Love Some Spike Lee

So I can probably say that most of my top favorite films are "Spike Lee Joints". It used to drive my mom crazy when I would stumble across some of his more overtly sexual movies but these days I can still appreciate what he was doing. I've never seen She's Gotta Have It or Jungle Fever. But Mo' Better Blues, School Daze, Crooklyn, and Bamboozled are probably my absolute favorite films from Spike. To keep naming a few, you have to respect Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing. I feel like what Spike Lee did in the beginning of his career are the things that Tyler Perry should be doing. Spike Lee gave a voice to the voiceless with his work. Even stretching to the "end" of the Spike Lee era, he captured one of the more prominent events of the 90's with Get on the Bus. Spike also launched a lot of Black actors' and actresses' careers during that time. If Tyler Perry could create a movement around his name like Spike did then Black film would be in good shape.
Not too downplay any of Spike's work during the late 90's and into the millennium, but I really don't feel like his work during that time had the same impact as then. I guess what the Ill Professors were saying about all the controversy around him may have had an effect on the public response to his movies. He Got Game definitely stands out to me. I remember my mom being on her "support Black movies" kick and taking me to see that. I'm pretty sure I didn't get to see a good part of that movie (Spike keeps it raw). But all in all, that movie said a lot about the politics around young Black athletes and Black men in the prison system. Yeah Ray Allen IS NOT the best actor but he added that taste of reality that Spike is good for. I think that film should come up more often when the conversation switches to Spike Lee.
To truly get into to Spike Lee's work would take up a lot of time so I'll just end it on this note. Spike's influence will always be evident in Black films. Hands down.
*Tyler Perry might learn a little something from Bamboozled (just my opinion)*

Not Too Young to Enjoy New Jack Swing

So by now everybody may know I'm only 20. I think I mentioned in the School Daze blog that I was born in the latter part of '88. But I like to think I'm not too young to appreciate the New Jack Swing movement. Randy Bandit took me back a little bit when he mentioned The Winans. My first experience with the New Jack Swing sound was probably with Teddy Riley's work with gospel group Commissioned. Teddy Riley definitely made the fact my mom only wanted me listening to gospel music real cool lol. But now that I make my own musical decisions I have to say my iPod is heavily influenced by New Jack Swing. I mean yeah I've got some recent stuff and some late 90's music that doesn't fall into New Jack Swing but if Guy or Keith Sweat comes on it can definitely change my day lol. To me, some of the best music post-Motown was during the New Jack Swing era. Like Phill Boogie said, it gets you moving and its fun. I can't betray my generation and say we make bad music but I have to say that......hmm I can't think of recent male R&B groups, that says a lot. Well I'll throw Dru Hill out there (they fall in the middle of now and then). Dru Hill was hot when they came out but none of their songs gets people going like a Guy song or Bell Biv DeVoe. And on that note, New Jack Swing groups were full of talent. All of those guys could hold their own outside of the group (Aaron Hall is a good example). To keep it simple, without New Jack Swing, R&B would have had a hard time finding a new direction. If any era of music represented the culture of its audience at that time it was definitely New Jack Swing.

Rappers who want to act

I feel like there is nothing wrong with taking it back to the old days where an artist did not limit you to one medium. Versatility pays the bills for artists. At the same time, when an artist wants to crossover into a different medium, it should be done right. There is nothing fair about a trained actor losing out on a job because the competition had a platinum album or the most downloaded ringtone. There should be a certain level of respect. It annoys me to no end when some random singer or rapper decides their life should be made into a movie starring them (50 cent and the God awful Lifetime movie about Fantasia).

