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We started our DVD review blog, Guru, about a year ago as a place to have GC staffers opine on favorite (and not-so-favorite) new (and old) DVD releases. As time went on, we added some other reviewers we like, and now we're expanding our coverage even further, adding several more fine reviewers to our roster. Expect to see more reviews, with diverse selections and opinions. You can continue to find links to these reviews here in the newsletter, as well as on both our main site and on Central, our content side. So check back frequently, and feel free to comment, too. Read blog >> |
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In This Dispatch:
- What's New: Sporting Life, Hunting Party and much more.
- What We're Watching: Superhero, Syndromes and one for Heath Ledger.
- Service Highlights: Daily covers Sundance.
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This Sporting Life (Criterion) Rent 
"It's about rugby league, beer, grit and tough lads," summarized the UK's Channel 4 on Lindsay Anderson's first feature film, an adaptation of David Storey's novel, "but it's also a profound commment on relationships loaded with symbolism and rich in emotion." Long unavailable on DVD, Criterion brings it alive in a two-disc set that DVDTalk deems "a fantastically rendered DVD" which also includes several Anderson shorts and documentaries. "Featuring a truly difficult and emotionally devastating romance at its center" - that being Richard Burton's. |
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The Hunting Party Rent
While the reviews for this political comedy-thriller, writer-director Richard Shepard's follow-up to his The Matador, were mixed. Maybe it was the mix of tones, but a number of critics have urged a second look. "What makes The Hunting Party an original, gonzo treat is the way that Shepard plants the movie's tone somewhere between hair-trigger investigative danger and the from-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire glee of a Hope/ Crosby picture," wrote EW's Owen Glieberman. The plot is "a hilariously half-baked scheme," wrote AV Club's Scott Tobias, "one that quickly turns them from hunters to hunted, but the strength of [the film] is its shaggy-dog quality." |
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The “quirky” documentary has had a long history of sad subjects with goofy, yellow-colored posters, the marketing departments correctly assuming that people would rather laugh than squirm at unflinching looks at humanity. So filmmakers have mined deeply the vein of odd folks at the fringes of society, and this film is no different. The characters of Matt Ogens' Confessions of a Superhero (produced and introduced by Super Size Me's Morgan Spurlock) come from the same funny/sad dichotomy as the denizens of American Movie, Grey Gardens or even... . Read more here >>
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As mentioned here last week, this lovely Thai film garnered some of the best reviews last year, along with much head-scratching. Guru reviewer Maria Komodore writes, "If there's one word that best fits Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul's latest experiment in cinema, it would be 'enigmatic.'... the film relies on its beautifully constructed steady medium and long shots, mesmerizing circular camera movements, and fluid treatment of time, to produce an awe-inspiring effect that discreetly suggests several themes..." read the rest here >> |
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This awful news just came in under the wire for newsletter press time; the shocking death of Heath Ledger left us all absolutely speechless here. The best we can do is muster up a pointer to this, our favorite of the young actor's many fine performances. The New York Times' critic Stephen Holden wrote, “Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn.” |
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The GreenCine Daily, our award-winning blog, has tentacles out in multiple directions at Sundance, which is still going on as we speak. Read through a ton of postings - with more to come - on some of this year's diverse offerings. But aside from all that... the Oscar nominations are out! Check out our ongoing coverage of the nominees, plus subsequent fallout and chatter. (Okay, okay, for the impatient among you, the full list is here.)
Don't forget: you can nominate yourself or another GreenCine member to be the first GreenCine Member of the Month! The winner will be someone who contributed a lot to our site in reviews, postings and so on. Winner gets a $30 Amazon gift certificate!
Oh, and before we forget, become a fan of GreenCine on Facebook, while you're at it. |
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2008 Oscar
Nominees on GC
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