DVD Monthly - Cinderella Man, Crash, War Is Sell, Dresden Dolls
DVD Confidential
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Edition 5: December 17th, 2005
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DVD Confidential - Movie News & DVD Reviews
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
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"I have to believe that when things are
bad I can change them."
- Russell Crow as Jim Braddock (Cinderella Man)
DVD Confidential rocks into the holidays
with a ton of new reviews and industry
updates. We wish you the happiest of holidays.
Now, on to the reviews!
- Scott Standish
Editor, DVD Confidential
http://www.dvdconfidential.com
PS - Check out the Cinderella Man giveway
at the end of this newsletter!
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1) Latest Reviews:
- Cry Wolf
- Cinderella Man
- Murderball
- Crash
- War Is Sell
- Dresden Dolls In Paradise
- Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance
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Here are some our latest reviews:
Cry Wolf (2005)
Directed by Jeff Wadlow
Starring Julian Morris, Lindy Booth, Jon Bon Jovi and Jared Padalecki
MPAA: UR
Grade: C+
Review by Bobby Nashville
Everyone knows that I love a good horror
flick. Cry Wolf (also going under the
title Cry_Wolf) is a slasher film that
has all of the flash and style that you
come to expect from these kind of films.
It's well directed and even has a couple
decent casting choices (gotta love
Jon Bon Jovi as the professor with a
thing for his students).
But, Cry Wolf doesn't venture into any
new territory. It's a simple "who's the
killer?" kind of horror movie and frankly
after a while, it gets a little tired.
There is decent chemistry between the
stars Lindy Booth and Julian Morris,
but they never really get to act on it.
Read The Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/12/review-cry-wolf-c.html
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Cinderella Man (2005)
Directed by Ron Howard
Starring Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger,
Paul Giamatti and Craig Bierko
MPAA: PG13
Grade: B-
Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy
Boxing films are a genre that I know very
little about. However, I do enjoy a romantic
drama from time to time and Cinderella Man
is both a love story and a boxing film.
The latest creation from Ron Howard is a
tad schmaltzy and even a little depressing,
but ultimately, Cinderella Man succeeds.
Jim Braddock was a fairly successful boxer
during the days of the great depression
until he was injured. He continued to fight
while injured in order to keep food on the
table. Fighting while injured cost him his
career as his performances were substandard.
A fluke dropout of a major fighter allowed
Braddock to step back into the ring and he
made the most of it, out of love for his
family. Braddock (played by Russell Crowe)
became a hero for the common man as he
battled for the world championship.
Read The Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/12/review-cinderella-man-b.html
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Murderball (2005)
Directed by Henry Alex Rubin and Dana
Adam Shapiro
Starring Mark Zupan, Joe Soares and
Keith Cavill
MPAA: R
Grade: B+
Review by Sebastian Francis Kennedy
Documentaries are all the rage these days,
and frankly, this reviewer is delighted.
Films that would never see distribution back
in the eighties are now getting distributed
and finding wider audiences. Case in point:
Murderball, a wonderful documentary about
the tough, inspirational world of
quadriplegic rugby.
Murderball focuses on the lives on
quadriplegics that play indoor rugby, using
their wheelchairs as battering rams. It is a
wonderful film. These gentlemen stand up to
their disabilities and take their spirits to
the next level by working to become the best
wheelchair rugby players in the world.
Read The Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/12/review-murderball-b.html
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Crash (2005)
Directed by Paul Haggis
Starring Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Matt
Dillon, Ryan Phillippe, Brendan Fraser,
Ludacris
MPAA: R
Grade: A-
Review by Scott Standish
One of the best movies of the year, Crash is
a phenomenal character study and much more.
Set in Los Angeles, post 9/11, Crash highlights
how racism touches everyone. Eight actors of
different background and ethnicity see their
lives collide over a 36 hour stretch.
Director Paul Haggis deftly weaves the back
stories of Crash in a style similar to Robert
Altman's best works. There are too many stellar
characters here to list them all, but Crash
features a fabulous ensemble performance to
be certain. Sandra Bullock is an angry woman
with racist feelings that explode during the
course of the film. Her husband (played
surprisingly well by Brendan Fraser) is District
Attorney that has just had his car jacked.
Read The Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/12/review-crash.html
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War Is Sell (2004)
Directed by Brian Standing
MPAA: UR
Grade: A-
Review by Scott Standish
Anytime you go to war you can expect a battle
on the homefront. Regardless of what some people
say, people are pacifists by nature. If you want
people to go to war and place their life on the
line, you better do a good sales job. In other
words, it better be worth it.
War Is Sell focuses on the "sell job" that
governments must do to convince the public that t
heir nation has no other choice but to go war.
This film, expertly crafted by Brian Standing
explains the steps that a government must take
to spread their war "value proposition". War Is
Sell does a fantastic job of explaining the role
of propaganda clearly. Branding, marketing and
advertising a government's message is important,
especially on the home front. Usually this involves
scaring the people to a point that they feel that
they must rally around a protector. Silencing
detractors is also a must. This technique has
worked time and time again.
Read The Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/12/review-war-is-sell.html
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Dresden Dolls In Paradise
Live at Paradise Rock Club (2005)
Starring the Dresden Dolls
Directed by Michael Pope
MPAA: UR
Grade: A-
Review by Scott Standish
The Dresden Dolls in Paradise is a live performance
film from the duo of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione,
better known as the Dresden Dolls. Their unique cabaret
style of performance (from dress to stage theatrics)
is engrossing. Their music rocks.
It is so hard to find something totally new in
the world of rock and roll, so the discovery
of the Dresden Dolls is important. Here is a
duo that combines "brechtian punk cabaret" with
Black Sabbath covers. Although this sounds like
a novelty, the combination actually works and the
effect is powerful. Amanda has a powerful voice
and a sexy cabaret style. Brian is a theatrical
drummer with an obvious ear for the demanding drum
rolls often heard in heavy metal and opera.
Read The Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/11/review-dresden-dolls-in-paradise.html
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Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002)
Directed by Chan-wook Park
Starring Song Kang-Ho, Shin Ha-Kyun, Bae Doo-Na
MPAA: R
Grade: A-
Review by Scott Standish
Remember the rush that comes from discovering
a new favorite director, actor or actress?
That's kind of how I feel after watching
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance by director
Park Chanwook. His style is bold, his
characters have depth, and his stories
are unpredictable. That is rare in today's
cinema.
Chan-wook Park is the director of Oldboy,
another incredible film that explores what
lengths of violence people will endure to
get what they want. Oldboy and Sympathy for
Mr. Vengeance are reportedly part of the
director's "vengeance trilogy" (the other
film is Lady Vengeance) so as you can imagine,
the film come with a heavy amount of gruesome
violence and adult situations. I guess that comes
with the territory when you deal with kidnapping,
torture, murder and organ selling.
Full Review:
http://www.dvdconfidential.com/2005/11/review-sympathy-for-mr-vengeance.html
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2) Cinderella Man DVD Giveaway
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DVD Confidential has a free copy of the
Cinderella Man DVD to give away to one
lucky winner!
To be eligible, you must:
A) Be signed up for the DVD Confidential
Newsletter (looks like you have that covered)
and B) Be the first to tell us the name of
the fighter that James Braddock defeated
to win the championship. E-mail your
answer right away to:
scottATdvdconfidentialDOTcom
One winner will be chosen. Winner will be
notified via e-mail and must claim their
prize within 7 days. 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
=======================================