Dolemite (1975)
Blaxploitation icon Rudy Ray Moore made a bunch of trashy movies in the seventies, starting here where he plays a convict freed to help take down a drug cartel.
It's got everything you want from a blaxploitation flick; a funky as hell soundtrack, hot women, badly choreographed fight scenes and witty dialogue from Moore which makes Muhammed Ali seem inarticulate. A Friday night six pack movie if ever there was one. 6
/10
The Human Tornado (1976)
Moore followed up "Dolemite" with this hilarious sequel. From the opening credits featuring our hero performing dance moves in a variety of wild pimp outfits you know this is gonna be a riot. I'm no fan of martial arts but the fight scenes in this are so over the top and poorly choreographed they make compelling viewing. Moore even pays homage to Nicholas Roeg by inter-cutting a sex scene with footage of him chowing down on some post-coitus fried chicken. The theme tune is fantastic and this movie's soundtrack is a must-have for funk fans.
7/10
Petey Wheatstraw (1977)
Moore's third film makes the mistake of playing for intentional laughs rather than the unintentional ones that make the rest of his movies so compelling. Some movies are so bad they're great and some are so bad they're unwatchable. This is of the latter variety and makes the Wayan's brothers look like comic geniuses. I do recommend checking out Moore's brilliant opening monologue which features classic lines like "I'm gonna take the Fourth of July 'n put it in June". Don't attempt to view any further though. I'm glad this wasn't the first of Moore's films I watched or I wouldn't have bothered with the others.
1/10
Disco Godfather (1979)
By the late seventies Blaxploitation was all but dead but trust Moore to keep the torch burning. This movie is hilarious, especially when it tries to hammer home it's "drugs are bad" message. Fans of disco really need to see this as it's a fantastic time capsule of the era, featuring some brilliant footage of Moore MC'ing, urging the crowd to "Put your weight on it!". The soundtrack is a DJ's dream and I've started slipping it into my own Friday night sets. Moore tries to replicate the effects of Angel Dust to hilarious effect in the movie's bizarrely surreal climax.
7/10
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