Wow. Were the comics as racist as I remember them? Let's break it down, shall we?
Super cool Tony Stark makes killer weapons. He sells them to the 'good guys'. That would be the US military. He gets captured by the bad guys. Those are the Arabs. They apparently are in Afghanistan. Who knew?
They have a leader. He is big, mean, and big nosed. Kinda stupid a little, but dont worry, there is this mysterious guy in the background that is bound to be the real brains behind the operation. He is! Yeah, we were right. Oh yeah, the white guy is sulking and doth protest too much but is easily convinved to cooperate by the loving Afghani man of color who (1) saved his life and (2) will undoubtedly give his own for the white man to live and fight for justice everywhere.
We are surprised to find out that the leader is not quite Arab, or he just is a smarter one that speaks english and wears a kufiyya. But dont worry he is easily tricked by the smart man, Tony Stark, who can outsmart a whole gang of cut throat terrorists with his eyes closed. Well, of course he needs his Afghani assistant to sacrifice his life first but leave with the great parting words to inspire Stary to be a better man.
Take a moment to quicly wipe away your tears at this touching moment...
Next he escapes! While we are not surprised, we do enjoy watching the solitary US man don his technological invention and bat around a gand of terrorist thugs as if they were... well, terrorists. Aren't they like flies to the great US?
Moving right along... Our hero is found and goes into his old life with his POC wisdom of what life is all about. He even revokes his association with the military, but not really, but whatever we can overlook that. Then the Arabs find the suit and try to rebuild a prototype. Or at least that is what I think. We found out later that they just stick it all together to ask the big bad white man to make more of them for the dumb Aras who cannpt even make these weapons for themselves. I guess they werent working for Hussein cause there were no weapons of mass destruction there, huh? Anyways, blah blah blah.
After some drama our hero returns with his suit from the US to save the Afghanis from the thugs again. He is there in minutes and saves them in seconds. Killing Arabs was never easier.
Eventually we find the bad guys are under the leadership of the big bad white man. that makes us relieved cause there is no way these Arabs are a fair match against our hero and now we have a real live threat to our hero. The big bad white man, the evil one, wears a suit that is made of all black material. What could be scarier than an Arab? A man who is white on the inside and Black on the outside, that's who! You gotta love it.
What a fucking joke. I guess that in True Lies Schwarzenneger and his wife must have left some Arabs for the rest of them in Hollywood to kill.
I wonder if they were real Arabs that took those parts in the movie. Now wouldn't that be something for real? Maybe I'll don my own suit and fly out to Hollywood and kill them since they are just that goddamned easy to smite. You know what I mean?
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Vicky Christina Barcelona
Well, where do I begin? Let's start by saying I didn't want to go see this movie, in fact was dragged virtually kicking and screaming. Who wants to watch a movie about two white women going to go find themselves or something? Apparently my wife does. And, therefore so do I.
It could have been the fact that I had the best darned popcorn in the world, but I have to say I was pleased with this film. To be frank, I can't stand Woody Allen. His particular brand of New York neurotocism wears on me, having grown up in NYC and not being able to stand neuroticism. I like it much better when he himself actually isn't in the movie.
OK, all that being said, did I tell you about the popcorn. I went to this theater and they pop it PER PERSON, PER ORDER. My god! I sauntered to my seat with a steaming bag of popped popcorn. So for all you folks at home who are planning on renting this, you know what you need to do...
But, for the reals, two white women off to Barcelona for the summer to find themselves, wittingly or unwittingly. I have to say that I enjoyed the fact that the stereotypes of the white characters in the movie were spot on and well scripted and shot. javier Bardem plays the European romantic so well as do Johannsen and Hall as the confused one and the safe life planned out one respectively. In a way, i t was refreshing to see a movie about Americans who go to Europe to find themselves rather than saving brown people in India and coming home wearing bindis and saris because they are so progressive and spiritual. No, thank god, woody allen is better than that.
In fact he slices through the adulthood angst stemming from those with set lives and the hopelessly confused stereotypes. The two main characters are these polar opposites but they each confront their limitations in due course of the story. I actually found myself able to relate to the feelings of two white women! To me that speaks to Woody Allen's ability to describe some aspect of the human condition with pure honesty. Or maybe it's that I was a confused hipster wannabe until I got married and had a hell of a time accepting the boring standard predictability that became my life. Maybe deep down I am a white woman. Two white women.
