Cavemen
Film Review by Kam Williams
Dean (Skylar Austin) lives in L.A. with three buddies in a warehouse converted into a windowless loft they call “The Cave.” The appellation is apropos since these twenty-something slackers behave like cavemen, spending most of their free time at local haunts bars trying to lure women back to their bachelors’ lair for wanton liaisons with no strings attached.
For instance, African-American Andre (Dayo Okeniyi) has been sleeping with a luscious Latina (Fernanda Romero) as well as an attractive Asian (Victoria Park) who have no idea that each other exists. That state of affairs is a recipe for disaster destined to blow up in the two-timing brother’s face.
Meanwhile, Andre’s roommates, Jay (Chad Michael Murray) and Pete (Kenny Wormald), have been behaving just as badly, inspired by the macho mantra, “Get out there and take what’s yours.” Dean, however, has finally tired of the string of shallow conquests after sharing pneumatic bliss with Sara (Megan Stevenson), a cutie-pie who means nothing more to him than another notch in the bedpost.
Over lunch the next day, he cries on the proverbial shoulders of his BFF Tess (Camille Belle) and his nephew Jimmy (Kaden Gibson) about wanting to find a meaningful relationship. Because the cozy confidantes sitting at the table seem very well-suited, the precocious 9 year-old asks whether they’ve ever dated.
Dean and Tess awkwardly admit that they once kissed long ago, but purely by accident. However, instead of now considering each other romantically, the obvious soul mates continue to look elsewhere for a love connection.
Soon, Tess starts sleeping with inveterate womanizer Jay, which leaves the audience impatiently wondering when Dean will wake up and confess his deep feelings before it’s too late? At which point the question will be whether she’s inclined to reciprocate?
Those are the pivotal plot points driving Cavemen, an amusing romantic comedy exploring the mating habits of male members of the Millennial Generation in superficial fashion. Written and directed by Herschel Faber, the otherwise entertaining picture suffers from a flaw reflected in its failure to develop its characters beyond recognizable clichés.
Best thought of as a 21st Century update of the Little Rascals’ He-Man Woman Hater’s Club episode where Alfalfa wises up and woos Darla, his Neanderthal pals’ protestations notwithstanding.
Very Good (2.5 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 86 minutes
Distributor: Well Go USA Entertainment
To see a trailer for Cavemen, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoAi-SZccf0
Taboo
The “Jamesy Boy” Interview
with Kam Williams
The Taboo to Pursue!
Born in L.A. on July 14, 1975, Jimmy “Taboo” Gomez began dreaming about show business at an early age. The versatile fourple threat is a multilingual rapper, singer, dancer and emcee who got his big break in 1995 when approached by will.i.am to form the Black Eyed Peas.
Among the popular hip-hop group’s hits are the Grammy-winning “I Gotta Feeling,” “Let’s Get It Started,” “Boom Boom Pow” and “My Humps,” to name a few. Besides music, Taboo is also the designer of his own line of footwear, Taboo Deltah, and has added acting to his bag of tricks.
Here, he talks about his latest outing as Guillermo in Jamesy Boy, a fact-based tale of redemption co-starring Ving Rhames, James Woods and Spencer Lofranco. Although he wants to make more movies in the future, he is currently focused on his own solo album releasing later in the year, as well as on an upcoming tour with the Black Eyed Peas.
Kam Williams: Hi Taboo, thanks for another interview.
Taboo: Thank you.
KW: Like last time, I’ll be mixing in my questions, with some from my readers. How did you get interested you in acting?
T: Well, I had actually been taking acting classes prior to joining the Black Eyed Peas in ‘96. In fact, I originally thought it was going to be my introduction to the entertainment world, because Black Eyed Peas was more of a local, L.A. underground band. I kept up with the acting classes as a safety net, until we took off a couple of years later, after the release of our first album. Once we started touring, I had to put acting on hold, although I still wanted to act. Fast-forward to 2005, when I made my feature film debut playing a character named Ramirez in Dirty, with Cuba Gooding, Jr., Clifton Collins, Wyclef [Jean] and a couple other people. Then I did a movie called Cosmic Radio and, after that, one called Streetfighter. And now, Jamesy Boy.
Frozen
Film Review by Kam Williams
Princess Saves the Day in Musical Adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen Classic
Given the toll the polar vortex has been exacting on the continental U.S. lately, I think plenty of people can relate to the frigid predicament of the people living in the fictional kingdom of Arendelle. Disney’s Frozen is an animated adventure loosely based on “The Snow Queen,” a classic Hans Christian Andersen fairytale first published in 1845.
