J-Hud and Jennifer Holliday: They killed it, of course. It's not a competition, but Jennifer Holliday shows that she's the originator. Did you see the faces she was making though? Yikes!!
Mo'Nique: I love Mo. She is hilarious! Those big girls were gettin' it too. I give it a 9.9...on the Richter scale.
Beyonce: She just won an award for Video of the Year. Look at her shape, that's a for real coke bottle! Do it girl, I'm not gonna hate. Yet.
TI: Big Thangs Poppin.' I don't like that song. But I like you Tip, even though you came out looking like the captain of the Love Boat.
Nick Cannon and the little homie from High School Musical: *Yawn* Nick Cannon ought to start endorsing popcorn.
Ne-Yo: Michael Jackson called, he wants his DNA back. Now he's doing "Make Me Better," and my boy Fab is stuntin' HARD, he has on gold kicks!
Best Actor award: Stiff competition but Forrest Whitaker wins for The Last King of Scotland. Can't be mad at that, the role netted him an Oscar for cryin' out loud.
Diddy and Keyshia Cole: I like that blue leather Diddy has on. KC aka Mary J. Blige Jr. looks good too. Everybody loves this song, don't front! Uh look at Lil Kim! Diddy is a clown, I love him though. Is Lil Kim singing??? Good performance, it built to a nice little crescendo at the end.
Chris Brown and Rihanna: They look cute. Chris plugs his album, which doesn't come out till AUGUST. No boo, that is too far away, let it ride. They're presenting the award for Best Actress, which goes to J-Hud. She's wearing a bedspread. Girl get a stylist!
Beyonce performs: Wow...she emerges from a metallic cocoon on some Mad Max shit. She knows she has to raise the bar everytime she does the BET Awards. So far it doesn't look like she'll surpass last year, but good job so far. Let's hope there aren't any wardrobe malfunctions. She sounds great, cuz she's dancing her ass off and isn't out of breath.
Kelly Rowland: okay, Beyonce segues to Kelly, who sounds lousy and looks like the result of an unholy union between Rainbow Brite and Wonder Woman. Now here comes Eve with another underwhelming rap performance. You know what though, BET always brings the dopest performances, and this was entertaining if nothing else.
TI wins some award: TI is that dude, sexy lil' anorexic thing. I give him credit for making a veiled apology for going upside the head of Ludacris' manager earlier in the week. Now that's gangsta: a man who can admit his faults while not humbling himself. Big thangs poppin' indeed.
Robin Thicke: Looking good and sounding good. This man makes love to my eardrums. He's performing "Lost Without You," but it has a sped-up Latin twist. Hmm...I guess that's okay. Why are you dancing Robin??? That was corny, don't do that again.
Now comes the dirty south portion of the program: T-Pain and Young Joc. T-Pain disgusts me. The camera just panned to Diana Ross doing a weird shimmy. Now Floyd Mayweather. I love you Floyd, you sexy thang you!
Tribute to Gerald Levert: Patti speaks, then performances by his daddy Eddie, Gladys Night, Yolanda Adams and Patti. Stirring performances with a visibly moved audience. R.I.P. Gerald!
50 Cent: Come on Fif, why you gotta cuss and test the censors? Not necessary. You're washed up playboy, just stick to movies and Vitamin Water. He disgusts me too. Go sit in the corner with T-Pain.
D-d-d-damn: Reggie Bush AND Floyd Mayweather? You. Just. Don't. Know.
Tribute to Diana Ross (the ORIGINAL diva!): I'm not gonna front, Diana is a legend, she deserves such a tribute. Alicia Keys gave a glorious homage. Badu performs "Love Hangover" with a crazy ass fro. Do it girl wit yo crazy ass. Your outfit is showing me parts of you I never wanted to see though. Thanks. Up next : Chaka Khan, a legend herself. Stevie Wonder too, hell yeah! She's lovin it, as she should, what an honor. Her kids present her with the award, how sweet! She closes with a word to the younger crowd that you can be classy ladies and gents and still have a long career. Nice Diana, but the world's a different place now and I think your words fell on deaf ears. Nice sentiment though.
