Jellyfish (ISRAELI) DVD

(Meduzot)

DVD Review by Kam Williams



Headline: Serendipitous Feminist Adventure from Israel Released on DVD



Some of the most intriguing, feminist dramas continue to come from Israel, including this surreal adventure which whimsically intertwines the lives of several women whose paths crisscross in present-day Tel Aviv. The fulcrum of the plot is provided by the plight of heartsick Batya (Sarah Adler), a waitress working at the wedding of Karen (Noa Knoller) and Michael (Gera Sandler).

Just past the point of departure, the couple’s plans for a Caribbean honeymoon are ruined when the bride accidentally breaks her ankle. So, they opt to take a room right on the ground floor of the beachfront hotel hosting their reception.

Elsewhere, we find Joy (Ma-nenita De Latorre), a Filipino nurse missing her five year-old son she had to leave behind in Manila. It doesn’t help any that although she asked for a childcare assignment, her agency hired her out to Malka (Zaharira Harifai), an elderly woman who is not only grouchy, but bigoted to boot. Despite Joy’s exhibiting the patience of a saint, Malka would prefer to live with her daughter, an actress busily preparing to appear in a production of Hamlet directed by an Arab.

These assorted threads are woven together ever so subtly via the meanderings of Batya, a forlorn soul who besides being left by her boyfriend has had the rent recently raised on her dilapidated apartment. The carefree slacker reacts by drinking water dripping from a hole in the ceiling, and by adopting a naked, freckle-faced, five year-old (Nikol Leidman) she finds frolicking alone along the Mediterranean shore.

Always of more consequence here than the give-and-take of any of the superficial personal dramas are the complicated cultural and psychological issues simmering just under the surface. Like Amelie with an attitude, the sinister Jellyfish links strangers serendipitously, but with an almost shocking absence of naivete.



Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

In Hebrew, French and English with subtitles.

Running time: 78 minutes

Studio: Zeitgeist Films

DVD Extras: New anamorphic master enhanced for widescreen TVs, video interview with filmmakers Etgar Keret and Shira Geffen, filmmaker statement, plus the U.S. theatrical trailer.



To see a trailer for Jellyfish, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auYqkwrnOho

Redbelt DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams



Headline: Disappointing Mamet Martial Arts Adventure Arrives on DVD



A mediocre movie like this is a major disappointment coming from David Mamet. The picture represents his first foray into the martial arts genre, although his character-driven script still boasts the basic trademarks for which the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright’s is known.

This means the screen is littered with an ensemble of street-savvy con artists delivering raw dialogue staccato-style, And among the actors are some familiar faces from the Mamet repertory company, including his wife Rebecca Pidgeon, Joe Mantegna, Ricky Jay and David Paymer.

The story revolves around Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the cash-strapped sensei of a jiu-jitsu dojo located in downtown Los Angeles. He’s a purist who has thusfar staunchly resisted any temptation to fight on the mixed martial arts circuit, preferring to rely instead on financial help from his Brazilian wife’s (Alice Braga) fabric business to keep his fledgling studio afloat.

A disturbing chain of events is triggered the day that a distraught attorney (Emily Mortimer) shows up at the academy unannounced. For Mike’s most promising student, an off-duty police officer named Joe (Max Martini), inadvertently invades the fidgety female’s personal space, not knowing that she’s a recovering rape victim. The paranoid woman reflexively grabs his gun lying on a counter and shoots out the place’s pricy plate glass window. Already behind in rent, now Mike has this added expense to deal with.

As his money woes mysteriously mount and he finds himself indebted to loan sharks the question is no longer if, but merely when, he will break his code of honor and enter the ring to raise some much-needed moolah. Like an unnecessarily confusing and convoluted cross of Rocky and The Karate Kid, Redbelt is a flick that’s a tad too smart for its own good, given the simple message it is designed to deliver.



Fair (1 star)

Rated R for profanity and violence and drug use.

Running time: 99 minutes

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

DVD Extras: Fighter profiles, Q&A with director David Mamet, commentary by Mamet and Randy Couture, plus several additional featurettes.



To see a trailer for Redbelt, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFrHNaq-6qE

Tasha Smith: The Longshots Interview

with Kam Williams

Headline: Tasha’s Back in Town

Tasha Smith, this critic’s pick as the best African-American actress of 2007, toned down her trademark act for her new movie, The Longshots, a wholesome family flick featuring Ice Cube and Keke Palmer, and based on a young girl’s real-life triumph as a quarterback who led her team to the Pop Warner Superbowl. As Claire Plummer, the mother of the history-making football phenom, Tasha got a chance to prove her versatility by exhibiting a relatively-subdued side of her emotional range.
Rising to the occasion, she proved herself to be every bit as compelling in this capacity, which means we have every reason to expect to see this rising cinematic star in more pure dramatic roles. Here, the statuesque beauty shares her thoughts about this refreshing change of pace from playing her typical sassy sister with an attitude.

KW: Hey, Tasha, thanks for another interview.
TS: Kam, are you kidding me? What’s up? How’re you doing?
KW: I’m great. How’s life been treating you?
TS: Wonderfully! I’m great, thank God. I’m so good, and I just moved into a new house.
KW: Well then, on behalf of “Realtor to the Stars” Jimmy Bayan, I have to ask you where your place is located.
TS: In the Woodland Hills area.
KW: How’s your equally-stunning twin sister, Sidra?
TS: She’s great! She’s busy.
KW: How’s your acting school doing?
TS: It is so good, Kam. I have been touring it, going to different cities. I was in Atlanta and New York. And I’m going to Chicago in October, and then D.C., and Miami. And I have my ongoing classes in Los Angeles. It’s just been amazing and such a blessing. That is my heart. I love all the actors and doing the three-day workshop-seminar.
KW: How would you describe your teaching style?
TS: I like to be really transparent with my students, so they can know the true experience of an up-and-coming actor. Sometimes, they only see the finished product and have no idea about the reality of the journey, because a lot of celebrities like to hide and to keep their journey a mystery. But I feel that that approach doesn’t help anyone else, especially since part of my calling is to my community. I hope that my transparency will help inspire and encourage the next person.
KW: How did you enjoy playing Claire Plummer in The Longshots? The character was certainly a change of pace for you.
TS: You know how people always have a certain expectation of what you’re going to do in every role?
KW: Yep.
TS: Well, I enjoyed being able to create something different, and showing a different part of myself. But at the same time I missed that energy. You follow me?
KW: Yeah, your trademark explosiveness.
TS: [Laughs] Yes. This character is definitely not like that. She’s a type of parent that we do see in the world, and I thought it was very important to show that kind of human spirit. Still, I’m definitely looking forward to giving people who admire my explosiveness, as you say, something that they enjoy watching me do as well.
KW: Do you ever feel like you’re being typecast?
TS: I don’t feel like that. When you have a fan base, you like to give them something that they want. It’ll be interesting to see how people respond to this character, because I know it’s not what people normally like to get from me.
KW: You know how I always ask people: Is there a question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would? Last time, your answer was, Are you ever afraid. Well, I liked your question so much that I ask everybody that now.
TS: My publicist [Joseph Babineaux] showed it to me and I was so shocked. How have people been responding?
KW: It’s interesting because it forces them to reflect and to be real.
TS: Who do you feel you got one of the best answers from?
KW: Recently, from Philippe Petit, the man who made history in 1974 by walking on a tightrope between the roofs of the Twin Towers. He admitted that he’s deathly afraid of spiders. Who would’ve ever figured that?
TS: Cool.
KW: Is there any other question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
TS: Yes, Are you ever disappointed? And here’s another one: How important are your friends to you?
KW: Those are both deep emotionally questions. Why do you think reporters don’t ask questions like that?
TS: Maybe it’s because entertainers don’t usually like to get too personal. So, the journalists tend to keep things on the surface and not really get to deep into the heart of the individual that they’re dealing with by asking about discouragements, disappointments or internal roadblocks, maybe. For example, they never ask, what’s been some of your obstacles in life? You know what I mean?
KW: Yep.
TS: Maybe it’s just me, but I always like the kind of communication which could possibly touch the life or heart of someone reading, especially because the world is going through so much right now in terms of gas prices… imprisonment… drug addiction,,, finances… teenage pregnancy… and HIV in the black community. The world is definitely going through a lot. People are really discouraged, and are suffering from a great deal of internal turmoil. Even our industry is going through changes. The only African-American shows on TV right now are House of Pain, The Game and Lincoln Heights. Think about that. Remember, there was a time when we had so many shows on television. Black actors and casting directors were working. But now, it is so scary. Most black actors are unemployed. And not only are they unemployed, but their mortgages and finances are in trouble. Do you know how discouraging it is for a celebrity who used to work regularly to have to host at a restaurant? And it’s that kind of stuff that we don’t talk about.
KW: Bookworm Troy Johnson wants to know again, what was the last book you read?
TS: I don’t read many novels. I’m more into self-help books. I’m reading two right now. They’re both by Dr. Creflo Dollar. One is called, “8 Steps to Create the Life You Want.” And the other is, “Lord, Teach Me How to Love.” They’re very good. I picked up “Lord, Teach Me How to Love” because I was having some personal problems, and I didn’t want unforgiveness to set into my heart. You know how it’s easy for seeds of unforgiveness to sit there when you’ve been disappointed with people? And if you don’t pay attention to it, it can kind of grow into something else. So, I read this book to try to consistently be active in forgiving and walking in love. I was doing that for myself, because unforgiveness is worse for you than the person that you’re mad at.
KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What’s music are you listening to nowadays?
TS: Wow! I have different stuff that I like to listen to at different times. I like quiet gospel music, if I’m just chilling in the house. I probably need to be a little bit more diverse musically, because I can get stuck listening to the same songs over and over again. I have more of a movie collection than I do music. I’m still on Mary’s [Mary J. Blige] album. I’m still on Jill’s [Jill Scott] old album. And I’m loving Alicia [Keys] , Rhianna, and Anthony David who’s this guy out of Atlanta who’s really good. And I love old school, too. I could listen to the Isley Brothers and Marvin Gaye forever. Forever!
KW: How do you want to be remembered?
TS: As someone who loved her community, loved her students, loved her family, and would try to just please God on this Earth realm.
KW: Thanks Tasha, and good luck with The Longshots.
TS: Thank you for all your support.
KW: We’ll talk again soon, I hope.
TS: That sounds great. You take care of yourself.
KW: You too.

To see a trailer for The Longshots, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WM6w6hTfHE

Traitor

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Don Cheadle Stars in International Potboiler as Possible Manchurian Muslim Mole

Provided you haven’t seen the trailer for Traitor, you’re likely to enjoy this edge-of-your-seat political potboiler immeasurably. However, if you have already caught the commercial, then you are already aware of the picture’s otherwise cleverly-concealed plot twist revealed only towards the end of the picture.
Left unspoiled, the film is a taut, international thriller revolving around the 007-like exploits of Samir Horn (Don Cheadle), a U.S. Special Forces Agent serving solo overseas on a covert, counterespionage operation. The point of departure is a flashback to the moment in his childhood when he witnessed his father being blown up by a car bomb.
Fast-forward to present-day Yemen, where Samir is attempting to imbed himself inside a cell of Arab religious fanatics. He is only able to gain their confidence after being arrested in a round-up of suspected terrorists.
While behind bars, the bilingual poser manages to convince the gang’s ringleader, Omar (Said Taghmaoui), that he is a devout Muslim born and raised in Sudan. The two bond after embarking on a spectacular death-defying jailbreak which leaves them blood brothers sworn to perform crimes against humanity together in the name of Allah.
Then, it’s not long before the pair is masterminding a series of attacks not only in the Middle East, but in Europe and America, too. Samir, as an Army-trained explosives expert, is able to train suicide bombers while outfitting them with detonators. This development is not lost on the interagency task force led by Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) and Max Archer (Neal McDonough), crack FBI agents who just happen to be monitoring his every movement.
They, of course, are curious about the identity of this ostensibly-disloyal American, and wonder whether he’s truly a traitor or merely an al-Qaeda infiltrator on a secret mission. Determining the answer without blowing Samir’s cover proves to be easier said than done, and writer/director Jeffrey Nachmanoff is very adept at keeping his audience guessing for almost as long as the investigating officers themselves remain in a quandary.
Also Credit Don Cheadle’s masterful performance for making Traitor riveting for the duration. For he ever so convincingly plays Samir as a sympathetic, seemingly-conflicted soul who just might be a Manchurian Muslim mole afterall. Perhaps of more significance is how the movie simultaneously seeks to serve as a sophisticated appeal to tolerance by its deliberate differentiating between radical Islam and the moderate version of the faith practiced by the overwhelming majority of Muslims.
A curious whodunit which has you far more concerned with the mindset than the apprehension of a mass murderer.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for brief profanity, mature themes, and intense violence.
In English and Arabic with subtitles.
Running time: 113 minutes
Studio: Overture Films

To see a trailer for Traitor, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjq4PNev838

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams



Headline: Bio-Pic Revisiting Cinematic Career of Unrecognized Genius Released on DVD



Jack Smith (1932-1989) was an uncompromisingly experimental innovator in the field of cinema whose name might not be known to the general public despite the fact that he has been credited as an influence by such fellow avant garde filmmakers as Federico Fellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Jim Jarmusch, Andy Warhol and John Waters. This unrecognized genius is finally receiving a measure of respect, even if belatedly, with the release of this uncritical bio-pic which mixes snippets of his flicks in with the reflections of colleagues, actors and friends who were fond of him and his work.

We learn that Smith was born in Columbus, Ohio where he passed a decidedly unhappy childhood, perhaps due to his being gay in the breadbasket of America. As a young adult, he made his way to New York City’s Greenwich Village where he embarked on a career in the fields of photography, performance art and film.

There, the irreverent iconoclast made daring movies deemed pornographic in their day, such as Flaming Creatures which was banned in 22 states. Watching some of his censured scenes now, it is apparent that times have certainly changed. Yes there’s plenty of male and female nudity, especially homoerotica featuring flamboyant drag queens, but nothing hardcore that would warrant the implementation of drastic legal sanctions.

In fact, the most alarming aspect of the production might not be any of the images, but the intermittent voiceover of Jack Smith himself. In a rambling rasp, he can be heard railing against the mercenary nature of capitalism and bitterly raising a litany of other complaints about the state of American society.

Alternately bizarre and inspired, but an appropriate tribute to a visionary impossible to pigeonhole.



Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 95 minutes

Studio: Arts Alliance America

DVD Extras: Nine interviews and two featurettes.



