Michael Jackson- The King of Pop

 

by Jel D. Lewis Jones

Amber Books

Paperback, $29.85

320 pages, illustrated

ISBN: 978-0-9749779-0-4

                         

Book Review by Kam Williams

 

“I have admired and adored Michael Jackson from the first time I heard his name and listened to his music. I have never been more fascinated by an entertainer before or since…

As a huge Michael Jackson fan and as a writer, I wanted to do something and give back to the entertainer for all the good feelings he has given to me and so many fans across this country and others. My gift to Michael is this positive book about his life and his music career.

The thought to write this book came to me out of the blue when I was reading a [positive] article about him [which] left me with good feelings, compared to the sick feelings I get when I listen to the television and radio and hear all the negative press about him. So, I decided to [do] my small part by putting out some positive information about the Superstar!”

n      Excerpted from the Introduction (page xvii)

 

In the wake of Michael Jackson’s untimely passing, I’m sure his legions of

devoted fans are looking for a way to keep his spirit alive. They would do well to consider picking up a copy of Michael Jackson: The King of Pop, a comprehensive anthology comprised of interviews, song lyrics, dozens of color and b&w photographs, and more.

            The literary equivalent of a bound fanzine, the book offers an uncritical peek at Jackson both from his own, self-serving perspective and that of the admittedly-adoring author. Despite her gushing, syrupy sweet tone, the tome is still fairly fascinating primarily because Michael comes off as a very sympathetic figure who clearly became bizarre because he never had a normal childhood. It’s sort of like how a dog or a cat is worthless as a pet if it’s weaned from its mother at too young an age.

            Consider Jackson’s response when asked by a reporter from USA Today in 2001 whether he’s “resentful that stardom stole his childhood. “Yeah, it’s not anger, it’s pain,” he admitted. “People see me at an amusement park or with other kids having fun, and they don’t stop and think, ‘He never had that chance when he was little.’ I never had the chance to do the fun things kids do: sleepovers, parties, trick-or-treat. There was no Christmas, no holiday celebrating. So now you try to compensate for some of that loss.”

            In another article, Michael takes on the paparazzi, saying “The tabloid press are bastards, and you’ve got to have rhinoceros skin to deal with that ignorant mentality… They simply make it up… I’m nothing like the way the tabloids have painted me out to be, nothing… They’re the ones who are crazy.”      

He even sounds very convincing when he explains that his trademark crotch-grabbing dancing “isn’t sexual at all.” 

            A coffee table keepsake which makes a convincing argument that while Michael Jackson might have been the consummate performer onstage, as soon as the music stopped he always turned back into the naïve innocent who had never grown up and couldn’t hurt a fly.

 

To purchase a copy of Michael Jackson: The King of Pop, visit: Amazon.com

Soledad O'Brien: The "CNN Presents: Black in America 2" Interview

           

with Kam Williams

 

Headline: Soledad on Ice

 

            Born on September 19, 1966 in Saint James, NY 1996, Maria de la Soledad Teresa O’Brien is the fifth of sixth children born to Edward and Estrella, immigrants from Australia and Cuba, respectively. She and her siblings excelled academically, and all attended Harvard University. But while her brothers and sisters pursued postgraduate degrees in either medicine or the law, Soledad settled on a career in journalism.   

            Ms. O’Brien bounced around the television dial for a few years, enjoying stints on The Today Show, NBC Nightly News and at MS-NBC before finally finding a home at CNN where she co-anchored American Morning from 2003 to 2007, often going on location to report such disasters as Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Thailand.

            Last year, she anchored Black in America, a groundbreaking, two-part series focusing on the state of black society which was watched by over 13 million viewers. In 2008, she was also a member of CNN’s self-professed "Best Political Team on Television" covering the 2008 presidential campaign.

Among Soledad’s many accolades are an Emmy, the NAACP’s President’s Award, the Hispanic Heritage Vision Award, and even the Soledad O’Brien Freedom’s Voice Award which was established in her honor by Morehouse College. Furthermore, the fetching freckle-faced (that’s right, freckle-faced) mother of four has been named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People Magazine and one of the “Top 100 Irish Americans” by Irish American Magazine.

