Appassionata

I saw a great German movie yesterday called Das Leben der Anderen. The English title is "The Lives of Others" and it won the Oscar for best foreign movie in 2007. But that's not important. What's important is that this is a pretty good story. It is not even a very complex story, it can be pretty hollywoodian if you want. The movie is kind of stressful. It is very insightful on the rampant paranoia that was going on in the DDR. I'm not sure I should base my impressions of life in the DDR on this movie, but it certainly strikes the imagination. I'm really glad I got to see this movie.

Direction

I went to a great restaurant last Friday! It is on Ontario St. and its name is "Chez ma grosse truie chérie". That translates to "At my big dear sow". It is a really nicely decorated restaurant with two separate sections. We got in at one of the sections and they made us go through the kitchen to go to the other section, which was kind of weird, but also kind of fun. The waiter was really nice. The portions were reasonably sized. I got a salmon foursome for my appetizer: there was salmon carpaccio, beet marinated salmon, apple smoked salmon, and salmon tartar. It was delicious. I got to taste a few other appetizers and they were great too!

Next I had a good piece of piglet with cheddar polenta. The polenta looked like mashed potatoes and tasted like good mac'n'cheese (i.e., not KD). We also shared

Parmesan fries, which were perfect. For dessert I had a big chocolate macaroon with some pears and yogurt sherbet. That dessert and the other desserts I tasted were delicious.

This is definitely a restaurant I would like to visit again. They also have a more laid-back menu, with what looks like quality burgers, grilled cheese sandwiches, and hotdogs. I'm guessing they serve that menu at lunchtime, but I'm not sure. I'll have to see for myself!

This Mess We're In

I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I... and it wasn't that good. The actors just looked stressed all the time. The best part was seeing Kreattur poke Mondingus Fletcher with a fork during Harry's interrogation. There weren't really any big action scenes, and I didn't really see the point of showing Harry and Hermione half-naked. What Bellatrix did to Hermione was pretty awful.

That's all I have to say, I guess.

Empire State of Mind

I saw Manhattan, by Woody Allen. The only other Woody Allen movies I have seen are more recent ones: Match Point and Vicky Christina Barcelona. They were okay, but it seems that I am not much of a Woody Allen person. Manhattan had some few funny moments, there were some beautiful scenes, but it didn't do that much for me. This is the original hipster movie. Xavier Dolan is nothing compared to this. Some shots are indeed very clever. Diane Keaton's character is pretty insufferable, but she is kind of likable at the same time. It was fun to watch a young Woody Allen with all of his neuroses. He makes New York seem very romantic, and I guess that is the point of the movie.

The Man Who Sold The World

I went to Ginza, a great all-you-can-eat sushi place on St-Denis St.! I usually don't like sushi pizza, but theirs was excellent. The Sakara roll was great too (I think I have that name right). In places like these, they usually offer food other than sushi. It isn't always good, but at Ginza, it was pretty great. The portions weren't too big, and they had cute little eggplant appetizers. Their beef sashimi was good too.

Help Myself (Nous Ne Faisons Que Passer)

I've just finished reading Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, and I am a bit puzzled by this book. The beginning is absolutely beautiful, but the party scene at the end is so boring. Perhaps it's meant to be that way. Anyway, it is really lovely to be walking among the streets of London at the beginning of the novel with all of the different characters, whose thoughts are all fascinating to follow. I found Rezia's character very touching, and I loved Peter Walsh and Septimus.

Projects

I recently finished watching the entirety of "The Wire" and I feel like I just have to write a blog post about that. "The Wire" is known for being one of the smartest TV series ever made, and it certainly is the smartest TV series I've ever watched, followed more or less closely by "Mad Men" and "Veronica Mars". (They're smart too, but a different kind of smart.) It is mainly about Baltimore's drug scene, and it could be considered a crime drama, but it is also about the various institutions that are part of a city. We're talking the media, the education system, the government, etc. We also get to realize that it isn't enough to know who the bad guys are: you need solid proof. But first and foremost, it's about every single person trying to fulfill his own particular needs, and the conflicts that can ensue. Since the series is about Baltimore's drug scene, the street lingo is very much present in every episode. At first, I didn't understand a word of what the characters were saying to each other, even with the subtitles, but I got used to it. I loved seasons one, three and four, and I only had a few problems with seasons two and five. Season two drew away from the black gangsters and focused on the people working at the port, and those people are mainly white. Seriously, I didn't care for the white folks, I wanted the black gangstas back. Season five was a bit too much, but it still broke my heart to think that it was the last season of "The Wire" I could ever get my hands on.

I loved many of the characters, and many of them infuriated me. There are a lot of characters, but if one were to point out one particular character on whom the series seemed to focus on, it would be Jimmy McNulty. McNulty is a cop and a rebel, and those two things don't necessarily fit together. I loved him as a rebel. In season four, he calmed down a little, and I loved watching that too. In season five, he went back to being the rebel I loved, but it wrenched my heart to see him drift away from his tranquil state, in which he was so happy. Bunk was always a great character, but I especially loved him in season five. Cedric Daniels is HOT. I liked Lester Freamon in season one, but he got more and more cocky as the seasons went on. I loved Bubbles, of course. Amongst the gangsters, I particularly loved Bodie, and Snoop was pretty scary. I loved the tension between Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell. I know that all this talk about the characters doesn't mean anything to you, but see, I was so invested in "The Wire" that I don't care.

I saw one critic's quote in the back of the DVD sets that says it all: "Either you love 'The Wire' or you haven't seen it."