To see a trailer for Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwk7xoyjo1Q

Chicago 10 DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Revisits Historic Free Speech Trial of Anti-War Activists

During the summer of 1968, thousands of protesters descended on the Democratic Convention in Chicago in order to voice their displeasure with America’s involvement in the Vietnam War at the. But Mayor Richard Daley, determined to discourage the assembled activists by any means necessary, ordered the police to arrest the organizers of the demonstration on trumped-up charges of conspiracy and crossing state lines with intent to riot.
The tactic ultimately backfired, because the jailed leaders became something of a sympathetic cause celebre since they were essentially only attempting to exercise their right to Freedom of Speech. Dubbed the Chicago 8, their ensuing trial was covered by the national press on a day-to-day basis. The indicted political activists behind bars included such well-known figures as Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Black Panther Chairman Bobby Seale.
Chicago 10, a novel docudrama directed by Brett Morgen, revisits the events surrounding the case via archival footage augmented by word-for-word, animated recreations culled from the transcripts of the contentious courtroom proceedings. Perhaps the movie’s most memorable moment arrives when an exasperated Judge Julius Hoffman, in a highly-unusual measure, orders Seale, the only African-American defendant, gagged, bound, shackled, and held in contempt of court on account of his repeated outbursts.
Later, a couple of defense attorneys, William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass were slapped with same charge, hence the change to the Chicago 10. Though it would take years, all were ultimately vindicated. However, the state had ostensibly achieved its aim, namely, to discourage youth at the dawn of the hippie era from feeling free to voice their discontent with society.
Director Morgen earns high marks for finding a most innovative way to illustrate a regrettable chapter in American history.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for profanity and brief sexuality.
Running time: 90 minutes
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Chicago 10 remix video contest winner and Paramount Pictures previews.

To see a trailer for Chicago 10, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9uJL7lWdFg

Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam's Kapsules:

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

by Kam Williams

For movies opening September 5, 2008



BIG BUDGET FILMS



Bangkok Dangerous (R for violence, profanity and sexuality) Action thriller about an anonymous assassin (Nicolas Cage) sent to Thailand to execute four contract killings who ends up both bonding with a local street urchin (Shahkrit Yamnarm) and being intoxicated by the beguiling beauty of a young deaf girl (Charlie Yeung).



Passengers (PG-13 for mature themes, sensuality and scary images) Horror flick starring Anne Hathaway as a grief counselor to survivors of a plane crash who falls in love with one (Patrick Wilson) of her patients just before the others start disappearing mysteriously, one by one. Ensemble cast includes Andre Braugher, David Morse, Clea DuVall and Dianne Wiest.



INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS



August Evening (PG-13 for brief profanity) Immigration drama about an aging, undocumented farm worker (Pedro Castaneda) from Mexico who finds himself forced to retire and increasingly dependent on his widowed daughter-in-law (Veronica Loren) for support after the sudden death of his wife.



Everybody Wants to Be Italian (R for sexuality) Romantic comedy, set in Boston’s North End, and revolving around a case of mistaken ethnicity where a Polish guy (Jay Jablonski) pretends to be Italian because he thinks that his blind date (Cerina Vincent) would otherwise never give him the time of day.



Mister Foe (R for nudity and sexuality) Dysfunctional family comedy, set in Scotland, about an anguished teenager (Jamie Bell) who runs away from home after being seduced by the stepmother (Claire Forlani) he comes to suspect of killing his birth mom. The lad then takes a job working in a hotel where he becomes obsessed with his boss (Sophia Myles) who resembles his dearly-departed mum.

Ping Pong Playa (PG-13 for profanity, sexual dialogue and drug references) Sports comedy about an irresponsible, Chinese-American slacker (Jimmy Tsai) who dreams of becoming an NBA star until he finds his true calling playing table tennis. Cast includes Roger Fan, Shelley Malil, Khary Payton and Andrew Vo.



The Pool (Unrated) Coming-of-age drama, set in the East Indian city of Panjim, and revolving around a boy (Venkatesh Chavan) working at a hotel who becomes obsessed with a nearby swimming pool never used by its wealthy owners. (In Hindi and English with subtitles)



Save Me (Unrated) Sexual-preference drama about a gay drug addict (Chad Allen) who falls in love with a male counselor (Robert Gant) at a Christian rehab where he was supposed to be cured of both his substance abusing and homosexuality.



A Secret (Unrated) Dysfunctional family drama, set in Paris in 1955, about a lonely 15 year-old boy (Quentin Dubuis) with a vivid imagination whose guilt-ridden Jewish parents (Patrick Bruel and Cecile de France) successfully spared their sickly son the details about how they survived the Holocaust until the day he starts to uncover their deep, dark secret while digging around in the attic. Cast includes Julie Depardieu, Mathieu Amalric and Ludivine Sagnier. (In French with subtitles)

Maria Bethania: Music Is Perfume

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Brazilian Bio-Pic Takes Loving Look at Musical Career of Legendary Samba Singer

Maria Bethania is a legendary samba singer whose siren call has stirred the souls of her fellow Brazilians for generations. Now in her sixties, the full-throated diva proves here that she is still capable of delivering a ballad in heartrending fashion. The performance-driven picture features plenty of concert footage, offset by interviews with friends, family (including her brother, composer Caetano Veloso) and Maria herself.
Her career began in 1964 and has endured enough for her to release 30 albums thusfar. The movie amounts to the cinematic equivalent of a fanzine, a delightful musical montage during which Maria meanders through the classic hits from her extensive repertoire.
Offstage, Maria is at her best while sharing her feelings about music, such as when she describes samba as “sadness dancing. That is the very essence of samba.” Equally evocative are the moments when she talks about the genre’s history, describing it as “a black people’s lament.” Acknowledging a debt owed to African slaves, she goes on to say that “We were colonized by the Portuguese, but our heritage, the richness of our music, is black.”
And to think I always blamed it on the bossa nova.

Very Good (3 stars)
Unrated
In Portuguese with subtitles.
Running time: 82 minutes
Studio: ArtMattan Productions

To see a trailer of Maria Bethania: Music Is Perfume, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgB6T8sZKoE

Youssou N'Dour: Return to Goree

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Afro-Jazz Documentary Retraces Slave Trade Route

Described by Rolling Stone Magazine in 2004 as “perhaps the most famous singer alive,” Grammy award-winner Youssou N'Dour has been touring the world playing his genre-defying brand of jazz since the Seventies. The Senegalese tenor is a self-described griot/storyteller/percussionist/composer/emcee and bandleader of a group which effortlessly blends elements of African, Latin, gospel, rock and pop.
Youssou is also a dedicated social activist who has been involved over the years with a variety of human rights causes, including Amnesty International, Live 8, UNICEF, and the anti-Apartheid movement. Return to Goree is a performance flick which mixes music with a history lesson about the slave trade. The movie is essentially comprised of a series of recording, rap and jam sessions in America, then Europe, and finally Africa, where the closing credits roll during a concert staged at a scenic, seaside slave castle in Dakar.
Though frequently unfocused in spots, the film accurately captures the freewheeling feeling of the lifestyle of a roaming troubadour capable of calling anyplace he hangs his fez home. As he perambulates the planet, Youssou gradually amasses a multi-ethnic ensemble of accompanists. By the time of the big finale, among his sidemen are drummer Idris Muhammad and vocalist Pyeng Threadgill.
However, as important as the tunes are the contributors’ (including poet Amiri Baraka’s) insights about the Middle Passage and the toll that slavery took on displaced Africans throughout the diaspora. Fortunately, despite the tragedy which decimated the continent’s population for several centuries, the music in Return to Goree stands as a testament to the fact that folks figured a way to nourish their souls and thus somehow survive in the face of a cruel system of absolute subjugation determined to crush their spirits at every turn.
Listening to a tour guide positioned before the infamous “Door to the Journey of No Return” talk about how black families were deliberately separated at that spot, with the mother being sent, say, to Brazil, the father to Louisiana, and the children scattered among Haiti, Cuba and the Antilles, this profound picture chillingly conveys a palpable sense of what being a direct victim of the evil institution might have felt like and why the fallout persists to this day like the proverbial ripples on a pond.

Excellent (3.5 stars)
Unrated
In French and English with subtitles.
Running time: 108 minutes
Studio: ArtMattan Productions

To see a trailer of Youssou N'Dour, visit: http://www.retouragoree.com/trailer.html

Keke Palmer: The Longshots Interview

with Kam Williams

Headline: Kicking It with Keke

Lauren Keyana Palmer was born on August 26, 1993 in Harvey, Illinois to Sharon, an elementary school teacher, and Lawrence, a salesman. The second of four children, Keke showed such promise at an early age that her parents decided to relocate the family to Los Angeles when she was just nine years-old. And that same year, she made her screen debut as Ice Cube’s niece in Barberbershop 2: Back in Business.
Then, after bit roles on such TV series as Cold Case, Law & Order, ER, she found international fame as the title character in the critically-acclaimed Akeelah and the Bee for which she won an NAACP Image Award and a host of other accolades. Also, in 2006, she played Tyler Perry’s feisty foster child in Madea’s Family Reunion. Since then, the versatile actress/singer has released her own CD on Atlantic Records, So Uncool, and she’s appeared in the Ludacris/Mary J. Blige video for the song Runaway Love.
Here, she talks about her new movie, The Longshots, a bio-pic about Jasmine Plummer, the first female quarterback to lead her team to the Pop Warner Superbowl.

KW: Hey, Keke, thanks for the time.
KP: No problem.
KW: I was just telling your father that your performance in Akeelah and the Bee was very powerful, and had me in tears.
KP: Oh, thank you very much.
KW: Where did you think all that talent came from at such a young age?
KP: I started singing regularly in the choir with my mom. I think it comes from the encouragement my parents and my church gave me to follow my dreams and they’re telling me that I could achieve anything. So, I’ve always felt confident and secure, and was able to be myself and to have a good time. And when the acting came up, I just applied that same approach to movies and television.
KW: I imagine you received a lot of positive feedback after playing the inspirational role of Akeelah.
KP: Yes I did. And because of that movie’s message, I was approached by lots of community organizations like the Girls Scout, It’s Cool to Be Smart and Urban Farming.
KW: I know your mom’s a schoolteacher. Are you home schooled by her?
KP: She was my teacher for a little while, after we first moved to Los Angeles. But now I work independently, except for when I’m shooting a film. When I’m on set, I have a tutor.
KW: After the success of Akeelah and the Bee, were fans always asking you to spell words?
KP: People would sometimes ask me to spell stuff, but I didn’t really feel any pressure.
KW: What interested you in The Longshots?
KP: What mainly interested me in the role was that it was so inspirational. And not only that, but because it’s a true story, I thought it would really motivate young girls to pursue their dreams
KW: After playing Jasmine Plummer, are you going to feel pressure to prove yourself as a football player?
KP: Well, I think the movie speaks for itself, because that was really me playing.
KW: How did you prepare for the role?
KP: I practiced for about four months, getting my arm ready, and then learning the footwork.
KW: Had you ever played football before that?
KP: Oh no, I didn’t have any experience in it at all.
KW: Are you a football fan, now?
KP: Not watching it, but I like playing.
KW: How did you like working with Ice Cube?
KP: It was a lot of fun. I was really excited to work with him one-on-one, because he gave me my first break in Barbershop 2. It was a small role, but it was the second I had ever auditioned for, and the first one I ever got.
KW: How did you get along with Tasha Smith who plays your mother?
KP: Great! I worked with her on the TV show Second Time Around when I first came to California, and I was happy to work with her again because she’s so nice.
KW: What message do you hope kids will take away from this movie?
KP: That you can achieve anything, as long as you put your mind to it, whatever it is, even if it’s supposed to be only for boys, or only for girls, for that matter. You can go as far as you want to go.
KW: Did you ever meet Jasmine Plummer, the girl The Longshots was based on?
KP: Yes, I did. I met her towards the end of the filming. She’s a very nice girl. And luckily, I portrayed her as she was. And I think she was glad about that.
KW: Are you planning to record another CD soon?
KP: No, I just departed from the record label that put out my first album in ’07. So, I’m just going to be doing little stuff here and there, and maybe some soundtracks.
KW: Well, music maven Heather Covington wants to know who you’re you listening to right now.
KP: Hmm… I’m listening to a lot of people. I love Rhianna.
KW: You’re turning 15 soon. How do you plan to celebrate your birthday?
KP: I don’t know what I’m going to do. Maybe something small.
KW: Bookworm Troy Johnson wants to know, what was the last book you read?
KP: The last book I read was a novel by Jerry Spinelli called Stargirl.
KW: If you were old enough to vote, who would you vote for for President?
KP: Obama.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
KP: Yes.
KW: Is there any question nobody ever asks you, that you wish somebody would?
KP: No, I think I’ve been asked everything.
KW: How do you fell about the passing of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes?
KP: I was so shocked when I heard that Bernie Mac had passed. I know he’d been sick for awhile, but I was still really, really sad that he’d died. He was so talented and had worked so hard. I felt the same way about Isaac Hayes. It was so sudden, that I was just shocked. They’re in a better place now, but I’m still sad and we miss them down here.
KW: Are you able to live like a regular teenager? Can you still go to the mall or a movie theater without being followed by fans?
KP: I can most of the time. There are certain situations where they come up to me. I only get noticed if I stand around for a long time.
KW: Do you have a website?
KP: Yes I do, it’s www.kekepalmer.com .
KW: Do you answer your fan mail yourself?
KP: Yes I do.
KW: Nosy “Realtor to the Stars” Jimmy Bayan asks: Where in L.A. do you live?”
KP: In Altadena, about 20 minutes from L.A.
KW: I see you’ll be playing the title character on a new TV show this fall on Nickelodeon.
KP: Yeah, it’s called True Jackson, V.P. It’s about a 15 year-old girl who gets a vice president’s job at a fashion company.
KW: Well, thanks again for the interview, and I wish you the best of success as you continue to blossom into a beautiful young lady.
KP: Thank you very much.

The Longshots

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Keke Palmer Plays Another Underdog in Sentimental Family Flick

In 2003, Jasmine Plummer made history as the first female ever to play quarterback in the Pop Warner Football League. However, the competitive 11 year-old, not content just to cross the gender line, went on to lead her team all the way to the Pee Wee Division Superbowl.
Now, the talented tomboy’s real-life exploits are the subject of The Longshots, a sentimental bio-pic directed by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, of all people. The singer-turned-director brings Jasmine’s life story to the big screen as an against-the-odds sports saga which seeks to tug on your heartstrings at every opportunity.
The film features Keke Palmer in a very familiar role as the same sort of spunky underdog she played in Akeelah and the Bee. But instead of spelling her way to the National Bee in Washington, DC, here her character accomplishes a series of equally-unlikely feats on the gridiron.
Jasmine also has innumerable personal obstacles to overcome off the field, starting with the trauma of abandonment by a father (Malcolm Goodwin) she hasn’t seen in five years. His conspicuous absence has, in turn, translated into less quality time with her exhausted mom (Tasha Smith) who has to work long hours at the diner to make ends meet.
Things are no better for Jasmine in the halls of Minden Middle School where she tries to make friends with members of the fashion club. The lonely social zero only finds herself mercilessly teased by mean girls who hand her a plunger to unclog bathroom toilets since her surname is a homonym for “plumber.”
A blessing in disguise arrives in Jasmine’s Uncle Curtis (Ice Cube), a smelly, down-and-out alcoholic who walks around their blue-collar community cradling a football every where he goes. The former high school standout’s need to clean up his act conveniently dovetails with his niece’s for a father figure and an after-school activity.
Of course, it isn’t long before Curtis is teaching her to play quarterback, and putting her on an austere training regimen, ala the Karate Kid’s Mr. Miyagi. When his promising protégé is ready, he encourages her to try out for the Browns, much to the dismay of the misogynist boys who respond to her presence with wisecracks like, “I’m going to knock her out of her training bra.”
Nonetheless, in fast order, Jasmine’s ability soon wins first their respect, then the starting job, followed by a string of wins that takes the team to the title game. While The Longshots doesn’t have nearly the charm of Akeelah and the Bee, at least this well-intentioned variation on the theme offers as wholesome and moving a message likely to be appreciated by minors.
A pleasant, if predictable, tale of female empowerment ideal for the under ten set.

