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The DVD Dossier is the free newsletter published weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less.
This is the archived issue for May 7, 2006.
Click Here To Subscribe To The DVD Dossier Newsletter
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Published Weekly by DVD Direct 4 Less and The DVD Dossier Blog
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In This Issue
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May 7, 2006
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We have another jam-packed issue for you today, so we're going to dispense with the formalities and get right to the top DVD releases for the week...
After, all isn't that why you read The DVD Dossier?
 "Rumor Has It," a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Mark Ruffalo, Kevin Costner and Shirley MacLaine makes home video history this week. In addition to widescreen and full screen versions, the movie will also be the first title available in a new hybrid disc format that features a standard definition widescreen version on one side and the same film in HD DVD on the other.
The idea here is that you can buy the disc now and an HD DVD player later and the disc will be fully compatible. But you'll pay dearly for the privilege... the hybrid disc will go for about ten dollars more.
By the way, standard definition discs will play in HD DVD players; you just won't get a clearer picture and the discs lack the interactive special features HD can provide. So don't worry too much at this point about replacing your entire collection.
"Rumor Has It," directed by Rob Reiner, is "based on a true rumor" and tells the story of Sarah (Aniston), who learns that her family was the inspiration for the book and film "The Graduate" and that she just might be the offspring of the well-documented event.
Sarah has finally agreed to marry her boyfriend Jeff (Ruffalo), but isn’t at all sure that marriage is what she really wants. Now she’s on her way home to attend her sister’s wedding, which means spending a lot of time with the tennis-obsessed Pasadena family that she’s never felt a part of.
But when Sarah stumbles into her well-kept family secret, she starts to question her roots and sets off in search of the man (Costner) who may have the answers she’s looking for.
The film fizzled in theaters, but is worth a rental, particularly if you're a fan of Aniston or MacLaine.
 In "Big Momma's House 2," Martin Lawrence returns as FBI agent Malcolm Turner, a man concealing more than just his weapon. The film is a sequel to the original box office hit about a cross-dressing crime fighter, one we've taken to calling "Mum Like It Hot," in honor of the more entertaining Billy Wilder classic.
In the interest of national security, Turner once again goes back undercover as "Big Momma" - a slick-talking, slam-dunking Southern granny with attitude. This time out, this "granny" must play nanny to three demanding kids to complete his assignment.
Buy "Big Momma's House 2" and you'll get both widescreen and full screen versions included on one two-sided mother of all discs.
 Hailed by many critics as a "Mary Poppins" for the new millennium, "Nanny McPhee" is a family-friendly title filled with pranks, mischief and magic. The film is set in an enchanted world where anything is possible and a mysterious nanny employs her fantastic skills to tame a widower's outrageously unruly children.
The children have managed to drive away 17 previous nannies, but as "Nanny McPhee" (Emma Thompson) takes control, they begin to notice that their misbehaving has magical and startling consequences.
The film arrives on Tuesday in separate widescreen and full screen versions, each with identical special features including several behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel and two commentary tracks.
 "Munich," the explosive suspense thriller from Steven Spielberg, arrives on DVD this week in separate widescreen and full screen versions and also in a 2-Disc Collector's Edition (widescreen only).
Each version features an introduction from the director, but additional special features - including six distinct behind-the-scenes and historical documentaries are available only on the Collector's Edition.
Inspired by the real-life events following the murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games, the film stars Eric Bana, Daniel Craig and Geoffrey Rush and combines edge-of-your-seat suspense with a thought-provoking story.
"Munich" was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
 When the Weinstein Company first announced the DVD release of "Transamerica," we tore into them for what we considered to be a highly deceptive box cover featuring a glamorous shot of the film's star, Felicity Huffman.
In the film, she plays a man about to undergo a sex change operation and as such she's not all that attractive or glamorous (by conventional standards)... why, we wondered, did they use that image?
Well, it turns out that the cover actually features two images - one of the star as herself and one of her in character as a pre-op transsexual - and the cover uses a lenticular process to alternate between them (much like those pictures of Jesus where his eyes follow you as you move around the room).
So we feel pretty silly about that, but how were we to know? You won't find that feature mentioned in any of the advance press materials and we still can't find a picture of the second image.
None of this should detract from the film itself, which takes a funny, touching, completely original look at a modern American family. Huffman won a Golden Globe Award for her performance and was nominated for an Oscar.
"Transamerica" marks the directorial debut of writer/director Duncan Tucker, who won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. And the soundtrack features the Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated song “Travelin’ Thru,” sung by Dolly Parton.
 "The New World" is a romantic epic set amidst the clash of European and Native American cultures during the founding of the Jamestown settlement in 1607.
Acclaimed filmmaker Terrence Malick has captured the classic tale of Pocahontas, her relationship with adventurer John Smith and the journey that took her from the Virginia wilderness to the palaces of England.
Starring Colin Farrell, Christian Bale, Christopher Plummer and newcomer Q'Orianka Kilcher, the DVD features an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film in the documentary “Making the New World.”
Before we wrap this up, let me thank you for the kind words of encouragement and support we received from many of you after we shared our newsletter delivery nightmare story last week.
The good news is that our new e-mail service provider has greatly improved our reach; readership was up over 25% last week because many subscribers who were previously blocked are now able to get the Dossier without any difficulty.
Just as a reminder, should anything prevent you from getting our e-mail delivered in the future, we now offer The DVD Dossier newsletter via an RSS feed. Every Sunday, you can have all the same information delivered directly to your desktop news reader or to your personalized homepage on bloglines, yahoo, google, MSN or a host of other web sites that accept RSS feeds.
And we'll always be available on the web: our newsletter archive is located at DVD Direct 4 Less.
We'll see you back here next week with more DVD news and reviews.
Regards,
DVD Direct 4 Less
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| This Week's New DVD Releases - Street Date: May 9, 2006 |
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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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| Preview of Next Week's Releases - Street Date: May 16, 2006 |
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| Over at the DVD Dossier Blog... |
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The biggest news by far this week over at the DVD Dossier Blog was the announcement that the original "Star Wars" films will be available this September in individual editions exactly as they appeared in theaters. (The films were previously only released as a boxed set trilogy and only in their digitally remastered versions.)
Also this week, Sony announced a delay in the debut of their first Blu-ray Disc titles and a judge approved a settlement in the Netflix class action case.
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We also disclosed details of the DVD release of a new Special Edition of the cult favorite "The Boondock Saints," the comedy crime caper "Grilled," starring Ray Romano and Kevin James and five comedies from the '60s and '70s which will be released on DVD for the first time in June.
The Blog also announced the DVD debut of the 1976 TV movie "Sybil" starring Sally Field, the romantic comedy "Something New," starring Sanaa Lathan and new seasons of the TV series "Boston Legal," "Charlie's Angels" and "King of the Hill."
There's also a story on "Grandma's Boy" - out this week - and the series finale of "Will and Grace," out on DVD just twelve days after the show airs on NBC.
But our favorite story this week is this one, simply because of the way Sony Home Entertainment chose to describe the plot of this forthcoming release starring two Playboy Playmates.
You can read about that - and much more - over at the DVD Dossier Blog. |
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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 the DVD Direct 4 Less and DVD Dossier web sites, as well as advertisements and promotional information provided by movie studios.
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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.
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Please note: all DVDs were available for sale as of the original publication date of this newsletter. Some may no longer be in inventory at the present time and preorder savings may not be in effect. If you're having difficulty finding a particular title, you can search current availability for any DVD here.
No DVDs were harmed in the making of this newsletter.
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