Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and the autobots are back for another battle against the evil decepticons! Transformers: Dark of the Moon is expected to hit theaters next summer. The film was directed by Michael Bay, with Steven Spielberg as the executive producer. The movie will hit theaters on July 1, 2011. Check out the trailer.
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On the Q.T. with T.I. – Takers Interview
T.I.
Tip “T.I.” Harris is one of his generation’s most captivating speakers and one of the biggest hip-hop artists of all time. Whether they see him conversing with a room full of young people about staying in school and following their dreams, or moving tens of thousands at one of his concerts, audiences are always engrossed by the words of the “King of the South.” In 2008, T.I. delivered his most potent and important LP to date, “Paper Trail,” and his highly-anticipated, seventh studio album, “King Uncaged,” is set to be released this Fall.
T.I.’s second professional love is acting in films, and in this arena he has taken major steps forward in recent years. He made his motion picture debut in 2006 in the Warner Bros. film A.T.L. He also appeared in the hit Universal film American Gangster opposite Denzel Washington, and guest-starred on HBO’s hit series “Entourage” in 2008. T.I. recently signed a three-picture deal with Screen Gems that will have him both acting in and producing movies.
Music and movies are just the leading edge of T.I.’s entertainment conglomerate. He’s also expanding into comedy tours, the nightclub and restaurant scene, talent management, and record producing. Plus, he has launched his own fashion line, Akoo.
Here, he talks about his new movie, Takers, a crime caper abut a gang of bank robbers who decide to pull off one last heist before retiring. The film co-stars Zoe Saldana, Chris Brown, Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Michael Ealy and Hayden Christensen.
Kam Williams: Hey, T.I., thanks for the time.
TI: No problem, how you doing?
KW: I’m great. The last time we spoke was for the premiere of ATL. So, a lot has happened for you since then.
TI: Yeah, right.
KW: First of all, congratulations on your wedding last month. You finally made an honest woman of Tameka. Children’s book author Irene Smalls says congrats and wants to know how being married has changed you.
TI: [Chuckles] Man, please, we’re here to talk about the movie. It would be wonderful to just talk about the movie.
KW: Well then, what interested you in Takers? It seems like you had a hand in every aspect of this project, from acting to the soundtrack to executive producing
TI: I was just producing, not executive producing. It was an outstanding experience. I had a phenomenal time, and I’m very, very proud of the outcome.
KW: How did you manage to assemble such an accomplished cast? There’s not only Oscar-nominees Matt Dillon and Marianne-Jean Baptiste, but Zoe Saldana, Hayden Christensen, Idris Elba, Chris Brown, Paul Walker and Jay Hernandez as well.
We Need to Talk [Film Review]
Sisters Make Most of Opportunity to Reflect on Relationships in Latest Documentary from Janks Morton
Janks Morton is an award-winning documentary filmmaker known for poignant, tough-love documentaries about
We Need To Talk
African-American males like What Black Men Think and Men to Boys. Now, as the father of an 11 year-old girl poised on the brink of blossoming into a beautiful, but possibly vulnerable young woman, he was inspired to make sisters the subject of his latest offering. So, this go-round, he traveled to the Southside of Chicago where he interviewed ten female survivors of the battle-of-the-sexes about their relationships with their dads during their formative years and also with their boyfriends when they first started dating.
Exhibiting an uncanny knack for both eliciting emotional responses and capturing African-American pulchritude on camera, Janks posed a series of probing questions in his trademark fashion. The telling, and frequently tearful responses of each, whether Kenisha Byrd, Stephanie Brewer, Anika Jackson, Trudy Martin, Carla O’Neil, Conchita Jamison, Jaime Gill, Soneika O’Neil, Rhonda Benson or Donna Watkins, generally revealed a wounded soul profoundly affected by a dysfunctional, early family life, often the product of an absentee father.
