Lucky Bastard
Film Review by Kam Williams
Dave (Jay Paulson) thought he’d died and gone to heaven when he learned that he’d won the monthly “Lucky Bastard” contest run by the adult entertainment website. He was informed by the site’s owner, Mike (Don McManus), that his name had been picked from all the entries to sleep with his favorite porn star, Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue).
However, the prize came with just one hitch, namely, that he’d have to sign a release so that the lusty liaison could be videotaped from every angle. After all, the promotion was designed to give the site’s subscribers a chance to see an Average Joe enjoying a roll in the hay with a gorgeous goddess who would never normally give him the time of day.
Bespectacled Dave definitely fit the bill in that regard, between his awkwardness and anxiety attempting to perform on cue on camera, even with the woman of his wet dreams. However, the skin flick’s director (Chris Wylde) obviously had a lot more to worry about than a limp nerd in need of Viagra.
For, something else would go horribly wrong after Dave’s arrival and by the time the police arrived, they would find the dead bodies of numerous males and females slain either by gunshot or blunt force trauma. The investigating officer (Lukas Kendall) was grateful to discover that the walls had been outfitted with 18 cameras which not only recorded Dave and Ashley’s fondling, foreplay and frustrated fornication, but the ensuing slaughter which subsequently turned the den of debauchery into a bloody crime scene.
So, cracking the case simply involved rewinding the tapes, and watching what transpired from start to finish. And that’s precisely the point-of-view shared with the audience in Lucky Bastard, a found-footage flick which puts a salacious spin on the “no surviving witnesses” cinematic device first effectively employed by The Blair Witch Project back in 1999.
The movie marks the impressive directorial debut of Robert Nathan, who also co-wrote the cleverly-constructed script with Lukas Kendall. Their novel storyline unfolds like your typical horror film, except instead of taking place inside a Gothic haunted house it unfolds on a sleazy set inside the bedroom of a nondescript suburban home rented for the day from a realtor (Deborah Zoe) out to make a quick buck.
Besides Dave and Ashley, the suspects include director Kris, cameraman Nico (Lanny Joon), Ashley’s regular co-star, Josh (Lee Kholafai), producer Mike and his considerably-younger girlfriend, Casey (Catherine Annette), an aspiring porn star. However, the perpetrator might not be a cast or crew member, since Mike also has issues with the alarmed real estate agent as well as with his estranged ex-wife.
It’s no surprise Lucky Bastard landed an NC-17 rating, given the fairly-explicit displays of carnality, though the production is as much a riveting murder mystery as it is a raunchy sex romp. A compelling, high body-count whodunit for folks willing to watch a lot of kinky cavorting while trying to unravel clues leading to the killer.
Very Good (3 stars)
NC-17 for violence, profanity, full frontal nudity and explicit sexuality.
Running time: 94 minutes
Distributor: Cavu Pictures
Regina Hall & Kevin Hart
The “About Last Night” Interview
with Kam Williams
Regina Hall began her acting career in the late 1990's while simultaneously earning a master's degree from New York University. With numerous film and television credits to her name, Regina has since emerged as one of Hollywood’s most sought after comedic actresses.
Last fall, she was seen reprising her role in the sequel The Best Man Holiday, alongside Terrence Howard, Taye Diggs, and Sanaa Lathan, which opened #1 at the box office. In June, she will again star opposite Terrence J, Gabrielle Union, Taraji P. Henson and Michael Ealy in the sequel Think Like a Man Too.
The versatile thespian additional credits include Scary Movie (and three of its sequels), Paid in Full, Malibu’s Most Wanted, First Sunday, Law Abiding Citizen, Death at a Funeral, Love & Basketball and Disappearing Acts. Her television credits include the role of Deputy D.A. Evelyn Prince on “Law & Order: LA” and Coretta Lipp on “Ally McBeal.”
Something Kevin Hart is an expert at is selling shoes. And if there’s one thing Kevin can do even better than selling shoes, it’s comedy. He began his first career sizing men and women for footwear, when a chance, electrifying performance on amateur night at a Philadelphia comedy club changed his life forever. He soon quit that job as a shoe salesman and began performing full-time at such venues as The Boston Comedy Club, Caroline’s on Broadway, Stand Up NY, the Laugh Factory and The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
However, it was a memorable appearance at the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival that led to roles in Paper Soldiers, Scary Movie 3 and Along Came Polly, which starred Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston. Kevin has worked nonstop ever since, and 2013 was no exception, including Grudge Match, opposite Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro, and Let Me Explain, a stand-up comedy film chronicling the best of his world concert tour of the same name.
