This year alone 21 films were made or filmed in Boston or used Boston as a filming location. Of those 21 films how many of them will do anything to break up the widespread notion/belief that there are no brown people here or that we are simply a non entity that exists just so actors of other ethnicities can refer to us as “niggers”? Few if any.Recently in Boston we hosted the annual Roxbury Film Festival that boasted films by some of best and brightest filmmaking and screenwriting talent Boston, Massachusetts and New England has to offer. These films will more than likely go ignored by the film industry at large, though. I have yet to see a film that reflects the experience that myself or many of my peers experienced growing up in Boston yet. Don’t even get me started on “Blue Hill Avenue”...as a life long Bostonian and a South End resident I don’t even have enough time to address everything that was just plain inaccurate about that film. Unfortunately, that film is the one movie about Boston that most young minorities have seen in regards to my city. Makes me wanna holler.
Next big national Boston movie coming up is “Gone Baby Gone” directed by Cambridge resident Ben Affleck. It looks like this will be a pretty good flick (featuring everyone’s favorite crazy White boy Slaine in a key role) but it won’t do much to erase the damage done by several lines from the Academy Award winning film “The Departed”..a film that pisses me off so much that I still haven’t watched it all the way through yet.
As a Black Bostonian I can’t express with words how much it angers me that I don’t have the power to make or greenlight a film that could respond to that one that was seen by millions worldwide. Now they all think that it’s hell to be Black in Boston. It’s hard being Black, period...Boston is nowhere near as bad for brown people as these films (written by people than never experienced it for themselves) make you think.
Either way, we NEED to let people know we’re here and we’ve been here...if people knew the real deal then Kevin Garnett never would’ve had to make hella phone calls to players that played here and poll sports figures of color that play here now/reside here after retirement. If you’re a Black person that has to move to a new town would you REALLY pick moving to Phoenix over Boston? (No diss to Arizona but I'm just sayin’ though). On to the movie stuff. Mad new flicks are droppin’ this fall.
Top 5 IMDB Trailers Of The Rest Of August (8.16.07-8.31.07)
Eastern Promises
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765443/trailers
Right At Your Door
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458367/trailers
The Good Night
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484111/trailers
We Own The Night
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498399/trailers
Trade
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399095/trailers
Top 5 Apple Trailers Of The Rest Of August (8.16.07-8.31.07)
Lions For Lambs
http://www.apple.com/trailers/mgm/lionsforlambs/trailer/
The Nines
http://www.apple.com/trailers/newmarket/thenines/trailer/
The Signal
http://www.apple.com/trailers/magnolia/thesignal/trailer/
Michael Clayton
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/michaelclayton/trailer1/
Rendition
http://www.apple.com/trailers/newline/rendition/
Dart’s Director Spotlight recipient for the month of August: Danny Boyle
His past films like “Trainspotting” and “28 Days Later” were masterpieces. It’s looks like his newest offering “Sunshine” is going to be another one to add to the list of modern day classics.
Poisonous Paragraphs’ Independent Movie Of The Month Of August: King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters directed by Seth Gordon
Here are some of my film recommendations for rental through Netflix:
30 Rock (series)
Dexter (series)
House (series)
Friday Night Lights (series)
Robocop (20th Anniversary Edition)
The Lives Of Others
The Hoax
The Reaping
The Invisible
Akira
Ghost In A Shell
Ninja Scroll
Everyday People
Perfect Stranger
Serenity (Collector’s Edition)
Nomad
D.O.A.: Dead On Arrival (lower your expectations...now lower them even more)
The Ultimate Gift
The Lookout
Disturbia
Grindhouse
Severance
Next
1408
The Ex
Year Of The Dog
Blades Of Glory
Grindhouse (rent as Planet Terror & Death Proof)
What the future SHOULD hold for comic book/video game films:
Black Panther
Deadpool
Generation X
Nick Fury: Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Tekken
Metal Gear Solid
Dart’s Picks:
Disturbia- I know what you’re thinking...it’s just an update/refix of “Rear Window”...not quite. This was better than I thought it was gonna be.
The Lookout- I know what you’re thinking...this is a bite of “Memento”....not quite. Yadda yadda yadda. Rent it.
Favela Rising- I have neglected to give this a recommendation write up. Instead I just put it in like 3 straight lists. Rent this documentary...then try to find the full series City Of Men the series on DVD.
I Think I Love My Wife- An intelligent comedy? They don’t make those anymore! And if they do still exist they aren’t featuring brown folks as the lead characters...if you haven’t seen this yet do so now. Chris Rock did an excellent job as director.
Nomad- I won’t tell you anything about this international flick. Just trust me on this one.
Dart’s WTF?/Watch This Bullshit At Your Own Risk Award:
Redline- This movie is so wack that no amount of screen time for Nadia Bjorlin (the leading candidate for the role of Wonder Woman slightly ahead of Jill Wagner) can save it. Damn shame.
Kickin’ It Old School- Hell to tha naw ! © Whitney Houston
Mr. Bean’s Holiday- That penguin lookin’ dude is not getting dime one of my money. Stop going to these movies, people. You’ll just encourage studios to make more like them.
One.
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