Malcolm X . Dir. Spike Lee.
Perf. Denzel Washington (Malcolm Little/
Malcolm X), Spike Lee (Shorty), Angela
 Basset (Betty), Delroy Lindo


For a Spike Lee joint, "Malcolm X" was a pretty tame film. Besides the signature shot and the inclusion of himself in the cast, this could have been produced by any director due to the powerful subject matter given by the life of the film protagonist, Malcolm Little. The film showcases the life of "Malcolm X" from his traumatic childhood to his possibly conspired death. The film is mainly based on true events so I won't give Spike Lee much credit for a compelling story but, he definitely deserves praise for his casting choices. The dream team of Angela Bassett playing the role of Betty Shabazz and Denzel Washington playing Malcolm X accurately portray their characters and add a highly entertaining layer of emotion over African American history. If I had to give this film a score, I would rate it a 9.5/10. Even though I complained about the lack of elements from Spike Lee's signature style, my butt was glued to the seat the entire time and I don't know how anyone would be able to have a creative flair while still staying historically accurate.Even with some tiny gripes, this film is still awesome.        

Mark, let's see what you got Malcolm X PLEASE

MM

Malcolm X Maxwell joyner

Malcolm X. Dir, Spike Lee.
perf. Denzel Washington (Malcolm Little/Malcolm X), Spike Lee (shorty),  Angela Basset (Betty)

The film begins with Malcolm X in Boston and Harlem along with his friend Shorty and their involvement in burglary, drug dealing and prostitution. 

Malcolm's father was killed by the KKK, and his mother was sent to a mental center. As a result Malcolm was separated from his siblings.  

This was one of the best movies I have seen so far. To me Malcolm X had so much power in that time era when segregation was going on. This movie shows that no dream is too big for anybody.  At childhood Malcolm wanted to become a president [lawyer] when he was little and his [white] teacher [played by David Patrick Kelly] told him that he couldn't do it. now he's the most popular Muslim ever.

Jason Prates Breakfast Club

Imagine this, you're stuck in school with four other kids you don't know, until you all get detention Then, all of you become good friends. That's what happens in The Breakfast Club We meet Allison, Claire, John, Brian, and Andrew. The five kids with absolutely nothing in common. Brian has a fake ID so he can vote, Claire is a glamour girl who tries to be prettier than the other girls, Andrew, the wrestler. John, trouble maker. and Allison, who's the "basketcase". This film is, to me, 100% comedy From the silly dancing, to them all smoking and acting goofy. Though there were some slow parts such as when they all confessed their secrets and when Allison dumped her purse out and said her back story and then said to "stay out" This film was directed by John Hughes who did an excellent job directing this film. He directed every scene perfectly. I wouldn't like it any other way. From the beginning to the end it was perfect. A classic. If they did a remake, I'd watch it but I'm already going to call it. It won't be the same as the original. I'd want the classics to be in the film. Adam Sandler, Will Ferrel, and just the movie classics. I'm not into names but those two I know are classics.

The Breakfast Club (Laszlo)

[REFER TO MIDTERM ESSAY]

Malcolm X #jayatterberry

Malcolm X is a movie about Malcolm X and his life. At first he was a total pimp, his nickname was Red (he was reportedly a 'ginger' due to his maternal grandmother having been raped by a white man), and he robbed people. He then dates some random white girl and gets in trouble for that. Then when he was high he made a bet that actually came true but then he didn't get the money so he yelled at the bet dude [his mentor during his 'life of crime' West Indian Archie, portrayed by Lee regular Delroy Lindo, later went on to play Woody Carmichael in Crooklyn (1994)]. The bet dude didn't like that so he tried killing him. So he ran away and started stealing again and then he was caught. He went to jail for some time and then became a Muslim [a Black Muslim specifically, NOI (Nation of Islam)], because why not? 

He then got out of jail after a long time (although originally sentenced to eight to ten years; he was released after six years) because he didn't act very good like in jail  [Is this true? Jay, can you provide examples?]. Then he became a Muslim preacher. He did that for a long time until he realized he was basically being used so he quit doing that and did regular preaching [Jay, although he split from the NOI, he remained a Muslim, one might say he actually became a true believer in the Islamic faith, converting to Sunnism]. 