This year, he’s already had a #1 hit movie in Ride Along, which has grossed over $100 million and counting. And among his earlier film credits are Little Fockers, Death at a Funeral, Fool’s Gold and The 40 Year-Old Virgin.
Here, Kevin and Regina discuss their new film, About Last Night, a remake of the classic romantic comedy released back in 1986.
Kam Williams: Hi, Kevin and Regina, thanks for the interview. I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak with you.
Regina Hall: Hi, there, Kam. We appreciate it, too.
Kevin Hart: How you doing, man?
Kam: Great! Kevin, how does it feel to be back in Philly?
Kevin: Oh, it’s always good, Kam. It’s my hometown. Home is always good.
Kam: What interested you two in About Last Night?
Kevin: What interested you, baby?
Regina: Well, I loved the script. I’m always thrilled whenever I see a good script. And of course, when I then heard that Kevin was going to be my co-star… that sealed the deal. Need I say anything more? How about you, Kev?
Kevin: Like you, the script, first of all. I also liked that this was a different type of role for me, and that the original movie was so amazing!
Regina: A classic!
Kam: What factors played a role in doing a remake?
Kevin: The fact that we’d be following in its footsteps was huge. But we also wanted to follow more closely the lines of the original play it was based on, “Sexual Perversity in Chicago.” We modernized it and made this version a little edgier to fit audiences of this generation. So, all the pieces of the puzzle were there, it was just a question of putting them together.
Regina: Yeah, it was already there on the page. We just adapted it in a way to make it fresh, contemporary, sexy and fun. We also kinda followed the journey of two couples as opposed to one, so you get to see us explore the dynamics in the friendships between the men and the women, as well as in the couples’ relationships. It ended up feeling great!
Kam: Was it hard juggling egos on the set?
Kevin: Not at all. It was basically just four good people.
Regina: Four friends, really.
Kevin: There weren’t any jerks. Everybody came with the same agenda which was to make a great film. And when you all have your eyes on the prize, in this case to turn in a quality product and to turn in a complete product, at the end of the day, you can’t ask for a better support group than what we had.
Kam: Who’s in your target audience?
Regina: Everybody!
Kevin: This is a universal film, with the exception of certain younger age groups, since this is an adult film.
Regina: Yeah, it’s R-rated. But it’s for singles… couples…
Kevin: It’s a movie that so many people are going to be able to relate to.
Kam: Kevin, you’re already on a roll with Ride Along breaking records for a January opening.
Kevin: Thank you!
Regina: #1 for three weeks in a row!
Kam: With About Last Night opening you’re competing against yourself.
Kevin: Hey, that’s a good thing, especially since this is a different look for me. People walking out of this movie are going to know that I have levels, that I’m serious about my acting career, and that I’m willing to challenge myself. This product is a great representation of that.
Kam: Does this picture have a message?
Kevin: Yeah, it actually does. The movie shows that couples weather their crises differently, and that each is going to solve their problems in the unique way they see fit to. But when you’re in love, love makes you do crazy things, and can take you down a whirlwind of a road. These are two couples that experience that, and we show how men talk to men and how women talk to women about their problems, and how it all comes full circle.
Regina: Mmm-hmm!
Kam: Regina, what’s up next for you?
Regina: I’ll be joining this gentleman again in June for the release of Think Like a Man Too.
Kevin: After that I’ll be in a movie called Wedding Ringers.
Regina: Which is hilarious, by the way. I’ve seen a few excerpts. It’s another hit.
Kam: Is it a little like Wedding Crashers?
Kevin: No, it’s more like a modern version of Hitch.
Kam: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
Kevin: Yeah, how tall are you?
Kam: Okay, how tall are you?
Kevin: I’m a good 6’6” on a Friday.
Regina: No, he’s 6’5”. [Chuckles]
Kam: How about you, Regina? Is there any question no one ever asks you?
Regina: People are obsessed with my bra size. Would you say I’m a 34D or a 34F?
Kevin: I’d say F. [Laughs]
Kam: The Sanaa Lathan question: What excites you?
Kevin: You know what? The most exciting thing in the world to me is that I’m doing what I love to do, and that I’m successful doing it. Pursuing my dream and executing it is exciting to me.
Regina: I’m just excited about life. Life is really good right now with my family and friends, and being able to work with people I respect.