Good (2 stars)
Rated PG-13 for mild epithets, mature themes and crude humor.
Running time: 94 minutes
Studio: MGM/The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer for The Longshots, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WM6w6hTfHE

What Happens in Vegas… DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Kutcher and Diaz’s Battle-of-the-Sexes Comedy Comes to DVD

New Yorker Joy McNally (Cameron Diaz) has just been unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé at a surprise birthday party she threw for him. Meanwhile, somewhere across town, slacker Jack Fuller (Ashton Kutcher) is being fired from the family business by his bitterly disappointed father (Treat Williams).
Both of these sad sacks venture to Vegas to lick their wounds, Joy accompanied by her best friend, Tipper (Lake Bell), Jack by his buddy, Hater (Rob Corddry). Fate conspires to have the four cross paths when their hotel accidentally assigns them to the same room.
And although misogynistic Hater and man-hating Tipper instantly dislike each other, Joy and Jack hit it off so well that they impulsively decide to get married after a night of imbibing and debauchery. However, by the time their hangovers wear off the next morning, they realize they have nothing in common. So, saner heads prevail and the newlyweds agree to get a quickie divorce.
But just as they are about to go their separate ways, Jack deposits one of his bride’s quarters in a slot machine, and wouldn’t you know he hits a $3,000,000 jackpot. Because they can’t agree on how to divvy up the cash amicably, the greedy couple ends up in divorce court where the judge (Dennis Miller) sentences them to live together for six months before he’ll render a decision.
Joy reluctantly moves into Jack’s apartment and the two proceed to drive each other crazy in a standoff with nothing new to offer to anyone familiar with the battle-of-the-sexes genre. He gets under her skin with alpha-male antics like urinating in the sink and leaving the toilet seat up, and she’s no angel either, relying on shrewish Tipper for advice about how to torture her hubby.
A recycled romantic comedy best left in Vegas.

Fair (1.5 stars)
Rated PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, crude humor and a drug reference
Running time: 99 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
2-Disc DVD Extras: Director’s commentary, a bonus digital copy of the film, behind the scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, theatrical trailers and additional trailers for other upcoming Fox releases.

To see a trailer for What Happens in Vegas, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJGAsbcfuRs

CNN Presents: Black in America DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: CNN Wastes No time in Releasing Over-Hyped Special on DVD

Just a month after its over-hyped special aired on TV, CNN is already releasing “Black in America” on DVD. Hosted by Soledad O’Brien, the disappointing series originally aired in two parts, the first entitled “The Black Woman and Family,” the second, “The Black Man.”
Unfortunately, each half was less a cohesive study of its subjects than a string of loosely-connected segments each introduced by lame raps by a brother in a cap. Serving up everything but the kitchen sink, it opens with the reunion of an African-American family named Rand that can trace its roots back to a white man who in the 19th Century had seven kids with his white wife and another six with his black mistress.
This storyline builds up to a first-time meeting of the black and white sides of the Rands. What a so called “white patriarch” has to do with “The Black Woman” is beyond me.
After that weird start, the slapdash investigation turns to the question of education. Here, we’re informed that half of all black kids don’t graduate from high school. What else is new? Nothing about this supposedly landmark series struck me as particularly innovative.
My biggest overall problem had to do with the program’s periodic factual inaccuracies, such as when Soledad refers to the riot which erupted in L.A. after the Rodney King decision as the most deadly U.S. riot in 100 years. She conveniently ignores other more bloody incidents like the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 when over 300 blacks were slaughtered by white militiamen. What’s up with that?
Such infuriating mistakes which I was well aware of left me wondering how accurate CNN was when citing statistics I was unfamiliar with, especially since so much anecdotal evidence about rap music, AIDS, skin color, mixed-marriages etcetera sounded awfully subjective.

Fair (1 star)
Unrated
Running time: 160 minutes
Studio: CNN

A/K/A Tommy Chong DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Chronicles Case of Pot Comic Imprisoned after Passing of the Patriot Act

Cheech & Chong were a celebrated comedy duo whose sophomoric brand of humor appealed to stoners because it basically revolved around behaving like their brains had been burnt out fom smoking pot. They came to fame in the Seventies, appearing in a seemingly neverending series of Marijuana movies in which they were typecast as goofy hippies.
After the comedy well ran dry, Chong chose to continue to milk the theme that had made them famous by selling a line of bongs and other drug paraphernalia over the Internet. The business flourished until President Bush came into office and decided to make an example of the 66 year-old head shop supplier.
Attorney General John Ashcroft set up a sting operation in Pennsylvania, one of only two states where it’s illegal to sell pipes and rolling papers. From there, federal agents called Chong in California over 20 times, trying to entrap him into sending some contraband across state lines.
Because Chong repeatedly refused, the frustrated agents finally traveled to West to place a huge order in person, promising to return to pick up the merchandise. But then they began nagging Tommy to mail the goods to an address outside Pittsburgh. After eight months, against his better judgment, he capitulated, since the boxes were taking up half his valuable storage space.
Well, that technical infraction was all that Ashcroft needed, and immediately, helmeted DEA agents with guns drawn swooped down on the house, arresting the entire Chong family. This frightening nightmare ended with Tommy behind bars after pleading guilty only to save his wife and son from a long stint in Federal prison.
A very scary documentary considering the carte blanche accorded Big brother by the Patriot Act.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 80 minutes
Studio: Infinity Entertainment
DVD Extras: an interview with Cheech and Chong, and a featurette showing Tommy at home.

Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

OPENING THIS WEEK
Kam's Kapsules:
Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
by Kam Williams
For movies opening August 29, 2008


BIG BUDGET FILMS

Babylon A.D. (PG-13 for profanity, sexuality, action sequences and intense violence) Sci-fi thriller about a mercenary (Vin Diesel) escorting a young woman (Melanie Thierry) from Russia to Canada unaware that her body is host to an organism from which a cult plans to produce a genetically-engineered Messiah. Cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Charlotte Rampling and Gerard Depardieu.

College (R for pervasive sexuality and crude humor, nudity, profanity, and drug and alcohol abuse) End-of-innocence comedy revolving around three high school seniors (Drake Bell, Kevin Covais and Andrew Caldwell) who enjoy a wild weekend at a raucous fraternity house during their visit to a prospective college.

Disaster Movie (PG-13 for profanity, drug references, slapstick violence, crude humor and sex content) Disaster flicks gets the same treatment already accorded the horror (Scary Movie), teen (Date Movie) blockbuster (Epic Movie) and historical (Meet the Spartans) genres in this zany spoof about a bunch of twenty-somethings who encounter a series of calamities over the course of one very eventful night. Ensemble cast includes Kim Kardashian, Carmen Electra and Tony Cox.

Traitor (PG-13 for brief profanity, mature themes, and intense violence) International political potboiler about a former U.S. Special Operations Officer (Don Cheadle) who finds himself subjected to close scrutiny by both FBI (Guy Pearce and Neal McDonough) and CIA (Jeff Daniels) Agents after being implicated in a series of terrorist attacks.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild (Unrated) Jonah Blechman is the only lead actor to reprise his role in this freaky follow-up to the raunchy gay-themed teensplurt ostensibly-inspired by American Pie. The sequel is set over Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida where the plan is to participate in “buttlove” and “wet package” contests. Principal cast includes Jake Mosser, Aaron Michael Davies and Jimmy Clabots, and features the flamboyant Lady Bunny and RuPaul in support roles.

I Served the King of England (R for nudity and sexuality) Flasback comedy about a social-climbing Czech busboy (Ivan Barnev) who inherits the millions his Nazi wife (Juia Jentsch) had stolen from Jews during WWII only to end up impoverished again and in prison when his fortune is confiscated by the Communists.

Maria Bethania (Unrated) Musical bio-pic chronicles the career of Brazil’s legendary Maria Bethania via a combination of concert footage and interviews with fans, family, friends and the sultry samba singer herself. (In Portuguese with subtitles)

My Mexican Shiva (Unrated) Cross-cultural comedy about the skeletons that come flying out of the closet of a dysfunctional family over the course of the week during which it gathers to mourn the passing of its patriarch (Sergio Kleiner). (In Hebrew, Spanish and Yiddish with subtitles)

Sukiyaki Western Django (R for graphic violence, including a brutal rape) Japanese, spaghetti-style Western, set during the Genpei Wars near the end of the 12th Century, revolving around a lone gunslinger (Hideaki Ito) who rides into town just in time to tame two rival gangs locked in a bloody a turf war. With a couple of quickie cameos by Quentin Tarantino.

Year of the Fish (Unrated) Animated update of Cinderella revolving around a young Asian immigrant (An Nguyen) who, upon her arrival in New York City, is forced by an evil madam (Tsai Chin) to work in a seedy Chinatown massage parlor.

Youssou N’Dour: Return to Goree (Unrated) Roots documentary retraces the route of the slave trade while simultaneously chronicling numerous recording, rap and jam sessions conducted by Youssou N’Dour as the peripatetic, Senegalese singer/percussionist and his jazz band (which includes Idris Muhammad and Pyeng Threadgill) travel from New Orleans back to Africa for a seaside concert in Dakar before a castle’s infamous door of no return. With commentary by Amiri Baraka. (In French and English with subtitles)

Life Is a Game

by Jim Copeland
Living Waters Publishing Company
Paperback, $15.95
64 pages
ISBN: 9780981453279



Book Review by Kam Williams

“The choices we make determine our destiny and whether success or disaster is achieved. We either elevate to greatness or descend to obscurity... The game of life can be played in several ways. Some spend their life chasing dreams. Others spend their life making dreams a reality. Which one will you be?
In life, it is important to use our strengths as assets in achieving our goals. If we focus too much on our weaknesses, we can and will end up average. Focusing on your strengths will allow you to an opportunity to achieve your goals at a faster rate.”
n Excerpted from the Forethought (page 9)

If you know anyone in need of a little inspiration to get their act together, then let me suggest Life Is a Game, an easy-to-read motivational piece offering some simple, straightforward and sound suggestions. Although only 64 pages long, this handy how-to treatise could help a lost soul kickstart a floundering career or find a more appropriate one.
Its author, Jim Copeland, who works as a Special Ed Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Justice inside the Federal Prison System in Texas, has a Bachelor’s in Speech Communications as well as a Master’s in Education from Texas A&M. Despite the degrees, Mr. Copeland doles out his worthwhile advice in plain language.
Each chapter heading essentially functions as a bullet-point which he then proceeds to break down in further detail, with ideas ranging from “Establish a Plan” to “Your Success Lies within You” to “What Kind of Legacy Will You Leave?” For example, he summarizes a talk on taking risks with “Sometimes you have to go where no one has gone or do something no one has done to become something no one has been.”
As for exactly what line of work one ought to pursue, the book leaves that up to you to choose. In a section entitled “Fill a Need” he suggests that you “Do a self-inventory of your gifts and talents. Find a need in society for them, and now market them.”
Believe it or not, a lot of folks don’t have the basic common sense they were born with. And it is for such ungrounded, misdirected members of society that Life Is a Game might serve as a blessing.

Trouble the Water

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Shocking Katrina Documentary Created from Real-Time, Home Movies Shot by Storm Victim

On August 28, 2005, with Hurricane Katrina bearing down on the New Orleans, Scott and Kimberly Rivers Roberts made the fateful decision to weather the storm instead of evacuate. Armed with a video camera, Kim started wandering around their Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood, interviewing friends and relatives who had also chosen to stay in the city.
It is readily apparent from watching the pre-landfall footage that none of them anticipated the dire struggle for survival which was about to unfold. Not only did they expect the levees to hold like they had for every storm since the Great Flood of 1927, but they had no reason to suspect they’d be utterly abandoned by local, state and federal authorities in the event of a massive natural disaster.
But as we all know, that’s precisely what happened, and thousands of suddenly-homeless citizens ended up stranded for days on end without any sustenance. They were forced to fend for themselves during a triple-digit heat wave, while awaiting the proverbial cavalry which never arrived.
Trouble the Water is an eye-opening documentary, which enables the audience to be a fly on the crumbling levee walls as Kim and her husband shift from carefree observers into survival mode. In virtually the blink of an eye, the atmosphere goes from ominous to desperate as the water level rises so precipitously that no one has a chance to make a dash for higher ground on foot.
Although the Roberts lived to tell the tale, the same can’t be said for all the subjects of their home movie. For example, the camera captures the shock and dismay in their eyes two weeks after the hurricane passed, when they enter the house of Kim’s uncle, who had been interviewed earlier, only to find his decomposing corpse lying in the living room. Other horror stories follow, such as the sight of an acquaintance’s aging mother whose body had been left behind with dozens of other patients in a hospital now turned morgue.
Also effectively chronicled is the constant frustration the couple encountered in dealing with FEMA bureaucrats who had the nerve to ask for documents obviously washed away. No wonder so many of the victims ended up broke, depressed, unemployed and no longer able to trust their own government.
There’s a telling scene towards the end of the picture, where a woman talks about how she’s counseled her son who wants to enter the military. “You’re not going to fight for a country that doesn’t give a damn about you,” she declares matter-of-factly. “No way!”
Raw, unfiltered and expletive-laced, but a brutally-honest flick guaranteed to give you an unsanitized picture of what life was like for the least fortunate folks in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 96 minutes
Studio: Zeitgeist Films

To see a trailer of Trouble the Water, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq426VjZD1E

I.O.U.S.A. (One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt.)

