Snoop Dogg (INTERVIEW)

Snoop Dogg 

The “Turbo” Interview

with Kam Williams

Snoop Sets Sail as Smoove Snail

            Calvin Cordozar Broadus was born on October 20, 1971 in Long Beach, California where he was nicknamed Snoopy by his parents because of a striking resemblance to the Peanuts cartoon character. A promising rapper from an early age, he began performing in the 6^th grade but was waylaid by brushes with the law in high school.

            After a stint behind bars for drug possession, he took the stage name Snoop Doggy Dogg and launched his recording career with the help of hip-hop producer Dr. Dre. His 1993 debut album, Doggystyle, featuring his trademark, laidback vocal phrasings, was well-received and quickly went quadruple platinum.

            Over the course of an enduring showbiz career, Snoop has released a dozen solo CDs and sold more than 30 million records. Last year, he tweaked his alias to Snoop Lion when he recorded a reggae album in Jamaica called Reincarnated.

            A talented thespian, he’s also acted in a score of movies, most notably, Training Day, Baby Boy, Old School, Starsky & Hutch and, most recently, Scary Movie 5. Here, he talks about his latest screen outing as Smooth Move in Turbo, an animated adventure about a snail who dreams of entering the Indianapolis 500.

Kam Williams: Hi Snoop, thanks for the interview.

Snoop Dogg: My pleasure, Kam.

KW: What interested you in Turbo?

SD: Well I’ve wanted to do a family movie for a while now. Being able to watch a movie with my family and some of the kids from my Snoop Youth Football League has always been a goal of mine, so when [director] David Soren reached out to me about Turbo I was all for it.  And my character is a smooth little snail…I thought it was a cool concept.

KW: How would you describe Smoove Move?

SD: He’s a slick little guy.  He’s calm and cool just like me. 

KW: Did you base your approach to the character on anybody?

SD: I based him on myself because the character was written for me.

KW: How would you compare doing voice work for an animated film to appearing onscreen in a live action adventure? 

SD: The process for doing voice work goes by much quicker as opposed to shooting a feature. You can pretty much go in and knock it out in a day or two. It feels very natural for me to express myself using only my voice, so it wasn’t too difficult.

KW: What message do you think people will take away from Turbo?

SD: I think they will be inspired and in a good mood. It’s a fun, family movie.

KW: Why did you change your name to Snoop Lion?

SD: My name was given to me. I didn’t just decide to change it one day. But I ran with it to reflect a more peaceful and positive attitude for my new Reincarnated project. The Snoop Dogg name is so connected to hip-hop, and I didn’t want to change that. Hip-hop raised me, and I would never turn my back on it.  

KW: What inspired you to become a Rastafarian and to release that reggae album, Reincarnated?

SD: I’m a spiritual man and I’ve always felt connected to Rastafari. I’m not a Rastafarian but I’ve got so much respect for the lifestyle and religion, and I’m so thankful I was able to meet some of the most influential Rastafarians during my Jamaica trip. They taught me so much and really helped me evolve into who I am today. 

              

I felt in this stage of my life it was time to make a record that reflected my lifestyle…positive, peaceful and family oriented. I’ve always had a connection to Reggae and it was the right music to fully display my new lifestyle in a way that was natural for me. JAH RASTAFARI!

KW: How did you come to collaborate with Miley Cyrus on the song Ashtrays and Heartbreaks?

SD: We met at the studio and she told me that she loved my work. I love what she does, too. Miley’s cool and I support her 100%.

KW: The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?

SD: At the Turbo screening!

KW: What is your guiltiest pleasure?

SD: Barbecue flavor twist Fritos. Definitely, BBQ flavor twist Fritos! [Chuckles slyly]

KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?

SD: No I’m cool. I think they done asked ‘em all. [LOL]

KW: Thanks again for the time, Snoop, and good luck with Turbo.

SD: Thanks, Kam.

To see a trailer for Turbo, visit: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-L5bzwdpVI

High Price (BOOK REVIEW)

High Price

A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges

            Everything You Know about Drugs and Society

by Dr. Carl Hart

Harper/Harper Collins Publishers

Hardcover, $26.99

352 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-0-06-201588-4  

Book Review by Kam Williams

      “As a youth, Carl Hart didn’t realize the value of school; he studied just enough to stay on the basketball team. At the same time, he was immersed in street life. Today, he is a cutting-edge neuroscientist—Columbia University’s first tenured African-American professor in the sciences—whose landmark, controversial research is redefining our understanding of addiction.

