"Don't Bogart That Joint Man"

I have been sick lately and so this is a bit late in coming. However at the moment I have a smallish amount of energy and I figured I should do this before I collapse. Which really could be at any moment so this might be short and to the point.

Anyway seeing as I've been sick and I have been working non-stop my little Best Picture project has been put on hold. I only have three left to see and so it is a cruel, cruel thing but I guess that is what happens. I will have to drive about forty-five minutes to an hour to go see "The Fighter" so that might be a bit of a stretch. I almost went to see "King's Speech" on Sunday but both my dad and I turned out to be too sick to sit through a movie (side note: we were going to go see it and have dinner in celebration of his birthday because it was on Firday and I was at work). And then there is just "True Grit" after those. So still a few that I have to cram in but I will make, hopefully, before the Academy Awards on Sunday the 27th.

Moving on, since that is in a holding pattern I was thinking that I would go into one of my other projects. I know that I haven't done a book post in awhile and I will soon. Possibly next. But for now I am going to talk about the most recent film I watched from the AFIs 100 Greatest Movies list. I watched "Easy Rider" and it was an unique experience. Written by both Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper and directed by the latter, this movie is the very emobdiment of the late '60's. It is more then just a movie. I went into it thinking that it was going to be this big motorcycle, tough guy movie but from the beginning I realized how very wrong I was. It was more of a meditation. An ode to the essence of the 60's. It follows friends Wyatt and Billy from the back roads of Mexico to a hippie commune, to the streets of New Orleans. Along the way they meet some of the most interesting, real characters.

One of the most interesting is George Hanson played by Jack Nicholson a lawyer they meet while in a jail cell. A drunk and someone looking for something new he teams up with Wyatt and Billy and the three of them set off for New Orleans and Mardi Gras. Along the way they find in each other friendship, an unquenancable thirst for finding truth in all things and a true desire to find freedom. They also encounter prejudice which ultimately leads to a death.

The movie is filled with music that brings forth images of what the 60's were hoping to bring to the world. Peace, love, sex, fun and even some drugs. There were long periods of nothing but music and landscapes, scenes of Wyatt and Billy riding their motorcylces. It's a beautiful albeit, ultimately, sad film.I found myself truly enjoying the movie, much to my surprise. I give it an 8 out of 10 on the rating things out of ten scale. I reccommend it for anyone who enjoys movies for their beauty as a film and not just because they have nudity and things exploding.

To explain the title there is a song in the middle of the movie that is called something like that and has a line in it like that. I thought that it was hilarious and it's rather a catchy title. 

Note: I also just watched "Waiting for 'Superman'" a documentary about the situation in public schools. It is really very good, informative, and rather enraging. I will go into more detail about it soon but I wanted to mention because it is available to rent starting tomorrow and EVERYONE should see it!