A pesar de la extensa y variada multitud de carteles aparecidos de The Book of Eli, sus responsables siguen sacando nuevos a la red. El punto en común de todos ellos sigue siendo la exaltación de Denzel Washington, protagonista absoluto de este thriller post-apocalítico a pesar de nombres como el de Gary Oldman (el único que al parecer resiste comparaciones, según los carteles) Mila Kunis, Michael Gambon o Ray Stevenson. Eli / Washington es en la película un duro caminante que porta un libro que alberga la respuesta para salvar a una humanidad en total decadencia tras un apocalipsis de, por el momento, causas desconocidas.

Haz click a la imagen para verla al detalle

Está disponible el primer póster de sala de The Book of Eli, algo bastante curioso si consideramos que no se habían presentado hasta ahora ningún teaser anterior. La cinta tiene un corte post-apocalíptico, en donde un mercenario (Denzel Washington) se ve de pronto envuelto en una cuestión que, en un principio, parece ser sólo una cuestión de fanatismo religioso, aunque después él mismo tendrá que poner a prueba su escepticismo. La cinta estará llegando a América Latina para el primer trimestre del 2010, y es posible que, a pesar de la poca difusión que ha tenido, se convierta en uno de los grandes reclamos de taquilla.

A lone hero (Denzel Washington) guards the Book of Eli, which provides knowledge that could redeem society, but a despot (Gary Oldman) of a small, makeshift town plans to take possession of the book. Directed by The Hughes Brothers (From Hell), the film co-stars Mila Kunis and is out on 15 January 2010.

The Taking of Pelham 123 2009

Director: Tony Scott

Writer: Brian Hegeland

Starring Denzel Washington, John Travolta, Luis Guzman, Victor Gojcaj, John Turturro, James Gandolfini and Michael Rispoli

    Tony Scott is one of the best modern action film directors today, so whenever he has a new film I always see it.  I had heard of the original version of this film but had never seen it.  I will definitely seek it out after seeing this version.  This was a solid action film with some very tense scenes in it and a great interplay between Washington and Travolta.  I always have liked Travolta more when he plays the heavy, such as his great performances in John Woo’s Face Off and Broken Arrow.  This is a fast paced and expertly executed crime film and all the lead actors do an excellent job.  The only fault I have with the film is that it doesn’t bring anything new or exciting to the action film genre.  But it is still a enjoyable and gripping film to watch.

    The plot basics are this, four amred men hijack a subway train one afternoon in Manhattan.  They stop and decouple the first car and then begin their plan too blackmail money out of the city by holding the people on the train hostage.  The leader of the terrorists is Ryder (Travolta) and he gets in contact with dispatcher, Walter Garber (Washington), who has been recently demoted due to being investigated for taking a bribe.  He makes aconnection with Ryder and he refuses to deal with anyone but Garber.  Ryder demands ten million within a hour or for every minute the payoff is late he will eliminate a hostage.  The Mayor (Gandolfini) okays the deal, but it seems the payoff is putting the stock market through the wringer and the negotiator in charge (Turturro) is wondering if Ryder only wants the money or is making a stock broking gambit with it too make himself obscenely rich.  As the time limit comes and goes Garber has to meet Ryder with the money and what follows is a tense face off and a game of cat and mouse, and who knows who will come out on top in this gambit?

    This is a good film.  Scott’s direction is great as always.  His style of fast cutting and quick edits is not for everyone, but I always enjoys what he does with the camera.  The film is violent too and never skirts away from showing it.  The way he sets up the SWAT sniper’s attacks is tense and when everything goes wrong it comes together perfectly.  Hegeland’s script is tightly woven and he really breathes life into both Ryder and Garber’s characters.  The cast is good too, Washington and Travolta have great chemistry together and as usual Travolta hams it up and it suits the film well.  Turturro is also good as the negotiator trying to get to the bottom of what is happening here.  I also really enjoyed Gandolfini as the mayor, he brought a much needed comedic element to the film and with all the tense face offs in the film it is much needed for the viewer to catch his breath from time to time.  The action sequences in the film are very good, I especially liked the sniper attack, that was the most memorable one in my book.  This was a tense and exciting film, but in my final estimation it does not add anything great to this type of crime film.  I think the thing that makes this film the most enjoyable was Travolta’s performance.

This one gets 3 out of 5

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My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. I’ve told you my name: that’s the Who. The Where could most readily be described as a prison cell. But there’s a vast difference between being stuck in a tiny cell and being in prison…

– Dalton Russell

Considered Spike Lee’s most critically and commercially successful movie of his career, Inside Man is not your average bank heist movie. I own this movie on DVD for a while, but I never cracked it open and watched it. I have given it to former co-workers to watch, but I never did because it came out of a subscription I had with Columbia House a couple of years ago. Watching it now, I don’t know why I waited this long.

At first, you think that this would be a typical bank robbery, but it’s not. A masterful criminal, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) and his crew holds up a Manhattan Trust Bank disguising themselves as painters armed with AK-47s and smoke bombs.

