DVD Talk DVD Reviews https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/list/DVD Video DVD Talk DVD Review RSS Feed en-us Sex and Lucia (Blu-ray) Blu-ray https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/44703 Sun, 10 Oct 2010 12:15:35 UTC Recommended

The Film:


Billowing music and fuzzy digital typeface for the title credits accompany a swim along the ocean floor at the beginning of Sex and Lucía (Lucía y el sexo). It's an odd, mysterious juxtaposition that familiarizes its audience with a bristly behavior that'll continue throughout Julio Medem's Goya Award-winning film, one that dips its toes into the waters of sexual allure while venturing into the mind of a struggling writer. And yes, there's plenty of carnal activity to be seen, handled with a steamy, almost uncomfortable passion that breeches on voyeurism as its grips our attention. Whether all the sex has a cohesive point is another story, as Sex and Lucía, shot with a mix of lush and overexposed assertiveness by cinematogra...Read the entire review

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The Basketball Diaries (Blu-ray) Blu-ray https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/41798 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:39:52 UTC Rent It

The Movie:

Long before Leonardo DiCaprio became the go-to actor for many of Martin Scorsese films, and before he was stealing the hearts of 'tweens around the world in Titanic, he was just another teenage actor rapidly developing his craft. After a surprise Oscar nomination for What's Eating Gilbert Grape, why not improve your street cred by playing a heroin addict/poet, right? Hence his role in The Basketball Diaries.

DiCaprio plays Jim Carroll, whose book inspired the film that Scott Kalvert directs. Jim is a successful high school basketball player who also writes in his spare time. He enjoys hanging out with his friends, including Mickey (Mark Wahlberg, Read the entire review

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New York, I Love You (Blu-ray) Blu-ray https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/41508 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:13:53 UTC Recommended

THE MOVIE:

You don't see a lot of sequels in the world of independent cinema, but when the star-studded, multi-director anthology film Paris Je T'Aime was a sleeper art-house hit in 2007, the wheels were quickly put into motion for a follow-up. That film's premise--multiple stories of love in the city of light--could easily be transposed to other urban centers, stocked with new actors and directors, and presumably replicated with ease. So now we have New York, I Love You, a compilation of eleven love stories (plus transitions) from Gotham. As with most sequels, it's not as strong as its predecessor, and the slate of filmmakers is considerably less impressive. But it has its moments.

Things get off to a rough start with the Tribeca segment, directed by Chinese actor-turned-director Jiang ...Read the entire review

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Patti Smith: Dream of Life DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/35883 Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:30:41 UTC Recommended

Don't go expecting a concert doc or comprehensive biopic from Patti Smith: Dream of Life. This isn't that. There are a few bits and pieces that fall into those categories here, but not enough of either to satisfy if that's what you've looking for.

Eleven years in the making, this is the debut film from fashion photographer Steven Sebring. Smith and Sebring met when she sought him out to photograph her for a spread in Spin Magazine in 1995. He came to her home in Detroit that fall for the shoot. They fell in together easily. She invited him to a New York gig a couple weeks later. He then accompanied her off and on thereafter shooting whatever struck his fancy for a project then undetermined which has, these many years later, culminated in a documentary, Read the entire review

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Summer Palace DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/32636 Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:44:56 UTC Rent It

Lou Ye's "Summer Palace" caused quite a stir in 2006, when, after playing at the Cannes Film Festival without first being cleared by the Chinese film board, it was censored by that nation's government and its makers were banned from making another film for five years. This is not the first time Lou has dealt with such things, having had two previous films censored, one of which, "Suzhou River," also caused the director to suffer another censure.

It's tough to tell if Lou enjoys this sort of notoriety, or if he is making a reluctant artistic statement, or both, or neither. It's obvious he knows what he's doing, and that he knows that handling certain subjects will certainly put him in a tough spot with China's censors.

