Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx try to get away with some loot from the Disney Theater.

(DreamWorks) Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx, Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Nelsan Ellis, Rachael Harris, Stephen Root. Directed by Joe Wright

Friendships can sometimes be formed in the most unlikely of places between the most unlikely of people. These are the sorts of friendships that can be life-altering for both of the parties involved.

Steve Lopez (Downey) is a successful columnist for the Los Angeles Times. While his marriage is on the rocks (to his editor Mary (Keener) no less) and he has been injured in a bicycle accident, his career is at least doing well.

One afternoon he hears music coming from Pershing Square near the Times building and discovers a homeless man sawing away on a two-stringed cello and making astonishing music. This is Nathaniel Ayers Jr. (Foxx) and as Lopez later discovers, he was once a prodigy who studied at Julliard before his schizophrenia forced him to drop out of school and essentially from life.

Intrigued, Lopez writes a column about Ayers. A reader, touched by the story, sends a new cello for Ayers which Lopez delivers. This touches off a friendship between the two as Lopez acts as something of a guardian angel for the highly erratic and sometimes explosive Ayers. Lopez follows Ayers to a shelter in downtown L.A. (filming took place on Skid Row where the shelter is located and actual homeless people were used as extras) and inspired, writes a series of articles on the homeless situation in the City of Angels.

This leads to awards and acclaim for Lopez but he feels conflicted about this – like he’s profiting on the plight of his friend. He tries to help him, sets up recitals and an apartment for the former prodigy but Ayers’ mental illness is once again getting in the way. Will the demons in Ayers nature prevent him from leaving the mean streets of L.A.?

Like real life, the movie doesn’t answer this question because this true story is continuing. The real Nathaniel Ayers still lives in Skid Row and while his fame has allowed him to leave the streets, he still grapples with his mental illness.

Director Wright (who previously directed Atonement) has a good eye for detail and uses his L.A. locations to make a gritty, grimy portrayal of the streets which exist in a truly tragic juxtaposition within blocks of the glamour of the Walt Disney Theater in downtown L.A. Oscar-nominated (for Erin Brockovich) screenwriter Susannah Grant has the thankless job of trying to capture Ayers’ madness without compromising the story’s realism and for the most part, she succeeds although she does wander into maudlin territory from time to time though not enough to torpedo the movie.

At the center of the film is the relationship between Ayers and Lopez; if the actors can’t capture that then the film is a disaster. Fortunately, Wright cast two of the better actors working today in Downey and Foxx to tackle the roles and they both do stellar jobs. Downey has the more nuanced role in Lopez; he’s flippant and cynical but with a soft heart. He’s not the stereotypical driven and ambitious journalist; he’s more of an observer than a reporter.

Jamie Foxx resists the urge to over-dramatize the mental illness of Nathaniel Ayers but still manages to effectively portray the demons that torment him. This performance required a master’s hand to pull off and fortunately it got one. I don’t know if this is Foxx’s second Oscar-winning performance (it’s unlikely – the movie was postponed from its original November 2008 release date and relegated to the relatively barren April, when few films get any Oscar consideration) but it certainly merits a look.

Wright and Grant set out to make the movie as real and believable as possible and except for a few hiccups were successful. I like that the movie ended without tying things up in a neat package. I also admire the performances of the lead actors which are so compelling that some fine character actors also cast here are almost shuffled off to the wayside not through any fault of their own.

This movie, possibly because its release date was mishandled, didn’t get the kind of box office love it should have gotten (and might have gotten if the studio had stuck to a fall release date). Still, if you didn’t see it in theaters (and you probably didn’t), this is worth seeking out on home video.

WHY RENT THIS: Both Downey and Foxx turn in outstanding performances. The relationship at the heart of the movie is believable. The resolution of the movie is not really a resolution but ties the events together nicely while ringing true to the realism of the story.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: The story occasionally meanders into the maudlin.

FAMILY VALUES: There’s a good deal of crude language, some drug use and the overall theme of mental illness and homelessness might be a bit much for children.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: During the final concert scene in the movie, the real Nathaniel Ayers Jr. can be seen in the front row of the concert hall.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: There is an interview with the real Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers Jr. in which the interplay that the actors modeled the relationship on is clearly visible. There is also a feature and an animated short on the situation with homelessness in Los Angeles which has one of the largest homeless populations in the world.

