Happy birthday, Samuel L Jackson!

Sexy and talented actor Samuel L. Jackson, born December 21, 1948 in Washington, DC is one of my favorite actors.  He has won numerous awards for his acting and has been nominated for an Oscar.  He's appeared in many of my favorite movies, too.  He has played Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mace Windu in the Star Wars movies, and he is the voice of Frozone in the Incredibles movies.

Other movies that I enjoy watching him in are Deep Blue Sea, Jurassic Park, and 1408.

Celebrating Black History Month: LL Cool J, the first black man to survive a horror movie

We've all heard the joke that the black guy always gets it in a horror movie.  Well, uber-sexy actor LL Cool J broke that rule.  In Deep Blue Sea, released in July 1999, he and Thomas Jane survive in an underwater laboratory studying mako sharks, using them to harvest experimental drugs to treat Alzheimer's Disease sufferers.  Of course, nothing goes as planned and the sharks break loose, eating everyone they can.

Spoiler alert!

LL Cool J's character Preacher kills two of the three sharks.  The first he blows up by igniting the gas from an oven, where the shark tried to roast him.

The second he blows up with an explosive dart, almost killing Thomas Jane's Carter in the process.

"Deep Blue Sea" released 1999

One of my favorites Deep Blue Sea, a shark thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson, opened July 28, 1999.  It is proof that a black guy can survive a horror movie.  That was L.L. Cool J, not Jackson, who had one of the most surprising deaths in the film.

It was a breakout role for Thomas Jane.  Director Reny Harlin had directed Cutthroat Island just a few years before.

Although it received mostly lukewarm reviews when it opened, Deep Blue Sea is considered one of the best shark movies of all time.