Weekly Movie Reviews/Releases
Movies opening July 30, 2010
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (PG for animal action and humor) 3-D sequel to Cats and Dogs finds the canines and felines joining forces this go-round after a tabby spy (Bette Midler) goes rogue and hatches a plot to conquer the world. Starring Fred Armisen, Chris O’Donnell and roger Moore, with voice work by Alec Baldwin, Michael Clarke Duncan and Joe Pantoliano.
Charlie St. Cloud (PG-13 for profanity, sexual references, sensuality and a graphic accident scene) Sci-fi fantasy about a grief-stricken, cemetery caretaker (Zac Efron) torn between keeping a promise made to his late brother (Chris Massoglia) and moving on with his life with the girl of his dreams (Amanda Crew). Cast includes Ray Liotta, Kim Basinger and Donal Logue.
INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS
The Dry Land (R for sexuality, disturbing violence and pervasive profanity) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder saga chronicling the emotionally-challenging readjustment to civilian life of an Army veteran (Ryan O’Nan) following his tour of duty in Iraq. With America Ferrara, Melissa Leo, Wilmer Valderrama and Sasha Spielberg (Steven’s daughter). (In English and Spanish with subtitles)
Enemies of the People (Unrated) “Killing Fields” documentary rehashes the senseless slaughter of two million Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge during Pol Pot’s reign of terror in the late Seventies. (In English and Khmer with subtitles)
Toe to Toe (DVD Review)
Black and White Coeds Lock Lacrosse Sticks in Cross-Cultural Drama
One of the best art house flicks of 2010 is this character-driven affair written and directed by Emily Abt. Set in the Washington, DC area, it revolves around an unlikely love triangle which comes to test the already tenuous bond of friendship forged between a couple of high school classmates, one black, one white, who play on the lacrosse team.Tosha (Sonequa Martin), who hails from Anacostia, can only afford to attend the exclusive prep school because she’s on a full scholarship. She and her two siblings are being raised in the ‘hood by their doting grandmother (Leslie Uggams) while their overworked single-mom (Dionne Audain) works double shifts to keep a roof over their heads on her security guard salary.
Somehow, Tosha keeps her nose to the grindstone, ignoring the dysfunction at home and the daily taunts coming from jealous girls on the block. They love teasing her mercilessly as she walks down the street to catch the bus for everything from acting white to having once allowed the boys to see her panties for a couple of bucks.
Tosha doesn’t find much relief at school either, where she finds it hard to fit in with the spoiled-rich kids. Because of all of the above, she focuses intently on her goal of being admitted to Princeton, which she sees as her ticket out of the ghetto.
Weekly Movie Reviews/Releases
BIG BUDGET FILMS
Get Him to the Greek (R for graphic sexuality, and pervasive sexuality and drug use) Intercontinental road comedy about the hijinks which ensue when an ambitious intern (Jonah Hill) is assigned to escort an over-imbibing, womanizing rock star (Russell Brand) from London to L.A. for a comeback concert. Spinoff of Forgetting Sarah Marshall features Rose Byrne and Sean Diddy Combs, with cameos by Christina Aguilera, Pink, Pharrell, Meredith Viera and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman.
Killers (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity and violence) Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl co-star in this action comedy about an international spy who retires from the CIA to settle down in suburbia with the girl of his dreams only to discover they’re being trailed by vicious assassins intent on killing them. With Tom Selleck, Martin Mull, Catherine O’Hara and SNL’s Casey Wilson.
Marmaduke (PG for crude humor and mild epithets) Live action adaptation of the popular comic strip features Owen Wilson as the voice of the clumsy, if lovable, Great Dane. Road comedy revolves around the pet and his owners’ misadventures as the family relocates from Kansas to California. Cast includes William H. Macy, Judy Greer and Anjelah Johnson, with voiceover work by George Lopez, Marlon Wayans, Sam Elliot and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
Splice (R for nudity, profanity, violence, disturbing images and graphic sexuality) Sci-fi horror flick about a couple of renegade scientists (Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) whose ethically-questionable experimentation splicing together human and animal DNA results in the creation of a beautiful but dangerous winged mutant (Delphine Chaneac).