DVD Confidential - Oldboy, The Sting, Anton Corbijn
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DVD Confidential
Sep 21, 2005, 8:03:41 PM9/21/05
to Weekly Confidential
DVD Confidential Weekly Newsletter
=========================================
Edition 2: September 21, 2005
=========================================
DVD Confidential - Movie News & DVD Reviews
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
=========================================
New This Week:
1) Oldboy (B+)
2) Director's Series Vol. 6 -
Work of Director Anton Corbijn (B+)
3) The Curious Dr. Hummp (B)
4) The Sting (B+)
5) Directors Label Giveaway Winner
& More DVD Giveaways
========================================
"Luther said I could learn some things
from you. I already know how to drink."
- Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker (The Sting)
Hey folks, welcome to our second newsletter.
We've got some great new reviews and
another great DVD giveaway this month!
Now, on to the reviews.
- Scott Standish
Editor, DVD Confidential
=========================================
1) Oldboy (B+)
=========================================
Oldboy (2003)
Directed by Chan-wook Park
Starring Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong
Kang and Dae-han Ji
MPAA: R
Grade: B
Review by Bobby Nashville
Now we're talking. Oldboy is a very cool
thriller with lots of violence, psycho
warfare and vengeance. It's my kind of movie.
Oldboy was apparently Quentin Tarantino's
kind of movie too, because he reportedly was
raving about the film after seeing it in
Cannes.
Oh Dae-Su is a businessman with a fairly
ordinary life. He wears a suit to work. He
has a wife and daughter. He stays out of
trouble. But after a night of drinking,
he finds himself locked up in prison. Not
your normal prison, mind you - this is
almost a hotel room, and the jailers
don't speak to him. Someone has actually
abducted him and placed him in solitary
confinement. But who? And why? For 15
years Oh Dae-Su is locked up.
Oh Dae-Su is freed, seemingly out of
nowhere. He swears to exact revenge, but
first, he has to find out who was behind
the abduction. Oldboy switches into this
second gear quite nicely and by the time
the film is over, you can't help but be
amazed.
Oldboy is an excellent drama, full of
twists, turns and fascinating characters.
The acting is excellent and the
cinematography is absolutely fantastic.
According to published reports, this
film is being remade here in America
(sigh) by the director of Fast & the
Furious 3 (another sigh) and should hit
the American market in 2006. I seriously
doubt that any Hollywood version can
hold up next to this highly original,
well directed film. Why does Hollywood
feel that it has to remake foreign
classics? Oh well. Oldboy is awesome.
If you like pulp fiction type movies,
this is a must see.
==========================================
2) Director's Series Vol. 6 - Work of
Director Anton Corbijn (B+)
==========================================
Director's Series Vol. 6 - Work of Director
Anton Corbijn
Starring U2, Echo & The Bunnymen, Metallica,
Depeche Mode and Nirvana
Grade: B+
Review by Scott Standish
Anton Corbijn is one of the top video directors
in the world today and his resume reads like a
who's who of the music biz: Nirvana, Metallica,
U2 and more. But to me, the best videos on this
wonderful compilation are from the less famous
groups, particularly Echo & The Bunnymen,
Joy Division and Depeche Mode.
Corbijn's videos have a light visual feel,
even while working in a "german expressionist"
style. Case in point: Propaganda's Dr. Mabuse,
the opening video on the compilation. It looks
like Dr. Caligari and yet, Corbijn is not
intending to frighten, only to use the style
as a backdrop. In fact, at the end of the video,
the players take off their brooding hoods and
laugh at the silliness of it all.
In the Echo & the Bunnymen videos, the zen-like
lyrics are treated with sensitivity, and yet
the visuals are fun (old stage sets and v
audeville type elements abound). Corbijn is an
artist that takes his work seriously, but
refuses to take himself too seriously. I like
that. Art without pompousity. This is a
great compilation of videos.
