The Projectors

American Gangster (2007)

This month’s theme of PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS has us analyzing two, distinct, black leading men but the majority of the month is dedicated to Denzel Washington. This week we watch some portrayals of powerful men and this one is based on a true story though many of the real life players involved might dismiss much of it but it makes Frank Lucas look swag so he’s the least of the refuters. Yes, Denzel portrays real life gangster Frank Lucas. The Godfather of Harlem ran a heroin empire where he smuggled the good shit directly from a Vietnamese supplier through transport coffins with the help of the U.S. Military. Uh, allegedly. Denzel’s Frank Lucas is fairly wise and quite smooth but the screen is shared with Frank Lucas’s prosecutor AND LATER defense attorney, Richie Roberts, as portrayed by Russell Crowe. Also co-starring Josh Brolin as an obscenely corrupt NYPD with a broad cast of many rappers and well regarded actors. We haven’t even named the movie so I guess I can say that we’re discussing the 2007 gangster/crime film “AMERICAN GANGSTER” directed by the prolific Ridley Scott. We got to a Ridley Scott Denzel picture before we got to a Tony Scott Denzel picture. Tony Scott is next week. In the meantime, keep with the hustle. That’s honestly not a motto of mine. I’ve never said that or typed it out before in my life.
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The Emperor Jones (1933)

January’s theme of PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS has us examining some of the works of two major black leading men in film and our Monday classic selections revolve around a man that would be ahead of his time at any time, Paul Robeson. We’ve seen him silent and now it’s time for the talkies as Paul Robeson plays the lead character of Brutus Jones in Dudley Murphy’s 1933 adaptation of the Eugene O’Neil play “THE EMPEROR JONES”. Jones hits some ups and downs and finds himself a crafty little despot on a small Caribbean island but getting power and keeping it are two different things. Featuring, for the first time this month, is Paul Robeson doing what he was very famous for doing. Singing. It’s pretty nice. We watched an excellent remaster from the Robeson Criterion collection (the title of that is what we named this month’s theme after) but there are other free versions online that you can find such as right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=suYeWvhFxwQ 
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Mississippi Masala (1991)

We end week two of our PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS theme with a rare romance in the Denzel Washington oeuvre. Is it getting hot in here or is it just this muggy Mississippi atmosphere because I am totally chubbing out. We discussed Mira Nair’s hidden gem of ethnic culture clash from 1991, “MISSISSIPPI MASALA” starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth & Charles S. Dutton. Not only will this movie chub you out but it will also educated you about the history of Ugandan Indians and their migration to middle of nowhere Mississippi. Indian and black culture come together as hotel employee Mira falls for a hunky carpet cleaner named Demetrius. It doesn’t all go smoothly but after watching this one you might feel a little robbed that we so rarely get to see Denzel romancing the bone. It’s a very sharp and character rich romance and you can actually watch this hidden gem at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHQrw_s28qA So click that link and hit play on that and prepare to be chubbed and charmed.
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Malcolm X (1992)

This month’s theme of PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS has us examining two distinct black leading men from across the history of film but you can also just call it DENZEL MONTH because most of what we are discussing stars Denzel Washington and we can’t do a Denzel month without a Spike Lee project so why not go with his ambitious and engrossing 1992 biopic “Malcolm X”. Denzel plays the iconic historical figure who turned into a spokesman for black nationalism and pan-africanism who was shot down by the religious and political institution he helped lift up. Denzel Washington has a classic leading man style that sets him apart from other actors but this may be his most embodied and methodical performance in his career. At least it felt that way. He is an actor after all. Love and Race is this week’s sub theme and with love also comes great tragedy. It’s easy to be lost between the truth and the performance in this film and it would seem the most notable difference would be the direct omission of Louis Farrakhan who, allegedly, made threats on Spike when he was making this movie. Baines seems to be the amalgam that holds pieces of the things that are missing. As usual, the truth may be darker. We gotta bring those zoot suits back in style.
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Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021)

“WOOF” that’s what we said after we watched 2021’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog” directed by Walt Becker. “OOF” is the feeling of trying to discuss it. That’s the risk you take when you decide to randomly generate movie titles for specific content. Yes, two months ago “Clifford” came up in a random generator and here it is wedged between Paul Robeson and Denzel Washington movies. Nobody is making us do it but we have this compulsion and it sure as hell won’t blow the doors off. We all know about the Big Red Dog named Clifford. There is cuteness here. No doubt. Formulaic as hell? It’s practically a Hallmark movie. I think fuckin’ ChatGPT will be scripting kids movies soon and it will probably hit this exact tone and structure with the speech at the end. Continuity buffs are gonna be PEYISSED when they find out that this movie is set in New York City as opposed to Birdwell Island like in the books. It’s never as good as the book, is it? This dog would accidentally kill people in such a dense population area. They need a sequel where Clifford accidentally crushed someone to death as well as a pooping scene. God help us we randomly generate another movie to review at the end of this episode.
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Borderline (1930)