FINAL RATING: 7/10

TOMORROW: The Astronaut Farmer

Independent, that is the question. But not so much should you or shouldn’t you be independent, but what exactly does it mean for a woman to be independent.  What happened to the days when independence meant FREEDOM?   Now the word has taken on so many different meanings, it’s hard to determine what it means to be or not to be independent.   Women who have gotten a hold of this whole “independent movement” and taken it to the extreme say to be independent means “I need no one, I am my own woman.  Hear me roar!” In the hands of a man the whole I only like independent women movement leaves women wining and dining the men saying she got it, picking up tabs all the time.     With so many suggestions from popular culture and songs I’m not quite sure I’m buying into their ideologies of what it means to be or not to be an independent woman.  I don’t appreciate that Jamie and Neyo collabo trying to feed us with this erroneous idea of what it means.  Later for that reverse psychology business.   I don’t care what anyone says, what makes a woman independent can not be her ability and willingness to wine and dine a man!!  My grandmother always told me that you should date a man who can only do for you what you can’t do for yourself.   And I must admit that there is definitely some truth to that.

So what is it?   What does it mean to be independent?  I think it means that a woman is fully aware of her strength and her power yet also is willing to be vulnerable to a man to the RIGHT man.  Are we too far removed from the idea that men have specific roles that they should fill?  And an independent woman means to be able to do things for herself but allows a man to take his rightful position as provider.  A woman who will not be dependent on a man but one who maintains her own… her own identity, her own life, her own success but allows a man to share that space with her…by choice.

Zoo Life/G-Unit Rapper 40 Glocc is real political these days (“’Cause I care, he says). Not only is he gearing up for the release of his street album Concrete Jungle with the lead single, “Grindin’” being a reflection of how music is a refuge from the New World Order, he’s also unabashedly speaking up about his trial this coming January for allegedly promoting gang culture in his music and videos.

Last year, he and fellow alleged Colon City Crips (a faction of the Crips gang operating out of San Bernardino County, California (Inland Empire)) members were served with an injunction that specifically details him – birth name, Lawrence White – as “particularly notorious… a senior member of the gang who has become a rap star.”

The injunction further claims that he uses his resources (network and net worth) to “perpetuate and foster” the image of the gang’s dominance of the Arbor Terrace Apartments, sited as a place of criminal activity including trespassing (by members of the gang who are non-residents) and illegal drug selling.

The apartment complex is otherwise known as “The Zoo.” White explained to Hip-Hop Wired that the “zoo” of Zoo Life refers to “them calling us animals.”

Though he didn’t clarify exactly who is the aforementioned “them” and “us,” White did elaborate further on how the prosecution and much of mainstream media has painted gang members for the public eye. “He [the prosecutor] called us the Colton City Criminals.” White said. That stereotype, he explained, can be just as damaging as of what he is accused.

“Everybody that’s in a gang is not a bad person. It’s always a lot of them, a big percentage of them that’s in a gang telling everybody, ‘Yo, don’t do that, that’s not right.”

Regardless, the Prayer for Relief as listed in the injunction includes disallowing two or more gang members to appear in public together, and no one gang member may pass through or stop anywhere in the Arbor Terrace Apartment complex and nearby SB Liquor Store; drink alcohol or be under the influence of alcohol in public; or use photography, video, or audio to foster the reputation that the two aforementioned locations are “turf of the Colton City Crips or their offshoots, Zoo Babies, Zoo Crew, or the like.”

“How you gonna banish me from American soil that you don’t even own?” White asked. “You telling me I can’t go to this liquor store down the street [privately owned property]… there’s no crime committed. I’m not a felon.”

Though he’s “never been in the penitentiary,” if the injunction is passed, and, “if I get caught walking down the street with an open can of beer, which is a misdemeanor, that’s considered a felony and I’m eligible for prison.”

Gang injunctions have been of much debate. Organizations such as The American Civil Liberties Union have argued that the terms of many injunctions “infringe the rights of individuals to associate freely,” even during legal events like family reunions. “There are better solutions to crime,” the ACLU reports, “such as community policing… job and education programs.”

Just last week, Ontario, California (another part of the Inland Empire) politicians and law enforcement held a select committee hearing:  “Gangs 2.0:  The Emerging Threat of Cyberthugs. The meeting was called to combat the area’s escalating dangerous crime rate and gang activity and members using the social media networks like Facebook, YouTube and MySpace to recruit young members and further their gang activities.

Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico  (D-Fremont) led the meeting and spoke with Hip-Hop Wired. He stated,

“Social networking is a great way to reach out to others, update them on activities, exchange information and support a cause.  Unfortunately, gangs are using these tools to communicate, recruit, issue threats, traffic narcotics, promote violence and expand their criminal activities.”

He also stated that these technologies were being used by gangs to conduct business inside the prison system and help run the outside from the inside.

“These guys go onto public computers that can’t be traced and these guys know what they’re doing.  They know how to scramble some of these signals and we’re way behind and need to catch up.   We’re holding these meetings to help our law enforcement get on an even playing field with these gangs.”

As 40 Glocc gears up for his case, he is now watching his back even more, as he has been labeled a target by  law enforcement. The  Zoo Life haa also been in the news, as of late, for accosting Plies at a Jamie Foxx video shoot.  Check out some of their video footage below of the incident and their new single “Return To Sender” which is aimed at Plies and a response to his “Letter To The Industry” track.

Also stay tuned to Hip-Hop Wired for our upcoming feature with 40 Glocc, as well as, updates on his upcoming trial.

Gerard Butler springt anscheinend gerne mal zwischen den Extremen hin und her. Mal Schmonzetten-Prinz in „P.S.Ich liebe dich“, mal Spartiaten-Schnetzler in „300“. Gar nicht mal so dumm, wird er doch so von den weiblichen Kinozuschauern angehimmelt und von männlichen als cooler Typ gehandelt. Cool sollte eigentlich auch „Gesetz der Rache“ sein, das als neues Action-Vehikel für den guten Gerard dient.

Verstehen kann man Clyde Shelton (Butler) ja irgendwie schon. Bei einem Raubüberfall muss er mit ansehen, wie seine Frau und Tochter brutal ermordert werden. Entsetzt darüber, dass in anschließendem Prozess einer der beiden Täter nur milde bestraft wird, weil er einen Deal mit dem erfolgreichen Staatsanwalt Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) eingeht, tüftelt Shelton in den nächsten zehn Jahren einen perphiden Rachefeldzug aus. Rache üben will er aber nicht nur an den beiden Tätern, sondern auch am in seinen Augen korrupten Justizsystem. Nach den ersten zwei Morden lässt sich Shelton grinsend von Staatsanwalt Rice festnehmen und ohne Mucken hinter Gitter stecken. Doch scheinbar nimmt sein Plan dadurch erst so richtig Gestalt an.

Ein Mann. Eine Familie. Und eine Mordswut. Mmmh. Erinnern wir uns mal an den Anfang des deutschen Kinojahres zurück. Da begeisterte ein gewisser „96 Hours“ mit Liam Neeson in der Rolle des rachelüstigen Vaters die Herzen der Actionfans. Zurecht. Es scheint fast so, als wolle Regisseur F. Gary Gray jetzt mit „Gesetz der Rache“ an diesen Erfolg anknüpfen. Und dem ist ja auch nichts entgegenzusetzen, wenn denn am Ende ein wirklich spannender Film dabei herauskommt. Tut es aber leider nicht. Wenn man mit dem Film so hart ins Gericht geht, wie Shelton und seine Selbstjustiz mit den Opfern, dann könnte man ihn sogar glatt als langweilig abstempeln. Denn es passiert in etwas über 100 Minuten immer nur das Gleiche: Einer von Sheltons Liste gibt den Löffel ab, Rice ermittelt. Dabei scheint der Film besonders viel Wert darauf zu legen, dass die Morde recht originell passieren. Stellenweise wirkt „Gesetz der Rache“ darum tatsächlich wie ein „Saw“ mit FSK 16-Freigabe. Das wird den Zuschauern momentan schon bei eben dieser Splatter-Reihe zu langweilig und ist hier nicht anders.

So dümpelt der Film von Szene zu Szene. Auch Gerard Butler vermag daran nichts zu ändern, so düster er noch in die Kamera blicken mag. Der aalglatte Jamie Foxx geht leider schon nach einer viertel Stunde auf die Nerven und ist hier anscheinend komplett unterfordert. Wo „96 Hours“ mit Tempo, Spannung und Härte auf ganzer Linie überzeugen konnte, versagt „Gesetz der Rache“ komplett. Nicht mal den Hauch eines Spannungsbogens gibt es hier und abgesehen von einem kleinen Überraschungsschocker, der den Puls kurzzeitig in die Höhe schnellen lässt, sitzt man ansonsten fast scheintot im Kinosessel. Das die Übersetzung des Originaltitels „Law Abiding Citizen“ ins Deutsche mal wieder ein Totalmurks ist, ist dabei nur ein Tropfen auf den heißen Stein.

