbraseries and Brew Pubs. People in Quebec take their native beers very seriously, and they should given the consistently high quality on offer. Below is a list of the establishments we have visited so far with mini-reviews and my favourite brews when applicable.

1) Dieu Du Ciel
Alain's favourite and everyone else's considering the place is jam-packed every time we've tried to go. They have a rotating selection of uniformly delicious beers, including a coffee stout called Peche Mortel (Mortal Sin) and everything else from Scotch Ales, to Porters, to Barley Wine to European varieties you've never heard of. Worth the effort to get a table, you can also find their brews in certain specialty shops (like our favourite Delires Du Terroir). Added bonus: the nachos are insanely good, more like fresh bruchetta on top of chips topped with broiled Quebec cheese. Nom nom!

2) L'amère à boire
Where we end up most often due to it's proximity to the Cartier Latin and Scotiabank Theatres. Also featuring a rotating selection of beers & an upstairs and downstairs bar (more selection downstairs). My current fav is the Odense Porter, although I'll settle for Drak when it's not available. The Odense Porter is very rich with a caramel top note and a smoky full body. The Drak tastes kinda like warm honey toast and has a satisfying, dry finish. The Imperial Stout is also very tasty, but a little dangerous at 7.5%. They also serve food of the upscale tapas variety, and while not cheap it is super delicious. I highly recommend the Kielbasa & Portobello Salad for
$6.

3) Saint-Bock
Just a couple doors down from L'amère à boire, Saint-Bock is similar to Vices & Versa in that they sell all sorts of different beers, not just ones produced on site. They also have one of the most comprehensive menus of any of the microbrasseries we've been to, even if they didn't have any deserts available when we were there. The selection is revolving with about 20 different beers to choose from on any given day. I decided to be adventurous and tried a carrot beer, which would normally be lighter than I prefer, but really hit the spot with just a hint of spice. I followed that up with an Omega 3 Brown Ale made with roasted flax seed that was also not too heavy, but with a full, nutty/roasted flavour. They also have giant TV screens if you wanna catch a game.

4) Sergeant Recruiter
Located in the Plateau, its proximity to Dieu Du Ciel makes it a good back-up if we can't get a table. My favourite so far is the Nessy Scotch Ale, which is rich but not heavy and very drinkable. They also do wood fired pizza's which are very yummy and made with local ingredients and they have a sister store (Saum Mom) next door specializing in smoked salmon (& gravalox etc.) And, on Sundays they have French raconteurs (story tellers)!

5) Vices & Versa
Not a brewpub per se, this bistro style bar does carry a couple exclusive brews which is enough for me to include it. Located across the park from us, it is also usually packed beyond belief. The rotating selection again means it can be hit and miss, but the staff is more than happy to help out and you usually have upwards of 15 brews to choose from. And the nachos are tasty and full of olives. They also boast a lunch menu and wireless internet access.

6) Benelux
Cafe by day, pub by night, one of the definite highlights is the back room built into the vault of this converted bank. A good place to catch a game, their American Brown Ale was a little hoppy for me, but I'm dying to try their 9% Russian Imperial Stout. They also offer cheese and olive plates as well as European sausages.

7) Brutopia
Often crowded and loud due to bands playing. First time I went I got the Nut Brown Ale which sounds good, but is actually pretty disappointing. The seasonal offerings like the Maple Stout are much safer options and I have it on good authority that their Honey Beer is tasty and refreshing. They stop serving food at 11 PM, and it's of the very greasy pub-food variety. That said, it's probably the only place on Crescent I can see myself going to.

8) 3 Brasseurs
Like the McDonald's of microbrasseries, this chain is especially popular with tourists and frat boys. Only been in once and after waiting 20 minutes for someone to take a drink order that never arrived, we opted to leave and never come back. Ever.

French Slang Saturdays: Capoter

Capoter [v]: Literally it means capsize, but in slang usage it means "to freak out". Can be used positively or negatively, to express elation or frustration. Conjugated in the usual fashion.

Movies I Watched Instead of Writing: Mémoires Affectives & Mon Fille, Mon Ange

After trying and failing to watch the Jutras (Quebec's answer to the Oscars) a couple weeks ago (just too "French" for me, and by "French" I mean "lame"), we opted instead to rent some of the movies that were either nominated or had won in previous years. While compiling a list of our options we discovered that we had missed out on quite a few recent, good, Quebecois films, so we've got some work ahead of us.

That night we rented Mémoires affectives (2004), Séraphin: un homme et son péché (2002) and the "classic" Quebecois comedy, Elvis Gratton (1981).

After staring at the screen in disbelief for the first 10 minutes of Elvis Gratton, I decided that I would rather watch "the one about the guy in the coma", so we popped in Mémoires affectives with former pretty-boy Roy Dupuis. In the 18 or so years since endearing himself to every pre-teen girl in Quebec with his role in the seminal tele-roman, Les Filles de Caleb, M. Dupuis has managed to develop into quite a talented actor and is easily one of the biggest stars in the province.

