Jackie Brown

"Jackie can tell me any story that comes into her pretty little head, just so long as at the end of that story she hands me my motherf*&%$ing money."

You'd think as much as I love Tarantino movies, I would have already seen this 1997 flick starring Samuel L. Jackson, Robert DeNiro and the fabulous Pam Grier. But I just saw it for the first time over the weekend.
If you're a fan like me, you'll love Jackie Brown. From the jive-talking to the gun slinging and all the crime caper hoopla, this will satisfy your film-loving appetite. Pam Grier is at her best recapturing the type of role that made her a bonafide star in '70s blaxploitation movies like Foxy Brown as the stewardess who gets wrapped up in a money laundering heist helmed by the smooth-talking wackjob seamlessly played by Samuel L. Jackson. Robert De Niro stars as his sidekick and Bridget Fonda, well, the dumb blonde with a scheming nature. Together they all make up a pretty cool movie.
However, I was left wondering why Robert Forster, who played the mundane bail bondsman who fell for the lovely Grier, was nominated for an Oscar. He was certainly not the highlight of the movie and was kinda forgettable. What did you think?

Also, what is your favorite Tarantino film?

My rating: A

Saw VI

"Once you see death up close, then you know what the value of life is."

In true tradition of the Saw series, Saw VI continued to freak out audiences with plenty of gore and entangled characters who are all at the mercy of the psychotic Jigsaw, the psycho who preys on those who have either denied someone the right to live or have not taken advantage of their own will to live and make them play his twisted game of death. But the latest installment lacked a consistent plotline. If you're a die-hard fan and have seen all the other films in the series, you'll notice that the plotline seem to diminish as the years go, until they're left with all gore and no substance. If you're a newbie or, like me, haven't seen all the films in the series, you may get lost during some of the flashback scenes they whizzed through. Saw VI attempted to tie together all the loose plotline from the previous movies in one quick sweep towards the end but failed to really spend any time on figuring out the plot for this movie.
But, there were certainly a lot of frightful moments that made you want to cover your eyes, oftentimes because you knew what was going to happen to the character before he or she did and didn't want to witness it. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to jumping in my seat a few times. Unfortunately the plot was just a bit messy.
Great entertainment for a spooky Halloween night, but most likely not as entertaining any other time of the year. Saw VI lost the originality that made the first movie so special and tried to mask that problem with more victims, more plots and more gore.
If you're a horror movie fanatic, check it out. Let me know what you think.

My rating: B-

Michael Jackson's This Is It

"My goal in life is to give to the world what I was lucky to receive: the ecstasy of divine union through my music and my dance."

It's always inspiring to see a genius at work. And that's exactly how I felt watching Michael Jackson in This Is it--inspired. It made me smile to see the King of Pop doing what he loved to do the most, what gave him so much joy. Watching him you felt like no matter what else was going on in the world, the moments he created on stage was full of love and happiness.
Michael Jackson was in his element--dancing like a machine, singing his butt off, and smiling all the way through. His back-up dancers and singers were just as amazed as we are in the audience to see him perform flawlessly after a years-long hiatus from the stage. When the back-up crew left the stage after their takes, they grabbed a seat right n the audience so as not to miss a second of Michael's rehearsals as a mere blink might result in missing an impromptu magical moment on stage. They were fans, just like us. And they were living their dreams, Michael's dreams, right before their eyes.
We witness rare glimpses of Michael's witty sense of humor as he goofs off during extended rehearsals. We also see Michael's brilliance shine through as he not only shows off his individual performance skills, but also proves that he knows a thing or two about the music composition--down to the drums, the percussion, and the updated videography streaming in the background--when to cue a light or time a dancer's entrance or choreography. He knew everything down to the nuts and bolts of how to create a masterpiece on stage--visually, performance-wise and musically. He was a perfectionist, often requiring several takes before he felt satisfied to move on to the next scene. You can tell that he did not want to disappoint the fans. And he didn't. Performing everything everything from "Smooth Criminal," to "Thriller," to "Man in the Mirror" even bigger and better than their original performances, he can still rest in peace as the undisputed King of Pop. Rock on, Michael.

My rating: A

The Proposal

"We'll tell my family about our engagement when I want and how I want. Now, ask me nicely."

I usually leave the sappy movies to my fellow movie lover at Just Chick Flicks, but when The Proposal came in the mail a few days ago from Netflix I figured why not give it a try on a rainy Saturday. Starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal did in fact confirm why I don't do chick flicks to begin with. It was predictable. Hence the reason why I could still surf the net, as well as read a few articles on line and Twitter while watching this. Reynolds plays the faithful lackey assistant to the miserable and implacable book editor-in-chief played by Bullock. Her reign over the office is put on the line when she is informed her visa has expired and she has to be be deported back to Canada. Thinking fast on her feet she blackmails Reynolds into marrying her so that he could finally get his long desired promotion to editor. They manage to fool her superiors and put on a good show for his folks in Alaska and...you can guess what happens next (sigh).
BUT I do have to admit that I did laugh a few times. Both Reynolds and Bullock both play on each other's dry sarcastic humor making the casting a good fit. Mary Steenbergen (love her), Betty White and Craig T. Nelson costar.
The Proposal is worth a rental I guess, but I wouldn't rush to your Netflix queues (unless it's cold and rainy where you are too). If you're a chick flick lover, you'll love this. If you're a Bullock or Reynolds fan, check it out. Report back. Let me know what you think.

