Retromatic Movie of The Week: Darkman

In 1990 filmmaker Sam Raimi wrote and directed a dark, semi-humorous, cynical, satirical piece of cinema called DARKMAN. In the film unassuming badass Liam Neeson plays scientist Peyton Westlake. A man left for dead after a brutal attack by a vicious mobster named Durrant and his...well, mob for lack of a better term by order of a lawless, greedy land developer named Louis Strack Jr. In retrospect actually Durrant's "mob" were more like a gang of thugs so yeah, gang, whatever. Anyways after being beaten and blown up and his girlfriend, played by Frances McDormand believing him dead Westlake finds himself alive & recovering in a hospital, his mind, body & soul horribly disfigured. He also finds that as a result of his injuries his brain can no longer communicate sensations of pain to his body ultimately endowing with the ability to feel no pain. Oh yeah, he also gains the ability of incalculable blinding rage that makes him freakishly strong, durable and also fuels his unwavering lust for sweet, violent revenge. Check out the original trailer. The film was pretty well received by critics & audiences making $49 million at the box office from a $16 million budget and gaining cult film status from fanboys like me. Because of this success Darkman managed to spawn 2 direct to video sequels, DARKMAN II: THE RETURN OF DURRANT & DARKMAN III: DIE, DARKMAN DIE (to which he promptly replied, no). The Darkman craze didn't stop there, oh no Marvel comics published a 3 issue run of the Darkman title and then brought him back again for a 6 issue run. Dynamite comics even brought him back in 2006 to fight Sam Raimi's other cult favorite character, Ash Williams from the EVIL DEAD franchise.

So you've got violence, revenge, love, dark humor and redemption with Sam Raimi behind the lens capturing it all for your viewing pleasure and Danny Elfman providing a dope score. You can't do much better than that. This is one of my personal favorite picks and if you haven't seen it I strongly recommend you do. I find the film is best watched after a bad day at the office over a blunt & pepsi perferrably with Jack Daniels in it. Now go, go live your dreams of unmitigated violent revenge vicariously through this excellent film. Rating: 4.5/ 5 ninja stars.

Retromatic Movie Of The Week: Class Of 1999

The year was 1990 and sh!t was kinda rough out there. The crack era was in full swing. We had a Bush in office. Brothas were gettin' shot for Jordans & 8 ball jackets. And Vanilla Ice had the number one song in the country. Like i said sh!t was rough out there. The world was a crazy place to be so like any other self respecting generation we channeled our anxiety & angst into thought provoking art. Enter film maker Mark L. Lester who spoke to rampant & vastly declining urban education system with our Retromatic movie of the week: CLASS OF 1999. Check out the trailer.



Whoa, where's gentrification when you need it? (just kidding, f@ck gentrification) As you could see in 1999 our schools were basically comprised of kids who's parents made them watch Beyond Thunderdome one too many times and violence. We were on the brink of oblivion. Then came Stacy Keach, a white haired, crazy-eyed Stacy Keach. So the Keach plays Dr. Bob Forrest, basically a super villain who unleashes military kill bots on an unsuspecting "at risk" Seattle High School to teach & counsel the unruly students dressed like Mad Max extras. For awhile everybody is cool until the kill borgs start to malfunction and this happens...



It's at this time the students start to suspect something is really f@cking wrong with these teachers and start to uncover the sinister plot that has befallen their school and fight back against the scourge of education that are these government issue murder bots. But not before the teachers wig out and kill a few of the students. Did i mention that Pam Grier was in this too? I don't wanna give away too much more but its B movie excellence that should not be missed.

rating: 3.5/5 ninja stars.

Retromatic Movie Of The Week: White Men Can't Jump

Despite what Larry Bird would have you believe in 1992 white men couldn't jump. This fact was perpetuated by the declining PC rhetoric & rising black pride and awareness of the 90's (what happened to that shit). The last remaining cliches of these misinformed stereotypes involved the racial male genitalia & female hind parts. But i digress this post isn't about black power & the white man's leaping ability, well maybe the latter.

On March 27th 1992 Twentieth Century Fox released a basketball movie about race relations and other comedic, hued hijinks in Southern California. Starring a pre-Blade Wesley Snipes, a pre-Zombieland Woody Harrelson, ex-Fly Girl Rosie Perez and a charming supporting turn by a post-A Different World Kadeem Hardison. Oh yeah, and Alex Trebek, bitches. How's that for an emsemble cast?? Uhh, Suck it Soderbergh! Check out the original trailer...



Written & directed by Ron Shelton, the creator of BULL DURHAM (google it), WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP tells the harrowing tale of two pretty ok, morally moderate guys Billy Hoyle (Harrelson) & Sydney Deane (Snipes) who happen to be the best street ballers on the black tops of Southern California.

Sydney is a working class ball hustler with a family to feed and Billy, a pretty classy ball hustler with a girlfriend (Perez) to feed. Through a series of racially hilarious, athletic events they join forces to get this money conning their way from town to town from basketball court to basketball court where much "hued hijinks" ensues. Sydney's trying to keep his & his family's head above water. Billy's trying to keep himself alive & his girlfriend happy. The main conflict comes from the two butting heads in agenda, morality & ethnicity. Oh and did I forget to mention mawf@$#in' Alex Trebek makes a cameo in this bitch(oh i did? oh ok cool.)?!

It did pretty well at the box office and was moderately received by critics. I went to see it when i was like 9 years-old with my Aunt & cousin and my aunt would cover our eyes during the sex scene. Oh yeah there's a pretty decent sex scene featuring Rosie Perez in her prime. Unfortunately Harrelson is in there somewhere too.

Along with memorable characters a solid yet quirky plot & Alex Trebek. WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP: The Movie also boasts a pretty dope soundtrack. Among those songs was this single...



Yup mawf@ckin' Main Source, hoe!

So in summary we got a buddy flick centered around hilarious race relations, basketball & getting over, a sex scene featuring Rosie Perez. Alex "motherf@ckin'" Trebek and a soundtrack that features a dope Main Source track. Personally i see no reason why you shouldn't dig this. Check it out yo!

Rating: 4 out of 5 ninja stars

Warren Buffet- "Stop Coddling The Rich" (editorial)

OUR leaders have asked for “shared sacrifice.” But when they did the asking, they spared me. I checked with my mega-rich friends to learn what pain they were expecting. They, too, were left untouched.

While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate. Others own stock index futures for 10 minutes and have 60 percent of their gain taxed at 15 percent, as if they’d been long-term investors.

These and other blessings are showered upon us by legislators in Washington who feel compelled to protect us, much as if we were spotted owls or some other endangered species. It’s nice to have friends in high places.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

If you make money with money, as some of my super-rich friends do, your percentage may be a bit lower than mine. But if you earn money from a job, your percentage will surely exceed mine — most likely by a lot.

To understand why, you need to examine the sources of government revenue. Last year about 80 percent of these revenues came from personal income taxes and payroll taxes. The mega-rich pay income taxes at a rate of 15 percent on most of their earnings but pay practically nothing in payroll taxes. It’s a different story for the middle class: typically, they fall into the 15 percent and 25 percent income tax brackets, and then are hit with heavy payroll taxes to boot.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, tax rates for the rich were far higher, and my percentage rate was in the middle of the pack. According to a theory I sometimes hear, I should have thrown a fit and refused to invest because of the elevated tax rates on capital gains and dividends.

I didn’t refuse, nor did others. I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.

Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.

The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)

I know well many of the mega-rich and, by and large, they are very decent people. They love America and appreciate the opportunity this country has given them. Many have joined the Giving Pledge, promising to give most of their wealth to philanthropy. Most wouldn’t mind being told to pay more in taxes as well, particularly when so many of their fellow citizens are truly suffering.

Twelve members of Congress will soon take on the crucial job of rearranging our country’s finances. They’ve been instructed to devise a plan that reduces the 10-year deficit by at least $1.5 trillion. It’s vital, however, that they achieve far more than that. Americans are rapidly losing faith in the ability of Congress to deal with our country’s fiscal problems. Only action that is immediate, real and very substantial will prevent that doubt from morphing into hopelessness. That feeling can create its own reality.

Job one for the 12 is to pare down some future promises that even a rich America can’t fulfill. Big money must be saved here. The 12 should then turn to the issue of revenues. I would leave rates for 99.7 percent of taxpayers unchanged and continue the current 2-percentage-point reduction in the employee contribution to the payroll tax. This cut helps the poor and the middle class, who need every break they can get.

But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in 2009 — I would raise rates immediately on taxable income in excess of $1 million, including, of course, dividends and capital gains. And for those who make $10 million or more — there were 8,274 in 2009 — I would suggest an additional increase in rate.

My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.

Warren E. Buffett is the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway. Spotted at nytimes.com.