New article on MSN

Check out my latest article, Zombies: Sick of the Dead, now on MSN. And then come back tomorrow to read my review of Zombieland.

dvd review: STRIPPED DOWN

The packaging for the psychological thriller Stripped Down basically promises a film that is not typical of the stripper genre. But to be honest, I was merely looking for a film with some gratuitous nudity. I would have considered myself lucky if the movie delivered anything even remotely compelling in terms of story, as long as there was plenty of women naked. For all I care, the movie could have been a dissertation on the works of Carlos Castaneda or an explanation of global tectonics, as long as there were hot chicks taking their clothes of. The one thing I didn’t want to deal with was a movie about strippers—typical of other stripper movies or not—that didn’t have enough nudity to amuse the horny teenager that still lurks inside my soul.

dvd review: GUNS ON THE CLACKAMAS

Contrary to popular belief, not all critics get off on hating movies. Take me for instance. I never go into a movie wanting to not like it. I go in wanting to be entertained. But sometimes certain films don’t do it for me, and I’m must face the fact that I didn’t like something. This is especially difficult when I went in hoping to enjoy the movie, only to find myself wishing I had not wasted the irreplaceable time that was forever lost watching a film that wasn’t worth watching. And it is especially difficult when the film is by a director whose work you’ve enjoyed in the past.

BAMF Blaxploitation Archive – SUPER FLY

BAMF’s Blaxploitation Archive is a collection of reviews originally written in the 1990s that appeared in the pages of BadAzz MoFo. This review and many others have been reprinted and collected in BadAzz MoFo’s Book of Blaxploitation, Volume One, which is now available for purchase.

SUPER FLY 1972 director: Gordon Parks Jr.; starring: Ron O’Neal, Carl Lee, Sheila Frazier, Julius Harris, Charles MacGregor

Living Colour's new album

Living Colour, one of my favorite bands of all time, have a new album out, The Chair in the Doorway. Definitely worth owning. Check out this piece I wrote for my former employer, Willamette Week. The video is them performing the new single.

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=bamo-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&asins=B002O8EAM0

BAMF Blaxploitation Archive: ABAR, THE FIRST BLACK SUPERMAN

BAMF’s Blaxploitation Archive is a collection of reviews originally written in the 1990s that appeared in the pages of BadAzz MoFo. This review and many others have been reprinted and collected in BadAzz MoFo’s Book of Blaxploitation, Volume One, which is now available for purchase.

ABAR, THE FIST BLACK SUPERMAN 1977 (a.k.a. In Your Face) director: Frank Packard; starring: J. Walter Smith, Tobar Mayo

BAMF Blaxploitation Archive – HELL UP IN HARLEM

BAMF’s Blaxploitation Archive is a collection of reviews originally written in the 1990s that appeared in the pages of BadAzz MoFo. This review and many others have been reprinted and collected in BadAzz MoFo’s Book of Blaxploitation, Volume One, which is now available for purchase.

HELL UP IN HARLEM 1973 director: Larry Cohen; starring: Fred Williamson, Julius Harris, Margaret Avery, Gloria Hendry, D’Urville Martin, Tony King

New Look. Same Crap.

As some of you may have noticed, I’ve changed the design of the website. There are still some bugs that need to be worked out, but I would love to hear feedback (actually, I don’t really care, but if you want to leave feedback, be my guest). I’m also in the process of posting many of my old blaxploitation reviews. I’ll be posting them randomly, but you can find them in Blaxploitation Archive category.

BAMF Blaxploitation Archive – BLACULA

BAMF’s Blaxploitation Archive is a collection of reviews originally written in the 1990s that appeared in the pages of BadAzz MoFo. This review and many others have been reprinted and collected in BadAzz MoFo’s Book of Blaxploitation, Volume One, which is now available for purchase.

BLACULA 1972 director: William Crain; starring: William Marshall, Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas, Thalmus Rasulala

dvd review: AMERICAN SON

Some of you might not know this, but it’s a fact, that even the worst actor can be good given the right script and director. The problem, of course, is that some actors never get the right script or right director, and they spend their entire career being bad. It was with this in mind that I watched American Son, starring Nick Cannon, an actor that to the best of my knowledge has sucked in everything he’s ever been in. Cannon’s mind-boggling lack of talent had left me wondering if it was possible for him to be good in anything, or if he was an actor beyond hope—incapable of being saved even by a good script and a good director.