Ryan came through for the guilty pleasure movie club in a big way this week: Rollerball (1975)! Ever heard of it? Me either. Apparently Ryan watched this when he was five years old and a sucker punch a character named Moonface or something takes has stayed with him all these years. All in attendance agreed that a) this movie really captured the spirit of the guilty pleasure movie club and b) Ryan was a deep and patient kid to sit through this at age five. That being said, this is not a movie you can turn off part way because, well, there's always a chance that at the end you might understand what the heck is going on. There are so many memorable scenes to write about, and certainly most of them are at least briefly represented in the trailer posted below. Note the futuristic typography. You know, if you're inclined to avoid brutal, futuristic, and highly entertaining films than the trailer does pretty much sum this up, but you will miss seeing a Weird Al lookalike and won't truly understand the, um, immense length of this particular film. I also challenge you to watch the 2002 version, which features LL Cool J and Rebecca Romijn. Ryan, you did a great job picking this one and a wonderful Mexican feast was had by all beforehand, too. Jamie picks next week and we eat French food for Jacqui (and all of us, really). Also, Ryan and Amanda are getting married! Good luck, you two, we can't wait to attend!
One last thing: "It's a memory pool...you see?"
Rollerball falls into a fantastic genre of '70s sci-fi that includes such greats as Zardoz, Deathrace 2000, and Krull. Dialogue, plot and comprehension of what's happening are thrown out, but each movie helped build some major acting career: James Caan, Sean Connery, David Carradine, and Liam Neeson respectively!
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