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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for March 20, 2005.
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Published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less, the online source for DVD Discounts & Deals
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In This Issue
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March 20, 2005
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| Preorder Next Week's Big Release and Save 30%... |
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This witty, romantic and very dangerous love story starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen arrives March 29th.
Reserve your copy now.
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Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet come to DVD this week in "Finding Neverland," the magical true story of J.M. Barrie, the author of “Peter Pan.” The film received seven Oscar® nominations this year and won for Best Original Score. It's a critically acclaimed story of one of the world’s most imaginative storytellers and the family that inspired him to write his world-famous play.
"Finding Neverland" is available in both widescreen and full screen editions and comes packed with a bunch of extras: two featurettes on the making of the film; deleted scenes with optional commentary from director Marc Forster, producer Richard Gladstein and writer David Magee; outtakes and a feature-length audio commentary track with the producer, writer and director.
Also this week, Renée Zellweger reprises her role as the lovable, witty, 30-something heroine Bridget Jones in "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason." Joining her are "Bridget Jones's Diary" alumni Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.
But there's a law of diminishing returns at play here... this sequel lacks imagination, relies too much on cheap slapstick and is entirely predictable. "Edge of Reason" is being released in widescreen and full screen editions.
Another movie that falls flat is "Fat Albert."
This is a big screen adaptation inspired by the 1970's Saturday morning animated series. You'd think that with Bill Cosby (creator of the original “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids”) on board as Executive Producer and one of the screenwriters, the film might find a way to mix its good intentions with some actual entertainment. Fat chance.
"The Final Cut" is a much better idea than a movie, but we liked it.
The best movie this week you've never heard of, "The Final Cut" is a futuristic sci-fi thriller starring Robin Williams as a "cutter," one who removes the memories from the dearly departed and selectively places them into a compilation video honoring the person's life.
The film costars Jim Caviezel and Mira Sorvino and is helmed by first-time writer/director Omar Naim with impressive visual flare. Unfortunately, he's using his own problematic screenplay, which never fully explores the social and political implications of his intriguing concept.
"Volcano High" blends hip-hop and the martial arts and somehow manages to diss both.
Based on the #1 theatrical release in Korea in 2003 (included on the DVD), this misguided mix of kung fu action and rap features vocals by Snoop Dogg, Andre 3000, Method Man, Big Boi, Lil' Jon and Tracy Morgan.
Fo' shizzle, grasshopper.
"Being Julia" is smart and funny and sophisticated, which may account for why it earned only about 8 million dollars. Not many people went to see this film about a London stage actress having a nervous breakdown, which means it should do well in the DVD rental market.
Annette Bening stars as Julia Lambert, a woman in her early 40's who has grown too old to play the ingenue. An affair with a man half her age helps her figure out what her true role is, onstage and off.
Adapted by Ronald Harwood from a W. Somerset Maugham novel, "Being Julia" is set in the 1930's and looks great, with lush period detail in every frame. Like "Stage Beauty" (released two weeks ago), this is another flick for those who love the theatre, which is offered up here by director István Szabó as a metaphor for the roles each of us play in our daily lives.
Bening was nominated for an Academy Award® for her performance and her excellent supporting cast includes Jeremy Irons, Juliet Stevenson, Lucy Punch, Miriam Margolyes, Bruce Greenwood, Maury Chaykin, Shaun Evans and the always amazing Michael Gambon.
Rob Reiner's 1986 sleeper hit "Stand By Me" is out Tuesday in two new editions: a Special Edition including commentary, a music video, trailers, production notes and a featurette... and a Deluxe Edition, which also includes a CD soundtrack and a collectible booklet.
"Stand By Me" is based on a Stephen King novella. And King himself wrote the screenplay and produced "Mickey," a family-friendly box office bomb about youth baseball and ethics.
Harry Connick, Jr. plays an attorney pursued by the IRS for tax fraud. He flees town and heads for Vegas with his 13-year old son and both assume new identities. Problems start anew when the kid, a talented pitcher, attracts a lot of attention as a little league star.
In a remarkable coincidence (which should boost sales), "Electra Glide in Blue" comes to DVD just a week after its star Robert Blake was acquitted of charges he murdered his wife. This high-powered 1970's action film features Blake as a good cop on the ultimate bad bike.
It's probably the best thing he's ever done.
"Union Square" is a chilling and powerful documentary that looks into the world of homeless heroin addicts that live in Union Square Park in New York City.
And the hothouse atmosphere of Brazil comes alive in "Mango Yellow," where lust and economic desperation combine on the mean streets of a coastal town. It's a raw and intimate slice-of-life portrait.
This week marks the DVD debuts of two popular TV shows that took their time in coming to home video, "Doogie Howser, M.D." and "The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries."
Also arriving this week is the sci-fi animated series "Star Wars: Clone Wars." The show details the adventures that bridge the story arc between "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones" and the upcoming theatrical release "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith."
Season Two of "World Poker Tour" is here to tell you when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.
And we'll be back next week to tell you when to rent 'em and when to buy 'em.
See you then.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: March 22, 2005 |
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Visit us online to see a comprehensive list of new DVD releases for the next six weeks.
Links above are for Region 1 (USA) Editions. Availability and release dates elsewhere may vary.
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The aimless and derivative "A Love Song for Bobby Long" arrives on DVD April 19th. This bit of homespun hokum stars Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht and John Travolta. (Travolta chews so much scenery in this one, I thought they'd have to bring the Orkin Man™ on-screen to get him to stop.)
It's a story about a jaded teenage loner named Purslane Hominy Will (Johansson) who returns home to New Orleans following her mother's death, ready to reclaim her childhood home.
Expecting to find her late mother’s house abandoned, she discovers instead that it is inhabited by two of her mother’s friends: Bobby Long (Travolta), a former literature professor, and his young protégé, Lawson Pines (Macht).
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It seems that these two guys, whose lives took a wrong turn years before, have been firmly rooted in the dilapidated house for years, encouraged only by Lawson’s faltering ambitions to write a novel about Bobby Long’s life.
As the three of them live together in a tenuous, makeshift arrangement, each of them reveals Very Big Personal Secrets which show just how inextricably their lives are intertwined.
The movie sure does look purdy; the cinematography by Elliot Davis perfectly captures both the color and grime of the Big Easy. But first-time director Shainee Gabel (who adapted the screenplay from a novel by Ronald Everett Capps) keeps things moving at a snail's pace. And you'll probably be able to figure out the big "surprise ending" shortly after the film begins, which should leave about an hour and a half for running errands.
"A Love Song for Bobby Long" comes to DVD with special features that include deleted scenes, audio commentary with the director and the cinematographer and a behind-the-scenes featurette. What it really needs is a traffic cop to keep the clichés from bumping into each other.
Preorder "A Love Song for Bobby Long" on DVD now and save 30%.
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| Jennifer Garner, Action Hero |
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Jennifer Garner plays the latest Marvel Comics action hero to come to DVD when "Elektra" is released on April 5th.
Restored to life after sustaining mortal wounds in "Daredevil," an icy, solitary Elektra now lives only for death as the world’s most lethal assassin.
Using her bone-crunching martial arts skills and Kimagure - the ability to see into the future - Elektra is on a collision course with darkness… until her latest assignment forces her to make a choice that will lead either to her redemption or destruction in the ultimate battle between good and evil.
Pre-order "Elektra" now and save 30%.
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Created 50 years ago by the legendary artist Osamu Tezuka (1926-1989), the father of “manga” (Japanese comic books) and pioneer of Japanese animation, the endearing "Astro Boy" has remained a beloved figure worldwide and is considered the first anime character ever.
Next week - on March 29th - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release "Astro Boy: The Complete Series," a 5-Disc set which will include all 50 episodes of the 2003 Japanese TV series.
"Astro Boy" tells the story of a permanently youthful robot boy modeled after the son of a research scientist, Dr. Tenma.
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Originally intended to be kept a secret, the atomic-powered robot becomes a renowned superhero who fights for justice and peace for humans and robots alike.
"Astro Boy" comic books first appeared in Japan in 1953. The ‘60’s and ‘70’s found "Astro Boy" starring in a popular black and white TV series. And now on DVD for the first time, this newest series was produced in commemoration of Astro Boy's 50th anniversary and has been widely praised by anime enthusiasts for its high-quality, state-of-the-art animation.
Although episodes of "Astro Boy" have aired in the U.S. on the WB and on Cartoon Network, "Astro Boy: The Complete Series" contains 29 episodes which have never been shown in the United States or Canada.
Preorder "Astro Boy" now and save 25%.
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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: March 29, 2005 |
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The DVD Dossier is a free weekly newsletter that contains objective information about new DVD releases that has been researched and written by the editors at DVD Direct 4 Less, as well as advertisements and promotional information provided by movie studios.
We send this newsletter only to those who request it. Each newsletter we send directly to you includes an "unsubscribe" link. (This is an online archived issue of The DVD Dossier which does not contain that link.)
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Savings percentages quoted apply to preorder purchases from amazon.com and were in effect at the time of publication; preorder savings may vary at other online merchants.
No DVDs were harmed in the making of this newsletter.
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