By the time Bernie Madoff was arrested in December 2008, Harry Markopolos had been trying for years to expose his investment firm as a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme. Starting in the spring of 2000, the Boston-based securities analyst began approaching the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with proof that the former NASDAQ chairman was perpetrating a […]
Author Archives: Kam Williams
Special to the AFRO
Posted inMovie Reviews
L.A. Teens Come of Age in Millennial Generation Morality Play
Whether by design or merely by coincidence, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that We the Party is being released the same day as American Reunion, the 4th installment in the American Pie series. After all, the original American Pie revolved around a quartet of horny, high school students competing to lose their virginity before […]
Posted inBooks
Seven Key Ingredients to Happily Living & Loving Together
“Jamillah and David Lamb are the dynamic couple behind the successful Off-Broadway play ‘Platanos Y Collard Greens’ which is enjoying its 9th year-running. For years, they have worked side by side, 24/7, to create and build their business. And, not only have they not killed each other, their love has grown stronger. This insightful relationship […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, Movie Reviews
Kam’s Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun
BIG BUDGET FILMS Mirror Mirror (PG for action and mild crude humor) Overhaul of beloved classic fairytale has exiled Snow White (Lily Collins) returning to the kingdom to wrest both the throne and a handsome prince (Armie Hammer) from the clutches of the evil queen (Julia Roberts) with the help of seven dwarfs. With Nathan […]
Posted inMovie Reviews
Teens Forced to Compete in Fight to the Death in Futuristic Sci-Fi
Picture a post-apocalyptic North America left devastated by a combination of fire, famine, drought and wars. The U.S. has collapsed only to be replaced by a centralized, totalitarian regime run with an iron fist by the President (Donald Sutherland) with the approval of effete elites barricaded inside the wealthy Capitol. That pampered class remains blissfully […]
Posted inBooks
Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing Our World
“Inspiration allows 30 exceptional people to tell their unique stories. Each of these women takes us on her life journey, describing the people, the teachings and the circumstances that shaped her. We see the role that family, culture, community and mentorship play, as well as the influence of dreams, ambitions and ideas. These women have […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Jasmine in Bloom
Born in Boston on March 10, 1962, Jasmine Guy is a Renaissance woman with dancer, actress, singer, director, and writer on her resume. She performed in the Broadway productions of The Wiz, Leader of the Pack, Grease, and Chicago, and she has also served as a stage director and choreographer on numerous occasions. Still, the […]
Posted inBooks
Lessons from Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter
“Throughout the years of his public life, former President and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Jimmy Carter has lived out a conspicuous faith… has been leading Sunday school classes ever since he was an 18 year-old ensign at the U.S. Naval Academy… For over 6 decades, he has been examining the Scriptures and teaching classes to adults… […]
Posted inMovie Reviews
Snow White Saves Prince in Refreshing Overhaul of Beloved Classic
Anybody familiar with the story of Snow White knows that’s about an expiring damsel-in distress who’s ultimately revived by a handsome Prince’s kiss on the lips. But the world has changed considerably since the Grimm Brothers first published the fairytale in 1812, so why not tweak it a tad to reflect 21st Century sensibilities? That […]
Posted inMovie Reviews
Abortion Survivor Searches for Birth Mom in Modern Morality Play
Hannah (Rachel Hendrix) has suffered from a host of afflictions over the course of her childhood, including asthma, seizures and multiple hip surgeries. Besides her physical ailments, the poor girl has unfortunately been haunted mentally by a nagging sense of feeling unwanted, despite being raised by a couple of very loving parents (John Schneider and […]
Posted inMovie Reviews
Polar Opposite Partners Infiltrate H.S. in Unlikely-Buddies Comedy
Popular jock Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) and social outcast Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) had nothing in common back when they were in high school, besides their both missing the senior prom. And even that was for very different reasons, since the former didn’t attend because of poor grades while the latter simply couldn’t find a […]
Posted inMovie Reviews
DVD Chronicles Chicago Poetry Slam
Does the hip-hop style of rhyming and its down-to-earth subject-matter about life in the ‘hood deserve the same respect as the classical couplets of Keats and other lofty lyricists whose work benefits from ivory-towered academia’s stamp of approval? The answer to that question might lie in “Louder Than a Bomb,” a documentary chronicling the Slam […]
