Black Movie Awards

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of the Black Movie Awards, which will be handed out at 10 p.m. tomorrow night on TNT (not TBS, as I originally and mistakenly posted.)

This is the second year for the BMA's, and this year they've landed a certainly charismatic host in Tyler Perry.

One gnawing question this raises for me, however, is do we really need these awards? I get the same sensation every time I hear it's black history month, women's history month or latino culture month (which, if I'm not mistaken, just recently ended; for whatever reason, it begins and ends in the middle of an actual month.) Doesn't this breaking us down into groups do more dividing than uniting? And are we really only supposed to celebrate black, women's or latino history for only one month of the year?

But enough of that. Hollywood still has a ways to go in rewarding great accomplishments in film by black people, so the BMA's get a vote of support from me.

Here are the nominees, and of course, who I would like to win:

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Presley Chweneyagae (as Tsotsi) – Tsotsi
Chiwetel Ejiofor (as Lola ) – Kinky Boots
Tyrese Gibson (as O2) – Waist Deep
Cuba Gooding, Jr. (as Mikey) – Shadowboxer
Denzel Washington (as Keith Frazier) – Inside Man

I like Ejiofor quite a bit, but Kinky Boots was just too cute for my tastes. Though it came out quite some time ago, I have to go with Chweneyagae in Tsotsi for this one. It's a magnetic performance that gets burned in your brain.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mos Def (as Eddie Bunker) – 16 Blocks
Laurence Fishburne (as Dr. Larabee) – Akeelah & the Bee
Jamie Foxx (as Staff Sgt. Sykes) – Jarhead
Hubert Koundé (as Arnold Bluhm) – The Constant Gardener
Jeffrey Wright (as Bennett Holiday) – Syriana

I like every actor in this category, but simply detested both 16 Blocks and Syriana. It comes down to a choice between Fishburne and Koundé in this one for me, and I'll give it to Koundé by a nose.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Halle Berry (as Ororo Munro/Storm) – X-Men: The Last Stand
Meagan Good (as Coco) – Waist Deep )
Sanaa Lathan (as Kenya McQueen) – Something New
Queen Latifah (as Georgia Byrd) – Last Holiday
Keke Palmer (as Akeelah) – Akeelah & the Bee


This one is a no-brainer for me. Young Keke Palmer was tremendous in Akeelah, one of the movies that most surprised me this year, and I think you will be hearing her name on Oscar night too.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS
IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Angela Bassett (as Tanya Anderson) – Akeelah & the Bee
Rosario Dawson (as Mimi Marquez) – Rent
Lauren London (as New New) – ATL
Lynn Whitfi eld (as Victoria) – Madea’s Family Reunion
Alfre Woodard (as Joyce McQueen) – Something New

I'm gonna just skip over whether Dawson is black or hispanic, and how the female lead of the atrocious ATL is considered a supporting actress, and just give this one to Angela Bassett, who held her own with young Ms. Palmer in Akeelah.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SCREENWRITING
Tina Gordon Chism – ATL
Rob Hardy – The Gospel
Tyler Perry – Madea’s Family Reunion
Kriss Turner – Something New
Norman Vance, Jr. – Roll Bounce

Three solid offerings here, but I'll have to pick Vance for Roll Bounce in this category. I just loved that flick, and his script gave it a solid sense of time and place.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Vondie Curtis-Hall – Waist Deep
Malcolm D. Lee – Roll Bounce
Spike Lee – Inside Man
Chris Robinson – ATL
John Singleton – Four Brothers


This one just bugs me. I just have to assume that Akeelah and the Bee is not on this list simply because its director, Doug Atchison, is white (and ditto for Tsotsi). Whatever the reason, what you get is Akeelah nominated for Outstanding Motion Picture but without a nomination for its director, which also happens a lot at the Oscars. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed Roll Bounce, so the other Mr. Lee gets my vote.

OUTSTANDING MOTION PICTURE
Akeelah & the Bee
ATL
Four Brothers
Inside Man
Madea’s Family Reunion
Tsotsi

Though I get the feeling Tyler Perry as host will make this one a big win for Madea's Family Reunion, I would vote for Akeelah and the Bee by a nose over Tsotsi. It's just that rare breed of family film that's at least as entertaining as it is instructive.

But no matter who wins, with Perry on hand, it should be a lively and entertaining night. I urge everyone to tune in, if for only a few minutes, and to sound off with your picks.