dj rich medina on current tv

before black dynamite and bushido brown

Alright, so if you don’t already know (or don’t already have your own bootleg copy), Black Dynamite comes out on DVD today. This hilariously authentic spoof of 70s blaxploitation films features Michael Jai White (of Spawn and other B-movie fame) as the ass-kicking, smack-fighting, lady killer, Black Dynamite, who will stop at nothing to avenge his brother’s death and clean up the ‘hood.

The movie premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, but unfortunately, was largely overshadowed by the heavier-themed Precious.  However, Black Dynamite has gotten a lot of positive reviews from  critics, and I for one think it’s impressive to note that Jai White not only stars in the film – delivering both comic lines and action sequences with great skill – but also had a hand in writing the script. I guess he’s had enough B-movie experience to be able to turn the genre into a comic goldmine for himself.

On a related note, I happened to be enjoying a DVD collection of The Boondocks during Atlanta’s recent snow ‘storm’ , and rediscovered one of my favorite scenes  where Huey goes toe-to-toe with Bushido Brown, a black kung fu master sporting a perfectly coiffed afro and aviator sunglasses. The beau – who’d never seen the Boondocks episode – hipped me to the fact that the cartoon character seemed to be modeled after Jim Kelly, a real-life blaxploitation kung fu action hero from the 70s. Later that day, in an attempt to cure our cabin fever, we made a trip to Videodrome and immediately came across Black Belt Jones, the 1974 flick starring none other than Jim Kelly.  Needless to say I snatched it up and, upon viewing it, was surprised to find that not only did The Boondocks borrow Kelly’s image for the character of Bushido Brown, but Michael Jai White also borrowed heavily from Black Belt Jones for several scenes of Black Dynamite. The theme song from Black Belt Jones – composed by funk guitarist Dennis Coffey – was also surprisingly familiar. A snippet of the theme (along with a snippet from Coffey’s tune, ‘Scorpio’) was sampled in LL Cool J’s ‘Jingling Baby’. Just goes to show, a good thing never goes out of style.

If you’re a fan of movie spoofs, 70s culture, tongue-in-cheek action films, or watching sexy, shirtless black kung fu masters stick it to the man, I strongly suggest you rent them both.

Later for you jive turkeys,

k

what do you get when you take the ‘art’ out of cartoonery?

…apparently, you get this mess here:

Find more videos like this on HOLLYHOODHDTV.COM

According to the AJC’s Radio and TV Talk Blog, T-Pain has decided to add Executive Producer to his list of dubious accolades. The acclaimed autotuner is the force behind a one-hour animated special entitled, The Return of Freaknik, that is scheduled to air on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim sometime in March.

If you’re a viewer of Adult Swim programming like The Boondocks, Family Guy, and Robot Chicken, then you already know that the cartoons featured in the segment are truly for adult audiences only, and are known for their controversial, provocative and overtly satirical subject matter. But no matter how offensive and in-your-face those ‘toons are, there’s the sense that the humor and outlandishness in them are being used to poke fun at and denounce certain stereotypes. If the trailer of Freaknik is any indicator to what the full feature holds in store, I wouldn’t hold my breath while looking for any redeeming qualities.

Other sources say that the cartoon will also feature the voices of Rick Ross,  Li’l Wayne (voicing a character named Jesus – no relation.), and T-Pain himself as the Ghost of Spring Break, the Spirit of Freaknik.

Somebody hand me a crucifix and some holy water.

cheers,

k

prince on tavis smiley next week – sneak preview

In case you haven’t heard, Tavis Smiley’s interview with Prince will air on PBS next Monday and Tuesday night. Honey Soul has posted a couple of sneak previews of the interview. Here’s one of them:

 

Tune in to Tavis Smiley on Monday, April 27 and Tuesday April 28 at 11pm ET to see the full-length interview with Prince.

And if you haven’t gotten your copy of Prince’s 3-disc release Lotus Flow3r / MPLSound…get some.

Thanks to Honey for the share and remember to set your DVRs kids!

cheers,

k

atlanta film festival starts this week!

“Since 1977, the Atlanta Film & Video Festival, organized by IMAGE and held at the High Museum of Art, IMAGE and other venues, has dispensed thousands of dollars worth of awards to artists and has grown into one of the most important “artists’ festivals” in the country.”

~excerpt from the AFF website

The 2009 Atlanta Film Festival begins in only two days and this year’s lineup has got me so excited I can hardly contain myself! The festival lasts from April 16-25, and all screenings will occur at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema on Monroe Drive.

I’ve just finished scouring the site to assemble my personal festival schedule (they’ve even got a handy tool that I used to synch with my Outlook calendar). Honestly, there were lots more that I wanted to see than what I ended up with, but alas, time and budget won’t permit. 

