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Focusing On The Positive

Earlier this morning, I posted an article informing you that the Clearview Chelsea Theater in New York had decided to pull the plug on one of the most successful movies playing at its theater. Many of us were completely surprised by the decision because the movie did so well, outperforming both big budget movies and smaller independent movies in per screen average.

Often when we struggle, we forget to take a moment to celebrate our accomplishments along the way. Dirty Laundry sold out 3 weekend performances at the theater and grossed an amazing $12,054 from that one theater alone. That's a major accomplishment. The producers want to thank everyone who called and sent messages today, but they have decided to focus their energy on the positive and would like the fans of the movie to save their energy to continue supporting the film in the theaters where it will be shown.

Posted in movies on December 11 2007, 12:22PM | Read More | Comments (37)

It's Showtime!

Two years ago, I told you about an idea for "a brand new film with quirky, lovable and complex characters played by an amazing cast." Many of you even provided seed money to get the film started. Today, 2 years and 1 month after I first introduced the movie to you, I am proud to announce that "Dirty Laundry" will finally open in theaters this morning.

Making a movie is not an easy task, especially a movie with a black gay lead character. But this movie is also special because it is an independent film that was written, directed, produced and distributed by black people. The goal was to tell a universal story of a man coming to terms with his family and his family coming to terms with their "dirty laundry."

Posted in movies on December 7 2007, 9:49AM | Read More | Comments (29)

Black LGBT Film Trivia Contest

This is the big week! The new movie, Dirty Laundry, hits theaters on Friday. It's the first black gay film to be released in theaters in years. So to celebrate, I'm offering 2 free tickets to see the show this Friday in Los Angeles or New York to the winner of this Black LGBT Film Trivia Contest.

If you're not in New York or LA, you can still play, and you will get a free copy of the DVD when it's released in 2008. Here's the question. Each of the following actors (listed below) has played a major role as, or in a film with, a black LGBT character. And it didn't kill their careers either. Match the actors to the films below. The first person to answer the question correctly wins the tickets or the DVD. Good luck!!

Posted in movies on December 3 2007, 1:00PM | Read More | Comments (37)

Things We Lost In The Fire

Reviews by Stanley Bennett Clay

After several embarrassing missteps in such cinematic dreck as "Gothika," "Catwoman," and "Perfect Stranger," Halle Berry regains her equilibrium in the sobering and heartfelt "Things We Lost In The Fire." As a wife and mother whose perfect husband is killed in a random act of violence, Ms. Berry gives her best performance since winning the Oscar for "Monster's Ball."

Director Susanne Bier, greatly aided by Allan Loeb's quietly intense script, takes a non-linear approach to introduce us to the characters, their heartbreaking circumstances, and their grieving process, a method that effectively informs us in bits and pieces, adding a reality devoid of histrionics and melodrama.

Posted in movies·viewpoints on October 20 2007, 12:31PM | Read More | Comments (35)

'Pride' is Predictable But Powerful

I can't remember the last time I saw a movie that left me with so many mixed emotions, but PRIDE is one such movie. Set in 1974, the film tells the story of a former high school swimmer who decides to take a group of inner city basketball players and turn them into competitive swimmers. When the city decides to close the dilapidated Marcus Foster Recreation Center in Philadelphia, the young black men who play basketball become the first victims once the basketball rim is taken down. Then Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) invites the kids inside the rec center to swim. Some of them flail around at first, but they're all talented athletes who eventually learn under the stewardship of their new coach.

The story is simple but the movie itself is uneven. The first 30 to 45 minutes of the film were filled with predictable story lines, familiar ghetto stereotypes and completely lifeless dialogue. About the only thing to appreciate during this part of the movie is the ubiquitous eye candy. The guys on the swim team (particularly Nate Parker and Kevin L. Phillips) are all hot in their own way. But at some point in the middle of the movie, it starts to work, and the end result is a beautiful and uplifting story of triumph that every inner city kid in America should see.

Posted in movies on March 24 2007, 12:30PM | Read More | Comments (16)

Two Out Of Three

Forest and Jennifer Hollywood almost did the unthinkable last night. Almost. Forest Whitaker and Jennifer Hudson took home Oscars for best actor and best supporting actress, but the big surprise was Alan Arkin's upset victory over early favorite Eddie Murphy in the best supporting actor category. That meant that this year's Academy Awards ceremony would not make history as the first to give out three golden statuettes to black actors in three of the top four categories.

Still it was historic. It was a night when two other black actors -- Will Smith and Djimon Hounsou -- were also nominated for Oscars, but the buzz was always with Eddie, Jennifer and Forest. That's because they were actually expected to win, and that's highly unusual in Hollywood when black actors are sometimes nominated for the top prizes but rarely win. Maybe that's because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences includes only 110 African-Americans out of 5,830 members. That means the Academy is just 1.9 percent black in a country where blacks make up about 13 percent of the population.

Posted in movies on February 26 2007, 9:47AM | Read More | Comments (41)

Dreamgirls An Instant Classic

It happens about 20 or 30 minutes into the movie. That's when it hits you that you're watching a classic film. With a hit Broadway pedigree and an all-star cast that includes Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Loretta Devine, Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose, Dreamgirls was headed for success from the day it began filming. But because the bar had been set so high from the Broadway production, the movie could have been a disastrous folly. Fortunately for fans, it is not.

Dreamgirls not only lives up to the hype, it also exceeds many of the expectations and answers some of the critics' toughest questions. Can Beyonce act? Yes. Can Jennifer Hudson sing "And I Am Telling You"? Yes. Does Eddie Murphy still have it? Yes. And can Jamie Foxx appear on screen for two hours without being annoying? Well, yes.

Posted in movies on November 30 2006, 12:04PM | Read More | Comments (54)

in movies

Reviews by Stanley Bennett Clay

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