Film: Caribbean Film Corner (Portobello Film Festival)

I first attended this yearly festival in 2009 and throughly enjoyed the evening. I am a great lover of filmmaking and all that it entails. It is such a fascinating and amazing tool for information and entertainment. Particularly in the last few years I have had a thirst for Caribbean films and documentaries. With Bollywood and Nollywood generating hundreds of reels per year, I yearn to see the Caribbean doing the same and producing quality productions that audiences will embrace. Well the Caribbean Film Corner is an excellent way to see both full length and short films, documentaries and animation created by people in the Caribbean diaspora. And the most amazing thing is that it is FREE!

So please check out the website http://www.caribbeanfilmcorner.com and their  Facebook page and come to one of the programmes from the 14th to 17th Sept 2011. I promise it is worth a visit!

Music: Friendly Fires

I loved the lineup at the Jools Holland taping last night. Beverly Knight, Donovan, Yuck, Nathaniel Rateliff, James Vincent McMorrow and Friendly Fires. A real mix that introduced (and reintroduced)  me to some talented msuicians . I have read about the St Albans dance influenced indie band Friendly Fires but had never listened to their music until a few hours ago. Their energy and eclectic sound were contagious and this song “Show Me Lights” from their new album Pala had us rocking in the audience. It was amazing live but the album version captures the same energy.

Film: Fire In Babylon

It is impossible to have grown up in the West Indies and not known about cricket. Love it or loathe it, it was a sport that could not be avoided. I have memories of the boys in my primary school playing during the lunch break, that unmistakable sound of the ball smashing into the bat. With only one TV channel test matches would bombard the screen for days. Even in taxis and private cars, radios would be tuned to hear commenters. Names like Vivian Richards and Clive Lloyd were the celebrities of the game. So much so that on a trip to Antigua a few years ago, when the taxi driver pointed out Viv Richards in a car park I was so excited that considered trying to get his autograph. Even today once West Indies is playing I can guarantee that most Caribbean houses in the UK have their TV and radios set on the match. Caribbean men have an undying love for this game and many have passed it down to their children.

So I am excited about the new documentary Fire In Babylon. Described as “ the breathtaking story of how the West Indies triumphed over its colonial masters through the achievements of one of the most gifted teams in sporting history” this feature promises 87 mins of cricket history in its heyday in the 1970s and 80s. I look forward to learning more about the sport and the West Indies team as a number of cricketing great from all over the world make an appearance.

It opens in UK cinemas today May 20th. I love nothing more than a good documentary! Anyone want to join me?

TV/Film/Life: Awkward Black Girl

Two things endeared me when I first saw an episode of this new web-series. First her thoughts as she fantasized about her office crush and the encounter  with her work colleague in the corridor. I laughed out loud because they were both situations I have found myself in and I was convinced that I was the only ‘weirdo’ who feels that way. Seems that I am just awkward! Sighs of relief all around

I stumbled upon this little series on Shadow and Act who are my eyes and ears to ALL that is happening in the cinema world of the Africa diaspora. The makers of Awkward Black Girl also have a great website where you can view episodes and purchase T-shirts. Check them out episode three…

Life/Music: Jennifer Hudson

I saw this video and just had to share. After all that she has been through she is truly an inspiration:

TV: Friday Night Lights

It came to an end on February 9th.  Finished, kaput, over

Was I the only one who loved this show?  It does feel that way sometimes, as no one in my immediate circle has ever seen it. Online I have read dozens of comments from people who feel like I do – this show was five seasons of solid acting, strong strorylines, characters that felt authentic and a slice of Texas small town life. What is even more outstanding about this show was the crop of unknowns that they took and introduced to TV world. Almost all of the faces from the first season now grace both our television and film screens. I may well have gone through every emotion with FNL and embraced the culture of American Football.  Five years, five seasons and nominated for so many awards – go online and order the box set or simply stream online. Either way I promise its an excellent slice of TV drama that will suck you in

Life: The Earth Quakes

I turn on the TV first thing every morning to Sky News. Then I spend the next hour getting ready for work and switching between News channels. On Friday the first bit of news, a break from Gaddafi’s madness, was the earthquake in Japan. Watching the subsequent Tsunami crash through everything in its way felt so surreal. It resembled footage from a disaster movie but as I kept having to remind myself, this was 100% real. Todays technology makes breaking news literally a blow by blow, video and verbal account of an real time breaking event. People, cars, houses, everything was being churned up that rapid, tumbling, dark water. Death and pure destruction while I sat on my bed being a voyeur.