Don Cheadle wins Humanitarian of the Year Award: What a humble, intelligent, endearing brother. He is a gem. I can't remember the last time I've heard such a sincere and thoughtful acceptance speech.
Jennifer Hudson wins Best New Artist: Sit down bitch I'm tired. You're great, but you are not the best new artist...isn't this award for musical artists??? Why is she winning an award, what music has she put out????
Awww Ciara, you disappointed me girl, I was lookin' for you to kill it! You did too much booty-poppin' and not enough dancing :-( The matrix shit is dope though, do you have a spine??? This girl is like Gumby.
Tribute to The Godfather of Soul: PE does a good job with a fitting introduction from Al Sharpton. R.I.P. JB. We needed a dancing tribute to him though, with Usher and Chris Brown. That woulda been hot. I swear whenever I hear Fight the Power I wanna burn some shit down. Revolution!
All in all a good show and a nice affair, but nothing to really make me say "did you see that?"
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Ocean's Thirteen
Some things in this life are reliable summertime favorites: a cool glass of lemonade, a Jay-Z album (Jigga held you down for 6 summers, don't forget) and an Ocean's movie. With that being said, of course Ocean's Thirteen was enjoyable. The first one was clever, the sequel was a little too cute for its own good, and the third one brings it back to something nice and simple: revenge.
The gang's all here, with the addition of Ellen Barkin (She Hate Me) and the living legend that is Al Pacino (most recently of Two For the Money). Pacino is Willie Bank, a ruthless hotel and casino owner. Bank is opening a new hotel with the help of Reuben, one of the old cats in Danny Ocean's crew. The problem arises when Bank double-crosses Reuben in a particularly nasty, cold-hearted way. Angered at the betrayal of their friend and mentor, the gang plots revenge against Bank. They have concocted a plan to bankrupt his casino. The overall scheme is spectacular, but each facet of the caper seems plausible in it's own way - plus a little luck never hurt either.
The best thing about the movie is its ensemble cast, a hodgepodge of A-listers like Damon (The Good Shepherd), Clooney (Syriana) and Pitt (Babel), and some good old fashion thespians like Don Cheadle (Crash) and Andy Garcia. Moreover, any chance to see Pacino is usually a treat in and of itself. He relishes the role of Bank, and you can tell that everyone genuinely had fun making the movie. Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich) shoots the actors in the most glamorous, flattering fashion, especially the male leads. I don't think George Clooney has looked more handsome. Who am I kidding, he's almost always handsome. Pitt too, I think age is agreeing with him. The man has a nice lil' swagger on him, no doubt. Like it's predecessors, Ocean's Thirteen is slick and stylish and whole lot of fun. If you liked the first one you certainly won't be disappointed.
The gang's all here, with the addition of Ellen Barkin (She Hate Me) and the living legend that is Al Pacino (most recently of Two For the Money). Pacino is Willie Bank, a ruthless hotel and casino owner. Bank is opening a new hotel with the help of Reuben, one of the old cats in Danny Ocean's crew. The problem arises when Bank double-crosses Reuben in a particularly nasty, cold-hearted way. Angered at the betrayal of their friend and mentor, the gang plots revenge against Bank. They have concocted a plan to bankrupt his casino. The overall scheme is spectacular, but each facet of the caper seems plausible in it's own way - plus a little luck never hurt either.
