After winning countless awards and honors at film festivals, Medicine for Melancholy opens at IFC Film theaters in New York this weekend and follows two young African-Americans in San Francisco as they ponder race, class, and what “two black people do on a Sunday” when a one-night stand is extended into a 24-hour journey.
Medicine opens on that awkward morning after a party and perfectly expresses the uncomfortable moments that follow a spontaneous hook-up with a stranger then develops into a sweet romantic film as Micah, played by The Daily Show‘s Wyatt Cenac, tries to build a relationship with the apprehensive Joanne, played by Tracey Heggins.
Set against the picturesque landscape of San Francisco’s rolling hills and beautifully filmed in a muted color tonality that evokes the word melancholy, Medicine expresses the angst of young black adults who, like Joanne, are still “figuring it out.
Cenac is endearing and funny as a self-employed aquarium installer who pursues Heggins’ character, even when he interrupts the mood by constantly pressing her with issues of race. The gentrification of San Francisco also weighs heavily on the film and serves as a distraction to the real issues of the newfound relationship, like infidelity and whether there is even a future to their budding relationship.
Directed by Barry Jenkins and produced by Justin Barber, Medicine for Melancholy is a welcome departure from the tragedy that is usually found in black indie films like the Sundance winner Push. Finally a film that explores the angst of those t-shirt wearing, bicycle riding, alternative rock listening black hipsters everywhere -and Blindie thinks it’s about time!
It’s finally here! The trailer for the live action feature film based on the popular comic book and television animation series G.I. Joe debuts online a day before its television release during the Superbowl.
Directed by Stephen Sommers of The Mummy franchise and starring Dennis Quaid as General Hawk, Channing Tatum as Duke and Marlon Wayans as Ripcord, Joe just might be the big blockbuster of the summer.
Blindie is happy Marlon Wayans scored the originally white character of Ripcord and is looking forward to Lost‘s Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje playing Heavy Duty, but we’re wondering if our favorites Lady Jaye and Shipwreck will make an appearance.
The Republic National Committee elects former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele as their national chairman.
“This is the dawn of a new party moving in a new direction with strength and conviction,” Steele declared after being chosen over four other candidates, including former President George W. Bush’s GOP chief, who bowed out declaring, “Obviously the winds of change are blowing.”
Steele, who was also the first black candidate elected to statewide office in Maryland in 2002, replaces Mike Duncan who was the former RNC Chairman.
While Blindie thinks this is an effort to catch up to the Democratic party, which nominated and successfully electing the nation’s first black president, it is still an accomplishment to be applauded and a step in the right direction considering Tennessee GOP Chairman Chip Saltsman gifted committee members with a CD that contained the offensive song “Barack the Magic Negro,” last Christmas and defended it as “political satire.”
MTV is reviving its popular 1990s show House of Style and is reportedly reaching out to Blindie’s fave up-and-coming model Chanel Iman to host.
According to the New York Post, the music network is also reaching out to Leonardo DiCaprio’s on-and-off-again girlfriend Bar Refaeli to possibly host as well.
The show, which made such models as Cindy Crawford and Rebecca Romijn accessible to Gen X, went off the air in 2000.
The New Zealand comedic music group Flight of the Conchords wraps up their second season on HBO as they announce plans to tour North America and are poised to take home a second Grammy in the best comedy album category.
Group members Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement cultivated their act as an improvised BBC radio series referring to themselves as “Formerly New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo.” Their self-titled HBO series premiered in the United States and Canada in 2007 and follows the pair as they fictitiously try to achieve success as an indie band in New York City.
Flight of the Conchords will launch their North American tour this spring on April 6th.
TOUR DATES:
April 6: Tampa, Fla. (Tampa Bay PAC)
April 7: Coral Gables, Fla. (U of M Bank United Center)
April 8: Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
April 10: Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)
April 11: Atlanta (Fox Theater)
April 13: Washington, D.C. (DAR Constitution Hall)
April 14: New York (Radio City Music Hall)
April 17: Boston (Agganis Arena)
April 18: Philadelphia (Tower Theater)
April 19: Kent, Ohio (Kent State University)
April 21-22: Toronto (Massey Hall)
April 24: Detroit (Fox Theater)
April 25: Bloomington, Ind. (IU Auditorium)
April 26: Madison, Wis. (Overture Center)
April 28: Chicago (Arie Crown Theater)
April 30: St. Louis (Fox Theater)
May 2: Milwaukee (Riverside Theater)
May 3: Minneapolis (Northrop Auditorium)
May 5: Dallas (Nokia Theater)
May 6: Houston (Jones Hall)
May 7: Austin, Texas (Bass Concert Hall)
May 10: Vancouver (Center for the Performing Arts)
As the country continues to celebrate, scrutinize and dissect the fashion and performances from the inaugural festivities, Aretha Franklin’s performance and her hat have become a popular subject.
While the Queen of Soul’s hat is in high demand with designer Luke Song receiving so many orders for the gigantic bow-tied, Swarovski-crystal encrusted adornment, that he’s run out of fabric, her performance of “My Country Tis’ of Thee” has been parodied by comedian Greg Scarnici.
Scarnici is known for his music video parodies and gives a hilarious rendition of Franklin’s powerful but less than stellar inaugural performance.
President Obama mingled with hip hop stars Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige and Beyonce at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. after the “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration” concert and John Legend caught the hip Prez on his camcorder admitting to Beyonce that he had attempted some of the dance moves from her heavily parodied video of the song “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”
“I’m not like Justin [Timberlake]” President Obama says, referring to the Saturday Night Live spoof. “I didn’t put on the outfit. …[But] I didn’t want my girls thinking that I couldn’t, you know…I got a lil something.”
Blindie loves the vogueing hand movements the President does at the end of the video, but maybe AlphaCat could teach him the rest of the moves.
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