In every profession there is a loop hole that leads to the top. Whether it's the boss' daughter, son, niece, nephew, next door neighbor (you see where I'm going with this), there is always someone who manages to slip in the back door. For trained actors this is a bad thing. Marketing and shortcuts are taking their shine. I say fight back. Give these people a reason to want you and not Beyonce......or maybe cut a record I don't know lol.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

First off I'd like to say this was one of the best movies I've seen. It owned up to the hype that generated around it. Although it was extremely long, by the end of the film, I did not feel like I had been sitting idle for 3 hours. To me that's an accomplishment. With that out of the way, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a powerful movie and I completely agree with Phill Boogie on that one. However, I also agree with Randy Bandit when he said Benjamin himself was not all that interesting beside the fact he was aging in reverse. I think that a lot of the power behind the movie comes from the fact that personality wise there was nothing extraordinary about Benjamin. I think it kept the audience from feeling sorry for him or being overly sympathetic to him if something did not quite go his way. He was a person who just happened to be a little different. I really liked the fact that mostly everyone Benjamin came in contact with treated him as an equal. There was not a whole lot of the shock factor and what was included only lasted for a little while.
To speak on Taraji P. Henson's performance, I know a lot of people identify her as a sort of "Mammy" character. I did not really see that until someone brought it up. In the theater, I was truly enjoying the film for what it was. I can see how she displays some Mammy-like characteristics but I feel like to call her a Mammy is to say that every Black woman in a caretaking position is a Mammy and that is not necessarily true. Henson's character was not indebted to the people she took care of. She was not, in the traditional sense of the Mammy, neglectful of her own personal life. Like Phill Boogie said, she had control over what was going on. Although she put her romantic relationship slightly on hold for Benjamin, it was implied that it continued at a slower (maybe more physical lol) pace. Like many of the surrounding characters, she contributed to what was interesting about Benjamin.
All in all I truly think this was an amazing film. It incorporated romantic love, love for self, forgivness, selflessness, and adventure without confusing the viewer or making them feel bombarded.

Gotta Love That Ignorance

"Your car is like your private little place where you're free to be ignorant" (Phill Boogie) There is so much truth to that statement. I HATE the radio! Nowadays its like they don't give you the option of not liking a song. In one hour I guarantee you Beyonce will play twice. Its just a fact. With that said, there are at least three artists that I can count on for an extra ignorant song but somehow they end up on my iPod. Beyonce, Soulja Boy (not actually on the iPod but I'll prove my point with this guy), and Plies. First up, Beyonce. I loved her in Destiny's Child but when she branched out I wasn't really feeling her. She is the Queen of ignorant songs that make your booty shake. I don't know how she does it but after a week or two I find myself downloading her stuff. "Put a Ring On It" and "Diva" are like the worst to me lyrically. But I can't deny those beats just get you in the right mood. And when it comes down to it the song is nothing more than 3 minutes and 30 seconds of a repeated phrase. Sorry if you love Beyonce. I'm not hating on her (too much at least lol) but she has officially created a trend of ignorance in her music. I will have to add that if you're going to talk about women and ignorant music, you absolutely have to mention Trina. I'd like to add some of her lyrics but I try really hard to keep things PG on this blog. However, if you've never actually heard the things she says, just imagine hradcoreporn for your ears with a whole lot of bass to make you forget what she said was just straight nasty. (Her and Trick Daddy did do their thing back in the day tho lol) Second, Plies. This guy probably says the most ignorant and offensive things but over top of those beats with a little T-Pain or Ne-Yo in the background and I just tend to forget.
"I jus gave her a nickname, it's wet-wet,
Cause when we finish, she mess up all my bed set" -- Bust It Baby Why is that an okay thing to say at all?! Grant somebody out there is saying that is my jam lol. It's like you just can't escape it. I won't spend too much time on Plies. He honestly speaks for himself. "Soon as I seen her, s**t told her I'd pay for it" -- Shawty feat T-pain

Last but not least, Soulja Boy. This man is a genius in his own right. Nobody in this world can deny "Crank That", "Yahhh!", and "Donk" aren't the simpliest and most ignorant songs out there. But the thing that sets Soulja Boy a part from the rest is the fact that ignorant songs are what his career is built on. He knows that there's money in ringtone sells and the best way to accomplish that is say something catchy......over and over and over again. It never fails once again. Some Soulja Boy comes on and people will lose their minds. Its amazing. While we're singing "She got a donk" and telling people to watch us yuell, Soulja Boy is taking it all to the bank preparing to retire long before he's 30.

