Movies That Should be Comics# 14: The Book of Eli

there's only a handful of talents that automatically gets a movie onto my 'definite maybe' list (the 'must see' list is gone in this economy), and Denzel Washington (Training Day, Philadelphia, American Gangster, Glory) is one of them. Once i saw the early trailer for this post-apocalyptic action joint The Book of Eli (featuring a grizzly, disgruntled, blade-swinging Denzel and directed by Albert and Allen Hughes [Menace II Society]), it was immediately put on my schedule of things to do in the dime.

Thank the Devil...

(l to r) Don Cheadle and Denzel Washington from Devil in a Blue Dress
today I watched Devil in a Blue Dress on cable (satellite actually, but that's not the point...). while the headliner of the movie was the excellent-as-usual Denzel Washington, what makes this movie noteworthy for me -the reason i've seen it so many times- is the film's REAL star: Don Cheadle, whose character Mouse Alexander brought a bit of Texas gangster into the noirish gumshoe flick. Cheadle's performance was so authentic that he was universally praised (winning the LA Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics Awards, as well as nomination from the Screen Actors Guild for best supporting actor) , even when the movie as a whole wasn't.
Director Carl Franklin (Nowhere to Run, One False Move) managed to craft a film that stands as an example in black cinema, not of what is generally done, but what should be. adapted from the novel of the same name by Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress manages to be more than a period noir flick or a "black movie"... it addresses issues of love, race, infidelity, etc with an easy hand. but beyond all that, it gave me a new actor to identify with in Cheadle, whose star is still rising...
word.
-samax
samaxAmen.com

For the Love of Money...

i recently watched this again... no matter what you think of Mario Van Peebles, you gotta give it up for New Jack City! Snipes' sinister turn as the seductive, ultra-cool prototypical gangster (they hadn't started callin' 'em "gangstaz" yet...) has defined his career: Westley played this role so well, it's the ghost he's been chasing ever since! one of my boys remarked to me "i don't care WHO you talk to, EVERYBODY knows Nino Brown!", and he's right... Snipes portrayal of the original gorilla-pimp kingpin made him a houshold name! anyways, if you are one of the few who still doesn't have New Jack City in your collection, swing by the gM store and COP THAT!
uno.
-samax

(Real) Talk Radio

Last night my wife and i rented Talk To Me, the story of ex-con-turned-radio personality, talk show host and community activist Petey Green. set firmly in Civil Rights/Berry Gordy era DC, this film is masterfully written, directed, and acted.
Petey's story is sure to relate to hipHop fans with his fast-but-always-real talk. Veteran actor Don Cheadle plays Green, a born Hustler who effectively talks his way out of a 5 to 10 prison bid when he meets the sharp-dressed radio exec Dewey Hughes, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor (Four Brothers, Serenity, Inside Man, Children of Men), who inadvertently gives Petey the Idea that he'll hook him up with an on-air gig when he gets out.
The Movie is a story of relationships: Petey's relationship with his community, with Hughes, with his woman, played brilliantly by Teraji P. Henson (Hustle and Flow, Baby Boy, Smokin' Aces, Four Brothers)... and all the characters' relationships to each other and the growing consciousness of the Civil Rights movement. this is the best film i've seen so far from director Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou, Dr. Hugo, The Caveman's Valentine), who gets authentic, rich performances from comedians Cedric the Entertainer and Mike Epps (fabulous as Hughes' brother in Prison) and guides the film on an atypical path, while preserving the depth of emotion in the script.
if you're looking for a good movie to buy, or at least rent on DVD... i recommend Talk To Me.
holla!
samax.