Notorious

As a young lad, I witnessed the battle brewing between East Coast and West Coast hip-hop. I never truly understood the rivalry, assuming it was simply a territorial thing. As I grew up, I lost sight of the war, for that was the birth of "Gangsta" rap. The final outcome was shown in this film, concreting  the struggle between zip codes. And while I enjoyed some of the artists emerging from that scene, (Snoop, Dre, Cube), I longed for the smooth grooves, silky lyrics and fun hooks that Bad Boy records were producing.  I compare it to the turn of events from hair metal to grunge. The fun tone of living life to excess, had become something to mock, rather than revere.  But music, as all things, must evolve, or it becomes stagnant and stale and therefore, unappealing. And so I evolved as well.

 Notorious is the true story of the rise and fall of the unstoppable hip-hop artist Chris Wallace, a.k.a.- Notorious B.I.G., or Biggie Smalls.  His journey begins in Brooklyn in the 80's as a young heavy-set, glasses-wearing boy, surrounded by life on the streets. Quickly realizing he could make a fortune dealing drugs, he dabbles in impressing his friends by spitting a rhyme  here and there. After landing in and out of jail, he is introduced to his lifetime friend and future business partner, Sean "Puffy" Combs. Puffy shows him the way by telling him to stop making, "That quick paper", and puts him in a studio to let him loose. As you can imagine, Biggie takes to the mike like a fish to water and launches not only he and Puff's careers, but an entire new sound to the hip-hop scene. Going from rags to riches,  Bad Boy Records is born. Releasing  artists such as Lil Kim and Faith Evans, the two main women in Biggie's life, the label took the world by storm. And with mo' money, comes mo' problems. He then befriends a budding superstar named Tupac Shakur. Pac and Biggie see eye to eye on taking over the world. But a misunderstanding of a fateful night, sparks the battle between East-Biggie and West-Tupac in making the coasts choose sides in the hip-hop community.

Jamal Woolard plays the lead in this incredible story. After seeing interviews with him and learning a bit more about this actor, it's obvious he was born to play this role. He captured Biggie's rhyming style so eloquently, Sean Combs has been said ,"It made me miss my friend. I always had fun making music with Biggie. He knew how to light up a room with his vibe. Jamal reminded me of his presence so much, it brought tears to my eyes".  Going from a "nobody" to a "somebody" is always challenging for most actors. They usually perform one better than the other. Jamal succeeded in every aspect. From the young, unsure-of-himself adolescent, to the smooth-talking player Biggie became, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this transformation. 

The women who portrayed Biggie's loves, did an amazing job. Lil' Kim was spot on, with the exception of the director choosing to ignore her lifestyle of prostitution before becoming a rap star. And Faith Evans was a spitting image of the beautiful crooner herself.

My only complaints about the entire movie were the poor casting choices of Puffy and Tupac. These guys gave such poor performances, it was distracting. Tupac really tried to find the essence of this complex man, but instead found a mediocre-at-best delivery. Puffy did more of the same. I really couldn't see that he would be the leader of his, if any, empire and become the successful business mogul Sean Combs is today.

To sum it all up, I definitely recommend this film. It's a great depiction of an amazing talent who's light was extinguished in the peak of his prime.

RATING: A-

RocknRolla

I know this movie was out last October, but I think it's worthy of my words here. I'll revisit films from time to time. It's certainly one thing I love about movies, the ability to make time stand still. Once it's released to the public, it becomes etched into the fabric of society for all to see, scrutinize, and/or enjoy for eternity. 

"RocknRolla" is Guy Ritchie's latest formulaic story-telling roller coaster ride. Always shooting as though in a music video, he creates a momentum that is quick and neck-breaking. He began his ascent with "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels". Then took us another turn with "Snatch". Then he zigged instead of zagged and made an abomination of a film with his then-wife Madonna in, "Swept Away". 

