Misc movie reviews

racial contrasts

On a side note, I also notice that 'white' casting directors, whenever they cast 'black' actors' love to cast blacks that look totally 'African' to play roles, characters next to 'white' actors/actresses.

White casting directors love 'contrast'...love racial contrast.

As a person of color, I often find myself asking 'why did you choose that bland looking actor/actress when you could of found someone so much more physically handsome, cute, or pretty?

Don't believe me?

Just look at the male or female actresses cast in main stream movies, the male always looks African and bland, so does the female, while being cast next to colorful vibrant white performers.

But if you look at movies produced, directed by 'black' folks, you don't see that.

If a black person produces or directs a movie or video, you see much more diversity within casting performers, as in different skin tones, shades and features.

And I find that interesting...very much so...and gives you insight into how a white person perceives 'black' verses how a black person perceives 'black'.

A white person generally see's black as 'African'...but people within the black community not so much so.

There are many different shades of 'black'....and blacks seem to realize that, where as whites do not.
And this is reflected in movies, where whenever they cast a black male/female next to white performers, the black male/female always is chocolate black, and has African features.

But in black produced movies or videos, blacks on film have a much wider racial tone, from light skinned to dark.

Just an interesting side note that I've brought up before on another blog of mine.

Most horror movie bundles, or any movies sold in bundles, absolutely suck.

It's as if every student who graduates from film school is required to produce a movie, like Professors are required to write dissertation's.

Most of these movies suck, not cause they're low budget, but cause the casting crew has no depth.

Most of them are young, right out of or still in college, come from good homes, and therefore lack cultural range.

They don't have 'range', experience at anything, and this is reflected in the roles, and characters they cast their friends in...no depth.

Just being young, and in college is not enough to make the movie worth watching.

Example...if you want 'country' than hire a authentic country or rural person to play the role, don't just hire your classmate to 'pretend' to be country if they don't have rural mannerisms, have never skinned a deer and what not.

Movies that work have authentic, believable characters, or veteran actors that know how to morph into authentic believable characters.

Just casting young, generic, college aged performers leaves movies feeling 'Sesame Street-ish'

These young movie producers always only cast people like themselves in movies.

If you notice, good movies have depth of characters, old people, seniors, different personalities, contrast that with these dud college made horror movies where all cast members act alike, talk alike, are the same age, same style ect.

And it doesn't take a big budget to accomplish a diverse or believable cast....but it does take experience, or hiring someone with experience in film making.

It's why so many of these movies are so bland, generic.

Most of these movies have the same awful formula, white chicks that scream, and white dudes who die saving them. (horror)

Most writers just can't seem to think beyond that.

White chicks that scream, and white dudes who die saving them, that's your basic horror movie premise repeated over and over and over again, 1000's of time...whether poorly made Dracula movies or demonic movies, zombie movies...it's always the same basic formula.

1. Cast young frat girl looking actresses, who cannot act, but they can sure scream and look, talk 'pop' culture.

2. Cast dumb, dorky jock males as back drops who die trying to protect the dorky women.,

3. Allow one to live...the rest always get killed off, but allow one to live.

This theme, in horror, is repeated over and over and over again, expecially in 'B' movies, or movies that end up going straight to trash bend.

Movies that work always have older, more veteran actors who have way more depth.

And 99% of all Dracula, Vampire, films out there suck.



Again same dorky premise...
And always cast Penthouse model looking actress as Dracula's victim.

The Producer of movie simply uses Dracula as a way to funnel his own lusts.

All monsters come from man, and monsters, created by man, is simply a artistic way to allow man to explore his ugly, dark, lustful side all in the name of 'art'.

(Back to above premise)

It's only when producers have been willing to stray away from bland, plastic, wooden Dracula scripts, have the movies turned out OK, or very decent...like 'Blade' or 'Interview with a Vampire' or 'The Lost boys'...and a few others.

Sadly though, a lot of very untalented people have access to the media, went to college, followed the right channels in movie making, not cause they're good, but rather cause they simply had the funding, money, to stay in school.

As such they continue to unload their medioka movies onto the rest of us.

But at least they're having fun....good for them.

It's hard to find people willing to write decent movie reviews anymore, even on sites where they supply the template, folks are just becoming un interested in sharing, either that or most have gravitated away from key pad computers and prefer the whole Iphone, tablet set up, where you just view things, but don't input much.

Movie reviews are fun...I use to do them quite a bit, could do it again, either here or on other movie specific sites.

I get tired of movies like 'The Hobbit', where like 5 short over weight, out of shape dwarves take on like 1000 trolls, and Orcs, without so much as a scratch.

Mountain trolls wouldn't have grown in such numbers, if they didn't know how to fight, yet on lord of the Rings series, it's unrealistic how 2-3 dwarves can take on 1000's of viscous trolls or orcs without themselves suffering any casualties.

This was a good movie.

It's been out for years, maybe decades, not sure, but I just got done watching about 90% of it on HBO.

For years I'd see it, and avoid it, turn the channel, it just didn't interest me, I never really understood what it was about or the redemptive message of the script.

I just thought it was about some knuckle head skinheads preaching talk radio type rhetoric.

It's more than that, and does have all angles injected into film...well maybe not all.

The movie definitely doesn't shy away from the 'white power' narrative, and inserts a lot of that creed through different characters in movie.

But what I found most interesting about the film, which could apply to all such movements, is the 'pure' message, and then the 'message' as translated into the real world, the practical world.

And in film main character has true Hitler like ambitions...clean, no drugs, holy but racist type of mindset and vision.

But in prison he realizes nothing is 'pure'...and when he observes his fellow 'Aryan Brothers' selling drugs to Hispanics, he becomes disillusioned.

Kind of like 'Hello!, welcome to the real world'.

In prison groups, regardless of color or association, sell and trade drugs, other contraband, in order to survive...money is power, especially in prison.

But the character 'Derek', just can't make the connection...he's more into pure ideology.

But in this world there is no 'pure ideology'...everyone has to co relate with others in one form or another.

You cannot totally isolate yourself from other groups, not if money and profit are involved.
As such groups do business, sell stuff, to those they may not like or socialize with, but help generate revenue for them.
This is true both in Prison and outside of prison, it's a global economy, and those getting rich don't really care who buys what, as long as their products are sold.

However Derek just doesn't get that concept.



And is troubled at the 'race mixing' he sees.
But at the same time his 'preaching' begins to start annoying some of the other Aryan Brothers who are more grounded in Prison reality.

In Prison Derek also accidently befriends a 'black' fella while both assigned laundry duties.

His views begin to soften, maybe not soften but change, until finally he begins mixing, playing ball with 'The brothas'.

Well that's just to much for his Aryan protectors, and that's what they were, his protectors.

So they confront him in violent soxual shower scene.

And from that point on he's on his own.

Again the main thrust of the movie, at least to me, is how ideology translates into real practical life.

This occurs all the time when young converts believe one thing, then as the move further into group, realize what they imagined, and what is, are two different things.

Malcom X went through same thing with the Nation of Islam, and is why he separated in the end.

Same with Christians, who sometimes try literally live by 100% biblical principles, ways, in a corrupt world.

You really just can't do it cause nothing is pure, you can't build a pure life on a corrupt foundation.

You can't choose not to listen to 'secular' music while driving a car made in Japan built by non Christian auto company.

Anyways, good movie, came out in 1998 and I'm just now understanding it.

Why can't just for once the Monster or Monsters or villain's win in a movie.

Whenever so called heroes win, it's really as if they're just fighting for the establishment, to keep the same status quo going.