Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - (Page 22) REVIEWS Street 11/18 www.homemediamagazine.com I BUBBA RAW VOL. 2 IVD, Mature, $19.99 DVD, Unrated. I BUTCH JAMIE Street 11/18 Wolfe, Comedy, $24.95 DVD, Unrated. Stars Michelle Ehlen. I t’s no secret that Hollywood favors actresses of a certain type — pretty, youthful, thin. While some talented but unconventional women leap this hurdle through their talent — Kathy Bates comes to mind, as does Frances McDormand — they’re often the exception rather than the rule. So what does an actress do when she’s so far off the charts of typical Hollywood beauty that she’s often mistaken for a man? In Butch Jamie, the titular character (Ehlen) at first dons uncomfortable femme disguises for auditions. But when a wig and pantyhose still don’t offer a competitive threat to all those wannabe ingénues, Jamie laces up her Docs, spikes her short bleached hair and ditches her makeup to be herself — butch Jamie — which promptly lands her a male role in a no-budget indie, as well as a beautiful new girlfriend who thinks she’s a man. This twist on Tootsie is itself a no-budget indie, but its sincerity, humor and sharp satirical edge give it a leg up. Truly butch lesbians don’t have much of a presence in mainstream pop culture — Gina Gershon in Bound or Ellen DeGeneres aren’t likely to get mistaken on a regular basis for a man. Ehlen is, and as star/writer/producer/director/editor on her first feature, she tackles this potentially uncomfortable territory — after all, it’s her looks we’re talking about — with brave aplomb. The script playfully explores gender roles and sexual identity, forcing Jamie to not just confront prejudice about her looks, but her own prejudices as well. The supporting characters are interesting, and a running gag about a cat actor should be tired by the end, but then provides one of the film’s goofiest moments. This fresh entry into the gay cinema pantheon will hopefully, through word-of-mouth and festival awards, find a larger audience who can appreciate a film that skews the conventions of Hollywood and stars a character we’ve never met before. – Laura Tiffany celebration of all things lewd, crude and depraved, this compilation of stunts, skits, rituals, pranks and interviews from wildly popular Florida shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge and his crew of crazies is most definitely not for everyone. Unabashedly, unapologetically and self-admittedly created by, for and about white trash and the low culture associated with it, the world of Bubba is populated with strippers and porn stars, sleazeballs and scumbags, snake charmers and at least one little person, all of whom seem to have no limits when it comes to stretching beyond the boundaries of good taste. I THE ZOMBIE DIARIES Street 11/18 Genius/Dimension, Horror, $19.97 DVD, ‘R’ for violence/gore, language and some nudity. Stars Craig Stovin, Imogen Church, James Fisher, Russell Jones, Anna Blades, Jonathan Ball, Hiram Bleetman. W ith the deluge of zombie films bombarding theaters over the past few years, it’s hard to imagine an innovative approach to the horror subgenre. Yet the filmmakers of the low-budget, independent British zombie film The Zombie Diaries utilize a Blair Witch-style documentary approach to deliver a frightening tale of the dead that is more realistic and every bit as disturbing as 28 Days Later. Set in rural England, Zombie Diaries opens as a deadly, unknown virus has caused a worldwide pandemic that is quickly spreading, leading to rampant rioting and looting. The United Kingdom is one of the last unaffected areas, but that’s about to change. As the news quickly spreads to the masses about the virus, which causes severe flu-like symptoms that result in death, what the general public isn’t aware of is that it is also turning the world into zombies en masse. The film plays out as three “diary” segments that document different groups’ experiences battling the virus: from the initial outbreak to the scavengers left one month out and ending with video of the final survivors’ last stand. The great thing about Zombie Diaries is that it gives the audience the unique perspective of experiencing the horror as if the viewer is one of the helpless victims struggling to hide and survive. Though the film is quite similar to George A. Romero’s recent Diary of the Dead, Zombie Diaries provides a much darker, unforgiving end-of-days scenario. The special effects are impressive for such a low-budget horror film, and the cast plays well into the documentary-style approach the filmmakers took. In addition to the film, the DVD features commentary tracks with the filmmakers and one with the actors, a detailed making-of featurette and deleted scenes. While the film might have done better as an October release, Zombie Diaries is spine-chilling enough to keep the Halloween spirit alive a little longer for horror fans. – Matt Miller A mix of softcore porn and MTV’s “Jackass,” and cut from the same cloth as Howard Stern (with whom he occasionally collaborates), Bubba’s show commonly consists of graphic descriptions of unconventional sexual acts, often backing up the discussions with on-air examples provided by any number of adult film stars and countless willing members of his staff. The show, however, is not completely focused on behavior of a carnal nature. The first, genuinely fascinating, segment on the DVD involves an amateur reptile expert tempting fate by playing with and taunting a rattlesnake in an attempt to get it to attack. Honestly, after this spectacle, all of the program’s other segments (yes, including the frequent segments that feature ample toplessness — emphasis on the word ample) start to become more than a little mundane, albeit graphic and gratuitous. One thing that the producers of the program wisely do is have Bubba and his regulars introduce each increasingly grotesque segment and later comment on the experience. The DVD is clearly preaching to the chorus of the show’s rabid fans. – David Greenberg I OF LOVE AND EGGS Street 11/18 First Run, Comedy, $24.95 DVD, NR. In Indonesian with English subtitles. S een through the eyes of three children, Of Love and Eggs tells intertwined stories of life in Jakarta, Indonesia, as local Muslims prepare for the Islamic holiday of Lebaran. Asih grieves for her absent mother by fiercely holding onto and protecting her prayer rug and her place in daily activities. Her father also can’t let go, and sets a place for her at the table every meal. Meanwhile impish Bimo is smuggling eggs out of his family egg stand to a beautiful, cosmopolitan kept woman he befriended in the marketplace and hopes will take the place of his dead mother. Rindu, a deaf girl who also serves as a sort of narrator at times, is working on her drawing skills, but refuses to draw the mosque as instructed. The town is poor, and the mosque here has no dome; her brother has gone to another village to bring one back. The stories and situations are universal: Everyone is looking for love. Small-town life is centered on the mosque, the marketplace, school — wherever the community comes together. While rough subtitles make some sequences difficult to follow, the stories all work together, and when the holiday comes, prayers are answered with a Jane Austen-like flourish. Much of the humor is cultural, but enough of it transcends those boundaries to reach foreign viewers. It’s a good reminder to Americans about how much of the world lives. Of Love and Eggs is a sweet film, a festival award winner and part of the Global Film Initiative, an effort to share world cultures through film. It does a nice job of that. Bonus materials include a downloadable PDF discussion guide (accessible via DVD-ROM), information about the Initiative, Global Lens Showcase and trailers; and information about First Run Features. – Holly J. Wagner Home Media Magazine November 16–22, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 Home Media Magazine - November 16, 2008 Contents News HD-3 TV DVD Valentine’s Day Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 16, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 16, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 16, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - November 16, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - HD-3 (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - HD-3 (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - HD-3 (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - HD-3 (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - HD-3 (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - HD-3 (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Valentine’s Day (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Valentine’s Day (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Valentine’s Day (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Valentine’s Day (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Reviews (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Reviews (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Reviews (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Reviews (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 29) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 30) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 31) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 32) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - November 16-22, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
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