Biz Markie Movies

An oft-overlooked aspect of hip-hop music gets its due in Breath Control: The History of the Human Beatbox. Beatboxing is the art of producing musical sounds, particularly percussion, without the use of instruments. Filmmaker Joey Garfield traces beatboxing from the early days, when the simple rhythms of Darren "Buff" Robinson helped make The Fat Boys a household name, to the amazing technical skills of such contemporary artists as Rahzel and Scratch of The Roots, and Anthony Rivera, also known as Click tha Supah Latin. As one artist, Chris Jung, explains, beatboxing "stemmed from the need to make music now." It grew out of a necessity to produce music when instruments and turntables were not available. Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, and others explain what they brought to the art, while Congo-born vocalist Marie Daulne of Zap Mama expounds on both the universality and the ethnic diversity of vocal rhythm-making. Breath Control won the Festival Choice Award at the 2002 New York Underground Film Festival. It was also featured at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival and the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Ten new episodes of Crank Yankers were produced for the series' third season, giving Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, and their comically gifted cohorts ample time to make even more hilariously annoying crank calls to unsuspecting civilians. Of course, we only hear the recorded results of the pranks; what we see is a menagerie of mangy-looking cloth puppets mouthing the words of both callers and callees, and developing some truly bizarre "relationships" along the way. During season three, the poor suckers who pick up the phone at the other end are subjected to a dizzying array of asinine questions involving childbirth, high school book reports, pest exterminators, private eye investigations, used cars, and used kittens, and the AA's 12-step program. Among the guest voices heard this season are Drew Carey, Kevin Nealon, Nicole Sullivan, and Jamie Kennedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sarah Pirozek filmed this documentary combining interviews with concert footage of the 1996 San Francisco Tibetan Freedom Concert, which attracted 100,000 people to Golden Gate Park. The film's executive producer, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, is a Buddhist who initiated the concept of the annual concert. Included are current-events clips (the Dalai Lama addressing Congress, President Clinton announcing a continuation of trade despite China's treatment of Tibetans). With numbers (or partial performances) from top groups (A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Bjork, De La Soul, Foo Fighters, Fugees, Richie Havens, John Lee Hooker, Biz Markie, Tim Meadows, Yoko Ono, Pavement, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins), this film was distributed to one city at a time and marketed like a concert tour. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide