SGN Page 26

Two films that inspire, thrill and in all ways get the heart a-pumpin'

Two films that inspire, thrill and in all ways get the heart a-pumpin'
by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid - SGN A&E Writer Rize Directed by Dave LaChapelle Starring a lot of lithe dancers Now Playing Fantastic Four Directed by Tim Story Starring Joan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Laurie Holden, Hamish Linklater, Maria Menounos Now Playing Okay, I'll just say it. I'm not cool with folks who haven't lived a certain culture's value system, or struggled their struggle, trying to review something about that culture and criticizing what they don't understand, or have never experienced. There, that off my chest, I can say that Rize, a film about a dance form that sprung up after the riots following the Rodney King riots, is the most refreshing, honest and downright uplifting film I have seen this year. It bumps, grinds, rocks and screams with a furious beauty that is undeniable and incomparable to anything you might have seen before. Director Dave LaChapelle documented a group of young Blacks, Asian-Americans and one white kid (though undoubtedly there are more out there he didn't get on film) as they stage "krumping" contests on the streets of South Central, L.A. The "krumpers," who partially paint their faces, similar to African tribes are the off-shoot of a group calling themselves "Clowns," all of whom have in common that they dance rather than fight, using art to direct their anger or frustration instead of bullets. The documentary moves from scenes of this wild dancing, to scenes of the devastated streets around South Central, to interviews with some of the "clowns" and "krumpers," who often share stories of mindboggling violent life experiences. The style LaChapelle uses is often like that of a news camera capturing footage of the aftermath of a crime scene, so the film's urgency cannot be missed, and the movement and style of each dancer is likened to African tribal dance at one point in the film. This I would have liked to have seen more of, and to see the little known tribe of all women warriors a friend once told me about, showing the correlation between the female "krumpers." Still, the film resonates with an authenticity I can totally relate to, having been raised in an all-Black, poor neighborhood in Houston, Texas, and having visited relatives who now live in East L.A. several years ago. Rize is an immediate, visceral experience, not for the faint of heart or those who expect to have the message served to them on a platter. It gets down to the grit of what it's like to be poor and Black in America and yet have a talent that will not die. Go see it and it'll make you want to cheer, believe me. Though I left the Marvel universe of comics some time ago for edgier underground "splattergore" comics like Sade, Razor and even stranger comics from the Mangarotca diaspora, I still have a soft place in my heart for the heroes from Marvel that kept me sane as a little girl. I loved the idea that there might be, somewhere, in some universe, people who could fly (even if it was only from Stan Lee's imagination), or turn their bodies into flame at will. Thus, watching the newest in a series of comic book-based films, I felt absolutely overjoyed watching Fantastic Four be fleshed out on a big screen last week. The cast is spot on, with Michael Chiklis (The Shield) and Chris Evans who play "The Thing" and "The Torch," respectively being the best of the four. And the special effects rock like no other film that's come out of the comic book garden so far. We get to see how the four got their powers, after they, and their benefactor, Viçto Von Doom (Julian McMahon in yet another villainous role) are bombarded with cosmic radiation when an experiment to test a theory on the nature of human evolution in space, goes horribly wrong. And after this exciting sequence, the film really kicks into gear, with a heroic scene where Ben Grimm (Chiklis) as "The Thing" saves a bunch of fireman about to plunge into the New York harbor, helped by Sue Storm (Jessica Alba, looking as lickable as ever!) and Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd. Oh, and Victor (McMahon) turns out to have powers too, only he chooses to use his for evil purposes, since he's already kind of nutcase anyway, and goes over the edge when he loses both his company and the woman he wants to marry, Sue Story (Alba). And losing her to the geeky Reed Richards (Gruffudd) only makes him more determined to use his newfound "gifts" to wreak havoc and destruction, as well as take down the newly formed Fantastic Four. In short, the film kicks major comic action butt and must be seen to be believed. I loved it, loved it, loved it and could see it a million more times.