UrbanRhetoric

UrbanRhetoric

Showing posts with label The Force Awakens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Force Awakens. Show all posts

8.15.2018

BlacKkKlansman

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Literally... I have never been in a movie theater and said - Damn, I need to see every single movie in these trailers - until Monday. They showed the trailers for Widows, Monsters & Men, and If Beale Street Could Talk - that's right, the James Baldwin novel (the same one my dad tried to make me read when I was like 10 and I lied and said I did, and got smacked when I thought I could trick him into thinking I read it by just reading a paragraph here or there - memories.... Anyway, I'm so effing in those movies I might need protection - too much?). 

Back to the flick - I kid you not, BlacKkKlansman (or Black Klansman) is the most poignant and overall satisfying Spike Lee feature film since Malcolm X (and, arguably, Do the Right Thing) and I LOVED that Malcolm X flick - that was the first Oscar they stole from Denzel.

Usually, I don't do this, but I went and read some of the critiques of BlacKkKlansman online before I finalized my own review and I really don't understand some of these critics' issues with this film.  I mean, the nerve of some of these asshats.  Interestingly, a one of these so called fill buffs credited movies like Django and directors like Quentin Tarantino (notwithstanding that flick being pure fiction) for it's "historical accuracy" but only with respect to the use of the 'n-word.' Another of those clowns is giving Spike Lee crap about his fictionalizing of a true story because Spike takes liberties with whether the kkk actually hated a Jewish undercover cop (why, you ask, does this genius take issue with that? Well, because in the real life version of the story, there's no mention of whether the cop was Jewish...  Yup, so BlacKkKlansman missed the mark for that?) 

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I'm looking at you real sideways and straight up Kevin Hart clapping as I say this @JamesDawson from The Federalist - 'You loved that Hateful Eight bullshorts, but couldn't stomach this... okay.  We don't believe you. You need more people.

VITALS
Spike Lee (if you don't know Spike's work... stop reading now and go grab a mirror and take a look at a dummy) - Writer/Director
Other Writing Credits got to - Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, and Kevin Wilmott
John David Washington (upcoming Monsters and Men and TV's Ballers) - Ron Stallworth
Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Frances Ha) - Flip Zimmerman
Laura Harrier (Spiderman; Homecoming) - Patrice Dumas
Topher Grace (Spider Man 3, Interstellar) - David Duke
Alec Baldwin (Glengarry Glen Ross, Boss Baby, Schweatty Balls Alec) - Dr. Kennebrew Beauregard
Michael Buscemi (who I totally thought was Steve for about 30 seconds... ) - Jimmy Creek
Robert John Burke (Miracle at St. Anna, Limitless, Safe) -
Isaiah Whitlock (who I think you all know better as Clay Davis from the Wire... you know... this guy
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The rest of the notable cast includes Frederick Weller, Paul Walter Hauser, Damaris Lewis, and Corey Hawkins as Kwame Ture.

IF YOU MUST KNOW
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Ron Stallworth, a college graduate joins the Colorado Springs Police Department. When hired, they call him the Jackie Robinson of the CSPD.  Stallworth has to endure the bigotry and racism of some of his fellow officers as he integrates that police department (I'm sure that never happens anymore), but like many of us... we know what we're getting into so racism doesn't phase us too much - we find ways to get back... Stallworth took the route of becoming one of the best detectives in the CPSD.  That's one way to go, I guess.

So, Spike takes us on this Officer Stallworth's journey as he initially tries to do the work he's assigned, but soon his desire to do something more substantial than retrieve files for men who lack moral character but are given badges and guns. Like most of us who have had to be the only vanilla bean in the vanilla ice cream (of an office, class, etc.), we just hope that what we're sacrificing ends up being worth it.

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Spike, in true Spike fashion has some interesting scenes of straight speechifying.  For example, the scene where Stallworth is assigned to go undercover and ends up meeting the outspoken female President of the Black Student Union at an event where the controversial ex-panther, Stokley Carmichael/Kwame Ture is set to address the community.  His mission is to go wear a wire and listen to Ture, and gauge the crowd's reaction.  Would they be roused to violence?  With that "all power to all the people" business and "black power" and "black is beautiful" craziness, the police was concerned that he might encourage black folk. They could end up being proud to be black and therefore dangerously emboldened and whipped into a frenzy.  Black Panthers didn't walk around with dope tech, fresh handshakes, and screaming Wakanda Forever.  They walked around with pistols, shottys, and were versed in the gun laws of the local jurisdictions, the knew the Constitution, they fed hungry people, and - they were largely killed for it by the kkk and the some government sponsored "law enforcement."

But, I digress.  I'm starting to channel my Pops on this review.  Don't get me started.  I'm still vexed that there are idiots out there that think that it is even possible to be hyperbolic about the breadth of the kkk's racism and the lengths to which they still go to protect their deadly ideals.

