Oh, How I Miss Thee, Isaac Hayes...

Okay, so I just watched "Truck Turner" for the umpteenth time. Why? Yes, the plot is wholly ridiculous, and unbelievable, but the fact that it is so ridiculous is what makes it watchable to me. It also has a pimp with the worst perm in history (Yaphet Kotto is a pimp as well). That makes me watch, and also the fact that Nichelle Nichols aka Uhura (whose birthday was this week, she's 77) was going around calling everyone "nigga" like she was saying it for the first time. It sounds terrible....but ol' girl was looking great in her forties, yes?

But I really like it because of Isaac Hayes. He just had so much charisma...he was not good looking in any conventional sense at all, but was a master of smoothness, game, and charm. And that voice! He also seemed like a good guy with a genuine sense of humor...I am still lamenting his passing, and when I read who was at his funeral last year, it looked like a who's who list of Hollywood and music; he was obviously loved by many others as well.

For your viewing pleasure--"Truck Turner"--please catch it on cable this month and in January or below...I read that a new Truck Turner is in development--why does Hollywood insist on screwing with perfection?

The trailer:

2009 Is A Pleasurable Year At The Movie

Now that 2009 is finally winding to a close, everyone is getting nostalgic for the year that was. Best and worst of the year lists are everywhere and if you're still hungry for lists, here in Movie Café we also have one for you. Sum up 2009 in films, it was totally a year of full surprises and absolutely a great year for the business. There are some films came out of nowhere to blow us away and

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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel

PG | 1 hr 28 mins | Children's,Comedy film,family movie
In 2007, "Alvin and the Chipmunks," a multinational phenomenon to generations of fans.. Now Dr. Dolittle's Betty Thomas helms with Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, and Jesse McCartney returning as the voices of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore.
Synopsis:
The lovable singing and dance trio of legendary marmots extends their big screen high jinks with this follow-up to the 20th Century Fox strike hit live action/CG family comedy, this time incorporating a female version of the group entitled the Chipettes.

Director: Betty Thomas
Starring: Starring: Jason Lee, Justin Long, David Cross, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Anna Faris, Christina Applegate, Amy Poehler, Zachary Levi

Movie Trailer Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Café’s Most Anticipated 2010 Films: Part One

2009 has been once again a great year for films and moviegoers with many great receptions, hypes and record breaking. But it’s now a time to close the book and write a new chapter of this reel world, a chapter that will begin when 2010 sun rise in the sky. For the avid movie fan a new year comes with the salubrious promise of exaltation. But as usual the year produced films

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In A Perfect World....

Here is my Kwanzaa update--I posted this last year, but I still haven't gotten over the sheer audacity and cajones this woman had for even thinking of this. I present to you the most disgusting cake in creation, set forth by one of the whitest women in creation; Sandra Lee's Kwanzaa cake. Who sanctioned this sh*t?



To my City Of Angels folkses, there is a Kwaanza parade starting at Crenshaw and Adams at noon (12/26/09) ending at Leimert Park. At 6pm there will be a candle lighting ceremony and a festival all day long:

Leimert Park Village Vision Lot: 43rd Street & Degnan -2 blocks east of Crenshaw Blvd on 43rd street 4300 Degnan Blvd , Los Angeles , 90008

Phone: (213) 955-5239

Pee Wee + Little Drummer Boy + The Diva That Is Grace Jones = The Alchemy Of My Christmas Wishes And Dreams...beautiful days to everyone!



h/t undercover blackman

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

PG-13 | Adventure Movie
The setting is sixth century Persia. Ubisoft's popular video game serials of the same name gets adapted for the big screen in this sweeping fantasy adventure.
Synopsis:
A nefarious nobleman covets the Sands of Time, a legendary gift from the gods that allows its owner to turn back time. Whoever has the Sands of Time has the force to rule the world, and this villainous lord would use that ability to enslave all of humanity. The only person capable of overcoming this tyrant and keeping the world is Dastan (Gyllenhaal), a young prince. Now, with plucky princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) by his position, Dastan will effort to keep the Sands of Time from falling into the wrong hands.

Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton, Alfred Molina, Toby Kebbell

Movie Trailer Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

BuyPlayStation 2 game Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Sherlock Holmes: Refreshing And Fun Adventure

It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen any Sherlock Holmes movies, and this Guy Ritchie’s film where the British director taken the liberty to introduce this generation’s audiences to one of the finest detectives in the big screen is a smartly move. Our first impression of the character is absolutely the boring moustache man who smokes a pipe, wearing a checked hat, and going around dark valleys poking his nose into

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Bodyguards and Assassins: Stand Out In Production Values

If last year we have “Ip Man” as our best martial arts spectacle for winter holiday, this year Teddy Chan’s epic martial arts “Bodyguards and Assassins” is absolutely the one that worth checking for. Brings once again Donnie Yen, now the highest paid actor in China, together with an all-star cast in a thrilling story of how a group of kung fu fighters band together to protect revolutionary

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Avatar Did A Wonderfull Business In The Box Office

Though storms in the East Coast America likely will frost any movie's prospects to gather big box office result, but the glowingly reviewed “Avatar” lived up to its epic expectations by securing a very decent $27 million on its Friday opening. The number was good enough to give it second place in terms of films that have opened on a Friday in December, behind only

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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):

Brothers

R | 1 hr 50 mins | Drama Movie
When a decorated Marine goes missing overseas, his black-sheep younger brother cares for his wife and kids at home with results that will rock the foundation of the whole family.
Synopsis:
Jim Sheridan helms this make over of Susanne Bier's 2004 war melodrama, this time with Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal making the lead roles of two blood brothers torn between war and love in this Relativity Media product. Maguire stars as a soldier who's sent to Afghanistan as his deadbeat brother (Gyllenhaal) stays at home with his sibling's wife (Natalie Portman) and kids.

Director: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Bailee Madison, Taylor Geare, Patrick Flueger, Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham, Clifton Collins Jr., Josh Berry

Movie Trailer Brothers

TIVO ALERT! You want to see this...really!

Hey guys: will be back later today--wanted you all to please, please Tivo this if you can....thanks Dennis from Reelblack!

TIVO ALERT

DARKTOWN STRUTTERS ON TCM TONIGHT! Greetings!
Turner Classic Movies' UNDERGROUND series shine the spotlight on two long neglected musical comedies from the blaxploitation era. At 2am, they will air DARKTOWN STRUTTERS (1975), which is filmmaker Mike D's favorite guilty pleasure movie from the 70s. At 3:45 they will screen THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY, a miserable film which featured Donna Summer in her acting debut, and won an Oscar for the disco classic "Last Dance." Between the two films, they will screen a rare featurette starring Redd Foxx about the making of his feature film, NORMAN IS THAT YOU (1976).

From IW: Here is the trailer for "Norman Is That You?" with Redd Foxx and Pearl Bailey. How do you think this movie would fly if it were made today?

Planet 51

PG | 1 hr 31 mins | Comedy, animation movie
" Planet 51" is a galactic sized animated alien adventure comedy focusing on American astronaut Captain Charles "Chuck" Baker, who lands on Planet 51 believing he's the first person to step foot on it.
Synopsis:
To his surprise, he gets that this planet is populated by little green citizenry who are happily living in a white picket fence world reminiscent of a cheerfully innocent 1950s America, and whose only concern is that it will be invaded by alien invaders...like Chuck! With the help of his robot companion "Rover" and his new friend Lem, Chuck must voyage his way through the dazzling, but amazing, landscape of Planet 51 in order to escape becoming a lasting part of the Planet 51 Alien Invaders Space Museum.

Director: Jorge Blanco
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, Seann William Scott, John Cleese

Movie Trailer Planet 51

Avatar: The Showcase Of Cameron’s Best Abilities

Twelve years after James Cameron captivated moviegoers with his surprise hit, “Titanic”, the man is back with another sensational, entertaining, sheer spectacle. A film that's been more than ten years in the making, “Avatar”, truly lived up its hype as a film that pioneered technology while inventing techniques that will be used by other filmmakers for years to come. The trailers that for many people are unimpressive enough truly

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Sherlock Holmes

PG-13 | 2 hr 14 mins | Action, Mystery Movie
In a dynamic new portrayal of Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous characters, "Sherlock Holmes" sends Holmes and his steady partner Watson on their latest challenge
Synopsis:
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, gets an update with this adaptation of Lionel Wigram's comic book series by writer/director Guy Ritchie (RocknRolla) starring Robert Downey Jr. as the titular detective, with Jude Law stepping into the shoes of his sidekick, Dr. Watson. Leading up the rest of the cast are RocknRolla's Mark Strong as the film's villain, Blackwood, and Rachel McAdams portraying the love concern, Irene Adler.

Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly

Movie Trailer Sherlock Holmes

Buy Sherlock Holmes Blu-ray and action figures:

Are You Ready To Face The Crazies Again?

We obviously can’t stay away anymore from all classic flick recycle that overloaded the Hollywood today, especially from the horror genre. And those that keep considered to reimaginate are the archetypes from Grandfather of the Zombie George A. Romero, since he’s best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. Romero’s

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Stop Playin!

See, this is exactly why I don't fux with reality TV:

WTF is Tito doing back there? Where is Randy? Left out again?

Just damn!

Disturbing Picture Of The Week...

Okay, we all knew the real deal about what when on in the GA with Katt, though not too many wanted to say it: straight cracka-docia moves.

Now I see this sh*t, with the ultra-bailing perm. This latest mugshot is even more disturbing than the last one. A negro that keeps his perm fresh at all times that doesn't bother to get a touch up in weeks? All signs point to not good at all...please Katt, come back up and recognize the gifts God gave you, before we have another Pryor on our hands.

The Princess and the Frog

G | 1 hr 35 mins | Musical, Children's, Family movie
Walt Disney Animation Studios presents the musical "The Princess and the Frog," an animated comedy set in the great city of New Orleans.
Synopsis:
After being summoned back to the Mouse House by Pixar founder John Lasseter in 2006, Alladin and Treasure Planet directors Ron Clements and John Musker join forces once again for this traditionally animated 2-D fantasy for the entire family, set in New Orleans. Former Dreamgirl Anika Noni Rose will voice the lead character Tiana, Disney's first African-American heroine in their long heritage of fairy tale animated features. Also in the voice cast is Keith David, lending his baritone chords to the film's villain, Dr. Facilier.

Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Starring: Anika Noni Rose, Terrence Howard, John Goodman, Keith David, Jim Cummings, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey

Movie Trailer The Princess and the Frog

Grand Homecoming Of The Martial Arts True legend

There are already several anticipated epic martial arts titles for the next New Year. Beside Chow Yun Fat’s “Confucius” and Donnie Yen’s “14 Blades”, I especially look forward to the release of “True Legend”, since this film marks the legendary kung fu moviemaker’s first triumphant return to solo directing in nearly 15 years. Prior to his work as a high-profile action director on films such as “The Matrix” trilogy, “Kung Fu

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Lightning Thief Begin The First Year Of Percy Jackson

It seems that the Greek Mythology theme will rise to popularity once again in the beginning of 2010, cause before we see many of those Greek Gods returning to the big screen in “Clash of the Titans” remake, an adaptation flick from kid novel about son of Poseideon, “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief", will also begin its journey in the cinema. Despite disappointing

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Old Dogs

PG | 1 hr 28 mins | Comedy Movie
Two best friends; one unlucky-in-love divorcee (Robin Williams) and the other a fun loving bachelor (John Travolta) have their lives turned upside down when they're unexpectedly charged with the care of six year old twins while on the verge of the biggest business deal of their lives.
Synopsis:
John Travolta and Robin Williams team up in the Walt Disney Company's Old Dogs, a family comedy that pairs the two as close business partners whose lives are thrown into disarray when twin seven-year-olds are put into their care. Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, co-stars, along with the couple's daughter, Ella, who makes her big-screen debut here. Wild Hogs helmer Walter Becker directs a script by Evolution scribes David Diamond and David Weissman, with producing duties going to Andrew Panay, Peter Abrams, and Robert Levy.

Director: Walt Becker
Starring: John Travolta, Robin Williams, Kelly Preston, Seth Green, Ella Bleu Travolta, Lori Loughlin, Matt Dillon

Movie Trailer Old Dogs