Blackout (2007) Movie Script
Yeah. Y'all, got them CDs and DVDs.
-What's up, baby?
-What's good?
-How you?
-Ain't shit.
All right.
You got that new
Bad Boys II soundtrack?
Do I? And the shit is fire, dun.
I'm selling out every day
on that right there.
Yeah, y'all, CDs, DVDs...
Man, I told you. You can't be marrying
my sister, you ain't got no paper.
I ain't having it.
What's up, youngblood,
you can't speak?
What's up, man?
I'll come holler at you later on.
Let me finish this.
Hey, you know what I heard
they pay these chicks in these videos?
Pay them a ham sandwich.
They don't get a dime shaking their ass
in the camera like that.
Yeah. I fucked around
with a little video chick one time.
Wait. What?
What do you mean?
You saw her in the club?
You bumped into her on the way
to the bathroom in the club?
Come on, man.
Quit clowning me, man.
Stay out of my business, all right?
I don't love them hos.
I like me a gangster bitch.
Pretty but gangster.
You know what I'm saying?
It's all right. It's all right.
Fuck that. Yeah, all right.
Damn, son. I'm saying, why don't you
just date dudes, then, man?
-What? Oh.
-Take that ho with you, son.
If there ain't no water in here,
I'm telling you I'm gonna be crazy.
Tell your mom I'm gonna call her later
about that information.
-Ali. What's good, my man?
-What up, L?
Hey, man, you know me, man.
I'm always good.
Another day, another hustle.
I'm about to go to work, so, you know,
came to get my newspaper.
I'm about to go to work, so, you know,
came to get my newspaper.
My water. You know you're running
out of water, right?
You'd better get on your man.
And, this bag of chips
and you already know...
A man after my own heart...
Yeah. That's fresh. Yeah, I like that.
So how much I owe you?
-$2.50.
-$2.50?
-$2.50.
-$2.50?
-It was $2.50 yesterday.
-All right.
Damn. I gotta count this out.
You know what I'm saying?
Ten...
Yo, I'm gonna owe you 30 cents,
all right?
-No. No, dude.
-I'm good for it.
What is it you don't understand?
No credit. The sign is right there.
It says, "No credit."
Look, there's even an exclamation point.
Oh, that's what you're talking about.
You want the credit.
-Oh, thank you, Ali...
-No. No, dude, I'm serious.
I can't let you off anymore.
Every day you come in here,
go through your pants
and realize you ain't got no money.
Maybe if you counted your money
before you come in here,
you realize you don't have enough
to buy what you want.
Come on, man. I come in here
every day. You know what I'm saying?
You're getting rich off us out here.
How you gonna spaz on me with...
Hold on, hold on,
hold on, hold on, hold on.
-Who the hell you think is getting rich?
-You!
Dude, you think I'd be out here
working 16 hours a day
-if I was getting rich?
-Damn, 16 hours.
That's why we don't accept IOUs.
Man, give me this, man. I'll give you
the 30 cents tomorrow, all right?
I was going to be one myself
at one time, you know.
Super!
When you gonna fix my sink, man?
You come over to my house
from a week ago,
and you don't come back, man.
I haven't forgotten about you, Beatrice.
As soon as the company
brings the stuff,
you're gonna be first on my list.
This man full of shit.
I'll soon report him to me landlord.
Sure. You know how much
they report him already?
-Morning, George.
-Hey.
Good morning, Mrs. Thompson.
Coming from work, I see.
Yes.
-How's CJ?
-Oh, he's fine. Thank you.
Figured out which school
he's gonna go to yet?
Yes, indeed.
He will be going to Penn State
in the fall. Full academic scholarship.
Good Jesus!
-I know you must be proud.
-Oh, very much. Very much so.
-Well, I'm not gonna hold you up.
-All right.
I know you gotta go get your rest. Okay?
By the way, George. I got a leak coming
down from my ceiling in the bathroom.
Could you...
I'll be up there in half an hour.
Maybe just a little bit more. Okay?
-Thanks a lot.
-Okay.
-Good morning, ladies.
-Morning!
Did you hear that woman?
Bragging about her child,
like he's the only one
doing right or in college.
Did I tell you my son Trevor
got accepted to college, too?
Is he? But isn't he about 32?
So what? It ain't never too late.
Thank you.
Anyway, he's taking two night classes
-at Medgar Evers Community College.
-Good for him.
-James!
-Hey, babe, good morning.
Papi, I overslept.
You didn't wake me up.
Now I'm late for work.
Babe, you didn't come to bed
until almost 3:00 this morning.
You looked so peaceful.
I didn't want to bother you.
Besides, I wanted to surprise you
with breakfast in bed.
But my boss is gonna kill me.
Babe, you can work from home.
You do it all the time.
-Hey, how do you want your eggs?
-No, thank you.
Man.
She done ruined my whole mack mood.
Oh, hey, Ma.
Hey, handsome.
How was your evening?
It was good.
You know, same old, same old.
Well, do you want me
to do something for you?
You want me to make you some tea
or something like that?
-Oh, could you?
-You know I got you.
You're getting ready for work?
Yeah. I'm gonna leave in about
Where is The View?
I like that Star Jones.
You going job-hunting today?
Well, I got a lot to do
in the house today.
I don't know yet.
Claudine, hold up.
What?
You don't think I wanna find a job?
No one's saying
that you don't want to find a job.
Well, you think this is easy?
I haven't had a steady job in two years.
-You think I like this shit?
-You don't need to curse at me, James.
-I'm just asking.
-No, no. No, you're not just asking.
All right? Nobody's "just asking."
I hate when people say that.
When I got laid off,
the economy was already jacked up.
I mean, how was I to know that
the terrorists would drop the bomb
on us, right here in New York.
-Hey, baby.
-Hey, baby.
I see you found your breakfast okay.
-What?
-Got to go.
-What?
-Listen, I'm late for work.
I'll be home from work around 7:00,
all right?
-Already?
-One sec.
-Wait.
-Love you.
Wait, baby, wait.
I wanted to surprise you, but...
I made reservations for us tonight
at the Jazz Lounge.
Jazz Lounge?
I want to celebrate my baby
getting his promotion.
Damn. You know, I tell you, I must have
done something really special
in my past life to get loved up
with someone as fine as you.
Nubian queen. I'll tell you.
Look, I got to go.
Hey, have fun on your day off.
First of all, your mother plays Xbox.
My mother has a job.
What took you so long?
I thought you wasn't coming
to see me no more.
Is that what you thought?
James, you've been supported
every month, all right?
I'm sorry that I don't
pat you on the back daily
just because you tried
to get a job today,
which is something you're supposed
to be doing every single day.
You know... Yo, check this.
I tell you what. Yo, I'm not here
to be a burden on no one.
Okay? So how about
I do my thing, you do your thing.
I'll move out, so that way you don't
have to stress out why I'm tripping.
All right. I mean, if that's how you feel...
If that's what you wanna do,
I'm not gonna stop you.
Yeah, well...
I'll start packing this afternoon.
By the time you return from work,
I'll be handing over your keys to you.
That'll be it.
Okay. That's fine.
That's no problem. I gotta go.
So I guess
I'll just see you when I get back.
Whatever.
Yo, dawg. You want a cut?
I'm free. Come on.
Yeah. You're gonna stay free
if you're waiting for me, nigga.
Yeah. You're gonna stay free
if you're waiting for me, nigga.
It's like that, Ty?
Oh, all right, all right. You know,
dude trying to eat,
trying to do the right thing,
and you want to play me.
Cool. Cool, because I'm on my grind, B.
I drop my CD this summer.
You know, I mean, the majors gonna be
throwing mad dough at the kid.
You gonna be the groupie nigga like,
"Hey, yo, L, remember me
from the barbershop, son?
"What's up with them concert tickets?"
"Security! Fuck out of here, nigga."
Take it easy, man. Peace.
Don't be harassing my customers.
You can't help that man 'cause
he doesn't want his head bleeding.
Hey, yo, that was a condition, yo.
We had that conversation.
That was betwixt us.
Hey, man, how many heads
did you cut this month, L?
One and a half. You don't count the half
'cause the dude
ain't have no neckbones.
Hell, you the only employed
unemployed motherfucker I know.
What up?
What up, man?
How many heads you got in front of me?
I got two, man.
Hold my spot. I'll be back.
I ain't know they let Rasheed out, dawg!
-Let him out two weeks ago.
-What?
You ever wonder why
they always let the grimiest negroes
out at summertime?
Summer recess.
Watch what I tell you. Duke will be out
before the summer ends.
But did y'all see how the nigga
was creeping in here, though?
Yo, Ra's the illest stickup kid
on the block, B.
Nel, you better watch your shop, man.
That nigga right there, he gone.
He touched.
Hey, let me tell you something, fam,
I'm a grown-ass man,
and that right there is some straight ass
juvenile delinquent bullshit.
If you play AAA ball,
don't step into Yankee Stadium, right?
-That's what's up. That's gangster.
-You a OG for real, right?
Crazy, man.
Oh, Tone, what I told you about bringing
that raggedy-ass cart in my shop, man?
Oh, come on now, youngblood.
Fixing to hook you up.
Oh, shit.
Let me show you something. Come on.
I got some stuff here for everybody,
on sale.
On sale. Check this out.
This one here is a Hoover classic.
Your sweeping days is over, Rover.
This thing here can sweep up
every motherfucking thing in sight.
And I'm gonna let everybody,
anybody who wants it,
I'm gonna let you have it, today, for $50.
Get the fuck out of here.
Come on, man.
You know, I was just messing with you.
Give me $5, I'm gonna show you how...
Watch out!
-Fam, come on, man.
-Check this out.
Oh, man.
-You're messing my floor...
-All right, I'm sorry.
Listen here, listen here, I'll go
and get it fixed and I'll be right back.
No, don't come right back.
Get the fuck out.
Just get out of here, man.
-Get it out! Get it out!
-All right, all right.
I'm out of here.
Oh, Ms. Germaine.
Hey, hey. How you doing?
Oh, CJ. How are you doing?
I'm doing good.
Let me help you with these bags.
Oh, no. Thank you, CJ.
I ain't want to trouble you.
Trust me. It's no trouble at all.
-Come on.
-All right.
-Okay, Ms. Germaine.
-Oh, thank you so much.
-God bless you.
-No problem.
By the way, Ms. Germaine,
you're looking real good.
Y'all hanging out there today.
-It is hot. Hot as fish grease out there.
-Yo, C.
What the fuck?
What's up, mate.
Trying to sneak up on me and shit.
-How's it going? Yo, this jersey is fire.
-Chilling, man.
Come on, man.
You're wrinkling the shit.
-Shit dropped like two weeks ago.
-Yo.
Oh, word? Yo, you getting me one.
No doubt. I mean,
I was on my way to the store now,
until somebody wanna jump
on my back...
But it's nothing, you know...
What's up, CJ?
-What's up, Keish?
-How you doing?
I'm doing good. You looking real good.
That ain't even funny, yo.
If you don't hit that by the time
you leave school, I'm gonna hit that.
-You ain't hit nothing, son.
-That's hating.
Yo, who she said hi to?
Exactly. Me.
-I'm still gonna hit it.
-You ain't getting nothing.
Don't deny me, man.
Baby, what's good?
Oh. What up? What up?
Oh, that LeBron is killer, man.
What up, my dawg? What's up?
What up, my dawg?
What up? What up, Ra?
What up?
Yo, what's up, man?
What's good, yo.
Who holding the rap game down, B?
Jay is holding the rap game down, baby!
-Chill out, yo. It's Nas.
