Blog-a-readin' and what to watch

Watching stuff in French as "homework" is fun. It feels like slacking off. But the dishwasher's running and my TV's old and not very loud, so I'm taking an internet break. Going to read blogs. If you're a fellow blogger and you notice I only show up on your blog once a week, it's cause I tend to catch up on everything about once a week--sort of like reading the Sunday paper. I have a feed reader, and I dive in and immerse myself for a few hours.

I just watched the Jamie Kennedy movie where he wakes up in a coma and reforms his old breakdance crew with his oldy friends. It's one of those movies that no one will watch with you, not even on TV. My moment had finally come--husband off playing D&D, movie on TV in French, perfect excuse for me to finally see it. I can understand translated movies, and commercials, the easiest. People don't speak as rapidly as in more natural French-Canadian movies, I guess.

And then there's the French-French movies where everyone's speaking fast, using words I don't know, and speaking like they have marbles in their mouths. A friend recommended a series called Les Rois maudits for me, which they had at the library. But the dvd didn't have French sub-titles, and my TV didn't have French sub-titling for it either, so it was hopeless, I just couldn't follow. I'll try again another time. (My friend who recommended it is not only francophone, but she's Belgian--she laughs in the face of European accents! She can smoke them under the table!)


Speaking of Jamie Kennedy, I had never recognized him in Romeo and Juliet, did you??

Today I switched some of my cable channels and picked out one that plays movies in French. I also found some free programs I can watch, on video-on-demand:

Fortier - I've seen most of it in subtitled English, but I can either rewatch it all, or find the parts I missed. Fantastic ensemble series about a psychologist who helps a Montreal police crew with their investigations. She's awkward, doesn't drive, takes her dog everywhere, and has loads of baggage. And naturally there's a great ensemble crew--the two grizzled street cops, the computer nerd, the cheerful forensic geek, the too-sauvé lawyer, and their boss who has a crush on our Fortier. It's full of top Quebec actors, mostly serious well-written psychological drama, but with enough humor to keep it human; and the show actually finished after I think 5 seasons, so it has closure. Super recommended.

Toute la vérité - A law show my friend Swiss Girl recommended. She started watching it because she knew where they were filming. If you knew her... you'd know that says everything about her. But anyway.

Lance & compte - Translates as "He shoots he scores." This was a huge hockey drama series in the '80s and I'm sure I'm the only Quebec inhabitant who never watched it. They have all the seasons!

Nos étés - The last time I wanted to brush up on my French I started this series and I love it. It's about various women of a Quebec family as they visit their summer house, through the generations. They only had two seasons posted years ago. Earlier this year I started season 3 but I don't remember where I was up to. Will go back and pick it up again!