[whoDean]

I really liked Midnight in Paris, the flashbacks and cultural references were great, the real life part not so great.

[King Mob]

Saw Super 8, it was pretty entertaining. A contemporary Goonies.

[The King]

I finally saw The Fighter. Bale was GREAT. Did he win an Oscar for that role? I don't remember. Bale's range is off the friggin charts.

Does Walhburg ever play a different character then the one he played? He's always this shy, nice guy, puppy dog type. I have seen that act too many times before from him.

[ThaMaestro]

Bale was brilliant in the fighter! I was blown away from the get with him. I'm a fan of Marky Mark the actor, he's been bad in a couple thing recently, but for the most part he holds his own.

[The King]

It's harder than you think to play a crack addict. He just nailed that.

[Stefan S]

The Newest Sports Guy column on film stars, specifically Will Smith: Bill Simmons on Ryan Reynolds, Will Smith, and the perception of success in Hollywood - Grantland

[King Mob]

Weigh in on First Class, Money!

[RugbyPike#11]

Nation Somehow Failed To Predict Attack By Michael Bay | Onion News Network

[Stefan S]

I just saw "Crazy, Stupid, Love".

In essence, it's a chick flick that will make you and your sweetheart feel good and mushy (which, usually, leads to other good things upon a return home). Some situations are exaggerated to a degree of implausibility that should not be allowed even in a comedy. But it's all light hearted, funny, and well acted. So, definitely thumbs up.

Over all, about 4 (out of 5).

[Stefan S]

Spike Lee's 'She's Gotta Have It' Turns 25
Grown and sexy: The director's daring film changed the game in Hollywood -- and assumptions about black women's sexuality.
By: Salamishah Tillet
Posted: August 4, 2011 at 1:55 AM\

On the hot night of Aug. 8, 1986, a line of young black people wrapped around the corner of New York City's Cinema Studio 1, eager to catch Spike Lee's much-buzzed-about debut feature film, She's Gotta Have It. Eighty-five hot and sexy minutes later, they weren't disappointed with Lee's cinematic achievement.

The following day, the New York Times review said that the movie "has a touch of the classic." And the Washington Post praised its "rare quality: a sense of place."

She's Gotta Have It is now cinema and book history, but back then, a 29-year-old Lee, wunderkind director and NYU film-school graduate, turned the Hollywood establishment upside down by setting the film in black Brooklyn, shooting it in 12 days on a starting budget of $20,000 (the final budget was $175,000), securing a distribution deal with Island Pictures, winning the Prix de Jeunesse at Cannes and grossing more than $7 million that year.

The provocative heroine of his film, Nola Darling, and its taboo subject matter, a black woman's sexual independence, marked a radical departure from anything ever seen on the American screen before. In the words of cultural critic and director Nelson George, who was one of the film's early financiers, on Aug. 8, 1986, "the first successful black cult film" was born.

A Revolution in Black Film

Twenty-five years later, it's clear that She's Gotta Have It was a hit for so many reasons. The plot, featuring a young woman, Nola (Tracy Camilla Johns), and the three lovers who courted her -- the romantic poet, Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks); the narcissistic model, Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell); and the now-iconic hip-hop bike messenger, Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee) -- might have been anticipated by the prose of Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. The sexual context and contests of Lee's movie, however, were unchartered waters in black cinema.

...

Good read, but much too long to post here in its entirety:
Spike Lee: She's Gotta Have It 25th Anniversary

[T-Dot]

Beats Rhymes & Life

The Tribe Called Quest documentary by Michael Rappaport

You cant consider yourself a b-boy without watching this & lovin it

[tin mad dog]

Cool...

[T-Dot]

how do you embed youtube videos here?

[tin mad dog]

Click on "Go Advanced" and there's a Youtube button.

You then cut and paste from the youtube URL, the part after the first = sign.

[T-Dot]

[The King]

Busta's verse in that Chris Brown song has to be one of the sickest flows in years.

[The King]

Michael Rapaport made the Tribe movie.

[Dave Bing]

This is pretty awesome:

[Money23]

Originally Posted by King Mob

Weigh in on First Class, Money!

Well, it was excellent, for sure. I totally went into it with low expectations, just like you, and was very pleasantly surprised. A lot of the action stuff was very original, script was good, acting was above average for a comic book film. Wish they were all handled the way that movie was.

Like Super 8 a lot, too. Like you said, modern Goonies, with some Monster Squad type stuff, too.