=========================================
3) The Curious Dr. Hummp (B)
=========================================
The Curious Dr. Hummp (1971)
Directed by Emilio Vieyra
Starring Ricardo Bauleo, Aldo Barbero
and Gloria Prat
MPAA: R
Grade: B
Review by Bobby Nashville
Okay, let me see if I have this straight...
A doctor is kidnapping lesbian sex freaks,
hippie love junkies and orgy fanatics and
doping them up with aphrodisiacs. He hides
them in his mansion where his Frankenstein
like monster and love starved wife help
him make love drugs. Um.... Okay.
Apparently, the good Doctor Hummp has some
weird kind of disease where he needs to
watch people have sex in order to stay
alive. They don't really explain all of
that, but who are we to question him, after
all he IS a doctor. The Curious Dr. Hummp
is one of the most bizarre films I have
ever scene and believe me folks, I've seen
some strange ones. The first ten minutes
of this film are so weird that I had to
watch it twice just to make sure I
wasn't crazy.
Shot in black and white (why?) and dubbed
poorly (from Spanish?) into English,
The Curious Dr. Hummp is soft core porn d
one very badly. So badly in fact, that I
think the best way to describe it is by
asking "What if Ed Wood directed a porno
on drugs?" Sound good? It is! Sound bad?
It is! The Curious Dr. Hummp is a solid
"so bad it's good" film that is a new
favorite of mine. They just don't make
movies like this any more. Sigh.
=========================================
4) The Sting (B+)
=========================================
The Sting (1973)
Directed by George Roy Hill
Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford,
Robert Shaw, Ray Walston and Eileen Brennan
MPAA:PG
Grade: B+
Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy
For once, the Academy got it right. Winner
of 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture,
Best Director and Screenplay, The Sting
is a fantastic film. An outstanding
comedy/drama, The Sting is one of those
classics that seems to get better with age.
Robert Redford and Paul Newman teamed up
earlier with George Roy Hill for the excellent
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, so this
film is a bit of a reunion picture. In The
Sting, Newman plays Henry Gondorff, a legend
of the big con that has fallen on hard times.
Redford plays Kelly aka Johnny Hooker, a
rising star of the con game that has taken
it on the lamb. The two pair up for a big
score against Doyle Lonnegan, a ruthless
mobster that has killed a close friend of
Hooker's.
The Sting ranks right up there with two of
my favorites - House of Games and The Grifters.
All three films are adept at making complex
con games entertaining and best of all,
easy to understand. The Sting is certainly
the most accessible of the three and in
some ways, it may be the best grifter movie
ever. The Sting is well acted, well directed
and extremely well written. A true classic.
==========================================
5) Directors Label Giveaway Winner
==========================================
Congratulations to Kal. Kal is the lucky
winner of our Directors Label Giveaway!
This awesome prize pack contains the Complete
Directors Label Series Volumes 4-7 with
DVDs showcasing the work of directors
Mark Romanek, Stephane Sednauoi, Anton
Corbijn and Jonathan Glazer. Nice.
"Some of the best cinema made in the last decade"
-Newsweek
"Directors who transcend music"
-The New York Times
Congratulations Kal! The next giveaway? Glad
you asked! DVD Confidential is giving away
one copy of the 25th Anniversary Edition
DVD release of Coal Miner's Daughter. The
classic film stars Sissy Spacek as country
legend Loretta Lynn. To enter the Coal
Miner's Daughter Giveaway, simply sign up
for our weekly newsletter. We'll pick one
lucky winner early next week and contact
the winner via e-mail. Good luck!
==========================================
Thanks for supporting our site.
Know someone who might enjoy
this newsletter? Pass it along!
See you next week,
Scott, Ellyn, Sebastian and Bobby
=========================================
DVD Confidential never sends unsolicited e-mail
and honors all unsubscribe requests.
DVD Confidential Weekly is a weekly e-mail
newsletter and is published by DVD Confidential.
All material © 2005 DVD Confidential. All rights
reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without
written permission. You are, however, welcome to
forward this e-mail to whomever you wish.
