FILM REVIEW: V for Vendetta By: Gizzle V for Vendetta is a jarring film starring Hugo Weaving (most famous for his role as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy) and Natalie Portman (Garden State, Star Wars, and Oscar nominee for Closer, ). Set in modern U.K., the audience is engrossed in a society lead by a tyrannical government acting autonomously in the protection of its interests to the detriment of its citizens. The film begins as a group known as the “fingers”, the government elite, responds to a terrorist attack on a government building. The bombing, casually dismissed as a “planned demolition” by the finger-controlled media compels the audience to identify with the citizens of a community dependant upon their conservative right-aligned government to protect them from ruin and civil unrest unlike the war-stricken and perilous former United States. The film continues in its revolutionary tirade as the “hero” of the film, a masked vigilante named V, quickly executes a hostile takeover of the government’s propaganda machine, the BTN (British Television Network “ironically” similar to CNN), claiming responsibility for the attack and inviting the fear-stricken citizens to stand with him one year from the date of the attack as the present-day parliament is destroyed in a similar explosive fashion. Almost a politically awakening film as the documentary Fahrenheit 911 by Michael Moore, this remake of a graphic novel series is gripping in its message throughout that “People should not be afraid of their government, a government should be afraid of its people.” The fingers yearn in vain to thwart the promised destruction of its fear inducing system of control over its nation. It’s interesting to enjoy the film simply because in essence the lines between good/bad and right/wrong become skewed. Unless of course, murder and devastation sit well with you as higher moral obligations. One on hand you have a government whose modus operandi is unflinching devotion by its citizens in all aspects of life, i.e. sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and political agenda. On the other you have a violent and murderous everyman character whose emotionally numb tactics seemed justified. One asks oneself just when enough is enough as the film builds to a crescendo on the eve of the terrorist plot. The tone of the film is effectively appropriate in terms of timing. I’m certain the movie would not be as drawing if it weren’t delivered to a society where homosexual love is constitutionally unsound, the term liberal is used as a derogatory remark and civil unrest wages over centuries old theological principle about abortion, or cloning, or simply who typifies the enemy. In all the film serves as a methodically dramatic and special effects enriched sounding board for a nation split on axis of moral opinion. Natalie Portman carries the weight of the film on her shoulders but the overtly theatric Weaving is appropriate in portraying a psychologically destroyed recluse bent on a vendetta any politically conscious and yet jaded citizen of an economic powerhouse could absorb.

Pimps everywhere Rejoice! By: D. Pitt http://the-pitt.blogspot.com Three 6 Mafia wins the Oscar for Best Song. Times are changing. In a shocker, the rap group pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Oscar history with the song “It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp” from the movie Hustle & Flow. Having actually seen the movie, I think they deserved the Oscar. Many were outraged including the usual suspects on the right….and some on the left such as Al Sharpton who is increasingly moving some of his rhetoric to the center (2008 run anyone??). I think that many of the outraged people did not see the film. If they did, they would know that the song fit this movie just as much as “Eye of the Tiger” fit Rocky. By the way, I have never understood why Music (particularly Hip-Hop) is so dangerous to our youth, but these violent, sex-filled, curse word laden movies and tv shows are not. Sopranos, Desperate House Wives, Godfather, ect, ect.....Why are these movies/TV shows praised, while a hip-hop song about the same thing is vilified? For that matter, why was this song villified, but the movie that it was about was not? Personnally, I enjoyed the movie and the song as I enjoy Sopranos, Scarface, Godfather, and yes even Desperate House Wives (you know you watch it too fellas...). I really don't think this hatred of hip-hop is a racial thing but more of a generational/cultural thing. People hate what they don't understand. But let look at it this way, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro have played more thugs, murderers, womanizers than anyone, but noone would ever say they were what they portray. Why do you think rappers make such good ACTORS (Queen Latifah, Will Smith, Mos Def, LL Cool J, Eve, Ludacris, Ice Cube, Ice T, Snoop Dogg...ok maybe not Snoop, but you get the point). Maybe because it takes a bit of acting to pull their job off, just as it does for our honorable members of SAG. So let's just get a grip and remember its all business.......SHOWBUSINESS. posted by JDDCP at 12:15 PM

