Sugar N Spice

Where are All of the Good Movies???

You know, in light of the writer's strike, the film industry's failure to release some big blockbusters this Christmas season is really sticking out. I mean, last year we knew that Dreamgirls was coming out and hell I can't remember what the big one was the year before that, but there's always at least one big holiday season/Christmas day movie. This year, things are looking a little lackluster.

There Will Be Blood, Charlie Wilson's War and The Great Debaters all come out near the holiday, but sheesh, those movies could have been released back in October for all I care. They aren't holiday movie blockbusters. Especially "Charlie" and the "Debaters". I have a little more faith that "There Will Be Blood" will tantalize my movie tastebuds, but we'll see. Spice called me last night just shy of the cursing out point [so late...she must have forgotten she was on Pacific time or thought I was still up rambling around like I sometimes am.] to tell me that she thought "Atonement" was garbage. She and I have nearly the same taste in films, so I'm going to wait to see it on dvd now.

What say you Hollywood!? Shame on you all! Shame on you! I've got enough on my mind without having to stuff it with all of the politics of "There Will Be Blood" but I guess I'll check it out when I get back here from my trip to S.C. Lazy ass motherfuckers filmmakers... --SUGAR

When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong...At the Movies

On Friday, I was reminded why when it's all said and done, I need a man who is capable of handling his business in the event a "situation" should arise...or in case I get to running my damn mouth with little or no thought to the danger that could accompany said mouth-running. You know, one of my grandfathers was called "Gabby" by some of his friends for his propensity for talking trash. He was a man who could back his up, but still, people knew he liked to run his mouth. I do too and for the most part I can back mine up, except for maybe I wouldn't fare so well with a group of teenaged boys high on weed. Let me set the scene for you.

My plantation job hosted our holiday luncheon on Friday. We were done by 2pm and boy was I excited. I had a ton of things to do in preparation for my trip down South next week, so I set off to get to it. I ran some errands and did some shopping for a few hours and then decided to go catch the 7pm screening of "Beowulf". Which is freaking awesome by the way. I was very impressed. I saw it in 3-D and they even gave us the little glasses to get that in you face effect. Very cool. Anyway, I figured it wouldn't be too crowded because the movie has been out for a few weeks and I was catching a relatively early show. So, I walk into the theater, not feeling all that great anyway because a cold was starting to set in, but I figured slowing down a couple of hours to enjoy a film should help me feel a little better.

There was a white couple sitting on the bottom row of the stadium seating and a family sitting down on the floor seats. As I made my way up the stadium seating to get my favorite spot in the middle, I spotted a group of four or five teenaged boys of maybe about 15, 16 years old. One of them was about 12, probably the younger brother of one of the boys. So, they are just chatting it up and you know how teenaged boys love attention, so they really got loud when I sat down. Just trying to be funny and whitty [translation: sounding like some obnoxious little assholes] and carrying on really badly. But, the movie hadn't started, so I didn't really think much of it. I figured, I'm not exactly in the hood, so they'll "simmer down" when the movie starts. When the previews started and they were still going at it, I realized two things. They probably weren't going to get quiet and they had probably shared a blunt before they came into the theater. Dayum! If I know one thing, it's that you can't really talk reason to a high individual.

Anyway, so the movie starts and I have my little glasses on all "oohing and awing" as the visuals took stabs at me through the screen. I'm telling you, if you haven't seen the movie, go see it, but make sure you see it in either 3-D or iMAX. The jackasses were still making noise. Getting on my damn nerves more and more by the second and the fact that my Aunt Flo was on the way only made my fuse even shorter.

I thought about going to the front desk to tell on them, but thought, "Gosh, have I gotten so old that I will now go and rat out the "noisy" people in the theater?" Then, I thought about just leaving, getting a pass at the front desk and coming back another day, but Aunt Flo whispered in my ear, "Hell no! You paid your $12 damn dollars and this movie is damn good! You shouldn't have to leave! They need to shut the fu$k up!" So, in a moment that can only be counted among the times I must have had a semi-conscious blackout, I turned my head to the right and yelled, "Shut.UP!!!!" in what must have been my most white girl sounding voice [in hindsight]. Bad, bad move. Had I been thinking, I would have put a little grit in my voice and said something like, "Would ya'll shut the fuck up!!!?" That would have really gotten their attention and we could have just dealt with the situation head on. Security would have come after the white folks went and told on us and the jackasses would have been escorted out, all of the rest of us law-abiding, socially conscious folks given passes to see the film another day and all's well that ends well. Instead, it went like this...

