Movie
of the
Month:
Part 11






I recently reviewed the following film for Video Lib-
rarian, and thought the results were worth sharing.

ENDGAME [***1/2]
(Pete Travis, UK, 2008, 109 mins.)

An all-star cast populates this historical thriller about op-
positional figures who find common ground for the better-
ment of their country. While Clint Eastwood’s upcoming bio-
pic, Invictus, focuses on Nelson Mandela (played by Mor-
gan Freeman), Vantage Point director Pete Travis spot-
lights South Africa’s lesser known political players.

Taking cues from Robert
Harvey’s book, The Fall of
Apartheid, Paula Milne’s
script begins in 1985 when
mild-mannered Briton Mi-
chael Young (Eli Stone's
Jonny Lee Miller), public
affairs director for Consoli-
dated Goldfields, meets charismatic African National Congress

delegate Thabo Mbeki (Redbelt’s Chiwetel Ejiofor), and con-
cludes with the release of imprisoned ANC leader Mandela (The
Wire’s Clarke Peters), paving the way for the democracy to come.

In looking out for his company’s best interests, Young seeks
to help dismantle the nation’s racist infrastructure, seeing it
as a mutually beneficial outcome (Derek Jacobi plays his
supervisor). In the process, he recruits Afrikaaner philos-

ophy professor Will Esterhuyse (Oscar winner William
Hurt) to lead the talks between the two sides.

From the start, however,
Mbeki makes it clear that he
envisions a return to majori-
ty rule rather than a power-
share. Though sympathetic,
Esterhuyse fears that this will
lead to widespread retaliation

for decades of discrimination. As they come to trust each oth-

er, a way forward emerges, despite the attempts by President

P.W. Botha (Timothy West) and National Intelligence Service

agent Dr. Niel Barnard (Mark Strong) to discredit Mbeki.



Originally broadcast on Britain’s Channel 4 in May (to surprising-
ly low ratings), Endgame airs in the US as part of PBS’s Master-
piece Contemporary series (and in a limited theatrical release).
Travis and Milne do a fine job in recounting an important stor-

y, but Ejiofor and Hurt give it heart. Highly recommended.

Click here for Movie of the Month, Part 10: An Audience of One


PBS PREVIEWS / Masterpiece Contemporary: Endgame

Endnote: Not to be confused with the Sam Beckett joint, End-

game airs on PBS stations, including KCTS 9, on 10/25 and in

theaters on 10/30 (check local listings for your area). Slight-

ly revised from the original text. Images from Ace Show-
biz (Copyright © Monterey Media. All Rights Reserved).

Read more »

Making a
Spectacle

Major
Lazer,
Guns
Don't
Kill
People...
Lazers
Do, Mad
Decent,
Down-
town/Atlantic [***]

Imagine: just a couple of months ago you were in my testicle,
now you are screaming and crying and making a spectacle.
-- "Baby" (Prince Zimboo)

Following up on his fabulous Top Ranking collaboration
with Santigold, mixer, producer, disc jockey, and Mad De-
cent honcho Diplo (Yank Wes Pentz) unites with Switch
(Brit Dave Taylor) for a dancehall-oriented throwdown.

Santi returns to contribute
vocals to the ringing, buzzing,
spaghetti western-infused
opener "I'll Make Ya." Other
than her and Amanda Blank,
who appears on the X-rat-
ed "What U Like," one of the
weaker tracks, the remaining
17 vocalists are new to me.


Bearing such sprightly handles as Mr. Lex, Ms. Thing, Future Trouble, and Turbulence, they rap and toast over dub, dance beats, and some of the world's most inventive sound effects.

Click here for the "Hold the Line" video

Recorded at Jamaica's legendary Tuff Gong Studios, where Bob
Marley did his best work, the resulting 13-track record recalls everyone from Madness to UB40 to the Beastie Boys (see Mr. E-
vil and Mapei's cartoon cannibus tribute "Mary Jane"). I could
do without the Kanye-style autotune vocals on "Keep It Goin'
Louder," but otherwise recommend this instant party jam.



Endnote: For more information, please click here.
Images from Boysnoise Records and Last.fm.

Read more »

October
Reviews

These are
the reviews
and other
pieces I'm
working
on this
month.


Amazon DVDs: Dirty Sexy Money - The Com-
plete and Final Second Season [three-disc set], Lost -
The Complete Fifth Season [five-disc set], and Spread.

Amazon Theatricals: Black Dynamite, Coco Before Chanel, Law Abiding Citizen, Where the Wild Things Are, and This Is It.

Still playing: Cold Souls and Public Enemies.



KCTS 9: These are some of the press releases I've written
or to which I've contributed: King County Executive debate,
KCTS 9 Cooks for the Holidays, Conversations line-up, Isa-
bella Rossellini invite, Good Food premiere, Golden Apple
winners, and Kresge Green Building Initiative grant.

Video Librarian: Barbie and the Three Musketeers,
Grey's Anatomy - The Complete Fifth Season [seven-
disc set], Heartland - Season One: Part One [two-disc
set], Private Practice - The Complete Second Season
[six-disc set], Ugly Betty - The Complete Third Season
[six-disc set], Election Day, Il Divo, Knut & Friends, Li-
li and the Baobab, Mandie and the Secret Tunnel, Rage,
and Sgt. Frog - Season One: Part One [two-disc set].



