Film Review by Kam Williams
Childless Couple's Prayers Answered in Enchanting Fairytale
Jim (Joel Edgerton) and Cindy Green (Jennifer Garner) are very happily-married except for not having any kids. After being informed by Cindy's gynecologist (Rhoda Griffis), that she can't conceive, they scribble down all the qualities they'd hoped to pass on to the child they'll never have, starting with her good heart and his honesty to a fault.
Then, they bury the wish list in a box in the backyard right before a torrential rainfall arrives. To their astonishment a real live boy sprouts up in their garden overnight who, other than having leaves growing out of his legs, seems to be perfectly normal.
What's more, 10 year-old Timothy (CJ Adams) not only exhibits the positive traits desired by Cindy and Jim, but he refers to them as "Mom" and "Dad" without any prompting. While the Greens are certainly inclined to welcome their miraculous blessing with open arms, they are still hard-pressed to explain the sudden addition to the family to skeptical relatives and friends.
For sensitive Timothy, the adjustment is rather rocky, too, between being teased by bullies at school for wearing long socks, and being rejected at home for not being manly enough by his macho grandfather, Jim, Sr. (David Morse). He even frustrates his mom when she's fired by her boss (Dianne Wiest) on account of his compulsive frankness.
At least the little lost soul does find a kindred spirit in Joni (Odeya Rush), a shy classmate hiding a painful secret of her own. The harder a time Timothy has trying to measure up to the world's expectations, the more he retreats to a magical oasis of solitude he shares with this newfound friend.
Directed by Peter Hedges (Pieces of April), The Odd Life of Timothy Green is an enchanting fairytale designed for young and old alike. Credit a combination of seamless special effects and a talented cast for making it easy for the audience to suspend disbelief in the face of a supernatural storyline with an implausible premise.
Once that hurdle is scaled, a most-satisfying payoff which tugs on the heartstrings awaits anyone willing to invest in this instant Disney classic. Buy an extra ticket for the box of Kleenex you'll need to have sitting on the seat beside you.
Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG for mature themes and mild epithets.
Running time: 125 minutes
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
To see a trailer for The Odd Life of Timothy Green, visit
DVD Review by Kam Williams
Dance Documentary Pays Tribute to Legendary Jacob's Pillow Festival
The Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival traces its roots back to the Thirties when it was founded on a farm nestled in the Berkshire Mountains by the legendary Ted Shawn (1891-1972). He envisioned the retreat as an oasis where modern dance might be practiced, choreographed and performed as a legitimate art form independent of classical ballet.
Other than being derailed by a temporary setback during The Depression, the festival's stature grew steadily over the ensuing years. In 1942, Shawn built a theater in a converted barn so that patrons could enjoy modern for modern's sake, free of the distracting trappings of a big city opera house.
Now celebrating its 80th anniversary, Jacob's Pillow is a veritable mecca recognized as America's longest-running dance festival. Directed by Ron Honsa, Never Stand Still is an enchanting tribute destined to delight both modern dance devotees and the curious alike.
Narrated by Bill T. Jones, this alternately educational and entertaining documentary divides its time between concert footage and informative interviews with industry icons like Merce Cunningham, Bill Irwin, Paul Taylor, Judith Jamison and Suzanne Farrell. We learn from the film that dance is definitely a calling and not a life for anyone who wants a secure career path, since you're always just an ingénue or an injury away from losing the limelight forever.
Jamison reminds us, however, that to reach the top, you have to be more than merely technically adept. Indeed, you need to be among those rarest of talents also capable of touching the human spirit.
Modern dance appreciated as a sacred endeavor enabling one to fly above the fray, if not literally, at the very least, vicariously.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 74 minutes
Distributor: First Run Features DVD Extras: Extended Interview with Merce Cunningham; Invisible Wings: The Carter Family Farm at Jacob's Pillow; Performance footage of Chunky Move in I Want to Dance Better at Parties; Mimulus in On the Left-Hand Side of Who Goes up the Street; and The Lombard Twins' C Jam Blues.
