Just Why, Hollywood?

Is this why they picked Terrence Howard to play Nelson Mandela in "Winnie"? I do see a resemblance, and for the life of me I see absolutely no other reason why they did.

Pretty flimsy excuse for casting someone to play such a monumental man...I don't believe he's up to the task. Exhibit A:




ps: why does he still have that quivering, crybaby voice thing going even in his atrocious south african accent? and why does jennifer hudson sound like count chocula?

Sigh Inducing Trailers...

What can I say? No freaking comment.

"Big Momma 3"




"For Stuffed Colored Girls" (btw, is wayne brady looking kinda good? am i going crazy? NEVER thought i'd say that)

For (Stuffed) Colored Girls from Wayne Brady

Movie Milk Carton Alerts....

Last week I was wondering what happened to a certain film I'd written about a couple years ago. It was called "Frankie And Alice" (horrible title) and was to star Halle Berry as a woman with dual personalities, one of which was a white racist. Interesting concept, but when I saw the stills from the film, it looked like typical Halle fare; perfectly awful.

Right after I wondered what happened, I see an update from Tambay on Shadow And Act. Yes, old girl pulled the movie out of the drawer, and did it to be considered for an Oscar.

Alrighty then.


I don't want to talk about that movie really, but about other films that I wrote about and wondered what happened to....a couple I was actually looking forward to, like:

The "Martin" reunion on the big screen. Everyone would probably ask Martin why he now looks like a Macy's Thanksgiving Parade balloon. (wasn't looking forward to that one by the way)


The multiple Sammy Davis Jr. biopics, one starring Don Cheadle, one starring Andre 3000, and one starring Elijah Kelley. And where is Elijah Kelley? He was the "it" Black dude for exactly one minute.


Beyonce aka Beyaki playing Eartha Kitt. To which I say: bwahhahahahaha!!


The very unasked for sequel to "Four Brothers".


Jaime Foxx playing Mike Tyson in a biopic.


Beyaki playing Angela Davis in a biopic. To which I say: bwahhahahahaha!!


Wesley Snipes playing James Brown in a biopic (I'm seeing a pattern here).


Will Smith and Denzel Washington in a remake of "Uptown Saturday Night" (which I pray never sees the light of day).


Mos Def and Erykah Badu in a film that was described thustly:

Mos Def and Erykah Badu have signed on to star in the indie drama 'Bobby Zero'; a film focused upon the life of fictional struggling artist Bobby Zero as he hits rock bottom before going corporate with a job in advertising. Badu will play his girlfriend who is afflicted with agoraphobia.

Lots of questions. No answers.

And THIS Is Why I've Barely Been Blogging...

Okay, I'm coming back, but starting off with a quick one. I tweeted about this one this morning, but still can't wrap my mind around the direction in which Hollywood is heading....it just seems to get worse and worse by the millisecond.

Rihanna and that kinda hot dude Eric from "True Blood" (I can't remember his real name) are the leads in the film "Battleship", based on the freaking kids game! I wrote about this travesty of a possibility a couple years back, but figured someone must have come down from their crack high since I didn't hear about it again. Until now. Crack pipes for everyone!



(be back later with an ode to vonetta mcgee)


pic via dlisted


UPDATE: Hilarious reader comments:


TechKappen said...

Psssh. I'm still waiting on my Monopoly movie. But this sounds pretty riveting. Is he going to pick F5 or B7???

I wonder if they'll play on Rihanna's forehead...


Tafari said...

Never under estimate the value of a good crack high. Never!


Ehav Ever said...

I wonder if there will be a critical point in the movie, where all looks dark and at its worst. Then someone will yell out......You sank my battleship!

Mish/Mash

OK, I know I said I was gonna post once a day about these old school films (which I still am), but I got caught up having to make a two day trip to San Francisco...I'm sorry, but I DO NOT miss living there....my hometown is falling to pieces on a non-tourist level.

Anyhoo, until I can git ta writin', I'll leave you with my beloved Sergio's opinion of "Just Wright", and a preview of a film that fell into my inbox. If you're looking for a film for the weekend, I highly recommend "Shutter Island", which I viewed online on the plane last night...it's the next best thing to Hitchcock. I have been giving Leonardo DiCaprio the side-eye for over a decade, and though I have liked some of the the films he's been in (Gangs Of New York, for example), I never thought he should be Scorcese's DeNiro replacement muse until this film. I actually think my man can act! lol. Well, here is Sergio's opine on "Just Wright" (and "Mandingo"):

I've seen Just Wright and it's a lame, totally predictable, tepid, boring film. And aside from the fact that you've seen it 1000 times before and can predict everything that's going to happen long before it does, it's TOO nice. King (yes I said KING) Latifah and Common play too of the most blandest, nicest, dullest people on the planet in the film. They're not human, but mannequins. I suspect that Latifah's character in the original script was sassier, tougher and rougher around the edges. You know, a REAL person. But I suspect she's had the script rewritten to eliminate any roughness, least people think that she's too...ahem...manly.

