Medicine for My Melancholy

In the daze that shall be my summer of 2010, I'm thankful for the time i have to catch up on the movies that have been staring me in my face for the last couple months. One of which I am privileged to drop some praise upon entitled Medicine for Melancholy. MFM is a 2008 drama based in San Francisco picking up after the salacious one night stand of two black 20 somethings.



The guy, Micah, (played by the very talented Wyatt Cenac) is a racially conscious or more obsessed indie who loves San Fran, but is conspicuously not in love. The girl, Jo, (played by Tracy Heggins) enjoys the "now" more than she spends time thinking about the "later". But the films is more than the slowly unraveling, dawdling nothing narratives of the current times. MFM provides an underrepresented take on what it means to be black in today's society. Barry Jenkins' film works as a strong exploration of two young souls growing to understand and battle with each others views against a gorgeous urban back drop.



Barry Jenkins visual style is arresting as he favors these close intimate shots with the main characters. Somehow he trades from this intimacy to these epic shots of San Fran giving the film its meditative scope. Also, his purposeful shallow focus aesthetic builds upon the subject matter beautifully as the Micah and Jo attempt delve deeper into their relationship and the sometimes superficiality of society. Some may be turned off by the pervasive aesthetic,calling it heavyhanded, but it creates a unique visual voice for the film that I feel Jenkins and James Lipton (D.P.) capture brilliantly.



The visual style is supported, by the overall feel Jenkins creates. The moments aren't rushed; he allows the conflicts to develop and fester without cutting the scene. At the same time, Micah and Jo are given these moments in which they feel like kids in a playground examining life. Jenkins is successful in creating a frozen moment in time in which neither tomorrow or yesterday exist. Every scene holds together supporting this tryst in which these characters anger, discuss, challenge, and love each other.

I can emphatically suggest this movie for whatever means you use to watch movies. It plays extremely calm and smooth. It just feels good like a glass of juice in the morning.

Most Anticipated of Summer of '10

I lucking fove summer. If you've been reading along, you know how much I love the popcorn season complete with its high concept drudgery, ridiculous comic book heroes, and the talking dog comedies. (actually fuck the last one I hate those talking dog comedies....any talking animal really) But regardless the gems of summer are what I love about cinema. Those big enormous pictures are why I fell in love with film. I'm a simple man I guess. It is with great pleasure that I present my most anticipated movies of summer. (Click the name of the movie for the trailer) Btw sorry about the posters...they got panned and scanned...



5) Babies - Do I want to see it precisely because there are babies? Ok maybe a little, but I do carry a bit of caution with this pick for that reason alone. It's about babies, but I think it'd be an interesting exercise to see the human species and how we raise our young'uns. This pic is based solely on concept...hopefully execution will legitimate (used as verb) it.



4) Salt - Angelina Jolie is badass. 'Nuff said. But since I have some more space I'll tell you about how Salt was supposed to be played by Tom Cruise, but he turned it down because he thought it felt too much like Mission Impossible. Tom Cruise's leftovers? Maybe a tiny bit, but Salt looks like a classy beat 'em up action thriller. It's nice to see a female stepping into this testosterone filled genre. Again, cool concept.



3) Ironman 2 - Ironman was fun. It catches a lot of shit for mid-grade cgi and an underwhelming finale, but Robert Downey Jr's performance more than elevates its shortcomings. Tell me what other superhero film has a main character with that much charisma and presence. Exactly! Though it is getting some lukewarm reviews, I'm on board. Downey's performance is worth the price of admission.



2) Toy Story 3 - I recently went back and saw Toy Story and Toy Story 2. I hadn't seen Toy Story in friggin ages and can only remember tiny bits of Toy Story 2. I can't think of a better adjective to describe their detailed, whimsical, and goregeously plotted opus besides brillant. Pixar is so fuckin on it's ridiculous. I have no idea why they wanted to do a third movie, but I've learned in the last 15 years to not question pixar. Just watch and get ready to have your mind blown.



1) Inception - Leo, Nolan, Juno. What else do you need? I love mindbenders and the idea of having a blockbusting summer picture in which the premise involves a team of idea stealers. The sheer imagery of the trailer with the glass of water and the gravity defying settings just look breathtaking. The only things I'll hate about watching this is the feeling after watching the last frame of it, knowing I can never experience it for the first time again.