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Documentary Explains America’s Financial Crisis in Layman’s Terms

Irrational exuberance to the contrary, all you have to do is look around to see that America is in the midst of a worsening recession. From the precipitous devaluation of real estate to bank failures to the credit collapse to runaway inflation to the price of gasoline to the high unemployment rate to the devalued dollar to the exorbitant cost of waging two wars simultaneously to the bear market, it’s clear that the country has a host of money woes.
But listening to the experts and political pundits weigh-in on the subject is likely to leave you confused about why we’re in this mess. Democrats and Republicans predictably resort to blaming each other, while economists tend to explain the situation using jargon too complicated for the Average Joe to comprehend.
For this reason, director Patrick Creadon is to be commended for making I.O.U.S.A. (One Nation. Under Stress. In Debt.), a nuts and bolts documentary which seeks to explain the burgeoning financial crisis in layman’s terms. The film opens by stating the basic proposition that the most serious threat to the U.S. is our own irresponsibility when it comes to spending. America’s present predicament is then put in perspective via telling analogies of the Roman Empire shortly before its fall.
Next, Creadon cleverly sets about proving his premise by relying on a combination of archival footage and some surprisingly frank interviews with concerned, if not fed-up folks like billionaire Warren Buffett, fired Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, the late Tim Russert, CNBC’s Jim Cramer, presidential candidate Ron Paul, and former Comptroller General of the U.S. David Walker.
The conservative Congress which ran Washington until recently is referred to as schizophrenic, since it repeatedly lowered taxes while irresponsibly continuing to encourage runaway government spending. The result is an ever-escalating national debt and a record trade deficit which together threaten to burden unborn citizens for generations to come, if the country doesn’t fall apart at the seams first.
Secretary O’Neill whose words fell on the deaf ears of President Bush when he was a member of the current administration, warns that, “When you get extended to the point that you can’t service your debt, you’re finished.” Ron Paul is shown sounding an equally-dire alarm in a videotape from a House hearing in 2000 during which the Congressman tells then Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan to his face that he had so mismanaged the economy that he should start looking for another job.
Greenspan’s replacement takes it on the chin, too, his hit coming courtesy of animated Jim Cramer who shouts that “Ben Bernancke is an academic who has no idea” how bad the crisis is. “The Fed is asleep,” an exasperated Cramer concludes.
Apparently, America’s basic problem boils down to the fact it is a nation which has become addicted to credit in the wake of outsourcing so much manufacturing overseas. To balance the budget we either have to raise taxes or cut spending, because a country which consumes more than it produces is unsustainable.
Tough talk for tough times.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG for mature themes.
Running time: 85 minutes
Studio: Roadside Attractions

To see a trailer for the movie, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBo2xQIWHiM

Gloria Reuben: The Raising the Bar Interview

with Kam Williams

Headline: Gloria Reuben, Sandwiched between Performing and Philanthropy

Born in Toronto on June 9, 1964, Gloria Reuben is the second youngest of a half-dozen children born to her Jamaican, gospel singing mother and her architect father. The pretty prodigy was taught piano at an early age, and would grow up to study theory, technique, ballet and jazz at the Canadian Royal Conservatory.
At 18, she won the Miss Black Ontario beauty pageant, although the crown did not come without controversy, as some people questioned whether she was deserving because one of her parents was white. However, Gloria would be vindicated a decade later when People Magazine named her one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world.
Following the pageant, Ms. Reuben began an impressive career in film, on television, in theater and even on tour as a back-up singer to Tina Turner. She is probably best known from her work on the NBC nighttime drama ER where she played Jeanie Boulet, an HIV+ physician’s assistant.
She has also appeared on such shows as Law and Order, Numb3rs, The Agency, The District and Homicide, and in movies like The Sentinel, Shaft and Timecop. Here, she talks about her new series, Raising the Bar, which is set to premiere September 1st on TNT, and will air on Mondays at 10 PM EST (check local listings). Her character on the weekly legal drama is attorney Roz Whitman, the head of the New York City Public Defender’s Office.

KW: Hi, Gloria, I’m honored to be speaking you. What interested you in Raising the Bar?
GR: Three things. First and foremost, [7-time Emmy-winning writer] Stephen Bochko. Secondly, the book that the show was based on, called Indefensible, written by David Feige, who’s one of the writers on the show. He had been a public defender in the Bronx. And thirdly, that the story is structured in such a way as to show three different aspects of the judicial system: the viewpoints of the public defenders, of the district attorneys, and of the judges. I like how, more often than not, these three groups have different perspectives and go after things pertaining to the same human being from different angles. And I also appreciate how it sheds light on the inner workings of the criminal justice system and the corruption that sometimes goes on behind closed doors.
KW: Did you ever have an interest in becoming a lawyer?
GR: No, but I’ve always been drawn to law shows, and I’ve always been drawn to watching programs that have to do with attorneys and the judicial system.
KW: How did you prepare for the role?
GR: I live in New York, and so does David Feige, and the director, Jesse Bochco. A couple of the other cast members came out from L.A. for a research trip. We all actually spent some time up in the Bronx and down at the Centre Street Courthouse in lower Manhattan to observe exactly what happens, not only in the courtroom but during the whole process from someone getting booked, on. My character, Roz, is based on a woman named Robin [Steinberg] who runs the Bronx Public Defender’s Office. So, I spent some time with her. Of course, you want to get down the fundamentals of how she works, and what her work entails, but to me, it’s all about what’s going on emotionally.
KW: Why do you choose to live in New York instead of Hollywood?
GR: Because I lived in Hollywood for 11 years and had my fill. I’m from Toronto, so prefer the East Coast and I missed the change of seasons. I may sound crazy, but I love winter.
KW: I watched the premiere and saw that a lawyer named Richard [played by Teddy Sears] was flirting with you. Is a romantic relationship in the works for your characters?
GR: Well, if I told you the answer and spoiled it, then nobody would watch. When it comes to relationships on television shows, personally, I feel that sometimes things are defined too quickly. Then, where do you go? Nothing is really set in stone in terms of Roz’s personal life, which I like.
KW: When you have an ensemble cast and an open plotline with plenty of possibilities, do you find yourself lobbying for more screen time or certain developments?
GR: I think it’s wise to wait to see how things play out, especially when it’s a show’s first season and it hasn’t even been on the air yet. It’s kind of like shooting in a vacuum. Hopefully, there will be a next season, and we’ll get to develop storylines further or venture off into other arenas. Besides, I’m really not one to lobby, unless I feel that it’s something that very critical for my character. Plus, I have so many other things going on outside the show that I’m grateful for any free time. I wasn’t even there the last nine weekends that they were shooting in Los Angeles. I was always on a plane going somewhere.
KW: I saw that you’re going to Cape Town, South Africa to do a play about human rights, and to do some organizing around the issue of pediatric AIDS in Johannesburg. You’re known for your very extensive philanthropic work. What are some of the other causes you’ve been busy with lately?
GR: If you go to my website, www.GloriaReuben.com , it gives a synopsis of the myriad of charities I’m involved with.
KW: What came first for you, AIDS activism or playing a person who’s HIV+ on E.R.?
GR: Playing Jeanie Boulet definitely came first. And by the time I left the show, I thought my work had been done in a way. But when I recently read that AIDS was the #1 killer of black women between the ages of 25 and 34 here in the United States, I asked, “What the hell is going on?” That kind of spring-boarded me to take action again to raise awareness in our communities all around the country.
KW: Is it true that you left E.R. because you were burn out emotionally by the role?
GR: Yes, absolutely. If you look back, you’ll see that she really didn’t have a lot of fun. Because of the success of the show, which was great, it wasn’t the kind of part that you could leave behind at the end of the day. It was there all the time, which was a lot.
KW: You left the series to sing backup for Tina Turner. How was that?
GR: Amazing! Phenomenal! Fantastic! [Laughs] The best time of my life.
KW: What was the controversy surrounding your being crowned Miss Black Ontario?
GR: Gee, that was so long ago. It’s funny that you asked that. Actually, the timing is kind of perfect, because there was this thing about Obama, “Is he black enough?” That’s all I need to say about that issue.
KW: Did you feel vindicated when you were later named one of 50 Most Beautiful People in the world by People Magazine?
GR: [LOL] That’s so funny. No, I didn’t feel vindicated at all. [Laughs some more] That, too, was a long time ago. I don’t know if they would have me in it now.
KW: I don’t see why not. Time hasn’t diminished your beauty. How did you feel when you were named?
GR: Let’s put it this way, it was certainly a nice compliment.
KW: Bookworm Troy Johnson asks: What was the last book you read?
GR: The last book I read was called On Writing by Stephen King.
KW: Tasha Smith asks: Are you ever afraid?
GR: Well, yeah, just like anybody else is.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
GR: [Pauses] 100% of the time? No. I think I would have to be on some kind of drugs to be happy all the time. But I’m very content and filled with gratitude for the most part. Yes.
KW: The Heather Covington question: What music are you listening to nowadays?
GR: Coldplay.
KW: is there any question that nobody’s ever asked you, that you wish someone would?
GR: [Pauses] That’s a good question. I don’t know how to answer that. [Pauses] The only thing that pops into my mind is: How can I persuade my friends to get tested for HIV?
KW: Okay, how can I persuade my friends to get tested for HIV?
GR: Go with them, and get tested at the same time. It only takes 20 minutes.
KW: How do you want to be remembered?
GR: Just as someone who maybe made a difference in at least one person’s life?
KW: Thanks for the time Gloria, and best of luck in all your endeavors.
GR: Thanks, and the same to you.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Spain Provides Breathtaking Backdrops for Romantic Romp from Woody Allen

Although Woody Allen will forever remain most closely associated with his beloved hometown, the New York City native has proven to be a cinematic expatriate as of late, shooting his last four films over in Europe. Vicky Cristina Barcelona, his first set in Spain, proves to be his most impressive offering since Match Point. In fact, this delightful romantic comedy is easily on par with the best battle-of-the-sexes classics he made in the prime of his career, movies like Annie Hall (1977), Manhattan (1979) and Hannah and Her Sisters (1986).
Now well into his seventies, the legendary actor/writer/director has opted to stay behind the camera, turning to this year’s Oscar-winner, Javier Bardem (for No Country for Old Men), to fill his familiar role as the highly-neurotic leading man in the midst of a relationship crisis. And Allen doesn’t even provide his trademark voiceover here, instead tapping Christopher Evan Welch to serve as an omniscient narrator.
The film revolves around a messy love quadrangle, no pentangle, which unfolds against a variety of visually-bracing Barcelona backdrops. At the point of departure we’re introduced to Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), a couple of American tourists in town for the summer. It is immediately established that these best friends are as different as night and day, especially when it comes to men.
Conventional Vicky is engaged to Doug (Chris Messina), a reliable provider she already finds a bit boring. Relatively-irresponsible Cristina, on the other hand, is an adventurous free-spirit more interested in finding passion than commitment.
So, it’s no surprise that they have diametrically-opposed initial reactions upon being approached by the proverbial tall, dark and handsome stranger who spotted them from across a crowded room. Juan Antonio (Bardem), a local artist and notorious womanizer, simultaneously invites them to join him aboard a private plane for a romantic, overnight escape to Oviedo, proposing that they both might like to share his bed at the end of the evening.
While Vicky reflexively recoils in disgust at the explicit overture, Cristina is flattered and finds herself attracted to all the drama seemingly surrounding the dangerous, Latin bad boy, especially because he’d once been stabbed by his unstable wife. Assured that hot-headed Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) is now living contentedly with an architect in Madrid, the two accompany Juan Antonio to Oviedo, though with no intentions of being seduced by him.
Shockingly, Vicky lets down her defenses and sleeps with Juan Antonio the first night, though keeping their liaison a secret, since she’s about to be married. Cristina soon follows suit, and even shacks up with him back in Barcelona when their torrid affair takes off.
The plot thickens when crazy Maria Elena shows up unannounced, suicidal and desperately in need of a place to stay. Juan Antonio still has a weak spot for his ex, and lets her move in, too. It’s easy to imagine the sort of hilarious hijinks Woody Allen might script for a trio of frustrated females vying for the attentions and affections of a hapless hunk whose trying to please all three at once. And just when you think the situation couldn’t possibly get any more complicated, fifth wheel Doug decides to fly to Spain to see his fiancée.
Featuring sublime support performances by Patricia Clarkson and Kevin Dunn, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is vintage Woody Allen not to be missed. For it’s not merely a madcap misadventure, but also a thought-provoking cautionary tale juxtaposing blind adherence to American Puritanical values against some more open-minded alternative ways of relating.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for sexuality, smoking and mature themes.
In Catalan, English and Spanish with subtitles
Running time: 96 minutes
Studio: MGM/The Weinstein Company

To see a trailer of Vicky Cristina Barcelona, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gYTEWGVYwg

Freshman Orientation DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Drama Features Frosh Faking Being Gay to Date Girl of His Dreams

Clay Adams (Sam Huntington) is a freshman from Oshkosh, Wisconsin who has just matriculated at a large state university. The hot-to-trot 18 year-old arrived on campus naïvely expecting to party, drink beer and pick up girls. But he soon finds that coeds won’t give him the time of day, since they sense that he’s on the make and only interested in fulfilling his sexual fantasies.
This proves especially frustrating when it comes to Amanda (Kaitlin Doubleday), the sorority girl Clay soon sets his sight on. So, he comes up with a novel way of worming his way into her heart, namely, by making believe he’s gay. The idea is that girls have no qualms about hanging around homosexuals, because they won’t be pressuring them romantically.
Therefore, Clay comes out of the closet and joins the school’s gay support group, thereby gaining Amanda’s confidence. He even starts frequenting the local gay bar downtown, where he takes lessons on looking the part from Rodney (John Goodman), a genderbending bartender.
The problem is that he does such a great job posing that Amanda can only see him as a friend. To add insult to injury, he finds himself having to fend off unwanted passes, and he even turns into something of a campus cause celebre after claiming to be the victim of a gay bashing by frat boys.
So unfolds the subtly-titled Freshman Orientation, a teensploit turning on a clever twist of the genre’s trademark theme. For while most makeover movies feature a female making herself more attractive, this flick has a male deliberately doing the opposite.
Despite an engaging premise, the promising picture turns out to be surprisingly tame for all its iconoclastic pretensions.

Good (2 stars)
Rated R for sexuality, profanity, female frontal nudity and drug use.
Running time: 91 minutes
Studio: Screen Media Films

To see a trailer of Freshman Orientation, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL7lLCFA1K0

Street Kings DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams



Headline: High-Impact Splatter Flick Arrives on DVD



It’s never a good sign when a movie makes you laugh out loud at dialogue intended to be taken seriously. But this is exactly the reaction elicited by this unintentionally funny, shoot ‘em up loosely based on a crime yarn by James Ellroy.

The story is set in Los Angeles, and revolves around the goings-on inside a trigger-happy police department so crooked that cops don’t think twice before shooting a perp or even a fellow officer about to break the blue wall of silence. For, they can always count on the head of Internal Affairs (Hugh Laurie) to look the other way.

Such is the case with Detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves), an alcoholic widower on the vice squad who considers himself above the law. Drinking heavily since his wife’s murder, he has no qualms about unleashing a torrent of racial epithets in the direction of suspects before blowing them away before planting weapons on their bodies with the help of his boss (Forest Whitaker).

Everything comes to a head the day that Ludlow bumps into his estranged former partner (Terry Crews), at a convenience store just as a couple of machine gun-toting thugs (Common and Cle Shaheed Sloan) are about to rob the place. When the smoke clears, the gangstas have escaped and Washington and the cashier lay dead.

Ludlow’s subsequent quest for the truth uncovers a pattern of corruption all the way to the top of the department. Unfortunately, Street Kings is a disaster for several simple reasons: a preposterous premise, less credible plot twists, too much gratuitous violence, too many ethnic slurs, an absence of likable characters plus another wooden performance from Keanu Reeves.

When you have trouble reading a hero’s motivations at every turn, the result is a comical headscratcher like this unmitigated mess.



Fair (1 stars)

Rated R for graphic violence, ethnic slurs and pervasive profanity.

Running time: 109 minutes

Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

DVD Extras: Commentary by director David Ayer.