Here, the perky, peripatetic journalist took a break from her very hectic schedule to talk about all of the above and about Black in America 2 which is set to premiere on CNN on Wednesday July 22^nd and Thursday July 23^rd at 8 PM ET/PT.

 

KW: Hi Soledad, I’m honored for the opportunity to speak with you.

SO: Not at all. How are you?

KW: Fine, thanks. I have a lot of ground to try to cover, because my readers sent in so many questions for me to ask you.    

SO:  Blast away!

KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks what originally interested you in making Black in America?

SO: The first time around, we wanted to take a look at where we were 40 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King, because the Black in America series actually started with a two-hour documentary on his assassination. This time around, we were really trying to answer a question that was put to us many, many times by people who said, “I loved the documentary, but what are we supposed to do?” So, really, Black in America 2 was an effort to answer the question “Now what?” by taking a look at what some people are doing very successfully and in ways that can be replicated.     

KW: Are you bringing back that rapper introducing each segment with a poem?

SO: He will not be back this time because we’re doing something different. Did you like him or not?

KW: I hated him.

SO: Really? That’s interesting. I knew the guy personally and was fine with it. But it seems that people either loved or hated it. My mother loved it, my father hated it. My brother loved it, my sister and best friend hated it. And I mean hated. Hated! [Laughs] And they asked, “What were you trying to say with that?” or “Why is he rapping?” or “Why didn’t you have classical musicians playing?” I found it funny because it was something that I’d put very little thought into since I was so focused on the documentary itself. I just thought that as a nice, spoken-word poet he’d make an interesting artist to have introducing the segments. Here’s what was interesting to me about that, actually. With this entire project, people have a very personal attachment to the story in a way that other communities don’t. For instance, my own mother complained to me at the end of the first Black in America, saying “Oh, so no Afro-Latinos. Why none of your own people?” And I was like, “Give me a break, mom!” But I get it, everybody wants their story in there and a personal connection to the material.

KW: Speaking of your mother, was she accepted by your father’s family when they were married back in the Fifties? After all, she was a black, he was white, and interracial marriages were very rare and still illegal in most Southern states.

SO: I’ve asked them a lot about that for a book that I’m working on. They both had left their families to come to the United States. My mother’s from Cuba and Australians didn’t have any particular hostility towards black Cubans. Plus, Australians have very stiff upper lips, meaning, if there were a problem, no one would know. So, my mom says she felt very accepted by my father’s family. 

KW: Were blacks even allowed to enter Australia at the time they were married?

SO: That’s a good question, and I don’t know the answer to that. I know that when I asked them why they didn’t go back during that period, the answer was that my dad was working on his Ph.D. But they did eventually take the entire family at the first opportunity. In fact, my little brother was born there.

KW: It is very impressive that all six of you attended Harvard. What was your parents’ formula for raising geniuses who realized their potential?

SO: It’s less about the O’Briens are geniuses who all went to Harvard, and more about the importance of role modeling. I truly believe the reason we went to Harvard was because my sister, Maria, who was a great student, demystified it for the rest of us, and made it feel readily achievable. I didn’t see her as a genius, but as my sister who was a very hard worker. I could look at her and think, if she could go to Harvard and do well, I certainly could go there and do well. That has made me realize that you are at a giant disadvantage, if you don’t have role models in your life. 

KW: Each of your five siblings is either a doctor or a lawyer. Does that make you the black sheep of the family?

SO: [Chuckles] Yeah, I’m the black sheep of the family, although I think they’d love to get on TV.

KW: When I think of you, I think of the Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Thailand. Do you specialize in covering natural disasters?

SO: When I was a morning anchor, a story had to be big for us to do the show on location. And disasters kind of fit that bill, whether it might be the Virginia Tech shooting, Hurricane Katrina or something else. But it was less about disasters than a place from which you could anchor the show for a week. We traveled for many different types of stories. Sadly, the disasters just happen to be the more memorable ones.  

KW: How do you feel about the fact that so many ethnic groups are trying to claim you as theirs? I’m on the NAACP Image Award’s nominating committee, and we gave you the President’s Award. You were also named one of the Top 100 Irish Americans and received the Hispanic Heritage Vision Award.

