BIG BUDGET FILMS Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (PG-13 for intense action sequences) Medieval action fantasy, based on the video game of the same name, about a rogue prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) who reluctantly joins forces with a rival princess (Gemma Atherton) in order to keep an ancient dagger said to have supernatural powers […]
Author Archives: Kam Williams
Special to the AFRO
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
On ‘Common’ Ground
Common was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. in Chicago on March 13, 1972 to Lonnie, Sr. a former pro basketball player, and Dr. Mahila Ann Hines, an educator. He started rapping while still in high school, forming a trio called C.D.R. which opened for acts like N.W.A. and Big Daddy Kane. He adopted the alias […]
Posted inMovie Reviews
‘Just Wright’ Mixes Love, Basketball in Sentimental Sitcom
How do you make a movie that feels totally fresh despite the fact that it follows a fairly-transparent blueprint for a romantic comedy formula? Ask Sanaa Hamri, for not only did she first achieve this same feat back in 2006 with her directorial debut, Something New, but she’s now done it again with Just Wright, […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Queen Latifah: The ‘Just Wright’ Interview
Queen Latifah, born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970, in Newark, N.J., is a versatile entertainer, who first found fame in the world of hip hop as a teen when she released her debut album All Hail the Queen. She has since enjoyed an enviable recording and concert career featuring seven solo CDs plus […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Soledad’s Follow-Up Report about the Haitian Relief Effort
Since Haiti’s no longer front-page news, it’s very easy to forget about the fact that there’s an ongoing crisis there in the wake of the devastating earthquake which hit the island on January 12th. Fortunately, CNN’s Soledad O’Brien stands out as a journalist who has remained very committed to keeping the story of the country’s […]
Posted inBooks
Book Review: The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates
“This is the story of two boys living in Baltimore with similar histories and an identical name: Wes Moore. One of us is free and has experienced things that he never knew to dream about as a kid. The other will spend every day until his death behind bars for an armed robbery that left […]
Posted inMovie Reviews
Zoe Saldana Back in the Flesh for DC Comics Adaptation
Zoe Saldana was basically unrecognizable playing the lead role of Neytiri in Avatar because her character was covered from head to toe in gobs of blue makeup when not a completely computer-generated, digital creation. So, if you want to see Zoe in the flesh, she currently has two movies in theaters, the dreadful remake of […]
Posted inD.C. Fab! Exposed
D.C. Fab! Exposed – April 27, 2010
Spring is underway in the District and it feels great. As Hollywood comes to the District for the White House Correspondents Dinner, one of the biggest events of the season, other Washingtonians are gearing up to lay to rest one of the Civil Rights Movement’s greatest leaders. Check out what you need to know to […]
Posted inBooks
The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease
“This book tells the story of how race gets written into the definition of mental illness… The book also shows how historical concerns about racial protest reverberate through treatment institutions and… explores the processes through which American society equates race with insanity. focuses mainly on a series of transformations that occurred during the civil rights […]
Posted inMovie Reviews
A-List Cast Squandered in Blackface Remake of Brit Farce
Death at a Funeral sounds like a classic case of a production that probably sounded like a “can’t miss” when its assorted elements were being pitched to studio execs. First of all, it’s a remake of a recent British hit which quintupled its $9 million budget at the box office. The fact that the original […]
Posted inBooks
Going Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair
“Five years ago… I knew nothing about my natural hair. It was that mess that grew out of my head… which was only relieved by using scalp-burning chemicals and hair-singeing heat. It was that unprofessional, bad, embarrassing stuff that, if I were to wear in public, would doom me to everlasting singledom and job failure […]
Posted inBooks
My Holy Bible for African-American Children
”Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Excerpt from My Holy Bible for African-American Children Given the recent Easter season, Christian parents might like to check out this new Bible specifically designed with Black children in mind. This edition of the “Good […]