My rating: B

Good Hair

For years Black hair has been a mystery to many people. For some women, perms are to make your hair curly. For us, it makes our straight or "relaxed." Some women refer to added tracks in their hair as extensions; we call them weaves. Some women can go out in the rain without an umbrella. For us, rain is hair suicide. Some women have no problem with their man getting a lil frisky with their hair during intimacy. Our men will get the side eye if he even thought of doing such a thing, for fear he'd mess up the 'do. Get it? Neither did comedian Chris Rock. But he attempts to get to the root of our strands in his new documentary Good Hair.
Ah yes, our weaves, our hair pieces, our perms, ourselves. You will never understand it, you will never get it, but just know that we know and we're taking care of it. Black hair is our downfall, our obsession, our baby and for years it's been a conundrum for other folks and something we've somewhat formed an unspoken community around. In the film, Rock speaks to famous and non famous Black women in Los Angeles and Atlanta and even traveled as far as India, where he learned many weaves are born and imported from. He even visited the renown Dudley's Corporation, which has for years produced numerous Black hair care products, including perms. He also visits a celebrated hair show in Atlanta where no one, I mean no one, is more serious about Black hair than the stylists who create the artistic hair fashions (i.e. spiked hair, blue hair, hair propellers) in that show. As you can imagine, Black folks, both men and women, are very touchy when it comes to the topic of hair. Women are not afraid to admit that when it comes to our hair, we'd break the bank to keep the locks in check. And men know that the hair is off limits. Don't ask about, don't touch it, we got this. Men may not understand much about it, but they understand that. But in the film, they definitely voiced their frustrations and concerns about it. And women had no shame in their game, even admitting to spending up to $1,000 on weaves and salon visits.
Though the film has many funny moments, Good Hair also raises very serious issues. It attempts to get to the bottom of an issue that has caused such a divide between Black women and women of other races by the simple lack of understanding. Rev. Al Sharpton (yes, dude with the perm) made valid points about the obsession with our hair and how it has clouded our judgment in terms of money, race and the desire to import Indian and European hair to look like someone else (not to mention the fact that we continue to contribute our life savings to a multi-billion industry headed by communities outside our own). Celebrities like Raven-Simone, Nia Long, Ice T and a slew of others also share their thoughts on women, our hair and how we view ourselves.
It's an interesting film, but I didn't really learn much more than I already knew (oh, except the fact that the chemical we use in our relaxers is the same chemical that can disintegrate an aluminum can when submerged in it--this is what we're putting in our hair, scary). But I do think it's something curious people of other races can appreciate. Check out the trailer here. Good Hair is in theaters everywhere.

My rating: B

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

"Oh, so you're going to stand up there and look down at me like you're a woman? You don't know what real women do! Real women sacrifice!"

Imagine being kicked in the head by your own mother, while you're on the kitchen floor in labor with your second child, your father's child. Imagine being picked on by the kids in school who are calling you fat and illiterate. Imagine your mother watching as your father sexually abused you, over and over. Imagine growing up in the projects where your only friend was yourself, and she was dying inside. Imagine being just sixteen years old. Imagine your name was Precious.
Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe illuminates this heartwrenching true character on the big screen in the upcoming movie Precious, based on the cult classic semiautobiography Push by Sapphire. I think this is one of the most horrible stories I think I have ever witnessed on the big screen. It left me wondering, How can someone so young experience so much pain and still find the strength to wake up each morning? Sidibe truly did this character justice and made you feel for her. Funnywoman Mo'Nique will shock you as she takes a dramatic turn as Precious's mother, her arch rival and the source of many of Precious's problems and who's also harboring her own deep pain. GRITTY, to the extent that her character had many people in Harlem's Magic Johnson Theatre gasping in disbelief tonight at some of the graphic abuse scenes. Note: this movie is certainly not for young audiences. Costarring Mariah Carey (in her best role yet--but still not memorable to me), Paula Patton who beautifully portrayed Precious's schoolteacher and confidante, Lenny Kravitz and Sherri Shepherd, Precious is a true story of survival and hope and not to be missed.

Precious comes to theaters November 6. Check out the trailer here.


My rating: A

Black Dynamite

"We need you Black Dynamite, now more than ever."

A few months ago I got a chance to catch an advance screening of Black Dynamite starring Michael Jai White at The Tribeca Film Festival.
...Sigh...the best part of this movie was seeing Arsenio Hall again back on the big screen. Man, I miss watching his late night show in the 90s that gave us all a reason to pound our fists in the air shouting "woo woo woo!!" Those were the days...
But unfortunately this movie didn't prove to be well worth the anticipation of the great return.
White stars as the title character, a renaissance brother and "hero" single-handedly taking on "The Man," who he learned was selling drugs to Black kids and destroying the neighborhood all the while white law enforcement turned a blind eye. I think I might have just made the movie sound better than it was. But, trust me, it's not worth even a rental fee. It had a decent premise but the acting and direction was horrible. It falls into the category of what typically has become known as "Blaxploitation" films, but gave such films of the similar genre (for instance Coffy) a bad name.
The movie tried to parody those films but actually ended up making its own premise look more foolish and badly stereotypical. Black Dynamite is in theaters today. Click here to check out the trailer.

My rating: F