Review: Trouble the Water

Friday night I was all ready to settle into some television and a slice of pizza when one of my roommates forced me to get up off my butt and head downtown to the IFC Center to see the opening screening of a film called Trouble The Water.  Reluctantly I went (I can be really lazy- I was tired!) but fortunately was incredibly grateful that I did.

The film, executive produced by Danny Glover (who was there!  He was standing in my way as I tried to sneak in some outside food lol), follows a trio of Hurricane Katrina survivors who lived through the storm and are attempting to rebuild their lives in its environmental, social and economic aftermath.  TTW uses footage taken by the documentary makers, clips from news channels/speeches and home video caught by one of the main subjects of the film, Kimberly Rivers Roberts.

Roberts, her husband, and a friend (encountered during Katrina) return to New Orleans two weeks after the storm to find their homes destroyed.  Unlike what you'd expect, TTW doesn't just talk about how much of a failure the infrastructure our government's disaster relief groups were, but it brings life to the fact that the people whose lives were most devastated by the storm were already dealing with life-threatening situations, drug abuse, death and financial instability.  Kim's mother died of AIDS, both she and her husband were former drug dealers who were failed by the public education system, their friend Brian is a former addict, they have no bank account and- like so many others- couldn't leave New Orleans because they simply did not have the means.

Trouble The Water not only reminds us of what happened during Katrina (as well as the fact that the US Government cares very little about the impoverished minorities crowded in its urban centers) but brings to light the fact that the sicknesses exacerbated by Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast (poverty, poor public education, drug use, STIs and STDs, violence, abuse) not only existed before the storm, but are still here and will be here long into the future unless we take some sort of action.  If there's only one word I could use to describe this film, it would be:

Real.

I strongly urge you to go if it's playing in your city- click here to find information on screenings and openings.

movie review: be kind rewind

So before I really get into writing all of this, I'll preface my post by admitting that this is probably my first review, at least on here, and that I'm going to be decidedly unapologetic about my opinions.   Moral of the story?  If you disagree with me, I guess you can say something about it, but your time might be better served going somewhere else.  Anyway..

I'll start right off by saying I loved this movie.  Loved it.  I'd pay to see it twice- in fact, I actually did (Kaya don't say I never did nothing fo' yo' ass).  It was an excellent mix of funny, sweet, genuine, down to earth and sombre, all things that make a movie go from good to great.  For those of you not familiar with the general concept of the film, I'll go ahead break it down for you:

Be Kind Rewind is a story following a lovably awkward group of misfit characters caught in the monotony of their everyday lives in the unbearably static yet ominously evolving community of Passaic, New Jersey.  Mike (Mos Def) is a young man living with and working for his adoptive father figure Mr. Fletcher in 'Be Kind Rewind,' a slightly archaic (their only medium is the already obsolete video cassette) video store and community mainstay whose claim to fame is "1 day 1 dollar" rentals.  When Mike's best friend, a neurotic mechanic named Jerry (Jack Black), hatches a plan to foil "the power plant" that is secretly "controlling" everyone in their community, he accidently creates an intense magnetic field around himself, and, in so doing, erases all of the tapes in 'Be Kind Rewind' on his next visit.  After this a bunch of hilarity ensues as Mike and Jerry try to cover their asses by re-filming hobo'd, 20-minute versions of the films in the store, which surprisingly become a hit in the community.

What you won't see in the previews for Be Kind is the elephant-in-the-room issue of gentrification and the racial segmentation of communities.  What you quickly learn as the film takes off, is that 'Be Kind Rewind' is in very real danger- the Housing and Zoning department of Passaic wants to demolish the building to make way for new condominiums, "improving the life of the people in this community."  So, what once began as an attempt to stay out of trouble becomes a desperate and hurried mission to save the store from demolition and its inhabitants from having to relocate to the projects.

Normally for a movie like this I'd be all moved by the messages and have the humor as an added bonus, but Gondry doesn't do that.  The film carries like a billion different messages (just read the reviews out there that discuss pop-culture consumption, the creation and ownership of art, race relations and creating community) but is able to refrain from really preaching any one of them.  He doesn't make anyone the clear "bad guy" (lol, well, maybe nobody but Sigourney Weaver, who also has a cameo toward the end of the film) and won't give the audience a corny, cookie-cutter set-up or ending.  It seems like it would be annoying, but what it really ends up being is very open and honest- you are let into these people's lives, and while your moment of voyeurism might be during a particularly comedic and turbulent time for them, there is no move made on their part to make you comfortable or pleased, they just exist, and I personally think that they, and the film, are better for it.

So yeah, this was kind of rambly, and didn't' say everything I felt (I don't want to give anything away) but suffice it to say that this was one of the best moviegoing experiences I've had in a long while.  Gondry, Black, Glover and Mos Def managed to make me feel a melange of emotions: joy, rage, excitement, sympathy, outrage, nostalgia, and most of all- enjoyment.

[EDIT] And just because he's great, here is a Mos Def video.  Mos, if you're reading this, I love you.  Even if you do have like 8 baby-mommas... lol.

movie poster review: the brave one

i'm not gonna lie, this wasn't my idea. but it was such a good one i just had to "borrow" it for a second. but i'll give credit where credit is due. i've started reading the insanity report, and aside from being hilarious and a great blogger, this dude does the occasional "movie trailer review." because after all: why watch the movie when you can learn pretty much all you need to know from the trailer?

