Saturday, November 29, 2008

Holee Sh*t!

I completely forgot to post about the New York African Diaspora Film Festival...definitely one of the best film fests by far, and maybe the best Black one. Hopefully my comrade Tambay Obenson won't mind me repostimg his comments, as I am doing this on the quick...

Certainly one of the more worthwhile black film festivals in the country. You're always guaranteed to find a wide variety of films from every segment of the Diaspora - both old and new. This year is no different, with around 100 films on the festival's schedule, from just about every continent, occupying its entire 2-week run to screen them all - November 28 to December 14.

Of particular interest to me:

The Prince of Broadway

An Ethiopian film titled 13 Months of Sunshine

Disappearing Voices - The Decline of Black Talk Radio

A Cameroonian Film called Paris A Tout Prix (Paris or Nothing)

Charles Burnetts's Namibia epic - Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation

Sexe, Gombo Et Beurre Sale (Sex, Okra and Salted Butter) - a French film by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, who previously brought us the critically acclaimed 2006 film, Daratt.

Go to the NYADFF website for a list of every film screening, accompanied by any relevant information (synopsis, dates, times, etc...).

Show your support! We say we want change; we cry out for it; now, here's yet another opportunity for all of us to affect it.

I'll certainly be there for some of the films, and will share my thoughts on my podcast.

www.nyadff.org

Revisiting Asian Actions Charm With Ong Bak 2

ong_bak_2_poster
Previously he was only a stuntman named Panom Yeerum who was working earnestly in the Thai film industry, looking for his big break, but nowadays Panom whose then westernize his moniker to Tony Jaa is probably one of the biggest names in Asian martial arts movie. “Ong Bak” is the film that launched his glamorous career, where he’d demonstrated the amazing Thai-boxing with all of the stunning moves and acrobatics, and there’s all performed very naturally, there are no wires, no CGI, just perfectly skilled performers executing
WATCH MORE >>>

Punisher: War Zone

R | 1 hr 47 mins | Action, Adventure, Adaptation movie
Punisher: War ZoneAfter hunting down and killing hundreds of violent criminals, Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, faces his most deadly foe yet: Jigsaw.

Synopsis:
Waging his one-man war on the world of organized crime, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle sets his sights on overeager mob boss Billy Russoti. After Russoti is left horribly disfigured by Castle, he sets out for vengeance under his new alias: Jigsaw. With the "Punisher Task Force" hot on his trail and the FBI unable to take Jigsaw in, Frank must stand up to the formidable army that Jigsaw has recruited before more of his evil deeds go unpunished.

Director: Lexi Alexander
Starring: Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Doug Hutchinson, Colin Salmon, Wayne Knight, Dash Mihok, Julie Benz

Movie Trailer Punisher: War Zone

Friday, November 28, 2008

MMM (mini movie marathon)...

I went on one of my MMM's the other day--I'll talk about them in relevance to the subject matter of this blog.

The first one I'll keep short and sweet; "Volver" starring Penelope Cruz. It garnered a great amount of hype, most of it revolving around Penelope's performance. I wasn't buying into it, but if the movie is right there on your TV for free, and there's nothing else on, why not?

I must say, I was deeply impressed. Pedro Almodovar has to be one of the greatest storytellers in our history, and I always become completely immersed in all of his films--so far as to say I usually forget I'm watching one until it's over--it has me that involved. Cruz does seem to be a genuine actress despite my misgivings...it is a story of deep family secrets, what loneliness and betrayal can manifest, and how family ties, no matter how eroded, can be healed with kind words, understanding, and genuine love. Despite the description, it was by no means a "chick flick" (which I loathe). I highly recommend it.


Next up is another film I should have seen way before now--the South African movie"Tsotsi". Tsotsi is an African term for thug, or gangster, and is the name of the anti-hero in this film. In a nutshell, Tsotsi car jacks a wealthy woman, and when she protests, he shoots her in the stomach. As he drives away, he discovers that her infant son is in the back in a car seat. For reasons unknown even to him at the time, he takes the baby boy home with him.