Det. Fraizer, (Denzel Washington), a hostage negotiator that is in some hot water over a drug dealer, check cashing and $100 thousand missing dollars is assigned to the case with his partner, Det. Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor). They rendezvous with Capt. Darius (Willem Dafoe) to let the duo know about what is going on.

The robbers usher to the hostages to the bank vault level to confiscate their keys, cell phones and clothes. The hostages are asked to change into the identical painter coveralls the robbers have on. These are not your ordinary robbers.

With all the news coverage about the robbery spreads to the news, the chairman of the bank, Mr. Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) calls a “fixer” Madeline White (Jodie Foster) to protect special items in his safety deposit box.

They all come together to try to diffuse the situation. There are more layers to the movie when Dalton strings Frazier along like a puppet. He always stays one step ahead of him. It’s a cat and mouse game.

Nothing is what it seems to be when the purpose of the robbers is not about money, but it’s about a person getting their due justice. It’s a morality play that is reminiscent of the legend of Robin Hood.

The performances were solid across the board. The dialogue is quick and biting. The action keeps you on your toes with twists and turns.

The only gripe I have about the film is that the film wrapped up to nice and neat with any loose ends are solved. Nothing is left to the imagination of the audience to think about when the end credits begin.

Judgment: A solid psychological thriller that keeps you on your toes.

Rating: ****

Where I Got Swine Flu From Jager...

Hey all. If it wasn’t brought to your attention, I have been on a blogging hiatus because I’m studying for my LSAT on December 6th. I guess God was smiting me because I contracted Swine Flu. My friends say it’s because I’m a pig. I say it’s because I had sex with your mother. BOOSH! Some say this is karma. Me? Well, I totally agree. Even though dystonia-girl was just looking for attention and is a big fat faker[edit:Not a faker, her symptoms were mostly mental] who turned out to have a speedy recovery. Well lah-dee-dah, your highness. Do cheerleaders just get everything? Grrr.

Well, as we all know swine flu is very serious and I’ve put a lot of thought into it. So here is my last will and testament:

I never was a rich man, basically because I have a slew of terrible habits. What little money I do have though, will go to who ever tracks down Maddox (the self proclaimed famous blogger) and kick him right in his self-serving balls. This guy is funny, sure, but his act is kind of tired and his book sucked. Know what else? He didn’t respond to my email. And I’m not just some kid whining he didn’t meet Maddox. Nope. He called out Swine Flu on his blog, and I was going to sneeze in his face and spit in his ginger ale as he requested.

To Berstreet: I’ve shaved my head and bagged the hair. Now you have costume material for years to come. You’re welcome.

To Tom Coughlin: I leave you my 16 inch retractable knight-stick. After knowing you did not go home and beat your son-in-law or your own blood who married him, I’m sending this for every Giants fan. Either you start laying down the law or I’ll fucking haunt the Meadowlands. Don’t mess with me. I’ll have NOTHING better to do. Hell, you can even use this to hit your wife. I don’t care. Just get mean again. Or I’ll have Deacon from King of Queens check your prostate with the GD thing.

To My Parents: Since I’ve prearranged my passing, I’ve deleted all the pornography from my lap top so you can strip it dry of all my writing and give it to a publisher. I’m sure they’ll either make advances on sociopath studies or at least a decent dick-joke sitcom.

To my Dog Rudy (pictured below):

Don't Laugh. He has a disorder.

Rudy, you’ve been a loyal companion for the 3 short years you’ve been alive with me. I know I’m checking out early and that’s usually the dog’s job but for your remaining years, I leave you…my femur. I decided I’m not going to be an organ donor because of the sole fact that I hate those purple bumper stickers with the pun about “Heaven knows we need them here!,” but I decided I can go to heaven missing a leg so a cute puppy can play for years with the strongest bone in the human body. Well, the 2nd strongest bone in MY body but I need the other one for Marilyn Monroe.

*high fives my attorney named Chaz*

To Brian Westbrook: You ruined my chance at playoffs in fantasy football this year for my money league and I think that’s why my body started shutting down. The fact I had Reggie Bush for 4 weeks and he didn’t crack 7 points and then he pops off for 21 while your career could be over just infuriated me. Just like when I dropped Rashard Mendenhall after the week he was benched and I did it thinking no one could grab him before the game. Well, my opponent did and he had 36 points against me. Ugh. Enough about my fantasy miscues, I feel like Ruxin with Gates from The League. Well, Brian. I leave you my frontal lobe. I’m sure you forgot math by now with all your concussions. Actually, scratch the organ donor idea. You can take all of my body parts when you need them if you just promise to drink some fucking milk once in a while and stop being made out of crackers and loose-leaf paper.

To Gally: I had to put a lot of thought into this one. I left you my toilet paper. Basically because you’re an asshole. ZING!

To LeBron James: I left you my tooth paste for you, because it’s very obvious you put your stupid foot in your stupid millionaire mouth when you said you’d be great at football. It was the next game that you sat out an entire half for banging your wrist on the rim while dunking. Now, I’m just a fan and an amateur blogger but I’m about your age so I can talk down to you…DON’T YOU THINK FOOTBALL IS A LITTLE ROUGHER THAN BASKETBALL? Douche.

