filmclique

‘Marley, 2012′ – Spike Lee Woulda Made A Better Bob Marley Film

By Ben Daité | May 16, 2012 | Africa, Film, Reviews | 2 Comments

Right from frame one, you knew that Bob’s Great ‘Britain roots’ had to be taken a little more seriously than the man himself would have ever wished. Why? Because, director Kevin McDonald is Scottish himself, after all!

Within the first few minutes of the film, you are flooded with stories of Bob Marley’s ‘father’ – probably a British forest guard in Jamaica at the time. He was in his 60s when he took Bob’s mom, a black girl, at a tender age of only 16.

As if that wasn’t enough, you were peppered with pictures of this British man’s family, his cousins and siblings, some on horseback, and an excited voice-over brandishing the photos as, “this is Bob’s family.”

By now you already know what this rendition of Bob Marley’s life is going to be about – we are supposed to believe from the outset that whatever the non-relationship this British man had with Bob, it was nonetheless pivotal in shaping Bob; we are supposed to understand that Bob was never ‘pon the black man’s side!’

Please Recommend FilmClique on Facebook

Black Women Directors: Troy Byer Bailey

By Ann Mamie | May 12, 2012 | Film, Profiles, Trailers | No comments

Born in New York City, Troy Byer Bailey spent many years acting before pursuing a screenwriting and directing career. She had a seven-year stint on Sesame Street, starting from the age of four, and later studied acting at City University of New York’s School for the Arts.

After landing a part in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club (1984), she moved to Los Angeles and waitressed in L.A. for months before landing her first job on Knots Landing. She furthered her television acting career as a prime-time regular on Dynasty, appeared on The Cosby Show and A Different World, and landed several screen roles on films like The Five Heartbeats (1991), Disorderlies (1987), and Weekend at Bernie’s II (1993).

Jermaine Paul Wins NBC’s ‘The Voice’

By Ann Mamie | May 10, 2012 | Music, News, TV | 1 Comment

This week, Jermaine Paul was crowned winner of NBC’s The Voice, Season 2 – receiving the show’s top prize of $100,000 and a record deal with Universal.

In the last round of competition, he sang R. Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly for his final solo performance. Watch the video below:

Catch Up With the Characters on VH1′s ‘Single Ladies’

By Ann Mamie | May 7, 2012 | TV | No comments

Following a successful first season, Season 2 of VH1′s Single Ladies premieres on Memorial Day – Monday, May 28th @ 9/8c on VH1. The show is one of few hour-long, predominantly black, scripted series to air on cable television.

Single Ladies is a romantic comedy series about Keisha, Raquel and April – best friends with different philosophies on love, sex and relationships, proving not all women have the same desires. Keisha (LisaRaye McCoy) is a former video dancer who believes in making her own luck, her own money and choosing men with her head instead of her heart. April (Charity Shea) had found the “perfect” man for the “ideal” marriage – but is learning that marriage does not always mean happily ever after. Season 2 will introduce Raquel (Denise Vasi) a sophisticated business woman coming into her own and calling the shots. Single Ladies is a modern, sexy series set in the world of Atlanta fashion, music, and celebrity that explores women’s different approaches to relationships.

Catch up with the characters from Season 1 in the clips below (which contain mild spoilers from Season 1).

Keisha (LisaRaye McCoy):

Vanessa Williams Tells All In New Book ‘You Have No Idea’

By Ann Mamie | May 3, 2012 | News, Profiles, TV | No comments

Vanessa Williams - the multi-talented singer, actress, beauty queen – previously starred in movies such as Eraser (1996), Soul Food (1997), and Johnson Family Vacation (2004). She’s found success as a regular on ABC’s Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty and has an upcoming role in Tyler Perry’s The Marriage Counselor (2013). Yet, her most recent accomplishment happened off screen. With the help of her mother Helen Williams, Vanessa Williams published a memoir entitled: You Have No Idea: A Famous Daughter, Her No-nonsense Mother, and How They Survived Pageants, Hollywood, Love, Loss (and Each Other).

CaBest Friends – Profile of deceit

By Lipamboli Molongi | May 1, 2012 | Film, Reviews | 2 Comments

Yvonne Nelson

Resting on pretty is a strategy, that has been known to backfire. Yvonne Okoro (Eva), a manipulator of people’s biases for the sake of friendship. But, the time of reckoning comes when her Facebook friend David, James Gardiner, asks to meet her. Eva understandably begins to doubt the sustainability of their friendship, offline.