I checked all the online news I could when I got into work and did a quick scan (secretly yearning to be in my living room clicking through the news channels instead). This is where I discovered an equal parts interesting, informative and downright scary visual graph, (called a seismic monitor) of the number of earth quakes that have happened in the last two weeks, all the way up to today.

Check it out fully on the live map

The earth truly quakes all day, every day. The odds are thay though we may never feel or see the level of destruction that japan did we will feel an earthquake one day. It is not a great feeling – you feel like it would never stop though it only lasted for a miniute or two. My heart can only imagine what it felt like on that Friday afternoon that felt like any other up until that moment.

Film: Oscar blackout

So for the first time, in a long time, I purposely did not watch the Oscar ceremony live. I have been moaning about it for weeks and received very little sympathy I might add! The month of February has been chuck full of airplanes and foreign locales so unfortunately I just couldn’t miss another day at work. It was torture going to bed after watching a chunk of the red carpet (Please go away Ryan ‘stupid questions’ Seacrest!). This morning the first thing I did was open my Huffingpost app and see the list of winners. Tweeted my joy about five minutes after that. Four Oscars for the King’s Speech! All richly deserved. As were the nods for The Fighter.  I have been sending bad vibes to the Social Network since their wins at the Golden Globes and it seems to have worked! See the list of last night’s winners here

I am sad that I missed the Anne Hathaway/James Franco hosting trainwreck, Gwenyth Paltrow’s singing and Melissa Leo’s live swear-athon. And before you think it, no, I will not be watching any repeats!

So what about the clothes? It was a nice selection yes but nothing life changing. That said I do have more than one pick for best dressed female :

Amy Adams

Amazing colour and accessories and I loved what I dubbed her Veronica Lake hair.

Cate Blanchett

Yes I am biased when it comes to Cate. Apart from being one of the best actresses of our time, she has never disappointed me at the Oscars. The details at back of this dress were superb

Mila Kunis

The colour, the ruffles, the delicate lace detail on the bust line. I loved this the moment the camera fell on her.

Camila Alves

I really can not find a picture that shows how spectacular she looked. Best cleavage of the night (sadly the worst will have to go to Jennifer Hudson). Mathew Mcconaughey literally ceased to exist when he was next to her.

Worst Dressed Female

Sunrise Coigney

It just did not work. At all. The sleeve looked like a robotic / bionic arm. For me it was strong dislike at first sight which makes me wonder how she and husband Mark Ruffalo could have possibly loved it!

Best Dressed Male:

Justin Timberlake

I am not a big fan of Justin the actor but I have to admit that he did look great in his tux.

Film: Limitless

What would we be capable of if we were able to ulitiise all of our brain power? Arguably the popular assertion that we only use 10% of our brain cells is a myth but this film decides to play with this idea.

The storyline : “A copywriter discovers a top-secret drug which bestows him with super human abilities. As his usage begins to change his life, he begins to consider the drug’s shadowy origins; meanwhile, a group of killers trails his every move.”

The Players: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish

The Trailer:

I’m intrigued.

Released in the UK  and US on the same day – 18th March 2011

Film: The Best Man – a dozen ‘n’ counting

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while knows that The Best Man is one of my favourites. Any film that I can watch multiple times and still love after each viewing is a keeper for me. Granted I have not seen it for a while (Gigi and Pride and Prejudice are always in my DVD player of late) I know that next time I bring it out will still leave me grinning. So imagine how excited I was when Young, Black and Fabulous dedicated a post to them. Seeing all these beautiful, still working, faces made my evening. They all looked gorgeous:

Ybf’s Natasha even spoke about her fantasy of a sequel. Honestly I think about it whenever the credits go up after a viewing but I have decided that I would prefer the film to stand alone. That era of African American film (Love Jones, Love and Basketball, etc) can not be recaptured. Yes a modern version could be created but this particular tale needs to stay where it began. The story was tied up a beautiful bow and a sequel would just try to unravel it all, create drama then put it back together again. In other words mess up a good thing. Morris Chestnut could never recreate that restuarant scene or Terrance Howard become as sexy as he did at the end. So though it was amazing seeing them  together again,  if director Malcolm D Lee wants to work with this cast I suggest a new story. Recreate that magic with new characters that suit their ages and the era. That is a film I will wholeheartedly spend my money on!