Top ten DVD Iist - April 9, 2013

"Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read"

"Orchestra of Exiles"

"In Another Country"

"The Last Flight of Peter Ginz"

"Maigret – Set Seven"

Halle Berry joins Michael Kors to fight hunger

Halle Berry now is an activist on behalf of hungry children. (Photo: CNN/
Edward M. Pio Roda)

by Betsy Anderson
CNN

Hollywood movies and high-fashion runways may seem a world away from a discussion
about feeding the hungry, but Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry is joining designer
Michael Kors in his work with the United Nations World Food Programme to fight
hunger.

In an interview with CNN’s Alina Cho, the pregnant actress said that being a mother
inspired her to act on behalf of hungry children because hunger often starts in the womb.

“Especially now, being a pregnant woman and already having a child ... it’s so important
what happens to the baby while they're in utero. And the first 1,000 days is fundamental,”
said Berry, who’s showing only a small baby bump.

Lawmakers ask why Beyoncé and Jay-Z went to Cuba

by Kevin Liptak
CNN

Two Republican lawmakers are asking a government agency to look into a recent trip
to Cuba by Beyoncé and Jay-Z, suggesting the superstar couple violated restrictions on
travel to the communist island.

“Despite the clear prohibition against tourism in Cuba, numerous press reports described
the couple’s trip as tourism, and the Castro regime touted it as such in its propaganda,”
Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, both of Florida, wrote in the letter to
the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z were photographed in Havana last week, apparently celebrating
their fifth wedding anniversary on the island. While Cuba was a popular getaway for
Americans in the 1950s, spending money there was outlawed after Fidel Castro took
power in 1959.

Snoop debuts new reggae sound with ‘No Guns Allowed’

No longer Snoop D-O-Double G, Snoop Lion is gearing up to release his twelfth studio album in May entitled "Reincarnated". In case you missed it, after a "pilgrimage" to Jamaica, Snoop found spiritual enlightenment, converted to Rastafarianism and changed his name to Snoop Lion. His new, reggae sound is all about peace and love, not smoking and women. Fans can look forward to tracks featuring Chris Brown, Drake and Rita Ora.

In an interview with Q Magazine, Snoop explains his transformation, acknowledging that his music has an effect on people especially young people. He says it was time for him to grow up.

When you reach the pinnacle, you finally wake up, put aside childish ways and want to do something positive. You can affect people. You have kids and you understand what life is about. At 40 most men decide to live wild and crazy because they've been so conservative all along. Me, I've been living wild my whole life!

Kam’s Kapsules: Weekly previews - 04/04/2013

For movies opening April 5, 2013

BIG BUDGET FILMS

"Evil Dead" (R for profanity, sexuality, graphic violence and gratuitous gore) Grisly remake of the Sam Raimi horror classic revolving around five friends who unwittingly arouse a dormant demon they stumble upon while vacationing at a cabin in the woods. Ensemble cast featuring Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth Blackmore.

Tyler Perry has done it again!

This weekend, I got a chance to catch Tyler Perry's latest film, "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor." Looks like I wasn't the only one. It turned out to be a pretty big hit at the box office.

Despite coming in at number 3, it still managed to pull in about $22 million, roughly $2 million dollars more than it took to make the film. If it continues to do this well, it will be the highest grossing film he has produced or directed that he did not star in. That's good considering that his highest grossing films are usually the ones where he as Madea.

In this round, Perry didn't deviate too far from his formula. He included an unspoken message in the movie, as he always does, although it did not come off as preachy like most of his films.

Is the worst of Reality TV over?

By now, surely you've been privy to the many discussions, petitions and open complaining over the image of black women on reality TV. There's been an ongoing discussion about this topic ever since Omarosa Manigault stiletto-heel-clicked into Donald Trump's boardroom for "The Apprentice" in 2004. Either she, the producers or both milked the "Angry Black Woman" shtick for all it was worth.

The deafening roar of backlash against reality TV seemed to be at a fevered pitch by the time Flavor Flav, Tiffany "New York" Pollard and the rest of the casts from "Flavor of Love" (and all its spinoffs) hit the air. But no, there was more ruckus to make over the stereotypes played out by a long list of women who called themselves "wives" – whether they were married or not – and "ladies" trying to navigate hip-hop and love, but not in that order of priority. Between the bullying, bottle throwing and club brawls, it got bad. Really bad.

Harrison Ford: The ‘42’ interview

Born in Chicago on July 13, 1942, Harrison Ford was a late bloomer who only developed an interest in acting during his senior year of college. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked as carpenter for almost a decade while struggling trying to launch his showbiz career.

He was finally discovered in 1973 while installing cabinets in the home of George Lucas. The director cast him in "American Graffiti," which in turn, led to his landing the iconic character Hans Solo in "Star Wars," and the rest, as they say, is cinematic history.

Here, the Oscar-nominated thespian (for "Witness") talks about his latest outing opposite Chad Boseman as Brooklyn Dodgers' general manager Branch Rickey in "42," a biopic about Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in baseball.

Top Ten DVD Iist - April 1, 2013

Top Ten DVD list for April 2 release:

"Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled"

"The Bible: The Epic Miniseries"

"Hitler's Children"

"Knuckleball"

"White Elephant"

MED Foundation Gala: The Spinners, Ohio Players & the Commodores

With The MED Foundation Gala as the setting and The Peabody Hotel serving as the venue, an estimated 800 people were treated to a glamorous evening (March 23) accented by three legendary R&B groups – the Spinners, Ohio Players and the Commodores.

A few hours before their performances, I seized the opportunity to talk with members of each group.

Here is some of what I heard and learned:

P. Diddy tops list of hip-hop’s wealthiest

Sean "P. Diddy" Combs has gone by many names, but for now we can call him hip-hop's biggest moneymaker.

Forbes magazine has released its list of the five wealthiest hip-hop artists of 2013, and Combs is No. 1. Forbes estimates that he has a net worth of $580 million.

The industry mogul is lining his pockets mainly with deals outside of music, particularly his work with Ciroc vodka.

Fantasia: Losing to win

It took a minute to grow on me, but Fantasia's new song "Lose to Win" is actually one of my favorite songs out right now. As always with every great song, you can almost look behind the music and find a portal into the singer's heart and soul.

Now with Fantasia, you don't have to look very far. She proudly puts that portal on display for the entire world to see. Since winning "American Idol" back in 2004, we have watched her evolve into a Grammy-winning performer, but not without her share of "self-inflicted" troubles. Most of those troubles related to her boyfriend, Antwan Cook.