Chocolate Grey

Diary of a Mad Black Woman

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I happened to catch this movie again tonight, and I believe it's becoming a cult classic, and I can see why: it wraps love, betrayal, humor, deceit, dedication, and treachery all in one package. I remember seeing it when it opened in 2005, and the crowd laughed, cried, and cheered in unison.

Tyler Perry, playing multiple roles, gives a hilarious performance as Madea, a gun-totting, but wise matriarch. Kimberly Elise takes the show as the mad black woman, and for good reason. Her husband of many years, replaces her with a money-grabbing bimbo. Shemar Moore plays the "knight in shinning armor" to Elise's damsel in much distress. Both deserve accolades for their performances.

Quite naturally, the film is for rent from Netflix, Blockbuster, or purchase at Walmart. It's a wonderful example of not only African American culture, but the lessons we learn when we open our hearts; to those that appreciate our love, and those that seek to destroy it with conviction and malice.

SYNOPSIS from IMDb.com:
Helen McCarter has everything a woman wants: a nice house and rich husband. However after her husband Charles throws her out of the house after admitting to an affair a distraught Helen turns to her mother, grandmother Madea and cousin Brian who take her in and turn back to God. Helen learns for the first time in her life to stand up on her two feet and is ready to remove herself from her relationship with Charles and move on with Orlando. But when her husband is almost killed by a vengeful client, Helen wonders if she has the heart to forgive him despite everything.

Watchmen

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"Sure, all superhero movies are violent. But this one revels in blood, sex, and politics. It took 23 years to get to the big screen. Now, we're going to find out who can handle it. Are you ready to watch ''Watchmen''?"

They have come to glimpse the miracle. They have come to witness the revolution. They have come for Watchmen — the allegedly unfilmable superhero movie, the long-awaited adaptation of the comic book that changed the face of comic books forever. On this warm July morning, over 5,000 fans attending the annual geek pop summit known as Comic-Con have assembled inside the San Diego Convention Center for a first look.

Many spent the night on the sidewalk. Some have come in costumes — most modeled after Rorschach, a vigilante with an inkblot mask and a pitiless brand of justice that makes Batman look like Bambi. Behind the stage, indie-movie icon Kevin Smith, a.k.a. the Most Famous Fanboy in the World, parks himself in front of a closed-circuit TV, a happy grin on his bearded mug. ''You have to understand, I've been waiting for this moment for years,'' says Smith. ''This is it, man. This is the pinnacle... Full Story

Adventures with Seth

Adventures with Seth: "Rule #1" from AwS Crew on Vimeo

My friend Mike Howard co-stars in Adventures with Seth, a new San Francisco-based film that prooves the city is still a vital force in the movie industry! And, like everything that's hip and cool today, it's an "Internet Movie" released through monthly episodes.

I, like the rest of the co-workers, knew that Mike was destined for more than an accountant because he had too much energy to be confined in anyone's cubicle. We knew that there was something better for him, but we couldn't put our finger on it. Now, it's clear that we were right all along.

Even though I missed the movie premier, I know it will be the talk of the Internet very soon. It's like "Sin City" meets "Quantum of Solace" with it's mix of genres and cinematography. Best of luck to the cast and crew for a remarkable film from San Francisco! You've made us proud!

Chocolate Grey will have every episode as soon as they hit The Net, so please stay tuned.

Adventures with Seth: "Rule #2" from AwS Crew on Vimeo

As one critic writes, Adventures with Seth "is a monthly web serial about an obsessive-compulsive assassin whose strict code of ethics is disrupted when he takes on a very intriguing target. Explosions, blood and mass hysteria give way to a world where violence is common, innovation is coveted, and information is king. Highly stylized and brewing with action, AwS provides a modern approach to the classic noir by embedding a twist of imagination with captivating characters."

Adventures with Seth: "Rule #3" from AwS Crew on Vimeo.


Adventures with Seth: "Rule #4" from AwS Crew on Vimeo.


Adventures with Seth: "Rule# 5" from AwS Crew on Vimeo.

