Upcoming Movie Highlight: Money Ball

Divorced, has-been major league player, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), is the general manager of the Oakland A’s. In 2001, he sends the A’s off to the divisional playoffs, where the lose dismally to the New York Yankees. There is more bad news as he loses three of his best players to higher bidders. With a very limited budget, Billy has to find a new way to keep in the business of baseball.
Billy stumbles across an Ivy league graduate and computer geek Peter Brand (Jonah Hill). The Yale economics student develops a system of rating the players based not on the home runs or their batting average but rather on the numbers of walks and runs scored. Traditionally other major league recruiters would stay away from cheaper players who they viewed as flawed, but Billy and Peter begin signing and training a team based on computer generated. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a disgruntled Oakland A’s couch who is sceptical and negative about their new system until they start to win big.

This is not necessarily a film for sport lovers but a rather inspiring tale of challenging the status quo, and developing new systems of management.

Release date:25th November 2011

Written for Showbizz.co.za

by N.Zindi

Upcoming Movie Highlight: Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

And the keenly awaited RobSten duo are back, starring in part 1 of the next chapter in this successful vampire movie phenomenon. Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) are more in love than ever and ready to commit. Their wedding invitations are sent far and wide, and not all favourably received. Our hunky werewolf, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) is heart sore, violently acting out, with hints ensuing drama ahead. Nevertheless, the wedding takes place, without incident, and Edward promises Bella that “No measure of time with you will be long enough. But we'll start with forever”.


A steamy honeymoon in Rio de Janeiro follows, where they finally consummate their relationship. Bella soon discovers she is pregnant and only when she almost loses the baby, Edward is convinced to fulfil Bella’s wish to be immortal. The two give birth to a baby girl, Renesmee, and her birth cues the trouble ahead. The Cullens and their friends must fight against Voltri and The Quileute in order to protect Renesmee. As a half-human, half-vampire child, she threatens the other vampires as well as the wolf pack. The battle, the romance, the chivalry and the fantasy ensue.


Trailer: http://youtu.be/p1OHXR63a38
Release date: 18th November 2011

Written for Showbizz.co.za

by N. Zindi

Upcoming Movie Highlight: State of Violence

The Past is not another country.

A black corporate businessman Bodedi (Fana Mokoena) has everything to suggest he is successful and on the rise. He comes home to celebrate a work promotion with his wife Joy (Lindi Matshikiza), when a masked trespasser enters their home. The intruder shoots Joy right in front of Bodedi. He is devastated at her murder, but not shocked. The intruder knew him by name. When the police’s efforts to find Joy’s killer seem fruitless and half-hearted, Bodedi enlists the support of his brother Boy-Boy (Presley Chweneyagae) to help him find the murderer.

This pursuit forces Bodedi to confront a past he’d taken measures to forget. Prominent in the struggle against apartheid, he had done some questionable things, which the killer is determined to confront him with. The story explores two men who are emotionally restrained and emotionally unavailable. They resort to violence to resolve their problems and travel through a path of remembrance, desired vengeance and eventual forgiveness.

State of violence premiered at the Durban International Film Festival last year and is written and directed by Khalo Matabene, a local television series, documentary and film producer.

Release date: 28th October 2011 (Nu Metro only)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Written for Showbizz.co.za

by N. Zindi

Upcoming Movie Review: 50/50

Seattle public radio employee , Adam (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is a conscientious 27 year old goody-two-shoes. He jogs, recycles, never smokes or drinks or crosses when the street light is red – he does everything by the book. After experiencing some mild back pain, he consults his doctor and is calmly devastated to discover he has a rare form of back cancer. What unfolds is a comedic portrayal that masks the more serious consequences of the disease, while making fun of how the cancer confronts Adam’s relationships. His overbearing mother (Angelica Huston) already has her hands full with Adam’s father’s Alzheimer’s, but she still finds the time to smother him. Adam’s girlfriend Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard), a self-centred artist, says all the right words, but seems to fall short in genuinely caring for him. His best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) cannot take the disease seriously, and keeps Adam upbeat with his commitment to absurdity, humour and their bromance.
The story is loosely based on the writer, Will Reiser’s own bout with cancer. Director Jonathan Levine along with the young, upcoming cast, effectively treat a serious subject with a 50/50 balance of sentimentality and humour.


Trailer: http://youtu.be/jeh5YXotTTM
Release date: 4th November 2011

Written for Showbizz.com

by N.Zindi

Learning to speak Nu Shu - Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

The quiet, soft and warm palette, with gentle tones of sopranos singing, are qualities I am beginning to associate with Chinese dramatic films. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, is no different. Based on the book by Lisa See of the same title, it is a beautiful, sweet story, interwoven through three distinct time periods - present day, the recent past, and more ancient times in China.

It is a love story of two women, not lesbians, but "laotong" - women who have agreed from an early age to be eternally committed to one another. What makes this story poetic is the silent commentary on former female oppression, the ludicrous and painful notions of what makes a women beautiful  and worthy(crushed feet), and the difficulty, disloyalty and shortfall of their relationship with men, by comparison. Their fates and lifestyles are switched, yet their dynamic remains unchanged. Themes of sacrifice and responsibility echo throughout the film, and the real challenge is that both women opt to love each other through sacrifice.