-Nas?
-Nas holding the rap game down.
-Oh, yeah... Y'all niggas, man.
Yo, is he Dame Daddy
Dame Diddy or Dame Dummy?
Oh, I get it
You Biggie and he's Puffy
Exactly. You did...
So far ahead of your time
About to start another life
Look behind you
I'm about to pass you twice
-Come on, man.
-Get the fuck out of here.
Get them! Hit them!
-Why's your man in Tae Bo class?
-Hit him.
Why your man 40 years old
on top of that?
-Why he still in the rap game?
-You look like you're in Tae Bo!
-You take Tae Bo?
-Yo! Yo!
Yo, why is we talking about niggas?
Both of them niggas wack.
Yeah. I guess you're right, yo.
That nigga has been tight
falling off lately.
Yo, why the fuck we standing
over here, man,
with a bunch of niggas
when we could be around the corner
bagging some birds?
Nigga, you is fucking right, man.
Yo, y'all coming, yo?
Nah, man. I gotta work soon.
Man. All right. You do that. You do that.
What about you, Esco?
Nah, I'm good.
All right, man. Yo. It's good, man.
-What?
-When did you start smoking?
-What?
-Nothing.
You know, we've been getting
a lot of complaints.
-Particularly with the Browser Buildings.
-I know. I know.
To be honest with you, Sol,
you know, I don't think George
is doing such a good job maintaining...
That's exactly why we're here.
Pay our friend George a little visit,
do an inspection,
get some comments from the tenants.
Hear what they have to say.
If I don't like what I hear,
then he's gone.
He's been living in that apartment
for what, 32 years?
I fix it up, I could double the rent.
-It sounds like a plan to me.
-I'm glad you approve.
If you're still experiencing difficulties
sleeping, having panic attacks,
or are depressed as the result
of the events surrounding 9/1 1,
please give us a call.
Our councilors are experienced
at dealing with trauma,
and we're here to help you.
If you really have a problem,
pick up the phone.
Are you crazy?
No, I'm serious.
Molly wanted you and me
to go upstate,
and we'll take a look at the property.
All right. I'm serious.
You're crazy, girl.
Can I help you?
Yes.
Yes, you can help me.
-Hey, girl.
-Hey now.
What's wrong?
-Talk.
-James and I had a fight this morning.
And it was pretty bad.
I think we're breaking up.
I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?
I was pissed off this morning,
because he didn't wake me up
and I was late for work.
So why didn't he
wake you up this morning?
Because he was gonna surprise me
with breakfast in bed.
That bum.
You need to drop him fast, girl.
Oh, D, it's not funny.
Your ass was probably up all night
writing, weren't you?
You seriously involved chicks kill me.
You've been out
of the single arena too long.
-Oh, my God.
-Ain't nothing out here.
D, it's not about being single
or anything.
It has nothing to do with someone else.
So then what's the problem?
We've been having financial problems,
like, this past year...
Let me tell you something, Claudine.
Jobs, finances...
They come and go.
But I've always admired you
and James' relationship.
And it would be a shame
to see it fall apart
on the account of things
you two have no control over.
You understand?
I'm sorry about that. I...
He's an idiot. I always tell him serve
the customers with the food first.
Oh, it's all right, Ali. I can wait.
It's no problem.
No, you deserve...
You demand that kind of attention.
You're a strong, decisive queen.
You know what you want.
Therefore if there is something
You can ask of me
Surely, I cannot front
-What?
-I wrote down more of it.
-I'll show it to you.
-Let me find out you rhyme, Ali.
That was cute. You got some skills.
I've been dabbling a little poetry
since your last show.
-Hey, when's your next one?
-Actually, it's tonight.
Well, I'm going to the Jazz Lounge
with Reggie,
celebrate his promotion.
So I'm gonna surprise him with a poem
and a song that I wrote for him.
You know, a little something.
That's nice.
You know you trying
to put it on a brother today.
I know you don't think you came up here
just to give me one round, right?
Come on, I don't...
Don't even come at me like that.
You know I'm a heavyweight.
-I hear you.
-You hear me, all right.
-Yeah.
-You gonna be hearing me in a minute.
Oh, good thinking.
It's hotter than a motherfucker out here.
Damn, baby, where're you going?
I'll be right back.
I'm just going to the store right quick.
Get some Cheez Doodles or something.
-You want anything?
-No, I'm good.
-You got some change or something?
-Check my pockets.
You know I gotta be home at 6:30.
Yeah.
You might wanna be ready
when I get back, then.
All right.
Yo, so I'm gonna come through later,
tell you what I want you
to cop for me, all right?
Yo, come through. It's nothing.
What you about to get into right now?
-Nothing. Just chilling.
-No doubt.
Be safe out here, man.
-Stay out of trouble.
-All right.
-For real, son.
-All right, yo.
-Hey, what's up, Mr. Chang?
-Hey, CJ.
Hey, we're a little busier than usual.
We can do inventory later. Can you
help Nancy with the customers?
Got you.
Hey, Nancy.
-Hey.
-How you doing?
Hey, what's up?
Can I help you with anything?
Yeah, man.
I'm trying to get size 12 in these.
Twelve? These are dope.
You're gonna... I like these.
All right, now.
-Sol?
-George.
This is a surprise.
I wasn't expecting you to...
-We have a meeting set for today?
-No. No. Would you mind?
I'm not disturbing you, am I?
You weren't asleep or something
like that, were you?
Why would I be sleeping
in the middle of the afternoon?
Look, George,
I'm gonna be straight with you.
I've been starting to get some
complaints from the tenants
about your keeping up with
the maintenance of the buildings,
and I mean,
maybe you're getting a little old.
Something like that. If that's the case,
I'm gonna have to replace you.
And if I do that,
unfortunately, I'm also going to have to
remove you from this apartment.
Now, look. If you want to get rid of me,
and you need a scapegoat,
well, then you just go right ahead.
You're not fooling anybody.
I mean, you know these buildings
are run-down.
We're getting a little
ahead of ourselves here, okay?
That's why I came personally, George.
I'm here, personally,
so that you and I both
can go check on the conditions
of these apartments with the tenants.
We'll talk to them,
we'll make an assessment,
we'll come back down here,
we can just talk
reasonably about the whole matter.
Is that all right with you?
-As you wish. You're the boss, boss.
-All right, let's get started.
-Y'all think Kobe did it, man?
-No. No.
There's no way my man
could have did that.
His wife way too fine
for him to be doing that shit, B.
You know what they say
about every fine woman out there.
There's a brother behind her
that's tired of hitting it.
Yes, sir.
Nah, nah. I don't see Kobe
hitting nobody. I don't see it.
I know, but that's what a man get
for fucking with them white chicks.
Oh, here we go. Now the woman
in you want to come out.
How come every time
something like this go down,
the sisters wanna bring up
the white girl issue?
Nel, you ain't pay your bills, dawg?
Now what?
-What's wrong?
-My hair.
-Huh!
-Look at my hair!
Well, I'll tell you what.
Instead of $10, give me $5.
Mr. Landlord!
What happened to my electricity, sir?
Wait, could you calm down a minute?
-You got an electricity problem, right?
-Yeah!
Happened when,
about five minutes ago?
Okay, well, it happened to
everybody at the same time.
We checked our circuit board.
It's not our fault. It's not our building.
We got to see... Maybe the whole
block's electricity has gone.
So we'll go next door, we'll check them
and see what's going on.
All right, okay. All right, okay.
I understand. I understand.
I didn't turn off...
Police news and special report.
The Northeast...
...power outages, blackouts, if you will,
all along the Eastern seaboard,
specifically in the Northeastern U. S.
New York affected,
Detroit, Toronto, Ottawa,
as far west as Ohio.
as far west as Ohio.
In New York City, JFK, LaGuardia,
Wall Street all experiencing
major outages. Just how widespread
these outages are is unclear at this time
and whether there's any connection
among any of them
is unclear at this time.
Well, I'm glad this
happened in the daytime.
Yo! Yo! Get some money over here!
What are you doing here?
Yo! Yo! Yo what the fuck is wrong
with y'all, man? Get out!
Yo, kid, you heard?
There's a blackout in the whole city!
Yeah, I know, we heard.
Where the hell 5-0 rushing off to?
I don't know,
but this shit right here is crazy.
No, no, no, stop!
Stop! Stop!
Chill, son!
Yo, yo, son, I work here, son.
Yo, dawg, what you care?
You act like this shit belong to you!
This shit ain't right, son. It's not right.
Yo, Rasheed, what you doing?
What the fuck is your beef?
Don't put your hands on me again,
nigga.
I ain't fucking with you, man.
Yo, just open the front gate halfway.
We'll sell through the opening.
Ain't no telling how long
this is going to last.
I got nothing. Can I borrow your phone?
No use. I don't have no reception either.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
What if James got stuck in
one of those trains
in those tunnels
with the temperature so high.
Wherever he is, I'm sure he's fine.
I hope so.
How are you going to go
get Little J in Bed-Stuy?
By foot if I have to.
I'm gonna keep walking.
Hopefully, I can catch a cab or
a express van or something.
-I don't know.
-Hopefully.
You know, bin Laden
has something to do with this.
-You think so?
-Yes, man.
Where is he?
He should be here by now.
-Probably got stuck in traffic.
-You think I can get a cab at the corner?
-Let's do it.
-All right.
You know, when the going gets tough,
the tough get going.
"Searching for service."
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing.
I don't even have one of those things.
This is a low down dirty shame, people!
That even on doomsday,
you can't find it in your heart
to help a fellow man.
That's why it's about to get crazy.
This is nothing but a plot
by the government
to kill off all the black people.
The original man...
Hey, come on, taxi! Taxi, come on!
...until every last one
of you niggety-negroes...
MAN: Oh, shut up!
...is dead on the floor.
Like that.
Hey, taxi! Come on!
Maybe we better go back
to my apartment
until you can get a hold of your guy.
Port Authority says no trains
or subways are running...
What's up?
Yo, how the fuck you was going to
leave me like that back there, son?
Shit, nigga, 5-0 was coming.
Why the fuck
you running from the police?
You see your mentality, dawg?
I don't know where
you come from, B, but around here,
you hear po-po coming, you dip.
You want to stand around
while they sweeping people up,
you go ahead.
'Cause any nigga will do...
Oh, I guess you don't have to worry
about that kind of stuff, huh?
-Mr. College Boy...
-Okay, dead that shit. All right? For real.
Don't run game on a nigga
who's known you all your fucking life.
I know you.
Stop following behind those niggas, Ty.
For real.
You will end up in a real bad place
and I can't help you.
-Yo, C.
-Yo, get off me, son.
All right, man?
What's up, B?
Watching all these cats wilding out.
Yeah, for real.
These cats out here, man,
they ain't wasting no time, B.
I can understand the looting, right?
'Cause it's a blackout.
But damn,
can't they wait till the evening?
I'm saying, it's daylight outside.
I see you, nigga.
You know what I'm saying?
Crazy.
Hip-hop and R&B, 24/7 for the NYC.
I'm telling you, ain't this nothing?
Biggest blackout in American history
on the hottest day of the year.
What is it, like 98 degrees?
No air conditioning working.
I hear people over at
Harlsborough Projects are assed out.
They're calling me up like, "Asia, girl,
"you know, we ain't got no water,
no air, no gas, no nothing. "
I'm telling you, devil's playing games.
Give me a call, though.
Let me know what your story is.
Where you at? What part of the city?
What's going on?
What you doing up north?
-That's right, that's right...
-Just chilling.
I'm saying. I feel you, man.