To see a trailer for Street Kings, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWtaMmDYUkA

Quid Pro Quo DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Psychological Thriller Coming to DVD Explores a Bizarre Erotic Compulsion

On April 5, 1989, Isaac Knott (Nick Stahl) survived a horrible automobile accident in which both of his parents (Michal Sinnott and Joshua Leonard) perished. Not only did the grieving eight year-old have to handle the emotional burden of suddenly being orphaned, but he also had to adjust to being a paraplegic, and the frustration caused by the overwhelming urge to stand up and walk again.
Fortunately, Isaac never let the infirmity hold him back, and he went on to become a successful radio reporter in New York City. In this capacity, he receives an anonymous tip about a man who has asked a doctor to amputate one of his perfectly good legs. Curious about why anyone would want to be a cripple, the intrepid journalist decides to determine whether there’s any truth to the bizarre rumor.
His ensuing investigation leads to Fiona (Vera Farmiga), a curator of Chinese artifacts who confesses to having her own erotic compulsion to become physically handicapped. As she explains it, she thinks of herself as a paralyzed person in a healthy body. What’s more, she offers to introduce Isaac to other weirdoes who share her mental disorder. Soon, he finds himself immersed in a kinky subculture he had no idea existed.
This is the deceptive premise of Quid Pro Quo, a twisted psychological thriller marking the brilliant, if decidedly macabre, directorial debut of Carlos Brooks. However, the film is far more than a well-crafted conundrum exploring the motivations of confused wannabe cripples. For, en route to uncovering the answers, sexual tension and other surprises arise between the protagonists, and the two take out time to pursue both passion and the past.
An outsider adventure strictly for the very open-minded, presenting the numbness of paralysis, ironically, as a potential source of paroxysms of pleasure.

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for sexuality and profanity.
Running time: 82 minutes
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
DVD Extras: Commentary and deleted scenes.

To see a trailer of Quid Pro Quo, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EHeQm5oYkw

Tropic Thunder

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Controversial Action Comedy Is Ben Stiller’s Brainchild

You know you’re asking for trouble when you make a movie with a white actor in blackface wearing a lower lip extension who’s always talking jive jibberish, and with a mentally-challenged character who’s repeatedly teased about his disability. After all, in these more-enlightened times, it’s not exactly politically-correct to refer to a dimwitted boy as “the dumbest [expletive] that ever lived” or to have a modern-day minstrel mimicking African-American street vernacular.
Consequently, it’s no surprise that all the advance buzz for Tropic Thunder, written and directed by Ben Stiller, has focused on picket lines and boycotts, instead of on the basic question of whether or not the film is otherwise worthwhile. Regrettably, the teen demographic which finds such crass fare so irresistible probably could care less about the picture’s mean-spiritedness provided it keeps them in stitches. Therefore, at the end of the weekend, Tropic Thunder’s take at the box-office is likely to depend more on the degree to which kids enjoy its irreverent brand of humor than on if its redeeming qualities outweigh any insensitivity in its depiction of minorities.
Superficially, the storyline sounds innocuous enough. It revolves around a Vietnam War buddy flick being shot on location. Early on, we learn that each of the film’s five co-stars has his own selfish reason for participating in the project. Tugg Speedman (Stiller) is trying to rebound from a poorly-received outing as the intellectually-stunted Simple Jack. Heroin-addicted Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) wants to overhaul his image after a kiddie hit filled with fat and fart jokes.
Australian Oscar-winner Kirk (Robert Downey, Jr.) likes the challenge of playing an African-American, while Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) is a hot hip-hop artist out to parlay his musical success into a screen career. Finally, there’s Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), a virtual unknown who’s just happy to get his big break in a summer blockbuster.
However, disaster strikes soon after their arrival in Southeast Asia, when the director (Steve Coogan) is blown to bits by a land mine. It turns out that they’ve been mistaken as enemy invaders by bloodthirsty guerillas running a drug-smuggling operation. So suddenly, these clueless, pampered Hollywood actors suddenly have to fend for themselves in the jungle.
This, of course, proves to be easier said than done and, more importantly, provides plenty of fodder for a surprisingly clever satire of the war movie genre. For the aforementioned actor archetypes replace such classic army flick staples as the sage sergeant, the gung-ho grizzled veteran, the nerdy medic and the frightened raw recruit.
Yes, Tropic Thunder is an intelligent and frequently funny film with some profound points to make about the shallowness of the movie industry. Unfortunately, those relatively-subtle insights are destined to be lost on audiences too busy laughing at all the slapstick and cruel humor coming at the expense of minorities to bother appreciate any deeper message.
Next time, maybe Ben Stiller won’t feel a need to pander to the lowest common denominator by resorting to a profusion of profanity and the “R” and “N” words.

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for violence, drug use, sexual references, ethnic slurs, coarse humor and pervasive profanity.
Running time: 107 minutes
Studio: Paramount Pictures

To see a trailer of Tropic Thunder, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pxOzSpUXtg

Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

OPENING THIS WEEK
Kam's Kapsules:
Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
by Kam Williams
For movies opening August 22, 2008


BIG BUDGET FILMS

Death Race (R for profanity and graphic violence) High-adrenaline, sci-fi thriller, set in 2020, revolving around a NASCAR champion (Jason Statham) imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit who is forced by the warden (Joan Allen) to drive a monster car equipped with machine guns and flamethrowers through a gauntlet of bloodthirsty inmates in a grisly, nationally-televised game of kill or be killed. Cast includes Tyrese, Ian McShane and Natalie Martinez.

Hamlet 2 (R for profanity, nudity, sexual references and drug content) Over-the-top comedy, set in Tucson, about the efforts of a failed actor-turned-drama teacher (Steve Coogan) to stage a politically-incorrect sequel to Hamlet over the objection of the high school’s administration. Cast includes Catherine Keener, Melonie Diaz, Elisabeth Shue, David Arquette and SNL’s Amy Poehler.

The House Bunny (PG-13 for profanity, partial nudity and sex-related humor) titillating teensploitation flick about a Playboy bunny (Anna Faris) kicked out of the mansion by Hef on her 27th birthday for being too old who takes a job as a sorority housemother before proceeding to makeover some of the homeliest coeds on campus.

The Longshots (Unrated) Overcoming-the-odds sports saga chronicles the real-life tale of a pigtailed, 11 year-old tomboy (Keke Palmer) who, with the help of her uncle (Ice Cube), became the first girl in league history to play Pop Warner football. Cast includes Tasha Smith, David Banner and Earthquake.

The Rocker (PG-13for nudity, profanity, drug use and sexual references) Rainn Wilson stars in this musical comedy about a drummer booted out of a big-hair band back in the Eighties who makes the most of a second chance to indulge his rock & roll fantasies 20 years later when he joins his nephew’s (Josh Gad) group to play at a high school prom. Ensemble cast includes Christina Applegate, Jeff Garlin, Jane Krakowski, Howard Hesseman, Will Arnett, Fred Armisen and fifth Beatle Pete Best.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Dare Not Walk Alone (Unrated) Desegregation documentary revisits St. Augustine, Florida in 1964 during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, a time when the city was forced to face the dehumanizing effects of racial discrimination.

I.O.U.S.A. (PG for mature themes) Devalued-dollar documentary explores America’s burgeoning financial crisis and how its ever-escalating national debt is threatening to bankrupt the country.

Momma’s Man (Unrated) Dysfunctional family drama about a jaded, thirty-something businessman (Matt Boren) who abandons his wife (Dana Varon) and newborn in L.A. to move back in with his parents (Ken and Flo Jacobs) in NYC where he nostalgically attempts to recreate the magic of his childhood.

Richard Serra: Thinking on Your Feet (Unrated) Art for art’s sake documentary chronicles sculptor Richard Serra’s creation of “The Matter of Time,” a mammoth steel piece commissioned by the Guggenheim for $20 million. Includes interviews with composer Philip Glass and other colleagues.

The Sensation of Sight (R for profanity) David Strathairn stars in this mid-life crisis drama about an English teacher who tries another line of work as an encyclopedia door-to-door salesman in the wake of a personal tragedy that’s left him plunged in the depths of despair. With Ann Cusack, Scott Wilson and Jane Adams.

Trouble the Water (Unrated) Hurricane Katrina documentary retraces the efforts of a young couple, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, to survive on their own in New Orleans during the absence of any relief effort in the wake of the disaster.

A Girl Cut in Two (FRENCH)

(La Fillee Coupee en Deux)
Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Weathergirl Forecasts Stormy Love Triangle in Romance Drama from Claude Chabrol

Gabrielle (Ludivine Sagnier) is a television weathergirl in France whose star is rapidly rising. Afterall, the popular blonde-of-the-moment has just landed a plum position as host of her own talk show called “Icing on the Cake.”
Unfortunately, her career takes a backseat to her love life soon after she crosses paths with the dashing Charles Saint-Denis (Francois Berleand), a famous novelist she meets when he comes to the station as a guest to plug his latest best seller. What she doesn’t know is that although he’s been married for over 25 years, his long-suffering wife (Valeria Cavalli) has learned to put up with her philandering husband’s flagrant womanizing.
Consequently, Gabrielle allows herself to fall under the aging playboy’s spell, unaware that she means no more to him than another notch on his belt. And after a whirlwind romance during which she’s wined and dined, the naïve newscaster is ill-prepared to be seduced and abandoned. So, she’s shocked to find herself soon dumped summarily by the cruel player, who is heartless enough to change the locks on the pied-a-terre to which he’d given her a key.
Fortunately, Gabrielle has an ardent admirer (Benoit Magimel) waiting in the wings in Paul Gaudens, and he just happens to be not only much younger than Charles but also the filthy rich heir to an industrial fortune. Strategizing, the jilted jet-setter starts entertaining the advances of Mr. Moneybags just to make her ex jealous, and when that doesn’t work she escalates matters by accepting his marriage proposal.
The way Gabrielle figures it, she’ll still be able to sleep with her true love, Charles, and now they will both be cheating. What she forgot to factor in was the possibility that Paul’s finding out might lead to a crime of passion.
So, unfolds A Girl Cut in Two, the latest offering from the legendary
Claude Chabrol, a master talespinner who hasn’t lost anything off his fastball at the age of 78. This intriguing character study relies on the trademarks of the French romance genre, namely, dialogue, coupling, smoking, uncoupling followed by more of the same.
An ill-fated love triangle with an alarming twist leading to a sobering message for shameless gold-diggers and suave Casanovas alike.


Excellent (3.5 stars)
Unrated
In French with subtitles.
Running time: 115 minutes
Studio: IFC Films

To see a trailer of A Girl Cut in Two, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pj5PaLxpwgA

Be a Father to Your Child: Real Talk from Black Men on Family, Love and Fatherhood

by April R. Silver
Soft Skull Press
Paperback, $17.95
218 pages, Illustrated
ISBN: 978-1-59376-192-9



Book Review by Kam Williams

“I will be completely candid here and say that I have carried around a great deal of resentment toward older Black men since my father disowned me when I was eight years-old. Indeed, I have had little tolerance, little respect, and very little interest in what most of them have to say for themselves.
It is the worst form of cowardice to bring a child into the world and then abandon that child either because you cannot cope or because you and the child’s mother are not able to get along. How many Black boys and Black girls have had their emotional beings decimated by that father void?
How does one break the vicious cycle, begun on the plantations, of Black man as stud? [And] what of slavery… which lingers still in the collective bosom of Black men in America? So how could I really be mad at my father… that no-good do-for-nothing, as my mother often referred to him?
I may never see the man again in my lifetime, don’t care to, really, but I know… he is wounded… like older Black men and like a lot of younger Black men in a state of arrested development.”
Excerpted from “What Is a Man?” by Kevin Powell (pages 34-35)

How does the Hip-Hop Generation view fatherhood? Depending on whose statistics you believe, anywhere from 70 to 85% of black kids are now being raised by single-moms. This suggests that African-American males raised during the heyday of misogynistic gangsta rap might be unwilling to shoulder their fair share of the burden when it comes to parenting.
But before you jump to conclusions, you might want to read Be a Father to Your Child: Real Talk from Black Men on Family, Love and Fatherhood. Edited by April Silver, the book is a collection of empowering essays by black men born between 1965 and 1989 who have not abandoned their children.
Each contributor shares his unique perspective, some of which you are bound to find a little surprising. For instance, Bakari Kitwana, author of such seminal cultural touchstones as The Hip-Hop Generation and Why White Kids Like Hip-Hop, readily admits to being “old-fashioned” and that the bulk of the music he writes about is off-limits for his own eight year-old son.
Then there’s hip-hop artist Talib Kweli, a father of two, who says, “Education is the key of a wonderful life.” He also acknowledges that rap has served as a surrogate father, filling in for absentee dads. But he warns that the music only “teaches you how to appear like a man.” Also among the two-dozen young sages weighing-in are professors William Jelani Cobb, James Peterson and Alford A. Young, Jr., filmmakers Aaron Lloyd and Byron Hunt, DJ Davey D, rapper Rhymfest and playwright Shaun Neblett.
Be a Father to Your Child amounts to a heartening mix of poetry, prose and pictures which combine to reassure skeptics about the prospects for the black family, the daily dire predictions of the mainstream media notwithstanding. For if these dedicated brothers were able to overcome the odds and avoid the self-destructive paths glorified in the materialistic, violent and misanthropic music videos on which they were weaned during their formative years, there is indeed plenty of promise for this and future generations of African-American dads.

One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Documentary Chronicles Born-again African-American’s Salvation via Sermonizing and Painting

Albert Wagner (1924-2006) freely acknowledges that he frittered away his first half-century on Earth chasing skirts to the point that his wanton ways left him on the brink of ruin. A slave to wine and women, he fathered 20 children between his wife and his mistresses.
He would bottom out while spending time behind bars when he was accused of sexually molesting one of his own kids. He admitted committing the act of incest, and considered himself lucky not to have received a stiff sentence of five years instead of just five days.
Blaming his profligate behavior not only on lust, but on a combination of racism and narcissism, Albert turned a new leaf after God spoke to him through a piece of wood on his 50th birthday. From that point forward, the shameless sinner reformed, dedicating his life to Jesus and seeking salvation by creating Christian-themed paintings and by preaching as an ordained minister.
Having spawned such a large extended family, Reverend Wagner discovered that he had a ready-made congregation in his own relatives. Meanwhile, he also met with success as a prolific, self-taught folk artist, first in his hometown of Cleveland, and then all across the country, as word of his colorful masterpieces started to spread.
The arc of Albert’s life from heathen to hero is chronicled by One Bad Cat, a compelling documentary narrated by stentorian-throated Delroy Lindo. The biopic was shot mostly on location at the subject’s home/studio shortly before the ailing octogenarian’s death, although director Thomas Miller also mixes in some interesting archival footage.
The charismatic Wagner proves to be as controversial a figure as you’re going to encounter onscreen, as he somehow comes off as simultaneously likable and despicable. Yes, he strikes you as sincerely Born Again, but this belated conversion came only long after his having apparently wreaked enough havoc to leave lots of females’ fragile psyches emotionally-shredded.
Yep, this was definitely one bad mother (shut your mouth!) who could have written a Bible for today’s ghetto gangstas on how to be a player.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 81 minutes
Studio: Tesseract Films
Distributor: IFC Center

To see a trailer of One Bad Cat, visit: http://www.onebadcat.net/Trailer.shtml

Brandon T. Jackson: The Tropic Thunder Interview

with Kam Williams

Headline: Brandon on Breakout Role in Tropic Thunder

Brandon T Jackson was born in Detroit on March 7, 1984 to preachers Bishop Wayne T. and Dr. Beverly Y. Jackson. One of seven siblings, he credits his father for his sense of humor, and says some additional inspiration comes from such icons as Sinbad, Martin Lawrence, Will Smith and Chris Tucker.
Ever the class clown, Brandon’s passion for comedy led to his doing talent shows and going onstage during youth nights at his family’s church. By age 14, his career as a stand‑up comic had already evolved from local school shows to community projects such as the Motor City Youth Festival.
After graduating from West Bloomfield High School, he headed to Hollywood to take a shot at showbiz as a standup comedian. Not long thereafter, he was discovered while performing at the Laugh Factory.
As his stature gradually grew, Jackson received offers to open for such stars as Chris Tucker and Wayne Brady. And he subsequently appeared on “Showtime at the Apollo” and BET’s “Comic View.” Critical acclaim eventually led to film roles in Ali, 8 Mile and Envy, as well as being cast as Bow Wow’s best friend, Junior, in “Roll Bounce.”
Recently, he launched the “Teens of Comedy Tour” presented by BET which featured Lil JJ’ and some of the nation’s funniest teenage comedians. He also hosted the “Up Close and Personal Tour” headlined by Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Lil Wayne, Juelz Santana and Dem Franchize Boyz, and he can currently be seen as a cast member on MTV’s “Wild ‘N Out.”
Communicating with and motivating youth is a mission etched in Brandon’s heart, so when not working he spends his time reaching back to help kids take their lives to the next level. Here, the 24 year-old role model talks about his latest picture, Tropic Thunder, an action comedy co-starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr.