Kam: I’ve asked Kevin this before. Regina, what is your favorite dish to cook?
Regina: That’s a hard question, because I’m a really good cook.
Kevin: You make a mean hot dog.
Regina: I do dice a nice hot dog. I also make great lamb chops. And I make really good yams. There isn’t much I can’t get into that kitchen and do.
Kevin: She also makes a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Regina: Thanks. You’ve got to have just the right balance of peanut butter and jelly.
Kevin: And that jelly’s coming from scratch!
Regina: That’s true.
Kevin: Kam, have you ever had jelly from scratch?
Kam: No, I havent.
Kevin: Then you got to get to Regina’s house.
Kam: Invite me, and I’m there! The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?
Regina: Swimming into my mama.
Kevin: Mine was touching a dead mouse by accident.
Kam: Well, thank you both for the spirited tete-a-tete!
Regina: Thank you, Kam.
Kevin: Thanks, man.
To see a trailer for About Last Night, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QEfDr1OE8Q
Winter's Tale
Film Review by Kam Williams
Cat Burglar Courts Sickly Heiress in Searing Exploration of Undying Love
Peter Lake’s (Colin Farrell) parents had hoped to immigrate to the U.S. but were turned away at Ellis Island upon their arrival early in the 20th Century. Denied their shot at the American Dream, the Russian couple decided to leave their baby behind, setting him adrift in a tiny model of a ship called the “City of Justice.”
The infant was carried by the tide to the shores of Bayonne, New Jersey where he was found and raised by compassionate clam-diggers. Upon coming of age, the teen moved to Manhattan and earned an honest wage as a mechanic until succumbing to the pressure to join a gang of ruffians led by the ruthless Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe).
Peter was subsequently schooled in thievery under Pearly’s tutelage, though the two would become mortal enemies once the protégé tired of doing his malevolent mentor’s bidding as a cat burglar. Even after severing his ties to the criminal enterprise, the exasperated orphan was forever looking over his shoulder while on the run from the burly bully.
A critical moment of truth arrives when Peter finds himself surrounded by his former partners in crime and is somehow spirited away by a winged white stallion. Another turning point in the lad’s life transpires the fateful night he enters a well-fortified mansion’s second-floor window with felonious intentions.
For, before he has a chance to ransack the premises, Peter comes face-to-face with Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), a sickly young heiress suffering from tuberculosis. And despite her impending demise, he becomes hopelessly smitten with the frail, philosophical free-spirit. Over the objections of her skeptical father (William Hurt), the star-crossed lovers proceed to embark on an otherworldly romance as enduring as it is ethereal.
Thus unfolds Winter’s Tale, a delightful flight of fancy marking the directorial debut of Akiva Goldsman, who won an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation of A Beautiful Mind. Akiva also wrote the script for this film which is based on Mark Helprin’s flowery best-seller of the same name.
Does this movie measure up to the source material? Can’t say, since I haven’t read it. Nevertheless, I found this well-crafted piece of magical realism quite imaginative and intriguing, though I suspect fans of the book might be a bit disappointed, given how much is ordinarily lost in translation bringing any 700-page book to the big screen.
A searing, supernatural exploration of the human soul suggesting not only that love is real but that miracles happen, too!
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for sensuality and violence
Running time: 118 minutes
Distributor: Warner Brothers
To see a trailer for Winter's Tale, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBSj1MKwx6A
The New Black
Film Review by Kam Williams
The African-American community has been slow to get on the gay rights bandwagon, at least according to exit polls conducted on election days in states like California where the narrow defeat of same-sex marriage in 2008 was blamed on black folks. What’s up with that? After all, one would expect blacks, as the long-suffering victims of segregation and discrimination, including miscegenation laws forbidding race-mixing, to be quick to support LBGT equality.
But that hasn’t been the case according to The New Black, an eye-opening documentary directed by Yoruba Richen. The film follows the recent effort of African-American activists to rally support for Proposition 6, a Maryland same-sex referendum. This was to be no mean feat, given the way that the Black Church has dragged its feet in terms of LGBT issues.
The gay rights movement was apparently up against walking around money greasing the palms of black pastors coming courtesy of Mormons and white Evangelicals eager to sway the African-American vote. The Born Again crowd pressed for a literal interpretation of scriptures that leave no doubt about God’s will. Still, Bible-thumping bigots are ostensibly at odds with the open-minded attitude advocated by George Gershwin’s heretical hymn, “It Ain't Necessarily So” which warns that “The things that you’re liable to read in the Bible ain’t necessarily so.”
