DVD Confidential Monthly Newsletter
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Edition 4: November 8th, 2005
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DVD Confidential - Movie News & DVD Reviews
http://www.dvdconfidential.com =========================================
What's New on DVD Confidential
1) Latest Reviews: Batman Begins,
The Devils Rejects, Suicide Girls, Grand
Sons, Unleashed, House of Voices,
New York Doll
2) Signed New York Doll Poster Giveaway
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"It's not who I am underneath,
but what I do that defines me."
- Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Batman Begins)
We've been super busy at DVD Confidential.
Lots of reviews, lots of news and some
really cool giveaways. Speaking of giveaways,
make sure to enter the New York Doll
Giveaway (see below). Rock on.
- Scott Standish
Editor, DVD Confidential
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
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1) Latest Reviews: Batman Begins,
The Devils Rejects, Suicide Girls, Grand
Sons, Unleashed, House of Voices,
New York Doll
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Here are some our latest reviews:
Batman Begins (2005)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Christian Bale, Katie Holmes, Gary
Oldman, Liam Neeson, Tom Wilkinson,
Michael Caine, Rutger Hauer & Morgan Freeman
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: A-
Review by Scott Standish
Dark, brooding and unusually serious, Batman Begins
is by far the best of the Batman movies. It may
also be director Chris Nolan's (Insomnia, Memento)
finest film to date.
Batman Begins is one of those rare Hollywood studio
films that gets everything right, especially the
casting. Chris Nolan made a perfect choice in casting
Christian Bale as Batman. Bale has the looks, the
brooding manner and best of all, the strange
personality that fits the role to a T. Rutger Hauer
and Morgan Freeman are excellent in supporting roles
and how can you go wrong with Michael Caine as Alfred?
As most know by now, Batman Begins tells the story of
how young millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne came to be
Batman. The first half of the story focuses intensely
on Bruce's travels and travails to find himself. He
is drawn into a mysterious group called the League of
Shadows but he soon finds that they are planning to
destroy Gotham. With the aid of his butler Alfred and
his friend Lucius (Morgan Freeman), Bruce Wayne
battles the evil crime boss Carmine Falcone, the
Scarecrow and ultimately, Al Ghul, the leader of
the League of Shadows.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/10/review-batman-begins.html
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The Devil's Rejects (2005)
Directed by Rob Zombie
Starring Sid Haig, Sheri Moon Zombie,
Bill Moseley, Geoffrey Lewis, William
Forsythe, Priscilla Barnes, PJ Soles,
Leslie Easterbrook
MPAA: UR
Grade: B+
Review by Bobby Nashville
The highly anticipated Devil's Rejects
has finally come to DVD and we think
that this unrated widescreen version
was well worth the wait. Directed by
Rob Zombie, this horror film pays
homage to horror classics while deftly
creating a unique style all it's own.
Devils Rejects is certainly not a film
suitable for most folks but if you are
a fan of horror, this is a very scary
film that is highly recommended.
The Devils Rejects are in fact a group
of homicidal maniacs that apparently
love to torture, rape and kill their
victims for kicks. They are about as
evil as it gets. Mother Firefly directs
the insane posse and she is religiously
followed by her kids (played by Sheri
Moon Zombie and Bill Mosely), a pair of
evil freaks that are sick, sick, sick.
They are chased by Sheriff Wydell
(William Forsythe), a tough as nails
sheriff that has sworn to bring these
evil kids down. Unfortunately for sheriff
Wydell, the Devils Rejects have an aura
around them similar to Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kid, one that screams
"You'll never take me alive". They are
not heros by any measure but they are
certainly the main outlaws and stars of
the film (again like Butch and Sundance
or Thelma & Louise). They are also evil
incarnate.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/11/review-devils-rejects-b.html
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Suicide Girls: First Tour (2004)
Starring Reagan, Nixon, Snow
MPAA: UR
Grade:B-
Review by Bobby Nashville
The Suicide Girls are a sexy, boundary
pushing group of women that run a successful
erotic photography web site. The Suicide
Girls have tattoos, wear gothic clothing
and love punk rock music. These are my
kind of gals. They love to rock, they aren't
afraid to get loud, and they are damn sexy.
The top models from Suicide Girls recently
went on tour and this documentary tells
the story behind the tour. It's not
Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back, but it is
entertaining.
Suicide Girls: First Tour is basically
home movies of the Suicide Girls on their
tour across America. There are vignettes
of the girls doing burlesque acts, and
these (along with the interviews) are
interesting as you can finally get a
little perspective on what it takes to be a
Suicide Girl. However, the music video style
showcases of the live performancess tend
to get boring and the entire production has a
n HBO "Real Sex" type look to it. The
Suicide Girls are all about the punk
sensibility. The directing style and
visual approach just didn't seem to gel
with that.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/11/review-suicide-girls-first-tou...
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Grand Sons (2004)
Directed by Ilan Duran Cohen
Starring Reine Ferrato, Guillaume Quatravaux, Jean-Phillipe Set
MPAA: UR
Grade: B+
Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy
Every once in a while an independent film
comes along that draws you in and keeps your
interest all the way through. Grand Sons is
one of those movies. Better than expected,
Grand Sons is a fine film that will hopefully
pick up a larger audience as word spreads.
Grand Sons tells the story of Guillaume, a
young man that has recently lost his mother.
