Warts-and-All Bio-Pic Recounts Rise and Fall of Biggie Smalls

Christopher Wallace (1972-1997) aka Biggie Smalls aka Notorious B.I.G. was a Brooklyn-born gangsta’ rapper who passed away at just 24 years of age, a casualty of the infamous East Coast-West Coast turf war which first claimed the life of his primary rival Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie).

Tupac had dissed Biggie by claiming in a song to have slept with his wife, fellow hip-hop star Faith Evans (Antonique Smith). Neither Biggie nor Tupac were exactly altar boys, with both boasting about their street cred and yay-long rap sheets.But the bloody feud was much bigger than these two icons.

On one side, you had L.A. producer Suge Knight (Sean Ringgold) and his stable of artists at Death Row Records; on the other, there were the upstarts from New York who Sean “Puffy” Combs (Derek Luke) had recently signed to his new label, Bad Boy.

And although everybody knew that their crews were packing heat and hated each other, the murders went unsolved, probably because of the “no snitch” mindset adhered to by these thugs as a code of honor. [Read more]

Marriage Vows Tested in Jakes’ Faith-Based Drama

No matter how hard he tries, Dave Johnson (Morris Chestnut) can do nothing to satisfy his wife, Clarice (Taraji Henson). She’s one of those sassy sisters who has never learned to cut a brother any slack.

The trouble is that she was raised by a single-mom (Jenifer Lewis) who showed her father no respect. So Clarice is simply treating her Dave in the same man-hating fashion she was raised to believe ever guy deserves.

Compounding the problem is the fact that she makes more money than her husband. You see, she’s a successful realtor who has recently been named salesperson of the year. And her man, by contrast, had to settle with being a general contractor after an injury ended his dream of becoming a major league baseball player. [Read more]

Dev Patel Delivers as Lovesick Game Show Contestant

Slumdog Millionaire
Film Review by Kam Williams

Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) was just one correct answer away from winning the grand prize of 20 million rupees on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” when the police decided to question him about his extraordinary string of luck. After all, no one ever lasted this long on the television game show before, and the producers doubted that this dirt-poor, uneducated orphan from the teeming slums of Mumbai could have achieved his unlikely feat without cheating.

Therefore, the night before his return for his final appearance on the program, they arrange for the authorities to drag the innocent 18 year-old down to the station for a little Abu Ghraib-level interrogation away from the public eye. But despite being tortured by a couple of sadistic cops (Irfan Khan and Saurabh Shukla), Jamal matter-of-factly explains exactly how he came to acquire the answers to such seemingly obscure trivia questions. And soon, what gradually becomes apparent is that everything is on the up-and-up.

For, all the unfortunate lad has to share is his sorrowful autobiography, an endless tale of woe which he reveals via a kaleidoscope of colorful flashbacks. Surprisingly, it turns out that he’s actually been less concerned with taking home the 20 million rupees than with using his TV publicity as a means of finding his long-lost love, Latika (Freida Pinto), a fellow street urchin and fan of the popular quiz show. [Read more]

Nauturi Au Naturel

Naturi Naughton:The Notorious Interview

By Kam Williams

Naturi Cora Maria Naughton was born on May 20, 1984 in East Orange, New Jersey where she started singing in the choir at New Hope Baptist Church at just 5 years of age. She turned pro by 14, when she became a member of the girl band 3LW. The group soon signed with Sony/Epic Records and went on a nationwide tour while their debut album, entitled “3LW,” went platinum, selling 1.3 million copies.

Away from the entertainment business, Naturi always remained an honor student, attending Seton Hall University where she majored in Political Science until her career became too demanding. Just before her junior year, she joined the Broadway production of Hairspray as Little Inez. As gifted as gorgeous newcomer may be, she remains humble and grateful to God for her blessings, and praises her parents for supporting her dreams and for raising her with so much love, encouragement, and faith.

Here, Naturi talks about her performance as Lil’ Kim in the much-anticipated motion picture, Notorious, a bio-pic about the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Christopher Wallace). In addition, she recently landed a lead role in the re-make of the screen version of Fame, the 1980 musical revolving around students at the New York Academy of Performing Arts. [Read more]

Ethiopian Immigrant Adjusts to Israel in Coming-of-Age Tale on DVD

Live and Become
(Va, Vis et Deviens)
DVD Review by Kam Williams
9 year-old Schlomo (Sirak Sabahat) ended up in Israel in 1985 as part of Operation Moses, a humanitarian airlift of about 8,000 Ethiopian Jews fleeing religious persecution. The only thing wrong with this picture is that he didn’t deserve to exercise any right of return like his fellow refugees, given that he was actually a Christian whose starving mother had him take the place of a deceased child.

Nonetheless, upon his arrival in Tel Aviv, he is presumed to be a Jewish orphan by the couple who adopt him, Yoram (Roschdy Zem) and Yael Harrari (Yael Abecassis). While hiding the fact that he is neither Jewish nor orphaned, Schlomo does his best to adapt to the culture and customs of his new homeland.

However, he soon finds that even if he were Jewish, most white Israelis seem to have a problem with his skin color, and don’t real consider him one of the Chosen People. This proves particularly challenging when he hits puberty and takes an interest in girls, especially Sarah (Roni Hadar), whose racist father doesn’t want his daughter dating a black kid. [Read more]

Langella, Jolie, Ledger & Davis Honored By Film Critics

By Kam Williams

The African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) has named “The Dark Knight” as the Best Picture of 2008.