SO: My dad’s brother saw a photo of me receiving the NAACP Award and he said, [impersonating an Australian accent] “Oh, Solly, you look so Australian!” That was so funny. I think it’s great because I’m multi-cultural in a lot of ways. I invest a lot of my personal time and energy in different communities. Also, as a journalist, I think there’s a big benefit in being both an insider and an outsider on an assignment. There’s value being an insider in terms of compassion and credibility, whether the community you’re covering is women, working moms, black people or Latinos. And then, as an outsider, you have the freedom too ask the tough questions with credibility. So, I find myself to be comfortable in many situations which might be uncomfortable for most journalists. I kind of fit in everywhere and yet don’t precisely fit in anywhere. And that’s a really nice thing for me not only as a journalist, but as a human being.

KW: To what extent do you embrace your Irish heritage? And is it easier because of your last name? 

SO: Funny, I never really think about my Irish heritage unless someone brings it up to me. It’s the same way when someone asks me if I’m black. I don’t have the time to think about it day in and day out. I just see myself as an overworked, crazed mother of four. But then I might meet someone who wants to know where in Ireland my father’s family is from. 

KW: Like me. Which county were they from?

SO: I have an aunt who has traced our genealogy back to County Cork.

KW: Australia was settled as a penal colony. Were your ancestors criminals?

SO: Sadly, no. Down Under, having a convict in your family tree is the equivalent of coming over on the Mayflower in America. My relatives were just poor people who migrated there during the Potato Famine. 

 

KW: How did it feel to make People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World list? Did you feel any pressure, since most of the women on it are starlets and pop divas?

SO: No, I agree with you. I’m not a starlet, so there was no pressure to live up to anything on that front. The greatest irony is that I was pregnant with my first daughter and threw up the entire time during People Magazine’s shoot for that article. I think it was God’s way of telling me not to get a big head. But it was certainly a very nice thing for People to pick me.

KW: How did you come to get the Soledad O’Brien Freedom’s Voice Award? Is that Lou Gehrig getting Lou Gehrig’s Disease?

SO: That’s a terrible analogy! I was actually floored. It was such a surprise and an amazing honor for Morehouse’s School of Medicine to recognize my body of work and to establish an award in my name, mid-career, and hopefully not end of career, although I have been in the business for 22 years. I ran into Dave Chappelle at the Four Seasons the other day and he asked me how I was doing. When I complained about all the traveling and he said, “Don’t quit! Don’t quit!” I can’t tell you how many people tell me that. 

KW: Dave told you that even though he quit his own show?

SO: That’s what I said to him. And he just smiled and said, “I should know, right?” It’s so incredibly helpful when I’m feeling spent from traveling to have someone say your work matters and we need you around.   

KW: What’s it like raising four your children and being on the road so much?

SO: It’s really hard. I’ve been traveling as much as six days a week for this project. That’s impossible to maintain. That’s non-viable. So, we won’t do that again, because I’m a hands-on mommy. It’s really hard on the kids. Even though they understand what I’m doing, someone needs to be there to kind of run the ship at home, which is me. So, we will do things a little bit differently logistically, because I can’t work non-stop and then be off for three months. I have to create a more sane schedule. And that should be very doable.

KW: Reverend Florine Thompson wants to know what you think of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court.

SO: I think the fact that you’re looking at a Latino nominee is an indication of a demographic shift that’s actually been going on for a long time. Despite the hoopla around it, if you study the demographics, it’s really no surprise. That being said, her addition to the Court will be historic, although who knows what kind of a justice she’ll be. My sister has argued a case before her, and said that she’s very thoughtful and runs a tight ship. By all accounts she’s bright, smart and hard-working. To me, those things are more important than her being Puerto Rican. But from a history-making perspective, the fact that she’s Latino is obviously critical.

KW: Reverend Thompson was also wondering if you think her struggle with type1 diabetes should be taken into consideration.  

SO: No, her diabetes shouldn’t be an issue at all, period.

KW: Laz Lyles asks, if the election of President Obama makes will Black in America 2 more relevant or less relevant, and what impact the show will have on the country?

SO: I don’t think Obama’s being President doesn’t affect the relevance of the show one way or another. When you examine the breakdown of viewers, the audience is not overwhelmingly black. It’s a mix. I didn’t create the show for anyone or to have an impact on the country. My job was to tell really good stories in a way which would stick with people.

