Were you like, "Dude, I don't do nearly enough stuff in Gatineau-Hull, and that's stupid." I know, man. That's why you should check out Mirana Zuger's new show at Maison de la culture, opening this Friday, February 27th, from 6-8 p.m. Her work has been described as "a seductive spontaneity pulses through this new series from Mirana Zuger.  Her work aims to convince us of the fragility of a moment and the fortitude of the spirit.  These large format oil paintings command attention with bold gesture and a stunning sensuality that moves stealthily between abstract and figurative motifs." Whoa, that text is big on the dirty adjectives. Sounds like my kind of show. It's on until May 24.

Two new exhibits opened yesterday at the Carleton University Art Gallery: Construction Work, with pieces by U of O profs Josée Dubeau, Lorraine Gilbert, and Jinny Yu, and The Art of Transformation: The Fantastic in Inuit and Northwest Coast Art. Being as how the fact that Carleton even has an art gallery is news to me, I'm certainly going to make time for the shows. They're on until April 12th.

We've finally hit that mid-winter wall where literally nothing of interest is coming out in theatres. Which is fine, really, given that it's mid-winter, and I can see even more snow coming down as I type this. So, you've got options:

 If you do want to go out, Dan Campbell has a one night only exhibit from 7-10 pm tonight at La Petite Mort Gallery (306 Cumberland). As Campbell explains, "I try to show the human body and the emotions it conveys in as simple and striking way I can, being high contrast. Contrast in the shapes and colours, but also with the sharp lines of the subjects on the hand weathered and distressed backgrounds where they find themselves." 

 If you only want to go as far as your local video store, do yourself a favour and pick up Zombie Strippers!. I cannot recommend this little parody enough. Strippers become zombies, which makes them super-strippers, so no one cares when they start eating the patrons. If you don't laugh at the rapid-fire patter between the soldiers in the opening minutes, I don't know what to do with you. 

With coffee? Excellent. Tonight Lou Hayden has a new show opening at the Raw Sugar Café at 692 Somerset West (Somerset and Cambridge). It's called 'Lost Shoes,' and it starts at 5:30.

I love Tomato Nation for a variety of reasons (the Vine, movie reviews, true crime novel obsession), but I mostly just love it for the writing. Sars (a.k.a. Sarah D. Bunting) has this great no bullshit attitude that's witty and honest and sometimes quite moving. She's a feminist, a couch potato, and a pop culture junkie, which makes her my kind of people. More importantly, she and other fantastic peeps (many from her Television Without Pity days, and did I mention she co-founded that site, too?) are tackling The Crushed Film Festival. What are they writing about? The shitty movies they watch just to see a favourite hottie. Aw, who hasn't been there?

Actually, if you'd rather read something than go out (not that these things take a equivalent time, mind, but it's a starting point), I'd recommend the latest entry in "The New Cult Canon:" The Limey. Scott Tobias' weekly feature rocks my world anyway, but this entry especially vibrates with a love of film. It's the kind of writing that gets you excited to see the movie, listen to the track, and then go back to see if you really agree with Tobias. He's just on. 

There's not much to see this weekend, so it might be a good time to catch up on other stuff. Waltz with Bashir, for example, is still playing at the Bytowne, and I can now tell you that it's pretty good. If you are looking for something new, why not check out The International? What seemed like ridiculous hysteria when the trailer came out last summer now seems relevant, doesn't it? Banks are evil. They will apparently use an ATM to murder you or something.

The Genie nominations were announced yesterday, and normally I have little to say about them because I see so few Canadian films (boo hiss, I know). Ce qu'il faut pour vivre (The Necessities of Life) is playing at the Bytowne later this month, and, as thoroughly depressing as it looks, I'll see that. But my real quibble: six nominations for Passchendaele. Six? Are they kidding me with that? Did anyone else see that movie? It's not good, people. It starts out jarring (good), then it moves to Canada for an extended period (still good), then it goes back to the war (expected, given the title), then it gets briefly sexy (v. good), and then it gets all crazy operatic and over the top to the point of embarrassment. No, really, I was embarrassed for Paul Gross. But the time you get to the slow pan . . . ugh. Couldn't we have nominated, I don't know, Just Buried instead?

Another foreign language nominee opens this weekend at the Bytowne: Waltz with Bashir. Who likes their war movies animated? The Academy! (We guess)

(Cult)ure contributer Medhi Hamdad has an upcoming show here in Ottawa that you should check out: It's February 20th at 8pm at la Nouvelle-Scène (333 King Edward). Also, download his latest (Cult)ure podcast while you're at it.

The fine folks over at the Bytowne are opening Entre les murs (The Class) tonight, France's official competitor Best Foreign Language Film this year. It's already beat out Canada's longlisted title, Ce qu'il faut pour vivre (The Necessities of Life), which opens at the Bytowne later this month. January's a cinematic wasteland, so I'd suggest that you jump at the chance to get caught up on something worth seeing.