      In this provocative and eye-opening memoir, he recalls his journey of self-discovery and weaves his past and present. Hart goes beyond the hype of the antidrug movement as he examines the relationship among drugs, pleasure, choice and motivation, both in the brain and in society. His findings shed new light on common ideas about race, poverty and drugs, and explain why current policies are failing. 

                        -- Excerpted from book jacket                

            Judging by Dr. Carl Hart’s background, it’s a little surprising he ever made it out of the ‘hood, let alone became one of the nation’s leading neuroscientists. After all, he grew up in a rough area of Miami, Florida where, as a teenager, he roamed the streets as a gun-toting, drug dealer.

            Only after entering the military did he come to appreciate the value of an education, and eventually earn his BS, MS and PhD degrees. Today, he teaches at Columbia University where his work in pharmacology has uncovered some rather startling statistics, such as “85% of drug users aren’t addicted,” “the War on Drugs has “had no effect on daily use of marijuana, heroin or any type of cocaine,” and “around half of all people with drug addictions are employed full-time and many never commit crimes...”

            The upshot of over 20 years of research in the field of neuro- psychopharmacology has led to the controversial conclusion that drug policy rather than drugs is the main problem. And he discusses the data underpinning his reasoning in High Price, an incendiary opus. The eye-opening book is as much a revealing memoir as a thought-provoking clarion call for an overhaul of the drug laws, given the disproportionate toll they take on minorities and the poor.

            Although the author stops short of advocating illegal drug use, he does point out that the “Just say no!” campaign has never been effective. Furthermore, his concern is that educators lose the respect of students when they rely on such a simplistic approach to the problem.

            Besides the groundbreaking discussion of narcotics, Dr. Hart devotes considerable ink to personal anecdotes, like the one about discovering while teaching at Columbia that had fathered a son at the age of 15. another related the humiliation he suffered when profiled and detained as a possible perpetrator by police despite the laminated photo ID hanging around his neck proving he belonged on campus.

             A seminal contribution to the conversation about the intersection of the legal system and drug addiction from a bodacious brother with both street credibility and academic credentials.  

Rising from Ashes (RWANDAN FILM REVIEW)

Rising from Ashes

Film Review by Kam Williams
  

Bike Racing Documentary Chronicles Rise of Rwanda Cycling Team

            Over the course of a hundred days in 1994, the East African nation of Rwanda experienced an ethnic cleansing which consumed the lives of nearly a fifth of the population. The mass slaughter came as a consequence of a revolt by the majority tribe, the Hutus, against the Tutsis, a minority which, with the help of the country’s European colonizers, had enjoyed a higher social and economic status for centuries.

            A few years after the cessation of the civil war, American bike racing legend Jock Boyer was looking for a chance at redemption in the wake of being paroled after serving time in prison for lewd behavior. He found that opportunity he needed upon moving to Rwanda at the suggestion of a friend.

            There, he took on the unenviable challenge of coaching the national cycling team. And over the next six years he trained them while teaching them how to compete on the level of World-Class athletes with the hope of one day qualifying for the Olympics.

            That seemingly impossible quest is the subject of Rising from Ashes, an uplifting, overcoming-the-odds documentary directed by T.C. Johnstone. Narrated by Forest Whitaker, the film introduces us to the ragtag crew of raw recruits, including prima donna Abraham, mischievous Nathan and strongman Nyandwi, that Jock had to try to whip into fighting shape.

            But besides athleticism, the intrepid coach had to worry about his young protégés equipment, since they were riding on quarter century-old, brakeless, wooden bikes ordinarily employed as taxis or to deliver huge sacks of produce. An even bigger hurdle had to do with the fact that each was also still suffering from deep, psychological turmoil caused by the mass slaughter they’d witnessed of a million fellow citizens.

            For instance, the team’s star, Adrien, had lost sixty members of his family, including six brothers and everyone on his mother’s side of the clan. For that reason, besides salaries, health care and education, some of the squad’s funds were devoted to addressing daunting mental health issues.

            An inspirational illustration of how the Olympics came to serve as a unifying step in terms of exorcising the demons ever haunting Rwanda’s grisly killing fields.

Very Good (3 stars)

Unrated

In English and Kinyarwanda with subtitles

Running time: 80 minutes

Distributor: First Run Features 

To see a trailer for Rising from Ashes, visit:   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXfq0DxS4KM  

The Wolverine (FILM REVIEW)

The Wolverine  

Film Review by Kam Williams

Jackman Journeys to Japan for Latest Adventure as Metal-Clawed Mutant

            Logan, aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), is a mutant with retractable claws and a self-healing, metal skeleton. As a member of Marvel Comics’ X-Men, he has appeared in all five of the franchise’s prior screen adaptations, most notably, the eponymous installment exploring his origin.     

