malikaziz.com » Movie Reviews

Pariah

malikaziz — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:32:53 +0000

I had a nice ‘Politics Make Strange Bedfellows’ moment recently…

In my travels, I recently met this young cat who is openly gay. I did my naturally polite thing at first, but he was guarded and I’m not the type to force myself on anyone.

Some time passes and we find ourselves in a more social setting. Being ‘the guy who’s not drinking’ opened the door to me being revealed as a Muslim. And in that moment, there was that mutual smirk of recognition: ‘You’re not passing judgment on me because you’re clearly not a product of the ultra conservative wing of the church.’

Which is a nice segway into Pariah, which is available now on Netflix. As the excellent title implies, the film is about a black teenager whose struggling in embracing her homosexuality in large part because she knows her church going parents will…not react well.

First thing I noticed about this film: It looks GREAT. I’ve heard the same about Restless City, but I loved how well the mostly dark skinned cast was photographed. I know from experience it’s easier said than done.

Second thing I liked about Pariah is how the story unfolds. In the 60s, even the 80s and 90s I guess, you could beat the audience over the head with the message you wanted to get across. Today the audience is respected enough to be given the message in a more subtle way; Pariah excels at letting us live through the experience of the main character. By the time she officially comes ‘out’, the reactions of the people around her are very predictable but no less heart breaking.

So, assuming you’re comfortable watching a film with this subject matter, I recommend this film.

And on that note, enjoy the Memorial Day holiday!

Yellow Submarine

malikaziz — Fri, 18 May 2012 06:17:06 +0000

Some of you know better than others I’m a closet Beatles junkie. Without looking I can tell you my IPod easily goes at least 20 deep with their catalog, the Cirque de Soleil ‘LOVE’ show in Vegas was one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had. On the list of things I hadn’t experienced was the film ‘Yellow Submarine’. Sure I’ve seen it in bits and pieces courtesy of YouTube, but not in its uninterrupted 90 minute glory.

So I was immediately in when I heard about the ‘restoration.’ I was sufficiently warned by my fellow film buffs that it’s not ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ (and it’s not), but the snob/completionist in me was just going in for the experience. In one of those ‘only in L.A.’ experiences, the two guys who were directly responsible for restoring the negative were introduced before the screening (and got their deserved applause) and away we went…

As expected, the film itself is very dated. The voices of the characters aren’t the actual Beatles (who do make a nice real life cameo at the end), and the animation seems stiff. Having said that, it’s hard to watch ‘Yellow Submarine’ and not see a million other things it influenced (the most obvious being Monty Python and the Electric Company). And musically, I mean come on. It is cool to see “Hey Bulldog”, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, and “All You Need is Love” (among other songs) used in some type of context, however loose. Along those lines…

Maybe it was since I was able to experience it on the big screen, but I wouldn’t advise watching this in an, um, ‘altered’ state. If nothing else, I can say this was one of the trippiest movies I’ve ever watched. Pun completely intended. The color schemes and editing were flying at times; I don’t know if they did the ‘may cause seizures’ warnings in the 60s, but this film could use one. Just saying.

Anyway if you’re a Beatles snob and can find a theatre still showing it, worth seeing.

The Avengers

malikaziz — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:30:28 +0000

A thousand different points I could get to with this one, but let’s start with the most important one: I’m not a Marvel guy at all; I hadn’t heard of the Avengers until 2 years ago when a comic book buddy of mine (Hi V!) demanded I read some of the comics when I had NO idea who Samuel L. Jackson was at the end credits of the original Iron Man. We have all summer now to get to the comic book character I’m most closely attached to; this weekend (at least) is about the Avengers so let’s get to it…

As a non-fan/casual fan, I thought it was a really fun movie.

Most of the heroes have had their own individual movies leading up to this one, but here’s a quick breakdown based on the poster: Iron Man is like an even more smart ass Bruce Wayne, Thor is a Norse God, Captain America has been um, ‘transported’ from World War II times, the Incredible Hulk, come on, you’ve come across him in some TV show, movie, or cartoon before this, and Scarlett Johansson is the seductive Russian chick in the catsuit.

The action sequences are what you need out of a summer blockbuster, what really set this film apart was that it was genuinely laugh out loud funny more often than you would expect, and finally, finally, FINALLY we got an above average Incredible Hulk movie. One of my all time favorite movie going stories (which isn’t even mine) is of a kid yelling ‘Dammit turn into the Hulk!’ while sitting through one of the slow paced ‘reboots’ that we’ve gotten in the past 10 years. I won’t ruin any of the Hulk’s moments in this film, but he was the definite scene stealer.

The Avengers is already breaking records, so no need for a recommendation here. But truth be told, not bad. Not bad at all.

