Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 1st to 11th, 2019 - Update #31

Support Leroy on Patreon:

TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Fox's "Star" and CBS' "Murphy Brown" revival among cancelled TV series.

----------
MOVIES - From ScreenDaily:  Once upon a time, from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, John McTiernan was one of the hottest directors of big, event films ("Die Hard," "Last Action Hero").  Now, he is teaming with another formerly hot property, Uma Thurman ("Pulp Fiction," "Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2") for film "Tau Ceti 4."

----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  The Starz TV series, "Power," which is executive produced by rapper 50 Cent, will end after Season 6, which will be 15-episodes long.

----------
MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Roland Emmerich, director of "Independence Day" and "2012" is prepping a new sci-fi, disaster movie epic, "Moonfall."

----------
DISNEY - From Deadline:  The Disney-Fox schedule includes three new "Star Wars" films, four "Avatar" sequels, and more.

----------
BLM-CULTURE - From YahooLifestyle:  Once again, some Americans prove that they only care about how the Bill of Rights benefits them.   Fuck everybody else's rights, for instance the high school student who produced this painting.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  David Goyer will write and produce a reboot of the "Hellraiser" movie franchise for Spyglass Media Group.  "Hellraiser" began with Clive Barker's 1988 film of the same name, and Barker based the movie on his own novella, "The Hellbound Heart," which was first published in 1986.

---------
CELEBRITY - From YahooLifestyle:  In a bit of weirdness, the late Luke Perry ("Beverly Hill, 90210") was buried in a biodegradable mushroom suit, according to his daughter, Sophie Perry.  Perry died after suffering a fatal stroke in March 2019.

----------
BLM-HISTORY - From YahooGMA:  Herstory Lessons: The inspiring story Dorothy Butler Gilliam of the 1st black female reporter for The Washington Post

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 5/3 to 5/5/2019 weekend box office is "Avengers: Endgame" with an estimated take of $145.8 million.

From Patreon:  My "Avengers: Endgame" review.

----------
MUSIC - From RollingStone:  On how weed may have saved the life of Grammy-winning recording artist, Willie Nelson, an American musical legend.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Woody Allen's "A Rainy Day in New York" has found a distributor to release the film in Italy in the fall.  Amazon dumped the film and the rest of its deal with Allen last June (2018).

----------
LGBTQ - From Variety:  Madonna, Andy Cohen, Don Lemon among honorees at the GLAAD Media Awards.

----------
FOOD RECALL - From YahooLifestyle:  Tyson is recalling its pre-cooked chicken strips.  Look for the number "P-7221."

----------
CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  Vince Vaughn escapes jail time in his DUI case stemming from a June 10, 2018 incident.  At a Manhatten Beach police checkpoint, Vaughn refused a sobriety test.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  There will be a private funeral for Oscar-nominated writer-director John Singleton ("Boyz n the Hood") on Monday, May 6th, 2019.  Singleton died Monday, April 29th after suffering a stroke April 17th.  A statement from his family said that a larger public memorial is being planned.

----------
MOVIES - From IndieWire:  Fan backlash over the recent trailer for the "Sonic the Hedgehog" film leads the director to promise changes in the film before its November 2019 release.

----------
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  Starring in "John Wick Chapter 3," Oscar-winning actress, Anjelica Huston ("Prizzi's Honor") gives a killer interview covering topics including her feuds with Oprah and Bill Murray.

From YahooEntertainment:  Another "John Wick Chapter 3" star, Halle Berry, explains what she won't share on Instagram.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Quentin Tarantino will screen his upcoming film, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, which begins May 14th in France.

----------
STREAMING - From Deadline:  Ron Howard says that Jon Kasdan, one of the writers on "Solo: A Star Wars Story" (which Howard directed), wants to reboot Howard's 1988 film, "Willow" (MGM/Lucasfilm) as a streaming series for Disney+.

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Amy Pascal, who has been with Sony for 30 years (including a 20-year run as chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment), signs a first-look deal with Universal.

----------
MOVIES - From TheWrap:  Shailene Woodley to star in the thriller, "Misanthrope."

----------
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  During the press junket for "John Wick Chapter 3," Halle Berry mentions that she was offered the 1990s action film, "Speed," before the role went to Sandra Bullock.

----------
STREAMING - From Netflix:  Barack and Michelle Obama’s Initial Netflix Slate Includes Nonfiction Series From "The Big Short" Author

----------
MOVIES - From NYTimes:  'Avengers: Endgame' Shows Movie Theaters Can Still Be on Top of the World

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  This is a trailer for "Swamp Thing," for the DC Universe Online streaming service.

From YouTube:  This is the trailer for "Crawl," the Paramount Pictures hurricane/giant alligator action-horror flick due July 2, 2019

OBITS:

From THR:   Oscar-winning screenwriter, Alvin Sargent, has died at the age of 92, Thursday, May 9, 2019.  Sargent won the best adapted screenplay Oscar in 1978 for "Julia" (1977) and in 1981 for "Ordinary People" (1980).  He also worked on several of Sony's "Spider-Man" films.

From ComicBook:  The Samoan-born New Zealand actor Pau Magasiva has died at the age of 38, Saturday, May 11, 2019.  Magasiva was best known to many fans for playing Red Wind Ranger Shane Clarke on the series, "Power Rangers Ninja Storm."  In New Zealand, he was known for appearing on the soap opera, "Shortland Street."

From Variety:  The actor, Peter Mayhew, died at the age of 74, Tuesday, April 30, 2019.  Mayhew is best known for portraying "Chewbacca" in five "Star Wars" films, beginning with the 1977 original film.  Born in England, Mayhew was a naturalized U.S. citizen.

From NFL:  Former NFL player, Gino Marchetti, died Monday, April 29, 2019 at the age of 93.  He spent 13 of his 14 years in the NFL as a defensive end for the Baltimore Colts, where he was a member of two NFL championships (1958, 1959).  He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.  Marchetti also served in the U.S. Army during World War II and fought in the "Battle of the Bulge."

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 21st to 30th, 2019 - Update #29

Support Leroy on Patreon:

BOX OFFICE - From Deadline:  The final total on the opening weekend for "Avengers: Endgame" is 357.1 million dollars in domestic box office.  Of course, the film was the #1 at the 4/26 to 4/28/2019 weekend box office.

----------
TELEVISION - From TheWrap:  CBS is renewing classic game show, "The Price is Right" for the 2019-20 season.  It is also renewing the entirety of its daytime lineup for next season.  2019-20 will also be "The Price is Right's" 48th season, and the show will hit 9000 episodes in October 2019.

----------
MOVIES/OBIT - From Variety:  The film writer-director-producer John Singleton has died at the age of 51, Monday, April 29, 2019.  In 1992, Singleton became the first African-American nominated for a best director Oscar for his 1991 film, "Boyz n the Hood," one of two nominations he received for the film.  He also directed films such as "Poetic Justice," "Shaft" (2000), and the second film in the "Fast & Furious" franchise, "2 Fast 2 Furious."  He had been hospitalized when he suffered a stroke on April 17th, from which he never recovered.

From Variety:  Word is that director John Singleton ("Boyz n the Hood"), who suffered a stroke just short of two weeks ago, will be taken off life support, today, Monday, April 29, 2019.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 4/26 to 4/28/19 weekend box office is "Avengers: Endgame" with an estimated take of 350 million dollars.  The film's global box office take is an estimated 1.2 billion dollars.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Guillermo del Toro says a director should always try to exceed the film's production budget.

----------
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:   Friday, April 26th, 2019 marks the 40th anniversary release of Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning film, "Alien," which birth a film franchise.  James Cameron, the director of the beloved and Oscar-winning sequel, "Aliens," talks about where the franchise sent wrong.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From THR:  Fox has settled a lawsuit that was brought by the family of Joi Harris, a stuntwoman who was killed will committing a stunt on the set of "Deadpool 2."

----------
MOVIES - From THR:  Disney studio chief Alan Horn is scrapping many film projects that were in development at Fox before the Disney/Fox merger was complete.

----------
MOVIES - From YahooEntertainment:  Oscar nominated writer-director John Singleton ("Boyz n the Hood") suffered a stroke last week (April 17th).  Apparently, he is worse off than initially reported.   Singleton “is currently hospitalized in a coma and is unable to provide for his personal needs” after suffering a "major stroke."

----------
BOND - From Variety:  Recent Oscar-winner, Rami Malek ("Bohemian Rhapsody"), will be the villain in the still untitled 25th James Bond film, referred to as "Bond 25."

----------
MOVIES - From EOnline:  Oscar-nominated actor, Demian Bichir ("A Better Life"), has announced that his wife, Canadian actress and model, Stefanie Sherk, has died at the age of 37.

----------
BLM - From YahooNews:  On June 7, 1998, three white supremacists in Texas beat a 49-year-old black man, James Byrd Jr., chained him to the back of a pick-up truck and dragged him for three miles, tearing his body apart.  On Wednesday, April 24th, 2019, Texas executed 44-year-old John William King for that crime.  He is the second to be executed for killing Byrd; ringleader Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed in 2011.  A third man received life in prison.

----------
TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Come May 2019, there will be no cancellations at the The CW.  All of the series' scripted dramas are returning for the 2019-20 broadcast season.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety: Leonardo DiCaprio is in talks to star in Guillermo del Toro's next film, "Nightmare Alley."  This new film will reportedly be closer to the 1946 novel than its 1947 film adaptation.

----------
MOVIES - From THR:  James Wan and Gary Dauberman, the masterminds behind "The Conjuring" universe of films, are bringing Stephen King's 1975 novel, "Salem's Lot," to the big screen.  The book has previously been adapted for television via a 1979 miniseries for CBS and a 2004 miniseries for TNT.

----------
CELEBRITY - From ComicBook:  Writer-director, Kevin Smith ("Clerks"), responds to a fan's accusation that he is "kissing Disney's ass."

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The number win film at the 4/19 to 4/21/2019 weekend box office is "The Curse of La Llorona" with an estimate take of 26.5 million dollars.

From YahooEntertainment:  A man has seen Marvel Studios' "Captain Marvel" a record 116 times.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  David Leitch, director of "Deadpool 2" and "Hobbs & Shaw," has signed a first-look deal with Universal.  His wife and longtime producing partner, Kelly McCormick, is a partner in the deal.

----------
BROADWAY - From THR:  Phylicia Rashad won a Tony Award for "Best Actress in a Play," for her performance in the revival of "A Raisin in the Sun."  Now, the veteran actress will make a Broadway directing debut in Spring 2020 by directing the play "Blue."

----------
TELEVISION - From Deadline:   Jimmy Kimmel will present a live 90-minute prime time event on ABC that will pay tribute to Norman Lear’s groundbreaking comedy series, "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" (both of which originally aired on CBS).  An original episode from each iconic Lear comedy will be re-created.  "Live In Front Of A Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All In The Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons’" will air Wednesday, May 22, 2019 at 8-9:30 PM ET.  Woody Harrelson will play Archie Bunker, with Marisa Tomei as wife Edith in the recreation of All In The Family. Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes take the roles of George and Louise Jefferson in the All in the Family spinoff, The Jeffersons.  James Burrows will direct the special.

----------
MUSIC - From RollingStone:  Rapper-turned-actor, Will Smith, joined his son Jaden Smith, who dabbles in both, onstage at Coachella.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From Newsarama:  "Avengers: Endgame" directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, are working on a documentary about Marvel Comics' legend, Stan Lee.

TRAILERS:

From YouTube:  This is the first official trailer for the Will Smith film, "Gemini Man."  Directed by Ang Lee, the film debuts October 11, 2019.

OBITS:

From MeTV:  The actor Richard Erdman died at the age of 93, Saturday, March 16, 2019.  Erdman appeared in over 160 film and TV roles.  He had a memorable role in an episode of "The Twilight Zone" ("A Kind of Stopwatch"), and his career ran for 1944 to 2017.  In recent years, he had a regular role in the NBC comedy, "Community."  I wanted to mention Erdman's passing, which I missed, because I was a fan.  My favorite role of his is probably the 1951 Film-Noir movie, "Cry Danger," which starred the great Dick Powell. - Leroy Douresseaux

From THR:  The actor, Larry "Flash" Jenkins, has died at the age of 63, Thursday, April 25, 2019.  Jenkins was best known for his appearances in the films, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "Edtv."