            At this episode’s point of departure, we find him in Alaska and awaking from the clever cinematic contrivance of a nightmare within a nightmare. In the haunting dream, he’d been confronted by Jean Grey, aka Phoenix (Famke Janssen), the lover/colleague gone bad he’d been forced to stab to death in X-Men: The Last Stand.

            Here, she makes him feel so guilty about gutting her belly and aborting their baby that he promises never to hurt anyone ever again. Trouble is, Logan has anger management issues which cause him to morph into feral Wolverine whenever he loses his temper, and he proceeds to break the vow the very next day in a bar fight with a bunch of inconsiderate local yokels.

            However, the film’s setting changes from the Yukon to the Orient soon after the arrival in town of bottle red-head Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a capable bodyguard sent by Ichiro Yashida (Haruchiko Yamanouchi), the terminally-ill CEO of Japan’s biggest corporation. Since Logan saved Ichiro’s life when the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, you’d think he was being summoned for a grateful, fond farewell. Think again.

            The old man suddenly wants to live forever and has hatched a plan to steal Wolverine’s secret to immortality. And he’s assisted in this diabolical endeavor by and army of ninjas as well as by Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), an evil temptress with an immunity to toxins. 

            Meanwhile, Logan is lucky that Yukio has decided to shift loyalties from her boss to him. At this juncture, the picture launches into a ballet-like display of non-stop martial arts fare, the highlight being a breathtaking Kabuki dance to the death atop a careening locomotive.

            When the dust settles, Logan of course not only emerges victorious but will have to choose whether to ride off into the Land of the Rising Sun’s proverbial sunset with two-fisted, tomboy Yukio or with gorgeous Mariko (Tao Okamoto), Ichiro’s granddaughter. Provided you’re not suffering from blockbuster fatigue in this summer of sequels, this engaging and enchanting Asian adventure definitely deserves to be added to your “Must See” list.

            Crouching Viper, Hidden Wolverine! 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for sexuality, profanity and intense violence

In English and Japanese with subtitles

Running time: 126 minutes

Distributor: 20^th Century Fox

To see a trailer for The Wolverine, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th1NTVIhUQU 

Paradise: Love (DVD REVIEW)

Paradise: Love

(Paradies: Liebe)

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Cougar Finds Cure for Jungle Fever in Kenya in Explicit Raunchy Romp

            Paradise: Love is the initial offering in a trilogy of groundbreaking dramas from the Austria-born director Ulrich Seidl. Each of the three installments focuses on a slice of the life of a different female from the same family.

            This episode revolves around Teresa (Magarete Tiesel), an unremarkable single-mom whom we find tired of Vienna at the point of departure. The jaded 50 year-old divides her time between raising an adolescent (Melanie Lenz) and working with the mentally-handicapped.

            Needing a break from that humdrum routine, she leaves her daughter in the care of a sister (Maria Hofstaetter) before flying alone to Kenya for a much-needed vacation. However, she’s planning for a little more than just fun in the sun, since her destination is a resort that caters to the carnal desires of European sex tourists.

            Specifically, it’s older white women looking to get their groove back, so to speak, with help of African men, the younger and better endowed the better. The goal, obviously, is less to find romance than to mate with any hunks who find them attractive.

            Upon arriving, Teresa checks into the hotel where she makes the acquaintance of several fellow Austrians with the same goal in mind. What soon unfolds is a series of lusty liaisons approached by the consenting parties with a compatible set of competing expectations.

            The women want to be wined and dined a bit prior to seduction, while the local lads are more than happy to oblige with the unspoken understanding that they will be tipped generously for providing stud service. Given the language, age and cultural differences, it is no surprise that complications still ensue for first-timer Teresa as she awkwardly attempts to negotiate her way with fellows with hidden agendas.

            Will her cravings be satiated? Will she be respected in the morning? Will she be fleeced out of every last pfennig by the local Romeos? Those are the basic questions raised over the course of this intriguing character study, a female empowerment flick which harks back to Heading South (2005), a similarly-themed film set in Haiti starring Charlotte Rambling.

            Fair warning: the film does feature graphic nudity and indiscriminate coupling, as the ladies sensuously sample a veritable smorgasbord of native cuisine. When all is said and done, Teresa returns home revitalized enough to resume her unfulfilling life, but ostensibly having to keep her assorted sexual conquests a secret.  

            To paraphrase a popular saying: What happens in Nairobi, stays in Nairobi!   

