movie making | making movies

February 9, 2010 at 3:12 pm | In Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky, making movies | Leave a Comment

BLACK SWAN is still shooting around here. I think the crew is getting used to me asking a billion questions. Anyway, I finally took some pics of…well…nothing. Only interior scenes have been scheduled. There are no exteriors on the horizon. I’m upset. But what can I expect. It’s February! Here’s what else I found out:

1. They’re using three apartments on the 13^th floor down the street, but only shooting in one. The other two are for make-up, wardrobe, props, etc

2. This film is certainly not a Hollywood production. The budget is roughly 10 mil

3. Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis have been here everyday. Wynona Ryder completed her scenes in January, elsewhere. Apparently they show up at odd hours

So far, it’s kinda boring, but just breathing in a film in production is always inspiring. Another film gets made. Whoopee! Now here comes the sad part: I wish it were my feature length-film and not Darren Aronofsky’s. I wish now was my time to make it happen. It’s not. I just don’t have all the variables in place yet. We’ll see what happens in the next year or so. I don’t know how long it’s possible to say this without it being a joke. It’s been ten years since I decided to make films. I’ve only made about, a handful of narrative shorts. It isn’t like buying a canvas or a ream of paper or a camera and making something happen…there’s so much more that’s required when making movies. I’m hopeful though.

Gayniggers from Outer Space

February 5, 2010 at 6:27 pm | In Gayniggers from Outer Space, alternate movie experiences | Leave a Comment

the invisible black woman…

February 4, 2010 at 9:57 am | In Gabourey Sidibe, SNL, Saturday Night Live, Vanity Fair, Zoe Saldana, black women, euro standards of beauty, fat black and female, propaganda | Leave a Comment

The lazy, uninspired assholes who call themselves writers at Saturday Night Live have now rendered the invisible black woman, the punchline of the joke. Before they would rely on crude stereotypes played by black men in drag. Now, all they have to do is make reference to a black woman in an unfunny skit and, voila, it magically becomes funny!!! NBC’s reign of terror on black women is running throughout all of their shows. It’s not just SNL, both The Office and Parks & Recreation have gotten off on this trend of regularly dehumanizing black women.

The fashion propagandists who call themselves editors and photographers at Vanity Fair are always what they were: white women who invisibilize black female beauty to pander to the fragile egos of their white female readership. Any evidence of dark-skin gorgeousness on the cover of a fashion & lifestyle magazine means a drop in sales! As we’ve seen from last year’s most talked about films – PRECIOUS, AVATAR, & STAR TREK – there certainly aren’t any young black actresses making a name for themselves in ‘the NEW Hollywood.’ I guess Gabourey Sidibe and Zoe Saldana are figments of our imagination.

No Natalie Portman sighting yet…

February 3, 2010 at 2:46 pm | In Black Swan, Brooklyn, Year: 2010 films | 3 Comments

Right now there are way too many 18-wheelers all over my ‘hood. This sprawling film production is holding the whole block hostage. Usually we get discreet Japanese auto commercials, pharmecuetical ads, and scenes from one hour dramas like Rescue Me and Law & Order (which tend to shoot and wrap in a hurry) but nothing this big.

For two weeks Natalie Portman, Winona Ryder and others shoot major scenes from Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming film, BLACK SWAN, due out later this year. If any exterior scenes are shot, I’ll post some pics. There are no celebrity sightings yet. Only fat union dudes.

What the bleep is wrong with the Academy?

February 2, 2010 at 1:00 pm | In Academy Awards | Leave a Comment

So, the Academy Award nominations came out this morning:

Green =Please let them WIN
Red =Absolutely DISGUSTED by this nomination
Grey = I don’t care about the face-off between Bigelow & Cameron. Both films are completely overrated
Purple = I didn’t care for it that much, but I am delighted this got nominated on principle
Blue =Unfortunate SNUBS!!! In a different world…in MY world…this would win it all

Best Picture
Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air

YOU, THE LIVING

–>Black folks, I give you permission to protest this trifling and very racist film, THE BLIND SIDE. Every black character is STEREOTYPICAL. Every single one. And please don’t tell me THE BLIND SIDE is based on a true story. There is no ‘truth’ in the the way the football player was depicted. It’s clear the filmmakers wanted to make THE GREEN MILE II. Gigantic, sluggish negroes are still all the rage in Hollywood. I shouldn’t be surprised they don’t get how incredibly offensive this film is. This is the same academy that nominated and awarded CRASH so handsomely…

–>So, 9 nominations each for the exes – Bigelow and Cameron. Who cares? I’m not on either team.

–> It’s great PRECIOUS and THE HURT LOCKER, helmed by a black man and a white woman are nominated. (4th white woman and 2nd black man to ever be nominated. Black women, zero.) Anyway, the glass ceiling needs to break. I just wish the films were better. It seems Bigelow is being pushed on everyone and not Daniels. I’m going to say this based on the Google searches to my site…I think Bigelow is coasting on her good looks and the fact she made a dick-flick. I guess it makes it soooo much easier to accept her, as a female helmer. Sure THE HURT LOCKER was well directed, but is it the best picture??? Hell no.

–>THE HANGOVER, ANTICHRIST, & MOON should have been nominated. (I doubt Lars Von Trier will ever receive an Oscar. Gladly, he will have a long career offending people. And this is perfectly fine with me.)

Best Director
James Cameron, “Avatar”, Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”, Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”, Lee Daniels, “Precious”, Jason Reitman, “Up in the Air”

Roy Andersson, “YOU, THE LIVING”

–>I have been hard on Tarantino in the past for his lack of originality. The fact that he effortlessly pilfers ideas from blaxploitation and kung-fu flicks and is somehow regarded as original is puzzling. I guess it’s sorta like Christopher Columbus discovering America. Yeah, we get it. When white men snatch ideas from ‘minorities’ it’s original and innovative because a white man did it. That said, out of the nominated directors, I felt INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS was the best directed.

–> King of the World, James Cameron can kiss my ass. I doubt he’d care what I have to say tho. He’s made a gaaaazillion dollars on another white-male-fantasy of conquering primitive people – blue cartoon people.

–>I’ve loved Lee Daniels forever. With PRECIOUS, I love him a little less. With more info about his upcoming projects, I’m loving him a lot less. I’m not too sure about him at this point but the glass ceiling needs to be smashed. I’m happy he was nominated for the directing award. So, to tally it up, it’s now two black people ever nominated for an Academy Award – him and John Singleton. No Spike Lee. BLACK WOMEN, still zero…and no wins.

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”, George Clooney, “Up in the Air”, Colin Firth, “A Single Man”, Morgan Freeman, “Invictus”, Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”

Viggo Mortensen, THE ROAD

–>I must admit, I haven’t seen CRAZY HEART, but Jeff Bridges is probably one of the most consistently good actors who always seem to go unnoticed.

–> I was unimpressed by Colin Firth’s sourpuss performance in A SINGLE MAN. Another overrated performance in an overrated film. It seems both film and TV are draining the life out of this early ’60s time period. I’m over it.

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock, “The Blind Side”, Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”, Carey Mulligan, “An Education”, Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”, Meryl Streep, “Julie & Julia”

Charlotte Gainsbourg, ANTICHRIST

–>Must Meryl get nominated each time? I thought she was alright. JULIE & JULIA was not my favorite performance from her.

–> I know Sandra Bullock is likable, and I’ll even say her performance in THE BLIND SIDE was decent. I can’t however validate anything in this film. It exploits every black stereotype there is.

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, “Invictus”, Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”, Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”, Stanley Tucci, “The Lovely Bones”, Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”

Tom Waits, THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS

–>Both Tom Waits and Christopher Plummer are excellent in THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS. Yes, I know this film came out the very end of the year to so-so reviews because it’s flawed. So what? This flawed film has made much more of an impact on me than, say, UP IN THE AIR.

–> Anthony Mackie in THE HURT LOCKER, completely trumps Renner. How did he NOT get nominated? That’s right…he’s not Denzel, Jamie, or Forrest…

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, “Nine”, Vera Farmiga, “Up in the Air”, Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Crazy Heart”, Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”, Mo’Nique, “Precious”

Mo’Nique, PRECIOUS

–>So, how did Melanie Laurent not get nominated for her performance in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS?

Best Adapted Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell, “District 9″, Nick Hornby, “An Education”, Jessie Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armondo Iannucci, Tony Roche, “In the Loop”, Geoffrey Fletcher, “Precious”, Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner, ” Up in the Air”

Joe Penhall, THE ROAD

Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, “The Hurt Locker”, Quentin Tarantino, “Inglourious Basterds”, Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman, “The Messenger”, The Coens, “A Serious Man”, Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy, ” Up”

Lars Von Trier, ANTICHRIST

Best Animated Feature
Coraline, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess & the Frog, The Secret of Kells, Up

THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Best Foreign Language Film
Israel, “Ajami”, Argentina, “El Secreto de sus Ojos”, Peru, “The Milk of Sorrow”, France, “A Prophet,” Germany, “The White Ribbon”

Sweden, YOU, THE LIVING

March 7th – Oscars

Radiohead for Haiti

January 30, 2010 at 11:36 am | In Radiohead | Leave a Comment

You guys know we can’t forget about Haiti, right? I hope everyone has donated or given their time to help this country in its time of need. They will need a constant stream of funds to rebuild…to have some sort of life with what’s left.

I was delighted Radiohead had their own benefit concert in LA recently. Even better than Clooney’s. It’s always great seeing them in concert. But if you can’t, just listen… Like heaven. Download here -

Where is Abraham Shakespeare?

January 30, 2010 at 10:02 am | In Abraham Shakespeare?, wtf files | Leave a Comment

I’m not one for making films out of real-life mysteries, but this is truly a fascinating story. I want to know all about this Abraham Shakespeare and what his life was life before the ticket.

UPDATE: He was found dead. Normally, when you’re a black guy, a drifter, like Abraham Shakespeare, who happens to be missing, nobody gives a shit. But add millions of dollars to the mix, and everyone’s suddenly interested in your whereabouts.

I want to know about his background. They say he was illiterate, but, somehow I doubt this. Blacks like Shakespeare tend to be highly intelligent, they just have a hard time fitting in with societal expectations. I knew one. Everyone thought was ’slow.’ He never spoke to anyone. One day, I saw his photo in flyers pasted all over town. Dude was missing. The police did nothing about it. They said he was old enough to come and go as he pleased. And that was that.

I was too curious about his spiral down. I’ve always known he wasn’t what people were saying about him. I began regular conversations with his father about his life. Turns out the dude was einstein-brilliant, and everyone let him fall through the cracks. There was no attempt to develop his giftedness early on. Such a tragedy.

There are too many black men just like this who live in the bowels of this city. They become homeless by choice and completely tune out. So I just feel like there is a big part of Abraham Shakespeare’s story we’re missing. Nevertheless, this story would make a great film.

Prince | Michael

January 29, 2010 at 11:13 pm | In Michael Jackson, Prince | Leave a Comment

We really do care about you…

January 26, 2010 at 6:47 pm | In Dancing Filipino Prisoners, Michael Jackson | Leave a Comment

Myth#2 – “fat black women are desperate”

January 24, 2010 at 2:29 pm | In fat black and female, myths about fat black women | 3 Comments

Imagemakers enjoy the old reliable standby of the sexually desperate, fat black woman. Normally, this woman exists to mammy and attend to the needs of others, so evidence of a sexuality is nonexistent. The only way she gets to have one, is if she’s quite obvious with it, chasing after men with no apparent interest in her.

On Mo’Nique’s sitcom, The Parkers, she spent every waking moment in pursuit of the very unattractive jherl-curled professor. In most films I’ve seen with a romantic plot involving a fat black woman, she is usually the pursuer, forcing herself on some poor man. If the fat black woman isn’t desperately trolling for men, she’s planning to. On the rare occasion she is shown affection, she is super-appreciative of any sexual attention she gets, usually from an unappealing sidekick, not the main protagonist of the story.

These stereotypes annoy me to no end because it limits the sexual desire and worth of fat black women. As discussed many times here, most people are gullible and unquestioning of the reoccurring images they consume. They just accept these images, ‘as is.’ No image is harmless. Every image helps or hinders. So how does all this translate into the real world?

As a teenager, my experience with this issue really enlightened me. I wasn’t fat, just a little heavyset at the time and constantly hit-on by a thinner friend’s boyfriend. I remember the day I told her he tried to ram his tongue down my throat while she was in the ladies’ room. She didn’t believe me. There was something in her tone that let me know she didn’t think it was possible, given my size. I’ve had some variation of this happen at different stages of my life.

