It ain't often I go back in time to hate on a movie, but I have to today. After going back in time and viewing a number of Phonte's "Movies in a Minute" videos my hatred for this cinematic fiasco came back at full force, as well as memories of lunatic debates I've had with my peers about the film.

Let me get the plot out of the way for those of you that haven't seen it. Will Smith's character is texting on a phone one night while driving and crashes. He kills everybody, literally. So, later in life he calls someone and tells them that he's committing suicide. He spends his life until his stupid suicide (I have a LOT of beef with his suicide; not that he committed it but how it was done) seeking reasonable hosts for his organs after he dies. He does, and sadly he has to involve Rosario Dawson into it. Everybody he finds (seven people to replace the seven he murdered) needs something, organ transplants or whatnot, so when it comes time to off himself Will Smith gets into a pool of ice cold water and -this is where I TOTALLY break out laughing- drops a jellyfish into the tub to kill himself. No lie, he kills himself with a motherfucking jellyfish. After wards his organs (preserved by the ice cold water) are given to the people and they live happy lives. Yay...

I have a LOT of problems with this movie, and only some of them come from my faith. Let's get that one out the way first. Will Smith's (technically Tim Thomas' (seriously, who wrote this bullshit?!)) "redemption though death" ideology is sure to offend a lot of religious faiths and the fact that audience (most of them, not me) got attached to the man only made his self-execution a very devastating event. Tears and wailing and "NO!!!!", most women and a small population of men were shedding tears of fear when they saw Tim Thomas (that name is terrible!) kill himself. For Christians like myself there is immediately a "He's going straight to Hell" thought in the mind (hence why I was laughing hysterically at Timmy's passing) and for other faiths, of which I am no expert, I'm sure there was the thought running through the head. A lot of people are going to claim that his emotional torment overwhelmed his common sense. I agree, because if he was smart he would have spent his life honoring their memory and doing everything he could to make ALL LIVES better, much like Will Smith does in life by just walking down the damn street!

That brings me to another point: Will Smith knows movies. What do I mean by that? He knows what the people want to see or what will make them pour money into theaters, much like Tyler Perry does. Will Smith knew that a sappy lost love story would attract women like Oprah at a Cold Stone Creamery. Will Smith knew that Rosario Dawson's presence would attract the men like the offer of a threesome with Halle Berry, Sanaa Lathan and Free (you'd have love for that). Most importantly, he knew that everyone would flock to the movie for the simple fact that he's Will Smith, and Will Smith equals movie magic, no matter how good (I Am Legend, Men in Black, The Pursuit of Happyness) or how bad (Hancock, Hitch, Men in Black 2, Ali, Wild Wild West) or how mediocre (Independence Day, Enemy of the State) the piece of cinematography happens to be. I respect this skill of Will Smith's like I respect Soulja Boy's skill of knowing what will make him money.

I respect the power of love and responsibility, but Tim Thomas (that name...) did it, in my opinion, wrong. I've asked a lot of people this question: how would you have redeemed yourself if you were in Tim Tho... if you were in the shoes of the guy Will Smith played? To my (lack of) surprise, no one said they would do what Will Smith did. Excuse me, loyal, possible dick riding Will Smith fan, but in what way do you connect to this movie then? You like it from a technical point of view or a story point of view? I can respect it big time from a technical point of view, because I like camerawork. I like timing. I like characters. But I don't like the message this movie is coincidentally giving off. If I killed seven people in a car crash, I'd either be in jail, be dead from the wrath of a family member of one of the deceased, or spending my life atoning for what I've done, not bitching out and killing myself in some self pity moment.

Granted, I can't say I don't borderline see what he was thinking. He wanted to help people. Fair enough. I'm not mad at that. He killed himself to do it. No, that's not a good look, Smith. He gave away seven pounds of his flesh (eight if you assume he screwed Ms. Dawson one night) to save people. Very good intent, very bad method of doing so. Still, my greatest grievance with this piece of shit movie is his method of dying.






