=======================================
DVD Confidential - Movie News & DVD Reviews
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
=======================================
=========================================
Edition 2: September 21, 2005
=========================================
DVD Confidential - Movie News & DVD Reviews
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
=========================================
New This Week:
1) Oldboy (B+)
2) Director's Series Vol. 6 -
Work of Director Anton Corbijn (B+)
3) The Curious Dr. Hummp (B)
4) The Sting (B+)
5) Directors Label Giveaway Winner
& More DVD Giveaways
========================================
"Luther said I could learn some things
from you. I already know how to drink."
- Robert Redford as Johnny Hooker (The Sting)
Hey folks, welcome to our second newsletter.
We've got some great new reviews and
another great DVD giveaway this month!
Now, on to the reviews.
- Scott Standish
Editor, DVD Confidential
=========================================
1) Oldboy (B+)
=========================================
Oldboy (2003)
Directed by Chan-wook Park
Starring Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong
Kang and Dae-han Ji
MPAA: R
Grade: B
Review by Bobby Nashville
Now we're talking. Oldboy is a very cool
thriller with lots of violence, psycho
warfare and vengeance. It's my kind of movie.
Oldboy was apparently Quentin Tarantino's
kind of movie too, because he reportedly was
raving about the film after seeing it in
Cannes.
Oh Dae-Su is a businessman with a fairly
ordinary life. He wears a suit to work. He
has a wife and daughter. He stays out of
trouble. But after a night of drinking,
he finds himself locked up in prison. Not
your normal prison, mind you - this is
almost a hotel room, and the jailers
don't speak to him. Someone has actually
abducted him and placed him in solitary
confinement. But who? And why? For 15
years Oh Dae-Su is locked up.
Oh Dae-Su is freed, seemingly out of
nowhere. He swears to exact revenge, but
first, he has to find out who was behind
the abduction. Oldboy switches into this
second gear quite nicely and by the time
the film is over, you can't help but be
amazed.
Oldboy is an excellent drama, full of
twists, turns and fascinating characters.
The acting is excellent and the
cinematography is absolutely fantastic.
According to published reports, this
film is being remade here in America
(sigh) by the director of Fast & the
Furious 3 (another sigh) and should hit
the American market in 2006. I seriously
doubt that any Hollywood version can
hold up next to this highly original,
well directed film. Why does Hollywood
feel that it has to remake foreign
classics? Oh well. Oldboy is awesome.
If you like pulp fiction type movies,
this is a must see.
==========================================
2) Director's Series Vol. 6 - Work of
Director Anton Corbijn (B+)
==========================================
Director's Series Vol. 6 - Work of Director
Anton Corbijn
Starring U2, Echo & The Bunnymen, Metallica,
Depeche Mode and Nirvana
Grade: B+
Review by Scott Standish
Anton Corbijn is one of the top video directors
in the world today and his resume reads like a
who's who of the music biz: Nirvana, Metallica,
U2 and more. But to me, the best videos on this
wonderful compilation are from the less famous
groups, particularly Echo & The Bunnymen,
Joy Division and Depeche Mode.
Corbijn's videos have a light visual feel,
even while working in a "german expressionist"
style. Case in point: Propaganda's Dr. Mabuse,
the opening video on the compilation. It looks
like Dr. Caligari and yet, Corbijn is not
intending to frighten, only to use the style
as a backdrop. In fact, at the end of the video,
the players take off their brooding hoods and
laugh at the silliness of it all.
In the Echo & the Bunnymen videos, the zen-like
lyrics are treated with sensitivity, and yet
the visuals are fun (old stage sets and v
audeville type elements abound). Corbijn is an
artist that takes his work seriously, but
refuses to take himself too seriously. I like
that. Art without pompousity. This is a
great compilation of videos.
=========================================
3) The Curious Dr. Hummp (B)
=========================================
The Curious Dr. Hummp (1971)
Directed by Emilio Vieyra
Starring Ricardo Bauleo, Aldo Barbero
and Gloria Prat
MPAA: R
Grade: B
Review by Bobby Nashville
Okay, let me see if I have this straight...
