December 9, 2009 marks the 28th Anniversary of the death of Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner.

Let us pray for Officer Faulkner and his family and let us not forget those ignorant individuals who stand up and support wesley cook (aka mumia abu jamal,) a cold blooded cop killer.

They include:
Ed Asner, The Black Eyed Peas, Jackson Browne, Tim Robbins, David Dinkins, Rage Against the Machine, The Beastie Boys, Michael Moore, Oliver Stone, Woody Harrelson, Samuel Jackson, Casey Kasem, Spike Lee, Salman Rushdie, Susan Sarandon, Michael Stipe, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Bad Religion and Harry Belafonte.

(For a complete list visit http://www.danielfaulkner.com/docs/SupportersofMumiaAbu-Jamal.pdf)

It is disgusting that these individuals choose to support jamal, despite the overwhelming evidence against him.

And while everyone is entitled to an opinion, to simply dismiss the facts of the case and stand on the other side of reason, is not acceptable. Remember this next time you support these idiots.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

The main inspiration for the character Madea, Willie Maxine Perry,mother of Tyler Perry, has died.

She was 64  years old, and her date of birth was February 12, 1945 to December 8, 2009.

Tyler Perry has been quoted to say…”Madea is a cross between my mother and my aunt. She’s the type of grandmother that was on every corner when I was growing up,” Tyler said.

“She smoked. She walked out of the house with her curlers and her muumuu and she watched everybody’s kids. She didn’t take no crap. She’s a strong figure where I come from. In my part of the African-American community.

In a certain way, Mrs Perry was one of our family, brought to us in the form of Madea, as portrayed by her loving son, the talented Tyler Perry. Tyler has effectively introduced his mom to all of us in his plays and motion pictures, and in doing so, he has reminded us all of where a lot of us have come from, and that we should never separate ourselves from the leaders in our families.

The loss of one’s mother is truly a personal tragedy for anyone, no matter who you are, and I send out my condolences to Tyler and his family.

The following is a link to Tyler Perry’s e-mail message concerning the death of his mom today, and you can leave him a message of support there.

http://www.tylerperry.com/_Messages/

Follow the story here, as well as these trusted sites…

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

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9292523

#26.  The 25th Hour [2002]: Director Spike Lee entered into our national conscience with 1989’s Do the Right Thing.  As a movie about race-relations in the highly polarized Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, it remains quite possibly the most significant movie on race in at least my lifetime.  What followed were a series of gems (Malcolm X, He Got Game), and a few serious missteps.  Fortunately for Lee and everyone else that has come to enjoy his movies, he followed 2000’s woeful Bamboozled with The 25th Hour.  Among other things, Lee made his bones exploring largely racial issues; in a rare occurrence Lee steers away from the subject.

The movie centers around Montgomery “Monty” Brogan, played by Edward Norton.  Monty has recently been sentenced to prison for 7 years and is preparing to head upstate to serve his time.  The title refers to the focus of the movie, which is Monty’s last day as a free man.  With the aid of flashbacks, the movie follows Monty’s past as well as his last day as a free man, as he spends it with his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson), and his two best friends Jacob and Frank; played by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper, respectively.

Shot in the wake of the attack on the Twin Towers, The 25th Hour is as much a postcard to New York City as anything else.  But what really makes the movie work is Norton and his vulnerabilities as he slowly comes to terms with the realization that his life will soon drastically change.  In addition to Norton, there are strong performances here by Hoffman, and Ana Paquin who plays a high school student of Hoffman’s.  Playing that role in a way that only Paquin can, she creates real tension with Hoffman.

If, like me you are a huge fan of Lee’s work, than you will be pleasantly surprised to see that his directing chops are still in tact.  If not, you will no doubt be impressed with the movie but disappointed that you haven’t seen more from one of America’s best, if not important directors.

Spike Lee will receive the 20th Anniversary Mickey Mantle Community Service Award this week.

The filmmaker is being honored for leadership and inspirational work contributing to the betterment of his hometown and surrounding communities.

Spike Lee will receive the award on 9 December.

Today I woke up to the news that one of my African-American broadcasting heroes, Bryant Gumbel, is recovering from a bought with malignant lung cancer. Gumbel is 61 years young, and his presence in the broadcasting community has had a major impact for several years.

I call him a pioneer, because Bryant broke into the national media at a time when it was not too popular to have a black man in a leading position on the TV news, or even in Sports news, although more likely than not, African-Americans were dominating all of the popular American sports the moment we were allowed to compete against non-black athletes.

USA Today reports that…Gumbel was among the first announcers to cross over from sports to general entertainment. After working as a reporter and studio host for NBC Sports, he became an NBC Today show host. In recent years, he’s returned to TV sports including working as the NFL Network’s first play-by-play game announcer although he hadn’t previously called football games…

Bryant Gumbel defeated all of his competition to rise to the esteemed position as lead Host on the ”Today” show, on the NBC television network. He is credited with promoting Katie Couric and for mentoring current ”Today” show host Matt Lauer throughout their careers.

