Despite some of the rumblings online about the show, I have really been digging HBO's 'How To Make It In America'. Mostly because of the NYC backdrop, but also because I see so many of my friends in the various characters. If you haven't seen it, try to check it out this weekend. I love.
Anyway, one would think that I am crushing on Cam, the charming and disgustingly cute Dominican boy. Alas, you are wrong. As much as I love my fellow platanos, I am really on Team Ben. I have a real soft spot for white boys who love hip hop, hang out in both sketchy and popular places, and look like they need an extra plate of arroz con habichuelas in their lives. What I really love about his character is his outfit -- the plaid shirt (maybe vintage?), skinny jeans, Nike dunks (I'm assuming. They never show his kicks but doesn't it feel like he's rocking some bright colored Nike dunks?) and that army jacket. Oh, that army jacket.
I like 10 Deep's version, especially the embellishment on the back. After all, who doesn't want a little Team Ben in their lives? Get this for your man at karmaloop.
If you have followed us from our multiply.com days, you probably know that I stalk Little Rooms. Not only does Ester have amazing style, but her jewelry is well-made, not super expensive, and unique in that strangers-on-the-street-wanna-holler-at-my-accessories kinda way. Too bad I hate hate hate strangers. And being hollered at. But that's neither here nor there.
After purchasing the Entry Lock Double Finger Ring, I was highly anticipating Little Room's Thornwall Collection to drop. Ester was keeping me posted on some of the designs she was working on, which was making me anxious (how the heck is she going to pull off a double finger ring of a bridge with cars on it?). But this chica is just so talented that I wanted every single piece.
I just received my House Ring and let me tell you -- hot fire. I am about to go on a road trip and this will probably be the only piece of jewelry I will take with me (well, besides my wedding ring. Can't have people hollering AND thinking I'm a single gal).
As I've said before, I love me some eye make-up. Oh yes, I do not care if I look like the Latina-version of Homey D. Clown, I will wear eye make-up forever and ever. Since I am pretty obsessed with Cover Girl's clear mascara, I thought I would give this new product a try.
That's not entirely true - I was convinced by Drew Barrymore, CG's spokesperson. Who doesn't want to look like Drew?
I bought Silver Sky a combo with a silver base and a dark purple liner. The color looks great in the package and is pretty consistent with the color make-up that I normally wear. I have very mixed feelings about this thing. It looks great on initially, but it takes a lot of steps to get it to stay put. First of all, I had to rub the tip (be easy) with my thumb to take off the waxy covering. Next, I needed an eyeshadow base or it would not stay on at all. Then, it never ever lasts past my morning coffee.
However, the liner end is hot fire. I loved the darker color, the easy application and ability to blend.
Oh! The base part of my tube broke off. BROKE! I can't believe I almost forgot that tidbit.
In summary - skip it. Go for one of Cover Girl's eyeshadow palettes and just call it a day.
I really wanted to love this movie, not just like it; but at the end of the day, I kind of just tolerated it. It wasn’t bad. If Brooklyn’s Finest is a BIG and Jay track, then the movie is more like the ODB (RIP, Dirt McGirt) of movies. It ain’t Brooklyn’s Finest, but it’s definitely aight at times. Shall I explain… ‘member that time ODB was on TV and picked up those foodstamps? Well, that’s Brooklyn’s Finest – the movie. In fact, it would’ve been more appropriate to name it Brooklynnnnn Zuh!
Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, King Arthur – both vastly superior films to this one and both worth owning a legit copy of, like I do) and written by newbie Michael C. Martin (WHERE BROOKLYN AT? – That’s not a movie; it’s what we say when we’re shouting out people from the Planet of Brooklyn like Mike Martin, but you should already know this.“Where Brooklyn At?”That SHOULD be a movie… hmmm… I’m keeping that one. Copyright by ImThatDude). At least I didn’t hate it like the black bourgeois chicks that I overheard as they left the theater cussing you and the Mike out about how Black folks are portrayed in these films – they went so far as to say this is your modus operandi (ie, Training Day). In fact, I gave you an extra star because it can’t be that bad if those man-hating Precious-deifying heifers hated the flick.
Brooklyn’s Finest stars Don Cheadle (Devil in a Blue Dress, Hotel Rwanda), Richard Gere (Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, and something about a gerbil), Ethan Hawke (Training Day, Daybreakers), Wesley “Sit ya $5 ass Down ‘fore I Make Change” Snipes (Mo Better Blues, Passenger 57), Vincent D’Onofrio (The Cell, Men in Black), Ellen Barkin (This Boy’s Life, Oceans Thirteen), AND… SHANNON KANE (Blood and Bone, formerly of All My Children). Shannon. Oh, Shannon. You’re too good for roles like this. In case you forget, Shannon, I’m willing to bet you have a couple more in your future and I will be sure to remind you then, too.
IF YOU MUST KNOW:
This is a story about a few cops and a few criminals and the thin blurry line betwixt the two in Brooklyn.
Caz (Snipes) is fresh out the bing (translation – jail) and Tango (Cheadle), running partner from the “bing” has been holding down the fort for his drug empire (I use the term empire in the way cats around my way in Bed-Stuy do, $50K per day for the entire criminal enterprise does not an empire make, but… whatever).(NOT A SPOILER) Tango’s really an undercover cop trying to get the eff out from his undercover job that is causing significant strain on his psyche and in his relationships (on both sides of his identity) but the pigs want just a little more for him. They want to bring down Caz. Uh oh! They want their undercover cop to bring down the criminal who is the head of the gang that said cop has infiltrated. I don’t know about you, but I’m as shocked about this as Tango!
