Month: June 2005

Movies Movies Movies

Ok, everyone knows I love movies. But I just wanted to relate that I just voted on my 500th movie over at IMDB. For the record, the film was House of Sand and Fog (2003) and I gave it an 8.

Acción Mutante

Tonight, we watched one of two films I picked up from Spanish director Álex de la Iglesia. He directed one of our favourite films from last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, called Crimen Ferpecto (Ferpect Crime) (2004), and I was happy to see two more of his films on DVD on one of my occasional visits to Bay Street Video.

Acción Mutante (Mutant Action) (1994) is his first film and it is set in a future society ruled by good-looking people. Acción Mutante are a terrorist group made up of disabled, ugly outcasts. Wacky and dark, but also full of biting satire about the media and the general superficiality of polite society.

We’ll watch the other one I picked up later this week. It’s called Muertos de Risa (Dying of Laughter) (1999) and it promises more skewering of the media and the entertainment business.

Note: I guess I’ve now voted on 501 films…

Barber Blues

I think I can remember the name of every person who has cut my hair more than once. I develop a strong dependence on my barbers. And I’ve had some trouble in the past couple of years keeping good ones.

Two years ago, Vince died. He had cut my hair for about fifteen years in his little two-chair shop next to the bus terminal. His replacement, Valentino, had become a good friend. We talked a lot about wine and his native Romania and most importantly, he actually figured out how to cut my hair. About six weeks ago, I went in to find him missing. Karim, a young Algerian barber, was there. He was replacing another Albanian barber who had opened up his own shop in the west end of Toronto. Karim told me that Valentino had been sick, experiencing vertigo and coughing a lot, and that after consulting lots of doctors here, he and his wife had gone to Costa Rica to consult with “natural” doctors. It didn’t look good and Valentino was considering selling the shop. I guess calling your business the “Terminal Barber Shop” may have been a jinx. Seriously, though, I was upset because Valentino is only in his mid-40s.

Karim tried gamely to cut my hair and I visited him twice but it just wasn’t working. He was a really great guy who had all kinds of stories but I’m not sure I’ll be back.

Today, I tried again. There are two places near me that looked promising. Of course, one was inexplicably closed. The other has been there for a long time, but the name should have warned me. Paul’s Hairstyling for Men and Women. Hmmm…

And even though I had my hair cut by Paul himself, it still isn’t right. I just want a barber who gets in there and cuts the hair. Instead, I felt like I was being pecked by birds. Lots off the sides and back, but they’re all terrified to tackle the top and front.

I’m considering shaving my own head.