A jellyfish? Seriously? Look, I'm not advocate of suicide, not advocate of any kind of death outside of a natural one, but if you're going to kill yourself then for the love of God, at least do it less "Tony" than this. Poison yourself, shoot yourself, slit your wrist, drown yourself, but here this nigga go, in a tube of ice and water, and a pet jellyfish (no one keeps pet jellyfish) that stings him. Ain't this a bitch? I'm praying that the writer of this movie didn't get inspired by a man that actually killed himself in such an elaborate manner because then I feel a bit bad about laughing hysterically. If not, though, well...

Well, I'm back again. Two posts in one day maybe, it's a burst of energy. Just a few minutes ago I posted my confusion about Black College Football Experience and now I'm moving on to new territory. The man on the left is Andre 3000 and the game to the right is Mass Effect. Both of them are candidates for the greatest of all time in their respective areas. Andre 3-Stacks has always been an eclectic lyricist from Atlanta sporting flawless rhymes and sporadic but brilliant verses on his own. Mass Effect is Bioware's flagship franchise game, away from the confines of Star Wars and George Lucas, but maintaining a space worthy theme. You know what would be sweet? If they added Sun Crushers into Mass Effect. It would be a total bloodbath full of oblivion, but it would be amazing nonetheless.

I bring those two up because I have to give them both credit where credit it due: masterful storytelling. This isn't about Andre 3000 so I won't put the spot light on him, but his storytelling is nearly unparalleled in hip hop, rivaled only by a few and even a few of them are slipping (*cough* Jay-Z *cough*), but Mass Effect, being an RPG, has mastered this art to another extent.

Quick show of hands: who has played the first Mass Effect? My right hand is up right now. Now it's down. There weren't many games the year it came out that I ordered to be delivered to me. Only the best are reserved for that... the best and those I can't afford to go out and get in person. I heard it was of Bioware, those behind Knights of the Old Republic, and played it. I had a heart attack. I'm one of the advocates of "Gaming is Art" so you give me a sexy sci-fi story with memorable characters and truly game affecting decisions and what do you have? One of the greatest stories in gaming.

My character was Sheppard, as all are. I can't remember his first name (it doesn't help that my Xbox is broken and I can't check) but he was a pure soldier. He wasn't tied down with the specifics of electronics and biotic warfare. He was a strategist and a weapon master, using pistols and shotguns, assault rifles and sniper rifles to the fullest, as well as grenades. Before the game he was a punk on the streets of Earth (Detroit I'm assuming) running with gangs until the military caught up with him and straightened him out. He did some stuff and gained a sparkling reputation, being chosen for a mission to a new colony planet. He didn't mess up but he was blamed for it. Then he was chosen for a new mission to save the galaxy with his crew, and even sparked up a romance with one of his crew mates, culminating with sexual intercourse following bouts of attraction and depression brought about by the death of a fellow friend. They saved the galaxy but left to do stuff, and by stuff I mean more saving. That's a terrible synopsis but it's the truth. The story make even sound a bit standard, but I left out a number of details, outside references and clever dialogue, not to mention the thresher maws. Oh, those thresher maws... glad they don't exist, that's all I can say.

What separates this story, however, is the sequel game, aptly titled Mass Effect 2. What's the story behind that one? So far I have no idea. I know that there's a new planet and that there are a few new features but I don't know the story. I saw the ship from the first game getting destroyed but I don't know the story. There is a skeleton tale in the game I'm sure, a basic outline, but outside of that you determine the story. You know how I mentioned Andre 3000 early on? He's a master storyteller. All of his guest verses are stories, be they greatly detailed or somewhat soupy. Example: take his verse from International Player's Anthem. It went...

