Summary

Review: For many African-Americas, a story like The Blind Side is all too familiar in the history of cinema. First, there is the element of the “Great White Hope” — a white character who saves the life of the poor, uneducated Negro, showing him how to be “civilized” and “sophisticated.” Without the “Great White Hope” the Black characters can’t accomplish success on their own. Second, there is the “Magical Negro,” the Black character teaches Whites compassion, folklore-like lessons and other doses of emotionality (think Hattie McDaniel in Gone With The Wind, Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones, or, a recent example, Morgan Freeman in Bruce Almighty). With all of that said… this is a true story. You can’t hate a story for being true, even if it channels legendary Hollywood stereotypes.

There is so much thought-provoking material to explore in The Blind Side but it’s as if the director, John Lee Hancock, was afraid to tackle the edgy (and obvious) subject matters like race, poverty and drug addiction. Therefore, every potentially good moment is washed over with some Southern twang and a toss of Sandra Bullock’s hair. For example, Leigh Anne Tuohy, who picks Michael off the street in the rain, was allegedly raised in an extremely racist environment and her father pulled her out of the Tennessee public school system when it was integrated.

Was Leigh Anne never affected by racism?

Was she ever racist or did her feelings of race vanish when she looked into Michael’s brown eyes?

There are plenty of downtrodden Black boys in Memphis, Tennessee roaming the streets — why did she reach out to Michael Oher?

Did the Touhy family confront their own prejudices when this African-American boy moved into their home?

Unlike Sissy Spacek in The Long Home or Michelle Pfeiffer in Lovefield ( While fictional, these two films contain no elements of “The Great White Hope” or “The Magical Negro”), the Tuohys own background is never explored, which might have made this good movie into an excellent flick.

There are some uncomfortable scenes, like Tim McGraw’s character, who plays the father, says about Michael, “He thinks he is a redneck!” Or, Sandra Bullock sashaying through the Memphis projects, fearless of the “gangsters” and saying, “I am a member of the NRA!” as she pats her purse that supposedly holds a gun. On the other hand, as a viewer, you can’t help but be amazed at the compassion from the Tuohy family. Black or White, the Touhys helped changed a young man’s life.

Sandra Bullock’s performance is being praised and it is her best in years, but not Oscar worthy like 2004’s Crash. Yes, Bullock’s performance glues the film together but she didn’t have one climactic monologue to see her acting chops and her character basically remains the same. Thankfully, The Blind Side proves Bullock has more range than those bland romantic comedies.

In his first film, Bronx native Quinton Adams plays Michael. Adams definitely has potential but in The Blind Side he gives a one-note performance and you can nearly see his nerves rattling on camera. Maybe it was the writing, but the character was underdeveloped with little depth; you couldn’t tell if Michael was being portrayed as socially awkward or developmentally disabled. This movie is based on Michael Oher’s book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, but this film is not Michael story. In the end, it’s more about Leigh Anne Touchy and Sandra Bullock being the star.

Regardless of the racial implications, The Blind Side is a true story that is told fairly well. It’s a story that seems almost too good, but you have to let go of Hollywood’s betrayal of African-American story lines to thoroughly enjoy it.

The Blind Side is in theaters now.

Summary

Review: Let’s be clear, New Moon is for a very specific audience. If you are out of high school, a person of color, don’t have teen daughters, a feminist, or a heterosexual male, New Moon will probably disappoint. But, does the film perfectly appeal to its audience? Yes! Is it a good movie? No!

Twilight is a media phenomenon.  No amount of bad reviews will taint the tons of success this movie will achieve at the box office.  On the other hand, I am sure when most of the Twilight fans grow out of adolescence, they will say, “Oh my God — this movie was terrible!”

The first Twilight was directed by Catherine Hardwicke but this time around we have Chris Weitz, who is known for movies like The Golden Compass. While the original is no work of genius, Hardwicke did manage to inject some John Hughes-like realism in a teenage vampire flick. Weitz, who I am sure had the best intentions, seemed more concerned with Hollywood polish and shirtless boys than a solid film that might even appeal to those who weren’t Twilight fanatics.

Filled with plot holes and bad script patch-up jobs, the plot of New Moon isn’t the most troublesome. What gives the flick a stake through the heart is the tacky melodrama with lines like, “You give me everything just by breathing.” Or this gem: “You’re just warm. You’re like your own sun.” Even the teen girls next to me giggled at that one. Consistently cheap dialogue dumb the movie down to something that would be brilliant for a 14-year-old’s diary entry, but not a full script.

