If you are over the age of 40, you understand the impact that Don Cornelius had on American life. Back in the ’70s, it was rare to see shows that involved Black people. Soul Train provided an atmosphere which promoted music and cultural harmony. Don Cornelius’ influence on our society cannot be underestimated. My prayers go out to his family and friends.
Don Cornelius, who created the long-running R&B and dance-music showcase Soul Train, was found dead in his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif., early this morning. He was 75. Law enforcement officials suspect suicide; the body was found with a gunshot wound to the head.
Trained as a journalist on WVON, an African-American talk radio station in his native Chicago, Cornelius conceived of Soul Train during the Civil Rights movement, noting there was no showcase for black music on national television. Soul Train debuted in 1971 and quickly became a popular stop for major acts such as James Brown, the O’Jays and Michael Jackson. Cornelius hosted the show from its inception until 1993; Soul Train ended its long run in its original form in 2006.
The show had a huge influence on popular culture and the pop charts. One of its themes, “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia),” became a hit record, and references to Cornelius and Soul Train have appeared in dozens of songs over the years. Cornelius famously closed each episode with the parting words, “We wish you love, peace and soul.”
I’m sure that I’ve mentioned this before, but I really love movies. I’m probably one of the few people who can say that he has seen Attack of the Killer Tomatoes three times in the theater. It was an awful movie and the guys who were making it knew it was an awful movie. Contraband is not awful. It just isn’t that good. For me, this is disheartening. I love movies in which one character outsmarts everybody else. I can’t remember the first movie that I saw with that kind of formula, but the movie Hopscotch with Walter Matthau is the first one that I can think of off the top of my head. Of course, all of the James Bond-type movies are exactly like this.
Our hero, Mark Wahlberg, is a famous smuggler who has now gone legitimate. His brother-in-law, Andy, is played by Caleb Landry Jones, who is terrible in this movie. Jones’ character has gotten into the business and is in trouble. He has had to dump a shipment of cocaine and now the bad guys are after him. So far, we’ve seen this movie before. Mark Wahlberg to the rescue. He confronts the bad guys. Personally, I didn’t think the bad guys seemed to be all that bad. Why doesn’t our hero break open a can of whoop ass and call it a day? Well, for some reason, he doesn’t. Instead, he has to come up with some ungodly sum of money or badness will rain down on his family. He decides that he’s going to do one last run. Surprised?? He’s got a go to Panama and pick up some phony money. Up until now, the movie is somewhat believable. From here on out, you really need to suspend any connections with reality.
Once in Panama with his crew, our hero rushes to make the drop-off. Unfortunately, the counterfeit money is bad. It’s made with terrible paper and our hero has to go and find the big boss. The big boss is so laughable as a character that it almost completely ruins the movie. (Think of drug runner from Romancing the Stone who was supposed to be a parody of Latino druglords.) The big boss convinces our hero to help with a daylight assault on an armored vehicle (this just happens to be going down right now, great timing!!) which turns into a shooting match with the police. Everybody dies except for our hero and his smuggling buddy. Surprised? Our hero somehow comes away with a rolled-up drop cloth (turns out to be a Jackson Pollock painting) and loads of counterfeit money. Oh, did I mention that his best friend, who is supposed to be protecting our hero’s family back in Louisiana while he is in Panama dodging bullets, is actually the mastermind drug dealer behind the bad guys? He is the same best friend who tries to make a move on his wife. Kate Beckinsale, as the wife, is very nice to watch, but does almost nothing to help this bad script. He then somehow almost kills his wife, who we are supposed to believe is dead, but who is really not. Confused? Don’t be. The movie really divorces itself from reality. A wife who has been hit over the head, wrapped in plastic and then nearly drowned in wet cement can wake up in the hospital a couple hours later just fine.
If you like these kind of movies, check out last year’s Mechanic with Jason Statham or, from a few years back, Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicholas Cage. Both are much better movies. I give this movie a C - which probably reflects grade inflation. (The commercials are highly deceptive and really do not give you any flavor for what the movie is about.)
After being prompted by a commenter, I thought that we could take a stab at putting together some the greatest American songs of all time. Please notice that I said “we.” I think that this could be a an absolutely fabulous project, but I’m going to need some help. This is going to be an interactive project. Please post songs that you think should be included in the Great American Songbook. The criteria for Great American song is somewhat loose. It has to be more than simply a popular tune. It really has to transcend its time. For that matter, let’s not restrict the genre to pop music or rock ‘n roll or symphonic.