Episode 6 coming June 15, 2009

The Oscar Nominations

The nominations are in for the most prestigious award in Hollywood: The Oscar. This year, the gala event of moviedom will be held on February 22nd. Of all the nominations for the #1 movie of the year, I've only seen one, and I was thrilled to see it a second time, as I'm sure others did for their favorite. Whatever film, actor, director, or collaboration wins, their competitors are just as deserving.

Best Actor
Richard Jenkins, Frank Langella, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Mickey Rourke

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Melissa Leo, Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet

Best Picture
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Slumdog Millionaire, Frost/Nixon, Milk, The Reader

(See the entire list of nominees on Oscar.com)

TRIVIA: The first Academy Award ever awarded was to Emil Jannings for the movies The Way of All Flesh (1927) and The Last Command (1928). In the academy's early years, actors received awards for multiple films. Jannings received the award before the event because he had to return to Germany, where he soon actively supported the Nazi party, leading to the end of a successful return to the screen.

Ricardo Montalban 1920-2009

Ricardo Montalban, the dashing Mexican actor who gained fame for two iconic television roles -- that of the vengeful Khan in Star Trek and the mysterious Mr. Roark in Fantasy Island -- died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles; he was 88. No cause of death was given, though it was known that Montalban had suffered from complications after undergoing 9 1/2 hours of spinal surgery in 1993 to alleviate an injury he suffered in 1951 while filming the western Across the Wide Missouri.

The surgery, however, did not resolve his medical problems, and he found himself primarily confined to a wheelchair. A career in Mexican films led to Hollywood and an MGM contract in 1946, and he was cast in a number of Esther Williams films (his American feature debut was in 1946's Fiesta opposite the swimming star) as well as westerns and dramas opposite such stars as Lana Turner and Jane Powell.

After leaving MGM in the mid-fifties, Montalban appeared on numerous television shows, though it was his singular turn as the villainous Khan Noonien Singh, one of a group of genetically engineered "supermen" in the "Space Seed" episode of Star Trek for which he became most remembered, and he reprised that role in the 1982 box office hit Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

By the time that film was released, Montalban had also become famous to a new generation of television viewers as the enigmatic Mr. Rourke, the host of the ABC Saturday night staple Fantasy Island (1978-1984), where he would preside over cautionary tales of those who wished to have their most desired fantasies fulfilled. (Around the same time, Montalban did a number of commercials for the Chrysler Cordoba, where his exhortations of the cars "rich Corinthian leather" would become an affectionate pop culture reference.)

After his role as Khan, Montalban continued to appear in television (most notably on the Dynasty spin-off The Colbys) and in film (as the villain of the comedy The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!) until his surgery curtailed his acting career. Montalban continued to work, however, appearing in all three of the Spy Kids films and doing voice work for the television shows Kim Possible and Family Guy. Montalban's wife, Georgiana Young (the younger sister of actress Loretta Young) died in 2007; the two had been married since 1944 and had four children. Source: IMDb

Grayson

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From Untamed Cinema

"Gotham's Son Returns! Two decades after the golden age of superheroes has passed, hope has abandoned Gotham City. Corruption has infected Gotham's highest levels of power and led to the death of its greatest champion. Now, former boy wonder, Dick Grayson, will emerge from the shadows of retirement to avenge the murder of his legendary mentor."

My friend Paul Koverman deserves a big Thank You for reminding me about this trailer: even though it will never be made into a movie. I've had it for years, and thought it was on one of my websites. After an exhaustive search, and an hour of blood, sweat and tears configuring it to work just right, its now available for anyone to see; especially Paul.

Warning: After you click the photo, Hold On . . .

The Spirit

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Obviously, the best thing about "The Spirit" was the trailer. I just came from seeing it on the big screen with my friend Allan, and I was disappointed that this sequel did not live up to it's predecessor, "Sin City". It had similar visual elements that made Sin City outstanding, but it lacked the seriousness of Sin City.

There was far too much emphasis on silliness, and stupidity than one could handle. So, anyone anticipating The Spirit to evoke the same awesomeness of Sin City should save your money and time, and wait for the DVD, unless you have time to kill and money to burn.

Turner Classic Movies Remembers (2008)

Turner Classic Movies just released another video remembering those individuals that we lost this year. Although it is an extensive list, it was completed 13 days before the passing of Eartha Kitt on Christmas Day.