Prior to leaving the NOI, Malcolm is introduced to Sister Betty Shabazz. After having some kids and being threatened for a long time, he got shot with a shotgun and then some random crazy guy with a pistol who shot him like 10 times because he wanted to [Malcolm X was assassinated while delivering a sermon at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem, NYC on February 22, 1965]. Then that was basically the end except for the random children that kept saying I am Malcom X [What about Ossie Davis's eulogy? What about the cameo by Nelson Mandela?]. I enjoyed the movie because it reminds me of the excellence of the Black [what?], and it makes me feel powerful [Good].

Fruitvale Station

Fruitvale Station is the 2013 biographical drama film made by the actor-director team of Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan about 22 year old ex-con,Oscar Grant III searching for a legal way to support his family who's life was unexpectedly cut short in an act of police brutality. The overall film was decent but, the true gold of this movie is the surprise ending. I'll admit that while watching this scene, I had let out a shower of manly tears. The ending was so hard to believe because of it's close close resemblance to reality, where the good guy doesn't always win. During the first half of the film, you watch Oscar struggle with making the right decisions and gain a sense of sympathy for him. To know that the same girlfriend and daughter he struggled for will grow up without him is heart breaking but, all too real in the same sense.

Malcolm X

 Malcolm X is a 1992 autobiography about the actual life of Malcolm Little. Malcolm X was a great movie that contained lots of interesting facts about his actual life and had lots of comedy parts to make viewers laugh. At the beginning of this movie it portrays the his troubled life along with his right hand man Shorty. Malcolm's father was killed by the KKK when he was at a young age even though police reports consider his death as a suicide. His mother on the other hand, was sent to a mental center. He was also separated from his siblings. Malcolm X was one of the most important human rights leaders and was an extremely gifted speaker. What I had found most interesting about his story is how he had completely changed his entire lifestyle from a typical "nigger" into having one of the most influential voices in America at the time. This is interesting to me because he had received the respect from these people after getting out of prison. Malcolm X had contained a type of perspective on situations that makes you enter his mindset and start to think just like him.

  Spike Lee had done a phenomenal job portraying the early life of Malcolm X while acting as his best friend Shorty. I like how he showed Malcolm as wanting to be cool and falling into the system while inheriting the "Slave mindset." Towards the end of the movie you notice the mood of the movie becoming sad. Betty Shabazz (Malcolm's wife) had felt that he was approaching death before Malcolm can even believe it himself. The ending of this movie just shows that anybody who really attempts to make a human rights difference in their society always suffers at the end.

I would recommend this movie to anybody who would be interested in learning about Malcolm X. Honestly, I knew who Malcolm X was but I didn't know much about his lifestyle and what he had done before becoming an inspirational speaker. After this movie I think I would actually like to know more about the real life of Malcolm X, not just the Hollywood version.

fruitvale station

This film created an up close and personal look at police brutality and it was brutal, it included actual live footage from the event which added to the mood it set. It was, to me a very emotional film, to already know the outcome and even worse that it is based on real life events. Police brutality has always been a problem but it seems to have garnered more attention and now it's become a big controversy, causing peaceful protests to raging riots. I love this movie because it relates to real life like how people change and mistakes people make. like when Oscar went to jail and said something to the guy which led to the conflict on the train which led to Oscar getting shot.

Rebel Without a cause

This is about a new kid in town named Jim Stark. He has gotten into so much trouble every where he goes he sparks up trouble its the main reason why his parents had to move before. He comes from a middle class family.  His parents decide to move to a new town for he can have a clean start but its not easy being the new kid on the block and especially when you come from a background of always seeking trouble. Jim goes to Dawson High School and seems to be doing ok he actually forms a bond with a disturbed classmate named Plato and then finds interest in the local girl named Judy.I believe that this movie is particularly powerful because it encourages young people to be compassionate to one another, and essentially "do what is right". In the film, Jim's parents never allowed him to be accountable for his actions. Jim defied this by going back and trying to help John because he understood what it felt like to be abandoned. Even though John's life was tragically ended, Jim tried his best to help someone who desperately needed a friend. I think we can all learn a powerful lesson from this film. 