This is not a perfect film, but it is an arresting one. Through the baby, Tsotsi finds his way from a hardcore, unapologetic criminal life to one of redemption, compassion, conscience, and consequence. I would have liked more backstory, and a bit more of what lead him to redemption, but considering the choices in films we have these days, I'll take what I can get. The performances are natural, understated, and completely affecting---the actors don't seem like actors at all, but regular folks plucked to be in this film. Think "City Of God"....if you enjoyed that one, you'll definitely get what Tsotsi is aiming for. I recommend this one as well.


We'll save the most questionable for last, which is "Divine Intervention". I confess, I sometimes have this morbid curiosity to view some DVD's that look like complete and total garbage. I think it's the same gene that makes me look at stuff like "New York Goes To Hollywood" on VH1, and "The Real Housewives of Atlanta".

Anyhoo, Wesley Jonathan is a very young guy who takes the place of the very older guy as pastor of a church. Shenanigans ensue. Honestly, there is not much to say beyond that, except for the women in the congregation's relationships with God seemed to be in direct linear context with how low their cleavages go. I didn't know if it was a church or Magic City (if you don't know what Magic City is, ask your nearest Southern friend or relative).

Oh yeah, Jazmine Lewis' acting skills seem to consist of how many ways she can style her hair in one week, and it is beyond sad to see the once promising Cynda Williams reduced to being Luenell's sidekick as a weedsmokin' heathen of the church (screen time about 8 minutes). Wesley Jonathan has a way of delivering his lines like he's talking to someone in real life, and trust me, in this context, it is not a good thing. This one is not even worthy of purchase from the bootleg blanket. Lord let us pray....

In A State Of Grace....


I wanted to write this yesterday, but I was in Limoncello Heaven, so it's a day late. Though I don't celebrate Thanksgiving out of respect for the Native Americans, I do think about what I am grateful for.

My goal for some time has been to live my life in a state of grace; completely calm, with security, peace, and beauty deeply permeating my life on the daily (which, of course, means not going near Black Friday).

I'm not completely there yet, but the drama in my life (of which used to be almost unbearable) is no more. My home exudes peace, and I can focus on things that are important to me. Music being one (I was listening to Sylvester yesterday--whatcha know 'bout dat?) and the importance of friendships being another.


this is sylvester, or one of his album covers to be exact

I am so very grateful for the amazing and awesome friends that I have, and even more grateful that my circle is increasing on a strong foundation. I even found one of my dearest long term friends I lost contact with on the internets last week, bringing my grace factor up 100%! Please check her out at her blog Sistah Goddess; she is living her whole life in grace in a major way.

And speaking of friendships and the internets, I thank the most high for your presence here. Taking the time to read my sometimes crotchety opinions, laughing with me at the ridiculousness, leaving amazing and well thought out comments--I really love you guys (and no it's not the vodka talking, that was last night!) Folks like Ms. Marvalus, sdg1844, Madame Z, and the Happy Go Lucky Bachelor seem like cousins that I like hanging out with--I just name them cause they are here every day without fail. For all of you that are here every day, or once a week, or once a month even, please know you are truly appreciated by the author of this blog.

Be blessed and prosper your azz off in the '09!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

PG-13 | 1 hr 33 mins | Drama, War, Adaptation Movie
The Boy in the Striped PajamasIn 1942, a boy's Nazi family is relocated to Poland, where he strikes up a forbidden friendship with a Jewish child.
Synopsis:
Eight year-old Bruno is the sheltered son of a Nazi officer whose promotion takes the family from their comfortable home in Berlin to a desolate area where the lonely boy finds nothing to do and no-one to play with. Crushed by boredom and compelled by curiosity, Bruno ignores his mother’s repeated instructions not to explore the back garden and heads for the ‘farm’ he has seen in the near distance. There he meets Shmuel, a boy his own age who lives a parallel, alien existence on the other side of a barbed wire fence. Bruno's encounter with the boy in the striped pajamas leads him from innocence to a dawning awareness of the adult world around them as his meetings with Shmuel develop into a friendship with devastating consequences.

