What do you get when you combine one of the most important comedians working today and one of the best electric guitar players of all time? You get “The Field Negro Guide to Arts and Culture Podcast,” the outspoken brainchild of comedian W. Kamau Bell and legendary Living Colour Guitarist Vernon Reid. Less a traditional podcast and more like a conversation that you overhear in a coffee shop and can’t pull away from, Kamau and Vernon cover everything from Swedish vampire movies to Gary Coleman. It’s two black men who have been accused of being outside of the (black) box so long that they have built homes there. In the most current episode (#2), Vernon and Kamau share their thoughts on Inception and some rare previously unreleased songs and jokes.

Get on board. It’s gonna be interesting.

Download the Field Negro Guide to Arts and Culture on iTunes

Posted: August 6th, 2010 under Movie Reviews, Podcasts.
Comments: 6

By Mark Potts

It’s that time of year again: the battle of good, deserving films versus those that, by some grace of God, are nominated (I’m looking at you, The Blind Side). What film will win? What actor will give a moving speech? What actress will dress in something that shows awesome nipple (I’m looking at you, Precious actress)? I don’t know, but let’s break down the major nominations and see what we have.

Visual Effects
Not a major category, per se, but I have something to say. It’s Avatar vs. District 9 vs. Star Trek and if the world were a fair place (it isn’t) District 9 would win. For very little money, Neil Blomkamp (which sounds way too much like blumpkin to not make me giggle) and his crew were able to create life-like and realistic looking aliens. Meanwhile, James Cameron made an awesome looking film about blue cats fighting but could afford it by constantly pressing money on his at home money-pressing machine.

Animated Feature
Up has to win. I know, I know, Fantastic Mr. Fox was awesome, incredibly old school, and had a great soundtrack, but that film didn’t make me cry five times and cuddle with my fiancé for hours on end begging her “to never grow old, never grow old.” That film fucked me… Up. Get it? PUN!

Actress in a Supporting Role
Vera Farmiga from Up in the Air would be a good choice, but she used a butt double for her nude scene, so she’s out. Besides, Mo’Nique will win this no matter what. Can you imagine what the plate makers for the Oscar statues must be thinking when they print her name? I’m not saying her name is stupid, but it’s stupid.

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christoph Waltz will win because he played a nut job well. Plus, he’s won almost every other supporting role this season. Woody Harrelson would probably give the coolest acceptance speech because he’ll be stoned out of his mind.

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock, really? Don’t get me wrong, she is good in The Blind Side, but The Blind Side, really? No. Helen Mirren would be a good choice because she’s the definition of cougar if there ever was one. But I want Meryl Streep to win because she wins everything and she also seems high all the time, so her speeches are always entertaining.

Actor in a Leading Role
As I’ve stated before, I look like George Clooney, so I’m hoping he wins because it would probably help me out in some way. But if I were a betting man, I’d go with Jeff Bridges. His performance was phenomenal. So was Jeremy Renner’s, who, when told on the Today Show of his nomination, seemed genuinely surprised and honored. You don’t see that in Hollywood much these days.

Best Picture
Oh boy, there are 10 this year! How exciting. This was obviously not a ploy to get more people to watch the telecast, was it? No…

I’m glad Up was thrown into this category but it has no chance. The Academy doesn’t like to bestow awards on comedies or animated films. That is why Bill Murray has yet to win one which is a damn shame. So we are left with three front runners: Up in the Air, Avatar, and The Hurt Locker.

Up in the Air was a great film. It had something for everyone and George Clooney was amazing in it. He looks like me too, did I mention that? But it doesn’t have the buzz anymore.

The folks behind Avatar like to say they deserve it because of their positive reviews and record-breaking box office. But they forget to mention they are barely in the top 25 films when it comes to ticket sales and the fact that the film was a kitty cat version of Dances with Wolves. It was a great film, but not the best. That award will probably be given to The Hurt Locker. Which is fine. It’s a small indie movie that deserved more butts in the theatre seats. But, if I had my way, it’d go to District 9.

So, that’s it. Get excited! Start an Oscar party! Take a shot every time someone makes a joke about Jews and old people! You’ll be out in 30 minutes, I guarantee it.