KW: Do you see a declining significance of color in the Age of Obama? 

SO: I talk to teenagers and they’ll just sort of roll your eyes when you talk about race, as if they don’t get it and as if race doesn’t matter. They look at me the same way I looked at my parents when they reminisced about saving up for their first mortgage. It’s as if I’m talking about something that’s completely irrelevant to their lives.

KW: Are they colorblind?

SO: They’re not colorblind, they see the differences, but they don’t matter. They just don’t see race the same way we see race. And in some ways I think that’s good in that race has become completely demystified the way Harvard was for me watching my sister go off to college. So, I have a lot of hope for my kids’ generation. My daughter looks black but is as blonde as could be. And so many of the children at my daughter’s school are just as diverse-looking.

KW: How do people react to your identifying yourself as black, given your appearance and Spanish and Irish names?  

SO: Occasionally, someone will thank me, saying, “You don’t have to admit you’re black.” And I’ll go, “Really? Because I often travel with that beautiful black woman with an afro who’s my mother. What do I do about her?” 

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

SO: That’s a really good question… No, but I’m going to have to think about that though.

KW: I’ll consider that a compliment coming from the consummate interviewer. The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?

SO: I’m rarely afraid physically, because I don’t do stories that are dangerous. The only fear I have is of being inaccurate, of making an error or of getting the story wrong. Any journalist worth their salt should be afraid of that.

KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?

SO: God, I’m so happy, and I don’t know why, because I literally have not slept in two days. But I’m a nauseatingly-optimistic and naturally-happy human being. I enjoy the company of others and feel very, very blessed. My kids are healthy and hilarious… I have a husband [investment banker Bradley Raymond] who is the most-amazing human being. 

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

SO: I have a good laugh all the time. Half of it is so silly it would make no sense to you. I’m here in New Orleans to get an award from McDonalds, and I’m sitting next to my best friend C.C., my executive producer, who moved back here after Katrina to rebuild her home. And we were just laughing about the fact that I haven’t been to sleep for two days. I flew in from California in on the red eye, arrived at 5 in the morning and never went to bed. So, we laughed about the fact that my life is so chaotic and spinning out of control. Still, I have the best job in television news. I’m not bragging and I don’t mean to sound arrogant. It is such a luxury to be able to do stories that matter. Every day, literally, strangers come up to me and thank me for the work that I do. To hear people say that is so amazing. It’s a great gig!

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

SO: Oh my gosh! I’m in the middle of reading The Soloist by Steve Lopez. It’s fantastic! I didn’t see the movie. A better question would be, what movie did I see last?

KW: I interviewed Jamie Foxx for the film, but I didn’t read the book yet, because I had to review the movie. And whenever I read the book first, I end up hating the movie. The music maven Heather Covington question: What music are you listening to nowadays? 

SO: Anybody who knows me, knows I love Luther Vandross. That’s what I love to listen to. He’s my hero. I love him. He was supposed to be on my show, but canceled, just before he died. It was the saddest thing, because after he died I knew I’d never get to meet the person I was so in love with. I also listen to India.Arie and John Legend who I think I scared when I interviewed because I told him, “I love you so much, you’re the greatest!”

KW: What has been the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?

SO: What an interesting question! I don’t know. I’m not a big blamer of things on anything but myself. So, if there have been any failings in what I’ve done, it’s been in my not working hard enough.

KW: The Laz Alonso question: How can your fans help you?

SO: You know, you have some really fascinating questions. What I really appreciate is helpful feedback sharing what specifically moved or irked them about a story. I’m a student. I like to learn from what people have to say. And I’ll often write back to a fan and get a good correspondence going. 

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

SO: [Giggles] That’s so funny. When I look in the mirror, I’m always surprised that I have this face full of freckles. I’m 43 years-old, but feel the same as when I was 26 and just getting some traction as a reporter. So, I look like a mom, but I don’t feel like a mom. I look in the mirror and see a light-skinned black girl with a face full of freckles. And I go, “Oh my God! I’m middle-aged now! That’s crazy!”   

KW: How do you feel about the passing of Michael Jackson?