Catching Up…

malikaziz — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:20:42 +0000

I know, I haven’t written anything here in more than a week. I’m in the middle of one of those ‘A lot of things happening at once’ phases. A couple big hurdles down, a couple big ones left to go. This shouldn’t be the only time I write this week though (I think).

And I probably would have taken tonight off, but if you know me at all, you know I was reposting this. The only thing I have to add is I’m only half joking when I say I was so hyped when I first saw this I contemplated wearing my cowl to the Avengers midnight screening later this week…

Later…

P.S.A. – I Will Follow on Instant Netflix

malikaziz — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:23:06 +0000

(Warning: this is a film geek post…)

I remembering watching ‘I Will Follow’ when it was first released, and thinking it was cool but something throwing me off about it. It wasn’t Haterade, or thinking it was poorly made, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. So I watched it again today and finally figured it out.

It’s nuanced, it’s subtle. The entire film. Hear me out…

We’ve been programmed, even those of us with good intentions, to expect a certain amount of over the top ‘drama’ in a film about black folks now. And I’m sincerely not to trying to shit on any of the other black filmmakers out there doing their thing, but even in the newest film working its way through the hype machine, there’s a lot of comedy that’s funny but doesn’t feel grounded in reality. Anyway, on the second viewing when I watched ‘I Will Follow’ on its own terms, and stopped judging it against what I was expecting it to be, I enjoyed it a lot more.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s on Instant Netflix now. Check it out:

The Announcement

malikaziz — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 03:57:58 +0000

ESPN’s documentary ‘The Announcement’ didn’t have too many revelations, but was a bittersweet trip down memory road if you were any kind of Magic Johnson fan. So how big of a Magic Johnson fan am I? Well for the uninitiated…

After Michael Jackson, Magic was easily my second biggest childhood idol, and my favorite athlete by far. The first A I ever received in school was a book report about Magic, pro hoops was the sport my hometown didn’t have so like most black kids I gravitated toward the Lakers (and the lifelong bond was born). The most infamous childhood photo that hasn’t seen the light of day is me cheesing wearing a varsity jacket style Magic Johnson sweater I got for Christmas while holding my new Light Gun to play ‘Duck Hunt’ on. Simply stated, Magic was my guy.

So rewatching the press conference where he made his HIV positive announcement was chilling. I do remember without shame I was one of those who cried my eyes out that day. It’s hard to properly explain now that double whammy feeling: 1) my favorite athlete was retiring in his prime and 2) we were certain he was going to be dead in a couple of years. That’s the part we all lived through. Hearing Magic talk about how he doesn’t think he would have carried on if Cookie would have left him (I can’t imagine the personal stress of not knowing if you’ve also given your wife and unborn child this deadly disease) was nearly as heartbreaking. As we all know now, she and their son came back negative. Magic became the face of the AIDS education movement, and with his business endeavors, became the lifetime unofficial mayor of L.A. for life.

To the best of my knowledge, no one in my regular social circles is HIV positive. I can only confirm I get tested annually and in spite of my most trifling efforts in my younger days, I remain HIV negative. In terms of meeting the man himself, that was understandably memorable for me. Me and Magic worked out at the same gym for a few years, so we did the head nod everyday for months before I finally manned up and introduced myself. And I couldn’t front, I told the truth, “Magic, you were one of my idols growing up, and it just means the world to me to shake your hand.” Yeah I simped out completely, but he gave me a firm shake and said, “Thanks, that means a lot.” And the rest of the day I had a smile on my face like a 5 year old kid and had this playing in my head:

On a serious note Magic, if you’re reading this, thank you for EVERYTHING. You continue to make us proud!

Undefeated

malikaziz — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 03:54:10 +0000

Some of the marketing I’ve seen for Undefeated has said it’s one of those movies that makes men cry. If you’re a regular reader here, you already know that I didn’t cry. But I will admit there were a couple of moments in the film where my allergies really started acting up…

This year’s Oscar winner for Best Feature Length Documentary follows a season with an inner city football team in Memphis, Tennessee. If you’ve seen your fair share of sports documentaries over the years, you know what you’re getting into here in terms of the story arc: the coach who cares more than he probably should, the superstar talent who’s going to have trouble getting into college (theoretically) because of his grades, the kid whose entire life revolves around football, then he gets injured. Hell, if you’ve seen Hoop Dreams, The Blind Side, Friday Night Lights (movie and/or TV series), or some of ESPN’s ’30 for 30′ docs, you know the storylines you’re getting into. So does the predictability aspect make it less enjoyable? Not at all.

While this may or may not work in a fictional sports film anymore (a debate for another time), knowing these are real people with real stakes keeps the drama high throughout. The best compliment I can give this documentary is that by the time the team gets to the playoffs, whether the team wins or loses becomes almost an afterthought. At that point, the audience is completely invested in the future lives of this coach and these kids. Well done.

