Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/22095
Hamilton. When a former member of the Black Panthers returns to his old stomping ground in Philadelphia in 1976, some old wounds are uncovered. On the Donloe Scale, Night Catches Us gets an O(OK). THE COMPANY MEN– The ensemble cast in John Wells’ latest flick boasts Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner and Eammon Walker, all of whom bring their “A” game to this smart, absorbing flick. The Company Men pulls back the curtain on a company’s downsizing tactics. The results are devastating. To its credit, this movie feels all too real. On the Donloe Scale, The Company Men gets an E (excellent). THE FIGHTER – A boxer, played by Mark Wahlberg goes for glory with the help of his brother (Christian Bale), who hap- pens to be a crackhead. Bale is exceptional – even looking the part with his incredible weight loss. The movie is based on a real story. This moving drama is directed by David O. Russell. On the Donloe Scale, The Fighter gets an O(OK). SOMEWHERE – The limelight and success are not always what they’re cracked up to be. Take Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff). He lives at the legendary Chateau Marmont Hotel in Hollywood. He drives a Ferrari, has lots of women, but is just drift- ing through life. That is, until his 11-year-old daughter, Cleo (Elle Fanning), from his failed marriage arrives unexpectedly at the Chateau. (Focus Features) Written and directed by Sofia Coppola. FOR COLORED GIRLS – Tyler Perry puts the powerful words of Ntozake Shange on the big screen in this dramatic piece about Black womanhood. The movie is based on Shange’s play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. The original play featured seven women known by colors performing a collection of 20 poems. The film stars Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose, Janet Jackson, Kimberly Elise, Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Loretta Devine, Hill Harper, Michael Ealy, Macy Gray, Khalil Kain, Omari Hardwick and Richard Lawson. (Lionsgate) On the Donloe Scale, For Colored Girls gets an O(OK). The Donloe Scale, D(don’t bother), O(oh, no), N (needs work), L (likable), O(OK/Outstanding) and E(exquisite/excellent). WRITING IN BLACK FACE Randal Pinkett, the first African- American to win Donald Trump’s reali- ty show, The Apprentice, has written a book titled, Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness Amacom Books, $24.95). The 10 strate- gies, says Pinkett, Ph.D., were created forAfrican-Americans to use to success- fully navigate today’s rapidly changing professional landscape. When Pinkett won Season 4, he was also the first con- testant to be asked if they’d be willing to share the title. He declined. “I was insulted and angered about the mere suggestion that I share the title with someone, who in my opinion, wasn’t my equal,” said Pinkett. “If he had insisted I do it, I was going to tell him he was fired and I quit.” DON’T RESIST Let YourMotto Be Resistance:African American Portraits, opens at Chicago’s DeSableMuseum ofAfricanAmerican History,Dec. 11, 2010-March 6, 2011.The exhibition explores the medium’s influential role in shaping public identity and individual notions of race and sta- tus over the past 150 years. Nineteenth-century figures such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Edmonia Lewis are includ- ed, as well as twentieth-century icons W.E.B. Du Bois, Lorraine Hansberry, and Wynton Marsalis. Featured photographers include: Mathew Brady, Berenice Abbott, James VanDerZee, Doris Ulmann,EdwardWeston,Gordon Parks, Irving Penn, and CarlVanVechten. For information: (773) 947-0600 Black Meetings & Tourism November/December 2010: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 9