Common is the nicest, safest, NBA player in history. I mean c'mon a NICE considerate NBA player?? Here's an idea...what if the film had made him an arrogant, loud mouth, annoying person (with maybe a baby momma somewhere) to hide the fact that he's an insecure. lonely person afraid his glory years as a player has passed him by. You know a REAL person. And of course keep in mind that he eventually dumps Paula Patton over for the King in the film too. Yeah sure, that's real belivable But I understand this is a fantasy not real life. (Then again didn't he date Serena Williams for a while? Maybe's he's got a thing for mannish chicks)

The film is so lame that it resorts to the old worn out trick of a character (the King in this case) driving an old beat up car that NOBODY in real life would drive just to show that she's "quirky". I still think that film should have been the King and Paula Patton are involved in a relationship and Common comes along, they have a "three way express", he "converts" Patton and they leave off happily ever after. Now THAT would have been a movie.

BUT Mandingo. THAT MY MOVIE! Love it, love it, LOOOOVE IT! One of the still fondest movie going experiences was the first time I saw the film when it came out and there was this brother in the seat behind was doing this HYSTERICAL running commentary during the film and when it got tho the big sex scene with Ken Norton and Susan George (which lasted all of 30 seconds) he had me damn near on the floor rolling. The film is available though Legend Film label in restored widescreen and anamorphic too which you can buy on Amazon or other online video stores. Unfortunately there's no commentary or extras, but the film has never looked this good since it was first released. You know I've got a copy.

From IW: Not surprised about "Just Wright", but I will give my opinion on "Mandingo" over the next couple days.

Here is an independent Black film that came into my inbox; no message, no comment, no synopsis, no nothing--just a link--so I really don't know what to say. Anyway, at least you know there are those out there trying outside of the Hollywood System. Also, you can now sleep at night knowing that the milk carton alert for Joseph C. Phillips is official solved:

Wanna Talk Black Cinema?

Then please join me, Max Reddick, Rippa and Michele on Blog Talk Radio tonight, Sunday the 24th....we would love to hear your thoughts!

Blog Talk Radio – FTSR 1/24/10 9:00pm est – 60 minute show this week

Listener/Guest Dial In: 914/803-4881

This week’s topic: Is Black Entertainment Dead - Where did the nineties go? We had an explosion of music, movies, and television shows starring and written and produced by blacks in the nineties - where is this decades’ Love Jones, Different world and next Lauryn Hill coming from? is Precious this generation's Color Purple? Who killed Whitley Gilbert? Have all the Boyz left the Hood? The Jacks ain't New no more and no one is fighting the power. This week, Max, Rip and Michele wonder what happened to all of our 90s quality entertainment. Join us to discuss your favorites and where have they gone?

This N' That....

Yes, I am a bad girl. I admit it. But really and truly, when I am away, I really miss you guys. I wish there was some kind of device that would write all of the Black Cinema thoughts in my head automatically....but alas, there isn't, so you are stuck with Number One Supreme Slacker, aka Ms. Invisible. But please know that I love you, and your comments make life worth living! haha

OK, had to come back about this "Uptown Saturday Night" thing. For those of you that have been paying attention, that is one of my favorite films of all time, Black or non. I wrote maybe about a year ago that Will Smith would be in the remake. 15 years ago, that wouldn't have been such a major disappointment as it is now. But then this added tidbit--Denzel Washington is rumored to be in talks to be in it as well. Of course, Denzel is probably playing the Poitier role, and Will the Bill Cosby one, but wouldn't it be so much more interesting if it were the other way around?

Okay, my seventh husband The RZA aka Bobby Digital seems to be adding to our future family fortune by getting into filmmaking. I laughed my ass off when I saw this uber-serious profile on him from The New York Times, I guess to give someone even a small clue who doesn't know anything about him (aka YT):

As founding father of the hard-core Staten Island rap collective Wu-Tang Clan, RZA (pronounced "rizza," given name: Robert Diggs) conflated the spiritual enlightenment found in '70s kung fu movies with racially incendiary teachings from the Five-Percent Nation of Islam, adding to the mix references to Taoism and comic books, numerology and snippets of mafia don movie dialogue, articulating a plaintive yet hard-bitten ghetto cri de coeur.

Huh? Anyway, I never really considered Wu-Tang "hard-core", but thanks for the name pronunciation clarification.

I know Sergio wrote a snippet on this already, and I tweeted about this the other day (the picture above came up when I image Googled NAACP--it seemed apropos). How the holy f*ck can the NAACP Image Awards nominate Michael Jackson's Funeral as "Best Variety Show"? If I wasn't already done and buried with them for almost a decade, this f*cktastic f*ckery would have definitely sealed the deal anyway. The founders of the NAACP must be spinning in their graves at 100 mph. Oh, and by the way, they also nominated Sandra Bullock as "Best Actress". And here I was thinking she wasn't Black the whole time...silly me.

