District 13: Ultimatum DVD

 

 

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Disappointing Sequel Fails to Measure up to Original

 

                 In 2006, District B-13 arrived from France riding a wave of well-deserved critical acclaim. In fact, I was so impressed that I named that action-oriented directorial debut by Pierre Morel the #1 foreign film of the year. So excuse me for anticipating more of the same from the sequel, especially since co-stars David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli would both be reprising their roles.

However, Morel, who made the equally-intense Taken, was not signed to shoot the sequel. Instead, he was replaced by Patrick Allesandrin who had no experience in the high-impact thriller genre. And it shows.

                The best thing about the original was its acrobatic fight sequences, starting with that eye-popping, opening chase scene. So, as District 2 unfolds, you’re naturally expecting another spectacular series of stunts right after the credits. But we’re forced to wait so long that by the time it finally arrives it feels a tad anticlimactic.

The story is set in Paris in 2013, in a slum area deeply divided along ethnic lines, with African, white and Asian gangs vying for control of the local narcotics trade. Soon after the point of departure, Police Captain Damien Tomaso (Raffaelli) is seemingly inexplicably framed by crooked colleagues and winds up behind bars. So, it falls to anti-drug crusader Leito (Belle) to spring the honest cop from jail; so the two can clean up the district by employing a combination of martial arts and parkour moves, the latter being a ballet-like, flight discipline emanating from France.

However, the plot thickens considerably when our heroes catch wind of a diabolical government plan to bomb the ghetto and turn the land over to avaricious real estate developers with gentrification in mind. At that juncture, Damien and Leito enter an unholy alliance with the local hoodlums to save the dilapidated district.

The rabid rainbow coalition proceeds to take on the corrupt politicians and gendarmes behind the evil scheme. Finally the action picks up, especially with the help of Tao (Elodie Yung), a ravenous beauty capable of dispatching dudes with a twirl of her deadly, waist-length mane.

Is District 13 II a bomb? Not by a long shot. Just disappointing, if you’re expecting this adventure to measure up to the mesmerizing first installment.

 

Very Good (2.5 stars)

Rated R for profanity, violence and drug use.

In French with subtitles.

Running time: 101 Minutes

Distributor: Magnolia Home Entertainment

DVD Extras: Deleted and extended scenes, production diary, music video, “The Making of” featurette, and an HDNet look at the film.

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Bio-Pic Chronicling Career of Celebrated Civil Rights Lawyer Comes to DVD

William Kunstler (1919-1995) was one of the most reviled figures of the 20th Century. For he was an attorney who not only represented controversial causes and unpopular people, but his approach in the courtroom involved exposing the racism and classicism permeating the legal justice system.
Always ahead of his time, Kunstler’s lifelong commitment to civil rights began when he went to Mississippi to defend Freedom Riders being arrested for trying to integrate lunch counters and other public accommodations. No hypocrite, he cared just as much about equality in his hometown of Rye, New York, where he successfully sued on behalf of a black couple trying to move into the lily-white enclave in 1960.
Over the course of his career, his services were retained by everyone from Malcolm X to Dr. Martin Luther King to H. Rap Brown to Stokely Carmichael to Abbie Hoffman to the American Indian Movement to Adam Clayton Powell to the Berrigan brothers. But he really first became a household name in his own right during the trial of the Chicago 8 who were arrested in the wake of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. That’s when he grew his hair long to match the manes of the hippies being railroaded, and when he was held in contempt of court for calling the judge a bigot.
Kunstler hated racism, and fundamental to his political philosophy was the notion that “lawyers shouldn’t be immune from the oppression” affecting their clients. Consequently, he gave his all, and was willing to put his own life on the line. Unfortunately, this approach took a toll on his family, especially his daughters, Emily and Sarah, the co-directors of William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe.
In this bittersweet bio-pic they not only recount their father’s exploits, but how they had to grow up with the specter of daily death threats and demonstrations in front of their home. Sadly, their father would only be posthumously vindicated for his spirited representation of innocent Harlem teens accused of raping the Central Park jogger.
A very moving tribute to an underappreciated hero who spent his life as a tireless defender of the defenseless.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 85 minutes
Studio: New Video Group
DVD Extras: Kunstler family home movies, Emily and Sarah Kunstler on “Democracy Now!”, archival audio files and video footage.