From Variety:  The actor, Ken Kercheval, has died at the age of 83.  Kercheval was best known for his portrayal of "Cliff Barnes" on CBS' long-running evening soap, "Dallas."  Kercheval and Dallas' star, the late Larry Hagman," were the only actors to appear in all 14 seasons of Dallas (1978-1991), although Kercheval's Barnes was a recurring character.

From THR:  Film producer, Steve Golin, has died at the age of 64, Sunday, April 21, 2019.  At the 88th Academy Awards, Golin won an Oscar for producing "Spotlight" (2015), one of four producers on the film who received a statuette.  Golin was actually competing against himself that night, as another film he produced, "The Revenant," was also up for the best picture Oscar.

From Deadline:  Noted paranormal investigator and author, Lorraine Warren, has died at the age of 92, Thursday, April 18, 2019.  Warren and her late husband, Ed Warren (who died in 2006), are known to film audiences because of they are the subjects of the films, "The Conjuring" and "The Conjuring 2," which were based on real-life events in the lives of Lorraine and Ed.

Negromancer News Bits and Bites from April 14th to 20th, 2019 - Update #17

Support Leroy on Patreon:

MOVIES - From THR:  Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski ("The Pianist") has sued to be reinstated into the Academy of Motions Pictures Arts and Sciences, the non-profit organization behind the Oscars.  He was expelled in 2018 over the Academy's "standard of conduct."

----------
MOVIES - From Deadline:  Two-time Oscar nominee, John Singleton, who is best known for the 1991 film, "Boyz n the Hood," has apparently suffered a stroke.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Clint Eastwood may direct "The Ballad of Richard Jewell."  The late Richard Jewell was a real-life figure, a security guard whose life got turned upside down after media reports identified him as a possible suspect in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing.  Previously, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill were to be greatly involved in this project, but they make be limited to producing it.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:   The 72nd Cannes Film Festival has announced its lineup.

----------
COMICS-FILM - From Deadline:  Two weeks before production was to begin, Disney has cancelled the "Mouse Guard" film, a motion-capture movie based on the comic book of the same name.  It was being developed by Fox before the Disney merger.

----------
POLITICS - From Axios:  The 10 episodes of potential Trump obstruction listed in the Mueller report.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Travis Knight ("Bumblebee") has been picked to direct, "Six Billion Dollar Man," a movie based on the classic 1970s television series, "Six Million Dollar Man."  Mark Wahlberg is attached to star in the film.

----------
MOVIES - From Variety:  Jennifer Lawrence's next film will be an as-yet untitled drama from director, Lila Neugebauer, who is acclaimed for her work in live theater.

----------
CULTURE - From Pulitzer:  The 2019 Pulitzer Prize winners and finalists have been announced.  The late Aretha Franklin posthumously received the Pulitzer Prize in the category of "Special Awards and Citations," becoming the first individual woman to earn the prize.

----------
AVATAR - From Newsarama:  Michello Yeoh has been casts in James Cameron's "Avatar" sequel films.

----------
BOX OFFICE - From BoxOfficeMojo:  The winner of the 4/12 to 4/14/2019 weekend box office is "Shazam" with an estimated take of 25.1 million dollars.

From Patreon:  A review of "Shazam!"

From IndieWire:  Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro's films, "Hellboy" (2004) and "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (2008) were the last films of their kind.  On the weekend when the "Hellboy" reboot apparently flops at the box office, IndieWire offers a look back.

----------
SPORTS - From YahooSports:  Golfer Tiger Woods has won the 2019 Masters, his first win in one of professional golf's four major tournaments in 11 years.  Overall, it is his 15th win in a major and his fifth win at the Masters.

----------
TELEVISION - From Variety:  CBS renews its TV cop-family drama, "Blue Bloods," for a tenth season.


TRAILERS/VIDEO:

From YouTube:  First teaser trailer for "Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker."

From WaltDisney:  This is a page where you can view The Walt Disney Company's Investor Day 2019 webcast.  This video includes information about Disney upcoming streaming service, Disney+.

OBITS:

From Variety:  The novelist, playwright, and poet, Warren Adler, has died at the age of 91, Monday, April 15, 2019.  He wrote 50 novels and a number of them were adapted for film, TV, and the stage.  The best known of those adaptations is probably the 1989 film, "War of the Roses," which starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner and was directed by Danny DeVito, and was based on Adler's 1981 novel of the same name.

From EW:  The television actress, Georgia Engel, has died at the age of 70, Friday, April 12, 2019.  Known for her soft voice, she rose to fame "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" as the soft-spoken Georgette Franklin.  The five-time Emmy-nominated actress also had a recurring role on "Everybody Loves Raymond," and she also appeared on "The Betty White Show" and "Hot in Cleveland."

From TheWrap:   The Swedish actress, Bibi Andersson, has died at the age of 83, Sunday, April 14, 2019.  Andersson is best known for her association with legendary Swedish writer-director, Ingmar Bergman.  She appeared in 11 of Bergman's films, including "The Seventh Seal," "Wild Strawberries," and "Persona."

Academy Celebrates 25th Anniversary of "Do The Right Thing"

The Academy to Celebrate 25th Anniversary of "Do The Right Thing" with Spike Lee

Screenings and Live Discussion in Los Angeles and New York

LOS ANGELES, CA –The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the seminal film “Do the Right Thing” with writer-director Spike Lee and members of the film’s cast and crew at two special screening events: on June 27 in Los Angeles at the Bing Theater, and on June 29 in Brooklyn at the BAM Harvey Theater.

Lee’s groundbreaking third feature, set on a single block in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood on summer’s hottest day, features a large ensemble cast including Lee, Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and then-newcomers John Turturro, Samuel L. Jackson and Rosie Perez.  It earned Oscar® nominations for Original Screenplay (Lee) and Best Supporting Actor (Aiello).

