CHARLIE'S
ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE
Available in rated and
unrated VHS and DVD editions. The "Angels", three investigative agents
(Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu) who work for the Charles Townsend
Detective Agency, return for another high-octane series of adventures as they
investigate the theft of a database of witness protection profiles, after five
of the people on the list are murdered. They're aided by a new Bosley (Bernie
Mac), in an adventure which pits them against a "fallen angel" (Demi Moore),
their old nemesis, the Thin Man (Glover), and others. The story line is weak,
but there's no reason for a story here -- the action is just a backdrop for the
jiggle moves of the three main leads. And who can deny that.
Director: Joseph McGinty Nichol. Stars: Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu,
Demi Moore, Bernie Mac, Luke Wilson, John Forsythe, Crispin Glover, Justin
Theroux, Robert Patrick, John Cleese, Matt Leblanc. Cameos by Bruce Willis,
Pink, Jaclyn Smith, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Carrie Fisher, Eve and many
others.
Director: Joseph
McGinty Nichol. Stars: Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu,
Demi Moore, Bernie Mac, Luke Wilson, John Forsythe, Crispin
Glover, Justin Theroux, Robert Patrick, John Cleese, Matt
Leblanc. Cameos by Bruce Willis, Pink, Jac. CC, (MPAA rating:
PG-13, 106 min.), Action, 2003, Box office gross: $100.000
million, (Columbia TriStar), No VHS SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 10/21, DVD: Day &
Date.
DOWN WITH LOVE
Contemporary riff on the Doris Day/Rock Hudson
1950s/1960s "bedroom" comedies has best-selling feminist author Barbara Novak
(Renee Zellweger) becoming the target of dashing playboy Catcher Block (Ewan
McGregor). Novak moves to Manhattan and reaps the success of her female-
liberating book "Down With Love," garnering the attention of magazine writer
Block, who schemes to hook Novak both to expose her "hypocrisy" and to get even
with her since her book is wreaking havoc with his love life. He poses as a
sexually repressed Texas astronaut and sets out to make her fall in love with
him. Loaded with double entendres but weak on comedic punch.
Director: Peyton
Reed. Stars: Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Sarah Paulson, David
Hyde Pierce, Rachel Dratch, Jack Plotnick, Tony Randall. CC,
(MPAA rating: PG-13, 102 min.), Comedy, 2003, Box office
gross: $21.000 million, (Fox), No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental, Available: 10/7, DVD: Day &
Date.
HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE
In Hollywood, no one is really who they want
to be. Veteran cop Joe Galivan (Harrison Ford) and his rookie partner K.C.
Calden (Josh Hartnett) are no exception. Between Joe's struggling real estate
business and K.C.'s fledgling acting career and yoga instruction, they've got a
major murder case to solve. With both Internal Affairs and their main suspect on
their tails, Joe and K.C. have to infiltrate the dangerous world of the hip-hop
recording industry. Juggling two careers proves to be a comical adventure with
Joe and K.C. desperate to stay alive long enough to catch their big break.
Director: Ron
Shelton. Stars: Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Lena Olin, Bruce
Greenwood, Isaiah Washington, Lolita Davidovich, Keith David,
Dwight Yoakam, Martin Landau, Gladys Knight, Lou Diamond
Phillips, Kurupt, Master P. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 116 min.),
Comedy-Action, 2003, Box office gross: $30.000 million,
(Columbia TriStar), No VHS SRP, Priced for
rental, Available: 10/7, DVD: Day &
Date.
HULK, THE
An artistic comic book outing by director Ang Lee. The
film is faithful to the Stan Lee Hulk, following the transformations of Bruce
Banner (Eric Bana) into a gigantic CGI Hulk after a dose of gamma radiation
alters his genetic structure. Banner/Hulk must come to grips with the opposing
forces inside his body, understand the nature of his transformation, outsmart an
evil general (Sam Elliott) and a rival researcher (Josh Lucas), all the while
trying to win the heart of his estranged girl friend, Betty Ross (Jennifer
Connelly). The directing, acting and effects (especially the Hulk's rampage from
the desert lab to San Francisco) are all top-notch.
Director: Ang Lee.
Stars: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas,
Nick Nolte, Paul Kersey, Cara Buono. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13,
138 min.), Fantasy, 2003, Box office gross: $132.000 million,
(Universal), $22.98 VHS SRP,
Available: 10/28, DVD: Day &
Date.
IN-LAWS, THE
Remake of the 1979 comedy that starred Peter Falk
and Alan Arkin as mismatched future in-laws. Michael Douglas is Steve, who says
he's a copier salesman but whose splashy lifestyle, not to mention the agents on
his trail and the vial of nuclear material in his pocket, says otherwise -- he's
really a CIA agent. Albert Brooks is Jerry, a nerdy podiatrist plunged feet
first in Steve's world when Jerry's daughter is set to marry Steve's son. Steve
drags Jerry into a host of wild and crazy misadventures involving illegal arms
shipments, a stolen sub and Steve's karate-practicing partner Angela (Robin
Tunney). It's a crackpot comedy that, surprisingly, doesn't fall behind the
shadow of the original.
Director: Andrew
Fleming. Stars: Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks, Robin Tunney,
Ryan Reynolds, Candice Bergen, David Suchet, Lindsay Sloane,
Maria Ricossa. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 98 min.), Comedy,
2003, Box office gross: $21.000 million, (Warner), $22.98
VHS SRP, Available:
10/7, DVD: Day & Date.