SO: It’s interesting to me how many people of all ages and from all walks of life have been telling me how saddened they are by his death. Not many an icon’s passing would profoundly affect so many different subsets of people? That’s really an indication that he was truly a world pop star.

KW: We also lost Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays and Karl Malden.

SO: It’s been so sad, that’s a lot of loss in one week.

KW: Marcia Evans said that she found Black in America 1 “painful because it put us in a negative light.” Did you get a lot of feedback like that?   

SO: I had some people say that, but I don’t think that that’s true. My job was to answer the question we had posed, namely, “Where are we today?” For instance, someone asked me why I had to talk about the black male dropout rate. My response was, why aren’t you screaming bloody murder about the low graduate rate? That’s insanity! You can’t have a successful country with a 29% black male graduation rate. And I was curious about why someone would find my pointing that out would reflect on them personally.  

KW: How is Black in America 2 different?

SO: My approach this go-round was to focus on the anatomy of success. 

KW: Did you ever make a faux pas on an open microphone like your colleague Kyra Phillips? Do you have a sister-in-law like her who’s a real control freak?

SO: [LOL] No, my sister-in-law is fabulous. She’s a dermatologist and she recently helped out when my son had a terrible rash. I emailed her a photo from my Blackberry and she diagnosed it for me. I get along great with all my siblings. We are a very tight-knit family, and my parents are alive and happy and well! I haven’t made a lot of open mic faux pas, but I am the same person on and off camera. So, you kind of get what you get with me.

KW: Vanessa Goldstein asks, what did you think of Henry Louis Gates' PBS series African-American Lives?

SO: I loved it. You know, Skip Gates was a professor of mine at Harvard, and I’m a big fan of his, both personally and professionally. 

KW: Marcia Evans has a suggestion for Black in America 3. She asks, why don’t you cover what black America was robbed of and what America owes blacks?

SO: That’s an interesting suggestion. Certainly, the entire structure of economic disparity is built on generations and generations of people whose work went uncompensated. But I don’t see us doing that in the near future, because I want to cover current-day stories which are unfolding in front of us.

KW: What is your favorite meal to cook?

SO: [Chuckles] I don’t cook. I microwave. My mother will drop off food for us. She makes the best black beans and rice. I can make pasta sauce and tacos, but I really do not enjoy the cooking process, and I don’t do it very often. 

KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?

SO: My advice would be: stick it out! We’re see some great movement in terms of diversity, and a bunch of different voices are beginning to get heard. It’s been a battle to get those stories done. I would love to have someone say, “Soledad, you’ve done a great job, but you can retire because I’ve come to take over.” Those words would be music to my ears.

KW: And when you retire, how do you want to be remembered?

SO: As a really good mother who tried to include her children in her work, because she thought her work was important.

KW: The Rudy Lewis question: Who’s at the top of your hero list?

SO: My mom’s at the top of that list. She used to say to me when I was younger, “Don’t let anybody tell you you’re not black. And don’t let anybody tell you you’re not Cuban.” And she never cared what other people thought about her. Another thing I inherited from her is the idea that you “Do what you want to do, and don’t worry what other people are going to say about it.” When my parents were getting married in 1958, it was so controversial the ACLU contacted them to see if they wanted to be the couple that would test the ban on interracial marriage. But they were low-key and didn’t care about the crazy stuff or the fact that people would yell things at them when they walked down the street together. 

KW: Where did they marry?

SO: They were living in Baltimore, and they had to go to Washington, D.C. to get hitched. Another hero of mine is Malaak Compton-Rock [Chris Rock’s wife] whose charity work is highlighted in Black in America 2.

KW: Well, thanks again, Soledad, and best of luck with Black in America 2

SO: My pleasure.

KW: If you’re inclined, maybe we can chat again after it airs, and I can come armed with a set of questions based on my readers’ reactions to the series.

SO: Absolutely! I’d love that. Perfect!