The End of Poverty? DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Discusses Paradox of Poverty in Era of Unparalleled Wealth

Why have so many Third World countries remained impoverished and underdeveloped even after gaining their independence from the European nations which had conquered and colonized them? This is the basic question addressed by The End of Poverty, a damning documentary offering a history lesson about the ugly underbelly of Western Civilization from 1492 up to the present.
For not long after Columbus “discovered” America, European countries began descending on the so-called New World, using both the bullet and the Bible to bend assorted indigenous peoples to their will. The Dutch focused primarily on Asia while the English assured themselves that the sun would never set on the ever-expanding British Empire. Even the Pope got into the act, awarding Africa to Portugal and South America to Spain by papal decree.
The basic thesis of the luminaries lending their insights to this thought-provoking project is that for 500+ years, white people have extracted the resources and oppressed the natives living in lands located in the planet’s Southern hemisphere. And that unfair economic relationship never changed substantially at the end of the era of colonization, since in most countries a handful of families continued to own the bulk of the business interests and the majority of productive real estate.
Former CIA consultant Chalmers Johnson indicts that Agency for serving as the private army of a succession of American presidents. He specifically alleges that the CIA was behind the assassination of a long list of populist leaders. Similarly, John Perkins, author of “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man,” owns up to his role in the overthrow of numerous Third World rulers in order to replace them with corrupt puppets handpicked by the U.S.
The situation has degenerated to the point where over a billion people around the world are currently trying to survive on less than a dollar a day, and their prospects are only getting worse, given that the ownership of natural resources has become increasingly concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. So, why does poverty persist in the midst of unparalleled wealth? In a word, greed!

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
In English, Spanish, Portuguese and French with subtitles.
Running time: 104 minutes
Studio: Cinema Libre Studio
DVD Extras: Extended interviews and a DVD-Rom with a timeline, a complete transcript, resources and actions, and a new remedy for poverty.

Paper Man

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Writer Trades Wife for Teen in Midlife Crisis Comedy

 

                Claire Dunn (Lisa Kudrow), a successful surgeon, is so fed up with her underachieving husband that she’s decided to kick him out of their home in the city on the pretense that a beach house on Long Island during the off season might be a better place for him to work on his novel. But because Richard (Jeff Daniels) has never had anything published, he wonders aloud whether this break from each other supposedly for just the winter might really be a trial separation.

You see, the slacker’s been suffering from a combination of crippling maladies ranging from a midlife crisis to writer’s block to a disturbing tendency to carry on conversations with Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds), his imaginary friend in a superhero outfit. And this already confused and lonely soul is about to add a classic case of arrested development to his host of woes soon after his wife drops him off.

For right after his she leaves, this Peter Pan inexplicably hires a luscious, local teenager as a babysitter, even though they don’t have any children. By the time oblivious Abby (Emma Stone) catches on that she’s there to watch him, she’s so intrigued by the eccentric newcomer that she agrees to return regularly. As it turns out, she’s just as troubled, having never quite recovered from the death of her twin sister.

Thus, Abby and Richard bond as kindred spirits, doing their best to keep the relationship Platonic in spite of an unspoken mutual attraction. After all, he’s still married, at least technically; meanwhile, she has an immature boyfriend (Kieran Culkin) who’s always hanging around.

So, unfolds Paper Man, a young girl-old fool dramedy serving up an amusing mix of serendipity and flights of fancy. Written and directed by Kieran and Michele Mulroney (brother and sister-in-law of Dermot, respectively), the movie might best be thought of as Montauk’s answer to Lost in Translation.

