Last weekend I drove to Montreal with some of the Rue Morguers (above is myself and Bob Tyrrell) for the
FanTasia film fest, and rock my Jaques -- is it ever an easy city to fall in love with (at least in the summer; the winters are brutal). We had three days of sun, movies, eating out, partying, a bit of shopping and absolutely zero Bonhomme sightings.
It's FanTasia's 10th anniversary, and they throw a helluva show. I managed to get in a half-dozen films, which ranged from a retarded Jack Chick-like religious action/fantasy/horror called
Hell (Thailand) to the most excellent
Meatball Machine (Japan), which is essentially a goopier, more colourful, lighter spirited version of
Tetsuo. Also saw the new film from Japanese director Sion Sono (
Suicide Circle), called
Strange Circus, which, despite some great direction and a few disturbingly bizarre scenes, tries a little too hard to be in-your-face weird, and is too long. He was in attendence, and like every other eccentric director on the planet has big hair, horn-rimmed glasses and a blazer.
We drank at a bar called Brutopia (sp?), which I realized on the second night there that I'd actually been to before during a CUP conference several years ago. They have Chocolate Stout on tap, which was a nice surprise. Chocolate + beer actualy works -- imagine Guiness with a bitter chocolate aftertaste instead of a toasted ashtray aftertaste.
On our last night we also went for drinks with Gary Sherman, who directed two of my fave horror flicks Raw Meat (a.k.a Deathline) and Dead and Buried. Helluva a guy with lots of great stories, including one about almost directing Marlon Brando. That bar, which shall remain nameless, sadly charged $9 for a pint. C'est bullshit!
I didn't buy much, mainly some discounted books (on Takashi Miike, British Horror and Dario Argento) from the other vendor at the show, FAB Press, but I did score a vintage Quebecois kung-fu poster with both Asian and French type on it, and the little blue Quebec sticker of approval. I wish I knew what film it was for. Got it at a little retro record store called Paul's Boutique.
Before we left, we hit Prince Arthur Street for cheap and plentiful Greek food. This is a must for anyone staying in the city. It's a Euro-flavoured pedestrians-only street with scores of restaurants that allow you to bring your own booze, with no corkage fee. We sat ourside and listened to wandering musicians while eating surf 'n' turf, then walked to the beautiful park at the end of the street. We arrived back on Monday night to an oppresive heatwave. Pffft...
On Friday morning we leave for San Diego for Comic-Con for three days, so surely I'll have stories with less French and more nerd in 'em. Hopefully I won't OD on glavin!
As for you Montreal, once again you've pierced my hard little heart like a baguette dunked in broth. Au revoir, mon ami...