Here are my picks:

Friday, April 17th
10:30 PM Animation Extravaganza 1

11:00 PM Squeezebox

Saturday, April 18th
12:00 PM Prom Night In Mississippi

9:55 PM Documentary Shorts 1

Sunday, April 19th
1:00 PM Rain

3:15 PM Six Continents Shorts

8:30 PM Animation Extravaganza 2

Thursday, April 23rd
7:00 PM Goodbye Solo

Saturday, April 25th
12:00 PM The Garden

4:00 PM Diversity On Screen

Visit the Atlanta Film Festival site to view the full schedule and to create your own festival schedule; or click here to find locations where you can pick up an official festival program.

happy viewing,

 

k

prince to perform 4 nights on leno

The year was 1999. The place: New York City. The time: New Year’s Eve. The mood: uncertain. Rumors had been flying around for months about what might occur at the dawn of the new millenium. Would all computer-based electronics stop working at the stroke of midnight? Would people start rioting and looting in the streets? Would spaceships land on our planet and beam up a portion of the populace, leaving the rest of us behind to deal with post-apocalyptic turmoil? Nobody knew for sure.

So, instead of spending New Year’s Eve in Times Square watching the apple drop, I was holed up in my then-boyfriend’s basement with friends, family, drinks, and a television tuned to Prince’s live concert performance at Paisley Park Studios. If it had been any other performer, on any other New Year’s Eve, I’d probably have been pissed to be inside. But, as I found out from watching that night’s concert…no other music maker can mark the end of an era as well as Prince.

Very soon, another era will come to an end. Jay Leno will officially end his tenure as the host of The Tonight Show on May 29. This week, Prince will play 3 nights on the Leno show (Mar 25-27), and on May 28 – the eve of Leno’s departure – Prince will play a final set.

Prince’s 3-disc set drops next Sunday, March 29, so I’m guessing that we’ll hear some of that material on this week’s show and more of the all-time classics during the May 28 performance.

cheers,

 

k

my latest guilty pleasure – rupaul’s drag race

I don’t know why I love drag queens, but I do.

Actually, I’m lying. I do know why I love ‘em.

As a youngster, I was certainly no girly girl. My wardrobe consisted largely of baggy jeans, tees, and baseball caps fitted snugly around my head which was forever buried in a book. But in my late teens, I frequently traded in the baseball cap and jeans for heels, makeup, and high fashion – modelling in fashion shows and (accidentally) winning a beauty pageant. Much of my ‘diva training’ - from how to work a catwalk, to which fork to use for salad, to when and how to leverage a flair for the dramatic, had been delivered to me over the years by several ‘artsy uncles’, who at the time I viewed as simply… eccentric.

C’mon.  It was a small GA town in the 80s…what did I know?

Besides that, I generally admire anyone who has the, er… balls to get on stage and perform. And even more admiration goes to those transformer performers that totally become someone different when they get in front of a crowd.

So when my friend Kali hipped me to LOGO’s new reality show, RuPaul’s Drag Race, I was instantly hooked!

The show borrows alot of its format from my other guilty TV pleasure – America’s Next Top Model. But instead of young would-be models blossoming under the tutelage of Tyra Banks, the show’s contestants are some of the fiercest female impersonators in the US, lorded over by the grand-diva of them all, Ms. (“you betta work bitch”) Ru Paul.

So far, my fan favorites are the cute little Asian queen, Ongina, and the beuatifully bizarre Nina Flowers (girl’s accent is the cutest). But all the girls serve it up with full glamazon drama and attitude. In each episode, the contestants are given a challenge, and the bottom two losers of each challenge, must (drum roll, please) lip-synch for their lives!! Without a doubt, it’s the best part of the show, and I must admit, I end up lip-synching right along with the divas as if my life depended on it. I think I may have a future as a female impersonator impersonator. Stage name: Candi Tucker.

New episodes air every Monday at 10pm on the LOGO channel. Or you can watch full episodes of Ru Paul’s Drag Race online. Check it out and prepare to get hooked.

cheers, bitches!

k

the lena baker story – limited screening this weekend

BUY MOVIE TIX | BUY THE BOOK

I heard about this movie during last year’s Atlanta Film Festival. But unfortunately, I heard about it too late to get a ticket to the sold-out premiere. Fortunately – for me and for you – there’s a second chance to catch the film this weekend.

Hope and Redemption: The Lena Baker Story is a film that was inspired by the book, The Lena Baker Story written by Dr. Lela Bond Phillips. Both works cover the real-life account of the complex relationship between a black woman with a sordid past and a white man with an abusive personality in Jim Crow era Georgia. The black woman is Lena Baker, the only woman to have been sent to the electric chair in Georgia.

The film – which was written, produced, and directed by Ralph Wilcox – is set and shot on location in southwest Georgia, and stars Tichina Arnold (Everybody Hates Chris) as Lena Baker, and Peter Coyote as her employer/abuser and the man she is accused of murdering.

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