Eventually, the moment of truth arrives when shrewish Claire shows up unannounced and catches her hubby in a compromising position on the couch with the not-needed nanny. At that juncture, the miffed spouse throws the proverbial pot of cold water on the cozy arrangement letting Richard’s “It’s not what it looks like, honey!” excuse falls on deaf ears. The only question left is will the philanderer wise up and try to save his marriage, or simply trade in the enraged doctor for jailbait less than half his age?

Love, Long Island style!

                 

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated R for profanity and sexuality.

Running time: 110 Minutes

Distributor: MPI Media Group

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 April 30, 2010

BIG BUDGET FILMS

Furry Vengeance (PG for crude humor, mild epithets and smoking) Eco-friendly, revenge comedy, set in rural Oregon, about a greedy real estate developer (Brendan Fraser) who gets what’s coming when the creatures living in the forest learn about his heartless plans to pave over their peaceable kingdom in order to make way for a mammoth housing development. Cast includes Dr. Ken Jeong, Brooke Shields and Angela Kinsey.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (R for profanity, terror, disturbing images, and graphic bloody violence) Jackie Earle Haley assumes the role of disfigured Freddy Krueger in this remake of the classic slasher flick about a serial killer who stalks a group of suburban teens in order to kill them one-by-one in their sleep. With Rooney Mara, Katie Cassidy and Thomas Dekker.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Dirty Hands (Unrated) Redemption documentary revolving around Korean-American, con man David Choe, the schizophrenic graffiti artist who bottomed out behind bars before turning his life around to sell paintings to corporate sponsors like Nike for millions of dollars.

Ghost Bird (Unrated) Endangered species documentary chronicling how ornithologists flocked to a tiny town in Arkansas in the wake of a supposed sighting there of a giant, ivory-billed woodpecker thought to extinct.

Harry Brown (R for sexuality, drug use, pervasive profanity and graphic violence) Revenge flick about a recently-widowed, law-abiding senior citizen (Michael Caine) who morphs into a crime-fighting vigilante after the street gang that murdered his best friend (David Bradley) gets off with a slap on the wrist. Cast includes Emily Mortimer, Iain Glen and Charlie Creed-Miles.

The Human Centipede: First Sequence (Unrated) Euro-horror flick about a couple of spoiled American girls (Ashley Williams and Ashlynn Yennie) vacationing alone in Germany whose rental car breaks down in the forest where they fall into the clutches of a retired surgeon (Dieter Laser) who once specialized in separating Siamese twins. Now, the diabolical doc hatches a plan to make a human centipede by sewing his helpless kidnap victims one behind the other together in mouth-to-anus fashion. (In English, German and Japanese with subtitles)

Mercy (Unrated) Scott Caan wrote and stars in this romance drama as a writer who doesn’t believe in love until he falls for a critic (Wendy Glenn) he meets at the launch party of his latest novel, despite the fact that she trashed the book. Cast includes Dylan McDermott, Bre Blair and Troy Garity.

Please Give (R for nudity, profanity and sexuality) New York City comedy about the a couple in crisis (Catherine Keener and Oliver Platt) trying to work on their relationship while dealing with the demands of the cranky tenant next-door (Ann Morgan Guilbert) being looked after by two grown granddaughters (Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet). With Elisabeth Keener, Elise Ivy and Lois Smith.

Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film (BOOK REVIEW)

 

 

Divas on Screen:

Black Women in American Film

by Mia Mask

University of Illinois Press

Paperback, $25.00

320 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-0-252-07619-0

               

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

“By examining the persona of five African-American women celebrities, Divas [on Screen] seeks to push the discussion of African-American celebrity beyond the ‘good, politically progressive role model’ versus ‘bad, regressive black stereotype,’ binary that stifles dialogue and divides scholars. Instead, the ensuing chapters address how African-American celebrity functions as a social phenomenon. This is not to minimize the prevalence of racial stereotypes in the 21^st Century…

But the focus of Divas is slightly different. It asks: what can we learn from the complex and contradictory careers of successful black women? Where do we find African-Americans in the performative, ‘other-directed,’ narcissistic culture? What does African-American stardom as a social phenomenon reveal about the aspirations of black folks in the 21^st Century? How have African-Americans—in their struggle for inclusion in commercial entertainment—complied with dominant culture?”

