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‘Dolemite’ & More Blaxploitation Classics To Be Remastered

Published

5 years ago

June 25, 2018

One of the biggest advantages to the increase on streaming media has been how easy it is to view classic cinema. Whether it is through major players such as Netflix or specialty services like Filmstruck watching old movies has never been easier. The latest to hit VOD are a collection of 70’s cult classics starring none other than Rudy Ray Moore. Digitally remastered for the first time, Xenon Pictures will release Dolemite and its sequel The Human Tornado on July 3rd. Joining these cult classics will be Disco Godfather, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song and more. More information can he found in the press release below.

Digitally remastered for the first time on HD VOD, blaxploitation classics from the stable of Xenon Pictures – including “The Citizen Kane of kung-fu pimpin’ movies” Dolemite!

With the Eddie Murphy-starring Rudy Ray Moore biopic in the works at Netflix, the time is ripe to rediscover Moore’s great moments in film with Dolemite and its sequel The Human Tornado. The brand-new high-def VOD releases of the action-comedy classics hit VOD July 3!

Disco Godfather, also starring Rudy Ray Moore, releases on the same date on VOD – and it’s never looked better!
Also starring Carol Speed and Julius Carry, the action-crime gem tells of Tucker Williams (Moore), the rapping owner and main attraction of the Blueberry Hill Disco. An ex-cop with a penchant for head-whacking martial arts, Tucker is called back into action when his nephew (Julius J. Carry III) get hooked on angel dust.

Also available, that classic mesh of humor and horror Petey Wheatstraw. Petey Wheatstraw (Rudy Ray Moore) was born during a tropical storm, and from the moment he took his first breath he could walk, talk and kick ass. He grows up to become a famous comedian- so famous that his rivals (Leroy and Skillet) can’t handle the competition and plan to do Petey in.
When Petey is killed in a drive-by, Lucifer ( G. Tito Shaw) offers Petey his life back, along with unearthly powers, if he will marry the Devil’s daughter (Ebony Wright) and produce a son. Petey agrees to the deal but has other plans.

Also hitting HD VOD for the first time on 7/3, Melvin Van Peebles’ original 1971 classic Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song.
After saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from “the man” with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels in this very early – in fact, it’s widely credited as starting the blackploitation film category – blaxploitation entry.

Also available on HD VOD this July from Xenon Pictures : the Penitentiary franchise, starring Leon Isaac Kennedy, the original black samurai film Death Force, music documentary Welcome to Death Row, action-drama The Muthers, 1973 horror-comedy favorite Blackenstein, and one of the original blaxploitation horror films, Lord Shango.

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Godzilla Minus One | Official Trailer #2

Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb

Published

4 weeks ago

November 6, 2023

Staff

Genre:

Action, Adventure, Drama

Release Date:

December 1, 2023

Director:

Takashi Yamazaki

Cast:

Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada

Plot Summary:

Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb

FILM RATING

Action

The Continental Review: Not The Prequel We Needed

Published

2 months ago

October 4, 2023

Kevin Verma

Ever since Lionsgate greenlit this series in early 2017, fans of the franchise have been eagerly anticipating to see how the John Wick universe expands. 4 movies in, the John Wick franchise is widely known as one of the greatest action movie franchises of all time with our titular character (a.k.a Baba Yaga) becoming one of the most iconic and bad-ass figures ever in Hollywood. The Continental: From The World of John Wick is a prequel series that tells the story of Winston Scott and how he became the manager of New York’s The Continental branch.

The miniseries was developed by Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward and Shawn Simmons. It is executive produced by Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese, Derek Kolstad, David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, the director of all four John Wick movies. It is structured as a 3-night event told through three 90-minute episodes. The series was originally supposed to air on Starz, but the network sold it to Peacock in 2022. After 6 years in development, it finally aired on Peacock this September.

A lot has been made of the subtitle of the project ever since it was announced. The fact that the makers needed to include it says a lot about the show. It almost felt like the prime marketing asset for it many times as the other promotional material didn’t necessarily create a lot of hype for the show. Albert Hughes directed the first and third episodes, while Charlotte Branstrom directed the second, and disappointingly both directors do not bring the same novelty or creative prowess that Chad Stahelski managed to bring in the John Wick movies.

The show also surprisingly lacks any real star power. This franchise is one of Lionsgate’s most prized assets, so you would imagine that they would make sure to get a big cast and crew for this prequel miniseries, but they didn’t. Colin Woodell as Winston Scott is the clear standout among the cast despite delivering only a decent performance, which says a lot about the acting standards in this 3-episode miniseries. Many have criticized the casting of Mel Gibson in the series, but I personally had no issue with his performance and he’s also the most recognizable member of the cast despite having no real audience pull anymore.

The writing doesn’t offer too much to ponder upon or any seriously shocking turns in the story as most of the focus is on making the product as epic, badass and action-packed as possible. Some of the characters had some interesting layers to them, especially Charon (Ayomide Adegun) and Lou (Jessica Allain). Lemmy (Adam Shapiro) provides some much-needed comic relief with his witty dialogues. The structuring of the story works really well as a 3-night event which sets the high stakes and sets a standard of intensity for the narrative.

But the thing that people were most looking forward to, was the action and how it fared against John Wick. Unfortunately, that department was inconsistent as well. Ben Robson’s fight sequence in the early part of the first episode was great and it makes you optimistic that the action would get better from here on, but it never does. Most of the action blocks here involve explosions and guns rather than the hand-to-hand combat John Wick franchise is known for. Some of the action was awesome and some of it sadly wasn’t.

The Continental: From the World of John Wick brings a lot of glamour as it tries to expand its world but fails to engage with its paper-thin plot. The characters are mostly dull with a formulaic villain and misses the presence of a magnetic protagonist like Wick. A prequel about Wick’s backstory would’ve been much more interesting than this inconsistent prequel event saved by its style and some great action. It has almost enough to be its own thing but doesn’t quite have enough to match its parent movies.

The Continental: From the World of John Wick premieres on Peacock in the US and Prime Video in the UK and Australia on 22 September, with new episodes weekly.