They kept making noise and in fact, got more and more obnoxious. I'm talking about, these little shits talked the whole.entire.time. I had horrible flashbacks to my days of babysitting teaching in Baltimore. I was furious because I really couldn't leave then. I didn't want to face the fact that I'd become "one of them" [a real tattle-taling adult] and I didn't know whether a well thrown box of Raisinettes was going to smack me upside the damn head as I walked out. I was taking a big risk sitting down below them with my back turned, but I had a feeling they were some geeks who were trying to show off, so they weren't going to do anything too crazy. So, I sat there and suffered--pissed at The Iteration, mad at the white boy who was with the sister down in front of me because he didn't have the balls to tell them to shut up and mad that at that point in my life, if I needed for my own big strong man to come and crack some skulls, it wouldn't happen because I didn't have one.

I did my best to tune the assholes out and ten minutes before the movie ended, they left. I'd like to think they left because they thought I was going to get all up in their asses once the movie was over, but one of my friends said they probably left because they were going to sneak into another movie. She doesn't know what the hell she's talking about. They knew what was going to happen. When the film was over, I went to the guest services desk and made them give me a pass for a return visit. I'm not going to see "Beowulf" again because I was able to enjoy it well enough, so I'll probably check out "Atonement" or whatever is out by the time I get back from down South next week.

At least I didn't catch a beat down. How was your weekend? --SUGAR

On the Eve of "American Gangster": An Introspective

I wrote about the "National Blackout Day" a couple of days ago and I mentioned the fact that the highly anticipated "American Gangster" hits theaters on this same day and how I can't figure out why a boycott would be planned on such a big day for Black actors an actresses. It's not often that a major blockbuster opens that has an African-American as the star.

Let me also say, before I go any further, that I think that the Academy's decision to give Denzel (don't you love how we can call him and Oprah by their first names alone and people know exactly who you are talking about? Also a sign of just how few of us there are in the entertainment industry...) an Oscar for "Training Day" was a sham. "Malcolm X" should arrive in my mailbox today from my Blockbuster online membership and I'm going to watch it as if I've never seen it before. THAT'S when he should have received the honor. Halle Berry hadn't done any work yet that I think merits an Oscar. "Monster's Ball" included. "MAKE ME FEEL GOOD!!!" Damn fool let them pimp her out like that. It's one thing to play a gangster, it's a whole 'nother thing to let some white boy screw you like a $2 whore.

Anyway, this movie, "American Gangster" has some African-Americans up in arms. "Why they gotta portray us this way?" "Why can't they do a movie about someone who's maybe a doctor or lawyer or something? Show us in a more positive light?" Here are my own thoughts. First of all, Frank Lucas is not some fictional character. The dude is real. Sure, his impact on Harlem has been detrimental, but does that mean we should ignore the story wholesale? I don't think so. How in the world are we going to be able to combat something like that from happening again if we don't know the details of how it happened in the first place? Besides the fact that drugs are still being pushed on street corners all across this country as I write this. Somebody is taking a toke on something right now! On their lunch break!

We've seen movies about Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre (which I watch EVERY TIME it comes on!!), movies about Hitler and the Holocaust, movies about the Zodiac killer, Donnie Brasco, movies about the JFK conspiracy, IDI AMIN, and the list goes on and on. Why should we just ignore the impact that Frank Lucas had, bad though it may be? Time Magazine names a Person of the Year every year and it's not always somebody who's done something noble and good. It's in many instances a person who has simply made an unforgettable impact--bad or good. I mean, Richard Nixon, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and the Ayatollah Khomeini have been on the list for God's sake!

