My Super Ex-Pusher

This is kind of odd.

Yesterday, I found myself sitting in a half empty AMC Forum room after - I think - having seen Leonard Cohen walk on Ste-Catherine. Sitting, I have to say, next to a geek. Can I add something ? AMC Forum is fuckin' FAR. Hard to believe, but people apparently live around there. I must be so "downtown-centric" that I forget that.

I have won passes (yes, AGAIN) from the Mirror to see Ivan Reitman's MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND, a romantic comedy about dating new yorkers... while one of them happens to be a super-hero.

That's basically why I traveled so far. Biking ! Going all the way West on Sherbrooke street, an artery I see too much of these days. The place wasn't "sold" out, the room was so big it would have been hard, I guess. And the movie... well... was okay. A bit predictable, but the most fun came from the handling, the directing, the dialogues...

Luke Wilson is a shy guy working in a design office (very 2006) whose best friend is a sex-obsessed geek - the guy who played Arthur in SIX FEET UNDER, his name eludes me right know - working with him. He meets Uma Thurman, a shy brunette with glasses - pretty hot, in the north american male folklore, if you know what I mean - and starts dating her, but finds her rather neurotic. Of course, that's because she also poses as G-Girl, a female "Superman" who watches over New York with her almighty superpowers.

This won't come as a spoiler if you've seen the movie's poster. If you haven't, here it is, fuckers :



So anyway, the girl doesn't turn out to be as good as he though. Even if the sex if wall-shattering (litterally) and Uma takes him to 7th heaven (also litterally), he still picks on the small details, like her jealousy & possessive ways. He's trying to find a way out and finally breaks up with her. To find out that it's a mistake he shouldn't have committed.

You've got everything there is to hate about Hollywood in there : a cheesy, over-emotional score, boring pop songs supposed to spice up the action, and most of all, a character whose behavior doesn't make ANY sense. Why would a "superhero" who saves lives and helps a city function normally turn into a hysterical maniac over a breakup ?

The one-liners are funny, the performances are overall honest, the whole thing is entertaining as hell and Thurman is, once again, pretty hot stuff, but it doesn't add up to make a great movie. Just a way to spend an hour & a half of your spare time.

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That's why Miss Bijoux & I immediately headed to Concordia Hall afterwards, and got in the line-up to see the most-awaited PUSHER 3. I may sound like an old man who always repeats the same thing, but I love Danish crime flicks. If they're silly, it's OK, I understand. But when they're dark and tortured like this one is, it's even better...

I have to say I haven't seen the first two chapters of this trilogy, but it's coming soon, don't worry. The characters weren't really familiar to me, but Nicolas Winding Refn's style was, as I had seen BLEEDER a year or two ago.

It came as no surprise that the whole thing was kind of humorless, or rather that the humor was so dark it only made you laugh uneasily. Gone was the lightness of touch of Lasse Spang Olsen. Denmark at its darkest was to follow.



The movie depicts Milo, an aging drug dealer and addict, on the day of his daughter's 25th anniversary. He has to cook for 45 people without giving in to his need to snort coke and smoke heroin, while fellow drug dealers torment him with his debts and old friends re-appear without a warning, meaning either good or bad.

Winding Refn was presenting the movie, and at the end we got to ask him questions during a very generous 40 minutes, minutes that became hours to me as I felt my bladder was on the verge of explosion. Turns out that most of the second roles were given to real criminals, or at least actors with a criminal background. One of the guys was even convicted one week after the end of the shooting.

This method paid its dues : the movie is a wonderful dive into the dark side of Copenhagen, where unglamorous gangsters live unglamorous lives, and multiple ethnies all fight for their share of the cake. Milo's downfall is a hard one, but you can't get your eyes off the screen as it unfolds.

Good news for those of you who missed this : all three PUSHER films were bought for a North American release and they'll tour major city cinemas before being released on DVD as a box set at the beginning of 2007. Now get up your ass and do something.

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Tonight at Les Saints (30 Ste-Catherine W) : MSTRKRFT are DJ'ing their way into your pants for a mere 10$. After that, don't say I'm not heading you in the right direction...

If you feel like hearing my sweet voice, tune in at www.choq.fm at 10 PM EST sharp tonight - I'll be appearing to DJ & shamelessly promote myself at Sunday Luv's Noktambul show.

And tomorrow, we invade Théâtre Plaza with beats as Kick le Clavecin 2 takes place. Expect the unexpected : dance, sweat & booze. I'm on at 11 so get your ass there early, fool !