To see a trailer for Never Stand Still, visit
The "Marley" Interview with Kam Williams
Getting Ziggy with It
David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley was born in Trenchtown, Jamaica on October 17, 1968 to Bob and Rita Marley. A five-time Grammy-winning musician, actor, artist, activist and humanitarian, Ziggy has enjoyed a prominent presence on the public stage for over a quarter-century.
At the age of 10, Ziggy first sat in on recording sessions with his father's band, the legendary Bob Marley and the Wailers. Later, he joined with his sisters Sharon and Cedella and brother Stephen to form Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers, which enabled him to craft his own soulful sound blending blues, R&B, hip-hop and roots reggae. The Melody Makers earned their first Grammy (Best Reggae Recording) for their third album Conscious Party (1988), produced by Talking Heads Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, which included the hit songs "Tomorrow People" and "Tumbling Down."
Subsequent albums included the Grammy-winning One Bright Day (1989), Jamekya (1991), Joy and Blues (1993), Free Like We Want 2 B (1995), Grammy-winning Fallen is Babylon (1997), Spirit of Music (1999) and Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers Live, Vol. 1 (2000), featuring some of their biggest hits, as well as a cover of Bob Marley's "Could You Be Loved." While selling millions of records and selling out numerous concerts, Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers never lost sight of their foundations in faith, fellowship and family.
Involved with a breadth of charities, Marley leads his own, URGE (Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment), a non-profit organization that benefits efforts in Jamaica, Ethiopia and other developing nations. The charity's missions range from building new schools to operating health clinics to supporting charities like Mary's Child, a center for abused and neglected girls.
The title of his latest album, Wild and Free, is a little ironic, given his time-consuming commitments to family, philanthropy, songwriting, producing, studio work and touring. Ziggy also continues to head Tuff Gong Worldwide in honor of his father's own music label Tuff Gong Records, working on the re-launch of the official Bob Marley website and an exhibit at the Grammy Museum in L.A.
Ziggy divides his residency among Florida, Jamaica and California, and has his own website at: www.ziggymarley.com. Here, he talks about Marley, a new documentary about his father.
Kam Williams: Hi Ziggy, thanks for the interview.
Ziggy Marley: Thank you, Kam.
KW: Do you remember Ras Karbi, who played with your dad in Jamaica before embarking on a solo career?
ZM: Jah, mon.
DVD Review by Kam Williams
Revealing Biopic Revisits Rise and Fall of Revered Reggae Icon
When most people think of Bob Marley, what probably comes to mind is reggae, Jamaica and marijuana. But how did a street urchin raised by a teen-mom in a country shack with no electricity manage to become a beloved icon admired all over the world?
That little-known side of Bob's life story is the subject of Marley, an intimate biopic produced by his son, Ziggy, and directed by Scotsman Kevin Macdonald. Because of the participation in the project of so many relatives, friends and colleagues, the picture paints a fascinating portrait which fully fleshes out its subject, thereby resisting the temptation of merely placing him on a pedestal.
At the point of departure we learn that Robert Nesta Marley was born in 1945 to Cedella Malcolm, a young local gal, and Captain Norval Marley, a British plantation overseer already in his 60s. Bob never really knew his father or the rest of the Marleys, a prominent family with a construction business on the island. In fact, his request for financial help to kickstart his career was rebuffed out of hand by his relatively-rich white relations.
Rejection was a recurring theme during Bob's formative years, when he was teased as a "half-caste" by other boys for being mixed. And he was equally unpopular with the opposite sex, since "Every girl's dream in Jamaica was to have a tall, dark boyfriend." He was even abandoned by his mom who moved to America while he was still in his teens.
Fortunately, Bob eventually found salvation through a love of music and the embrace of the Rastafarian community. Seeing his guitar as a way out of poverty, he let his hair grow while writing popular songs about equality, world peace, and cannabis, which is considered a sacred herb by the dreadlocked adherents of his pot-smoking religion.
