Word: englishness
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Even with extended skits and lots of filler, West's debut stands as the smartest, funniest and most important rap album of the new century. The pink-Polo-wearing son of an ex--Black Panther and a college English professor, West wasn't the first to bring a buppie sensibility to hip-hop, but he infused Jesus Walks, All Falls Down and Never Let Me Down (which featured a tremendous guest verse from his mentor and record-company president, Jay-Z) with wit, intelligence and, most of all, complexity...
...thanks, in part, to a bottom. The actress wears the plenteous prosthetic posterior under her 1950s Sophia Loren--inspired straight skirts and clingy cardigans in Pedro Almodóvar's new film, Volver. "Mothers have beeg bottoms," the Spanish director of culturally charged films says in accented English as he sprawls on a sofa next to Cruz in his suite at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles. "Your curves here are natural," he says to her, cupping his hands on his chest, "but not here," he says, pointing to his seat. "You walk very lightly. I wanted someone linked...
Whatever he says, Almodóvar sounds awfully fatherly when he describes watching Cruz in her first English-language roles. "She was the first Spanish actress invited by Hollywood to come here and make a movie," says Almodóvar. "I felt very proud. And at the same time, I was frightened." Cruz was soon cast in seemingly can't-miss projects: Billy Bob Thornton's first post-- Sling Blade directing effort, a 2000 adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's All the Pretty Horses, and Cameron Crowe's 2001 Vanilla Sky, a remake of a Spanish film Cruz had starred in. Forced...
Authentic and charming in her own language, Cruz became self-conscious and mousy in English. In 2005's Sahara, she played a doctor searching for a lost Civil War ship in, yes, the Sahara. (And you thought the pregnant nun was far-fetched.) Sahara was yet another wretched film that led to another high-profile offscreen romance for Cruz, who ended up dating co-star Matthew McConaughey for two years...
...women wearing long, shapeless dresses and head-scarves stood around in small groups. I spoke with an elderly, bespectacled imam from Somalia who wore a large woolen shawl over his shoulders and a colorful, pointed cap, embroidered with ancient-looking but unfamiliar shapes and symbols. His limited knowledge of English did not prevent him from repeating the words "peace, peace, peace" over and over again...