something secret

Today, I finally saw the Paula Patton led movie, Baggage Claim , and it was.... a predictably mediocre romantic comedy. Girl meets guy, girl wants ring, guy cheats, girl shame spirals and tries to get any one of several ex-boyfriend to propose, girl's plan fails, girl realizes the right guy was (literally) next door the whole time. And, fin.  So, terrible. I did like the man-candy though. But what stuck out to me in this film was Jill Scott's character Gail, best friend to Patton's Montgomery. Gail, a fellow flight attendant, is like Scott, plus-sized and busty. But she's also blatantly sexual. From the first few scenes of the movie, we establish that Gail is "that girl"; the one who has no shame and chases after her men the way she chases her drinks. Normally, the idea of yet another hypersexualized black female character would irritate me, but this was different. We have very specific narratives for how we interact with black women in the media. We get the ...

It's time! I'm finally going to see Catching Fire tonight and I'm BEYOND EXCITED. I love the Hunger Gamer trilogy and I'm practically shaking with anticipation about seeing the newest installment in the franchise. *bounces off walls* I had never heard of the Hunger Games until my senior year of college when the promos for the first movie started running. The trailer looked so enticing to me that I knew I had to find a copy of the book and get reading. I ended up devouring the first novel in a day, and then reading the next two over Spring Break. I vividly remember my glee at understanding the references in the trailer after finishing the novel. I'm corny! But I really did love the world that Suzanne Collins had created and I loved that it dealt with so many complex themes and issues. Seriously, the series is just begging  for some cultural analysis. How could I resist? In preparation for tonight I'm rereading the entirety of Catching Fire (speed reader! *pops co...

These days, I approach all media critically as a matter of course. It comes naturally to me to look for the symbolism and coded messages present in any body of work. When people create, it's with an eye for transmitting a message; a way to convey their interpretation of the world, and the exciting thing about television and films is delving into those varied perspectives. But I've just come from seeing the film  Gravity  for the first time and all I can say is, "WOW." I'm not entirely sure I'm able to form a cohesive thought about this movie because I'm so in awe. The entire movie is like a slow motion ballet; elegant and graceful. The film's stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, float through the air like lithe nymphs acting out a play. And yet there are moments of such emotional intensity that it's almost unbearable. Gravity  is beautifully shot. It is absolutely wonderful to look at, and it really gives weight to the majesty and vast intensit...

Sometimes a human story is all it takes. Not having read the novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie , I went into the screening of TTFF2013 's opening night film, Half Of A Yellow Sun  on Tuesday last, completely blind in terms of characterization and plot. The film, starring Thandie Newton and Chiwetel Ejiofor, was making it's Trinidadian debut after premiering in the Toronto International Film Festival the week before.  The story is set in Nigeria during the Nigerian-Biafran war of 1967-1970, and focuses largely on the personal relationship between Olanna and Odenigbo, (Newton and Ejiofor respectively) and their struggle to survive during the a bloody civil war. The couple go through familiar relationship rigors; testy in-laws, infidelity, hints at infertility; but they decide to commit to each other fully in a world that is crumbling around them, where the people they love are here one day and gone the next in frequently increasing air strikes that result from the war. I...

I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS SOUNDTRACK. Seriously, listen to it.  I saw the movie about two weeks ago with a friend, and the music was easily the best part. I loved the way the music was almost another character in the movie; clearly noticeable, but not distracting from the other elements of the film. I especially loved the way Ja-Z was able to blend contemporary rap and R&B with jazz and swing to create this incredible exciting new and relevant sound that was still evocative of the 20's. Loved it through and through. Let me know which sings are your favourites in the comments below! Continue Reading My Brilliance! >>>

via Afrobella With all the controversy surrounding Django Unchained upon its release, I purposely waited until after awards season to watch and review the movie. As much as I love getting into the thick of things, I'd already  seen and read so much about the merits and failings of Quentin Tarantino's latest offering that I knew that there was no way I could love or hate it in a void. I needed distance. So now, two weeks after the airing of the 85th Annual Academy Awards (at which Django won for Best Original Screenplay ), I'm finally sitting down to ruminate on how I felt about this movie. I almost don't know what to say about Django Unchained, but I will say this: I didn't hate it. I've never seen any of Quentin Tarantino's other films. From the trailers alone , he seems to specialize in a kind of overwrought, violent camp that does not appeal to me. But Django was his first directorial credit since 2009's Inglorious Bastards, the film featured several ...

Images via Beyond Hollywood Possibly the most (over)hyped movie of the year, the most recent incarnation of Les Miserables , stars Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, with Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thenardiers. Directed by Tom Hooper, the man behind the Academy Award winning The King's Speech , Les Miserables  is a big, broad movie that embraces its considerable largess.  There are problems of course. Hooper's insistence on sticking the camera firmly in every singing face is off-putting. I suspect I may well know every nook and cranny of Anne Hathaway's tonsils. To add insult to injury, the camera work is shaky; an artistic choice I'm sure, but a highly irritating one from the audience's point of view. The dialog is hard to follow at times as it is sung all the way through. This is no fault of Hooper's of course, but newcomers to the musical may find it difficult to ...