Director: Mark Herman
Starring: David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga, Rupert Friend, Asa Butterfield, Jack Scalon

Trailer The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Spirit In The Land Of Women

the_spirit_poster_01
After “Sin City” and “300” turned out to be two of the biggest comic adaptation movies in the history, Frank Miller and his creative graphic novel visualization soon became one new hot asset in Hollywood, and this year he arrives not only as a man whose graphic novel being adapted to the big screen by other guys (even for “Sin City’ he receive a co-director credit), but as the director himself for his friend Will Eisner’s 1940s newspaper comic strip "The Spirit" big screen adaptation. Miller had initially hesitated, doubting
WATCH MORE >>>

Monday, November 24, 2008

Random Movie News....



Yes, very random--a veritable Black Hollywood stew.

First up--Spike is all over the place these days...he is making a film on the L.A. Riots. From comingsoon.net:

Spike Lee may be close to filming his movie about the 1992 Los Angeles riots with producer Brian Grazer, who tells ComingSoon.net that it might hit theaters before their sequel to “Inside Man 2.”

Grazer, the founder of Imagine Entertainment with filmmaker/partner Ron Howard, said the L.A. riots film would be a “360 degree view of what that is, an autopsy of how a riot works."

Like Spike, Grazer has been trying to get the project made for a long time.


From IW: Hopefully, Spike and Grazer won't butt heads--those are 2 massive and polar opposite egos in the room. But if Spike gains control, at least it will be from a Black perspective for once.


Question...why, why why, is Universal ready to make a "Nutty Professor Part 3"?


I'm sorry, except for Hugh Jackman, this has to be the sorriest ass Sexiest Men Alive Top 10 List in homosapian history. Pathetic! (sorry Blair)



Have you heard that Cedric The Entertainer is in talks to make a movie based on the life of Marcus Garvey? About f*cking time somebody is! It will be extremely interesting to see Ced play a dramatic role with Garvey, and he does have the look for it.



And for all of you checking out the Old Boy/Will Smith/Spielberg saga of an "Old Boy" remake (including me), here is the latest.

No one really expected that team to come through, and I was wondering what the cop-out would be--here it is; the movie will be based on the graphic novels of Old Boy, and not a remake of the Korean film. That f*cking figures. I knew they would get around actually making something truly noteworthy somehow....it kinda pisses me off, to tell the truth.




And finally can someone explain what these folks are trying to do here? This "Black Dynamite" movie seems to be a copycat blaxploitation movie with a straight face, but I can't tell. With such random folks as Arsenio Hall, Nicole Sullivan, and Jimmy Walker, are they serious, or is this a parody? Note to the filmmakers: "I'm Gonna Get U Sucka" was done 20 years ago--we still remember it!

Off Topic, But My 2 Cents....

Hey all. I'll just make a quick mention of The American Music Awards, which I honestly haven't watched in years. I've always found it too pop-ee, too Billboard 100 for my taste. I watched it last night from a kind of sociological point of view, and here are a few of my observations:


-Chris Brown still looks like he's 13 years old


-Speaking of Chris Brown, Rihanna--the metallic eye patch? I mean really. The whole "edgy" thing is starting to look more than forced.

-Neyo is doing his damnedest to channel Micheal Jackson; Mike should be asking for royalties


-Pink has my respect all day; she is very obviously in it for her love of music, and she killed it in her performance

-All of Beyonce's songs sound exactly the same to me, but Lord knows she can dance her azz off, I can't even front.

-My husband the RZA was looking extra finger lickin' delicious.

-Mariah Carey is about as exciting as an ingrown toenail, and just as painful to watch. Is she still using the wind machines to blow her hair--even on live TV? Give it up, girl!


-The B-52's should be at the courthouse at this very moment filing a lawsuit against Miley Cyrus and her crew for stealing their sh*t--it's just plain robbery. And nobody's father should be looking all blowdried and leathered out with a huge soul patch (I'm talkin' to you Billy Ray Cyrus). The "high concept" behind her performance/song was completely laughable.

-Poor Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots). He used to be on track to be the biggest rock star in the world...now he's like the embarrassing uncle at the family gatherings--you know his azz is gonna get fucked up and cause a scene, and there is nothing you can do to stop it, but you invite him anyway cause he's really harmless, and inside you love him and feel a bit sorry for him.


-The Eagles were eligible for an award?


-Christina Aguilera's singing grates every single, solitary pore and fiber of my soul.