JLo falls onstage...then pops up and keeps it moving

Last night,Dick Clark and ABC television hosted the annual American Music Awards, where all kind of crazy and cool happenings went on,and Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert still stood out.

I like it how every year some new act feels the need to shock and push the limits of the public morals to the breaking point, and this year the winner for that category is Adam Lambert.

Adam,the runner-up for last seasons American Idol competition,decided to out do Katy Perry who kissed a girl, or at least had a hit record about it, by kissing a guy on stage.

And, as if that was not enough to get his point across, he then grabbed a male dancer, and had him kiss,…or do something like that, to his crotch. Many guys have done this on stage before,except with women.

I think the best one was that awards show on Spike TV hosted by Jamie Foxx,when he grabbed Halle Berry’s nice behind and laid a good kiss on her…remember that.

Jamee and Halle...very hotJamee hugs Halle...

Halle hugs Jamee,who hugs her back...

I know that was kind of different, but I think many will get my point. I became a bigger Jamie Foxx supporter after that one.

http://www.ballerstatus.com/2009/06/01/jamie-foxx-and-halle-berry-make-out-fondle-each-other-on-tv/

If you missed Adam’s act…we have the pictures here…

He showed up looking like this…

Edgy…or just another way to market his album…who knows.He is from San Diego, so good luck with that Adam…

Anyhow, here is a selection of the beautiful people who were there, and of course my favorites,Rhianna,Alicia Keyes, and all the other cute sexy and talented musical superstars….and oh yes, JLo fell,see image above article,watch video below before it gets deleted,and read the story in the link provided under the video…

http://www.examiner.com/x-6788-TV-Trends-Examiner~y2009m11d23-Jennifer-Lopez-falls-at-American-Music-Awards-with-video

…Oh yeah…as usual,like clockwork…Lady Gaga got down!…she is the most interesting performer out there currently, and whenever she performs…I simply can not take my eyes off of her,because of her performances.

She has way more concept than the rest of her fellow performers,and I can tell she is having a big influence on others stage shows. Good going Gaga….

Follow the JLo story here,their video may not be deleted very quickly because they got more pull…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/22/jlo-falls-video-amas_n_367094.html

$2500 grand prize for the winner. Nice bonus for your day after Thanksgiving shopping spree. If you are interested in registering please contact Chris Parisi at 703-929-5374.

40 Glocc says he’s the “Real Niggah Police” yeah this is the West Coast. Don’t get your card pulled.

with special DJ set by Joel Madden. Contact Chris Parisi for Ticket and Table Reservations

De volta aqui pra falar um pouco mais sobre a premiação mais importante do mundo da música. Nessa 2ª parte vou falar um pouco dos diversos fields, dando mais destaque para os artistas do que para as categorias em si. O Grammy tem muitas categorias e fica meio impossível falar de cada uma sem ser chato e monótono, so here we go!

Começando com o field mais importante, pelo menos pra mim: Pop! Esse ano mais diversificado que nunca, pois ultimamente todo mundo submete seus trabalhos aqui, de Miley Cyrus à Kanye West. E nem tudo que é submetido é o que eu realmente acho que é pop, como por exemplo Amy Winehouse que ganhou 2 Grammys em 2007 nesse field. Come on! Ela é R&B! Esse ano parece estar sendo dominado pelas mulheres, eu vejo duas delas fazendo a dobradinha de Melhor Performance Vocal Pop Feminina e Melhor Álbum Vocal Pop, são elas Kelly Clarkson e Diane Birch com as faixas “Already Gone” e “Nothing But A Miracle” e os álbuns All I Ever Wanted e Bible Belt, respectivamente. Taylor Swift deve marcar presença aqui, visto que a moça submeteu o hit “You Belong With Me” aqui, fechando a categoria das performances eu vejo Miley Cyrus com “The Climb” e Beyoncé com “Halo”. E nos álbuns P!nk, Lily Allen e The Black Eyed Peas devem fechar a categoria. A categoria de Melhor Performance Pop de Grupo ou Duo deve ser a mais diversificada de todas, com a presença pra lá de confirmada dos Peas com o hit do ano “I Gotta Feeling”, um Dance/R&B e aí temos The All-American Rejects com “Gives You Hell”, The Fray com “Never Say Never” e 3OH!3 com “Don’t Trust Me”, os dois primeiros tem uma pegada mais rock e o último é uma mistura de Hip Hop com música eletrônica, e completando a categoria as The Pussycat Dolls com “I Hate This Part”.