For "Summer Palace," Lou (who co-wrote the screenplay with Mei Feng and Yingli Ma) juggles sex and politics, both of which were certain to land him in hot water. The sex sce...Read the entire review

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City of Men DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/31856 Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:25:21 UTC Rent It

The Film

In the Spring of 2006, the Sundance Channel garnered positive press for syndicating the Brazilian series, City of Men. The show was a follow-up project for the creative talents behind the critically-acclaimed 2002 feature film, City of God. Filmed primarily on location in a hillside shanty town (favela) of Rio de Janeiro, and using a cast composed mostly of novice and non-professional actors, the series began with a lot of promise. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to its potential, and continued on far too long.

Filmed between 2002 and 2005, City of God completed 19 half-hour episodes in four seasons. The series follows two favela residents, Acerola (Douglas Silva) and Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha), from the age of 13 through 17. Acerola and Laranjinha are good kids who try to avoid trouble while living in a neighborhood that se...Read the entire review

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Millennium Mambo DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/31667 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:36:00 UTC Highly Recommended

The Film
If Cinephile were a title earned through examination, then having seen the films of Hou Hsiao-hsien would qualify for extra credit. Despite being a prolific darling of the festival circuit for over twenty years, the oeuvre of this remarkable Taiwanese director is nearly unknown by American viewers. Only four of Hou's fourteen films completed prior to Millennium Mambo have been released on DVD in North America, and three of those are now out of print.

American distributors consider Hou's films too difficult (read boring) for American audiences, and Millennium Mambo is no exception. It contains elements of drama, romance, action, comedy, and mystery, but not in the hyperbolic manner fashionable in Hollywood films. Under Hou's masterful direction, these elements are presented in such elliptical, obscure, understated and sly ways that would-be American distributors ...Read the entire review

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The Rocket DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/31610 Thu, 06 Dec 2007 13:37:44 UTC Recommended

In 10 Words or Less
A good man, a great hockey player

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Hockey, NY Islanders
Likes: Good biopics, Roy Dupuis
Dislikes: Melodrama
Hates: NY Rangers, Sean Avery

The Show
If hockey enjoyed the popularity in America afforded to baseball, Maurice Richard would possibly be eligible for sainthood, or at least, be on a handful of stamps. He certainly would be in the same pantheon as your Ruths, Mantles and DiMaggios, as one of the driving forces of the NHL's version of the New York Yankees, the Montreal Canadiens. As the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games, and the scoring leader for several Stanley Cup championship teams, "The Rocket" played with a blend of skill and determination rarel...Read the entire review

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Sun Dogs DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/30771 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 23:05:24 UTC Recommended

In 10 Words or Less
Cute dogs and a depressed society...welcome to Jamaica

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Dogs
Likes: Jamaican culture
Dislikes: Package vacations
Hates: Unfulfilled expectations

The Movie
If you look at the box for Sun Dogs or read the description on the package, you'd probably think the movie is about a sleddog team in the very sled-unfriendly country of Jamaica. Well, yeah, the sleddogs on the cover are at the center of the film, but the movie is certainly not about dogs, sleds or anything vaguely winterish. Instead, the film performs a bit of cinematic bait-and-switch, using the cute pups to draw you in before hitting you with a look at how the Caribbean country suffers financially, despi...Read the entire review

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Ten Canoes DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/30581 Sat, 22 Sep 2007 00:28:53 UTC Recommended

The Movie:

In its telling of an Aborigine fable, Ten Canoes succeeds as both an entrancing entertainment and a fascinating ethnological study of Australia's Aboriginal culture. Director-writer Rolf de Heer deserves props for authenticity, using nonprofessional Aborigine actors speaking in their native language. That commitment translates into a sublime cinematic experience.

The Australian-made picture offers a story within a story. In voiceover, an English-speaking storyteller (David Gulpilil from Walkabout) introduces us to the beautiful hinterlands of northern Australia and a Ramingining tribe of a thousand years ago. In lovely black and white, de Heer presents the men as they go about building canoes so they can hunt for goose eggs. As they do so, tribal elder Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) acknowledges that his younger brother, Yeeralparil (Jamie Gulpilil, son of D...Read the entire review

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The Method DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/29828 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:11:27 UTC Rent It

The Film:

Based on Jordi Galceran Ferrer's play The Gronholm Method Argentine director Marcelo Pineyro's The Method (2005) tells the story of a group of job applicants as they struggle to win a top position at a major firm in Madrid. Evoking parallels with James Foley's Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) the film offers an unconventional look at corporate culture and its impact on those looking to become part of it.