Los Angeles (Friday, June 27) 

“Do the Right Thing” 25th Anniversary Screening and Conversation 

8:30 p.m. at the Bing Theater on LACMA campus

Moderated by John Singleton

Panel discussion includes Spike Lee, costume designer Ruth E. Carter, casting director Robi Reed, production supervisor Preston Holmes and former Universal executive Tom Pollock.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

New York (Sunday, June 29)

“Do the Right Thing” 25th Anniversary Screening and Conversation for Closing Night of BAMcinemaFest

Co-presentation with BAMcinématek

5 p.m. on the Steinberg Screen at the BAM Harvey Theater

Moderated by Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Panel discussion includes Spike Lee; actors Danny Aiello, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn and Rick Aiello; film editor Barry Brown; and production designer Wynn Thomas.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Academy will also host the screening series “By Any Means Necessary: A Spike Lee Joints Retrospective,” beginning with a screening of “25th Hour” (2002) on Thursday, June 26, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.  The evening also marks the opening of the photography exhibit “WAKE UP! David C. Lee Photographs the Films of Spike Lee,” in the theater foyer through September. 

“By Any Means Necessary: A Spike Lee Joints Retrospective” continues July 11–27 at the Linwood Dunn Theater and the Bing Theater in Los Angeles, and June 29–July 10 at BAMcinématek in New York.  Please visit oscars.org and BAM.org for more information.

------------------

"Abduction" is a Broken Star Vehicle for Taylor Lautner

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 9 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


Abduction (2011)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, brief language, some sexual content and teen partying
DIRECTOR: John Singleton
WRITERS: Shawn Christensen
PRODUCERS: Doug Davison, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Dan Lautner, Roy Lee, and Lee Stollman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Menzies Jr. (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Bruce Cannon
COMPOSER: Edward Shearmur

ACTION/DRAMA/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Michael Nyqvist, Denzel Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, Antonique Smith, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Roger Guenveur Smith, and Dermot Mulroney

Abduction is a 2011 action thriller starring Taylor Lautner, currently best known for his portrayal of Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga film series. The film is about a teenager who sets out to discover who he really is after discovering a baby picture of himself on a missing persons website. Abduction is also the first feature film that John Singleton has directed in six years.

Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) is an ordinary teenager who lives with his parents, Kevin (Jason Isaacs) and Maria (Maria Bello). Nathan partners with longtime friend, Karen Murphy (Lily Collins), for a high school sociology project. One night while doing research on the Internet, Nathan and Karen discover a baby photo that resembles Nathan on a missing persons website.

The website also has an age-progression program that allows users to see what the child would look like when he is older. When he ages the photo of the baby who is named Steven Price, Nathan is shocked to see a picture of someone who looks exactly like he does. Then, an innocent call to that missing persons website leads to the end of the life Nathan knows. Now, he and Karen are on the run, as shadowy figures chase Nathan, insisting that he has information they want. And some of them are willing to kill for it.

Abduction tries to be several things: a suspenseful character drama, an action chase movie, a lost identity mystery, and an international espionage thriller. As any one of the four, the film is weak. As all of them together, Abduction is still weak. The premise: a high school boy discovers his picture on a missing persons website, is interesting and has real-world implications. However, that premise ends up being just a tease because Abduction wants to be an espionage thriller with international implications, but it mostly ends up being a middling action movie.

Taylor Lautner is not a terrible actor, but he doesn’t accomplish much here that would make people think that he is a good actor. Watching this, I could tell that Lautner is sincere and is making an effort to be good and to make people buy into his character and the obstacles and dangers Nathan faces. In the first half of the film, his efforts come across as overacting. In the second half of this film, Lautner really sells, especially when Nathan is forced to directly confront a character that is trying to kill him.

In early 1992, John Singleton earned two Oscar nominations for his debut film, Boyz n the Hood (1991). I am actually saddened that 20 years later, Singleton has directed a film that seems like nothing more than a straight-to-DVD version of The Bourne Identity. Still, I have to give Lautner credit for his efforts, which is why I’m giving Abduction what I consider to be a generous grade.

5 of 10
C+

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

"Hustle & Flow" Finds a Real Groove

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 122 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Hustle & Flow (2005)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R for sex and drug content, pervasive language, and some violence
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Craig Brewer
PRODUCERS: Stephanie Allain and John Singleton
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Amy Vincent
EDITOR: Billy Fox
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/MUSIC

Starring: Terrence Dashon Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, Taraji P. Henson, Paula Jai Parker, Elise Neal, DJ Qualls, Ludacris, and Isaac Hayes

DJay (Terrence Dashon Howard) seems like the typical philosopher-hustler – misusing his gift for words as a streetwise pimp living a dead end life on the fringes of Memphis society. Hearing that a former Memphis deejay named Skinny Black (Ludacris) has an album that went platinum makes DJay wonder what happened to all the big dreams he had for his life.

DJay has a chance encounter with Key (Anthony Anderson), an old friend who is a sound engineer. Key also has dreams of being in the music business, and that spurs DJay, who realizes that if he’s going to make his mark, this might be his last chance. He begins writing freestyle raps, and Shelby (DJ Qualls), a church musician with a beat machine, joins DJay and Key to lay down some bass crunching tracks. His housemates, Shug (Taraji P. Henson), an expectant mother, and Nola (Taryn Manning), a young woman DJay pimps out of his car to johns, join him in the creative process as DJay works this new hustle to create the flow that will take him to a better life.

Craig Brewer’s Hustle & Flow feels so real that the Memphis heat radiates off the screen and made me feel uncomfortable. Simply put, Hustle & Flow is a gritty and grimy drama that captures the desperate essence of hustlers, would-be artists, and struggling artists. Brewer who won the Sundance Film Festival Award in the category “Dramatic” for this film that recreates the real world of low level street pimps and drug dealers; this isn’t the prettified, “super fly,” rap version of pimping and dealing. Brewer’s film is so authentic that it, at times, seems like a documentary that has overdone keeping things real. Still, Brewer uses the first scene in which DJay, Key, and Shelby create a musical track to shock the film into a vibrant life that forces us to focus on this creative trio.

Terence Dashon Howard is a star on the rise, and this performance affirms that. His DJay is an earthy guy who is so common that he barely registers to anyone outside the few women in his life. Howard creates a character that is desperate and hungry, but even more resigned to a life that will soon finish him. Watch Howard bring him to new life as DJay realizes he has a goal; Howard modulates the performance so that neither DJay nor the story every come across as inauthentic to the audience.