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated R for violence, profanity, graphic sexuality and frontal nudity

In German, Swahili and English with subtitles

Running time: 120 minutes

Distributor: Strand Releasing

To see a trailer for Paradise: Love, visit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4ZFB8qwWa4

Top Ten DVD Releases for 7-30-13

This Week’s DVD Releases

by Kam Williams

Top Ten DVD List for July 30, 2013                       

Paradise: Love

Old Dog

Bus Stop

Peggy Sue Got Married

Niagara

The Bronte Sisters

The Magic School Bus: Revving Up

The Place beyond the Pines

Robert Williams: Mr. Bitchin'

The Magic School Bus: In a Pickle

Honorable Mention

Banshee: The Complete First Season

Under the Bed

Love Me Tender

Between Us

G.I Joe Retaliation 3D

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

Meet the Small Potatoes

Rushlights

 

War Flowers

Kam's Movie Kapsules for 8-2-13

OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam's Kapsules:      

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun         

by Kam Williams

For movies opening August 2, 2013

BIG BUDGET FILMS   

2 Guns (R for profanity, brief nudity and pervasive violence) Espionage thriller about a DEA Agent (Denzel Washington) and a Naval Intelligence Officer (Mark Wahlberg) tricked into mistrusting each other while infiltrating a drug cartel. With Paula Patton, James Marsden, Bill Paxton and Fred Ward.

The Smurfs 2 (PG for rude humor and action sequences) Animated sequels finds Papa (Jonathan Winters), Clumsy (Anton Yelchin), Grouchy (George Lopez) and Vanity Smurf (John Oliver) teaming up with a couple of human pals (Jayma Mays and Neil Patrick Harris) to rescue Smurfette (Katy Perry) from the clutches of an evil wizard (Hank Azaria). Voice cast includes Jimmy Kimmel, Shaquille O’Neal, Jeff Foxworthy, Fred Armisen, Christina Ricci and J.B. Smoove.

 

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

The Artist and the Model (Unrated) Romantic dramedy, set in Occupied France during the summer of 1943, about an elderly sculptor (Jean Rochefort) whose zest for life is reignited by the attractive refugee (Aida Folch) who agrees to pose naked for him. With Claudia Cardinale, Chus Lampreave and Gotz Otto. (In French, Spanish and Catalan with subtitles)

The Canyons (Unrated) Lindsay Lohan stars in this psychological thriller about a Hollywood actress whose jealous, film producer boyfriend (James Deen) gets bent out of shape after discovering that she’s been secretly cheating on him with a former co-star. With Nolan Funk, Gus Van Sant and Amanda Brooks.

Cockneys vs. Zombies (Unrated) Horror comedy, set in London, about a gang of bumbling bank robbers’ struggle to survive an invasion by a horde of man-eating ghouls. Starring Rasmus Hardiker, Harry Treadaway and Michelle Ryan.

Drift (R for profanities and drug use) Hang ten drama, set in the Seventies, chronicling the daring exploits of a couple of brothers (Myles Pollard and Xavier Samuel) who helped jumpstart the surfing craze in Australia. With Sam Worthington and Lesley-Ann Brandt. 

Europa Report (PG-13 for action and scenes of peril) Sci-fi thriller about a half-dozen astronauts who find more than they bargained for when they embark on an expedition to Jupiter in search of signs of intelligent life. Ensemble includes Embeth Davidtz, Anamaria Marinca, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Karolina Wydra, Daniel Wu, Christian Camargo, Sharlto Copley and Dan Fogler.

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear (Unrated) Bait-and-switch documentary in which aspiring actors answering a casting call are instead merely interviewed about what life is like in the former Soviet bloc nation. (In Georgian with subtitles)

Rising from Ashes (Unrated) Cycling documentary, narrated by Forest Whitaker, about biking legend Jock Boyer’s venturing to Rwanda to help train the nation’s rag-team of genocide survivors for the 2012 Olympics.  

The Spectacular Now (R for profanity, sexuality and underage alcohol abuse) Screen adaptation of Tim Tharp’s novel of the same name about a just-dumped, party animal (Miles Teller) with no plans for college who turns over a new leaf after making the acquaintance of a straight-laced classmate (Shailene Woodley) with no social life. Support cast includes Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

When Comedy Went to School (Unrated) Borscht Belt documentary revisiting the rise of legendary, Jewish comedians whose careers began at resorts in the Catskill Mountains. Featuring Sid Caesar, Jerry Stiller, Robert Klein, Mort Sahl, Jerry Lewis and Jackie Mason.