His characters are usually so deep and fun, it's difficult to take your eyes off them. Normally London gangsters or wanna-be's, all searching for the ultimate score to finally retire from the streets. Many people going after the same heist in their own seedy, underbelly fashion. There-in lies the fun. In "Lock" there were priceless shotguns, "Snatch" a diamond the size of a fist, and "RocknRolla" is a priceless painting. Imagine a two hour long "Three's Company" episode and you might be able to grasp his style of filming. The dialogue and banter between deviant and sidekick is always spellbinding.

However, this film is a pale comparison to his other achievements. The characters still had depth, but not nearly as entertaining as his past attempts. While it's still fun to see and go with him on the ride, it's so similar to his first two, it's really predictable. The story is about a Mob boss, Old School, attempting to work out a real estate investment with a sketchy Russian tycoon, New School, looking to take over a certain section in London. They exchange a painting as a symbol of good faith and this is where the insanity begins. It gets much more involved and complicated,

but I've certainly given you enough to go on.

The cast includes Gerard Butler, (300, P.S. I Love You), Tom Wilkinson, (Golden Globe winner for John Adams, Valkyrie, Michael Clayton), Thandie Newton, (Crash, The Pursuit of Happyness, Mission Impossible 2), and Jeremy Piven, (Entourage). All of which are average at best, given all of their fruitful backgrounds.

It may turn into one of those must-have DVD's, such as "Lock" did. But I recommend renting it on a rainy Sunday to pass the time.

RATING: C

MILK

Sean Penn stars in this true story of the first openly gay man to be elected into office in the US, Harvey Milk. Set in San Francisco in the 70's, Milk was one of the first activists to stand up for gay rights. He quickly realizes his cause will fall on deaf ears unless he rounds out his campaign with other issues. His attempts to get into office fail numerous times. But because of his tireless drive and tenacity, he attracts a passionate campaign staff to help him accomplish his goal.

No one can deny the pure, golden talent Sean Penn is. Early in his career he didn't want to be typecast. He began in "Taps" with Tom Cruise, then went to his pivotal role in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" as surfer dude, Jeff Spicoli. Ranging from other films as "Colors" then jumping ahead to "The Thin Red Line", "Dead Man Walking", "I Am Sam", "Mystic River", and "21 Grams". His filmography is vast, but those are my favorites in his journey. Up for many awards for his performance in "Milk",  he deserves all the accolades he receives. He not only became this character, but certainly embodied what it was to be Harvey Milk. His hardships, his loves and his triumphs. In a time when it was not acceptable to be openly gay, Harvey never backed down from what he truly was. Upon hearing that a teacher was fired for being gay, Milk encourages the entire country to come out to their friends, family and employers.  That's a pretty impressive feat, considering there was no internet, cell phones or even fax machines. This was one of many injustices he tackled in his fight for equal rights for all. 

Filling out the cast are Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsh, James Franco, and Diego Luna. All of which were excellent casting choices. Intimate scenes involving James and Sean were innocent and sweet. Showing these are true actors in that they aren't afraid of ending up in the tabloids to be labeled as gay. I applaud the effort to tell the story in a factual and believable way.

In a nutshell, I highly recommend the picture. It's important to learn the struggle the gay community has had throughout the years and how far they've actually come. Some would argue that's not very far, but that's another blog entirely.

RATING:  B-

 

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

People say all of the time how youth is wasted on the young. Until you've gone through some times yourself, one might have a hard time relating to this statement. So I suppose it means to be young is foolish, naive, and fearless. "If I knew then what I know now", type of thing. But at the end of the day, youth means having your whole life ahead of you to make mistakes, be foolish in endeavors, and test the boundaries of our own existence. If we had the knowledge going into certain situations, we might choose differently and thus, miss out on a golden opportunity for growth. Which is exactly why I myself am a huge proponent of growing up, not old. But I digress.

