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Guide to
Home Video
Releases: July 2001 Release Calendar
For the latest 'B' films, special interest, and direct-to-video
releases, check out
OnVideo's VidNews pages.
DVD Releases
Movies are rated on a scale of one to five, with five
denoting a classic. For more information on how we rate, check out our
Rentability Index.
Back to
Calendar Index.
- July 3
-
Dracula 2000
The Dracula legend updated for the 21st century.
This version starts out where the original "Dracula" left off -- save with one
change -- vampire hunter Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer) was never able to
kill Count Dracula -- he just entombed him in the vault of his antique store. To
make sure that he never gets out, Van Helsing decides to live forever, injecting
himself with a little of the Count's blood, to watch over the undead. But now
its 2000, and the Count's coffin is stolen and he disappears, only to show up in
New Orleans, where Van Helsing and his assistant follow. It's Mardi Gras time:
What better occasion for a goth to have fun and suck a little blood. Can the
spoilsports stop him?
Director: Patrick Lussier. Stars: Gerald Butler, Christopher Plummer, Jonny Lee
Miller, Justine Waddell, Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Espositio, Omar Epps,
Sean Patrick Thomas. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Horror, Box office
gross: $33.000 million, Dimension, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Wedding Planner, The
By-the-numbers comedy about a young woman
(Jennifer Lopez) whose career as a wedding planner is a success but her personal
love life is a mess. Into her life comes a handsome young pediatrician (Matthew
McConaughey) who rescues her from the path of a runaway dumpster. Naturally they
hit it off -- but he forgets to tell her one important fact -- he's engaged to
be married. And guess who's supposed to be their wedding planner? The stage has
been set for all sorts of lies of the heart and misunderstandings -- if you can
take it.
Director: Adam Shankman. Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, Bridgette
Wilson-Sampras, Justin Chambers, Alex Rocco, Judy Greer, Kevin Pollak, Joanna
Gleason, Charles Kimbrough. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 100 min., Romantic
comedy, Box office gross: $54.471 million, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Snatch
Convoluted crime caper by Guy Ritchie -- in the vein of
his cult thriller "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." Here there's a whole
passel of criminals chasing down a missing diamond in London, with the
concomitant car chases, explosions, fights, and murders. There's also a lot of
tongue-in-cheek comedy, so if you like your violence funny-side up, this one's
for you.
Director: Guy Ritchie. Stars: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Stephen Graham, Vinnie
Jones, Benicio del Toro, Dennis Farina, Alan Ford, Rade Serbedzija. 2000,
CC, MPAA rating: R, 102 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $30.093 million,
Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Malena
Romantic comedy drama, set during WWII, about the effects
a ravishing young woman has on a small seaside village in Italy. With her
husband off to war, Malena has no qualms with her loose morals -- her every walk
through the village has the town's men drooling and the women clicking their
tongues. Her effect on one young boy is impressive -- 13-year-old Renato,
feeling his budding puberty, lusts after Malena, and his parents, not happy with
his sexual obsession, send him off, first to a priest, then an exorcist, and
finally to a bordello. Ultimately, Melena's promiscuity angers the town's women,
and she becomes ostracized. As the war ends, the town, Melena, and Renato learn
forgiveness and hope for the future.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore. Stars: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano
Federico, Matide Piana, Pietro Notarianne, Gaetano Aronica. 2000, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 94 min., Drama, Box office gross: $3.364 million, Miramax, No VHS
SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Body, The
A Vatican-appointed Jesuit priest and an Israeli
archaeologist team up in Jerusalem to investigate a find that threatens the very
foundation of Christianity -- a body purported to be that of Jesus Christ.
Director: Jonas McCord. Stars: Antonio Banderas, Olivia Williams, John Wood.
2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.033 million,
Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Sanctimony
Two determined street detectives team up with a
wealthy stock trader in Seattle to track down a homicidal maniac known as the
Monkey Maker.
Director: Uwe Boll. Stars: Casper Van Dien, Michael Pare, Eric Roberts, Jennifer
Rubin. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 87 min., Thriller, Pioneer Entertainment,
No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
- July 10
-
Thirteen Days
Ensemble cast in a tight, lush retelling of the
events surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis in October, 1962, and the anguish
and anger over the possibility of a nuclear apocalypse.
