Movie Day
Yesterday, I saw three movies—“Surf’s Up,” “Monkey Warfare,” and “Office Space,” at three different venues—Pacific Place, the Egyptian, and my house. I liked all the films and, in spite of sitting down more than I prefer, felt reasonably satisfied with the time spent watching them.
“Monkey Warfare” was my favorite of the three. It’s an independent feature from Canada that tells the story of Dan and Linda, a couple of middle-aged bicycle-riding pothead ex-radicals from the Sixties who make ends meet in their underground lives by scavenging garage sale items and selling them on eBay; one day, Dan, played by Don McKeller (one of my favorite actors; I chose to see the film because he was in it), makes the acquaintance of Susan, a twenty-something wannabe radical who has easy access to the excellent organic B.C. bud he covets, and as she becomes his regular pot dealer, he, and eventually Linda, develop a quasi-parental relationship with her that leads to shakeup in all their lives.
Among other things—excellent acting, witty writing, a great selection of protest rock from the 60s and 70s, including the MC5—the film paid tribute to boys and especially girls who ride bikes. One short musical sequence featured clips of about a dozen hot bike chicks on their upright three-speeds happily two-wheeling through the streets of Toronto, much to the re-awakening of Dan’s somewhat dormant libido. It’s no wonder I gave the film a 5 out of 5 rating on the rating cards SIFF passes out.
At home, I screened “Office Space,” which, I’ve read, is the one cultural artifact that college teachers these days can count on as having been seen by all their students. Even though it was pretty over-the-top in its parody, I thought it did a fine job of humorously capturing the soul-numbing boredom of life in the cubicle.
And it’s no wonder the 20-somethings in that situation were so miserable: none of them rode bikes.
“Monkey Warfare” was my favorite of the three. It’s an independent feature from Canada that tells the story of Dan and Linda, a couple of middle-aged bicycle-riding pothead ex-radicals from the Sixties who make ends meet in their underground lives by scavenging garage sale items and selling them on eBay; one day, Dan, played by Don McKeller (one of my favorite actors; I chose to see the film because he was in it), makes the acquaintance of Susan, a twenty-something wannabe radical who has easy access to the excellent organic B.C. bud he covets, and as she becomes his regular pot dealer, he, and eventually Linda, develop a quasi-parental relationship with her that leads to shakeup in all their lives.
Among other things—excellent acting, witty writing, a great selection of protest rock from the 60s and 70s, including the MC5—the film paid tribute to boys and especially girls who ride bikes. One short musical sequence featured clips of about a dozen hot bike chicks on their upright three-speeds happily two-wheeling through the streets of Toronto, much to the re-awakening of Dan’s somewhat dormant libido. It’s no wonder I gave the film a 5 out of 5 rating on the rating cards SIFF passes out.
At home, I screened “Office Space,” which, I’ve read, is the one cultural artifact that college teachers these days can count on as having been seen by all their students. Even though it was pretty over-the-top in its parody, I thought it did a fine job of humorously capturing the soul-numbing boredom of life in the cubicle.
And it’s no wonder the 20-somethings in that situation were so miserable: none of them rode bikes.
posted by Professor Dave at 10:55 AM
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