By DNA Smith
PICKS OF THE WEEK
“Black Dynamite” — Hands down, the funniest movie of 2009, “Black Dynamite” is a raucous and raunchy send-up of 1970s blaxploitation films. Michael Jai White stars as Black Dynamite, an ex-CIA agent fighting a one-man war against The Man’s conspiracy to fill the ’hood’s orphanages with drugs and the ghettoes with tainted malt liquor.
Filmed using vintage 16mm stock, “Black Dynamite” has the look and feel of a film shot in the ’70s. The jokes are hilarious, the fight scenes are awesome and the funky score will make your booty bouncy. If you liked “Undercover Brother,” you will love “Black Dynamite” 10 times more.
“Goodfellas (20th Anniversary Edition) Blu-Ray” — If you already own the previous Blu-Ray edition of “Goodfellas,” there’s really no compelling reason to buy this two-disc set. The digital transfer is the same as the previous release. The commentary tracks by director Martin Scorsese, Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino, Henry Hill, et al., are the same, as is the documentary on Made Men. The only thing Warner Bros. did for this anniversary edition is pad out the extra features on Disc 2 with a couple of old Warner Bros. cartoons and a documentary on gangster movies from the Warners Gangster Collection boxed set.
“Dirty Harry Collection” — For nearly 70 years, policemen in films and television were always portrayed as stalwart defenders of the law; men who did things By The Book — and then threw it at you. Then, in 1971, all that changed when Clint Eastwood as “Dirty” Harry Callahan whipped out a .44 Magnum (the most powerful handgun in the world), aimed it between the eyes of a quivering perp and said the iconic line, “Well? Do ya feel LUCKY? PUNK?!!” From that moment on, virtually every cop in the movies has been a Maverick, a rogue cop who plays by his own rules.
The boxed set contains the entire series of films: “Dirty Harry,” “Magnum Force,” “The Enforcer,” “Sudden Impact” and “The Dead Pool.” There is a sixth disc with a documentary on the films’ legacy and other featurettes and extras.
TV SERIES
“Small Wonder” The Complete First Season
“Kingdom” Series Three
“Bob and Margaret” The Complete First Season
“Head Case” The Complete Series
“Barnaby Jones” The Complete First Season
“Branded” The Complete Series
“Cannon” Season Two, Vol. 2
“Lark Rise to Candleford” The Complete Season Two
“Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Box Two”
“Lincoln Heights” Season One
“Best of the Loretta Young Show” Seasons 3 & 4
© 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.