To Ashton Kutcher: You get nothing. I’m just letting you know me and Patrick Swayze are going to run a fucking TRAIN on Demi Moore. That bitch must suck the blood of the innocent because she gets hotter as time goes on. Real talk.

To Levi Johnston: I’m leaving you my old bike helmet. Why? Because I’m going to be dropping a lot of pianos on your head. You suck something fierce my friend. You aren’t even funny or attractive yet you get Playgirl spreads? You’re the new K-Fed. Congrats. Taco Bell is awaiting your arrival. Scumbag.

To Business Socks from Style Points: I’m going to leave you my autographed Mickey Mantle rookie card that he signed for me as a kid. I’m also going to send you an autographed picture of myself. You might not know it, but you were the first sports blogger to pay attention to me

To Big Troph: I’m going to leave my sense of humor. God knows you guys need one over there.

To Gimp, I’m going to leave you my set of balls because you haven’t done anything man-worthy in a long time. I’m also leaving your name on Megan’s Law.com for all those 9 year olds doing mediocre things posts.

To Tila Tequila, I left you a muzzle and a dildo. If you don’t put on the muzzle just go fuck yourself. Man, last time I used that joke I had to give my dinosaur a bath. Man, could I be on any more fire?!?

It isn’t commonly known to a lot of people that I have OCD. Like Howard Hughes, I saved all my urine. I also didn’t do many drugs. So I am leaving all my pee bottles to the following: Tim Lincecum, Shawne Merriman, Michael Phelps, Dwayne Bowe, Sean Sherk, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Lattimer from The Program, my uncle Ray, former President Bush and fetish porn directors.

And lastly, my girlfriend. I’ve decided that you’re coming with me. Can’t have you cheating on me when I’m in hell heaven. So I’ve left you cyanide in the tea the lawyer just offered you. You’ll be dead before you can cry. See you soon honey!

Most Hollywood movies suck. They’re saccharine, pre-packaged and market-tested so as to be almost completely devoid of even the slightest thought. But some Hollywood movies are flat out offensive. The latest example is a movie called The Blindside. It’s based on a non-fiction book by the talented author Michael Lewis. Lewis has written winningly about baseball, the stock market, the internet boom. The Blindside is about football. Specifically it refers to the blind side of the quarterback or the area beyond his vision while he waits in the pocket to throw a pass. Because of the quarterback’s importance (and the sizable contract he’s issued) to the team, the responsibility of protecting him has become only slightly less paramount than the job of the quarterback himself. This duty of protection falls on the sizable shoulders of very large but nimble men, who are paid handsomely, though not quite as well as the men they protect. Lewis goes into ably details the relationships, development dangers and politics of The Blindside.

He also trains his eye on one Michael Oher. At the time of the book, Oher was still a teenager. He was born in Memphis to a crack-addicted mother. His absentee father was murdered. He attended at least nine different schools and repeated the first and second grade. No one had Michael’s blind side. Except Michael was well over six feet tall and tipped the scales in the neighborhood of three hundred pounds. A family friend, at the request of Oher’s dying grandmother, tried to get him enrolled at Briarcrest Christian School. He was denied at first, but after completing a home-study program of apparently dubious merits, he was eventually enrolled. While there he caught the attention of the children of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, which given his girth was probably not hard to do. The Tuohys took Oher in. They fed him—no small task. They gave him a tutor. They paid his tuition. They basically were the parents that the young man desperately needed. He nudged his grade point average from 0.9 to 2.5. He eventually graduated from Briarcrest, accepted a scholarship to the University of Mississippi and last year was the first round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens. He signed a contract for $13.8 million.

But Oher’s is not a simple feel-good story. There were accusations that the Tuohys only took an interest in Oher because they saw dollar signs in their future. Not that they needed it because Sean Tuohy is the announcer for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. He’s also a graduate of Mississippi, which is where Oher ended up going after being recruited by dozens of schools. Then there’s the matter of Oher’s coach, who was given a job of little responsibility at Mississippi.

Oher’s story is hardly unique. High-level college athletics is filled with young black men who have been coddled, spoiled and sheltered by adults who do so, in the name of altruism and, often, God. Yet I can’t help but wonder if any of these adults would give so much as a fleeting glance to these kids if they weren’t such gifted athletes and, therefore, pots of gold at the end of a rainbow. Actually I don’t wonder that at all, I know they wouldn’t. I was a high school basketball coach for nine years and saw several instances of minority athletes given a chance only because of their physical exploits while other needier students were ignored.

I have not seen the movie and won’t because it focuses only on the kindness and “tough love” of the Tuohys, played by Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. What was so special about Michael Oher? How many other kids did they take an interest in? Were those kids athletes?