Elaine N. Fruitvale Station

This movie to me is a film that still can impact and reflects our world today. The way Oscar lived is still ow many out there are. He experienced going to jail, missing out on his daughters life, working illegally, and just making the wrong decisions. Many of us have made bad decisions in our lives. The movie also touches base with an issue we deal which is police brutality. It just so happens that the cops that had Oscar and his friends were white. Then, on top of that all of Oscar and his friends were black. I thought of police brutality when one of the cops shot Oscar in his back to tame him. I figured out why citizens do not obey policemen, I believe it is because many of them abuse their power and don't trust civilians when they could be saying the truth. 

There are so many records of policemen abusing their power, like Ferguson and etc.  I understand the officer was trying to tame Oscar by shooting him, but then when you read the real story the cop says" he was reaching for his taser" and got sentenced for Involuntary Manslaughter for 2 years, and got  released after 11 months.The police officer was actually going to be tried for second degree murder because over 150 people were arrested by those cops. To me that is not right because if the cop was black he would of served the full time.

The movie overall was good in my opinion. The dog scene foreshadowed that someone was going to die and ironically it was Oscar, the one who helped the dog. Even though the scene seems irrelevant that is what I thought about it.  I would really recommend this movie to anyone, it based on a true story and at  the end talks about the family who did experience this tragedy. I would recommend to young adults just a mature audience who can really understand the film and the events that are related to this film. 

bow finger

Bowfinger is an 1999 American comedy film directed by Frank Oz, produced by Brian Grazer, the film was written by Steve Martin.

On the verge of bankruptcy and desperate for his big break, aspiring filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger ( Steve Martin) concocts a crazy plan to make his ultimate dream movie. Rallying a ragtag team that includes a starry-eyed ingenue ( Heather Graham), has- been diva ( Christine Baranki) and film goefer ( Jamie Kennedy), he sets out to shoot a blockbuster featuring the biggest star in Hollywood, Kit Ramsey ( Eddie Murphy) -- only without letting Ramsey know he's in the picture. 

Malcom x

The movie Malcom X, directed by Spike Lee, in my opinion was an amazing movie. I loved how it took us through Malcom's childhood years all the way to his adult years. I think when movies do that they include a lot of specific details on why the characters may be the way they are and what made them become that way and I think that's what makes a really good movie. It showed how Malcom changed and matured throught the years and how his experiences shaped him in a way

Rebel without a cause

Out of all the films we have viewed in this class, Nicholas Ray's "Rebel Without A Cause" (1955) is one of my favorites. Interestingly enough, it is the oldest movie we have watched. I really liked this film because it addressed a lot of issues that teenagers face, primarily the pressure to be accepted by family and friends. I was surprised that issues like these would be addressed in a film as early as 1955. The cast of this film is simply legendary: James Dean (Jim Stark), Natalie Wood (Judy), and Sal Mineo (John 'Plato' Crawford).

The main character of the film, Jim Stark, moves to a new town and  has trouble fitting in. In his family, Jim's mother is the agressor and tends to boss around his submissive father. Everytime Jim gets into trouble with the law, his family quickly sweeps the problem under the rug, primarily by moving from house to house. While adjusting to his new surroundings, Jim Stark develops relationships with both Judy and John who are struggling with similar issues at home. Judy is basically ignored by her father and tries her hardest to get his attention. John is a lonely, fragile individual from a wealthy home in which he is under the supervision of his maid for the most part. After a game of "Chicken" against popular guy "Buzz" to prove his worthiness of getting into the "in-crowd", Buzz drives off a cliff and dies. 

Subsequently, Judy and Jim retreat to an abandoned house, in which John followed them. For a brief moment in time, the trio escapes from the pressures of the real world and runs around the house like young children. This moment of happiness is interrupted when Judy and Jim leave a sleeping John alone for a brief moment. Unfortunately, this is when Buzz's friends decide to interrupt their party. Out of fear, John's starts shooting at them and goes into a panicked state from being left alone. Once the police arrive, John becomes even more distraught and Jim takes it upon himself to calm him down. Jim is able to convince John to let him see the gun and takes the bullets out. At the climax of the film, Jim tries to get the police to turn off their lights as they are disturbing John, but they don't listen. John pulls out his empty gun to shoot and immediately the police start shooting at him. John is killed, and the film ends with a crying Jim as John's body is being carried out on a stretcher.