A doctor is kidnapping lesbian sex freaks,
hippie love junkies and orgy fanatics and
doping them up with aphrodisiacs. He hides
them in his mansion where his Frankenstein
like monster and love starved wife help
him make love drugs. Um.... Okay.
Apparently, the good Doctor Hummp has some
weird kind of disease where he needs to
watch people have sex in order to stay
alive. They don't really explain all of
that, but who are we to question him, after
all he IS a doctor. The Curious Dr. Hummp
is one of the most bizarre films I have
ever scene and believe me folks, I've seen
some strange ones. The first ten minutes
of this film are so weird that I had to
watch it twice just to make sure I
wasn't crazy.
Shot in black and white (why?) and dubbed
poorly (from Spanish?) into English,
The Curious Dr. Hummp is soft core porn d
one very badly. So badly in fact, that I
think the best way to describe it is by
asking "What if Ed Wood directed a porno
on drugs?" Sound good? It is! Sound bad?
It is! The Curious Dr. Hummp is a solid
"so bad it's good" film that is a new
favorite of mine. They just don't make
movies like this any more. Sigh.
=========================================
4) The Sting (B+)
=========================================
The Sting (1973)
Directed by George Roy Hill
Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford,
Robert Shaw, Ray Walston and Eileen Brennan
MPAA:PG
Grade: B+
Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy
For once, the Academy got it right. Winner
of 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture,
Best Director and Screenplay, The Sting
is a fantastic film. An outstanding
comedy/drama, The Sting is one of those
classics that seems to get better with age.
Robert Redford and Paul Newman teamed up
earlier with George Roy Hill for the excellent
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, so this
film is a bit of a reunion picture. In The
Sting, Newman plays Henry Gondorff, a legend
of the big con that has fallen on hard times.
Redford plays Kelly aka Johnny Hooker, a
rising star of the con game that has taken
it on the lamb. The two pair up for a big
score against Doyle Lonnegan, a ruthless
mobster that has killed a close friend of
Hooker's.
The Sting ranks right up there with two of
my favorites - House of Games and The Grifters.
All three films are adept at making complex
con games entertaining and best of all,
easy to understand. The Sting is certainly
the most accessible of the three and in
some ways, it may be the best grifter movie
ever. The Sting is well acted, well directed
and extremely well written. A true classic.
==========================================
5) Directors Label Giveaway Winner
==========================================
Congratulations to Kal. Kal is the lucky
winner of our Directors Label Giveaway!
This awesome prize pack contains the Complete
Directors Label Series Volumes 4-7 with
DVDs showcasing the work of directors
Mark Romanek, Stephane Sednauoi, Anton
Corbijn and Jonathan Glazer. Nice.
"Some of the best cinema made in the last decade"
-Newsweek
"Directors who transcend music"
-The New York Times
Congratulations Kal! The next giveaway? Glad
you asked! DVD Confidential is giving away
one copy of the 25th Anniversary Edition
DVD release of Coal Miner's Daughter. The
classic film stars Sissy Spacek as country
legend Loretta Lynn. To enter the Coal
Miner's Daughter Giveaway, simply sign up
for our weekly newsletter. We'll pick one
lucky winner early next week and contact
the winner via e-mail. Good luck!
==========================================
Thanks for supporting our site.
Know someone who might enjoy
this newsletter? Pass it along!
See you next week,
Scott, Ellyn, Sebastian and Bobby
=========================================
DVD Confidential never sends unsolicited e-mail
and honors all unsubscribe requests.
DVD Confidential Weekly is a weekly e-mail
newsletter and is published by DVD Confidential.
All material © 2005 DVD Confidential. All rights
reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without
written permission. You are, however, welcome to
forward this e-mail to whomever you wish.
=======================================
DVD Confidential - Movie News & DVD Reviews
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
=======================================
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