Keeping It Reel

The Block Party to End All Block Parties

Dave Chappelle made news a few months ago when it was announced that he wouldn't be returning to do anymore episodes of "Chappelle's Show" for Comedy Central.  Even before that, he was making headlines for the fact that he apparently bailed on the show to go to Africa for some peace of mind.  What amazed me more than either of those is how many people either have never even seen "Chappelle's Show" or have and didn't think it was funny.  To me, that makes him an extremely underrated and you could even say under-appreciated talent.  To this day, his Rick James skit and Wayne Brady bit are two of the funniest things I've ever seen on television.

While he was still doing his show, he took a break from it to stage a free, unpublicized, all-star hip-hop concert in Brooklyn and document the whole thing on video.  The end result is "Dave Chappelle's Block Party".  The timing of it's release (on dvd anyway) was perfect because for those of us that miss having new episodes of the show, there's this in it's place.

He invited fans to the event supposedly via the internet although I don't ever remember seeing an invitation that way.  He also went back to his hometown and gave out "golden tickets" which paid for the folks transportation there AND a hotel room for the stay.  That was an excellent idea but what's up with only giving them away in your hometown?  Here we are just two states away.

Out of the artist performances, there were a couple that really stood out.  Jill Scott was one.  If Mary J. Blige is the queen of hip-hop soul, Jill is unquestionably the queen of neo-soul.  She writes her own joints and can sing her butt off.  She's also part of one of the tightest R&B/hip-hop collaborations of all-time with the song "You Got Me".  Oh, and as she's quick to point out, she does it all without having to take off her clothes.

It was also extremely cool to see Mos Def and Talib Kweli together again as BlackStar.  They really need to put out a new joint.  Who cares if they still don't get the mass appreciation they deserve.  True hip-hop heads everywhere, including myself, will love it.

Without question, the one performance that took the cake was Lauryn Hill.  I'd like to say it was the Fugees since they technically reunited for this event, but let's be real...there's no Fugees without her.  They could have closed out the show with just her performing and they couldn't have asked for a better finale.  I guess maybe the grand finale, or curtain call, could have been them together doing "Ready or Not.  As long as they let Lauryn freestyle rhyme and sang, all would be good.

All of the concert footage was pretty ill.  I can imagine being there would have been even better since you get the unedited versions.  To no one's surprise, the best part of the documentary is Dave's improv both on the streets with ordinary people and while he was on stage.  Makes me wish even more so that he would have stopped whining about the problems of being rich, sucked it up and make some more seasons of "Chappelle's Show".  Instead, I guess I'll have to get by with this and the two seasons that I have on dvd.  Thanks, Dave.

My Rating:  B

Marching to the Beat of Their Own Drum

The best part about going to Hollywood video is perusing their previously-viewed dvd section.  That's where I get most of the movies that are in my personal collection.  Just wait a few weeks and the dvds that were new releases not that long ago can be found there at half the price.  This time around when G was with me, I let him pick out one that he wanted as well.  I never would have thought he would have selected the one he did until he told me he had already watched it at daycare.  So "March of the Penguins" it was.

I had heard much about this movie so I wasn't thinking it was a bad choice at all.  No one I know had seen it, but I knew it had won many awards and came critically acclaimed.  Therefore, I would finally get to see what all the fuss was about.

If you don't know by now, it's a documentary about the annual mating ritual of the emperor penguins of Antarctica.  It's basically an extended Discovery channel special.  It follows the journey that the male penguins make to their nesting grounds to meet their mates and the bond that these makeshift families share every year.

What's really interesting about it is everyone always thinks of the penguins as comical creatures since that's how they're portrayed in cartoons and other movies and whatnot.  Here we see that they are extremely resilient creatures that have to constantly brave temperatures and environments that most humans couldn't survive even with the best winter-proof equipment.

These bird travel 70 miles to their nesting ground to meet their mate.  Walking the entire way.  Sometimes they take a break and slide a bit on the ice on their stomachs.  But they make the journey non-stop.  That's a lot to go thru for a piece of tail.

A huge plus here is it's narrated by Morgan Freeman.  The quintessential voice of cool.  He calls it a love story in the beginning.  I guess I could kind of see that even if the recurring theme thru the whole thing is that many of them could possibly die due to the conditions that they face.  So that really makes it more of a tragic love story.

My hats go off to the makers of this film.  That would have to take the patience of Job to film something like this.  Not to mention that all these horrible weather conditions we see in the film means they were also enduring them as well.  That's some serious dedication for a National Geographic special.

I could see G's teachers thinking the shorties would like the movie because of the cutsie factor of the penguins.  However, some parts seemed a bit extreme or even dramatic for children to be watching.  Then again, he did even warn me from the beginning that it was sad sometimes.  I guess if they can have children watching Disney characters die in their movies then they could watch this.  G was right on the money with this selection.

My rating:  B+

The Stupidest Joke in the World

Here we go again with another guilty pleasure.  This time, it's centered around comedy that, let's just say, is not intended for children.  According to some parts of this movie, it's not even intended for the feint of heart.  But as I've stated before, I have a demented sense of humor so I thought I would check this out to see what all the hubbub was about.

"The Aristocrats" bills itself as a documentary which I guess it technically could be.  Usually, I like my documentaries a bit more informative, but seeing how all the comedians in it are actually just being themselves to explain the joke, youl could call it a documentary.

The Aristocrats is supposedly the oldest joke in the comedy world that still goes on today.  The catch of it is that because it usually doesn't translate well to an audience, comedians will normally tell it to each other.  The one exception to this was when Gilbert Godfried told it at Hugh Hefner's Comedy Central roast to the audience there.  Naturally, the entire thing had to get edited out for regular television.

So it's basically the same joke it's just that each comedian will give it it's own twist to see if they can out do how it may have been told before.  Therein lies the problem.  The joke itself is not funny at all.  It's how they tell the joke that makes it funny.  And let's face it, there are some "comedians" out there whose delivery isn't the greatest.

There are two huge problems I had with this flick.  The first was that they had SEVERAL comedians in there that I just flat out didn't recognize.  And if I didn't and I watch tv/movies as much as I do, how many normal people would? Being that it was a documentary, they should have been showing the names below as they went along.  At the end, they went back and placed a name with each comedian but by then, you're already frustrated and could care less.

The other is that the editing in this movie was absolutely terrible.  In documentaries, that should be key.  It looked like they just threw this together at the last minute, got in a crunch for time and thought they'd leave it looking shoddy thinking that would also pass for funny since it's a documentary on comedy.

The best part about the dvd isn't even the actual movie itself.  Well to their credit, the movie has a few good parts.  Like the ventriloquist who tells his version of the joke and even when they enlist the South Park characters to do it.  However, the best part is the extra footage where they have comedians telling their other favorite jokes.  That would have actually made a better movie. This one leaves much to be desired.

My rating:  D-