The best thing about the movie is its ensemble cast, a hodgepodge of A-listers like Damon (The Good Shepherd), Clooney (Syriana) and Pitt (Babel), and some good old fashion thespians like Don Cheadle (Crash) and Andy Garcia. Moreover, any chance to see Pacino is usually a treat in and of itself. He relishes the role of Bank, and you can tell that everyone genuinely had fun making the movie. Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Erin Brockovich) shoots the actors in the most glamorous, flattering fashion, especially the male leads. I don't think George Clooney has looked more handsome. Who am I kidding, he's almost always handsome. Pitt too, I think age is agreeing with him. The man has a nice lil' swagger on him, no doubt. Like it's predecessors, Ocean's Thirteen is slick and stylish and whole lot of fun. If you liked the first one you certainly won't be disappointed.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Mr. Brooks
Wow. Now this is what I’m talking about, this is how you do a psychological thriller. Mr. Brooks embodied all the best of the genre: suspense, a demented and brilliant villain, sexual undertones and more than a few twists and turns.
Kevin Costner (The Upside of Anger) is Earl Brooks, a wealthy entrepreneur and socialite. He has a lovely wife, Emma (Marg Helgenberger of CSI) and a daughter in college. He seems normal enough, but it’s established very early that the man is one fry short of a Happy Meal. He has an alter-ego/split personality/imaginary friend named Marshall, played by the wonderful William Hurt (A History of Violence). As Mr. Brooks and his wife drive home after a gala, he and Marshall exchange testy banter about whether or not Brooks should resume his serial killer ways. He’s taken a two year hiatus from murdering innocents, and Marshall is ready to get back in the fray. It doesn’t take much convincing, and soon Brooks is at it again, murdering in chilling, calculating fashion. I don’t want to give too much away, but you can tell from the commercials and Costner’s recent TV appearances that his character is the psychopath- I haven’t spoiled anything by revealing that little nugget. Rounding out the major players are comedian Dane Cook (Employee of the Month) and Demi Moore (Bobby) as a detective tracking Brooks. Both are fantastic in their respective roles, especially Cook. He brought an unnerving intensity to his character, and Moore was convincing as a smart, tough-as-nails cop.
Mr. Brooks is nearly flawless, faltering only briefly with a side story pertaining to Demi Moore’s character. Kevin Costner portrayed Brooks effortlessly as a man who kills in cold blood then goes home to make love to his wife. The movie is captivating from start to finish, and blends in subplots almost to perfection. The subplots are never given too much attention, and everything always comes back to the title character. It’s like someone dusted off two of the biggest stars of the 90’s (Costner and Moore) for a renaissance or something. Mr. Brooks is the best of the summer movie season so far, and a definite must-see.
Kevin Costner (The Upside of Anger) is Earl Brooks, a wealthy entrepreneur and socialite. He has a lovely wife, Emma (Marg Helgenberger of CSI) and a daughter in college. He seems normal enough, but it’s established very early that the man is one fry short of a Happy Meal. He has an alter-ego/split personality/imaginary friend named Marshall, played by the wonderful William Hurt (A History of Violence). As Mr. Brooks and his wife drive home after a gala, he and Marshall exchange testy banter about whether or not Brooks should resume his serial killer ways. He’s taken a two year hiatus from murdering innocents, and Marshall is ready to get back in the fray. It doesn’t take much convincing, and soon Brooks is at it again, murdering in chilling, calculating fashion. I don’t want to give too much away, but you can tell from the commercials and Costner’s recent TV appearances that his character is the psychopath- I haven’t spoiled anything by revealing that little nugget. Rounding out the major players are comedian Dane Cook (Employee of the Month) and Demi Moore (Bobby) as a detective tracking Brooks. Both are fantastic in their respective roles, especially Cook. He brought an unnerving intensity to his character, and Moore was convincing as a smart, tough-as-nails cop.
Mr. Brooks is nearly flawless, faltering only briefly with a side story pertaining to Demi Moore’s character. Kevin Costner portrayed Brooks effortlessly as a man who kills in cold blood then goes home to make love to his wife. The movie is captivating from start to finish, and blends in subplots almost to perfection. The subplots are never given too much attention, and everything always comes back to the title character. It’s like someone dusted off two of the biggest stars of the 90’s (Costner and Moore) for a renaissance or something. Mr. Brooks is the best of the summer movie season so far, and a definite must-see.
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