Let’s see what we can come up with. Tell your friends. I look forward to your input.
There are probably 25 or 50 Great American songs making up the American songbook. These songs are uniquely American and iconic in some way. Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” is one of those songs. Miles Davis’ “So What” is another. Etta James’ “At Last” also belongs in our songbook.
Etta James, one of the great voices of the 20th century, who fused R&B with gospel and blues and scored landmark hits with “At Last,” “Tell Mama” and “All I Could Do Was Cry,” died today from complications related to leukemia. She was 73. James had been battling health problems for years.
James had an enormously turbulent personal life with numerous periods of drug addiction and poverty, but she channeled all of that heartache into her music. “There’s a lot going on Etta James’ voice,” Bonnie Raitt told Rolling Stone in 2008. “A lot of pain, a lot of life, and most of all, a lot of strength. She can be so raucous and down one song, and then break your heart with her subtlety and finesse the next. As raw as Etta is, there’s a great intelligence and wisdom in her singing.”
Born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles in 1938, James was largely abandoned by her teenage mother at a young age, and was raised by her grandparents and foster families. She formed the the doo-wop singing group the Creolettes with her friends in the early 1950s, and they scored a minor hit with “Roll Me Henry” in 1955.
This is a must-see movie. It is simply fun and entertaining. It is as George Lucas mentioned in his interview with Jon Stewart. He was unable to tell the whole story of the Tuskegee airmen in two hours. When you think about it, he’s exactly correct. This movie goes into none of how the Tuskegee airmen were formed or the hardships they had before they got over to Europe. This movie starts when they are in Europe. It really focuses on the skill and the camaraderie that these World War II aces had. Racism is not the focus of this movie. Yes, the movie does touch on racism, somewhat. More importantly, the movie, in my opinion, captures what it must’ve been like to be a Tuskegee airman in the early 1940s. Because you were Black, race was a part of your daily life. It didn’t matter if you were an officer. This is captured extremely well in the movie.
Let me take just a second to talk about the special effects. This movie has the best flight and air to air combat sequences that I’ve seen since Top Gun. It is outstanding. It’s clearly a leap forward. You feel like you’re really in the cockpit flying with these guys.
I know that some people worried about a movie containing both Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding, Jr. Don’t worry. The acting is fabulous. They are more than adequate in their roles. Nate Parker (Marty ‘Easy’ Julian) and David Oyeleowo (Joe ‘Lightning’ Little) are outstanding. Their friendship, their camaraderie, really makes the movie. Daniela Ruah (of NCIS – Los Angeles fame) was a pleasant surprise as an Italian civilian and romantic interest. This movie’s script and the cinematography are done with 1940s-type feel. If you made a war movie in the 1940s, there had to be a romantic interest. Someone of substance whom you, as the audience, became attached to, must die. That’s part of the 1940s formula for war movies. This movie follows the same pattern.
This movie is not Malcolm X. It is a war movie. It is about action. It is about the heroes who flew the P 51 fighter planes. If you’re looking for something more, you need to find a different movie. If you’re looking for a movie that is fun, full of action and truly honors the legacy that the Tuskegee airmen left, then this is clearly the movie you need to see. I give this very entertaining movie an A-.
There was a time long, long ago when it was fun to go to movies. The movies weren’t that expensive. They were easily available. If you lived in a big city, like Atlanta or Dallas, as I did, there was a huge variety of movies. Now, with expensive movie tickets, even more expensive concessions, irritated and downright rude patrons, moviegoing just isn’t as fun as it used to be. Also, we now have high definition TV at home with the movies of DirecTV and Netflix. It is almost more comfortable stay at home. So, I don’t go to movies is much as I used to.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was worth seeing. It was fun. Fast-paced. The script was well written. Robert Downey, Jr. has really found his stride and become the megastar we thought he would be over 20 years ago. The one thing that I will tell you is that in the many iterations of Sherlock Holmes, his chief nemesis Professor Moriarty is never seen. You’re always left wondering whether he is real or an intricate concoction of his imagination. In this movie, the professor is very much real. Because of my knowledge of previous movies, TV shows and books, I was wondering for most the movie whether the “good professor” was really as bad as Sherlock Holmes thought he was. By the end of the movie, it is clear that the professor is really, truly evil.
