Character Will Be Revealed

Undefeated is a documentary set in the inner-city of Memphis, Tennessee.  It chronicles the Manassas Tigers' 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school's 110-year history.  But their luck started to change in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand.

This film is nominated for 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary.  It is currently in limited release throughout the United States.

CHICO & RITA

Tagline:  Love is a song you never forget.

Synopsis:  Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment. From Havana to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas, two passionate individuals battle impossible odds to unite in music and love.

This film has been nominated for an Oscar for the Best Animated Feature.  I haven't even seen the film and I think it should win.  I know...that's not fair.  But judging by the originality of this concept, who could beat it?  By originality I mean the fact finally a film director thought to make an adult animated feature which is something I haven't seen in a while.  It's also refreshing to see animated characters who are darker than Elmer's glue.  Unfortunately the film is only out in limited release.  But it's already saved in my Netflix queue. 

You can check out the trailer below.  And also make it a point to check out the website.  It takes you through the main characters, the music, and the mood of the film:  http://www.chicoandrita.co.uk. 
 

THE RUCKUS

Comedy Central's The Ruckus is one of the newest projects produced by the team that brought you Def Comedy Jam, Russell Simmons and Stan Lathan.  The show is hosted by comedian JB Smoove known for his roles in Curb Your Enthusiasm, guest appearances on Everybody Hates Chris, and being a regular on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. And this isn't the first time Simmons and Lathan decided to have JB Smoove be the point man for their entertainment shows.  They also previously teamed up with Smoove to have him host another Comedy Central show called Russell Simmons Presents Stand-Up At El Rey. 

Each episode of The Ruckus features Smoove as the M.C. and new material from a mix of rising stars and long time favorite comics, with beats from DJ Cassidy. As a new added bonus, viewers will also see Smoove at his best - performing in filmed sketches woven into each episode.

Just Me

Stick Fly

Synopsis:  When the LeVay family opens its house for a weekend visit, the family ends up airing more than the drapes.

The LeVay brothers have invited the women in their lives to meet their parents at their luxurious Martha’s Vineyard summer home. Younger brother Kent, who has struggled to find direction in his life, and has issues getting along with his father, brings his fiancée Taylor, who studies insects for her vocation. Taylor was raised in a lower-middle-class household by a single mother. Unaccustomed to privilege, she is uncomfortable in the LeVays’ home, especially with Cheryl, who is filling in for her mother as the LeVays’ maid. Eldest brother Flip, a successful plastic surgeon and womanizer, brings his new girlfriend, Kimber, who is privileged, white and has spent her life appalled by her status.

Tensions flair as race, class and family become prime conversation topics. When a phone call reveals a family secret, everything unravels. By the end of the weekend, lives have been turned upside-down and a family is left to reassemble the pieces.

Alicia Keys is a producer and also created the music score for the show.

Location
Cort Theater

138 West 48th Street

New York, NY 10036

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Now anyone who knows me will tell you I am not the one for horror films at all.  But then again, I'm a sucker for vampires (no pun intended).  So I couldn't help but notice it as I was reviewing movies coming out in 2012.  First I saw the title of the movie and then the poster.  So I had to stop and read.  Who would take one of the most historical and recognizable American figures like Abraham Lincoln and portray him as a vampire hunter?  Then in the small print on the poster I saw Tim Burton's name.  Then it all made sense.

Tyler Perry's Good Deeds

Tagline:  Wesley Deeds is About to Discover the Person He Was Meant to Be.

Synopsis:  A successful, wealthy businessman, Wesley Deeds (Tyler Perry) has always done what’s expected of him, whether it’s assuming the helm of his father’s company, tolerating his brother’s misbehavior at the office or planning to marry his beautiful but restless fiancée, Natalie (Gabrielle Union). But Wesley is jolted out of his predictable routine when he meets Lindsey (Thandie Newton), a down-on-her-luck single mother who works on the cleaning crew in his office building. When he offers to help her get back on her feet, the chance encounter with someone so far outside his usual circle ignites something in Wesley. This one good deed may finally spark his courage to exchange the life that’s expected of him for the life he’s always really wanted.

Release Date: February 24, 2012

Just Me
I'm not sure about this movie.  There hasn't been too much written about it or any reviews.  It comes out next month and I haven't seen any previews on television or at the theaters.

Considering the last Tyler Perry movie I saw I witnessed a baby being dropped out of window, I will have to wait and see what others say about this movie first before going to see it.

A Black woman is starring in a television show and she didn't have to sleep with a basketball star to do it....YYAAAAYYY!!!

Synopsis:  From the creator and executive producers of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice comes a drama revolving around the life and work of a professional crisis manager and her dysfunctional staff.

A former media relations consultant to the President, Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) dedicates her life to protecting and defending the public images of our nation's elite. After leaving the White House, the power consultant opened her own firm, hoping to start a new chapter -- both professionally and personally -- but she can't seem to completely cut ties with her past. Slowly it becomes apparent that her staff, who specialize in fixing the lives of other people, can't quite fix the ones closest at hand -- their own.