It is unclear to me if Bryant was a regular smoker of cigarettes, but he is known to enjoy a celebratory cigar from time to time, but there is no evidence that any of that is the cause of his cancer battle.

One does not have to be a smoker to develop lung cancer, but it is usually at cause for the disease.

Bryant Gumbel announced Tuesday morning that he had cancer surgery two months ago to remove a malignant tumor near his lung. The subject came up during a live taping of the  ”Live! with Regis and Kelly,” where Bryant is filling in this week for co-host Regis Philbin,who is undergoing hip replacement surgery, Gumbel brought it up to explain why he could not dance with co-host Kelly Ripa.

Needless to say, Kelly and the audience were stunned. Bryant said that he kept it away from his staff and close relationships, but he did tell his immediate family. The broadcaster is notoriously private.

The former ‘Today’ show anchor says he had a tumor and part of his lung removed two months ago.

He states that  he is seeing his surgeon next week.

“I’m hoping they greenlight me to play golf again,” he said.

http://wp.me/pEzT2-kk

Senator Harry Reid was correct to say that the Republican’s are resisting Health care reform much like the Democratic senator’s that were resisting the abolishment of slavery, prior to the Civil War.

They want us to not have health care, so that the majority of us will die off quickly and they are committed to our death from disease.

I applaud Senator Harry Reid, who is only speaking the truth, to those that already know that they hate us, as much as they loved slavery.

I am glad that Bryant has the financial ability to provide health care to his family and himself,and I encourage all men to go seek the highest level of medical care you are able to receive, even if you have to go to a free clinic.

Your family and future may depend on it.

Sources-

http://bossip.com/188206/bryant-gumbel-on-the-mend-after-cancer-surgery/

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2009-12-08-bryant-gumbel-lung-cancer-surgery_N.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/08/bryant-gumbel-cancer-anno_n_383844.html

and on that note (please add more)

- Darwin’s nightmare

- Promises

- When the levees broke

- King of Kong

- Dear Zachary

Working with sports footwear, or as Scoop Jackson would call them, gym shoes, on the daily, It’s easy to get very, very jaded, and lose sight of exactly what lured you into making them a profession of sorts. In my case it was a fluke. As with anything attracting disciples, there’s tiers of hoarders, collectors and fanboys who’ll pick a particular boomtime that was a cut-off when things were purer and the herbs were less involved.

With sports footwear it’s a tough one to call. Things are still mighty healthy, but the early ’00s was a point when the big brands truly capitalised on the cult of the collector, and when they entered the fray and saw the extra $$$ to be made, things went out of control. At time-of-blogging, visions of Jordan XI retros are on the mind – just as religious types can suffer a loss of faith, the avalanche of drivel has caused a few doubts lately, and to be excited about a release proves there’s still some personal mileage in the industry. But that shoe is a design that’s fourteen years old. It still looks fresh, but still, fourteen years. That things tailspinned from an aesthetic direction in favour of re-rubs of former classics is a debate that won’t be unleashed on this blog, bearing in mind that it was meant to be a sneaker-free spot. But hey, worlds are always going to collide on occasion.

Beyond the moans, early shots of DJ AM’s Dunk design, set for a posthumous release, show the handiwork of someone who loved shoes and knew enough about that overused silhouette to still identify a gap in releases for something fresh – it’s got a connoisseur’s touch about it that’s a break from the roll call usual celebrity squanderers. He had an ideal in mind for a classic, and the opportunity wasn’t wasted. That’s because AM knew his shit. Some of the best shoe-centric footage of him occurs in the shelved Wieden+Kennedy/Brand Jordan ‘Sneakerheads’ documentary from 2004. You know Thibaut de Longeville’s 2005 documentation ‘Just For Kicks’ – a textbook example of crowd (courtesy of some tight editing and great motion graphics) and connoisseur (thanks to some rare unearthed footage) pleasing storytelling, but ‘Sneakerheads’ deserves a spot too.

Seeing as it never made release, with some citing music clearance issues as the cause of the no-show (Scarface, Cannibal Ox and Jan & Dean are among the artists soundtracking a rough cut), what’s been seen on bootlegs which occasionally crop up on a certain auction site, is occasionally scrappy, but absolutely priceless. Me? Curiously I opt to watch it whenever I lose interest in the next bad artist series car crash, or pick Tricker’s over Air Maxes of a morning. I find ‘Sneakerheads’ cathartic – beyond the underlying air of weariness with the next wave of hypesters circa. 2002/3 that’s prevalent throughout, the essence of what brings a certain kind of (flawed?) character to this curious subculture is present, and it’s an essential document of why that interest will sustain, regardless of any number of big budget, mishandled knocks from the big guys.