KW: Hi Brandon, thanks for the time.
BJ: Whazzup?
KW: Congratulations on Tropic Thunder!
BJ: Thank you, man.
KW: What interested you in this role?
BJ: You know what? I read the script and it was really funny. So, I decided to go audition for it. And after auditioning for the role about a dozen times, Ben [director Ben Stiller] finally said, “You’re the one for the part.”
KW: That’s a lot of call backs.
BJ: Yeah, it was a lot of work.
KW: How was it being directed by Ben after that?
BJ: When we got on the set, all this magic just started happening from there. It was great, man, because he’s so intense, and he knows how to get what he needs out of you. As an African-American comedian, I was used to playing more to the punch line, and he showed me how to stay within the character instead of going for the joke. It was all magic.
KW: So, did you have to stick closely to the script?
BJ: No, I had to stick closely to the character. Any deviations or ad-libs had to be consistent with the character.
KW: You co-starred with Ben and a couple of other big-name actors in Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr., who was in blackface. How was that/
BJ: It was crazy! Robert would stay in character the whole time. Ben would yell “Cut!” and Robert would say things like, “I’m a go back to the trailer to get some barbecued chicken. You want to come with me Brandon?”
KW: Did you feel like you were making an action film, a comedy, or both?
BJ: Both. Unfortunately, a lot of the action sequences didn’t survive the final edit. I understand that a movie can only be a certain length, but why have us shoot so much stuff just to cut it out. It was very taxing on my body
KW: It’ll all probably be on the DVD. Did you have to adopt a special diet or training regimen for the rigorous role?
BJ: Yeah, I ate plenty of potatoes and fish. I was only 22 at the time, and needed to get bigger to hang with the big dogs. So, I was lifting weights, and working out in Ben’s gym.
KW: How did you do when you appeared on Showtime at the Apollo?
BJ: I killed.
KW: What’s it like trying to be a comedian when you’re the son of two preachers?
BJ: Hard. It’s tough. You have to try to balance both worlds. But it’s a job, and what I do in my personal life and my business life are two different things. It’s like how if you’re a lawyer and have to represent criminals, that doesn’t mean you don’t have certain core values. My personal beliefs are different from what I do for a living. In the final analysis, my job is to bring joy to people’s lives. If they’re laughing, then it’s not a bad thing. That’s how I feel about it. I’m a comedian.
KW: Do you ever feel pressure to work clean because of your folks?
BJ: I did at first when I was kid. Now, it’s a little weird when I perform in front of my father, and he sees me cussin’. I’m not really used to that, but at the same time, this is what I do for a livin’. You know what I mean?
KW: Yep. Everyone calls you Chris Tucker’s protégé. Who would you say are your main influences?
BJ: Will Smith and Chris Tucker.
KW: Are you thinking of doing your own TV sitcom?
BJ: No, I want to stick to film.
KW: Is there any question no reporter has asked you, that you wished someone would?
BJ: That one right there. That’s a good question.
KW: Bookworm Troy Johnson wants to know, what was the last book you read?
BJ: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.
KW: That’s the same book Mike Epps said he read last. The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
BJ: Yeah, I am. It’s a good time in my life right now.
KW: “Realtor to the Stars” Jimmy Bayan’s question: Where in L.A. do you live?
BJ: The Valley.
KW: Are you ever afraid?
BJ: Yeah, I’m afraid of failure.
KW: Do you have website where fans can reach you?
BJ: Yeah, www.myspace.com/brandontjackson and you can even put my phone number in the article, (323) 622-8110, if anybody wants to talk to me on my fan line.
KW: How do you want to be remembered?
BJ: As one of the greatest comedians who ever walked the Earth.
KW: You’re from Detroit. What do you think of the city’s embattled Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick? Should he step down at this point?
BJ: He has to stop the b.s. now. It’s too much. Come on, dog, you can’t be doing all that. It’s too hot, If he’s going to step up and be a good mayor, then he should stop playing around. We need hope right now. The country has many serious problems which need to be addressed and too many politicians have failed us. Enough! Stop b.s’ing.
KW: Do you consider yourself religious?
BJ: How come only black reporters ask me that? Black and white people have a totally different view of religion. Of course, I believe in God, and I’m definitely a Christian, but at the same time, I’m in this business. So I find the question annoying, because I’d prefer to be able to keep my spirituality to myself.
KW: The only reason I ask is because your parents are preachers.
BJ: I hate to cut you short, but I have to go.
KW: Well, thanks for the time, and good luck with everything.
BJ: Cool man, I apologize. I never do people like this, but I’m really late for this other thing.
KW: No problem, just promise me another interview with your next movie when you’re a big star.
BJ: I will. You got it.

To see a trailer of Tropic Thunder, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pxOzSpUXtg

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

Film Review by Kam Williams



Headline: Lonely Hearts Rendezvous on New Year’s Eve in Offbeat Romantic Comedy



It’s December 31st, and Wilson (Scoot McNairy) is about to finish the worst year of his life. Since moving to L.A. recently, the struggling screenwriter hasn’t been able to sell any of his comedy scripts, plus, he’s been dumped by his girlfriend, Karen (Via Osgood). As a result, he’s lonely and practically broke with no plans for the night.

In the middle of the day, the miserable 29 year-old sits in front of his computer soaking his woes in beer and weed while pleasuring himself by looking at naked pictures of his roommate’s (Brian Maguire) cute girlfriend, Min (Kathleen Luong). Then, when the couple comes home unexpectedly and catches him in the act, she is flattered, but Jacob is infuriated.

The latter insists that Wilson ought to find his own woman, and suggests that it’s not even too late to find some companionship for New Year’s Eve. So, he places a personal ad on Craig’s List online, and soon sets up a 4 PM rendezvous with Vivian (Sara Simmonds), an inscrutable temptress who inaccurately describes herself as a 300 lb. dominatrix.

When they meet at a restaurant, it’s lust at first sight for Wilson, since she looks a whole lot better than billed. Still, because he’s only one of a number of strangers she’s invited there for a speed date, he has to wait for her to finish auditioning his competition.

And even after she settles on Wilson, it’s not exactly smooth sailing, as this girl has a lot of skeletons in her closet. First, the attractive weirdo announces that she’s only 17, then insists that they pray together, before then informing him that, “This isn’t get laid for free night.” Although it’s obvious Wilson won’t be by himself this New Year’s Eve, as you might guess, their ensuing date turns out to be anything but predictable.

So unfolds In Search of a Midnight Kiss, an offbeat romantic comedy written and directed by Alex Holdridge. Shot entirely in black and white, this endearing, low budget indie offers as compelling a combination of character development, credible dialogue and surprising plot twists as you’re likely to encounter between now and New Year’s Eve.

A sobering cinematic treat which puts a whole new spin on Auld Lang Syne!



Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 98 minutes

Studio: IFC Films



To see a trailer for In Search of a Midnight Kiss, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPQ-QGtegUI

Pineapple Express

Film Review by Kam Williams



Headline: Graphic Stoner Comedy Revolves around Slackers on the Run from Sadistic Gangsters



Typically, Marijuana movies revolve around a couple of spaced-out slackers on the run who end up embroiled in a series of madcap misadventures while stoned out of their minds. Whether they’re eluding the authorities, buying more pot, getting double-crossed by pushers, seeking sustenance to satisfy the munchies, or all of the above, the point of these otherwise pointless road pictures is simply to celebrate getting high and rebellion for rebellion’s sake.

Although the legendary Cheech & Chong (Up in Smoke, Still Smokin’, etcetera) seemed to have milked the genre dry back in the Eighties, that hasn’t discouraged other comedy teams such as Redman and Method Man (How High) and John Cho & Kal Penn (Harold & Kumar) from subsequently taking a shot at the dope-driven buddy flick. Now, Pineapple Express features Seth Rogen and James Franco as the latest duo endeavoring to generate a little chemistry while consuming cannabis.

This variation on the shopworn theme opens with a black-and-white flashback to 1937, where we find scientists in an underground laboratory closely monitoring the behavior of a U.S. soldier (Bill Hader) through a one-way mirror as he participates in a top secret study on the effects of smoking weed. The subject so thoroughly enjoys himself that the government decides to dispose of him and to declare the substance illegal.

From that irrelevant sidebar, the film fast-forwards to the present to introduce 25 year-old Dale Denton (Rogen), a very inventive process server who dons different costumes in order to serve subpoenas to unsuspecting defendants. After paying a visit to his teenage girlfriend Angie (Amber Heard) at her high school, he stops by his dealer Saul’s (Franco) place to buy a quarter-pound of a potent new strain of pot called Pineapple Express.

High as a kite, he leaves to serve papers on a guy named Ted Jones (Gary Cole), and arrives just in time to witness the ruthless mob boss murder a member of a rival Asian gang with the help of a crooked cop (Rosie Perez). They notice Dale driving off, but the only clue they have to go on is the roach of Pineapple Express he dropped on the street in all the panic.

It’s not long before they trace the weed back to him and Saul, and the chase is on. Ted sicks his goons (Craig Robinson and Kevin Corrigan) on the pair, and what ensues is an ever-escalating display of outrageously violent antics which might best be described as the Three Stooges, only with guns and gore, oh, and lots of smoke, too.

Sidesplitting, high attrition-rate, S&M slapstick where you get to savor the sight of characters getting tortured to death about five times each, if that’s your bag of grass. With memorable performances by Ed Begley, Jr. and Nora Dunn as Angie’s overprotective parents, and Danny R. McBride as Red, a fey, back-stabbing stool pigeon.



Excellent (4 stars)

Rated R for graphic violence, incessant drug use, pervasive profanity, crude humor and sexual references.

Running time: 112 minutes

Studio: Columbia Pictures



To see a trailer of Pineapple Express, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQqUyBN4g8M

I'm Through with White Girls DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Comedy Comes to DVD about a Brother Cured of a Case of Jungle Fever

Although he’s African-American, Jay Brooks (Anthony Montgomery) doesn’t date black girls, basically because every one he’s met has been more interested in the athletic type of guy. And he’s a nerdy underachiever who not only wears glasses, but can’t dance, chain smokes and isn’t exactly good in bed. Worse, his salary isn’t enough for him to own a car, which makes it almost impossible to wine and dine a woman.
Still, these failings haven’t prevented the roaming Romeo from finding one white girl after another eager to sleep with him. The only problem is that none of those liaisons ever lasts because Jay always sabotages them at the first sign that a partner wants to get serious.
Reflecting upon his series of failed relationships with Caucasians, Jay decides it’s time to try to see if he can find a suitable match from among his own people afterall. So, he puts into motion Operation Brown Sugar, running a personal ad seeking a sister.
Jay proceeds to audition a string of losers without any luck, until by chance he is introduced by a mutual friend (Kellee Stewart) to Catherine (Lia Johnson), a free-spirit whose colorful hair extensions prompt him to remark, “I didn’t know black girls grew blue hair.” Not one to be intimidated, the feisty fiction writer snaps back, “I didn’t know you could smoke through a straw.”
So, unfolds I'm Through with White Girls, a battle-of-the-sexes comedy marking the delightful directorial debut of Jennifer Sharp. Alternately entertaining and enlightening, this hilariously funny flick is proof positive that it’s possible to shoot a sophisticated romantic romp on a shoe-string budget.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for profanity, an ethnic slur and sexual references.
Running time: 93 minutes
Studio: Turn Soul Films
Distributor: Image Entertainment
DVD Extras: Deleted and extended scenes, Lamman Rucker audition tape, theatrical trailer, commentary by co-star/producer Lia Robinson and director Jennifer Sharp, and two featurettes.

To see a trailer of the film, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyMyjLUiu7o

Smart People DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams



Headline: DVD Features Ellen Page in Familiar Role in Dysfunctional Family Comedy



Is Ellen Page capable of playing anything besides a wisecracking, suburban teen with a major attitude? If not, she’s in danger of being typecast till she’s too old to play another variation of Juno, the spunky, social outcast for which she landed her Oscar-nomination.

Meanwhile you’ll just have to settle for the latest incarnation of that flip persona in Smart People, a dysfunctional-family drama which might as well have been titled Smart Aleck. Ellen plays Vanessa Wetherhold, a high school senior who’s too much of an elitist to bother having friends or fun.

Instead, the academic overachiever spends her free time practicing for the SATs in quest of a stratospheric score. Ever since the death of her mother, her father (Dennis Quaid), a pompous college professor, has been emotionally-unavailable to her and her big brother (Ashton Holmes).

So, there isn’t much mirth in the lives of these three misfits until the fateful day that Lawrence hits his head and is treated by a former student (Sarah Jessica Parker) who still has the hots for teacher. At about the same time, who shows up but his ne’er-do-well brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church), a homeless bohemian in need of a place to stay.

Upon moving in, he becomes intent on bringing the uptight Wetherholds out of their shells via a combination of Marijuana and tough love therapy. In short order, he pressures Lawrence to date, James to loosen up and Vanessa to get high for the first time by telling her she’s a robot who needs to relax.

While the contrast between Chuck’s self-indulgent mania and their slowly-eroding conformity is often amusing, the film’s funniest moments by far, nonetheless, come courtesy of Ms. Page’s Juno, I mean, Vanessa. She has that terminally-sarcastic character down pat.

Juno 2, and just as inspired.



Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for profanity, sexuality, and brief teen drug and alcohol abuse.

