Thursday, September 17, 2020

Thursday Movie Picks: The Band

Well, hey all you cool cats and kittens.


I'm sorry. While I'm typing this, my wife has on Dancing With the Stars in the background and none other than Carole Baskin has just been introduced. You know Carole, she of "Tiger King antagonist who sure seems like she killed her husband" fame.


Let's get this thing back on course.


I'm back for a second week in a row, and this week's Thursday Movie Picks, hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves, is about The Band. What band? Ya know, the band. Let's see what bands we find.


Fear of a Black Hat

(1993)

The Band: N. W. H. (Niggaz Wit Hats)

This is an underseen and underrated hip-hop mockumentary. Of course, the name of the band chronicled plays heavily on that of another famous band. Some of the situations were inspired by them, as well. We get an unflinching, but still loving lampooning of the culture as it was in the early 1990s. Kudos to director, star, and writer Rusty Cundieff. When I say writer, I don't just mean he wrote the screenplay. He also wrote the lyrics for every song in the movie. Wow.


CB4

(1993)

The Band: CB4

CB4 is the higher profile cousin of Fear of a Black Hat. Released in the same year, it takes a more traditional route to comedy and does a straight up parody of the band that inspired it. Coincidentally, it's the same band. Also coincidentally, it also has lots of mockumentary elements. Another thing it has in common with Fear of a Black Hat: it's uproariously funny.


Straight Outta Compton

(2015)

The Band: N. W. A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes)

Finally, twelve years after two movies used their meteoric rise as comedic fodder, the members of the actual group told their own story. It takes some of their most popular songs and brings them to life with all the angst and irreverence that made them one of the most revered and simultaneously hated acts of its era. 


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16 comments:

  1. I'm 0 for 3 again Dell but I have at least heard of your first and last but they feature a type of music that I'm not a fan of so I'll probably never watch any of them.

    I just watched a slew of concert films this last week on TCM, they did a sort of end of summer concert series, but didn't use a one! Never even thought about it honestly which I'm kicking myself for but I always think of narrative films unless the theme is documentary. Oh well.

    Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938)-In San Francisco near the turn of the last century concert violinist Roger Grant (Tyrone Power) abandons classical music when he falls under the spell of jazz much to his family’s disapproval. Circumstances lead to him renaming himself Alexander and forming a ragtime band with buddy, pianist Charlie Dwyer (Don Ameche) and singer Stella Kirby (Alice Faye) who both men love. Two decades, and a flock of great Irving Berlin songs, pass as they reach the heights of success even as their love lives founder.

    Strike Up the Band (1940)-Teenagers Jimmy Connors (Mickey Rooney) the drummer of the band he leads and his girlfriend, singer Mary Holden (Judy Garland) dream of winning a contest for school bands hosted by popular band leader Paul Whiteman. There’s just one hitch, the contest is in Chicago and for the band to take the train they need $200 (the equivalent to almost 3,800 today). They borrow the cash but when one of their number becomes seriously ill the money has to be used to help out. What to do now? Why put on a show of course!!! Mickey’s on the unctuous side but Judy is appealing and sings like a dream.

    The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968)-The Bower Family Band (including Buddy Ebsen, Lesley Ann Warren and Kurt Russell) are newly arrived in Dakota Territory just as statehood talk is at its peak and the 1888 battle between Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland for the presidency is in full swing. The Bowers are Republicans as are most of the other residents of their new town but Grandpa Bower (Walter Brennan) is a staunch Democrat which causes no end of trouble for the clan. All the strife doesn’t keep them from breaking into elaborate musical numbers from time to time in this Disney flick. In the small role of the “Giggly Girl” Goldie Hawn makes her screen debut.

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    1. We're trading 0-fors this week, as I haven't seen any of yours, either. To be honest, I haven't even heard of yours, so you got me good this week.

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  2. Fear of a Black Hat is that one film I've only seen bits of but never the whole thing. I knew it was on TV in the 90s all the time but I never saw it in full. CB4, that shit is hilarious. "I'm black y'all, I'm black y'all". Straight Outta Compton is actually a solid bio-pic where I didn't mind a few liberties it took as it at least had an engaging narrative.

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    1. I hope you get to see Fear of a Black Hat. It is damn funny, in its own right.

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  3. Those movies sound really cool! Haven't seen any of them yet, though.

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    1. My suggestion is starting with Straight Outta Compton and working your way backwards.

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  4. I've only seen Straight Outta Compton from your picks, which I enjoyed. I'm interested in the first two though, I'll have to see if I can find them somewhere.

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  5. Yup, I have not seen any of these although I heard the last film is excellent. I have to admit i just don't feel like seeing it. I am not one for rap.

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    1. Meh. You know my philosophy. See a movie for the possibility of it evoking empathy, not for what the character's vocation.

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  6. Straight Outta Compton is another victim of "Oscar so white." I cannot fathom why it didn't get a Best Picture nomination.

    Actually, I can fathom why it didn't get one, but it should have. If a middle-aged white Midwesterner who has never owned a rap album can enjoy it, anyone can (and it helps that Ice Cube's son looks and sounds exactly like his dad).

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  7. I’ve been meaning to watch Straight Outta Compton for ages and I feel very bad for always putting it off as I keep reading great things. I haven’t heard of the other two before but Fear of a Black Hat might be interesting as I love mockumentaries.

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  9. I haven't seen any of them, though I have at least heard of the last one. It's sort of funny that the band inspired two comedies, before having an actual biopic.

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