This month’s theme is “PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS” where we analyze selections from the careers of two, distinct, leading black men from film history. Our classic selections are devoted to the one and only PAUL ROBESON. We delve into another silent film from 1930 with strong modernist influence that was made in Switzerland. Paul acts alongside his wife, Eslanda, whose character had an affair with a shitty little white dude named Thorne who is literally played by Chester A. Arthur’s grandson. Some fresh techniques, unique camera angles and lesbian bartenders set this 1930s silent “art film” ahead of its time by several decades. The historic significance definitely helps the overwrought drag that occurs mid-movie but Paul Robeson certainly stands out much more breathlessly than his bohemian writer and musician co-stars. Lost until the 80s, Kenneth Macpherson’s “BORDERLINE” from 1930 is a must see for folks interested in film history and Paul Robeson. You can find it right here: https://youtu.be/VmP1A8IvwB4?si=qrDkzzz0Os3BmJuW Be a nerd and go learn something because we got a special drop tomorrow that’s gonna dumb everything down.
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The Equalizer (2014)

January’s theme is “PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS” where we analyze the works of two major black leading men and a lot of this month is devoted to DENZEL WASHINGTON. Today’s discussion is a bit of casting and franchising genius as Denzel gets to essentially be a superhero without the costume and green screen. Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington plucked a deep cut TV series and turned it into a box office action success. This one is for the grandads who imagine themselves being badass in a Home Depot. Bob has a mysterious past, a built in detective mode in his mind and he made friends with a sex-trafficked Chloe Grace Moretz so, of course, he has to kill a bunch of people. Russians in particular. We’re talking about THE EQUALIZER from 2014 and now they’re on the third one. The things he can do with a nail gun and a shot glass are a trip. Denzel pulls out “franchise action star” later in his career and it’s pretty impressive even if some of the story feels a wee bit overbaked.
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Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)

ACCIDENTALLY CALLED CARL FRANKLIN "Carl Perkins" A FEW TIMES. OOPS.
January’s theme is “PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS” and we’re discussing some of the roles of two historically significant black leading men in film. Most of the month will be films starring DENZEL WASHINGTON. We’re starting it off mighty hot with a very solid noir adapted from a Walter Mosley book by director Carl Franklin. The Denzel study begins with the 1995 film “DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS” starring our man, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Beals, Tom Sizemore & Lisa Nicole Carson. Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins needs some cash to pay back some mortgage on his home and gets recruited by Tom Sizemore to find a woman by the name of Daphne and I bet you can’t guess what color she wears. Then you got poor Coretta who is quietly the most fatale. Then there’s Mouse as played by Don Cheadle in one of his best performance. Mouse is fucking wild. I gotta read those books to see what happens to Mouse. We got a soft spot for noir stuff and, honestly, you should too. It’s chill and gritty. And what’s up with that guy trying to cut down everybody’s trees? 
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Body and Soul (1925)

This month we’re excited to analyze the films in our January theme of PORTRAITS OF THE ARTISTS. In this theme we will be discussing the films of two major black leading men in film. For our Monday classics we will be exploring the films of Paul Robeson, an actor and activist who would be an outlier in any era of film. The title of our theme is inspired from the Criterion Collection’s Paul Robeson set titled “Portraits of the Artist”. For our first discussion in this New Year of MOVIEHUMPERS, we’re going to explore an important root in film history with an early work by the prolific pioneering director, Oscar Micheaux. Religion gets a little dragged as a crooked and fraudulent reverend (played by Paul Robeson) has connived his way into women and money in the small town of Tatesville. Isabella’s mother wont let her marry the nerdy ass inventor, Sylvester (also played by Paul Robeson) because she’s gotta marry the evil faux reverend. Some great characters in a fairly strange story with an early appearance of a certain film trope. Oscar Micheaux certainly has plenty to say with his 1925 silent film “BODY AND SOUL”, which you can find easily on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A9alUp1pa8 Check out some history and hear our take on it. This is just the beginning of our talks on Paul Robeson and there is LOTS of Denzel Washington to pair with it.
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Love Actually (2003)

It’s been 20 years since Richard Curtis dropped “LOVE ACTUALLY” on our chestnuts and this holiday romantic comedy remains prolific. As lauded as it is critiqued. It seems like this UK ensemble movie may never leave the zeitgeist of Holiday hits. It’s here to stay. A tangential web of romance and sad attempts at romance. It has its ups and downs. “Love, Actually” is like a pie but you see that all the pieces are cut and each individual piece is its own flavor. There are a couple of pieces that are very good. Surprisingly good. A few pieces are fine. Typical of what they are but not bad. Then there’s a piece that seems like apple but tastes like they put anise in it so it’s kind of weird. Then you get to that one piece that you think is fudge but SURPRISE that piece is actually made of cat shit. “Love Actually” is that pie but how does the overall depth of the drama and comedy hold the film together? Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth, Keira Knightly. That’s only about a quarter of the full cast. Hear us out in the final episode of our inaugural year of MOVIEHUMPERS. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. January is around the corner and we will be discussing the films of Denzel Washington and Paul Robeson. Until then, let’s hit you with it one last time in type, HAPPY NEW YEAR AND DEATH TO ALL TRAITORS.
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