Can A Brotha Get A Phoenix? (Or just Kanye and Miss Ebanks)

Kanye West's long talked about 35-minute short-movie “Runaway” (below) premiered on MTV, MTV2, and BET Saturday night. In the movie a phoenix (played by model Selita Ebanks) falls to earth, crashing Kanye’s car. He, then, takes her to his home, falls in love with her, and tries to help her adapt to this world in hopes she’ll be accepted by humans, but she is not. It features nine songs off Kanye’s upcoming album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, to be released November 22. While the film was packed with creative, awe-inspiring scenes featuring lively colors, interesting shots, and amazing cinematography, the one thing you couldn’t take your eyes off of was model Ms. Ebanks.

Basically naked with feathers covering her privates and wings on her back, Ebanks looks like a bird – a sexy bird. She doesn’t speak much but she doesn’t have to. She stole the movie just by standing there. According to my twitter feed, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t take my eyes off her. In case you missed it, peep the photos of Ebanks and you’ll see what I mean. If all birds looked like this, I’d house an aviary.

I also posted this for Men's Health magazine blog "The Cache" here.

Movie "Never Back Down" Is Very Motivating

I saw this movie for the first time today and I couldn't change the channel. I know the acting in this movie isn't the greatest, but the fight scenes are pretty good. It made me want to go work out immediately (too bad the YMCA wasn't open today). It's made me want to work my butt off even more. Though he's probably a lot smaller than me, I'd like for my body to look like Cam Gigandet's in this movie. It's ripped to shreds. That's what I'm aiming for and I don't care what my weight is.

Anyways, the fighting is motivating and Amber Heard, the female love interest in the movie, is very hot. Go get this movie. Oh, and the soundtrack is good for working out too.

I Guess I Better Go See Slumdog Millionaire

I should’ve known Slumdog Millionaire would be the biggest winner of the night because every time I’d tell someone that I haven’t seen the movie they’d look at me like I had eight heads. Believe it or not, I don’t have eight heads but Slumdog took home eight Academy Awards last night, nearly pulling off a full sweep. The victorious night was just a part of the ride on the wave of success that includes big wins at the Golden Globes, Writers Guild, Directors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television Awards.

When I first heard about this film months ago it seemed like another independent film that would go nowhere. The fact that it isn’t really an American film made me wonder why so many people were dying to see it. Though, Slumdog did have its troubles, as it was nearly put straight to DVD in America after its initial studio closed.

Though I have yet to see the film, I applaud Slumdog, and everyone who worked on it. About a month ago I had no idea who director, Danny Boyle was and now I’ll be paying attention to other films that he directs – given that I’ll like Slumdog. I heard it’ll be showing on the IU campus for free within the next few weeks, and you can bet I’ll be in attendance.

Diddy Takes Home Two NCAAP Image Awards

My number one role model, Sean Combs, took home two NAACP Image Awards last Thursday for his star role in the special three-hour movie adaptation of "A Raisin In The Sun", of which he also executive produced. The awards he nabbed were Best Actor In A Television Movie, Miniseries or Dramatic Special as well as producer honors for the same category.

I actually own this movie and can honestly tell you that Combs did a wonderful job portraying Walter Lee Younger, a man hurt and left disgruntled by the dire situation of his family's poverty and lack of respect as a black man. The role was played by Sidney Poitier in 1961 and Danny Glover in 1989. Combs was no Poitier, but he did more than hold his own.

I encourage you to go check out this movie, as it will change your perspective on life and you'll realized how bless we really are despite these hard economic times. Also, get a glimpse inside black America in the Midwest in 1950's.

Below is a video from Diddy's video blog on via Youtube. Check out his speech and reaction. It's great. And I love what he says at the end, "If you dream and believe you can achieve." He's such an inspiration to me. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Benjamin Button Could Change Your Life

Just saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with my girlfriend and I must say that it’s one of my favorite movies and one of the best I’ve ever seen. It didn’t win any Golden Globes and I’m not sure why.

I could talk about the details of the movie and how great the acting was but that’s not why it’s one of my favorites. The movie made me think about my family and all of my loved ones. I thought about the people who affect our lives and what they mean to us, or what we mean to them. Who have we impacted and why? What would people say about you? I specifically thought about my parents and how they’re aging. They’re not really old (my dad will be 55 this year, while my mom is 52) but it’s not often when you think about your parents growing older. You just see them as mom and dad. Thinking about this made me tear up.

In the movie, Benjamin sees many loved ones pass away and has many people who leave and come back into his life. This is truly how life is. There are people who affect our lives greatly but we, somehow, won’t even remember the most important things about them. Like the woman who taught Benjamin how to play the piano. He couldn’t even remember her name, but he knew she had impacted his life. I can relate to this.

Benjamin met many interesting characters throughout his life. Some were comical, some more serious, some made him who he was. Think about those people in your life. Tell them how much they mean to you. These are the people you’ll never forget. They provide experiences, opportunities and love. It was said in the movie that we are defined by the opportunities we have. That is true and we are also defined by the decisions we make, which is what we do with our opportunities.

As Benjamin grew younger everyone else grew older, including the love of his life. This was hard to see, as I knew they’d never be a normal couple. He’d have to watch her fade away, while he grew into a young man. Think about the one you love. You may not be growing younger, but one day we will fade away. You want to be able to say that you took nothing for granted. This goes for the love of your life as well as everyone you encounter. Make an impact. Show some love. I’ve realized that I’m not the nicest person in the world, but this movie makes me want to be a better person.

I recommend this movie to everyone. It’ll make you think about your life, your loved ones and what this life means to you. You’ll want to pay attention to others more, including people you don’t know. For example, this movie makes me want to go sit and have conversation with an elderly man to hear his stories and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

The lives we live are gifts. We need to maximize our gifts and live life to the fullest. And, in the mean time, allow others to make a difference in our lives while we make differences in theirs.