*Updated Movie News: George Lucas Debuts Trailer for "Red Tails"

Source. 


You all may remember this original post back in August before we had an official release date. Now that we have some additional deets, I decided to repost it. Check the trailer below: 

Some of the finest pieces of chocolate actors Hollywood has to offer have teamed up to work in the new film Red Tails about Tuskegee airmen during World War II. The story centers around the the pilots who famously painted the tails of their P-51 Mustang planes red. If the story sounds familiar to you, its because their story was also told in the 1995 Tuskegee Airmen flick. The movie stars acting greats like Cuba Gooding Jr, Terrance Howard, Tristan Wilds and rapper-turned-actor Method Man. The film, directed by powerhouse George Lucas (who is funding this out of his own pockets), touches on the two wars at once – one against enemies overseas, and the other against discrimination within the military and back home.

When speaking about the film Cuba said,    

"I’ve seen the movie, I’ve seen the special effects, and I can’t tell you how excited I am about that movie and for people to see it. In my career I’ve done a couple of movies that blown up the zeitgeist of cinema and hit social consciousness, like ‘Boyz N The Hood’ or ‘Men Of Honor’ or ‘Jerry Maguire.’ These are movies where people are affected by either a scenario or scene or environment they’ve never been exposed to, or it just hits them and in their everyday life they can identify with.

We actors live for that, and we’ve done that again with George Lucas’ ‘Red Tails.’ The movie is breathtaking, and the thing about it is, visually you haven’t seen the things that George is doing with these fighter sequences. It’s insane. The real people we portray, like my character Major Emanuelle Stance. He took these young black men out of the schools of Tuskegee, Alabama and into the Air Force Base in Italy and turned them into warriors. You fall in love with not just the pilots but these men that helped them along their journey."

"Courage has no color."I am a HUGE fan of Cuba's acting so I can hardly wait to see this movie!  The movie is the first action movie starring an all African American cast. The official release date of the movie is slated for January 20, 2012. Go out and show your support! 


I LOVE their motto: Until the last plane, the last bullet, the last man, the last minute, we fight! we fight! we fight! You gotta say it with soul. 


Check out this video of the Air Force Association saluting the Tuskegee Airmen:



On another note: If you have older family members that have served in segregated wars, LISTEN to their stories. You will amazed at what they can share with you and how far we have come (or haven't come). Last week, I learned my uncle served on a segregated mission guarding artillery where the black soldiers were denied bullets. Wait, you missed that. They let my uncle guard bullets in a warehouse but refused to give him bullets to protect his own life against robbers and the like. Good Ol American history! 

Movie Clip Monday: The Player's Club

Its been a few weeks since I did my part in sharing movie clips on these innanets. I hope I can make it up to you with the movie that features all things ratchet about black owned and operated strip clubs.

I urge you to think twice before you get pompous like you've never been to a strip club and start judging me for featuring this movie on my blog. This movie introduced the world to the ideology that beautiful women work in strip clubs as a means to pay their college tuition.

Written and Directed by Ice Cube, The Players Club is a movie about a woman who battles against rival strippers and her money laundering boss in her efforts to make a legitimate living and build a better life for her son. Lisa Ray stars as the protagonist Diana Armstrong who has aspirations of becoming a famous journalist but got caught up in the dangers of working in a gentleman's club.
Part 1.

Diamond meets two dancers, Ronnie and Trixxie, while working as a salesclerk at a shoe store. They convince her to join them at The Player's Club as a skrippa and the club's owner, Dolla Bill (Bernie Mac) gives her the stage name "Diamond."


Part 2.

Everything is fine until four years into the game her cousin Ebony (Monica Calhoun) comes to live with her. After listening to Dolla's rendition of "The Strippin' Game", she starts working at the club.


Part 3. 

Diamond has become one of the club's hottest and most popular dancers. She has come into her own as a dancer and is starting to find her own way. 


Part 4. 

Dolla Bill gets picked up by the loan shark he has failed to pay back. We finally get to see Ronnie and Trixxie doing what they do best, skripping. Too bad Trix isn't a crowd favorite. Ronnie convinces Ebony to dance at her brother Junior's bachelor party. 


Part 5. 

Through Trixxie, Ebony finds a new way to make money on the side by doing private parties. 


Part 6. 

Diamond's boyfriend breaks up with her because she works at the club and her cousin Ebony dangerously spirals out of control. One night, famous strip club connoisseur Uncle Luke of Two Live Crew fame visits the club. 


Fast forward to the good part...


Part 10. 