The story of Michael Oher is the perfect vehicle to raise the issue of how people involved in big-time college sports exploits young people for financial gain while nominally invoking academics and fairness. I don’t think for a minute think that Tinseltown would address such a complex, controversial issue. Yet, not only is this given the kid gloves treatment, The Blindside perpetuates another sub-genre; the black man who can only be saved through the benevolence and decency of white people. A short list:

Finding Forrester, The Soloist, Forrest Gump, Radio, Blue Chips, The Hurricane.

This is an example of what is commonly referred to as institutional racism. Only slightly less insulting are the movies where white people hold black people in awe for the simple reason that they seem to be people of color who are (gasp!) smart, competent or determined. Examples: Remember the Titans, The Legend of Bagger Vance and any recent movie starring Morgan Freeman.

For an honest tale of the complexities of race, athletics and corruption rent the sweeping Hoop Dreams. It’s a documentary. It might be the best documentary, on any subject, that I’ve seen (And I’ve seen hundreds.) In the meantime, boycott The Blindside.

The Movie Overdose attempts to contain the apocalypse with a review of Roland Emmerich’s 2012. We chat about how we would change Eddie Murphy for the better, what kind of sequel we want for Star Trek and whether we are glad to see Sean Connery coming back, if only in voice form. Tom slightly dampens the praise given to An Education and Sam revels in the madness of Running Scared and the flawed ambition of Dogma. The conclusion involves a discussion of actors that, no matter what, we always look forward to seeing on screen.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 42

Email us, follow us on Twitter and subscribe through iTunes on the links on the left side of the page.

It’s probably been five years or more since I saw the original Taking of Pelham 123, which I rented back when I was going through a massive Walter Matthau phase.  And now that I’ve seen this film, the recent remake starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, I’m eager to see the original again because I can’t remember what the original bad guy’s motives were, and I have a feeling they weren’t the same as they were in this version (this version’s motives being somewhat timely).

I figured this would be an entertaining, but not brilliant, movie, and I was right.  It’s not flawless, but it’s definitely a lot of fun to watch, especially if you’re a Denzel or/and Travolta fan, which I obviously am (hubba hubba x 2).  The story opens on a regular day in New York City’s MTA offices, with Washington playing Walter Garber, a former bigwig in the MTA who has recently been demoted to dispatcher following a scandal involving a bribe.  Unfortunately for Walter, he’s on duty the day a group of recent parolees, led by a man named Ryder (Travolta), hijack the Pelham 123 train.

It quickly becomes clear to Walter that the group knows a lot about the MTA subway system.  They stop the train in exactly the most advantageous spot in one of the tunnels, and quickly release most of the cars and passengers to make it easier for them to handle the set of hostages, which they then announce they are holding for $10 million in ransom.  But as the day goes on, it also becomes increasingly clear that Ryder has ulterior motives — that the ransom may not be his end game.  Can Walter, the mayor (played by James Gandolfini), or the lieutenant in charge of the hostage negotiation team (played by John Turturro) figure out what’s really going on before Ryder kills the hostages and/or absconds with the $10 million?

You can probably guess the answer to that question.  Go ahead, guess.  Yep, you’re right!

As I said, this movie isn’t perfect.  For one thing, I had the “ulterior motive” thing figured out way earlier than I should have and it was because of some heavy-handed hint dropping that could have been a lot more subtle.  Despite that, though, I found the whole ulterior motive thing pretty clever, all things considered, and it was fun waiting to find out if my theory about it was going to be proven right.

I also thought Denzel was great in this — I completely believed his character and, what’s more, I was really rooting for him as well.  Less convincing was Travolta, but only because I still think of him as more snuggly than bad-ass, even if the make-up department does kick down with a sinister goatee and neck tatt.

Overall, though, this is a pretty entertaining flick with some good acting, authentic suspense, and a fairly satisfying, if unbelievable, ending.  Definitely recommended to anybody looking for a good thriller.  And hey, gentlemen in the audience, they even somehow managed to throw in a couple of spectacular car wrecks for you, even though 95% of this movie takes place in an office and a tunnel.  Now THAT’S movie-making magic, my friends.

Recommended!

[Netflix me | Buy me]

Genre:  Thriller
Cast:  Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, Michael Rispoli, James Gandolfini

Johnny Depp's first sexiest man cover of People circa 2003

I met Johnny Depp way back in the late 80’s when he starred on ‘21 Jump Street’ with a good friend of mine Steven Williams, for the Fox broadcasting network. He was cordial, and I only would see him briefly, but you can tell when a dude is cool,and Johnny Depp was a good guy, so I have no quarrels with him, and I am a supporter of his work.

I especially liked to go to his club, the Viper Room in Hollywood, and have always enjoyed myself there.

Today People magazine has announced that Johnny Depp is,for the second time in its 24 years of compiling the ‘Sexiest Man Alive” list, the sexiest man alive. It is his second win, and he joins a George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Richard Gere as the only two-time winners.

During my research for another article, I was surprised to see that Denzel Washington was the lone African-American male to be bestowed with the honor, in 1996…and was shocked to discover that no other racial ethnicity outside of White men from European countries and America, sans the token award given to Denzel!?!?