-There was a noticeable absence of Neo-Soul, or really any real soul, period.

-I still have absolutely no idea who Taylor Swift is.


That is all.

Twilight Drained The Box Office Blood

twilight-movie-poster
Like what that has been expected, horde of female-dominated audiences rushed to the multiplexes and drawn a huge amount of income for "Twilight," the first in a planned franchise based on the best-selling books by Stephenie Meyer. Young girls and their mothers can’t help their self for not falling into Edward’s spell and made the film congregate the best opening weekend for a movie since “The Dark Knight " launched with a record $158 million in July. It took a bigger-than-expected $70.55 million bite out of the weekend box office in North America, according to studio estimates issued Sunday. Many fans camped out overnight ahead of
WATCH MORE >>>

Bolt

PG | 1 hr 36 mins | Action, Comedy, Adventure, Animated Movie
BoltA dog who has his own TV show has difficulty accepting the fact that he doesn't have superpowers.
Synopsis:
For super dog Bolt, every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue at least until the cameras stop rolling. When the star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood sound stage to New York City, he begins his biggest adventure yet a cross country journey through the real world to get back to his owner and co-star, Penny. Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real and the help of two unlikely traveling companions;a jaded, abandoned house cat named Mittens and a TV obsessed hamster named Rhino Bolt discovers he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero.

Director: Chris Williams, Byron Howard
Starring: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman, Mark Walton, Diedrich Bader, Malcolm McDowell, Nick Swardson

Movie Trailer Bolt

Friday, November 21, 2008

Friday the 13th

Horror, Remake movie Release: 2/13/2009
Friday the 13thA group of young adults discover a boarded-up Camp Crystal Lake, where they soon encounter Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions.Returning to the story that started it all, this movie retelling of the original Friday the 13th
Synopsis:
Clay searches for his missing sister in the eerie woods of legendary Crystal Lake, where he stumbles on the creaky remains of rotting old cabins behind moss covered trees. And that's not the only thing lying in wait under the brush. Against the advice of police and cautions from the locals, Clay pursues what few leads he has, with the help of a young woman he meets among a group of college kids up for an all-thrills weekend. But they are about to find much more than they bargained for. Little do they know, they've entered the domain of one of the most terrifying specters in American film history the infamous killer who haunts Crystal Lake, armed with a razor sharp machete Jason Voorhees.

Director: Marcus Nispel
Starring: Amanda Righetti, Jared Padalecki, Jonathan Sadowski, Aaron Yoo, Travis Van Winkle

Movie Trailer Friday the 13th

Laughing in the cinema and movie theaters

Crest Whitestrips Supreme Professional Strength 84 stripsAre you less confident when laugh because of your teeth structure that are less good, cracked, missing teeth or maybe just because the color of your teeth? There are many people have teeth problem and this condition can make some people don’t want to laugh in front of someone else because less self confident. For example some is when you have teeth problem you maybe won’t laugh in front of someone or person you just meet. Maybe you will just smile without open your mouth. Maybe you only laugh hard and open your mouth widely when you see cinema or in movie theaters because it was dark and none can see your teeth.
If you include in people who experience with teeth problems, then you can search or find dental experts who can help your teeth issue. Make sure you choose the advanced dental professionals, and clinical professors that have lot experiences and use of the latest technology and techniques to give you outstanding results.
As you know, some treatments is not the best treatment for everyone teeth problem. Dentist has knowledge and experience in providing the most appropriate treatment plan for each individual patient. Don’t only laughing in the cinema and movie theaters, rebuild your natural oral aesthetics with the expert and make your smile memorable.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Benjamin Button Is The Most Curious Case Of The Year

I’d always adored David Fincher’s works, cause I think most of them was so brilliant and fascinating, as Fincher is known for his luminous production design, wonderful cinematography, and great visual sense. And in this holiday season, the man will carrying his new project that already got a good prospect to become this year's Best Picture, or at the very least, one of the best films of the year. I just couldn't help to get very excited with this film called
WATCH MORE >>>