In short, go out, support the movie and impart your wisdom about why we need to do all we can to continue to wage the war against drugs. Ignoring or failing to acknowledge the impact Frank Lucas had on the drug trade in this country will only doom us to continue on blindly. Check out that New York Magazine article in the links if you get a chance. Wonderful interview with Lucas from back in 2005! --SUGAR

The Kingdom: A Must See Film

Last night, I managed to make it into a sneak preview of The Kingdom, starring Jamie Foxx and let me tell you, I haven't been so impressed by a film from start to finish in a long time. I'm an avid movie watcher. Very avid. So, I notice the foolish errors that are made...stuff like when I was watching Freedom Writers last week, there was one scene where Hillary Swank had written a sentence on the blackboard, they cut away to the kids and then back to her at the blackboard and the sentence was incomplete. Funny as hell! How could those editors and the director let something like that slip? I guess they don't think people notice. Hell, maybe most people don't....

Anyway, so The Kingdom kicks ass on so many levels it isn't easy to even describe without breaking my wrists. I'd be typing for an hour to tell all of the many facets of the movie that truly commanded my attention and my admiration. There are so many lessons to be learned from the film and the final few minutes are very chilling and telling about just how we all need to check ourselves when it comes to our perceptions of people of different backgrounds and religions. In short, the film is about group of FBI agents who go to Saudi Arabia to investigate the horrific massacre of over 100 Americans during a softball game at a military base of some sort. Once the agents get there, all hell breaks loose. I dare you to even consider leaving the theater once the movie starts. It's that good.

Spice is an orthodox Muslim, and we've been good friends for over 13 years now. I've visited masjids all across the country with her over the years and she's visited churches with me. We are both very attached to our religions, and we are very respectful of our differences. Certainly, she's appealed to me to come to the dark side (that's a JOKE!!), and I've appealed to her to "come to Jesus" but at the end of the day, nobody's brow beating anyone or judging or cursing to eternal damnation. We know what our religions teach is the ultimate end for those who do no follow our individual paths and we pray for one another accordingly, but that's it. If only we could all be so respectful of one another.

Now, the movie does an excellent job of showing that all Muslims are not sitting in their living rooms making bombs and plotting to kill Americans. Certainly there are those extremists who are planning such attacks, but that's what they are, extremists and the movie does show them in their full glory. Besides, we'd be kidding ourselves if we didn't admit that just as there are Muslim extremists, there are Christian ones as well. There's a site I visit if I need a good laugh every now and then. Even though I probably shouldn't be laughing at it at all, called God Hates Fags. Some of the things they write are totally insane, but the writing is like someting out of Saturday Night Live back in its golden day. They refer to President Bush as: "Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Bush" and, on one of their blogs just now, in response to an angry letter, Margie Phelps writes, "Shut your freaking Pizza Chute"!! Freaking HILARIOUS!

The guy behind the site, Fred Phelps, leads his "congregation" around the country to the funerals of dead soldiers (including of the Iraq War) to protest that the soldiers and the entire U.S. military are "faggots" and that's why they have been killed in combat.  Check it out at the link above when you get a moment and please do read it with nothing but the intention of laughing at the foolishness of it all. It's amazing how easily people are brainwashed, and they seem to be really serious about their message.

When the movie ended last night, many people clapped. I wanted to, but I think that's kind of loserish and country, so I wouldn't dare. But, do check it out when you get a chance and read the review at this site when you get a moment. I'm too lazy to do a full write-up about it and I'd get way too wordy anyway. You know how I go.... --SUGAR 

"Dreamgirls" Doesn't Disappoint!!

"Dreamgirls" is a dream come true!!!! I must say, I am a movie afficionado and I do believe I have a very keen taste for whether a movie is good, bad or just damn terrific and I must say, my hour long trek to see the film last night could have been two and I still wouldn't have had a grumble to give. The movie was just fabulous!!

Let me pause because I do have one gripe. I'm in South Carolina right now and Columbia, South Carolina, the state capital, is closest to where my parents live. At least with regards to being able to see a major film in a theater that is decent enough to afford the comforts of stadium seating, complete with plush seating and a gorgeous panoramic screen. Well, guess what? The cotton-picking idiots in that town didn't have a viewing of "Dreamgirls" anywhere in a city with 10 or 15 theaters!! I was livid! I had a mind to call each and every one of those theaters to complain, but I had to pump the breaks. I don't live here and if the proverbial sheep in that city didn't think to do a little rabble-rousing, one of my all-time favorite pasttimes, who am I to hop my "city-slicker" ass on the phone to do so? I may still contact the S.C. Film Commission to see if I can get some answers, but I'm not even sure about that. There's definitely something amiss though.

Anyway, so I traveled to Augusta, GA with my lawyer friend and another friend acquaintance of mine from high school (which could turn into another several paragraphs long post, but I don't even have the energy right this second, later) to see the movie. My keen sense of foresight (smell the sarcasm?) prompted me to purchase the tickets online beforehand so that we would be guaranteed tickets upon arrival. Smart move. Before we even left at 9pm, the 10:40pm show was sold out! So we get there and some idiots are standing in front of me at the kiosk fiddling around like they had all night and I knew, we only had a window of about three minutes before the good seats would have been taken. I hate sitting up in the rafters at some theater and I definitely didn't want to do so for such a well-reviewed movie. What is it with people anyway? I mean, maybe their purpose was really to engage in a little heavy-petting in the dark recesses of the theather, rather than actually watching the film. Well, I didn't come in there to be felt up, so I needed them to move and I needed  them to move fast! So, after I started mumbling expletives a little too loudly, stuff like, "I wish these bastards would hurry up," and "these damn idiots up here are taking too long," oh and, "I can't stand a dumb bastard at a ticket kiosk," I think they got the picture and moved it along. So, we finally got the tickets and I was glad to be on my way. I was in such a great Christmas mood....

We nestled in to three seats in the perfect position and I got ready for the ride. It was a nonstop thrill fest, filled with great songs, memorable lines and superb acting. There were a couple of times when I wished I had a remote for a couple of those songs, but it wasn't unbearable. Now, the movie "Evita" starring Madonna...whew! I thought I would drown myself in my soda. There was too much singing! I understand the whole musical concept. I love musicals, but I think that sometimes, those directors put the songs in at the wrong time when they adapt those musicals into films. That's just my two cents though. Spice loves "Evita" and I'm sure many other people do too.

One small gripe about my viewing experience. There was some queen in the making sitting just below us who obviously had seen the movie two or three times already that day, constantly singing the songs just loudly enough that those around him could hear, and clapping even when nobody else was. He was sooo annoying! At one point, I said, "Shut up," in my most bitchy voice ever. Everyone chuckled. Serves him right. He didn't turn around to see who said it either. He better not had because I had two words jangling around my subconscious...DEAD MEAT!

Back to the movie. JENNIFER HUDSON ROCKS!!! She truly outdid herself. She was powerful, she was solid, she was pretty, she was believable. Beyonce did a good enough job, but Jennifer really stole the show. Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy did very well too and there was another cutie in the film that I'd never seen before and he did a great job as well. The other chick, who noboby else is talking about, Anika Noni Simpson or whatever her name is, did a really good job as well. I think she won a Tony Award for some other show she was in previously. It's a shame she isn't getting much respect for this film.... Overall though, it was just a great movie. When Jennifer sang, "And I Am Telling You", I was blown away! I wasn't expecting such a powerful rendition, but she really tore it up!! I'm telling you, if you weren't able to catch the film last night, or earlier if you live in N.Y., definitely do so. Eddie Murphy did all of his own singing in the film, and it was VERY evident. I must have said 10 hail mary's that he wouldn't get a notion to try to come out with a new album.......after that "Party All the Time" disaster back in the late 80's I believe it was, I can't take another round! Please Jesus, don't let him get any ideas. I might cut my ears off and stuff the holes with masking tape if I ever hear that he has a new single out. Just awful!

Anyway, the film had a lot of messages about friendship, love and the grip that fame and power, or the desire for, can have on the human psyche. I was very pleased and I would even see it again, something I rarely do until a film comes to video. We'll see.

Anyway, enough reading! Get on www.fandango.com and find out when it's playing in a theater near you. It is well worth the 2:05 hours. --SUGAR