RANT: Offensive Co-Workers - By: Kee So, I'm at work today and my manager (who I share an office with) is engaged in conversation with one of our producers. My manager is pregnant and the producer has a small child already (manager is white, producer is Jewish), so they were discussing child care costs, and public vs. private schooling etc. After marveling over how expensive day care is (apparently $1000 a month on average) the producer offered a bit of solice by joking "well, at least school is free". My manager immediately commented that she and her husband plan to send their child to private school (between $12,000 - $18,000 a year). She lives in Baltimore City (1 block from the county line) so it's understood that Baltimore City Public schools aren't the best. But she said "Oh, no there's no way my child will go to public school, she'll probably be selling drugs by the time she's 6". Then went on to say "the school system is terrible... she'd be the only white child in there. I want her to attend a school with more affluent parents and families, with more cultural diversity...." Mind you, I'm sitting right there, typing an e-mail. After all this is said - I froze and looked stared at my computer screen, just kind of shocked at how blazay this just flowed out of her mouth. Now,let's be honest, what parent doesn't want the best for their child? And if I were in her situation, although I'm black, I'd probably aim for private school too. But 2 things bother me about what transpired this morning: Firstly she immediately made the association that - since the schools are full of non-white kids, they must all be selling drugs. Proven by her statement of her child potentially being the only white one. So basically not so much a class issue, she made a racial association. And although she didn't say blacks, we can safely assume that's what she meant. This is Baltimore we're talking about. The second thing that bothers me is that she thought it perfectly fine to say this in work environment while I'm sitting right there. It is fine for her to feel that way, I can't change her mind. But how offensive is it to let it fly when a person of color is 7 feet away from you? And you're a manager? The least she could have done was save this conversation for her lunch break. So a few hours later, I'm on my way downstairs because I was asked to participate on-camera in a shoot. And I run into the Jewish producer in the hallway, who stopped me because she felt so badly about my manager's comments. She said her heart cringed, and she saw that I did too. She found it terribly offensive and offered multiple apologies. Although she didn't really do anything wrong, she regrets not saying something to my manager right then about her comment. I'm glad she stopped to talk to me, because at least I know I'm not being overly sensitive about race. I wonder if I am sometimes... That's all, just had to vent.

RANT: Ettiquette - By: Gizzle Ever hold the door for someone fairly far away from you? Have you noticed that they'll immeadiately change their pace, lose all composure and do the 50 yard dash to the door? What is that about? I mean from what I understand holding the door for someone is a courtesy to them. So, if someone is holding the door for 7-10 seconds while you continue to stroll into work are you obligated to hustle? Frankly, I really don't care whether or not one holds the door for me as long as they don't let it hit me in the face - I'm good. I'm certainly not going to spill my hot chocolate all over my hands and drop my bagel while I sprint to save you the excruciating pain of holding the door for another 3 seconds. Where is everybody in a rush to get to...work? Please... 7:09 AM

