AVATAR (2009), by TICKLEBEAR

AVATAR,
from director JAMES CAMERON.
all i can say is "WOW"!!!
what a great journey!!

as i'm no specialist in the techno babble,
i cannot discuss this on that level;
but did the movie work for me?
damn right, it did!!!
it's totally scifi,
but very reminiscent of mankind's history here on earth.
to quote BATTLESTAR GALACTICA:
"all of this has happened before
and all of this will happen again."
think of the europeans that invaded the americas,
eradicating the indigenous life and cultures
that had grown in harmony with nature,
to make way for the white man "culture",
destroying everything in its path...
same scenario here,
as mankind faces the na'vi on the planet pandora,
wanting to exploit a mineral found on this planet.
except,
the locals sit inconveniently on it...
a soldier is sent in their midst,
via his avatar,
to learn about them and report to his boss
valuable informations to defeat these people.
but the soldier goes "native" and decides to side with the people of pandora.
(very "DANCES WITH THE WOLVES"...)
i'll stop here,
as i don't want to reveal too much.

this said,
i loved AVATAR,
as JAMES CAMERON gave us a beautiful new world to explore,
and i can only rejoice in the certitude that
there will be more,
this being possibly a trilogy,
if all goes well.
i daresay this is the MUST-SEE of the season.
i still have a conventional DVD player,
but when the DVD comes out for this one,
i will go BLURAY,
finally having a good reason to do so.
see it!!
it will astound you.
to compare,
as much as i liked FINAL FANTASY, THE SPIRIT WITHIN,
with its CGI characters,
AVATAR is a few notches above...
quite a few,
as it is that much more vivid.
the CGI doesn't deter you from relating to these characters.
after half an hour,
i actually cared about what would happen to the na'vi people.
it is a nice critique of the corporate greed
that exists in our own world
and for which some people are willing to sacrifice anything,
and anyone...
(just think of what we're currently doing to the amazonian forest...)
GREAT MOVIE!!!
JAMES CAMERON has given us the best christmas[?] gift ever,
that will last for a long, long time.
i want my DVD, NOW!!!!!!
what an amazing adventure that is.
:)~
HUGZ

THE BLIND SIDE, by TICKLEBEAR

well,
i've just spent the best two hours in a while now,
thanks to
THE BLIND SIDE.
since the story revolves around football,
it already had a shoe in with me.
sandra bullock?!?
another shoe in,
even if not everything she does is golden,
i still love the girl immensely.

the movie is based on the true story of MICHAEL OHER,
a black kid from the projects,
who grew up in very difficult circumstances,
but without the anger and general issues that come with such a life.
his life is about to change as his path crosses the one of the TUOHYs,
a wealthy christian white conservative family,
who take him in to help him,
on a temporary basis...
until it becomes permanent.
this movie made me feel better about mankind,
knowing the story is true,
and that such people do exist.
the movie is engaging,
the cast is remarquable
and the ending is great.

above,
the real MICHAEL OHER and family.
they must be so proud of their son now.
the boy had a long way to come from,
to achieve his goals and become the man he is now.
he can thank the TUOHYs for that;
and they must thank him for making them becoming
the people they are now.
watch it!!
it's SO worth it!!
awh!!
this felt so good!!!
:)~
HUGZ

'Tis the season to be... bitchy'

Molson «M», tu M ou tu M pas.

++ :

• Great can design, saw the bottle, but bought the can, very sophistacated, great use of silver, gold & black. Loved the embossed effects on bullets. (Saporro, you have nothing to worry about, no one can do it like you do!))
• The «microcarbonated» saying, seems like code, U definetly got my attention but I was expecting the magical capsule (Guinness, Kilkenny & cie...Yep, Boddington too, U R right there). Nothiing exploded or happened when I opened can.
• The bubbles, they are just very cool to look at. Molson M has this golden color, usually seen in Canadian beers, with "champagne" styled bubbles.
• Price: affordable (ie: do not require credit crad at convenience store)
• Alcohol level: 4.9%.

-- :

• The taste, nothing that differienciates it from other Molson products

• The foam: I did pour it right, but I want more!!!! Make it luxurious & luscious.

