Black and Green and Red All Over

Movies: Black Dynamite, Greenberg, and Deep Red

Black Dynamite

Black Dynamite is a spot-on spoof of blaxploitation films of the 1970's and one of the more hilarious movies I've seen recently. Michael Jai White plays Black Dynamite, a former CIA agent, Vietnam vet, and all-around BAMF, who is on a mission to avenge his brother's death at the hands of drug dealers. Along the way, he uncovers a top secret operation called "Code Kansas" that goes all the way to the White House, leading to a final confrontation between Black Dynamite and Tricky Dick himself.


Black Dynamite was born out of White's affection for over-the-top blaxploitation movies and even though the film mocks this particular genre, it does so with love in its heart. Black Dynamite was shot in Super 16 Color Reversal Kodak film (thank you Wikipedia!) to give it that color-saturated look of cheaply shot 1970's exploitation movies. The script is cheesy and slangy ("We're gonna fricassee their honky asses!"). And the plot twists are downright absurd in the best possible way (the scene where Black Dynamite and a gang of pimps deduce what "Code Kansas" stands for is just...words cannot describe how funny it is).

I was in hysterics for most of Black Dynamite and as soon as it was over, I wanted to watch it again immediately. You can't say that for a lot of movies. Michael Jai White and director Scott Sanders really put their brains and hearts into this film--and it shows.

5 out of 5 stars

Greenberg

From indie screenwriter and director Noah Baumbach comes Greenberg, a comedy about a misanthropic manchild, Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller), who comes to live at his rich brother's house after having a nervous breakdown. What could have verged very quickly into cutesy, "aren't emotions just cah-raaazy!?" territory is saved by Stiller's performance and a pared down script free of too much affected quirkyness. However, Greenberg left me with a feeling of "it's all been done before". As in Baumbach's other films (Margot at the Wedding and The Squid and the Whale), the audience is expected to sympathize with irritating, immature, and downright selfish characters. Over the course of the film, Greenberg begins an affair with his brother's assistant/nanny, the much-younger Florence (played by Greta Gerwig, who does a fine job). He emotionally manipulates her and their relationship resembles something freshmen in college would go through: drama, pointless fights, and really horrible sex. It's hard to see why either one would want to be with the other and why we the audience should care. While Florence is the more sympathetic, "nice" character, I almost liked her less because she willingly put up with Greenberg's hot-and-cold (mostly cold) behavior.

Greenberg has some really funny moments, such as when the 40-something Greenberg attends a party with a bunch of 20-somethings and asks if it's ok to do coke when you're on Zoloft. But in the end, it's a forgettable movie about two random people who carelessly bump into each other while stumbling through life.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Deep Red

Italian director and master of horror Dario Argento considered Deep Red to be his best film. I've only seen one other Argento film, Suspiria, and I did indeed enjoy Deep Red more. Deep Red combines the gore and creepy-ass atmosphere of Suspiria with the taut murder mystery of Blow-Up. In fact, David Hemmings, the star of Blow-Up, also plays the lead in Deep Red.


Marcus Daly (Hemmings) witnesses a murder one night and when he goes to investigate, he notices something that he can't put his finger on is amiss in the murder scene. He becomes obsessed with figuring out what he saw that night and with solving the murder. Over the course of his investigation, more grisly killings occur and it seems like the killer is one always one step ahead...

I like Argento because his films contain enough gore to get a reaction out of the audience while still relying on atmosphere and plot to heighten the tension. If you're a fan of horror films, especially horror of the late 60's and 70's, Argento's Deep Red is definitely worth checking out.

4 out of 5 stars