Things to See & Hear: Don Cheadle in ‘Talk To Me’; Prince’s ‘Planet Earth’

I have been extremely busy this week, catching up on work and getting some new things together for the upcoming year. I have definitely one new anthology I am co-editing which will be out next year, and working on a second that also will most likely hit the streets in 2008…so be on the lookout!

But if you need something to do this weekend, go see Talk to Me. It’s director Kasi Lemmon’s third film (also directed Caveman’s Valentine and my favorite of all time, Eve’s Bayou.). It brilliant, the performances are brilliant (Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Taraji Henson, Cedric The Entertainer, Mike Epps) and I am afraid people will miss this one before it leaves the theaters. It is the story of real life D.C. DJ Petey Greene. I think the film asks a very important question of the audience-do people only ever see Black people as caricature (The answer made Dave Chappelle walk away from a $50 million television deal? It asks this question in a very subtle way, and it demands you, the viewer to ask yourself, exactly what is it that I find funny? It does this without being overly-didactic, but being thoroughly engaging.

Also, don’t sleep on Prince’s Planet Earth. The reviews have been mixed, and it’s not a perfect album. But get past it kids, he’s never going to make another Parade, Sign O The Times, or Lovesexy. He’s older, less angsty, and his music may never reflect that kind of bite he once had. So to that end, the standouts to me are Somewhere Here on Earth, The One U Wanna C, Chelsea Rodgers, & Mr. Goodnight (which should have been the first single). Most of the tracks give you a pop/rock feeling, and you can definitely tell he’s working with Lisa & Wendy again, who play on this record, and there influence is felt. Don’t sleep. Check it out.

Other than that, I’ll be back with you next week!