The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia (FILM REVIEW)

The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia

Film Review by Kam Williams

Uplifting Documentary Examines Dyslexia from Fresh Perspective

            Some of the most brilliant people I’ve ever interviewed have been dyslexic, including film directors like Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects), Joe Wright (Anna Karenina) and Guy Ritchie (Snatch), as well as matinee idol Channing Tatum, who opened up to me about the pain he felt about his grades in school until he found fulfillment in a number of artistic pursuits such as dance, sculpting, painting, photography, and of course, acting. 

            Each of the aforementioned is a nonconformist with a knack for thinking out of the box, a trait also shared by most of the subjects of The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia. Among the icons who appear in this enlightening documentary directed by James Redford are self-made, billionaire Richard Branson, investment house CEO Charles Schwab, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, and A-list attorney David Boies.

            After hearing them weigh-in about their supposed affliction, one can’t help but wonder whether dyslexia might actually be considered by some to be a blessing. Boies points out his learning disability’s positive correlation with creativity, which helps explain why so many born with it have blossomed in unique fashion in their respective fields. Branson says dyslexics are trustworthy because “We say what we mean,” while Newsom believes their brains enjoy the advantage of being able to see “The Big Picture.”

            Besides the rich and famous, the film focuses on youngsters (in grammar school, junior high, high school and college) and their parents as they share what life is like after a diagnosis of dyslexia. What’s abundantly clear is that each has managed to overcome the combination of low expectations and frustrations with spelling and reading to prove themselves capable of competing with classmates on the highest level, so long as some slight accommodations are made which take their condition into consideration.

            An admirably informative and empathetic effort clearing up common misconceptions, essentially explaining that dyslexia is not a character flaw but merely a neurological issue affecting as many as one out of five individuals.

Excellent (4 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 60 minutes

Distributor: Shadow Creek Films / HBO Films   

To see a trailer for The Big Picture, visit:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueaDO8IS4Dk

God's Graffiti (BOOK REVIEW)

God's Graffiti

Inspiring Stories for Teens

By Reverend Romal Tune

Judson Press

Paperback, $13.99

184 pages

ISBN: 978-0-8170-1733-0

           

Book Review by Kam Williams

       “I was raised in poverty, surrounded by drug dealers, gangs and community violence. My mother was addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol. I rarely went to church… [Yet] somehow God’s grace found and saved me when no one and nothing else could...

God’s Graffiti takes a look at young men and women in the Bible who overcame family and community challenges… Their stories give us some practical guidance for our own lives. 

You have the ability to do amazing things through your faith in God, the courage to try something different, and the help of a few committed people.”   

      -- Excerpted from the Introduction (pages xiv-xv)

            Sadly, this is an era when the bulk of African-American children are being raised by single-moms with little investment in their lives on the part of their deadbeat baby-daddies. The absence of a father figure in the home ostensibly plays a big role in the high dropout, unemployment and crime rates presently plaguing the black community.

             Romal Tune could just as easily been another statistic. After all, his mother was a crack head who never took him to church. And the absence of his dad meant he grew up on the streets where he got mixed-up with the wrong crowd and started dealing drugs by the time he was a teenager.

            Miraculously, however, he found Christ and came to see the light and, benefitting from a new purpose, eventually graduated from both Howard University and Duke Divinity School. Today, Reverend Tune routinely ministers to the underserved as the founder of a couple of organizations dedicated to at-risk youth.

            God’s Graffiti is a mix of memoir and motivational resource designed as a prescription to put juvenile delinquents on a proper path. The book’s title was inspired by the author’s observation of how the Lord often “takes what looks like a mess and transforms it into something amazing.”

            What makes the opus very relevant is how it relies on scriptures to remind the reader of the humble beginnings which many a Biblical figure had to overcome en route to finally flourishing. Again and again, from the prostitute Rahab, to the abandoned Ishmael, to the orphaned Esther, to the unfairly accused Joseph, we see how these unlikely heroes ultimately conquered their considerable challenges.  

            For instance, Moses, the prophet who would part the Red Sea prior to leading his people to the Promised Land, was born a slave. To his credit, he survived being placed as an infant in a basket on which was allowed to drift away on the Nile by a mother desperate to save her son from certain death at the hands of the pharaoh’s henchmen. 

            Written in a down-to-earth style certain to resonate with the targeted demographic, God’s Graffiti simultaneously addresses such salient subjects as bullying, sex, suicide, eating disorders, drugs, alcohol, divorce and abusive relationships. A timeless tool offering profound, faith-based advice for troubled teens in need of reasons to believe in a better tomorrow. .