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OnVideo NOVEMBER Video Reviews

Armageddon ARMAGEDDON
Earth faces destruction from a wayward asteroid in this smash summer blockbuster. With only 18 days before impact, Bruce Willis (in normal gonzo mode) heads a crew of misfit roughnecks on a mission to outer space to drop a nuclear device on the rock to knock it out of orbit. Great story (despite its maudlin hokiness), non-stop action that doesn't let you breathe or feel the melodramatic conceits tugging at your, fabulous jump cutting and editing, spectacular effects. In widescreen and pan-and-scan. Co-stars Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Keith David and Steve Buscemi.

Director: Michael Bay. Stars: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Keith David, Steve Buscemi. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 154 min.), Action, 1998, Box office gross: $200.000 million, (Buena Vista), $22.99 SRP, Available: 11/13, DVD: Due Jan 5.

4
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BILLBOARD DAD
The child stars of TV's "Full House" and now pre-teen stars of ABC's primetime series "Two of a Kind" -- Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen - - take their girlish adventures direct-to-video in this comedy about two sisters determined to find their single dad a mate. When the pair paint a personals ad on a giant billboard in the heart of Hollywood, they get more than they bargained for. Innocuous fun for the entire family -- especially the target audience of pre-teen girls.

Director: Alan Meter. Stars: Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen. CC, (MPAA rating: NR, 90 min.), Family, 1998, (Warner), $19.96 SRP, Available: 11/10

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Can't Hardly Wait photo CAN'T HARDLY WAIT
After four frustrating years of high school, what's a new grad to do but let it all explode at one final blow-out party before moving on to the real world? Coming together for a night of romance and fun is an assortment of jocks, geeks, bimbos, prom queens, headbangers and misfits. Everyone has an agenda to fulfill: some geek grads want to get even with the studs for four years of humiliation, others want to proclaim their unrequited love for their teen heartthrobs. It's every student's dream -- and nightmare. What may seem to be a silly adolescent comedy actually turns out to be a sweet paean to teen angst: it's a kind of "American Graffiti" for the '90s. Take a chance on this one. Stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ethan Embry.

Director: Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. Stars: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Seth Green, Jenna Elfman. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 101 min.), Comedy, 1998, Box office gross: $25.339 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental Available: 11/17, DVD: Day & Date.

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DIRTY WORK
Low concept, ill-mannered comedy has pair off foul-mouthed schemers come up with the idea of creating a professional service that offers revenge against its clients' enemies. This allows for all manner of bathroom-humor gags and gagging offal jokes. Still, this strikes a chord for anyone who ever wanted to get sweet revenge but never had the opportunity -- which means just about everyone. Stars "Saturday Night Live's" Norm Macdonald with Artie Lange, Jack Warden, Don Rickles, and Chevy Chase.

Director: Bob Saget. Stars: Norm Macdonald, Artie Lange, Jack Warden, Don Rickles, Chevy Chase. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 82 min.), Comedy, 1998, Box office gross: $10.020 million, (MGM), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 11/17, DVD: No.

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DR. DOLITTLE
Dr. Dolittle photo
Pleasingly funny remake of the 1967 film that starred Rex Harrison as a man who could talk to animals. Murphy here eschews his regular scenery-chewing for a more laid back presence as a physician whose life gets complicated when he finds that denizens of the animal world talk to him -- and not only does he understand them but he can talk back. When critters start to fill his house with all sorts of animal ailments, everyone thinks he's crazy -- including himself -- and he has to come to grips with his humanity in deciding whether to give up or give in to his unusual abilities. Agreeable family fare.

Director: Betty Thomas. Stars: Eddie Murphy, Ossie Davis, Oliver Platt, Kristen Wilson. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 85 min.), Comedy, 1998, Box office gross: $138.000 million, (Fox), $19.98 SRP, Available: 11/24, DVD: No.

4
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Fear and Loathing
in Las Vegas FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS
It took 27 years for Hunter S. Thompson's celebrated book (based on a series of articles in "Rolling Stone") to come to the big screen and boomers hoping that the film would capture some of the excitement of the time (and Thompson's drugged out attack on the establishment and the craziness of the American Dream) will be sorely disappointed. The film is much more of a slapstick pastiche than the cohesive satire it should be. For fans of Johnny Depp (who plays Thompson) only.

Director: Terry Gilliam. Stars: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 123 min.), Comedy, 1998, Box office gross: $10.35 million, (Universal), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 11/17, DVD: Day & Date.