Warning: Spoiler ahead!
Regardless, Allen's twist on the "i left America to find myself" story comes at the end where they don't find the miraculous changes they believed were at the end of the proverbial european dreamy romantic rainbow. They leave just the way they came. Leave to Woody Allen to find a way to make telling the truth a novel idea.
In sum:
1. great soundtrack.
2. relatable neurotic white women.
3. beautiful Barcelona in the background.
4. desperation of feeling trapped by your own inadequacies.
5. lack of revelation a postmodern twist on the age old tale of coming of age when we realize we don't come of age.
oh just buy the soundtrack and move on with your life.
It could have been the fact that I had the best darned popcorn in the world, but I have to say I was pleased with this film. To be frank, I can't stand Woody Allen. His particular brand of New York neurotocism wears on me, having grown up in NYC and not being able to stand neuroticism. I like it much better when he himself actually isn't in the movie.
OK, all that being said, did I tell you about the popcorn. I went to this theater and they pop it PER PERSON, PER ORDER. My god! I sauntered to my seat with a steaming bag of popped popcorn. So for all you folks at home who are planning on renting this, you know what you need to do...
But, for the reals, two white women off to Barcelona for the summer to find themselves, wittingly or unwittingly. I have to say that I enjoyed the fact that the stereotypes of the white characters in the movie were spot on and well scripted and shot. javier Bardem plays the European romantic so well as do Johannsen and Hall as the confused one and the safe life planned out one respectively. In a way, i t was refreshing to see a movie about Americans who go to Europe to find themselves rather than saving brown people in India and coming home wearing bindis and saris because they are so progressive and spiritual. No, thank god, woody allen is better than that.
In fact he slices through the adulthood angst stemming from those with set lives and the hopelessly confused stereotypes. The two main characters are these polar opposites but they each confront their limitations in due course of the story. I actually found myself able to relate to the feelings of two white women! To me that speaks to Woody Allen's ability to describe some aspect of the human condition with pure honesty. Or maybe it's that I was a confused hipster wannabe until I got married and had a hell of a time accepting the boring standard predictability that became my life. Maybe deep down I am a white woman. Two white women.
Warning: Spoiler ahead!
Regardless, Allen's twist on the "i left America to find myself" story comes at the end where they don't find the miraculous changes they believed were at the end of the proverbial european dreamy romantic rainbow. They leave just the way they came. Leave to Woody Allen to find a way to make telling the truth a novel idea.
In sum:
1. great soundtrack.
2. relatable neurotic white women.
3. beautiful Barcelona in the background.
4. desperation of feeling trapped by your own inadequacies.
5. lack of revelation a postmodern twist on the age old tale of coming of age when we realize we don't come of age.
oh just buy the soundtrack and move on with your life.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Offside - (4 out of 5 stars)
If I had to sum up Offside in one word, it would be "authentic." The story revolves around several young women, one in particular, who try to sneak into a stadium and watch an important international soccer event. In Iran, women are forbidden from attending sports events. Apparently, some courageous women will dress up as young men and hope that no one will be the wiser. For the women in Offside, however, the plan fails and the meat of the story ensues.
Now, by "authentic," I do not mean to imply that I am Iranian and would therefore know which parts accurately reflect Iranian culture and which parts do not. I am not and I haven't a clue. What I am referring to is director Jafar Panahi's ability to bring us engaging characters and a portrayal that goes beyond delivering one-dimensional messages, i.e., women good, men bad. Here, the young men too seem to be caught up in a system that has them wedged between a rock and a hard place. Also lending to the movie's authenticity is footage of actual occurrences which took place immediately following this particular game. By incorporating this footage into a couple of scenes, Panahi, possibly unknowingly, provides viewers like myself with a rare glimpse into a culture we know little about. Although there were points where the argumentative pitch of a few scenes started to wear on me, as the characters gradually drew me in, that aspect also factored into the film's authenticity.