Resurrecting The Game

It's another one of those Saturday nights filled with procastinatory homework for me unfortunately. So I've decided to return to my dusty blog and satiate the fiends with another boss blog entry. While perusing imdb pages as I'm wont to do I came across some news about the recently canceled show "The Game."



I'm not really in love with The Game; honestly, I find it to be a soapish, awkwardly directed series with stereotypical and maddening characters masquerading as a worthy spin-off to the brilliant Girlfriends. I kept wanting it to find its way, but it just never quite found a comfortable rhythm. Still, it's worthy of 22 minutes if nothing is on. My disdain/disappointment aside, there may be hope yet for the axed series.

Could The Game really be coming back? Can BET actually grow some nuts and start producing some legit scripted content instead of shitty reality shows?

According to Zap2it and a couple other blogs BET has decided to pick up the series and put out a couple more episodes. Obviously, all those two-a-day have served their purpose. Still, the only potential road block could be getting the cast together. I'm happy as anyone else to see the possibility of another black series on television; however, I'm a little skeptical. First of all, it is BET and in the words of The Boondocks, "BET hates black people." Although The Game frustrates me, I'd love to see it comeback. I have gripes about the writing...and the acting....and the direction, but I still think it can resurrect itself as a relevant series for the young African-American series. Actually if BET had any competency, they'd bring it back and have Debbie Allen exec-produce or maybe even serve as showrunner.



On second thought, Just give her the friggin show and let her do her thing. With her track record, it's fair to say she is one of THE most talented black storytellers working today. Under her capable authorial direction, she pretty much saved A Different World and turned it into one of the most important African-American series of all-time in my opinion. She's kind of a legend in the game with her work on afro-american shows. Everybody Hates Chris, All of Us, The Jamie Foxx Show, The Sinbad Show...check the imdb page. I feel like putting the show in her hands will definitely add something special and new that may be what it is missing. No hate towards Mara Brock Akil, but letting her husband direct pretty much all the eps has produced clunky results, in my opinion. After the first season, it pretty much has just been him. Salim Akil has directed a whopping 45 of the 64 episodes of the series. Would it hurt to shake it up a bit?

I could be here all night griping about the frustratingly stale and vapid characters, but I have a paper to procrastinate from. So if I can leave you with anything, it is this. I'm hopeful for the return because there seems to be so little black casts on tv; I just ask that the series come back with a little more to offer.

Quick Classic

Hey kids. Poppin to give you a nice golden nugget to keep you goin. Checked out Rififi last afternoon at the belcourt. It's a enjoyable exercise of a genre heist movie. It felt it was really born out of a apt directorial style which could at times be a little demonstrative and unsubtly. I liked it. It's basically about this badass dude who pulls one more heist with his crew after a stint in jail because he feels like it.

The focus of the piece is a little more interesting through because the crime isn't the centerpiece. It's just the means to what the film really want to explore, human aspect and fallout after the loot has been stolen. It genuinely surprised me as well as offering some thematic material to chew on about the "hood" element. Are they just little boys playing with toy guns. Anyway, before i delve too deep, for a good time call Rififi

Black Dynamite-ish

I tried. I really did try to love it. Black Dynamite is a loving send up of blaxploitation films of the 70's commonly associated with their shoddy production quality, their inevitable villain of "the man," and lots of breasts. There was a lot of stuff I liked about the filme, but it just fell flat for me. FLAT. And I totally know what they were going for. Blaxploitationn films are supposed to have that grainy look, that ridiculous plot contrivance, and sickening story exposition. And I can commend the filmmakers (dir. Scott Sanders, writers Sanders, Byron Minns, and Michael Jai White) on their aesthetic. It genuinely felt authentic and real, but this film managed only a couple of genuine chuckles. However, there were plenty of people (predominantly white) in the theater letting out voluminous belly laughter at some of the film's more broader comedic moments like when Black Dynamite busts down a door, sending an elderly woman flying across the screen.

For the most part, this movies just fell short of the mark for me. Cheifly, because I'm into more clever, less broad comedy. Still, what saved Black Dynamite from me hitting the old trail was Michael Jai White's performance. He was definitely entertaining. He plays it without winking at you; it's just straight up and down commitment to the character. And his violent explosions are too much fun not to guffaw over. Also, it's nice to see so many black people in one movie. Literally, I recognized every actor in here which is pretty sad I think. Well acted though and you can feel the amount of fun they had. Too bad the demographic of which this film reflects probably don't know of its existence. Bottom Line, it didn't do much for me, but comedy is so hit and miss. I don't share the same sense of humor as the filmmaker, but the movie is good enough for me to recommend to someone who does.

