Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Long Weekend Round-Up: Leatherface, Jazz & Work, Work, Work

Friday: After another psychotically busy week, I was rather relieved to have some time to chill out at home before going to see the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, on the big screen, at Cinema du Parc with Chris & Lee. It actually my first time seeing it (I know, I'm shocked too), and I'm very glad I waited until I had the chance to see it in 35mm. Despite some 70's fashion and dialogue, it stands up pretty well and while not nearly as graphic as it's reputation implies, I thought it was creepy as hell. Some of my viewing companions thought it was more funny than scary, but I know I'm not going to bother with the blasphemous remake. Also, Rob Zombie is a hack.

Afterwards we went to Benelux for some beers & Chris made the mistake of trying the homemade, non-alcoholic root-beer. I quite liked it, but I have something of a sweet tooth. However, it did have a rather too strong vanilla aftertaste that was a little off-putting.

Saturday: Decided to take a break from working and spent a leisurely day enjoying the warm summer weather that had suddenly decided to appear. Went for brunch near Parc Molson and spent the afternoon drinking red wine and eating sushi in a park. Watched a couple of squirrels fight/fuck, which was mesmerizing and inappropriate at the same time.

Later, a friend invited me to check out The Cinematic Orchestra at Club Soda, and although I am not a jazz fan I decided to be open minded and check it out. Turns out my instincts were correct, as even my friend was underwhelmed by the free-jazzy noodling, but I can't call the evening a total loss because the opening act was amazing. He's a singer-songwriter from Brooklyn named Grey Reverend and I totally recommend checking him out if you like that sort of thing. I think he's best live, where his fierce acoustic strumming carries the most weight, but his lyrics are poignant and clever and heartbreaking.

Sunday: After farting around a bit in the morning, finally got out to Mile End for my weekly bagel run. Managed to get some work done for my second job, but my meeting that morning got pushed to that evening and then to Monday. Thought about going to see Vengeance is Mine at the FFM, but opted instead to stay home and watch The Last Winter, eat baked potato chips and drink mineral water. I was impressed by what director Larry Fessenden was able to accomplish with what was obviously a minuscule budget, but an over abundance of wanky camera techniques took away somewhat from the creepy tone. Still, it was intelligent, well acted and socially relevant, three qualities sorely lacking in indie horror these days.

Monday: Had a meeting re: my second job where I discovered that I will have even less free time this coming week. Oh well, it's good experience with a (very) vague possibility of visits to film fests in the future. After my meeting I had my first bad experience with the Montreal Metro, but that was due in part to my poor listening skills. Finally made it home and cooked up a huge batch of Thai curry using my stash of homegrown basil, that I will be eating for the next two weeks. Made a quick call to my folks and then worked, worked, worked, until I found that crazy pull-quote I blogged about last night. Then worked, worked worked some more until I finally had to sleep.

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