The highlights? Given that Jordan Brand cash, that legendary line figures heavily for full segments. From Bobbito dismissing the first shoe as ugly to Ari Foreman pushing its cultural significance, to obsessives like Andre Lustina, with his car customised to match his cool grey XIs, down to marbled leather and suede inserts, non-stereotypical hoarders like Surgeon Todd Turner and Alan Mesa with their vast collections of game-worn pieces and player samples, plus Spike Lee talking signed XIs. Then there’s superior footage of a cigar munching Mike himself announcing that “there’s some mystery shit going on with that one” in regards to the then-unreleased Jordan XX.

Fat Joe, Rev. Run and Chuck D make appearances, but some of the most charismatic talking heads are the notorious collectors like DJ “If it’s green suede I need them” EMZ who shows off some PRO-Keds Royals and is keen to reinforce that you didn’t know about the suede Swoosh AF1 lows, and calls out Nelly, “Do you have these? Nooooo. Because you’re a new jack” and Adam AIR REV breaking out the classics, and get filmed hunting for deadstock after some history from Packer’s owner Martin Packer, digging out some fly Ellesses. Collector don-dada Chris Hall and Alex Retrokid make appearances, as do Sir Charles Barkley, Clark Kent, Fraser Cooke and Jon Shector. Interscope’s Chris Clancy concedes that while he’s got a serious Uptown artillery, “…AM is the guy. It bums me out.“

Getting plenty of screen time in front of an enviable wall of shoes, Adam’s passion shines through, claiming of sneakers that, “It’s a part of hip-hop that’s not in the four elements, but it’s an absolute important piece.” He was, and is that dude. That fanboy glint isn’t something that can be faked. He’s a contrast to the more jaded talk from A-Ron, “You have no choice. It’s a love hate thing with sneaker collecting“, and the amusing observations of Viz Avedian, “It’s a sick obsession if you ask me.” As queues form outside Foot Action for the grey/white Jordan III release, and outside NikeTown and NORT for the Espo AF2, tempers fray. The whole thing is bookended with  Alife’s Tony Arcabascio wandering around the looted Rivington Club post 2003 blackout, ultimately, it’s not the cheeriest documentation of the planet’s then spiralling sneaker habit. Perhaps that was the reason for the fact ‘Sneakerheads’ stayed unreleased.

Extra points for the appearances from Patta’s Edson, a particularly passionate Thomas Giorgetti dismissing those non-Italian made Jordan II retros, plus Crooked characters Mr. Steve Bryden and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him C-Law during the global segment.

There’s a sense that things rebooted around 2005. Go Google for the pieces that had you fiending in 2002 if you don’t believe me. Even the events, releases and attitudes of the early ’00s feel almost warm and cuddly compared to hard-nosed 2009 where cash is king. This of course, is the ill-judged nostalgia that overkill induces, but ‘Sneakerheads’ is an essential document of a bubble that seemed set to burst before filming had even finished – in rough cut form, it manages more in 78 minutes than most could ever manage. It’s a tough topic for a fickle crowd, but this needs an official release. R.I.P. AM.

While we all have different ‘favorite’ films in black cinema, it is my argument, using the criteria I’ve established (relevance to black culture, the legacy or shelf life of the project after the initial release, the actual craftmanship of the filmmaking, the degree to which the film was noticed/recognized by the mainstream, and the Apollo or ‘Wow’ moments that stand out from the project) one film stands as more important to black cinema than any other film made to this point.  It probably comes as little surprise that I feel the most important film has been made by black cinema’s most important filmmaker, Spike Lee.  After the production and response that came with the second most important black film, Do the Right Thing, Spike was well versed in the good and bad of controversy.

Because of that, there really wasn’t anyone more qualified than Spike to do a film about one of the most controversial and polarizing African-Americans in history.  For those of us who admire and respect him, the film is a fitting tribute to his greatness.  For those of you who ‘don’t get it’ or simply can’t stand him, you (as always) will find elements in Spike’s film to validate your point of view…

Kobe Doin’ Work is a 2009 Spike Lee documentary that shows us what a typical NBA game is like through the eyes of the best player of his generation, and one of the best ever, former MVP, four time NBA champion, and future first ballot Hall of Famer, Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bean Bryant.

Put down the cell phone.  Delete that hostile text message, email, or comment you were about to send me.  It’s called sarcasm people.  GOTCHA!!!

 OK, now I’ll ‘make it plain…’

Malcolm X is a 1992 Spike Lee film based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X.  Anchored by an Oscar worthy performance by Denzel Washington, the film is a 210 minute epic that rode in on a new wave of black nationalism, and in large part it delivered on the hype that surrounded it. 

On to the tale of the tape…

Relevance: 

Fade in from the Warner Brothers logo.  The introductory speaker hypes the crowd and introduces Malcolm.  Malcolm (Denzel), also in voiceover, starts in with a vicous tirade, charging the white race with all the genocide that’s happened throughout history.  The visual over this is two-fold: footage of the Rodney King beating that sparked the Los Angeles riots, and an American flag burning, until it forms an “X.”

Any questions?

