The 400

The 400 Club (you may already be a member...)

A couple of weeks ago I received an email that supposedly was forwarded from someone who worked in the California Penal System. In this email, the person claimed that they had firsthand knowledge of a gang war in the California prisons between black and Latino gangs. The war has supposedly escalated to the point that now directives are coming from the prison gang leaders to their capos on the street to kill 400 young Hispanic or Black men by the end of the California summer. One of the ways in which this would be done, would be to shoot at random black or Hispanic men on the California freeways.

Especially in Los Angeles, local authorities have been quick to point out that the number of freeway shootings is not significantly increased over the last couple of years, but this has done nothing to allay fears in the black community of a summer of bloody, senseless violence. Personally, I'm horrified at the idea that innocent black and brown men could be targeted because of a senseless gang war that has been allowed to escalate in California's hothouse penal system. I hope that it's not true, but in it's ghastly illogic, the idea makes just enough sense to be true. It makes me want to go into Pelican Bay or San Quentin and put every gang member there in solitary confinement for the rest of their sentence--if there was enough room for them all.

I guess personally all that I can do is be careful and hope for the best. I refuse to live my life in fear, to be cowed or intimidated by thugs and hooligans--or by government officials and police. So there. But it makes me wonder, where are the real problems of our society? It's not about gay marriage, prayer in schools or even the oil under the ground in Iraq. We have a social crisis in this country, built on a lack of education especially in the inner cities, combined with the commodification of the prison industry that is eating away at the core of our society and putting our future in grave jeopardy. If we don't start dealing with these issues, then there will be a lot more summers of terror ahead for all of us.

Movie Update: Best of the 1/3 Point

Four months into the new year and box office receipts are down drastically. I can't say I blame the public at large--with DVD's more affordable than ever, and video-on-demand becoming more prevalent, we are increasingly not a nation of movie goers even when Hollywood offers a wide array of quality pictures. Sadly, in the first trimester of this year, quality choices have been at a premium.

Since I'm a badass moviegoer who knows what's good and what's not, I not-so-humbly submit my Top 5 movies of the first part of the year. These are also about the only new releases worth running out to see before the massive onslaught of summer releases which is already beginning. So, without further adieu, the Top 5:

1. Crash - Written by Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco. Directed by Paul Haggis. Starring Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Terrence Howard and Sandra Bullock.
Far and away the most thought-provoking early release of 2005 this is a serious exploration of racism that refuses to demonize anyone, instead exploring the prejudices that are bred into each of us with a kaleidoscopic story that seamlessly integrates over a dozen major characters in a two-day period of time. Special attention in the ensemble cast go to Terrence Howard, Don Cheadle and Thandie Newton.

2. The Interpreter - several writers, directed by Sydney Pollack. Stars Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman.
Liberal-minded old school thriller by the master (Pollack) that relies less on wall-to-wall action and more on character and a slow, steady tightening of the plot screws. Good work by the leads, especially Kidman, who continues to get better and better.

3. The Upside of Anger - Written and directed by Mike Binder. Starring Joan Allen & Kevin Costner with Mike Binder, Alicia Witt, Erika Christensen and Keri Russell. Smart comedy about family dysfunction featuring an award worthy performance by Joan Allen as the boozy matriarch trying to keep her family of daughters together once the husband mysteriously runs off.

4. Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy - Co-written by Douglas Adams based on his novels. Directed by Garth Jennings. Starring Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, Mos Def and Zooey Deschanel. Flawed, but still very funny adaptation of the comic cult novels. People have made fun of the low-rent special effects but that's supposed to be part of the movie's charm. Dry, British wit that actually makes a point about the meaning of the universe.

5. Fever Pitch - Written and directed by the Farrely Brothers based on the novel by Nick Hornby. Stars Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon. Normally the terminally cute Fallon really bugs me, but he seems perfectly cast here as a manchild die hard Red Sox fan who finds his love for his team is interfering with his love for his perfect girl (Barrymore). Sweet, funny and smarter than it has to be, this is the only good romantic comedy so far in 2005.

Peace everyone...talk to y'all later this week.