Melvin Van Peebles directs and stars in this astonishingly groundbreaking blaxploitation picture, complete with a soundtrack by Earth, Wind, & Fire. Full of action, sex, and attitude, this racial thriller was single-handedly responsible for launching an entire genre of film, empowering African-American filmmakers to make bold, political statements.

Grade: B.

0.3

Detroit-based Los Hermanos release their second album on the Submerge label, a bumping collection of Detroit techno tracks. The first track has an annoying Spanish voice over, but otherwise this record grooves along nicely. Some of these songs will get frequent plays in DJ mixes and at night clubs.

Grade: B.

0.3

Three women from the Jersey City ghetto struggle with drugs, crime, and poverty in this extraordinarily low budget and stark double Spirit Award nominee. The cast portrays their characters very believably and the grainy cinematography brings a palpable sense of realism and grit to this often depressing biographical drama.

Grade: B-.

0.3

This made-for-TV movie from the 80s tells the story of the aftermath of a Soviet nuclear attack on the United States. Starring Jason Robards, Steve Guttenberg, and John Lithgow, this drama shows the destruction in graphic detail. This really reminds us why it terrified us 25 years ago.

Grade: B.

0.3

Pavel Tsatsouline, a former trainer in the Soviet special forces, introduced the kettlebell, an indispensible tool in Russian strength training, to the United States. In this simple program, he teaches the exercises that build hard muscle — the swing, snatch, Turkish get up, clean and press — with his military-styled humor.

Grade: A.

0.3

In this documentary, a small town in West Texas seeks to solve their drug crime problems by hiring an undercover police officer to infiltrate the criminal underworld and bring people to justice. Unfortunately, the officer in question framed a significant proportion of the African-American community, who understandably want justice.

Grade: B+.

0.3

Andy Caldwell throws down a beautiful house set in this mix CD from Swank Records. His set wavers between vocal deep house tracks and funky electro jams. This is a solid foot-tapping disc of luscious grooves—a baker’s dozen back-to-back songs that will satisfy through numerous plays.

Grade: A.

0.3

Kaskade delivers a set of songs in his signature deep house style, featuring a trio of singers. The production value is very high and much of the music is quite mellow, reminiscent at times of Zero 7. Several of these tracks will certainly get heavy rotation in DJ mixes worldwide.

Grade: A-.

0.3

David Byrne, front man of the Talking Heads, writes, directs, and stars in this whimsical look at a small Texas town celebrating the sesquicentennial of Texan statehood. This very colorful take on rural America tells a very whimsical, but difficult to follow, story—almost certainly only for Byrne’s biggest fans.

Grade: C-.

0.3

Pavel Tsatsouline introduces old school Soviet strength training methods in this entertaining manual, which details an effective strength training plan involving only a few simple barbell exercises. It’s a minimalist program that plays up a Soviet Army sense of humor and offers a refreshing no-excuses course in building strength.

Grade: A-.

0.3