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GODZILLA
Godzilla photo The likeable lizard that trampled Tokyo some 40 years ago now does the same for Manhattan, all spiffed up with the best CGI that money can buy. The movie got a bum rap from critics and bad buzz from Hollywood pundits but it still made $135 million in the U.S. alone. The film deserved all it earned -- and more: it's rip-roaring fun as underdog scientist Matthew Broderick and French secret agent Jean Reno figure out how to beat the creature before it destroys all of New York. You really have to suspend disbelief -- the reality level keeps deteriorating as the film progresses -- but it's well worth the effort. Microwave an extra bag of popcorn for this one. In pan-and-scan and widescreen versions.

Director: Roland Emmerich. Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Harry Shearer, Maria Pitillo. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 139 min.), Sci-Fi, 1998, Box office gross: $135.669 million, (Columbia TriStar), $22.95 SRP, Available: 11/3, DVD: Day & Date.

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HORSE WHISPERER, THE
Horse Whisperer photo Based on the popular novel, this story of a 14-year-old girl emotionally and physically scarred after a horse riding accident is a real heartstring-tugger. Desperate to help her daughter, the girl's mother (Kristen Scott Thomas), a high-powered magazine editor, searches for a "horse whisperer," someone who can cure troubled horses, finding Robert Redford, who eventually works to rebuild all the lives shattered by the accident. Naturally love blossoms between the horseman and the sophisticate, resulting in unexpected consequences. In widescreen and pan-and-scan versions.

Director: Robert Redford. Stars: Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Neill, Scarlett Johansson. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 168 min.), Drama, 1998, Box office gross: $74.766 million, (Touchstone), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 11/10, DVD: Day & Date.

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Les Miserables
photo LES MISERABLES
Not the well-received musical but a beautifully filmed dramatic version of the Victor Hugo novel. Here Liam Neeson stars as the eternally hunted Jean Valjean -- imprisoned for stealing bread and condemned to a life on the run -- and Geoffrey Rush stars as the driven policeman Javert whose sole mission in life is to track Valjean down. A faithful rendering of the complex -- and long -- tale. Co- stars Uma Thurman and Claire Danes.

Director: Billie August. Stars: Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, Clair Danes. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 134 min.), Drama, 1998, Box office gross: $13.871 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 11/3, DVD: Day & Date.

3
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NEGOTIATOR, THE
Psychological thriller about a police hostage negotiator (Samuel L. Jackson) charged with murder and embezzlement who takes an Internal Affairs Division hostage to negotiate the truth behind the trumped up charges, eventually facing off with another negotiator (Kevin Spacey). Plenty of action and excitement but the plot gets a bit too convoluted before the denouement.

Director: F. Gary Gray. Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse, Ron Rifkin, J. T. Walsh. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 138 min.), Thriller, 1998, Box office gross: $43.088 million, (Warner), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 11/24, DVD: Due Dec. 15.

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PHOENIX
Ray ("Rat Pack") Liotta stars as a police detective whose gambling habit has gotten him into trouble. Caught between a brutal bookie, a lethal loan shark and a heist gone wrong, he comes up with a daring plan to settle his debts once and for all. Passions erupt, tempers flare and greed burns out everything in sight in this action thriller. Stars Anthony LaPaglia, Anjelica Huston, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven.

Director: Danny Cannon. Stars: Ray Liotta, Anthony LaPaglia, Anjelica Huston, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 107 min.), Thriller, 1998, Box office gross: $0.043 million, (Trimark), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 11/2, DVD: Day & Date.

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Small Soldiers
photo SMALL SOLDIERS
Toy soldiers come alive in this special effects laden saga of a "reformed" military contractor that takes over a toy manufacturer and ends up putting military technology into mass-produced toys, setting off a war between foot-high GI armies the Gorgonites and the Commando Elite when the son of a toy store owner inadvertently discovers the hidden agenda. Unfortunately, the film was a bit too violent for its intended audience -- the pre-teen set -- and Universal had a battle of its own to win over moviegoers. Stars Gregory Smith, Kirsten Dunst, Jay Mohr, David Cross, Phil Hartman, Denis Leary, Ann Magnuson and the voices of Tommy Lee Jones and Frank Langella.

Director: Joe Dante. Stars: Gregory Smith, Kirsten Dunst, Jay Mohr, David Cross, Phil Hartman, Denis Leary, Ann Magnuson. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 109 min.), Fantasy, 1998, Box office gross: $56.600 million, (Universal), $22.99 SRP, Available: 11/10, DVD: No.

2
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October 15, 1998