In a high-rise in downtown Madrid seven applicants, five men and two women, are asked to sit around a large conference table. Each one of them faces a blank computer screen attached to a moveable base. They smile, chit-chat, and discuss an advanced testing practice used by a North American corporate giant.

Soon, one of the computer screens comes to life initiating what the applicants are told is the Gronholm method - a competitive m...Read the entire review

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The Method DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/29731 Sat, 11 Aug 2007 05:17:57 UTC Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Marcelo Piñeyro's 2005 film The Method (El método) is an excellent filmed play about the realities of the modern corporate world. The competition between seven aspirants for a desirable position is less about specific human resources practices than the changing face of power and authority in our lives. Author Jordi Galcerán Ferrer's disturbing play takes care to note that most of the film's malice is generated by the job-seekers, not the unseen corporate bosses. The ruthless and unethical behavior is simple chemistry: human nature and competition. Screenwriter Mateo Gil is internationally known for his The Sea Inside and Abre los ojos.

Synopsis:

The Dekia Corpora...Read the entire review

]]> You're Gonna Miss Me DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/28860 Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:55:07 UTC Recommended

The Movie:

As lead singer-songwriter for the 13th Floor Elevators in the 1960s, Roky Erickson was a pioneer of psychedelic rock whose incendiary vocals and buzzsaw guitars helped launch the do-it-yourself punk explosion of the following decade.

Such trippy compositions as 1966's "You're Gonna Miss Me" - Erickson's only hit single -- put the "psychedelic" in "psychedelic rock," but that was nothing compared to the psychedelics that he put into himself. His heavy drug use only exacerbated pre-existing mental illness, sending him into a downward spiral chronicled in the gripping 2006 documentary, You're Gonna Miss Me.

A confluence of forces left Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson damaged goods. The eldest of five sons raised in Austin, Texas, he grew up in a bona fide dysfunctional household. The documentary captures Roky's father as a hard-drinking enigma and his mother, Evely...Read the entire review

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The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/28701 Tue, 19 Jun 2007 12:12:58 UTC Rent It

The Film:

A Japanese prostitute turns psychic after being shot in the head. She is then caught in the middle of a deadly international brawl involving two assassins -- one from North Korea, the other from the Middle East.

Part soft-core part comedy Japanese director Mitsuru Meike's The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai (2003) feels like a crossbreed between William Klein's classic Mister Freedom and Ming-Liang Tsai's The Wayward Cloud. Excessive violence, dull sex, and offbeat political satire however contribute little to a largely poor narrative, one that is neither original nor entertaining.

Unfocused flirtation with politics arguably represents the serious side of this arthouse wannabe. The occasional jabs at Pres...Read the entire review

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Wondrous Oblivion DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/26908 Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:05:56 UTC Rent It

The Movie:

In its ambitious attempt to be a fanciful coming-of-age tale and a socially conscious story about racism and segregation, Wondrous Oblivion doesn't quite gel on either count. Writer-director Paul Morrison's modest British movie still boasts moments that sparkle, but it never quite materializes into a satisfying whole.

Set in South London in 1960, Wondrous Oblivion focuses on 11-year-old David Wiseman (Sam Smith), a shy, awkward Jewish boy whose zeal for cricket is exceeded only by his incompetence at it. With father Victor (Stanley Townsend) toiling day and night in his garment shop and mother Ruth (Emily Woof) busy weathering the catty remarks of bigoted neighbors, David mainly entertains himself with games involving his cricket-player cards.