The film opens with someone taking Alex (Dupuis) off of life support, but instead of just dying the act forces him out of the coma he has been in for the last 6 months. As a side effect of being in a coma for so long, Alex has almost complete amnesia and is therefor useless to the multiple police investigations he is involved with, the first pertaining to who tried to kill him in the hospital and the second being how he found himself in the coma in the first place.

His wife, Michelle (Nathalie Coupal), from whom he was estranged at the time of his accident; wants to pretend that everything is fine and that the years of trouble never happened. His daughter, Sylvaine (Karine Lagueux), is disgusted by what she perceives as her mother's hypocrisy, but she too struggles with what role she wants this man to play in her life. Alex, for his part, is more concerned with putting back together the pieces of his identity, even if the resulting picture is less than admirable.

I won't give away too much more of the plot as one the most engaging things about the film is trying to put together all the disparate memories and clues together along with Alex. We discover information at the same time as the character and because of Dupuis' touching performance we are usually as surprised and disappointed as he is when the information is negative. Unfortunately, the director introduces too many mysteries to properly resolve all of them at the end of the film, but this is far from a reason to avoid the film.

The film is similar in many ways to Memento in the way that it plays on our notions of memory and identity, but in many ways it is a much stronger film because it focuses more heavily on character development and setting. The acting is uniformly good, with Dupuis stealing the show with a nuanced and sympathetic portrayal of a man literally searching for himself. The cinematography is beautiful in that typically Canadian way and the choice to set the film in Baie St-Paul in the winter yields some spectacular shots.

Overall, Mémoires affectives (Looking for Alex in English) is a very strong Canadian film and while not perfect, it is definitely worth a look.

That Wednesday we rented the "controversial" Mon Fille, Mon Ange (My Daughter, My Angel). Promoted as a gritty look at the real world of online porn, the film is actually a Holywood-ized who-done-it melodrama, with some of Michel Côté's hammiest acting to date. And yes, that is saying something.

Côté (who L. likes to call Quebec's answer to Al Pacino), plays Germain Degenais, a former lawyer now working for the office of a prominent cabinet minister in the Quebec legislature. His daughter, Nathalie (Karine Vanasse), has taken off to the big bad city of Montreal to attend university and unbeknownst to her parents, fallen in with the wrong crowd: namely, strippers and pornographers. While settling in to an evening of "working" alone in his study, Germain is shocked (shocked I say!) to discover his "ange" promoting herself on a porn site as "Samantha", the new girl. See, she's going to be poppin' her porno cherry live in 4 days, meaning Germain has only 4 days to get to Montreal, find, and save his little girl.

The film utilizes an interesting device of starting at the end, the result being one dead porno producer, and tracing things back through Germain's admission to a work colleague and Nathalie's interrogation by a police detective, played by Christian Begin. We don't actually know who killed the sleaze-bag and the film does a good job of conceiling the true killer right up until the end. Both Nathalie and Germain confess that the other has done a terrible thing, and its up to the audience to determine what is meant by their statements. Neither one is what the other believes them to be, Nathalie the perfect student is really Nathalie the backdoor slut and Germain's perfect political exterior covers some rather shocking rage issues; but does that make either one of them a killer?

The film is briskly paced at an hour and 25 minutes, so the audience is seldom bored. However, this doesn't leave much room for plausible character development and this is the film's greatest weakness. The exception is Laurence LeBeouf as Nathalie's childhood friend Angelique, who radiates with a primal energy in her portrayal of an almost middle-class girl in way over her head and she deservedly won this year's Jutra prize for breakout performance.

While entertaining enough, Mon fille, mon ange is a largely forgettable who done it and not really worth seeking out.

French Slang Saturdays: Plate

While my first post about Quebecois slang was neatly arranged around a single theme, I've found myself struggling with a good way to post about all the other Quebecois slang I've been absorbing that would a) make sense and b) not be insanely long. So, in an attempt to kill two birds with one stone I've opted to post one slang word per week. And I'm including video of me saying the word!

If there are words that you would like explore in a future post, please let me know in the comments, or send me an email.

This week's word:

Plate [adj]: Lame. Literally means "flat", but is used to describe anything boring or just generally sucky and undesirable.

I'm Ready When You Are Spring

Seriously.

Here I was thinking I was all butch, weathering my first East-Coast winter. Bragging that it was the worst one seen my Montreal in like 35 years.

But, I'm done. I concede defeat. I am tired of snow.

Here I was optimistically dreaming of pedicures and purchasing my first two-piece bathing suit... but, no. We got what is likely the biggest dump all winter this weekend. Most of the outlying areas have already blown their snow clearing budgets for 2008. It is highly likely that the same has now happened to Montreal.

My walk to work has now turned into an obstacle course of giant black lagoons and winding, icy pathways that bring to mind the routes taken by mountain goats in the rockies.




It almost makes a girl miss Vancouver. Almost.

