Bill Rusnak
Despite being an affluent community minutes away from downtown Montreal, the City of Westmount has very few restaurants (I can pretty much count all of the worthwhile places to visit on one hand). In fact, while not that great a place, The Wellhouse, has recently shut its doors, leaving the area with one less place in which to dine at. On Thursday March 1st, Westmount gets a shot in the arm as Chef Antonio Park’s exquisite Park Restaurant opens it’s doors to the public.
It’s very rare that I’m ahead of the curve when it comes to brand new or happening restaurants in Montreal. I had no idea that Park was arriving, nor did I have any clue that Antonio was secretly holding a two week long soft launch right under my nose so when the opportunity presented itself to try the new restaurant before almost anyone else, I jumped on it.
*I am not affiliated with m:brgr nor was this post commissioned by the restaurant.
To kick things off – I love the food at m:brgr. I’ve never been disappointed by a visit and this past Saturday night was no exception. I’m very much a fan of sticking with what works. So in the couple of visits I’ve made since it opened in 2008, I’ve stuck with the standard AAA burger, regular toppings, a side of fries and the Moishe’s classic coleslaw. I’ll be the first to admit that with a menu that offers the kind of choice it does, my standard is the least exciting way to go – albeit scrumptious all the same.
Saturday night however, I wanted to try something different. Earlier in the week I put a call out on Twitter to see if anyone had any recommendations for what I should try. I got some great responses and the items I decided to go with were excellent.
Two days ago the Cirque Du Soleil premiered their brand new traveling show: MICHAEL JACKSON THE IMMORTAL and I was there. It’s a world tour that kick-ed off here in Montreal and will wind its way through North America (circling back to Montreal a second time in March 2012) before heading overseas.
I remember getting my tickets a year and a half ago and thinking: “Where the hell do I put these so that I don’t lose them before the show?” Seriously. A lot can happen in that time, not to mention losing a small envelope with two tickets in it.
I didn’t lose them and am so glad I didn’t cause This. Show. Rocked.
This week’s film in my Coen Brothers Film Experience is THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE. It was released in 2001, and is two things if it is anything at all. First – it is quite possibly the most beautifully shot film the Coens with fellow cinematographer Roger Deakins have ever created and second, it is unfortunately extremely slow. I’ll say it again, I can appreciate the craftsmanship that the Coen brothers put into each of their films, and in that regard, once again, THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE is a home run. What I find difficult to swallow, for my own taste, is the film’s deliberately slow pacing. I can’t not recommend this movie since it is in fact a treat to watch Experiencing the brothers weave a tale their tale of murder, music, and UFOs the way they do is exquisite. I just wish it moved along at a brisker pace.
This entry in my Coen Brothers Film Experience was supposed to be posted a week ago. Needless to say, I’m a tad late getting my thoughts together on O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU. The tardiness however is worth it. I hope…
The first time I saw this film was a bunch of years back and I had no idea what to think. I had a very neutral opinion of the film. Upon re-watching it however, I can honestly say that I have a much better appreciation for it now. The problem lies not in whether or not I enjoyed the film, but more in the fact that I can’t exactly say why. Hopefully by the time I come to the end of this article, I’ll be able to put it into words. But be forewarned. Between now and the end, I’m going to have to admit to some pretty serious personal deficiencies surrounding my knowledge of Homer, film and the themes that the Coen Brothers built this movie around.
Hit the jump for the rest.
After an impromptu one week hiatus, the COEN BROTHERS FILM EXPERIENCE is back in full swing. I blame the nihilists of the world.
I’m going to mix things up a bit with this week’s discussion and start out point blank with my Bottom Line:
The Bottom Line: 5/5. If there are only 21 words that you take away from this review and discussion of the Coen Brothers’ THE BIG LEBOWSKI, let them be: “If you haven’t seen THE BIG LEBOWSKI, see it. If you have seen it, see it again! This movie fucking rocks.
There are seriously not enough adjectives in the English language to describe this movie. Stuff like ‘hilarious’, ‘awesome’, and ‘fucking far out man’, while they are accurate, don’t seem to do it any justice. The more I think about how to describe my relationship with THE BIG LEBOWSKI, the more I keep falling upon the word “fuck”. Not in the context of how much sex or nudity is in the actual movie (although it is the first Coen Brothers film to feature both in any great quantity), and I don’t mean in terms of the cuss connotation (even though this film is clearly one of the Coen Brothers’ films that showcase many a meaty expletive). I mean in terms of the word that I feel is necessary to fully describe how awesome THE BIG LEBOWSKI actually is.