As far as conservative black ministers, some have called homosexuality “a white man’s disease,” and shunned members of their congregation who have come out of the closet. This even happened to Tonex, a Grammy-nominated Gospel singer who found his homosexual “perversions” criticized by colleague Reverend Donnie McClurkin, a convert to heterosexuality who has come to reject what he refers to as the gay lifestyle.
Nevertheless, most brothers seem to be coming around to a more tolerant attitude, despite the homophobia previously permeating black culture. For example, as a presidential candidate, Barack Obama narrowly defined marriage “as a union between a man and a woman,” only to arrive last year at a belief that “our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.”
The African-American community collectively jumps the broom over its last big taboo!
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 75 minutes
Distributor: Film Forum
To see a trailer for The New Black, visit
Dinesh Sharma
“The Global Obama” Interview
with Kam Williams
Sharma on Obama!
Dr. Dinesh Sharma is a cultural psychologist, marketing consultant and an acclaimed author with a doctorate from Harvard University. He is an Associate Research Professor (Honorary) at the Institute for Global Cultural Studies, SUNY-Binghamton; a senior fellow at Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Research, NYC; and a columnist for Asia Times Online, Al Jazeera English and The Global Intelligence, among other syndicated publications.
His recent articles and opinions have appeared in the Wall Street Journal Online, Wonkette.com, Free Lance-Star, Far Eastern Economic Review, Middle East Times, Middle East Online, Epoch Times, Biotech Law Review, Health Affairs, Media Monitors, DC Chronicles, Fredricksburg.com, MyCentralJersey.com, International Psychology Bulletin, and other journals. Dr. Sharma has been profiled domestically and internationally including in L'Echo, DeStandaard, Luxembourg Wort, 352 Lux Magazine, The Eastern Eye, Asian Affairs, Cincinnati Herald and The Skanner, to name a few.
On TV, Dinesh’s work has been favorably reviewed on Politics Tonight (WGN News), Urban Update (WHDH Boston), City Line WABC Boston, KITV Hawaii, Bay Sunday San Francisco, and many other shows. On Radio, he has been featured on Conversations on the Coast in San Francisco, Reality Check FM-4 Vienna, South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) and numerous other talk shows.
Furthermore, he has been a consultant in the healthcare industry for major pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device clients for about a decade. He is the author of “Barack Obama in Hawaii and Indonesia: The Making of a Global President,” which was rated as among the Top 10 Books of Black History for 2012 by the American Library Association, Book List Online. Here, he talks about the follow-up book, "The Global Obama."
Kam Williams: Hi Dinesh, thanks for the interview.
Dinesh Sharma: Any time. It’s very nice of you to conduct this interview. You reviewed my earlier book and the new book, “The Global Obama.” So, I really appreciate it.
KW: What interested you in writing another book about Obama?
DS: Well, first, Barack H. Obama is a landmark presidential figure as the first black, multiracial, multicultural president from Hawaii and the Pacific. In the first book, Barack Obama in Hawaii and Indonesia, as you know, I documented, with ethnographic interviews, the childhood and adolescence of this history-making president. The idea was to show that the childhood of a historical leader speaks to the historical times and, in turn, shapes the future in some important ways. When I lectured around the world for the first book, I realized that he was more popular abroad than at home. I had known that from some of the early surveys by the Pew Research Center and The Economist. But when I toured throughout Europe, Asia and Africa, this was really brought home to me. So I wanted to do a book on that trend and try to explore some of the reasons for this finding. Given that no author has an expertise in all areas of the world, I decided to make this an edited book, with help from friends who span the globe. In the new book, we have covered five continents and more than twenty countries.
KW: Was it a harder sell, since the President’s bloom has fallen off the rose, at least domestically?
DS: It wasn’t a hard sell with the publishers or the reviewers. Most reviewers got the purpose of the project right away and supported it. In fact, the book is part of a series that is headed by James MacGregor Burns, who wrote the classic book on leadership and coined the term “transformational leadership,” Georgia Sorensen, who worked in the Carter administration, and Ron Riggio, a professor of leadership at Claremont McKenna College. Given that Obama is a relevant historical figure despite the negative polling trends domestically, he has many more admirers than detractors at home and abroad. In fact, the publisher wanted us to focus on his leadership style within a cross-cultural context, which is the theme of the new book.
KW: How do you explain his enduring popularity overseas?