It is also made even more so of a concern, if you are not white, to find that People magazine’s motivation behind putting this annual together for the public is to…designate a benchmark of male attractiveness. It is determined in a similar procedure to Time’s Person of the Year…

That is a quote from Wikipedia…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_(magazine).

My concern with this is a racial issue, and I know that some of you out there do not like discussing race issues, and dismiss all claims of racial inequality as a ‘race card’ issue, which currently means that…”I am white, and since this does not affect me,it obviously does not exist”…”you people just want some more hand-outs, and I am tired of all this complaining about race”….”you are all lying”…”racism does not, and never has existed in America, so get over it”…

You can see these kinds of comments all over the internet,never in public, unless you are around nothing but white people, then, if they are ignorant, you will hear nothing but racist remarks, because most of them are cowards and back shooters.

I am more direct when expressing my views.

I like statistics and data, like in the O.J. Simpson case, I follow the  preponderance of evidence to base my opinions of guilt or innocence on, as well as it is traditional to notice and identify a pattern of behavior, in order to predict what actions an organization or individual may follow, and that is something that the racist and bigots out there will agree on, given their insistence that the evidence proved that O.J.  was guilty.

To turn your back on the evidence, would to them, be exactly what the jury did in that case, and to hear it from them, it was because there were more black people on the jury weighing the evidence presented to them, and simply disregarded the truth.

I say that is logical, but I have no determination on O.J.’s guilt or innocence, but in the case of People magazine, I do have an idea of what is behind their racially biased list they put together every year.

A pattern of behavior can be determined by a person doing the same thing over and over again, but no less than 5 times to make a relevant claim of specious behavior.

Here we have 24 years of the Sexiest Man Alive award, and out of those 24 years, only one black man has won it, and absolutely no Latinos,no Arabs, no Persians, no Indians, no Native Americans, and no Asians…

I am pretty sure I missed some, so just fill in the blanks, basically what I am saying is that People magazine is biased in what they deem to be a sexy human being.

The preponderance of evidence in this case, finds that it would be a fair statement to say that the editors at People do not see men of color, and I mean any color other than white, …to be sexy, or the sexiest.

I also find to be fair to state, that People magazine may have caved in to political correctness pressures, and awarded the prize to Denzel over a decade ago as a token to their black readers,….but they probably did not believe it then, as they do  not now.

I am certain that Will Smith should have topped that list years ago,as well as stars of all the excluded races that People leave out of the running.

Could the problem be that People magazine may have too many white people on their jury determining what is sexy or not, like the old complaint from those that disagree with th O.J. Simpson jury!?!?

I do not know the races of the editors at People, but I would bet a lot of money that if they employ 50 people, that only two of them are black, and the outside of that, the majority consist of people that do not have color.

I will say this, at least the African-Americans did get 1 out of 24, and I need to advocate on the part of Asians,Arabs,Persians, Natives, and Indians,…because People magazine act like they are totally non-existent.

I am not satisfied with exclusion, and I am insulted by tokenism as an act of appeasement.

This just brings forth a decision that I made years ago working in the media, and that is the fact that if all races do not own their own distribution networks for whatever our productions are, then we will not be in control of our own image, and the one that will be sold to us, will be demeaning and condescending to our people, and disrespect our ancestors.

There is no amount of fame or money that is worth the denigration of our people, and I am speaking to all the races here.

I find the examples of the years of white power, and white-centric mentality to be only beneficial to white people, and highly offensive to all others.

The idea that white or light is a benchmark of beauty, can only drive the more weak-minded of our races to the Sammy Sosa skin lightening cremes…which have the active ingredient of Mercury in them to bleach your skin.

What kind of self-hatred is this?

It all begins with these seemingly benign proclamations every year as to what is sexy, and what is attractive in people, and if I as a grown man can decipher the subliminal continuous message that we are not attractive because we are dark, then I can understand what a young person may feel, or worst than that, an illiterate, unquestioning population, in a country dominated financially and figuratively by white people.

Congratulations Johnny Depp, it’s not your fault, just the machine that we call the entertainment business.

I just do not think any of us, of any race should feed in to it.

People magazine needs to diversify their staff, or let us know this is a magazine that celebrates white entertainers and subjugate all other races to tokenism whenever it is possible.

Comment and let me know your take on this.

JD's 2009 Sexiest Man cover...

 I like to read these news services that are linked below, and I recommend them to all of you…

http://perezhilton.com/2009-11-18-the-sexiest-man-alive-is

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE5AH3X020091118

MALCOLM X

MALCOLM X

On November 18, 1992, The Spike Lee Directed Movie, “MALCOLM X,” Was Released To A Nationwide Audience. The Film Was Based On The Book, “The Autobiography Of Malcolm X,” Written By Alex Haley, In Collaboration With Malcolm X, And Published In 1965.

The Controversial Film Starred Oscar-Award-Winning Actor, Denzel Washington In The Lead Role. It Also Featured The Talents Of Angela Bassett (As Betty Shabazz), Al Freeman, Jr. (As Elijah Muhammad), Delroy Lindo (As West Indian Archie) Lonette McKee (As Louise Little) And Spike Lee (As Shorty).

