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!

TV: Luther

Now that series 2 and its 4 episodes (? BBC!) has ended I can officially state that I loved it more than series 1. Though our introduction to John Luther and his complicated life was a memorable run (especially the final episode) there were still parts of it that felt, like too much. His anger and depression and occasional over acting overshadowed much of the detective work. But on this round the writing focussed more on the work and the people around him and only briefly touched on the despair we saw so much of before. My thoughts:

• Idris has encapsulated the role of John. Last time there was too much focus on the angst and the actor seemed to still be fleshing out the character. Now I was more convinced by John Luther. The scene in the first episode where he played Russian roulette gave us all we needed to know about his continued sadness but then we got straight into the detective work and eventually gave his personal life something  (or should I say someone) else to dwell on.
• The villains in this series were nothing short of terrifying. They didn’t walk around with I AM CRAZY tattoos on their forehead but instead while looking as calm as the man next door they carried out some gruesome acts. They seriously made my heart race a few times. Especially when you consider that psychos like that really could exist.
• The new characters just settled into the story with no lengthy introductions and old stories were very quickly tied up.
• Alice. Its not right but its OK but I like her and their little ‘love story’. Luther does care for the show’s resident psycho, that is obvious, but as he said he can never be sure that she would not wake up one day and decide to kill him.
• I was never convinced that Jenny was a teenager. Yes she had teh annoying voice but she had teh face and body of someone in their 20s!
• Finale – The face off with the killer was both gripping and unexpected. I sat there thinking “How the hell is he going to get out of this?”  The reactions on Twitter all mirrored my own. John Luther is badass!
• It is really refreshing to see a black lead detective on British television. One who is good at his job too.
• I am confused that there were only 4 episodes. Come on BBC 1 and Idris. One more series and more episodes please!
• I’ve been reading comments online about how unrealistic the show was. Forgive me but who cares? If I thought too hard about 90% of the things I watch (reality TV included) and read I would be upset about how unrealistic it is. Come on – its entertainment!!
• There is a book people. Main writer Neil Cross has penned a prequel about John Luther. How did he become the man we see today? I am curious…
• So round of applause BBC 1! I am impatiently waiting for series 3 to be commissioned and for Sherlock to return

Film: Dark Girls

This world is full of prejudices. We humans seem to need something to dislike as easily as we do something to love. We do not readily admit it but our prejudices exist. I think that the ones that exist within our own cultures and social circles are probably the ones that hurt the most. You do not expect ‘outsiders’ to understand but those in your ‘circle’ should accept you more easily.

 I am a dark-skinned female and though I often forget it, every now and again I realise how much it matters to someone else. How the colour of my skin affects the way people see my beauty.The entire complexion conversation is one that saddens me. It is as big an issue as your dress size and hair texture among many black people. The lighter the better is honestly the measure of beauty for many. Watching the clips from the soon to be released documentary Dark Girls, I truly empathise with their stories. None of them were shocking as I have heard those memories and opinions expressed through out my life. I have heard men in my presence swear they could never date a dark woman or that someone is pretty despite their dark complexion.

I am blessed that it is one thing about myself that I do not dwell on but for many others it is a source of deep pain and low self-esteem from a very early age. I look forward to seeing the full documentary and discussions it will no doubt erupt. I pray that one day I have the chance to teach my own children to love the skin they were born in and not judge another human beings purely on theirs. Life is difficult enough for us to keep wasting energies on fueling this self hate.

Film: Drive

Now this is what a trailer/clip is supposed to do. Build the tension and leave you wanting to see more. It is the first one for this film but I really hope the others keep the same feel instead of going down the typical trailer route (all the best scenes crammed into a couple minutes). Drive premieres at the Cannes Film Festival this week and opens in the UK in September.

Life: Met Gala 2011

Every year when I see the pictures from the Met Gala I try to imagine what it must be like to be there. The pictures always present hive of activity. It is one ‘red carpet’ that is just heaving with people. Celebrities and designers side by side all the way up that wide staircase. You can people spot like mad in every photo. From what I have seen so far McQueen designs dominated. I was suprised to see so many Tommy Hilfiger wearers though because, call me naive, I didnt know people still wore his stuff! Has Tommy changed in his style even a little  in the last decade?

Here are my picks from the carpet (you can see all the others on huffingtonpost)

Best Dresses:

Freida Pinto. Gorgeous!

Sarah Burton. Simple yet wonderfully constructed.

 Solange Knowles. Please ignore the hair, this dress is amazing (Dries Van Noten)

Worst Dresses:

Naomi Campbell

Christina Hendricks

Worst Male:

Andre Leon Talley. And yes I know he wear this design at every event but I really need him to stop!