Director: Roger Donaldson. Stars: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp,
Dylan Baker, Michael Fairman, Kevin Conway. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13,
145 min., Drama, Box office gross: $30.654 million, New Line, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Monkeybone
Offbeat live/stop motion animation from director
Henry Selick ("Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas") has Brendan Fraser
playing a cartoonist whose comic strip is on its way to a national TV show ...
until a freak accident puts him in a coma on the verge of death. His soul winds
up in the nightmare world of Downtown, where he must struggle to awaken before
his body dies. But when his body does awake, it's not the cartoonist inside --
it's his comic strip alter-ego, Monkeybone -- and the character is rude, crude
and ready to wreak havoc on the world. There's so much more going on here --
including an organ donor who escapes the hospital with innards leaking out --
that a capsule description can't do it justice. It's surreal eye candy for
altered states.
Director: Henry Selick. Stars: Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, Chris Kattan, John
Turutto, Giancarlo Esposito, Rose McGowan, David Foley, Whoopie Goldberg.
2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 91 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $5.409
million, Fox, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Down to Earth
Chris Rock vehicle directed by the team behind
"American Pie" is a remake of two previous box office successes: 1941's "Here
Comes Mr. Jordan" and 1978's "Heaven Can Wait." Both were about a man who dies
before his allotted time on Earth -- by the manipulations of an inept Angel --
and who is given a chance to come back to life ... but in the body of another.
Here the gag is that Rock comes back in the body of a middle-aged, rich white
man, setting up all kinds of wonderful black and white jokes. One of Rock's
better outings, with good pacing by the Weitz brothers and scorching soundtrack.
For the most part this comedy clicks for a surprisingly satisfying viewing
experience ... but the repeated white vs. black gags do get tiresome after
awhile.
Director: Chris and Paul Weitz. Stars: Chris Rock, Regina King, Chazz
Palminteri, Eugene Levy, Mark Addy. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 87 min.,
Comedy, Box office gross: $63.095 million, Paramount, No VHS SRP, Priced for
rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Double Take
A case of mistaken identity that survives on the
sheer comic power of Eddie Griffin. When a successful New York investment banker
(Orlando Jones) is framed for laundering millions of dollars for a Mexican drug
cartel, he tries to buy time by swapping identities with a petty thief (Eddie
Griffin) who's been bugging him. Much to his surprise, he discovers that he has
now become one of the most wanted criminals in Mexico. And that's when the fun
really begins. So much for his 401(K).
Director: George Gallo. Stars: Eddie Griffin, Orlando Jones, Edward Herrmann,
Gary Grubbs, Shawn Elliott, Andrea Navedo. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 88
min., Comedy, Box office gross: $29.363 million, Buena Vista, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at
Her
Showtime telefilm
drama comprising five vignettes weaving together the lives of several women at
emotional crossroads, including a talented detective struggling with loneliness,
an ambitious bank manager contemplating motherhood, a successful doctor
confronting her spiritual emptiness, a blind teacher searching for love, a
middle-aged writer grappling with prejudice and a fortune teller grieving for
her dying lover.
Director: Rodrigo Garcia. Stars: Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart,
Amy Brenneman, Holly Hunter, Kathy Baker, Valeria Golino, Gregory Hines.
2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 109 min., Drama, MGM, No VHS SRP, Priced for
rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Reduced Shakespeare Company, The
The three-man Reduced
Shakespeare Company have been plying their spoofs of the Bard for 20 years, and
this performance of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare" celebrates the
group's anniversary. In 90 minutes the trio takes on all of Shakespeare (from
Othello as a rap song to Titus Andronicus as a cooking show and Hamlet told with
sock puppets). This high-speed hilarity is not for people with weak hearts of
English degrees.
Stars: Adam Long, Reed Martin, Austin Tichenor. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: NR,
90 min., Comedy, Acorn Media Home Video, $19.95 VHS SRP.
DVD: No.