I’ll give you some examples: a) whenever someone asks me if they should watch the movie a first or repeat time, my response is something along the lines of, ‘fuck yeah you should”. or b) if someone ever asks me if I would like to watch the movie with them, they’ll get a “fucking A I would!”. In this scenario, there will usually be a mental or literal fist pump if this said person will be experiencing the movie for the first time… And finally, c) throughout the film, as each scene comes to an end, once I’m done laughing my ass off, or giggling like a school girl as I relish what just happened, the music, the characters, or the complete and utter awesome cluster fuck that is THE BIG LEBOWSKI, I’ll generally utter a mental or hushed, “fucking A…”
If you can’t tell by now, THE BIG LEBOWSKI is not only one of the Coen Brothers’ best films, screwball comedy or otherwise, but it is also now my favorite.
Read on if you want to know the details…
I was in grade eight when FARGO was released. At that time, films like HAPPY GILMORE, BLACK SHEEP, and RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (the first and most amazing Jackie Chan movie I’d seen) were more up my alley. It wasn’t until the 1997 Academy Awards when the film won its 2 Oscars (Best Original Screenplay to the Coen Brothers and Best Actress to Frances McDormand), that it even became a blip on my radar. It was then that I first heard about the wood chipper scene. What teenager in their right mind can resist a good wood chipper scene? I don’t remember how I got my hands on the VHS but when I did, I absolutely hated sitting through the movie. When I watched it for the first time, it wasn’t funny (it’s a dark comedy), it wasn’t any good, (it’s great), it was way too slow (it’s actually fairly brisk), and it was soooooo long (it’s only 98 minutes). Added on top of all this? The sex scenes had no boobies….boooo!
Well. Fast forward fourteen years later: I’m now only slightly more mature (still looking for the boobies…), but I can confidently say that FARGO is fantastic. There is no denying it. It’s also rare that I’m able to find a movie fan that doesn’t rank it near the very top of their list of favorite Coen Brothers films.
The more I think about FARGO in the greater scheme of the Coen Brothers’ oeuvre, it has lots of borrowed scenes from a film that came before it (BLOOD SIMPLE) and very much inspires a film that came after it (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN).
Continue reading for the rest.
THE HUDSUCKER PROXY makes me smile. This wasn’t always the case however…one could almost say I’ve come full circle with my enjoyment of the film…
This was my third viewing of the Coen Brothers’ THE HUDSUCKER PROXY. The first time I watched it, I forced myself to sit down and experience it from beginning to end. For some reason, it is always on TV and I kept catching glimpses of bits and pieces here and there without ever seeing enough to bait me to watch the whole thing through. The scenes I would see looked pretty good – light comedy, Tim Robbins, and Paul Newman. I decided to rent it and see what it was all about…
Wow. I really disliked it the first time around. I couldn’t, and still can’t, put my finger on the true reason why but I know it had something to do with what I thought at the time was the overall blandness of the movie and the irritating firecracker that is Jennifer Jason Leigh’s (JJL from this point forward) character.
My second viewing improved my stance on the film and now after a third viewing, as with most Coen films, repeat viewings really do make the heart grow fonder. While JJL’s character still irritates the fuck out of me at times, I can honestly say, I get a huge kick out of the film!
Hit the jump for the rest of my thoughts.
Quite honestly, the first time that I had ever even heard of BARTON FINK was right before my viewing of RAISING ARIZONA a couple of weeks back. I watched the trailer for RAISING ARIZONA right before I watched the actual movie and decided to also peek at the trailers for MILLER’S CROSSING and BARTON FINK, both of which appeared as extras on the disk. I had a pretty big “WTF” moment. I couldn’t believe I had never heard anyone speak of this movie. I looked it up online and had another “WTF” moment when I read that it had swept the 1991 Cannes Film Festival by winning the Palm d’Or as well as the prizes for Directing and Acting (John Turturro as the lead).
I’m glad I finally had a chance to sit down and experience it. As with many, if not all, of the Coen Brothers movies, it definitely is an experience.
Hit the jump to read my take of BARTON FINK, the fourth in my series on the Coen Brothers films.