 Benjamin Button, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, is about the extraordinary life of a man who was born as an old man. The same size as a newborn, but with all of the physical deterioration of a hundred year-old. Not given long to live, he is taken in and is raised from the odd "child" he is to grow to become younger as time passes. This is where David Fincher really puts on his CGI hat and shines beautifully. There aren't hardly any other special effects but how he reverses and adds the aging process in the entire film. Watching Benjamin and Daisy fluctuate from youth to maturity, (or vice-versa in Benjamin's case), was done so effortlessly and seamlessly, it actually made me a little concerned. Actors embracing this technology and demanding they appear more vibrant and youthful to sustain their careers, is a very real and scary thought. With our culture so engrossed with appearances and fighting the aging process, I hope this isn't a peek into our movie future.  However, I applaud how technology has opened our minds to lands and worlds unexplored. With that said, Brad and Cate both gave stellar performances as two ships passing in the night; always there, but from afar.

Director David Fincher was at the helm for such films as "Se7en", "The Game", Zodiac", "Panic Room", and my personal favorite, "Fight Club", (apparently he and and Brad Pitt enjoy working together). He has a very unique style that is simultaneously dark and beautiful. You could translate his pictures into black and white and not miss a beat. David's usage of color, as little as he does use, enrich the scenes so much, you can almost smell the looming Oak trees, the stale sweat from a Brothel, or the salt from the ocean.

At 2 hours and 45 minutes, this was a long journey at the movies. 

But one definitely worth taking.

RATING:  B+ 

Marley and Me

M' lady and I often hit up a double-feature to take advantage of a rainy, cold day. And in this double-hit, we saw "Marley and Me". It obviously being a dog lovers film, talks about life, love and, you guessed it, the pursuit of happiness. 

Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston play the true life couple who adopt an adorable Yellow Lab puppy. Both are writers and John Groban, Owen, begrudgingly becomes a columnist for a newspaper. You can pretty much figure out the rest.  Owen and Jenn are touching, but predictable, as they both play what they play best, romantic comedies. The saving grace for this picture was John's growth as he makes his life decisions; what to do in the crossroads of life and how to cope with opportunities untaken. Marley is there through it all with John, which builds a beautiful bond between friends. Being a dog lover myself, I can certainly relate.

In contrast to show John what could've been, lives McDouche Eric Dane from Grey's Anatomy.  He played the exact same smooth guy, who can't settle down and woos women wherever he goes, (basically a writer instead of a doctor). He does this very well, but give the guy room to show some true acting chops.  He had the potential to be goofy, funny, even humorous from the first scene we see him in, then fell short. I understand he couldn't play against the script and the real character. However, I feel Hollywood could've taken some liberties here.  

Since this is based on a true story, I can't be too harsh on the entire film. It is certainly warm and fuzzy, (pardon the pun), and one I would wait for cable to see.

RATING:  D

Valkyrie

During the holiday season, there's little to do after opening all the presents and seeing all the family. One sure-fire thing to wipe away the ugly sweater and family drama blues, are the movies. 

 Valkyrie, starring the smiley, Scientologist idiot, Tom Cruise, was actually an amazing film. Based on the true story of one of many attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler, when his regime had seen the end of its days. We find that many in his own army had realized how sinister of a man he truly was, and went to great lengths to overthrow The Fuhrer. And while Tom Cruise has been on my "ridiculous" list for quite sometime, he gave an intense performance.

His performance wasn't Oscar-winning material by any means. But he delivered a great inner energy this assassin needed to be believable. 

Bryan Singer has certainly earned his weight in the director's chair. Giving us range from "The Usual Suspects" and  "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", and breathing life back into the comic book franchises with "Superman Returns", and his amazing "X-Men", he knows how to direct a film. His cinematography choices are simply stellar and he doesn't disappoint in Valkyrie, (look for intense moments involving a briefcase). In putting so much emphasis on the story,  he gives the actors room to dive in without abandon. The familiar faces take a back seat to the color choices, mood and momentum he gives all to well.   

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and is definitely worth the cost of the ticket. If anything, it's a great conversation piece that you and your movie partner in crime will enjoy.

RATING:  B