Tag Archives: FUBAR

This just in: You CAN buy Old Style Pilsner in Ontario!

Posted by gruesomegreg on

One of the most-read posts on this blog is an ode to Old Style Pilsner I composed some 14 months ago.  Granted, it’s not in the top 10 or top 20–but rather near the bottom of the top 40.  Even still, some 265 people (and counting) have come to this site trying to find out where to buy Old Style Pilsner in Ontario.  And until very recently, the answer was nowhere.

But that all changed sometime earlier this month.  Though I can’t find an announcement anywhere, The Beer Store now lists Pil amongst its products, with 15 cans currently on sale for 21 bucks.  They also sell bottles, albeit only in 24s.  You do not wanna drink 24 of those beers, though, trust me!

Now, I’m not sure whether demand was driven by a recent influx of Saskies to The Centre of the Known Universe, or perhaps a resurgence in popularity of the Canadian cult classic FUBAR and its sequel, FUBAR II.  Hey, maybe all those hits on my blog had something to do with it.  In any case, I’ll no longer hafta drink the bitter Czech semi-doppleganger whenever the Riders penetrate the Stampeder defence this summer–though it seems I’ll need to schlep down to Gerard and Seaton to get it. :(

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Man, they couldn’t have pushed up the Canadian premiere of The Amazing Spider-Man by a day, could they?

Posted by gruesomegreg on

As an avid childhood reader of Marvel Comics, I’ve felt compelled to see pretty much all of these recent super-hero blockbusters Stan Lee has stamped over the past few years.  And while I kinda had a beef with The Avengers movie not sticking to the script of the original comic books, I hafta say, the Spider-Man series has been pretty good in that regard.  Of course, the origin story is well-known, but I recognized storylines from the first two films coming from issues of the comic book back in the day.  (Spider-Man 3, on the other hand…)  Not such whether Marvel had more input on these ones or if Sam Raimi was just a Spidey fan, but I thought they were well done.

Of course, the departure of director Raimi and lead actor Tobey Maguire for The Amazing Spider-Man has led to a whole refresh of the series with a new cast of characters (exit Kirsten Dunst as Mary-Jane, enter Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy) led by British actor Andrew Garfield.  While I’m not sure whether this one will capture the feel of the initial trilogy, I’d probably still go and see it–if only it was opening this weekend.  This being one of the biggest summer blockbusters, the studio has given the go-ahead for a July 3rd opening ahead of the big long weekend in the States.  But I guess the Canadian arm of Columbia Pictures has no pull, as its northern opening inconveniently comes after our national holiday weekend–and by one day, at that!

Of course, the day that Canada became a country was the 1st, not the 4th of July–although America has us beat by about 90 years.  And because the day itself falls on a Sunday this year, most Canadian workplaces (mine included) have Monday, July 2nd off.  Since the second is of no particular patriotic significance, it seems like a good time to catch a flick–it’s just too bad that the movie I most wanted to see opens a day late.  That said, part of me wants to watch Ted, the new Mark Wahlberg film, just to see if the twisted mind of Seth MacFarlane has directed a sex scene between Mila Kunis and a teddy bear.  (Hey, this sorta thing has happened before–albeit only in porn parodies, I suppose.)  I also kinda wanna see the new Oliver Stone movie Savages–but that one doesn’t even open till next Friday.

Mind you, I know where I’ll be spending my Day-After-Canada-Day.  The Bloor Cinema is offering a hoserrific double bill of Strange Brew and Fubar for freakin’ free(!!!) on Monday afternoon starting at 1 pm.  The second-best part is that it’s free–the best part being that it’s only a couple blocks away from my apartment…  Take Off, Eh!

Dude, the new Team Canada unis are freakin’ sweet!

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Oh man, have you seen the new official uniforms unveiled today, to be worn by Team Canada at the 2012 Olympics!?  Gone are the days when Roots designed those classy backwards berets, as new designer HBC has returned to the 80’s, decking our athletes out in jean jackets.  And it looks like they aren’t giving them any bitchin’ Slayer or Metallica back patches, either.  The ones seen on Jennifer Abel’s jacket below appear to have been stolen off a Boy Scouts uniform…

 

Seriously dude, we’re sending our athletes to London in that!?  Will we also be giving them trucker hats to wear backwards and bandanas to hang out of their back pockets?  Is Pilsner gonna be the official team sponsor?  Will Terry and Deaner be leading the parade as our new Team Canada mascots?

“Canada’s style has made a huge impression around the world and we want our Olympic designs to reflect who we are as a nation,” said Suzanne Timmins, VP fashion director at Hudson’s Bay Company.

Two words: Hoser Power!

My TIFF take on… hockey-fighter films

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Although it’s taken a bit of a backseat in the past few days to concussions and faulty Soviet aircraft, fighting in hockey remains a hot-button issue.  And while I’m sure the TIFF organizers had their lineup of films put together months in advance, the fact that there were two movies about the fine art of hockey pugilism screening today at the festival couldn’t have been much more timely.

The Last Gladiators was a truly great documentary, following the career and post-hockey struggles of ex-Habs enforcer Chris “Knuckles” Nilan, while taking a broader look at that side of the game by interviewing tough guys like Terry O’Reilly, Tony Twist and the late Bob Probert.  (They also shot footage of Probert’s funeral.)  We even got both sides of the McSorely/Brashear incident from the men themselves.  Incidentally, when they shot Brashear, he was playing semi-pro hockey in Quebec, and the film crew got access to one of his games, as well as a day in the life of another not-so-famous minor-league fighter.

Nilan himself was in attendance, even for the 9:15 am second screening of the film.  Walking on crutches, you could tell he’s had a rough time, but he was just as dynamic in person as when you saw him on film.  He even showed a bit of distaste for Gary Bettman, who he feels is trying to take fighting out of hockey, warning that if you take it out of the game–and piss off all those Canadians and the American rednecks who watch hockey–it’ll be hard to put it back in.

My second screening of the day was a big premiere event, though hardly a black-tie affair.  The movie Goon, directed by Michael Dowse of FUBAR fame (fuckin’ giver eh!) is based on the autobiography of real-life minor-league scrapper Doug “The Thug” Smith and stars Seann William Scott of American Pie fame in the leading role.  Though I haven’t read the book, it’s safe to say that Dowse and the crew did their homework after having seen a documentary about the real deal.  At one point, the antagonist Ross Rhea (a tribute to Rob Ray, perhaps?) is suspended for a McSorely-like stick-swinging incident, and there is definitely a Gretzky/McSorely relationship between Scott and Marc-André Grondin, who stars as a cocky, Ovechkin-inspired Québecois star player who’s lost his touch after suffering a big hit to the head.  (Sidney Crosby, anyone?)

Although the on-ice action is pretty true-to-life, the locker-room and bus-ride scenes pay homage to Slap Shot while clearly showing that this movie was directed by the same guy who did FUBAR.  Some of the supporting cast, like the pill-popping goalie from Saskatchewan and the two wisecracking Russians are pure comic gold!

For the record, I gave The Last Gladiators a perfect five points on my People’s Choice ballot, while Goon got a four.  Great movie, but sometimes there ain’t nothing like the real thing, and The Last Gladiators is worthy of the People’s Choice Award in my humble opinion.