If you’d like to see a movie that is fun and that doesn’t have a bunch of cursing and nudity, then Sherlock Holmes is a great movie for you. You can take a date. I give the movie a solid A-. Enjoy.
I had never heard of Tintin, a comic book which is extremely popular in Europe. Basically, the tale surrounds Tintin, a newspaperman who seems to have unlimited resources. He sees mystery and adventure everywhere. He is accompanied by his dog, Snowy, who seems to be more insightful than any human in the movie. There is a drunken sea captain and a suave but evil villain. The comic relief is provided by two characters named Thompson that reminded me of Laurel and Hardy.
The plot is enjoyable if not somewhat over-the-top. What makes this film so enjoyable is the outstanding animation. This may be the first time that I truly enjoyed 3-D. 3-D was not used as a gimmick, but was instead used to enhance outstanding action. If you remember Raiders of the Lost Ark – Temple of Doom, there were several scenes where the action was… let’s just say, a little intense. There was the roller coaster scene and there was the poison bottle scene. Tintin has several scenes which suffer from this hyper-action, but somehow it seems to work in this movie where it failed in Temple of Doom. There is a scene where Tintin and drunky Captain are trying to get several pieces of paper which have a secret code inscribed on them away from a beautifully drawn hawk. There are zip lines. There are tanks running through buildings. There is water rushing down a canal. There are good guys chasing bad guys and bad guys also trying to get the pieces of paper from the flying hawk. Somehow, this chaotic scene is all tied together. I enjoyed this movie immensely. This movie is clearly worth the price of admission plus popcorn and a drink. I grade this movie an A-. Have fun.
My grandson has been in town the last several days; therefore, it is time for me to catch up on movies. Of course, he’s eight and I’m catching up on the cartoons. A couple of days ago, I posted a review on Puss in Boots. Today, I’m sorry to say that I’m going to spend a little time talking about Alvin and the Chipmunks. Alvin and the Chipmunks was a somewhat tired franchise when I was young. It was dreamed up by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. in 1958. It was kind of a cool novelty record but, in Showbiz, you can never leave well enough alone. Basically, there are three Chipmunks. There’s Theodore, the fat one, Simon, the smart one and Alvin, the mischievous one. Dave is the human who looks after the crew. Over the last 50 years, there have been numerous cartoons, records and movies which have all chronicled Alvin messing up in some way, shape or form. This new series started back in 2007. I missed that movie. I did see the sequel in 2009. It was funny. The formula was the same. They added the girls. The animation was off the hook.
Now, we have Alvin and the Chipmunks, Chipwrecked. (It’s a joke and we are supposed to laugh, I think.) If you’ve never seen Alvin and the Chipmunks, go take a look. If you have seen any of the modern reincarnations, don’t bother. There’s nothing new to see here. The jokes are the same. The dance sequences are the same. (BTW, how many squeaky dance numbers should we be forced to listen to? I think there are six or seven songs in this movie. I lost count.) The characters are the same, and even the bad guy Ian Hawke is back. One would figure that they could’ve bought a decent script with all the money they made off of the sequel ($443 million worldwide). I guess not. This movie gets a C- for using the same old tired formula. I was looking for something, anything else.
I’m not sure who thought of the idea of taking a character from Shrek and making a movie around him. The guy (or gal) deserves a medal. You would figure if you’re taking a character out of Shrek that the movie would be something akin to Shrek or Shrek Junior. Nope. Puss in Boots is what happens when you take multiple fairytales and jumble them all up together. You have Humpty Dumpty, the goose that laid the golden egg, Jack and Jill and Mother Goose. They’re probably a few others that I missed. The story is pretty good. There is actually a plot. Animation is outstanding. I’m sorry, I did not see it in 3-D so I can’t talk about the use of 3-D. I can say that this is an extremely enjoyable movie which can entertain the very young (I took my eight-year-old grandson), pre-teenagers and adults alike (teenagers are hard to please, enough said). This movie is well worth the money (if you don’t buy popcorn and a drink). I give the movie a solid B. (Oh, watch for the Jedi mind trick. It is hilarious.)