Four Christmases

PG-13 | 1 hr 22 mins | Comedy, Family, Holiday Movie
2A young married couple deal with each other's parents and stepparents on Christmas morning.
Synopsis:
No one enjoys the holidays more than Brad and Kate. Every December 25th, this happily unmarried, upscale San Francisco couple embark on a holiday tradition they have shared every year since they met,ditching their crazy families for a relaxing, fun filled vacation in some sunny exotic locale. There, sipping margaritas by the pool, they toast the season, knowing they have once again avoided the chaos and emotional fallout of their four respective households: divorced parents, squabbling siblings, out of control kids and all the simmering resentments and awkward moments that are the hallmarks of every family Christmas. But not this year. Shorts and sunglasses packed, Brad and Kate are trapped at the San Francisco airport by a fogbank that cancels every outbound flight. Worse yet, they are caught on camera by a local news crew, revealing their whereabouts to the whole city and to their families. With no escape and no excuses, they are now expected home by Brad’s father. And Kate’s mother. And Brad’s mother. And Kate’s father. Four Christmases in one day. As they brace themselves for a marathon of homecomings, Brad and Kate expect the worst and that’s exactly what they get. But as Brad counts down the minutes to their freedom, Kate surprisingly finds herself tuned to the ticking of a different clock. At the end of the day, each will gain a new perspective on where they came from and where they’re going. Getting to know themselves and each other as they really are could finally give them a chance at the kind of love they’ve only been playing at.

Director: Seth Gordon
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Voight, Sissy Spacek

Movie Trailer Four Christmases

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

7 Questions With Screenwriter Barry Michael Cooper....

"About five years ago, I accepted the fact that I had fallen off.

Let me be clear: I knew I fell off in 1998, when I couldn't sell a script, couldn't get a call-back from a studio, producer or a manager, and my agency--William Morris--decided to drop me, all because I slapped a call girl in the lobby of the Sofitel on Beverly Boulevard, a call girl who I had a relationship with and promised to blow up like MJB.

Oh, of course I was married and had two young children while I was why?-lin' out in Hollywon't. Don't let me forget that."

That is the opening of the cautionary confession that Barry Michael Cooper, aka BMC, wrote in an article that you can read HERE. His journey has been one of success, trial and tribulation, lessons learned, and triumph. After penning such community favorites as "New Jack City", "Above The Rim", and "Sugar Hill", he enjoyed fame followed by infamy, then a crushing career flatline...only to rise like a phoenix out of the ashes.

His honesty is beautiful, and a morality tale that one should never take anything for granted. I am honored that he took the time to participate on my post of "7 Questions":


Question #1

The films that you wrote were staples of the nineties. It is pretty well documented how you came up with the idea for "New Jack City", but how did you come up with the screenplay for "Sugar Hill"?


Sugar Hill came about after I had seen a Cassavetes retrospective in the East Village in the summer of 1991. I actually watched the film "Faces" maybe 3 times in one day: I was blown away by the freedom of the narrative and the acting, and the neo-realism of the cinematography. I began to research and study John Cassavetes, who I remembered from the film "The Dirty Dozen", which also starred Lee Marvin, and Jim Brown. I also read that Cassavetes was also influenced by Black filmmaker William Greaves, and all of the groundbreaking documentaries and films like "Symbiopsychotaxiplasm", that he had done.

It was at that point I wanted to write a piece that was urban but still kind of a existential character study of a street dude who wanted more than the dead end life he had chosen for himself. I also watched the George Cukor version of "A Star Is Born" which starred James Mason and Judy Garland. So a myriad of narratives were tracking in my head. The first draft of "Sugar Hill" was a script I wrote in 1991 called "Skeezer", and it was from the p.o.v. of this party girl who was a struggling actress by day and a phone sex operator at night, who meets this drug dealer and they fall in love in the midst of two lives that were burning from the flames of bad choices. And the title "Skeezer" did not refer to this woman, Melissa: it described the guys she was meeting at the Chelsea bar/club called Nells. Actors, ballplayers, boxers, ghetto celebs, who weren't just sexual whores, but life-whores: the debauched. Dudes whose mindset was, "I want the world and everything in it, and I will do anything to get everything." These dudes were the real "skeezers".