-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pg. 4)

 

                 Vassar Professor Mia Mask has both a bigger vocabulary and a higher IQ than I do, judging by how often she had me reaching for the dictionary and by the many, marvelous insights about cinema she makes that had never occurred to this film critic before. So consider this a fair warning: this sage sister’s book, “Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film” is not light reading but an academic enterprise of considerable substance. That being said, those willing to make the intellectual effort are likely to find themselves richly rewarded by the author’s fresh perspective, priceless pearls of wisdom and impressive background in terms of the cultural, biographical and historical contexts.

                The title might strike you as a bit of a misnomer, for it suggests more expansive coverage of African-American actresses than the five icons focused on here, namely, Dorothy Dandridge, Whoopi Goldberg, Pam Grier, Halle Berry and Oprah. Yet, Professor Mask’s unorthodox approach to the subject still feels comprehensive for, along the way, she manages to incorporate bon mots about many of their accomplished contemporaries.

As for that primary quintet, each enjoys her own chapter. Blaxploitation era idol Pam Grier is given her props for playing macho roles which placed an “emphasis on her body in such a way as to create an image of phallic femininity.” At the other extreme, early pioneer Dorothy Dandridge is credited with cultivating “a public persona of respectable, black bourgeois womanhood, feminine beauty, and domesticity.”

Dr. Mask describes Whoopi as an actress excluded from typical romantic screen liaisons whose repertoire instead reflects an inclination to disrupt “the dominant social order” which explains why she has so frequently defied conventional notions about race, gender and sexuality. Of course, Halle and Oprah’s careers are deconstructed, too, and in a thought-provoking fashion that will prevent you from thinking of them in the same way ever again.

                A fascinating, feminist examination of a struggle for self-definition in the face of a dominant culture and an entertainment industry perfectly comfortable with serving up stereotypical images of black women designed for mass consumption.

Tasha Smith: The "My Black Is Beautiful" Interview

with Kam Williams

 

Headline: Tasha’s Back, and Black and Beautiful as Ever!

 

Tasha Smith and her identical twin, Sidra, were born on February 28, 1971 in Camden, New Jersey. Being raised by a single-mom in a crime and drug infested neighborhood proved to be almost too much of a hurdle for Tasha to overcome as her life spiraled down a self-destructive path marked by promiscuity, Marijuana and cocaine addiction, chain-smoking and a stint as a stripper.

Fortunately, she eventually embraced Christianity, cleaned up her act and moved to L.A. where she tried her hand at standup comedy before settling on an acting career. The versatile scene-stealer has since appeared in such movies as Couples Retreat, The Longshots, Daddy’s Little Girls and Why Did I Get Married, to name a few.

When not working, Tasha gives back to the community, dividing her time between making motivational speeches and teaching actor’s workshops all across the country. Here, she talks about reprising the role of Angela in Why Did I Get Married Too, as well as her new TV series, My Black Is Beautiful, a reality series premiering this month on BET. (Check local listings)

 

Kam Williams: Hey Tasha, thanks for the time again.

Tasha Smith: Hey, Kam Williams! [Shrieks] Whassup! How ya doing?

KW: Very well, and you?

TS: I am doing awesome! I was hoping to interview with you when I was in New York for the premiere [of Why Did I Get Married Too].

KW: This is probably better because I’m sure you were mobbed and I would have had to elbow my way just to get a few minutes one-on-one with you.

TS: Hey, you can have as long as you need now. How’s that?

KW: Tremendous, thanks.

TS: So, what’s happening? Hi!

KW: Nothing much, how about you?

TS: I have just been s busy, and I’m so excited. I have been doing soooooo much. Speaking engagements… producing… developing a half-hour sitcom… working on a movie… leading acting workshops all over the world…and hosting My Black Is Beautiful, an empowerment TV show I’m doing on BET for women. Do you hear me, Kam?