Legacy:

If you want one reason why this is the most important black film made to this point, here is my argument:  Spike always had it in mind to make a 3 hour epic.  Warner Brothers had the money, they wanted a 2 hour movie tops.  Spike shot everything he wanted to shoot, put most of his salary back in the movie, hoping WB would get on board after the film was nearly done.  Nope.  Spike ran out of money, the bond company (i.e. the insurance if you’re not familiar with film lingo) wasn’t chipping in.  This project was dead.  So Bill Cosby, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Tracy Chapman, Prince, and Peggy Cooper-Cafritz gave Spike the money to finish the film.  Read that last sentence as many times as you need to.  Those were at the time, and continue to be some of the most wealthy and influential African-Americans of this or any other generation, and they all chipped in so Spike could finish his film.  Warner Brothers eventually manned up and provided the financing, but with the possible exception of the election of the last President of the U.S., there may never be a better example of a harmony between a philosophy (blacks supporting/investing in our own) and seeing that philosophy carried out.

Craft: 

“You see, Islam is the only religion that gives both husband and wife a true understanding of what love is.  The Western ‘love’ concept, you take it apart, it really is lust.  But love transcends just the physical.  Love is disposition, behavior, attitude, thoughts, likes, dislikes – these things make a beautiful woman, a beautiful wife.  This is the beauty that never fades.  You find in your Western civilization that when a man’s wife’s physical beauty fails, she loses her attraction.  But Islam teaches us to look into the woman, and teaches her to look into us.”

- From the Autobiography

I’ll be the first to admit it often gets lost in the shuffle of the politics and messages of this film, but on repeated viewings, it’s harder to ignore how well written and acted the relationship between Malcolm and Betty (Angela Bassett) is played out.  Although it’s obviously based on two real, high profile figures in black history, it still deserves to be mentioned among the best love stories in black film.  Their courtship is sweet and very high-school sweetheart-ish, she’s devoted to him and him to her.  When the people he’s representing stab him in the back, it’s his wife who calls him out on it and challenges him.  As played in the film, she is truly his best friend.  The revelation struck me so hard I asked a few of my happily married friends, “Is your wife your best friend?”, and they all answered without hesitation, “Absolutely.”  I have friends who are looking for their Claire Huxtable or Michelle Obama (the woman who can be bad by herself and together they will be a power couple).  And obviously, there is nothing wrong with that model in the least.  Personally though, I’m looking for my Betty Shabazz (as played by Angela Bassett):  loyal, nurturing, maternal, but who will challenge me without hesitation if I’m wrong or out of line.  A true ‘partner in crime’, or as the young people say, a woman who will ‘Make Me Better.’

Crossover: 

Absolutely; even today this might have been the most hyped black film made to date.  They were rocking X baseball caps in the suburbs; it wasn’t even politics, it was fashionable.  Denzel lost the Oscar to Pacino who won for ‘Scent of a Woman’.  Definitely a career Oscar, similar to when Denzel did finally win Best Actor…for ‘Training Day.’  Spike was still in his prime pissing Hollywood off in general, so no little golden men for him.  Still hasn’t gotten any; will be interesting to see if he gets the Scorsese treatment somewhere down the line.

Apollo:

The dead man walking sequence of Malcolm going to the Audobon.  It was the first time I remember hearing Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,”;  in all of black cinema there may never be a more perfect use of music with images.  But that’s just the beginning.  You have the cross cutting of Betty and the kids, the assassins, and the ‘Agency’ all converging on the Ballroom.  You have the signature Spike Lee ’shot’ of Malcolm floating down the sidewalk.  And the coup de gras is the nice bystander telling an exhausted Malcolm to keep ‘doing what he’s doing’, followed up with the line, “Jesus will protect you.”  And yes, I’ll admit personal bias here and say that line and Malcolm’s (Denzel’s) reaction is my single favorite shot/reverse shot in any film.

So there you have it.  Later this month, the most important black television show… 

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Name: Malcolm X
Release Year:  1992
Genre:  Biography, Drama, History
Cast: Denzel Washington, Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, Al Freeman Jr., Delroy Lindo, Spike Lee, Theresa Randle, Kate Vernon …
Director: Spike Lee
Language: English
Run Time: 160 min

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Description:

Biography of Malcolm X, the famous African American leader. Born Malcolm Little, his father (a minister) was killed by the Ku Klux Klan. He became a gangster, and while in jail discovered the Nation of Islam writings of Elijah Muhammad. He preaches the teachings when let out of jail, but later on goes on a pilgrimage to the city of Mecca, there he converts to the original Islamic religion and becomes a Sunni Muslim. He changes his name to El-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz and stops his anti-white teachings, as he realizes the error of his mistakes. He is later on assassinated and dies a Muslim Martyr.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104797/

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Werner Herzog and Christian Bale on the set of Rescue Dawn

In a column for the Guardian over the weekend, Joe Queenan used A Serious Man to stand in example of movies by directors which stand apart from the rest of their filmography. In the case of A Serious Man, Queenan writes:

A Serious Man falls into that category of films that, for whatever reason, do not have the same texture or mood as a director’s other films. It may be a decision the film-maker has made deliberately, or it may be entirely inadvertent, but these films stand apart from the other movies in a director’s body of work. It is as if the film-maker abruptly decided to take a holiday from his own personality and make a film in somebody else’s style.

