December 2008 | blackfilm.com | Blacktrospective 2008

December 2008

2008: TAKE A LOOK BLACK

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2008: TAKE A LOOK BLACK
Commentary by Editor Wilson Morales

As we close out one year, and enter another, it's time to reflect on the year that brought out many exceptional performances and gave the black industry a serious boost in business from the all facets.

The year opened with a couple of films that didn’t live up to its potential, from ‘Be Kind Rewind’ with Mos Def starring with Jack Black to ‘First Sunday’ starring Ice Cube, Katt Williams and directed by playwright David Talbot, to How She Move, the latest dance film in which Keyshia Cole replaced all of Mya’s scenes from the film.

Tyler Perry’s trend of having two films out a year continued with ‘Meet the Browns’, which starred Angela Bassett, and ‘The Family That Preys’ with Sanaa Lathan. While the former didn’t get the best of review and did nothing for Angela Bassett’s career, ‘Preys’ showcased a range in Lathan’s acting we hadn’t seen before. She doesn’t have to be good girl all the time and she played on that. The film also marked the return of Robin Givens to the big screen.

Speaking of returns, Gina Prince-Bythewood got back in the game with a powerful cast in ‘The Secret Life of Bees’. Playing in limited theaters, the film has done extremely well, grossing close to $40 million of an $11 million budget.

If you didn’t live in the area where it played, then one would have had to travel far to see ‘Noah’s Arc: Jumping The Broom’, which brought the entire cast back from the cancelled cable show. Also on the scene were ‘Ballast’, which had non-professionals in the film and ‘A Good Day to be Black and Sexy’, which got picked after being at Sundance.

Spike Lee was back on the scene with latest and first war film, ‘Miracle at St. Anna’. Starring Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Omar Benson Miller, and Laz Alonso, and featuring numerous up and coming talent, it had the Oscar buzz written for a long time; but at nearly three hours, the film failed to pick up an audience at the box office.

The same can be said for Malcolm Lee’s second film of the year, ‘Soul Men’, which featured the last performances of comedian Bernie Man and Isaac Hayes, who died days apart from each other. The film earned only $5 million dollars at the box office during its opening week, while Mac’s other film, the animated ‘Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa’ took in $63 million. You just compete against kid films. Lee’s earlier film, ‘Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins’ featured a crop of talented comedians from Martin Lawrence to Mike Epps to the hilarious Mo’Nique.

The reigning king of the box office, Will Smith, had a topsy turvy year if you count the reviews along with the box office. ‘Hancock’ didn’t exactly fare well with critics, but did an amazing job at the box office worldwide, grossing nearly $600 million dollars; while his other film ‘Seven Pounds’ stopped his streak of number #1 openings and landed on a some ‘worst films of the year’ lists.

And finally, we must pay respects to the talent that paved the way for many to be in this business and helped spread the word within the black community. Veterans like Eartha Kitt, Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes will be missed.

Page 1 - Introduction
Page 2 - Film
Page 3 - Directors
Page 4 - Notable Producers Page 5 - Lead Actors/Actresses
Page 6 - Supporting Actors/Actresses
Page 7 - Breakthrough Performances
Page 8 - Screen Wirters Page 9 - Hardest Working
Page 10 - Documentaires
Page 11 - Rest in Peace

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