Mondo Sukubus! by MATTHEW HAYS If the latest round of stats are to be believed, Quebecers really do love their movies. Thus I think the news of another video rental outlet opening up is welcome news, even in a city that already seems to have an awful lot of them. Named Sukubus, this latest vid endeavour has opened in Verdun (3629 Wellington, it’s a five-minute jaunt from LaSalle metro), where the weird and wacky tapes and DVDs sit on a shelf near a broad poster selection and various other collectibles. “We are positioning ourselves as quite an alternative to the city’s other video outlets,” says co-owner Jason Dire. “We have a lot of sci-fi and horror. We have some Bollywood and a lot of Hong Kong. Basically, we’re really into anything with a cult following.” As Dire correctly points out, “many of the bigger video-rental chains clear out a lot of their more obscure titles to make way for 50 copies of the latest Sylvester Stallone movie.” And Dire says he wants to make his customers feel welcome. “I’m playing Dawn of the Dead on DVD right now,” he points out. Atmosphere is everything, I suppose. Those lucky enough to get the Drive-In Classics channel would do well to tune in this Friday, Aug. 9 at 9 p.m. for Planet of Blood, a truly great old bit of sci-fi camp. The ’66 entry has cult actor John Saxon and Dennis Hopper encountering evil green aliens who suck blood for food. It’s full of some extremely good set pieces and effects. My favourite bit involves a rescue vehicle manned by two people that can’t hold more than two people. Every time they rescue someone, the poor sods in this movie have to draw straws to figure out who has to stay behind! Luis Bunuel’s final film, That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), screens this weekend in a gorgeous new print at the Cinéma du Parc. Fernando Rey plays a twisted masochist who marries a maid who then puts him through all sorts of nasty ordeals. Typically bizarre, this is a rare and pleasing opportunity to see a new print of this film on the big screen. Kudos to the World Film Festival-this year they’re bringing in Euro-demi-god Jean-Luc Godard to deliver a couple of lectures on cinema during their event. Apparently he used to deliver lectures at Concordia many years ago, where the talks were reportedly cryptic, disjointed and brilliant-much like his movies. The Winnipeg-based National Screen Institute has launched a CTV-sponsored program to develop new talent for television. The program, titled Totally Television, is aimed at people currently working in the television industry who are looking to upgrade their skills or move into different areas of the medium. The NSI has a pretty stellar track record in terms of development of talent (past graduates of their programs include David Wellington and Brad Fraser), so those intrigued should take a second glance. Info is available at www.nsi-canada.ca/totallytelevision : COMMENTS: mhays@mtl-mirror.com