Let's Hear It For The New Ladies Of Black Cinema...

Okay, there is always someone or something that brings Ms. Invisible back from the dead; if not posting while in competition for the Black Weblog Awards couldn't do it, then nothing could, I thought.

But this warmed up Ms. Invisible's cold, cold heart...I only know her name is Bittah Sweet on Twitter, and she made this video for a class project bigging up not just the Black female directors that we know and love, but the mega-talented new jacks who, from what I am reading, are making VERY big noises. Something that this eye and ear definitely needs to see and hear. Give it a whirl....

(admittedly, i watched with the sound on mute--depends on your musical taste)

Now THIS Is What I'm Talkin' Bout!

Usually it takes my beloved Mr. Howard (aka Terrence) to wake me out of my blogging beauty sleep, but even his laughable "Cleanse And Protect! You Gotta Wash Your Hands!" public fuckery campaign in Philly that takes his love for baby wipes to the next level couldn't wake me this time. I love you guys to death, and have wanted to share a bunch with you, but could not seem to put fingers to keyboard.

Until the very lovely Jez at "Shook" Magazine from in UK sent me this amazing 2 CD masterpiece "Can You Dig It? The Music and Politics of Black Action Films, 1968-75".

Oh. My. God. Let me tell you this--I was in a Radiohead stupor for the past 2 weeks--literally I have listened to nothing but Radiohead very single solitary day at home, at work, and in the car. Only a small miracle could have moved me from Radiohead and my blogging slumber, and that is what I consider this compilation--a small miracle. The gatekeeper of this blog, Pam Grier, graced the cover of the CD, piquing my interest, and I was absolutely hooked from the very first song--Roy Ayers' "Coffy". Need I say more? Well, maybe for the young folk I do, lol. But I don't think I can ever say enough about this spectacular collection.


Blacula, Black Belt Jones, Trouble Man, Cleopatra Jones...you name it, all the classics are here repped by some of the finest jewels in music; James Brown, Issac Hayes, The Impressions, Joe Simon, The Blackbyrds, Marvin Gaye...by the time I got to "Brothers Gonna Work It Out" by Willie Hutch from the classic Blaxploitation "The Mack", I was completely, thoroughly, and absolutely in love, lol. Did you know Sweet Sweetback's Theme was by Earth, Wind and Fire? I might have, but forgot--it's tidbits like that that make this even more of a treasure. All of my memories of these films came rushing back, and I was very grateful to the people behind this project for having the amazing foresight and what must have been a good deal of patience for licensing. I even loved the fact that they called it a homage to "Black Action Films" as opposed to Black Exploitation, or Blaxploitation, two terms I never really cared for.

I wish I could print the entire site here, but I can't--it might take you a while to read, plus it would take up about three pages of this blog...here is a bit more info (trust me, it will be the best gift to yourself you can possibly get all year, for reals!). Purchase and have one of your best parties ever!:

Can You Dig It?’ charts the rise of ‘Black Action Films’ from 1968-75. As well as featuring a double-CD collection of the stunning music from these films, ‘Can You Dig It?’ comes with a 100-page booklet, mini-film poster cards and stickers. For images, more info please call Karen or Angela on 020 7734 3341. Or email us on angela@soundsoftheuniverse.com or karen@soundsoftheuniverse.com

Here is the opening segment to the song "Brothers Gonna Work It Out", taken from an actual scene in "The Mack". Loves it.

Spotlight On....Malcolm Lee

Yesterday I started a bit of a dialogue about how every black film film doesn't have to be a masterpiece, but at least try to seem like you give a f__k. Malcolm Lee is a perfect example of that type of filmmaker...

Yes, his cousin Spike gets all the dap, but to be quite honest, I find Malcolm's movies easier to take. They do not require work to watch, and don't have such a sledgehammer message that they leave you with a migraine.

Sometimes I wish our films would just tell a story, and that's what his movies do. Yes, there are elements of black life and what it entails in his films, but they focus mainly on what I say is lacking in many of our community's films; family, values, thoughtfulness, and people that seem like they paid attention in school. There is black love, and black prosperity. There are real characters and real dialogue. And yes, there is a message slipped in, but it goes down smooth like a limoncello martini.

His directorial contributions are slim; "The Best Man", "Undercover Brother", and "Roll Bounce", but I'm sure he'll be around for a while, and at least he's not making film after film to give you brain freeze (*cough* Brett Ratner*cough*). His sequel to "The Best Man" entitled "The Better Man" is currently in post-production. And I won't mind if it doesn't win an Academy Award, I will just be happy to see a black movie I can relate to.

Spotlight On....

Since invisibility is rearing it's ugly head in spades this week, with not one black film, one black director, or a black actor of note in any opening this weekend, I'll talk about our community on my own.

One person who has come up on my radar several times is Michael K. Williams. The first time I saw him, it had been one of those weekends at the video store where I'd either seen everything, and what was left did not look like anything I'd want to rent. I half-enthusiastically picked up a movie called "Hard Times" , with Boris Kudjoe's big bald head plastered on the entire front of it. Boris is not one of my faves, but sometimes I rent films to support black filmmaking/production companies.

Anyhoo, as I watched the film (which was OK but not that great, about a buppie dude going to jail and going through some serious jail time drama), I noticed this hard-core looking dude was seriously stealing Boris' thunder. He turned a mediocre film into one that I watched with interest, and his dilemmas seemed real and were surprisingly moving. His acting was among the best I'd seen in a long time, very non-Hollywood, and I'd never seen this dude before. Even the scars on his face seemed real, and you could vividly imagine him actually facing the hardships in this film in real life.

The film was pretty low-budget, so I figured I wouldn't see him again any time soon, but very soon after, I saw him as Macy Gray's husband in "Lackawanna Blues", in a small, but still very affecting performance. And now, after seeing him every week as Omar on "The Wire", I am completely hooked. He is mesmerizing, and keeps your eyeballs glued to the screen.

Someone told me that he is in all of those R. Kelly "Trapped in the Closet" episodes, but everybody makes mistakes, and I refuse to watch that mess. But it is really saying a lot that you can keep your hard, scarred up face, play a depths of the ghetto homosexual/robber/killer (as he does on The Wire), and be one of the most sympathetic characters on the show. And have a straight code of ethics at that, so straight, that the police believe everything you say and are usually on your side, even knowing your criminal activity. And to top it off, he's darkly funny. Now that's real acting.

Next out for him on the big screen is "A Day In The Life" directed by Sticky Fingaz (?!) and co-stars Omar Epps, Mekhi Phifer, Michael Rapaport, Fredro Starr, Melinda Williams, Clarence Williams III, Faizon Love, Bokeem Woodbine and Ray J. Wow....I really wanna see how that's gonna turn out.

Trivia: he used to be a dancer and then a choreographer for music videos