Dave Chappelle's Block Party and Axe Murderer

We watched two movies yesterday. The first was "Dave Chappelle's Block Party." This was great. I highly recommend it. First of all, every musician featured is terrific. They're all among my favorites: Erykah Badu, the Roots, Mos Def, Common, the Fugees, Kanye West, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, Jill Scott. Chappelle wisely brought together all these performers who have worked together, then provided them a stage in Brooklyn where they could play, join each other, and just have a great time.

This is one of the first movies I remember seeing where there's no significant conflict. A positive vibe carries throughout the entire film. The fact that a hurricane was bearing down on New York, that it poured just as the opener, Kanye West, launched into "Jesus Walks," and that there were all kinds of logistical problems in ferrying people from Chappelle's home state of Ohio to NYC on short notice, all of these things are relegated to the bonus features. The movie itself is just a good time.

That was our afternoon movie. We ended the day by rewatching "So I Married an Axe Murderer." We'd both seen this before, but it has new relevance now that we live in SF. It's still a great movie, but now we recognize the neighborhoods and places mentioned.

I'll also watch this movie repeatedly just for some of the great one-scene performances by Phil Hartman, Steven Wright, Michael Richards, and a couple by Alan Arkin.