Jamie Foxx – Spinning Platters

Film Feature: A Few Minutes with Edgar Wright and Ansel Elgort from Baby Driver

Edgar Wright on set directing Ansel Elgort in the marvelous new film *Baby Driver.*

Edgar Wright’s newest film, Baby Driver, is a labor of love, many years in the making. The film would be a typical action crime drama were it not made by Wright, who is anything but typical. Instead, we get a creatively inspired film that takes this oft repeated form and adds a magical twist, which is that nearly every scene, from a romantic conversation in a laundromat to a brisk foot chase with guns blazing, is not only accompanied by inspired musical choices, but is also choreographed to the songs. The result crackles with life and bristles with energy. We were overjoyed to be able to spend a few minutes discussing the music and choreography with director Edgar Wright and budding superstar Ansel Elgort.

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Film Review: White House Down

Jamie Foxx is Mr. President and Channing Tatum is Mr. Hero in White House Down

We say a picture is worth a thousand words. If my math is correct, a two hour and seventeen minute movie, therefore, should be worth 197,280 words (at 24 frames per second). Why, then, when White House Down ended, did my friend turn to me and say, “There are no words…”, and begin conjuring up fantasies of what he could have been doing for the previous 2+ hours instead? The answer is that White House Down is a terrible movie that misses all of its marks. It is not the fun explosion-filled action spectacle we used to expect from director Roland Emmerich in the mid-late 90’s and early 00’s. It’s better than 2012 and worse than Anonymous, although comparing WHD to 2012 is like comparing dirt to mud. It’s a shame this movie falls so far short because it had all the right ingredients in place for it to be a loud summer escapist romp. Instead, White House Down belittles its own silly story by trading in ‘silliness’ for ‘stupidity’. It is chalk full of stale acting and uninspired thrills, complete with a genuinely shocking amount of unrealistic moments (yes, even for a film about the White House being hijacked).

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Film Review: Django Unchained

django-unchained-2

starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson

written and directed by: Quentin Tarantino

MPAA: Rated R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language and some nudity

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Spinning Platters Picks Six: Reasons Not To Kill Kanye West

This photograph may negate this entire list

[Editor’s Note: Spinning Platters does not actually encourage the murder of pop stars.]

I really can’t stand Kanye West. The character that he has created, the socially awkward egotist, comes off unnatural and a bit bothersome. He has become an icon that is bigger than the music he creates, which is generally a bit boring. His emotional outbursts in the beginning were funny, but now are just embarrassing. I agree that George W. Bush may not care about black people, but I don’t think Kanye was looking to make a statement, he was looking for a soundbite.

I should not be so judgmental. He may even be a nice guy! So, I will do the Christian thing and compile a list of six things that Kanye West has done that I believe are good things.

Thus begins my six reasons not to kill Kanye West:

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