The Movie Chronicles Malcolm’s Life — From His Days As A Young Hustler And Criminal — To His Rise As The Most Visible And Outspoken Figure In The Nation Of Islam During The 1960s. The Film Ends With His Assassination At New York’s Audubon Ballroom, In 1965.Warner Brothers Originally Selected Canada’s, Norman Jewison ( “In The Heat Of The Night” Director, 1967) To Direct “MALCOLM X,” Spike Lee Felt Strongly That A Black Director Should Tell The Story Of One Of History‘s Most Influential Black Leaders. Public Outcry Over The Selection Of Jewison Pressured The Studio Into Finally Giving The Project To Lee.

When The Studio Refused To Give Spike Lee The More Than $30 Million He Requested To Complete “MALCOLM X,” He Used $2 Million Of His Own $3 Million Salary. He Called On Other Prominent Black Personalities For Financial Help As Well. Those Who Donated Money Included: Oprah Winfrey, Bill Cosby, Prince, Michael Jordan, Janet Jackson And Magic Johnson.

“MALCOLM X” Grossed $9,871,125.00 On Its Opening Weekend. The Film Made $48,169,610.00 — Making It One Of Spike Lee’s Most Successful Film Projects. Many Critics Consider Denzel Washington’s Portrayal Of Malcolm X His Best Performance To Date.

SPIKE LEE TALKS ABOUT MALCOLM X MOVIE

MALCOLM X MOVIE SPEECH

“In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It.” — Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

Hugh Gaddy

Create Your Badge

]]> http://aconstantrefrain.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/tempo-livre/ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:08:29 +0000 A Constant Refrain http://aconstantrefrain.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/tempo-livre/

O meu tempo para ver filmes ultimamente tem sido zero, tenho vários filmes em “lista de espera” há algum tempo e espero começar a ver pelo menos alguns esta semana em que vou ter algum tempo livre.

O primeiro filme, já era para ter visto mesmo há bastante tempo, ainda ponderei seriamente ver em cinema porque esperava bem mais do filme, mas ainda bem que não gastei os 5 euros.

O segundo filme, nem sequer me tinha interessado muito porque a história já cansa até à minha mãezinha.

Public Enemies

Do realizador Michael Mann.

Acabei de ver o filme hoje, mas foi dividido em 3 partes, pela falta de tempo como ja disse, pela longa duração do filme e porque realmente não está muito empolgante.

É uma “chatice” quando se espera para ver um filme que tem tudo para ser muito bom e um filme que foi tão falado, e depois acabou por ser tão criticado… Mas as críticas estão justas.

Filme com um tipo de filmagem não apropriada para a época que é retratada, com um desenrolar da história chato, e com nenhum destaque em interpretações; nem o Johnny Depp “safa bem”.

Para o fim melhora um pouco, mas podia ter sido feito muito melhor com a história.

Um “ok”, para este filme.

Cotação: O imdb dá um 7.3, mas eu dou um 5/10 porque sou chata.

TORRENT

TRAILER

imdb

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Do realizador Tony Scott, que fez o Man on Fire (2004) também com o Denzel Washington, bom filme e nada  a ver com este género.

Pela história nem sequer tinha interesse em ver o filme, mas como o tempo livre também é em parte partilhado com o rapaz, uma pessoa tem de ceder à pressão ahaha. (love)

A verdade é que não foi tempo perdido tendo em conta o nível de qualidade (para mim) que este tipo de filme pode ter, com este tipo de história do “vira o disco e toca o mesmo” como ja disse; meio caminho andado também com os actores como Denzel Washington, John Travolta e James Gandolfini , apesar deste último acabar por estar no filme só “porque sim”.

filme aceitável de anhar à tarde, tinha saudades do John Travolta e das frases do bad guy , mas quanto ao Denzel Washington, gosto muito dele mas o papel de super bonzinho e correctinho já acho que nunca lhe assentou muito bem.

Mas bonzinho no geral.

Cotação: 6/10

TORRENT

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IMDB

Lee.

Med John Travolta i spetsen tvingar sig en grupp badguys in och kapar ett tunnelbanetåg i New York. Man kräver tio miljoner dollar inom en timme för att inte börja avrätta gisslan. Denzel Washington spelar den rådige trafikledaren som ofrivilligt blir länken mellan kaparna och polisen. När det uppdagas att han är föremål för en mututredning får man bråttom att även utreda hans eventuella inblandning i dramat.

Regissören Tony Scott har tagit sig an och gjort en nyinspelning av den smått klassiska Pelham 1-2-3 kapat från 1974 med bland annat Walter Matthau och Robert Shaw i rollerna. Scott har en förmåga att göra bra och tät action och bildmässigt är det rappt, snyggt och tempo. Historien är dock inte så sofistikerad att den lyckas sticka ut speciellt mycket från mycket annat i samma genre och även om skådisarna är plockad från Hollywoods a-lista blir det ändå inte speciellt mycket mer än en ovanligt proffsig dussinthriller. Washington är visserligen bra som den lite beiga tjänstemannen som degraderats till trafikledare, men Travolta känns som så många andra gånger utklädd till någon han inte riktigt mäktar med att spela. Bättre är i så fall exempelvis John Turturro eller Luis Guzmán i några av de andra större rollerna.