Howard and Brewer aren’t alone in their efforts at make this a winning film. Taraji P. Henson’s Shug is so genuinely needy, and as Nola, Taryn Manning molds her performance to give it a contour that perfectly fits the ebbs and flows of Howard’s DJay. Anthony Anderson gives a quiet, but surprisingly nimble dramatic turn that tells us that Hollywood has barely tapped his talents. DJ Qualls also adds a small, but different flavor as the beat maker who is uncannily in sync with everyone else.

Hustle & Flow is not only one of the best dramas set amongst the black folks who live in squalor and deep poverty in a long time, but it rings with truth as few urban dramas have since Boyz N’ the Hood, the directorial debut of John Singleton, who is this film’s co-producer and the man who self-financed the film. I can only hope that Craig Brewer keeps bringing us back to this kind of real thing.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman, and Paul Beauregard for the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"); 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Terrence Howard)

2006 Black Reel Awards: 3 wins: “Best Actor” (Terrence Howard), “Best Original Soundtrack,” and “Best Supporting Actress” (Taraji P. Henson); 3 nominations: “Best Ensemble” (Ludacris, Terrence Howard, DJ Qualls, Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson, Paula Jai Parker, Taryn Manning, and Elise Neal), “Best Film,” and “Best Supporting Actor” (Anthony Anderson)

2006 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Terrence Howard)

Review: John Singleton Shepherds "Four Brothers"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 144 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Four Brothers (2005)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence, pervasive language, and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: John Singleton
WRITERS: David Elliot & Paul Lovett
PRODUCER: Lorenzo De Bonaventura
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Menzier, Jr. A.C.S.
EDITOR: Bruce Cannon, A.C.E. and Billy Fox, A.C.E.

DRAMA/ACTION/CRIME/MYSTERY

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André Benjamin, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard, Josh Charles, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sofia Vergara, Fionnula Flanagan, Taraji P. Henson, Barry Shabaka Henley, and Jernard Burks

The Mercer Brothers – hotheaded ex-con Bobby (Mark Wahlberg), ladies’ man Angel (Tyrese Gibson), family man and businessman Jeremiah (André Benjamin), and rock musician Jack (Garrett Hedlund) – return to the mean streets of Detroit after their adoptive mother Evelyn Mercer (Fionnula Flanagan) is murdered during the holdup of a corner grocery store. They take the matter of her murder into their own hands in spite of assurances from police Lt. Green (Terrence Howard) and Detective Fowler (Josh Charles) that they are working on the case.

Soon the Mercer boys realize that their mother’s death wasn’t just the tragic result of a simple store holdup. Bobby and Angel use their rough old ways of handling business to track their mother’s killers, but these aren’t the same Detroit neighborhoods they left and their old ways have new consequences. Whatever the result of their own private investigation, the Mercer brothers discover that their brotherly bonds, first forged by adoption, are as thick as those of brothers by birth.

I expected John Singleton’s new film, Four Brothers, to be a very well made action drama, but it turned out to be one of the best films I have seen thus far this year. It has the cool intensity of a 70’s action movie or blaxtiploitation film. While Four Brothers is certainly a straight genre piece, it is also a character-driven film with a lot of action and drama. First credit should go to the script by screenwriters David Elliot & Paul Lovett, long time collaborators. They not only pounded on story structure, but they made very engaging characters out of the protagonists for the most part.

The villains, however, come out on the short end. Some are very interesting, like Chwetel Ejiofor’s Victor Sweet, but in the end he emerges as nothing more than a really evil dude; there’s no The Godfather-like examination of evil here. All the “bad guys” seem to be interesting characters worth developing, but the script never gets that far. That’s one of the things here that keeps Four Brothers just short of being a truly great film.

On the other hand, Singleton’s intense, block-by-block building of this film’s narrative and the frenetic pace he gives it glosses over any script and performance shortcomings (I found Fionnula Flanagan’s Evelyn Mercer to be as creepy as she was sympathetic.), and John Singleton’s masterful directorial performance makes Four Brothers as good as the kind of memorable crime films like Out of Sight. Four Brothers doesn’t miss a beat, and this is one of the year’s best directing jobs.

The four leads really drive this film. All are good: Andre Benjamin, known to many as Andre 3000 of the Grammy-winning musical act OutKast, is a natural acting talent, and here, he doesn’t come across like a fish out of water as is the problem with so many something-else’s-turned-actor. Garrett Hedlund, barely out of high school when he captured the juicy role of Patroclus opposite Brad Pitt’s Achilles in Troy (a film by Wolfgang Peterson), comes across as an affable and energetic co-star. He’s sort of the odd-man-out, but he makes do with the lesser part the story hands him.

The driving force of the brotherly quartet is Mark Wahlberg and Tyrese Gibson. Wahlberg is a very good actor who is rushing towards greatness. He’s a movie star, and his presence can make you want to see the movies in which he stars, regardless of genre. He’s got Hollywood star cool, yet there is a bit of an edge to him – part tough guy, but loner/rebel. Hey, it works on the big screen. Who’d a thunk it? Tyrese Gibson is a damn good actor, and has movie star appeal. He’s the other piece in a matching set with Wahlberg, being every bit the handsome tough guy, but with a bit of softie in him. In this film, he doesn’t come across at all as a supporting player. He plays Angel Mercer so naturally that you’d think he’d been doing the acting thing for at least twice as long as he actually has.

The cast, writers, directors, and crew come together to make this urban action/exploitation film into the consummate gritty Hollywood action drama. Four Brothers might come across at first glance as junk, but it’s really a hamburger recipe turned into a fine steak. Enjoy it on the big screen or make a must-keep date for it on home video and DVD.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2006 Black Reel Awards: 4 nominations: “Black Reel Best Director” (John Singleton), “Best Ensemble” (André Benjamin, Tyrese Gibson, Mark Wahlberg, Sofía Vergara, Garrett Hedlund, Terrence Howard, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Taraji P. Henson), “Best Film,” and “Best Original Soundtrack”

2006 Image Awards: 1 win: “Outstanding Directing in a Feature Film/Television Movie” (John Singleton)

----------------------------

Negromancer News Bits and Bites for July 28, 2011

Here's a roundup of stuff that interests me or may interest you, dear reader:

Apparently, some people feel that Oscar-nominated actress Viola Davis has to defend her role in The Help.  I don't.  I think that people who are uncomfortable with the subject matter of the film and the book upon which it is based should just avoid the film, which I may do.