Eu gosto de rock, mas não entendo nada e nem conheço tantos representantes do meio. Minhas previsões nesse field são na maioria chutes, mas tem umas indicações que são meio óbvias. Kings Of Leon vem forte com o “Use Somebody” e eu torço por uma vitória consecutiva deles na categoria de Mehor Performance Rock de Grupo ou Duo. Mas dominando as indicados do field eu vejo três nomes: U2, Green Day e Bruce Springsteen. Os três são indicados “obrigatórios” e sempre que fazem algo novo, marcam presença aqui. Marcando presença devem estar também Bob Dylan, Nickleback, The Killers e AC/DC.

Chegamos ao field mais dispustado do ano: o R&B. É muita gente boa com chance de indicação e acredito que essas serão uma surpresa. Quem vai dominar o field? Não é novidade para ninguém, a rainha dos palcos Beyoncé! Ela não vem pra brincadeira não, a moça se submeteu em todas as categorias possíveis e imagináveis. O máximo de indicações que ela pode conseguir aqui são 5 e eu aposto nas 5 indicações, são elas: Melhor Performance Vocal R&B Feminina por “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”, Melhor Performance Tradicional por “At Last”, Melhor Performance Urban/Alternativa por “Scared Of Lonely”, Melhor Canção R&B por “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” e Melhor Álbum de R&B Contemporâneo pelo I Am… Sasha Fierce. Quem deve fazer a festa aqui é a rainha Whitney Houston e o seu comeback, que deve lhe garantir 3 indicações. O comeback do Maxwell deve conseguí-lo o mesmo número de indicações que Whitney. Completando o field: Chrisette Michele, Keyshia Cole, India.Arie, Musiq Soulchild, Solange (sim, a irmã da Beyoncé), Jamie Foxx, Raphael Saadiq e muitos outros.

No field Country o nome a ser batido é Taylor Swift. Mesmo não tendo submetido seu hit, a moça vem com uma de suas melhores música: “White Horse”, podendo concorrer à Melhor Canção Country e Melhor Performance Vocal Country Feminina e o álbum mais vendido do ano nos EUA, Fearless. Quem vem forte na categoria é a queridinha do Grammy (pelo menos nas categorias Country) Carrie Underwood, a moça deve faturar mais um Grammy pela colaboração com Randy Travis em “I Told You So”, além de conseguir mais duas indicações com “Just A Dream”, uma de suas melhores músicas. Quem vem forte, ainda mais depois do CMA, é o Lady Antebellum com um dos melhores singles do ano “I Run To You”. Brad Paisley e Keith Urban vêm forte entre os homens, principalmente por causa do dueto “Start A Band” dos dois, que vai bater de frente com o dueto de Carrie e Randy. Entre os indicados também teremos: Martina McBride (torcendo por “I Just Call You Mine”), Reba McIntire, Miranda Lambert, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney e Rascal Flatts.

Por hoje é só, no próximo, e último, post sobre os Grammys eu pretendo falar sobre o que eu gostarie que tivesse indicado, descartando as listas de submissões. Até lá!

See you guys!

This post is not intended to join the long and ever growing list of critics of Tyler Perry.  However, it is time to weigh in on the issue of the character he has made a part of the sub-culture. While, I have never seen a Madea movie, I continue to support and thoroughly enjoy his movies like Why Did I Get Married and The Family That Preys.  I could never get past long held beliefs that there was no need for us as a people to continue along the path that others have carved for us.

Nearly 40 years ago, the great Flip Wilson, gave the world Geraldine, a character for which he dressed up as a loud mouth, tell it like it is, black woman. Since that time, we have seen Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx all play the role of women.  Now enters Madea. 

It is important to point out that while much of the criticism of Tyler Perry appears to be motivated by jealousy and even some envy. There must be room in our community for lawful and constructive debate surrounding topics that affect the entire community, without the vitriol and self-loathing that seems to permeate much of our discussions.

Image via cocoalounge.blogspot.com

The question we ask is what of the power of images, especially in a community already lacking in good male role models? Charles Barkley once famously remarked, “I am not a role model,” all the while modeling his Nike shoes.  The lack of strong black males has our community in crisis!  We appear on Maury Povich denying our parental responsibilities and look to be more interested in the latest styles, rather than that, which will last. The nightly news depicts us as gun toting, self-shooting, dog killing, ear biting, white women killing, and now mass murdering.

