WIKIPEDIA SUMMARY: "Cadillac Records is a 2008 American musical biopic written and directed by Darnell Martin. The film explores the musical era from the early 1940s to the late 1960s, chronicling the life of the influential Chicago-based record-company executive Leonard Chess, and the musicians who recorded for Chess Records."

Why this movie?

1. It's a music website, and this is one of the best movies about music of the last decade in this moderator's humble opinion.

2. Either PTP didn't see it on the whole, or they weren't feeling it strongly enough to post about it. I also think I was the only one who gave it love in my Spilled Latte recommendations.

3. While it's Hollywood, and it follows the biopic formula, the acting is stellar, the writing and editing are crisp, and the music sounds great. Jeffrey Wright, Mos Def, Adrien Brody, and Beyonce (yes, Beyonce) deliver knockout performances. Gabrielle Union transcends the usual "put-upon wife of a musician" performance and shows that she's more than just a charming pretty face. But the real surprise here is...

4. Columbus Short. He should have been nominated for an Oscar, plain and simple, and the only reason he didn't is because people only knew him for his roles in You Got Served, Stomp the Yard, and Save the Last Dance 2. There's a reason he's now getting bigger roles in Hollywood films, and will continue to do so in the future, and it's because of his performance as Little Walter here.

5. Darnell Martin was the first African-American female filmmaker to get a film produced by a major Hollywood studio, with "I Like It Like That." This was her third film, her biggest in terms of budget and star power, but still only made $8 million at the domestic box office. Stephane Zacharek named it the 4th best film of the year, and A.O. Scott named it the 10th best film of the year. None of the critical acclaim helped attract the audience it deserved.

6. This film, like the previous Movie Club selection, is available of Netflix Instant Watch.

The other post will stay active (it's here: http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=6&topic_id=473622&mesg_id=473622&page= ) and I hope if you haven't watched it yet, or haven't taken part in the discussion-- and yes, I'm aware I'm one of the delinquents-- then by all means, post away. But it's time to give some shine to another recent, slept-on film.

MOVIE CLUBBERS! ASSEMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!

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