How many of you saw the film "Four Brothers"? I did, just to see Andre 3000, who, by the way, was a complete and total dud in it. I do not believe acting is among his many talents. But Tyrese, whom I normally don't pay much attention to, looked eyeball-breakingly foin in it. Good try, but really, do we honestly need a sequel? That is what I have been reading. I vote no.

Speaking of stupid sequels, Laurence Fishburne is doing one for "Predator" 23 years after the first. Really, Larry? Mortgage payments are a bitch, I tells ya....more sigh inducing tidbits; Rashida Jones signed on to do the film based on Facebook (yes, you read right), and someone had the nerve to approach the Hughes Brothers to do a fourth installment of "Pirates Of The Caribbean". Thank the Lord they did not jump at that, but is anyone looking forward to "The Book Of Eli"? I am curious, strictly because of the Hughes Brothers, cause as far as Denzel goes, it looks like the same ol' same ol'. I hope I'm wrong.

How Bout Some Trailers?

Okay, regarding my last post--I thought Darktown Strutters would be interesting based on it's premise, but I must say I did not love it. At all. Any movie that randomly has The Dramatics pop up in a jail cell in full costumes doing a full performance with Temptations-like choreography gets a huge side-eye from me. Why were movies that weren't dramas in the 70's so effin weird? I know it was a time of rampant drug use, and a lot of films from that decade were hard evidence of that...from "Tommy" to "Heavy Traffic" to "Darktown Strutters" just to name a few--they were just so disjointed, so horribly edited and all over the place with zero cohesiveness. *sigh* Thank goodness for Fred Williamson...

Anyway, let's view a few trailers, yes? These films at least have a linear storyline, but let me know if you find them interesting (personally I can't wait to see "Brooklyn's Finest"). I will get around to writing about the zillions of films I've seen in the past month and a half.

First up, Chris Rock's remake of "Death At A Funeral", with Danny Glover, Tracy Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Martin Lawrence, and my next husband, fine ass James Marsden.. I've had the original on Tivo for the longest, but still can't get myself to watch it....I would like to see the original before viewing this one with a Black cast-I'd like to see if they made it any different--or better:




Then we have this one, which is not really a Black film, but Sanaa Lathan (down with the swirl once again) was tweeting about how "proud" she was of it. When I first read about this film a year ago, it also got the side-eye from me, and after viewing this trailer, it now has a bigger one; Michael K. Williams from "The Wire" nonwithstanding. I dunno...:




I will be working with the publicity team on this one, so expect to see more about this film--hope you likey, at least for the novelty of seeing Wesley Snipes with back-length cornrows..."Brooklyn's Finest" (Michael K is in this one too, as well as The Cheadle, who I always like a lot more in crime thrillers):




Btw, here is a clip from Darktown Strutters; watch at your own risk (and yes, that is Roger Mosely...the chick is actually the first Black Bond girl for you trivia buffs):

Take A Gander....

How bout a couple of trailers? I wanted to post this last week, as I knew about this film before most (as I usually do) but I was too busy to post, so everyone looks like they have the scoop before me, as usual. I must step it up! For your perusal, "Takers" with Idris Elba, T.I., Chris Brown, Michael Ealy, and Zoe Saldana. Might be fun, but the poster, it's fair to say, is positively atrocious. Michael K. had this to say:

I have no clue what this Takers movie is about, but based on the poster I'm guessing the "something" everyone is after is NECKS! This shit should be called NECK TAKERS, because none of these motherfuckers on this poster have one! Paul Walker sort of has one, but it's hidden underneath that spandex turtleneck(?!!!?). I mean, what in the fuck?! My drunk computer-illiterate uncle, who thinks an ipod is a type of diaphragm (true story), could do a better Photoshop job than this!

I wish Paul Walker would use his GIGANTIC hands to rip that hat off of Hayden Christensen's head, because SamRo has been asking for it.

And part of me hopes the movie is just like the poster. You know, a bunch of cardboard cut-outs hanging around together, boozing, smoking and TAKING!




Saw this over at my blog sis' spot, IssaRae.Com....Barry Jenkins, director of "Medicine For Melancholy" has this new short about interracial love, involving a Black woman and an Asian man:




How about a bit of hilarity, yes? "Tamika The Arrogant African American Professional - Who Cant Keep A Man" featuring some "Waiting To Exhale" concepts:




Oh, I almost forgot...here is director F. Gary Gray's (Friday, Set It Off) new one with Jamie Foxx, "Law Abiding Citizen::

This N' That....

So many thoughts....so much slacking...

Sorry for not posting. I have a sublet in L.A. while I'm looking for a permanent place...with no freakin' air conditioning! Who lives like that here? Needless to say, with 90 and a hundred degree heat, I haven't really felt like blogging.