Even worse are the one-note performances form the leads, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Their version of acting consists of squinted eyes, long stares and monotone monologues. According to the tabloids, these two are a couple, but they must have saved the chemistry for offscreen.  The Moviefone guy has more personality than these yawners.

There are some comical and needed performances from their teen friends, who lighten a film that takes itself too seriously. Then there is Taylor Lautner, who is half-naked most of the time and might be a good actor, but the focus is more on his abs than his character. Oh, there is a cameo from the always sensational Dakota Fanning, but she is gone right when you start to enjoy her.

At an unnecessary two hours and ten minutes, there is too much to find wrong with New Moon. Some necessary trimming and a little less sap might have resulted in a fun movie. But, what do I know – this is the same audience who appeals to Miley Cyrus.

New Moon is in theaters today.

Foxx will write the script, which he and Martin will produce through Foxx’s FoxxKing and Lawrence’s Runteldat production banners.

The project originated as a parody of a movie trailer for a film called “Skank Robbers,” which Foxx and Lawrence made for the BET Awards. The reaction was strong enough that the duo decided to turn the concept into a real film.

In case you forgot, Sheneneh Jenkins was a character from the 90s sitcom Martin.  She lived across the hall from Martin and consistently harassed his wife, Gina, and Gina’s best friend, Pam.

Wanda was from In Living Color, always on the hunt for a man with her “naturally” blond hair and outlandish outfits.  Her catch phrases like, “I’m reat’ to go!” and “I’m gonna rock your world!” made her one of the show’s most popular characters.

Congrats to Foxx and Lawrence on sealing the deal.  No word on a release date but let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long.  I wonder if Madea will make a cameo?

Check out the clip that started it all!

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Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx present the "Skank Robbers" trailer.

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“There was actually some fan backlash when I got cast, because people didn’t see Laurent being black. In the book, he’s described at being olived-toned, and I decided to address the issue head on. I did an interview where I said, ‘The character is described as olive-toned, but there are many patches of olives. Black olives anyone?’ I think the fans responded to that, and they immediately gave me an open reception after the interview. I think that they did a great job in casting colorblind, because it makes it more accessible to many groups of people, and for African Americans to see me in the film, they know that they are being represented.”

What a shame Edi had to justify his validity in a movie with an example of olives because some “fans” cried they wanted everyone pale and White.  Furthermore, when is there racial strife among vampires?  Aren’t they soulless, but somehow sexual, bloodsuckers?  Lawd…

Oh, and if you are wondering, the kid who has a serious brown tan, Taylor Lautner (for a minute, I thought he was pulling a Jessica “Don’t Call Me Latina” Alba), is not Black or Latin.  According to Wikipedia he is, “mostly Dutch, French, and German descent, and claims some Native American (specifically Ottawa and Potawatomi).”  He got Indian in his family?!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a full review of The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

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Mary J. Blige

Expect Precious to rack up several Academy Award nominations such as lead actress, supporting actress, best director (John Singleton is the first and only African-American to receive an Oscar nod, which was in 1991 for Boyz N The Hood) and hopefully best film.  Mary J. Blige might receive a nod for best original song due to the deeply soulful track “I Can See Color”.  The song was written by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and LaNeah Menzies.

Blige recently said that the director, Lee Daniels, wanted a dark, bluesy track.  The Yonkers icon explained, “I went into the studio and cried hard, reaching back.”

We all know Blige is tired of singing the blues, but in this song she clearly channeled her painful roots.  “I Can See In Color” aches with a coarse vocal and a simple but classic blues style that is impossible to not feel — Blige might just win that Oscar.  The only other African-Americans who have won Oscars for best original song are Isaac Hayes, Stevie Wonder, Irene Cara,  Lionel Richie, and, most recently, Three 6 Mafia for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” — no disrespect to Three 6 Mafia but if they can win an Oscar for that song Mary should be a shoe-in!

Take a listen to “I Can See In Color”!

Bruno

The DVD is stacked with one hour of special features, which includes the previously deleted La Toya Jackson footage. Shortly after the initial screenings of Bruno, MJ passed away — out of respect, the scene was cut from the film. Thankfully, the scene is completely respectful with La Toya doing her classic giggle — Bruno manages to run La Toya out of the room!

Other deleted scenes include interviews with a White supremacist, an overzealous interior designer, vapid models and more.