He goes on to cite other examples of this theory for great directors. He notes Werner Herzog for Rescue Dawn (“…a well-crafted action picture. And nothing more.“), Spike Lee’s Inside Man (“…certainly doesn’t have the feel of any other Spike Lee film. It is work for hire.“) and Ang Lee with The Hulk (“…one of those catastrophes so bad that its sequel seems like the industry’s personal apology to the movie-going public for what has gone before.“)

He also cites a few examples of better one-offs, such as Scorsese’s Age of Innocence, Eastwood’s The Bridges of Madison County and, inexplicably, Peter Weir’s Green Card.

I’ll leave what he considers good or bad to the side (seriously though, Green Card?) and just comment on the mistake of characterising so many of these films as being far apart from the other work by directors.

A Serious Man may well seem on its face a distance from the defining work of the Coens (Fargo, Lebowski etc.), but the themes at its centre are perhaps as close to a distillation of their career as could be found. The central character is tortured by the world around him (see The Dude in The Big Lebowski, Llewellyn Moss in No Country for Old Men) for  the choices, or lack of decisions, he makes. The entire world in which the film is set seems to beset its citizen with acts of randomness, much in keeping with the nihilistic viewpoint that many detractors, and most supporters, of the brothers would see as an identifying feature of their work.

To wit, Dana Stevens’ review for Slate reads:

A Serious Man unfolds in a moral universe that’s recognizable from earlier Coen films. It’s a cruel and ultimately inexplicable place. What Anton Chigurh, Javier Bardem’s pitiless mass murderer, was to No Country for Old Men, the Hebrew God (whom the characters refer to with the respectful, indirect name of “Hashem”) is to this movie.

Whether you read this as a good or bad feature of the film, there is no doubt that A Serious Man very much fits into the Coens canon. The only difference is that it is so explicitly autobiographical, in the way that perhaps something like Barton Fink, which seems at least partly to reference their experience in working on Miller’s Crossing, never aims for.

Rescue Dawn, Queenan’s citation for Herzog, is another which seems out of step with his oeuvre at first, but the themes once more reveal themselves quite quickly. Specifically, the film entirely fits with Herzog’s fascination with nature as an unforgiving and beautiful foe. This strongly characterised masterpieces like Aguirre, The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo, notably in the second in which a man is constrained by nature in achieving his lifelong ambitions. Linked to those two films is the leading man choice.

Klaus Kinski, Herzog’s greatest on-screen collaborator, was both a genius and insane. He would push himself to levels of intensity almost unknown to most actors. Christian Bale, whilst probably not quite in the Kinski league, is a superb actor on his day. He is also a deeply committed performer. Witness the intense weight-loss undertaken for The Machinist, followed by bulking up for Batman Begins and then rinse-repeat for Rescue Dawn and The Dark Knight. Say what you will of Bale, but he wholly commits to Rescue Dawn.

In addition to that, to describe this as just a slick action film seems to wholly miss the personal aspects of the film. As a dramatic retelling of the story of Dieter Dengler, the subject of Herzog’s documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly, he was attempting to do justice to the story of a man he obviously admired greatly. Whether Queenan likes the film or not, there is no way to describe Rescue Dawn as just a tossed-off slice of popcorn entertainment.

I’ll take the point with Inside Man by Spike Lee – it probably does stand somewhat out of what most people would think of then they think about Spike Lee. By that, and I’m only assuming what Queenan was thinking with this film, this would entail that the film is not explicitly about American racial politics (though, as noted by Ruthe Stein, this does occur a bit) from the standpoint of African-Americans. That’s probably true, but that would be an act of pigeon-holing a director whose work stands well beyond themes of race. Specifically, perhaps more than being an explorer of racial issues, his great skill has often been in exploring New York. Inside Man, for me, stands alongside 25th Hour and Do the Right Thing as a great New York movie.

If you want to take a film from Lee which stands outside the realms of his standard work, try When the Levees Broke, his four-part HBO documentary on Katrina. Though definitely in keeping which exploring the (predominantly) black experience in America, the film has none of the overt political messages that Lee often attempts to hammer home in his work, instead allowing the imagery to speak for itself and letting the actions of the Bush administration hang the whole White House.

The last one to note is Hulk. This argument is much more personal than the others, because I remain one of around seven people in the world that like Hulk’s take on the superhero film. Even so, the themes of Lee’s other work, specifically personal identity, are writ large over the film.

I understand what Queenan was going for and I don’t want to just crap on his taste in film. I would strongly argue, however, that most of the films cited have much in common with other work done by their directors, you just need to dig deeper than the trailer to realise it.