Anyway, BET cribbed some quotes from an interview she gave to another website.  Here, is a good one:

Davis: “I feel one of the most revolutionary things you could do [in film] is to humanize the Black woman. And what I mean by that is that is… there is no way that I’m going to believe that if Meryl Streep or a Jodie Foster or any number of fabulous Caucasian actresses were sitting in front of you that anyone would ask them why they did a role if there was something about that character that they didn’t feel was politically correct...

_________________________

Yep, it's been 20 years.  John Singleton talks to BET.com about the Oscar-nominated Boyz N the Hood, which is 20 years old this year.

_________________________

Deadline: New York has an exclusive.  J.J. Abrams is ready to begin work on the sequel to his 2009 smash hit reboot, Star Trek (the first Trek flick to win an Oscar).  But the film will not meet its June 29 2012 release date, so Paramount Pictures is giving that release date to G.I. Joe: Retaliation.  Currently, Star Trek 2 does not even have a script. Egads!

_________________________

More from Deadline:  Paramount has moved Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol from December 16th to Dec. 21st.  Meanwhile, the next Tom Cruise franchise, based upon the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child, is set to launch in February 2013.

_________________________

We love Simon Pegg.  Word is out about a new movie, "A Fantastic Fear of Everything," which has him playing, "a children’s author turned crime novelist whose research into the lives of Victorian serial killers turns him into a paranoid wreck, especially when a Hollywood executive decides he wants to make a film out of his findings."

_________________________

Movieline has the lineup for the 68th Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 31st to September 10th.

Review: "2 Fast 2 Furious" Not 2 Bad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 89 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for street racing, violence, language and some sensuality
DIRECTOR: John Singleton
WRITERS: Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, from a story by Gary Scott Thompson, Michael Brandt and Derek Haas
PRODUCER: Neal H. Moritz
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew F. Leonetti (director of photography)
EDITOR: Bruce Cannon and Dallas Puett

ACTION/CRIME/THRILLER

Starring: Paul Walker, Tyrese, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Thom Barry, James Remar, Devon Aoki, Michael Ealy, and Mark Boone Junior

When we left Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) at the end of The Fast and the Furious, he was on his way to be stripped of his badge as an officer of the law for assisting hijacker Dominic Torreto in escaping. In 2 Fast 2 Furious, Brian has moved to Miami and plays the city’s street racing circuit for cash. However, the cops come calling again with a deal: help them infiltrate the domain of a drug lord named Carter Verone (Cole Hauser) and they will in turn clean his record.

Of course, the drug lord needs fast drivers (convenient, right), so Brian recruits Roman Pearce (Tyrese), a childhood buddy who has a grudge against Brian (which creates dramatic tension between the lead characters). Roman is also street racer, and Brian hopes Roman can help him pull off the sting better than another undercover cop could. The mission tricky with many complications, just like in TFTH. Brian is caught between anxious U.S. Custom’s officials and a jealous and violent criminal who doesn’t fear the law; neither side will let him and Roman let them down.

The first film borrowed liberally from the film Point Break changing Break’s surfer/bank robbers to street racer/hijackers. The street racing was an integral part of the film, and the original director Rob Cohen used every trick in the bag to heighten the illusion of super speed; he also had Vin Diesel.

2 Fast 2 Furious seems exactly what it is, a sequel, a by-the-book action movie that succeeds in at least being vacuous entertainment despite itself. The street racing exists solely because this film is a follow-up to a movie about fast cars. The script is lousy with action movie formulas. There’s a white guy/black guy dynamic with plenty of tension between the two. A sour incident from the past gives their partnership an extra edge and potentially endangers their assignment. Paul Walker as Brian O’Connor isn’t an energetic, kinetic action hero; he’s more stoic, so Tyrese as his partner Roman brings the comedy and raw sense of street bravado to the movie. Their chemistry is good in spite of a script intent on them not having any. Don’t forget the vaguely Latin drug lord who uses brutal methods to get his way. The cast is thoroughly mixed with sprinkles from every ethnic group, short of gypsies. The soundtrack is filled with slammin’ hip hop tracks (the first was a mixture of thrash, techno, and hip hop), and the score is surprisingly good and add fuel to the fire of the film’s best scenes.

Despite the paint-by-numbers scenario, director John Singleton manages to conjure a fairly entertaining car chase movie. While the cars were hot items in TFTF, Singleton treats them as art objects in his film. He lovingly caresses them with the camera; he suggests that they are almost as much the stars as the human actors. In fact, it’s a great move because all that attention on the hot cars distracts the viewer from some of the film’s drier moments. And don’t forget the girls; Singleton laps up the hotties when he’s not pushing up on the hot rides.

2 Fast 2 Furious isn’t bad, but it isn’t as good as its predecessor. But while TFTF was a hard-edged action flick, I will give 2 Fast credit for having a much better sense of humor. It never takes itself seriously. In fact, the filmmakers seem to insist on telling us that they know what this is – a perhaps dumber sequel to a dumb action movie, so let’s just relax and enjoy 2 Fast.

2 Fast is exciting and thrilling and hot and sexy. It’s a bad cartoon full of bullet-spitting guns, hot hoochies, fantastically speedy cars, explosions, and testosterone: in other words, a summer movie. When you go to see a thriller, you expect even the lamest concepts to give you that vicarious thrill of the jolt of danger, and sometimes I really believed that Brian and Roman might get a bullet to the head. So even if you don’t make it to the theatre to see 2 Fast 2 Furious, it will make a nice DVD rental.

5 of 10
C+

-------------------

John Singleton to Adapt Kevin Grevioux Graphic Novel for Television

The following Negro movie news comes from an article at AOL Black Voices "BV on Movies" blog:

John Singleton is reportedly going to direct a television miniseries for EPIX TV, a premium movie channel owned by Studio 3 Partners, a joint venture between Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate.  The series is called "The Gray Men" and is based on a new graphic novel by actor Kevin Grevioux.