So I kind of have this acquaintance who often harps on what he sees as a trend in foreign movies to "air their cultural dirty laundry to the glee of western audiences." Part of what really kept it real for me was the feeling that Offside, and its message around inequality between the genders, is intended for Iranian audiences first and foremost. That especially comes across in certain scenes where one particularly tough young woman rebuffs a lot of her male captors' excuses for why women should not attend the games. Panahi is able to get the message about sexism in Iran out in a way that I found very effective and conveys a sincere interest in inspiring Iranians to engage in discussion and considerations about the subject. Perhaps because of how the love of country and culture, especially from the women, is vividly depicted, I did not get the feeling that the movie was being used as a vehicle for snitching on Iranian society to western audiences. That said, it is a very touching film from which we westerners also can truly learn a lot.
Now, by "authentic," I do not mean to imply that I am Iranian and would therefore know which parts accurately reflect Iranian culture and which parts do not. I am not and I haven't a clue. What I am referring to is director Jafar Panahi's ability to bring us engaging characters and a portrayal that goes beyond delivering one-dimensional messages, i.e., women good, men bad. Here, the young men too seem to be caught up in a system that has them wedged between a rock and a hard place. Also lending to the movie's authenticity is footage of actual occurrences which took place immediately following this particular game. By incorporating this footage into a couple of scenes, Panahi, possibly unknowingly, provides viewers like myself with a rare glimpse into a culture we know little about. Although there were points where the argumentative pitch of a few scenes started to wear on me, as the characters gradually drew me in, that aspect also factored into the film's authenticity.
So I kind of have this acquaintance who often harps on what he sees as a trend in foreign movies to "air their cultural dirty laundry to the glee of western audiences." Part of what really kept it real for me was the feeling that Offside, and its message around inequality between the genders, is intended for Iranian audiences first and foremost. That especially comes across in certain scenes where one particularly tough young woman rebuffs a lot of her male captors' excuses for why women should not attend the games. Panahi is able to get the message about sexism in Iran out in a way that I found very effective and conveys a sincere interest in inspiring Iranians to engage in discussion and considerations about the subject. Perhaps because of how the love of country and culture, especially from the women, is vividly depicted, I did not get the feeling that the movie was being used as a vehicle for snitching on Iranian society to western audiences. That said, it is a very touching film from which we westerners also can truly learn a lot.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Awakenings (based on a true story)
Here is an oldie but a goodie. A real tear jerker. DeNiro shaking his way back into a coma. Robin Williams apparently on sedatives and not overacting, just lots of smiling when his patients come to life.
Set in the early part of the second half of the 20th century reveals that there are all white patients except for one Black man, who, of course, doesn't speak even after awakening. No my friends, his voice is the Piano! Just what we need, another inarticulate Black man in the Pictures with a great talent for musicianship.
Folks must have gone crazy for Ray when it came out. Oh yeah, they did.
but anyways, otherwise makes me wonder... here is this guy who wants to do experiments on these white patients but can't do it without consent of the caretakers and the families and the other doctors and the like. If those were some dark patients, they would have them pumped full of all kinds of shit! go back and look at the Tuskegee Experiment and such similar instances of crazy white Docs experimenting on Black and Brown patients, with or without their consent.
Yeah, if those were some dark patients you rest assured you would be crying at the end, but for a different reason than this one.
All in all, i give it a 5/10. the only Black guy in it is the hip, jive talkin orderly and the only black woman is the lazy nurse. If you are Black or Brown this movie isn't about you.
Set in the early part of the second half of the 20th century reveals that there are all white patients except for one Black man, who, of course, doesn't speak even after awakening. No my friends, his voice is the Piano! Just what we need, another inarticulate Black man in the Pictures with a great talent for musicianship.
Folks must have gone crazy for Ray when it came out. Oh yeah, they did.
but anyways, otherwise makes me wonder... here is this guy who wants to do experiments on these white patients but can't do it without consent of the caretakers and the families and the other doctors and the like. If those were some dark patients, they would have them pumped full of all kinds of shit! go back and look at the Tuskegee Experiment and such similar instances of crazy white Docs experimenting on Black and Brown patients, with or without their consent.
Yeah, if those were some dark patients you rest assured you would be crying at the end, but for a different reason than this one.
All in all, i give it a 5/10. the only Black guy in it is the hip, jive talkin orderly and the only black woman is the lazy nurse. If you are Black or Brown this movie isn't about you.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Hustle and Flow (-5) hard out there trickin for the Man
Just how many stereotypes can you fit into a movie, exactly?
