Not Today
Film Review by Kam Williams

Lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family, Caden Welles (Cody Longo) is living the American Dream. With money to burn at his disposal, the spoiled 20 year-old took off on a whim for a vacation in Hyderabad, India, along with some of his equally-irresponsible friends.

Before Caden left, his mom (Shari Rigby) packed a Bible in his suitcase with a note tucked in the pages asking God to help her son appreciate his blessings while on the subcontinent. Fortunately, it doesn’t take long for that prayer to be answered.

For, upon landing, Caden experiences quite a cultural shock when he finds himself in the midst of abject poverty he never knew existed. And instead of being able to participate in the non-stop partying they’d planned, he ends up feeling guilty about all the suffering he’s surrounded by.

He specifically regrets having cynically refused to help a beggar with a little girl claiming to be starving. In fact, he becomes so haunted that he goes back to look for them, only to learn that Kiran (Walid Amini) had reluctantly sold Annika (Persis Karen) into slavery to survive.

Determined to reunite father and daughter, Caden decides to try to track down the 7 year-old, a search which leads to the ugly underworld of sex trafficking. There, he discovers that Annika’s freedom will come at considerable cost, since the pimp who had purchased her expects to make a tidy profit to part with her.

Thanks to cell phone technology, Caden can both cry on the shoulder of his empathetic girlfriend (Cassie Scerbo) back home and ask his dad (John Schneider) to wire him $20,000 fast. There’s no hesitation, when the request is for such a worthy cause, as opposed to underwriting another one of the reformed slacker’s trademark self-indulgences.

Thus unfolds Not Today, a compelling, modern morality play marking the noteworthy directorial debut of Jon Van Dyke. Without getting too heavy-handed, the faith-based cautionary tale does a decent job of delivering its sobering message about a widespread form of exploitation of millions which no one ever talks about.

A searing indictment of India’s shameful caste system as a means of enslaving females based on the color of their skin.

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for mature themes

Running time: 103 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for Not Today, visit

Chad Boseman
The “42” Interview
with Kam Williams

Hailing from Anderson, South Carolina, Chadwick Boseman is an accomplished actor, scriptwriter and playwright who, until now, was probably best known for portraying the character Nate on the critically-acclaimed dramatic TV series Lincoln Heights. Prior to entering show business, Chad earned degrees at Howard University and the British American Dramatic Academy at Oxford.

Here, he talks about playing Jackie Robinson opposite Harrison Ford and Nicole Beharie in 42, a biopic about the late Hall of Famer’s historic breaking of Major League Baseball’s color barrier back in 1947.

Kam Williams: Hi Chad, thanks for the interview.

Chad Boseman: Nice to talk to you, Kam.

KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier says: I appreciate the opportunity to ask you a question, especially because everything changed for Jackie Robinson in my hometown of Montreal. What did it mean to you to portray Jackie Robinson and how did you prepare for the role?

CB: It’s just a great honor to play him. In order to portray him, I basically paid attention to three different aspects of the role. First, the physical aspect of baseball, and his five-day-a-week workout regimen starting with Spring Training in the middle of January all the way to May. Secondly, I studied Hall of Fame footage of Jackie so that I could emulate his batting stance, how he took leads, how he ran bases, the arm slide he used in certain situations, and his fielding style. Thirdly, there was the question of how to attack the role. I didn’t want to just do an imitation. I wanted to interpret it while remaining faithful to the script and [director] Brian Helgeland’s vision.

The research also included reading, and talking to Jackie’s widow, Rachel, and his daughter, Sharon, in order to deliver the most authentic interpretation of him possible.

KW: Documentary filmmaker Kevin Williams asks: Was the role at all intimidating to you? Did you feel any pressure to get Jackie right, given his importance in history?

CB: Yes, because Jackie is a hero to people from so many walks of life whose reverence for him is often based on different interpretations of who he was.  I also felt a certain amount of responsibility to give an accurate account of his life and the person that he was for the benefit of the youth who don’t know him. But I still felt a great responsibility to Rachel Robinson and his family. She has carried on his legacy for decades, and she’s carried the torch for this film. So, my main goal was to do right by her.  

KW: Peter Brav says: You were absolutely awesome in the role. My 85 year-old mother, a concentration camp survivor, embraced the Brooklyn Dodgers when she came to this country in 1946. She saw 42 and hasn't stopped talking about how you ARE Jackie in the movie. Prior to auditioning, how much of the Jackie Robinson story did you know?

CB: I knew his story since I was a kid. My parents told me stories about him. And I learned about him, Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders at church. I didn’t know anything about Jackie’s personality, or the specifics about his family or where he came from. So, I went into the audition with very limited knowledge of the facts that you would need to play him.

KW:  Kate Newell asks: In doing this film, what did you find out about Jackie Robinson that surprised you the most?