Young black men continue to wonder about absent fathers and try to help with overworked mothers.  Anger has replaced hope; faith that was never nurtured is all but gone. In addition, for recreation, we go to the movies and see our talented tenth, not using the awesome power at their disposal to lift, but to keep us laughing at our men not being men.  Playing the role that is the only one that has been kept up in our lives, the strong black woman.

Some have said that it’s only a movie.  Recently I had a discussion with another brother about this very topic.  He was of the mind that it’s harmless fun.  My question to him is, as a father of a young black male, what if you came home and your son was dressed in his mother’s clothes, just for fun, that is? Of course, he would not like that.

The fact that Tyler Perry, at this stage in his career, is now able to finance his own projects puts more of a challenge on him to bring out not the old stereotypical images of us as a people, but he must lift his end of this burden by charting a new course, as we are headed for higher ground.

Even though they may not be able to state it themselves, Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, and yes President Obama are all black men, whose stories are only indicative of the many stories, which exist about successful, young and old black men.  Rapper Jadakiss asked the question,

“Why did Denzel have to be crooked before he took it?”  

Why do we have to be the cross dressing loud mouth? Why in 2009, when our best and brightest have the opportunities we have so longed for, do we seem to be part of the conspiracy to continue in the destruction of young black males? The dictionary defines the word image as-mental representation, idea or concept.  Is Geraldine, Madea, Sheneneh, or Wanda the image we, as black people, want as our representation across the globe?  Is that the idea?

And what about the church going fan base that makes up the large percentage of Madea supporters? What are their ideas, and concepts of black men, and how does this fit into the larger issue of men not being in church?  Tyler Perry said he continues the Madea series for them. Well it’s time he demand more of them and they of themselves. Madea got him this fan base, and if they are true fans, not of Madea, but her creator, then they will appreciate the growth. As a solution to these problems, we would recommend that Spike Lee, John Singleton, Tyler Perry and other black filmmakers, sit to discuss projects that will uplift, not just us as a people, but the human family.  Let’s stop talking at each other and talk to one another.

To those who would say, it’s their job, my simple reply is from the old black church and the warnings of our grandparents, “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul.”

Brother Richard

Genius!

Lady Gaga vs Cartman Vs Christopher WalkenPoker

Was machst du, wenn deine Frau und Tochter vor deinen Augen brutal ermordet werden? Auf eine gerechte Bestrafung der Täter durch einen Gerichtsprozess hoffen. Und was, wenn durch einen Deal mit der Staatsanwaltschaft nur einer der beiden Täter zum Tode verurteilt und der andere nach wenigen Jahren aus der Haft entlassen wird? Rache nehmen – an den beiden Tätern, an der Staatsanwaltschaft, am Rechtssystem ganz generell. So ist zumindest die fragwürdige Haltung des Protagonisten Clyde (überzeugend gespielt von Gerard Butler), der alles verloren hat, was ihm lieb war. Nach 10 Jahren nun soll einer der Täter mit einer an sich schmerzfreien Giftinjektion offiziell hingerichtet werden. Clyde manipuliert das Verfahren jedoch und lässt einen schmerzverzerrten Toten zurück. Dem mittlerweile freigelassenen zweiten Täter amputiert er sämtliche Körperteile und wandert dafür in Untersuchungshaft. Doch das war erst der Anfang seines Plans. Im Knast trifft Clyde auf den damaligen Staatsanwalt (Jamie Foxx), mit dem er nun ein makaberes Spiel spielt, in dessen Folge jeder getötet wird, der mit dem Gerichtsprozess vor 10 Jahren in Verbindung stand. Clydes Ziel: dem Staatsanwalt begreiflich machen, dass man mit Mördern nicht verhandelt.

Ob Clyde sein Ziel erreicht? Das Ende ist jedenfalls überraschend und steht damit in nichts dem ebenso überraschenden und extrem packenden Film nach. Rache als Filmstoff ist immer ein zweischneidiges Schwert. Obwohl der Zuschauer anfänglich voll und ganz hinter Clyde steht, wandelt sich diese Unterstützung mit jeder Filmminute in eine nicht fassbare Mischung aus Zustimmung und Ablehnung, Faszination und Schrecken. Und so ist das Werk nicht nur eine durchdachte und gekonnt inszenierte Materialschlacht, sondern eine zugleich oberflächliche und tiefgründige Suche nach den Motiven, dem Sinn und den Auswirkungen von Rachegefühlen.