Sal (Hawke) is the classic Catholic NY cop character with financial problems struggling to make ends meet because he doesn’t believe in condoms or vasectomies. I’m serious. This dude would give Lil Wayne or any professional basketball player a run for their money on the kid count (if it wasn’t for the fact that his kids all have the same mother). Sal’s desperate to move his family (9-ish, I think – I kind of lost count) into a bigger house where his kids can have their own rooms and a yard, etc. All I have to say to Sal is…
And, Eddie (Gere). Eddie. Officially, if I ever have a child, I will not name him anything that even remotely rhymes with Eddie – this cat was such a damned puddin’ it was sickening. Eddie’s the old cop a few days shy of retirement and forced to take on a rookie as a training exercise for the department. Of course, Eddie’s just trying to skate by with a major case of blue-senioritis, until he gets that pension he’s been waiting on for 22 long years of days. Long story short, Ed’s a bitch who seems to be entirely too separated from experiencing life with the minor exception of Chanel (Kane) – and you can’t count that, because if you have to pay for it… I mean… really… I guess it’s http://www.snopes.com/risque/homosex/gerbil.asp>better than a gerbil though, eh, Richard? Not that there’s anything wrong with falling for somebody that looks like this:
But damn, dude. She was a ho. No. An actual whore - pronounced “who-uh.” Did I mention that she’s too good for this kind of role? Because she is.
Overall, I really liked the voices of the characters and the flow of the dialogue. Leave it to a Brooklyn cat to be good at writing the voices of Brooklyn cats (which is way harder than it may seem), but the story was lacking. Right down to the ultra-violent climactic interweaving of each of these three officer’s lives. It was a bit contrived, which takes away from the story. Sure, it didn’t help that I was in the theater with a couple of crying babies and for some odd reason their parents didn’t believe in the use of pacifiers – which shouldn’t have surprised me considering they dragged their bum ass kids to a violent rated sexually explicit movie with lots of adult language. That’s wrong. They didn’t drag their bum ass kids out to the movie… they pushed them in a stroller. I’m nothing, if I’m not honest. It also didn’t help that I had three dummies sitting behind me guessing wrong about every minor detail in the movie; but the simplicity and lack of originality in the characters wasn’t lessened by the audience.
Like I said. I liked the verisimilitude of the character’s speech, despite how unreal everything else about these characters turned out to be. That and the fact the Black Crusaders (Tracy Jordan, 30 Rock reference) were calling for a boycott demands that I give this movie a little more credit than I ordinarily would. Sometimes, movies just don’t work out right no matter what ingredients you have or how well closely you try to follow the recipe. Cheadle was Cheadle – excellent and understated. Wesley (if we overlook his craptastic corn rows) was the old Wesley – the one we like, not the tax dodging black woman dissing straight to DVD movie making guy we’ve known this last decade plus. Gere was properly cast. Ethan Hawke – EH! (well, let’s just say I find the fact that those are his initials ironic given his performance, but that’s uncharacteristic of him – so he gets a pass). Ellen Barkin was stellar for the five minutes she was onscreen.
Decent flick. Better on DVD than the big screen, but good enough for the big screen.
ThatDude gives Brooklyn’s Finest: 3
RATING SYSTEM:
1. They make crap this pure? 2. Couldn’t be more under-whelmed. 3. Not too shabby, I won’t ask for my money back. 4. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good./Worth the 12 bucks. 5. Why are you reading this and not seeing this movie? Jackass.
Can African American actors win an Oscar for playing a positive character?
Will Mo'Nique stop yelling now that she won an Oscar?
Are you ready for the new season of the Boondocks in May?
Have you seen “How to Make it in America” on HBO? Its kind of like the east coast version of Entourage. Kind of like how the movie “Juice” is to “Boyz in the Hood”.
Is Ben Roethlisberger the white Michael Irvin/Pacman Jones off the field?
Did you see Hurt Locker?
Do you feel bad for Chris Brown’s sagging record sales and airplay?
Does anyone believe that Tiger’s wife did not beat him up for cheating on her?
When was the last time that Saturday Night Live was this consistently funny?
Should Michael Jordan change the name of the Charlotte Bobcats to reflect his legacy?
How many more celebrities will die as a result of illegal prescriptions? RIP Corey Haim, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger etc…
How Green are you?
Are you excited about the Ipad? Tell me how it is.
With Lil Wayne finally going to jail, will we have some Lil Wayne-free radio time?
Why didn’t people watch Conan O’Brian when he was on TV?
Is the Matt Damon movie the “The Green Zone” just a spinoff of the Bourne Identity series?
Eric Masa? Tickling? Really?
Has Americas Best Dance Crew run its course?
Will Obama ever get anything passed? Will they let him?
So the state of Texas gets to decide what’s in our textbooks? Have you seen the new revisions?
Do you know who Wes Moore is? Check out the book “The Other Wes Moore”.
Did we forget about Haiti yet?
Is anyone else nervous when they see a new Toyota driving down the street or alongside you?
Did anyone else watch curling during the Olympics?
Why did CBS update the March Madness closing theme of One Shining Moment to be performed by Jennifer Hudson instead of Luther Vandross?
De La Soul's '3 Feet High and Rising' is a must have in any hip hop aficionado's collection. While some may argue whether or not this was their best album, it certainly set the stage for De La. Besides, don't you remember that summer EVERYONE knew the lyrics to 'Me, Myself + I'?
To celebrate the album's 21st birthday, KidRobot has designed a set of toys in the group's likeness. I am desperate to get my hands on all 3!
To enter to win (and to share with me!), go to KRonikle.
Also, I'm working on a super secret but oh so exciting project....details to come soon!