Posted: March 1st, 2010 under Cool stuff from Rooftop Comedy, Movie Reviews.
Comments: 3

by Mark Potts

This column is an early review for a film yet to be released. The review is based on watching the trailer and filling in the details myself. While not all the details are accurate, I don’t care.

Oh, Hugh Grant. Your smooth British accent and calm, fumbling demeanor allow you to say and do anything and it comes off as funny and charming. I am serious. When my parents die, I hope it’s Hugh Grant who tells me.

Hugh
Mr. Potts, uh, um … I’m afraid that your mummy and daddy,
Well … Oh, God, how do I say this? How to give this news?

Mark
I wish you and I were friends.

Hugh
Well, I am afraid that … uh, me giving you this information
might make that wish die in a horrible fire crash…much like
your parents.

Mark
Let’s get yogurt!

So, it’s with this in mind that I did in fact enjoy Did You Hear About the Morgans? But, it is definitely not without flaws.

The film follows Meryl and Paul Morgan (Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant) and their dreadful married life. On the verge of getting a divorce, they witness a murder, become targets, and are moved into the Witness Relocation Program to protect their lives.

If you think that’s hilarity and life lesson learning you’re smelling, then you’re correct! (If it’s the smell of rotting flesh, then you or someone in your vicinity is dead).

The source of the marital problems is familiar. Paul is gaining ground in the corporate world and having later nights in the office. Meryl is feeling like Paul doesn’t pay attention anymore and she is having issues with the fact that she is sometimes hot, but sometimes not. Parker plays this role well.

Upon getting news that Paul has been promoted and they will have to move to Hong Kong, Meryl loses it and wants out. Paul doesn’t understand why she is so upset, which sets Meryl off. Meryl’s mother was brutally murdered the year before and Hong Kong reminds her of that (the man who killed her mother was from Maine, where he worked for a company that shipped computer parts from India, which is a country in the same vicinity as China, which is home to Hong Kong).

Needless to say, Paul did not remember this story. But this does present the film’s biggest plot hole, which is NO ONE CAN DENY HUGH GRANT.

But they see a guy get killed and are forced to move to Wyoming. Yes, Wyoming. How crazy is that? That place is like the exact opposite to Manhattan. If Manhattan were an apple, then Wyoming is a pear (those fruits are in fact opposite according to studies performed by me).

In Wyoming, they encounter some zany locals who like to hunt (weird!) talk slowly (crazy!) don’t use cell phones (impossible!) and like the slow life.

Now this is where the film begins to drop off. I understand that the Morgans are living in unknown surroundings, but some of their actions are outright moronic. For example, they see that the couple they are living with have deer heads mounted on their walls. The Morgans decide to murder a local mailman and put his head on the wall. Needless to say, the couple does not like it.

Then there’s a scene where they learn to shoot guns. Meryl turns out to be quite the marksman, which upsets Paul. One day, Paul challenges Meryl to a shooting contest. At first, they shoot cans, but then they decide to shoot at the other local mailman. Paul shoots the mailman in the chest, and Meryl laughs. “You know, what I’ve learned in Wyoming is that you gotta finish them off!” Then she shoots the mailman in the back of the head. I just don’t understand what the screenwriters were thinking here. And where were the police to lock them up? That’s a glaring continuity error.

Needless to say, the town (and audience) is not happy. The Morgans have left the town void of mailmen. Mail begins to pile up at the local post office. People can’t get mail out and due to the town not having Internet connection, it is completely cut off from the outside world. Sides are drawn and a civil war is about to start. Mary Steenburgen, who plays Emma Wheeler, one of the people who let the Morgans live with them, disembowels herself in the city square in an effort to stop the ensuing battle. The Morgans see this, fall in love, and decide to make things right.

While I did not enjoy seeing a fifteen-minute disembowel scene, what comes afterward makes up for it and leaves the audience smiling. The Morgans decide to take over as the town mailmen, deliver all the mail, and restore order. Once done, they vow to stay together forever, in Wyoming, and deliver mail.

Overall, I thought the film did well telling the story of a couple falling out of love, then discovering what was most important: the mail system. However, I felt that it was a little heavy handed in pushing the pro-mail system agenda and some in the audience were not happy about this. Still, I recommend seeing it.

Mark Potts is a filmmaker, producer, and former Finalist in the Rooftop Comedy National College Funny Film Competition.

Posted: December 14th, 2009 under Movie Reviews.
Comments: 93