Killing black women in south Los Angeles

In a case that is reminiscent of the police oversight in Cleveland, by being remise in their investigation of a series of missing women reports in the same neighborhood for over 15 years, they only recently were able to arrest convicted rapist Anthony Sowell for the killings.

http://wp.me/pEzT2-hC

As in the Cleveland serial killer case, the perpetrator was able to get away with his murderous rampages for several years, due to the fact that police departments around the country continue to fail to follow-up and thoroughly investigate the murders, or the missing case reports, of black women that they deem to be street trash.

In Los Angeles, we see that black women are treated like dirt, as compared to the way a white women would be assisted, and if they go missing, it is the top priority for the department.

We see that with the mishandling of the Mitrice Richardson disappearance by the Malibu Police Department, after they released her after she clearly was acting disoriented as if her life and safety did not matter.

http://wp.me/pEzT2-3R

In LA, the name of the serial killer is ‘The Grim Sleeper’. A citizens action group has been set up to keep a focus on finding and prosecuting this killer. In south LA, the police were not very quick to connect the dots to incriminate one killer.

The following is quoted from their website, http://www.blackcoalitionfightsback.org/, and I encourage you all to look at it and support their effort to capture this killer…

Because the killings were not connected as serial murders, the tragic enormity of the situation has been hidden and downplayed, and vital evidence, connections and patterns may have been missed.

 Public and media attention which would have been greater if the total numbers of deaths had been known, would have spurred the police into a more vigorous investigation. Lives might have been saved and the community better protected from further attacks.

The first set of murders was announced in the mid-1980s after eleven women had already been killed in a 40-mile radius in South L.A. The police falsely referred to the killer as the “Prostitute Slayer” a name then picked up by the press.

By the end of the 1980s the public was told that the murders committed by the South side Slayer were solved.

The police named the second set of murders the “Strawberry Murders” (a name given by LAPD because they said the victims were mainly women who exchanged sex for drugs). A Sheriff’s Deputy, Ricky Ross, was arrested and charged with three of the murders and then subsequently released for lack of credible evidence.

 After 11 dead victims and one surviving eyewitness, LAPD have finally re-released 1988 composite sketch of serial killer infamously known as the “Grim Sleeper.”

A well spoken, 20 or 30-year-old man began attacking women, typically those working as prostitutes in South Los Angeles in 1985. Police found fingerprints, DNA and other compelling evidence that point to the same killer. All victims, including the surviving woman, were shot with the same small-caliber gun.

One woman, ‘Enietra’ Margette, survived an attack in 1988. The alleged serial killer shot the victim in the chest and sexually assaulted her.

Families of several of the victims were never notified by law enforcement that their loved ones were killed by a serial murderer—and neither was the lone survivor of the attacks.

 Each was made to believe that it had been a random killer. Many families had to learn from press articles or from television! Crucial patterns of evidence have been missed.

The public is deeply disturbed by the lack of information released over the past 20 years. The  Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders challenged the LAPD to take more aggressive actions toward solving the cold cases.

According to reports, the police have recently released a 911 tape of witness who saw the driver of a van dump a body.

The Black Coalition begs the questions, “Why was so little done in 20 years to solve these murders?”

I know the answer to that is easy….”because it is easy for many in law enforcement to believe that black women are trash”….

Their treatment of our women proves this to be true.

Known Victims Of The Grim Sleeper

“This guy’s targeting people on the streets. Most of our girls have had issues with narcotics or prostitution, so it’s not so much that he’s creeping around, taking innocent mothers off the street. We suggest people just use caution when they’re out.”

“It’s the difference between the valuing of Black life versus the valuing of White life.

 Clearly if these were White women, as opposed to being Black women, especially if these were White women sort of in the working class, there would be an all-out onslaught. It would be national news … whether or not they were prostitutes,” said Atty. Gyamfi.

Family members of victims held a meeting with task force investigators to determine what else they didn’t know, like police had a composite sketch of the suspect but have never released it.

“They have a sketch that was done back in 1988 and that is something that normally you get out everywhere. You think about the Craig’s List killer, and how they had pictures of him and his head was always down or turned to the side. They didn’t care. They put that mess up and said if you have any information let us know,” she said.

And the 911 tape about Barbara Ware’s murder existed in the 1980s—but wasn’t made public until earlier this year.

LAPD is currently composing an updated sketch of the serial killer who may be in his late 40s to mid 50s now.

At the time of the eyewitness’s attack, the alleged murderer was described as well spoken, 20 to 30 years old, pockmarked face, between 5’8” to 5’10.” He was last seen driving an orange two-door 1970’s Pinto, hatchback with tinted windows and green interior.

Anyone with information is urged to contact 800 Task Force Detectives, Robbery-Homicide Division at (213) 473-0346 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. During non-business hours, call the Detective Information Desk 877-LAPD-247.