But Beacon-Fox thought that subject matter was a little bit much, and the title as well, so needless to say, the movie went through a few changes. But it is my favorite film, hands down.


Question #2

Tupac made only a few films, each one showing his immense potential as an actor. What was your experience like on the set with him on "Above The Rim"?


I wasn't on the set of "Above The Rim", and the day I was supposed to meet Pac, I was editing a music video for the singer Jeff Redd, in Soho. By the time I arrived to the Rucker Basketball court on 155th Street and 8th Avenue, Tupac had gone. I think that guy is an acting legend. So tragic that he is not with us anymore. GOD Rest his soul.

Question #3

You seemed to have worked through the betrayal on your career in Hollywood, but many other shining and revered black auteurs in the same period in the nineties seemed to have faded away as well; Matty Rich, and The Hughes Brothers, just to name two. What is your take on that supposed Black film renaissance and resurgence just disappearing into thin air?


The Cinematic Black Renaissance of the 90s is a unique epoch: we may see a resurgence of Black film in the age of President Barack Obama, but not like what we experienced two decades ago. Check it: nineteen films between 1989 and 1992-3, that had either Black producers, directors, and screenwriters? Nah. I think it was a phenomenon that kind of dovetailed with what the great author and cultural critic Nelson George wrote about in his book Post Soul Nation: we found our voice and our gravity as Black people in the oppressive and dismissive years of the Reagan era.

It was Jesse Jackson, it was Michael Jackson, it was Michael Jordan, it was Prince, it was Al Sharpton, it was Spike Lee, it was Barry Michael Cooper, Greg Tate, and Nelson George at the Village Voice. It was David Dinkins as mayor of New York. Reagan and the Reagan era had an intense disdain for Black folk, and Black folk responded by rising to the challenge and excelling in all endeavors, and that sense of pride and work ethic transposed itself to the world of film, too. However, I think we became complacent during the Clinton era. I believe rap and Hip Hop found a darker but profound voice during the Clinton era, but in film, we had a foolish sense of entitlement. And a lot of us--and I am speaking for myself--we lost our way. We thought the gates at Sony, Warners, Fox, etc., would stay open forever. But Hollywood not only eats its' young, Hollywood eats anything that's green. And when it's not green its not part of their menu anymore. So I believe a confluence of those factors led to a lot of folk losing their way.

Question #4

Do you think there is a double standard in Hollywood with bad behavior? Non-black Hollywood's DUI's, car crashes, drug addictions, and other even more questionable behavior seem to be overlooked--indeed sometimes even garnering more support for the persons involved. Hollywood and it's ilk usually seem to rally around those that have deep personal issues. Do you feel that Black Hollywood doesn't offer the same support systems? Is that why you weren't able to even work with your own community?

I don't think the double standard has anything to do with race: it lends itself to who makes the most money for the studios or networks. If you are a cash cow, you can almost kill with impunity, and get away with it. That's what fixers are all about, the highly-paid "sin eaters". If you are making money, you are valuable. It not, you become expendable. It has nothing to do with race. Look at the gossip blogs, look at the blind items, and if they are to be believed, then a lot of our popular icons in the Black community are living more off the hook than Caligula, lol. But as long as they make money for the studios and networks, their negative behavior will not only be protected, but encouraged. Once the dollar dries up though, their mugshots will be online, along with the tearful confessions on YouTube and Access Hollywood. You know the routine...

Question #5

A subject that comes up here quite often is the dissatisfaction with what "The Hollywood Machine" is producing in the way of Black Cinema. What, in your opinion, can the public at large do to change things? (Everyone gets asked this question, btw)

The public can support idiosyncratic Black film, be it online, on cable, at the local art house cinema, or just buying the Dvd online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. We can support these kind of films. Because at the end of the day, that ka-ching is the lever in the voting booth of Hollywood. We vote with our dollars and Hollywood needs that vote!

Question #6

What projects are you working on now? Anything we can look forward to in the future?