Endnote: Image from Apparition (click link for trailer).

Read more »

Child's
Play

These
are
some
of my
fav-
orite
child-
hood
draw-
ings.

John was our wonderful tabby.


















Pup with stuff on his head (possibly a butterfly).


















Birthday card for Mom. Love the purple whiskers.


















Another card for Mom.


















Ah, the old human-rabbit hybrid.


















I like the way the lion and the tiger are licking their chops.

Endnote: Cross-posted at Facebook.

Read more »

Auto-
graphs:
Celebs
and Pens

Once up-
on a time,
I liked to
ask celeb-
rities for
their au-
tographs.
That time ended long ago, coinciding with an increase in the
number of interviews I've conducted with various entertainment
figures over the years (it seems more appropriate to ask a celeb
for their signature if you purchased a ticket to their film and/or
performance than during the course of a publicist-arranged con-
versation). Here are a few of my favorites, with more to come.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Former label guy Glenn Boothe secured Arthur Lee's autograph
for me when the musician played NYC (sometime in the late-'80s,
early-'90s). There's a reason I named my blog AndMoreAgain...


















Remember when Wire changed the line-up and dropped the "e"? I do.

















While he was in town with James Ellroy, who signed my copy of
My Dark Places, Curtis Hanson signed my copy of this CD sound-
track—in silver pen, no less. Then he told me I paid too much for it.



Endnote: Cross-posted at Facebook.

Read more »

Movie
of the
Month:
Part 10

I recently
reviewed
the follow-
ing film for
Video Librarian, and thought the results were worth sharing.

AUDIENCE OF ONE [***1/2]
(Michael Jacobs, US, 2007, 88 mins.)

Note: slightly revised from the original text.

The Bay Area has produced numerous filmmaking entities ov-
er the years, notably George Lucas, but Richard Grazowsky
is something else altogether. A Pentecostal pastor based in San
Francisco, he receives a message from God to make a multi-
million-dollar movie, and sets out to fulfill that mission.

As he explains, "The message of Christ was to dream big," so he
sells his house, solicits donations from parishioners, forms What
You See Is What You Get Filmworks, and embarks on an epic his
producer bills as "Star Wars meets The Ten Commandments."

With the aid of wife Sandy,
kids Sunny, Misty, and Rocki,
and dozens of other collabora-
tors, Grazowsky produces a script, a set of storyboards, a cast, and an array of outfits, but shooting proves more difficult than expected.

Though his mother, Marilyn, from whom he inherited his posi-
tion, doesn't participate, she grudgingly offers her support, ad-
ding, "He's a sweet man...very naïve." She could be describing
everyone involved with Gravity: the Shadow of Joseph, except
for the trained cinematographer, who walks out in frustration.

Using a fly-on-the-wall approach, debut helmer Michael Ja-
cobs, a fan of the Maysles Brothers' Salesman, follows Grazow-
sky from pre-production in Northern California to filming in Italy
to the point at which the money runs out—and the lawsuits roll in.

Though Grazowsky strives
to become a secular George
Lucas, his indefigatable en-
thusiasm, combined with a
neglible talent for filmmak-
ing, aligns him more closely
with Ed Wood of Plan 9
from Outer Space infamy.

Special features include deleted scenes, a clip from the still-un-
finished film, a song ("Second Wind") by Gazowky and his family,
and smart commentary from Jacobs. A strong recommendation.

Click here for Movie of the Month, Part Nine: Global Metal



Endnote: Though I'd imagine Michael Jacobs is unrelated to
Ken Jacobs (Star-Spangled to Death) and Azazel Jacobs (Mom-
ma's Man), I've added him to my list of Jacobs to Watch. Images,
including Charlton Heston as Moses and Johnny Depp as Wood,
from The New York Times, The Washington Note, and Flixter.

Read more »

September Reviews

These are the reviews
and other pieces I'm
working on this month.

Amazon DVDs:
Not Forgotten (with
Simon Baker and Paz
Vega), and No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - the Complete First Season (with Jill Scott) [three-
disc set]. Very happy my
editor assigned the latter
as I recently reviewed a
documentary about Bot-
swana, as seen through the eyes of Alexander McCall Smith.

Still playing: Cold Souls, Food, Inc., and Public Enemies.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Not since Oscar Micheaux had an African American film-
maker taken such complete control of the creative process.
-- MoMA on 1971's Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Siffblog: Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-Itchyfooted Mutha from
Sweet Sweetback's Melvin Van Peebles. In a perfect world, I
would also review The Beaches of Agnes, Still Walking, The Baad-
er Meinhof Complex, and Somers Town, but I'm starting a new
part-time project this month, so it's unlikely I'll have time.

Video Librarian: Burning the
Future - Coal in America, Fairy-
tale of Kathmandu, Meditate and
Destroy, New Muslim Cool, The
Queen and I, Theater of War,
90210 - The First Season [six-disc
set], Big Pun - The Legacy, Dirty
Country, Endgame, Mistral's
Daughter [three-disc set], Tribute,
Brave New Voices, Desperate
Housewives - The Complete Fifth
Season [seven-disc set], Elvis - Love Me Tender, Gossip Girl -
The Complete Second Season [six-disc set], The Mama Cass
Television Program, Michael Jackson - Devotion, Who Does
She Think She Is?, and The World According to Miley Cyrus.



Endnote: Images from the NWFF and MoMA.

Read more »