Einziges Manko des grandiosen Films: die vollkommen misslungene Synchronisierung der Tochter des Staatsanwalts. Dafür sollten Ohrstöpsel verteilt werden.

You will be able to get your tickets through me. Purchasing Information Coming soon!

This weekend is going to be insane. UFC 106 featuring Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin at Mandalay Bay. Start the weekend off with the official Tap Out Pre Fight at Lavo

Saturday Night after the fight Tito Ortiz will be the host at Tao.

Both Events will be INSANE – Contact me for Guest List or Table Reservations!

Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler give two outstanding performances as two men in an intellectual war.
One says he can kill anyone he wants while in prison.
The other mocks him and thinks he’s too high on himself.

Gerard Butler plays his part as a grieving father, turned vigilante very well.
How a man become so evil in such a short time, I find a bit shocking.
It really shows just how a far a human being can go to get revenge on the man who took his happiness away.

Then he plays the system against itself and shows all the holes that our laws have.

Gerard Butler gives a good strong dramatic performance, playing the part of a highly intelligent serial killer that gets revenge on a whole lot of people.

Jamie Foxx plays a convincing role as a lawyer who strikes deals with murderers, only he’s made to pay a price for his sins.

It’s all about winning.

He’s on a winning streak and signs a deal with the devil to stay on that plateau.

I found the movie full of suspense, drama, action, excellent editing and awesome dialogue.

This is Gerard Butlers first time producing a movie under his newly formed company name – Evil Twins.

This Scottish lad , and very talented actor is from Glasgow and aye there laddie, you have done well for yourself, Congrats!

law abiding citizen jamie foxx gerard butler

Actors Michael Irby, Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Viola Davis, and Regina Hall

Bastardos Inglórios

1. O Tarantino está ficando cada vez melhor
2. O Brad Pitt  também ( e não necessariamente  como ator…)
3. O ator Christoph Waltz rouba a cena… apesar de ter um personagem pouco simpático ao público
4. Vale a pena ver!

O Solista

1. A emoção de ver a música fluindo na vida e no filme
2. Um jornalista (Robert Downey Jr) à procura de um furo de reportagem e acaba achando uma história em que pode crescer também como pessoa – a de Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx)
3. Quando não temos como vencer a doença, o melhor é aproveitar todos os momentos de lucidez
4. Emocionante!

Duas Semanas

1. Sally Field interpreta a mãe à beira da morte
2. Discussão sobre a vida em família e a preparação do fim da vida
3. Consegue até alguns momentos cômicos, na hora do sofrimento também aprendemos a rir da vida

ABC do Amor

1. Um menino de 10 anos contando sua primeira experiência no amor com muita emoção
2. Emocionante, você ri e chora com as dúvidas e conquistas de Gabe (Josh Hutscherson)
3. “ABC do Amor” é mais do que uma simples sessão da tarde no cinema como muitos podem pensar ao final do filme. A produção resgata nossas memórias e, ao mesmo tempo, trata com bom humor e respeito o sentimento de todos os pequenos que estão ingressando agora nesse adorável e belo momento da existência humana…

Law Abiding Citizen, the new film by F. Gary Gray, is a far-fetched fantasy disguised as a gritty serial killer thriller. There are also hints of social commentary that get interesting for half a second before diving into the realm of the ludicrous. Gray mixes and matches genres and ideas so liberally that the whole thing turns out to be a somewhat garbled mess. The idea of a man who got screwed over by the justice system deciding to try to take it down, and the man who cut a deal with a known rapist/murderer and then having to pay for his actions, are the material of a ripe Greek tragedy. Instead, Hollywood gets in the way, and the tones clash due to several key missteps.

Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) is an engineer whose house is invaded, and his wife and daughter are raped and murdered right before his eyes. Gray knows that the audience has zero chance of thinking of Clyde as anything but a brutal serial killer after the first half hour of the film, but wants us to sympathize with his plight until then, so he makes the unfortunate decision of showing us the viciousness of the home invasion. We see the knife enter the wife, we see her pants pulled down, we see the daughter walk in on the killer having mounted her mom, and we see the killer walk towards the girl, saying, “Little girls like me,” fully eliminating any trace of character dimension and replacing him with a murderous cartoon. Not surprisingly, later in the film, Clyde systematically tortures and kills the killers. It’s bloody and awful, but we still have traces of sympathy.