What do you want in a movie? Do you want to see something new? Do you want to see something exciting? Do you want to see something that’s going to expand your mind? Well, Mission Impossible 4 is exciting. It really isn’t new. It really isn’t going to alter your life either. It is one of the most entertaining Mission Impossibles. If you like Tom Cruise, you will like this movie. He is exactly who he has been for the last three decades. The movie is fast-paced and beautiful to watch. There is witty banter. Cars are fast (the electric BMW is awesome) and crash and flip in really cool ways. I was a little disappointed that the old team was broken up, but Paula Patton more than makes up for it. She is fresh and extremely beautiful. Her character is somewhat inconsistent, but those kind of details are more important in other movies, not in a Tom Cruise special. He and his movies are about look and feel. They aren’t about plot and character development. Jeremy Renner’s character (Brandt) is never fully explained. Simon Pegg’s character (Benji) doesn’t seem to fit in the movie. There are some great special effects and, as usual, Cruise has to defy gravity at some point in the movie. For those looking forward to his stunts, the movie will play with you a little bit by having two other characters do some amazing gravity-devying feats.
I give this movie a solid B. It is worth the price of admission.
I loved this guy. He was a great actor. He appeared in tons of movies and was, of course, Col. Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H. He was also on the long-running TV show, Dragnet.
Mr. Morgan — billed as Henry Morgan for much of his early career — was slight and balding and had a gravelly voice that could convey menace, irritation or wryness. Such versatility kept him in near-constant demand as a performer, and he became an instantly recognizable screen personality.
He had appeared in more than 100 films since the 1940s and was particularly effective as a witness to a lynching of alleged cattle rustlers in “The Ox-Bow Incident” (1943); a shadowy villain in “The Big Clock” (1948); a businessman who fears outlaws in “High Noon” (1952); and a small-town judge in “Inherit the Wind” (1960), based on the Scopes Monkey Trial.
Starting in the early 1950s, Mr. Morgan was a frequent movie sidekick to James Stewart in westerns (“Bend of the River,” “The Far Country”) and military dramas (“The Mountain Road,” “Strategic Air Command”). He also played pianist Chummy MacGregor in the 1953 musical biography of Glenn Miller, the swing bandleader portrayed by Stewart.
I’m still thinking about Heavy D this morning. We still have no idea what killed Heavy D. You can listen to what I think are his best tunes right here. (I know I still use Rhapsody to listen to music. As my sister pointed out – That’s so 2000!)
Track
Artist
Is It Good To You – (with Tammy Lucas)
Heavy D & the Boyz
The Overweight Lover’s In The House
Heavy D & the Boyz
Mr. Big Stuff – (remix)
Heavy D & the Boyz
Don’t You Know – (with Al B. Sure!)
Heavy D & the Boyz
Chunky But Funky – (remix)
Heavy D & the Boyz
We Got Our Own Thang – (with Al B. Sure!)
Heavy D & the Boyz
Somebody For Me
Heavy D & the Boyz
Gyrlz, They Love Me
Heavy D & the Boyz
Now That We Found Love – (with Aaron Hall)
Heavy D & the Boyz
Sister Sister
Heavy D & the Boyz
Got Me Waiting – (with Crystal Johnson)
Heavy D & the Boyz
Alright (7″ House Mix With Rap)
Janet Jackson
Jam
Michael Jackson
Is It Good To You – (with Tammy Lucas)
Heavy D & the Boyz
Being on the internet and having a blog is a trip. You never know who is going to contact you. So, I got an e-mail from a dude who runs the web site RunHundred. This site is all about workout mixes. Who knew? So here are the top 10 work out tunes for November.
I posted this several years ago, but afterthe death of Heavy D, I’m breaking out some of my old posts.
This was Michael Jackson’s last CD or release that was any good. This was before he spent day after day in court stating, “I didn’t do anything.” Anyway, nice video. I’m thinking any time you can get Heavy D, Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan in the same video, that’s a good video.
Heavy D, the former leader of the hip-hop group Heavy D and the Boyz, has died at the age of 44. The rapper was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles earlier this afternoon and was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. PT. Police are investigating his death but there are no signs of foul play.
Heavy D, born Dwight Arrington Myers, broke into the music industry with Living Large, his first record with the Boyz, in 1987. He went on to even greater success with the hit “Now That We Found Love” in 1991, and recorded theme songs for the television series In Loving Color and MADtv. In recent years, D recorded a series of reggae fusion albums.
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, full-time sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
(The commercials are highly deceptive and really do not give you any flavor for what the movie is about.) 