Although Victor and Ruth Wiseman immigrated to Great Britain in an effort to escape the Holocaust, they are ...Read the entire review

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The Believer DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/26894 Wed, 07 Mar 2007 04:08:21 UTC Highly Recommended

The Movie:

The phrase "self-loathing Jew" is pregnant with provocative -- and unsettling -- meaning for Jews. The shared history of Judaism, of course, encompasses the ugly reality of anti-Semitism, with the Holocaust being its most deadly and horrific manifestation. For a people whose identity is partly tied to their having endured persecution and injustice, some Jews might sense a feeling of victimization that gnaws away at them, even while remaining proud of their cultural perseverance.

Or maybe I'm wrong. The roots of Jewish self-hatred are open to debate, of course, but the phenomenon is serious business. As a secular American Jew myself, I have seen its contradictions play out many times. Henry Bean's The Believer examines that dichotomy at its most extreme.

Before Half Nelson earned ...Read the entire review

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13 Tzameti DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/26682 Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:07:06 UTC DVD Talk Collector Series

The Film:

22 year-old Sebastien is hired to repair the collapsed roof of an old and grubby house. Unfortunately the owner of the house od's but not before Sebastien overhears a conversation where a lot of money are being mentioned. Buzzed and with plenty of ideas in his head the construction worker follows a lead that will take him to a mysterious manor somewhere in the French countryside. There Sebastien will become part of a deadly game where people would bet their lives for money.

Shot in cold black and white Gela Babluani's 13 Tzameti (2005) is a film both fascinating to behold and at the same time incredibly painful to endure. Not because the story lacks coherence but simply because there isn't any time for the audience to take a breather! Pain and anger are mixed in an intoxicating collage of images where the director's camera is practically flawless. More importa...Read the entire review

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The Motel DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/26123 Thu, 18 Jan 2007 09:37:37 UTC Rent It

THE MOVIE:

Adolescence is an awkward time of self-discovery and self-loathing, and its conflicts have been an obsession of artists and writers for about as long as there have been such things as art and writing. Sometimes they dig back into the past with a nostalgic fervor, and other times they try to replicate the strangeness and confusion often associated with puberty--and maybe by doing so understand.

It's this latter feeling that writer/director Michael Kang is going for with The Motel. This dry comedy is the story of Ernest (newcomer Jeffrey Chyau), an overweight Chinese-American boy of 13 who lives with his mother, sister, and grandfather at the family's roadside motel. Forced to clean the rooms after school and work the late-night shift at the front d...Read the entire review

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City of Men DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/24516 Thu, 19 Oct 2006 23:09:26 UTC Highly Recommended

The Show:

A fascinating portrait of two boys growing up in a favela, or slum, of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian television miniseries City of Men reveals a slice of life rarely seen in North American mass media. The program, which aired for four seasons beginning in 2002 and drew an estimated 35 million viewers, depicts a world of poverty without condescending to, or caricaturing, its subject.

Although based on Fernando Meirelles' 2002 masterpiece, City of God -- Meirelles is one of the show's creators and directed several episodes -- the TV series involves different characters altogether. Our protagonists are friends Acerola (Douglas Silva) and Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha), whom we first meet as 13 year olds. Acerola is creative, energetic and a bit of a dreamer; Laranjinha, while a self-styled Lothario, tends to be more pensive. The show reveals an amazing breadth of emo...Read the entire review

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Rolling Family DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/24468 Tue, 17 Oct 2006 23:04:20 UTC Rent It

It's certainly an unconventional film, but Pablo Trapero's Rolling Family (Familia Rodante, 2004) manages to find its bearings nonetheless. The Argentinean director's previous features include Mundo Grua (1999) and El Bonaerense (2002), both fairly well-received in his home country and abroad. In several ways, Rolling Family is Trapero's most personal film yet, and not just because he cast his elderly grandmother in a feature role. Though family road trips aren't exactly new cinematic territory, this down-to-earth adventure manages to keep the pace for 95 minutes.

As the head of the family, Trapero's 83 year-old grandmother convinces her flock to go on a road trip after being invited to participate in her estranged niece's wedding. When all is said and done, a dozen fami...Read the entire review

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Calvaire: The Ordeal DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/24092 Thu, 28 Sep 2006 22:15:51 UTC Highly Recommended

The Movie:

Belgian filmmaker Fabrice Du Welz's debut feature length film is, at its core, a very basic story but by the time the movie ends this deceptively simple tale will likely have your head spinning in a few directions at once.

