The Wire...an honor and a pleaure

I don’t find it vital to discuss TV much since most of it is drivel. I can’t find a lot to recommend these as unfortunately. But about 3 months ago, I started on a journey through Baltimore that I do feel it quite vital to share with the world. The Wire is an hour long HBO drama widely hailed as THE best series of all time. It is also quite possibly THE most slept on show I've had the deep pain to try to advocate for. I finished it about 2 weeks ago and have just recently been able to let it sink in enough to share my feelings on it. I'm not going to try to spoil anything, but some thematic discussion may sour the experience or at least tip a few things that deserve to be surprises so be warned.

As simple as it is complex. As wide-reaching as it is intimate. The minds behind this show present a fictionalized Baltimore city from just about every narratively and dramatically interesting viewpoint focusing on the more depressing facets of our so called American Dream. Capturing an unflinching, unyieldingly truthful perspective on the American city, The Wire lets no one off the hook.



The Wire is much more than a simple crime show. This is not your regular cops and bad guys procedural with "ripped from the headlines" storylines. You can't describe it as anything less than an immersive, detailed, uncompromising experience focused on one bleakly disparate theme: The Game is the Game. One of the series' most recurrent character Omar repeats this notion reminding the characters and the audience that we've created a system in which transformation and transcendence is difficult, nigh impossible. Characters constantly engage their surroundings pushing and pulling grow. Hoppers are hoppers. Drug dealers are drug dealers. Muscle is Muscle.


America runs on a system. This system resists change and men and women who try to redefine themselves or challenge the system are chewed up and spat out. The brilliance of the show comes from the series’ ability to create a moral economy in which characters must abide. Characters try to work the rules to their benefit, but few find success in getting out. If they step out of what the world expects them to be, the consequences are fatal. Characters such as the beloved Stringer Bell and Wallace from season 1 are evidence of how our society resists change. Both of these characters find adversity in trying to improve their circumstances or deviate from the expectations put upon them.



The Wire examines at every level, the streets the courtrooms, the classrooms, how we are entrenched in a battle of poverty and fading values in which the corruption and ruthless govern. It never ceases...just keeps on going. It's a never-ending game in which the soldiers who blindly or even knowingly indoctrinate themselves into its rules survive. They prove this disparaging fact time and time again as the detectives, hoppers, and kingpins move in this concerted systematic program of routine busts, court hearings, slayed witnesses, and drug trials.



This TV show is more of a call to action than a simple Sunday entertainment choice. By no means am I saying that, The Wire isn’t entertaining. I just feel it’s necessary to point out that this show has more to offer than pure bland enjoyment that most networks offer. It reminds me of something I heard on the Taxi Driver DVD. Schrader, the screenwriter of Taxi Driver, discusses how some films, or more broadly entertainment, as being pure narcotic. He’s referring to fiction that lulls you into a soft state of complacency, giving you exactly what you want exactly how you want it. That is about the most contrary to The Wire. It’s a show that cannot be appreciated without assiduous attention, mental provocation, and an open mind in which to receive. The minds behind this show are speaking to America, holding a mirror to us and saying, “The Game is rigged.” I wish more television shows had the balls to take a stance on things, but I suppose they have their function. But in any case after an emotionally draining journey with the creators of The Wire it is with a serious and deep heart that I implore you to watch by any means necessary.

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.