DVD Confidential: Top Ten DVDs of 2005, Broken Flowers, The Aristocrats
DVD Confidential
=========================================
Edition 6: January 22nd, 2006
=========================================
DVD Confidential
Finding The Best Movies On DVD
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
=========================================
What's New on DVD Confidential:
1) Latest Reviews: Broken Flowers, The
Aristocrats, Two For The Money, Palindromes,
Baadasssss!, Wedding Crashers
2) Streets of Legend Poster Giveaway
3) Two For The Money DVD Winner
4) Top Ten DVDs of 2005
========================================
"Well, the past is gone, I know that.
The future isn't here yet, whatever it's
going to be. So, all there is, is this.
The present. That's it."
- Bill Murray as Don Johnston (Broken Flowers)
Sorry for the late newsletter this month.
As you can tell by the website, we have
been super busy. We redesigned the site,
we listed our Top Ten DVDs of 2005,
and we even added a page where you can
view every review on the site. Whew!
By the way, if you disagree with any of
the reviews (or our Top 10), feel free
to post your comments on the site. Every
article has a comments link at the bottom
and we welcome your comments, criticisms
and suggestions. Rock on.
Enjoy the newsletter!
- Scott Standish Editor, DVD Confidential
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
=========================================
1) Latest Reviews: Broken Flowers, The
Aristocrats, Two For The Money, Palindromes,
Baadasssss!, Wedding Crashers
=========================================
Here are some of our latest reviews:
Broken Flowers (2005)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
Starring Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon
Stone, Tilda Swinton, Jessica Lange
MPAA: PG-13
Grade: A-
Review by Scott Standish
Jim Jarmusch has settled into a groove. He
continues to paint these wonderful pictures of
strange characters that are human, real and at the
same time, almost comical. He tells amazing
stories with wonderful dialogue and he keeps the
audience on their toes. Broken Flowers, Jarmusch's
latest, is quite possibly his best film to date.
It is not to be missed.
Bill Murray stars as Don Johnston, an aging Don
Juan that has been through a million
relationships. His girlfriend of several years has
just left him. He has also received a letter,
unsigned, from an ex-girlfriend telling him that
he has a son. He takes the letter to his neighbor,
played by Jeffrey Wright (Basquiat), a self-styled
Sherlock Holmes. His neighbor plans out a trip for
him. Why not visit your ex-girlfriends and see if
any of them are the mother. Murray reluctantly
agrees and he ventures across the U.S. meeting up
with ex-girlfriends.
Each gal has gone in different directions and it
is amazing to watch the laid back Murray react to
them. Bill Murray (Royal Tenenbaums, Groundhog
Day) has a sensitivity that shines through this
character, similar to his character in the
wonderful film Lost In Translation. He knows that
he has made some good choices and some bad choices
along the way. And as he says in Broken Flowers,
all we really have is the here and now.
Broken Flowers features wonderful performances
from Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone (Casino) and
Jessica Lange. The photography by Frederick Elmes
is wonderful (as usual) and the pacing is right
on. Broken Flowers is a fantastic little film. If
you haven't seen it, rent it. If you saw it and
liked it, go buy it.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2006/01/review-broken-flowers_21.html
----
The Aristocrats (2005)
Directed Paul Provenza
Starring Jon Stewart, Gilbert Gottfried, Robin
Williams, Sarah Silverman, Chris Rock, The
Smothers Brothers, Richard Lewis, Jason Alexander,
Mario Cantone, George Carlin, Steven Wright, David
Brenner, Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, Penn &
Teller, Joe Franklin, Drew Carey, Paul Reiser, Don
Rickles, Bob Saget, Kevin Nealon, Andy Dick and
David Brenner
MPAA: R
Grade: B+
Review by Scott Standish
It's perhaps the best known joke among comedians.
It begins, "An agent walks into a talent agency
and says "I've got the act for you!" The comedian
improvises from there and although there are a
million variations on the joke, they always end
with the same punch line. It's a vile joke and you
get to see some very straight comedians work dirty
(a plus). Another big bonus is that you see a ton
of comedians talk about comedy, and how a joke
should be told.