-I'm scared.
-What the fuck's up?
I could've stayed locked
the fuck up north, man.
This some old Gaza Strip-type shit.
Motherfuckers ain't got no water.
This ain't no Third World country, dawg.
I'm an American, man.
Why work hard when you can
stick a motherfucker for free?
Everybody got
a solid motherfucking hustle.
Know what I mean? Cops out here
just going in niggas' pockets.
Prez out there
sticking niggas up for their oil.
Let's walk over to the Holy Land.
I'll bet you all them camel cocksuckers
are open.
Cactus-drinking motherfuckers
keep water and food.
And you know Wisdom
got to keep his commissary full.
I smell something.
Somebody's barbecuing something.
We need some grills
or something out here.
Go down there and get some chicken.
No, I'm chilling.
-Hold this.
-Send her down there. She done.
-I'll be back. Okay?
-All right.
Didn't your mama tell
you to go into the house?
-No.
-Yes, she did.
-No, she didn't.
-I think she did.
-No, she didn't.
-Whatever.
Oh, shit.
Shit! DeeDee, man, wake up.
Why the fuck you didn't
wake me up, man. What time is it?
Oh, shit, I gotta go.
-Yo, CJ, how's your mother?
-Just chilling. She's fine.
Start heading inside,
it's going to get dark, all right?
-Yeah, I will. Have fun, enjoy it.
-All right.
Oh, my God.
-Babe, are you okay?
-Yeah... Hey...
-Listen, I'm sorry I'm late, you know...
-You sure?
Wait, how did you get home?
Hey, you made it home.
Yeah. I trekked it all the way, too.
I was worried about you.
I was worried about you, too.
I tried calling you.
Ditto.
Oh, God.
Same way I always
get home baby, by train.
How's that possible?
What do you mean, "How's that
possible?" What are you talking about?
How'd you get home by train?
You know, I caught the train
like I always catch the train.
-Hey...
-Wait, Reggie,
what was you,
on some kind of magical train?
I mean, was it running on
batteries or something?
The power's been out in
the whole city since this afternoon.
Baby, you know, I didn't have
a problem catching the train.
Maybe my train was...
Running on a special train.
Hey, we're running late
let's go get this thing going...
What are you doing, man?
What's going on?
Where were you, Reggie?
-What do you mean, where was I?
-Where were you, Reggie?
-Where were you, Reggie?
-Hey, baby, you know I got to...
What were you doing, Reggie?
What were you doing?
Yo...
-Where were you, Reggie?
-I been at work.
You was at work?
You gonna lie to me now?
You gonna fucking lie to me now?
Get out!
-No stop it...
-No, get out!
Get the fuck out!
-Listen, baby...
-No, get your shit and get out.
Get the fuck out!
Well, I just wanted to make sure
you made it home safely, you know?
I should probably make my way out.
I didn't pack all my stuff,
so I have to come back later, okay?
I don't think it's such a wise idea to go
out there tonight. I mean, I don't...
I don't see what's the reason
why you can't stay one more night.
Another evening with me
isn't going to kill you, right?
Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right.
Hey, the fridge is still cool, you know.
None of the food is spoiled.
That's good.
-Are you hungry?
-Yeah.
You're probably hungry.
Got some food on the stove.
-I'll go get it.
-Okay.
Okay.
Hi. This is Susie.
I'm calling from Chelsea.
And I just wanted to say
where I am right now,
things are really kind of beautiful,
you know.
We're all sort of hanging out together
and taking in
and helping each other, you know.
And there's a guy on the corner
with like...
And my neighbors have
a whole bunch of extra water
that they're carrying out to people.
And the kids are all playing
out on the street.
It's kind of like a big street party,
you know.
And we're all just pulling together
and enjoying the time together.
It's a great time for us
to get to know each other, actually.
So, I know it's still so hard,
but we're having a good time
and pitching in...
I don't know, it's like the spirit of the city
is really coming through.
-What's up, man?
-Chilling. I'm good.
It's 8:30. Yankees game.
You got ESPN?
I don't think we're gonna
have any television tonight.
You're right there, of course.
That's the reason
I'm stuck here to begin with. Idiot.
-You're a baseball fan, huh?
-Oh, yeah. What are you, kidding?
My dad use to take me down here
to Ebbets Field all the time when I was
a kid to watch the Dodgers play.
I actually saw the great
Jackie Robinson play ball.
Jackie was cool with me.
He was one class act.
You say that kind of like
you knew him personally.
I can go better than that.
We used to play on the same team.
You played ball with Jackie...
Okay, before I get very excited here,
let me ask you something.
Are you just some old guy
who maybe fabricates
and exaggerates his life a little bit
to make up for his shortcomings?
You calling me a liar?
I'll throw your ass out in the dark.
No, no, I'm sorry.
Just checking. Sorry to interrupt.
When I was a young man,
I was quite an athlete.
After World War ll,
when I got discharged,
I was signed by the Negro League.
The Kansas City Monarchs, 1946.
Had a great roster.
Lot of talent on that team,
Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige...
Wow.
I got traded that season, though,
to the Newark Eagles.
The Eagles, right.
You know, the Newark Eagles
and the Kansas City Monarchs
played in
the Negro World Series that year.
Yeah. And the Newark Eagles won.
Sort of a revenge. Poetic justice.
I like to feel that
I had a little part in that.
Yeah.
I can't believe I'm sitting here
with a American Negro League
world champion.
George, that is...
-So what position you play?
-Center field.
-You ever see Jackie Robinson again?
-Nope.
The next season
he got signed by the Majors.
And then after that, they
started picking off all the colored boys,
and so the Negro League just
sort of dismantled.
Yeah. I ended up in Brooklyn.
That's where I met my missus.
Been here ever since.
-Thank you for dinner.
-You're welcome, miss.
What happened to your face?
Some of the stores on
the block were looted today.
Just got into a little scuffle,
but I'm all right.
-Are you sure?
-I'm good.
Nine months from now,
you know what it's gonna be.
I'm good.
A lot of blackout babies!
So let's get it popping.
We have a lot to talk about, you and me.
-Okay?
-Okay.
I'm sorry...
Yes, I was a bit frustrated
about our money situation.
However, all I kept thinking
about today was you.
I felt terrible for being
on your back this morning.
Today put a lot of things
in perspective for me.
About what's really important. I just...
I don't want to take
you for granted, okay? I'm sorry.
Look, I felt the same way, you know,
not being able to reach you and all.
But first off, I'm just glad you're okay.
Look, ma...
I got something important
I want to tell you and...
What is it?
I'm not doing good, you know?
I need some help.
You know, with the recession,
losing my job,
no work, you, me, everything...
You know,
at first I could deal with it, you know?
It was natural, I'd shake it off.
It was good, you know, it was all right.
But it's not easy no more, it's becoming
more and more difficult and...
I'm struggling, you know. I find myself...
I can't even walk out
that front door sometimes.
You know...
Then I realized, you know,
I was hurting... I was hurting
us both by keeping it from you.
You should have told me.
We could have
gotten through this together.
It's...
I want to get some help.
Okay, I'm going to get some help
to help me get back to being me.
Okay.
Because I can't lose you.
No, you're not gonna lose me.
-Mind if I ask you a personal question?
-Of course. Shoot.
We're sitting here,
we're talking like two old buddies
from talking about Jackie Robinson
to fusion to everything under the sun.
I guess what I'm trying to say is...
What happened?
What happened? Life happened.
I'll tell you what happened.
There's the life you plan
and then there's the life you're given.
Don't feel sorry for me, bro, I'm cool.
I've lived five lifetimes already.
You hungry?
Yeah, yeah, I could eat.
What you got on the menu?
Franks and beans.
-You got anything else?
-Yeah, beans and franks.
-I don't suppose those are firecrackers?
-No, I don't think it is.
I didn't think so.
Yo, Ty!
Ty, that's you?
Yo, Ty, what you doing outside, man?
Oh, my Lord.
-What are they doing out there?
-What else?
Taking advantage of the situation.
Come on, baby, close the curtain, okay?
Come on.
Hey, George.
Did you ever seen that movie
The Ten Commandments
with Charlton Heston?
Of course.
Do you remember that scene
he's talking to all the Israelites,
and he's telling them,
"Stay in your homes and wait for
pestilence and the Angel of Death
"to go into the homes of the Egyptians"?
That's how I feel
right now, like we're
waiting for darkness to pass.
Feel like praying?
Just kidding.
Hey, would you like to
stay the night out here?
Yeah, maybe that's a good idea.
I mean for both of us, right?
Right.
Yeah, okay.
Good night, George.
Good night, Sol.
Yo, Ty, you out here?
Yo, yo, yo!
It's dark as hell out.
Yo, Tyrone, stop playing, son,
where you at?
Yo, word to my mother, son.
Don't make me hurt you, son.
Yo, Ra, chill, son.
Oh, you see me, man. You think
I give a fuck if you see my face, cousin?
Yo, Ra, chill, son.
-Take your shit off.
-Yo, chill.
Yo chill, what?
Bro, you ain't gotta do this, man.
-Word.
-Yeah, word.
-No, you know me, son...
-Word.
I'm from your block.
-I'm from your block, son.
-Don't fuck with me.
-Yo, we from the same block, yo.
-That don't mean shit, partner.
-Little fucking fancy nigga, boy.
-Yo, Ra.
You gonna beg me, right?
Yo, chill, son.
Fuck you doing?
You's a dumb motherfucker, you know?
That's why I've never
liked your fucking ass!
All you had to fucking do
was run a jersey, nigger.
And now you want
to act all fucking hard and shit.
CJ?
CJ?
Where are you?
Okay.
CJ!
CJ.
CJ, where are you?
-Ma'am! I just want some water!
-No! No!
-Come on! I just want some water!
-No!
Stop flashing it at my face.
Do something, man.
Go get some clothes or something.
Yo, son, let me tell you something, man.
We about to fucking rack up today, man.
Yo, let's not get greedy, son.
We good. Let's bounce.
Nigga, is you fucking crazy?
Understand what I'm trying to tell you.
Right now, tonight,
New York is deaf, dumb,
blind and she about to get fucked.
Let me tell you something, B.
When is the next time you think
we gonna get a shot like this?
You think there is gonna be another
blackout like this again? You stupid?
Yo! Go upstairs
and get some sneakers, man!
Bring them shits downstairs.
Now, hurry up, man!
Make sure you get some Filas, homie.
-Come on, hurry the fuck up.
-Come on, let's go, let's go!
Yo!
Tyrone, what the fuck you doing, man?
Damn, I'm going to prison!
Get them lights off.
All right, motherfuckers, where are you?
Get your hands up!
Don't shoot! Please don't shoot!
I don't have any weapons on me, sir.
Move front! Move front!
Put your fucking hands up!
Put your hands up! Get up, get up,
get up! Get your hands up!
Spread your fucking legs!
Spread your legs and don't move!
Is anybody else in here?
Nah, son.
You don't got to be like this.
Oh, God!
I got too much to do.
Not like this. You got plans for me, God.
Mom said you got plans for me.
Mom said you got...
Mom said you got plans for me.
-James, wake up!
-Baby, what?
-Do you smell that?
-What, baby?
Smells like there's a fire
on the other side of the building, baby.
Baby, come on. Come to bed, all right?
We've been up all night.
There's nothing we can do about it.
Come on, just come to bed.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No, please.
Ma'am, it's the police. You all right?
Okay. Everybody needs to go back
to their buildings
and make sure their neighbors
and everybody is all right.
Please! Everybody go check if your
family and your neighbors are okay.
You two, come with me.