Running time: 95 minutes

Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, cast and filmmaker interviews, bloopers, outtakes, and a feature commentary by the director and the scriptwriter.



To see a trailer for Smart People, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be0bBWnUrnY

Then She Found Me DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Helen Hunt’s Directorial Debut Released on DVD

Based on the best seller of the same name by Elinor Lipman, Then She Found Me marks the directorial debut of Helen Hunt who stars opposite Colin Firth and Bette Midler. This bittersweet dramedy explores a host of universal themes, including love, loss, rebirth and redemption.
The story is set in Brooklyn where we find newlywed April Epner (Hunt) hearing her biological clock ticking and eager to start a family. Unfortunately the 39 year-old schoolteacher’s immature husband and colleague Ben (Matthew Broderick) is already having second thoughts about even having tied the knot. Soon, he announces that he’s decided to leave her after only 12 months of marriage.
The morning after being dumped, a Prince Charming comes waltzing into her life in the person of Frank (Firth), the father of one of her students. He’s recently separated from his wife and can barely hide his attraction to April. But before their love has a chance to blossoms a few flies land in the ointment.
First, April’s adoptive mother (Lynn Cohen) dies. Second, she finds out she’s pregnant by her ex. Third, the birth mother (Bette Midler) she’s never known, a flamboyant talk show host, shows up out of nowhere wanting to bond. So, April practically simultaneously sets about grieving, divorcing, getting acquainted with her long-lost mom, and preparing for the arrival of a baby. Oh, and she also starts dating the man of her dreams.
No need to spoil any of the picture’s surprising developments, suffice to say that the plot is anything but predictable. As for grading Hunt’s overall effort, other than perhaps being a little long in the tooth to play the girlish lead in a romantic romp, she did a decent job of directing a chick flick which ought to be a hit with the distaff demographic.

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for profanity and sexuality.
Running time: 100 minutes
Studio: THINKfilm Company
DVD Extras: Cast interviews, director’s commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, and theatrical trailers.

To see a trailer for Then She Found Me, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2UBHepKLak

Irina Palm DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Drama about Desperate Grandma Who Turns Tricks to Pay Bills

Maggie (Marianne Faithful) adopts the name Irina Palm while secretly employed at a whorehouse in London. This frumpy, overweight member of the geriatric set isn’t exactly what most johns are looking for when they come to a bordello.
Luckily, her clients don’t want to see who they are having sex with. No, they pay to stick their privates through a hole in the wall in order to be satisfied by the hands of whoever happens to be on duty on the other side.
To be honest, the movie is not as salacious as it might sound, as it is less about the goings-on inside the house of ill repute than about what drove Maggie to the world’s oldest profession. Turns out she has a seriously-ill grandson (Corey Burke) urgently in need of a life-saving operation, and his parents simply don’t have the money to pay for the operation. Desperate times call for desperate measures, hence this suburban granny resorted to a shady way to raise some quick cash.
However, Maggie’s predicament is complicated when her alter ego Irina proves to be one of the more popular “girls” in the club. And suddenly, she increasingly finds herself the subject of gossip among her suspicious neighbors.
Will she be outed before she makes enough moolah to retire? Or might she not even decide to quit? At heart, this intriguing character study poses the ethical question whether what would ordinarily be considered reprehensible behavior might actually become socially acceptable when done for altruistic reasons.
A thought-provoking drama, which arrives in a timely fashion, given these dire days of skyrocketing medical costs and politicians being caught consorting with high-priced call girls and playing footsie with police decoys in bathroom stalls.

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for nudity, sexuality and profanity.
Running time: 103 minutes
Studio: Strand Releasing
DVD Extras: Interviews with cast members and director Sam Garbarski, plus theatrical trailers.

To see a trailer for Irina Palm, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOooLNJj_R8

Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

OPENING THIS WEEK
Kam's Kapsules:
Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
by Kam Williams
For movies opening August 15, 2008


BIG BUDGET FILMS

Fly Me to the Moon (G) 3-D animated adventure about three flies (Trevor Gagnon, Philip Daniel Bolden and David Gore) who stow away aboard Apollo 11 during its historic spaceflight in order to be the first insects on the moon. Voice cast includes Christopher Lloyd, Adrienne Barbeau, Ed Begley, Jr. and Kelly Ripa.

Mirrors (R for nudity, profanity, violence and disturbing images) Kiefer Sutherland stars in this remake of a Korean horror flick (into the Mirror) about a night watchman who finds himself confronting a malevolent force which is using mirrors to terrorize his family. With Paula Patton, Amy Smart and Frank Mayers.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (PG for smoking, mild epithets, and non-stop sci-fi violence) Animated adventure chronicling the heroic exploits of the Jedi Knights in another epic, intergalactic battle between good and evil. Voice cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee and Ian Abercrombie.

Tropic Thunder (R for violence, drug use, sexual references and pervasive profanity) Ben Stiller wrote, directed and co-stars opposite Jack Black and Robert Downey, Jr. in this action comedy about actors shooting a war movie on location in the jungles of Southeast Asia who suddenly find themselves in a battle with live bullets after they are mistaken for real soldiers by guerillas.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (PG-13 for sexuality, smoking and mature themes) Woody Allen directs this romantic comedy about two girlfriends Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson), spending the summer in Spain, who fall in love with the same artist (Javier Bardem), unaware that his unstable ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) is about to reenter the picture. (In Catalan, English and Spanish with subtitles)


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer (Unrated) Warts-and-all bio-pic revisits the career of the legendary Anita O’Day (1919-2006), including not only classic footage of the jazz diva performing more than 30 songs, but also discussion of her overcoming a host of adversities which included heroin and alcohol addiction, and several abortions, arrests and failed marriages.

A Girl Cut in Two (Unrated) Claude Chabrol directs this love triangle about a TV weather forecaster (Ludivine Sagnier) who opts to marry the young heir (Benoit Magimel) to an industrial fortune after the middle-aged novelist (Francois Berleand) she’s really in love with who won’t leave his wife for her. (In French with subtitles)

Henry Poole Is Here (PG for mature themes and mild epithets) Luke Wilson plays the title character in this bittersweet comedy about a depressed loner with a dire medical prognosis whose desire for isolation is frustrated by the arrival of strangers who start flocking to his property to pray to the image of Christ which has miraculously appeared on the side of his house. With Radha Mitchell, George Lopez and Morgan Lilly.

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (R for profanity, violence and gore) Horror comedy about a plumber (Trevor Matthews) with unresolved rage from having witnessed the murder of his family as a child who discovers his true purpose in life after awakening an unspeakable evil while working on a professor’s (Robert Englund) pipes.

One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story (Unrated) Delroy Lindo narrates this Born Again documentary about a controversial, 82 year-old, African-American folk artist who found himself called by God to repent through painting at 50 after having fathered 30 children during a life as a sinner with many mistresses.

The Romance of Astree and Celadon (Unrated) 88 year-old Eric Rohmer directs this pastoral romance drama set in 5th Century Gaul, adapted from L'astrée, Honoree d’Urfe’s historical novel revolving around the stormy, forbidden love which blossoms between a handsome shepherd (Andy Gillet) and a beautiful shepherdess (Stephanie Crayencour) in a world populated by nymphs and druids. (In French with subtitles)

Passing Poston

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Japanese-Americans Reminisce about Internment in WWII Documentary

Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the U.S. War Department ordered the removal of all Japanese citizens and aliens to internment camps. The Relocation Authority uprooted the 120,000 affected individuals and shipped them with little more than the clothes on their backs to ten different uninhabited locations in remote regions of Utah, California, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and Arkansas.
This picture focuses fairly narrowly on what transpired at Camp Poston, Arizona, a dusty desert area surrounded by barbed wired. About 17,000 Japanese from California had to make do living in barracks and eating in a mess hall for the duration of World War II. And to add insult to injury, they were forced to perform slave labor, building homes, schools, roads and the rest of an infrastructure for a town they would never be allowed to enjoy themselves.
Furthermore, upon return to the West Coast in 1945, many families found homes they owned either trashed or occupied by strangers. Understandably, children who witnessed such mistreatment at the hands of their own country during their formative years might never fully recover from the trauma.
That is the message convincingly conveyed by Passing Poston, a poignant documentary about a shameful chapter in American history. The film relies primarily on the reminiscences of four senior citizens still haunted by the experience 60 years later after the fact: Ruth Okimoto, Leon Uyeda, Kiyo Sato and Mary Higashi.
Ms. Okimoto speaks wistfully about the sadness, shame, anger and rage which have plagued her all her life since being sent to Poston at the age of six. Meanwhile, Mr Uyeda admits that despite being freed after the war, he has never again felt fully American, sensing that his rights might again be arbitrarily taken away in an instant.
Who would think that full-fledged citizens, born in the States, could have lost their homes and businesses, never to recover financially or even own another house? Finally, in 1988, the U.S. made a belated gesture acknowledging its exploitation by paying $20,000 apiece in reparations to the 62,000 camp victims still surviving. “For the first time in 46 years,” one beneficiary says wistfully, “I was proud of America.” Still, no amount of money could ever compensate her for the humiliation and the neverending nightmares.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 60 minutes
Studio: Fly on the Wall Productions

Breaking the Code of Silence

by Alana Wyatt Smith
Xlibris
Paperback, $19.99
112 pages
ISBN: 978-1-4363-1265-3



Book Review by Kam Williams

“I felt even more secure with this man than I had ever felt in an previous relationship. Even though he had a complicated past, filled with children and their demanding mothers, I still felt as though I was number one. These women never posed a threat to me... ever. His children’s mothers would call my cell phone to speak yo him and he always took their calls, as he felt it was disrespectful to do otherwise.
I knew I was his wife and these were just the mothers of his children. Watching him take control of these crazy situations just made me feel even more secure with him. We continued to live happily as husband and wife, even when people tried their hardest to break us up. Instead, it made our relationship even stronger and more powerful.”
Alana on her marriage to Mos Def (pages 69)

Given the phenomenal success of Video Vixen Karrine Steffans’ tell-all, it was only a matter of time before other gold-diggers who’ve slept with a bunch of black celebrities would follow suit. Now, along comes 29 year-old, Canadian Alana Wyatt Smith, whose Breaking the Code of Silence is a bit disappointing, because she brags about her sexual conquest of lots of rappers and pro athletes, but doesn’t names names, except for Dante Smith, aka Mos Def.
Apparently, he was the only sucker dumb enough to marry her, tying the knot after a whirlwind romance of less than 4 days and while he was still married to his previous wife. Def is an incurable romantic with a checkered past when it comes to relationships, as he is reported to have 5 kids with 4 different baby-mamas.
This book is less valuable as a memoir than as the tragic life story of a lost soul obviously still very much in need of intervention. Afterall she’s gone from stripping to Islam and back to stripping again. Half-Italian, half-Jamaican, exotic-looking Alana dropped out of junior high school to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become an adult entertainer.
This was not much of a surprise, as we learn that she had been sexually assaulted by an uncle at the age of 6. After the incest, she became the victim of further sexual and physical abuse which only compounded the original childhood trauma.
Nonetheless, just because you feeling sorry for Alana’s rough upbringing, doesn’t make it easy to sympathize with her disgusting behavior as an adult when she goes on the offensive, getting even with men every chance she gets. Her priorities totally out of order, she has a baby with a rap star, but doesn’t bother to raise the kid.
Instead, she remains boy crazy, especially over any guy who’s famous and has lots of money to burn. The fatal flaw of this frustrating autobiography is that she drops big hints about her numerous lovers but never reveals their identities. Who wants to read a kiss and tell where you have to guess whom the author is talking about?

Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Grim Doc Chronicles People’s History of U.S. via Gravestones

As typically taught in grades schools around this country, U.S. history is a series of lessons of conquest and exploitation as told from the perspective of the victors who were most often white and male. I remember learning that Native-Americans had to go because they were standing in the way of progress and that African slaves were godless, cultureless heathens who took well to bondage.
Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind is a poignant documentary, which silently offers another point-of-view, simply by visiting the graves of famous anti-establishment figures and reading what’s written on their tombstones. For instance, there’s John Brown, the messianic religious leader who perhaps ought to be considered a patriot for leading a slave revolt at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
Also among the controversial anti-heroes appreciated here posthumously, are everyone from beheaded Indian chief Metacomet to abolitionists Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison to feminist Susan B. Anthony to suffragette Elizabeth Cady Staton to Malcolm X to Paul Robeson to James Baldwin to Crazy Horse to Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman to union organizer Mother Jones to environmentalist Rachel Carson to Medgar Evers to anti-war activist Philip Berrigan to hell-raiser Emma Goldman to Soledad Brother George Jackson to Thomas Paine to anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells.
Among the more memorable epitaphs is that of Red Jacket who died in 1830: “When I am gone, the graft and avarice of the white man will prevail. My heart fails me when I think of my people soon to be scattered and forgotten.” Equally evocative are the words etched into the tomb of Lorraine Hansberry, author of A Raisin in the Sun: “I care. I care about it all. It takes too much energy not to care.”
Then there’s the matter-of-fact eloquence of voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer whose gravestone simply reads, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” In its own quiet way, Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind adds up to quite a moving, if belated tribute to a host of visionary iconoclasts who were unappreciated if not outlawed or outright assassinated in their time.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 58 minutes
Studio: Anthology Film Archives

To see a trailer of Profit Motive and the Whispering Wind, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j-FIjAY500

Tiffany “New York” Pollard: The New York Goes to Hollywood Interview

with Kam Williams

Headline: The Sultry Side of the Sassy Sister Known as New York

Tiffany Pollard was born on January 6, 1982 to Michele Rothschild-Patterson and Alex Pollard and raised in Utica, New York where she graduated from Thomas R. Proctor High School. Tiffany skyrocketed from obscurity to fame as the scene-stealing seductress with a world-class attitude on Flavor of Love, the reality TV-series where contestants vie for the affections of hip-hop star Flavor Flav. The clock-carrying rapper didn’t choose her as his lifemate, but he did give her the nickname “New York,” and had the good sense to have her back for his program’s second season.
Since her outrageous antics had been so good for ratings, VH1 offered Tiffany her own show, I Love New York, flipping the script by letting her have her pick from among a score of fawning, eligible bachelors. She was assisted in this enviable endeavor by her ever-sassy mother, Sister Patterson, who helped her daughter settle on Tango, the first season, and on Tailor Made, the next.
Although New York accepted marriage proposals from both of her hunky heartthrobs, neither relationship would even last long enough for an exchange of wedding vows. After several years of frustration at trying to find Mr. Right, Tiffany recently decided to shift her focus from romance to her acting career, now allowing TV cameras to follow her around from audition to audition, of course.
Judging from the snippets I’ve seen so far of Tiffany’s latest reality series, New York Goes to Hollywood, her fans should be happy to know that the flamboyant vixen hasn’t toned down her act one iota for the sake of casting directors or studio execs. Here, she talks about all of the above, including the new show, which premieres on VH1, Monday, August 4th at 10 PM (check local listings).

