Review: Delirious (B-)

Eddie Murphy Delirious (1983)
Directed by Bruce Gowers
Starring Eddie Murphy
Grade: B-

Review by Bobby Nashville

Ah, the good old days. Back in the early 80's, Eddie Murphy was truly the king of comedy, and Delirious captures the entertainer at his best. Taped live at the Constitution Hall in Washington DC, the concert film shows the raw humor that made Eddie Murphy a star.

Delirious contains some of Eddie Murphy's most classic comedy bits. The "Ice Cream man is coming" line is now legendary and his impression of Mr. T is a classic. My only gripe about Delirious is Eddie's overuse of a certain derogatory word about gays. I won't mention it here, but suffice it to say, it's the same word that has gotten Isiah Washington of Grey's Anatomy in so much trouble. Of course, that was twenty years ago, and times have certainly changed since then. So I'm willing to cut Eddie some slack.

Delirious is a darn funny concert film starring one of the most unique comedians of our time, Eddie Murphy. If you are willing to look past some of the crude humor, you'll definitely enjoy it.

2007 Academy Award Nominations

The nominations are in for the 2007 Academy Awards. Dreamgirls led the field with eight nominations. Strangely, however, it was not nominated for Best Picture. Go figure. Here's the full list.

1. Best Picture: "Babel," "The Departed," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine," "The Queen."

2. Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"; Peter O'Toole, "Venus"; Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland."

3. Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Meryl Streep, "The Devil Wears Prada"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children."

4. Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"; Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"; Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"; Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed."

5. Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, "Babel"; Cate Blanchett, "Notes on a Scandal"; Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"; Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel."

6. Directing: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel"; Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"; Clint Eastwood, "Letters From Iwo Jima"; Stephen Frears, "The Queen"; Paul Greengrass, "United 93."

7. Foreign Language Film: "After the Wedding," Denmark; "Days of Glory (Indigenes)," Algeria; "The Lives of Others," Germany; "Pan's Labyrinth," Mexico; "Water," Canada.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Sacha Baron Cohen and Anthony Hines and Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips, "Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"; Alfonso Cuaron and Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, "Children of Men"; William Monahan, "The Departed"; Todd Field and Tom Perrotta, "Little Children"; Patrick Marber, "Notes on a Scandal."

9. Original Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga, "Babel"; Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis, "Letters From Iwo Jima"; Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"; Guillermo del Toro, "Pan's Labyrinth"; Peter Morgan, "The Queen."

10. Animated Feature Film: "Cars," "Happy Feet," "Monster House."

11. Art Direction: "Dreamgirls," "The Good Shepherd," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "The Prestige."

12. Cinematography: "The Black Dahlia," "Children of Men," "The Illusionist," "Pan's Labyrinth," "The Prestige."

13. Sound Mixing: "Apocalypto," "Blood Diamond," "Dreamgirls," "Flags of Our Fathers," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

14. Sound Editing: "Apocalypto," "Blood Diamond," "Flags of Our Fathers," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

15. Original Score: "Babel," Gustavo Santaolalla; "The Good German," Thomas Newman; "Notes on a Scandal," Philip Glass; "Pan's Labyrinth," Javier Navarrete; "The Queen," Alexandre Desplat.

16. Original Song: "I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth," Melissa Etheridge; "Listen" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven; "Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett; "Our Town" from "Cars," Randy Newman; "Patience" from "Dreamgirls," Henry Krieger and Willie Reale.

17. Costume: "Curse of the Golden Flower," "The Devil Wears Prada," "Dreamgirls," "Marie Antoinette," "The Queen."

18. Documentary Feature: "Deliver Us From Evil," "An Inconvenient Truth," "Iraq in Fragments," "Jesus Camp," "My Country, My Country."

19. Documentary (short subject): "The Blood of Yingzhou District," "Recycled Life," "Rehearsing a Dream," "Two Hands."

20. Film Editing: "Babel," "Blood Diamond," "Children of Men," "The Departed," "United 93."

21. Makeup: "Apocalypto," "Click," "Pan's Labyrinth."

22. Animated Short Film: "The Danish Poet," "Lifted," "The Little Matchgirl," "Maestro," "No Time for Nuts."

23. Live Action Short Film: "Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)," "Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)," "Helmer & Son," "The Saviour," "West Bank Story."

24. Visual Effects: "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "Poseidon," "Superman Returns."

Trailer Time: Black Snack Moan

Oh boy. The trailer for Black Snake Moan is out. Regular readers know that we've been anticipating this film for a while. Looks like it could be a good one.

Black Snake Moan Trailer (Quicktime)

Our Top Ten DVDs Of 2006

The start of a new year means one thing - top ten lists galore. We refuse to be left out.