If the murders had not happened in South L.A. against working-class Black women but in Beverly Hills or some other affluent neighborhood would they have been handled with the same lack of care and seriousness, would they be so under-reported by the media?

What do you think?

Source…

http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and- rticles/news/2009/11/lapd_releases_sketch_of_1985_serial_killer.html

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_6366.shtml

2006: Inside Man di Spike Lee

Meritorio grande successo ai botteghini di tutto il mondo, lodi a non finire da parte della critica.

Prime sequenze: quattro persone travestite entrano nell’affollata hall di una prestigiosa banca. Nel giro di pochi secondi, i rapinatori sono padroni della situazione e in più con 50 ostaggi.
Cosa c’è di più visto sullo schermo? In più di cento anni di cinema quanti esempi di “bank robbery” (come dicono a Hollywood) sono stati realizzati?

Eppure qui ci troviamo di fronte a qualcosa di nuovo, qualcosa di molto originale e sorprendente. Non stupisce, visto chi è il regista.
Basandosi su un sceneggiatura particolarmente brillante ed intelligente (l’autore è un esordiente), Spike Lee ha diretto con evidente entusiasmo un film eccezionalmente non ricavato da un suo copione (il filmmaker afro-americano appartiene alla scuola “do it yourself”, “fa’ tutto da solo”). Non smentisce però la sua fama di realizzatore di lavori dinamici e controversi che smuovono il pubblico (e nell‘opera non manca la critica sociale: polizia, mass media, pregiudizi razziali…).
Inside Man (cioè “L’uomo che sta dentro”) non è un semplice tipico thriller: è un film che ti spinge a guardare dietro le apparenze, un film in cui niente è come sembra, un lavoro in cui le false piste abbondano e solo lentamente e gradualmente si comprende il perché le cose accadono.
Un poliziesco (ma forse è riduttivo definirlo tale) che finalmente non si basa su sparatorie e inseguimenti di auto, ma su una “idea”.
Un’opera «in cui nulla è vero ciò che sembra all’inizio, in cui nessun dettaglio è trascurabile, in cui nessun indizio è casuale» (sono le frasi di lancio del film e questa volta la pubblicità non mente).

Un lavoro che, se avesse avuto una maggiore stringatezza nella parte centrale, avrebbe potuto aspirare al titolo di piccolo gioiello del genere e che è senz’altro da consigliare agli amanti dell’intrattenimento puro che non obblighi il cervello al momentaneo letargo.
Il film è impreziosito da un montaggio serrato, una colonna sonora funzionale al massimo, una fotografia e una scenografia da dieci e lode.

Stellare il cast.
Da Denzel Washington (alla quarta collaborazione con il regista afroamericano, ma qui offre una performance semplicemente corretta limitandosi a rifare se stesso) a Willem Dafoe (con la sua sorprendente capacità di adattarsi completamente al ruolo che interpreta). I migliori in campo sono senza dubbio Clive Owen (sempre intenso e dalla presenza imponente, da molti critici giustamente avvicinato ad H.Bogart, R.Mitchum, S.Connery…) e Christopher Plummer (che dopo aver partecipato a più di cento film conferma la sua straordinaria bravura disegnando perfettamente il personaggio affidatogli). Dà lustro al film la presenza, sempre gradita, di Jodie Foster: appare in poche scene ma raramente l’abbiamo vista così seducente, sofisticata e sexi. Presenza magnetica la sua: poche attrici “riempiono” lo schermo come lei. 

pubblicato su Cinema4Stelle

sito ufficiale

Famed Director Spike Lee will be honored at an auction to benefit Children’s charity Camp Brooklyn this December.

Camp Brooklyn was founded by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who will present Lee with the 20th Anniversary Mickey Mantle Community Service Award.

The auction will raise funds for Camp Brooklyn, which gives children a chance to leave their urban environments, to learn about teamwork, loyalty, community service, responsibility, personal respect and other areas of development.

Lee is being honored for his ground breaking film work in addition to his on going community service in Brooklyn and the greater New York area.

Items being auctioned include a walk on role in Lee’s next movie, a Bruce Springsteen signed acoustic guitar, a 4-day Carnival cruise, sailing from New York and an Alex Rodriguez No. 13 autographed New York Yankee’s pin-striped jersey.

Also being honored during the event is Citi Bank executive, Denise Arbesu. The fund raiser takes place December 9th at Mickey Mantle’s restaurant in New York City.

Tickets to the fund raiser are $200 and admission is open to the general public.

All proceeds will benefit Camp Brooklyn efforts to raise funds to send over 400 children to camp in 2010.

A sexy new music video from Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.

The song is called ‘Video Phone’.

I love how provocative the outfits are….this is Beyoncé on fire…and we already know Lady Gaga likes to literally set the stage on fire.

Spike Lee’s third film takes place on the hottest day of the summer in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York.  I heard Spike say in an interview this week that while he didn’t know what he was doing on his first film, She’s Gotta Have It, and was finding his way with School Daze, with this film he finally felt like a ‘director’.  And it shows.