Is everybody all right in there?
Is everybody all right in there?
You all right?
Is everybody all right in there?
I'm stopping by
to see if everybody is okay!
Ms. Germaine! It's...
Ms. Germaine?
It's Fatima.
I'm just stopping by
to see if everybody is okay!
Ms. Germaine? Are you in here?
Ms. Germaine!
Ms. Germaine! Ms. Germaine!
Oh, my God!
Ms. Germaine!
Ms. Germaine! Are you okay?
Help! Ms. Germaine... Help!
I need help in here!
-What's up?
-They got CJ, dawg.
Wait.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Shit!
What happened?
-They stabbed CJ last night.
-What?
-ls he okay?
-Nah. He died, yo.
-Oh, God! I just saw him yesterday!
-Oh, shit!
I told him... I told him to go back inside
because it was going to get dangerous.
This is bullshit, son.
My God.
Man, son didn't even deserve
to go out like that, man!
He was going to school.
He was doing his thing.
Shit is fucked up, yo.
I bet you this was somebody from
outside the neighborhood.
Ain't nobody that we know did this.
Why would somebody want to hurt him?
I don't fucking understand this!
This doesn't make any sense!
Damn, son, lights go out
one motherfucking time,
niggas don't know how to act.
-One time!
-What the fuck are you all doing!
Why! Please tell me why
y'all are killing your fucking own!
He was going to make something out
of his life! He represented you!
He was one of our finest products
and you shattered everything!
I need backup right now!
Why don't you go find out
who killed my man?
Stop harassing us!
Why don't you do your job, man?
Hitting the street isn't going
to do us any good, Claudine,
but make us hot and more pissed!
-Okay...
-Baby.
Look, why don't you just lie down
and take a nap.
And I'm sure, by the time you wake up,
the power will be back on
and everything will be all right.
What if it's not?
You know?
What if it doesn't come back on?
Like, what the fuck
are we going to do, James?
How are we gonna eat?
There's no food in that fridge that's
gonna be good one more night.
This doesn't make any sense.
-Baby, where are you going?
-I'm going to go lay down.
Ms. Germaine! Ms. Germaine!
-Ms. Germaine! You all right?
-You all right?
-You all right?
-Ms. Germaine, you all right?
God, have mercy!
About time y'all got here.
I called y'all damn near 40 minutes ago!
What, y'all guys forgot
about us down here in the hood?
I'm going with her. I want to go with her.
Hey, yo,
what happened to Ms. Germaine?
She went the whole night without any
food or any insulin for her diabetes
-and passed out.
-What?
-She going to be all right?
-Yes, she's going to be all right, brother.
She's going to be just fine.
You know what I am saying?
Ain't nothing new under the sun.
They've done this to us before.
It all comes back around 360 degrees,
you know what I'm saying.
Now it's our turn
for our generation to sustain!
-Yo, Tech.
-Yes?
I need you to get the word out
in the neighborhood.
Sorry, Fa.
-No.
-Listen, I'm not the one for this.
I need people to know they got to take
pictures of all the food that went bad
in their home last night.
-The City is liable, yo!
-Fa, I'm out.
That shit is politics as usual.
That's what the fuck it is, man!
-That's some bullshit!
-You just figuring that out?
There ain't no money down here,
nobody got no money,
nobody making no money,
so why the fuck they gonna rush
down here to turn the lights back on?
-So it's about money?
-What the fuck do you think it is?
Could be some corporate tricks,
you know.
I wouldn't put nothing past them
Enron motherfuckers.
Wait, don't N-Ron live down the street?
-Cam, come on.
-Quit looking at me like that.
There's a dude named N-Ron
who lives up the block.
-He don't spell it the same.
-You're embarrassing me right now.
Come on, Rick,
take a walk with me, man.
I'm rolling with y'all.
Yo, this shit is
survival of the fittest, dawg.
-That's what I'm saying.
-It's crazy out here.
Keep going like they're going
down in Washington,
-this shit'll be like this every day.
-Shit looks like a war zone.
Hey, yo, man, word up.
I'm gonna go get some water
or something, man.
It's hotter than Tahiti
out in this motherfucker.
Damn!
Word up, I don't know about y'all,
but I'm starting to get real vexed.
They better turn this motherfucker on,
so I can have some access to my
fucking money. I'm hungry as hell, yo!
This shit ain't even funny no more, man.
It never was.
-Any updates?
-Nope.
Just the same old broken promises.
You're having cereal with that milk?
What if it's spoiled, James?
It tastes fine to me.
It's a little warm,
but it's all right, I guess.
Nel, man,
I'm saying we need to hop in your whip
and get out this neighborhood
or something.
-Hell, no. You haven't been listening?
-Listening to what?
-All the gas stations closed.
-What?
Yeah. Let this shit last for two,
three more days
and all these cats you see out here
flossing on the strip
is gonna be assed out.
This some old Mad Max Beyond
Thunderdome in Brooklyn-style bullshit.
-I'm preserving my gas, man.
-It's not going to get that crazy, Nel.
We'll see.
Yeah, okay.
How old is this fool,
trying to call us out like this?
He ain't talking about nothing.
See, that's why I don't stay
on no corner, man.
They give me the wrong juice.
Let me come inside.
I'm sorry, sweetheart, I can't do that.
-All right.
-Let's do it. We do what we got to do.
Hey, yo, what's up?
Hey, yo, relax. Relax with that shit.
Calm the fuck down.
Relax with the shit, man,
I got it under control, baby. Relax.
Yo, yo, what's up? What's up, man?
What's up?
A salami and bacon, Osama.
What's the deal, man?
You still selling water by the gallons?
-No.
-No?
-Only small ones, a dollar.
-Small ones?
But you gonna have to wait
like everybody else.
-No, I ain't waiting, dawg, man.
-I understand.
I don't take orders
from motherfucking sand niggers,
you know what I mean?
You play that shit in the Middle East,
this is Brooklyn, New York, baby.
Next.
No, on the real, son,
you gotta chill the fuck out, son.
I'm too hot for this bullshit.
You've been bugging since yesterday.
You gotta max that shit out, bro.
For real.
Now's the time to make yours, man.
That's the same Harlsborough cat
that drove by the store earlier, man.
CJ don't have me feeling
all this stuff out here right now.
Bullshit. Word is bond...
Damn, dawg, why in the fuck are you
drilling me like that man?
Excuse me?
Hey, yo, what's up, man?
You looking at me
like you know me or something, man.
Niggas don't know me over here, man.
What's up, yo?
There's no stores
over on Harlsborough?
Last time I checked,
there were stores over on Harlsborough.
Can't hear what you're saying, man.
Come here, yo.
No, no. Chill.
Yeah, that's what up, man. What's up?
Y'all should do your motherfucking job
find them niggas that killed my man.
-What's good with that?
-We don't want no problem.
If I was you, I'd keep my voice down.
If you was me? This is my block!
What's the problem man?
You know me or something?
-Yeah, I know you.
-What's up, nigga?
You know me?
What's going on, man,
what you gonna do?
I'm gonna take that fucking gun!
We got power, baby!
We got power! We got power!
Hey, yo, Ali, man...
What y'all need?
-Hey, Fatima.
-Hey, Ali.
It's crazy out there, huh?
I guess your surprise evening
was ruined last night.
In more ways than you can imagine.
I am sure you can
make it up some other time.
I'm afraid yesterday's blackout
shed light in my apartment last night.
Reggie and I are no longer together.
Say word? I mean, for real?
-I'm sorry to hear about that.
-Really?
I'm not.
Take care, Ali.
Fatima, wait.
Listen.
Maybe you and I can catch some
spoken word sometime.
You know, have dinner, get to know
each other outside of this element.
You asking me out?
Yeah.
I mean, I was respecting your boy,
but if he did something stupid
to lose a beautiful gem like yourself...
I can't just sit back and let you get lost
Or swept up in some deep sands
Like a pestilence coming across
the lands you've been looking for
Okay, that's enough poetry.
Wow, I never...
I never thought about you like that,
and it's a...
-It's not you, you know what I'm saying?
-No, I understand.
We're cool and everything,
but I just never...
So I'll see you around.
Hey, I hope you feel better.
Okay.
Okay?
Call me.
I'll do that.
Bye, Ali.
Yeah!
Thank you, Allah. Thank you.
-He better be here.
-Yeah.
Where... Oh, yeah.
You're a day late!
Well, George, I think this is it.
Thank you for everything.
Hey, you're welcome. You know,
it's not every day I get company.
You know, I've been thinking I'm gonna
have to get these places renovated.
I mean, I have to keep them updated
just to keep the need for
all these repairs down.
What do you think?
The tenants will be happy to hear that.
They better be happy. I don't want them
pestering my superintendent.
Your hands are gonna
be full with these renovations, right?
That's true. That's true.
George.
Listen, you call me, all right?
Keep me personally updated
with everything, any time, any place.
You call me directly.
Any problems, all right?
-I'll do that, sir, thanks.
-Take care of yourself.
You, too.
Hey, boss, you all right?
How did you make out last night?
I'm fine.
I'm just great,
everything turned out great.
I'm really sorry about that, you know.
I mean, leaving you out here.
You know, with all the power out,
I had no way of reaching you,
and then I thought it might be
dangerous if I returned.
You know, maybe you might have
taken a cab or something.
You thought I might have
taken a cab or something?
How the hell do you think I could have
gotten a cab here last night?
By holding my wallet up in the air?
Flashing my ass?
You know what? Never mind.
Everything, Anthony, is just fine.
-Don't worry about it, okay?
-Okay.
Okay, so how did it work out
with George? Did you kick him out?
No, actually, I didn't kick him out.
I learned a great deal about George
during the course of our evening
last night,
and I found out, in fact,
that he is an asset to me,
so he's staying.
I am, however, contemplating firing you
for deserting my ass here last night.
Are we going to start
some time this century?
Or are you gonna plan to stay in this
neighborhood for the rest of my life?
Hey, George.
-Hey, youngblood, how you been?
-Good, I'm good. Better now, I guess.
Now is it me, or does it suddenly feel
just a little bit cooler now?
I think it's you.
Little man, come here, man.
Hold up. When you gonna fix
this dude's head up, man?
I got you. I got you.
Go ahead, man.
I'm just playing with you.
That shit is good!
He make you look good!
You jacked him up,
but you ain't mean to.
Power has officially
been restored in NYC.
With the exception of a few minor,
sporadic incidents,
reports indicate that there have been
very few cases of looting, some fires,
mostly as a result of burning candles.
There's been few, if any,
violent cases of attacks.
New Yorkers, if anything,
were helpful, supportive
and were on their best behavior,
proving that the will and the power of
the people of this city
cannot and will not be broken.
I'm going to the corner store.
Get some milk.
Oh, God!
My people! My people!
Having fun. The lights are back on.
You can go back to having fun now.
You just missed
a goddamn-near opportunity of your life!
You spent time in the dark.
Dark's a very special place, you know.
You can see things.
You can see things that you don't see
out here with all the distracting bullshit.
You see that true light.
Stevie Wonder. Ray Charles.
Helen Keller.
They all saw
something special in the dark.
They got smart in the dark.
What did you do? Little humpty-hump?
Or steal something?
Now the lights are back on,
business as usual.
Black out, black in,
black in, black out, black out.
You should find you a dark spot.
We can learn something.
Oh, God!
We need a messiah.
Somebody that can come and say
to all the CJs in the world,
"Lazarus, rise up and walk. "
And wipe away all the tears
from a million mothers' faces.
Out here, business as usual.
Everybody having a good time.
Just another day in the ghetto.