KW: Yeah, so what’s the new TV show going to be like?

TS: We’re doing makeovers, giving financial classes, answering questions about black women’s imaging in the media, and much more. It’s so good! We encourage women to become mentors within their communities in order to teach young girls how to thrive in this society. It’s a good thing, so, I’m excited about having the platform and this opportunity because you know me, I love my folk.

KW: Let’s talk a little about Why Did I Get Married Too. You were as phenomenal as you were in the original which led me to name you the best actress of 2007. How was it seeing everybody again?

TS: Thank you. It was fun. Honestly, we are like a family. We really are. The chemistry for the sequel was even better. It almost felt like we were actually on vacation together, organically. I got to tell you, it was like a family reunion. It was like, “Hey, girl!” and we just had us a good time.

KW: You can’t beat shooting in the Bahamas.

TS: To be honest, the Bahamas wasn’t fun. [Whispers] Kam, it was horrible. Not only was the shooting schedule insane, but there were so many bugs on that island that it was nerve-wracking. It was infested with these big moths called “money bats” Imagine if every time you walked outside hundreds of them were all over the place and landing on you. It was so stressful and irritating. I’m not exaggerating. They also had these mosquitoes called “no see ‘ems” because you couldn’t see ‘em.Those things just ate us up. We had welts and bites all over our bodies. Ugh! I could go on and on. And then there were these other bugs like flying cockroaches that made a loud buzzing sound every time we tried to shoot a scene.

KW: Gee, that sounds very different from Couples Retreat, your previous film, which was filmed in Polynesia on Bora Bora, another exotic location.

TS: Let me tell you honey, they should have picked Bora Bora. Bora Bora was a dream! It was truly paradise.

KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks, who do you admire most in your profession and have you sought out that person as a mentor?

TS: Wow! Angela Bassett is a friend of mine and someone who I truly admire tremendously in terms of her work and her choices.

KW: Reverend Florine Thompson asks, how has your life changed as a Christian, and who in the scriptures speaks most to who you are and how you've developed spiritually? 

TS: I’d say Paul. I just love how he went from being an unbeliever persecuting Christians to one of the most powerful people in the Bible. And how has my life changed as a Christian? Once you have the light of God within you, you see things within yourself that you did not know existed. Things that were hidden in darkness are now in light. I see myself as able to forgive… to love… I even see talents in myself that I didn’t see before.

KW: Reverend Thompson also asks, how do you express the Christ you serve in the glamorous Hollywood milieu in which you work?

TS: Your atmosphere does not change you, if are rooted and grounded in who you are. I do what I believe the Lord did, and that is walk in love with all mankind, which I don’t see a lot of Christians doing. Christians can be so judgmental, that it can turn off people who are considering converting. It makes me a little embarrassed, to tell you the truth, when I hear Christians criticizing others. I have to fight against being discouraged, because I don’t want to be connected with people who are so intolerant of much of mankind like that. God loves us all. He really does. And I want to walk in love with people.

KW: I know you’re from Camden, New Jersey, and your character Angela even brags about it in the film. Have you heard of the Center for Transformation [http://camdencenterfortransformation.org/about.htm], an organization that’s doing some tremendous charity work there, including overseeing a greenhouse, community gardens, neighborhood cleanups, a family resource clinic and other projects?

TS: No I haven’t.

KW: Their mission states “we area people called to be a Christian community and to stand on the side of life with all the struggling people of Camden and the world.”

TS: That sounds beautiful.

KW: I can get some information to you about it, if it sounds like a group you’d be interested in working with.

TS: Yeah, that would be great.

KW: I recently met someone from Camden who says he knew you as a child. Eric Lewis, the jazz pianist. I met him backstage after a concert promoting his new album.

 

TS: Yes, isn’t he talented? I’m so happy for him.

KW: Laz Lyles would like to know what it was like for you to revisit the character Angela.