Movies I Watched Instead of Writing: Persepolis

Let me say it right now: the Oscars are a crock of shit. Some of you may not be surprised by that statement, and I have long held that sentiment, particularly after having read Robert S. Sennett's book Hollywood Hoopla which goes into the social and economic conditions in which lead to the creation of the Academy Awards. Basically, ticket sales were dropping so they needed a big glitzy event to get people excited about movies. Celebrating "artistic achievement" was an afterthought.

However, my opinion was further cemented upon having watched the moving and beautiful Persepolis, which just lost the best animated feature Oscar to Ratatouille. Don't get me wrong, I like Pixar as much as the next girl. I think Brad Bird is extremely talented. And while I haven't actually seen Ratatouille yet, I have a very hard time believing that a comedy about a cooking rat is more deserving of an Oscar, the American symbol of excellence in film, than Persepolis, which is a socially relevant, innovatively realized, important work of ART. It further elevates animation being children's entertainment, and proves that countries other than the US and Japan can consistently produce compelling animation.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Persepolis is the biographical memoir of Marjane Satrapi, who grew up Iran during the fall of the Shah. The film starts as a fascinating look at revolution and war from a child's perspective, then slowly shifts to become a more general coming of age tale, coloured by war and tragedy and oppression. Director Vincent Parronaud wisely chose to stay as close to the original artwork as possible and Satrapi is credited as is credited as a Co-Director. While the drawings themselves may seem overly simple compared to the CGI wizardry of Pixar, they are the images that best suit the story and are complemented nicely by Satrapi's evocative backgrounds and subtle facial animations.

Although the story itself contains many sad moments, it is far from being dreary and is more personal than it is pedantic. It is overall an uplifting and inspiring story about maintaining one's personal integrity, no matter what.

Being that the graphic novel was originally written in French, I was lucky enough to see the film with the original French language track, without subtitles. I am not sure how the film is being shown in other parts of the world, but I do recommend viewing it with the original language track if possible as the voice acting is very strong and adds to the emotional impact of the film. Particularly great is Gabrielle Lopes as the voice of Marjane as a child, and I would be remiss if I did not mention Catherine Deneuve as the voice of Marjane's mother.

As to why the film was so sorely overlooked, there are several possible reasons. Some political, some not:

1) No one bothered to watch it. - This is the most likely reason, and why I've never felt that the Oscars deserve the amount of prestige that people continue to associated with them.

2) It is in Black and White. - Black and White = Old fashioned & boring to Hollywood. And yet the framing sequences set in the present are in colour and the use of a black and white colour scheme is clearly meant as a stylistic choice.

3) It is 2D animation. - 2D = Old Fashioned. This is why Disney closed their 2D animation studio, even though 2D animation is still cheaper to produce and is still artistically relevant (perhaps even more so now than it has ever been).

4) It is in a foreign language. - Because God forbid you have to read when you go to the movies.

5) It presents an alternative view of Iran, enemy of the US. - It's a lot harder to make a case for bombing the shit out of a country if you realize they're just as fucked up and diverse as the rest of us.

6) Satrapi's family are unapologetic Communists. - Okay, this one's getting a little conspiracy-theory, but let's face it: the Academy has always been scared of Commies.

7) It comes from France. - Those Commie, freedom hating frog eaters! And again, God forbid a country that didn't spawn Walt Disney is capable of making animated films.

8) It's too arty. - It isn't an animated film if it doesn't have voice-work by washed-up comedians and songs by writers of the adult contemporary variety.

9) You can't take kids to it. - Well, you could, and I would recommend you did, although not under the age of 8; but that isn't necessarily the target audience. Apparently, animation isn't supposed to be "serious".

10) It's actually good. - Now I'm just being bitter...

Go See This Band

As I stated in an earlier post, I have decided to start getting back into music, and it was with that end in mind that I accept my friend Chris B.'s invitation to the Creature album release party last night. The fact that it was on a weeknight did concern me a little, but then I decided to stop being a wuss and start living a little. Moving to a whole new city really has allowed me to "reboot" my life, and getting out more has definitely been a goal of mine. Although L. never really got into the live music scene growing up the same way I did, he has been very enthusiastic about going to more concerts, especially after I dragged him to the CPC Gangbangs in January. Luckily, Creature is right up L.'s alley.

I don't know if they'll be playing Vancouver anytime soon, but they seem to have played every bar, club, warehouse and basement in the metro Montreal/Quebec area and it shows in their enthusiastic stage manner and expert musicianship. If I had to describe them, I'd say they were reminiscent of Franz Ferdinand with some B52's, a little Talking Heads, a little Prince and a lot more cowbell. While they are essentially a dance-rock band, the lyrics are often surprisingly intelligent and they don't shy away from political subject matter ("Last Days of America", "Kandahar") and even managed a ballad during the encore ("Star"). But mostly it's about having fun and being yourself and what's cooler than that?

You can download their album here.
Also, check out their music on MySpace & Facebook.

Absolutely go see them if you have the chance, before they get too popular and you have to pretend they suck.