I believe that this movie is particularly powerful because it encourages young people to be compassionate to one another, and essentially "do what is right". In the film, Jim's parents never allowed him to be accountable for his actions. Jim defied this by going back and trying to help John because he understood what it felt like to be abandoned. Eventhough John's life was tragically ended, Jim tried his best to help someone who desperately needed a friend. I think we can all learn a powerful lesson from this film. 

breakfast club

Breakfast Club is a 1985 drama film written and directed by John Huges. This movie is about five teenagers as they spend their Saturday together in detention .ohn Bender (Judd Nelson) "The Criminal", Claire Stendish (Molly Ringwald) "The Princess", Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall) "The Brain", Andy Clark (Emilio Estevez) "The Athelete" ; and Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy) "The Basket Case".At first, the five just goof off - they dance, they fight, they tell stories (like about Bender's father) and one shakes dandruff out of her hair to create a pile of "snowflakes." Fun.

Eventually they wind up opening up to each other and we find out who everyone is and what kind of character they are. Later on in the film, some of their more hidden traits come out. For instance, Bender becomes softer and is a bit more friendly towards the group (as opposed to him being a complete dickhead before) Hell, Claire kisses him! Andrew winds up becoming interested in Allison after Claire gives her a makeover.

At the end of the film, the group finally does the essay and signs it as "The Breakfast Club" and leave it for Mr. Vernon to read. There were two similar but different letters in the beginning and end. It shifted from antagonizing to the letter realizing that the group is similar in their own ways.

I personally enjoyed this film, it's rather funny.

Breakfast club

Director: John Hughes
Release date: February 15, 1985 

five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal (Paul Gleason). The disparate group includes rebel John (Judd Nelson), princess Claire (Molly Ringwald), outcast Allison (Ally Sheedy), brainy Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) and Andrew (Emilio Estevez), the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.

Breakfast Club - Alyssa Beckam

The Breakfast Club is a 1985 drama film written and directed by John Huges. This movie is about five teenagers as they spend their Saturday together in detention . The five teenagers are from different cliques John Bender (Judd Nelson) "The Criminal", Claire Stendish (Molly Ringwald) "The Princess", Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall) "The Brain", Andy Clark (Emilio Estevez) "The Athelete" ; and Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy) "The Basket Case". As they spent their day together they pass the hours in a lot ways like dancing , harassing and fighting each other , told stories and they gradually open up to one another and reveal their secrets , like Allison is a compulsive liar ; Brian and Claire are ashamed of their virginity and Andy got in trouble because of overbearing his father. Brian agrees to write the essay Mr.Vernon assigned their perspective have changed and now completely different.

Alyssa Beckam - Fruitvale Station

 Fruitvale Station is a american biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler This movie was based off of a young African american man name Oscar Grant ( played by Micheael B. Jordan ) who is trying very hard to support his girlfriend Sophina and daughter Tatianna . In his last days Oscar and his friends took the train to San Francisco to watch the fireworks on New Years Eve and as Oscar and his friend was headed back home An old inmate he knew try to assault him on the train and when that happen that started a whole disturbance. When they got off the train the police searched everyone. While trying to obtain Grant with him laying face down the officer has him in his possession and threatens him with his gun to the back of his head , While arguing the officer finger slipped and he fired a shot into his back. Grant was rushed to the hospital , but later died .   

Alyssa Beckam - Malcolm X

Malcolm X

Directed by: Spike Lee

Performers: Denzel Washington(Malcolm X/Little), Spike Lee (Shorty), Angela Bassett (Betty), Delroy Lindo 

(West Indian Archie), et al with appearances by Reverend So Sharpton and Nelson Mandela.

40 acres and a Mule/Warner Bros, 1992

Macom X Citation

Dir Spik Lee.

Performers. Denzel Washington ( Malcolm Little ) Spike Lee ( Shorty ), Angela Basset ( Betty ) Delroy Lindo ( West Indian Archie) et al with appearances by Rev Al Sharpton and  Nelson Mandela
40 acres and mute/ Warner Bros, 1992

Malcolm X Laszlo

Malcolm X

Directed by: Spike Lee

Performers: Denzel Washington(Malcolm X/Little), Spike Lee (Shorty), Angela Bassett (Betty), Delroy Lindo (West Indian Archie), et al with appearances by Reverend So Sharpton and Nelson Mandela.