CB: I was surprised that he was considering quitting baseball just before he was signed by the Dodgers’ GM Branch Rickey [played by Harrison Ford].  He had become disenchanted with barnstorming across the country in the Negro League for several reasons: he often had to play several games a day; there were a lot of places where African-Americans couldn’t stop to eat, sleep, buy gas or even use the bathroom; and he wasn’t being paid enough at a time when the most important thing to him was taking care of his family. I was also surprised that baseball was only his fourth best sport. He had greatness in him already. He was an All-American football player, a great basketball player, and he could’ve gone to the Olympics in track and field. Jackie was a better athlete than his brother Mack who had been a silver medalist behind Jesse Owens in the 200 Meters at the ’36 Olympics in Berlin. So, Jackie was well aware of his talents but felt very frustrated by the fact that there was no place in the United States at that time where a black man could fully actualize himself. Fortunately, baseball became that place where he could reach his full potential, although he might have achieved it in other sports. But that frustration of his potentiality almost made Jackie quit.

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles says: Jackie Robinson encountered extraordinary obstacles on account of the color of his skin pursuing his professional baseball career. Have you encountered similar obstacles in your acting career?

KB: Well, you don’t get the same opportunities as white actors. Every year, Hollywood is looking for that new, white leading man and new white starlet that audiences fall in love with. But they’re not looking for the next Denzel Washington, Will Smith or Sidney Poitier. Some of that is due to the fact that even in our educational process we’re taught history from a totally Eurocentric perspective. And so it’s no surprise that we grow up to value European literature. Since we don’t value our own history, African-American stories don’t get made into movies as much. Your being the protagonist or the hero is not a fundamental part of our culture. That’s what I run up against trying to get cast as an actor, and that’s what I feel needs to change. It’s very difficult to make strides to play big roles in big movies when our culture doesn’t support it and therefore the movies can’t.

KW: What did you major in at Howard, Acting or Black Studies? 

CB: I majored in directing. However, I did spend some time at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, so I am somewhat well-versed in African Studies. 

KW: If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?

CB: One wish instantly granted? Woo! I would love for my grandmother and my sister to have been able to see this movie. They both passed.

KW: My condolences Chad. Thanks again for the time, and best of luck with 42.

CB: Thank you, Kam.

To see a trailer for 42, visit

Harrison Ford
The “42” Interview
with Kam Williams

Born in Chicago on July 13, 1942, Harrison Ford was a late bloomer who only developed an interest in acting during his senior year of college. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked as carpenter for almost a decade while struggling trying to launch his showbiz career.

He was finally discovered in 1973 while installing cabinets in the home of George Lucas. The director cast him in American Graffiti, which in turn, led to his landing the iconic character Hans Solo in Star Wars, and the rest, as they say, is cinematic history.

Ford went on to play the title role in the Indiana Jones franchise, and to make memorable outings in such hit movies as The Fugitive, Witness, Air Force One, What Lies Beneath, Presumed Innocent, Blade Runner, Frantic, Apocalypse Now and Clear and Present Danger, to name a few. Here, the Oscar-nominated thespian (for Witness) talks about his latest outing opposite Chad Boseman as Brooklyn Dodgers’ general manager Branch Rickey in 42, a biopic about Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in baseball.

Kam Williams: Hi Mr. Ford, thanks so much for the interview. I’m very honored to have this opportunity to speak with you.

Harrison Ford: That’s kind of you to say, Kam.

KW: I was moved to tears several times by the movie. If 42 were released in December, I’m sure you’d be a shoo-in for another Oscar nomination.  

HF: Again, you’re very kind. Thank you. I credit the wonderful material. It was very well-crafted, well-written and well-directed. I was very pleased to have the opportunity to be involved with the project.

KW: Documentary filmmaker Kevin Williams says: You have been my favorite actor for many years, as were you my Dad's ever since he saw you in Hanover Street. Thank you for bringing us so much joy. 

HF: How sweet!

KW: Why did you decide to play Branch Rickey?

HF: First of all, I read what I thought was an amazing script with very high standards, telling an important story with a character for me to play who was colorful and dramatic and different from any I’d ever played before, and with a director [Brian Helgeland] I admired who had written this wonderful script. So, I had a multitude of reasons to want to do this character. I also saw this project as an opportunity to fully ascend to the rank of the noble calling of character actor. I thought that I could best serve the film by not bringing any of the audience’s history with Harrison Ford into the scene. So, I did everything I could to create a character that truly resembled and was attendant to the real-life Branch Rickey.   

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles says: You’ve earned some much-deserved acclaim for playing serialized fantasy figures—thank you big time for Hans Solo and Indiana Jones. How different is the preparation for doing a one-shot biopic of an historical figure?

HF: The truth is… the job’s always the same. It involves helping to tell the story and creating an alloy between character and story that serves the film. And it also involves creating behavior that brings the information in every scene to life, and investing emotionally in the communication of those ideas. 

KW: Gil Cretney asks: Will Hans Solo be in JJ. Abram's upcoming Star Wars sequel?

HF: I think you’ll have to ask somebody else that question. I’m not ready to commit or talk about that at this time.

KW: Kate Newell asks: How did it feel shooting on location at some of those venerable, old baseball stadiums?

HF: To tell you the truth, I didn’t pay much notice because in many cases the stadiums were recreated through computer graphics after the fact. We really only had the first ten rows, and the rest was added during post-production. The places where we shot were not historical or so impressive. But given that this film takes place over sixty years ago, it’s amazing how much different the world was back then. It’s seen so many changes in a relatively short period of time.   