Stallworth, after hearing the eloquent words of Ture, decides - on a lark - to give a call to the kkk.  Surprisingly, he gets a call back.  So, when he gets the go-ahead to take a look under the hood (pun intended) of the local kkk chapter, he is assigned a white partner because somebody had to do the meet up with the klan. Flip Zimmerman (interesting choice of last name to use in a film like this - all things considered) played by Adam Driver - who I genuinely dis-enjoy watching mess up my Star Wars movies, but was really good in this flick - is the white cop designated to stand in for the black cop who the kkk was interested in recruiting.

Alec Baldwin's amusingly disgusting racist rant was a lighthearted and interesting tone to set off the film.  Watching Topher Grace play David Duke... I mean, it's David Duke so you hate him, but then you love how much of an idiot he is, so... you kinda like him (and you can still kinda see that Forman face from That 70's Show). It's great casting (I know that might sound like shade, but I have nothing but respect for Topher - aside from his name... I can't cosign that, bro.  That's a choice.)

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Yet, if you paid attention, there was a lot of seriousness to this movie.  That's what makes it a bit of a gem.  The speech by Kwame Ture (Hawkins) was one of the highlights of the film.  So was the fact that the Stallworth and his lady had their dramatic tension over the issue of whether you can change the system from inside the system.  I happen to agree with Stallworth, but it's damned near impossible.  And damn, that last convo with that long time kkk'er who a certain orange guy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, DC claims to have not known anything about (although he really did!) was satisfying even if it never ever really happened.

If I say too much more about the things I like in BlacKkKlansman, you wouldn't have to see it.  And you really should go and see it.  It was smart. What else are you going to go out and see Octogenarian Secret Agents accepting impossible missions? If you're woke, you have to see this movie.  If you're not, you may well be afterwards.  You find yourself shaking your head and kissing your teeth at the historically consistent statements made in this Civil Rights Era- based film that are astoundingly relevant and echoed over, and over again today.  Stop me when this sounds familiar, kkk/white supremacist rallies in major towns, shouts of "America First" by idiots who think they're losing "their" country... There were some people that were visibly uncomfortable in that Brooklyn theater when they showed the Charlottesville footage in a clear juxtaposition of the fictionalized kkk versus the neo-nazis who showed up in Virginia last year.  That's the sign of a good movie people are disturbed by the fact that reality is just as bad as the fiction.  So, to the critics of BlacKkKlansman, I say - STFU ya might learn something.

No, it's not perfect.  But it is really good.  Really good.

IMTHATDUDE gives BlacKkKlansman: 4 

RATING SYSTEM:
5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET! 
4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.
3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.
2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…
1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.

ASIDE:  Of course, this whole film had me thinking of this classic Chappelle joint -



12.21.2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII)

The Force Awakens... indeed!  In some respects, JJ Abrams surpasses my expectations; in others, he misses the mark.  His version of Star Wars was a good amount of kitsch and banter on a Coney Island caliber emotional roller coaster, but without all the onscreen chemistry in A New Hope or Empire Strikes back.  WARNING THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS (but very few of them and nothing that you don't find out in the opening text crawl).

VITALS
JJ Abrams (Armageddon, Mission Impossible III, Super 8) - Director/Co-Writer
Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark) - Co-Writer
Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Hunger Games: Catching Fire) - Co-Writer

The old cast is back with Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, 

Lupita Nyongo (12 Years a Slave, Non-Stop)  - Maz Kanata
Adam Driver (Inside Llewyn Davis, Lincoln) - Kylo Ren
Daisy Ridley (don't front like you watched Scrawl or Mr. Selfridge- No, you never saw her before) - Rey
John Boyega (Junkhearts, Attack the Block) - Finn
Gwendolyn Christie (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2) - Captain Phasma
Max Von Sydow (Shutter Island, Flash Gordon - a movie dying for a remake!) - Lor San Tekka
Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes) - Supreme Leader Snoake
Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year, Ex Machina) - Poe Dameron

Also seen in The Force Awakens were the kicka$$ martial artists from The Raid 2, Yayan Ruhain and Iko Uwais.

IF YOU MUST KNOW

Last chance - SPOILER ALERT, you've been warned... 

The Force Awakens starts some time after Return of the Jedi. So, if you thought the Galactic Empire was devastated or destroyed when Luke, Han, Leia, and the rebel alliance killed the Emperor and Darth Vader was done-zo, then you're mistaken.  The empire has not collapsed.  In fact, the "civil war" (as it was referred to in the text crawl for A New Hope) rages on.  Like most failed corporations, it seems the Empire's decided to re-brand itself as the Third Reich... I mean, the First Order.  Luke Skywalker is... well, let's just say... he's about as active in the ongoing war as Jabba the Hut would be at a Blink Fitness.  The story centers around the accidental conscription of Finn and Rey in the fight against the First Order and the search for Luke.  

If you saw Episode IV: A New Hope, this movie will not hold many surprises for you at all.

PHOTO: Scene from the new Star wars:The Force Awakens trailer released during Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, April 16, 2015.Episode VII lacked the originality of Episodes IV, V, and VI, but it was still really, really good.  In fact, I might go out on a limb and say that... eh ehm... people will go out in droves and see Episode VII.  And they will like it a lot, they may even go back to see it again.  Neil deGrasse Tyson has ruined my ability to suspend disbelief in a lot of sci-fi movies and I'm sure he would have a serious problem with the major danger element created for The Force Awakens; still, you have to give it to George Lucas, Disney, LucasFilm and anybody else with a points on this movie.  It is likely to have moviegoers raving and running back to see it on 3D, Imax, and every other expensive format they've created even though it's just an introduction of new characters doing the same thing.  A solid movie all around and one of the top 3 in the series, but it wasn't without issues.  My first concern was that JJ Abrams didn't really create a whole new story, so much as rehash one and add the newbies.  Hopefully, this is all a set up for what's coming.  Kylo Ren struck me as a weird combo of Hayden Christensen's annoying Anakin Skywalker and that kinda weird tall, long haired guy from Girls... which I later found out, that's who played Kylo Ren - I never actually saw the show Girls for longer than the few seconds it took me to identify the show and find my remote control. Another issue with the flick is that they didn't shoot it like Cameron did Avatar.  I'm no expert but the 3D quality wasn't remotely as good as Avatar, which suggests that it was not filmed completely in 3D or that JJ Abrams didn't upgrade on the frame rate - either way, it could have been visually better than it was (and I know they had a budget through the roof).  No, The Force Awakens is not a perfect film and aside from there being a heroine and a black male lead, there is nothing novel to it.  The Force Awakens is more of an homage and relaunching of the Star Wars brand after the debacle that introduced us to Jar Jar Binks (me'sah thinks George still regrettsa dat... AND HE SHOULD).  



It is nice that they have Rey (Ridley) and Finn (Boyega) doing the heavy lifting.  I do love a female action hero (like Zoe in Colombiana).  I grew up around a lot of tough women, so I have an affinity for women who can kick butt and keep it moving.  Rey has that potential.  They tease us with glimpses of her back story, which will need to be fleshed out in future films and if they hold to form, in the next episode, we'll find out who Rey's father and/or mother are.  Female leads in action and sci-fi are always fun even when the movie sucks, and better when the movie doesn't suck.  Daisy Ridley is a fresh face and a fresh change of pace.  I like that about her.  Time will tell if she gets to be in the upper echelons of female action leads like Scarlett Johansson, Qi Shu, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Ann Moss, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Anjelina Jolie, Linda Hamilton, or even Pam Grier.  (SPOILER ALERT 2!!!)  Although a buddy of mine (we used to call him "Wheels" Muhammad) points out that bringing in a female lead/jedi - as well as making the black male lead a possible love connection in a sci-fi mega series like Star Wars - translates into a major funding opportunity because it makes the series more accessible to two demographics that typically do not get much to look for in these kinds of movies.  Now, you have a reason for women and non-white guys to go see movies that generally whitewash race to the extent that brown folks do not exist in fictional distant futures or universes or alternate worlds - see everything from Dune, to Blade Runner, and the Hobbit (sorry to the #BoycottStarWarsVII racists, but I hope JJ Abrams makes more history in the next Episode by incorporating Marvin Gaye in the score by having BB8 play "Let's Get It On" while Finn and Rey get busy on the Millenium Falcon).


The salient points about The Force Awakens are 1) true Star Wars fans should love this movie, if for no other reason than it gives them another look at something they already love + they do it so well that it is almost a remake, 2) the graphics are far superior to what was available back in my infancy (when the A New Hope dropped, I was almost a full year on this earth and just 40 years away from taking over the world... I'll send out a memo when I do), 3) there's a black Storm Trooper, son!  I don't think you heard me... A BLACK STORM TROOPER.  Although, I don't understand why he had to lose the accent for the role?  We seem to cast an awful lot of people from across the pond, just to have them lose their posh English accents, but I digress.

BTW: Shout out to PAJ1 for calling out the similarities to Spaceballs (if you never saw Spaceballs, it's a freaking Mel Brooks classic - your life won't be right until you see it.

Anwya, if the Force Awakens happens to be too full, or sold out... I strongly suggest that you check out Creed or even Chi-Raq (but not with the kiddies).

IMTHATDUDE gives Star Wars: Episode VII (The Force Awakens): 4 

RATING SYSTEM:
5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!
4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.
3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.
2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…
1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.