ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Kevin Lalonde, OP Arts & Entertainment Editor orking at a video store, while being entirely shameful, does have its perks. Free movie rentals is definitely one of them. I’m not sure what the other perks are; come to think of it, I’m fairly sure there are no others, but that free rentals thing is pretty righteous. Here are some flicks recently released to video that are worth checking out. Idiocracy My counterpart, Luke Simcoe, often rags on me because I love the cartoon King of the Hill. I am always more than willing to explain that moralizing rednecks and schized-out morons like Beavis and Butt-Head aren’t the only creation of the shows famed producer Mike Judge. Wait, yeah they are. Idiocracy is a nearly sci-fi view of the world 500 years from now. Since we all know that red- neck hillbillies breed like rabbits, it’s logical to assume that the entire world will eventually be populated entirely by morons with a global average IQ of 68. After a military hibernation experiment brings a remarkably average Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph (of SNL fame) to the- year 2505, they both suddenly find themselves the smartest people on the Earth. While this may not sound like Oscar-winning material, Idiocracy is damned amusing, hilari- ously written, and makes you wonder, “Gosh, what wou/d happen if a wrestling superstar was the President of the United States?” Winter Passing Do you ever have one of those moments when you say to yourself, with deep, self-affirm- ing grace, “Goddamn I'm glad I’m not a coke-whore?” Yeah, me either, but sometimes, you might. Anyway, in Winter Passing, actress (and coke-whore) Reese Holden, played by Zooey Deschanel, is offered $100,000 by a book publisher to go to Michigan to find the love letters between her famed, reclusive father, played by a really, really old looking Ed Harris, and her mother, who has since killed herself. Genuinely compelling writing and rolling cinematography are highlights of the film, but the greatest thing about Winter Passing is Will Ferrell playing a non-comedic role of friend-cum- bodyguard-cum-ex-Christian rocker to Reese’s father. Ferrell’s deadpan is always a source of deep amusement for me, but he plays this guy so seriously, you really wonder if he was ever a rhythm guitarist for a band called Praise Party. Granted, the first half hour of the film is a bit distressing (especially if you’re a cat person), but by the end of the movie, watching Deshanel’s character finally begin to interact with her father, you’re just glad not to be a coke-whore. Wow, never thought I’d get to say “coke- whore” four times in one movie review before. Editors note: Kevin really just works at a video store for the cola discounts. He consumes up to four litres a day, thereby making him a somewhat lackluster coke-whore. Stuff ’ve Been Watching Too! Song of the Week: | “Something On” by The Tragically Hip Patrick Mackenzie, OP Columnist aeditor@gmail.com You'd think all this freaky weather should be happening in eastern Canada. With the sub-zero temperatures and windstorms causing trees to crack and topple and knock power-lines to the ground, I’m reminded of the ice storm that hit Ontario and Quebec about ten years back. The Tragically Hip’s “Something On” seems to capture that extreme weather event and has been playing on my internal soundtrack ever since Old Man Winter decided to extend his stay in these parts. It has been said of The Tragically Hip that they are nothing more than a glorified bat band. I think you could make that argument in relation to their first few recordings, but as aged, their music has evolved alongside lead singer Gord Downie’s often cryptic and obtuse lyrics. In terms of lyrical content, “Something On” seems to describing the eastern Canadian ice storm of a decade ago. But even though it seems to be about an actual occurrence, the song is filled with seemingly impenetrable lines: “Picture a century of water / Bury the pipeline guy right here.” At the same time, however, the song evokes images of extreme winter weather: “Outside there’s hectic action / The ice is covering the trees / and one of them’s intercon- necting / with my Chevrolet Caprice.” With all these disparate convergences of lyrical content, it is perhaps pointless to come up with a singular interpretation for the song. The sharpness of the imagery — failed power, cars being crushed by ice laden trees — emerges from the apparent randomness and chaos present- ed by the rest of the lyrics. But it seems that a perfect juxtaposition of sorts is taking place here; that is, from out of the seemingly random, meaningless and indeed chaotic nature of the lyrics, we are given small, recognizable pictures of the disorder sometimes wrought by nature. Even though Gordon Downie’s' wordsmithing is regarded as bizarre by most, the pictures his words evoke seem to ground The Hip’s songs in a recognizable physical and mental geogra- phy. As for the music, “Something On” is pure guitar-oriented pop. The song is propelled by rhythm guitar and Gord Downie’s distinctive voice. Drums and bass provide a rhythm section which you could easily dance to. Despite the apparent darkness inherent in the lyrics, “Something On” is a party song, And as the dark days of winter bear down us like Toronto’s revenge, what better remedy is there to the cold than a January party? Now you've got at least 11 one song for your playlist.