Just another day in Brooklyn.
-What's up, baby?
-What's good?
-How you?
-Ain't shit.
All right.
You got that new
Bad Boys II soundtrack?
Do I? And the shit is fire, dun.
I'm selling out every day
on that right there.
Yeah, y'all, CDs, DVDs...
Man, I told you. You can't be marrying
my sister, you ain't got no paper.
I ain't having it.
What's up, youngblood,
you can't speak?
What's up, man?
I'll come holler at you later on.
Let me finish this.
Hey, you know what I heard
they pay these chicks in these videos?
Pay them a ham sandwich.
They don't get a dime shaking their ass
in the camera like that.
Yeah. I fucked around
with a little video chick one time.
Wait. What?
What do you mean?
You saw her in the club?
You bumped into her on the way
to the bathroom in the club?
Come on, man.
Quit clowning me, man.
Stay out of my business, all right?
I don't love them hos.
I like me a gangster bitch.
Pretty but gangster.
You know what I'm saying?
It's all right. It's all right.
Fuck that. Yeah, all right.
Damn, son. I'm saying, why don't you
just date dudes, then, man?
-What? Oh.
-Take that ho with you, son.
If there ain't no water in here,
I'm telling you I'm gonna be crazy.
Tell your mom I'm gonna call her later
about that information.
-Ali. What's good, my man?
-What up, L?
Hey, man, you know me, man.
I'm always good.
Another day, another hustle.
I'm about to go to work, so, you know,
came to get my newspaper.
I'm about to go to work, so, you know,
came to get my newspaper.
My water. You know you're running
out of water, right?
You'd better get on your man.
And, this bag of chips
and you already know...
A man after my own heart...
Yeah. That's fresh. Yeah, I like that.
So how much I owe you?
-$2.50.
-$2.50?
-$2.50.
-$2.50?
-It was $2.50 yesterday.
-All right.
Damn. I gotta count this out.
You know what I'm saying?
Ten...
Yo, I'm gonna owe you 30 cents,
all right?
-No. No, dude.
-I'm good for it.
What is it you don't understand?
No credit. The sign is right there.
It says, "No credit."
Look, there's even an exclamation point.
Oh, that's what you're talking about.
You want the credit.
-Oh, thank you, Ali...
-No. No, dude, I'm serious.
I can't let you off anymore.
Every day you come in here,
go through your pants
and realize you ain't got no money.
Maybe if you counted your money
before you come in here,
you realize you don't have enough
to buy what you want.
Come on, man. I come in here
every day. You know what I'm saying?
You're getting rich off us out here.
How you gonna spaz on me with...
Hold on, hold on,
hold on, hold on, hold on.
-Who the hell you think is getting rich?
-You!
Dude, you think I'd be out here
working 16 hours a day
-if I was getting rich?
-Damn, 16 hours.
That's why we don't accept IOUs.
Man, give me this, man. I'll give you
the 30 cents tomorrow, all right?
I was going to be one myself
at one time, you know.
Super!
When you gonna fix my sink, man?
You come over to my house
from a week ago,
and you don't come back, man.
I haven't forgotten about you, Beatrice.
As soon as the company
brings the stuff,
you're gonna be first on my list.
This man full of shit.
I'll soon report him to me landlord.
Sure. You know how much
they report him already?
-Morning, George.
-Hey.
Good morning, Mrs. Thompson.
Coming from work, I see.
Yes.
-How's CJ?
-Oh, he's fine. Thank you.
Figured out which school
he's gonna go to yet?
Yes, indeed.
He will be going to Penn State
in the fall. Full academic scholarship.
Good Jesus!
-I know you must be proud.
-Oh, very much. Very much so.
-Well, I'm not gonna hold you up.
-All right.
I know you gotta go get your rest. Okay?
By the way, George. I got a leak coming
down from my ceiling in the bathroom.
Could you...
I'll be up there in half an hour.
Maybe just a little bit more. Okay?
-Thanks a lot.
-Okay.
-Good morning, ladies.
-Morning!
Did you hear that woman?
Bragging about her child,
like he's the only one
doing right or in college.
Did I tell you my son Trevor
got accepted to college, too?
Is he? But isn't he about 32?
So what? It ain't never too late.
Thank you.
Anyway, he's taking two night classes
-at Medgar Evers Community College.
-Good for him.
-James!
-Hey, babe, good morning.
Papi, I overslept.
You didn't wake me up.
Now I'm late for work.
Babe, you didn't come to bed
until almost 3:00 this morning.
You looked so peaceful.
I didn't want to bother you.
Besides, I wanted to surprise you
with breakfast in bed.
But my boss is gonna kill me.
Babe, you can work from home.
You do it all the time.
-Hey, how do you want your eggs?
-No, thank you.
Man.
She done ruined my whole mack mood.
Oh, hey, Ma.
Hey, handsome.
How was your evening?
It was good.
You know, same old, same old.
Well, do you want me
to do something for you?
You want me to make you some tea
or something like that?
-Oh, could you?
-You know I got you.
You're getting ready for work?
Yeah. I'm gonna leave in about
Where is The View?
I like that Star Jones.
You going job-hunting today?
Well, I got a lot to do
in the house today.
I don't know yet.
Claudine, hold up.
What?
You don't think I wanna find a job?
No one's saying
that you don't want to find a job.
Well, you think this is easy?
I haven't had a steady job in two years.
-You think I like this shit?
-You don't need to curse at me, James.
-I'm just asking.
-No, no. No, you're not just asking.
All right? Nobody's "just asking."
I hate when people say that.
When I got laid off,
the economy was already jacked up.
I mean, how was I to know that
the terrorists would drop the bomb
on us, right here in New York.
-Hey, baby.
-Hey, baby.
I see you found your breakfast okay.
-What?
-Got to go.
-What?
-Listen, I'm late for work.
I'll be home from work around 7:00,
all right?
-Already?
-One sec.
-Wait.
-Love you.
Wait, baby, wait.
I wanted to surprise you, but...
I made reservations for us tonight
at the Jazz Lounge.
Jazz Lounge?
I want to celebrate my baby
getting his promotion.
Damn. You know, I tell you, I must have
done something really special
in my past life to get loved up
with someone as fine as you.
Nubian queen. I'll tell you.
Look, I got to go.
Hey, have fun on your day off.
First of all, your mother plays Xbox.
My mother has a job.
What took you so long?
I thought you wasn't coming
to see me no more.
Is that what you thought?
James, you've been supported
every month, all right?
I'm sorry that I don't
pat you on the back daily
just because you tried
to get a job today,
which is something you're supposed
to be doing every single day.
You know... Yo, check this.
I tell you what. Yo, I'm not here
to be a burden on no one.
Okay? So how about
I do my thing, you do your thing.
I'll move out, so that way you don't
have to stress out why I'm tripping.
All right. I mean, if that's how you feel...
If that's what you wanna do,
I'm not gonna stop you.
Yeah, well...
I'll start packing this afternoon.
By the time you return from work,
I'll be handing over your keys to you.
That'll be it.
Okay. That's fine.
That's no problem. I gotta go.
So I guess
I'll just see you when I get back.
Whatever.
Yo, dawg. You want a cut?
I'm free. Come on.
Yeah. You're gonna stay free
if you're waiting for me, nigga.
Yeah. You're gonna stay free
if you're waiting for me, nigga.
It's like that, Ty?
Oh, all right, all right. You know,
dude trying to eat,
trying to do the right thing,
and you want to play me.
Cool. Cool, because I'm on my grind, B.
I drop my CD this summer.
You know, I mean, the majors gonna be
throwing mad dough at the kid.
You gonna be the groupie nigga like,
"Hey, yo, L, remember me
from the barbershop, son?
"What's up with them concert tickets?"
"Security! Fuck out of here, nigga."
Take it easy, man. Peace.
Don't be harassing my customers.
You can't help that man 'cause
he doesn't want his head bleeding.
Hey, yo, that was a condition, yo.
We had that conversation.
That was betwixt us.
Hey, man, how many heads
did you cut this month, L?
One and a half. You don't count the half
'cause the dude
ain't have no neckbones.
Hell, you the only employed
unemployed motherfucker I know.
What up?
What up, man?
How many heads you got in front of me?
I got two, man.
Hold my spot. I'll be back.
I ain't know they let Rasheed out, dawg!
-Let him out two weeks ago.
-What?
You ever wonder why
they always let the grimiest negroes
out at summertime?
Summer recess.
Watch what I tell you. Duke will be out
before the summer ends.
But did y'all see how the nigga
was creeping in here, though?
Yo, Ra's the illest stickup kid
on the block, B.
Nel, you better watch your shop, man.
That nigga right there, he gone.
He touched.
Hey, let me tell you something, fam,
I'm a grown-ass man,
and that right there is some straight ass
juvenile delinquent bullshit.
If you play AAA ball,
don't step into Yankee Stadium, right?
-That's what's up. That's gangster.
-You a OG for real, right?
Crazy, man.
Oh, Tone, what I told you about bringing
that raggedy-ass cart in my shop, man?
Oh, come on now, youngblood.
Fixing to hook you up.
Oh, shit.
Let me show you something. Come on.
I got some stuff here for everybody,
on sale.
On sale. Check this out.
This one here is a Hoover classic.
Your sweeping days is over, Rover.
This thing here can sweep up
every motherfucking thing in sight.
And I'm gonna let everybody,
anybody who wants it,
I'm gonna let you have it, today, for $50.
Get the fuck out of here.
Come on, man.
You know, I was just messing with you.
Give me $5, I'm gonna show you how...
Watch out!
-Fam, come on, man.
-Check this out.
Oh, man.
-You're messing my floor...
-All right, I'm sorry.
Listen here, listen here, I'll go
and get it fixed and I'll be right back.
No, don't come right back.
Get the fuck out.
Just get out of here, man.
-Get it out! Get it out!
-All right, all right.
I'm out of here.
Oh, Ms. Germaine.
Hey, hey. How you doing?
Oh, CJ. How are you doing?
I'm doing good.
Let me help you with these bags.
Oh, no. Thank you, CJ.
I ain't want to trouble you.
Trust me. It's no trouble at all.
-Come on.
-All right.
-Okay, Ms. Germaine.
-Oh, thank you so much.
-God bless you.
-No problem.
By the way, Ms. Germaine,
you're looking real good.
Y'all hanging out there today.
-It is hot. Hot as fish grease out there.
-Yo, C.
What the fuck?
What's up, mate.
Trying to sneak up on me and shit.
-How's it going? Yo, this jersey is fire.
-Chilling, man.
Come on, man.
You're wrinkling the shit.
-Shit dropped like two weeks ago.
-Yo.
Oh, word? Yo, you getting me one.
No doubt. I mean,
I was on my way to the store now,
until somebody wanna jump
on my back...
But it's nothing, you know...
What's up, CJ?
-What's up, Keish?
-How you doing?
I'm doing good. You looking real good.
That ain't even funny, yo.
If you don't hit that by the time
you leave school, I'm gonna hit that.
-You ain't hit nothing, son.
-That's hating.
Yo, who she said hi to?
Exactly. Me.
-I'm still gonna hit it.
-You ain't getting nothing.
Don't deny me, man.
Baby, what's good?
Oh. What up? What up?
Oh, that LeBron is killer, man.
What up, my dawg? What's up?
What up, my dawg?
What up? What up, Ra?
What up?
Yo, what's up, man?
What's good, yo.
Who holding the rap game down, B?
Jay is holding the rap game down, baby!
-Chill out, yo. It's Nas.
-Nas?
-Nas holding the rap game down.