But the heat has broken, so here I is. I have so much to say, but I know most folks don't like to read long, involved posts (at least here they don't) and frankly, I'm not in the mood to write one. So I'll do some drive-by observations:

Big Mamma's House 3: Why?


Why all the hulabaloo over "District Nine" in regards to racism? I thoroughly enjoyed it...people are never satisfied...jeesh. If you wanna talk about some real BS, see above.


Why are serial mash-on-anything-that-moves Hill Harper and 3 times married Steve Harvey suddenly considered "relationship experts" after writing suspect books? I am seriously scratching my head over that one.


If you are complaining that there is no interesting film out there, and you still haven't seen "Life Is Hot In Cracktown", you have no valid argument right now.




What happened to Andre 3000, Elijah Kelley, and Don Cheadle all doing separate Sammy Davis, Jr. projects?


Speaking of Sammy Davis, why does Nick Cannon dress and act just like him on "America's Got Talent"...velvet jackets and boutineers? Really?


Why did I see a billboard for LL Cool J's TV show, and think "I wonder who that Black guy is?" before slowly realizing that was him? Ummm...Ell--whatever you are doing to that face of yours, now would be a very, very, very good time to stop. And oh--the lip licking thing? Bury that too.


Speaking of burying, what crypt did they finally find his co-star Chris O'Donnell in?


I can't wait to see Lee Daniel's "Precious" even though everybody is referring to it as Tyler Perry and Oprah's film...I'm not surprised, and not amused. I find it interesting, however, that Mo'Nique and Mariah Carey are getting serious Oscar buzz.


And a very special thanks to Ebony Jet for selecting me as one of their favorite blogs, AOL Black Voices for linking me on their main page, and fine, wonderful readers like yourself placing me in the top 50 film blogs in the whole, wide world on Wikio....not bad for a super-slacker, eh? :-) But I know I need to step up my game...working on it (really!)

Me Wanna See "Brooklyn's Finest"!

*Wah!*

Why, oh why is this all I can find on the flick "Brooklyn's Finest" the movie directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Tears Of The Sun) starring Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes? The plot:

"Tango is an undercover officer on a narcotics detail that forces him to choose between duty and friendship. Having been to hell and back, he wants out, but the powers that be won't let him quit. Family-man Sal is a detective tempted by greed and corruption. He can barely make ends meet, and now his wife has an illness that threatens the life of their unborn twins. Eddie is nearing retirement age and has long since lost his dedication to his job as a cop. He wakes up every morning trying to come up with a reason to go on living...and he can't think of one. Fate brings the three men to the same Brooklyn housing project as each takes the law into his own hands"

There has to be something out there....can a negress get a screener, a preview invite, a decent trailer?* Dang!


*hint

This N' That...

Hey all...I am free from a contract gig that was taking up an immense space of my time and energy...but hallelujah, I free! Which in turn, leaves me more time for my precious blog--aren't you lucky? lol

How about a little movie news, yes?

First up, I don't know what to make of Isaiah Washington. He was kicked out of his house for non-payment of rent. He was on Grey's Anatomy for a few years, wasn't he? What do these folks do with all of those juicy dollars? Damn. But things are looking up for him--he is doing a biopic on the life of Lou Rawls, which I think is wonderful, cause I never felt Lou received his proper due. I think Isaiah is a very interesting choice.


What isn't interesting to anyone, apparently, is the halted biopic of Lionel Ritchie, who was deemed too boring. Dang! He must have had a couple of interesting moments leading The Commodores and getting a karate chop beat-down on his ass by his wife. I'd like to see that.



Ntozake Shange’s play, “For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide …” is being made into a film. I saw this play when I was a little girl, and don't really remember it, so I am looking forward to it. The film also has a Black female director, Nzingha Stewart. Kudos!


In YT cinema news, I saw "A Haunting In Connecticut", please don't ask why. Perfectly awful, of course. What is even more awful and disturbing is a big screen "3 Stooges" movie with...wait for it.....Sean Penn as Larry (?!), Jim Carrey as Curly (not a stretch), and Benecio Del Toro as Moe (??!!) I mean, really, WTF! This idea just makes me sad inside, especially the part about Sean Penn...just one more in the long line of making stupid choices after winning an Oscar.