I have transitioned into television: TV is really hot right now, and a gold rush for filmmakers, especially cable. Like the real estate mantra, "Location, location, location", in TV it's "Content, content, content". I produced the Season Three premiere of BET's crime doc series "American Gangster". The episode focused on the 80s Bronx gunman Larry Davis, and that particular episode was the biggest Original Series premiere in BET history, with 2 million viewers thus far. The episode aired 23 October 2008, but you can see the episode and the other episodes American Gangster on iTunes. Please order it! (lol) I also have an indie movie playing on the web titled "Blood On The Wall$" which can be viewed at www.citypaper.com/go/botw

I am also blogging for Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barry-michael-cooper I am also doing a few more films and TV shows that will premiere online. When they are about to happen, IW, I will give you the scoop before anyone else.

Question #7

Any thoughts or advice you would like to leave for the readers? We have filmmakers as well as film lovers on this blog regularly.

My advice to other filmmakers out there is never, ever give up. With the advent of online cinema, the playing field is wide open. Do your own films, and premiere them online. If you post it, they will come, to paraphrase the catchphrase from "Field Of Dreams". And know that Providence will make a way out of no way. Even if you don't believe in GOD, believe in the Essence of this life that's bigger than you. Because cinema is about the belief of the unbelievable. So keep grinding, and don't give up.


From IW: Veeeery interesting. A testament that one should never give up, and keep it moving and keep it positive no matter what....loves it. Look for him on The Huffington Post HERE. Be blessed BMC!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Australia (2008)

War, Romance, Period Movie
2In northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot.
Synopsis:
In Australia, on the brink of World War II, an English aristocrat travels to the faraway continent, where she meets a rough-hewn local and reluctantly agrees to join forces with him to save the land she inherited. Together, they embark upon a transforming journey across hundreds of miles of the world's most beautiful yet unforgiving terrain, only to still face the bombing of the city of Darwin by the Japanese forces that attacked Pearl Harbor.

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown

Trailer Australia (2008)

Monday, November 17, 2008

New Trailer For Cadillac Records...

Will keep my irritations with Beyonce to myself, but this trailer is much more interesting than the first one....

Questions....

Okay, so I watched Katt William's "It's Pimpin Pimpin" last night. What is UP with that dude? He is so smart, and funny, and charismatic, but seems to go off the deep end in real life at an alarming rate (i.e. being committed by his family the other day). Disturbing. Is it a mixture of drugs that puts these celebs in the hospital/"retreats" for "exhaustion" and "dehydration", or just one big super-duper hellacious drug? I need answers, stat....

Who knew Condi Rice could look like this? Not me, that for sure.


Speaking of looks, is this really shit talking blogger Sandra Rose? Suddenly her extreme and obsessive hatorade on Beyonce and Ciara makes complete and total sense.


Is this her too?



Why am I absolutely not feeling Daniel Craig as James Bond? At all. He looks positively simian, with zero sex appeal (to me anyway). They broke the mold after Sean Connery, who had the swagger of fifty 007's. Bring on Clive Owen!


Was anyone surprised that Wanda Sykes came out as a lesbian? Not I.


Did you know Timbaland was producing movies? From The Hollywood Reporter:

Music producer Timbaland, born Tim Mosley, is making his first foray into Hollywood as executive producer of the upcoming feature “Vinyl.”

Timbaland’s Mosley Media Group is teaming with Effie T. Brown’s Duly Noted Inc. to produce the film, which follows five young women facing life-altering decisions about their relationships with members of a rock band.

Writer-director Richard Zelniker’s film is set to begin shooting in the spring, with Brown, Marcus Spence and Timbaland’s wife, Monique Idlett-Mosley producing.

The Mosleys plans to promote the film with behind-the-scenes content designed for mobile devices.

From IW: Timb's projects have all been non-Black for the past couple of years; by the sound of this project, he is probably continuing that trend.