Directed and co-written by Christopher Nolan, the Warner Bros. Pictures release captured a majority vote by the organization, which is comprised of African-American media professionals from across the nation.

Frank Langella was selected as Best Actor 2008 for “Frost/Nixon.”  Angelina Jolie earned AAFCA recognition as Best Actress 2008 for “The Changeling.”

“Although our organization gives specific consideration to work by artists of African descent, the performances of Mr. Langella and Ms. Jolie are undeniably transcendent and deserving of our recognition,” remarked AAFCA outgoing President Gil Robertson, who will assume the role of East Coast Vice President in 2009. [Read more]

Zora Neale Hurston’s Choreography Rediscovered

Choreographing the Folk: The Dance Stagings of Zora Neale Hurston
by Anthea Kraut
University of Minnesota Press
Paperback, $25.
320 pages, illustrated
ISBN: 978-0-8166-4712-5

Book Review by Kam Williams

“Although I studied ballet and modern from an early age, jazz dance was my greatest love… In these predominantly white spaces, no mention was made of the African-American origins of the idiom… It was not until my junior year at Carleton College… that I confronted the racial dynamics that went unspoken in those suburban jazz dance classes… It became clear just how much jazz dance, that quintessentially American form, owed to African-derived traditions… Why had it been so easy to participate in and become passionate about a dance form without learning its history?

As I continued my study of American dance history in graduate school at Northwestern, my interest in ‘invisibilized’ histories only deepened. I learned that Zora Neale Hurston had staged a concert with a spectacular Bahamian dance finale about which little was known. What began as a quest for information about Hurston’s theatrical revues gradually expanded as I uncovered connections between Hurston and a number of leading dance figures.

To a great extent, the recovery project also became a case study of invisibilization - an attempt to understand the conditions that enable certain subjects and performances to be forgotten - as well as an inquiry into the implications of restoring those subjects and performances to the historical record… For Hurston’s stage work… did play a role in the composition of American dance as we know it today.”

Excerpted from the Preface (pages ix-x)

[Read more]

Michelle Obama: New Style of First Lady, Proud of Her Country

Michelle Obama brings the skills of a corporate lawyer to the White House as first lady to President-elect Barack Obama, but she says her priority will be her role as “mom-in-chief” to the couple’s two daughters.
Democrat Obama beat Republican John McCain in Tuesday’s election. He will be the first black U.S. president and his wife the first black first lady.
Michelle Obama, 44, was a passionate advocate for her husband’s candidacy, but she says she would not want a direct policy role in an Obama administration.
“My first job, in all honesty, is going to continue to be ‘mom-in-chief,’” she said in a recent magazine interview referring to daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.
Though it is only a few weeks since Election Day, it is already possible to buy a new biography of Michelle Obama, which includes coverage of her husband’s history- making victory as the first African-American to ascend to the Presidency.
Elizabeth Lightfoot is the author of this very timely book about the soon-to-be first lady. Ms. Lightfoot, a Harvard grad who also has a Master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, has worked as a reporter for the Associated Press. [Read more]

FILM REVIEW: I’m Through with White Girls (The Inevitable Undoing of Jay Brooks)

Brother Cured of Jungle Fever Decides to Settle Down with a Sister

By Kam Williams

Although he himself is African-American, Jay Brooks (Anthony Montgomery) doesn’t date black girls, basically because every one he’s met has been more interested in the athletic, alpha-male, Talented Tenth type of guy.

And this thirty-something, nerdy underachiever not only wears glasses, but can’t dance, chain smokes through a cigarette holder and isn’t exactly good in bed.

Worse, his pay as an illustrator of graphic novels isn’t enough for him to own a car, which makes it almost impossible to wine and dine women in a city like Los Angeles.

Still, these failings haven’t prevented the roaming Romeo from finding one white girl after another eager to sleep with him. The only problem is that none of those serially monogamous liaisons ever lasts because Jay always sabotages them at the first sign that a partner wants to get serious.

He’s recently dumped his latest conquest in his usual fashion, namely, by leaving behind a note as he went out the door, because the Rubenesque redhead (Jennifer Hogan) said he reminded her of the actor Gary Coleman. Reflecting upon his series of failed relationships with Caucasians, Jay decides it’s time to try to see if he can find a suitable match from among his own people afterall. So, he puts into motion Operation Brown Sugar, running a personal ad seeking a sister. [Read more]

Blacktrospective 2007: The Best and Worst in Film

Tasha Smith (as Angela), Janet Jackson (as Patricia) and Sharon Leal (as Dianne) in Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married?” Photo Credit: Alfeo Dixon

By Kam Williams

With two excellent offerings in Why Did I Get Married? and Daddy’s Little Girls, 2007 truly belonged to Tyler Perry. Not only did he make the two best black ensemble pictures released by a big studio, but his films also boasted some of the year’s most memorable performances in both the male (Perry and Idris Elba) and female (Tasha Smith, Gabrielle Union and Jill Scott) acting categories.
I’m sure many readers might want an explanation for the relatively-poor showings of Denzel’s box-office hits American Gangster and The Great Debaters. Well, the former was not much more than a big budget variation on the gangsploitation genre in this critic’s estimation. Meanwhile, the latter did feature several inspired performances, but was simply too riddled with comical anachronisms and historical inaccuracies to take seriously.
I hope you take the time to check out some of the lesser-known independent film and documentaries, as you will be well rewarded for investing a couple of hours in labors of love like Banished, What Black Men Think and Diary of a Tired Black Man. [Read more]