TS: It was exciting and empowering, because although Tyler always jokes around saying, “Tasha’s just like Angela,” I’m not really. I’m loud and I communicate, but I’d never think of doing half the things Angela does. She’s an over the top character who just lives and speaks honestly without worrying about being politically correct. So, playing her, you get a sense of freedom to do whatever you want and to live vicariously through her.

KW: Laz has a follow up question. What's the most common feedback you get from your acting workshops?

TS: People come to my workshop expecting just to learn about acting, but at the end many say they’ve learned something about life. They leave as better mothers, better wives, better husbands and better siblings.

KW: After watching your acting studio video, [http://www.tsaw.com/actors_workshop_video.html] Larry Greenberg wants to know whether a white guy can enroll in your acting course.

TS: Tell him “Yes!” and please bring his whole family. I’m giving a $20 discount to anyone who brings along a white person to my class. Tell him I want white people in my classes and to send an email blast to every white person he knows to come and visit me. [Laughs]

KW: Larry also says he loved your work in "Glass House: The Good Mother." He asks, “Is there any chance I could see you in another thriller?”

TS: Wow! Tell him to pray. I want to do another thriller. [Laughs]

KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

TS: Hmm… I see a beautiful black woman who has overcome and who is pressing into her future and forgetting about the past.

KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?

TS: Wow! I remember being 6 or 7 years-old and always begging my sister to act out scenes with me while we were in our bunk beds. I would be like, “Can you be Chaka Khan while I be Diana Ross? And let’s act like we’re at a party at Stevie wonder’s house and looking fabulous.” But she would always just fall asleep.

KW: How’s your twin, Sidra, doing?

TS: She’s great, thanks.

KW: The Uduak Oduok question: Who’s you’re favorite clothes designer?

TS: I love Catherine Maladrino, Angela Dean and Nicole Miller. Catherine Maladrino designs that beautiful, high-class red carpet stuff. Nicole Miller makes beautiful dresses you can wear everyday. And when you just want to go and shut it down, you turn to Angela Dean. She made my dress for this premiere, as well as for the opening of Tyler Perry’s studio, that red sequined number.

KW: Beautiful! If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?

TS: Wow, I was just telling my boyfriend that I want to be like Solomon, and instead of asking for riches ask for wisdom and creativity.

KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?

TS: I make a garlic cracked crab that will shut everything down. First, I roast fresh garlic in olive oil. Then, I sauté onions, peppers and basil in Old Bay seasoning with butter, heavy cream, wine and beer until it gets thick. Then, I let the fresh crabs cook in that sauce for about 10 or 15 minutes before roasting them. Woooo! Believe me when I tell you that my garlic cracked crab is soooo good. It’s dynamic! 

KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?

TS: “Understanding Your Potential” by Myles Munroe. That book is really, really, really good, and empowers you to appreciate your full potential, and God as the source of that potential.

 

KW: The music maven Heather Covington question: What are you listening to on your iPod?

TS: Honey, I’m on Sade’s “Soldier of Love” right now. Loving it, loving it, and loving it! That whole album is just crazy.

 

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

TS: Today. [LOL] You wanna know what happened? While I was filming “My Black Is Beautiful” I had my DNA traced and found out that I’m linked genetically to the Bubi people of Bioko Island. So, I eagerly asked, “Am I descended from kings and queens?” But I was told, “Sorry, your ancestors were definitely not kings and queens, but probably gatherers in the field.” [Laughs more] That was hilarious. I just laughed so hard.

KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?

TS: Thanks for asking. A lot of times people don’t really seem to care about that. How do I sound?

KW: Elated, and you’ve got a boyfriend since we last spoke.

TS: [Shrieks] I got a man, baby! A man! He is so absolutely wonderful. I am so in love. And I’m planning on getting married and having a bay by the end of 2011.

KW: Congratulations! Who’s the lucky guy?

TS: His name is Keith.

KW: Best of luck to you both, Tasha, and thanks for another terrific interview.

TS: Thank you. It’s so good to talk to you.

KW: Same here.