Slingshot Hip-hop, a documentary about Palestinian hip-hop artists struggling and surviving amdist the Israeli occupation is having a one-night benefit screening this Saturday (January 31) at the University of Washington. Director Jackie Reem Salloum and hip-hop artists Abeer (Sabrina da Witch) and Mohammed Al Farra will be in the building. After party at Hidmo with the homie Gabriel Teodros. (more…)

Sigaw (2004) | dir. Yam Laranas | 112 min | Philippines (Tagalog)

Is there any life left in the Asian horror genre for the American market to (have enough profit incentive to) steal from? Nothing since The Ring or The Grudge has found the same success. The Philippines has made some decent horror (Halimaw Sa Banga, Gerry De Leon’s 50′s joints) but has only recently jumped on this newer, stylized Asian psych-horror bandwagon. Of these flicks, Sigaw (2004) was singled out for an American remake (The Echo) that apparently has been filmed but I haven’t heard much of recently. Did we come to the party too late?

Ideally, Sigaw itself would get the recognition (and criticism) it deserves with or without a remake, but sadly, it doesn’t work that way. So I guess I’ll have to play the role of that guy who rides for the original even if no one’s listening, while inadvertently doing publicity for the remake – a win-win for everybody.   (more…)

Not just a dude who happens to be black, or half-black, but actually black. Which, according to this Chicago Tribune article  (“Obama’s ways cool to some, new to others” Jan. 27, 2009), is the primary source of his “coolness.” And that’s why we rap music-listening, athlete-adoring, multicultural 60s-80s babies love him so much. Explaining this phenomenon to America, writer Dahleen Glanton interviews several experts on the Black and cites physical evidence revealing Obama’s blackness:

Recently during a visit to Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington, Obama paid his bill and answered “We straight” when the waitress asked if he wanted change back. And in introducing First Lady Michelle Obama at several balls, he referred to her as “the one who brung me.”

When greeting men he knew, Obama often exchanged the “brotherhood clasp,” grabbing the other’s hand, pulling shoulders together and slapping the back. It is a gesture that was born in the hip-hop culture, and for many men, it is considered more masculine than hugging and more personal than a handshake.

“It is a cultural hug that transcends race, shows affection, camaraderie and respect,” said Benjamin Chavis, former executive director of the NAACP who now is the president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network. “It says to a man that I not only am glad to see you, but I respect you.”

read the whole article…

Now, the article is definitely written for a mass (read: white or clueless, usually both) audience but this shit is realer than real. It’s essentially a watered down and cleaned up version of what Jeezy was saying in “My President is Black.” And bound to happen at some point in American history anyway. It’s just crazy to see that day actually come to pass. So now what?

Doubt (2008) | wr. & dr. John Patrick Shanley | 104 min | USA

Apparently, Oprah Winfrey had lobbied to play the role of Sister Aloysius but director John Patrick Shanley was having none of it. And why should he when he has a Legend to work with instead? Of course, Meryl Streep kills it as the ice-cold nun in a role which, combined with her track record and name, is adding even more thespic awards to the pile. It’s her presence that makes it possible for a dude with only one directing credit to his name (the forgotten Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan rom-com Joe Versus the Volcano) to make a movie worth sitting through. Thing is, the movie almost becomes about her – or, more specifically, her face. 

For 90 minutes, that face goes to war with Philip Seymour Hoffman’s face. It’s theater on film, with a dark 1960s vibe playing like a Hitchcock joint but without the self-awareness and death. Hoffman, who’s always looked like a pedophile since I’ve seen him in Happiness (2000), plays Father Brendan Flynn. He drinks, smokes, thinks the church should be “more friendly” and likes the company of boys. He’s the perfect adversary for a feudal-conservative ice queen who hates anything created after the 1700s: ballpoint pens, cough drops, and popular music. Thrown in the mix is the internally-struggling fencerider Sister James (Amy Adams), who sways back and forth between sides, sometimes mediating the simplified, non-partisan liberal/conservative, traditionalist/progressive conflict. Add a sprinkle of gender and racial contradictions and a dash of 1960s periodical references (JFK, transistor radios, the “first black kid to go to…”) and voila! (more…)

Few surprises here, except perhaps a blackfaced Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder) for Best Supporting Actor and the miraculous rise of The Reader despite a nonexistent buzz (has anyone besides an Academy member seen this?). (more…)

Apparently bored with rap (I can relate, sometimes) and sitting on $100 million from his VitaminWater investment (can’t relate at all), 50 Cent has announced from the Sundance Film Festival that his newly-formed Cheetah Visions media company has acquired eight scripts including a joint called The Dance, starring him and Nicholas Cage.

This year, 50 himself will star in and direct the feature length film Before I Self Destruct to coincide with the release of his new album of the same name.

Part of me is skeptical. Ok, a big part. But I’ll withhold judgment on a fellow rapper who wants to do other things than just rap. Plus, I can’t front – Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005) was very entertaining.

In other rapper/film news, Hammer To Nail gives the Lil’ Wayne documentary premiering at Sundance, The Carter, a glowing review. 

via The Obenson Report

Watching the inauguration on TV this morning, my four-year old son exclaimed “it’s like a movie!” Not so much said in awe, but almost as if to ask, why? Yes, son, it’s finally here: the long-awaited final episode of The Best TV Mini-Series Ever. A climax and resolution to end a perfectly scripted, photographed, acted and marketed production, a landmark in American, and global, television history. Broadcast live, as it has been for the past year, in glorious HD. (more…)

I was this close to hitting Park City for the weekend after our Wednesday night show in Wyoming (yes, Wyoming). We also apparently have a song playing in one of the features. But alas, I have more music to make and more movies to not watch. So if you’re there, holler with an on-location report. Thankfully, for the rest of us, Sundance is branching out into the world of free downloadable shit. 

Swiped from my dude Cesar’s new animation blog, Art of the Cartoon:

 
For anyone interested, iTunes has 10 Sundance 2009 Short Films available for download for FREE!!! (act now, it’s free until January 25, 2009).

Here is the list of short films on iTunes with descriptions:

Acting for the Camera —An acting class. Today’s scene: the orgasm from ‘When Harry Met Sally.’

Countertransference —A comedy about an awkward woman with assertiveness problems who seeks the questionable help of a therapist.

HUG—Drew is a musician with a contract ready to sign. When Asa, his friend and manager, realizes Drew is off his meds the across-town drive to sign the contract becomes significantly more complicated.

Field Notes From Dimension X: Oasis —Captain Fred T. Rogard muses in isolation on planet Oasis.

From Burger It Came —An animated film that recounts early 1980s-era Cold War fears of a young boy in middle America. Using a variety of techniques, the visual narrative is colorfully assembled over semi-documentary audio conversations between a grown adult recounting his fears and his mother’s memory of the time and her own concerns.

I Live In The Woods —A Woodsman’s fast-paced journey, fueled by happiness, slaughter, and a confrontation with America’s God.

Instead of Abracadabra—Tomas is a little bit too old to still be living with his parents, but his dream of becoming a magician leaves him with no other option.

James—A young man grapples with the impulses and thoughts about being gay.

Magnetic Movie—Natural magnetic fields are revealed as chaotic ever-changing geometries, as scientists from NASA’s space sciences laboratory excitedly describe their discoveries.

This Way Up—Laying the dead to rest has never been so much trouble.

Go here to get them: http://www.itunes.com/sundance. (iTunes account and software required)

I’ll be watching these from the bathroom. In about 10 days, I’ll let yall know if I liked something. Wyoming, stand up!