LUV
So much of director-cowriter Sheldon Candis’ LUV demonstrates a singularity of vision and maturity of craft. With the city of Baltimore as a backdrop/character in its own right—similar to its “role” in the iconic TV show The Wire, an association alluded to with the casting of Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar) as a harassing cop—the filmmaker has produced an intensely personal movie and discovered an immense young talent in Michael Rainey Jr. But Candis doesn’t trust his himself to pull it off, weighing the film down with a disconnected score that pushes an otherwise edgy story into melodrama.... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsThe Odd Life of Timothy Green
The Odd Life of Timothy Green is an odd, at-times moving meditation on parenthood—the desire to be a parent and the challenges of being one—wrapped in a fairy tale with creepy side-effects. Kid-friendly but not for kids, writer-director Peter Hedges’ family fantasy drama is sentimental and slickly produced—as well as thinly plotted and somewhat thematically disquieting.... read more
Found in: Movies, ReviewsThe 20 Best Acting Performances of Sundance 2012
Sundance isn't just a place where great directors are born and grow, it's also the home of some of the best acting performances of each year in film. Paste film editor Michael Dunaway and contributing writer Jeremy Matthews each pick their 10 favorites. read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayCommon: The Dreamer/The Believer
2011 has been a banner year for experimental hip-hop. OFWGKTA, Das Racist and Big K.R.I.T. brought mixtape hip-hop to the mainstream, The Roots made a concept album based around a Sufjan Stevens song, The Weeknd and Frank Ocean propelled what could be done in rap production, and Jay-Z & Kanye West decided to sample _Blades of Glory_ and rap about fish filets. It’s been a interesting 2011. But at the end of the year, we get the last important hip-hop release of 2011, Common’s _The Dreamer/The Believer_, which sounds like Common has decided to ignore the trends of the past few years and remain decidedly grounded in 90s hip-hop, a sound that works best for him. read more
Found in: Music, ReviewsWatch Common's Dream Documentary
During Common’s recent trip to Haiti, the rapper-actor filmed the music video for “Sweet” but also put together a documentary. The footage compiled was created for CNN and focuses on Haitian children forced into slavery. read more
Found in: Culture, NewsCommon's Memoirs To Be Published Next Month
On September 13th, Common's memoirs entitled One Day It'll All Make Sense, will be released through Atria Books. After the success of Jay-Z's book of memoirs from last year, Common's memoirs are already getting big endorsements including Maya Angelou, who is featured with a glowing quote on the cover of the book. read more
Found in: Books, NewsWatch Common and Nas in the Studio
When Common didn’t drop “Ghetto Dreams,” his collaboration with Nas, on the day he said he was going to, Nas got a little impatient. Taking to Twitter, the seasoned rapper said, “I’m giving @common 15 minutes or I’m putting this shit out myself! #GhettoDreams.” Staying true to his word, Nas posted that sucker, forcing Common to finally release it officially on iTunes with an old buddy shot of the duo as the single’s cover art. We assume there’s no hard feelings, however, as the artwork for the single features an old buddy shot of the duo from the ’90s. As... read more
Found in: Music, News15 Unexpected Musical Collaborations
The news of Lou Reed and Metallica making an album together elicited many different reactions, from Velvet Underground fans crying, “Sell out!” to Metallica fans asking, “Who’s Lou Reed?”... read more
Found in: Blogs, List of the DayJon Stewart Raps His Opinion on the Common Controversy
FOX News been extremely verbal about their distaste for Common’s invite to the White House, and The Daily Show host Jon Stewart recently expressed his distaste for their unfounded claims with some verbal stylings of his own.... read more
Found in: Blogs, Awesome of the DayCommon Caught in White House Controversy
The White House has been receiving a lot of criticism from conservatives recently for inviting rapper Common to a poetry event. Fox Nation called Common a “vile rapper,” referring to the purported vulgarity of his lyrics.... read more
Found in: Music, News
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