Darkness and Light

My plan yesterday was to post about how The Hills Have Eyes is the first wide release movie of 2006 that I've seen and enjoyed. If "enjoyed" is the right word for the story of a family stranded in the desert who become prey for a band of mutant cannibals. This is brutal stuff, and not for anyone who doesn't have a taste for those kinds of things, but it's also very good for what it is: tense, gritty, psychologically disturbing and even a little bit smart. This is horror that hits you where it hurts (the version I saw was an early "NC-17" cut, although from what I've read the theatrical "R-rated" version is shocking enough).

The ensemble cast is quite good: stalwarts Ted Levine and Kathleen Quinlan are the parents, Eyes Wide Shut's Vinessa Shaw and Lost's Emilie de Ravin are the pretty blonde daughters and cast standouts Aaron Stanford and Dan Byrd are the young men of the family. The film is also a big step up for director Alexandre Aja, who showed a lot of style, but not much smarts, with last year's High Tension. Yet I understand how watching a nice Middle American family get torn limb from limb before the survivors take their grisly revenge is not everyone's idea of an enjoyable night at the movies.

So I'm glad that last night I caught Dave Chappelle's Block Party (good call Justin!), the best film I've seen of this young year and something I can recommend to just about anyone. I know it's something I'll remember at year's end.

I wouldn't have expected much from this (possibly because I'm one of the country's only twentysomethings who has never seen an episode of Chappelle's insanely popular Comedy Central show) but in retrospect I have no idea why. I know Chappelle is funny, I love (or really like) many of the musical artists who perform and the director is Michel Gondry (of 2004's best movie: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Block Party is pure joy, a documentary/comedy/concert film hybrid that is so unrelentingly positive I have a hard time believing anyone could walk away from this movie unimpressed.

About a year and a half ago Chappelle decided to throw a giant block party in Brooklyn. He invited some of the best hip-hop/neo-soul acts around (Kanye West, The Roots, Mos Def, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and even a reunited Fugees) and bused in residents of his Dayton, Ohio community to mix with New Yorkers. The result is truly something to behold.

The music is electrifying: whether it's West tearing into "Jesus Walks" with a high school marching band from Ohio or the awe-inspiring Scott joining Badu and The Roots on "You Got Me" or Def mixing it up with Common and Talib Kweli for several tracks, the result is a powerful sensation of unfiltered bliss. (There's so much more to hip-hop than a film like Hustle & Flow allows for.)

I wanted a little more from some of those performances (some songs are cut off too soon or interrupted) but all of the material is so good—Chappelle's comedy, the "real people" interviews and the music—that it really doesn't matter where the film strays. And I have a feeling we'll be able to see more of everything on the DVD, a format where I think this movie will transform from pretty great to simply classic.