In addition, many of your “How did they do that?” questions are answered in audio commentary from Cohen and the director Larry Charles. Considering all of the risky stunts that were pulled off involving everyone from terrorist groups to politicians, it’s a wonder Cohen got out unscathed.

Bruno is out on DVD today. Check out the La Toya Jackson scene below!

Summary

Review: For those who are not familiar with Pedro Almodovar, the director of Broken Embraces, he is as important as Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee (Almodovar’s films dates back further than Tarantino and Lee). Movies like All About My Mother and Bad Education are legendary for their quirky styles, immaculate acting and decadent story lines. Almodovar’s films are like unwrapping a gift within a gift, the audience never knows what to expect, and the actual gift rarely disappoints.

Unfortunately, Almodovar’s most mainstream film to date, Broken Embraces, loses its way with a heap of disposable characters and knot-filled plots: a sickly father, a gay son, a drugged-out teen, an aspiring actress, an obsessed lover, disability, “who’s the baby’s daddy?” and more.  Sure, Almodovar’s movies have always required a certain amount of work to follow, but Broken Embraces has too many broken holes to thoroughly enjoy the core premise, which is quite typical — a jealous husband gets revenge on his youthful wife after she finds a younger and sexier man. You could get that storyline any afternoon on Lifetime Television.

Luckily, Broken Embraces is filled with compensatory qualities. Almodovar’s wit, sarcasm and morbid sense of humor are irresistible. The off-the-wall dialogue is redeeming when you are not exactly sure where the movie is headed. Furthermore, the actors jump right into the campy but classy roles, delivering performances that are award-worthy. Oscar winner Penelope Cruz, who is on her fourth Almodovar flick, has no remains of her other characters in All About My Mother or Volver. Cruz is radiant on the screen, perfectly playing up Almodovar’s ode to films of the 1940s and 1950s.

Stylistically, Broken Embraces is beautiful, which is no shocker considering the movie is his biggest budget to date and Almodovar’s taste level is impeccable. Nonetheless, what is most disappointing about Broken Embraces is the ho-hum ending. Almodovar is known for edgy and unexpected twists, right when you think he will pull it together, you are left with the common and ordinary.

Like Tarantino and Lee, when filmmakers who were once-upon-a-time risqué achieve too much success, the art takes a blow. Can a filmmaker, musician, or actor continue to be raw and edgy when they are critically acclaimed and earning millions? In no ways is Broken Embraces a bad film, but it certainly ranks low on his list of brilliant pieces of art. That said, Almodovar at his worst is still genius.

Broken Embraces is in theaters Friday, November 20.

Precious

Check out the clip below!

Why Did Get Married Too? doesn’t hit theaters until April, but the teaser trailer has made its way to the internet. The original cast is back, including Janet Jackson for her NAACP Image Award winning role as Patricia Agnew.

Check out the trailer!

Summary

Review: I had no idea 2012 included an all-star cast: Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover and Chiwetel Ejiofor.  Newton, Glover and Ejiofor are missing from the trailers and seem to be doing no press.  I thought John Cusack was the only headliner.

It’s clear, 2012 is no Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow, two films that were directed by Roland Emmerich, who also directed this film. 2012 is another tale of global destruction that we have all witnessed before, but this time it’s padded with Sony PSP-like special effects, not-even-bad-enough-to-be-camp dialogue and a nap-inducing running time of 158 minutes.  2012 is a gargantuan mess.

The Bad  -  2012’s desire to inject poorly written emotionality into a typical disaster flick is the mostly costly error. There are too many random characters for you to care: a scientist, a jazz musician, the president, a novelist, a radio host, a rich Russian and the list goes on. Their high school drama monologues matched with fantastical scenarios detonates the possibility of a fun popcorn flick. With each minute, 2012’s script crumbles right at the core.

The Almost Good  -  There are some suspensions of disbelief that you must take in a disaster movie. Characters always have perfect timing — in 2012 they expertly dodge falling buildings, escape the ground vanishing beneath them and learn how to fly a plane as easily as riding a bike. Regardless, there are some suspenseful scenes and the film succeeds when it focuses solely on the action. It’s a hoot to watch the Eiffel Tower, Washington Monument and Vatican City get destroyed (New York was left alone this time around!). In moments, there is a decent plot under the rubble of melodrama — 2012 just never quite gets to it.

2012 is in theaters this Friday, November 13th.