Another time I was stalked and harassed by a very successful white male, one of the chief officers, at a huge company I worked for. When I went to human resources to report each instance of his behavior, the white women were looking at me like it couldn’t possibly happen. In other words, if I were white, thin, and blonde it would make sense that some creep would press his dick up against my office chair and rub my shoulders and massage my neck or call me at home. Only then my reports would be taken seriously. I realize that a lot of men think they can get away with stalking fat black women for this very reason. Disbelief. I mean come on. Why would any man show sexual interest in a fat black woman?

The most ‘closeted’ men out there are the ones who want to love fat black women in private, but publicly they want a thin girlfriend. So when a guy finds himself drawn to a fat black woman, he can’t believe it, almost. He has to hide it, because it’s unacceptable by society’s standard. And if he has an ego and expect you to take crumbs, he’ll get mad at you for not accepting his lowered expectations for you. When you don’t take the crumbs, and you want cake, it’s almost like they can’t believe it. They can’t believe you’re content to have nothing, if you can’t have what you desire.

People are often surprised you have a beauty, vulnerability, sexuality, and femininity. Most people are content to put others in boxes. It’s just another way to make them disappear. I hate this idea that if a fat black woman is single, it’s that no one wants her vs. her being selective. If anything, I’m reasonably picky. I’ve rejected more men, than I’ve accepted. But the she-has-standards conversation never enters into people’s minds. It’s usually: She can’t ‘get any.’ If not that, she must be a lesbian. I guess it’s not possible for a fat black woman to have standards. She’s supposed to be clawing and desperate for male attention.

Myth #1

Decade List: 30 films from 2000-2009

January 21, 2010 at 12:59 pm | In Top 30 Films of the Decade, top of the '00s | 1 Comment

Here it is, my last list of the ’00s. The decade list. Man, there were so many to whittle down, making this an impossible task. I wanted to include more, but I decided to stick with films I thought about long after viewing them. I looked for some commonailty. There were a few loose threads - patriotic immigrants, run-of-the-mill oddballs, sharp objects, foot/leg issues, psychos, capitalism, fat people, teachers, crumudgeons, sexual deviants, repression, suppression, dissatisfied performers, silly Nazis, dolls, black/white faces, disappearing acts, magic tricks, firearms, musical genius, hangings, botany, dystopia, love, corporate greed, wayward kids, explosives, bears & bulls, corrupt governments, radiators, trains, on and on…

30. Drawing Restraint 9 (Matthew Barney, Japan, 2006)
29. Black Snake Moan (Craig Brewer, USA, 2007)
28. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, USA, 2004)
27. Antichrist (Lars Von Trier, Denmark, 2009)
26. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, USA, 2007)

25. The Saddest Music in the World (Guy Maddin, Canada, 2004)
24. Adaptation (Spike Jonze, USA, 2002)
23. Shadowboxer (Lee Daniels, USA, 2006)
22. Lars & the Real Girl (Craig Gillespie, USA, 2007)
21. Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, USA, 2009)

20. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, USA, 2002)
19. You, the Living (Roy Andersson, Sweden, 2009)
18. Fahrenheit 911 (Michael Moore, USA, 2004)
17. American Psycho (Mary Harron, USA, 2000)
16. Secretary (Steven Shainberg, USA, 2002)

15. Hedwig & the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell, USA, 2001)
14. Borat (Larry Charles, USA, 2006)
13. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, USA, 2005)
12. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 2002)
11. Storytelling (Todd Solondz, USA, 2002)

10. Equilibrium (Kurt Wimmer, USA, 2002)
09. The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, USA, 2000)
08. Baise-Moi (Virginie Despentes & Coralie Trinh Thi, France, 2001)
07. American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman, USA, 2003)
06. Enduring Love (Roger Michell, UK, 2004)

05. City of God (Fernando Meirelles, Brazil, 2003)
04. Dancer in the Dark (Lars Von Trier, Denmark, 2000)
03. Bamboozled (Spike Lee, USA, 2000)
02. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke, France, 2002)
01. Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson, Sweden, 2002)

Best films of 2009

January 17, 2010 at 1:24 am | In Top ten films of 2009, Year: 2009 films | Leave a Comment

Can you believe it’s time for the Golden Globes already? The Globes, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the Oscars are pretty much my Superbowl. I even reconnected the bloody DirecTV so I could watch them. I figured I better list my top films of 2009 today. I’ve been dragging my feet on selecting my favorites…too distracted by the coverage of the massive earthquake that demolished Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Blogging seems so trivial when lives are being lost. In all honesty I need to disconnect from this catastrophe for a minute. On to my selects -

10. The White Ribbon

Accidents happen. Suspicions arise. A German village, pre-World War I, houses the same folks we see time and time again – a community of good Christian people who seek to punish wrongdoers. Children soon pick-up the heartlessness with which they must dole out retribution. They’ve been trained by their parents and the religious institutions they rally around.

9. Life During Wartime

This is a happy return of my favorite characters from Solondz’s HAPPINESS with their issues fully on display ten years later. Oh how they’ve matured into the same miserable people I’ve grown to love all over again.

8. The Road

Survival by any means necessary in a post-apocalyptic world is harrowing to watch, but the love and care this father has for his son makes the experience worth it. Seems kinda weird to laud this fictional nightmare, when Haitians are attempting to navigate the world that has crumbled around them. I just hope the living among them can get the food, water, shelter and medical attention they need.

7. The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Charming animation made from good, old-fashioned stop-motion, updated in a way only Wes Anderson can. It’s as distinctive as any of his previous films, with delightful storytelling all-round. A cool kat named Mr. Fox drives the farmers nuts in this mad-cap cartoon caper. Even the attempt to blot out cuss-words is beyond charming.

6. Moon

In a million years, I would never think this is a five million dollar sci-fi picture. Duncan Jones has made a terrific debut which poses many existential and ethical questions about the life inside a body cloned for corporate consumption. It’s certainly more interesting than the other CGI-laden sci-fi vehicles this year.

5. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Magical and transportive in every way. I’ve always retreated into my own ‘imaginarium.’ I just never thought to charge admission to bring the corners of the mind to life. It’s an evocative piece of art for those who while away afternoons in worlds of their own making. Sure the film is a bit flawed, but ‘let the sideshow begin. Hurry, hurry, step right on in!’

4. The Hangover

Losing the groom during a bachelor party the night before his wedding is funny. But retracing the groomsmen’s drunken and drug-addled steps is funnier. Especially when Mike Tyson randomly pops up, making demands. I was going to dismiss this film as a simple dick-flick. I’m so glad I didn’t because it’s the funniest film of last year.

3. Inglorious Basterds

The last act of this film is such a perfect revenge scenario for any Jewish theatre owner who dabbles in drama and explosives. Hers is a theatre-turned-crematorium for Nazis. Too delicious for words. I’ve often concocted my own slave-revenge-films, but Lordy…they are much, much worse. The world should be happy I don’t have the budget to make them (just yet.)

2. Antichrist

‘He’ had a lot of creepy shit done to him, by ‘She’, after a freak accident took away their child. Somehow his penis pays the price! My favorite part: Injured-’He’, crawls and hides in a cocoon-like opening (vagina) on a hill for protection, while ‘She’ stands on top of the mound yelling “Get out! Get out!!! Get out!!!” Women can be so warm and nurturing, except when fucked with.

1. You, the Living

Modern life can seem empty, pointless and absurd. We’re automatons getting from one place to the next, our daily responsibilities compelling us to exist. But it’s those fleeting moments of humanity in between the gloom’n'doom we are surprised by glimpses of real beauty. (Review of this film, coming soon)

Top ‘00s (2008): Happy-Go-Lucky

January 15, 2010 at 12:41 am | In Happy-Go-Lucky, Year: 2008 films, top of the '00s | Leave a Comment

Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is an upbeat spirit who breathes life into any room. Her wardrobe is an explosion of color, typically found in any tropical bird paradise. Her smile draws you in. Her laughter is contagious. So far she sounds absolutely delightful. I would say it depends on the reviews you’ve read of the 2008 film, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY. Some critics believe the film is an ode to positive-thinking. Others are touting it as anti-miserablist cinema. And if you paid attention to the way this film was marketed, you would think it was some life-affirming movie celebrating the ‘glass half-filled.’ Seriously, I don’t know what film they were watching. Poppy is one of the more complex characters of the decade. You want to love her, but most of the time you want to throw a shoe at her.

We first spot this whimsical creature riding her two-wheeler through the streets of London to a bookstore, where she cheerfully tries to engage a clerk who’d rather be left alone. Poppy: Having a bad day? Clerk (nonchalantly): No. When she leaves the book store, she discovers her bike has been stolen. Oh well, life goes on. Time to party with my girls! Her mode of transportation is up in the air. Suits her fine, because she’d rather be a bird and fly away from life’s challenges. Trampolining is as close as she gets to the sky, but it won’t take her where she needs to go. In a rare practical moment, she comes to the conclusion she should learn to drive.

Lucky for her she gets an efficient, no-nonsense driving instructor, Scott (Eddie Marsan), who is all about focus and concentration. When Poppy recalls many scattered attempts at driving, Scott interrupts, barking out his lesson plan. It’s a good thing she is the last lesson of the day, early on a Saturday. Poppy: What do you do the rest of the day? Scott: I shall go home and read my book. Poppy amps up the jokes at his expense; Scott, the criticism of her driving skills. It goes downhill when Scott crosses his arms and warns Poppy her boots are inappropriate for driving. Scott: You can’t control a car in high-heels. He becomes increasingly irate.

Some teachers can’t be taught. Scott’s teaching style is rote, rigid and repetitive. Poppy’s philosophy on life is creative and carefree. Scott: I can’t believe you’re a teacher. I can’t believe they put you in charge of 40 children. You have no respect for order. You’re arrogant. You’re destructive. And you celebrate chaos. Needless to say. These two are as opposite as opposite can get…all behind a wheel of a car – a recipe for disaster.

A set-up like this would normally end in romance. How many times have we’ve seen the uptight guy end up with the free-spirited gal in film? Well, that doesn’t happen here. Yes Scott, the jerk he is, is drawn to her joie de vivre…so much so, he begins to stalk her, watching her comings-and-goings. He becomes enraged upon catching her in a kiss with a jump-off he mistakes as her boyfriend. He goes ballistic. The brilliant Marsan gives one of the most chilling and memorable door-slamming speeches ever. Poppy: I wish I could make you happy. Scott: I was happy. I think everyone Poppy encounters was happy before Poppy. Not ecstatically happy. Functionally-happy. Or maybe just functional. Some people are perfectly content in a state of non-happiness without someone bludgeoning them with unrelenting joy.

Sure, we get glimpses of Poppy when she’s not so obnoxious. Her elementary school students benefit most from her high-octane enthusiasm. She’s the best when she helps out a troubled kid in need. Her compassion for a mentally-challenged gentleman is remarkable. Most people would never take the time to engage a schizophrenic.

Believe me when I say Poppy isn’t totally shallow. She understands the world is sometimes hostile and unfair. No matter what, she reverts back to her original state of exuberance. Is this admirable? I suppose so. She has the ability to feel several emotions at once with brief moments of contemplation. Still, she doesn’t seem to invest in anyone or anything too deeply. It must be nice to be so unburdened. I’m not sure how director Mike Leigh feels about Poppy, but he is a master at crafting dynamic characters. I’m in awe of Poppy’s complexities. She’s the reason HAPPY-GO-LUCKY is my Top ‘00s in 2008.

everybody hates Rochelle…

January 11, 2010 at 11:02 pm | In "WE HATE ROCHELLE" | 2 Comments

I don’t follow video-gaming but on at least three occasions, I’ve stumbled over a lot of hate directed at a character named Rochelle from Left 4 Dead 2. I don’t know why this character is so vilified. Someone please tell me. Is it because she’s black and female? I can’t even repeat any of the slimy racist postings I’ve read. Most of these gamers are completely over-the-top! By all means, google “WE HATE ROCHELLE” and see for yourself.

Mo’Nique refuses to suck Oscar’s dick

January 9, 2010 at 5:46 pm | In Academy Awards, Mo’Nique, Precious, Year: 2009 films | 4 Comments

I’ve been relatively quiet over the controversies surrounding Mo’Nique’s Academy brush-off, because honestly, it’s too ridiculous for words. Even if Mo’Nique wanted to play the Oscar-game it wouldn’t work. Why? Because she’s a fat black woman. She’s not a white woman. Or a thin, biracial woman like Halle Berry. She’s obviously black and obviously heavy. Pandering displays of gratitude at minor award shows will never be enough. Mo’Nique is a super-confident, sometimes-bitchy black woman, who played an even bigger bitch in PRECIOUS. Trust me…there’s no amount of groveling she can do. I doubt she has it in her. And thank the Lord!! Why should she? If she were Johnny Depp, an actor who almost never shows up to premieres or award shows, folks would be intrigued by her ‘air of elusiveness.’ It never ceases to amaze me how many stones are thrown at black women who live on their own terms.