After struggling to make it for over a decade while getting ripped-off by unscrupulous producers and promoters, Marley finally landed his big break in 1973 when he and the Wailers signed with Island Records. The group went on to record such hits as "One Love," "Jammin'," "No Woman No Cry," "I Shot the Sheriff," "Redemptive Song," "Get Up, Stand Up," "Stir It Up" and "Is This Love?" to name a few.
The 2½ hour combination concert/interview flick allocates a decent portion of time to archival footage of The Wailers' performing many of the aforementioned anthems. Attention is also devoted to the reflections of folks like Bob's widow, Rita, who talks about how she was really more of her his guardian angel than his wife.
After all, he had 11 children by 7 different women and often needed help juggling his groupies and baby-mamas. As Bob's attorney, Diane Jobson, explains it, her client considered himself faithful to God, if not his spouse.
Among Marley's many lovers was gorgeous Cindy Breakspeare, Miss Jamaica 1976, who went on to win the Miss World title. Not so lucky was Pascaline Ondimba, the daughter of the African nation of Gabon's prime minister. She recounts how Bob had called her "ugly" because she straightened her hair, and had encouraged her to cultivate and appreciate her natural beauty.
Sadly, Marley's life was marked by tragedy, too, including an assassination attempt and later the skin cancer to which he would succumb at the tender age of 36. Still, his "One Love" legacy is likely to withstand the test of time and inspire generations to come with its all-embracing message of understanding and tolerance.
A wonderfully-revealing, warts-and-all tribute to the human spirit of a Rasta rock god!
Excellent (4 stars)
Pated PG-13 for violent images, mature themes and cannabis consumption.
Running time: 145 minutes
Distributor: Magnolia Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Director's commentary; photo gallery; Bunny Wailer and Marley children interviews; bonus music footage; a mini-documentary; and the theatrical trailer.
To see a trailer for Marley, visit
To order a copy of Marley on DVD, visit
Film Review by Kam Williams
Dysfunctional Family Drama Revolves around Interracial Romance
16 year-old Kayla Tanaka (Nichole Bloom) is an aspiring artist with a promising future provided she keeps her nose to the grindstone while trying to land a college scholarship. But that's easier said than done since she's being raised in a rough area of Los Angeles where temptation lurks around every corner.
So, one might expect her parents to approve when she starts dating an equally-ambitious classmate (Robert Bailey, Jr.) from the other side of the proverbial tracks whose father is a successful, Harvard-trained lawyer. But no, Kayla's mother, Angie (Jessica Tuck), puts the kibosh on the liaison just as soon as she discovers that the object of her affection is African-American, ordering her daughter to "Get the [F-word] out of the house" because "you're sneaking around with a Goddamn [N-word]."
Unfortunately, it only falls on deaf ears when Kayla points out that her white mother's been in an interracial relationship with a Japanese man (Chris Tashima) for the past 22 years. Their marital status is about to change however, because Mrs. Tanaka has a terrible drug addiction that's frustrated her husband to the point of moving out of the house and filing for divorce.
Between their mom's habit and hypocrisy, it is only a matter of time until both Kayla and her younger sister, Amberlyn (Courtney Mun), rebel by hanging out with black guys anyway. Trouble is their new suitors aren't straitlaced like J.J., but stone-cold ghetto gangstas with not much of a future to speak of.
Kayla's lover, Treyshawn (Delon de Metz), is a 19 year-old drug dealer with his own car, while her sibling can be found hanging out in alleys swapping sexual favors for Chinese food. In the absence of a stable home life, the question soon becomes, can these girls be saved before spiraling totally out of control?
So unfolds Model Minority, a dysfunctional family drama marking a most impressive directorial/scriptwriting debut of Lily Mariye. An accomplished actress in her own right, Ms. Mariye is perhaps best known for portraying Nurse Lily Jarvik on the TV series ER.
Here, she proves to be quite the storyteller, spinning a quite compelling, cross-cultural, character-driven drama with its finger on the pulse. Considerable credit must also go to Nichole Bloom (Project X) for throwing herself into the emotionally-challenging role of Kayla with an admirable abandon.
A melting pot morality play about the temptations and travails of a couple of good girls gone bad.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 94 minutes
Distributor: Nice Girls Films