Welcome to the Musings of an Eccentric Diva. My motto is: Giving Hollyweird movies the finger one movie at a time. Enter at your own risk (insert evil Vincent Price laughter here).
Saturday, November 24, 2007
MOVIE REVIEW: Who Made The Potatoe Salad 2006
San Diego cop Mike (Jaleel "Urkel" White) is all set to propose to his girlfriend Ashley (Jennia Fredrique). Ashley accepts his proposal and they travel to meet her family...in South Central LA nonetheless. When they arrive they are greeted by her dad Mr. Jenkins (Clifton Powell), a former Black Panther type who hates cops because he spent time in jail for aggravated murder on a police officer, her loving mom Mrs. Jenkins (Ella Joyce) and her gangbanging, slang-talking brother June Bug (DeRay Davis) and a host of other unique relatives. Understanding that Mr Jenkins has no love for cops whatsoever, Mike knows he has to work extra-hard to prove to Ashley's dad that he's the man for her. Will Mike succeed or will Mr. Jenkins roast this "pig"? No more spoilers from me y'all!
Ok, I will admit to being a quasi-movie snob so I had to be prodded a bit to watch this film by a source I trusted. Dammit I LAUGHED MY ASS OFF! Don't go looking into this movie for some deeper meaning because you won't find it here, it's strictly to make you laugh. Poor Jaleel will always be Urkel to me, regardless how much times he spends in the gym. I think that's what made this film even funnier for me. His bug eyes, goofy demeanor and boyish charm is still intact from his "Family Matters" days. Jennia Fredrique is a lovely lady and her face was instantly recognizable to me from her Brandy character on the LOGO channel show Noah's Arc. Clifton Powell plays a great baddie, his role as the dad who was "set up" by the pigs left me in stitches. But who really stole the show for me was Eddie Griffin with his small role as Malik, Ashley's incarcerated ex-boyfriend. It was interesting to see Ella Joyce and Clifton Powell, two former cast members from the great Fox show Roc play husband and wife, on the show they hated each other lol. The movie features several other comedians who you may recognize from tv such as Reynaldo Ray, Gary Owen, Michael Colyar, and Bebe Drake. I watched this film on Thanksgiving and it just so happened the film takes place during the Thanksgiving holiday. If you just want to laugh and not think a great deal, see thisfilm.
VERDICT: 3 Soul Claps (sad to say this was more entertaining than American Gangster)
FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: Guru ft Chaka Khan- Watch What You Say 1995
Jazzmataz Volumes 1 & 2 would easily make my top 50 list of the best hip hop cd's ever. It was way ahead of its time and took hip hop to another level. More importantly this song features my all-time favorite female singer ever Chaka Khan (don't nobody say nothing bad about Ms Chaka!).
I loved the boys vs girls scene in the first House Party movie. This movie meant a lot to me because it was the first of its kind. It featured Black kids from middle class backgrounds (with the except of AJ Johnson's character, her family was HILARIOUS) who were basically good kids looking to have a good time. At the time Kid 'n Play were at the top of their game so this was a must-see film for young folks when it was released. Even though both had appeared in other films prior to this, the House Party films truly launched the careers of Tisha Campbell and Martin Lawrence, they should thank their lucky stars for The Hudlin Brothers. It would be awesome to see a reunion of the cast once the film reaches it's 20th anniversary or something. Most of the central characters are still working, including Darryl "Chill" Miller who is now confined to a wheelchair due to a motorcycle accident in 2001.
When Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson (Clarence Williams III) dies, his driver Frank Lucas (Denzel) is slated to take over his spot as Harlem’s crime lord. Frank takes over the operation and enlists the help of his brothers and various other relatives from his hometown in North Carolina. Being the entrepreneur he is, Frank decides to cut out the middleman and import his drugs straight from Indonesia. The “product” he puts on the market just happens to be one of the purest forms on heroin on the street. He nicknames his product Blue Magic and Lucas turns his drug trade into a million dollar a day business. Frank is at the top of his game but honest cop Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is hot on his trail. Also complicating matters is a gang of crooked cops led by Detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) who shakes down Frank at any given time. Will Frank continue his reign in Harlem as drug kingpin number one or will he be taken down by the long arm of the law? No more spoilers from me y’all!
Denzel is MY MAN, there is no denying that. He can turn a so-so film into a really entertaining one (Déjà vu). I will say I consider this another one of his so-so films. I am no advocate of drug dealers, I actually despise them but I think it was due time to see something of this magnitude on the screen. George Jung and Henry Hill (Blow and Goodfellas respectively) both had their stories depicted on screen, so it was time a Black dealer got his turn. While watching this film I saw a culmination of all the great characters Denzel played previously in this one role…I saw Alonzo from Training Day, I saw Malcolm X, and I saw Ruben “Hurricane” Carter. It’s almost like he’s becoming a caricature of all the roles his previous roles when I know he has more range than what was depicted here. Who really stole the show for me was Josh Brolin's character Detective Trupo. Josh is becoming the go-to bad guy for films lately, I need to dedicate a post to him because I'm truly digging him. Russell Crowe's Ritchie Russell character was straight boring, I guess they had to throw in the divorce scenario for good measure because it did nothing for the storyline. Cuba Gooding's small role as rival gangster Nicky Barnes provides one of the most entertaining scenes in the film. It would be nice to see real actors in movies instead of rappers, T.I. and Common had no place in this film except to draw people into the theaters, at least they gave RZA a real role. With the exception of the rappers, this film had a terrific cast. I don't know what I was expecting to see, but this film did not live up to its hype. It wasn't a terrible film but it was no epic either. Typical popcorn fare.
FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM: Missy Elliot- Beep Me 911 1998
Hard to believe this song is almost 10 years old, time sure does fly. Missy has no qualms aboutgetting silly for a video, I love that she doesn't take herself too seriously. The human marionette concept for this video was really cute and innovative.
Herman Munster shoes for the new millennium. This is the shoe of choice for vertically challenged YT frat boys. The durable soles of these shoes are great for stomping on the head of some poor unsuspecting Black kid who happens to venture into the wrong neighborhood.
FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM 2 (Lite Skin Brotha Edition) Al B Sure-Nite and Day 1988
Now I posted a video of my favorite Lite Skin Brother below who could actually sing, here is one who could NOT! Clawd Hammercy, I saw this man singing live and wanted to cry. I was so disappointed, it sounded like someone skinning live cats....I wanted my teenage dollars back! How in the hell did I ignore that giant caterpillar crawling across his face? That unibrow was NOT the bidness but we thought he was fine.
FRIDAY FLASHBACK JAM (Lite Skin Brotha Edition): Christopher Williams-Dreamin' 1991
Excuse my political incorrectness for a second but I wanted to showcase two of my favorite lite skin brothas for my Friday Flashbacks. This brother here could actually SANG..I saw him live and he blew my socks off. Too bad his career went out like the high-top fade he was sporting. This track is from the New Jack City soundtrack which I horribly overlooked when I did my Random Ten Soundtrack list. I think I may revisit that in a later post to expand it because I missed a lot of great ones. My favorite part in the movie is when Nino Brown stabs his ass and says "I never liked you anyway, pretty muthafucka". Hee hee.
Growing up I used to LOVE the Beach Party movies starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. These movies were fun, silly and lighthearted. The "teens" were well into their 30's but hell..who cared? The highlight of these movies was Ms. Candy Johnson. With her fringed outfits, well-coifed beehive and slender body, Candy would shimmy those hips and those boys would pass out! That's some power! I soooo wanted a fringed outfit so I too could shake and make the boys pass out. Candy wasn't the prettiest or the youngest thing but the chick sure could move. Back in the day they called these chicks go-godancers, the precursor to skrippas lol. Watch Candy do her thang in the video clip below.
Here my list of some of the most overrated movies ever. These are movies are critically acclaimed but they are just big snoozers in my opinion. They are in no particular order because they are all equally boring. Don't fall alseep while reading the list lol.
1. Little Miss Sunshine
2. In The Bedroom
3. Memento
4. Titanic
5. Pursuit of Happyness
6. Harry Potter movies (Dumbledore's gayness won't even make me watch these)
7. Babel (exactly what the title implies, 2 hrs of babble)
8. Hitch (see a trend with Will Smith films here lol)
Jigsaw is officially dead and gone and so is his last student Amanda. His mangled body lays on an autopsy table ready for the final curtain call in the sky. Inside of his body lies clues to another “game”, yes even in death, his “work” lives on. Detectives Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) and Rigg (Lyriq Bent) are assigned to figure out exactly which poor fucker is on his victims' list. Rigg has become a bit obsessed with finding Jigsaw because he has wiped out several of his fellow police officers. His hunt for Jigsaw and the missing Detective Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg from Saw 2) has eventually cost him his marriage as well. Jigsaw catches up with Rigg and makes him a part of his latest game. He has 90 minutes to find Detective Matthews and Hoffman or else his poor wife will perish. Meanwhile, Jiggy’s wife Jill (Betsy Russel) is brought into the police station for questioning and we learn more about how John the man became Jigsaw the monster. Can Detective Rigg reach Matthews and Hoffman in time before his wife becomes another casualty? No more spoilers from me y’all.
Woo boy! Talk about an unnecessary mess! This movie has entirely too much going on for one film. There are about 15 different stories going on in this film. We have the story regarding John’s wife Jill and what led him down the primrose path. We have the Detective Rigg story and how he became obsessed with the Jigsaw case. We have 2 interrogating detectives who are involved in the search for Jigsaw’s replacement. Last but not least we have the barely alive Detective Matthews from Saw 2 and Detective Hoffman trapped in another “game”. It’s just too much. I don’t think I really cared to know as much as they revealed about Jigsaw’s former life, they touched on that in Saw 3. The killings were sparse in this one and not nearly as creative or gross. I think they need to stick a fork (or saw) into this series ASAP. I’m sure there will be another since there is a new Jigsaw which almost comes as no surprise in the end of the film. Lyriq Bent did a great job with the role he played, I would like to see him in something else. Direct-to-video king CostasMandylor has finally lucked out to get a role in a major film, Bravo. Tobin Bell still gets plenty of face time in flashback sequences even though his Jigsaw character is dead. I wouldn’t say this is the worst movie I’ve ever seen but it certainly isn’t the best and it doesn’t do justice to the first two Saw films. I’d say skip it and wait for the dvd or better yet, wait until it comes on cable.
Geeks rule..I'm living proof of that, I'm just a cool, well-dressed one. My obessions are shoes (over 200 pair and counting ), vintage clothing, Steely Dan, and horror movies..the more B-grade, the better.
MOVIE REVIEW: Who Made The Potatoe Salad 2006