The acting is superb, and obviously not reliant on international celebrities, although Hugh Jackman makes a brief appearance as the man who wasn't good enough.  Richard Wong makes every image seamless, pretty and interconnected to the next. British composer Rachel Portman, of Chocolat (Lasse Hallstrom, 2000), Cider House Rules (Lasse Hallstrom 1999) and The Duchess (Saul Dibb, 2008),  fame also compliments the quiet with soft pieces of fitting music. And last but not least, commercial known for Maid in Manhattan, 2002, starring Jennifer Lopez, director Wayne Wang bought all the elements together beautifully. He is also a jury member at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is currently on circuit at Nu Metro. A foreign film must-see!
 Watch trailer http://youtu.be/Aa93drpm30E

Written by N.Zindi

for Monkeys Wedding Media Blog

Cataleya in Columbiana: Vengence is Beautiful

Cataleya or Cattleya - an orchid of Costa Rican orgin, native to South America.

The meaning behind the orchid flower has evolved through cultures and centuries. To the Ancient Greeks, orchids were a symbol of virility. In the Victorian age, orchids were associated with love, strength and  luxury and presently, orchids are quite simply,  rare and beautiful. Columbiana's Cataleya - the heroine and or femme fatale of director Olivier Megaton's 2011 film is rare, strong and beautiful.

A 10  year old Cataleya is confronted by a ruthless Bogotan crime synidicate, who murders her parents within hearing distance. She manages - with foresight, agility and bravery, that is unnerving for a child so young, to escape the murderous group, negotiate her way into America, flee the government officials babysitting her and make it to her uncle in Chicago. At this point, Cataleya declares she wants to kill.

Zoe Saldana  gives a confident, athletic and graceful perfomance in this role. She plays an adult Cataleya who has perfected the art of killing quietly and unseen. While she carries out vigilante purpose, stacking up a list of impressive, initially unsolvable kills, eventually her signature - the cataleya - leads her family into danger. Her final act of vengence ends where it all began.

The film is thrilling, engaging and empowering - well worth a watch.

Side note: "to do a cattleya" is used as a cryptic metaphor for lovemaking by the characters Odette and Swann in Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past.

Written by N.Zindi

for Monkeys Wedding Media Blog

A Can of Musical Fluidity: 340ml

As soon as lead singer Pedro da Silva Pinto bellows that infamous lyric “Friday night and I’m all alone....” the crowds cheer and begin that sensual, cadenced sway, in sync with the guitar rift that completes the phrase - enchanted. With two SAMAs won and six nominations under their belt, (and that’s only a South African snapshot of their acclaim), the Maputo foursome have come a long way from the ‘Midnight drive in.’

 Pedro Pinto (lead vocalist), Tiago Paulo (guitar), Paulo Chibanga (drums) and Rui Soeiro (bass) were practically neighbours growing up and although their Mozambican upbringing was infused in music, they all pursued degrees in alternative fields. It wasn’t until they bumped into each other in Jozi in 2000, that 340ml was formed. 340ml – simply put, is a common liquid quantity in a beer can. Lead guitarist and fan-favourite Tiago, admits the band name is perhaps as random as they are as a music group.  But over a decade later, with countless performances,  tours to Europe and America, and two successful albums – Moving (2004, Jazzworks Studio) and Sorry for the Delay (2008, Jazzworks Studio) - a title that literally apologises to their fans for taking so long - their status as a music group is hardly ‘random’. Try, solidified and revered!  

Truthfully, their music is difficult to define. It is however fluid, musical and eclectic with each member contributing personality and rhythm to the style.  Drawing on influences from Jazz, Dub, Ska, Afro-jazz, Latin and Reggae, the emerging sound is soul-consuming and complimented with playful, lyrical genius.  The main lyricist and vocalist Pinto, who is especially critical of his song-writing skills, has pushed the boundaries of creativity. He has given their songs vibrancy through the  words - Cue... “You knock me over with your Kung Fu smile.” 

Tiago says “Music must be art. It must  be active... It’s about being creative, pushing it all the time.”

There is more to it than just creative music and lyrics – 340ml have a multicultural look and appeal.  Signed with both a French Independent label, Bi-Pole and locally with Sheer Sound, they have taken force globally, releasing albums in Africa and Europe. Through collaborations with the likes of  Levi Pon the Mic and Thandiswa  Mazwai, 340ml successfully promote other styles and artists, while Tiago and Paulo, double up their talents and form part of Tumi and the Volume band too. Paulo also recently finished producing an EP with grassroots soul artist Bongeziwe Manbandla while Tiago co-scored a local film Otelo Burning (Becher, 2011) which opened at the 2011 Durban International Film Festival.

It is rumoured, that a third album Sorry for the Remix is to be released digitally in Africa soon but rather than waiting, this is the band to catch live! If you haven’t seen them yet - 340ml is participating at the Johannesburg Arts Alive festival this September!  Follow them on twitter: @340ml or on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/340ml/24865149517

Additional Links:

www.myspace.com/340ml;  

http://www.340mlmusic.com/ ;  

http://www.sheersound.co.za/;

http://www.artsalive.co.za/

Written by N.Zindi

for Showbizz

www.showbizz.co.za