Best Male:

Bradley Cooper

Would have loved it if It wasn’t for the….

…Hat! Tut tut Serena

…Shoes and colour. I still love you Leighton for consistently being a red carpet risk taker

Life: Osama and Wills and Kate

Who would have imagined that this Bank Holiday weekend would be punctuated by such contrasting events? I was unashamedly moved to tears by the Royal wedding on Friday. The dress was perfection and the obvious affection between the couple was heartwarming to witness. I understood that feeling of jubilation and British-ness that the crowds that lined the street felt. Now on the last day of this long weekend we’re greeted by the news that Osama Bin Laden, number one on the most wanted list, has been found and killed. Full details are still to be given but with President Obama confirming the news, the vivid memories of 9/11 come to mind. As I type there are celebratations happening outside the White House and where the twin towers once stood.

I could not have fathomed then that it would take 10 years to find the world’s number one terrorist. Thousands of deaths, deployments, battles, security alerts, negotiations and intelligence manuevers later this day has arrived leaving mixed feelings. Questions like – what would it been like if he had been captured and tried in a court of law? – are the ones that I ponder. And has President Obama just inadvertently won the upcoming election??

So in the space of four days the world finds itself glued to its TV screens and internet for two starkly different events. A marriage and death. Both unforgettable moments in history but come tomorrow the reality for most of us is that nothing has really changed. That is the real circle of life eh?

Film: Thor

So far my knowledge of Thor has been based on pictures of Chris Hemsworth at numerous movie events and the controversy surrounding the casting Idris Elba as a Norse God. The latter has been a fierce debate that has generated many an article. Marvel comics are simply revered and this film is the latest big screen adaptation. Having three brothers I was exposed to comics books and was a faithful reader of the Spiderman comic strip in the Trinidad Express but they never became an obsession. That said I have watched every movie that they have made and enjoyed most of them. Now the trailer for Thor and this positive review (usually I steer clear of these so this will be my one and only slip) on Yahoo has made me excited. My only complaint? It is silly – but I think I am having Natalie Portman overload!

Released in the UK on the 27th April

TV: The Good Wife – The Lion Speakerphone

I am stomping my feet right now. Yes quietly but stomping nonetheless. I want to show the scene in this week’s The Good Wife where this cute lil lion speakerphone played the voice of the menacing Glenn Childs. Scenes, (like the one I can not show you because we are not in the correct region, Grrrr!) are the reason I heart this show. It has only gotten better in this second season. Every character has evolved, for the better or not, we the viewer have been able to witness excellent writing as the story grows and weaves and is NEVER predictable. I have no idea how this second season will end! And I love that. It can go in so many different directions. Whatever happens there is change ‘afoot’. Our good wife has confident lawyer and a wife and mother who is no longer afraid of her shadow. She is even becoming selfish with herself and I love it. And the batch of recurring guest actors that have become so familar and enjoyable is a testament to how seamlessly these epsiodes are written.

This show is excellent people! Please watch it. Even if its just to see my future birthday/Christmas pressie – Mr Lion Speakphone

You can find it on both BBC4 and Channel 4!

Film/Music: Country Strong

From the moment I read  about the making of this film, I knew I would have to see it. Music, singing, country – right up my street. It does not make cinematic history, the story is terribly predictable and the editing in some parts were poor but as a sweet lil movie about fame and its low points it does hit the mark. Gwyneth and Tim McGraw are great but the revelation was Garrett Hedlund. He transforms into the small town singer so effortlessly that its difficult to remember him as any other character. And what a great singer! Leighton Meester, the real talent in Gossip Girl, proved that she could play uptown princesses and small town beauty queens effortlessly.

The real gem of this film was that it reminded me that country music really does have the best blues and love songs. The heart break and beauty of  love and life written in a way that makes your heart remember or for the very least sympathise with someone else’s memory. The songs are what you remember the most and walk with from this movie with. A few of the best are posted below:

 

 

Timing is everything sung by Garrett (fast forward to the .30 mark)

 

Chances Are

 

Give into me sung by Leighton and Garrett

 

Life: Me. Now.

 

1. Talk about playing with my emotions. They say Mad Men is coming back for a fifth season, giving me a burst of happiness, them they cut off my legs with a few buts. Like: not until March 2012, possibly no involvement from creator, shorter episodes and the loss of one or two main characters… like Joan. What?! Listen as a fan who has been anticipating seeing how this show ends I would rather they just leave it at 4 seasons than give us disastrous final one. Why AMC? Why?!

