Movie Review: Baadasssss! (2004)

This movie was recommended in 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen by Leonard Maltin . . . Baadasssss! I wasn't sure I would actually be interested in the movie. It tells a unique story that I was so sure I couldn't mesh with. But then I saw the list of actors . . .

MARIO VAN PEEBLES
JOY BRYANT
TERRY CREWS
OSSIE DAVIS
DAVID ALAN GRIER
NIA LONG
RAINN WILSON
T. K. CARTER
SAUL RUBINEK
PAUL RODRIGUEZ
VINCENT SCHIAVELLI
KHLEO THOMAS
LEN LESSER
SALLY STRUTHERS
ADAM WEST
GLENN PLUMMER
JOHN SINGLETON
TROY GARITY

. . . and decided to give it a shot. The movie is gripping. The language is often a bit hard to take, i.e. they say a lot of words I don't want to hear, but I get that Mario Van Peebles is going for gritty realism and so the language is "necessary".

I was going to watch the movie on Hal's computer while I cleaned my desk. A few minutes into the movie all thoughts of cleaning were gone. My eyes were glued to the screen. I didn't even pick up some knitting!

This movie is more of a documentary and shows the difficulties of the independent film movement, especially for non-white filmmakers, in the 1970s. Melvin Van Peebles had made a studio film but was determined to create something of relevance to the black community of his time. This docu/movie shows what Melvin went through to create his landmark 1971 movie Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song.

Melvin is not portrayed as a perfect hero. In fact, he most definitely was not a hero. But he created a movie of huge importance and relevance. And Melvin did whatever he had to and used whoever he must to create his movie/vision. Often Melvin was his own worst enemy, alienating the people who were helping him and often putting them at risk. He even cast his young son Mario in the movie to enact scenes that even some of his strongest supporters thought were wrong.

The cast is amazing and includes the legendary Ossie Davis as Melvin’s father and director John Singleton (who made his mark a generation after Melvin with Boyz N the Hood) has a cameo role as a disc jockey.

This movie is not for the faint of heart but if you do turn it on be prepared to remain riveted to the screen from the first title to the final credits.

A Taste of Canada ~ Fiddleheads

I do enjoy fiddleheads. They have a green bean-y, asparagus-like, pea-ish taste and they are just fun to look at. From Chateline Magazine: HOW-TO It’s Almost Fiddlehead Season! Here’s How To Cook This Springtime Veggie Properly Fiddleheads are a Canadian delicacy, but undercooking them can lead to food poisoning by Amy Grief Updated Apr 9, 2019 Fiddlehead season is short, so when you see the adorable green curlicues at your grocery store or farmers’ market, buy them while you can. Before chowing down on these little springtime delicacies, there’s a few things you should know first since fiddleheads can cause food poisoning if they’re not cooked properly. What are fiddleheads? These tightly curled coils are ostrich fern fronds. They start appearing in late April and early May in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and are usually found in forests, marshes and by rivers and streams. Taste-wise, fiddleheads, which are popular amongst food foragers, are...

Week #2 Challenge: Paper . . . and I mean ALL of your paper.

Annual Organization Challenge Week #2 How did you make out with last week's challenge? Did you find your work table? Here's this week's challenge: Your challenge this week is to S.P.A.C.E. your paper - - and I mean ALL of your paper: cardstock, patterned paper, specialty papers, and all those SCRAPS! SORT: Bring all of your paper to one area. Sort it all into piles: KEEP, SELL, DONATE, TRASH PURGE: bag up, and assign a price to paper bundles that you want to SELL at a garage sale or online, and put the bags in the garage sale box. Throw out the TRASH pile. Bag up the DONATE pile and immediately make arrangements for drop-off/pick-up or put in your vehicle. ASSIGN: separate your paper into categories that make sense to you. For example, you may want to divide it simply into cardstock and patterned paper. If you have a huge stash of paper, you may want to divide it by colour, theme, or manufacturer. **Another way to...

Journal Prompt ~ One Thing You Do Really Well

Name one thing you do really well . . . One thing I do really well is solve crossword puzzles.

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