OnVideo SEPTEMBER Video Reviews

OnVideo SEPTEMBER Video Reviews

AMERICAN PSYCHO
Rude and crude adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' notorious 1980s novel about a bloodthirsty Wall Street yuppie (Christian Bale) -- Harvard educated and full of himself and his privileged life -- whose stock in trade is murder most foul. Whereas the novel could be seen as a criticism of the me-decade's lust for self-absorption, the film comes off just as a boring study of a serial killer.
Director: Mary Harron. Stars: Christian Bale, Wilem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Reese Witherspoon, Samantha Mathis, Chloe Sevigny. CC, (MPAA rating: R and NR, 104 min.), Drama, 2000, Box office gross: $14.400 million, (Universal), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/05, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

ANY GIVEN SUNDAY
Director Oliver Stone's take on football, with Al Pacino the rabid coach of the fictional Miami Sharks and Cameron Diaz the team's owner-without-a-heart. The team has stumbled on the way to the playoffs (their star quarterback is injured) and the coach puts in a third-string player (Jamie Foxx) who goes on to become a national celebrity. Stone takes shots at race, the media, big bucks (both for team owners and players), and other easy targets, but in the end he's created a lavish tribute to Football.
Director: Oliver Stone. Stars: Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, Matthew Modine. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 160 min.), Sprorts drama, 1999, Box office gross: $75.530 million, (Warner), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/01, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

BLACK AND WHITE
Multi-layered look at pop culture -- including hip-hop, sex, race, celebrityhood -- by idiosyncratic director James ("Fingers") Toback. The main story keys in on a group of Upper East Side white kids who hang out in the world of hip-hop, but also has side trips with a sleazy white gambler trying to fix a basketball gang, a female documentarian and her husband filming the kids, and a rap producer trying to protect his turf. Appearances by Mike Tyson, Marla Maples.
Director: James Toback. Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Jared Leto, Claudia Schiffer, Brooke Shields, Ben Stiller, Gaby Hoffman. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 100 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $5.100 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/26, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

CUP, THE
Chronicle of the impact of World Cup Soccer fever on spirited boys in a remote Tibetian monastery. A 14-year-old soccer-obsessed monk turns his monastery topsy-turvy in his efforts to see the World Cup games. Filmed on location, in English, in the Chokling Monastery in a refuge settlement nestled in the hills of the Himalayas; the first feature-length film made in Bhutan.
Director: Khyentse Norbu. Stars: Orgyen Tobgyal, Jamyang Lodro, Neten Chokling, Kunzang Nyima, Lama Chonjor, Godu Lama. CC, (MPAA rating: G, 93 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $1.067 million, (New Line), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/26, DVD: No. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

EAST IS EAST
Set in England during the youth revolution of the 1970s, this black comedy follows the conflict between a proud Pakistani father and his seven young boys as they battle over the traditional Eastern values he wants to inspire and their desire for the swingin' lifestyle of the West: It's bell-bottoms vs. saris.
Director: Damien O'Donnell. Stars: Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Routledge, Archie Panjabi, Chriss Bisson, Emil Marwa. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 96 min.), Comedy drama, 2000, Box office gross: $1.514 million, (Miramax), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/12, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

FINAL DESTINATION
Slick, stylish teen thriller about cheating death. When a jet carrying a group of high school students on its way to Paris crashes on takeoff, the only survivors are six students and a teacher, pulled off the plane when one of the boys has a premonition of the impending doom. But the group is not really safe: death comes stalking them all in weird and unusual ways. What sets this apart from most run-of-the-mill teen scenarios is the bizarre, almost tongue-in-cheek, elaborate death sequences.
Director: James Wong. Stars: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Kristen Cloke, Amanda Detmer, Seann William Scott, Chad Donella. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 94 min.), Thriller, 2000, Box office gross: $52.268 million, (New Line), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/26, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

FLINTSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS, THE
A prequel of sorts to the 1994 live action version of animated TV series "The Flintstones." Here Fred and Barney (Mark Addy and Stephen Baldwin) are on the hunt for girlfriends, latching onto Wilma and Betty (Kristen Johnston and Jane Krakowski), whisking them off to Rock Vegas for a weekend of fun. All kinds of subplots get played out here, most resulting in sight gags for the kiddies, featuring the Great Gazoo, a pint-sized visitor from outer space (a delightfully rude Alan Cummimg); Chip Rockefeller, an evil rich dude who will go to no ends to win over wealthy heiress Wilma; and more. Great production design, colors and eye candy.
Director: Brian Levant. Stars: Mark Addy, Stephen Baldwin, Kristen Johnston, Jane Krakowski, Alan Cumming, Joan Collins. CC, (MPAA rating: PG, 91 min.), Family, 2000, Box office gross: $31.087 million, (Universal), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/26, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

HIGH FIDELITY A savvy post-modern movie about love, work and commitment (or lack thereof) -- to music and life -- and the central role music plays in defining who we are. John Cusack plays the proprietor of a vinyl record store in Chicago -- aided and abetted by his music junkie employees -- whose passion for Top 5 lists extends way past the world of music. When his current girlfriend walks out on him, he begins to confess to the audience his Top 5 relationships -- in an effort to understand his past and present.
Director: Stephen Frears. Stars: John Cusack, Jack Black, Todd Louiso, Lisa Bonet, Lili Taylor, Sara Gilbert, Iben Hjejle. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 114 min.), Comedy, 2000, Box office gross: $24.751 million, (Buena Vista), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/19, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

