Denzel Washington’s “Flight” lands on the silver screen this weekend and I predict Washington will deliver an Oscar-winning performance in a movie that’s going to have you gripping your armrests, it’s so tense. This is the stuff dreams are truly made of, the kind of role that gets under your skin and you watch every nuance and flicker of the eyelid to see how this brother is going to handle being glorified only to be vilified by the powers that be.
In this action-packed mystery thriller, Academy Award-winner Washington stars as Whip Whitaker, a seasoned airline pilot, who miraculously crash-lands his plane after a mid-air catastrophe, saving nearly every soul on board. After the crash, Whip is hailed as a hero, but as an investigation proceeds, more questions than answers arise as to who or what was really at fault and what really happened on that plane?
To be sure Whip has some demons, but he’s convinced that his situation is not that unusual. Still, under such close investigations, things are blown to high heaven. And Whip is going to need not only good lawyers but good friends to rally around him.
His friend, and union representative Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood) takes on his case, as does the canny, sincere lawyer Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle). Whip’s droll pal Harling Mays (John Goodman) is also around for support, if not always the moral kind. Along the way, Whip meets a kindred spirit, Nicole (Kelly Reilly). A down-on-her-luck photographer and recovering substance abuser, Nicole may be just what Whip needs. If only Whip could figure out exactly what that is.
“Flight” is in theaters Friday. Get on board for the ride of your life.
Also out this Friday is Quentin Tarantino’s “The Man With the Iron Fists.” It is said that this movie puts the FU in kung fu. On a hunt for a fabled treasure of gold, a band of warriors, assassins, and a rogue British soldier, descend upon a village in feudal China, where an humble blacksmith looks to defend himself and his fellow villagers. That humble blacksmith is non-other than RZA.
Robert Diggs, aka the RZA (blacksmith/director/ story writer/screenplay writer/music writer), is a man of many aliases and even more talents. He is the heart, soul and brains behind rap’s only true multiplatinum super group, the Wu-Tang Clan.
For as long as he can remember, RZA (pronounced rizza) has wanted to be a part of the movie-making process; he was inspired while watching one of his favorite kung fu flicks.
This is RZA’s first time out as a film director. He said he learned from the master, none other than Quentin Tarantino.
We know Russell Crowe as the “Gladiator,” but in this flick he’s “Jack Knife.” Joining Crowe, RZA and Lucy Liu in the cast are Rick Yune, Jamie Chung, Cung Le, Dave Bautista, Byron Mann, Daniel Wu and Pam Grier who star as the Blacksmith’s mother, a slave who sacrifices her freedom for her son’s.
RZA in an interview with Hip Hop DX’s Omar Burgess said of Grier, “What she gave me in the film is what she gave me in real life–a sacrifice for the next generation. That’s kind of what her role is, but that’s also what she did by coming out to China. She took time to talk to me. And even though we didn’t have a lot of time together, she just shared that wisdom with me immediately. I grasped it, and it helped me throughout the rest of the shoot.”
For kung fu, RZA-style, you gotta see “The Man With the Iron Fists” in theaters Friday.
Gail can be reached at gail@hollywoodbychoice.com