When the movie begins we see Marc Stevens (Laurent Lucas of In My Skin), a singer and entertainer, is performing in front of a group of elderly women at a seniors home. When his show is done, he heads to his dressing room to take off his make up when he's approached by one of the audience members who wants to be with him (in the biblical sense). He declines and heads out to his truck where the facilitator of the home (French XXX actress and Jean Rollin favorite Brigitte Lahaie) hands him some rather explicit Polaroids of herself before hugging him goodbye. It seems that Marc is the object of everyone's affection, whether he likes it or not.

Read the entire review

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The Motel Theatrical https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/23976 Fri, 22 Sep 2006 12:41:55 UTC Recommended

Ernest (newcomer Jeffrey Chyau) is a chubby 13 year-old living and working at his family's isolated motel. Unable to win the respect of his mother, troubled by kids his own age, and embarrassed by his pre-teen urges, Ernest is in hell with no way out. Sparking a friendship with an equally damaged guest (Sun Kang, "Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift"), Ernest finds a chance to grow up and vent his fears. However, in this isolated place, will anyone care?

"The Motel" reminds me of the independent film boom in the mid-1990s, when anyone with a camera and a threadbare story to tell was trying to sell their little slice of life. Since that aspiration had its throat slit by the growth of the DV market, it's a treat to see a scrappy piece of cinema like "Motel" again.

"Motel" doesn't feature much in the way of a story; it's more of a free-flowing voyage of adolescence, dipping into areas of awkwardness, un...Read the entire review

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The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/23774 Tue, 12 Sep 2006 05:21:30 UTC Rent It

The Movie:


What may have seemed like a good idea to Asia Argento when she decided to direct the adaptation of J.T. LeRoy's heartbreaking "autobiographical" collection of stories, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, quickly turned sour when word began to spread that the constant rumors about the author's nonexistence were actually true. It turned out in early 2006, thanks to The New York Times, that LeRoy was, in fact, a creation of writer Laura Albert, and had been played in numerous public appearances by a woman named Savannah Knoop. All this around the same time that Oprah went on her tirade, exposing the James Frey "scandal" to the entire world. Blah, blah, blah, blah, and blah. What people fail to realize about write...Read the entire review

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Lower City DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/23770 Tue, 12 Sep 2006 04:11:21 UTC Rent It

In 10 Words or Less
Sex, lies and hot Brazilians

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: A good foreign film, Brazilian women
Likes: A good character study
Dislikes: Movies without real resolution
Hates: Depressing foreign countries

The Movie
There's nothing in life that will come between two friends quicker thanan attractive member of the opposite sex (or in some cases the same sex.Sure money can cause problems, but you can share money. Try and share alover, and most of the time you'll end up with one less friend and nolover (it just seems to work that way.)

So it's no surprise that smugglers Naldinho and Deco, a pair of lifelongfriends from Brazil, quickly become combative when they both fall forKarinna (Alice "niece of S...Read the entire review

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Kill Your Idols DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/23643 Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:31:52 UTC Highly Recommended

The Product:
Perhaps nothing punk produced – not its music or its fashion sense – has had as lasting an impact as its DIY spirit. The notion of "doing it yourself", avoiding the trappings of the music industry and its inflated sense of cultural purpose, drove many a novice musician to find their own means of making and distributing their sound. During the transitional phase between the garage grind of punk's power chord strategies and the synth and style conscious coming of New Wave, another movement, entitled No Wave, swept through the scene. Proudly proclaiming its performance art ideals, and specifically disassociated from the concept of music in general, these noisemakers became the foundation for such seminal acts as Sonic Youth, and Suicide. Until now, very little has been known about the No Wave pioneers, and the post-millennial bands that have followed in their famous (or in some ...Read the entire review

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Clean DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/23352 Tue, 22 Aug 2006 01:36:52 UTC Recommended

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Stories of celebrity lives marred by drug and alcohol addiction generally follow two patterns. The effort to get free either becomes a dismal failure that reflects grave personal problems, or true love and the miracle of success intervenes to guide the addict out of the darkness. The second option is particularly applicable to generic showbiz biographies, as many career stories (such as last year's Johnny Cash bio) are perfectly structured for a miraculous comeback in Act Three.