So, I typed a text to a girl I used to see
Sayin that I chose this cutie pie with whom I wanna be
And I apologize if this message gets you down
Then I CC'd every girl that I'd see see round town and
I hate to see y'all frown but I'd rather see her smiling
Wetness all around me, true, but I'm no island
Peninsula maybe, makes no sense I know, crazy
Give up all this pussy cat that's in my lap no lookin back
Spaceships dont come equipped with rear view mirrors
They dip as quick as they can
The atmosphere is now ripped
I'm so like a Pip, I'm glad its night
So the light from the sun would not burn me on my bum
When I shoot the moon high, jump the broom
Like a preemie out the womb
My partner yellin "Too soon! Don't do it! Reconsider!
Read some litera - ture on the subject
You sure? Fuck it
You know we got your back like chiroprac - tic
If that bitch do you dirty
we'll wipe her ass out as in detergent
Now hurry hurry, go on to the altar
I know you ain't a pimp but pimp remember what I taught ya
Keep your heart 3 stacks, keep your heart
Aye, keep your heart 3 stacks, keep your heart
Man, these girls is smart, 3 stacks, these girls is smart
Play your part
Play your part

That's a story in itself. It gave the entire song a storyline. Mass Effect 2 looks to do the same. Andre's verse laid down a skeleton and let the listener go from there. Bioware laid a skeleton with the first game and now you have to make your own destiny in the new installment. This is a big deal for me because Sheppard can die for good, and Mass Effect is a trilogy.

What? Lose your main character in the game he or she is the main character or? DiZ, you orgasmic chocolate chip, perish the thought! No, I will not. There's a chance he can die. Every choice you make has a consequence and a reward. Do I know anything about these choices? No, but I'm guessing that pushing a man out of a window and thirty stories onto pure concrete isn't a nice thing to do in any respect at all.

The purpose of this post was to give props to the masterful storytelling of Bioware, creators of such games as KOTOR and Jade Empire. Keep up the good work and I'll be sure to be getting Mass Effect 2 when it comes out, word. Peace.

I have no prior bias to any game I play, but I can't help but force myself to keep from that bias when it comes to Nerjyzed Entertainment's past and future debut Black College Football Experience, the first game from their company and the first game to ever feature nothing but HBCUs. As the title goes this is a football game. It combines, at least now it does, football and Rock Band, in that the game before and after half time is pure football and the half time is... a rhythm based mini game compatible with the Rock Band drum peripheral, a nod to the tradition of HBCU bands doing performances at half time. I've seen gameplay footage from both the game released in 2007 and the one to be released on Tuesday and my first impression is a big resounding, "It's aight..."

Let's get this out the way early: I have low expectations for many, maybe even all at this point, football games. When Electronic Arts took the license for themselves I said that it was time to witness the slow descent of football games, and in my opinion I've been dead right. I've seen a decline in quality in the Madden games and I've seen no real change in the NCAA Football games. That 2K games football title featuring all legends and false characters was okay, but it wasn't ESPN NFL 2K5. Midway's Blitz series is always good for a laugh, but its gameplay isn't stern enough and it doesn't come out every year like the EA monsters do. That's good if only because it means they don't recreate the same game each year, but that's just a gripe of mine. Anyway, I saw the gameplay for Black College Football Experience from 2007 and I said, "It's aight..." It looks functional and has a bit of a "Mr. Magoo" visual feel to it (the main attraction looks well enough but the secondary details themselves are lacking, especially the crowd) but that's no reason to down a game. After all, 2K5 did the same... well, Madden did that and... nope, on second thought they didn't.
A big selling point appears to be Doug Williams and the half time mini game. Personally I have no idea who Doug Williams is, but I'm assuming he's a professional (current or retired) that went to an HBCU. I respect that. I suspect the target audience will too. The mini game is an interesting feature too, something I haven't been able to even convince a permanent fault with outside of multiple controls for a single exhibition game, but that's just a pet peeve. Basically it's like the movie Drumline, without the bad acting of Nick Cannon, Leonard Roberts, Orlando Jones, Jason Weaver... you see where I'm going with this. You hit the drum kit in tune with the thing on the screen. What's my big deal with it? The Rock Band drum instrument goes in the color order: red, yellow, blue, green. The game goes: blue, green, yellow, red. Seems like a purely aesthetic thing, right? Maybe not. It's a simple change I'm sure, but I'll let time determine how all that works out. It'll kind of suck doing that kind of mini game on a standard controller.