A tree falls in the forest…

January 7, 2010 at 3:10 pm | In Oprah Winfrey, black & lonely", black women, euro standards of beauty, fat, fat black and female, propaganda, white women, ‘I’m a successful educated black woman’ | 5 Comments

A tree falls in the forest, and there’s no one to hear it, does it make a sound? Many educated, successful, lonely black women aren’t getting married or procreating, and if we don’t talk about it, does it make them less alone and unmarried?

Well no. But it seems those with magical thinking believe it’s easier to pretend it really isn’t happening. Hate to say it but many unmarried and childless black women in their 40s and 50s on the frontlines of this phenomena know it really is happening. They are the last of their kind. Many will lose their parents this decade or the next. And when they die, that’s it.

Genocide happens in all kinds of ways, I guess.

And so let me get this straight, some black women are up in arms because the media is talking about it??? I swear I don’t understand, because this shit needs to be digitally broadcast everywhere until people of our time, life and culture, collectively open their eyes and see how they’ve allowed it to happen.

The Japanese coined a phrase for their unmarried, male problem. The occurrence of hikikomori – grown men who shut themselves in their childhood rooms, refusing to leave home, date, and marry – is already affecting birthrates of the next generation. The Japanese have already recognized the devastating effects. It doesn’t seem the hikkiomori are embarrassed about it. A phrase has yet to be coined for the ‘lonely, independent, successful black woman’ phenomena, but I doubt it will happen because most of us are too shamed to actually find a solution.

Now…I went out the other night…and of course in my part of town, it’s very ‘diverse’ and ‘liberal.’ Because my brain doesn’t stop calculating the numbers of black women I see attached vs. unattached, and because I’m in a place in my life where I tend to talk to everyone so I can collect information for my neverending informal survey, and because I naturally want to make sense of this all, I need to be honest…

Most men…notice I didn’t say black men or white men…MEN…do not place a high value on black women. That night, I saw white women, Asian women, Latinas, all with partners. Black women were in groups of other black women or by themselves. It strikes me as odd, that many black women regurgitate the delusion that it’s black women who are not open to all kinds of relationships when the exact opposite is true – men of all races similarly reject black women. They make black women invisible. They leave black women to do the heavy lifting on their own. They don’t even recognize black women as women – women who should be loved, married and provided for like every other group of women on this planet. And why is that? Oh, there are so many reasons why, but the primary reason is the way black women have been imaged by -

- black men (stand-up comics | in film…black men in fat suits as black women | rap videos)

- white women (fashion & beauty industries redlining black female beauty)

- white men (advertising…using the black woman as the ‘fall guy’…using black women as representatives of products no white woman would represent…diminishing black female beauty | film…same thing)

Black women have yet to image themselves. And the ones that have the power to do it – Oprah and Tyra Banks - have squandered real opportunities.

Most people are impressionable. The ones most prone to brainwashing actually believe their decision to date thin women or blonde women, was made on their own. They have no idea how conformist they are…seduced by small daily doses of propaganda which constantly serve to exalt white female beauty and diminish black female beauty. The film, fashion, beauty, and advertising industries have rendered black women as undesirable. Unfortunately, most men are too stupid to realize this and most black women are busy kowtowing to euro standards of beauty to attract one of those impressionable, stupid, conformist males as mates.

Before the current onslaught of media, women who were deemed hot would be considered overweight today. (In other words I would be HOT before the 20th century…of course, I would also be a slave too, but I guess I can’t have everything, lol.) So when some moron trots out biological and genetic reasons why they are attracted to white/thin/blonde, then my question is, why are men of other races attracted to the same archetype?

Here in my generation, we have a long line of black women whose ‘descendants’ will be victims of genocide by rationalized racism disguised as ‘preference.’ And folks want black women and the media to quiet about it? Fuck that. Until I see marked improvement in this area I will continue to talk about it.

Top ‘00s (2007): Lars and the Real Girl

January 5, 2010 at 10:06 pm | In Lars & the Real Girl, Year: 2007 films, top of the '00s | 3 Comments

Lars (Ryan Gosling) is such a strange man. Single, shy, and strange. He dresses funny. Has social phobias. Looks weird. And to top it off he lives in a small town. In most small towns, somebody like him would get eaten alive. But this small town is no ordinary small town, it’s one with unusually kind, empathetic people who carry Lars until he is able to carry himself. Many of these good folks try to solve his problems. His pregnant sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer) literally wrestles him to the ground to get him to socialize and eat dinner with her and his brother in their childhood home.

The next day, an annoying co-worker shows him a website for customizable real life-size sex dolls, and just a mere six weeks later a huge crate is delivered to his door. He refers to his Real Doll as a ‘visitor’ when he enthusiastically introduces his brother and wife to ‘Bianca.’ When they meet Bianca they clearly realize Lars has gone off the deep end.

A psychologist (Patricia Clarkson) for Bianca (wink, wink) recommends the family go along with Lars’ delusion until he’s able to resolve his issues on his own. Instead of institutionalizing him, they do the remarkable – they enlist the whole town to help him. Soon, folks take turns pushing Bianca’s wheelchair, curling her hair, and lending her clothes. Lars is becoming more sociable. He inches toward real people, particularly Margo, a co-worker who has a crush on him.

Karin’s pregnancy is a constant reminder of Lars’ unresolved issues with his mother, who died in childbirth with him. The possibility of losing another ‘real’ breathing woman prevents him from ever connecting with one in a genuine way. When Bianca is given a garish bouquet of fake flowers, Lars’s response: Those are nice huh? They’re not real so they last forever. Isn’t that neat? Bianca’s ‘therapy sessions’ push him to confront his fear that his sister-in-law, his main support, will die in childbirth just like his mother did…and more importantly that any woman he loves and invests in, will leave him.

The town’s people help speed his therapy along by making sure Bianca has a busy schedule. She’s into activities at the church and even has a part-time job, so Lars must adjust. He begins to feel angered when she leaves. And although he has shown interest in Margo, he can’t fully express it yet. He’s stuck between ‘the real’ and ‘the fake.’ He’s completely out of sorts.

Over time, Lars’s attention moves from Bianca to Margo. But Margo has moved on, dating a co-worker, Eric. Lars is anxious when she no longer pays attention to him. He doesn’t want to lose Margo. He’s drawn to her but loyal to Bianca. Somehow, Lars must able himself enough to finally embrace death to move on and make a life with someone.

The dark side of humanity can be overwhelming sometimes. I tend to like films that expose the evil of the normal, seemingly well-adjusted set. But not everyone is bad. The world has some good people left. The compassion, acceptance, and tolerance in LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is truly extraordinary…with no hint of irony. It’s all sweet, without the syrup. Seriously, this film is perfect in every way. And certainly deserving of its position on my top of the ‘00s list.

turn around bright eyes…

January 3, 2010 at 6:53 pm | In wtf files | Leave a Comment

I grew up in an MTV-less household and actually had to conceptualize my own music videos. Can you imagine???? Anyway, Total Eclipse of the Heart was on heavy rotation on my tiny little record player (yes, on vinyl), inspiring all sorts of bizarre fantasies. For some reason I found myself on a search for a video today and found this hilarious interpretation. I lose it at the slo-mo dove release -

everything new…

January 1, 2010 at 1:02 pm | In making films, writing | Leave a Comment

New Year. New Decade. I figure I better reach for some goal. I’m an EXPERT at wasting time, so I’m taking a more scheduled approach with everything in 2010. But not obsessive…because I tend to be very all-or-nothing. I’ll write nothing for months, then all of a sudden I’m writing 20 out of 24 hours a day at the expense of everything else. Balance is the keyword. So, I plan to do the following –

2 hrs (everyday) - write screenplay/film production work or edit non-fiction book
1 hr (everyday) - exercise (treadmill/weights/walking)
eat less (notice I am not dieting)
1 hr (2-4 times a week) – blogging
1 post (monthly) – blogging specifically about my filmmaking progress
spend a lot of time growing my business (+ freelancing for added stability)

So will I make my first feature this year? I dunno. I’ve been talking about it forever. The problems remain the same – not enough money. I need another draft to make a tighter script – that means working out a zillion other things. The one thing I can guarantee, is that regardless which script I finally choose to make my film, the results will be worth it. I know… Show us proof. Soon. It takes me forever to finish things. Hopefully I will get my act together this year to post more about my progress and give you little glimpses of what’s to come.

I need a lot of help though. For those of you who dig what I talk about on this blog, I invite you to make a donation. Just click the DONATE button. Give any amount you want. I think a lot of folks believe films make themselves. They don’t. Not on a guerilla indie film level. These films are created by generous people contributing to the project. I’m going to be honest. Anything I create will not be an easy sell because I am not interested in making the kind of commercial films about black life you normally see. Anything I create will not easily slide in and become saleable in some market. So if you part with your money, don’t expect it to be some great investment into a summer blockbuster. Give because you believe small potatoes like myself should have every right to make a film, just like James Cameron (and his half a BILLION dollar budget for AVATAR!!!)

We’ll see how my progress unfolds. I’m actually feeling pretty hopeful today.

ole fat lonely mammy ad

December 30, 2009 at 11:11 am | In advertisements, black people you always see, euro standards of beauty, fat, fat black and female, myths about fat black women | Leave a Comment

There are no words to express how much I hate this commercial!!! The actress is probably 40 years younger than the woman she’s portraying. And the voiceover actress tries to sound ‘elderly.’ Hilarious I tell ya!

This clip is missing my favorite part, where the woman’s supposed grandson sneaks out of the bushes to wave to his ‘grandma.’ Mind you, this is a grown black man, roughly the same age as the actress. Would advertisers disgrace white women this way? I think not. I guess I should thank my lucky stars she’s not a black man in a fat suit.

10 best performances of the ’00s

December 29, 2009 at 2:49 pm | In American Psycho, Bjork, Borat, Christian Bale, Dancer in the Dark, Enduring Love, Isabelle Huppert, Lars Von Trier, Lee Daniels, Macy Gray, Mo’Nique, Mystic River, Precious, Reverend Billy, Rhys Ifans, Robert Wisdom, Sasha Baron Cohen, Sean Penn, Shadowboxer, Storytelling, The Piano Teacher, Todd Solondz, What Would Jesus Buy, top of the '00s | 2 Comments

It’s still too early for my ‘best of’ year/decade lists, but I think I have my favorite performances locked. Keep in mind I have a predilection for the slightly demented, so this list slants heavily toward wackoes and degenerates. Enjoy!

10. MYSTIC RIVER (2003) – Sean Penn as Jimmy Markum – Sean Penn as Jimmy Markum – Yes, Sean Penn is perfect in every role he takes on, so much so that each one cancels the other out. I have no idea what it means to lose a child…or more specifically, what it means for a man to lose his child, but this performance made me feel that grief deeply.

9. BORAT (2006) – Sasha Baron Cohen as Borat – I don’t know if it’s the ill-fitting suit, the lime green speedo, or the ridiculous foreign accent, but heck, I’d make sexy-time with Borat! In the ‘00s, I can’t remember laughing at any film more than this one. The most dedicated comic performance of the decade.

8. PRECIOUS (2009) – Mo’Nique as Mary – She’s so deliciously mommie-dearest, you almost forget about Claireese. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a terrific performance delivered from three seats – her recliner, her couch, and the chair in the welfare office. The only time one can acknowledge Mary had legs was in the scene of her tripping the light fantastic in her spandex get-up.

7. AMERICAN PSYCHO (2000) – Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman – Who can forget the Wall Street exec’s fine taste in business cards, Huey Lewis tunes, and stainless steel décor? What I remember most is Patrick’s dead eyes and the way they pursued his victims. This brutal transformation as a perfectly-imaged, narcissistic psychopath is amazing given how unimposing Bale is in real life, you wonder how he even pulled off such a performance.

6. SHADOWBOXER (2006) – Macy Gray as Neisha – Sure she’s not in the film very much, but she represents the kind of loopy, rambling, drunken black female characters I’d like to see more of on the big screen. Macy Gray can read the phone book and be a million times more watchable than old-stand-bys like Angela Bassett.

5. WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY? (2007) – Bill Talen as Reverend Billy – Before Borat, there was Reverend Billy and the Church of Life after Shopping and his sidewalk revivals. He’s a NYC street performer who believes consumerism is eeeeeVILLLL-a! And can preach-a, the gospel-ha, like any other charlatan preacher out to make a buck. As an agnostic, he’s the only anti-capitalism preacher with streaked platinum blonde hair and a fake accent I can tolerate.

