Will “Notorious” Mark the Maturation of Hip-Hop Cinema?

A lot of people I know laughed at and mocked Notorious when it was announced, calling it a “B-movie” and proclaiming it would be horrible. Given the care taken in making this film as well as the talent involved in front of and behind the scenes, however, I knew that this was not merely a half-assed, let’s-find-another-way-to-profit-off-Biggie trifle.

One of the things I’d always looked forward to was the day hip-hop films matured, when they would outgrow the buffoonery of shit like How High, I Got Da Hook-Up and (*vomit & bile*) Soul Plane. Don’t get me wrong. I have enjoyed my fair share of coon cinema. But there comes a point where one must … get better.

“Notorious” Teaser Trailer

While I hope this movie is extra good (especially as parts of it were filmed on my street in front of the crib in BKNYC), I can’t help but wonder if this shit is going down too soon. I mean, Biggie passed away 11 years ago. Does the current generation really suffer from short term memory like that? Do the kids really not know about Biggie and his influence on the game? If the answers to these queries are the in the column marked “affirmative,” then we’re living in truly sad times.

Anyway, check out the teaser trailer for the Biggie biopic Notorious, starring Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie and Jamal Woolard, set to be released in January ’09.

Angelina Jolie is The Hottest Black Woman on the Planet

Sista!

Angelina Jolie is hot. Black women are hot. Ergo, Angelina Jolie is a black woman. Well, that’s what Hollywood seems to think, at least.

Before its film adaptation was released earlier this summer, I’d never heard of the comic series Wanted. So it was a shock to discover that Fox, Jolie’s character, was black in the comics. But after doing a little more research, I found that the filmmakers were deviating from the source material. And besides, roles like this should be color-blind, right?