 

Local Color

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Portrait of a Young Artist as Apprentice

18 year-old John Talia, Jr. (Trevor Morgan) is an aspiring artist who is mostly misunderstood by his blue-collar father (Ray Liotta). John, Sr. thinks his son must be a homosexual because he enjoys drawing male nudes. After all, this is 1974, during decidedly less-enlightened times, especially in upstate New York.
Frustrated Junior decides to travel to Pennsylvania to ask his idol, aging master, Nicoli Seroff (Armin Mueller-Stahl), to take him on as an apprentice. But John has no idea that what he’ll find is an embittered old alcoholic who has lost not only his enthusiasm for painting but for living.
It seems that the cranky codger is still grieving the death of his wife even though she passed away ages ago in Stalinist Russia during the purge. He somehow remains sour in spite of the presence of a ready replacement ostensibly waiting in the wings in the person of his pretty neighbor, Carla (Samantha Mathis).
The plot thickens when the cantankerous coot grudgingly agrees to mentor John for the summer on the condition he follows an unorthodox training regimen with question. Next, however, Nicoli has his protégé painting his house instead of any canvases. Soon, John starts to wonder how the heck this will lead to his learning to paint beautiful landscapes.
Not to worry. If you’re familiar with the storyline of The Karate Kid, then you undoubtedly remember that the mentoring-style of sensei Mr. Miyagi (who was also mourning the loss of his wife) had more to do with housework than with the martial arts. Therefore, expect to see shades of that screen classic’s arc in Local Color, an autobiographical coming-of-age bio-pic written and directed by George Gallo.
Fortunately, this variation on the “ostracized teen trying to make it in a new town” theme does have a unique twist, an awkward love triangle. You see, the blonde John gets to go gaga over isn’t a girl his own age, but none other than Nicoli’s Carla, a cougar prepared to pounce, provided her young prey doesn’t turn out to be gay.
Simultaneously serving as a muse and as a sympathetic shoulder to lean on, the seductive single-mom inspires her blossoming boy-toy with simplistic, fortune cookie philosophizing such as: “Follow your heart!” and “Don’t let anyone talk you out of what you want to be.” Hey, don’t laugh Corny lines like that can sound like pearls of wisdom to the testosterone-blinded mind of a virgin with raging hormones, especially when coming from a woman he secretly desires.
Forget The Karate Kid, make room for The Painting Protégé!

Very Good (2.5 stars)
Rated R for profanity.
Running time: 107 minutes
Studio: Monterey Media

Watchmen DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Underwhelming Comic Book Adaptation Comes to DVD

Watchmen is an underwhelming splatter flick bound to be as well remembered for its casual display of male genitalia as for its ubiquitous gore. Based on the popular DC Comics series of the same name, this eagerly-anticipated adaptation is plagued by a plethora of characters and a convoluted plotline that takes almost three hours to introduce, thicken and resolve.

Part of the confusion comes from the backdrop of the story, which is set in 1985 in an alternate reality where Richard Nixon is still president. Furthermore, America and the U.S.S.R. are at odds and teetering on the brink of mutual nuclear annihilation.

The point of departure is the mysterious murder of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a retired member of the Watchmen, a confederation of superheroes who once worked for the U.S. government. His body is discovered by Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), a former colleague who sports a mask with a constantly changing symmetrical ink blot. Rorschach decides its time to reassemble the old gang in order to get to the bottom of the crime, unaware that this endeavor will, in turn, embroil them in a subplot to save the planet from extinction.

Most notable among the motley crew coming out of mothballs are brainiac Ozymandias (Matthew Goode); techno-wiz Nite Owl II (Patrick Wilson); curvy Silk Spectre II (Malin Ackerman); her lover Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup); and her mother, Silk Spectre (Carla Gugino). One can’t help but notice two things about the scene-stealing Manhattan: that he’s blue, and that he’s always naked.

The latter distraction tends to overshadow his amazing superhuman ability to bend matter with his mind, the result of the proverbial exposure to radiation in a lab accident. For, whenever the camera shoots him below the waist, we’re treated to the shocking sight of his dangling family jewels in all their glory.

Equally jaw-dropping is director Zack Snyder’s tendency to up the ante in terms of gratuitous violence. For instance, in the comic book, Rorschach killed a kidnapper simply by handcuffing him to a pipe, setting the house on fire, and calmly walking out. But in the screen version, Rorschach has inexplicably morphed into a sadistic vigilante who takes glee in hacking away at the same sicko’s head with the cleaver.

