America's Best Dance Crew: Meet the Hip Hop Generation
by Deb Lin
Photos Copyright Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.
America's Best Dance Crew, MTV's Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew is the #1 cable program on Thursday night. It is one of the most recognized television shows in the history of reality dance contests that showcase the multicultural influence of youth hip hop culture, with more than 2.3 million viewers to date. Shot on location in Los Angeles, the dance crews of five to seven members battle for a $100,000 cash prize and the coveted title of the nation's best dance crew. One crew is eliminated each week based on votes from viewers around the country and feedback from the three judges.
The show features as much drama as a Korean soap opera – from the triumphs and controversially premature dethroning of Supreme Soul, to the ultimately humiliating and heartbreaking elimination of Boogie Bots, to the unexpected success and fresh, optimistic dance style of Fanny Pak. Each episode is much more than just a showcase of innovative choreography and acrobatics; it's a peek into the crews' struggles, spirit and inspiration and a reflection of the unflagging pride and hunger within this generation of young adults.
If you have been keeping up with show, you've likely noticed the ethnically diverse crews. Sometimes referred to as the "universal language," hip hop music has an amazing ability to transcend cultures and bring together different communities. DJ Kool Herc, considered by some to be the godfather of hip hop, wrote in the introduction of Jeff Chang's Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation, "To me, hip-hop says, 'Come as you are.' We are a family...It's about you and me, connecting one to one. That's why it has universal appeal. It has given young people a way to understand their world."
Find out how the battle ends on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on MTV or at http://dancecrew.mtv.com.
You can't afford to miss this film if you are a fan of politically incorrect humor and loved seeing Harold and Kumar going to the White Castle!
Now on DVD!
From the San Diego Film Festival
"Lust, Caution" Premiere:
Photos by Justin Peery
See photos from the Tribeca/VC Film Festival 2007
Review: "Three Kingdoms"
Photos Courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival
The film is based on one of China's greatest classical novels, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," a 14th-century work of legends that is revered in much the same way as the tales of King Arthur. For some audiences, these historical roots will be enough reason to see the film. Others will appreciate the sheer spectacle – the film's scenes of combat are incredible feats to behold, and the cinematography takes full advantage of the majestic, barren landscape.
When it comes to the characters of Zilong and Cao Ying; their protrayls are more cartoon than life like, which makes the film fall flat. Zilong, nearing the end of his life and his military career, ponders the purpose of war – but his questioning seems insincere. Cao Ying is a villainess, but she is a one-dimensional villainess, so angry and evil that she becomes a caricature.
However, "Three Kingdoms" will still appeal to an audience who appreciates the history of China and a spectacular cinematography.
– James Hall
Review: "Lost. Indulgence"
*It's no typographical error that "Lost. Indulgence," by prominent Chinese director Zhang Yibai and screenwriter Zhao Tian-yu, to include a period – or in some translations, a comma – in its title. The film, which premiered internationally at the Tribeca Film Festival, reflects on two profoundly human experiences: the loss of someone we love, and the sometimes indulgent way in which we try to cope with that loss through Separate, but related, experiences.
"Lost. Indulgence" tells the story of a family shattered by the mysterious disappearance of its father (Eric Tsang), a taxi driver in industrial Chonqing, China, whose cab plunged into the Yangtze River that led to the assumption of his death; which were never confirmed. But we quickly are engrossed in how the tragedy brings together three solitary souls: the widow, Li (Jiang Wenli); teenage son Xiao-chuan (Tan Jian-ci); and the surviving passenger, Su-dan (Karen Mok) – a beautiful, nightclubbing stranger who may hold the secret behind the accident.
Each attempts to deal with the aftermath. Unable to pay Su-dan's hospital bills, as Chinese tradition would demand, Li and Xiao-chuan take her into their home. Mother and son act as nurses to the recovering girl, while probing the wound of the father's death. Xiao-chuan becomes infatuated with the survivor and the mysterious last minutes she spent with his father. Li resorts to the comfort of a handsome, younger man (Hong Kong rock star Eason Chan), who helps her afford caring for Su-dan.
"Lost. Indulgence" tells its story with understated dialogue, striking cinematography and a gritty, moody landscape that evokes New York as easily as urban China. We see repeated images of a bridge under construction across the Yangtze – two melancholy arches stretching from the riverbanks and not touching, a symbolism that reminds us that there's no easy answer or explanation for the loss of a loved one. Only acceptance, a secondary definition of the word "indulgence." Period.
– James Hall
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