At long last you can watch my feature-length film UNCLE TOM’S APARTMENT in its entirety for the low price of 99 cents.
Watch This – UNCLE TOM'S APARTMENT
November 13, 2011Best of BAMF – POLICE BEAT
October 27, 2011The Best of BAMF is a showcase of older reviews of films still worth watching. 
Police Beat is one of those rare films that can be extremely difficult to adequately describe. Having first seen it at the Sundance Film Festival back in 2005, it was hard for me to find the right words to describe it back then, and having seen it three more times since, it’s still hard to find the right words. Rarely does a film come along that seems so innovative and original that you can’t really compare it to anything else. And that’s what Police Beat is—a film so uniquely original and stylish that is stands apart from pretty much anything I recall seeing in recent years. Read the rest of this entry »
BAMF Blaxploitation Archive – SUGAR HILL
October 25, 2011
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.
SUGAR HILL 1974 (a.k.a The Voodoo Girl; Zombies of Sugar Hill); director Paul Maslansky; starring: Markie Bey, Robert Quarry, Don Pedro Cooley, Richard Lawson, Zara Cully, Charles Robinson
Not to be confused with the other films with the same title, this is the one and only Sugar Hill, starring Markie Bey as the fine momma Diana “Sugar” Hill. When her old man gets dead at the hands of some mobsters trying to muscle in on his nightclub, our heroine decides to out do Foxy Brown and Coffy. Sugar takes her fine self to see Mama Maitresse (Zara Cully, The Jeffersons’ Mother Jefferson), a local voodoo woman. Mother Jefferson raises the spirit of her other son — George’s evil brother, Baron Samedi, the lord of the undead. Quicker than you can say, “We’re movin’ on up”, the good Baron is offing the honky mobsters, in all sorts of manners both unusual and fun (one jive sucker is eaten by pigs). No one is safe from Sugar and Baron Samedi’s army of buggy-eyed zombies. Read the rest of this entry »
Best of BAMF – The 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN
October 25, 2011
If you are a true fan of martial arts flicks, then you no-doubt have seen this film in at least one of its several incarnations, which includes the alternate titles Master Killer and Shaolin Master Killer. If, however, for some strange reason you have never seen this movie, then you can’t, in any way, shape or form, consider yourself to be a true die-hard fan of kung fu films. As harsh as that may sound, the reality is that for every genre and sub-genre of film you can imagine, there are only a very small handful of films that are essential viewing within that particular group. The 36thChamber of Shaolin is one of those films. Read the rest of this entry »
dvd review – ATTACK THE BLOCK
October 21, 2011
Writer-director Joe Cornish has made the best John Carpenter movie since John Carpenter made great movies. Cornish’s debut feature, Attack the Block, conjures memories of Carpenter when he was on top of his game with an impressive list of genre movies that includes Assault on Precinct 13, Escape from New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China. Set in South London, ATB finds a gang of hardened teenage criminals becoming neighborhood heroes when their apartment block is swarmed by deadly extra terrestrials. Led by the steely-eyed Moses (John Boyega), the gang is mostly black, making the heroes of Attack the Block the most unlikely to save the day since the forgotten blaxploitation classic Together Brothers. But much of what makes the film work is Moses and his gang, a motley assortment of thugs played by a cast of unknowns, who are simultaneously tough and funny, exuding equal parts two-fisted badassness and adolescent awkwardness. This is easily one of the most compelling groups of teenage boys to come along in quite some time, and far more interesting than the kids in Super 8. As Moses and his crew square off against the deadly creatures that are terrorizing the block, Cornish keeps the film moving at a rapid pace, while finding just the right balance of humor. His direction is as assured as his writing, and Cornish’s decision to cast his film with heroes you’re not likely to see in any other movie is the added ingredient that gives Attack the Block its heart and soul. Along with John Carpenter, Cornish seems to be most influenced by Edgar Wright, whose genre-blending films like Shaun of the Dead have found the perfect creepy-to-comedy ratio. And like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Wright’s under-appreciated Scott Pilgrim, Attack the Block is a highly entertaining film that holds up to multiple viewings.
New Article on MSN
October 10, 2011
Check out my most recent article for MSN’s Parallel Universe. With the upcoming release of the prequel/remake/reimagining of The Thing, I have come up with a list of the best and worst Winter Terrors.
Casting a Black Actor as 007
October 5, 2011
There was a bit of a buzz floating around on the Internet a few days ago, regarding the possibility of Idris Elba (above) assuming the James Bond mantle after Daniel Craig leaves the role (read it here). This was based on comments made by Craig several years back, and it opens up a long-running topic that I talked about for many years.
Since the film debut of James Bond in 1962, six actors have played 007 (provided you don’t count the early versions of Casino Royale), and many more have been mentioned and considered for the role over the decades. In 1973, Roger Moore replaced Sean Connery as Bond in Live and Let Die, blowing the perfect opportunity to cast a black actor as the secret agent. Read the rest of this entry »
What's Going On?
September 28, 2011I realize that updates on this website have been few and far between as of late, and I apologize. Things have been a bit hectic at MoFo Central as of late, and I’ve been bogged down with a variety of projects. There will be more updates soon. In the meantime, if you haven’t checked out my novel yet, now is a great time. You can read the first 25 chapters of Darius Logan: Super Justice Force for FREE by clicking this link.
film review – SHAOLIN
September 13, 2011
Hong Kong filmmaker Benny Chan has earned a name for himself by directing a string of solid action films including New Police Story, Gen-X Cops and the overlooked Connected. Always a solid director, Chan has come into his own with what is easily his best film—an incredible mix of action, drama, and a showcase of powerhouse acting by his cast. Shaolin stars Andy Lau as General Huo, a cold-blooded, power-hungry military leader with no compassion. When Hou attempts to assassinate his oldest friend and comrade-in-arms, he finds that himself fighting for his own life as his second-in-command (Nicholas Tse) stages a coup. With his dying daughter in his arms, Hou seeks refuge in a Shaolin temple, where he undergoes a spiritual transformation. Under the guidance of the other monks, including Jackie Chan in a show-stealing supporting role, Hou becomes a new man, but the man he was is still threatened by his enemies, who will stop at nothing to destroy him. Read the rest of this entry »
book review – FAHRENHEIT 451
August 22, 2011
Today is the birthday of Ray Bradbury, author of one of my favorite books of all time, Fahrenheit 451. The YA market was very different when I was a teenager, so much so that it barely even existed. There was no Harry Potter or Hunger Games back then, and as a young reader I jumped into science fiction at an early age, starting primarily with writers like Edgar Rice Burroughs. I first read Fahrenheit 451 when I was 13 years old, and it changed my life. Set in a dystopian future where books are illegal and it is the jobs of fireman to start fires, Bradbury’s book follows the adventures of Guy Montag. A dutiful fireman who does his job of burning all books and the homes in which they are hidden, Montag begins to question his role in the oppressive society, and finds himself branded an outlaw when he decides that books must be preserved. Though it’s not considered to be a YA novel, Fahrenheit 451 is a perfect book for teenagers. Exploring themes of alienation, blind allegiance to questionable authority, and a societal disconnect from its own humanity, all of which are subjects teens can relate to.
BadAzz MoFo 
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