Speaking of sad, King Latifah will be in yet another romantic comedy, "Just Wright". **sigh**



I received a note from the head of the Wichita NAACP, Kevin Myles. He said:

Hey Sis, You may want to check this out... The NAACP is asking people to rate the 100 most influential films of the last century. As I was looking through the nominees it was exciting just to go back and watch the trailers from all of my favorites from the last 40 years... Here's a link; check it out: http: / / www. wichitanaacpblog. com/ 2009/ 03/ naacp-top-100-films- of-century-1909_17. html


Check it out folkses, and vote as you see fit. I want to give some Oaktown love to filmmaker Mateen O. Kemet, whose work I will be following closely. He was on the series "On The Lot" and has this lovely trailer for a film he's working on, called "Oakland B Mine". Let me know what you think:




And finally, check me and my comrades out on last night's Obenson Report podcast. It was a bloggers roundtable on what else? Black Cinema. I joined Daryle Lockhart at "The Black Box Office", my beloved Sergio from Ebony/Jet, Solshine from "Reel Artsy", and of course Tambay Obenson. If you'd like to hear us chop it up, click HERE.



Thanks to the wonderful Issa Rae for some of these tidbits...

Random Movie News....

Even tho the Oscars annoy the beejesus out of me, I wouldn't be a proper film blog without at least mentioning it, and the two Black actresses nominated, Taraji P. Henson and Viola Davis. One, I've never been a fan of and her tired, overacting style, and the other--well let's just say I saw her on a talk show recently and found her to be wonderful; intelligent, humorous---a serious actress worthy of nomination and more high profile roles. I'll let you guess which is which.

Sergio televised his Oscar predictions below. I have none, cause if it has nothing to do with Mickey Rourke or "The Wrestler" I really don't have much to say on it. Even the clothes don't interest me this year. Here is Sergio--check him out:





Did you know John Singleton directed the Oscar promos this year? I guess he might as well be directin' somethin', cause as of late, it sho ain't movies. What's up, John? And yes, that is Taraji with him in the picture above. What she is wearing I can't even venture to guess...


Martin Lawrence will be starring in a kind of reverse "Coming To America". No title yet, but the plot is described as this:

'The film centers on a working-class man from Queens who discovers he is heir to the throne of an African country and travels there to claim his birthright'.

From IW: Martin is obviously not interested in breaking new ground, but I ain't mad, that mortgage is staying paid. And at least it's not what I blogged about a couple years ago--a big screen remake of his TV show "Martin". Someone must have finally woken up and put the brakes on that wonderful (not) idea.


Happy Birthday to Danny Glover's Robey Theatre company, turning 15 this year. Robey "Is a professional theater dedicated to developing and presenting plays that raise the social consciousness of audiences with work that explores the global Black Experience."

All my folkses in the L.A. area, please try to support Danny and his endeavors. He never gets enough props for dedicating himself to our art and community for decades, imho.


Barry Michael Cooper, writer of New Jack City among other things, who I interviewed for this blog, let me know that he has a new film, "Blood On The Wall$", which you can view in the form of 21 webisodes....perfect viewing while the boss is not looking at work! lol

Make sure you scroll down to see all of the webisodes...you can begin watching this gritty drama HERE.


This is old news now, but Halle Berry might finally do something interesting, while maybe proving once and for all that she actually has acting talent:

'Halle Berry has become attached to star in the Eunetta Boone-scripted film, "Who Is Doris Payne," based on real events. Berry will star as the title character, Doris Payne, an international jewel thief whose career spanned five decades.'

From IW: This is the story of a Black woman who stole fine jewels for decades, at a time when just being Black and in a store that sold them was cause for intense suspicion. The plot sounds fabulous--I hope Halle can pull it off. For a great post related to this film, click HERE for Obenson's thoughts.


Did you know that Preston Whitmore has been financing up and coming filmmakers? One of the films has made it to BET:

'BET has acquired broadcast rights to"Dough Boys," the debut film from Preston Whitmore's Give Back Raise Up Program wherein he finances and produces low budget pictures to give newcomers in front and behind the camera an opportunity to showcase their talent. BET will air the film in May. Paramount Home Video will distribute the DVD.'

From IW: Nice. And speaking of newcomers, received this in my email:

"Good afternoon! My name is Princeton Holt, and I decided to contact you humbly and see if you would at least be interested in seeing my first feature, "Cookies & Cream".

Cookies & Cream is a character piece about a racially mixed single mother, who maintains an adult entertainment job in order to take care of her daughter and herself. The film has seemed to make male audiences feel a bit helpless, which I think has a lot to do with a subtle sexism in the sense that love from a man alone is not enough to dictate this female character's destiny, which I think has been unsettling to several male viewers, although the overall reception from men has been favorable. I would be very interested in hearing a female reaction to this subject.

Again, I really appreciate what you are doing; it is necessary for the survival of true art films about our past, present and future generations. Thank you for your work, as well as your time and consideration. "

From IW: Hmmmm.....it was shown at "The Sexy International Film Festival" (whatever that is), so at the very least, it must be sexy, haha. Here is the teaser:




Last but not least, I really will be reviewing Diary Of A Tired Black Man later today. I was going to do it last weekend, but it really wasn't Valentine's Day fodder. I have to admit, I've been watching and rewatching a lot of stuff on TV lately....did anyone catch the mini movie marathon on TV One yesterday? "Double Take "(blech) with Eddie Griffin, "Hollywood Shuffle", and a low budget independent film called "Traci Townsend" which involves a reporter (Jazsmin Lewis) examining her failed relationships. The movie is trite, and as as I've said before Jazsmin Lewis' acting skills seem to be limited to her innumerable hairstyles, but it is a good segue to my review later. **sigh** A lot of Black male/female relationships seem to be on permanent "fail" lately.....more on that later....



