TAKERS

First of all congratulations for the #1 movie in the country title! This movie was supposed to come out in 2008, (notice in the movie they keep referring to the 04 heist and saying it happened 4 years ago) but do to certain actions from T.I and Young Breezy the movie was put on hold.

Now with that out of the way. This movie had a lot of promise, until after it was over and I had realized that it left me with an empty feeling. Not empty like A Serious Man empty, but under developed plot line empty. These guys do big jobs for big money and are very good at what they do. They are very well connected, use high tech methods and have a set of rules and guidelines that they follow. Rule 1. No contact if any members get locked up. Rule 2. Wait a year between jobs. T.I.'s character comes home early and presents his former partners with a job. They accept...Rule #2 BROKEN!

Matt Dillion plays a police Officer that is investigating a bank job that they just did. Neglects his kid and pretty much ruins his life in the process. The action was good, the story and how the events played out left me a bit baffled. So lets begin.

1. Police aren't that smart. Point blank LA, NY, TX, FL.
2. What are the chances that the Jamaicans Matt and his partner went to bust were under surveillance and in that same room is where they kept the money?
3. What was the point of Idris Elba's sister? She actually served no point to the development to the story. It was a waste of 15 minutes of time that could have been used elsewhere, like showing the actual 04 heist that they kept referring too.
4. If you had a crack head sister, and you didn't want her to stay at your place for various reasons why would you even let her know where you live in the first place?
5. Given Rule #1 (no contact if caught) wouldn't you still keep tabs on the guy locked in? Esp if none of them trusted him and since they seemed so smart. He got home like a year early, you would think they would be prepared for that.
6. When the shit hit the fan. Chris Brown (21) was running, jumping, flipping, hurdling through all sorts of buildings and obstacles, but sleep deprived (maybe alcoholic) Matt Dillion (46) and his partner were right behind him???

The movie was semi entertaining though for the most part. A couple of "didn't expect that" moments made the film a bit more enjoyable.


Taken not Stirred

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Wyclef 4 Prez!

Wyclef has been in the forefront of aiding Haiti way before the earthquake leveled the entire country. He has always given his time, money and voice to help in the development of the Haitian people. So with the Haitian election coming up --- why not let this guy run for office?? I mean could Haiti get worse under his guidance? It's was for the most part a 3rd world country and after the Earthquake it's more like a wasteland. If the guy wants to run...let him run! Sean Penn....shut the fuck up. You don't live there, and you are not knowledgeable enough to even talk about this man's contributions??? What's your beef? What's your solution?? Wyclef isn't just some insert your face here celebrity that shows up on TV gets a check and then rolls out. He is consistently there for his people and his country.

And who knew the "nail in the coffin" to the Fugees reunion (if there was every really going to be a such thing) would come from Pras. I thought Pras and Clef were actually cousin then the second this President stuff starts happening Pras puts his 5 cents in and starts squealing like a pig. Said they aren't really cousins AND that he doesn't think he is fit to be President of Haiti. Damn, first off where did they find Pras?? Nobody has seen him since Mya and OBD made him semi - famous'er. Then he pops up out of has been thin air and gives his disapproval and denounces being related. Boy with friends/family like that.....you know the rest. They are both Haitian. So where was Pras when the earthquake happened and people needed help?? Exactly. Let the man try to represent and recover his country!

The Carnival

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3 UP (RMX)

I remixed the recent track me and the homies Channel Q and Jae Poet composed.

DOWNLOAD THE MP3 HERE

3UP

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RapMan Ron G

Mania Music Group's own Rapman Ron G's "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" was a feature in this months X-Rated section of the XXL (Shyne/Young Jezzy Cover)

Welcome To The Audience

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Kenzo Digital x Dee and Ricky

Kenzo Digital presents "The Dee & Ricky Super Happy Fun Time Show" Teaser from Kenzo Digital on Vimeo.

Kenzo Digital is a cool film company that teamed up with Dee and Ricky who make crappy items outta Lego's and sell them for crazy prices. But that's neither here nor there. The videos are pretty dope and Dee & Ricky designed a cool G-Shock available in very limited quantities.

How can they sell Lego's without getting sued?

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It's Time For The Circulator

You know this was a good idea, too bad Sheila got canned before ppl could see how great it really is. I have no idea how the route were picked or why but this buses seem to cover a large area of the greater Downtown district. Going Green Campaign >>> Gift Cards (i know it was more to it) in my opinion but hey I'm just a guy. These buses are always packed and a more and more diverse sets of ppl are using this mode of transport. Really a great idea. Now if only they could make downtown not smell like sewage. That would be progress!!!