40 acres and a Mule/Warner Bros, 1992

Instead of sitting around and preaching about going back to the land of your origin, get up and leave. If that's how you feel. By all means, no one is going to stop you.

Fruitvale Station - Kameron

Directed and written by Ryan Coogler. This film is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man who was killed in 2009 by BART police officer Johannes Mehserie at the Fruitvale Bay Area Rapid Transit Station in Oakland California. Oscar Grant, which was played by Michael B. Jordan, was a 22 year old who has been very unsuccessful with obtaining a job. Him and Sophia, which was played by Melonie Diaz, had started to have numerous arguments dealing with their child Tatiana Grant, which was played by Ariana Neal, and also Oscar's infidelities. In the film, it shows Oscar traveling up to San Francisco to indulge in the New Year’s festivities, mainly to see the fireworks. Most people do enjoy going places on special occasions to have a goodles time. While taking the train Grant sees a customer from the grocery store, the store that he once worked at, and they start having a conversation. Throughout the conversation, a former inmate, from when Grant was in prison, calls out his name. The former inmate tries to assault him, which lead to a huge disturbance and resulted into the cops being called. The police searched individuals and used their authority in the wrong way. While trying to obtain Grant, with him laying face down on the platform of the train station, the officer who has Grant in his possession threatens him with a gun to his back. While they were arguing, the police officer’s finger slipped and he fired a shot into Grant’s back. Grant was rushed to the hospital, but then later died. This part in the movie was so sad seeing everyone in complete silence in addition outside of the train station. In the result to this very incident, there were a number of riots and protests based on the death of Oscar Granat.

In my opinion, this film has brought a great amount of exposure to the people as a whole. I think that there should be other ways how police interact with individuals, and also how they handle their gun; everything does not need to be solved with a gun being thrown around. It mostly affected those individuals that are of color; and some individuals that are not of color may have been affected as well. I feel as if this film has helped bring awareness to the world.

Bowfinger- Implications

In the 1999 comedy/ parody, Bowfinger, directed by Frank Oz, stars Steve Martin as Bobby Bowfinger a low grade film producer and con artist who is eager to direct a film of his own and receive FedEx directly like all the other important people.

Bowfinger has a script called “Chubby Rain” written by an accountant Afrim and a friend Dave who is a camera operator and has access to equipment, all he needs is big name Kit Ramsey, portrayed by Eddie Murphy, to star in his movie. One problem, Kit refuses after Bowfinger lies to him about being apart of MindHead. MindHead is used as a reference to the Church of Scientology in the sense of their beliefs and practices such as Dianetics and auditing.

In the film, Bowfinger then tells his “crew” consisting of immigrants, some desperate for work actors, Dave, and Afrim that Ramsey agreed to do the film, only he won’t interact with them as he is method acting. They then start filming him without his knowledge. This can be inferred to mean something about the film industry, is it possibly corrupt?

One of the actors that stands out prominently in the film is Daisy. She is portrayed by Heather Graham. Her character engages in many relationships with different cast and crew, inferring she is a starlet sleeping to get ahead in her career.

Over the course of this film there have many references all surrounding the industry and people who work in the industry, creating many implications about the writer of the film, who happens to be Steve Martin himself is trying to address.

All in all, this is a comedy/ parody or spoof that consists of many comedic devices to create enjoyment amongst viewers. I know I certainly had a great laugh while watching this film and can affirm that I wouldn’t mind watching another Steve Martin vehicle where he writes and stars.

Brittney Bowfinger

 Bowfinger is an 1999 American comedy film directed by Frank Oz, produced by Brian Grazer, the film was written by Steve Martin.

On the verge of bankruptcy and desperate for his big break, aspiring filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger ( Steve Martin) concocts a crazy plan to make his ultimate dream movie. Rallying a ragtag team that includes a starry-eyed ingenue ( Heather Graham), has- been diva ( Christine Baranki) and film goefer ( Jamie Kennedy), he sets out to shoot a blockbuster featuring the biggest star in Hollywood, Kit Ramsey ( Eddie Murphy) -- only without letting Ramsey know he's in the picture.