Oh sh*t! I almost posted this without putting this in (thanks sergio). There is an on-line petition against Sasha Fierce playing Angela Davis. For those commenters on my last post, and for the lurkers who also feel that even the mere thought is beyond ridiculous, you can click and sign HERE.

This N' That....

I have a lot to talk about, but will only post about a few things, cause I don't wanna spend 3 hours on a post.

Did you know that Idris Elba was joining "The Office"? From Eurweb (thanks Sergio):

"While details are being kept under wraps, NBC did say the actor will play a no-nonsense hire at Dunder Mifflin's corporate office who rankles Scranton branch manager Michael Scott, played by star Steve Carell."

From IW: Considering the unfortunate film choices Mr. Chocolate makes, maybe he should make TV his home. We'll see how he does on the small screen again. Here is the tired poster for "Obsessed":



For those of you that are curious to see "Medicine For Melancholy", a film I reviewed and in addition did an interview with the director, Barry Jenkins, here is some news:

'IFC Films is still working out the details of our theatrical release. We open in New York on January 30. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit and Seattle will follow in February. Check our website in the next couple weeks for details. You can also catch M4M at home with IFC In Theaters (Video on demand) starting Feb. 4.'

From IW: If you've had the blues regarding the state of Black Cinema, you must see this movie. This week I will also be posting about 2 other indie Black films, "Diary Of A Tired Black Man" and "A Good Day To Be Black And Sexy". To read Sergio's reveiw of Medicine For Melancholy from Ebony/Jet.Com click HERE.


I want to get serious for a moment and say a peaceful journey to the founder and director of The San Francisco Black Film Festival, Ave Montague (that's her in the middle in the picture above). She passed away last week. For a very, very, very brief time, I was the Assistant Director of this festival. While Ave faced many personal challenges, she genuinely lived her life trying to give exposure to little known Black Cinema, as well as giving awards and accolades to our established greats. I hope the festival will be able to carry on, as Ave was the festival....I wish it well.


On to some other type of fodder. Here is the trailer for Eddie Murphy's new one...the story is described as this:

"Eddie Murphy stars as a successful financial executive who has more time for his blackberry than his seven-year-old daughter (Yara Shahidi). When he has a crisis of confidence and his career starts going down the drain, however, he finds the solution to all his problems in his daughter's imaginary world."



Sergio said this about the trailer: "maybe I'm getting senile in my old age but this one looks like it might be cute. I recall the original title was Nowhereland and it was shot almost two years ago".

Ms. Invisible says no comment. But that little girl is all kindsa cute.


And finally, thank you ever so much to Ugly Black John who gave me a helping hand award (as well as 6 others). Mine was for helping him to understand Black Cinema...hmmm...UBJ seems pretty smart to me--I don't think he needs my help. By the way, I am curious to know just how Black and ugly this John really is...I have the sneaking suspicion that he's not so very ugly at all, haha :-)

Fuhgeddaboudit.....

Of course I saw many a movie while on my hiatus, a lot of which I'll be talking about over the next few days. One I saw while having a bout of insomnia: "Homie Spumoni".

You're probably like "wha?". It is the story of some Black dude whose Black parents lost him as a baby while vacationing in Italy. He is found by an Italian woman whose husband can't have kids, so she keeps him. Fearing racism in town, they move to America, name him Renaldo and raise him in little Italy, all the while the Black dude thinking he's Italian, but just dark-complexioned. His Black parents find him, starting off by telling him his real name is Leroy--"hilarity" ensues.

Yes, it is just as weird and ridiculous as it sounds. I read about this film a couple years ago, and saw that Whoopie Goldberg and Paul Mooney (!) played the parents, and Tony Rock the brother, so I was pretty curious to see it. I looked for it, but never saw anything from it, so I forgot about it, till the other night.

Donald Faison plays the "homie". Can I say what is the deal with him? He was charming in "Clueless", but after that I can't really decide what to make of him. I can't tell if he might be funny, or is just goofy, or just seems like he never has any direct contact with any other Black folks, ever. What I do know, however, is that in this movie he has a very big and mutating mole above his lip--and in the film sometimes it was covered with make-up, sometimes it was sweating, and sometimes it looked like a roach was chilling under his nose. And me being me, of course I was wholly distracted by it in almost every scene.