4. DANCER IN THE DARK (2000) – Bjork as Selma – A blind, clueless mother, martyrs herself so her son won’t suffer the same sightless fate. This good soul runs into creepy people at every turn, willing to take advantage of her condition. Good thing Selma is distracted by the musical that lives in her head, as this sordid Lars Von Trier-tale unfolds. Bjork’s sparkling film performance is as intriguing as her musical performances.

3. STORYTELLING (2002) – Robert Wisdom as Prof. Scott – How do black intellectuals deliver meaningful life-lessons in an environment teeming with condescending saviors with Mandingo complexes? Well…if the intention is to educate bored, suburban students and give them something to write about, I think Prof. Scotts’s techniques are reasonable. Honestly, I wish I thought of this character before Todd Solondz did. Wisdom is beyond brilliant in it.

2. ENDURING LOVE (2004) – Rhys Ifans as Jed – Erotomania is no joke when a psychotic stalker has his eye on you. But it’s weird when you actually have sympathy for the man…a wounded puppy so full of need, scratching at the leg of another man who owns his heart, only to be rebuffed at every turn. His very existence hinges on those brief moments he connects with his love in passing. Ifans crafts the most painful rendering of unrequited love on screen this decade.

1. THE PIANO TEACHER (2001) – Isabelle Huppert as Prof. Kohut – Don’t forget to breathe while watching this woman come apart at the seams under a cold, emotionless, veneer. It’s amazing to watch Huppert’s seeming lack of affect, while knowing the iceberg underneath is killing her. This film is like watching ice melt…down. The most remarkable performance of the decade.

Top ‘00s (2006): Manderlay

December 24, 2009 at 12:55 pm | In Dogville, Lars Von Trier, Manderlay, Year: 2006 films, top of the '00s | 2 Comments

Lars Von Trier became critics favorite whipping boy with the release of MANDERLAY, the second installment of the Brechtian experiment which began with DOGVILLE. DOGVILLE mind you, was a dragging bore, probably his only filmic failure. MANDERLAY is just the opposite, yet no one ever talks about it. So why the reluctance? As I’ve stated before on this blog, most film critics are white and male and seem to have a hard time reviewing films which reveal the true nature of their ancestors. Adding to their dilemma, we get the rare opportunity to view ‘the sacred minority group’ – white women – delivering the historical cruelty.

We begin in 1933 at Manderlay, a cotton plantation in Alabama still operating under slavery…a good 70 years after its abolishment. Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) happens to pull-up with her gangster-daddy and his hooligans. She surveys the sweeping grounds, and is immediately outraged the Negroes were still enslaved. This happens just as Manderlay’s wretched female slavemaster, Mam, croaks.

The pure, honorable, well-intended Grace swoops in to rescue the slaves from their extreme conditions. Grace: you think the negroes wanted to leave their homes in Africa? Wasn’t it us who brought them to America? We have done them a great wrong. It’s our abuses that made them what they are. To the rescue she goes! The gates are unlocked. Every citizen of Manderlay is free to come and go as they please. She even waits to be thanked before they hightail it out of slavery, into freedom. They don’t leave. And the praise doesn’t come quickly enough. But she knows the gratitude is coming. After all, they are free from Mam’s Laws, forever. Problem solved!!!

Well…not really. New problems begin to emerge. Seeds aren’t being planted. Leaky roofs remain unrepaired. Hunger looms. The Negroes are not slaves anymore. Who cares if the plantation falls apart around them? Now that they’re not forced to work, they won’t. Grace realizes her work is cut out for her. She must now instill the responsible attitude of a free person and alleviate these Negroes of their blistering ignorance. This is long-term work. She must stay at Manderlay and dig in for the long haul. Although these Negroes clearly have no physical boundaries, the mental and emotional boundaries of slavery are enough to ensure lifelong enslavement. Grace finds an old manual, Mam’s Law, which effectively labels the Negroes and guarantees they remain slaves the rest of their lives.

So Grace decides to give them something better than their ‘40 acres and a mule.’ She teaches them about their rights. The Constitution. Voting. Democracy. And the importance of unleashing one’s anger and using the courts to win freedom. She enlists the help of house negro, Willem (Danny Glover), to turn wrongs into rights. Seeds get planted. The fields tended to. They practice what they are taught and gain a new sense of self. Their lessons get a bit twisted though. When one of the Negroes steal a child’s food due to hunger, the rest vote for her to die. The morally-superior-Grace volunteers to do the deed. Yep, she kills an elderly Negro woman…this saviour of Negro peoples. Grace even makes the indentured servants serve the former slaves dinner in blackface to teach everyone a lesson.

Grace’s main distraction is an ‘exotic negro’ named Timothy (Isaach De Bankole), a Munsee slave with a strange accent. This ‘proudy’ nigger intrigues Grace with each rebuff. When he tells her she doesn’t really care about the development of black people, she sets out to prove him wrong. Once, by giving art supplies to a kid rumored to have superb artistic abilities…only she can’t tell one Negro from the other. Jack is not Jim. Timothy taunts her and takes advantage of her vulnerabilities. See, Timothy was no ‘proudy’ Munsee, he was a ‘pleasin,’ Mansee. According to the omniscient narrator: The pleasin nigger of the chameleon type was expert in changing character according to whatever was opportune and could titillate and enthrall the other person. There was even a note beside Timothy’s name: diabolically clever.

Cleverness is an attribute Grace never expected from a slave.

She also never expected Williem to be the architect of an even greater deception. Mam’s Law was written by Willem himself, for the ‘good’ of the Negroes to extend slavery. After all, there was only more slavery, post-slavery. With ‘freedom’ comes the freedom to make a wage determined by their former enslavers, just enough to rack up debt, ensuring another kind of enslavement, as Von Trier illustrates in his slideshow, highlighting clips of the historical ills black America had to endure. Willem understood the dynamics of the ‘free world’ better than anyone else and uses his foresight and influence to provide what he could. Grace, feeling duped, viscously whups Timothy to somehow restore social order but he can’t be reduced. The freed slaves, equipped with this new knowlegde of democracy, use their power to vote Grace to death…

…but not before she flees the Manderlay plantation, and into Von Trier’s final stop of this trilogy. While the sparse, chalk-outlined studio experiment failed horribly in DOGVILLE, it perfectly illustrates issues of boundaries and freedom, and how incredibly artificial they are, in MANDERLAY. African-Americans today have the physical freedom and maybe some political freedoms, but we have yet to delve into what it means to be emotionally and mentally free. I am more than impressed with Von Trier’s contempt for American hypocrisy. More truth can be found in his films than anything I’ve seen lately in this country. In the typical Hollywood flick, we constantly get the grateful magic negro helped by the selfless white individual who sacrificially puts themselves in grave danger to improve the life of the big, dumb negro they’ve taken under their protective wing. (Sandra Bullock, this means you and your god-awful racist piece-o-shit film, THE BLIND SIDE!!!) The man from Denmark has certainly proved to be more thoughtful than his American counterparts. Top of the ‘00s.

black women flogged again

December 19, 2009 at 7:02 pm | In Successful Black and Lonely, depression, ‘I’m a successful educated black woman’ | Leave a Comment

This week I learned quite a bit reading the responses to “Successful, Black and Lonely” in the Washington Post. It bugs me when artificial black women like Helena Andrews become symptomatic of what’s supposedly wrong with other unmarried black women. While I applaud any reason to address low marriage rates among educated black women, it seems walking stereotypes like Andrews always get chosen for the discussion. These dishonest women are usually so fearful to admit loneliness, they cloak it in bravado, material possessions and endless activities to numb their emotional pain. Who is she trying to fool? Living a loveless life is not rewarding. There is no activity that can adequately substitute for a man who loves and cares about you.

That said…I do understand her invulnerability. I think when you’re in your 20s and black, smart, and beautiful, you just can’t believe you are relegated to chronic datelessness. There is an embarrassment about it. When I was her age, I cloaked mine in extreme fashion, make-up, and hair. And of course, I was mainly overweight, so I needed to make myself into an untouchable, above men, above people even. I was very proud. I don’t ever recall having a conversation about how depressed I was at the time. I was too proud. I spent a lot of time alone crying about it. I don’t even think it registered to my friends and family that I wanted a boyfriend. I spent my entire 20s going to white therapists to figure out why I was so different from everyone I knew. I lacked a romantic life, had a philosophy no one understood or cared about, and had trouble submitting to the conventional everydayness of life. After much psychoanalysis I finally figured it out – I’m black, female and I’m an oddball.

I don’t fit snugly into boxes. All of my life I’ve been outside of them. Any box you’re outside of, you will have to pay a penalty or conform..no scratch that, not conform…bend over backwards and overcompensate for any lacking mainstream standards, looks, values. In my case it would be average smarts, white skin, a thin body, blonde hair and straight hair, a slave-like domesticity, child bearing hips, a genteel disposition, top-40 tastes, a willful blindness to injustice, and an endless positive outlook in the face of racism, sexism and sizism. I would need to forever prostitute my own values to fit in with majorities everywhere. Every fucking day, I would be expected to endorse other people’s shit, even with the person I’m most intimate with. I can’t. Love and marriage can never be for me under those conditions. Whoever I meet has to love me as I am.

Now that I’m in my 40s I don’t really care to hide my sorrow anymore. It’s not beneficial to me or younger black women. 20-year-olds should know it doesn’t get any better. You never get used to it. In fact, it gets worse. The onus will always be put on the black woman. She has to be more aggressive about finding love and connection, yet she’s chastised for exactly that. Nobody approaches her because she’s supposedly ’scary.’ Even if she is sincere in her approach she’ll still be labeled ’scary AND desperate.’ Her femininity and beauty are never lauded or defended. Black women are truly in an unwinnable situation. I have a big problem with those who feel they must shame us for talking about these issues. Since this story made its way through the afrosphere, everyone has crawled out of the woodwork to flog black women for their loneliness. So far I’ve heard chronically single educated black women –

1.      have unreasonably high standards
2.      are game-players who like to seduce men without the payoff
3.      should gallivant around the globe to hunt for love
4.      should marry a white guy. Problem solved!!!
5.      marry below their education, wealth, station in life
6.      get out of the ghetto and into a ‘fabulous gentrified neighborhood’
7.      stop ignoring good black, uneducated, blue-collar men
8.      stop being selfish
9.      are crazy, that’s why no one wants them
10.   should learn how to cook to keep a man
11.   expect to do the heavy lifting to be in a relationship
12.   are too fat to be loved and committed to
13.   should smile more
14.   should not approach men (makes them look desperate)
15.   should approach men (this is the 21st century, they can’t expect men to approach them all the time)
16.   should realize this is the 21st century, but they have to be a domesticated mule from the 19th century and do all the housework, cleaning, cooking to be rewarded with a partner
17.   be nicer
18.   should be more accommodating. Don’t make men feel uncomfortable with their great attributes. Men will feel inferior and run off to get a women they feel smarter than and superior to
19.   quit the ‘tude’ and take what they can get. They aren’t in a position to be choosy
20.   are defective according to other black women. After all, “I’m married, I’ve always had dates and been in relationships!!”
21. want to be single. After all, “I’m married, all my friends are married and in love. You don’t try hard enough. It’s your own fault.”
22.   don’t cast their net wide enough and date non-black men
23.   don’t stroke men’s egos enough
24.   should accept whatever is given to them because they are just black women…certainly no trophy

I hate when people use their social advantage and privilege to berate those who don’t have it. If there is a high-premium on your race, gender, looks, body-type and you benefit with lots of dates, whirlwind romances, marriage, and children, good for you. Enjoy! I don’t have any answers for lonely black women, unlike some others who seem to have simple solutions for big problems. Love and connection with another human being can’t be legislated. You can point out people’s prejudicial, brainwashed attitudes all day. It won’t make them change. I certainly don’t want someone whose arm had to be twisted in order to truly love and understand me. I’m still proud. I’d rather do without than settle for something less than I deserve.

The Bigelow Machine

December 15, 2009 at 3:35 am | In Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker | Leave a Comment

This Academy Awards season, I’m pretty sure a black man or a white woman will finally win the Best Director award. After seeing how disappointing PRECIOUS was, I knew the focus would soon turn to Kathryn Bigelow and her film, THE HURT LOCKER. She’s already won a slew of best directing awards this week alone. Great. I liked the film very much even though it’s pretty much a dick-flick. Things blow up and whatnot. Men drink and get into fist-fights. Wonderful. I just can’t see the first female director winning for a male-centered film with practically no women in it. Is that what it takes? Should it signify progress? Are films about women made by women even important? Sophia Coppola and Catherine Breillat have been making worthy films for years about women and…well, nothing.

Surprise, surprise, I actually liked…

December 13, 2009 at 1:05 pm | In The Princess & the Frog, Year: 2009 films, black women, euro standards of beauty | Leave a Comment

…THE PRINCESS & THE FROG!

But not so fast.