This delightful musical stars Kristen Bell as the voice of Anna, the young princess who takes it upon herself to save the day after her sister, recently-crowned Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), inadvertently plunges Arendelle into a permanent winter before disappearing. You see, Elsa was born with a superpower similar to Batman’s adversary Mr. Freeze as well as the character Sub-Zero in Mortal Combat, namely, the ability to freeze things in an instant.
Complicating matters is the fact that Elsa, empowered in the wake of their parents’ demise, had just put the kaibosh on her sister’s plans to marry handsome Prince Hans (Santino Fontana). So, Anna, accompanied by an anthropomorphic snowman (Josh Gad) and a rugged mountain man (Jonathan Groff) with a trusty reindeer, embarks on an epic journey in hope of finding her sibling with hopes of not only reversing the curse but of reconciling their differences.
En route, Anna and company are afforded ample opportunities to belt out a tune when not proving their mettle in playful plights of peril. The enchanting picture is as memorable for its pleasant luminescence and catchy soundtrack (including the Best Song Oscar-nominated “Let It Go”), as for its unpredictable resolution.
To its credit, Frozen puts a novel spin on the hackneyed nursery rhyme plotline which has the prince arriving in the nick of time to save the damsel-in-distress. A touching tale of sisterhood with a priceless message about blood being thicker than an ill-advised crush.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG for action and mild rude humor
Running time: 102 minutes
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
To see a trailer for Frozen, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jw-AeaU5WI
Oscar Buzz Deferred
by Kam Williams
2013 was widely lauded as the “Year of the Black Film,” but you would never know it, judging by the recently-announced list of Oscar nominations. It looks like the Academy settled on 12 Years a Slave as a sort of token black representative, with Steve McQueen (Director), John Ridley (Adapted Screenplay), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Lead Actor) and Lupita Nyong’o (Supporting Actress) landing nominations. Otherwise, the only other black nominee in a major category was Barkhad “I’m the Captain now!” Abdi, the Somalia-born cab driver who made his acting debut as the pirate who took Tom Hanks hostage in Captain Phillips.
Perhaps the most noteworthy snub was that of Fruitvale Station which had won coveted awards at both the Sundance and Cannes Festivals. Or maybe it was that of The Butler, which was my favorite film of the year. Upon that picture’s release back in August, colleague Roger Friedman was not alone in unabashedly declaring Oprah Winfrey already a lock to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
But, in the end, Oprah wasn’t even nominated, nor was her co-star Forest Whitaker, despite his having delivered a nonpareil performance. The list of overlooked thespians arguably extends to a couple other critically-acclaimed productions featuring black principal cast members, namely, the brilliant biopics 42 and Mandela.
What happens to Oscar buzz deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or does it dream of an NAACP Image Award? Read the rest of this story »
Life of a King
Film Review by Kam Williams
Ex-Con Opens Chess Club for At-Risk Kids in Ghetto-Based Biopic
Eugene Brown (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) was so worried about returning to his neighborhood in inner-city Washington, DC after serving 17 years for bank robbery that he shared his concern with his cellmate Searcy (Dennis Haysbert). The wise, old elder responded by making an analogy between life and the game of chess amounting to the simple suggestion “Take care of the king.”
He also handed Eugene a chess piece, hoping it might serve as a constant reminder to avoid trouble by employing fundamental game strategy. And that practical piece of advice would come in handy, especially since landing employment would turn out to be quite a challenge, given his criminal record.
But rather than break the law again for a quick buck, Eugene displayed the patience to wait until he found a legit job as a janitor. Working at the same high school his children had attended, he was afforded an opportunity to redeem himself when asked by the principal (LisaGay Hamilton) to monitor detention, too.
Instead of just having the students stand at the blackboard and write, “I will not be late for class” or “I will not forget my homework” 50 times, Eugene came up with the inspired idea of teaching them how to play chess each afternoon. Soon, he founded a chess club as a regular afterschool activity and viable alternative to the gangsta ways so many of the troubled youth found attractive.
Meanwhile, Eugene needed to mend fences with his estranged offspring, college coed Katrina (Rachae Thomas), and black sheep Marcus (Jordan Calloway), a juvenile jailbird following in his father’s footsteps. That proves easier said than done since the absentee-dad wasn’t around for either’s formative years.
Written and directed by Jake Goldberger (Don McKay), Life of a King is a warts-and-all biopic based on the downfall and resurrection of the real Eugene Brown. As raw and realistic as it is predictable and cliché-ridden, this modern morality play does at least drive home a pertinent message for adolescents in the targeted demographic.
A Sunday school-style parable which makes very effective use of chess mastery as a metaphor for negotiating the perilous gauntlet of possible ghetto pitfalls.
Very Good (2.5 stars)
Rated PG-13 for drug use, violent images and mature themes
Running time: 100 minutes
Distributor: Millennium Entertainment
To see a trailer for Life of a King, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24bM9kZp9NQ