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AUTUMN IN NEW YORK A "Love Story" for the 21st century, with Richard Gere starring as a love-em-and-leave-em bachelor who meets his match in Winona Ryder. Their one-night stand blossoms to a May-December romance with a hitch -- she's fatally ill. Bring out the hankies. Director: Joan Chen. Stars: Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, Anthony LaPaglia, Elaine Stritch, Sherry Stringfield, Mary Beth Hurt. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 105 min.), Romantic Drama, 2000, Box office gross: $32.000 million, (MGM), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/2, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount BAIT Run-of-the mill comedy-thriller has Jamie Foxx starring as the bait in an elaborate game of cat-and-mouse set up by the FBI to catch a cold-blooded killer who's stashed away $42 million in stolen gold. While in the slammer, small-time crook Foxx becomes privy to the whereabouts of the missing bullion; unbeknownst to him he's implanted with a tracking device and set back out on the streets, where it's hoped the killer will track him down, allowing the Feds to catch their man. The laughs are hard won. Director: Antoine Fuqua. Stars: Jamie Foxx, David Morse, Doug Hutchison, Robert Pastorelli, Kimberly Elise, David Payner, Mike Epps. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 121 min.), Comedy-Thriller, 2000, Box office gross: $15.280 million, (Warner), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/23, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount BATTLEFIELD EARTH John Travolta took some chances with this project: not only was he instrumental in bringing to the big screen L. Ron Hubbard's 1982 1,050 page book of the same name (one of the best-selling sci-fi novels of all time) but he opted to play the chief villain of the tale. The roll of the dice didn't favor Travolta: both the film -- a cross between "Red Dawn" and "Star Wars" about a human revolt in the year 3000 against conquering, 9-foot-tall Psychlos from another planet -- and his role garnered deprecating reviews. Ignore the weak reviews: the film is highly enjoyable, with spectacular -- and realistic -- special effects (one we've never seen before: the distortion of air by the heat of rocket ship engines). You'll have to ignore some silly dialogue and some stilted acting (and several plot loopholes) to get to the meat of the matter: the indomitable spirit of freedom and the destruction brought about by capitalist greed. Director: Roger Christian. Stars: John Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker, Kim Coates, Richard Tyson, Sabine Karsenti. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 116 min.), Sicence Fiction, 2000, Box office gross: $21.471 million, (Warner), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/16, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount CECIL B. DEMENTED Director John Waters' latest indie outing has Stephen Dorff star as Cecil B. DeMented, a guerrilla underground filmmaker (aided and abetted by his followers, the Sprocket Holes), who kidnaps a Hollywood diva (Melanie Griffith) and forces her to star in his demented film. For Waters fans only. Director: John Waters. Stars: Stephen Dorff, Melanie Griffith, Alicia Witt, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Larry Gilliard Jr., Mike Shannon. CC, (MPAA rating: NR, 88 min.), Cult, 2000, Box office gross: $1.257 million, (Artisan), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/23, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount COYOTE UGLY Based on a CQ magazine article about a New York bar run by women, this jumpin' romantic comedy-drama stars Piper Perabo (last seen in "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle") as an aspiring songwriter who moves to NY to make her fortune but instead falls on hard times, getting a job at Coyote Ugly, a bar run by a horde of sexy, strong and talented women. It's kind of a cross between "Cocktail" and "Flashdance" (which, of course, started the career of Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced this opus on sweat and behind-the-bar moves). Director: David McNally. Stars: Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia, Maria Bello, Melanie Lynsky, Tyra Banks, John Goodman, Bridget Moynahan. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 105 min.), Drama with music, 2000, Box office gross: $57.810 million, (Buena Vista), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/16, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount DINOSAUR Disney's incredible CGI film about life in the age of dinosaurs, following the adventures of Aladar (a 30-foot-long iguanodon) raised on an island by lemurs. When the island is destroyed by a meteor shower, Aladar swims for the mainland (with his lemur buddies on his back) and joins a herd of dinosaurs heading for the safety of an inland valley. The herd's trek is not without problems --they're faced with hunger, thirst and predators -- but in the end cooperation, tolerance and bravery save the day. Visually stunning. Director: Ralph Zondag, Eric Leighton. Stars: Voices of D.B. Sweeney, Ossie Davis, Joan Plowright, Della Reese, Alfre Woodard, Julianna Margulies. CC, (MPAA rating: PG, 82 min.), CGI Animation, 2000, Box office gross: $136.559 million, (Disney), $17.95 SRP, Available: 1/30, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount DISNEY'S THE KID Delightful -- if somewhat sentimental -- fairy tale of a story about a Type A image consultant (Bruce Willis) who -- through some quirk of time -- suddenly comes face to face with the 8-year-old boy he used to be. The boy's first gripe about his future life: "I grow up to be a guy with no dog? What a loser I become." For his part, the harried 40-year-old has trouble coming to grips with the boy he used to be and that he's tried to forget -- overweight, insecure