A morally-ambiguous parable designed to tap into homoerotic urges while satiating the bloodlust of the sanguine, post-Pavlovian Cyber Generation.

Fair (1 star)
Rated R for full frontal nudity, sexuality, profanity and graphic violence.
Running time: 163 minutes
Studio: Warner Home Video
2-Disc DVD Extras: Digital copy, director’s cut, video journals, music video and “The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics” featurette.

Push DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Sci-Fi Mindbender Released on DVD

Nick (Chris Evans) is a so-called Mover born with the ability to manipulate objects with his mind, a trait he inherited from his late father. 13 year-old Cassie (Dakota Fanning), on the other hand, is a Watcher, which means she can see far into the future.
The source of their superhuman powers is a Nazi scientific experiment gone haywire during the Holocaust in which kids were fed milk with radioactive iodine. Consequently, there’s a whole race of mutants roaming the Earth, including Pushers, who are capable of altering others’ minds; Bleeders, who can rupture eardrums by emitting high-pitched sounds; Sniffs, the psychic equivalent of bloodhounds; Stitchers, who can heal the sick instantaneously; Shadows, who can block the clairvoyant visions of Sniffs; Wipers, blessed with the ability to erase memories temporarily or permanently; and Shifters, masters at creating optical illusions.
Freaks with telepathic talents tend to attract the attention of despots with world domination in mind. So, it’s no surprise to learn that a clandestine U.S. spy agency called Division has been rounding up any rogue mutants.
Thus, just past the point of departure of Push, we learn that a team of agents led by Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou) has tracked the trails of Nick and Cassie to Hong Kong and plans to bring them back to America to put them to work first in service of the government. The plot thickens when the two young expatriates decide they’d rather remain free, and proceed to pin their hopes on finding Nick’s ex-girlfriend, Kira (Camilla Belle), the only person known to have escaped the clutches of Division successfully.
So, the chase is on, and the surprisingly-cerebral sci-fi adventure which ensues unfolds in a fashion that’s not always easy to follow, adding up overall to an alternately thrilling and thought-provoking roller coaster ride which you’ll probably have to watch more than once to comprehend completely. For, although the “fugitives on the run” storyline might sound fairly conventional on its face, appearances can be deceiving when you’re your dealing with an ensemble of supernatural characters able to morph at will.
A harrowing mindbender which successfully blends elements of X-Men, The Matrix and Memento while adding some of its own unique sci-fi flava.

Excellent (3.5 stars)
Rated PG-13 for profanity, teen drinking and intense violence.
In English and Cantonese with subtitles.
Running time: 111 minutes
Studio: Summit Entertainment
DVD Extras: Audio commentary by the director and cast, deleted scenes with director’s commentary and “The Science behind the Fiction” featurette.

Public Enemies

 

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Headline: Depp Does Dillinger in Grisly Gangster Saga

 

In 1996, Theresa Russell starred in a picture called Public Enemies, a mob saga glorifying Ma Barker’s reign of terror as the matriarch of a crew of bank robbers comprised of her own sons. So, it’s hard to fathom why director Michael Mann would now opt to resurrect the same name for a similarly-themed film also glamorizing the exploits of a Thirties crime boss, i.e., John Herbert Dillinger (1903-1934).

But that recycled title is the least of the problems of this derivative head-scratcher. Its biggest flaw rests with its failure to engage the audience emotionally in either Dillinger’s (Johnny Depp) bloody crime spree or his wooing of a gullible hat-check girl (Marion Cotillard). For in lieu of character development, Mann has ostensibly opted to focus on crafting a grisly splatter flick featuring more Tommy Gun muzzle flashes per minute than we’ve witnessed since such gangland-era classics as The Untouchables (1987) and Dillinger (1973).

While fairly faithfully following the latter’s plotline, Public Enemies squanders the services of a couple of consummate thespians in Johnny Depp and Christian Bale. With Bale playing legendary lawman Melvin Purvis one would think that his dogged pursuit of Depp as Dellinger would make for some really riveting movie magic. Think again. The chase in this case is about as compelling as any nondescript action sequence you can find by accident while channel surfing with a TV remote.

