Week of February 16th

Can You Dig It?

In a spot-on tribute to the "blaxploitation" films of the 1970s, Michael Jai White is Black Dynamite: badder than Dolemite, tougher than Shaft, and faster than Williams from Enter the Dragon. When his brother is killed while working undercover for The Man, Black Dynamite's quest for vengeance finds him striking an uneasy alliance with an old Viet Nam comrade in the CIA (Kevin Chapman), and winning over the fixtures in his community. Along with Tasty Freeze (Arsenio Hall) and Cream Corn (Tommy Davidson), Black Dynamite takes his quest all the way to the top, while trying to win the heart of a feisty revolutionary (Salli Richardson). Shot on old Super-16 film, Black Dynamite looks like a real, 70s exploitation film: boom mics in frame, rough edits, and obvious stock footage are side-by-side with over the top action, fight scenes, and incredible one-liners. On DVD and Blu Ray.

 

Gerard Butler is also on a quest for justice (or vengeance) in Law Abiding Citizen: not just against Christian Stolte, who killed his wife, but against the legal system who let the killer go. Jamie Foxx is the lawyer who made the deal that set the killer free... but as his colleagues begin dying around him, he begins to fear for his assistant (Annie Corley), the district attorney (Bruce McGill), and even the mayor (Viola Davis) as everyone who ever made a deal with a killer becomes a target. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Zoe's Corner

Women Directors are a rare commodity in Hollywood. There are three on our wall right now that have forged a name for themselves in this predominantly male field. Mira Nair, Kathyrn Bigalow, Anne Fontaine, and Adrienne Shelly.

Anne Fontaine who debuts on our Reckless new release wall with Coco Before Chanel, (on the wall now) has won numerous award for directing and screen play. he told a UK newspaper, "I try to work on my characters' blind side, in a kind of Freudian way: to ask, 'What are the things about themselves that they're unaware of?' I'm fascinated by the irony of fate, when something goes into a skid. All my stories have an element of cruelty in them."

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Following last July's Coco Chanel, Audrey Tautou stars as the iconic designer in Coco Before Chanel, focusing on her life as a young woman, traveling to Paris dreaming of becoming a cabaret singer but ending up as a waitress. When she becomes the mistress of a wealthy man, she has the inspiration and time to invent her first designs, but her story changes when she falls in love with an American (Emmanuelle Devos) who helps her start her own shop. With Alessandro Nivola and Marie Gillain.

Chris Rock's documentary Good Hair looks at the business of the styling industry of African American hair. When asked by his 5-year-old daughter "Why don't I have good hair?" he investigates the cultures of perms, relaxers, and weaves, which leads him to salons and beauty parlors, talking to stylists and celebrities about the lengths people will go to and money they'll spend for "good" hair.

An ensemble film about a variety of women, Women in Trouble takes place over the course of one day, changing between the stories of an adult film actress (Carla Gugino) trapped in an elevator with a neurotic stranger (Connie Briton), a pair of fantasy escorts (Adrianne Palicki and Emmanuelle Chriqui) who get into trouble with a client, a therapist (Sarah Clarke) with an unfaithful husband, and a flight attendant (Marley Shelton) whose time with a decadent rock star (Josh Brolin) turns tragic.

Ward Roberts draws a pentagram on the floor and summons a demon in Lo, demanding that the demon find the woman he loves (Sarah Lassez). The demon (Jeremiah Birkett) can't break the circle, so the two feint and maneuver, each trying to get what they want, as Roberts fights for his woman, and the demon conjures visions of their past together, trying to make him vulnerable.

Like 500 Days of Summer, Peter & Vandy tells the story of Peter (Jason Ritter) and Vandy (Jess Weixler) out of order, jumping in time from the dissatisfaction of the middle of their relationship to their first kiss, from their first meeting to their break-up, illustrating all of the little things that make their relationship work and eventually make it fail, side by side.

Finally, the 3rd Series of the BBC medical comedy/drama Doc Martin is also new this week.

[X]Michael Jai White:
Spawn, The Dark Knight

[X]Kevin Chapman:
Sunshine Cleaning, Ladder 49

[X]Salli Richardson:
I am Legend, Antwone Fisher

[X]Arsenio Hall:
Amazon Women on the Moon, Coming to America

[X]Tommy Davidson:
Bamboozled, Juwanna Man

[X]Audrey Tautou:
Priceless, Amelie

[X]Alessandro Nivola:
Junebug, The Eye

[X]Marie Gillain:
It Had to Be You, L'enfer

[X]Emmanuelle Devos:
Read My Lips, The Beat That My Heart Skipped

[X]Chris Rock:
I Think I Love My Wife, Nurse Betty

[X]Gerard Butler:
RocknRolla, Gamer

[X]Jamie Foxx:
The Soloist, Miami Vice

[X]Christian Stolte:
Leatherheads, Prison Break

[X]Colm Meaney:
Last of the Mohicans, Layer Cake

[X]Bruce McGill:
Vantage Point, Matchstick Men

[X]Annie Corley:
The Lucky Ones, 21 Grams

[X]Viola Davis:
Doubt, Solaris

[X]Ward Roberts:
Dreamland, My Big Fat Independent Movie

[X]Jeremiah Birkett:
The 60s, Evan Almighty

[X]Sarah Lassez:
The Sleepytime Gal

[X]Jason Ritter:
Happy Endings, Raise Your Voice

[X]Jess Weixler:
Little Manhattan, Teeth

[X]Carla Gugino
The Lookout, Watchmen

[X]Connie Briton:
The Lather Effect, The Last Winter

[X]Adrianne Palicki:
Friday Night Lights, Popstar

[X]Emmanuelle Chriqui:
Taking Chances, Cadillac Records

[X]Sarah Clarke:
Twilight, Thirteen

[X]Marley Shelton:
Sugar & Spice, A Perfect Getaway

[X]Josh Brolin:
Planet Terror, Mimic