Black Dynamite Tagged Articles at Cinematical

By Scott Weinberg (reprinted from January 2009 -- Sundance Film Festival)

The spoof (aka broad parody) sub-genre is a schizophrenic beast. At its best, the spoof can treat you to something as sublime as Airplane!, as mindlessly amusing as the Scary Movie series, or as stunningly worthless as Epic Movie. But the spoof remains the comedy sub-genre for filmmakers who are also movie geeks. Basically, you need to have seen a lot of Airport movies to write Airplane!, and you need to have some solid experience with blaxploitation movies to produce something like Hollywood Shuffle, I'm Gonna Get You Sucka, or this newest arrival: The slightly overlong but consistently giggle-worthy Black Dynamite, which aims to do to Shaft and Superfly what The Naked Gun did to police procedurals.

And for the most part, the experiment works like a charm. What I found most appealing about Black Dynamite is that, while it will certainly strike a chord with the old-school blaxploitation fans, the flick also works on its own as a very broad, very goofy, and (yep) very clever little satire. Even if you wouldn't know Hammer from Blacula, there's a good deal of straightforward silliness to be found in Black Dynamite -- and it also feels like one of those eminently quotable comedies that frat guys and movie geeks will come back to time and again. Black Dynamite is to blaxploitation what Austin Powers is to '60s spy flicks -- and really, how many young comedy fans know anything about In Like Flint, Sweet Charity, or Modesty Blaise? Very few, I'd wager, but that didn't prevent Austin Powers from becoming a mega-popular franchise.

Director Scott Sanders and a team of screenwriters have concocted a '70s-era comedy that, to its credit, actually manages to evoke several of the sub-genres staples: Our hero is a noble ass-kicker who uses odd slang; women hang on his every gesture; villains quake at the sight of Black Dynamite's fighting stance; and of course the proceedings are coated with a colorful sheen of tacky clothes, crazy cars, and hilariously over-the-top fight scenes.

One of my favorite films to come out of Sundance 2009 was Black Dynamite, the jive-tastic spoof of 1970s blaxploitation flicks starring Michael Jai White as a Shaft-like butt-kicker avenging his brother's death. Cinematical's Scott Weinberg gave it a rave review at the time, and most of the rest of the critical community concurs. (I saw it a second time at CineVegas: still funny.) We've previously shown you a clip from the film and a couple of viral videos, but this new promotional gimmick is my favorite: the Black Dynamite Talkin' Jive Soundboard.

It taps into one of the most common things people have said about the film, which is that it's highly quotable. Arranged on a page are about 70 sound bites; click on the quotation and hear the clip. There are basic things like "I can dig it" and "Whoever did this is gonna pay." And then there are more advanced declarations like "Your knowledge of scientific biological transmogrification is only outmatched by your zest for kung-fu treachery" and "I'm sorry I pimp slapped you into that china cabinet." Click 'em all! Annoy your co-workers! (A few of them are a little PG-13.)

It's all a lot funnier if you've seen the film and can recall the context, of course -- and you'll have that opportunity starting on Oct. 16, when Apparition (a division of Sony) releases it in select cities. If it becomes the small-scale hit it deserves to be, watch for it to expand in the coming weeks. In the meantime, keep lookin' out for The Man.

Get ready, it's time for more Black Dynamite -- scourge to dealers everywhere. You might remember the trailer I posted earlier this month, full of drug dealing, fighting, and all-out action led by Michael Jai White. As we tick ever closer to the October 16 release date, a new viral campaign has started up over at YouTube.

Two drug dealers with mouths much bigger than their muscles, Black Firecracker TNT and Ebony Explosion, are itching to face Black Dynamite themselves, and keep people from seeing his movie. So they've taken to the internet with an anti-Dynamite campaign.