Equally-wasted is the rest of a stellar, A-list cast, starting with Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard (for La Vie en Rose) who unsuccessfully tests out a variety of unrecognizable accents as Dillinger’s devoted gun moll, Billie Frenchette. Then we have Billy Crudup who fails to do J. Edgar Hoover justice in an uncharismatic interpretation of the feared FBI founder, and Stephen Graham who comes off as a cartoonish clown impersonating trigger-happy Baby Face Nelson.

And why was an accomplished actress like Leelee Sobieski signed on as an extra? Simply to look pretty strolling briefly down the street on the arm of the ill-fated protagonist? The same must be asked about rising star Channing Tatum, who makes a blink-and-you-missed-it cameo as Pretty Boy Floyd. Ditto for

Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff and a host of other gifted character actors. The list of disappointing performances is endless.

            Accentuating the positive for a moment, what Public Enemies does have to offer is an old-fashioned shoot ‘em up for filmgoers who enjoy that sort of mindless mayhem. More cerebral cineastes might find themselves offended by the way in which the production goes out of its way to paint Dillinger as an easy to root for folk hero with a code of honor and a lover that he remained faithful to.

This, unfortunately, conveniently flies in the face of common sense. Truth be told, in real life he was a worthless cop killer and a womanizer who had abandoned his wife for a bunch of floozies. Funny how Hollywood portraits of him have become increasingly empathetic over the years since 1945 when he was originally introduced as a cold-blooded murderer. 

Hyper-romanticized revisionist history reflecting America’s ongoing love affair with gangsters.

 

Fair (1.5 stars)

Rated R for profanity and gangland-style slayings. 

Running time: 140 minutes

Studio: Universal Pictures

 

 

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 July 10, 2009

                    

 

BIG BUDGET FILMS

 

Bruno (R for profanity, sexuality, pervasive crude humor and graphic nudity) Borat’s Sacha Baron Cohen is back with another shockumentary, this time posing as a flamboyant, gay, Australian fashionista primarily to expose a series of unsuspecting foils as homophobes. With cameo appearances by Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Sting, Elton John, Bono, Slash, Ron Paul and Paula Abdul.

 

I Love You, Beth Cooper (PG-13 for profanity, crude humor, sexuality, violence, drug use and teen drinking) Romantic comedy about a nerdy, high school grad (Paul Rust) who gets the surprise of his life after proclaiming his love an attractive classmate (Hayden Panettiere) during his valedictory speech when she shows up at his door hot-to-trot that very night. Supporting cast includes Lauren London, Maggie Ma and Alan Ruck.  

 

 

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

 

Blood: The Last Vampire (R for graphic violence) Horror flick, set in Japan in the Seventies, about a mysterious vampire (Gianna Jun) with a magic sword who is called upon to save the day when an American Air Force base is invaded by a race of evil, shape-shifting demons. Cast includes Koyuki, Alison Miller and Liam Cunningham.

 

Deadgirl (Unrated) Suspense thriller about a couple of juvenile delinquents (Shiloh Fernandez and Noah Segan) who cut class to break into an abandoned mental hospital where they discover the body of a naked woman (Jenny Spain) who has been strapped to a gurney and covered in plastic.

 

Humpday (R for graphic sexuality, pervasive profanity and a scene of drug use) Buddy comedy about a couple of straight best friends (Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard) who decide to make an amateur gay porn flick together on a mutual dare during a drinking binge. With Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton and Trina Willard.   

 

Lake Tahoe (Unrated) Minimalist Mexican drama, set in a coastal town on the Yucatan Peninsula, revolving around a 16 year-old boy’s (Diego Cataño) attempt to cope with the sudden death of his father. (In Spanish with subtitles)

 

Soul Power (PG-13 for mature themes and brief profanity) “Rumble in the Jungle” documentary, set in the Congo in 1974, revisits the three-day music festival leading to the historic Ali-Foreman heavyweight championship bout. Features concert performances by James Brown, The Spinners, the Crusaders, B.B. King and Miriam Makeba.

 

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg (Unrated) Aviva Kempner (The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg) directs this bio-pic chronicling the career of radio and television pioneer Gertrude Berg (1899-1966), star and scriptwriter of a popular sitcom called The Goldbergs. Includes appearances by Norman Lear, Sara Chase and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.