-Oh, yeah... Y'all niggas, man.
Yo, is he Dame Daddy
Dame Diddy or Dame Dummy?
Oh, I get it
You Biggie and he's Puffy
Exactly. You did...
So far ahead of your time
About to start another life
Look behind you
I'm about to pass you twice
-Come on, man.
-Get the fuck out of here.
Get them! Hit them!
-Why's your man in Tae Bo class?
-Hit him.
Why your man 40 years old
on top of that?
-Why he still in the rap game?
-You look like you're in Tae Bo!
-You take Tae Bo?
-Yo! Yo!
Yo, why is we talking about niggas?
Both of them niggas wack.
Yeah. I guess you're right, yo.
That nigga has been tight
falling off lately.
Yo, why the fuck we standing
over here, man,
with a bunch of niggas
when we could be around the corner
bagging some birds?
Nigga, you is fucking right, man.
Yo, y'all coming, yo?
Nah, man. I gotta work soon.
Man. All right. You do that. You do that.
What about you, Esco?
Nah, I'm good.
All right, man. Yo. It's good, man.
-What?
-When did you start smoking?
-What?
-Nothing.
You know, we've been getting
a lot of complaints.
-Particularly with the Browser Buildings.
-I know. I know.
To be honest with you, Sol,
you know, I don't think George
is doing such a good job maintaining...
That's exactly why we're here.
Pay our friend George a little visit,
do an inspection,
get some comments from the tenants.
Hear what they have to say.
If I don't like what I hear,
then he's gone.
He's been living in that apartment
for what, 32 years?
I fix it up, I could double the rent.
-It sounds like a plan to me.
-I'm glad you approve.
If you're still experiencing difficulties
sleeping, having panic attacks,
or are depressed as the result
of the events surrounding 9/1 1,
please give us a call.
Our councilors are experienced
at dealing with trauma,
and we're here to help you.
If you really have a problem,
pick up the phone.
Are you crazy?
No, I'm serious.
Molly wanted you and me
to go upstate,
and we'll take a look at the property.
All right. I'm serious.
You're crazy, girl.
Can I help you?
Yes.
Yes, you can help me.
-Hey, girl.
-Hey now.
What's wrong?
-Talk.
-James and I had a fight this morning.
And it was pretty bad.
I think we're breaking up.
I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?
I was pissed off this morning,
because he didn't wake me up
and I was late for work.
So why didn't he
wake you up this morning?
Because he was gonna surprise me
with breakfast in bed.
That bum.
You need to drop him fast, girl.
Oh, D, it's not funny.
Your ass was probably up all night
writing, weren't you?
You seriously involved chicks kill me.
You've been out
of the single arena too long.
-Oh, my God.
-Ain't nothing out here.
D, it's not about being single
or anything.
It has nothing to do with someone else.
So then what's the problem?
We've been having financial problems,
like, this past year...
Let me tell you something, Claudine.
Jobs, finances...
They come and go.
But I've always admired you
and James' relationship.
And it would be a shame
to see it fall apart
on the account of things
you two have no control over.
You understand?
I'm sorry about that. I...
He's an idiot. I always tell him serve
the customers with the food first.
Oh, it's all right, Ali. I can wait.
It's no problem.
No, you deserve...
You demand that kind of attention.
You're a strong, decisive queen.
You know what you want.
Therefore if there is something
You can ask of me
Surely, I cannot front
-What?
-I wrote down more of it.
-I'll show it to you.
-Let me find out you rhyme, Ali.
That was cute. You got some skills.
I've been dabbling a little poetry
since your last show.
-Hey, when's your next one?
-Actually, it's tonight.
Well, I'm going to the Jazz Lounge
with Reggie,
celebrate his promotion.
So I'm gonna surprise him with a poem
and a song that I wrote for him.
You know, a little something.
That's nice.
You know you trying
to put it on a brother today.
I know you don't think you came up here
just to give me one round, right?
Come on, I don't...
Don't even come at me like that.
You know I'm a heavyweight.
-I hear you.
-You hear me, all right.
-Yeah.
-You gonna be hearing me in a minute.
Oh, good thinking.
It's hotter than a motherfucker out here.
Damn, baby, where're you going?
I'll be right back.
I'm just going to the store right quick.
Get some Cheez Doodles or something.
-You want anything?
-No, I'm good.
-You got some change or something?
-Check my pockets.
You know I gotta be home at 6:30.
Yeah.
You might wanna be ready
when I get back, then.
All right.
Yo, so I'm gonna come through later,
tell you what I want you
to cop for me, all right?
Yo, come through. It's nothing.
What you about to get into right now?
-Nothing. Just chilling.
-No doubt.
Be safe out here, man.
-Stay out of trouble.
-All right.
-For real, son.
-All right, yo.
-Hey, what's up, Mr. Chang?
-Hey, CJ.
Hey, we're a little busier than usual.
We can do inventory later. Can you
help Nancy with the customers?
Got you.
Hey, Nancy.
-Hey.
-How you doing?
Hey, what's up?
Can I help you with anything?
Yeah, man.
I'm trying to get size 12 in these.
Twelve? These are dope.
You're gonna... I like these.
All right, now.
-Sol?
-George.
This is a surprise.
I wasn't expecting you to...
-We have a meeting set for today?
-No. No. Would you mind?
I'm not disturbing you, am I?
You weren't asleep or something
like that, were you?
Why would I be sleeping
in the middle of the afternoon?
Look, George,
I'm gonna be straight with you.
I've been starting to get some
complaints from the tenants
about your keeping up with
the maintenance of the buildings,
and I mean,
maybe you're getting a little old.
Something like that. If that's the case,
I'm gonna have to replace you.
And if I do that,
unfortunately, I'm also going to have to
remove you from this apartment.
Now, look. If you want to get rid of me,
and you need a scapegoat,
well, then you just go right ahead.
You're not fooling anybody.
I mean, you know these buildings
are run-down.
We're getting a little
ahead of ourselves here, okay?
That's why I came personally, George.
I'm here, personally,
so that you and I both
can go check on the conditions
of these apartments with the tenants.
We'll talk to them,
we'll make an assessment,
we'll come back down here,
we can just talk
reasonably about the whole matter.
Is that all right with you?
-As you wish. You're the boss, boss.
-All right, let's get started.
-Y'all think Kobe did it, man?
-No. No.
There's no way my man
could have did that.
His wife way too fine
for him to be doing that shit, B.
You know what they say
about every fine woman out there.
There's a brother behind her
that's tired of hitting it.
Yes, sir.
Nah, nah. I don't see Kobe
hitting nobody. I don't see it.
I know, but that's what a man get
for fucking with them white chicks.
Oh, here we go. Now the woman
in you want to come out.
How come every time
something like this go down,
the sisters wanna bring up
the white girl issue?
Nel, you ain't pay your bills, dawg?
Now what?
-What's wrong?
-My hair.
-Huh!
-Look at my hair!
Well, I'll tell you what.
Instead of $10, give me $5.
Mr. Landlord!
What happened to my electricity, sir?
Wait, could you calm down a minute?
-You got an electricity problem, right?
-Yeah!
Happened when,
about five minutes ago?
Okay, well, it happened to
everybody at the same time.
We checked our circuit board.
It's not our fault. It's not our building.
We got to see... Maybe the whole
block's electricity has gone.
So we'll go next door, we'll check them
and see what's going on.
All right, okay. All right, okay.
I understand. I understand.
I didn't turn off...
Police news and special report.
The Northeast...
...power outages, blackouts, if you will,
all along the Eastern seaboard,
specifically in the Northeastern U. S.
New York affected,
Detroit, Toronto, Ottawa,
as far west as Ohio.
as far west as Ohio.
In New York City, JFK, LaGuardia,
Wall Street all experiencing
major outages. Just how widespread
these outages are is unclear at this time
and whether there's any connection
among any of them
is unclear at this time.
Well, I'm glad this
happened in the daytime.
Yo! Yo! Get some money over here!
What are you doing here?
Yo! Yo! Yo what the fuck is wrong
with y'all, man? Get out!
Yo, kid, you heard?
There's a blackout in the whole city!
Yeah, I know, we heard.
Where the hell 5-0 rushing off to?
I don't know,
but this shit right here is crazy.
No, no, no, stop!
Stop! Stop!
Chill, son!
Yo, yo, son, I work here, son.
Yo, dawg, what you care?
You act like this shit belong to you!
This shit ain't right, son. It's not right.
Yo, Rasheed, what you doing?
What the fuck is your beef?
Don't put your hands on me again,
nigga.
I ain't fucking with you, man.
Yo, just open the front gate halfway.
We'll sell through the opening.
Ain't no telling how long
this is going to last.
I got nothing. Can I borrow your phone?
No use. I don't have no reception either.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
What if James got stuck in
one of those trains
in those tunnels
with the temperature so high.
Wherever he is, I'm sure he's fine.
I hope so.
How are you going to go
get Little J in Bed-Stuy?
By foot if I have to.
I'm gonna keep walking.
Hopefully, I can catch a cab or
a express van or something.
-I don't know.
-Hopefully.
You know, bin Laden
has something to do with this.
-You think so?
-Yes, man.
Where is he?
He should be here by now.
-Probably got stuck in traffic.
-You think I can get a cab at the corner?
-Let's do it.
-All right.
You know, when the going gets tough,
the tough get going.
"Searching for service."
Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing.
I don't even have one of those things.
This is a low down dirty shame, people!
That even on doomsday,
you can't find it in your heart
to help a fellow man.
That's why it's about to get crazy.
This is nothing but a plot
by the government
to kill off all the black people.
The original man...
Hey, come on, taxi! Taxi, come on!
...until every last one
of you niggety-negroes...
MAN: Oh, shut up!
...is dead on the floor.
Like that.
Hey, taxi! Come on!
Maybe we better go back
to my apartment
until you can get a hold of your guy.
Port Authority says no trains
or subways are running...
What's up?
Yo, how the fuck you was going to
leave me like that back there, son?
Shit, nigga, 5-0 was coming.
Why the fuck
you running from the police?
You see your mentality, dawg?
I don't know where
you come from, B, but around here,
you hear po-po coming, you dip.
You want to stand around
while they sweeping people up,
you go ahead.
'Cause any nigga will do...
Oh, I guess you don't have to worry
about that kind of stuff, huh?
-Mr. College Boy...
-Okay, dead that shit. All right? For real.
Don't run game on a nigga
who's known you all your fucking life.
I know you.
Stop following behind those niggas, Ty.
For real.
You will end up in a real bad place
and I can't help you.
-Yo, C.
-Yo, get off me, son.
All right, man?
What's up, B?
Watching all these cats wilding out.
Yeah, for real.
These cats out here, man,
they ain't wasting no time, B.
I can understand the looting, right?
'Cause it's a blackout.
But damn,
can't they wait till the evening?
I'm saying, it's daylight outside.
I see you, nigga.
You know what I'm saying?
Crazy.
Hip-hop and R&B, 24/7 for the NYC.
I'm telling you, ain't this nothing?
Biggest blackout in American history
on the hottest day of the year.
What is it, like 98 degrees?
No air conditioning working.
I hear people over at
Harlsborough Projects are assed out.
They're calling me up like, "Asia, girl,
"you know, we ain't got no water,
no air, no gas, no nothing. "
I'm telling you, devil's playing games.
Give me a call, though.
Let me know what your story is.
Where you at? What part of the city?
What's going on?
What you doing up north?
-That's right, that's right...
-Just chilling.
I'm saying. I feel you, man.
-I'm scared.
-What the fuck's up?