Well, we have the pimp with a dream turned rapper, there's two right there. Then there's the midwestern white hooker turned business woman. Then there's the pregnant black woman who stands by her man (who happens to be her pimp) and the one with the kid already that challenges and derides him cause she is a B!#$@. I guess they had to split them up into two separate characters even though they only start follwoing the former after he kicks out the latter.
And an award?!? What is with America when they dole out awards for the lamest shittiest crappiest sellout piece of shit writing/acting in hollywood. The just love to reward anyone who will fuck over people of color in the pictures, don't they? What did it win, best song? for it being hard out there for a pimp?
Why oh why do white people write movies about People of Color? Oh yeah, cause they win awards for it. Why oh why do people of color star in these goddamned movies? Oh yeah it's cause they win awards for it... What? Oh, Terence Howard didn't win? I guess you have to sleep with the white killer of your black murdering husband before you get recognized by the Academy. It really is hard out there for a pimp, but that's what you get, T.
Upon further investigation, our beloved anthem of pimping angst was written by Juicy J of the three 6 Mafia. What is wrong with people? I just must not be as down as I thought. Mybe if I was poor or something I would join the ranks of those who want to claim that this is what life was really like, that this shit was REAL. Like that time I was dating the woman who grew up in the whore house and looked at me funny when we started watching American Pimp. I rolled my eyes at the pimps on the golf course and their love for pimping and boy did she give it to me.
The director said in the extras he really wanted to make a movie that was about standing by your man through the thick and thin. I guess he just figured that the lowest man he could think of to stick by, that no woman would want to stick by was a Black man pimp.
If I was Black, I would be outraged. Hey wait, I'm not Black and I'm outraged.
Black Movie Awards
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Terrence Howard (Winner)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Taraji P. Henson (Winner)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Anthony Anderson (Winner)
Outstanding Motion Picture: (Nominated)
Black Reel Awards
Best Actor: Terrence Howard (Winner)
Best Supporting Actress: Taraji P. Henson (Winner)
Best Original Soundtrack: (Winner)
Best Film: (Nominated)
Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Anderson (Nominated)
Best Ensemble: Nominated
At least it didn't win any Image awards even though it was nominated.
Well, we have the pimp with a dream turned rapper, there's two right there. Then there's the midwestern white hooker turned business woman. Then there's the pregnant black woman who stands by her man (who happens to be her pimp) and the one with the kid already that challenges and derides him cause she is a B!#$@. I guess they had to split them up into two separate characters even though they only start follwoing the former after he kicks out the latter.
And an award?!? What is with America when they dole out awards for the lamest shittiest crappiest sellout piece of shit writing/acting in hollywood. The just love to reward anyone who will fuck over people of color in the pictures, don't they? What did it win, best song? for it being hard out there for a pimp?
Why oh why do white people write movies about People of Color? Oh yeah, cause they win awards for it. Why oh why do people of color star in these goddamned movies? Oh yeah it's cause they win awards for it... What? Oh, Terence Howard didn't win? I guess you have to sleep with the white killer of your black murdering husband before you get recognized by the Academy. It really is hard out there for a pimp, but that's what you get, T.
Upon further investigation, our beloved anthem of pimping angst was written by Juicy J of the three 6 Mafia. What is wrong with people? I just must not be as down as I thought. Mybe if I was poor or something I would join the ranks of those who want to claim that this is what life was really like, that this shit was REAL. Like that time I was dating the woman who grew up in the whore house and looked at me funny when we started watching American Pimp. I rolled my eyes at the pimps on the golf course and their love for pimping and boy did she give it to me.
The director said in the extras he really wanted to make a movie that was about standing by your man through the thick and thin. I guess he just figured that the lowest man he could think of to stick by, that no woman would want to stick by was a Black man pimp.
If I was Black, I would be outraged. Hey wait, I'm not Black and I'm outraged.
Black Movie Awards
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Terrence Howard (Winner)
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Taraji P. Henson (Winner)
Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Anthony Anderson (Winner)
Outstanding Motion Picture: (Nominated)
Black Reel Awards
Best Actor: Terrence Howard (Winner)
Best Supporting Actress: Taraji P. Henson (Winner)
Best Original Soundtrack: (Winner)
Best Film: (Nominated)
Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Anderson (Nominated)
Best Ensemble: Nominated
At least it didn't win any Image awards even though it was nominated.
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