The Michigan Daily -Weekend etc. Thursday, January ~ g.
199POO
1. ForrestGreen III most definitely
knows what time it is, even though my
inspiration for this formatisGreg Tate's
"Diary of a Bug."
2. Speaking of Greg Tate, a collec-
tion of his essays titled "Flyboy in the
Buttermilk," quite frankdy, changed
my life. This New York-based brother
writes much like Spike Lee makes
films; using the main topic as a spring-
board to make observations on any-
thing and everything. Tate's essays
range from music (Sun Ra, A.R. Kane,
Bad Brains), to literature (William
Gibson), to art (Jean-Michel Basquiat)
to anything else relevant to contempo-
rary America. The man is brilliant.
Buy this book today.
I
B
H
3. If 1991 was the year that punk
broke, then 1992 was the year that the
hip hop nation bumrushed our collec-
tive consciousness. Ice Cube sold more
discs than even Garth Brooks, and
well-scrubbed suburban kids sported
hip hop gear like there was no tomor-
row (if I see another tie-top woolie I'm
gonna scream). Shee even our presi-
dential candidates both attempted to
manipulate rap artists as tools to get
(re-)elected. If nothing else, George
Bush's dissing of Body Count's "Cop
Killer" put new life into an album that
was dead in the water.And Ice-T got
paid.
- 4. Speaking of Body Count, am I
the only person that recognized their
album's blatant middle-finger taunt at
the so-called "Rock Music" industry?
Come on, that album might as well
have been called "Spinal Black." It
totally made fun of the posturing and
over the top imagery of heavy metal in
it's worst form. A postmodernist ex-
pression misinterpreted as a call to
arms. Ya just gotta laugh.
5. While we're talking about paro-
dies, let me be the first to flat-out dis
House of Pain as imitation "negroes"
that need to be put out to pasture along
with their patron saint, Vanilla Ice. I
just can't be down with these cats
putting out a half-assed album and
getting props like it's the hip hop "Sgt.
Pepper," while true dope joints byBack
rappers (Gang Starr, Pharcyde, Main
Source, etc.) got slept on. Black cul-
ture will always be "in," but never
Black people.
6. The LA riots finally woke
Americaupto the fact thatwhen pushed
too far, brothers and sisters gonnawork
it out just like America's forefathers
taught us to. At least the action didn't
roll out into the 'burbs; You thought
Desert Storm was something...
7. "Malcolm X" was a great film
(give or take the last 10 minutes) and in
my book, Spike Lee is America's pre-
mier filmmaker. Coppola? If Spike
ever put out some dreck like "Dracula,"
he couldn't get cash for a home movie.
8. This is a good place to give a
shout out to (Nubian Princess) Leah. A
spin of Paris' "Assata's Song" (From
his amazing new disc "Sleeping With
The Enemy") to ya. XOXO.
9. The biggest ups of 1992 to
Russell Simmons, CEO of Rush Com-
munications (RunbypresidentCarmen
Ashuerst-Watson,aBlack woman.You
go, girl!).At35, thisbrotherhaspooled
much African talent, played the capi-
talist game, and created a $34 million
Black enterprise. Instead of always
being the entertainer, we need to fol-
low his lead and get busybehind the
scenes (i.e. counting the cash).
X. You can't turn on the TV with-
out seeing more stuff about that "mur-
der of hate" that went down in S.C. I
even saw some cat on the news talking
"Malcolm X"
The best films of 1992
were buried treasures
by Aaron Hamburger
f there's one lesson to be learned from the year in cinema, it's don't
believe the hype. 1992 was one of the best years for movies since 1986,
when great films came from independent filmmakers like David Lynch
and James Ivory, established auteurs like Martin Scorsese and Woody
Allen, and a new director named Oliver Stone. This year there were plenty of fine
films for serious moviegoers, if you knew where to look.
Unfortunately, the really fine films of the year were practically buried under-
neath all the silly personal squabbles and beside-the-point controversies which
grabbed all the headlines. While the press was busy reporting on the latest riff in
the Woody and Mia break-up, they completely missed the fact that Allen's latest
film "Husbands and Wives" was one of his best ever. And while columnists
debated whether or not Malcolm X was an appropriate model for African
Americans, nobody bothered to mention that Spike Lee had made a masterpiece.
Meanwhile, mediocre Hollywood offerings like "Lethal Weapon 3," "Sister Act,"
and "A League of Their Own" dominated the box office.
The movies that got the most attention this year often proved to be the biggest
disappointments. At no time has this been more true than during the Thanksgiving-
Christmas season, when Hollywood releases its heavy hitters for Oscar contention.
For example, do you know anybody who likes "Bram Stoker's Dracula," which
featured flashy sets and camerawork but not much else? And then there's Danny
DeVito's "Hoffa," with a dynamic Jack Nicholson thrashing around for two hours.
Barry Levinson knew he had a dog on his hands with "Toys," so he attempted to
lure audiences with a funny trailer that had Robin Williams being hilarious in the
middle of a field but not a single frame of footage from the film.
A handful of films from the studios lived up to their advance word. "Wayne's
World" was amusing if you were lucky enough to see it before your friends got a
chance to quote you every single funny line beforehand. The much-maligned
"Batman Returns" was actually one of the most inventive American films in recent
years and featured the best performance of the year: Michelle Pfeiffer as Cat woman
(as well as the most wooden performance of the year from Michael Keaton as
Batman). The can't-miss project of 1992, "A Few Good Men" with Rob Reiner,
Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson behind it, did not miss. Cowboys and Indians once
again entertained theatergoers with "Unforgiven" and "Last of the Mohicans."
And "Aladdin" single-handedly revitalized a genre that was swiftly descending
into a pit of insufferably cute treacle, the animated film, with astounding animation
and Robin Williams' comic genius genie.
But it was independent cinema that really made the year in film such a smashing
success. Longtime independents Merchant/Ivory came up with the year's most
accomplished movie, "Howards End." Miramax advertised that its squishy "En-
chanted April" was actually better than "Howards End." They were wrong of
course, but the movie was a delightful version of the English-go-to-Italy-to-loosen
up routine. Robert Altman "came back" with his celebrity-studded satire on Bruce
Willis and Julia Roberts, among other things, "The Player." David Mamet's
annoying dialogue reared its ugly head again this year with "Glengarry Glen Ross,"
though many critics enjoyed being hammered over the head with this shallow, one-
note take on that reliable target, American capitalism. Quentin Tarantino was the
breakthrough artist of the year with his film festival hit "Reservoir Dogs." The star
of "Dogs," Harvey Keitel, was also on view, masturbating, in Abel Ferrara's "The
Bad Lieutenant." Robert Redford isn't exactly an independent, but his Sundance
Institute and Film Festival has launched many an independent filmmaker. This
year Redford made his own mark with "A River Runs Through It," a touching,
beautifully-photographed record of an American family.
The best thing about 1992 is that it's not over yet. Several of the year's best
films, which premiered in New York and Los Angeles for Oscar consideration are
just now making their way to the Midwest. These include "Scent of a Woman"
which features Al Pacino's likely Oscar-winning performance and "Lorenzo's
Oil," with Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon. Imports like "Damage" with Jeremy
Irons and Neil Jordan's widely-praised "The Crying Game" (relax, they're in
English) will soon make their appearances as well.
"Husbands and Wives"
"Unforgiven"
"Howards End"
"Aladdin"
"Glengarry Glen Ross"
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