Thursday, October 16, 2003
Bush gets yet another pass and some "old school" films get discussed
How does Bush keeping getting away with it? Why France, Germany and Russia are backing down on their demand that the UN take over central control of Iraq and plan for a power-hand off to the Iraqi governing council (according to an October 15 Washington Post report here) is beyond me. This could hand Bush a major diplomatic victory in the Iraq debate. Unless the situation there continues to worsen and then the blame will remain solely in his and the US's hands. On second thoughts maybe this makes complete sense from the perspective of France, Germany and Russia.
And in the world of movie sequels, read this story about plans for a sequel to the 80's teen film classic Sixteen Candles. This is either inspired and will blow up or is possibly the worst idea ever, I'm not sure which yet.
Speaking of older movies I just watched Straight Outta Brooklyn a couple nights ago for the first time. I don't know what people were smoking back when it was first released but this has got to be one of the worst movies ever made. I don't get why this film got the positive critical attention it did back then. I can watch an art-house or indie film and enjoy them for what they are without their low-budget look affecting my judgement. The acting in Straight Outta Brooklynis, mostly, actually pretty good (peep Larry Gilliard Jr. from HBO's The Wire in what must be one of his first movie roles) but the story and scriptwriting are attrocious. The father character makes no sense throughout most of the film leaving you going "huh?" and upset that they wasted George T. Odom's obvious talents. A script editor and a few rewrites could have easily transformed this story from a hack piece into a compelling and classic urban drama. Instead it came off like a really ambitious but badly-executed film student work which, in a way, it kind of was.
The only level on which I can give Straight Outta Brooklyn any props is the fact that Mattie Rich was crazy young (19, I think) when he wrote, directed, financed and produced this film purely from the sweat of his own hustle without the trappings, connections and resources of being signed to a major studio or graduating from a fancy film school. Ironically, after touting his street cred and how it helped him make this debut work and keep the feel of it authentic, he went on to film the movie The Inkwell, a coming-of-age story set in the black, preppy enclave located in Martha's Vineyard of the film's title that was basically a ripoff of the 1971 film, Summer of '42. While The Inkwell pretty much got trashed by critics, I actually enjoyed it a lot. Larenz Tate was great in the lead and, to me, is one of the most underrated actors working today. Watch Menace II Society, a "hood flick" classic that's much more than just that to see Tate's range, if you don't believe me.
I'm also in the middle of watching Beat Street right now. This movie is pure frommage especially in terms of some of what passes for "hip hop" music in the sountrack and the storyline but, as someone who lives in New York now but sadly missed the hey day of hip hop culture's genesis and early development, I still love watching this movie even if Wildstyle and Style Wars do a better job of getting it right. Look for scenes of Crazy Legs B-boying in the big battle scene at the Roxy. He's a legend now but he's not even one of the 5 hottest cats in that scene. WTF? There's cameos from tons of artists too but you can check the IMDB for more info on who's in the cast.
And in the world of movie sequels, read this story about plans for a sequel to the 80's teen film classic Sixteen Candles. This is either inspired and will blow up or is possibly the worst idea ever, I'm not sure which yet.
Speaking of older movies I just watched Straight Outta Brooklyn a couple nights ago for the first time. I don't know what people were smoking back when it was first released but this has got to be one of the worst movies ever made. I don't get why this film got the positive critical attention it did back then. I can watch an art-house or indie film and enjoy them for what they are without their low-budget look affecting my judgement. The acting in Straight Outta Brooklynis, mostly, actually pretty good (peep Larry Gilliard Jr. from HBO's The Wire in what must be one of his first movie roles) but the story and scriptwriting are attrocious. The father character makes no sense throughout most of the film leaving you going "huh?" and upset that they wasted George T. Odom's obvious talents. A script editor and a few rewrites could have easily transformed this story from a hack piece into a compelling and classic urban drama. Instead it came off like a really ambitious but badly-executed film student work which, in a way, it kind of was.
The only level on which I can give Straight Outta Brooklyn any props is the fact that Mattie Rich was crazy young (19, I think) when he wrote, directed, financed and produced this film purely from the sweat of his own hustle without the trappings, connections and resources of being signed to a major studio or graduating from a fancy film school. Ironically, after touting his street cred and how it helped him make this debut work and keep the feel of it authentic, he went on to film the movie The Inkwell, a coming-of-age story set in the black, preppy enclave located in Martha's Vineyard of the film's title that was basically a ripoff of the 1971 film, Summer of '42. While The Inkwell pretty much got trashed by critics, I actually enjoyed it a lot. Larenz Tate was great in the lead and, to me, is one of the most underrated actors working today. Watch Menace II Society, a "hood flick" classic that's much more than just that to see Tate's range, if you don't believe me.
I'm also in the middle of watching Beat Street right now. This movie is pure frommage especially in terms of some of what passes for "hip hop" music in the sountrack and the storyline but, as someone who lives in New York now but sadly missed the hey day of hip hop culture's genesis and early development, I still love watching this movie even if Wildstyle and Style Wars do a better job of getting it right. Look for scenes of Crazy Legs B-boying in the big battle scene at the Roxy. He's a legend now but he's not even one of the 5 hottest cats in that scene. WTF? There's cameos from tons of artists too but you can check the IMDB for more info on who's in the cast.
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