The right side of history...

I finally saw Syriana last night. I suppose it was a good movie. I wasn't happy watching it, but I also don't think I was as alarmed as the filmmakers would have liked for me to be. For certain, though, I wasn't going to turn it off and go to bed early. It grabbed my attention and that is exactly what a movie like this is supposed to do.

From a political standpoint, I agree with most of the points the movie tried to make. Yes, oil is a huge problem. Yes, our dependence on middle eastern nations for oil makes it an even bigger problem. And yes, American influence in that region only fuels the anti-west movement with an extra dose of rage-a-hol.

Here's to hoping that a movie made by Hollywood millionaires can reverse the trend!

I've always enjoyed George Clooney... good actor, witty, chooses entertaining roles... but man, if he hasn't become one of the most self-righteous people in the entertainment industry!

In one of the special features on the DVD, Clooney is being interviewed and could not sound more caught up in his own little world of activism. He says things like (to paraphrase):

- People who say that they've traveled to these parts of the world (the middle east and africa) and that they don't think things are as bad as they are made out to be... "well, those people need to travel more." -- Do they? And I guess we'll travel on jets that use hydrogen fuel cells?

...and then there's this one... to me, the coup de gras (and this is a direct quote):

- "It's nice to be on the right side of history." -- How arrogant do you have to be to say something like this????? Apart from being an obvious statement... it's just something that a humble person doesn't say. If you can't admit fallibility in advance, don't you think people will see that as an inability to take responsibility down the road?

Thanks George, but maybe you could just start work on Ocean's 13 or something else to entertain us... that is your job, after all.