I think I’m going to try to embark on an “old movie” kick. So far I’ve watched The Graduate (1967) and half of Network (1976) (I stopped halfway only because a certain friend protested that I’d watch the movie without her).

(It’s also interesting to note that Network was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 4 of them. Wow.)

These old talkies give an interesting insight into the zeitgeist of the time in which they were made. The Graduate, for example, overflows with a 60s-style contempt for anything structured (corporate lifestyle, traditional relationships, marriage – Dustin Hoffman even wildly swings a cross at an angry mob in a Church) and its soundtrack is made up largely of Simon and Garfunkle songs.

But the other interesting thing I’m noticing is that: things haven’t changed all that much. People are still making anti-adulthood, coming-of-age pictures like The Graduate, and the corporate environment portrayed in Network isn’t all that different than it is today (or at least, how it’s portrayed today in movies): big execs with the big offices; a success-hungry, up-and-coming, power-woman agitating some of the more senior employees with her risky ideas (Faye Dunaway), and of course the visionary being stifled by corporate red tape and number-crunchers (Peter Finch). There are no computers, though. (And, as a result, no “suspenseful” scenes in which our hero almost gets caught copying files off of some bad guy’s computer – why is that progress bar moving so slowly??)

I think I need to check out some old Jack Nicholson flicks next.

I might be a little late to the party, but I recently watched Zeitgeist, a released-to-internet-only conspiracy doc. It touches on some of the issues discussed in Alex Jones’ Endgame, but presents these issues in a much less fanatical, less “conspiracy nutty” kind of way. Which, I think, is something you should strive for when you’re trying to convince people that Jesus was fake, 9/11 was an inside job, and that we’re all the puppets of uber-powerful international bankers.

I don’t know how real or not the claims made by this movie are, so I’ve got some googling to do. So far, the criticisms I’ve seen mostly stop at saying that the movie is edited and presented in a manner to maximize shock and drama value. If this movie is bull dookey, I need someone to flat out tell me it’s wrong and why, ’cause that shit about the bankers and the World Trade Center? Well that just freaked me out. Check it out (for free) here.

As for the movie, it’s silly and ridiculous and often times a bit random, and I mean that in the best way possible.  Great cast of very funny people set in the 70′s which is a pretty funny decade to begin with.  The film took full advantage of the 70′s setting with big ‘fros, big boots and disco music.  It opens with a quick recap of Jackie Moon’s career in music which includes a one-hit wonder called Love Me Sexy.  A breathy Will Ferrell (channeling Barry White or Marvin Gaye) voices the song and this is one of the major recurring laughs of the movie – “Let’s get real sweaty. I’m talkin’ rainforest sweaty, I’m talkin’ swamp sweaty.” It’s the classic underdog sports story with more laughs.   Along the way, the group of misfits that make up the Flint tropics had won me over and by the end I was rooting for them. Other than Ferrell in yet another big dumb, but loveable oaf role, highlights include a hippie fan of the Tropics (Jackie Earle Haley) and the always fantasic Rob Corddry (if you haven’t seen Blackballed, rent it!) . By no means a groundbreaking film, but that’s not what people are looking for at a Will Ferrell comedy, now is it?

Also, my pass says that the famous “fro” will be in attendance.  Not sure if he’ll just be sitting in the audience or whether he’ll get up and talk.  Perhaps I’ll have the opportunity to meet him and, if past celebrity encounters are any indication, it will go like this:

Me: “Hi, Mr.Ferrell. Great movie..really funny”

Will Ferrell: “Thanks…..(awkward silence)….Well, I should get going.”

Also, currently watching High Fidelity. Loving it and feel it would be a great double feature with one of my all time favourites – Empire Records. All part of my secret desire to work in a record store.

I played with another moviegoers iPhone, I did not want to give it back. I made lots of typos on the screen keyboard.

Fantastically good. See it.

The pacing of Munich is so slow it took me right out of the movie. That was disappointing.