RIDE

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The Expendables

This has been billed as the must see "guy movie" of the year. It has almost every legendary action star in the world in this one film. All except VanDamme who I could only guess that him and Stallone didn't get along in the past. This movie was slow moving in the beginning. The way people were hyping it I thought as soon as you sat down the screen was going to explode. When the opening credits rolled the names would blow up....NO! There were only about 3 action scenes before the main action sequence at the end of the movie. Why they had Dolph Lundren play a psycho drug addicted mercenary...who knows. Why was Mickey Rourke crying for 15 minutes about some chick in Vietnam that jumped off a bridge?? Why was Arnold Schwarzenegger wearing that ugly ass shirt...beats me.

This had all the 80's cliche moments compiled into one movie. And nobody died!! I was grateful that Terry Cruz didn't get blown up in some tragic thumbs up helicopter ride turned wrong scene. But the thing that got me was....where was the nudity??? At least Scott Pilgram had the girl in her panties for a scene. Sly went alllllllllllll the way to some godforsaken 3rd world country for this chick that he didn't even kiss?! Word Sly?? That's how you roll?

3 Stars

Does Stallone Speak English...oh I get it, it's a Foreign Film

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Scott Pilgram Vs. The World

Man I wasn't even about to see this movie at all, in the least bit. But then more and more buzz started to circle on the interwebs and I learned what it was about and my dude Michael Cera was in it FIGHTING??!! This movie is based off a Manga of the same name, where Scott Pilgram must defeat Ramona Flowers' 7 evil Ex's. This movie is a mix of comic book, MMA, video game, Anime live action. The visual effects in this movie are really super top notch! It takes about a good 30 minutes for the action to unravel but it's sooooo worth it! Macaulay Culkin's younger brother Kieran plays Scott's gay room mate and serves up some wild comic relief. A huge sound dragon fought a sound giant and some chick got the blue slapped out of her hair!!! This is executed in a way that I have never seen. This gives proof that there should never be another bad DragonBall movie or any Anime style film. This was done right and in such an unexpected way.

Nega Ninja

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TV SHOW KILLER - Anthony Anderson

He seems likable enough but this guy sure can kill a TV show. Law & Order has been on for 20 years and as soon as he gets on it they cancel it. The FOX cop show K-Ville cancelled! The Shield --- CANCELLED! Samantha Who? Cancelled!!!!! Tell this guy to stay away from Television because it will surely end in cancellation.

I just got a note that this blog has been cancelled...thanks a lot!!

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WORK OF ART

Bravo's series WORK OF ART aired the finally last night with the winner being Adbi Farah a 23 year old Baltimore and Philadelphia native (and secret son of Puff Daddy). This show gave artists around the country a chance to show their talent through multiple challenges and exercises. The winner would receive 100,000. Abdi won over the judges with his depiction of urban life and the decay and desolation that can come of that environment. One of the show's other artists Miles was a wild character. He would go to sleep before challenges, read a whole book before a challenge and even made cement buttholes...yeah cement buttholes!!

This show displayed great challenges, good artists and creativity that is way beyond the average reality show that airs the same nonsense over and over. Hopefully this show keeps going and shines light on all different types of artists.

China Chow

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Kanye West - Power

Even though this is the same length as a Snuggie commercial it's still FRESH! Kanye's first "video" off his new album currently untitled, features him in the role of an Emperor to a lush, war ridden, wealthy, sex driven empire. Sold more as a moving painting than an actual music video, the images are stunning and the tools used to create this piece were executed grandly. I especially like the way Kanye's Horus Chain swings side to side during the composition. This reminds me of Ghost Busters 2 when the ghost dude would come out of the painting! Yeah it's only 90 seconds but its a DOPE 90 seconds.

I Ain't 'Fraid of No Ghost...

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Jeff Nishinaka -- Paper Art

These works of art are by Jeff Nishinaka and are made 100% from white paper! He has collaborated with, Bloomingdale's and Galeries Lafayette, advertising work for Visa, Coca Cola, Playboy, American Airlines, Toyota and Mattel and Jackie Chan is his homeboy who owns the largest of Nishinaka's collection.

The Cool Hunter

Papyrus

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Low Sodium

Man this shit shoulda been called "Watch Angelina Do Impossible Shit." Then at least I would have known what to expect. The whole movie is circling the idea of if Salt is a undercover Russian spy. Once that is answered (and it does get answered eventually in an odd manner) the super chase begins to destroy America. This movie almost turned into a Russian Terrorist recruitment film. I felt weird at some parts even sitting there like Homeland Security was gonna come cart me away for sitting through the movie. If they ever put out a Spider-Woman film she should definitely get the role. The part when she jumped off the bridge onto the speeding 18 wheeler, I damn there got up and left then. But wait, she then proceeds to jump onto a smaller U-Haul like vehicle holding on with just her fingertips???