Although the story is an enjoyable 2-D classic with terrific music, I must mention a few things -

Tiana is still a stereotypical black woman even though she’s a princess. She spends a lot of time rescuing Princess Naveen…I mean Prince Naveen. How is that different from real life? Isn’t this a fantasy? I would really appreciate a portrayal of a black woman as the one rescued with no attempt to transform her into the role of ‘the rescuer’ (aka. mammy, strong black woman).

Why does the prince have to be poor? I’m sure the writers could have whipped-up a character that is spoiled, charming, narcissistic, and rich too. Why does the first BLACK princess get the poor prince?

The romance ‘payoff’ as frogs is a copout. It doesn’t allow the viewer to see the image of a black woman as desirable. Naveen and Tiana in human form, are only shown romantically for seconds at the end of the film. Plus, Disney did what soaps usually do when a black person is involved in an interracial kiss – they pull back the frame or distract from the scene with plenty angles and cutting, so the viewer really doesn’t see the two characters kissing. Why is this a big deal? Well, it doesn’t ever occur when two white people kiss on screen, (unless there is some artistic reason for it). And it always seems to happen, especially when a darker-skinned black woman is the one kissed. I invite you to watch any show featuring a darker-skinned black woman as the love interest to see if this is true or not. What this covertly tells the viewer is that there is something inherently wrong with a black woman as the object of affection. Disney had no problem at all with the close-ups of Tiana kissing Prince Naveen, as a frog.

Tiana’s basically perfect and I see this as the biggest flaw in the film. There’s usually no in-between when rendering black women on screen. Either it’s the usual stereotypes compounded onto one another (see PRECIOUS) or perfect invulnerable specimens, like Tiana. Black women deserve the breathing room to be human and flawed like everyone else. Tiana doesn’t grow as a person. She really doesn’t need to. She’s pretty-much perfect to begin with.

All that said, I do believe Disney had to walk the line as not to alienate any particular group. I wouldn’t expect a bunch of white animators to delve deeply into these issues concerning black women. So, as is, I’ll take THE PRINCESS & THE FROG. The awesome color and beauty of the film can’t be denied. I enjoyed the big musical numbers – particularly Dr. Facilier’s “Friends on the Other Side” & Tiana’s “Almost There” - so much so, I’ll see this film a few more times on the big screen.

Not on my list in the ‘00s…

December 10, 2009 at 11:11 am | In top of the '00s | Leave a Comment

I truly enjoy reading through best-of film lists of the decade, though I do wonder why certain films show up again and again and again…films that would never show up on my list. So I thought it might be fun to make a Top 10, not-on-my-list, film list of the ‘00s. Here goes –

Me and You and Everyone We Know 10. YOU AND ME AND EVERYONE WE KNOW – Miranda July tries in vain to be ‘quirky’ by mimicking the best filmmakers of the ‘90s without developing a style of her own. Yet somehow she manages to pass this schlock off as an original work of art.

9. THERE WILL BE BLOOD – PTA’s worst film of the decade, with great one-liners and a spectacular performance from Daniel Day Lewis. I dunno. I just feel it’s wrong to confuse great acting with a great film.

8. JUNO – I’ve officially had enough of overly sarcastic and verbose white teenagers, forever.

7. WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE – just a long boring attempt at childhood hipsterdom. While I usually love Spike Jonze’s work, this was the only film I walked out on this year…a half-hour before it was scheduled to end.

6. AMELIE – maybe this is unfair to Audrey Tatou, but I’m not a fan of romantic films with perfect-looking people. Give me romances with not-so-beautiful weirdoes. Some of the best of the decade: SECRETARY, AMERICAN SPLENDOR, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN and LARS AND THE REAL GIRL.

5. CACHE – one too many wannabe-intellectuals have lauded this as a great film. It’s masquerading as a challenging mental exercise to figure out, but by the end of the film, there are so many loose ends and so many under-performed glum faces walking back and forth on the screen, I didn’t really care. I adore Haneke, but this is not his best, this decade. That would be THE PIANO TEACHER.

4. MULHOLLAND DRIVE – The way many people feel about Lars Von Trier is the way I feel about David Lynch.

3. DOGVILLE – speaking of Von Trier, DOGVILLE was the most painful experiment of the decade. If you’re going to nominate one film set in an outlined-soundstage as his best, it better be MANDERLAY.

2. CRASH – Haggis erases real racism as he sets out to prove ‘everyone’s just a little racist.’ Easily the most insincere film of the decade.

1. Any LORD OF THE RINGS film – I generally I hate these kinds of big-budgeted, CGI-ladened films. On a side-rant, I’m morally opposed to filmmakers getting a half-BILLION dollars to make ONE film (James Cameron this means you), when so many other films are just waiting to be made. I hope AVATAR tanks majorly.

Dishonorable Mentions: The Dark Knight, Batman Returns, Memento, In Praise of Love, The Constant Gardener, Donnie Darko, Precious

Top ’00s (2005): Grizzly Man

December 6, 2009 at 8:44 pm | In Grizzly Man, Year: 2005 films, top of the '00s | 1 Comment

Timothy Treadwell’s steadfast enthusiasm overshadowed his personal safety, sanity, and common sense. In 2003, after 100 hours of videotape, 13 summers in the Alaskan wilderness with the grizzly bears, one of them decided to eat him for dinner. That’s GRIZZLY MAN. A documentary about an animal lover whose singular goal was to protect the grizzlies he loved so much.

I love to see passion in action. It’s the greatest thing about being human. The sexiest thing in the world. Not too many people have it. So when someone is as possessed by it as Treadwell was, it makes for great viewing. Some may call Treadwell crazy, but he actually spent the last 13 years of his life doing exactly what he loved. I think it’s more crazy to get up everyday and go to a job you hate because you have to pay the rent. I guess the bear eats some people a little slower.

Ironically, in Treadwell’s zeal to protect his grizzlies, the bear that ate him and his cinematographer-girlfriend, was killed and cut open. According to officials, ‘it was full of people and clothing.’ They hauled away four garbage bags of human remains. The watch on his severed arm, was still ticking away.

Yes it’s macabre, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the insanity of it all. Werner Herzog narrates as if Treadwell himself is the animal in the wild, not the grizzlies. His accent makes the whole thing seem more absurd for some reason.

It’s good to know at least for a little while, Timothy Treadwell became a part of the thing he loved most in the world. Some people live whole lifetimes and can never say the same. And Treadwell was also a bona fide nut. What can I say? I like nuts. (Top of the ’00s).

My favorite ANTICHRIST quote of the day

December 5, 2009 at 1:28 pm | In Antichrist, Ingmar Bergman, Year: 2009 films | Leave a Comment

I love, love John Waters. He just has a way of breaking it down -

“If Ingmar Bergman had committed suicide, gone to hell, and come back to earth to direct an exploitation/art film for drive-ins, this is the movie he would have made.”

True, true, true. The ANTICHRIST-hate is too ridiculous for words. There are so many jump-on-the-bandwagonists out there. My 2009 list is not complete yet, but ANTICHRIST is up there. It cracks me up that the same people who love old auteurs like Ingmar Bergman, can never seem to tolerate the pacing or erratic artistic nature of an auteur from this century. It seems very hypocritical to me. I can’t really see them appreciating a film like CRIES & WHISPERS if they can’t appreciate ANTICHRIST. Would these same people say Bergman is emotionally manipulative or that he hates women or provokes for the sake of provocation? No. They wouldn’t dare.

Myth #1 – “fat black women have attitudes”

December 4, 2009 at 11:37 am | In fat black and female, myths about fat black women | 2 Comments

If you’ve been in these parts for more than two seconds, I’m sure you’ve noticed I blog a lot about fat black women. Why? Because I feel they are the most disparaged group in film, television, advertising, life. I know. I am one, and I have the scars to prove it. I got them defending my right to exist on my terms. Apparently, some of you out there believe these women are the stereotypical images you regularly see in the media, similar to the film/tv images in this collage I threw together. The search engine terms on my blog have been quite educational in this regard. So let me debunk a few myths, one at a time -

Myth #1 – “fat black women have attitudes” – Most fat black women DO NOT have ‘attitudes.’ People who have ‘attitudes’ span across all groups. They aren’t limited to fat black women. What I’ve come to realize is, when folks talk about these mythical ‘attitudy’ women, what they are saying is that you do not have a right to ever to speak on your own behalf. You’re not supposed to reject discrimination and unfair judgment. You cease to have rights because you take up more room and have the nerve to have dark skin and nappy hair, too. Anything you say is immediately wrong when up against someone thinner, whiter, and lighter. And because fat black women already feel stereotyped, the last thing they want is even more negativity directed at them.

Among some black women, I’ve noticed a recent trend of doing nothing in the face of injustice, for fear of being labeled. I don’t understand…so what if you are labeled? Why should some clueless asshole get away with thinking his or her behavior toward you is appropriate? If you are a fat black woman, and have an attitude, it’s probably well earned. I think the unique insights of living in a fat body should be used to reshape the warped perception of others. It’s not like the folks inclined to stereotype you, will suddenly see you as a human being, if you remain silent.

In actuality, I find most fat black women are sugary-sweet to overcompensate for the ‘attitudy’ stereotype that will inevitably come their way. I don’t believe in being nice to those who are not nice to me. I’m not that charitable. I think niceness in the face of prejudice, allows people to think they haven’t injured you all that much, and so they continue on in ignorance. If you knowingly allow it, then you are creating a breeding ground for these issues to persist.

The Blob

December 3, 2009 at 3:34 am | In jellyfish, wtf files | Leave a Comment

black woman mowed down by stroller…

November 29, 2009 at 7:02 pm | In black people you never see, black women, euro standards of beauty, strollers, white women | 4 Comments

On both Salon and Jezebel this week, a big fight broke out with breeders in one corner and non-breeders in the other after a lovely, white, SUV-stroller-toting mommy of Park Slope wondered why everyone hates her. The hilarious comments that followed provided major chuckles. Since my surrounding neighborhood was referenced and I frequently get the obnoxious spillage, I thought I should weigh in.

First let me say, the venom directed at these married-mommas is well-deserved. I was completely delighted the comments were extra-bitchy. It’s about time these breeders get it. When you’re unmarried and childless after 35, the whole world loves to make you feel like some defect. Society is built around motherhood and rewards them PLENTY of benefits. Much of my tax dollars support their babies and they seem not to appreciate it.

When you are a woman who has other kinds of babies to raise, nobody gives a shit. I found that out quickly when I tried to raise funds for my feature-length film. The same folks I gave money to, in support of their weddings, their children, their conventional life, looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for contributions. In Sex in the City, Carrie made the astute observation…with the exception of the occasional birthday present, if you are an adult, unmarried female, you’ll have to get married before anybody gives you anything else. It’s true. And moreover, you’re expected to be willfully charitable, tolerant and understanding of other people’s chosen lifestyle, while those same people feel they can be openly contemptuous of yours.

Black women get it ten times worse. I frequently feel mowed down by everything these strollers represent, everything that black women of my generation are seemingly not entitled to – love, marriage, in-wedlock children, financial security, and shared responsibilities with someone who loves them. In my part of town, white women of similar age and education have all those things, and so when I see them attempting to strong-arm MORE SHIT, there is a resentment that bubbles-up. I can walk out of my apartment on any given weekend and see them with their husbands and kids, blocking-up the sidewalk with their triple-wide strollers. I also see single black women who look like me – proud, beautiful, trying to pretend their loneliness doesn’t hurt as much as it does, and wondering what the fuck happened.

I don’t know about them, but for me, I was raised in a household with two parents who did everything together. While my mother swept the floors, my father mopped them. While my mother washed the rice, my father picked the peas. While my mother held the ladder, my father cleared the leaves from the roof. There was never anything in my frame of reference that would make me believe, I wouldn’t have the same opportunity for marriage and children as my mother did.

It’s really no fault of today’s black woman. We live in an increasingly propagandistic environment that exalts white female beauty and inhibits black female desirability to pander to the consumers with the greatest buying power – white women. So yes, I frequently feel mowed down by white female privilege. Really…I don’t hate white women or their babies or those strollers. What I hate is unfairness. What I despise is entitlement and unacknowledged advantage.

the world according to…

November 29, 2009 at 9:44 am | In America | Leave a Comment

Top 20 Albums of the ’00s

November 25, 2009 at 5:03 pm | In Top 20 Albums of the '00s, music, top of the '00s | Leave a Comment

The oh-ohs are almost over. Weird decade, musically. While I generally think today’s music is vapid, regurgitative and pointless, a few standouts managed to squeak through. I’m amazed at the artistry of some of the following musicians. Some have produced more than one brilliant album this decade. Others have surprised me by making lush, cinematic music many years after they first debuted. A few have dared to mix genres that alone would be dull and uninteresting. Some are newbies to the music scene and have shown a creativity that is astonishing in this auto-tune culture. And I’m surprised that others are still relatively unknown to most people who appreciate good music. I’m proud to say, I’ve spent countless hours in the ‘00s wrapped up in my top 20 albums –

20. Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere (2006)
Quote: And when you’re out there without care | Yeah, I was out of touch | but it wasn’t because I didn’t know enough ” I just knew too much
Top 3 tracks:
1. Crazy
2. Transformer
3. Who Cares?