-
Beyond Suspicion
Jeff Goldblum stars as an insurance salesman
whose humdrum existence takes a quite different tack when an ex-con dies in his
arms during a botched liquor store robbery. Goldblum takes on the dead man's
identity and delves deep into an existence he doesn't quite know how to handle.
Director: Matt Tabak. Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Anne Heche. 2001, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 109 min., Thriller, Fox, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Idiot Box
Two bored, unemployed lads in Sydney hatch a
harebrained scheme to rob a bank after watching too many TV crime dramas. But
some real-life bank robbers have been making a name for themselves and a pair
of detectives have figured out where they will strike next. Guess which bank the
two lads hit? Dark comedy.
Director: David Caesar. Stars: Ben Mendelsohn, Jeremy Sims, Robyn Loau.
1996, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 83 min., Comedy, Fox Lorber, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Left Luggage
A young, liberal, female Jewish student, who has
trouble accepting her Jewish identity, takes a job as a nanny for a Hasidic
family. But when her liberal attitude bumps up against the rules and traditions
of the family, she wants to leave, but is drawn back by her fondness for the
family's 4-year-old son. She slowly begins to understand her Jewish background
and learns to accept and respect her culture, finding the true value of life. A
touching, emotional story.
Director: Jeroen Krabbe. Stars: Laura Fraser, Adam Monty, Isabella Rossellini.
1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 100 min., Drama, Fox Lorber, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
- July 17
-
Family Man, The
Thirteen years ago Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage)
left for London for a prestigious financial internship, promising his girlfriend
Kate (Tea Leoni) that they would be apart for only a year. Now Jack is a slick,
high-powered Wall street broker who never looked back. But as Christmas rolls
around, Jack is in for a surprise -- he wakes up one morning in suburban New
Jersey next to Kate, in a world at the end of a path he might have taken 13
years earlier. His bachelor pad has been replaced by a modest house and his
Ferrari is now a minivan. And, to his horror, his real life has been
obliterated. Now he gets a glimpse of what might have been -- with two kids and
diapers -- hoping it's just temporary. "It's a Wonderful Life" for the 21st
century.
Director: Brett Ratner. Stars: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle. 2000,
CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 126 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $75.764 million,
Universal, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Gift, The
Psychological thriller about a young woman (Cate
Blanchett) with the "gift" of psychic visions who plies her trade in a small
town in Georgia. When the fiance and father of a missing young woman come to her
for help, she leads the police to her body --in the yard of the local wife
beater (Keanu Reeves). But is the hothead really the murderer? The psychic
begins to have doubts about the clarity of her visions. The Southern grit is
courtesy of screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton and the chills courtesy of Sam
Raimi.
Director: Sam Raimi. Stars: Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni
Ribisi, Greg Kinnear, Katie Holmes, Michael Jeter, Kim Dickens. 2000, CC,
MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $11.835 million,
Paramount, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Sugar & Spice
Empty-headed comedy about a group of high school
cheerleaders who decide to rob a bank to get money for their leader, who has
gotten herself pregnant by the school's hot shot quarterback. Faster than you
can say Sis! Boom! Rah! the youngsters become national folk heroes. Ugh!
Director: Francine McDougall. Stars: Marla Sokoloff, Marley Shelton, Mena
Suvari, James Marsden. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 80 min., Comedy, Box
office gross: $12.353 million, New Line, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Book of Pooh, The: Stories From the
Heart
Brand new Pooh
adventure using a unique combination of life-like puppets and computer
animation. Pooh and his friends return in a new story that invokes the classic
feel of A.A. Milne's book but offers a new look at Pooh's charming world: Pooh,
Tigger and their pals uncover Christopher Robin's treasured collection of
stories from the Hundred Acre Wood. Features six original songs.
2001, CC, MPAA rating: G, Animated, Disney, $24.99 VHS SRP.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Saving Silverman
Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn and Jack Black play
three friends since the fifth grade who are inseparable -- they even have a rock
group named Diamonds in the Rough, after their musical hero, Neil Diamond. But
the buddies' friendship is threatened when a young woman (Amanda Peet) zeroes in
on Biggs, tearing the group apart. What are the remaining buds to do? