Notorious | Knowingly Undersold

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May 31, 2019 · 1:22 pm

The Set of 400: #329 – My Favorite Money-Green Leather Sofa

Today! Because maybe in the right hands, I could be one of the greatest –

Notorious (2009)

Directed by George Tillman Jr.

Starring Jamal Woolard, Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie, Antonique Smith, Sean Ringgold, Naturi Naughton, Christopher Jordan Wallace

A shot-f0r-shot remake of #370, 1946’s Notorious by Alfred Hitchcock, this rousing biopic of rapper Biggie Smalls corrects the oversights of the original, adding scads of hits by Brooklyn’s finest, a tremendous supporting turn by Avengers staple Mackie as Tupac Shakur (far outpacing Claude Rains odd take in ’46), and towering, emotional work by the always great Angela Bassett as Biggie’s mother Voletta. Hitchcock’s choice to tell the rapper’s life story sans diversity in the cast and sans music always doomed the film with critics and fans alike, and it took over seventy years to right that wrong. Well done, folks!

Grant’s amazing resemblance to Biggie notwithstanding

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Tagged as Angela Bassett, Anthony Mackie, Biggie Smalls, Derek Luke, Favorite Movies Ever, Jamal Woolard, Notorious, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur

April 4, 2019 · 1:03 pm

The Set of 400: #370 – My Favorite Wine Cellar Key

Today! Because I am married to an American agent –

Notorious (1946)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman (x2), Claude Rains, Louis Calhern, Leopoldine Konstantin, Moroni Olsen, Reinhold Schunzel, Ivan Triesault

You’ll meet some people in your time spent discussing movies who live and die by Hitchcock. I am not one of those people. No, this isn’t his only appearance on this list, but many of his most popular, highest regarded films won’t pop up here in the days to come. I don’t know, I thought his later films either silly or admirable but not lovable. Feel free to write in and complain when the list is complete, and not a day before, Birds fans! That shit is ridiculous!

I have always really enjoyed the weirdly caustic romance of Notorious, though. It’s a deep-intrigue, double-crossing tale, with this exquisitely strange relationship between Grant’s government agent Devlin and Bergman’s shattered mole Alicia at its center. It’s not a will-they-or-won’t-they romance like the word makes you envision; it’s more a will-they-be-able-to-or-will-they-die sort of love story. Claude Rains is terrific as the object of Berman’s faux affections, and was nominated for an Oscar for his work, along with the excellent screenplay by the great Ben Hecht. As you will see in days to come, I’ve always preferred the straight crime or espionage Hitchcocks to the horror/psychological terror Hitchcocks. Not exclusively, but pretty close. Again, bitch if you like, Psycho-heads, but that is some silly hokum you’ve embraced right there. Continue reading →