Anyhoo, getting past the fact that it is utterly ridiculous that this guy has absolutely no clue that he might be Black, and speaks like a Paulie Walnuts from the deepest part of Brooklyn, this movie kinda made me laugh. Sometimes I have a weakness for flat-out dumb humor, explaining my love for Friday and Friday After Next (NOT to be confused with Next Friday or First Sunday). Homie Spumoni is filled with completely un-PC humor about Asians, Blacks, Italians, and Jews. It was almost like it was written in the 60's by Don Rickles...I laughed when others would probably wince, but it was 4 in the morning, maybe I was punch-drunk.

Jamie Lynn Sigler (Meadow from the Sopranos) plays Faison's newly acquired girlfriend, tho she is Jewish in this film. There is less than zero chemistry between them. He sings and dances (completely entrancing in it's awkwardness), volunteers in an animal shelter, and works in his father's deli until his parents Goldberg and Mooney show up.

I must say, I have never found Whoopie so loose and funny before. It was like she said "I know I'm in a low budget movie, so I'm gonna ack a fool", and she does. There is one flashback that she narrates that was just so silly and hilarious to me, where she explains how they lost Donald in a basket while on the river in Italy while Daddy Mooney was drinkin' wine out of a leather pouch. Too funny!

Anyway, Joey Fatone (!) plays his best friend, Tony Rock as the brother makes attempts to bring Faison to his Blackness (one way of course is to bring him to some niggaratti house party; yeah, that won't scare him away) and Faison has to figure out where his place is in the world--especially after the 2 moms have a knife fight (don't ask).

While I got a few guilty laughs out of this--trust me, this is for insomniac viewing only.


Here is scene with Faison, with an outfit that looks like a reject from Coming To America, and his supposed new dad, Paul Mooney. I have and always will love Paul and his dry, wry humor:




And speaking of Faison, he seems to have an affinity for making dumb stuff. My blogging sis Wanda (and Sergio) sent this trailer over to me, tho I had heard about it weeks ago. It is a movie called "Next Day Air" described as this:

When a misguided UPS driver inadvertently delivers a package containing concealed bricks of cocaine to the wrong address, it sets in motion a desperate search and battle for the coke between the furious dealer that sent it, the fearful intended recipients that missed it, and the conniving accidental recipients that plan to flip it. Time is running out and everyone's trying to get their hands on the package that's been sent.

From IW: Gosh, we've never seen that before, have we?

Here is the trailer. Oh yeah, by the way, Mos Def, Lauren London, Mike Epps, Wood Harris (The Wire), and Debbie Allen are in it too:

Random Movie News...

Not much going on in the world of Black Cinema--or any cinema, really. I went to a preview of the new Morris Chestnut/Taraji Henson/T.D. Jakes/Bill Duke movie "Not Easily Broken"...more on that after it opens, but here are a few tidbits....

Can I say what's up with Sundance? They are showing all types of...I don't even know what this year...to wit (spotted on The Obenson Report):

"[Michael Clarke Duncan] is starring in a film called Slammin’ Salmon, which will premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in a couple of weeks.In the film, a brutal former heavyweight boxing champion Cleon “Slammin’” Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan), now owner of a Miami restaurant, creates a competition to see which of his waiters can earn the most money in one night, with $10,000 as the winning prize, while the loser will endure a beating at the hands of the champ.

Of course, hijinx and hilarity ensue... what else, right?

The film also features Vivica Fox."

From IW: Hmmm...after some investigation, I see the makers of this film are "Broken Lizard", responsible for a few weird, low budget comedies. I don't know what to make of it, especially what is going on with Vivica's hair...it just seems to get bigger and bigger every time I see her. Here is the trailer:




It pays to be married to someone who knows the true meaning of "parlay", and this applies in volumes to both of the Smiths:

"TNT had greenlit the medical drama "Time Heals," with a 10-episode order. The series is produced by and stars Jada Pinkett Smith. David Julian Hirsh (TBS' "Lovebites"), Laura Kenly, Christina Moore ("90210") and Suleka Mathew ("Men in Trees") will co-star.

"Time Heals" is set in a Charlotte, North Carolina hospital, with Smith playing the director of nursing who takes on hospital administrators, apathetic colleagues and heartless doctors."

From IW: I would normally have lots to say on this, but I know Undercover Black Man was working on a project with Jada, and this may be it, so I'll be quiet and be nice...but oh! how it huurrtsss....



Got this in my inbox from Sergio:

IW-

So I've seen Notorious and I have to say that I think it's really really good. The plot may follow the standard basic formula of a bio-pic but then it's with real visual flare and style by the director George Tillman.

However the sake of openness I have to admit that I'm a long time close friend of Tillman and his producer partner Bob Teitell so course I'm biased. Also I have to be upfront and say that I really don't know anything about hip-hop so I ask you and all your readers to give their opinions about the film and say if they feel the film really captures Biggie Smalls since, though of course I know who he is, I don't nothing about his music except that he was a real big fat guy who got shot. At the screening there were several radio DJ's and local radio execs and they were enthusiastic about the film so I take it that they felt it worked for them.