2.Soca performer Bunji Garlin cut off his locks. The world did not end and he looks hotter than hot. Dare I say younger? And his barber is an artist. Look at that fade and his beard? Loving it.

3. I have been getting a little too excited over the glimpses of sunshine in London. It has been short and sweet and making me fiend for Spring time. But its time to exhale and calm down a bit. Today and tomorrow’s predicted rain has brought me back to reality. I live in London.

4. Tweeted and Facebooked my encounter with Idris Elba on Sunday and finally had to admit that I am a groupie. Five seconds after I had squealed, ran around in a complete circle and watched his fine being make a hasty retreat, I was on my phone tweeting away. I should have stayed calm, gave him that dazzling smile and asked sweetly for a picture but alas I am just not that refined. Pure fandom took over. Maybe I will have more control next time? I live in hope

5. So I am officially in search of 3.o. My second car has gone to scrap heap heaven and London tube maps and TFL have become my constant companions, again. Its amazing where you can go with car in ten minutes that takes triple the time with public transport. Irritating but a prime example of when life gives you lemons, its time to make lemonade.

6. Settling back into life after a few ‘grenades’ went off around me and in the process learning some valuable lessons about life. I used to say that nothing surprises me anymore. Well you will never, ever hear me say those four words again.

7. Which? has once again solidified my love for them. Yesterday they launched a super complaint against debit and credit card charges. Funny enough in Feb when I was looking for flights to Paris is when I experienced first hand these ridiculous card charges. For one ticket there is a different charge depending on which card you use. What made me laugh was the fact the visa electron cards are now the one which incurs the least expense. Why is it funny? I remember when I had that debit card years ago that it was not accepted by anyone, especially online. Now its the card of choice. Hilarious! Thank goodness for consumer watchdogs.

8. Libya. As I tweeted the night of the first air raid, no 100 page document, impassioned speech by leaders or defiant denials will convince me that this not just about securing this country’s oil supply. The West just wants to make sure they are on side with whoever is in charge. Oil is the sole reason they have put up with Colonel Gaddafi for the last few decades anyway. And President Obama here is one more thing to add to the list for the upcoming election fight. I am pretty much ignoring the Libya stories now. Japan still needs our help.

9. Men are from Mars and women live on the gorgeous planet of Venus – my take on the famous saying and one that I now believe in 200%. It actually helps to start from this point and just see every conversation, act, moment you have with the opposite sex in this way. This is what every single relationship self-help book is about. So save your money and just accept the fact that men and women just see life in opposing fashions. Some how, in some deep biological, spiritual manner some of us manage to fall in love and make it work despite all the differences. That is a beautiful thing to see. Whether or not I will ever get there is still in limbo.

 10. I have become that person who starts a book and never finishes it. I’ve become that writer who wants to write but never actually composes the first line. I am letting the very things that make me …me, that deep, creative, word- obsessed part of me be sucked up but the rigors of adulthood. Yes I have more do but I need to find that time however hard it might be. That is the girl who started this blog. I am on a mission to find her become that person again

11. One of my favorite columnists Lucy Mangan (from the amazing Stylist magazine) does a good job of summing up my conclusions on writing and relationships – http://www.stylist.co.uk/people/article/1096/%22all-romantic-notions-are-based-on-lies  Please check out this great free style mag.

12. Officially I have agreed to disagree with everyone on the topic of Chris Brown. For the record I like a lot of his songs. I did before the Rhianna abuse tragedy and I have afterwards. I am also a person who likes to forgive and give people a second chance – we are after all just humans. But I am adamant about the fact that I do not think he has truly dealt with his anger issues or genuinely dealt with what he did. He like so many other people have made excuses as to why he beat her up. From the day it happened he has been carrying on like normal (jet skiing, holidaying, etc) and just doing the minimum of what the court ordered and saying his PR wrote for him. Yes Rhianna aided this by going back to him for a while and acting like the ‘incident’ was just a glitch. I am in the camp that even if she was the demon/man tempter/wicked woman people paint her as he had no right to punch and bite and beat her up then run away. I feel sorry for them both as they have come from homes where this behaviour was the norm and really need therapy to not keep repeating their parents mistakes. His album Fame is no. 1 and his talent is being praised but I beleive that the GMA incident proves my belief that Chris and the people around him have not dealt with his anger and its source. Remember you heard me say, this is not the last time he is going the strike out and one day his actions will have even worst recuperations. This is the praise of fame and the same ‘ole’ tale for child stars like the Lohans and the Miley Cypruses and the Chris Browns, they just do what they have to stay on top but don’t get the real help and guidance that they need.