Home Media Magazine - December 2-8, 2007 - (Page 24) REVIEWS I DARK BLUE ALMOST BLACK Prebook 12/6; Street 1/8 Strand, Drama, B.O. $0.005 million, $27.99 DVD, Unrated. In Spanish with English subtitles. www.homemediamagazine.com O ne of the pleasant surprises found in foreign cinema is actors unknown on our shores. While Daniel Sanchez Arevalo is a sure-footed writer and director, it’s the breakout cast of Dark Blue Almost Black that propels the story forward. Dark Blue Almost Black tells a universal story of quarterlife crisis. Jorge (Quim Gutiérrez) is a janitor who cares for his unlikable invalid father. He has a lifelong relationship with a girl (Eva Pallarés) from the building where he works, but feels beneath her. He has a business degree, but can’t find finance work with his janitorial background. To top these issues off, his jailed, impotent brother (Antonio de la Torre) wants him to impregnate his also jailed and very beautiful girlfriend (Marta Etura). Jorge feels imprisoned in his life, and projects his escape fantasies on an expensive suit in a store window — a symbol of moving up into a white-collar job and out of his situation. It’s an appealing film that effortlessly rides the dramedy line, heartfelt but never sentimental. There is little true tragedy, but Jorge’s struggle to escape the life that’s been built for him tugs at you just the same. Jorge is the quintessential nice guy, but Arevalo never lets him fall into the victim trap, instead creating a fully realized character who must accept some responsibility for his atrophied existence. The cast, film and director have been nominated for and won a slew of awards, including two Venice Film Festival prizes and three Goyas, but the film barely made a blip in the United States. This is one of those flicks that Roger Ebert might deem overlooked. With its credentials and charm, one can hope it’ll find the strong audience it deserves on DVD. – Laura Tiffany BLU-RAY SPOTLIGHT I CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND: 30TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Sony Pictures, Sci-Fi, $49.95 Blu-ray (two-disc), $39.95 three-DVD set, ‘PG’ for intense sci-fi action, mild language and thematic elements. Stars Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr. HDTV: Philips 1080p 47-inch Player: PlayStation 3 Alex Jones’ Endgame: Everyone has been searching for highdef disc killer apps, and putting several versions of the same movie on one disc may be one of them. The spectacular Bluray edition of Close Encounters incorporates all three versions of Steven Spielberg’s seminal sci-fi film: the original 1977 theatrical release, the re-edited 1980 special edition and Spielberg’s 1998 director’s cut. The “view from above” option lets you watch one version and see exactly how it differs from the other two. This could turn out to be a revelation for fans of “The Lord of the Rings” or the films of Oliver Stone. On one disc, viewers can toggle between the different versions without having to hunt for (or store) multiple editions. For Close Encounters, it is the definitive look at the classic film. While the technique is in a somewhat rudimentary stage — you can’t jump from version to version in midstream — hopefully DVD producers will allow viewers to hear commentary from filmmakers on the changes as they come up. That feature aside, another revelation is how great the film looks. If you ignore the fashions, it looks like it was shot yesterday. I have had my doubts that catalog titles would translate well to high-definition, but Close Encounters is one that does. – Stephanie Prange Blueprint for Global Enslavement “Alex Jones is a true patriot, a genuine hero.” – Actor/Director Charlie Sheen I NAKED BOYS SINGING Street 12/4 TLA, Musical, B.O. $0.01 million, $22.95 DVD, NR. D Street Date: 11/13/07 Extras and features: “Bilderberg 2007 Report” - Extended footage of the annual secretive conference “The Battle for the Republic” featurette with extended interviews and footage Special performance of “Shackles on Me” by Blues legend Jimmie Vaughan SALES & MARKETING A A T © 2007 Jones Productions myspace.com/disinfo ue to the illogical and puritanical double standard of nudity in American films — girls OK, boys no way! — it’s not often that moviegoers are treated to full-frontal male nudity outside of foreign films, brave indies and glorified ‘B’ flicks. (Kevin Bacon’s shower scene from Wild Things is still scorched in my brain.) So what is perhaps most refreshing about this DVD of the offBroadway musical revue Naked Boys Singing (besides its quite literal title) is how near pedestrian male genitalia becomes after five minutes. After that, it’s time to focus on the talented and multiculturally handsome cast who find a surprising number of naked-themed topics to mine for their risqué song-anddance numbers. The comedic songs, full of double entendres and bawdy humor, fare much better than the few ballads, which remind you how to use the fast-forward button. “The Bliss of a Bris” might give rabbis a heart attack, while “Fight the Urge” describes gay high-schoolers in gym class struggling to stay uninterested in their surroundings. “The Naked Maid” and “Perky Little Porn Star” detail a few jobs you can perform in the buff. The coup de grace, however, is “Members Only,” an impressive chorale rendition of just about every penile nickname, conducted by a cast member who pulls a wand from … well, you can guess where. The filming belies that this is a production housed in a small theater, but no mind — visual tricks and the choreography keep your eye moving. National and international productions have taken Naked Boys Singing outside of New York City since it began its run in 1999, but it’s likely a lot of pockets of the country haven’t been, er, exposed to the production’s charms. For gay cinema fans and very open-minded Broadway fans, viewing this DVD of the live show will prove a treat. – Laura Tiffany 24 Home Media Magazine December 2–8, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.disinfo.com http://myspace.com/disinfo
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