[tin mad dog]

Why is there a Spiderman movie coming out next summer that is retelling how he becomes Spiderman? A little early for a remake of a successful franchise, isn't it?

[ThaMaestro]

$$$$$$$$$

[tin mad dog]

I don't know about that. Why didn't they just have the new guy playing Spidey take over in a new story* instead of retelling the other one? 10 years just doesn't seem long enough to gain that much of a new audience.


*- I never saw Spiderman 3 so I don't really know if they left room for a sequel.

[tin mad dog]

Yesterday, I went to a movie theatre for the first time in about 6 months. I saw The Descendants. It was very good but had a heavy subject matter. There were still some light moments as well.

I recommend seeing it.

[tin mad dog]

Pretty cool:

"What if..." Movies reimagined for another time & place on the Behance Network

[Dave Bing]

Some of those were pretty clever. THanks for the hit.

[Medz]

Those were good.

Drive was my favorite movie of the year. Really well done on all levels.

[Money23]

Drive is excellent. A really surprising movie. Albert Brooks is amazing. Not really surprised that Gosling didn't get an Oscar nomination because even though he's great in the movie, he kind of always plays that kind of character, but Brooks' is a flat out snub.

My favorites of 2011 are Hugo and I Saw the Devil. Polar opposites in tone, but extremely effective.

I think maybe some of the best acting of the year is from Red State. Michael Parks is excellent in that movie, especially his 12 minute "sermon". Chilling.

[Money23]

Anyone see Attack the Block? Pretty fun flick. I think it compares favorably with the much higher budgeted Super 8.

[Charlie]

So this new ridley Scott movie.. I understand its a prequal of sorts to alien.. so anyone know if the aliens are in it? Any guesses?

[Money23]

From what I understand, it's evolved into more than just an "Alien" prequel, but from seeing some of the screenshots they've released, it definitely seems to be dealing with at least similar material. Seems like maybe the humans would be the aliens, in the scenario? Leaving Earth to fight elsewhere? Looks interesting, anyway.

[tin mad dog]

Originally Posted by Money23

Anyone see Attack the Block? Pretty fun flick. I think it compares favorably with the much higher budgeted Super 8.

You mean that's not the sequel to Stomp the Yard?

[Money23]

Ha! Nope.

[tin mad dog]

I enjoyed Super 8.

[Stefan S]

I saw "safe house" last weekend, because I sort of like Denzel. (I know, he always plays the same cop-character, still...).

Disappointing! Most of it are multiple action sequences shot from multiple cameras and so on. I'm a bit too old for this style of shooting, I like long shots so I can discern who is who and what happens.

Also, the intrigue and characters do not develop much.

Long time ago, there was a movie "3 Days of Condor" with Robert Redford, based on a similar premise. It's much better in every respect.

[Dave Bing]

Three Days of the Condor is great.

[Stefan S]

Originally Posted by Dave Bing

Three Days of the Condor is great.

Maybe even better than the book, entitled "Six days of the Condor." At least, I liked the movie much more.

The middle scenes with Faye Dunaway (including "her" brilliant black and photos and the whole story about loneliness and finding some solace in helping a stranger in need) add an entirely new dimension to the movie, really elevate it to yet anther level

[Dave Bing]

Shame it wasn't in 3D. And a few more explosions would have been nice.

[Stefan S]

... also, if we were to simplify the plot and characters to barest bones, we would pretty much have the "Safe House."

actually, was there even one explosion in the Condor?

[tin mad dog]

I saw The Hunger Games yesterday. I have not read the books but I enjoyed it. I did feel there were some elements left out. Stuff they talk about earlier, before the games have started, but then you really don't get to see those things played out.

[ThaMaestro]

I think they'll fill in more of those blanks in the sequel. I enjoyed the movie and thought they did a good job with the adaption from the book. In the books Katniss narrates it and you hear her thoughts on everything and why certain things are happening, which you do not get in the movie. They did a clever job not spoon feeding you some of the information and letting it come out more naturally.

I enjoyed reading the series. It's a very easy read. I got through all three in a week.

[tin mad dog]

This isn't new but the failure that was the Star Wars prequels is always topical.

This guy breaks it down in an often humorous, sometimes stupid (with the side show) way. Actually, Money might like the horror movie aspect. I'm only linking Part 1.:

[Dave Bing]

This is some of the most beautiful stop-motion that I have ever seen. And a very poetic, philosophic narration. Def worth 8 minutes.

THE EAGLEMAN STAG on Vimeo