19. Asa – Asa (2007)
Quote: Tell me, who’s responsible for what we teach our children? | Is it the internet or the stars on television? | Why oh why? Why oh, why oh? Oh!
Top 3 tracks:
1. Fire on the Mountain
2. Jailer
3. So Beautiful

18. Stina Nordenstam – The World is Saved (2005)Quote: I can’t get this creature out of my way | Killing it is not an option | It is biting your nails | So as not to scratch
Top 3 tracks:
1. End of a Love Affair
2. The World is Saved
3. Get on With Your Life

17. Radiohead – Amnesiac (2001)
Quote: I want you to know | He’s not coming back | Look into my eyes | I’m not coming back
Top 3 tracks:
1. You and Whose Army?
2. Life in a Glass House
3. Pyramid Song

16. Bjork – Selmasongs (2000)
Quote: But don’t ask me | What’s gonna happen next | I know the future | I’d love to lead you the way |Just to make it easier on you | You are gonna have to find out for yourself
Top 3 tracks:
1. Scatterheart
2. I’ve Seen It All
3. New World

13. The High Llamas – Can Cladders (2007)
Quote: All the can cladders and poets were there | the read through room was just upstairs | tearing through the pages | and swinging the chairs
Top 3 tracks:
1. Can Cladders
2. Rolling
3. Sailing Bells

12. Saul Williams – Saul Williams (2004)
Quote: like the time you Flavor-flaved me and you played me, “Yo Chuck?” | they say you’re too black, man | I think I’m too black | Mom, you think I’m too black? | I think I’m too black, black-a, black-a, black-a, blaack
Top 3 tracks:
1. Black Stacey
2. Surrender (A Second To Think)
3. List Of Demands (Reparations)

11. Starsailor – Love is Here (2002)
Quote: Oh | I’ve got something in my throat | I need to be alone |while I suffer
Top 3 tracks:
1. Way to Fall
2. Alcoholic
3. Poor Misguided Fool

10. Boards of Canada – Geogaddi (2002)
Quote: No lyrics, just errie, atmospheric sounds.
Top 3 tracks:
1. You Could Feel the Sky
2. Cosair
3. Sunshine Recorder

9. Portishead – Third (2008)
Quote: I stand on the edge of a broken sky | And I will come down; don’t know why | And if I should fall, would you hold me? | Would you pass me by?
Top 3 tracks:
1. Threads
2. Hunter
3. The Rip

8. The Church – Untitled #23 (2009)
Quote: When the hopeless nights of love have gone | And the spirits are still within the trees | And we’re running back to Albion | I should take some chance | Given happenstance
Top 3 tracks:
1. Space Savior
2. Happenstance
3. Cobalt Blue

7. Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
Quote: In a little while | I’ll be gone | The moment’s already passed | Yeah, it’s gone
Top 3 tracks:
1. In Limbo
2. How to Disappear Completely
3. Everything in it’s Right Place

6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell (2003)
Quote: oh i’ve gotta a man that makes me wanna kill | please, please, please, please | i’ve got a man that makes me wanna die | i’ve got a man that makes me wanna die | i’ve got a man that makes me wanna
Top 3 tracks:
1. No No No
2. Pin
3. Man

5. Air – The Virgin Suicides (2000)
Quote: The warmer air rises, and the cooler air falls | Likewise, the low pressure area slides down the sides of the high pressure area | They swirl in and around one another | creating the beginnings of the storm
Top 3 tracks:
1. Cemetery Party
2. Dark Messages
3. The Word ‘Hurricane’

4. Zero 7 – When It Falls (2004)
Quote: If today is all we see | then tomorrow seems to me | is just an illusion we believe
Top 3 tracks:
1. Morning Song
2. The Space Between
3. Warm Sound

3. Radiohead – Hail to the Thief (2003)
Quote: Are you hungry? | Are you sick? | Are you begging for a break? | Are you sweet? | Are you fresh? | Are you strung up by the wrists? | We want the young blood
Top 3 tracks:
1. We Suck Young Blood (Your Time Is Up)
2. Scatterbrain (As Dead As Leaves)
3. Sail To The Moon (Brush Cobwebs off the Sky)

2. Bjork – Vespertine (2001)
Quote: I thrive best hermit style | With a beard and a pipe | And a parrot on each side | But now I can’t do this without you
Top 3 tracks:
1. Undo
2. Pagan Poetry
3. Hidden Place

1. The High Llamas – Buzzle Bee (2000)
Quote: Where the city wall ends | and the angels descend
Top 3 tracks:
1. Tambourine Day
2. Pat Mingus
3. The Passing Bell

Top ’00s (2004): Enduring Love

November 24, 2009 at 1:55 pm | In Enduring Love, Year: 2004 films, life, love, top of the '00s | Leave a Comment

Joe (Daniel Craig), a professor at a London college, gets-off reminding lowly-others that love is fake. It’s just simple biology. He has scientific explanations for everything. Joe’s rationalistic approach makes him superior to everyone, including his girlfriend Claire (Samantha Morton). He even published a text on his anti-love rantings, lest anyone forgets love is essentially meaningless.

Shit. Ask Jed (Rhys Ifans) if love is meaningless. Falling in love is so effortless for him. It’s a religious experience. Unlike Joe, he doesn’t need to understand the science to understand love. The way Jed bites into watermelon is more sensual and impassioned, than Joe shoveling upscale take-out into his gut. Every interaction is tinged with meaning. The possibility of a lover means instant invigoration. Love is all-consuming.

It just so happens these two men, Joe and Jed, are brought together by a cataclysmic event, involving a red, runaway hot-air balloon which threatens the life of a young boy. The men are among a group of brave souls who rush in to bring the boy and his father down. They save the boy, but in the end, a life was lost, and then, ‘the crazy’ begins…

Madness in the aftermath begins to infect both Joe and Jed. One in his head. The other in his heart. Joe’s obsessed with the physics and logistics of where all the men were when the accident occurred. Who let go first? Is it possible no one could have gotten hurt if I hung on longer? Could we have brought it down? Red orbs exist everywhere – in apples, in mangoes, in Elmo mylar balloons. Meanwhile, Jed somehow believes this shared, tragic experience is an indication of love. Jed becomes obsessed with Joe – calling him, showing up in Joe’s classroom, and during lunches. He serenades him in inappropriate places.

Joe is increasingly confused and seeks to find more answers, while continually condescending those around him. Professor Joe corrects the lovelorn’s silly uninformed notions: It’s biology. When we’re in love, or when we think we’re in love, we do the things we do to insure good breeding, to insure a fuck. We’re just stupid organisms. It’s meaningless. I don’t know why we fucking bother. When we say we’re in love what does it mean? Could it be that this complex dazzling transformative feeling is just an illusion? Could it be just a trick played on us by nature just to make us fuck? We imagine that love is meaningful, but could it in fact be meaningless? All this chatter alienates Claire and causes a rift. She studies his increasing irrationalities and obsession with Jed. After all, she’s a rationalist too.

Needless to say, both men drive each other bonkers.

From Jed’s perspective, he’d been fed too many signals. Joe led him on, teased him, dumped him. Joe’s befuddled by Jed’s behavior. After all love is biological…a grand design to make us procreate. It’s been proven! One problem – Jed’s a man. How could he be in love? Is he an erotomaniac? When exactly did Jed fall in love with me? What was he doing in that field alone? Looking for a dog? Was he stalking me? Or the man that got killed? Joe’s brain suddenly fills-up with plenty of paranoid scenarios. So many unanswered questions…enough to drive a rationalist nuts.

It’s not until Jed goes off the deep-end and does something to change Joe’s relationship with Claire, that rationality kicks in. Suddenly he’s clear that Joe loves Claire. Jed: You are so much in love. I know, I can tell. Joe now understands how irrational love really is. Five seconds before, he was going to leave Claire, but in that moment, he does what he needs to when his lover is threatened.

As a viewer, I guess I’m supposed to sympathize with the upstanding professor, but I don’t. The crazy-stalker gets my vote! Mainly because he was sincere and passionate. Call me crazy, but I think those are admirable qualities for any human being to possess. Culturally, feelings are regularly demonized. Logic, on the other hand, is deemed useful. So it’s easy for regular ‘Joes’ to go on thinking there is nothing wrong with their behavior. Romantically, most people are disingenuous. They choose people who make ‘sense’ on paper. They consult artifical laundry-lists. They’ve been convinced their heart is wrong, and their head is right. I see this line of thinking as the downfall of civilization. But hey…that’s a whole other conversation…

Anyway, I do enjoy the ideas in ENDURING LOVE – from a rationalist’s and a romantic’s perspective. Adapted from the Ian McEwan novel, I applaud the choice of the brilliant, Rhys Ifans in the ‘female’ role. Otherwise, the film would have been dismissed as some mindless ‘girly’ popcorn thriller, like THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE or OBSESSED. All the reviews I’ve read have been atrocious. I think it’s due to the fact most critics are male, hopelessly rationalistic, and probably a bit homophobic. They completely missed the point of the film. I’m still mad ENDURING LOVE never received accolades as one of the more intellectually stimulating films of the ‘00s. It easily topped my 2004 film list.

Rihanna, we need to talk…

November 23, 2009 at 8:46 pm | In Grace Jones, Rihanna | Leave a Comment

Must you copy everything-GRACE? You could have waited a season or two before lifting the same(ish) outfit from my fairy-godmother, Grace Jones. I mean c’mon. Sorry little one, you may be a thousand years younger than Grace, but no one can out-Grace Grace.

Rihanna, at last night’s American Music Awards

Grace, at the Hammerstein Ballroom, earlier this year

Ashaka Cohen

November 23, 2009 at 10:58 am | In wtf files | Leave a Comment

Top ’00s (2003): City of God

November 22, 2009 at 1:20 am | In City of God, Year: 2003 films, top of the '00s | Leave a Comment

I’m sure you’ve seen Fernando Meirelles’s opus CITY OF GOD at least a couple of times. So there’s probably no need to explain that the film tells a hyperkinetic tale of drugs and violence strong-armed by the baddest, murderous adolescents in a favela known as City of God. I’m sure you know all about the spectacular cinematography – from the sepia tones of the 60s to the grittiness of the 80s. You’ve probably seen clips of that infamous chicken that knew when to escape when the humans around it didn’t. No need to get into the doomed romances ending in gunshots, right before lovers attempt to flee the craziness. Or the strobe-lit murder and separation of two friends at a dancehall. So I wont get into all that.

From a female point of view, I’ll tell you why I love this film – I’m fascinated by the male relationships. Male rule, run amok, without female counterbalance is no joke. The absence of female voices anywhere is truly dangerous. We see it in Killadelphia, Darfur….in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, manhood is defined by smoking, snorting and snuffing, often by prepubescents who will never reach eighteen. That eighteenth birthday seems to be a curious age, especially for a drug lord like L’il Ze (Leandro Firmino). In CITY OF GOD, we see how the real threat of manhood – not the guns or the drugs – challenge him and provoke him in ways previously untested. It’s not like true adults are there to guide Ze; they are nonexistent in his world. And the ones around him who seem to get a clue, get killed right before they leave.

City-of-God

The crux of L’il Ze’s passionate conflicts seem to be envy…a theme that is very feminine in nature. Here, his emotions are flavored with bullets and blood. It’s interesting to see a film that actually goes to that place…combining the masculine and the feminine.

L’il Ze’s lust to kill masks his deficiencies. Ironically, it all began at a brothel as a young boy when he kills for kicks. Poor Ze…he’s not good looking and he lacks confidence with women, and so he seems to put all his energy into being fearsome. He’s not like his friend Benny – the likeable, bleach-blonde hipster…the popular guy with both guys and girls. The guy is even popular amongst the rival gang led by L’il Ze’s rival, Carrot. Unlike Benny, L’il Ze has no soul, but we see glimpses of his humanity when we realize his incapacitations. Eighteen presents problems: girls. As a respected drug lord, L’il Ze is a complete failure with women. Your heart almost breaks for him. While his friend Benny has no problem with the ladies, he struggles.

One girl, Angelica, tests L’il Ze and Benny’s legendary friendship. She not only threatens their childhood bond, but her love for Benny convinces him to go on to the next stage of life, put down the guns, and leave the favela for a swinging, pot-filled, carefree life on a farm. All this is totally disorienting for L’il Ze. So much so, his possessiveness unintentionally triggers his permanent separation from Benny.