And in that tunnel, the only light they had, was inside of them

Been a long time. I shouldn't of left you w/o a cold film review to step to, step to. but seriously I figure it was about time for another movie review. After having watched Push or Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (i'd rather call it by its orginal name), I'm kinda at a lost for a worthy comparison. From the first trailer I saw back in April of last year, I knew it was going to be a brick of a film, as in much like being hit with one. It comes pretty close to describing the experience.

Precious is an illiterate teenager, pregnant with her 2nd child by her father. She lives with her welfare-laden mother while her grandmother takes care of her child with down syndrome who she calls mongo. It was entirely too easy for this film to become a sadfest. Melodrama is could've bogged this story down, but Lee Daniels brings some real grit and searing reality to this film. The world Precious lives in is embodied with a hopeless feeling and unrelenting circumstance. Her mother's apartment literally looks like a dungeon where Daniels reflects this poisonous atmosphere Precious inhabits. Her terrifying environment is anchored and intensified by a truly heartwrenching portrayal of the mother by Monique. Let it be known. Best Supporting Actress will go to Monique off the strength of that last scene. It was simply otherwordly, but grounded in a visceral honesty.



There is a lot to praise about the movie. Largely taking place from Precious' pov, I think it really serves itself well with the voice over because the arc of her character is represented in the her v.o. She starts with a somewhat self loathing weight in her voice, but as she begins to fight the circumstances in her life you feel the expression when her intones are more complex and knowing. I had a couple of problems with some of the editorial choices. I wished some moments had hung in the air instead of disappearing in a fade out like in the first fight between Precious and her mother. The dramatic last scene left me hanging a bit. It was so unbelievably powerful and saddening that i wished a bit more could have been fleshed out to balance. Still, I think Precious is a strong film. It's amazingly acted specfically Paula Patton, Monique of course and Gabourey Sidibet who's making her debut. This movie had such a strong heart. There is so much heart in this movie and I hope it continues to do so well.

On Perry

I never really sat down and decided my list of favorite directors. At some point, I'll make it official, but I can tell you now, as it stands, Scorsese, Tarrantino, Reitman, and def Spike are up there. Spike is just a guy who continues to astound me with his strength of voice, clarity in vision, and unflinching opinion. Although I may not always agree with what he says (re: Eastwood/Flags of our Fathers controversy), I'm intently interested in whatever he says and the conviction with which speaks.
I like Tyler Perry for completely different reasons. I dislike most of his movies, but I still have this desire to see him do well. Why? Because he's black? Well actually that's precisely why. There are so few black directors who are even mentioned in the film community that I want to see him create, author, and express whatever is on his heart. Maybe not whatever, which is precisely why I'm writing this blog post.



Now admittedly, I watched some Tyler Perry plays on bootleg in my preteenage years. They felt like a kept secret; some dude from Atlanta wrote these crazy plays about armed grandmothers and combined soap-operas with gospel. He really tapped into an underrepresented section of our community. His combination of baptist upbringing and theatricality felt natural and sharp. When I heard they, and when I say they I mean white folks, gave 'em money to actually produce and distribute his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, I was like lovely, another black storyteller telling HIS stories with his final say. Yet somewhere between him making that first 20 million opening and now I really can't spend money on his stuff.
It just doesn't sit right with me every time I see the same recycled gags about Madea cappin somebody or Brown shuffling around like it's the early 1900's. It feels like stereotypical nonsense. He kinda just plops these characters on screen and they just kinda sit there in these contrived situations screaming at each other. Now one may reply there are messages of redemption, love, and spirituality in all of his films. Granted. Yet they are muddled by the imagery of a minstrel show at times. Many people in the black community have come out against his films, Spike Lee in particular calls it buffoonery (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ciwhh3fB6vE). Honestly, I can't disagree.
Still, you can say I’m enamored with the idea of Tyler Perry more than his actual films. I want to love this guy. He represents the classic American Dream; He even named his production company Miracle on 34th street. That is precisely why I'm interested to see him get out of the canon his older films and stretch into For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.



With an amazing cast, including Kerry Washington, Anika Noni Rose, Whoopi, and Phylicia Rashad, I think this will be his first critically acclaimed forray. Combining his reverence for the stories of black woman and the sheer brilliance of the text, I think Perry can do some real damage. I’m an optimist.