DS: I think it has partly to do with his international biography and global moorings in almost all continents--Africa, Asia, Europe and the US, of course. Professor Ali A. Mazrui calls him “the child of three continents.” But if you include his Irish or European ancestry from his mother’s side of the family, he may be called “the man of four continents” or the global president, a symbol of the changing times.
KW: What were you most surprised to learn about him in the course of your preparing this book?
DS: When I prepared the manuscript, the sheer enormity of the challenges the U.S. faces abroad were mind-boggling. It became clear to me that the job of managing all of these conflicts simultaneously is, indeed, very difficult, especially, if the U.S. wants to remain the global leader in the 21st Century. That’s why China does not necessarily want to be in the position of a global superpower. The other BRIC countries, Russia, India and Brazil, are not anywhere near being global superpowers. Countries around the world expect the U.S. to deliver, be engaged, and respond to their needs. Presidential leadership is a really tough job, does come not easily. “To those much is given, much is expected,” to paraphrase President Kennedy.
KW: What has been your most special moment in your visits to the White House?
DS: Hard to say, but I think watching the President in the East Room when he hosts some of the sports teams, stars from the NBA, WNBA, and NFL, after they have won a championship. Obama is a sports aficionado! You can really observe that when he’s around athletes. He gets a kick out of it. His inner-jock self comes out and his language becomes very jocular.
KW: What’s it like to be a member of the press corps accompanying President Obama on a trip?
DS: Very interesting. As an immigrant from India who lived in Chicago for many years, or even as a graduate student at Harvard in psychology and human development, I didn’t think or imagine that one day I would be covering the first black president at the White House.
KW: You traveled to various places where Obama grew up while researching your first book about Obama. Where did you think the seed of his presidential destiny was planted?
DS: Hawaii. His parents met there and he attended one of the elite preparatory schools on the island, Punahou Academy. Hawaii was the last state to join the Union in 1959 after the attack on Pearl Harbor and World War II. Obama’s father arrived there as an exchange student in 1959 and Barack was born two years after Hawaii became part of the U.S. It shaped not only his inner-most self, his destiny, but also his vision of America as reflected in his saying, “There is no Red America or Blue America, only the United States of America.” As the first majority-minority state, you could say that Hawaii shaped Obama’s identity indelibly. They both grew up together, in parallel, and are now leading America towards being a blended nation, demographically.
KW: What will be the focus of your next book about Obama?
DS: Not clear yet, but something to do with American identity, politics and culture in the era of globalization, similar to what I have been writing about lately.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
DS: No one has asked ever said to me, “You’re not African-American, so why are you so obsessed with Obama? Why is Obama your muse?” Or, “Aren’t you tired of Obama yet? You know his polling numbers are falling.”
KW: Would you mind saying something controversial that would get this interview tweeted?
DS: President Obama will be an even bigger statesman in his post-presidency, while working for Africa’s development.
KW: What is your secret wish?
DS: To smoke a cigar with the President on the roof of the White House But, alas, he does not smoke anymore.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
DS: “The Future” by Al Gore, “A Singular Woman” by Jenny Scott, “Legal Orientalism” by Teemu Ruskola, and I just started reading “The Great Soul” by Joseph Lelyveld.
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
DS: Fish Curry.
KW: The Mike Pittman question: What was your best career decision?
DS: To attend Harvard, and recently the decision to write two books on President Obama, in that order. Hopefully, more to come!
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
DS: There is no limit to what one can do!
KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?
DS: That both my children will be well-educated, well-read and well-travelled.
KW: The Judyth Piazza question: What key quality do you believe all successful people share?
DS: Dogged determination – consistency and persistence in performance. It’s not just enough to have good ideas, one has to deliver.
KW: The Michael Ealy question: If you could meet any historical figure, who would it be?
DS: There are so many – I would like to have met Freud, Jung, Gandhi, Nehru, Lincoln, Churchill, Martin Luther King, Mandela, Claude Levi-Strauss, Dali, Margret Mead, Camus, Foucault, Sri Aurobindo, Krishnamurti, other Indian Philosophers. And the list goes on. As you can see, I think intellectuals are historical figures, too, because they can change the world with the power of their ideas.
KW: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to write about a president?
DS: Always follow your path, or the road less travelled.
KW: Thanks again for the time, Dinesh, and best of luck with the book.
DS: Thanks very much, Kam.
To order a copy of The Global Obama, visit: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1848726260/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20
To order a copy of Barack Obama in Hawai'i and Indonesia, visit:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0313385335/ref%3dnosim/thslfofire-20