Ze’s envy also gets the best of him when he realizes he doesn’t have the rugged handsomeness of Knockout Ned. With gun waived, Ze makes him strip naked on the dance floor in front of his girlfriend to take him down a notch. This conflict fuels a never-ending feud after L’il Ze rapes Ned’s girlfriend and kills some of his family members. L’il Ze is even pissed off when Knockout Ned’s snapshot appears in the newspaper, when he believes himself to be the rightful kingpin of their favela. We all know top dogs should be photographed, not lightweights like Ned!!!

L’il Ze commissions Rocket to do the photoshoot (of all photoshoots) to put Ned in his place. Rocket is the opposite of L’il Ze. He has problems with girls too, but instead of shooting guns, he shoots photos and it actually takes him out of the poverty and violence so many of his peers succumb to. After taking L’il Ze’s photograph (which makes page one of the newspaper), his career as a reporter is borne.

L’il Ze is not so lucky. After all, turning eighteen is problematic. Death is around every corner at such an old age. Ze’s death rightfully belongs to the next round of little hooligans – the Runts (9 and 10 year olds). There’s no need to wait for some old guy to croak for the cycle to continue.

And this craziness is the reason CITY OF GOD is 2003’s Top of the ‘00s, for me.

Princess invisible…

November 19, 2009 at 9:09 pm | In The Princess & the Frog, euro standards of beauty, fat black and female | 4 Comments

Has anyone noticed the princess disappearing in each successive advertisement of THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG? In the newest ad, Tiana (in human form) appears in a whopping 2 seconds of a 30 second ad (in her own film.) I guess Disney believes they can’t sell the film with a beautiful black female lead. Too unrealistic. We know black women aren’t pretty enough to be princesses. So Disney is relying on the more stereotypical standby, namely the older mammy character to bring the laughs. When in doubt, the fat black woman will bring in major bank. Just ask Tyler Perry, Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx.

Baby Lacefront

November 19, 2009 at 7:09 pm | In baby lacefront | Leave a Comment

It’s never to early to instill lifelong hatred -

me, lately = this song, on a loop

November 11, 2009 at 7:04 pm | In Boards of Canada, depression | Leave a Comment

NEWSFLASH: we’re still mammies on soaps

November 10, 2009 at 11:00 am | In One Life to Live, black women, soap operas | 2 Comments

Rarely are black women graced with long-term storylines with the same possibilities as their white counterparts on daytime dramas. There are no sweeping romances. No big gala weddings and marriages. Black women still function as ‘mammy’ or ‘fill-in’ until the next big-white-storyline ramps up. ABC’s One Life to Live is no exception. There’s so much ridiculousness on this show to sort through, I’ll have to limit myself to the two characters who annoy me the most.

‘Destiny Evans’

‘Destiny Evans’ is a heavy-set teen whose only role on the show is to mammy Matthew, who is bound to a wheelchair. The girl is permanently on-call and seems to pop-up out of nowhere to attend to his needs. She might as well be his personal nurse or nanny. Of course, she has no needs of her own.

Even though Matthew’s family members are millionaires and can afford to take care of his needs, Destiny, who is a high school student, regularly buys Matthew stuff, like sneakers. She even flies to London to visit him without her parents’ permission. She regularly gallivants all over the globe on his behalf, while he does nothing to reciprocate. Destiny even willed Matthew’s corrective surgery into existence. She was the one who found a top-notch doctor to perform it AND a lawyer to sue his parents to declare his independence, so he could have the surgery. The girl has skills!

Just when Destiny realizes she’s drawn to Matthew romantically, his parents suddenly whisk him off to boarding school so there is no chance of pursuing a relationship. This is a common OLTL plot-device to create the illusion that black women are as embroiled in soapy relationships, like everyone else. But, if you look closely, you’ll notice a pattern of quitting just before anything real happens. The network pulls back (to placate the larger white audience) separating the love interests by distance, coma, death, and other unfortunate situations.

I expect Destiny to be sidelined as soon as Matthew takes his first steps. Seriously, there’s no need for her to exist otherwise.

‘Lola Williamson’

“Lola Williamson’ was brought in as Evangeline’s sister. Lola was an actress when she came to town, but her career was highly dependent on the major plotline shifts of the white characters. So far, she’s been an actress, waitressed at a bar, worked in a police station, and was the co-owner of an internationally known lingerie company. She mammies by being the dependable ‘best black friend’ to whomever shows up. Lola’s romantic storylines were all off-screen in the past and very brief…going from dating to complaining about bad sex quickly.

Oddly enough, after years of nothing, Lola was thrust front-and-center in a relationship this year. Well, not really. You see, it was a fake-relationship to highlight THE BIG GAY STORYLINE between Oliver and Kyle, and larger storyline about gay marriage. I find it ironic the network is pretending to be progressive, shining a light on one oppression, while consistently marginalizing black women.

Anyway, Lola dates a down-low cop named ‘Oliver Fish.’ (Really.) When her male roommate, Christian, finds out Oliver’s secretly gay, he does absolutely nothing, even though he knew they were planning to sleep together that same night, with Lola believing Oliver is a straight man. And Christian supposedly fancies her! As the story unfolds (way after the sex), she finds out Oliver is gay. There is no conversation about her feelings of betrayal. Lola immediately goes into mammy-mode and concerns herself with his feelings, and what a burden it was for him to keep his secret. Her feelings were never addressed. We all know ’strong black women’ bounce back instantaneously and ‘keep it moving.’ No need to get emotional or anything…

Somehow, I can’t see this very creepy storyline written for the white, whiny and well-doted-on, ‘Jessica Buchanan.’

RACE

November 3, 2009 at 7:27 pm | In David Mamet, Race | Leave a Comment

It’s opening for previews on Sunday and I can’t find any real info on this show.

Two months left…

November 3, 2009 at 12:45 pm | In Year: 2009 films, making films | Leave a Comment

…to see the rest of this year’s films. I have to admit, not much peaked my interest that I’d be so compelled to rush out and view them.

In all honesty, the current film releases cannot compare to the ones I really feel passionate about – the unmade ones in my head. It truly sucks wanting to make a film and not having the resources to make it exactly the way I feel I must. I know a lot of folks (who don’t make films themselves) will say, see, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY was made for $$$, so you too can make your film for $$$ instead of $$$$$$$. Seriously, I just want to shoot these pollyannas. They will take the extreme ‘blair witch’ example that comes around every 10 years or so and hold up it to your face to make you feel like you’re not doing enough. It’s like saying, Barack Obama is president, so what the hell is wrong with you that you can’t become president too? No one seems to take into consideration that different films are different, and while it’s appropriate to make a dark video-thriller for $$$, that money will do nothing for a dreary dystopian love story.

And really… it’s not about money. It’s about so many other variables. The work I do is the antithesis of what most investors find valuable in black cinema. I don’t make ‘positive’ black films with problemless black folk. I’m not interested in black people looking perfect, weave-ilicious, and glossy. I’m not interested in projecting an uber-successful image to make up for decades of downtrodden images. I’m not interested in conventional black folk in any way, shape or form. They are just as annoying as conventional white folk, with their boring plans laid out before them.

I get upset when I see folks supporting the same uninteresting, regurgitated crap that I find unnecessary. But most people in this world are comfortable with the ‘unnecessary’ and familiar. Lord only knows what would happen if they had to view material that upset them or made them feel or think too much. I despise the cinematically complacent. They annoy the hell out of me.

Anyway, this is left on my list to see this year (red = the films I’ve seen) -

Why isn’t this a bigger deal?

November 2, 2009 at 1:07 am | In NYC 2009 Marathon | Leave a Comment

Two black people win the NYC 2009 Marathon. Meb Keflezighi, 34, is the first AMERICAN since 1982 to win the New York City Marathon. Derartu Tulu, 37, from Ethiopia, wins the women’s division. Good for them.

Blondie gone Blackie

October 30, 2009 at 11:04 pm | In Blondie, Who Shot Rock & Roll | Leave a Comment

Honestly, the voice was the voice, but even up close, the person in front of me did not look like Debbie Harry from Blondie at all. It wasn’t even the brunette wig. I dunno. I laughed when she sang Michael Jackson’s “Dont’ Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ like it was “The Tide is High.” Hilarious I tell ya!

Here are pics from last night’s Who Shot Rock & Roll preview party at the Brooklyn Museum. I love old time rock -n- rollers. Everybody had a great drunken story about some concert they went to. If you love music get to this exhibit, pronto. Lots of good stuff. Especially in the Rock ‘n’ Roll gift shop.
Who-Shot-1 Who-Shot-2 Who-Shot-4 Who-Shot-5 Who-Shot-6 Who-Shot-7 Who-Shot-8 Who-Shot-9 Who-Shot-10

Sapphire speaks…

October 29, 2009 at 2:05 am | In Gabourey Sidibe, Lee Daniels, Precious, Push, Sapphire, fat black and female | Leave a Comment

It’s weird who I’ve crossed paths with in my life. I could easily rattle off a collection of radically different people in different places. Somewhere in the late ’90s, I remember sitting in a room with a bunch of white women and one other black woman – Sapphire – discussing body image & eating disorders…with us black women strongly asserting that YES, black women are prone to eating disorders, too.

It’s interesting to hear her thoughts now about overweight black women and exploitation…especially on film.

Lincoln – Sia – The Church – Zero 7

October 27, 2009 at 12:57 am | In Mozez, Sia, The Church, Zero 7, advertisements | 2 Comments

When I accidentally hear a familiar song refashioned so well while flipping channels, I have to stop everything. Check this Lincoln ad out -

Yup, Under the Milky Way. Sung by Sia. There’s even a free download available.

Love it, but nothing beats the original track from The Church. From back in 1988. Steve Kilbey is one of the unsung heroes from that era. Seriously, The Church should have been what U2 is, but their lyrics are a little too esoteric and folks tend to tune out. I see them every time they’re in NYC…most recently, last summer. Unfortunately the hipsters have discovered them. Ick.

The merge between The Church from the ’80s and Zero 7 from the ’00s is too delicious for words. Sia is only one of the two voices of Zero 7. The other is Mozez. Mozez is heaven. He can make you cry for no other reason than the sheer pleasure of listening to his voice. Hopefully, both of them will show up when Zero 7 performs this November. Here’s Sia in Distractions -

Heck, here’s Mozez singing Over Our Heads -

Dolls with ‘locks & TWAs…

October 26, 2009 at 6:08 pm | In black dolls, black women | 5 Comments

doll10 Barbie repaint by vbyers1.

repaint362b by vbyers1. repaint417b by vbyers1.

Dolls of the World Princess of South Africa Barbie by vbyers1. repaint212b by vbyers1.

repaint324b by vbyers1. doll1

from Tabloach.com

Tyler Perry is pissed off

October 26, 2009 at 1:28 am | In Tyler Perry | Leave a Comment

So I just saw Tyler Perry on 60 Minutes. He came off as he always does – a disingenuous, opportunistic, defensive, charlatan selling his latest, lamest flick. My favorite part -

Spike Lee: I think there is a lot of stuff out there that is coonery and buffoonery. I see ads for Meet the Browns and House of Payne and I’m scratching my head. We got a black president and we’re going back. The image is troubling and it harkens back to Amos ‘n’ Andy.

Tyler Perry: I would love to read that to my fan base. Let me tell you what Madea, Brown..all these characters are bait. Disarming, charming, make you laugh bait, so I can slap Madea in something and talk about god, love, faith, forgiveness, family, any of those things. You know? You know that pisses me off. It’s really does. Because it’s so insulting. It’s attitudes that, that make Hollywood think that these people do not exist and that’s why there’s no material speaking to them, speaking to us.

So Madea is bait. Put a black man in a female fat suit and black people will come running with dollars in hand to see a film. Tyler Perry may be right about that, given that it’s a formula that’s worked time-and-time-again. His goal is to pander to the lowest common denominator. He wants to entertain without engaging the mind and heart in an intellectual manner. I believe the role of cinema is to get folks to think deeply about their existence on this earth. I could almost tolerate Madea on occasion if there was some balance in black cinema. Right now there is none.

In a typical bizarre coincidence I must share that I found myself in an elevator with Robin Williams last week. The first thing that sprung into my head was NOT Ms. Doubtfire. Instead I thought of films like ONE HOUR PHOTO, AWAKENINGS, DEAD POETS SOCIETY. Mork & Mindy. Tyler Perry is a multi-millionaire who owns his own film & television studio and has major notoriety in the film industry. If he wanted to walk away from Madea to create more meaningful films he could do that. He could recruit a whole team of auteurs, invest a little, get a lot, and build a new brand. The sad reality is Tyler Perry chooses to limit himself, even when his survival doesn’t depend on Madea.