[Quick sidebar: if I seem a little pissed off right now it's because my Xbox has been out of commission for more than a month now and it has me pretty upset, especially with what I've seen of Mass Effect 2. I'll be touching on that game in a little while myself. Whatever...]

I haven't yet touched on why this post is called "Varied Confusion". When I first heard about this game I said, "Let's hear the racist comments." Of course, those are what I saw. I guess I can kind of anticipate how some people are thinking, but I don't know exactly how to feel about the game in and of itself. On one hand I'm happy that there's a tribute to the black college football experience. Being a student of now two HBCUs and a predominantly black high school I can say that going to a football game is indeed an experience. Then again, having no other kind of college football experience to compare it to I can't say how necessary a game like this is.

Necessity is something I've been on lately. My latest foray into it was with a rapper named Edo G. He did a song in the 90s with Da Bulldogs called "Be a Father to Your Child" and I couldn't help but acknowledge how necessary this song is. The conflict comes with the fact that this song shouldn't have to be necessary. That's why I'm confused with this game. Yes, this game is a tribute to a culture a lot of people will never experience, but that's part of the discrepancy to me: aren't games a method of reaching people of all kinds? Maybe not, but the goal of this game is to appeal to the HBCU crowd. How many HBCU students are going to buy a game they can pretty much watch every week in the fall semester? How many football players for schools like Morehouse or Hampton are inclined to buy a game that showcases them in a generic light (generic meaning no specific mention to specific players outside of Doug Williams, not a crack at the game I have yet to play) and why? If I played football at Morehouse when I was there I would have bought this game only for the purpose of a grudge with another school (probably Tuskegee).

To this same token, however, if I'm following this logic, then the necessity of any kind of college football game is unnecessary. I don't like college football games because A)they all owned by EA and B)EA clones Madden and makes a killing. It's a shameful reason I admit but the third reason was that my college, which was Morehouse, wasn't on them before. Now Morehouse is on an HBCU football game (a moot point since now I'm at Clark Atlanta University) and I can't express total joy because I'm struck with hundreds of questions. I can't put down everything now but I'll be sure to when I give the game a play through. Catch ya later.

[P.S. -- I found out who Doug Williams is. To date he's the only African American quarterback to win a Super Bowl. That's significant and all I guess, but shit... okay, he is kind of a big deal. Super Bowl MVP and he broke a few records. I tip my hat to you, Doug Williams.]

A friend of mine put it rather well when he said that the Holy Trinity of Neo-Soul (D'Angelo, Maxwell and Erykah Badu (I want to say Son, Holy Spirit and Father respectively but don't quote me)) was again in effect when Maxwell's new single, Pretty Wings, dropped. I find myself both agreeing and disagreeing, if only because I think the "divinity" of neo-soul includes the "Prince on ecstasy" voiced Bilal. Regardless, in his review he gave this album a 4 out of 5, citing its length as the main, maybe even sole, reason he didn't give the album a perfect 5. It's not my style to take anyone's word outside of my own when it comes to music so I went to the store and bought the CD (a MAJOR sign of respect from me) and gave it a couple of listens. My assessment? Well...

Maxwell has always been my third favorite neo-soul singer, falling after Bilal at the number two spot and Erykah Badu as the queen for reasons going far beyond the realm of music. He had me sold and nearly claimed the number two spot with the song "Fortunate", off of the Life soundtrack. That song still receives a lot of replay in my musical profiles. I didn't really get into his previous work but I was mad impressed with what I stumbled across. He was always mysterious, considering he wrote his own song and didn't let R. Kelly do it (talking about Fortunate again) and his lyrics bordered between salt-of-the-earth and edge-of-the-galaxy, and sometimes you didn't know just what the hell he was talking about. To me, then and now, that was the essence of neo-soul: multiple meanings in the most lunatic of songs, poetry over soulful beats, courtly love in a desirable manner. The Soulquarians were/are pure neo-soul. Maxwell wasn't a part of that. That's why I'm not as mad as I could be that BLACKsummers'night is disappointing as a neo-soul album.