His mother actually abandoned him at a young
age, and Guillame's grandmother has been taking
care of him. However, he has stayed in touch with
his mom. Guillaume's grandmother truly loves her
grandson. But Guilliame is still coming to grips
with the loss of his mother, and he is bitter
and a bit confused. He can be a tad mean to his
grandmother and he is a soul at unrest.
Guillaume's grandmother treats him as if he is
her own son, and although he allows this
(and appreciates this) he still is having a
tough time dealing with the situation. Guilliame
is gay and has a lover that his grandmother accepts a
nd genuinely likes. She truly wants her grandson to
be happy, but she sees the emotional pain he is in.
The relationships in Grand Sons are real, touching
and very compelling.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/10/review-grand-sons-b.html
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Unleashed (2005)
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Starring Jet Li, Morgan Freeman and Bob Hoskins
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: B-
Review by Bobby Nashville
The trailer for Unleashed was so bad that I came
into it expecting the worst. Plus, the studio's
publicity machine has continuously tried to sell
Jet Li as the next big action star in America, and
of course, that hasn't happened. Finally, to top
it off, I'm not a huge martial arts nut to begin
with. So I was pleasantly surprised to find
Unleashed to be fairly interesting. And that's a
compliment.
In Unleashed, Jet Li stars as Danny, an orphan
raised to be killing machine by a ruthless crime
organization led by Bart (Bob Hoskins). Bart
makes Danny wear a metal collar that supposedly
keeps him in check like a pit bull. When the collar
comes off, Danny automatically becomes a rabid "dog"
that uses martial arts to massacre his opponents.
Okay folks, the whole "human pitbull" concept is
a stupid idea. However, if you can get past the
dog collar bit, Unleashed is a pretty interesting
little action flick. Danny meets up with Sam, a
blind piano tuner (played by Morgan Freeman) and
his teenage daughter. With the help of his new f
amily, he discovers life's little joys like ice
cream, kisses on the cheek and the music.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/10/review-unleashed-b.html
----
House of Voices aka Saint Ange (2004)
Directed by Pascal Laugier
Starring Virginie Ledoye, Lou Doillon, Catriona Maccoll
MPAA: R
Grade: D
Review by Bobby Nashville
Originally titled Saint Ange, House of Voices
is a mindless, meandering ghost story that could
have used a lot more ghosts. Or a better story.
Or chainsaw wielding hookers.
House of Voices stars Virginie Ledoyen as Anna
Jurin, a young lady sent to spruce up a recently
closed down orphange in the Alps. Anna finds the
place to be haunted and she sets out to investigate.
The problem is that she is perhaps the slowest
sloth ever put on the planet, and it takes her
five minutes to walk down a hallway. Of course
the head of the orphanage tries to block the
investigation, so Anna befriends a gal that has
been living in the orphanage for years. The plot
beyond that is muddled and pointless.
House of Voices is a visually dull and lyrically
flat motion picture. It's also long. Painfully
long. Avoid this one at all costs.
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New York Doll (2005)
Directed by Greg Whiteley
Starring Arthur Kane, David Johansen,
Sylvain Sylvain, Chrisse Hynde, Bob Geldof,
Sky Saxon, Morrissey
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: A-
Review by Scott Standish
In a time when documentaries are all the
rage and comeback tours are everywhere, a
documentary about the reunion of the New York
Dolls was inevitable. However, no one could
have expected this documentary to be so
mesmerizing, sensitive and insightful. This
is one of the best rock and roll documentaries
I have seen in a while and I hope that this
film finds widespread distribution. This film
needs to find a wider audience, not just the
usual "punk crowd". It's that good.
New York Doll is about the Dolls, of
course, but it is really about Arthur
"Killer" Kane, the band's bass player.
The New York Dolls where a successful
punk rock group in the early seventies that
broke up just as they were reaching the
pinnacle of success. Their music would
influence a generation of punk artists
from the Clash to Iggy Pop. When the band
broke up, most went on to success as solo
artists, or with other groups. Arthur Kane
become an alcoholic, a loner, and bit of
a vagabond until he recently converted to
the Mormon religion. Kane retreated into
his job as a librarian for the Mormons,
far away from his past as a rock star.
However, secretly he longed to play with
the Dolls just one more time.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/10/review-new-york-doll.html
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2) Signed New York Doll Poster Giveaway
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Signed New York Doll Poster Giveaway
Okay folks, listen up. We've given away
some incredible movie swag in the last
few months- but this is by far the sweetest
giveaway yet, especially if you are a fan of
the New York Dolls.
We have an official movie poster from the
critically acclaimed documentary New York
Doll to give away. Now, here's the best part
- the movie poster is autographed by the
director of New York Doll, Greg Whitely.
Given the highly collectable nature of this
movie poster, we want to ensure that this
poster actually gets to a fan of the New York
Dolls, the movie, or both. So we actually
have some strict rules for this particular
giveaway. To be eligible to win you must:
A) sign up (or already be signed up) for our
Monthly Newsletter, and B) you have to e-mail
ScottATDVDconfidentialDOTcom (reformat it
before sending) with the subject line DOLLSRULE.
We'll narrow down the field and choose one
lucky winner later this week. Good luck!
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See you next month,
Scott, Ellyn, Sebastian and Bobby
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DVD Confidential - Movie News & DVD Reviews
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
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