Grevioux wrote the original screenplay for the 2003 film, Underworld, although Grevioux was excluded from contributing to the screenplays for the Underworld sequels.  Grevioux played the werewolf, Raze, in the original film.  Grevioux also writes comic books for his own line of comics and also for Marvel Comics, including the series, New Warriors and Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel.  As of this writing, "The Gray Men" has not been published.
"The Gray Man" is apparently a period piece set in the 1960s, and looks at a time when the government was recruiting young African-American college students to infiltrate radicals groups, including the Black Panthers.

Grevioux reportedly has another film, "I, Frankenstein," in pre-production.  Scheduled to start shooting this summer, "I, Frankenstein" is based on the comic book series from Darkstorm Comics and features Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, among others.  Patrick Tatopoulos, who directed Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, will helm this live-action feature with Grevioux, Robert Sanchez, and Lakeshore Entertainment (which produced Underworld) serving as producers.

Review: John Singleton's "Baby Boy" Returns to Singleton's Cinematic Roots

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 23 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

Baby Boy (2001)
Running time: 130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong sexuality, language, violence and some drug use
WRITER/PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: John Singleton
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Charles E. Mills (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Bruce Cannon

DRAMA with elements of crime and romance

Starring: Tyrese, Taraji P. Henson, Omar Gooding, Tamara LeSeon Bass, Candy Ann Brown, A.J. Johnson, Ving Rhames, Snoop Dogg, Mo’Nique, Angell Conwell, Kareem J. Grimes, Kaylan Bolton and Kylan Bolton

Jody (Tyrese Gibson) is a 20-year-old black man living with his mother (Candy Ann Brown). He is the father of two children by two different women. The relationship with one of the baby mama’s, Yvette (Taraji P. Henson) is the romantic focus of the film. Jody’s mother has an openly sexual relationship with Melvin (Ving Rhames), himself a former banger; he is a muscular Mandingo and Jody’s mother doesn’t have to call Tyrone when she needs some good, strong lovin.’ B’leive ‘dat!

Jody’s homey, Sweet Pea (Omar Gooding) is lost and also unemployed; he is desperate for meaning in and a purpose for his life. As he relationship with Yvette deteriorates, her old flame, a recently released convict named Rodney (rapper Snoop Dogg) shows up, literally gunning for Jody’s life.

Directed by John Singleton (Shaft), Baby Boy is more a slice of social studies than entertainment. It belongs to Singleton’s South Central Los Angeles milieu that he introduced in Boyz N the Hood, but it is thematically similar to the Boyz follow up, Poetic Justice.

The film opens with Jody dreaming that he’s an adult still in the womb; it is a visually jarring set piece that conveys the troubled state of Jody’s mind. It’s not long before we also realize that Jody’s life is frozen. He going nowhere, spending his days hustling, watching television, and involved in sexual escapades with many women.

He resents his mother’s relationship with Melvin, but Melvin is very familiar with the type of “li’l nigga” that Jody is because Melvin was himself once of a similar type. Jody has a twisted view of his relationship with his baby mamas. He tells Yvette that he lies to her about his philandering because he loves her too much to hurt her with the truth that he is a man whore. He uses the other women for sex because they’re, in his words, “tricks,” but he really loves Yvette because she is the mother of his son. His other baby mama, Peanut (Tamara LaSeon Bass), a girl whose own mother seems to be well to do, is less tolerant of Jody and dismisses him. In fact, when his relationship with Yvette collapses, Jody tries to seduce Peanut, but she quickly lets him know that she intends on treating him like an on-call sex toy. For Jody, Peanut treating him like an object jars Jody.

The film has only two characters as fathers – Jody and Melvin; in fact, fathers are conspicuously absent from this film. Melvin is estranged from his own children; his eldest son informs Jody off screen that Melvin beat his mother. Jody isn’t much better; his children are merely vestiges of his fornicating rather than the result of some kind of manhood. Jody’s own father is rarely spoken of, and Jody could have been hatched from an egg for all the knowledge of being a human father he obviously does not possess.

One of the themes here seems imply that Jody can’t be a father because he never had one to show him what it means to be a father and a man. That was Singleton’s dominant theme in Boyz, much to the delight of conservative i.e. Republican critics and fans of the movie. However, if a boy who did not know his own father himself grows to be a bad father, the reason is not necessarily because he didn’t have a dad.

Jody is selfish, spoiled, and manipulative. It’s difficult to tell what part his mother played in his personality, as there isn’t much back-story to her other than that she threw Jody’s older brother out of the house. Someone killed him, and Jody believes his mother throwing the brother out led to that. We also learn that mom has had lots of boyfriends.

As stated earlier, this film is more social studies than entertainment. Singleton seems to be saying to his audience, see how these people are. Or it may be that it is easy for him to make a movie about a subject with which he is very familiar. The film aims at making some kind of point, but Singleton stumbles to a tacked on and predictable ending. Maybe, the film’s resolution is “real” or “how it is on the streets,” but this is drama and it demands some kind of structure and purpose.

Singleton doesn’t have to provide pat answers to solve social “problems.” There are no easy answers to social issues, but the demand for resolutions comes with the territory of making socially relevant films. Singleton overly relies on the visceral impact of profanity-laden dialogue and animalistic, confrontational sex. He’s onto something, having tackled an important issue, but he reduces his movie to a series of blunt, angry scenes. Maybe, he doesn’t know the power and danger of the subject with which he plays. He certainly doesn’t realize the dramatic potential of his subject. He wastes Snoop Dogg’s Rodney character, not to speak of under utilized Ving Rhames.

Boyz in the Hood had a good story that was universal in both its appeals and its themes. Singleton hasn’t been able to duplicate that quality of story since then. He has an idea of how to make really good films, but it’s a shame we have to keep waiting for his arrival as a really good filmmaker. He’ll become one when he takes a social issue and makes a film with a good story that clearly conveys its message to the audience.

Powerful and forceful, Baby boy is a diamond in the rough despite it structural shortcomings. There is enough good there that makes it worthy of considerable critical analysis. It’s a bold, brazen, adventurous movie. While stopping short of being great, it has more substance than most films today, so Baby Boy is worth your time.

