Be Kind, Please Rewind

He has Naturally High Standards. He’s the…

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Week of January 17, 2014

Oxygen gets you high, so just say NO. First up…

Riddick

The best thing about being marooned on a human-less planet is you can walk around without your space trousers on.

Mind you, with all of the freakish fauna in this sci-fi movie, you may want to keep them on.

When a failed assassination strands him on an inhabitable world infested with scorpion-type creatures, Riddick (Vin Diesel), the leader of the Necromongers, must activate a homing beacon that will bring mercenaries (Matthew Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Bokeem Woodbine, Dave Batista) there.

Hoping to escape in one of their ships before a storm arrives, Riddick jury-rigs booby-traps to ensnare his pursuers

The second sequel to Pitch Black, Riddick returns the anti-hero to familiar territory, accessible to newcomers.

However, the slapdash dialogue, the derivative space-monsters and the lackluster script will disappoint them just as much as longtime fans.

To eliminate the arachnids, Riddick should’ve done like European explorers and gave them smallpox infested blankets.  Red Light

The Butler

Before affirmative action, White House butlers weren’t hired because they were African American they were hired because they were black.

The domestic servant in this drama was employed under the latter.

Starting as a servant on a Georgia plantation, Cecil (Forest Whitaker) graduates to a Washington D.C. hotel and then the White House during the Eisenhower (Robin Williams) presidency.

On the home front, Cecil’s wife (Oprah Winfrey) raises two sons, Charlie (Elijah Kelley) and Louis (David Oyelowo).

However, Louis’ “sitting in” and marching for the Civil Rights Movement conflicts with his father’s kowtowing to a procession of President’s (James Marsden, Liev Schreiber, John Cusack, Alan Rickman).

An expansive account of black history from both the people’s and the president’s point of view, this inspired account of Eugene Allen’s life is rooted in great performances and poignancy.

And now that there’s a black president all White House servants are now Hispanic. Green Light

Fruitvale Station

A sure sign of equality in America is African Americans being able to sit on any urine stained bus seat they wish.

While transit vehicles have abolished Jim Crow, the transit cops in this drama haven’t.

Riding Oakland’s rapid transit system on New Year’s Day, Oscar Grant III (Michael B. Jordan) gets into a tussle with another passenger.

Transit police (Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray) are alerted but during the melee a handcuffed Oscar is shot. 

A former felon trying to turn his life around for his daughter, Oscar’s death leaves his girlfriend (Melonie Diaz) and mother (Octavia Spencer) mourning, and Bay Area residents outraged.

Based on real events, Fruitvale Station is an emotional piece with a plausible performance from its lead.

However, the random events from Oscar’s past that culminate on the train seem more fiction than fact.

Incidentally, I thought train bulls were only permitted to murder tramps? Yellow Light

Carrie

Getting your period is a magical time in a girl’s life because it means she can be excused from gym class once a month.

However, the menstruating student in this horror movie would prefer a permanent absence.  

Tormented by her peers (Portia Doubleday, Gabriella Wilde) after getting her first period, Carrie (Chloe Moretz) later discovers the crimson curse also unleashed her latent powers of telekinesis.

Despite her mother’s (Julianne Moore) misgivings, Carrie attends the prom with a boyfriend (Ansel Elgort) of one of her bullies.

When her mother’s warning turns out to be true, Carrie uses her twisted mind to massacre the student body.

Despite sanguinary scenes at the end and contemporary special effects, this adaptation of the Stephen King novel is sluggish and superfluous when compared to the 1976 version.

Thankfully, the only power women derive from menstruation is the ability to continue advancing their career unimpeded by children.  Red Light

***I Have a Nightmare***

Malcolm X

The only rights African Americans had in the 1960s was to witness their leaders being shot.

This biography focuses on one of those assassinated activists.

From his hoodlum days in Boston to his later incarceration and conversion to Islam, Malcolm X’s (Denzel Washington) life has always involved racial inequality.

Over time, Malcolm’s anti-white philosophy not only attracts the attention of disenfranchised blacks, but also the CIA and the ire of his own faith. 

Eventually, Malcolm’s hard-line approach softens but his willingness to work with other civil rights leaders for a common goal is cut-short. 

An epic portrayal of America’s most complex black leaders, director Spike Lee does a masterful job of capturing the social climate of the 60s, while Denzel dazzles in one of his most convincing roles to date.

And while the 60’s laid waste to most civil rights leaders, thankfully, we still have half of Al Sharpton left.

He’s Social Climate Change. He’s the…

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