So overall, I give it:


Sorry Molson. I do always encourage local products and am & always will be a Montrealer, but please get creative: stop being beer makers, and become Nectar brewers.

DANIEL BÉLANGER : NOUS

Oooooh, YEAH!!!
Cela fait 72 heures que je me trémousse, que je me languis, que j'ondule, les yeux dans la graisse de bine, les joues rougies par la volupté et un sourire béat étampé aux lèvres. Cela fait aussi 72 heures que je passe en compagnie de Nous de Daniel Bélanger. Nous est devenu mien à la boutique en ligne iTunes genre à 00:01 le 10 novembre, jour de sa sortie en magasin. Depuis, nous avons sillonné pendant des heures les rues ensoleillées de mon village, nous avons préparé de bons petits plats ensemble, nous avons folâtré entre mes draps douillets jusqu'à ce que le sommeil nous sépare. Et à aucun moment je me suis lassée de Nous. Bref, je suis énamourée de Nous.

Passons au choses sérieuses. Tout d'abord, ceux qui ont déjà lu mes "critiques" ont dû s'apercevoir que mes billets sont à peu près n'importe quoi sauf des critiques! Je ne suis aucunement impartiale. Donc, ce qui suit, comme le reste de mes écrits sur ce blogue, ne sont que mes impressions toutes biaisées par mon affection pour certains artistes. Mais là, je puis vous affirmer sans être dans le champ, avec la plus grande certitude que ce nouvel album de Daniel Bélanger est excellent! C'est tout bon.

Comme toujours, sa musique n'a rien d'une pop uniforme et linéaire, dont on pourrait fredonner l'air à l'avance, à la première écoute, comme la plupart (malheureusement) des "artistes" de l'heure. Que non. Il s'agit d'une musique que je qualifie de multidimensionnelle. Et oui. Un savant mélange d'influences, de sons, d'instruments, et c'est jamais trop, ou difficile d'écoute. Ça coule dans les tympans comme une eau dévalant joyeusement les flancs des cimes enneigées sous un soleil printanier (non mais hein, c'est presque cinématographique comme texte!). Sa musique groove, ou s'enroule en spirales mélodieuses qui aspirent tous nos sens (oh boy! arrêtez-moi quéqu'un!). Et le côté inattendu? Et bien c'est cet irrépressible besoin de se faire aller la patte, le popotin, la tête, de jouer de la bass imaginaire, et de traverser les rues en dansant alors que Nous résonne dans notre baladeur.

Les textes sont fidèles à la prose de Bélanger. Là aussi, je serais portée à les qualifier de multidimensionnels. Plus on les écoute, plus ils révèlent divers paliers de compréhension (bon en tous cas, moi, je la comprend, ma phrase). En gros ils parlent d'amour et de guerre, et ce, tout en nous faisant danser! Faut le faire!

Et pour vous démontrer que mon enthousiasme est plus que justifié, et vous convaincre que j'ai totalement raison, j'ai choisi pour vos oreilles avides deux pièces au hasard sur les treize qu'il nous propose sur ce super album. Voilà qui devrait vous inciter à vous ruer chez le disquaire de votre choix pour vous approprier ce nouveau cru de Daniel Bélanger.

LE TOIT DU MONDE:

(attention, à 2:19 arrive la "guétare", à 2:34 les cuivres se déchaînent, à 2:48 voyage en apesanteur, à 3:29 commencent les p'tis cris à la Mickael Jackson, puis les cuivres, puis...)

SI L'AMOUR TE RESSEMBLAIT:

(cette utilisation des cuivres ainsi que du piano, dans la dernière portion me font vraiment tripper)

Et en plus, la pièce RESTE dure 2 minutes de plus que sur la vidéo promotionnelle de l'album! C'est-y pas merveilleux? D'ailleurs, je vous la colle ici cette vidéo promotionnelle.

ÉLISAPIE ISAAC : THERE WILL BE STARS

J'ai eu ce coup de foudre il y a quelques semaines, et depuis, je me suis procurée le CD. Il s'agit, tout comme le titre de ce billet l'indique, de "There Will Be Stars" de "Élisapie Isaac". Cela fait deux semaines que je me le repasse à tout moment soit en écoute active, en background pendant que je vaque à quelque occupation, ou dans mon lecteur mp3, et je dois dire que je l'aime de plus en plus après chaque écoute. Il s'agit d'une musique riche et simple à la fois, aux diverses influences. Et que dire de la voix d'Élisapie! D'une douceur infinie. Cette voix faisait autrefois partie du groupe Taïma, et voilà qu'Élisapie décide maintenant de voler de ses propres ailes et de nous faire planer avec elle sur ses belles mélodies.

Le CD s'ouvre tout en douceur sur une chanson en inuktitut (c'est qu'elle s'exprime en trois langues, la belle!) sur une musique des plus agréables. C'est planant et rythmé à la fois. Le ton est donné pour l'ensemble des pièces qui flirtent parfois avec le reggae, parfois avec le rock, tantôt avec un son plus jazzy et même une que l'on pourrait presque qualifier de disco (Turning My Back) avec tout l'aspect quétaine en moins, mais aucune des pièces ne peut vraiment se faire identifier à un de ces styles. C'est un style pop personnel définitivement moderne, tourné vers l'avenir et porteur à la fois de la tradition et des origines du peuple inouit, habité par la douce voix d'Élisapie. C'est enchanteur, envoutant et tellement unique.

Difficile de dire quelle pièce est ma préférée. D'ailleurs, il n'y en a même pas que j'aime moins! J'aime bien la basse jazzy, la guitare, oh, ce son de guitare, et les sons de gorge propre à la manière de chanter de son peuple sur "Inuk". Et que dire de "Why Would I Cry" langoureux et planant. Si on a pas l'impression de se vautrer sur une peau d'ours polaire après ça, j'sais pas ce que ça prendrait! Avec "Wish Song" on a envie de se laisser dériver doucement entre les banquises. Pour plus de rythme, "Out Of Desperation" nous donne envie d'être une jeune fille et de danser dans un grand champs de fleurs sous un soleil radieux.

M'enfin... toutes bonnes, j'vous dis! Allez, je vous laisse faire connaissance.

À noter la seule chanson en français (Moi, Elsie), écrite par nul autre que Richard Desjardins, qui est loin d'être le dernier des paroliers! Un texte magnifique et touchant taillé sur mesure pour Élisapie qui l'interprète accompagnée seulement d'un piano. Puis nous revenons sur terre avec la pièce finale "Do You Hear Me" qui nous reste plantée dans le cerveau en même temps que la flèche qu'elle nous a décochée en plein coeur.

Oh que oui, je t'entends, et tu as réussi à me les faire voir, tes étoiles!

Voici maintenant une vidéo de la pièce Butterfly enregistrée lors de l'émission Studio 12 il y a quelques semaines. (Je suis très reconnaissante à la personne qui a enregistré et mis cette vidéo sur YouTube, mais j'aurais tellement apprécié qu'elle ait su ajuster les paramètres de sa télé HD!! On croirait voir un band de hobbits!)

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, by TICKLEBEAR

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN,
with jamie foxx and gerard butler.

alright,
the chance to see gerard's butt,
even if only for 2 seconds,
unless it was a body-double...
was sort of an incentive for me.
what can i say.
the flesh is weak!!
but beyond that,
i do need more than a show of flesh to convince me
whether a movie is good or not...
this one barely makes it,
as one shoudn't watch this too rationally,
but rather in a visceral way,
and here's why:

you are assaulted & stabbed,
tied up & gagged,
made to watch your family being tortured
and murdered right in front of you,
and then,
left for dead.
except you don't die,
you live to tell your tale,
the cops mean well,
the lawyers & the judge do what they think is best,
but you feel you're not getting justice for the death of your loved ones,
as the one you know is the true murderer
is getting away with murder
because of a deal he strikes with the ambitious self-centered prosecutor.
what do you do?!?
WHAT DO YOU DO?!?
you make your own justice,
that's what!!

i don't expect this movie to win any award
or to be remembered for far too long...
but it kept me interested if not excited,
and the ending surprised me.
it goes against any constitutional right,
and i like it!!!
trust me,
i haven't said too much.
you can still see this & enjoy it.
it's an OK movie.
it worked for me.
was it gerard's butt i saw?!?
:D~
HUGZ

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, by TICKLEBEAR

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY,
by Oren Peli.
it should be called instead
PARANORMAL INACTIVITY,
as there is significant activity after 86 minutes,
for about half-a-minute,
like 12 minutes before the end of the movie.
what is the big hype about?!?
this movie has neither any educational value about paranormal phenomenoms,
nor any entertainment value
as i remained bored the WHOLE f^%#@&g TIME..
WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!!!
i still can't believe i sat the whole way through.
the plot?
an hysterical woman with delusional paranoia
with a moronic guy "encounter" a phenomenom...
a winning combination.
stay away from that one!!
:(~
HUGZ

THE MAGIC of LANTERNS 2009 (MONTREAL's BOTANICAL GARDEN), by TICKLEBEAR

the magic of lanterns,

at montreal's botanical garden

is an anuual rendez-vous not to be missed.

this said,

my visit this year was probably the most dreadful

as the event is victim of its own success...

it may have taken me hardly ten minutes to hop in a cab

to hit the express way & reach my destination,

but the waiting in line to get tickets for the site

took forever...

& much to my delight... [NOT!!!]

i was surrounded by throngs of children in strollers or running around,

crying & screaming,

& people in wheelchairs...

i strongly recommend you go during the week.

weekends are simply sheer madness.

people pushing you while you try to take pictures,

the paths are narrow & uneven,

which in my opinion is neither

strollers or wheelchairs friendly.

(just my opinion...)

since i'm none too keen on kids or big crowds,

it took something away from the experience

as there's really not much room to move around.

still,

i'm glad i saw it,

even if it weren't in the best circumstances.

the organizers obviously made good use of the pieces of years past,

& the new setting on the pond is just gorgeous.

it is truly an enchanting view to be enjoyed,

when you're not threatened to be pushed over into the pond by this mob...

(do you get the sense i may be just a tad pissed off here?!?)

as you follow the paths & cross those little bridges,

the view keeps revealing itself anew,

with more details to admire amidst the plants

& over the water.

you also can visit a few chinese pavillions,

(which i skipped, i wonder why?!?).

definitely a destination not to be missed

D-U-R-I-N-G T-H-E W-E-E-K !!!

don't worry,

i'll be back next year,

& i'll try to remember my own advice...

:D~

HUGZ

LES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC: JUPITER AWARDS & HOMAGE TO MICHAEL JACKSON

well,

the 25th edition of the international loto-quebec fireworks of montreal

has just concluded with the award ceremonies,

& i must say this year's competitors from around the world

have all honored this prestigious event

with their performance.

without further delay,

the winners are:

ROYAL PYROTECHNIE,

representing quebec, canada,

has earned the golden jupiter.

(i had personally given them 4.5)

OOPS!!

:D~

PYROMAGIC PRODUCTIONS LTD,

representing hong kong, china,

received the silver jupiter.

i missed that show

& i knew it'd be that good.

it just had to be...

sniff!!

MELROSE PYROTECHNICS,

from the united states earned the bronze jupiter.

good for them!!

(i had given them a 5...)

all in all,

a great year!!

:)~

part of the evening's event was an homage to michael jackson,

entertainer extraordinaire!!

from my vantage point,

it was difficult to see it all as there was no wind to move the fumes away;

& there was no radio broadcast of the event,

as this was not a scheduled event.

who knew michael would die, right?!?

nevertheless,

it was fun & sparkly enough.

the eternal boy that he was

might have like that.

it certainly ended with a bigger bang than he did...

may his soul rest in piece.

i'll admit

i've followed the fireworks this year

more enthusiastically

than in some previous years,

& it is thanks to the competing teams this year

that have made me want to see more & more.

in my heart,

you're all winners

& you have an open invitation

to come back anytime.

see ya all in 2010!!

:)~

HUGZ

DISTRICT 9 : YOUR MUST-SEE OF THE SEASON !!!

DISTRICT 9,

by peter jackson.

my apologies as i should have written this days ago...

let's start by saying this is your must-see of the season.

there, i've said it!!

where other movies have more or less disappointed me,

such as transformers 2 which i liked but was annoyed with too many things;

harry potter & the halfblood prince was fine, in its genre;

g.i. joe-rise of the cobra was a total let-down...

it is nice to see that this far into the blockbuster season,

something like this can come up & still enchant me.

set as a mockumentary,

with the handheld camera that comes with that,

of which i'm never a big fan of,

but for which i'll make an exception here

as it is pertinent,

it is the drama that ensues

when habitants of johanesburg (south africa) wake up to find

a spaceship over their city,

filled with bereft aliens trapped in this useless ship,

& in need of asylum.

the CGI is ever present but subtle

as it never distract you from the story,

because yes,

THERE IS a story.

it is an intelligent film,

not an orgy of CGI with no plotline in sight...

a story that reveals is not the monster whom you might think.

though it is a scifi movie,

i personally felt it was way more a social critique

of the way humans treat "others"...

those others coming from another planet as in the movie,

or from across the border, as in real life.

it is way-too-close to reality to ignore that fact.

we have enough refugee camps on this planet

to bring this to evidence.

but in the last minute of the movie,

& i won't spoil it for you, promise!!,

there is a glimmer of hope for the human spirit,

as the better side of our nature may prevail [in some cases...].

see it & you'll understand.

it's the story of a man who is part of the system that oppresses those aliens,

& after becoming contaminated by some alien technology,

(i'm keeping it vague here...),

fights to retain his humanity & a grasp on his life,

while gaining a better understanding of the aliens

as he gets treated as one of them [or worse even...];

only to find out that,

no matter what happens to him,

he'll always remain "human".

(that's the part i find so moving...).

DISTRICT 9 is one of those movies

i cannot wait to add to my DVD collection.

that & STAR TREK,

the other great movie this season

both at opposing sides of the genre,

& both doing a great job at it.

this movie has graphic violence,

not too gory, just violent,

so not for too-young-a kids please,

as this is not WALL-E or E.T.,

nor should you expect a mindless over-the-top action movie.

there are plenty of sleek special effects & enough action,

but it will appeal to the two neurons you've got left

in your numbed mind.

it'll be a nice change!!

go see it!!

period!!

3 f*ck*ng thumbs up...

or 5 stars +1 in bonus!!

:)~

HUGZ

MONTREAL's GAY PRIDE PARADE 2009, by TICKLEBEAR

the theme this year was FIESTA!!

& people have delivered

as there was a lot of colors,

most seemed in good spirit

& it made for a great event.

i went with linoue to see the parade

& we were both enchanted with the experience.

there were clubs & community associations,

lots of music & some dancing [in this heat!!!].

polite statements were made

& it shouldn't create any scandals as in some previous years...

gays are just SO polite!!!...

enjoy the pictures (some are captioned) & the videos!!

thanks to the organisers, sponsors & all of the many participants.

a two hours well spent,

despite the heat...

you can say

mother nature was shining on us!!!

& even though there were many politicians present at the parade,

i don't recall seeing a tory from ottawa.

i guess they do have a sense of survival,

after the affront they did to montreal,

denying divers/cite their grant

for our first gay pride.

yes,

we have two gay pride festivals here in montreal.

jealous?!?

that's just how proud we are!!

(if only...)

:)~

HUGZ

L'INTERNATIONAL DES FEUX LOTO-QUEBEC 2009: CONCEPT FIATLUX

CONCEPT FIATLUX

was supposed to give us something never seen before...

a 45 minutes program instead of 30 minutes.

the beginnning with the narrative was just a big yawn!!!

& the rest was even worse...

one word to CONCEPT FIATLUX:

GO HOME & DO YOUR FUCKING HOMEWORK

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this was supposed to be an hommage to the CIRQUE DU SOLEIL!!!...

"SUPPOSED"

???????????

i fucking missed michel dorion's show for THIS??????

for 45 minutes,

i waited to be impressed,

always hopeful...

the cirque du soleil NEVER failed to impress me,

even when i saw those shows numerous times.
just don't hire this company,

since they won't deliver......

any suburb city could have provided better entertainment.

this was beyond boring!!!!!!!

F-U-C-K !!!!!!!!!

FUCK YOU VERY MUCH FIATLUX!!!

can laliberte sue for misrepresentation???

no fucking slideshow for them!!!!!

too boring!!!