ITALIAN JOB,
THE
Exciting thriller about a team of
crack robbers who rip off a safe in Venice, Italy, are betrayed by one of their
own crew, and then seek revenge a year later in Los Angeles. The film starts out
with a spectacular heist of $35 million in gold bullion, engineered by Charlie
Croker (Mark Wahlberg) and John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), the latter an elder
statesman of bank heists, and a crack crew of robbers. Following a great chase
sequence through the canals of Venice, the men meet on a road in the Alps to
celebrate, only to be double-crossed and gunned down by accomplice Steve (Edward
Norton); all escape but Bridger. Fast forward one year to Los Angeles, where
Steve is hiding out and slowly but surely selling off the bullion. Croker wants
revenge, and reunites his team, along with Stella Bridger, the daughter of the
slain John Bridger, to recover their spoils and get even with Steve. An
elaborate plan is hatched involving three Mini Coopers and the commandeering of
Los Angeles' traffic control system to create one of the biggest traffic jams in
history as their cover. Spectacular action and revenge. And oh those Minis.
Director: F. Gary
Gray. Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Edward Norton, Seth
Green, Jason Statham, Mos Def, Franky G., Donald Sutherland,
Boris Krutonog, Olek Krupa. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 110 min.),
Thriller, 2003, Box office gross: $106.000 million,
(Paramount), No VHS SRP, Priced for rental,
Available: 10/7, DVD: Day &
Date.
MATRIX RELOADED,
THE
In the powerful second chapter of the
Matrix trilogy, Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Morpheus
(Laurence Fishburne) lead the revolt against the Machine Army as it attacks
Zion, the last human city on
earth, unleashing their arsenal of extraordinary skills and weaponry against the
systematic forces of repression and exploitation. In their quest to save the
human race from extinction, they gain greater insight into the construct of The
Matrix and Neo's pivotal role in the fate of mankind. What is The Matrix? The
question is not yet fully answered. And it leads to another: Who created The
Matrix? The answers lead to more worlds of bold possibility -- and to a destiny
that passes from revelations to Revolutions.
Director: The
Wachowski Brothers. Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne,
Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Jada Pinkett Smith, Monica
Bellucci. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 138 min.), Sci Fi, 2003, Box
office gross: $281 million, (Warner), $22.99 VHS SRP,
Available: 10/14,
DVD: Day & Date.
28 Days Later
Chilling thriller about ape experiment that goes
awry, infecting the population of England with a virus that instantly turns
humans into bloodspurting, murderous zombies. When Jim (Cillian Murphy) wakes up
from a coma 28 days after a bicycle accident, he finds himself in a deserted
London. He wanders the empty streets but soon encounters a church full of
zombies intent on making him their next meal. Jim is saved by a pair of zombie
hunters who have learned to stay alive, and they eventually join up with others
in the struggle to stay alive -- unaware that the worst is yet to come. A
thoughtful thriller, slow at times, but great on the special effects. The VHS
has an alternate ending while the DVD features three alternate endings.
Director: Danny
Boyle. Stars: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Brendan Gleeson,
Megan Burns, Stuart McQuarrie. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 113 min.),
Horror, 2003, Box office gross: $44.000 million, (Fox), No
VHS SRP, Priced for rental, Available:
10/21, DVD: Day & Date.
Wrong Turn
A throwback to 1970s horror flicks like "The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Hills Have Eyes," this horror film follows a group
of six kids who end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. After a car
accident, the sextet have to venture out in the Appalachians of West Virginia to
find help but instead face a family of cannibalistic mountainmen who have become
horribly disfigured through generations of in-breeding. Kind of reminds me of
the directors of these films.
Director: Rob
Schmidt. Stars: Jeremy Sisto, Eliza Dushku. CC, (MPAA rating: R,
85 min.), Horror, 2003, Box office gross: $15.312 million,
(Fox), No VHS SRP, Priced for rental,
Available: 10/14, DVD: Day &
Date.
WHALE RIDER
Winner of prestigious awards at the Sundance,
Toronto, San Francisco, Rotterdam and Seattle film festivals, "Whale Rider" is
the radiant story of an exceptional young girl's coming of age, and of a proud
Maori (native people of New Zealand) community's struggle to embrace new ways of
thinking. The modern-day fable tells the story of Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) --
named after Paikea, the legendary male ancestor who reached what is now New
Zealand on the back of a whale -- a fearless 12-year-old girl who dares to
challenge the ancient traditions of her people in order to fulfill her destiny
despite tremendous opposition from Koro, her grandfather, who is chief of their
village. "Whale Rider" reinterprets a 1,000-year-old scared legend belonging to
the Maori culture. A pod of whales makes a dramatic third-act appearance in this
graceful outing.
Director: Niki Caro. Stars: Keisha
Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene, Vicky Haughton, Cliff Curtis, Grant Ross, Mana
Taumaunu, Rachel House. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 101 min.), Family, 2003,
Box office gross: $15.049 million, (Columbia TriStar), No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental, Available: 10/28, DVD: Day &
Date.
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 |
Calendar |
Sell-Through |
DVD |
Reviews |
E-mail: mail@onvideo.org
© 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 OnVideo. All rights
reserved
September 25, 2003
|