The Aristocrats is a hilarious film about one
joke. The brightest comedians in the U.S. tell
variations on the joke and to be honest, most of
them are damn funny. It's amazing to see how every
comedian changes the joke to suit their own
personality. It's a simple subject with endless
complexities. I loved it. Best of all, it has just
about every comedian in the business, so you are
bound to find your favorite comedian telling the
disgusting Aristocrats joke in this wonderful
documentary.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2006/01/review-
aristocrats-b.html
----
Two For The Money (2005)
Directed by D.J. Caruso
Starring Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Rene
Russo, Armand Assante and Jeremy Piven
MPAA: R
Grade: B
Review by Bobby Nashville
I love fantasy football and there is a not too
distant relationship between fantasy football and
gambling. Basically, in fantasy football you are
gambling on the performance of an individual
player, but with straight up gambling, you usually
are choosing a team to win. The point here? The
point is that I know a little bit about football
and I came into Two For The Money expecting to see
a film that did not have the "feel" of gambling
down right. But I was wrong. Two For The Money
captures the excitement of picking winners and
losers perfectly. It's not Citizen Kane of course,
but it's damn entertaining.
Matthew McConaughey stars as Brandon Lang, a
former college football star that takes a job as a
football predictor. He joins up with a big time
operation run by Walter Abrams, played by Al
Pacino (Carlito's Way, Glengarry Glen Ross,
Insomnia). He changes his name to John Anthony and
starts running the tables with excellent picks. As
his career takes off, he starts to change and
finds himself crossing the line. The plot is
fairly simple, but like I said, it's damn
entertaining.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2006/01/review-two-for-money-b.html
----
Palindromes (2004)
Directed by Todd Solondz
Starring Ellen Barkin, Emani Sledge, Sharon
Wilkins, Richard Masur, Angela Pietropinto,
Matthew Faber and Jennifer Jason Leigh
MPAA: R
Grade: B+
Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy
Todd Solondz continues his envelope pushing with
Palindromes, a remarkable film about abortion,
religion and the audience's expectations to film
casting and structure. Solondz loves to push
political "hot buttons" with his films (Happiness,
Storytelling, Welcome to the Dollhouse) and
Palindromes certainly cements his reputation for
audacity. Palindromes is unusual, yet finely
crafted. It deserves to be seen and it is a shame
that this film has not garnered wider recognition.
Palindromes tells the story of Aviva, a 13 year
old girl that wants to have a baby. Her parents,
played by Ellen Barkin and Richard Masur, advise
their daughter that she is too young. Aviva is
talked into having an abortion that she does not
want. Aviva's main goal is to create her own
family and she leaves home in an act of rebellion.
She is taken in by a strange group of
fundamentalists that believe that killing doctors
that perform abortions is okay.
Of course, the hook to Palindromes is that the
main character is played by eight different actors
of various races and genders. While this sounds
like it may be confusing to the viewer, Solondz
takes care to blend this artfully and the effect
is mesmerizing. Each actor brings their own
interpretation of the Aviva character, and it is a
refreshing convention that Solondz has achieved
with this style. The most incredible of the Aviva
performances is without a doubt by the African
American girl (played by Sharon Wilkins) that
seems vulnerable, sweet and lost. It is an Oscar
worthy performance.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2006/01/review-palindromes-b.html
----
Baadasssss! (2004)
Directed by Mario Van Peebles
Starring Mario Van Peebles, David Alan Grier, Joy
Bryant, Ossie Davis
MPAA: R
Grade: B
Review by Bobby Nashville
Melvin Van Peebles was TRULY a badass and as the
director and producing force behind the 1971 film
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, he was a
revolutionary. Independent film is the name of the
game today but in the early 70's, it was
completely unheard of.
Baadasssss! is an homage to Melvin (directed by
his son Mario) and it tells how one of the
nation's most popular indie films was made. Mario
stars as his father and Khleo Thomas plays the
young Mario. Melvin was a renegade filmmaker, and
coming off of the success of Watermelon Man, you
would think every studio would have been throwing
money at him. But Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss
Song was not a comedy. Instead it showed a strong
African American that was not afraid to fight back
against crooked cops. Needless to say it was
controversial. The film went on to be a monster
hit and it remains influential to this day.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2006/01/review-baadasssss-b.html
----
Review: Wedding Crashers (2005)
Directed by David Dobkin
Starring Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson,
Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher
and Jane Seymour
MPAA: R Grade:
B+
Review by Scott Standish
Comedies just don't seem to get proper respect
these days. One of the best films of last year,
Wedding Crashers received mixed reviews - either
people loved this one or hated it. I loved it.
Wedding Crashers is an adult comedy and it is nice
to see one these days that eschews bathroom humor
for witty banter. Wedding Crashers has it down.
Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson (Royal Tenenbaums)
have fantastic chemistry as best friends and
co-wedding crashers. They obviously love each
other as brothers and enjoy crashing weddings,
meeting new people and yes, bedding beautiful
girls that fall for their insane false identities.
This is a "romp" of a comedy that has all of the
bawdiness you expect, but not too much. It is
hilarious, but not insulting.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2006/01/review-wedding-crashers-b.html
----
The Last Day (2005)
Directed by Rodolphe Marconi
Starring Gaspard Ulliel, Nicole Garcia, Melanie
Laurent, Bruno Todeschini and Alysson Paridis
MPAA: UR
Grade: B
Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy
It may be a weakness, but I like French film. I
still fall for them every time. The Last Day, the
latest from Rodolphe Marconi is an excellent story
about how lives change.. and stay the same.
Gaspard Ulliel stars as Simon, a young artist that
returns to his family during the Christmas
holiday. He has brought along Louise, a beautiful
young girl (17 actually) that he has met on the
train. His family is bounding in all kinds of
directions, perhaps too many at once. His sister
is depressed and angry, his father is upset with
his life, and his mother is still hoping for the
best for the family. Everyone goes through
changes, but for this family, they all seem to
occur at once.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2006/01/review-last-day-b.html
=========================================
2) Streets of Legend Poster Giveaway!
=========================================
Streets of Legend Poster Giveaway!
Love cars? Love movies? Then we've got the perfect
movie swag giveaway for you.
We have an official movie poster for Streets of
Legend, the highly anticipated film about street
racing. Want to win it?
Given the highly collectable nature of this movie
poster, we want to ensure that this poster
actually gets to a fan of street racing, the
Streets of Legend 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 FASTCARS. and C) be
a a US resident (sorry Albania!)
We'll narrow down the field and choose one lucky
winner later this week. Good luck!
PS - Here is the official synnopis on Streets of
Legend. Looks promising!
"Streets of Legend is an exhilarating,
character-driven exploration of love and betrayal
set against the illegal and ultiethnic car-racing
subculture of Southern California. Director Joey
Curtis paints a classical and yet urgently
contemporary urban myth of youth rivalry, love and
war. Driving this narrative with fantastic
imagery, Curtis elevates ordinary teenage
experiences of friendship and romance to the stuff
of folklore. And though the sounds are louder and
the cars are faster, older audiences will
recognize that "Streets of Legend" may well be the
grandchild of "American Graffiti."
=========================================
3) Two For The Money DVD Winner
=========================================
Congratulations to Abigail, the winner of the Two
For The Money DVD, starring Al Pacino and Matthew
McConaughey. Abigail, your disc is on the
way. Enjoy the DVD!
=========================================
4) Top Ten DVDs of 2005
=========================================
It's that time of year again. Top ten lists
are everywhere and believe it or not,
Oscar nominations are right around the
corner. We here at DVD Confidential love
top ten lists (and the Academy Awards) so
we've created our own top ten. We tried to
limit the list to DVDs that we reviewed in
2005. Although not all of the films were
released in 2005, the DVD version reviewed
on our site was brought to us in the past
year. So, without further delay - enjoy
the list!
1) Jaws - 30th Anniversary Edition (1975)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/07/review-jaws.html
2) Batman Begins (2005)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/10/review-batman-begins.html
3) Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/11/review-sympathy-for-mr-vengeance.html
4) Crash (2005)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/12/review-crash.html
5) The Devil's Rejects (2005)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/11/review-devils-rejects-b.html
6) Sin City (2005)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/09/review-sin-city.html
7) DiG! (2004)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/07/review-dig.html
8) Murderball (2005)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/12/review-murderball-b.html
9) War Is Sell (2004)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/12/review-war-is-sell.html
10) Dresden Dolls Paradise - Live at Paradise Rock Club (2005)
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/11/review-dresden-dolls-in-paradise.html
Read the full article here:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2006/01/our-top-ten-dvds-of-2005.html
==========================================
Thanks for supporting our site. Know someone who
might enjoy this newsletter? Pass it along!
See you next month,
Scott, Ellyn, Sebastian and Bobby
=========================================
DVD Confidential never sends unsolicited e-mail
and honors all unsubscribe requests.
DVD Confidential Weekly is a monthly e-mail
newsletter and is published by DVD Confidential.
All material © 2006 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 - Finding The Best Movies On DVD
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
=======================================