The two clips are basically a never-ending, ranting barrage of words with some gems hidden inside. For example, after watching a shot of Dynamite getting busy with 5 ladies, Ebony asks the question I'm sure a lot of people asked after Suzanne Somers and her thighsizer: "Why you need muscles in your thighs?" Better than that though, Firecracker actually links Earth, Wind, and Fire and Captain Planet with only two jumps. I can't help but wonder how he'd do at the Kevin Bacon game.

Anyway, the clips are after the jump, and beware: These videos are 100% NSFW -- both for language and nudity. Enjoy!

Up in the Air
Juno director Jason Reitman adapts Walter Kim's novel about a human resources administrator (George Clooney) who has just met the woman of his dreams. The trailer is a bit vague, showing a string of unexplained scenes as Clooney's character delivers a corporate speech, but Reitman's presence has grabbed my attention. Watch for this one on December 4.

The House of the Devil
An old school creep-fest influenced by movies from the 1970s. A college student takes a babysitting job to earn cash for a deposit on an apartment, but once she arrives at a creepy house in the middle of the woods she's told there is no baby and that night just happens to coincide with a lunar eclipse. I want to see this one right now. This will be out just in time for Halloween.

This week has already brought us the end of an era as we heard that our beloved B.A. Baracus is no longer solely played by the bling-wearing, mohawk-sporting icon Mr. T. But luckily we've got another tough guy on the way who should sooth the sting with his satirical blaxploitation ways -- Michael Jai White's Black Dynamite -- "the smoothest, baddest mother to ever hit the big screen."

We haven't heard anything from the butt-kicker since we shared an exclusive clip of the man's fighting action, but now as the film gears up for its October 16 release (bumped from September 4), a new trailer has been posted over at Yahoo. No surprise -- it's all sorts of bad/awesome. There's kung-fu action, heroic steps to stop drug dealers, and some Arsenio Hall if you look close enough. Watching this trailer, I'm already hoping for B.D. to rip into the folds of crappy spoofs like Epic Movie and kick some arse, before teaming up with The Hebrew Hammer for some kosher action.

But in the meantime, I've got a question for you: Watching this trailer, I can't help but wish that some of those tacky trailer voiceovers were delivered like this one. Imagine if the disappointing and somber voice in the My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done trailer was replaced with David Lynch, or anyone for that matter, giving the film's rundown blaxsploitation-style.

If you could add Black Dynamite's trailer voice over to any other film's trailer, which would it be?

Cinematical has received an exclusive clip from the upcoming blaxploitation spoof Black Dynamite, which played at Sundance a few months back and earned a lot of early fans in the process. I'll quote myself just a little:

"I grew up in the golden days of the spoof flick, and I've always had a soft spot for the oft-maligned sub-genre. So while it's true that a lot of lazy and generally talentless filmmakers rely on the spoof approach (probably because broad jokes seem easier to pull off?), there will always be room for new entries that poke fun at genre-specific trappings while maintaining a healthy respect for the films they're lampooning. Black Dynamite seems to really love the blaxploitation, but not enough to avoid mocking it within an inch of its life. So while it's certainly not the second coming of Airplane!, Black Dynamite is more than fast, funny, and likable enough to warrant a visit. Triply so if you happen to be a blaxploitation fan." (Full review here.)

Anchored by a drop-dead hilarious Michael Jai White performance, and presently 5 for 5 at Rotten Tomatoes, Black Dynamite is still strutting down the festival circuit (including Tribeca this weekend), but here's an amusing new clip to keep you interested. Release date is scheduled for September 4, which seems like a good time for a strange little comedy to make some noise.

That was fast! The ink is barely dry on yesterday's post and the Tribeca Film Festival has already announced the rest of their feature film lineup for this year's edition, which runs from April 22-May 3. A few quick picks:

Blank City. Celine Danhier's doc examines "the DIY independent film movement that emerged in tandem with punk rock in late '70s downtown New York." Living in Los Angeles at the time, I got to see only a few of those films, just enough to get me really interested, so this could be educational and enlightening for modern indie film lovers.