SNL:10 reasons to hire a black actress

October 21, 2009 at 12:43 am | In SNL, black actresses | 1 Comment

I’m too cheap for cable and my DTV doesn’t work on NBC. But occassionally I still see Saturday Night Live clips on Hulu. I don’t understand why in this day and age black women don’t exist on SNL. There are too many notable black women in the media this year to have fun with, namely -

Oprah Winfrey, LaToya Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shepherd, Rihanna

Nene Leakes, Mo’Nique, Tyra Banks, Wendy Williams, Michelle Obama

OK Cupid profile pic updated, again…

October 19, 2009 at 6:44 pm | In Your Race Affects Whether People Write You Back, black women, euro standards of beauty, propaganda | Leave a Comment

My reign of terror continues against my fellow OKCupids out there looking for love. Seems I’m making someone a little uncomfortable, since they insist on reporting me for posting a fake photo of myself. Well, since I am just a lowly BLACK WOMAN, how on earth could anyone tell the difference between me and Godzilla? Apparently black women are fire-breathing monsters. I thought OKStupids would welcome a fancy pic like this. I think I look ssssmashing!!!

Top ’00s (2002): Songs From the Second Floor

October 17, 2009 at 7:04 pm | In Roy Andersson, Songs from the Second Floor, Year: 2002 films, top of the '00s | Leave a Comment

songs 5 A running joke in my household growing up was that my father owned clothes older than me, and that someday they’d outlast the entire family. Even today, when I return home for the obligatory holiday dinner, he will point to his dress-shirts made by some London haberdasher millions of years ago, and proudly proclaim that not a single button has ever had to be re-sewn.

songs 6

Today clothes are purchased with the buttons practically falling off, with the expectation that the shirt will survive maybe a season or two before it disintegrates. No need for repair. To the dump it goes. We live in a disposable culture. Everything is replaced by a new model. We can easily be replaced. Our excesses rapidly fill-up landfills with disposable things and disposable people. It’s just the attitude of the day.

songsfromthe2floor_4_160620

Capitalists are the only winners, and they’re getting out of dodge with their damned golf clubs before all hell breaks loose. Their old tried-and-true formulas no longer work anymore. The company that employed a working stiff for 30 years can suddenly keep the cogs a-turning without them. The magic tricks once performed on the economy, now fail miserably.

songs1

What do we do in times of loneliness, despair, and financial upheaval? Pray?? Hell no. Religious leaders most likely invested in the mayhem. The clergy, the politicians, and the corporate svengalis alike, have orchestrated this misery and have sacrificed the youth to the god that is Capitalism.

songs 3

The only reason to turn to religion is to make cash-money. If Jesus Christ himself aka “the pathetic loser,” fails to turn a quick buck, even he is carted off and disposed of at the nearest city dump. Those still standing will be slowly haunted by the gloominess of their decimated cities.

songs1

Welcome to Roy Andersson’s world – the writer and director of SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR, the very best film of the ’00s (Top of the ’00s). Roy Andersson takes a painterly approach to filmmaking, wiping his frames with a putrid shade of grey, someplace in Sweden, which seems to be overpopulated with obese characters dipped in Gold Medal flour. Andersson constructs these scenes right out of his commercial studio….a studio ironically funded by the same capitalists he derides in every single one of his films. Instead of going to a train station, airport or busy city intersection to film scenes, Andersson chooses instead to create it from scratch out of wood and paint.

Songs 2

SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR is literally 46 frames of still, immoveable magic, that is simply breathtaking. As the film unfolds, we are taken into rooms, connected to other rooms showing off an impressive depth of field. No other film this decade has said more about financial collapse and the absurdity of human emptiness in a soulless capitalist society about to run off a cliff.

OK Cupid profile pic updated…

October 15, 2009 at 8:35 pm | In Your Race Affects Whether People Write You Back, black women, euro standards of beauty, propaganda | Leave a Comment

gorilla …to this! And I’ve received an INSANE amount of page views since uploading it!!! I think it suits me, since black women, according to OK Cupid, are -

fat

aggressive

on display to be studied like wildlife

subhuman

en route to becoming an endangered species

‘Brilliantly Cartoonish’

October 12, 2009 at 11:33 pm | In Chris Rock, Good Hair, Your Race Affects Whether People Write You Back, black women, euro standards of beauty, life, propaganda | Leave a Comment

French Vogue is, also, not Italian Vogue. But imagine a world where white women like model Lara Stone, below, are expected to ‘blacken-up’ to be considered beautiful and worthy of all the finer things in life.

french-vogue-blackface

Imagine that white women are expected to wear one of these just to keep a job, to seem decent and lovable and feminine, to fit in with society. It would seem CARTOONISH wouldn’t it? Women’s Wear Daily thinks so -

Jacobs went for head-to-toe overstatement — literally, from Guido Palau’s brilliantly cartoonish Afros…

afro

Good thing for white women, they don’t live in that world. White women don’t feel compelled to conform to standards that aren’t of their own race.

The majority of black women, as demonstrated in Chris Rock’s horribly unenven film, GOOD HAIR, do. Seems they must relax/wig/weave/extend their hair to become acceptable, attractive, employable, marriageable human beings, in a world that propagandizes white female beauty. In many countries, bleaching is just as prevalent.

Isn’t it just as ‘cartoonish’ when black women subject themselves to this lifelong beauty standard?

cartoonish

As I gaze up into the wisteria, I wonder how I ever managed to get through life with nappy hair and dark skin…and while I’m at it…a fat body, a bad attitude, and an occasionally raised voice (for emphasis)? After all, black women like myself MUST be hated and dismissed, as evidenced by surveys like Your Race Affects Whether People Write You Back…a survey I feel compelled to mention again for some reason.

As hard as it is to be me, I can honestly say, I’d rather be myself than anybody else. Actually I don’t know how to be such a contortionist and charlatan, that I willingly bend myself to the whims of other people. I know I’ve suffered TREMENDOUSLY as a result. I regularly cry about feeling at odds with the world. But, living on my terms is more important to me than being rewarded for being acceptable to others.

happiness | unhappy | happy

October 10, 2009 at 2:47 pm | In Chris Rock, Good Hair, Happiness, Lars Von Trier, Life During Wartime, Oprah Winfrey, Todd Solondz, Tyra Banks | Leave a Comment

HAPPINESS

Hmm…

Should I re-watch Todd Solondz’s HAPPINESS, before or after I see LIFE DURING WARTIME? We’ll see.

UNHAPPY

Besides being horribly sick, I’ve been generally upset by all the exploitationists looking to make a buck off of black women. (Chris Rock, this means you!!!) I saw GOOD HAIR yesterday, and honestly I should have stayed home, because I was annoyed enough by his discussions with both Oprah and Tyra.

There are zero attempts by Rock to talk about alternatives to relaxed/weaved/wigged hair. The only time he mentions natural hair is to make fun of it. (Then he has the NERVE to wonder why his little girls have a complex about their hair.) Rock paints women who attain straight hair through other means as narcissistic spend-thrifts. There’s no discussion on why black people feel compelled to ruin their natural hair in the first place. The d-list celebrities interviewed were just plain-dumb. And of course, black men seem to get off scot-free…including Rock who never asks himself why he chose a mate who wears a weave. This is one half-assed film meant to entertain without getting into discussions about beauty & white supremacy.

Reply-By-Race-Female

Speaking of beauty & white supremacy, I have no idea why I was so affected by OKCupid’s: Your Race Affects Whether People Write You Back study, given that I experience this shit everyday, and why I’ve given up on trying to date online. Very depressing results for black women. If you can read the whole piece, do. In the meantime, I’ll continue to inhabit my own planet…and I may even watch NASA as it bombs the moon.

GREEN = strong preference, YELLOW = neutral, RED = little preference

Lars-von-Trier HAPPY

Speaking of planets, this is what Lars Von Trier said of his upcoming film, PLANET MELANCHOLIA, a psychological disaster sci-fi flick:

”No more happy endings!”

Finally! Something to smile about!

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Top of the ’00s

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2 0 0 9
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10. The White Ribbon
9. Life During Wartime
8. The Road
7. Fantastic Mr. Fox
6. Moon
5. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
4. The Hangover
3. Inglorious Basterds
2. Antichrist
1. You, the Living

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2 0 0 8
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10.  Secret Life of Bees
9. Milk 
8. Slumdog Millionaire 
7. The Happening
6. Religulous 
5. Lakeview Terrace 
4. The Visitor 
3. Synecdoche, New York 
2. Let the Right One In

1. Happy-Go-Lucky

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2 0 0 7
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10. 1408  
9. Grindhouse 
8. Black Snake Moan 
7. I Am Legend 
6. The Darjeeling Limited
5. Enchanted
4. 300
3. What Would Jesus Buy?
2. Killer of Sheep

1. Lars & the Real Girl

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2 0 0 6
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10. Phat Girlz
9. Hard Candy
8. Drawing Restraint 9
7. The Pursuit of Happyness
6. The Last King of Scotland
5. V for Vendetta
4. The Illusionist
3. Shadowboxer
2. Borat

1. Manderlay

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2 0 0 5
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10. War of the Worlds
9. Palindromes
8. Last Days
7. Kung Fu Hustle
6. Corpse Bride
5. Brokeback Mountain
4. Hustle & Flow
3. The Squid & the Whale
2. House of Wax

1. Grizzly Man

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2 0 0 4
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10. The Village
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
8. Cowards Bend the Knee
7. The Ladykillers
6. Anatomy of Hell
5. The Five Obstructions
4. Fahrenheit 911
3. The Saddest Music in the World
2. Kitchen Stories

1. Enduring Love

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2 0 0 3
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10. Kill Bill Vol. 1
9. Irreversible
8. Lilya-4-ever
7. Willard
6. Monster
5. Dirty Pretty Things
4. Mystic River
3. American Splendor
2. Lost in Translation

1. City of God

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2 0 0 2
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10. Punch Drunk Love
9. The Kid Stays in the Picture
8. Adaptation
7. Talk to Her
6. Secretary
5. 25th Hour
4. Equilibrium
3. Storytelling
2. The Piano Teacher

1. Songs From the

Second Floor

____________________________________
2 0 0 1
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10. Pootie Tang
9. Faat Kine
8. Ghost World
7. Trouble Every Day
6. The Royal Tenenbaums
5. Tillsammans
4. Fat Girl
3. Hedwig & the Angry Inch
2. Monster’s Ball

1. Baise-Moi

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2 0 0 0
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10. Finding Forrester
9. Beau Travail
8. Kirikou & the Sorceress
7. Chuck and Buck
6. Requiem for a Dream
5. Unbreakable
4. American Psycho
3. The Virgin Suicides
2. Dancer in the Dark

1. Bamboozled
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Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Top of the ’90s

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10. Man on the Moon
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1. MAGNOLIA

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2. American History X

1. Happiness

_______________________________
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____________________________________
10. The Sweet Hereafter
9. Rosewood
8. Titanic
7. The Ice Storm
6. Chasing Amy
5. Contact
4. Eve's Bayou
3. The Hanging Garden
2. Life is Beautiful

1. Boogie Nights

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____________________________________
10. Independence Day
9. Trainspotting
8. Fargo
7. Thinner
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5. Set It Off
4. The People vs. Larry Flynt
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2. Secrets & Lies

1. Breaking the

Waves

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____________________________________
10. Babe
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8. Strange Days
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2. Se7en

1. Dolores

Claiborne

____________________________________
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____________________________________
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1. Forrest Gump

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1 9 9 3
____________________________________
10. The Joy Luck Club
9. The Piano
8. Six Degrees of Separation
7. Alive
6. Sleepless in Seattle
5. Short Cuts
4. Falling Down
3. Groundhog Day
2. Boxing Helena

1. The Remains of

the Day

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1 9 9 2
____________________________________
10. Enchanted April
9. Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.
8. Batman Returns
7. Death Becomes Her
6. Like Water For Chocolate
5. Radio Flyer
4. Malcolm X
3. Reservoir Dogs
2. The Crying Game

1. Boomerang

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1 9 9 1
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10. A Rage in Harlem
9. The Man in the Moon
8. The Commitments
7. The People Under the Stairs
6. Jungle Fever
5. Thelma & Louise
4. Boyz N the Hood
3. What About Bob?
2. Silence of the Lambs

1. The Doors

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1 9 9 0
____________________________________
10. Flatliners
9. Mo' Better Blues
8. House Party
7. Arachnophobia
6. Vincent & Theo
5. Cyrano de Bergerac
4. Awakenings
3. Green Card
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1. Misery
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Discipline in art is a fundamental struggle to understand oneself, as much as to understand what one is drawing. -- Henry Moore