...or for that matter, from the poster that's plastered all over the subway and also on a 4-story building in harlem.




so this is apparently jodie foster's new movie, "the brave one." word on the street is its about her avenging someone's death or something. i'm not sure.

anyways, to make a long story short, i'd argue that this poster is to lesbians what THIS poster might be to.....


straight men:



straight women:




...well i'm no wiz with photoshop, but you get my point. further proof, in my opinion, that new york is SO overrun with lesbians that marketing companies feel the need to target them on the sides of buildings. whats next, i ask you? the US Open sponsored by soy: no coca-cola products served? i mean i would go to that. but i think it would be confusing.

the bourne audacity?

So a friend and I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum last night. First off- that movie was freaking great. If you like action, action, and... oh what else? Action- then this movie is for you. Also the plot was pretty okay, mostly it was the fight scenes and the suspense that kept me interested.

Anyway, this blog isn't a movie review, it is mostly a recounting of the events that transpired at the Lincoln Center AMC on 66th and Broadway, and about how people on the Upper West side (particularly older people.. particularly old white women) can be completely out of their minds. The best way to tell this is probably in a little narration, so go ahead and sit back and enjoy the story.

***
Two girls walk into a theater, excited about the action movie that they're about to see. With a week filled with the monotony of office work and the dull buzz of computer monitors taking a quick break to enjoy a bit of heart-stopping action is just what they need.
As they stepped into the actual theater the sticky floors and the slight smell of stale popcorn overcame them, as well as the realization that this, unfortunately, was a small, old-fashioned theater- the kinds with seats designed just so that each and every moviegoer can be lucky enough to have their very own head partially blocking their vision. Just their luck. Despite all this the girls are determined to have an excellent time, after all, they've been looking forward to this for a while, and it wouldn't make sense to let some architect's half-developed idea of sight and comfort disrupt their evening.
"So what were you saying before?" Brittany asks her friend, anxious to hear the rest of a really good bit of gossip.
The previews begin, and so AJ lowers her voice and moves up in her seat a little in order to finish the story quickly and quietly. "Oh, yeah- so when she said that you could tell that people felt really awkward, everybody was just looking at one another-"
"Excuse me!" A voice exclaims in an exasperated tone.
The two girls turn around, not understanding if the voice was directed at them. They turn and a woman with sharp features, short hair and incredibly disdainful eyes stares them down. They look at her, still slightly confused that she would have the audacity to interrupt them, and continue to speak, albeit more softly.
"EXCUSE me!!!!" The voice returns and the woman, seated next to Brittany, leans in, as though preparing to discipline a child or student of hers.
Annoyed, Brittany responds: "Yes?"
"You're talking and I'm trying to watch this!"
"Well excuse me, but it's the previews, they've only just started, and you have no right to tell us what to do. You are not our mother, and quite frankly, you're being very rude."
"What? I said excuse me!" Visibly thrown off, she puffs herself up in her seat a bit more, like an ruffled bird attempting to look menacing, all the while her quiet husband sinks slightly in his chair.
"Maybe so, but your tone was incredibly disrespectful. I appreciate that you said excuse me, but next time show a little more respect. Thank-you. I'm going to enjoy the movie now," Brittany responds, looking the woman directly in her eyes before turning back to AJ, shaking her head and laughing quietly.
***

Okay, so that's all of what I'm going to write that way, but suffice it to say that crazy lady was decidedly a psycho. She actually took it upon herself to tell the married couple in front of her to stop being so close because she "couldn't see," to which the husband responded that she shouldn't have sat her [dumb ass] in the back row, and that he could hug his wife if he wanted to.
Oh, and as the movie started, during the quiet dialog in the beginning these two crazy old ladies enter the theater, loudly asking "IS THAT A SEAT?" in raspy voices throughout the entire theater, at EVERY aisle.
Also then this guy started talking on his phone at several intervals. Loudly. He was in another section of the theater and I knew that he had to "give the keys to Chris" at some point later in the day.
It's like, damn- really? Word? They all made so much noise and were so rude, probably mostly because they felt entitled, because they could do whatever they want. The lady that had the nerve to try to correct me and my friend's behavior? She probably thought she could say whatever she wanted because we were young and (yes, this could have counted to for all you "race isn't anything" people out there who for some crazy reason read this blog) racially 'othered' in that almost-all-white theater. And what's more, she probably didn't expect me to respond the way I did- she probably expected me to be rude and disruptive (warranting my removal from the theater) or to just quietly acquiesce to what she wanted. But no, sorry lady- I'm going to stand up for myself, you have no right to tell me what to do in that way. yes, you are my elder and I will be respectful, but I will not be deferential, especially not to somebody who thinks, for whatever reason, that I am bound to obey them at the drop of a hat.

Woo-sah.

All this goes to say that white (and old!) people- you are just as crazy/loud/embarrassing and rude as any other minorities or teenagers. Please do not continue to act like your shizz don't stink- because it stinks up entire theaters!

!

The new Harry Potter movie and book are out. Are you watching/reading? I know I am.
That is all.