6 of 10
B

-------------------------

Review: "Black Snake Moan" Shameless and Sultry

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 46 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


Black Snake Moan (2006)
Opening date: Friday, March 2, 2007
Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexual content, language, some violence, and drug use
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Craig Brewer
PRODUCERS: John Singleton and Stephanie Allain
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Amelia Vincent, ASC
EDITOR: Billy Fox, A.C.E.

DRAMA/MUSIC

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, S. Epatha Merkerson, John Cochran, David Banner, and Michael Raymond-James

From the writer/director of the Academy Award-winning Hustle & Flow, Craig Brewer, comes the new film, Black Snake Moan. Named after a Blind Lemon Jefferson song (“black snake” was the darkness coming over him), the film follows an embittered black man and a loose white woman coming together for some healing. In spite of the title, this pulp fiction is a blues-drenched tale featuring the kind of ordinary poor folks who stay out of sight and out of mind in our pop culture, but their pain and longing is familiar.

Blues musician Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) finds a white girl: half naked, beaten unconscious, and left for dead on the side of a road near his house. After taking her in, Lazarus learns that the young woman’s name is Rae (Christina Ricci) and that she is the town tramp from the small Tennessee town where they live. Lazarus nurses Rae back to health, but also decides to cure Rae of her wicked ways. He chains her to his radiator in an attempt to get her to slow down and contemplate the future. Desperate to resume her wicked ways of sex and drugs, Rae offers her body to Lazarus if he sets her free. He won’t, and she’s unrepentant. Now, who breaks first?

With the dark, throbbing beat of north Mississippi blues and Scott Bomar’s aching score behind it, Black Snake Moan is a sensational film about sin, redemption, and human imperfection. It glorifies nothing, but proudly says that “it is what it is.” The movie is as odd as many classic 70’s exploitation films. Moan’s characters are like real people. They are fallen and sin often, but they certainly have a God-given right to redemption – to seek it and to attain it.

Brewer’s scandalous and audacious concept aside, he’s smart enough to write inventive, unique scenarios set in poor, rural communities, but even smarter to allow his actors to take these impoverished characters, setting, and plot to bring out the richness of their lives. Samuel L. Jackson is a dangerous, dark, bitter chocolate soul as Lazarus, who is righteous and is nursing a need to get some male vengeance. Christina Ricci is outrageous as Rae, a former abused child beset by a relentless, urgent demon that gives her a hard lust for copulation. Both make outrageous characters familiar because at their core, they just want honest love and friendship just as we all do.

In fact, the supporting cast is quite good. Justin Timberlake as Rae’s soldier boyfriend, Ronnie, shows a felicity for emotion and vulnerability; he reveals so much of the character in his eyes and through his emotive facial expressions. John Cothran as the Lazarus’ preacher friend, R.L., makes a nice God-fearing balance to Lazarus.

Brewer and his director of photography, Amelia Vincent, compose the film is a very deliberate fashion. This unconventional film is shot in a precise manner, which grounds the story and gives it an air of authenticity and realism. In the end, Black Snake Moan’s classical look allows the viewer to focus on this peculiar drama. By skillfully directing his cast and getting the best of his creative staff, Craig Brewer, makes the audacious, the unacceptable, and the forbidden palatable. The blues soundtrack and bluesy score also parallels the film’s intense yearnings and longings. You might find yourself laughing, but this tale of love, betrayal, sex, and liberation from pain is unforgettable because at the heart of the scandal is a familiar tale of wounded humanity.

8 of 10
A

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Review: Superb "Baadasssss" Recounts Landmark Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 185 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux


Baadasssss! (2004)
First released as How to Get the Man’s Foot Outta Your Ass (2003)
Running time: 108 minutes; MPAA – R for pervasive language and some strong sexuality/nudity
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR: Mario Van Peebles
WRITERS: Mario Van Peebles and Dan Haggerty (from the book by Melvin Van Peebles)
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Primes
EDITORS: Nneka Goforth and Anthony Miller

DRAMA with elements of a documentary

Starring: Mario Van Peebles, Joy Bryant, T.K. Carter, Terry Crews, Ossie Davis, David Alan Grier, Nia Long, Paul Rodriguez, Saul Rubinek, Vincent Schiavelli, Khelo Thomas, Rainn Wilson, Len Lesser, Sally Struthers, Adam West, Ralph Martin, Robert Peters, Khalil Kain, and John Singleton

Baadasssss! is writer/director/actor Mario Van Peebles quasi-documentary/part tribute film dramatization of his father, Melvin Van Peebles’ struggle to direct and get distribution for his quintessential blaxploitation flick, Sweet Sweetback Baadasssss Song. Mario Van Peebles seamlessly weaves a film that is both a riveting drama and a searing document and testimony of the struggle of the black artist to get his work to black people, in particularly black filmmakers, who still struggle (though not as much as Melvin Van Peebles did in the early 70’s) to get black visions before not only a black audience, but all filmgoers.

Maybe what makes the film really get into the soul of the viewer is that the co-writer, director, and producer, Mario, is playing his father Melvin Van Peebles. Mario did play a part in the Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, so his memories do color the film’s recollection of history. However, Van Peebles seems able to view his father’s artistic and commercial struggles as a filmmaker because Mario has also struggled to get his directorial vision on film. The work, as both Mario’s own film and the movie about his father’s trials on his own film, makes Baadasssss! double personal to Mario. Thus, Baadasssss! is both film as the history of filmmaking and a film about filmmaking, and it does both of them quite well.

Mario, however, like his father, didn’t make a film alone, and though Mario conveys the intensity of the filmmaker’s struggle with a bravura performance, the supporting cast expertly creates an atmosphere of contention, support, financial and logistical chaos that makes the version of Melvin’s war that Mario puts on film seem so damn real. Standouts include David Alan Grier, Joy Bryant, Rainn Wilson, and Khelo Thomas as young Mario Van Peebles.

A film of such powerful inspirational force, Baadasssss! is a must see for fans of movie history in general and of African-American cinema, in particular. Most of all it’s a perfect portrayal of an artist going through the fire for his work.

10 of 10