Serious Moonlight. Cheating in the countryside -- and it's a comedy! Cheryl Hines directs from a script by the late Adrienne Shelly, with Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, and Kristen Bell. That's a lot of talent in a small package.

Tell Tale. The director of L.I.E. and Twelve and Holding makes a psychological thriller inspired by Edgar Allan Poe? I'm there! Josh Lucas (meh) but acting aces Lena Headey and Brian Cox provide support.

Other promising titles, and why: Don McKay (black comedy, Thomas Haden Church, Elisabeth Shue, Melissa Leo); City Island (dysfunctional family comedy, Andy Garcia, Alan Arkin); and Love the Beast (doc, cars, Eric Bana's directorial debut).

Tribeca will also be showcasing NYC premieres of films like blaxpoitation flick Black Dynamite, Academy Award winner Departures, and Steven Soderbergh's The Girlfriend Experience, as well as midnight thrills with Ti West's The House of the Devil and Newsmakers, a Russian remake of Johnny To's Hong Kong police drama Breaking News.

Cinematical will be on the ground to bring you complete coverage of the festival. After the jump: the official announcement. Dig in!

(Warning: This one goes up to eleven...)

1. Moon -- Most were admittedly intrigued by the prospect of Sam Rockwell alone and yet potentially not on a lunar station going into the fest, and this seemed to be the first film to live up to its promise as a modest yet straight-up sci-fi endeavor (that just happened to have a Kevin Spacey-voiced robot, and just tell me you wouldn't want one of those waking you up and telling you to pay it forward all the friggin' time).

2. 500 Days of Summer -- I'd liked the vague stuff I'd been hearing about this one going into the fest as well -- namely, "Zooey Deschanel, Zooey Deschanel, Zooey Deschanel" -- and I certainly liked the teaser trailer that made its way out just hours before the film's formal premiere. Does it look like Fox Searchlight's particular brand of indie hipster quirk that's just begging to get too popular for its own good by about Labor Day? Sure, but if it's as adorable as it seems, that's a chance I'm willing to take, Zooey.

I couldn't even begin to guess how many trailers came out in 2008, but whittling that number down to seven is no easy task. Looking down at my list of the top seven trailers of 2008, I'm noticing that most of these previews are for films I haven't seen yet -- in fact, the majority haven't even been released. It wasn't a conscious decision, mind you, but maybe it has something to do with the fact that once you've seen a film, its trailer tends to lose its mystique. After release date the magic begins to fade, like in the case of Jumper, which was a cool trailer but it gave away most of the good scenes. It's all about the anticipation, and the seven trailers I've picked have done an exemplary job of piquing my interest. So, in reverse order, here are my top seven trailers of 2008.

7. Step Brothers
Will Ferrell does a variation on his innocent man-child act from 2003's Elf with the emphasis shifting from innocent to idiot with hilarious results. Ferrell and John C. Reilly play grown men still living at home who find they are about to become step-brothers when their respective single parents wed. I love the long scene that opens the trailer with the two staring each other down across the lawn, and we see their relationship getting off to a rocky start with one step brother trying to bury the other alive. Soon, though, they're sharing secrets, karate kicking pumpkins and building bunk beds that are just not up to code.

Cinematical's coverage of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival is already well underway, as we'll be highlighting a number of films (via images, clips, trailers and posters) for the next month leading up to the festival. This way it gives you at home a chance to become more familiar with the films, to pick and choose your favorites, and then let us know which ones you'd like to see covered here on the site. So, please, feel free to leave comments and help shape our coverage.

Today we have something real cool for you. Cinematical reader DJ S. pieced together this list of available trailers for a whole bunch of Sundance films. Check out the playlist below, then head after the jump for more info on each film. (And yes, we've covered a couple of these before, so please excuse the repeats.) The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 15 through January 25, 2009 in Park City, Utah. For more of Cinematical's Sundance coverage (including a complete list of films screening), go here.