Betyg: 3

The “Oscar Coach” visits the Manhattan Monologue Slam!

Susan Batson, acting coach to the stars- Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Nicole Kidman, P. Diddy – was at the Manhattan Monologue Slam. Nicole Kidman thanked Susan Batson when she won her Academy Award for The Hours; Tom Cruise did the same when he won a Golden Globe for Magnolia. She’s also taught Oscar winners Juliette Binoche, Jamie Foxx, and Jennifer Connelly. For those who can’t get into her acting school, Black Nexxus, you can meet her and perform for her at the Manhattan Monologue Slam: Friday November 20th, 7pm at Bennett Media Studio in the West Village of New York City.

GREAT DEBATERS (2007) – 1935, Marchall Texas, Slavery abolition has been declared but racism and segregation are still remain. Professor Melvin Tolson (Denzel Washington) from the Wiley College casts students to form the school’s debate team : Hamilton Burgees (Jermaine Williams) the talkative guy, Henri Lowe (Nate Parker) the rebel, Samatha Booke (Jumee Smollett) female student and James Farmer Junior (Denzel Whitaker) fourteen years old student. Professor Tolson knew how to emphasize their skills and so the team becomes unbeatable. Their course leads them to break down the wall between white and negro people. The team of four turns out to be the first negro debate team in U.S to face white debate team. But coaching the debate team is not the only Tolson’s activity, he has his own fight ….

The movie is based on a true story of Melvin B. Tolson’s life, a professor at Wiley College Texas who during hard time in America, he stood and fought against racism an segregation with non violence actions. The Academy Award winner Denzel Washington (Training Day, Déjà Vu) decides to relate his history in this amazing movie as being the director and also performing the leading role. Denzel Washington chooses another Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker (The Last king of Scotland, Streets Kings) to co-star with him.

Forest Whitaker and Denzel Washington

The movie talks largely about Debat. It’s a contest where each participant is doing a clash of arguments about a subject. Professor MelvinB Tolson resume it in few words “Debat is a blood sport. It’s a combat. But your weapons are words.” In fact, although your opponent try to disgrace you, you will be also judge on your knowledge, your strategy and you approach? So, your argument have to be clever, judicious and funny at the same time. Not easy! well, being a debater required to everything but shy and weak. It grows one’s knowledge, builds one’s personality and even changes one’s life. We can even say, it teaches. It’s an evidence that contest like debat improve not only students skills but also school notoriety.

In Madagascar, there are others contests at school such as essay contest, dictation contest, art public speaking, but they are not taken seriously. They are more games for fun and not a real competition. Whereas, it will be much more useful than a simple game.

The US Embassy will organize the “International Education Week” (IEW) on November, 18th and 19th at the National Library in Anosy. It is an educational event that the US education department and the US department commonly organizes every year throughout the world. For this year, the ICE CLUB will take part in it. So, we invite you to come! you will have the opportunity to know more about studies in the USA but also the ICE Club.

Dagomc, English Corner – Midi Madagascar – November, 12th 2009

I have rinsed this song too many times now ! But I love it so deep and meaningful. Always makes you think of that special person in your life, whether they are past or present…Sing it Anthony!!

Malcolm Washington is the Denzel Washington’s son. Malcolm Washington just played his first Penn Basketball today. Denzel Washington is said to go to all of his son Malcolm’s games

Click above to read more…Thanks

Actor Denzel Washington was playing the role of proud father as he cheered on his son  Malcolm’s first game with the University of Pennsylvania basketball team.

The 5-foot-9 Malcolm Washington is a walk-on guard at Penn. He did not play in Penn’s 70-55 loss.

The  AP reports that Washington went “virtually unnoticed in the Jordan Center crowd,”and didn’t want to respond to any reporter’s questions before the game, waving this arms and nodding in the direction of the Penn bench.

 Washington is in central Pennsylvania  filming the movie “Unstoppable”.

The 5-foot-9 Malcolm Washington(b. April 10, 1991) has a twin sister named Olivia, and he was named in honor of Malcom X, which was a significant role for Denzel Washington.

Malcom has an older brother John David (b. July 28, 1984), who signed a football contract with the St. Louis Rams in May 2006 after playing college football at Morehouse college in Atlanta, Georgia.

Being Denzel Washington’s son probably brings a lot of unwanted attention from people who want to be associated with the mega star, but if Malcolm is anything like his older brother John David, he will be able to excel on his own right, as he is a polite and self-sufficient young man.

All the reports that I have heard concerning Malcolm, is that he is very polite, personable, and has a strong work ethic. Denzel has a long-standing policy that he will not speak for his children,and is committed to being involved in supporting their athletic pursuits, just like most proud fathers.