Hear me out. On a whole I love this album, not as much as I love something like Baduizm or 1st Born Second, but the distinction between those two to this is that those two are neo-soul; BLACKsummers'night is R&B. Maxwell comes out the gate with the guitar-laced Bad Habits and croons about the hardest parts of a relationship and drifts right into Cold, the story about the cold blooded woman we all know. Pretty Wings, my new second favorite Maxwell song, is the same old subject matter but he puts a twist on it and does the song so well I can forgive it. It's just a great song, no more or less.

Help Somebody is interesting in that it's more along the lines of What's Going On? Marvin Gaye in its meaning. Stop the World shares in that distinction too, though its meaning is a little more divided and Maxwell comes across as a little braggadocios. Love You and Fistful of Tears are accidental nods to Keith Sweat; Maxwell isn't exactly begging but he is pleading rather strongly, apologizing to a girl and working towards a second chance. Playing Possum, more so because of the band than the lyrics themselves, hold the silver medal in songs on the album because of how masterfully the trumpet is played. Otherwise he's still in Keith Sweat mode.

The last track is a serious break from the norm; Phoenix Rise is a pure instrumental, a chance for Maxwell's ingenious band to shine. It's a pleasant way to end the album, although the song sounds a bit too electric in the beginning and feels too New Jack Swing for my R&B or neo-soul tastes throughout, but it's still nice.

It sounds like I'm just griping about the album and not giving it any props whatsoever. I give this album a 3.85 out of 5 on a scale of 1 to 5 for two reasons. The first reason is the driving force behind the music, the band. I have no idea who Maxwell tapped for this project (I'd know if I had the CD case nearby but I don't feel like going to the car this late) but on every song they hit it out of the park. It was first notable on Pretty Wings but they really shine, alongside Maxwell's voice that is (Phoenix Rise is their time to do it solo and they do it well) is Fistful of Tears. They aren't just a good match for Maxwell's voice; they're a nearly flawless match.

Reason two for the score is the shift. I said earlier that this wasn't neo-soul; it was R&B. As poetic as Maxwell is the band he can attribute so much positive influence to keeps the sound very R&B and even occasionally electronic. Maxwell himself doesn't vary up his subject matter enough to break the mold exponentially and even if you break down the genres this album falls into (neo-soul, R&B and "funk") its still a bit discombobulated.

When I first heard about the band behind Maxwell's newest venture I thought about my favorite album of all time, Hot Buttered Soul by Isaac Hayes and his band. I say Issac Hayes and his band because they own that album just as much Isaac Hayes did. While it was only four tracks long the band took over 80% of the first track, 80% of the second, 15% of the fourth and they were in total sync, the band and the late great Mr. Hayes, on the epic final track. They were in perfect sync the entire way but when I heard BLACKsummers'night I expected something along the same lines. This is not a criticism so much as an expectation. If anything it bumped my score up from 3.5 to 3.85 because BLACKsummers'night is part one of a trilogy and I have a feeling that blackSUMMERS'night is going to be more of what I wanted and blacksummers'NIGHT will be the new Hot Buttered Soul. I know I'm aiming a bit high here and putting a bit of pressure on Maxwell but he's been pushing for that number two spot of my top neo-soul singers list since Fortunate and by all accounts this LP sound have done the deed.

While he won't dethrone Erykah Badu's fine ass anytime soon he's still carrying the bronze in my book and that's adequate. This album is good, real good, but he switched it up a little too much with a little too much warning. I can't complain, however, because this is the best R&B album I've heard in a long time. I can't wait until next year's blackSUMMERS'night so I can enjoy yet another dose of good music from what my friend calls "part of the Neo-Soul Holy Trinity."

Rating: 3.85 out of 5