2004's Clean shows an initially unlikeable addict attempting to restart her life from a particularly disadvantageous position. Although still connected to the music industry she's not a star who can rise from the ashes on a wave of fame and fortune, and she doesn't have a loving life partner to show her the path to salvation. The film is a strong step in the career of ...Read the entire review

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Palm World Voices: Spirit DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/23178 Fri, 11 Aug 2006 22:17:18 UTC Recommended

The Movie:

In recent years, record companies have gotten a lot of extra traffic out of the inclusion of DVDs (live performances, videos, etc.) with the latest CDs from many artists. Palm Home Entertainment has taken the idea a couple of steps further: with their new "Palm: World Voices" series, viewers are presented with a DVD, CD, booklet and map. Currently, there are several releases in the series, including: "Brazil", "Africa" and "Mandela". While "Mandela"'s DVD presentation is documentary on the subject, "Spirit" is more a visual tour - in this case, of the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Throughout the hour-long documentary, music from various artists play while we are shown different clips taken from around the region. For example, during one song, we are shown Essaouria (formerly Mogador), which was discovered in the 7th century BC. It's now a working port supporting over 50...Read the entire review

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Two Sculptors: Donald Judd's Marfa Texas and Tony Gragg DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/23121 Tue, 08 Aug 2006 17:26:34 UTC Skip It

In 10 Words or Less
Two guys who are good with their hands

Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Good documentaries, art
Likes: Sculpture
Dislikes: Pretentiousness
Hates: Dull presentation, bare-bones DVD

The Movies
Donald Judd's Marfa, Texas
One of America's finest minimalist artists, at least in my opinion, Donald Judd is a unique choice to profile in a documentary. A soft-spoken man whose artwork speaks for itself with simplicity and quiet strength, he is hardly the type of bombastic personality one thinks of when the term "New York Artist" is discussed. He actually comes across as a very down-to-earth man with definite concepts about art and how it should be viewed.

Because of those views, the late Judd put...Read the entire review

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Palm World Voices - Mandela DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/23060 Fri, 04 Aug 2006 22:32:12 UTC Recommended

The Documentary:

In case you haven't heard of the brand yet, Palm World Voices are an interesting endeavor. Many sets have come out featuring different cultures from around the globe, but the packages are relatively similar. Each set offers a DVD documentary, a National Geographic Map, a booklet and an audio CD. The latest Palm World Voices release prominently portrays the life of Nelson Mandela and includes an album with music from his nation blended with a touch of jazz.

On the documentary side of things Mandela's tale is told through a lengthy interview in the form of Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation. If you're a fan of documentaries and you're thinking that title sounds familiar, then congratulations you win a cookie. The film by Angus Gibson and Jo Menell was originally released in 1997 and was even nominated for an Oscar. It's not the most energetic do...Read the entire review

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Sunday Driver DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/22225 Wed, 14 Jun 2006 17:40:44 UTC Recommended

Unlike the perfectionists you'll meet in Carol Strong's Sunday Driver (2005), I've never really been a car enthusiast. I've always felt that cars are simply a way to get from point "A" to point "B"---nothing more, nothing less---and should be taken care of, but not fawned over. Long story short: I keep my car pretty clean, but I'm not outside twice a week washing and waxing it.