Starring:
Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope
Henry Ian Cusick as Stephen Finch
Columbus Short as Harrison Wright
Guillermo Diaz as Huck
Darby Stanchfield as Abby Whelan    
Katie Lowes as Quinn Perkins

There currently isn't an exact series premiere date.  But be on the lookout for this one.  As you can tell from watching the sneak peek, this show is a must-see.

From the movie website....

Synopsis:  In an instant, 29 million Americans became fat, out of shape and dangerously obese… and they did it without taking a single bite of food. It was all the result of a decision to change the national standard for obesity. The question is “What was behind a ruling to declare so many people to be fat? Was it political, financial or for the good of humankind?” You’ll find out that diet companies have raked in huge profits because of the new standards — guidelines the weight loss industry helped structure.
The answer lies in a new film by award-winning director Darryl Roberts who, in a follow-up to “America The Beautiful”, examines the cause of our country’s obsession with dieting. “America The Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments” also weighs in on the raging debate between doctors who say fat is healthy versus those who disagree.

The movie, which premieres in October, offers a passionate and sometimes humorous documentation of the battle to be… well… thin. You see everything from gastric bypass surgery, an obsessed fitness fanatic and a victim of anorexia.

There’s also the revelation that — based on new “fat” guidelines — LeBron James, one of the world’s greatest athletes, is obese. So are Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Tom Cruise, Will Smith and Christian Bale.

Marcus Thomas is a filmmaker who was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas.  He graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Production and Corporate Communications. His professional career began at HSI Productions where he worked as an Office Production Assistant on a number of high profile music videos and commercials.

In 2009, his short film Trust aired on BET’s Lens On Talent and his most recent short, Casting Notice, has screened at a number of film festivals and can also be viewed online.  Thomas took some time out to answer a couple of questions for JTt. 


Tell me about the film Casting Notice?  How did this story come about?

Casting Notice was inspired by different stories I’ve heard over the years from actor friends of mine as well as the weird ads people post on sites like Craigslist.  Usually stories like this are told from a female perspective so I wanted to flip it and put a male perspective on it.  I wrote the script, saved up my money, and shot the film over 3 days in Los Angeles.

Where can people check out the film?

The film can be viewed on the official site for the film which is www.CastingNoticeTheMovie.com as well as my personal website www.Marcus-Thomas.com.

When you were young, were you always interested in being a part of the film industry?

Growing up, I was obsessed with music videos, so initially I wanted to pursue a career in directing those.   Overtime, my interest expanded into narrative films.

Release Date:  January 13, 2012

Politics of Love

Synopsis:  Politics makes strange bedfellows, but never stranger than when a month before the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, a beautiful, idealistic local Obama volunteer coordinator reluctantly falls for her Republican counterpart: a sexy, savvy, African American conservative. Sparks fly, tempers flares, heads turn, and romance blossoms for this mismatched pair of campaigners in the frantic and intoxicating days leading up to Election Day. Can the politics of love conquer all?

Release Date: August 26, 2011 (limited)

N-Secure stars Cordell Moore as David Washington, a lead software analyst for a large company in Memphis Tennessee.  He’s rich, good looking, successful and to top it all off has a beautiful woman on his arm.  He appears to have the American dream.  And from the outside looking in, he’s a man’s man.  Any man would want to be in his shoes.  But David is also an anal retentive, obnoxious, domineering a---hole with few friends.  And most important of all, he’s N-Secure.

Everything seems to be going fine for David until he discovers his girlfriend of two years Robin (played by Essence Atkins) doesn’t want to marry him and probably never loved him in the first place.  By the way, he catches Robin about to have sex with her best friend’s fiancé Isaac (played by Lamman Rucker) the night before their wedding.  And mysteriously Isaac ends up dead in a car crash weeks later.

To rebound from being cheated on, David ends up dating his secretary’s cousin.  Shortly following he is told his ex-girlfriend Robin is pregnant.  But of course David goes out of his way to try and prove the baby isn’t his…even though we know it is.

Now there’s much more to the story and I don’t want to spoil it for you.  I rarely go for these BET-esque films but this one was actually good and did a great job of mixing mystery with murder and keeping me on my toes.  If I had to describe the lead character, David, he is like Patrick Bergin in Sleeping with the Enemy.  So if you enjoyed that, then you will love this.   

John Singleton will be directing Twilight star Taylor Lautner in the much anticipated action-suspense film Abduction. 

Abduction is about a teenager named Nathan “who has long felt disconnected from his parents, and figures out why. That unleashes a chain of violent events.”  He goes on to discover his own baby picture on a missing persons website, unlocking the first clue in a large conspiracy that involves him being stolen as a baby by his current parents.

This should be a nice film project for Taylor Lautner to finally play the leading man.  It's been getting a lot of hype and even promises to offer as much action and suspense as the Bourne spy films.  Director John Singleton should be excited as well to be chosen for this project.  He already has an impressive portfolio of films he directed such as Boyz In Tha Hood, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Four Brothers.  So many have confidence he will be able to make this film a good one for movie-goers. 

Release Date:  September 23, 2011