Yvonne Nelson plays Goldie, who comes to the rescue of her sister Eva. Eva looks for an opportune time to confess her Facebook sins to David. Upon David’s arrival to Accra from London, unforeseen complications arise during Eva’s moments of hesitation.

Okoro and Nelson have great chemistry as sisters, though they share little resemblance. Also, one caveat is that the two Yvonnes have now starred in too many movies together. African filmmakers and financiers are obsessed with bankable faces, to the detriment of fans. And, Kalsoume Sinare who played the mother, had an unclear end. Ekow Smith Asante’s character had a classic problem of African movies, insufficient transition to clarify how and why his relationship with Eva evolved.

Still, Yvonne Okoro is at the top of her game. The undisputed new top actress of Ghallywood, she is definitely edging on over-exposure, as evidenced by my family’s outcry when she is on the cover of the newest releases of African movie night.

Boston Globe film critic Wesley Morris honored with 2012 Pulitzer Prize

By Ben Daité | April 29, 2012 | Film, News | No comments

***From The Boston Globe***

Boston Globe film critic Wesley Morris was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for criticism Monday, for essays and reviews that embodied what Pulitzer judges called “smart, inventive film criticism, distinguished by pinpoint prose and an easy traverse between the art house and big-screen box office.”

Morris, 36, who joined the Globe staff in 2002, won the prize for a range of movie reviews and essays published in 2011. Among the pieces submitted with his nomination were reviews of The Help, Drive, Water for Elephants, The Tree of Life, and Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. His essays included two written upon the deaths of Oscar-winning director Sidney Lumet and Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.

Woman Thou Art Loosed, 2012 – A Must-See From A Veteran Filmmaker, Neema Barnette!

By Ben Daité | April 26, 2012 | Film, Reviews | 7 Comments

Just when I thought there were no good black movies out there and after a week of trudging along with the burden of the hullabaloo about how a woman should Think Like A Man to win his heart, I finally lifted up my eyes into the mountains, and lo and behold!

I was served this Manner – Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day, 2012!

You cannot imagine the respite. It was like a T.D. Jakes deliverance session. Ok, not all that, but at least, like balm, it soothed the putrid decadence I suffered from imagining women Think Like Men – a chauvinistic, machismo, bigoted and significantly stupid idea!

Woman Thou Art Loosed: On the 7th Day offers something quite the opposite – sensible and tranquil; something more serene, and above all a narrative that empowers the black woman yet again to command her own life, build her family and strengthen her community. It drives home an important point that indeed the woman still is, like she has always been, the backbone of black culture and society, and hence deserves to be accorded the respect as such.

We are introduced to a woman who we have no idea has had a turbulent life but had completely turned a new leaf. She was born into the most degraded part of town – war torn with drugs, guns and prostitution. And of course she fell victim to all of those. But the power of Woman Thou Art Loosed is how she managed to turn it all around – loose all the baggage – and make a new life and build a new hope for herself, her daughter and her family, albeit the repeated flashbacks of her haunted past and the price she still had to pay for the wrongs she had done.

Spelman Students Showcase Documentary Films, Honor African American Women

By Ann Mamie | April 25, 2012 | Film, News | No comments

Spelman College film students will tackle hot-button issues from the perspectives of women of color at the 8th Annual Digital Moving Image Salon Student Documentary Film Showcase on this Thursday, April 26. The event is free and open to the public and will take place at 7 p.m. at Midtown Art Cinema (931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta).

The screenings will include four documentaries that chronicle the experiences of women of color as war veterans, reproductive rights activists, domestic workers, and job seekers in the midst of an economic recession.   

*Invisible Heroes: African American Women in the Military features African-American women veterans who continue to struggle with the casualties of war upon returning home.
(Producers: Carina-Michelle Francis, Jamiere Smith)  

*Policing Our Bodies examines how African-American women banded together to fight for their reproductive rights in response to the Radiance Foundation’s 2010 anti-abortion advertisement campaign in Atlanta.
(Producers: Joyya Baines, Thandiwe Gibson-Hunter)  

*America’s Surrogate Mothers explores the lives of African-American women domestic workers who work independently in homes and in commercial settings, juxtaposing their lives with the portrayal of domestic workers in the media. (Producers: Hope Harris, Talecia Tucker)