and weak. The two eventually help each other to come to grips with both the past and present, paving the way for a much better future. A fine family film -- though the time warping may confuse younger viewers. Director: Jon Turteltaub. Stars: Bruce Willis, Spencer Breslin, Emily Mortimer, Lily Tomlin, Jean Smart, Chi McBride. CC, (MPAA rating: PG, 102 min.), Comedy, 2000, Box office gross: $68.034 million, (Buena Vista), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/16, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount HOLLOW MAN Special effects-laden update of H.G. Wells' the "Invisible Man" story, here with Kevin Bacon as a scientist working on a secret government project who injects himself with an invisibility serum and goes on a killing rampage. Elisabeth Shue plays his ex-lover. A weak outing from director Paul ("Total Recall," "Starship Troopers") Verhoeven. Director: Paul Verhoeven. Stars: Elisabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon, Josh Brolin, Kim Dickens, Greg Grunberg, William Devane. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 114 min.), Science Fiction, 2000, Box office gross: $72.476 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/2, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount ME, MYSELF & IRENE It's a two-man show for rubber-limbed Jim Carrey as he plays a state trooper (Charlie) with a long history of abuse -- of being abused, that is -- by his ex-wife and others. When he finally snaps and has a nervous breakdown, he develops a split personality, becoming Hank, a swaggering, sex-obsessed alter ego. About to lose his job, he gets one last assignment -- escort hit-and-run suspect Irene (Renee Zellweger) to court. Naturally things get out of hand -- what with in-the-same body fights (as both personalities fall for Irene), a case of misidentification (the police think that Hank has killed Charlie and kidnapped Irene) and loads of the Farrelly brothers' bathroom humor. Director: Bobby and Peter Farrelly. Stars: Jim Carrey, Renee Zellwegger, Anthony Anderson, Chris Cooper, Robert Forster. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 120 min.), Comedy, 2000, Box office gross: $89.829 million, (Fox), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/9, DVD: January 23. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount UNDER SUSPICION Claustrophobic drama, set in Puerto Rico, about a police captain (Morgan Freeman) who asks his old friend, a prominent tax attorney (Gene Hackman) in for a short interview, which eventually lasts several hours, to discuss the murder of two young girls. Is he a witness? A suspect? Plenty of flashbacks and plot twists. Based on the French film "Garde a Vue" but not nearly as engrossing. Director: Stephen Hopkins. Stars: Gene Hackman, Morgan Feeman, Monica Bellucci, Thomas Jane. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 110 min.), Drama, 2000, Box office gross: $0.248 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/2, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount WAY OF THE GUN, THE Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro play a pair of career bad guys with no qualms about leaving behind a field of corpses. Low on cash they decide to donate to a sperm bank, overhearing a conversation about a soon-to-be-a-millionaire surrogate mother (Juliette Lewis). It's not until after they kidnap her that it's revealed that she's been hired as the child-bearer for an aging underworld bagman and his wife, and soon the trio is on the run -- from Lewis' bodyguards, as well as a pair of hired hitmen (James Caan and Geoffrey Lewis). Along the way --with plenty of plot twists and turns -- there are rivers of blood and gore, culminating in an even bloodier ending in a Mexican whorehouse. Despite the fact that most every character on the screen is eminently dislikable, the film is incredibly engrossing, with fluid camerawork and fine acting pulling the viewer in to the plot and action. Director and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie scripted "The Usual Suspects." Director: Christopher McQuarrie. Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Benicio Del Toro, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, James Caan, Nicky Katt, Scott Wilson. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 119 min.), Thriller, 2000, Box office gross: $4.253 million, (Artisan Entertainment), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/2, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount WHAT LIES BENEATH Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer play a happily married couple leading an idyllic life in a Vermont lakeside home. She's a retired musician, he's a genetic researcher. When her daughter from a previous marriage goes off to college, it's just the two of them in their placid life. Or is it? Strange noises, horrible visions and terrifying household objects lead to the conclusion that the pair share the house with the spirit of a troubled woman. What is the connection to him? Her? To Hitchcock and Brian De Palma? Director: Robert Zemeckis. Stars: Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Diana Scarwid, Joe Morton, James Remar, Miranda Otto. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 130 min.), Thriller, 2000, Box office gross: $153.118 million, (DreamWorks), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 1/30, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount All DVDs are screened on a reference system consisting of a Rotel RDV-1080 DVD Audio/Video Player, a Rotel RSX-972 Surround Sound Receiver, and Phase Technology 1.1 (front), 33.1 (center), and 50 (rear) speakers and Power 10 subwoofer. | Contents/Site Map | Home | Resources | VidNews | KidVid | Calendar | Sell-Through | DVD | Reviews | E-mail: mail@onvideo.org © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 OnVideo. All rights reserved December 31, 2000