Wale & Royal Rae "No Days Off" Documentary

Wale onstage in Atlanta, GA

Newest Maybach Music Group signee, Wale, just dropped his "No Days Off" documentary with Royal Rae. This is a compelling look into the life of Mr. Folarin, as he stops through Atlanta while touring. He gets up close and personal with his fans before his show and drops some jewels on how to be successful as an unsigned artist. Check it out below

Kanye West - Runaway (Full-length Film)

I've watched this a few times now and I'm really impressed with it. From an artist standpoint, this is a beautiful collage of music, film, fashion, and culture. I aspire to reach these heights with my own art. From a marketing standpoint, this is pure genius. It seamlessly samples the album while giving the audience the artist's take on the songs. It also adds a cohesive theme to the album, essentially setting up the listener for the release. Props to Kanye West for what he is doing with G.O.O.D. Fridays and for the great job with this short film Runaway.

Scene from 'Runaway'

Short Film: The Raven

This short indie film, from Peruvian director Ricardo De Montreuil, was shot for a mere $5000 in two days on location in downtown Los Angeles. Set in the future, this sci-fi thriller follows the main character, Chris Black, (played by Victor “Showtime” Lopez who also did all the stunts) as he is chased through the city by law enforcement agents.

The combination of a cool idea plus great direction and cinematography almost always equals a good film. In this case it has already spawned offers from major Hollywood studios for a feature-length film version. The word on the street is that Mark Wahlberg will play the lead and produce with Universal studios distributing. Check it out below

R.I.P. Lena Horne

Over this Mother's Day weekend, we lost an entertainment legend. The incomparable Lena Horne was 92 when she passed. She was a singer, dancer, and actress winning 8 Grammy awards, an Emmy award, a Tony award, an ASCAP award, and receiving two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was blacklisted for her political views on the Civil Rights Movement, refusing to perform at the USO during WWII for segregated audiences. Ms. Horne had a long history in the entertainment industry, spanning nearly six decades and ranging from the Cotton Club to Sesame Street. One of my fondest memories of her will always be her role as Glinda in “The Wiz.” A talented, intelligent, classy and beautiful woman, Lena Horne was an incredible artist and person. God Bless and R.I.P.

Short Film: Street Fighter Legacy

When I first heard there was going to be another Street Fighter film, I was upset. I was thinking, “Damn, haven’t they already TRIED to ruin this franchise enough!” Then I saw the trailers. I was actually excited that somebody was getting it “right”. Well now Street Fighter Legacy is here, this fan-made short film (and I do mean short) released on Friday, May 7, 2010. Its like actually watching Street Fighter the game, come to life. I hope these guys take this further in the future. You can check it below, along with the trailers and a behind the scenes featurette on the costumes. Enjoy

Cinco De Mayo "Machete" Trailer

Here is the *official* trailer for Robert Rodriguez's "Machete" starring Danny Trejo and an All-Star cast including Robert DeNiro, Cheech Marin, Jessica Alba, and Michelle Rodriguez . Its really cool that this film will be releasing in the near future since it has parallels to the Arizona immigration law fiasco. If you're not a Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez fan and didn't catch the Grindhouse double feature they did back in '07, there was actually a *fake* trailer for "Machete." I'm really diggin' the fact that it draws influence from "Desperado" and "Once Upon A Time In Mexico," two of my favorite Rodriguez flicks. The film is set to release in the U.S. September 3, 2010, check out the official trailer and the fake below

Official Trailer

Fake Trailer

Carl Erik Rinsch - The Gift

I ran across this cool short film by Carl Erik Rinsch called “The Gift.” I’m really impressed with what we did and how clean this looks. It has somewhat of an I,Robot feel to it but I’m excited to see where he takes this story next. Check it out and drop a comment. Thanks to /Film for the info.

If you can't see the video, click here

Teaser Trailer: The Other Guys

"The Other Guys" is an action-comedy directed by Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers), where Will Ferrell teams up with Mark Wahlberg as New York City detectives. Ferrell and Wahlberg aren’t the stars of the department, that’s Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Samuel L. Jackson. They’re just the “other guys.” Its about time for another Will Ferrell comedy, yeah his cameo in "The Goods" was enough to hold me over but there's nothing like a Ferrell flick. Peep the trailer below.

There's a few times in this teaser that I actually laughed out loud so I'm excited for the August 6 release date. I’m sure I’ll be reviewing this flick once it drops. I’ve been looking forward to "The Other Guys" ever since I heard about it last year. Ferrell and McKay are a comedy film dream team, and it looks like this one will keep their streak going. Ferrell hasn’t disappointed me and I’m down to see damn near anything he’s in. The same goes for Sam Jackson. Drop a comment and shouts to /Film for the info.

Logorama

Really nothing I can say will do this short film the justice it deserves but I'll try to give you some background. The name may be familiar to some of you who caught the Academy Awards, it won for best animated short. Its also been in both the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals. For those that don’t know about Logorama though, basically it’s that DEAL.

It was created by a French animation collective called H5 and its done completely in cell shading. It is set in a world where everything is based on logos, from the characters to the vehicles to the buildings. We live in a world where everything is branded, even this blog that you’re on now [is a part of my Verse-Is brand]. We as a generation are marketed to more than any generation previous. This short film takes those brand logos you see in every day life and turns them into a cool story. I cant give away too much and I’m not doing it enough justice, so I’ll shut up and let you check it.