One fault though is that damn Angela Bassett. Subtlety is definitely not a word she's familiar with. Once again she goes overboard with her usual overacting and speaks in that THE VOICE OF GOD tone especially in her final closing narration in the film. As you said once that black people tend to confuse intensity and over acting with good acting. It's not. Basset is a straight up ham actress pure and simple. I mean she would overact just brushing her teeth.

Sergio

From IW: I'll also keep my mouth shut (for once) about Angela Bassett, 'cause I don't want the chix from "Angie B. News" bringing down their special reign of Bassett terror on me. I will say that I am not checking for this movie--but I said the same thing about Cadillac Records at one time, so we'll see.

Here is the trailer, tho I'm sure most of you have seen it:



And finally, for all you strong. Black, female screenwriters and filmmakers:

"The International Black Women’s Film Festival was established in 2002 by Adrienne Anderson, a San Francisco Bay Area-resident and San Francisco-native. Though an academic and collaborative technology trainer by profession, Ms. Anderson is also a journalist, writer and cultural activist. It was through her contact with music artists and filmmakers that she found that many films being presented had little, if any, fair representation of the complexity and human emotions of Black, female characters. Surprisingly, she found this consistency among films from other countries as well.

She decided to create a festival where the accomplishments, talents, creativity and filmmaking skills of Black women could be celebrated, featured and fairly represented. Looking beyond the usual Hollywood-style stereotypes of Black women, she introduced new and innovate cinema, primarily directed by Black women, and/or featuring Black women in non-stereotypical roles.

To date, the festival has received over 400 entries and has garnered international attention around the world from the Netherlands, Germany, Paris, Ghana, Canada and Australia! The festival has also received personal support and sponsorship from STAR WARS director and creator George Lucas and his media company LucasFilms, Ltd "


From IW: There is a call for entries going on right now. To find out more, click HERE.

Random Movie News....

So there are rumors that there will be a new "Catwoman", and no mention at all about Halle Berry being in it...no one even seems to be considering her. That is understandable, but why anyone is considering another Catwoman movie seems to be the bigger question.


Spotted this on my girl Purple Zoe's Ultraviolet Underground:

Mos Def and Erykah Badu have signed on to star in the indie drama 'Bobby Zero'; a film focused upon the life of fictional struggling artist Bobby Zero as he hits rock bottom before going corporate with a job in advertising. Badu will play his girlfriend who is afflicted with agoraphobia.

Bobby Zero is slated to begin filming in 2009 after the birth of Badu and Jay Elec's bundle of joy.

From IW: Yes, yes, yes!!!


Ummm....have read that Will Smith is going to do a remake of "Uptown Saturday Night". I'm trying to keep calm about this tidbit, as that movie is one of my very all times faves, but all I have to say is this: You bet not f*ck it up! Seriously, if this legacy is tainted I'll be runnin' folks down like "The Punisher"!

OK, here is the new trailer for "Black Dynamite" that I really wanted to post the first time (it is much more detailed, with a lot more scenes), but I couldn't find the embed code for it....the narrator has obviously been listening to a ton of Rudy Ray Moore:

In YT cinema news....

Why am I so stoked to see "The Wrestler" after hearing so much about it this weekend? Darren Aronofsky is one of the most talented directors out there by far; his "Requiem For A Dream" was off the charts. Full disclosure--I used to have a huge crush on Mickey Rourke back in the day, and as an added attraction it will be interesting to see what he's doing with that mangled face of his (he's the wrestler). Marisa Tomei is one who consistently challenges herself, so I'm looking forward to watching her too (she's the girlfriend/stripper). Here is the trailer:

OMG! This sounds soooo interesting and hilarious--it will be on lots of folkses "to see" list I'm sure in the Black community--and it will actually be shown at Sundance. Chris Rock is finally bringing it again--in a film called "Good Hair". From Black Film Academy:

The film has Rock traveling far and wide to examine the complexities of African American hairstyles – from everyday maintenance to the origins of hair weaves.

“It’s really deep and funny… I did a Michael Moore expose on hair,” he tells WENN. “(It’s about) the business of black hair - weaves and relaxers and all this stuff. I even went to India, where they get all the weaves.”

Rock and Stilson, (a producer and writer on “The Chris Rock Show”) also traveled to Birmingham, Memphis, and Dallas, to interview and tape some hairdressers as they prepped for the annual Bonner Brothers Hair Show in Atlanta.

‘Contestants come from all over the world to compete,’ Rock tells E! Online. ‘It’s like a black Comic-Con.”

I’m not making this up,’ he adds. ‘Someone’s doing hair underwater.’

From IW: Loves it! Can't wait. And finally for all of you aspiring filmmakers, The San Francisco Black Film Festival is calling out for entries (click on my link on my sidebar for more info)...make it happen!