That's just my little rant on a few ignorant songs out there. Feel free to share more if you're ashamed of loving them lol

Head of State: It's Not A Joke Anymore

I have to admit that I wasn't a big fan of this one when it came out in 2003. Actually it seems like it came out before 2003. That's just how much it flew under my radar. But now that we are a month into the first term of the country's first Black president, this movie deserves a little recognition.
So basically the whole movie is centered around a Black D.C. alderman who gets the Democratic presidential vote. Based on the Republican pick, the Democrats feel like they are going to lose one way or another so they pick lovable and easy to relate to Mays Gilliam to boost their image for the next presidential election. New century or not, of course the running joke is that this Black man could never make it all the way to the White House. About 5 years later, clearly the joke is on the doubters.
Phill Boogie mentioned that he is a fan of Chris Rock's stand-up comedy. I have never really been a fan of his comic style so his movies (Pootie Tang, Down to Earth) just haven't stuck with me. To me, Chris Rock always seems to be shoving the joke at me rather than letting it flow. Unfortunately, this movie fell right in line. It just all seemed so exaggerated and a bit coon-ish to me. I felt like at the time, when people were not entirely sure a Black man could become president, the subject matter was taken a little too lightly for my taste.
Now guys I know you said you liked it because of the closeness that developed to the Obama campaign (the catch phrase), the implications, etc. I'm just not sure that's enough for me to start giving this movie credit. I will admit that it is a great tool for illustrating that anything is possible. However, this movie just did not do it for me.

Slumdog Millionaire: New Movie Hype

This week the Illprofessors took a step away from "black" cinema which is a little refreshing for the blog. When Slumdog Millionaire first started getting a lot of buzz, I knew nothing about it. A title says a lot about a movie and this one took my mind directly to a foreign indie kind of film that would go right over my head. However, my professor (Phill Boogie) mentioned it in class one day and I thoroughly trust his movie judgement (gunning for some extra credit here lol). "Slumdog Millionaire" was officially on my radar. So my movie buddy and I made the $7.50 investment (student discounts are the best! Thanks Regal) and gave this film that people can't stop talking about a try...
WOW! This movie was so visually stimulating and engaging. It appealed to your emotions and inserted you in lives of the characters from the opening scene. I don't want to spoil this for anybody who hasn't seen this movie so I won't go too deep in the plot. However, it was good and this one caught me by surprise. Salim was my absolute favorite characters. If we ever do a post about "gangstas" and villians in film, I'm bringing up this guy. Absolute G!

With all of that out of the way, let's get to the real discussion. Phill Boogie made a valid point in our personal discussion as well as in the podcast. Although Slumdog Millionaire's overall story takes away from the fact that this is at the core a "boy meets girl" film, the one thing it lacked was establishing faith in the relationship the main character Jamal was chasing after. A short background, Jamal loves Latika. Jamal and his brother Salim save Latika during a Muslim-Hindu riot. Salim does not want to look out for Jamal as well as Latika. The three fall victim to a gangster who exploits children. Salim and Jamal get away, Latika doesn't. Years go by, Jamal has never forgotten Latika and goes on the Indian "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" in hopes she'll see him there. Phill Boogie mentioned that he felt like Jamal was more obessed with Latika than in love. I would have to agree to a certain extent. As a viewer who was not expecting much when I watched this movie, the love that Jamal felt for Latika was appealing to me. I will admit maybe it's the fact I'm a woman and what woman doesn't love it when the guy chases a girl so fervently. As a critic, I will have to say Phill Boogie is right when he says it got a little ridiculous. Out of all the things Jamal deals with in his short 18 years of life, you would have to think that he would've definitely gotten over Latika long ago (as his brother Salim crudy jokes at one point in the movie and makes reference to his "girl getting" abilities to keep it PG lol). I felt that Jamal's age and his experiences are part of what establishes his love for Latika.

Shifting gears a little bit, I thought the flashback element was a nice touch. I feel like flashbacks don't always do a good job of making the connection to the present but Slumdog Millionaire did a good job of this. The flashbacks kept me engaged in Jamal's character development. Had I known about how the director Danny Boyle came up with the title for the movie I would have probably gone in with a bias. Creating a name for this culture that you are not apart of is hard to justify. To label him slumdog based off of an analysis of the animals in the slums of India is leaning a little too close to racist.

Well I don't want to go into too much detail because I believe you should see this movie without any outside influences and then make your judgements purely based on your own experience. So go forth. Spend the 10 bucks. It's definitely worth it.