Movie Minute: Django Unchained (The Review)

Synopsis: Set in the South two years before the Civil War, DJANGO UNCHAINED stars Academy Award(R)-winner Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Academy Award(R)-winner Christoph Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles–dead or alive.

I must begin by stating that I am a HUGE Quentin Tarantino fan.  I didn't think it was possible for him to top the sheer brilliance of Inglourious Basterds or the action in Kill Bill but clearly I was wrong because Django Unchained is his best film to date in my opinion!! 

This film is highly entertaining and takes you on a wild ride.  It's a classic Tarantino film with the usual offerings of incredible cinematography, strong graphic violence, viscious fight scenes, language and some nudity.  The film is written and directed by Tarantino (who also makes a cameo) and is very well executed for a story based on a very controversial subject. It is a story about revenge with an underlying love story that is also unintentionally funny. 

The movie has had it's share of critism with the most vocal against it being Spike Lee.  Uhmmm, Mr. Lee, I went to see the movie for the entertainment value and not for factual information on history!

Cristism aside, this film is not for the faint of heart or easily offended but if you're looking for great entertainment this is it for you!!  The casting is terrific with top calibre actors who deliver in a major way! Oscar award winner Jamie Foxx, is great in his role as DJango.  Christoph Waltz, another Oscar Award winner, plays the role of Django's unlikely sidekick and if you are familiar with his work, he never fails to impress and is brilliant & comical as Dr. King Schultz - a dentist turned bounty hunter.  Leonardo DiCaprio proves once again that an Oscar award to him is long overdue!! He plays a villain who nails his perfomance as does Samuel L Jackson. 

Let's talk about the soundtrack!! The music picked superbly matches the story and just adds to the brilliance of Tarantino.

The run time for the movie is quite long at 2.5hours but that's a small price to pay for what you get in return - a wild ride!

There is lots of Oscar buzz surrounding this film that has already garnered 5 Golden Globes nominations. 
Will you be watching? Have you seen it? Please share your thoughts.

Quotable Quotes: New Beginnings

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” ― Carl Bard

It's a New Year with a promise of new beginnings.  Every new year people make resolutions to change aspects of themselves they believe are negative. A majority of people revert back to how they were before and feel like failures. This year I challenge you to a new resolution. I challenge you to be yourself.   

I wish my readers a very happy & blessed 2013.

xo SallyG

Music Minute - BET's Best International Act (Africa) nominees video

The BET Awards will be held tonight in Los Angeles, California.  The show will be televised live from the Shrine Auditorium at 8pm EST.  While these award shows are exciting for the star power they pull, I am more excited about one category - Best International Act (Africa). If you are not familiar with the nominees in this category, fret not.  Here's your chance to catch a glimpse of the artists - their videos are below.  Press play!!!  
1. Camp Mulla (Kenya), 2. Ice Prince (Nigeria), 3. Lira (South Africa), 4. Mokobe (Mali), 
5 .Sarkodie (Ghana), 6. Wizkid (Nigeria)


Win or lose, to be nominated is great recognition and these artists who are obviously talented and should be very proud of themselves! Big ups Africa!!!

Movie Minute - Winnie Mandela Biopic Trailer Released

At last!  We get to catch a glimpse of the controversial biopic, Winnie. Starring Jennifer Hudson who plays Winnie Mandela and Terence Howard who plays Nelson Mandela.  The biopic chronicles the life of Winnie Mandela who is known for her anti-apartheid activism long after her ex-husband Mandela had been improsoned.

The casting choice created a lot of controversy.  Winnie Mandela threatened to sue the film makers because she had not been asked to consult on the film and because an American is playing her.  While I do agree that Winnie should have been consulted, I still feel that casting Jennifer Hudson to play her was not a bad choice either. 

Below is the trailer:



I'm not sold on these actors accents based on the trailer.  There have been American actors who have played African characters very convincingly;  Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda and Forest Whittaker in The Last King Of Scotland.  I couldn't imagine anyone else playing a better Idi Amin than Whittaker! He owned that role that led him to win an Academy Award for Best Actor.  Cheadle also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his role.
There will be some Oscar buzz for Jennifer Hudson & Terence Howard next year.

Will you be watching?

Movie Premier - Hands of Time by Van Vicker

I recently had the utmost pleasure when I got to sit down with one Africa's sexiest men alive!  He is actor, producer, director - Mr. Van Vicker who has been featured in multiple films in the Nollywood film industry.   He couldn't have been more gracious, smart & charming!


He was in town to promote and screen his latest film, The Hands of Time.  This was not my first time meeting him and I have featured him on this blog before.  See the story here.
Some incredible people enabled this meeting to take place and it is no small feat. I am very grateful that these people came through for me. Van & I talked about various topics and he gave some great advice.  Check out the footage here:


Here's addional footage from the actual film premier in Atlanta;

BET Awards Nominations - Best International Act

The BET Awards nominations were announced a few weeks ago - yes, I am indeed very late in posting this!
The usual categories were announced and the nominees were not much of a suprise to anyone!  Kanye West led the pack with seven nominations, Beyoncé followed with six and Jay-Z with five.

The most excting thing about this years nominations for me was this:

Best International Act: AfricaCamp Mulla (Kenya), Ice Prince (Nigeria), Lira (South Africa), Mokobe (Mali), Sarkodie (Ghana), Wizkid (Nigeria)

I was very excited to learn about Camp Mulla's nomination.  This is HUGE for them as this is the first time a Kenyan group/act has been nominated in this category.  The recognition is great for this hip hop group that has certainly worked hard to get to where they are now. 
This category is usually not televised unfortunately BUT I am very proud of all the nominees from Africa!!  The show will air live on BET on July 1st, from the Shine Auditorium and I will be keeping up with it.

Vote, vote, vote for your favorites!!

A list of the nominees can be found here. 

Product Placement: Coca Cola Africa

Coca Cola has done it yet again!! Unveiling yet another great commercial highlighting their signature product/drink for the African market.  As an African living abroad, my heart swells with pride & my patriotism just gets deeper for a continent that well represents me.  This commercial is beautifully done, very well written & couldn't have been done better given the current state of the world.  Enjoy!!