KW: Hi Tiffany, thanks for the time. I really appreciate it.
TP: Oh, you got it, no problem.
KW: I must admit that I’m a bit intimidated, having seen you go off on so many people at a drop off the hat.
TP: Aw, you know what, Kam? I’m going to be good today. I don’t want you to be intimidated. At least not a lot, just a little bit.
KW: Thanks. Well, I watched some of the new series, and I have to admit I really enjoyed it. It was a refreshing change of pace from seeing you in nothing but romantic situations.
TP: Well, it has a different vibe. It’s definitely New York, but it’s New York grown up. I had fun making the show, but I’m serious about the acting business. So, I want my fans to know that this is a real chunk of my life, like this is my dream. You don’t know how people might receive it, because like you said, it’s different from Flavor of Love and I Love New York. I’m not running around the house with 20 guys looking for love. Basically, I’m on a mission. I think the show is going to go over well, because I had fun doing it.
KW: This program seems to have a much wider range of possible activities than the previous shows.
TP: Absolutely, because there’s so much room for error on this show. When I was with the guys, we had things planned, so I knew what to expect from day to day. But shooting New York Goes to Hollywood, you couldn’t escape day-to-day life.
KW: Should we anticipate seeing your mother on the show?
TP: Oh, come on Kam! Do you really need to ask that? You know my mom’s going to be there. Definitely, definitely. I couldn’t do it without her. She’s going to come down and make sure everything’s in order. You know how she does it. She’s going to be there for a large chunk of the show, actually.
KW: What happened to you and Tailor Made? I thought you lovebirds were getting married?
TP: Umm, Tailor Made and I experienced the ups-and-downs of a typical relationship. Unfortunately, we succumbed to what everyone succumbs to eventually. We broke up. I wanted it to last, but it didn’t happen that way. Nothing lasts forever. However, I’m back in my happy place. I’m in a good zone, and hopefully he is, too. I don’t see him losing any sleep over what happened, because he’s mostly to blame for the break-up.
KW: You initially declined his marriage proposal on the show. Why had you been hesitant in the first place?
TP: Why? [Laughs] Oh, you caught me out there. Why? Because I didn’t know if it was real, if he was just proposing to me because Tango did last season. There was a lot that went into it, and I didn’t want to make a hasty decision.
KW: Why do you think the relationship failed?
TP: The main ingredient that we lost was definitely the passion. And when I say “we lost” I really mean on his end. If you were to speak to him, he would admit it to you, because he even admitted it to me that he pulled out emotionally. We weren’t connecting or spending as much time together. We had a new relationship, and a very public relationship, so it needed a lot of nurturing. But he started doing his own thing, so I had to go on about my business and do my own thing. So, we kinda fell apart. But there’s nothing bad I could say about him, because he’s still the same person he was when I picked him on the show. He’s still a good guy.
KW: Do you think becoming famous might have gone to his head?
TP: I want to be honest, so I’m going to say, yes. That’s my take on it. I’m entitled to have my opinion and perceptions, and that’s what I saw. Tailor Made did everything for me from top –to bottom, until the show aired. And once he was able to get gigs on his own, and hang out with all his fans in all his glory, he didn’t know me anymore. He wasn’t calling me. He wasn’t texting me. I was the one trying to make things happen. It’s unfortunate that it ended up like that.
KW: Would you say Tailor Made broke your heart?
TP: [Pauses] Stop. I said I was going to be good. [Laughs] No, he didn’t break my heart. My heart never came undone with him, because he went his way, and I went mine.
KW: What is it like dating 20 guys at once?
TP: You definitely know how to be a multi-tasker. And you have to know how to separate the guys who are there for you from the ones who are there to be on television. I may have been in a house with 20 guys, but I only really connected with 2 or 3 on an emotional level.
KW: Did anything happen between you and Flavor Flav while taping that reunion show? I heard that you were off alone in the bathroom with him.
TP: He followed me into the bathroom, but not into a stall. Nothing happened. Definitely not. We were just talking, and he was hanging by the door. I was kinda like flipping my hair, getting the oil off my skin, and patting my nose down.
KW: Are you still friends with any of the losers from either season of I Love New York?
TP: Any of the losers? [Laughs]
KW: How about Boston or Buddha?
TP: Yyou know who sends me the cutest text messages occasionally? Midget Mac. He’s still really cool. And Buddha, will send me text messages, and It leaves me crazy voice messages. They’re both cool, too.
KW: What do you think are the odds of finding true love on a reality-TV show?
TP: I’m still optimistic, Kam. I definitely think it could happen for somebody but, unfortunately, some people, like Tailor Made, pull out, because they’re not used to having the fame.
KW: Does that mean that season three of I Love New York is in the works?
TP: [Laughs] Do you know something that I don’t know? Actually, right now, I’m on a journey pursuing my passion for acting. But if someone approached me to do another season, I would certainly consider it.
KW: How much would you say you’re similar to the person we’ve seen on TV?
TP: Seriously? I’d say I’m 100% like that person. I love makeup. I love hair. I’m larger than life. If you press the wrong button, if you step on my toes in the street, I’m gonna get pissed off. That’s totally me. When you go onto a reality show, they don’t draw a character up for you. I’m that same person. But you have to understand that you might see me fight a little more on reality television, because the circumstances cause me to fight since people are always coming at me. When viewers see me defend myself, they think I’m this crazy, loud person, but that’s not true.
KW: Why do you think the medium of TV loves you so much? Have you thought about what it is that makes you so magnetic?
TP: [Chuckles] I hear that a lot, that I’m so captivating. But I’m a humble person. A lot of people might not know that about me. I’m just an individual. There’s nobody else who looks like me, or walks like me. I would guess that I have some special ingredient.
KW: The “It” factor. Will that special quality translate to the big screen as an actress?
TP: That’s a different league right there, a whole different ballgame. That’s what’s so exciting to me about acting. You have to work extra hard at it. Reality-TV, you can just jump on the screen and be you, but with acting, you have to show up and be that character they need you to be. So, I like the challenge of it all. That’s what draws me toward it. If I keep working at it as hard as I’m working at it now, something definitely will come my way.
KW: Which actresses would you say are your role models?
TP: The ones who inspire me the most are the ones I grew up watching transition to the screen. The first one that always comes to mind is Queen Latifah. Watching her evolve was such an inspiration. I love her… Vivica A. Fox… Angela Bassett...
KW: Are you worried about being typecast as the sassy sister?
TP: To be honest, unfortunately, that’s the bittersweet reality of the business. You’re going to be typecast. It is what it is. It’s up to you to stay strong and try to break down the door, because it’s going to happen. Nobody’s going to cast me as a nurse or a lawyer right off the bat. So, I’m going to have to break down those barriers.
KW: What director would you like to work with?
TP: Spike Lee. I loved Jungle Fever, Do the Right Thing, Girl Six, all of his films.
KW: And what leading man would you like to be paired opposite as your romantic love interest?
TP: Love interest? Let me see… I have the biggest crush on Laurence Fishburne from back in the day right up ‘til now.
KW: “Realtor to the Stars” Jimmy Bayan asks: Where in L.A. do you live?
TP: When I first came out to Los Angeles, and lived here on my own, before anybody knew me, I lived downtown.
KW: Where do you live now?
TP: I don’t want to give too much information, because I’m a private person, but I’m really close to where we shot the last show.
KW: Which was?
TP: I think we shot this recent show in Sherman Oaks.
KW: Where were the mansions you lived in during I Love New York located?
TP: Oh boy, somewhere in the Hollywood Hills. The last mansion we shot in was right above or below J-Lo’s place. It was really huge and beautiful, with security guards at the gate. So, you couldn’t just walk onto the property.
KW: Are you living in New York City, too?
TP: Right now, I’m mostly in L.A. I kinda miss New York a little bit. I can tell that I’m going to be taking a trip back East real soon.
KW: The reason I ask is because a friend of mine, Danielle, was recently house-hunting in Manhattan, and she said she met you and your bodyguard. You were both looking at the same three-bedroom apartment in Nolita [North of Little Italy].
TP: Yes! Oh my goodness! That’s so funny. It’s such a small world. I was looking for a place in Manhattan, because I didn’t want to be on the outskirts. But I didn’t take that apartment. Did Danielle jump on it?
KW: No, she didn’t either. What do your high school friends think about how you’ve turned out?
TP: Growing up in such a small city inspires you to want more. Any person from Utica who knew me prior to my moving to L.A., would say they knew I had big dreams. I never let that go. I made it known to all my friends that I wanted to get out, do my thing, and be on television, because I always had that dream. And they supported me. So, the people back home are not surprised.
KW: What would you like your fans to know about you that might surprise them?
TP: That I have a real solid, spiritual background. I have a great connection with God. People probably don’t see that side of me, but I want them to know that it does exist.
KW: Were you involved with the church growing up?
TP: Was I? I went to Sunday school every Sunday, to Friday night Bible Study and to Sunday services. My grandfather is a pastor, so I grew up in the church. A lot of people probably don’t know that.
KW: Then, how do you explain your use of foul language?
TP: I look at it like this: nobody’s perfect. When I pray, I always tell God, “You know, I’m your work in progress.” I’m here on Earth just like everybody else. I’m not claiming to be a perfect person who is not going to slip up from time to time. He understands, and I really don’t answer to anybody else, so I’m good.
KW: You strike me as even tempered and totally different from on the show, where you always seem to have a very quick trigger. Do you ever try to stop yourself from blurting out an expletive?
TP: I definitely have that mechanism that can decipher right from wrong. But when I’m having a bad day, and you’re in my zone, and up in my face, you’re going to hear it. Basically, that’s what happens.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
TP: Columbus Short … he’s cute. Am I happy? You turn on the news, it’s trippy. Things are crazy. I don’t even remember it being this crazy five years ago. So, yeah, I’m ecstatic. I got my pets, my friends and my family. I’m doing great.
KW: How many pets do you have?
TP: I have my Chihuahua living with me. My mom has my cat, and I’m thinking of adopting another Chihuahua this weekend.
KW: How many kids do you want to have when you find Mr. Right?
TP: Three.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
TP: Of course. This is life. We had an earthquake in L.A. just last week. You never know what’s going to happen. But that fear can actually sometimes be a good thing. I like walking into a place and not know exactly what’s going to happen. That’s a healthy fear without any anxiety.
KW: That’s interesting, because most people probably see you as tough and fearless.
TP: No, no, no, I experience the full range of emotions of any other human. Yeah.
KW: Bookworm Troy Johnson asks: What was the last book you read?
TP: Russell Simmons’ Do You! 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success. It’s a self-help book to get your life together and make it happen.
KW: That’s a coincidence. I’m supposed to interview Russell at a CD release party this week. I’ll tell him that you said his book was the last one you read.
TP: Thank you. It’s a really great book.
KW: What’s the most outrageous question a reporter has ever asked you?
TP: If I were really a woman, because of all the hair and makeup and the larger-than-life personality. He said, “That can’t be real. You must have some extra business between your legs.” I think that was the craziest question I’ve ever been asked.
KW: How do you want to be remembered?
TP: As a person who encountered life’s ups and downs, and twists and turns, and survived it all. I’d like people to remember me as a fighter and a go-getter, because that’s who I truly am.
KW: Who are you supporting for president?
TP: Oh come on! Barack Obama! I couldn’t shout it loud enough. Seriously, I have to say that I’m so proud of him. I never thought that I would see what he’s doing in my lifetime.
KW: Well, Tiffany, this has been delightful, and I’m going to tell my readers that you didn’t come close to using foul language even once. Good luck with the show and your career, and I’m eager to see what happens in the upcoming episodes over the course of the season.
TP: Kam, it’s been wonderful talking to you. This has been a really cool interview, and I’m glad you’re as excited about the new show as I am.
KW: I hope I’ll be able to get another interview when you’re a big movie star.
TP: Absolutely! We‘ll definitely have to do this again. Take care.

To see a sample of New York Goes to Hollywood, visit: http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtml?id=1591496&vid=260885

Swing Vote

Film Review by Kam Williams



Headline: Apathetic Constituent Courted by Candidates in Election Day Sitcom



Ernest “Bud” Johnson (Kevin Costner) is a middle-aged slacker raising his daughter by himself in Texico, New Mexico, a desert oasis located along the border with Texas. He and 12 year-old Molly (Madeline Carroll) both miss her mother, Larissa (Mare Winningham), a selfish substance-abuser who ran off to Albuquerque to pursue a singing career. Bud, himself is also a wannabe musician, having played in a Willie Nelson tribute band called The Half Nelsons, at least until his rhythm section was arrested and ended up in prison.

Bud’s day job is at a local egg factory, where the pay is barely enough to keep a roof over their heads. And even that lowly, assembly line position is currently in jeopardy because of an influx of Mexicans willing to “work twice as hard for half the money.” So, he and Molly have had to make do in a modest trailer without a telephone or other modern amenities most of us take for granted.

Then, when Bud’s job does finally get “insourced” as he describes it, rather than look for gainful employment, he drowns his woes in alcohol at his favorite watering hole. Fortunately, his spousified daughter is mature enough to pick up the slack. Somehow, the spunky little enabler does everything for her dad from driving him home when he’s inebriated to voting for him on the sly on Election Day.

Life changes for Bud soon after state officials inform him that, due to an electronic voting machine malfunction, his ballot was the only one not yet counted. Otherwise, the tally ended in a tie, so his vote will determine whether New Mexico’s five electoral votes will go to the Democratic challenger, Donald Greenleaf (Dennis Hopper), or to the incumbent, President Boone (Kelsey Grammer).

Furthermore, the national contest also ended in a draw which means that whichever candidate prevails in New Mexico will win the presidency as well. Bud is given ten days to make up his mind, during which time the press and politicians from both parties descend on tiny Texico, turning the town into a media circus.

The candidates proceed to court the affable but apathetic slob for his vote, freely changing their positions on everything from abortion to the environment to gay marriage to satisfy their final constituent. Will Bud reward the Republican, who has promised him employment as a lobbyist, or the Democrat with whom he appears more naturally aligned on the issues?

Even if you’re willing to suspend your disbelief long enough to swallow this idiotic premise, Swing Vote is ultimately the bitterly disappointing with nothing much to offer other than some sappy sermonizing about patriotically exercising right to vote. The picture ends on a cliffhanger leaving the election unresolved, as if setting us up for a sequel. What a cinematic slap in the face to generate tension and have an audience to invest emotionally for such an unsatisfying, anticlimactic resolution!

On second thought, maybe there was a winner here, corporate America, judging by the distracting omnipresence of very distracting product placements for everything from Budweiser to MTV to Old Spice to UPS to Monopoly to Pepsi to Chevrolet to Newsweek to Motts to Ritz Crackers to Quaker Oats to Verizon Fios and so forth. Because the mediocre script was of obviously of secondary import to the ads, the production squandered the services of a gifted supporting cast which included the likes of Nathan Lane, George Lopez, Paula Patton, Stanley Tucci, Judge Reinhold, along with innumerable celebrity cameos.

A string of shameless sales pitches sans the rudiments of a major motion picture. Next time, would you mind including an ending, if you’re going to ask us to sit through two hours of commercials?



Poor (0 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity.

Running time: 119 minutes

Studio: Touchstone Pictures



To see a trailer of Swing Vote, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWodSDYgfXA