It Takes Two

My first summer movie was The Proposal. (I still haven't seen Star Trek.) It was okay. What can I say? It was a romantic comedy. Some things were really bad about this movie, but overall, it was okay. Sandra Bullock didn't really do it for me, but Ryan Reynolds is seriously awesome. And Betty White is pretty cool, too.

Cool Scene

We went to a typical French restaurant yesterday. It is called Beaver Hall and it is located in the business center of Montreal. It's not that expensive, and they serve just the right amount of food. The maître d' was really nice. He offered us a glass of white wine. Both that wine and the one he suggested us for the rest of the evening were delicious. I ordered a fish soup yet again, and the fish of the day. The fish soup was very satisfying, as always. The fish of the day was halibut served with cherry tomatoes, and it was also very good. For dessert, I got chocolate mousse and it was great. Before leaving, we grabbed some apples that were displayed at the door for us to take. All in all, a very enjoyable restaurant.

Just A Girl

No Doubt is one of the first "alternative" bands I ever listened to. So when I heard they were coming at the Bell Centre in Montreal, I thought, why not?

The opening acts were Bedouin Soundclash and Paramore. Bedouin Soudclash was okay, but the crowd didn't show much interest: after all, they had come to see No Doubt. Paramore has a lot of energy, the girl has a great voice (the red hair really works for her), but their songs are really ordinary. Haley, the singer, obviously loves what she's doing and communicates a lot with her public. She can easily summon the crowd to do whatever she wants. Gwen Stefani visibly has more experience, but Haley doesn't lack anything much for a performer.

I have to say, though: Gwen Stefani is still a hell of a performer. She had everybody dancing during nearly two hours. The concert got a little emotional when she started singing "Running". The most exciting moment for me was when they played "Just A Girl". It seemed to be an anthem for many people in the crowd. "Just A Girl" was the last song they played before returning for an encore with three songs. On the second one, Paramore came back on the stage, and Haley sang along with Gwen Stefani. It was a pretty great sight.

Gwen Stefani tried to interact with her audience as much as possible. She let a girl come onstage to take a picture, she made everyone sing "Happy Birthday" for several of her acquaintances and she came down to sing right next to some the members of the audience.

The stage was entirely white, and most of the crew wore white too. The drumset was in the middle. This is what it looked like:

Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

My friend had seen an ad for an aperitivo Italy-style taking place in a lounge in Old Montreal. It started at 5, so while we were waiting for it we went to see the free "Imagine" exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts. "Imagine" is Yoko Ono's project. A lot has been said already on this exhibition on other friends's blogs: the tiny "Yes" written up high, the all-white chess games... The exhibition was OK. I liked the fact that we had to go through heavy black curtains before entering a room, so that the next room in our wandering remained a surprise. The first rooms I found to be a bit small, so I felt a bit claustrophobic. Plus, there were still a lot of people at the exhibition, even though it has been in Montreal for some time now, so that didn't help. My favorite room was the one with the numerous TVs all showing John Lennon chanting "Give Peace a Chance" and the multiple exclamation points in the backgroung. I also liked hearing "Imagine" as I entered an entirely white room. It remains a very powerful song. I believe that, after all, it is John Lennon's music that stays with me the most, even before his philanthropy. I'll say one last thing: it is a lot more complicated to play with an entirely white chess game than it sounds.

Afterwards, we went to the aperitivo. However, it was nothing like in Rome, where all you had to do was buy one drink and you had access to an all-you-can-eat buffet. We got very little food. Waiters came by offering us small apetizers, but the quantity was very unsatisfying. However, I had a very interesting drink. It is called a clear sangria: fizzy wine, peach schnapps, white cranberry juice, and fresh blueberries and raspberries. It was funny because we clearly were out of place at that lounge. We were dressed way too casually, for starters. The crowd mainly comprised of businessmen in suits. I'm not sure I even understand what a businessman is. Also, they all seemed to know each other, which was kind of weird. Anyway, we had a fun time.

Add It Up

I stumbled upon a partial list of summer releases on moviefone.com and it inspired me to write a list of the movies I would like to see in theaters this summer. I will probably get to see about only two of them, as I really don't go to the theater that often. These choices are mostly based on casting, but I will likely be influenced by the reviews that will be published when these movies actually come out. Surprisingly, there are two rom-coms and one romantic movie in this list, although I usually despise those particular movies. Anyway, here goes the list:

The Brothers Bloom - Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz? Oh, yeah. My local anglo paper gave it a warm review, whereas my franco paper gave it 2 1/2 stars out of 5. However, I hate the particular critic who gave this rating, and so I am choosing to ignore her opinion.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - This is a no-brainer.

The Proposal - I used to love Sandra Bullock when I was young, and Two Weeks Notice is a great guilty pleasure. Also, Ryan Reynolds is kind of cute.

The Ugly Truth - OK, Katherine Heigl seems like a real bitch, but I loved her in "Roswell". And Gerard Butler isn't too shabby, either.

The Time Traveler's Wife - The book was OK. There is a high possibility this movie will suck, but... yay for Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. (Just so we're clear, I hated The Notebook, but I liked McAdams in The Family Stone and in Mean Girls.)

Year One - Olivia Wilde? She's pretty to look at. Michael Cera? So. Cute. Jack Black? Hell yes!

Public Enemies - I don't like Johnny Depp so much but... Christian Bale!! He might be a jerk, but... it's Christian Bale!! I'm not so familiar with Michael Mann's work, but I watched Collateral, which he directed, and I liked it.

There's also a Sarah Michelle Gellar movie that looks pretty good and that is due in 2009, but there is no release date as of yet.

AND, I have yet to watch Star Trek! Urrgh!!!

Something

This Side of Paradise was published in 1920. It is F. Scott Fitzgerald's first novel. The main character is Amory Blaine, a handsome young lad who is a passionate man in general, and who is particularly passionate about poetry. He spends the first years of his life very comfortably, for his father does not lack money. His sole company is that of his mother, who is a fascinating woman, to say the least. He then goes to boarding school, where he prepares himself to life in Princeton. Along the way, he makes a few friends and meets a few girls. Towards the end of his studies, Worl War I begins and Amory is enrolled in the army. His military career does not last long, however, and does not seem to have any great impact on him. After the war, he meets the love of his life, only to lose her after a few months. The only thing left for Amory is to try and find his place in the world.

This book is interesting because its main characters, if they truly existed, would probably annoy the hell out of me. The fact that they live in the 1920s, however, seems to make up for it. Also, F. Scott Fitzgerald's descriptions of female characters are simply extraordinary: they all seem like incredibly superficial creatures, yet they remain utterly irresistible...