I could've stayed locked
the fuck up north, man.
This some old Gaza Strip-type shit.
Motherfuckers ain't got no water.
This ain't no Third World country, dawg.
I'm an American, man.
Why work hard when you can
stick a motherfucker for free?
Everybody got
a solid motherfucking hustle.
Know what I mean? Cops out here
just going in niggas' pockets.
Prez out there
sticking niggas up for their oil.
Let's walk over to the Holy Land.
I'll bet you all them camel cocksuckers
are open.
Cactus-drinking motherfuckers
keep water and food.
And you know Wisdom
got to keep his commissary full.
I smell something.
Somebody's barbecuing something.
We need some grills
or something out here.
Go down there and get some chicken.
No, I'm chilling.
-Hold this.
-Send her down there. She done.
-I'll be back. Okay?
-All right.
Didn't your mama tell
you to go into the house?
-No.
-Yes, she did.
-No, she didn't.
-I think she did.
-No, she didn't.
-Whatever.
Oh, shit.
Shit! DeeDee, man, wake up.
Why the fuck you didn't
wake me up, man. What time is it?
Oh, shit, I gotta go.
-Yo, CJ, how's your mother?
-Just chilling. She's fine.
Start heading inside,
it's going to get dark, all right?
-Yeah, I will. Have fun, enjoy it.
-All right.
Oh, my God.
-Babe, are you okay?
-Yeah... Hey...
-Listen, I'm sorry I'm late, you know...
-You sure?
Wait, how did you get home?
Hey, you made it home.
Yeah. I trekked it all the way, too.
I was worried about you.
I was worried about you, too.
I tried calling you.
Ditto.
Oh, God.
Same way I always
get home baby, by train.
How's that possible?
What do you mean, "How's that
possible?" What are you talking about?
How'd you get home by train?
You know, I caught the train
like I always catch the train.
-Hey...
-Wait, Reggie,
what was you,
on some kind of magical train?
I mean, was it running on
batteries or something?
The power's been out in
the whole city since this afternoon.
Baby, you know, I didn't have
a problem catching the train.
Maybe my train was...
Running on a special train.
Hey, we're running late
let's go get this thing going...
What are you doing, man?
What's going on?
Where were you, Reggie?
-What do you mean, where was I?
-Where were you, Reggie?
-Where were you, Reggie?
-Hey, baby, you know I got to...
What were you doing, Reggie?
What were you doing?
Yo...
-Where were you, Reggie?
-I been at work.
You was at work?
You gonna lie to me now?
You gonna fucking lie to me now?
Get out!
-No stop it...
-No, get out!
Get the fuck out!
-Listen, baby...
-No, get your shit and get out.
Get the fuck out!
Well, I just wanted to make sure
you made it home safely, you know?
I should probably make my way out.
I didn't pack all my stuff,
so I have to come back later, okay?
I don't think it's such a wise idea to go
out there tonight. I mean, I don't...
I don't see what's the reason
why you can't stay one more night.
Another evening with me
isn't going to kill you, right?
Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right.
Hey, the fridge is still cool, you know.
None of the food is spoiled.
That's good.
-Are you hungry?
-Yeah.
You're probably hungry.
Got some food on the stove.
-I'll go get it.
-Okay.
Okay.
Hi. This is Susie.
I'm calling from Chelsea.
And I just wanted to say
where I am right now,
things are really kind of beautiful,
you know.
We're all sort of hanging out together
and taking in
and helping each other, you know.
And there's a guy on the corner
with like...
And my neighbors have
a whole bunch of extra water
that they're carrying out to people.
And the kids are all playing
out on the street.
It's kind of like a big street party,
you know.
And we're all just pulling together
and enjoying the time together.
It's a great time for us
to get to know each other, actually.
So, I know it's still so hard,
but we're having a good time
and pitching in...
I don't know, it's like the spirit of the city
is really coming through.
-What's up, man?
-Chilling. I'm good.
It's 8:30. Yankees game.
You got ESPN?
I don't think we're gonna
have any television tonight.
You're right there, of course.
That's the reason
I'm stuck here to begin with. Idiot.
-You're a baseball fan, huh?
-Oh, yeah. What are you, kidding?
My dad use to take me down here
to Ebbets Field all the time when I was
a kid to watch the Dodgers play.
I actually saw the great
Jackie Robinson play ball.
Jackie was cool with me.
He was one class act.
You say that kind of like
you knew him personally.
I can go better than that.
We used to play on the same team.
You played ball with Jackie...
Okay, before I get very excited here,
let me ask you something.
Are you just some old guy
who maybe fabricates
and exaggerates his life a little bit
to make up for his shortcomings?
You calling me a liar?
I'll throw your ass out in the dark.
No, no, I'm sorry.
Just checking. Sorry to interrupt.
When I was a young man,
I was quite an athlete.
After World War ll,
when I got discharged,
I was signed by the Negro League.
The Kansas City Monarchs, 1946.
Had a great roster.
Lot of talent on that team,
Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige...
Wow.
I got traded that season, though,
to the Newark Eagles.
The Eagles, right.
You know, the Newark Eagles
and the Kansas City Monarchs
played in
the Negro World Series that year.
Yeah. And the Newark Eagles won.
Sort of a revenge. Poetic justice.
I like to feel that
I had a little part in that.
Yeah.
I can't believe I'm sitting here
with a American Negro League
world champion.
George, that is...
-So what position you play?
-Center field.
-You ever see Jackie Robinson again?
-Nope.
The next season
he got signed by the Majors.
And then after that, they
started picking off all the colored boys,
and so the Negro League just
sort of dismantled.
Yeah. I ended up in Brooklyn.
That's where I met my missus.
Been here ever since.
-Thank you for dinner.
-You're welcome, miss.
What happened to your face?
Some of the stores on
the block were looted today.
Just got into a little scuffle,
but I'm all right.
-Are you sure?
-I'm good.
Nine months from now,
you know what it's gonna be.
I'm good.
A lot of blackout babies!
So let's get it popping.
We have a lot to talk about, you and me.
-Okay?
-Okay.
I'm sorry...
Yes, I was a bit frustrated
about our money situation.
However, all I kept thinking
about today was you.
I felt terrible for being
on your back this morning.
Today put a lot of things
in perspective for me.
About what's really important. I just...
I don't want to take
you for granted, okay? I'm sorry.
Look, I felt the same way, you know,
not being able to reach you and all.
But first off, I'm just glad you're okay.
Look, ma...
I got something important
I want to tell you and...
What is it?
I'm not doing good, you know?
I need some help.
You know, with the recession,
losing my job,
no work, you, me, everything...
You know,
at first I could deal with it, you know?
It was natural, I'd shake it off.
It was good, you know, it was all right.
But it's not easy no more, it's becoming
more and more difficult and...
I'm struggling, you know. I find myself...
I can't even walk out
that front door sometimes.
You know...
Then I realized, you know,
I was hurting... I was hurting
us both by keeping it from you.
You should have told me.
We could have
gotten through this together.
It's...
I want to get some help.
Okay, I'm going to get some help
to help me get back to being me.
Okay.
Because I can't lose you.
No, you're not gonna lose me.
-Mind if I ask you a personal question?
-Of course. Shoot.
We're sitting here,
we're talking like two old buddies
from talking about Jackie Robinson
to fusion to everything under the sun.
I guess what I'm trying to say is...
What happened?
What happened? Life happened.
I'll tell you what happened.
There's the life you plan
and then there's the life you're given.
Don't feel sorry for me, bro, I'm cool.
I've lived five lifetimes already.
You hungry?
Yeah, yeah, I could eat.
What you got on the menu?
Franks and beans.
-You got anything else?
-Yeah, beans and franks.
-I don't suppose those are firecrackers?
-No, I don't think it is.
I didn't think so.
Yo, Ty!
Ty, that's you?
Yo, Ty, what you doing outside, man?
Oh, my Lord.
-What are they doing out there?
-What else?
Taking advantage of the situation.
Come on, baby, close the curtain, okay?
Come on.
Hey, George.
Did you ever seen that movie
The Ten Commandments
with Charlton Heston?
Of course.
Do you remember that scene
he's talking to all the Israelites,
and he's telling them,
"Stay in your homes and wait for
pestilence and the Angel of Death
"to go into the homes of the Egyptians"?
That's how I feel
right now, like we're
waiting for darkness to pass.
Feel like praying?
Just kidding.
Hey, would you like to
stay the night out here?
Yeah, maybe that's a good idea.
I mean for both of us, right?
Right.
Yeah, okay.
Good night, George.
Good night, Sol.
Yo, Ty, you out here?
Yo, yo, yo!
It's dark as hell out.
Yo, Tyrone, stop playing, son,
where you at?
Yo, word to my mother, son.
Don't make me hurt you, son.
Yo, Ra, chill, son.
Oh, you see me, man. You think
I give a fuck if you see my face, cousin?
Yo, Ra, chill, son.
-Take your shit off.
-Yo, chill.
Yo chill, what?
Bro, you ain't gotta do this, man.
-Word.
-Yeah, word.
-No, you know me, son...
-Word.
I'm from your block.
-I'm from your block, son.
-Don't fuck with me.
-Yo, we from the same block, yo.
-That don't mean shit, partner.
-Little fucking fancy nigga, boy.
-Yo, Ra.
You gonna beg me, right?
Yo, chill, son.
Fuck you doing?
You's a dumb motherfucker, you know?
That's why I've never
liked your fucking ass!
All you had to fucking do
was run a jersey, nigger.
And now you want
to act all fucking hard and shit.
CJ?
CJ?
Where are you?
Okay.
CJ!
CJ.
CJ, where are you?
-Ma'am! I just want some water!
-No! No!
-Come on! I just want some water!
-No!
Stop flashing it at my face.
Do something, man.
Go get some clothes or something.
Yo, son, let me tell you something, man.
We about to fucking rack up today, man.
Yo, let's not get greedy, son.
We good. Let's bounce.
Nigga, is you fucking crazy?
Understand what I'm trying to tell you.
Right now, tonight,
New York is deaf, dumb,
blind and she about to get fucked.
Let me tell you something, B.
When is the next time you think
we gonna get a shot like this?
You think there is gonna be another
blackout like this again? You stupid?
Yo! Go upstairs
and get some sneakers, man!
Bring them shits downstairs.
Now, hurry up, man!
Make sure you get some Filas, homie.
-Come on, hurry the fuck up.
-Come on, let's go, let's go!
Yo!
Tyrone, what the fuck you doing, man?
Damn, I'm going to prison!
Get them lights off.
All right, motherfuckers, where are you?
Get your hands up!
Don't shoot! Please don't shoot!
I don't have any weapons on me, sir.
Move front! Move front!
Put your fucking hands up!
Put your hands up! Get up, get up,
get up! Get your hands up!
Spread your fucking legs!
Spread your legs and don't move!
Is anybody else in here?
Nah, son.
You don't got to be like this.
Oh, God!
I got too much to do.
Not like this. You got plans for me, God.
Mom said you got plans for me.
Mom said you got...
Mom said you got plans for me.
-James, wake up!
-Baby, what?
-Do you smell that?
-What, baby?
Smells like there's a fire
on the other side of the building, baby.
Baby, come on. Come to bed, all right?
We've been up all night.
There's nothing we can do about it.
Come on, just come to bed.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No, please.
Ma'am, it's the police. You all right?
Okay. Everybody needs to go back
to their buildings
and make sure their neighbors
and everybody is all right.
Please! Everybody go check if your
family and your neighbors are okay.
You two, come with me.
Is everybody all right in there?
Is everybody all right in there?