I wish him well at his new college, and success in his role as a team member on his college basketball team.

Go Penn State!!!…and get with em’ Malcolm!!!

To learn more about the life and times of Denzel Washington, click on the source below…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denzel_Washington

Denzel Washington at son Malcolm's Penn State Basketball game

Sai ära nähtud film “The Taking of Pelham 123″ ehk siis eesti keeles “Metroorongi 123 röövimine”. Alguses tundus, et tegemist on tavalise märuliga, kus diehardilikult hüppab välja kangelaslik korrakaitsja, kes päästab mitmeid tsiviilelusid samas efektiivselt kurikaelu augustades.
Õnneks või kahjuks (oleneb vaataja vaatenurgas) päris nii ei läinud. Superkangelase rolli mängis seekord metroorongide juhendaja (Denzel Washington), kes tõmmati metroorongi pantvangikriisi lihtsalt seetõttu, et ta oli valel ajal vales kohas.

Denzel Washington

Siinkohal ei hakka kõike filmi sisu ära rääkima, vaid üritan jõuda punktini, mis mind kõige enam filmi juures paelus. Nimelt kurikaelade juht (John Travolta) mängis üle korrakaitsjad oma hullumeelse käitumisega ning kindlate eesmärkidega saavutada olukorra üle kontroll. Pantavangikriisi ajal suutis ta avalikult mõrvata mitmeid pantvange, kusjuures väites, et süüdi pole mitte tema, vaid tema tahtele mitte alluvad korrakaitsjad. Selles osas on tegelikult tal õigus, sest korrakaitse eesmärgiks on siiski inimelusid säästa ning olukord lahendada nii, et oleks vähim arv ohvreid. ning lihtsaim viis oleks olnud kurjategija nõudmisi täita. Aga teise vaatenurga alt on kurjategija käitumine absurdne, sest tegelikult oli tema põhimotiiviks saada raha, mis aga näitab taaskord, et raha on muutnud inimeste maailmapilti niivõrd palju, et raha puhul pole tegemist lihtsalt paberilipaka või vahetusvahendiga, vaid kui väljamõeldud Jumalaga, millest sõltutakse ning mis on lahendus tema kõigile probleemidele.
Ehk siis kurjategija mõttemaailmas oli tähtsam hea elu, palju raha, kui mitme inimese elu. Materialistlik maailmavaade, kus näiteks hea sõbra asemel on sul kodus 1000 PS3 mängu, on aluseks inimeste ühtsuse kadumisele ning iga indiviidi vajaduste esile tõstmine – parem olgu minul luksusvilla ning teised söögu prügikastist.
On olemas aga inimesi, kes on palju vaeva näinud ning on välja teeninud oma varanduse, kuid antud filmis üritatakse rikastuda teiste inimelude arvelt.

John Travolta

Muidugi tüüpilise hollywoodiliku filmi juures lõpeb film nii, nagu vaatajad seda arvavad lõppevat. Hea peab võitma kurja, mis siis, et kurjam võib olla kiirem, tugevam, kavalam.
Denzel Washingtoni ning John Travolta vastasseis, kus Travolta paneb Washingtoni olukorda, kus Washingtonil jääb üle, kas tappa Travolt või siis ise surra, panigi mind sügavalt mõtlema. Kas inimelud on siis võrdse väärtusega? Kas kurjategija elu on samaväärne korrakaitsja eluga? Kes on otsustajaks, kas peaks elama kurjategija või korrakaitsja?
Siinkohal oli otsustajaks Washington, kes langetas otsuse kaaludes oma elu kõrgemaks kui Travoltal. Kui oleks olnud vastupidi, kas siis Travolta oleks suutnud pääseda või ta oleks igaljuhul vangi langenud? Mitme inimelu võtmine ning riigi korrakaitsjatega manipuleerimine toob kaas eluaegse vangla karistuse. Travolta ise mainis, et tema ei lange vangi, pigem ta sureb.
Filmi põhiideeks inimelude seisukohal võikski olla, et kui tahad elada, pead ise kelleltki elu võtma.

Film iseenesest ei olnud igav, tegevust oli piisavalt. Soovitan kindlasti neil vaadata, kellele meeldivad märulid.

I mentioned this in my previous post, and I feel now that I must refer to it again. I first heard it in the 1993 film Philadelphia, starring Tom Hanks. This is the movie for which he won the first of his two back-to-back Oscars™. Philadelphia is the true story of a very promising lawyer named Andrew Beckett, a homosexual man dying of AIDS. He was fired from his law firm for being such. He then filed a class action suit against them claiming so, with Denzel Washington playing his attorney.

I must totally agree with one of the lines in this movie. “This is my favorite aria.” It never fails to break the heart when one listens to the song. I once thought my inspiration for wanting to learn Italian was the food but now I’m more inspired because I want to understand the songs I listen to.

The following video is the scene from which I first heard La Mamma Morta. I believe everyone would agree with me in saying that this is the scene that won Tom Hanks an Oscar™.