Trembles before God

It's been six years now that Rick Trembles' weekly bloodbath of comic film criticism has appeared in the pages of the Mirror - this following a decade-long hiatus that began during a period he calls the paper's "politically correct dark ages." Editors rejected Trembles' mid-'80s Slumber Party Massacre review, calling it, "sexist, misogynist and derogatory, portraying an unprogressive attitude prevalent in society perpetrating reactionary motives toward sensitive issues." "I couldn't understand it," he says. "They were so mundane that they didn't understand the basic principles of satire."

These days Motion Picture Purgatory has a cult following in Montreal and beyond, one bound to spread further with a brand new anthology that chronicles the truly original reviews Trembles has penned since the Mirror began running them again in 1998. Published by U.K.-based Fab Press, it gets launched this Saturday, July 17, 4:30 p.m., in Concordia's Hall Building Mezzanine (1455 de Maisonneuve W.) as part of Fantasia's weekend Komikstok convention. Trembles is also premiering his new short, Rick Trembles' Goopy Spasms Live Cartoon Show, scored by his ancient rock band American Devices. So, he taunts, "If you're tired of seeing me slam movies every week, here's your chance to get back." July 15, 9:40 p.m., at the Hall Theatre, and July 16, 9:55 p.m., at the De Sève Theatre (1400 de Maisonneuve W.) » Matthew Woodley

Liquid love

Don't be surprised if you happen to be walking around the Just for Laughs scene in the Latin Quarter this weekend and stumble across a waterfall. Dancers in cropped wetsuits slipping and sliding down a waterslide or swinging from ropes like pendulums behind a liquid curtain are all part of Waterwall, a nocturnal hour-long show that uses a mixture of dance and theatre. Italian company the Materiali Resistenti Dance Factory has toured the show in Europe and now makes its North American premiere in the city as the headlining act on the free outdoor stage (located west of the Parc des Habitations on Jeanne-Mance between Ontario and de Maisonneuve). Watch for it July 15–24 at 9:50 p.m. nightly or call 790-HAHA for more information. » Marites Carino

Road signs

CBC radio's Definitely Not the Opera music crit Liisa Ladouceur is bringing her "sign poems" to Zeke's Gallery (3955 St-Laurent) tonight, July 15, as part of the Perpetual Motion Roadshow. They're photographic bricolage, re-interpreting neighbourhood texts in radical ways. "I'm constantly reading signs: lost kittens, bulletin boards, pizza flyers," Ladouceur explains. "I'm also interested in issues of public space and advertising, and have always enjoyed the magnetic poetry kits where you use preset words." She's presenting a series of sign poems as a slide show, including new, on-site poems for every city on the tour. With Scottish ex-pat zinester Gavin J. Grant, Boston-based ranter Geoffrey H. Goodwin, and local scribes Cheryl Neill and Tamra Steen at 7:30 p.m., $4. » Vincent  Tinguely

Write on

Graffiti gone too mainstream? Nope. "Check out what people are doing in Brazil," says Pablo Aravena. "There's this totally original style coming out of São Paolo based on heavy metal fonts that's amazing. The scene in Japan is huge. It's like any cultural movement - hip hop, jazz, punk - things change over time, but graffiti still has its original energy."

He should know. Aravena has spent the past two years documenting graffiti and street art's state of affairs across the globe, building his film, NEXT: A Primer on Urban Painting. Though it's not ready yet, you can get a taste when he shows the trailer at Fantasia's Mundo Urbano event, where he'll also introduce the other graffiti shorts. Highlights include Letters to the President, a shot-from-above "action painting" on a floor featuring NYC's Barnstormers collective, and Atlantis Phase 1, which, set to music, follows a group of writers on Spanish streets. Saturday, July 17, 5:15 p.m., at Concordia's J.A. De Sève Theatre (1455 de Maisonneuve W.). » Matthew Woodley

Is it Art?

EXPRESSIONS TO GO: The Chinese have their tea, Italians their espresso, Americans grande chillates and Canadians the double-double. So eloquent is our way of ordering a cuppa jo with two cream, two sugar, that the term has been recently added to the second edition of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. It's one of 5,000 words deemed reflective of the way we speak in the 21st century, a few other examples being "lesbigay" (indicating lesbian, bi and/or gay), "stagette" (a pre-wedding party for brides-to-be) and "goal suck" (a hockey player who lingers in front of the net looking to score). Though use has spread to various coffee outlets, "double-double" originated in Tim Horton's franchises, where terms such as "four-by-four" (four creams, four sugar) and the intransitive verb to "Hortonize" are presently gaining popularity.

ArtsHole

BRAT PACK: Berlin-born Bettina Hoffmann's show of cinematically inspired photos of kids who get in the way of other people's fun, Spoilsport (Spielverderber), opens today, Thursday, July 15, at the Saidye's Liane and Danny Taran Gallery (5170 Côte-Ste-Catherine) with an artist's tour at 6 p.m. and a vernissage that runs until 8:30 p.m. The exhibition continues until Sept. 12. • FIGURES PROMINENT: Last chance to catch Heavyweight's Political Minded series, a collection of portraits of political figures, activists and icons whose actions have left an oft-forgotten impact on our lives, including Shirin Ebadi, Salvador Allende, Fela Kuti and Romeo Dallaire. It's at 3673 St-Dominique until July 16.

ARTISTAT: Number of muscular black men performing in the Chippendale-esque dance soirée Big, Black and Delicious, "where fantasy meats reality," Friday, July 16, 10 p.m. at the Dôme: 5

>> Arts Listings