You all right?
Is everybody all right in there?
I'm stopping by
to see if everybody is okay!
Ms. Germaine! It's...
Ms. Germaine?
It's Fatima.
I'm just stopping by
to see if everybody is okay!
Ms. Germaine? Are you in here?
Ms. Germaine!
Ms. Germaine! Ms. Germaine!
Oh, my God!
Ms. Germaine!
Ms. Germaine! Are you okay?
Help! Ms. Germaine... Help!
I need help in here!
-What's up?
-They got CJ, dawg.
Wait.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Shit!
What happened?
-They stabbed CJ last night.
-What?
-ls he okay?
-Nah. He died, yo.
-Oh, God! I just saw him yesterday!
-Oh, shit!
I told him... I told him to go back inside
because it was going to get dangerous.
This is bullshit, son.
My God.
Man, son didn't even deserve
to go out like that, man!
He was going to school.
He was doing his thing.
Shit is fucked up, yo.
I bet you this was somebody from
outside the neighborhood.
Ain't nobody that we know did this.
Why would somebody want to hurt him?
I don't fucking understand this!
This doesn't make any sense!
Damn, son, lights go out
one motherfucking time,
niggas don't know how to act.
-One time!
-What the fuck are you all doing!
Why! Please tell me why
y'all are killing your fucking own!
He was going to make something out
of his life! He represented you!
He was one of our finest products
and you shattered everything!
I need backup right now!
Why don't you go find out
who killed my man?
Stop harassing us!
Why don't you do your job, man?
Hitting the street isn't going
to do us any good, Claudine,
but make us hot and more pissed!
-Okay...
-Baby.
Look, why don't you just lie down
and take a nap.
And I'm sure, by the time you wake up,
the power will be back on
and everything will be all right.
What if it's not?
You know?
What if it doesn't come back on?
Like, what the fuck
are we going to do, James?
How are we gonna eat?
There's no food in that fridge that's
gonna be good one more night.
This doesn't make any sense.
-Baby, where are you going?
-I'm going to go lay down.
Ms. Germaine! Ms. Germaine!
-Ms. Germaine! You all right?
-You all right?
-You all right?
-Ms. Germaine, you all right?
God, have mercy!
About time y'all got here.
I called y'all damn near 40 minutes ago!
What, y'all guys forgot
about us down here in the hood?
I'm going with her. I want to go with her.
Hey, yo,
what happened to Ms. Germaine?
She went the whole night without any
food or any insulin for her diabetes
-and passed out.
-What?
-She going to be all right?
-Yes, she's going to be all right, brother.
She's going to be just fine.
You know what I am saying?
Ain't nothing new under the sun.
They've done this to us before.
It all comes back around 360 degrees,
you know what I'm saying.
Now it's our turn
for our generation to sustain!
-Yo, Tech.
-Yes?
I need you to get the word out
in the neighborhood.
Sorry, Fa.
-No.
-Listen, I'm not the one for this.
I need people to know they got to take
pictures of all the food that went bad
in their home last night.
-The City is liable, yo!
-Fa, I'm out.
That shit is politics as usual.
That's what the fuck it is, man!
-That's some bullshit!
-You just figuring that out?
There ain't no money down here,
nobody got no money,
nobody making no money,
so why the fuck they gonna rush
down here to turn the lights back on?
-So it's about money?
-What the fuck do you think it is?
Could be some corporate tricks,
you know.
I wouldn't put nothing past them
Enron motherfuckers.
Wait, don't N-Ron live down the street?
-Cam, come on.
-Quit looking at me like that.
There's a dude named N-Ron
who lives up the block.
-He don't spell it the same.
-You're embarrassing me right now.
Come on, Rick,
take a walk with me, man.
I'm rolling with y'all.
Yo, this shit is
survival of the fittest, dawg.
-That's what I'm saying.
-It's crazy out here.
Keep going like they're going
down in Washington,
-this shit'll be like this every day.
-Shit looks like a war zone.
Hey, yo, man, word up.
I'm gonna go get some water
or something, man.
It's hotter than Tahiti
out in this motherfucker.
Damn!
Word up, I don't know about y'all,
but I'm starting to get real vexed.
They better turn this motherfucker on,
so I can have some access to my
fucking money. I'm hungry as hell, yo!
This shit ain't even funny no more, man.
It never was.
-Any updates?
-Nope.
Just the same old broken promises.
You're having cereal with that milk?
What if it's spoiled, James?
It tastes fine to me.
It's a little warm,
but it's all right, I guess.
Nel, man,
I'm saying we need to hop in your whip
and get out this neighborhood
or something.
-Hell, no. You haven't been listening?
-Listening to what?
-All the gas stations closed.
-What?
Yeah. Let this shit last for two,
three more days
and all these cats you see out here
flossing on the strip
is gonna be assed out.
This some old Mad Max Beyond
Thunderdome in Brooklyn-style bullshit.
-I'm preserving my gas, man.
-It's not going to get that crazy, Nel.
We'll see.
Yeah, okay.
How old is this fool,
trying to call us out like this?
He ain't talking about nothing.
See, that's why I don't stay
on no corner, man.
They give me the wrong juice.
Let me come inside.
I'm sorry, sweetheart, I can't do that.
-All right.
-Let's do it. We do what we got to do.
Hey, yo, what's up?
Hey, yo, relax. Relax with that shit.
Calm the fuck down.
Relax with the shit, man,
I got it under control, baby. Relax.
Yo, yo, what's up? What's up, man?
What's up?
A salami and bacon, Osama.
What's the deal, man?
You still selling water by the gallons?
-No.
-No?
-Only small ones, a dollar.
-Small ones?
But you gonna have to wait
like everybody else.
-No, I ain't waiting, dawg, man.
-I understand.
I don't take orders
from motherfucking sand niggers,
you know what I mean?
You play that shit in the Middle East,
this is Brooklyn, New York, baby.
Next.
No, on the real, son,
you gotta chill the fuck out, son.
I'm too hot for this bullshit.
You've been bugging since yesterday.
You gotta max that shit out, bro.
For real.
Now's the time to make yours, man.
That's the same Harlsborough cat
that drove by the store earlier, man.
CJ don't have me feeling
all this stuff out here right now.
Bullshit. Word is bond...
Damn, dawg, why in the fuck are you
drilling me like that man?
Excuse me?
Hey, yo, what's up, man?
You looking at me
like you know me or something, man.
Niggas don't know me over here, man.
What's up, yo?
There's no stores
over on Harlsborough?
Last time I checked,
there were stores over on Harlsborough.
Can't hear what you're saying, man.
Come here, yo.
No, no. Chill.
Yeah, that's what up, man. What's up?
Y'all should do your motherfucking job
find them niggas that killed my man.
-What's good with that?
-We don't want no problem.
If I was you, I'd keep my voice down.
If you was me? This is my block!
What's the problem man?
You know me or something?
-Yeah, I know you.
-What's up, nigga?
You know me?
What's going on, man,
what you gonna do?
I'm gonna take that fucking gun!
We got power, baby!
We got power! We got power!
Hey, yo, Ali, man...
What y'all need?
-Hey, Fatima.
-Hey, Ali.
It's crazy out there, huh?
I guess your surprise evening
was ruined last night.
In more ways than you can imagine.
I am sure you can
make it up some other time.
I'm afraid yesterday's blackout
shed light in my apartment last night.
Reggie and I are no longer together.
Say word? I mean, for real?
-I'm sorry to hear about that.
-Really?
I'm not.
Take care, Ali.
Fatima, wait.
Listen.
Maybe you and I can catch some
spoken word sometime.
You know, have dinner, get to know
each other outside of this element.
You asking me out?
Yeah.
I mean, I was respecting your boy,
but if he did something stupid
to lose a beautiful gem like yourself...
I can't just sit back and let you get lost
Or swept up in some deep sands
Like a pestilence coming across
the lands you've been looking for
Okay, that's enough poetry.
Wow, I never...
I never thought about you like that,
and it's a...
-It's not you, you know what I'm saying?
-No, I understand.
We're cool and everything,
but I just never...
So I'll see you around.
Hey, I hope you feel better.
Okay.
Okay?
Call me.
I'll do that.
Bye, Ali.
Yeah!
Thank you, Allah. Thank you.
-He better be here.
-Yeah.
Where... Oh, yeah.
You're a day late!
Well, George, I think this is it.
Thank you for everything.
Hey, you're welcome. You know,
it's not every day I get company.
You know, I've been thinking I'm gonna
have to get these places renovated.
I mean, I have to keep them updated
just to keep the need for
all these repairs down.
What do you think?
The tenants will be happy to hear that.
They better be happy. I don't want them
pestering my superintendent.
Your hands are gonna
be full with these renovations, right?
That's true. That's true.
George.
Listen, you call me, all right?
Keep me personally updated
with everything, any time, any place.
You call me directly.
Any problems, all right?
-I'll do that, sir, thanks.
-Take care of yourself.
You, too.
Hey, boss, you all right?
How did you make out last night?
I'm fine.
I'm just great,
everything turned out great.
I'm really sorry about that, you know.
I mean, leaving you out here.
You know, with all the power out,
I had no way of reaching you,
and then I thought it might be
dangerous if I returned.
You know, maybe you might have
taken a cab or something.
You thought I might have
taken a cab or something?
How the hell do you think I could have
gotten a cab here last night?
By holding my wallet up in the air?
Flashing my ass?
You know what? Never mind.
Everything, Anthony, is just fine.
-Don't worry about it, okay?
-Okay.
Okay, so how did it work out
with George? Did you kick him out?
No, actually, I didn't kick him out.
I learned a great deal about George
during the course of our evening
last night,
and I found out, in fact,
that he is an asset to me,
so he's staying.
I am, however, contemplating firing you
for deserting my ass here last night.
Are we going to start
some time this century?
Or are you gonna plan to stay in this
neighborhood for the rest of my life?
Hey, George.
-Hey, youngblood, how you been?
-Good, I'm good. Better now, I guess.
Now is it me, or does it suddenly feel
just a little bit cooler now?
I think it's you.
Little man, come here, man.
Hold up. When you gonna fix
this dude's head up, man?
I got you. I got you.
Go ahead, man.
I'm just playing with you.
That shit is good!
He make you look good!
You jacked him up,
but you ain't mean to.
Power has officially
been restored in NYC.
With the exception of a few minor,
sporadic incidents,
reports indicate that there have been
very few cases of looting, some fires,
mostly as a result of burning candles.
There's been few, if any,
violent cases of attacks.
New Yorkers, if anything,
were helpful, supportive
and were on their best behavior,
proving that the will and the power of
the people of this city
cannot and will not be broken.
I'm going to the corner store.
Get some milk.
Oh, God!
My people! My people!
Having fun. The lights are back on.
You can go back to having fun now.
You just missed
a goddamn-near opportunity of your life!
You spent time in the dark.
Dark's a very special place, you know.
You can see things.
You can see things that you don't see
out here with all the distracting bullshit.
You see that true light.
Stevie Wonder. Ray Charles.
Helen Keller.
They all saw
something special in the dark.
They got smart in the dark.
What did you do? Little humpty-hump?
Or steal something?
Now the lights are back on,
business as usual.
Black out, black in,
black in, black out, black out.
You should find you a dark spot.
We can learn something.
Oh, God!
We need a messiah.
Somebody that can come and say
to all the CJs in the world,
"Lazarus, rise up and walk. "
And wipe away all the tears
from a million mothers' faces.
Out here, business as usual.
Everybody having a good time.
Just another day in the ghetto.
Just another day in Brooklyn.