LITTLE MERMAID II, THE: RETURN TO THE SEA
Direct-to-video sequel to 1989's hit, continuing the saga of the Little Mermaid, now happily married on land to Prince Eric. The pair have a daughter, Melody, who ventures into the water against her mother's wishes and gets everyone involved in another devious plot by Morgana, still trying to overthrow good King Triton. Naturally Ariel must return to her roots and rejoin her old friends Sebastian, Flounder and Scuttle to save the day.
Voices of Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Buddy Hackett, Pat Carroll, Tara Charendoff, Max Cassella. CC, Animated, 2000, (Disney), $26.99 SRP, Available: 9/19, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

MISSION TO MARS
Great effects abound in this sci-fier about the failure of the first manned flight to Mars and the subsequent rescue mission. It's 2020 and all but one member of the first flight to Mars is mysteriously killed. A second, accident-plagued mission is mounted, and when the crew finally land they're confronted with the remnants of a Martian civilization -- and learn about the impact that civilization had on the evolution of life on Earth. Despite a promising story line, the film moves all too abruptly from realism to mysticism, and the actors and characterizations are far overshadowed by the realistic Martian landscape. Director Brian De Palma's first stab at science fiction.
Director: Brian De Palma. Stars: Gary Sinise, Don Cheadle, Connie Nielsen, Jerry O'Connell, Kim Delaney, Tim Robbins. CC, (MPAA rating: PG, 112 min.), Science Fiction, 2000, Box office gross: $59.537 million, (Buena Vista), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/12, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

PASSION OF MIND
This English-language debut of director Alain ("My Vie en Rose") Berliner fell flat and never found the art-house audience it was aimed at. Could it have been star Demi Moore, or the screenplay (remarkably similar to 1998's "Shattered Image")? Moore plays a woman who has existences in two worlds: as Marie, a widow living in Provence, France, with her two daughters, and as Marty, a literary agent in New York. When one falls asleep, the other comes into existence. Which one is real?
Director: Alain Berliner. Stars: Demi Moore, Stellan Skarsgard, William Fichtner, Sinead Cusack, Peter Riegert. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 105 min.), Thriller, 2000, Box office gross: $0.700 million, (Paramount), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/19, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

READY TO RUMBLE
Two sanitation workers (David Arquette and Scott Caan), obsessed with World Championship Wrestling, become despondent when their hero, King (Oliver Platt), is dethroned as WCW champion and they take it upon themselves to track the wrestler down, whip him into shape and bring him back to Las Vegas for a rematch. The characters are brainless, the action gruesome (plenty of S&M wrestling thrills) and the story line predictable. Features acting turns by WCW's Diamond Dallas Page, Steve Sting Borden and others. For diehard wrestling fans only.
Director: Brian Robbins. Stars: David Arquette, Scott Caan, Oliver Platt, Rose McGowan, Martin Landau, Joe Pantoliano. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 107 min.), Comedy, 2000, Box office gross: $12.372 million, (Warner Bros.), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/19, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

SUMMER'S TALE, A (CONTE D'ETE)
This beguiling third chapter in Eric Rohmer's Tales of the Four Seasons series tells the story of a handsome young man, spending the summer in a borrowed apartment on the coast of Brittany, and the three women who tear at his heart. There's Lena, whom he pines away for; Margot, a smart and charming waitress; and Solene, Margot's friend, who just wants a summer fling. The choices he makes reveals the nature of human interactions.
Director: Eric Rohmer. Stars: Melvil Poupaud, Amanda Langlet, Gwenaelle. CC, (MPAA rating: NR, 113 min.), Drama, 1996, (Fox Lorber), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/05, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

28 DAYS
Sandra Bullock plays a writer whose substance abuse lands her in a drug and alcohol rehab center for a court-mandated 28-day stay. The film focuses in on her attempt to reclaim her life -- as well as showing us the various oddball denizens of the center as they go about their own rehabilitations. Sketchy at best as to the underlying causes and effects leading to the woman's addictions, the film should nevertheless appeal mightily to Bullock fans.
Director: Betty Thomas. Stars: Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Diane Ladd, Dominic West, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 103 min.), Drama, 2000, Box office gross: $36.300 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/19, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

WAKING THE DEAD
Stirring romantic drama about an up-and-coming politico (Billy Crudup) in 1982 haunted by the death of his leftist live-in lover (Jennifer Connelly) in 1974 in a car bombing. But Crudup begins to see his dead lover on the street, and the film bounces back and forth between the decades to explore the pair's past -- and present -- relationship. A much overlooked film has fine performances by Crudup and (surprise) Connelly.
Director: Keith Gordon. Stars: Billy Crudup, Jennifer Connelly, Molly Parker, Janet McTier. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 105 min.), Thriller, 1999, Box office gross: $0.300 million, (USA), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 9/26, DVD: No. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

WHERE THE HEART IS
Natalie Portman plays a pregnant woman who runs away from California with her aspiring country singer boyfriend. When he abandons her in an Oklahoma Wal-Mart, she has no choice but to stay behind, living in the store until the baby comes. The resulting birth makes her a celebrity, but she cooses to live in the small town, eventually falling in love with the local librarian. A warm tale about finding yourself in the world under the most unlikely of circumstances.
Director: Matt Williams. Stars: Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, Stockard Channing, Joan Cusack, Sally Field, Keith David, Dylan Bruno. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 120 min.), Comedy, 2000, Box office gross: $33.713 million, (Fox), No SRP, Priced for rental Available: 9/26, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 20% discount

All films are screened using the DVD version, when available, on a reference Onkyo DV-S717 DVD player.

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August 15, 2000