For this reason, I'm not the target audience for Sunday Driver, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it anyway. This documentary---apparently filmed over the course of roughly 10 years---centers around "Majestics", a California low-riding specialty car club founded by Kevin Smith in 1972 (no, not that Kevin Smith...he's from Jersey). The club has grown from a local group of car enthusiasts to a worldwide phen...Read the entire review

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Who Gets to Call It Art? DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/22131 Fri, 09 Jun 2006 18:54:55 UTC Recommended

Who Gets to Call It Art? (2006) is a fairly entertaining look back at the 1960s contemporary art scene in New York. It's more nostalgic than informative, better appreciated by those already familiar with the major trends and artists of the period than as a primer for those who only know Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, and David Hockney from other movies, TV commercials, or vaguely recall seeing a reproduction of their work hanging above some furniture at the local Ikea. The 78-minute film strafes the viewer with such a bombardment of images - stock footage, new interviews, experimental films, audio excerpts from lectures - so much so that at times you almost think director Peter Rosen's got a plane to catch. It's too much movie crammed into too little space.

Legendary curator Henry Geldzahler (1935-1994) is supposed to be at the center of it all, though as the subject of this documentary one...Read the entire review

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Townes Van Zandt - Be Here to Love Me DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/20802 Sat, 25 Mar 2006 00:27:52 UTC Highly Recommended

The Movie-

This is a documentary about somewhat legendary Texas singer/songwriterTownesVan Zandt,incredibly influential on his peers and a man seemingly destinedfor stardom given his writing prowess as well as musical talents. Country music luminaries such as Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson cannot say enough goodthings about his work; Steve Earle offered to stand on Bob Dylan's coffeetable and declare Van Zandt as the world's greatest songwriter. Whatcommercial success he did have came later in his career, penning the song"Poncho And Lefty" which Nelson and Merle Haggard recorded and had a hugehit with, as well as "If I Needed Someone"- which he said was the only songhe ever wrote in his sleep- which Harris had success covering.

That Townes was a troubled, somewhat twisted man is an understatement; inhis teens he was treated for clinical depression with months of shocktreatments,...Read the entire review

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Breaking News DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/20592 Sun, 12 Mar 2006 21:52:35 UTC Highly Recommended

"This is a great show!"

The Movie:
You might think that the above quote in reference to the 2003 Hong Kong police thriller Breaking News was a blurb from some random movie critic. In fact, it's a line of dialogue taken from the movie, as HK police inspector Rebecca Fong tries to manipulate the media coverage of an ongoing hostage crisis. It's a bluntly cynical analysis of the situation, reflecting her desire to turn a life-or-death emergency into a favorable public relations stunt for the police department. Johnnie To is a prolific director whose output over the years has been hit-or-miss depending on how personally he is involved in each project. His recent PTU is a favorite of mine, which he followed up with a silly and confusing martial arts...Read the entire review

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Crónicas DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/18517 Tue, 01 Nov 2005 22:25:51 UTC Recommended

It doesn't take a film as blatantly graphic as, say, Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salò to truly disturb even the most seasoned viewer, does it? Often times, the disturbing effect of any film on an individual is purely subjective, often stemming from an unpleasant memory they'd just as soon wipe away. Even so, many topics can be considered universally disturbing, one of which includes extreme violence towards children (which the above film offers in spades, of course). Whether or not the actual violence is depicted or simply implied, the protective nature of a parent will automatically raise a red flag at the slightest notion of a child in danger. This kind of subject matter can only truly disturb those with children of their own, but it's capable of affecting any viewer with a strong sense of compass...Read the entire review

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Bomb the System DVD Video https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/review/18191 Fri, 14 Oct 2005 18:15:24 UTC Rent It

Notice: Due to technical difficulties, your regularly scheduled screen captures will be unavailable for this review. Sorry about that.

It's not often that a feature film focuses on the curious art of graffiti---in fact, writer/director Adam Bhala Lough's Bomb the System (2002) was the first in over 20 years. Shot on location in Brooklyn, New York, Bomb the System follows the exploits of Anthony "Blest" Campo (Mark Webber - Whiteboyz, Storytelling) and company as they attempt to literally leave their mark on the city. They've been practicing the art for several years now, stealing their supplies from local businesses and (mostly) avoiding run-ins with the cops and other territorial groups of artists. Outside of their graffiti---typically done at night, for obvious reasons---their daily routines include hanging out, smoking weed, drinking and just barely holding d...Read the entire review

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