KW:Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier says: I am honored to ask you a question because I have admired your work since I was a child. Jackie Robinson is special to me because his minor league career began in my hometown, Montreal. What does his legacy mean to you?

HF: This is a country which has always proclaimed itself to be founded on and to be pursuing high ideals. I believe that the racial injustice which existed such a short time ago probably would have persisted longer if the color barrier had not been broken in baseball, since the Civil Rights Movement might not have blossomed when it did, had it not been preceded by Jackie Robinson’s joining the Dodgers. You have to remember that baseball really was the American pastime in the Forties, not football, basketball or any other sport. Baseball was a metaphor for America, both here and in terms of how it was understood by the rest of the world. So, the legacy of Jackie Robinson and the part he played in this very important chapter of our history is very compelling and very meaningful to me personally.    

KW: My father took a photo of me with Jackie when I was a kid in the Fifties, and I kept that picture on my bureau my entire childhood.  

HF: Cool!

KW: Well, thanks again for the interview, Mr. Ford.

HF: It was my pleasure, Kam.

To see a trailer for 42, visit

Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal
Film Review by Kam Williams

Once the darling of the art world, Lars Olafssen (Thure Lindhardt) is down on his luck after developing the painter’s equivalent of writer’s block. He’s been reduced to taking a teaching position at a college in rural Koda Lake, Canada, a mythical town located outside Ottawa.

There, he shares an apartment with Eddie (Dylan Smith), a mentally-challenged mute. Lars quickly learns that his untalented student obviously only gained admission to the school because he’s the relative of a generous alum.

However, Eddie has bigger issues than being utterly unqualified, for he not only sleepwalks at night, but attacks and devours humans while in that somnambulant state. But rather than have the cannibal arrested, Lars lets his roommate embark on a reign of terror, since the bloodletting has simultaneously provided the spark of inspiration he’s been missing as a painter.

Soon, with his popularity restored, Lars even finds himself pursued by an attractive colleague (Georgina Reilly). Will he ever help the police (Paul Braunstein) crack the case, or does his man-eating muse merely mean too much to his revitalized career?

That is the question at the heart of Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal, a dark comedy written and directed by Boris Rodriguez. While a tad too understated and perverted to make this critic laugh, the film’s tongue-in-cheek brand of humor is nevertheless likely to resonate with cerebral types blessed with a taste for the droll and the bizarre.

An unlikely-buddy horror flick which figured a viable way of walking a fine line between the sadistic and the sublime.

Good (2 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 90 minutes

Distributor: Music Box Films

To see a trailer for Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal, visit

Temptation
Film Review by Kam Williams

I’ll be honest, when I heard that Lionsgate wasn’t screening Temptation for critics, I really expected it to be a dreadful mess. But after entering the theater with very low expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the latest morality play from Tyler Perry.

No advance peek meant I had to wait until opening day to see the melodramatic soap opera, which in my case was in a sold-out house with a crowd that was about 90% black and female. As far as what the sisters thought of the picture, all I needed to hear was the chorus of Amen’s and the robust round of applause during the closing credits.

Still, it’s debatable whether the Christian-themed cautionary tale’s simplistic sermonizing will attract a broader audience beyond that loyal demographic, but I’d guess that it very well might resonate with Evangelicals in general. Plus, don’t discount the box office appeal of reality show sensation Kim Kardashian who holds her own here in a quite comical supporting role as an opinionated fashionista.

Loosely based on Perry’s 2008 stage production “The Marriage Counselor,” Temptation is a flashback flick revolving around 26 year-old Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), a naïve country bumpkin employed in Washington, D.C. by Janice (Vanessa Williams), a crafty love guru with a bad French accent but a thriving matchmaking service.

Judith’s been married for six long years to loyal but boring Brice (Lance Gross), her childhood sweetheart and the only man she’s ever slept with. He runs a modest pharmacy in the city that never seems to have any customers. Nevertheless, the place’s atmosphere is kept pretty lively between comic relief coming courtesy of his gossipy, sticky-fingered cashier (Renee Taylor) and the ominous air created by a new employee (Brandy) hiding a big (and I mean BIG!) secret.

College educated Judith dreams of opening her own psychotherapy practice someday, but doesn’t have sufficient funds to do so, presently. That predicament makes her all the more vulnerable to Harley (Robbie Jones), an unscrupulous, dot.com billionaire with money to burn and sexual conquests to make.

The predatory home wrecker zeroes in on Judith while deciding whether to acquire her boss’ business. And before you can say “Mark Zuckerberg” she’s got dollar signs in her eyes and decides to leave her husband for a life of drugs and debauchery with suave Mr. Moneybags.

Brice offers to pay more attention to his wife and to spice up their love life, but is it too late? Can this marriage be saved? A present-day parable preaching to the choir with sobering warnings about the love of money and taking your mate for granted.

The Gospel according to Tyler Perry!

Very Good (3 stars)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and drug use

Running time: 112 minutes

Distributor: Lionsgate Films

To see a trailer for Temptation, visit