Housekeeping stuff: you may notice some tired Google ads on my site lately--I am working on a project with a company called Yield Build in the Bay, don't be alarmed! :-)

Role Models

R | 1 hr 35 mins | Comedy, Drama Movie
Role ModelsWild behavior forces a pair of energy-drink reps to enroll in a Big Brother program.
Synopsis:
Two salesmen, Wheeler and Danny, trash a company truck on an energy drink-fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice: do hard time or spend 150 service hours with a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn’t look half bad. Surrounded by annoying do gooders, Danny struggles with every neurotic impulse to guide Augie through the trials of becoming a man. Unfortunately, the guy just dumped by his girlfriend has only sarcasm to offer a bashful 16 year old obsessed with medieval role play. Meanwhile, charming Wheeler tries to trade in an addiction to partying and women to assist a fifth grader named Ronnie in redirecting his foul-mouthed ways. It would probably help if Ronnie's new mentor wasn't an overgrown adolescent whose idea of quality time includes keggers in Venice Beach. Once the center's ex con director gives them an ultimatum, Danny and Wheeler are forced to tailor their brand of immature wisdom to their charges. And if they can just make it through probation without getting thrown in jail, the world's worst role models will prove that, sometimes, it takes a village idiot to raise a child.

Director: David Wain
Starring: Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jane Lynch, Bobb'e J.Thompson, Elizabeth Banks

Movie Trailer Role Models

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Quantum of Solace Break Bond Office Record

Bond is still people’s beloved agent of all time, the latest film of British spy, “Quantum of Solace” which already a big hit overseas, now set another new opening record in North America with estimated weekend sales of $70.4 million, according to the distributor Columbia Pictures. The record before was held by "Die Another Day," which earned $47.1 million across the United States and Canada during its first weekend in November 2002. The 2006 predecessor "Casino Royale," which rebooted all Bond’s systems, only opened with $40.8 million but then become the highest grosser Bond of all time with $160 million and
WATCH MORE >>>

Friday, November 14, 2008

Soul Men

R | 1 hr 43 mins | Comedy, Music Movie
Soul MenTwo estranged soul legends agree to participate in a reunion performance at the Apollo Theater to honor their recently deceased band leader.

Synopsis:
The two remaining members of the popular soul band, The Real Deal, from the 1970's, Floyd Henderson, now a retired businessman, and ne'er-do-well, ex-convict, Louis Hinds, take a road trip to the Apollo Theater for a musical tribute to their recently deceased front man, Marcus Hook. As they travel cross country in a series of adventures and misdventures, they air old grievances about thirty year old betrayals and learn the music's still in them.

Director: Malcolm Lee
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, Sean Hayes, Sharon Leal, Jennifer Coolidge, Isaac Hayes, Affion Crockett, John Legend, Adam Herschman, Fatso Fasano, Jackie Long

Movie Trailer Soul Men

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Niggaratti Shenanigans...

I'm sorry, but these two videos are funny as hayell...so sue me!

From Aaron McGruder of "The Boondocks"--Black Jesus (thanks long live the message):



From "This Week In Blackness"--Black Vs. Black, a spoof on the Mac/PC commercials:

Changeling (2008)

R | 2 hr 20 mins | Drama, Thriller, Period, Mystery Movie
Changeling (2008)A mother prays for the return of her kidnapped son. When her prayers are answered, however, she begins to suspect the boy who comes back is not her child.
Synopsis:
Los Angeles, March 1928: On a beautiful Saturday morning in a working class suburb, single mother Christine Collins says goodbye to her nine year old son, Walter, and leaves for her job as a telephone operator. But when Christine returns to their modest home, she is confronted with every parent’s worst nightmare: her son has vanished. An exhaustive and fruitless search ensues, but Walter has disappeared without a trace until five months later, when a child claiming to be her boy; is returned by police who are eager to bask in the public-relations coup of reuniting mother and child. Dazed by the swirl of cops, reporters, photographers and her own conflicted emotions, Christine is persuaded to take the boy home. But in her heart, she knows he is not Walter. As she pushes authorities to keep looking for her real son, Christine learns that in Prohibition-era L.A., women don’t challenge the system and live to tell their story. Slandered as delusional and unfit, she finds an ally in community activist Reverend Gustav Briegleb, who helps her fight the city to look for her missing boy. Facing corrupt police who question her sanity and a skeptical public hungry for a fairy-tale ending, Christine desperately hunts for answers. As she searches, she becomes an unlikely heroine for the poor and downtrodden who have been systematically abused and swept aside by the police state that has gripped L.A. Now, one woman’s quest won’t stop until she finds her son unless those assigned to protect and serve silence her for good.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan, Michael Kelly

Movie Trailer Changeling (2008)
ROBERT-TSANI