The beginning of the movie is even more ludicrous. A Russian spy walks into the CIA says he has information. After giving you that information you escort him through the CIA (!!!) building with 2 officers and NO CUFFS. Then you get on the elevator and let this RUSSIAN SPY with wild information stand behind you???? There were a million cameras in the building but none were in the elevator??? This movie is just way too whacked out. Then they pull a stunt out of LOST (Expose - Nicki and Paolo) with the spiders. Come on!!! This is an absurd waste of film that hopefully will not garner a sequel as the ending suggests.

Sugar and Spice

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$75,000 BOOK!

A book dedicated to Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar has a page in it that was mixed with his blood. A pint of blood was mixed with the paper pulp was used to create this page in the book dedicated to his career. The page will appear in 10 limited edition copies at $75,000 each and have already SOLD OUT! The book is about 800 pages and took almost 3 years to complete.

Weird But True

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Inception

THIS MOVIE WAS DOPE!!! I didn't really know what to expect on this one. Leonardo Dicaprio plays a character very similar to the guy he played in Shutter Island. Some guy with a crazy dead wife. This flick is about going into people's dreams and extracting information. Then an offer is posed that if Leo can go into this guys rivals dream and implant information that he will be able to go home to see his family again. This is an adventure and it's a pretty interesting concept. Plus, it is something everyone can relate to. To my knowledge everybody sleeps and everybody dreams at some point or another and this movie drops little quirky stuff that people wonder about that'll make you smirk abit during the movie. This movie is greater than The Matrix! The story is better and easier to follow. All of the characters are likable and have personality. Great action sequences. And the story was told in one movie and not 3. The only thing bad I have to say about the movie was the ending. I thought that it was a cop out ending and was only done for that "it has a twist factor." I hope that when it comes out on DVD there is an alternate ending.

See You In Your Dreams

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Duck Tales

This painting entitled "An Embarrassment of Riches" was created in 1983, by artist Carl Barks. Baltimore radio executive Kerby Confer owns much of Barks works and some are going up for auction in August. This piece is already up to $28,000! Ducktales has such a strong lineage. From Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge, Huey, Duey and Luey, LauchPad, to Darkwing Duck they are real timeless classic characters in American History.

Woooo ooooo

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Air Hater

How come the old guys always wanna piss on the young guys parade? Shouldn't the older generation want to see the younger generation prosper and unite? Michael Jordan is the guy who put "I" in team. But without key guys, that made key clutch plays Michael Jordan would be just another guy that had talent that never quite made it. LeBron realized that he needed more and made the best decision for himself to win a Championship. Get over it. Just like Jordan had Rodman, Pippen and Kukoc it takes a team. And if you are able to call the shots and go to a team that has the talent you think you need to win, then I wish you all the best. I expected Barkley to say something ignorant that's pretty much par for his course but Jordan's whole demeanor is off putting. Even in the Hanes ads he is pretty much a jerk.

Space Jam

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PenDragon - BMF (Baltimore MaFu*ka) Freestyle

Had to.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Charge It To The Game

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The Last Air Bender

After having to bounce back after the "King of the World" James Cameron took the name Avatar and created the highest grossing film of all time, M. Night renamed "Avatar"" The Last Air Bender." Much has been bought up about the races of the people used to play the roles. Saying that the animated show had more characters of Asian descent. I could really care less. The thing about this movie is....It's a lot going on, great special effects but its just boring. I was actually falling asleep and I never fall asleep during movies. It's a good storyline, it's just too drawn out. Some scenes could have been left out to cut down on the time. Hopefully the next installments will have a better speed. And I could have gone without the 3D in this one. I'm glad it did well its 1st week though. It wasn't really well promoted and doesn't really seem like the kids' movie that it is supposed to be.

Captain Planet

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Day Dreamin

This nigga. Terius Nash can write hits for other people all day no problem, but how come his albums never amount to any significant sales? His 1st album LOVE HATE had the single "Shawty Is Da Shit" and it went gold. His next album Love Vs Money only sold a little over 331,000 copies and had hits like "Rockin' That Shit" and "Walkin On The Moon." His latest album Love King debuted at #3 with 47,058 copies sold. Is it his Bitchassness that people can't get with? Who wears a Pink Suit to the Grammy's??? Who says that they set-up a Federal Sting for Music Pirates (Ahrrrr!!) and then the next day say that you didn't really do it, only after hearing the backlash that it was receiving. Is it because his voice is super annoying? Is it that he is very effeminate? Is it all of these things? Who knows.

A -- Ella Ella

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