Charles Burnett

Suck It up Cinema (in Arts and Culture)

Tyee - Home (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009

Vampires are everywhere nowadays, but weirdly drained of menace.

The Exiles

DVD Talk (Free subscription) | 10/25/2009

Highly Recommended The Film: Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep remains one of the best films I have ever seen. A stark, meditative slice-of-life portrait of blacks living in Los Angeles, Burnett's film recalled the neo-realism of Italian cinema, and the cinema verite of France. What I did not know when I first saw Killer of Sheep , was that it also recalled the work of Kent Mackenzie's film, The Exiles...

Short Shots – Shabazz Palaces

Watch Us Explode! (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009

An allegorical short film/music video for Shabazz Palaces shot in Watts, Los Angeles, an homage to Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep, directed by Kahlil Joseph. (h/t Prometheus Brown):

Shabazz Palaces - "Belhaven Meridian"

Line Out (Free subscription) | 10/13/2009

Shabazz Palaces - "Belhaven Meridian" [OFFICIAL] from Kahlil Joseph on Vimeo . A short clip as enigmatic and cool as Shabazz Palaces itself: An allegorical short film/music video for Shabazz Palaces shot in Watts, Los Angeles, directed by Kahlil Joseph, cinematography by Matt Lloyd. Featuring a cameo of Dante (Ernest Wadell) from “The Wire” in homage to Charles Burnett’s...

Shabazz Palaces – Belhaven Meridian / video

Grandgood (Free subscription) | 10/11/2009

I won’t spoil the sense of discovery they are trying to cultivate. Well, maybe I will. If you go to the jump (or scroll down for all rss’ers). An allegorical short film/music video for Shabazz Palaces shot in Watts, Los Angeles, directed by Kahlil Joseph, cinematography by Matt Lloyd. Featuring a cameo of Dante (Ernest Wadell) [...]

NYFF 2009: Chadi Abdel Salam's Al Mummia

Most Beautiful Fraud in the World (Free subscription) | 10/10/2009

Now I know that when it comes to cinema there is more (much much more) that I have NOT seen than I have. Glaring omissions in my film history knowledge. Filmmakers such as De Sica ( Bicycle Thief , one of my favourite films aside), early Ozu and Douglas Sirk immediately come to mind. So much to see and only a finite space to do so, but I am trying my damnest to catch up. There are those filmmakers...

Armond White’s Michael Jackson: Keep Moving (At St Felix & Dekalb)

Who Walk In Brooklyn (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009

There’s a new book in town! Now that the professional mourners have put their veils and candles away, the enormity of the artistic life of Michael Jackson remains. To help us make sense of and celebrate those numerous achievements, Armond has put together a collection of his MJ writings under the title Keep Moving and [...]

British steam-powered car boils 100-year-old record

10 Daily Things (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009

A century old record has been broken after Inspiration, a twin-finned car that looks like a prop from Thunderbirds, achieved an average speed of 139.84mph on two runs over a measured mile, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. That may not sound fast when a car has already broken the sound barrier, but this was [...]

The 13th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, Presented by BET Networks, Announces Closing Night Selection, Special Screenings and Additional Programming

PR News Wire (Free subscription) | 09/21/2009

"Mama, I Want To Sing!" Selected as Closing Night FilmF. Gary Gray To Receive Career Achievement AwardNEW YORK, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The 13th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, presented by BET Networks, today announced the world premiere of "Mama, I Want To Sing!" as its closing night selection. The highly-anticipated musical starring R&B superstar Ciara and Emmy Award winner...

Obama's Mama Gets A Doc And 'Suspiria' Really IS Happening In Today's Dailies -- 9/8/09

MTV Movies Blog (Free subscription) | 09/09/2009

-- Filmmaker Charles Burnett is stepping up to direct a feature-length documentary about President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. The film, titled "Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit" will not only track our president's childhood, but also Dunham's work in helping out developing countries. President Obama is currently "in talks" to be [...]

Gearing up

Premium Hollywood (Free subscription) | 09/08/2009

As I recall, not a whole lot of work really got done on the first day of school, but as people trickle back in from vacations, film festivals and the like, things are starting to happen. * THR blogger/reporter Borys Kits has been keeping busy over the long weekend. He reports that Nicolas Cage will be [...]

Steven Soderbergh to Face Knockout

Vulture (Free subscription) | 09/08/2009

TKO: Former Moneyball director Steven Soderbergh will get to make another movie, namely, Knockout , a spy thriller starring sexy mixed martial artist Gina Carano . In her first starring role, the rising MMA star will play a character from the wrong side of the tracks who utilizes her fighting skills for some unspecified secretive stuff. Relativity Media is financing, and we hope they won't change...

• Steven Soderbergh to Face Knockout - [FashionRatty] Lattest Articles

Obama's mother to be focus of documentary

The Political Carnival (Free subscription) | 09/08/2009

Why does this feel like it could go very badly? Aloe Entertainment, along with IMG and Schroeder-Ptacek Prods., are bringing the story of Barack Obama's mother to the screen, readying a feature-length doc to be directed by Charles Burnett. "Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit" will show how Dunham raised a young Obama in Indonesia and Hawaii as well as her pioneering work in the field...

• Charles Burnett to make doc about Obama’s mother - Watch Us Explode!
• Obama mother documentary planned - Digital Spy

Killer of Sheep

Terry Malick's son (Free subscription) | 09/05/2009

Charles Burnett made this as a student film for UCLA back in the late 70's. It has since gone on to achieve something of a cult status in the intervening years. I first heard Burnett's film mentioned alongside Terry Malick's films (my favourite director), so my interest was piqued form then on. It supposedly had the same sort of beauty and stillness that could be seen in Malick's work. Unfortunately...

Obama's late mother inspires doc

Variety.com (Free subscription) | 09/05/2009

Film News: Aloe Entertainment producing 'Generous Spirit' -- Aloe Entertainment is producing documentary "Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit," centered on President Obama's late mother, in association with IMG and Schroeder-Ptacek Prods.