*Labor Market Warriors explores African-American women of the millennial generation who after excelling academically graduating with honors try to understand why they are unemployed or underemployed.
(Producers: Brittany Fennell, Amber Watson)

AMAA Awards 2012: ‘How 2 Steal 2 Million’ Named Africa’s Best Film

By Ann Mamie | April 24, 2012 | Africa, Film, News | No comments

South African Charlie Vundla scooped Best Director and his debut, film noir thriller How 2 Steal 2 Million, was named Best Film at the eight Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), held 22 April 2012 at The Expo Centre, Eko Hotel & Suite in Lagos, Nigeria. South African actress Terry Pheto was named Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, which also won Best Achievement in Editing (Garreth Fradgely). With four awards, How 2 Steal 2 Million was the most awarded film on the night.

Nigeria’s Benin-set historical epic Adesuwa was a close second with three awards, for Costume Design, Visual Effects, and Best Nigerian Film. South Africa’s crime drama State of Violence won Best Film in an African Language and Best Achievement in Sound.

Man on Ground, a Nigerian/South African xenophobia-themed coproduction, won the Special Jury Award – given for only the third time since the inception of AMAA – and Best Supporting Actor for South African Fana Mokoena.

Nigeria’s Rita Dominic was named Best Actress for her role in Kenyan film Shattered, while Ghanaian Majid Michel won Best Actor for his role in Somewhere in Africa.

Nigeria was the most awarded country on the night, receiving 12 awards, followed closely by South Africa with 10.

‘Think Like A Man’ Lacks…

By Ann Mamie | April 21, 2012 | Film, Reviews, Trailers | 14 Comments

Think Like A Man (2012) falls in queue with other films in the ensemble romantic comedy genre — He’s Just Not That Into You (2009), Valentine’s Day (2010), New Year’s Eve (2011). Their formula is simple: pack in a lot of celebs (acting experience or potential not necessary), market the hell out of the movie on radio shows and news outlets like CNN, and attempt to create the illusion that if everyone is in it and everyone is talking about it, the movie must be worth your time. But in the end, after the credits roll, you’ll be left thinking about all the things you could have done with that 10 bucks. I still am.

In a bevy of freeze frames and heavily narrated backstory, we’re introduced to the main characters who each has his own categorization: The Player (Romany Malco), The Mama’s Boy (Terrence J), The Dreamer (Michael Ealy), The Non-Committer (Jerry Ferrara); and their respective matches, The 90-Day Rule Girl (Meagan Good), The Single Mom (Regina Hall), The Woman Who Is Her Own Man (Taraji P. Henson), and The Ring Girl (Gabrielle Union). There’s also The Happily Married Guy (Gary Owen) and The Even Happier Divorced Guy (Kevin Hart).

These characters unwittingly play into their corresponding roles in Steve Harvey’s Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man like a textbook formula. The women are so desperate to find and keep a man that they’re willing to resort to anything — including reading a self-help book from a man who’s been married three times and holding onto his words as if they were the gospel.

Finding A Good Black Film These Days – A More Tedious Task Than Galamsey

By Ben Daité | April 18, 2012 | Film, Reviews | 1 Comment

I am used to buying a DVD a week – any DVD for that matter – so long as I see some black people on the cover (my way of supporting independent black cinema). But, I am beginning to rethink the ritual.

Don’t get me wrong. I had to take a painful look at black cinema unbecoming. The ‘nothingness’ and the ‘lack of substance’ that pervade independent black cinema makes it difficult, if not impossible, to understand why some of these filmmakers cry foul for the lack of Hollywood support. Cos if I were Hollywood, and I had two f-cks, I still wouldn’t give one.

And I know this may be hurtful to a select few – the very few – whose work I have come to admire over the years. But watching independent black films nowadays, quite discouragingly, is like fetching water with a basket. You gather very little after so much effort! Now I wonder how they caught my eye – perhaps, when gas was 73 Cents a gallon.

I am saddened since the end of this weekly ritual spells a drought in my search for the jewels of black cinema, however few and far between. So, I’m most worried that I may yet relinquish that hope to chance upon the pins in the haystack.

I have never dug the ground for gold nor diamond, but boy, looking for a good black film these days is just as tedious and perhaps, just as muddy as galamsey. You have to ask yourself if it’s worth the shot!

The issue is not a popular one – we have become used to praising anything – and the solution, an illusion. There is a fine line between encouraging filmmakers with talent and asking the others to lay down their oars and beat the drum.