One Spoon Of Chocolate

This year we got to watch the premiere screening of One Spoon of Chocolate at Tribeca Film Festival. The film which is directed, produced and written by the RZA (yes that Wu-Tang guy) is a action packed politically driven narrative about a black veteran who loses everything in a racist, corrupt town in Ohio only to fight back with a vengeance. Starring Shamiek Moore (who have become RZA's go to) , Blair Underwood and Paris Jackson (yes it is Michael's daughter) One Spoon of Chocolate is more of a homage to RZA's favorite directors and a collaborative effort to move him more into this medium as Wu-Tang announced their final tour this year.

According to the RZA at the Q&A after the screening, the film took about 13 years to complete and the help of his wife to bring this vision to life. To be honest some things are better when you go back and forth from time to time. The movie starts with a basketball player walking on the side of the road and then picked up by a group of girls. Once picked up they head to a store and from there the player gets beaten to death. Fast forward to New York is where we see Randy aka Unique(Moore) leaving prison and meeting his parole officer. After some strings were pulled Randy ends up in town where his cousin dies and lives with his brother. As he gets himself situated and head out to play basketball he gets confronted by a group of white men who tries to bully them off the court. That's the trouble between Randy and the town begins. A interesting story giving today's news RZA definitely pushes boundaries as far as he can.

The movie is fast paced and the story gets a bit of chopped in between scenes. The script however isn't bad and may needed more seasoning but it's effective on what it intends to do: have the audience feel uncomfortable. The racial epithets thrown around was uneasy but RZA made sure it was needed so you can think about Race in the States. Shamiek Moore is really good as Randy. His quiet demeanor and ability to be prepared captures the audience and doesn't let go. Paris Jackson have a minor role but it's evident as she commands attention once she's on screen. The action sequences may be cliché by our standards but again it's a homage so we wasn't surprised. The rest of the cast was great and complimented the main characters well. A great film as RZA puts another notch on his belt. Tribeca was a great setting to premiere this film because it sets the tone of what the festival is about. We looking forward to this film picked up and out for release in theaters.