On to the tale of the tape…

Relevance:  Fade in on a solo jazz version of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”  Follow that up with Rosie Perez working it out to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” as the opening credits kick in.  And that’s (literally) just the beginning…

Legacy:  Yes, this was the film debut of Rosie Perez and Martin Lawrence, but is that really the first thing you think about with this film?  As noted, this wasn’t Spike’s first film, and there were (and continue to be) black independent films with equally strong messages.  But moreso than any other film of its generation, Do the Right Thing really put Spike Lee and modern black cinema on the map. 

Craft:  You know how you can watch a lot of 80s movies today and cringe at how dated they feel?  Not this film.  The 80s elements here feel (as they do in many classic films) as snapshots of the time they were created.   Radio Raheem’s massive boom box.  The box haircuts of Raheem and Mookie.  The conversation about how certain black celebrities (and now President’s?) go beyond the racist definition of what a ‘n—er’ is.  And how about the cast list?  Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Harris, Danny Aiello, John Turturro, Frank Vincent…yes sir!  And that’s just the talent in front of the camera!

Crossover:  In a big way.  The film was nominated for Oscars and Golden Globes, it made noise at the Cannes Film Festival, it was widely regarded as one of (if not) the best film of the year.  Kim Basinger made a point at the Oscars to tell the worldwide audience that it’s a shame that Do the Right Thing wasn’t nominated for Best Picture.  (And it was a shame.  Spike’s never been close to winning an Oscar, how is that possible?)  Anyway, the moral of the story is Spike Lee had arrived.

Apollo:  In the event you the reader haven’t seen the film yet, I won’t ruin the biggest ‘Apollo’ moment of the film.  Instead I’ll focus on the film’s coda:  two very good quotes.  The first from Dr. King, which references his belief that an eye for an eye eventually leaves everyone blind.  The second from Malcolm, which argues that self-defense is not violence; as a matter of fact it’s common sense.  The film does not in an explicit way express which way ‘is the right thing,’ it’s up to the viewer to decide for him or herself.  An argument that can continue into infinity…

The film countdown ends shortly…

Breaking News- Legendary golf champion Tiger Woods has been seriously injured in a car accident in florida.

The AP reports Tiger hit a fire hydrant and a tree near his Florida home, authorities said.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the PGA star hit the fire hydrant and tree as he pulled out of his driveway in his 2009 Cadillac sport utility vehicle. His airbags did not deploy, and he was not wearing his seatbelts, which is a violation of Florida law.

Woods was taken to Health Central Hospital. Officials there did not have record of him as a patient, though the news release said Woods’ injuries were serious.

Tiger Woods is 33 years old, married and has two children.

It is being reported that alcohol was not a cause for this crash. The crash is currently under investigation, and charges are pending based on the findings of the investigation.

As news breaks on this story, we will be updating this post.

Let’s all send Tiger our best wishes for a speedy recovery, and for better days in the future…

For more information on Tiger Woods, click on the links below…

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

http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2009/11/tiger-woods-in-serious-condition-after-car-crash.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/27/tiger-woods-injured-in-ca_n_372324.html

These are dope.

Manhattan (Woody Allen – 1979 – EUA)

Eu fiquei um pouco frustrado em rever Manhattan, porque lembrava dele como o meu Woody Allen preferido. Ainda é um belo filme, mas falta uma certa maturidade emocional nele. Allen demonstra aqui uma boa compreensão de como funcionam relacionamentos. É fácil de entender e acreditar na aproximação dele com Diane Keaton (os dois tinham mesmo boa química). Mas seu filme permanece num nível racional demais, há dor e emoção de menos nos desencontros amorosos.

A relação mais passional do finme é do cineasta e do fotógrafo (o grande Gordon Willis, praticamente co-autor de Manhattan) com a cidade em si – são planos e mais planos de grande beleza. Allen só se interessa pelo que seu lar tem de mais bonito (ao contrário de Scorsese, Spike Lee, etc), mas é sincero em seu amor.

Hannah e Suas Irmãs – (Woody Allen – 1986 – EUA)

Aqui sim, Woody Allen retrata as dúvidas do ser humano diante da vida e das grandes questões, equilibrando com perfeição drama e humor. Seus vários personagens frequentemente pensam uma coisa (em off) mas fazem outra – é muita engraçada a cena em que Michal Caine beija sua cunhada de surpresa. Woody Allen, como ator (em uma de suas melhores interpretações), interage pouco com o resto do elenco.

Seu personagem, um angustiado hipocondríaco, tem as melhores piadas do filme e sua busca pelo sentido da vida e provas da existência de vida após a morte serve como reflexo do que no fundo todos os outros personagens buscam. Pois é disso que se trata: seres humanos procurando uma direção e companhia para suportar incertezas (mesmo relações extraconjugais). Por não depender de ninguém, Hannah (Mia Farrow) é a última a entender isto. Grande filme!