The movie ends on a high note as Diana grows tired of the stripping game and gets into a fistfight with another stripper named Ronnie. A year passes afterward and Diana has moved on with her life. She's gotten Ebony a job working at a shoe store. She continues to date the club DJ, and has become a successful news anchor.


Shout out to Glades Central's Class of 2004 because we loved this movie in high school! <---just told my age *shrug* 


Lisa Raye, the self-proclaimed platinum (not gold) digger is now co-starring in the hit VH1 series Single Ladies which airs on Monday nights at 9pm.

Introducing The Ph.D Movie!!

Looking at the clip below, I was reminded of the days when I used to sit around with my friends and brainstorm a way to allow "other people"[1] to see what we went through at our professional school. There was drama with missing books, brown-nosing colleagues, suspicions that the "blind grading" system was NOT so blind and overall happenings we thought would be interesting to broadcast.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), since my friends are future lawyers we ended up choosing to have a legal career over becoming television stars. Although I am glad we never pitched our reality tv show, its nice to see that someone is shining a spotlight on what grad students go through. The PhD movie is based on the comic Piled Higher and Deeper which takes a look at life, or lack thereof in grad school. Take a look at the trailer below.


PHD Movie Trailer from PHD Comics on Vimeo.


The movie will be coming to campuses starting this Fall! You can learn more about the movie here and check out the comic strip here. To those still in the trenches, hold on! Before long you will have the right to request for people to call you Doctor! You can do it!

[1] Caveat (I have been doing a lot of these lately *shrug*) Before you get offended, by my use of the term "other people," understand that my use of the term is not meant to be derogatory.  By "other people" I mean people who chose not to pursue a graduate degree. While it is true that obtaining an undergraduate degree is a noteworthy feat, graduate students suffer in ways that you may not believe unless you saw it. We go through a lot of hassle for our graduate tassels! 

MOVIE CLIP MONDAY: "Did You Get The Memo?"

Its Monday and for many of us it means the weekend is over and it is time to return to work. Since we have gotten today's Morning Inspiration out of the way, its time for us to have a little heart to heart. Did God invent GREAT jobs only to balance them out with co-workers who make you question your sanity? Between the creepy janitor guy, the lunch stalker woman and the wanna-be supervisor who constantly walks by your desk and glances at your computer screen looking for a reason to snitch I'm not sure which one is worse. I take that back, I KNOW which one is worse but since my co-workers might end up reading this I'm going to continue to pretend like I don't know which one is worse. Moving on.

We're family here, right? Oh you didn't know that? Now ya know. ::e-hugs and air kisses::

Everyone has those people at work who annoy them to no end. NEWSFLASH: If you don't think you have any of those people, YOU are that person! Do you know who annoys me THEE most? The people who borrow my office supplies and FAIL to return them. Guess what that leads to? When I want to staple a document I have to ask them to borrow MY stapler. I am one who truly believes sharing IS caring, but some people will "share" you right out of your office supplies if you let them. They will "borrow" you out of highlighters, notepads, pens and paperclips without a second thought. Thats just my office? Oooh ok. Let he/she who is without qualms about their job throw the first stone. I digress.

Unlike the sight of the "computer screen police," Movie Clip Monday is here to provide some "viewing pleasure."

Although the marketing for the movie SUCKED, the movie Office Space is filled with all kinds of awesome-ness. Part of that awesome-ness lies in the scene aptly titled "Did You Get The Memo?"

Did You Get the Memo?


Office Space
— MOVIECLIPS.com

When asked "Did you get the memo?"although I respond with "Yes I saw your memo, thanks for the update," I WISH I got a hallpass. I sometimes want to say "Nope I didn't notice it BLOCKING my screen when I came in and I missed the way you printed it on fluorescent tangerine paper and taped it on the office refrigerator. I also missed the text to my phone and the email blast you sent. In short, hell yes I got your memo how could I miss it?" Just me again? Oh ok.

Peep the scene "Motivation" below.

Motivation Problems


Office Space
— MOVIECLIPS.com

Those darned TPS Reports!

...and next up is the epic Printer Scene.

Office Space Printer from Shang Xiao on Vimeo.

Oh how I wish I could have this fax machine moment. At this point, our printer has gone kaputz for the 81st time. How do I know this? Because everytime it goes on the fritz it automatically installs a new "copy" and guess what copy we're on? If only I could take our printer to an abandoned field...*sigh*

...and for the GRAND finale, I present to you Milton "I believe you have my stapler" Waddams!


I hope these movie clips helped you get over your Monday blues because they sure helped me!