So, once again we have compiled a list of our favorite DVDs of 2006. These films were reviewed on our site during the calendar year 2006. The list is certainly not supposed to represent the best DVDs on the market as a whole. Instead it is simply a top ten list of the DVDs that we reviewed on the site.

So... Drum roll, please.... Here are...

DVD Confidential's Top 10 DVDs Of 2006

10) Be Here To Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt
Bobby Nashville: "Townes was a magical songwriter that wrote blues inspired folk songs (or were they folk inspired country songs) that were recorded and turned into top hits by Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris. Townes lived the life of a rambler, driving from show to show and partying with hippies, folk singers and roadies. His life was on the road and many of his songs were about how sad life really can be."

09) The War Within
Sebastian Francis Kennedy: "One of the most powerful films I have ever seen about terrorism, The War Within is an incredible piece of cinema. The film is controversial, mesmerizing and thought provoking. The War Within is also heartbreaking."

08) Broken Flowers
Scott Standish: "Jim Jarmusch has settled into a groove. He continues to paint these wonderful pictures of strange characters that are human, real and at the same time, almost comical. He tells amazing stories with wonderful dialogue and he keeps the audience on their toes. Broken Flowers, Jarmusch's latest, is quite possibly his best film to date. It is not to be missed."

07) Awesome! I Fuckin' Shot That!
Bobby Nashville: "The beauty of Awesome lies in the production itself. Fifty concertgoers were given handheld digital cameras before the show and they filmed the concert from their own perspectives. For fans of the Beastie Boys, this is as about as good as it gets."

06) Sunday Driver
Bobby Nashville: "Sunday Driver was produced by RockStar Games, a company best known for their groundbreaking video game Grand Theft Auto. The film has a great look, a great vibe, and a remarkable soundtrack. The cars are unbelievable. Sunday Driver is a fantastic documentary and it's highly recommended."

05) Thumbsucker
Sebastian Francis Kennedy: "Thumbsucker features some fantastic acting performances, most notably by Swinton, Taylor Pucci and Vince Vaughan (Wedding Crashers), who plays Justin's debate coach. This is a film that, in tone, reminds me somewhat of American Beauty. It thoroughly dissects the strained relationships that are pushed to the limit when people transform. Director Mike Mills skillfully juggles numerous story threads through the film and in the end, the movie is powerful, uplifting and of course, very enjoyable. Don't miss this one."

04) Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room
Scott Standish: "Smart, well made and ultimately fascinating, Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room is one of the finest documentaries I have ever seen about corporate greed. Interviews with Enron insiders and ex-Governor Gray Davis bring excellent insights into the house of cards that was Enron, and the criminals that built it. Once you see Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room, you may never look at large corporations the same way again."

03) Repo Man (Special Edition)
Bobby Nashville: "Repo Man is one of the most underrated B movie comedies from the 80's. Thank god this hasn't been "updated" with a stupid re-make starring some crappy MTV reality stars. Just about every other classic underground film from the 80's eventually gets massacred, so I guess it's due. Until then, I'll just stick with the original, because it just keeps getting better with age."

02) Lemming
Sebastian Francis Kennedy: "Lemming is a strangely disturbing, hauntingly mesmerizing film that is reminiscent of David Lynch's latest film, Mulholland Drive. It opened the Cannes Film Festival in 2005 and it has been highly praised by critics around the world. The praise is well earned. Lemming is a dark gem of a film."

01) Match Point
Sebastian Francis Kennedy: "Match Point was one of the most underrated films of last year, and it is perhaps Woody Allen's best film since Manhattan. The way in which Match Point unfolds is masterful. Slow and concise, the film plays out like... well, a long, wonderful tennis match. It is no wonder that Woody Allen was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay. The true wonder is that Match Point was not nominated for Best Director, Best Film and Best Actor for Jonathan Rhys Meyers."

Movie Buzz: Black Snake Moan Heats Up

The buzz for Paramount's upcoming film Black Snake Moan is heating up. We've received some photos from the film and what can we say - it looks pretty darn cool.

Black Snake Moan is the third feature by writer-director Craig Brewer. Brewer directed the incredible Hustle and Flow, and this film looks to be right up there in terms of quality. The film is produced by John Singleton and it stars Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci and Justin TImberlake.

Samuel L. Jackson plays Lazarus, a blues singer that has truly earned the right to play the blues. His wife cheated on him and his marriage has failed. He is a lost soul, and he plays the blues to stay alive. His path is changed when he meets Rae, the town prostitute (played by Christina Ricci). The film takes place in Memphis and the music of the south plays an integral part in the storyline. Black Snake Moan opens February 23, 2007 nationwide.