Black Dynamite

Funny how I knew about the show for years before finding out about the movie.

Black Dynamite is a beautifully faithful homage film to the Blaxsploitation genre of the 1970s, seeping every second of the film in the rich albeit sometimes flawed production qualities of those pictures. Essentially a passion project for Michael Jai White who plays our eponymous character who after learning his brother got killed goes on a bewildering but highly entertaining trail that leads to a nationwide conspiracy and kung fu treachery. This has been a movie on my list for a long ass time, and I honestly just don't know where to begin because every aspect I could go into considerable detail with. I will say first and foremost that while the script is really damn good this movie wouldn't be worth anything without the cast presented. Michael is a stellar lead able to tightrope bonafide bad mothertrucker action star and genuinely hilarious comedian, with a substantial background in martial arts he simply IS Black Dynamite to a fault! Salli is a lovely lady and though the romance with her character Gloria is far from fleshed out, it still kinda works regardless. Byron Minns as silver tongued rhymer extraordinaire Bullhorn though in a smaller capacity is great fun and man I'm kinda jealous of his verse! Tommy Davidson as Cream Corn certainly shines brighter in the show but certainly has moments here as a more comedic foil on the hero side, but hey he's a part of the team. The production side of things I feel deserves a dedicated masterclass it's so effortlessly embedded in the early 70s timeframe, that if you were uninitiated you wouldn't blink twice and just assume it was a 70s exploitation flick! The grain, the color saturation, the clothes, the cars, the editing, the music right out of a Rudy Ray Moore movie, the simultaneous love given to blaxsploitation and martial arts cinema, the flubs peppered throughout are a bleeding heart for that particular type of filmmaking in that time and corner of the world. The movie could give a shit less if you saw the boom mic or any other flaw, and frankly I don't care either! I've never seen a movie that has intentional botches in it and it somehow is endearing and entertaining, adding just another layer of enjoyment to the experience. The fights can range from extremely humorous to pretty kick ass, with Michael's ample skills on full display and a little bit of gunplay to keep it fresh. The comedy is where it shines the most, with some of the jokes undercutting to where you have to pay attention to get them while others is pure visual gags that work well, and it is quotable as all hell! I've only seen the movie probably less than 10 times, but I can still rattle off lines that absolutely have been adopted into my vocabulary. The worst part is I think it's still very much considered a cult film, sure the show helped get it onto the more mainstream scopes of people but it's not a household name yet which I find inexcusable. I love this movie and I'd gladly review the series when I have the time. It's such a unique beast that somehow simultaneously seems like it's not trying at all and putting so much meticulous effort in it that it's kinda amazing! Easy 4 stars from me, 9/10, and that about does it for this month. Tune in next month for modern sci-fi, adaptations of a gothic french novel, some crime thriller antics, and a decade of reviews.

Batman Soul Of The Dragon

The second I heard this concept I knew I was game for it.

An Elseworlds tale of Batman in the 1970s, with influences of martial arts, Bond, and weird cults, sign me the hell up! And I actually can fully grant this a strong rating, I had a real good time with this movie. You can tell the director knew exactly what he wanted to do, taking so many elements from so many sources and incorporating it to make a solid good movie. You get a bit of Bond at the beginning with a flat out call back to The Living Daylights, you get the oriental martial arts stuff like Enter The Dragon and even some Big Trouble In Little China stuff, and it fully embraces the 70s style, jargon, and aesthetic. I do however feel the title is a bit misleading, it genuinely is the one thing I actually don't like about the movie because Batman is like in two scenes. Oh Bruce is present almost from the word go, but you really only see the cape and cowl on two occasions which is a shame because I really like how it adapted Neal Adams 1970s suit, with the grey and blue with the yellow bat symbol, I could kinda argue the cowl looks off but everything else looks so good. The story is more an ensemble with Batman, Bronze Tiger, Shiva, and more obscure character Richard Dragon as we kinda delve into Bruce's training and them hunting down this weird syndicate/cult led by Kobra who I briefly mistook for Copperhead. It's a simple but good story and the cast brings that perfect balance between serious and fun, David Giuntoli has a strong good voice for Batman and I believe this is the first time he has done the role and he did a mighty good job I'd say. Michael Jai White is excellent casting for Bronze Tiger, and to see some Black Dynamite influence in the movie made me a very happy camper. It was so great seeing Kelly Hu back as Shiva after playing Arkham Origins so many years ago, she's awesome and brings a lot more to the character than before so nothing but love from me there. Mark Dacascos while sharing the lead with David does a good job and gives a proper good introduction to this character I find, you can obviously see the Bruce Lee inspiration yet still retains an identity of his own. We even get friggin' James Hong, bless that man, we get David Lo Pan and he is perfect as always. I knew it was him instantly and I was thrilled to have him in this. The animation was also spot on, having great fluidity for the action scenes and worked great with the aesthetic of the time period, hell this movie had me at opening credits seeing that 70s Warner Bros. logo told me everything I needed to know about the visuals in this film. And I gotta say, I was about to go on the rant again about another R rated DC animated movie, yet it actually kinda warranted it and didn't even attempt some horseshit sex nonsense, it delievers some blood and some deaths without it reaching that animated Mortal Kombat movie levels I reviewed earlier this year, so shit I'm kinda stumped what to say next. It's a good movie, solid but not outta sight, 4 stars, 8/10. Well worth a rental and if you're hardcore about the animated DC stuff, is a welcome addition to the collection in my opinion. What did I review last time that was animated DC? Wonder Woman Bloodlines and Superman Red Son, those were pretty good too so I hope the trend continues as we talk next time about the highly anticipated The Long Halloween. Please God. Please. Don't be bad. When it comes to the big proper beloved titles of the Batman it has been some hit and miss, so fingers crossed guys. See you then.