Rita Marley (not unlike Dorothy Mantooth) could be considered a saint. - By: Kee If you know anything about Bob Marley's life, you know that he was a man of his message; a messenger of Rastafari, an advocate for Pan-Africanism and the voice of the poor and oppressed. A real "Third World Hero", as he was regarded. It's also commonely known that he produced a startling number of children during his 36 year tenure on this earth. It's been reported that Bob could have fathered up to 22 children, but most have settled on the more probable 11 offspring that are recognized by the family and by the courts. 5 of these children are with his wife, Rita. I'm just finishing up Rita's memoir, No Woman No Cry - My Life With Bob Marely. In it, she chronicles their separate lives before they met, their courting, their marriage, their children, the business, his genius, his affairs, his excuses, his death... all of it. But what's also interesting, is the introspective nature of the narrative. You get a real idea of how she's feeling in each circumstance - like her pride and insecurities for example. But I'll get to the point, because after all, this isn't a book review. In short, Bob liked women. A lot. Probably too much. In the beginning he was discreet about his affairs, but the more tolerant Rita was, the more his open he became. There were several times when he'd stop by the house with a girlfriend in the car. Inevitablely, after all of their kids were born, the couple spent most of their time living apart, although they never legally separated. Normally he would spend his time in his studio/home where industry chicks, models and random women lurked just to get a chance to "meet" Bob. Meanwhile, 12 miles away in Bull Bay, Rita lived with their kids. To be fair, Bob urged Rita to move into the studio/home with him, but she knew what was going on there, and felt it best for her kids (and her diginity) to stay away. Life proved to be quite the test for Rita. In one interview, Bob was asked if was married to Rita - as they shared the same last name - and he said "No, she's my sister!" Obviously Bob has some explaining to do when he got home. He reasoned that married fathers aren't so exciting according to the industry, and that his record company has urged him to maintain a certain mistique. It's all about image and record sales, he assured her. He reinterated that nothing could ever come between them.... Ironically, even though Bob basically did whatever he pleased socially, he remained extremely possessive of Rita. He was known to pay keen attention to where she was at all times, who she was with,and what she was doing. One time he even tracked a man down (behind her back) and confronted him about his relationship with Rita. Two other times he accosted and almost attacked men who he thought too close to her. So you see, Bob would habitually flip whenever he suspected another man to be around around his wife. Guilt & paranoia are a bitch. So I pose these questions: Why is it socially more acceptable (or more expected) for men to cheat? Furthermore, why are cheating men, so territorial? Why are women SO tolerant? When is enough, enough? And guys, in your mind what consitutes crossing the line: kissing, flirting, sex, emotional connections? Why do good girls/guys finish last? Why can men dish it out, but can't take it?

NEW BOOK - Unburnable - By: Marie-Elena John If your into intriguing well-written mysteries, and are enchanted by the rich history of Afri-Carib culture, look no further than this brand new novel. It hits stores next month (April 2006) and will DEFINITELY grasp the interest of all lovers of literary fiction. Here's an ALA Review: This compelling first novel traces the fortunes of three generations of women from the small Caribbean Island of Dominica. Matilda, descended from African slaves, was a famous healer and possible murderer. The story of her hanging was handed down in songs. Her daughter, Iris, was famous as the jilted lover of a rich man and the victim of a horrific rape. Her subsequent insanity and death also became legendary. Iris' daughter, Lillian, was raised by her devoutly Catholic stepmother. Until the age of 15 she remains unaware that the infamous women of song are her legacy. Now living in Washington, D.C., the fragile, adult Lillian returns to Dominica to try to unravel the history of her family. The richly told narrative alternates between time periods, building suspense and compassion for all of the characters. The possibly insane Lillian is the least well rounded of the women, which makes the final chapters a little disappointing. The diversity of the African diaspora is often overlooked in modern African American literature, and this page-turner fills in some gaps. Marta Segal Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

NEW FILM - Dave Chappelle's Block Party Has anyone seen this? If you haven't, you should definitely check it out. If nothing else, you'll know that you missed out on one of the best concerts of all time. Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Common, Dead Prez, The Roots, Cody Chestnutt, Jill Scott, Talib Kweli, John Legend and The Fugees. (!!!) Is that not one of the sickest line ups up all time?

Hey everyone, welcome to my blog! If you know me, you know that I'm way too opinionated to not have one of these. So here it is. I can't promise that I'll update this on a daily basis, but I will do my best to check in, and hopefully chime into heated discussions that i hope will occupy these pages. That's about it for now, I assure you I'll be back with a random thought shortly. Stay tuned! kee