Then, the film starts to go from unpleasant to just plain bad. Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx) is the assistant district attorney who is more concerned with keeping a high conviction rate than serving justice, so he cuts a deal with the rapist, getting death penalty for the other home invader while the rapist goes free in eight to ten years. When Clyde starts exacting his revenge, however, it’s not just on the killers– it’s on anyone in the justice system involved with the events. He feels the system is broken, and he’s going to bring it all down. What follows are five ways in which the film messes up.

1. It doesn’t matter how badly the main character suffered– in a thoughtful film, brutal torture and slaughter of essentially innocent men and women will not be condonable. Ever. In The Transporter or some other Jason Statham film, this would be acceptable and in good fun, and starring Jason Statham, Law Abiding Citizen might have been a more successful (albeit different) movie. However, Gray tried to get us to sympathize with Clyde, and the way Gerard Butler is playing the part, it’s more like Hannibal Lecter than mournful parent/husband. It’s revealed that he used to be the brains for a spy organization, but that’s still not justification for what he does. The slimy people involved, who are self-centered and obnoxious? Of course, they need to die. But sweet, sympathetic supporting characters? And sending a video of vicious dismemberment to Rice’s 9-year-old daughter?

2. Be thoughtful or don’t– but if you don’t pick a side, it doesn’t work. There are moments of discussion about the flaws in the justice system, and how it can be easily manipulated so that murderers go free. The most interesting moment in the film is when Clyde acts as his own attorney and reveals that despite the very evident fact that he committed the murders, there’s no evidence that will stand up in a court of law. The judge agrees, and agrees to give him bail. Moments like this reveal the direction in which the film could have gone. Instead, it prefers to have outrageous twists and death scenes. One of the deaths is ludicrous, inventive, and shocking, and would fit perfectly into some B-film (my audience laughed out loud in delight). However, following the discussions of the justice system, it shifts the film from being thoughtful to thoughtless. It’s like a tug-of-war between those desirous of an intelligent film, and those desirous of turning their brain off before stepping into the theater. You can balance both, but this film doesn’t attempt to balance– it merely mashes one into the other.

3. If you set up a seemingly impossible scenario, and you don’t have an intelligent ending, your audience will rebel. I can forgive the tonal shifts. There is some good cinematography and a few cool deaths (though you can tell intelligence goes out the window in dealing with this film when the best compliment I can give it is some “cool deaths”). However, the ending has me scratching my head still, twelve hours later. Not only is the twist regarding how Clyde manages to kill all these people from the confines of his jail cell an enormously stupid cop out, the character who receives his just desserts (I won’t say if it’s Nick or Clyde) receives them in a way that is implausible at best and laughable at worst. I would be happy to hear an explanation in the comments section below, with spoilers and all. I simply don’t know how the ending was pulled off.

4. If your supporting actors are more interesting than your main ones, you have a serious problem. Bruce McGill and Leslie Bibb both do nice work battling with their moral dilemma, whether they did the right thing and if they earned the death that’s coming for them. Jamie Foxx is the stubborn one, who only contemplates his responsibility for what happened maybe once, before continuing to do the necessary police work to save the day (even though he’s a lawyer, not a cop… the line is blurry in Gray’s world between lawyers and cops). Finally, Gray should have seen the work Viola Davis was doing as the mayor of Philadelphia, noted how she was exerting more force and power on the screen than any other character by a long shot, and written more scenes for her. She outclasses Butler and Foxx by a country mile in this film.

5. Don’t let Hollywood dictate the path of your film. Somewhere, I have the feeling there was an interesting movie– in fact, I read that Jamie Foxx was originally set to play Clyde with Gerard Butler as Nick. This intrigues me… Foxx would have likely been a more pensive, less psychotic killer, and Butler would have been more emotional as the assistant D.A. (at least, I’m basing this on their strengths as performers). This might have lent itself to a more intriguing thriller, laced with moral dilemmas and not merely packed with killing for the sake of blood. But that’s not what’s “in” in Hollywood right now, is it? Why have thoughtful thrillers when people’s phones can blow their brains out and twist endings can ruin any semblance of logic? In the end, while Gray and company might have abided by the laws of the brainless Hollywood thriller, he is guilty of a first-degree waste of talent.

The Kingdom | Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner | Official Site | On DVD …bak-satanism-george-youssef

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The Kingdom Trailer 2 min 29 sec – 31 May 2007 www.youtube.com

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