The next post Sunday night/Monday morning will be staying in this genre. Can’t say enough about how much I’m looking forward to the ’30 for 30′ doc about Magic Johnson’s HIV announcement. Until then, here’s the trailer for Undefeated:

For Spike…

malikaziz — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:45:02 +0000

It’s funny how ‘timing’ plays out sometimes. Between Red Tails, the Help, and Sundance, there’s been a lot of public and private conversations already this year about the direction of where black cinema is going. Everyone has their own opinions, but the truth is none of us can look at the landscape and say, ‘This is definitely what’s going to happen next.’ I do think there is one thing we can ALL agree on though…

It’s going to be a LOOOOOOOOONG time before any Hollywood studio even partially bankrolls a film like Malcolm X again!

Personal bias aside, that’s one of many reasons I argued Spike’s epic was the Most Important Black Film ever made, which you can read here:

http://malikaziz.com/2009/12/02/the-most-important-film-of-black-cinema/

Today the film comes out on Blu-Ray. Now if you keep up with me at all you know I don’t really use this space for that type of promotion, but like I said, when’s the next time we’re going to get one of ‘these’ out of the studio system? So yeah…

I’ve still got your back Spike!

First Oscar Impressions

malikaziz — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:59:15 +0000

Some quick thoughts on this morning’s nominations…

Best Picture – 9 films, wow. I called 6. Extremely Loud and War Horse haven’t been on my ‘must see’ list, but now I feel obligated…

Best Actor – Gary Oldman, it’s about damn time!!!!! (yes I’m biased, been a fan for decades before he played Commissioner Gordon).

Best Actress – The Globes have made this more interesting than we thought it would be. Viola or Streep? I guess we’ll see…

Best Supporting Actor – Very eclectic list, I just got around to seeing Warrior last week so it’s nice to see people remembered this movie and Nick Nolte.

Best Supporting Actress – Pleasantly surprised for Melissa McCarthy, she really did steal Bridesmaids out from under a great cast of comediennes.

Best Director – What a list!!!! And the crazy thing is the favorite is the only name who’s not already a Hall of Famer!

Best Screenplay – Combining the two categories to ask the question, will Woody show up for a group of his most loyal fans?

Actual predictions coming as we get closer…

Red Tails and the State of the Union

malikaziz — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:53:15 +0000

So the last thing I did this weekend was go out and see Red Tails for myself. I thought it was cool; not the ‘savior’ for black cinema but also definitely not anything that set ‘the movement’ back a hundred years. The box office numbers came in well, which I think was the one thing everyone who had an investment in this film really wanted in the first place.

Whether you want to point the finger at Lucas or not, one thing I will say is that it’s been awhile since I’ve seen so many people express an opinion about a black film before it was released. As I told a friend today, the ‘conversation’ this film produced has been as worthwhile as the film itself. So now that the dust has settled so to speak, where do we go from here? Let’s pick apart some of the things that came up.

‘The future of black cinema is/was at stake.’ Um, no. My cynical side has to answer this one, but (like most Hollywood movies), anything short of record breaking numbers just means we’ll eventually get back to the status quo. Which means the next ‘big budget’ Hollywood film about black folks will come out…whenever another billionaire with a heart of gold decides to finance one. If I can go full Devil’s Advocate on you, I could make the same argument about nearly every decent drama, every film with a female protagonist that isn’t a romantic comedy, and on and on. The system as it is currently setup is Franchise/Tentpole or Bust. Before the screening I went to, there were trailers for the next Tyler Perry film and Battleship. Yes, ‘You sank my Battleship!’ Battleship. It’s the world we live in.

So does that mean the audience should give up? Not at all. Actually, in some ways the game has gotten better. I remember when ‘Daughters of the Dust’ came out, I heard about for a few years before, and eventually, my public library had a copy that I was able to check out. Conversely, thanks to these here interwebs, when a black project has great word of mouth (like the Awkward Black Girl series that I was late to the party on but enjoyed), we have YouTube and KickStarter to view and support the projects we want to see almost instantly. As a result of the system going in more of a corporate direction, the next group of filmmakers are coming out of the gate saying “Eff it!” I know there’s no way you’ll develop a film like Pariah, so we’ll find our own means to make it and get it to the masses. Like everything else in life, Hollywood goes in cycles, and there are more than a few signs to suggest we’re about to have a redo of that early 90s feel: ’We’re telling our stories for our audiences, Hollywood can make all the crap movies they want’.

So I guess we’ll all see where it goes from here. Oscar nominations come out in the morning, this discussion may continue sooner as opposed to later…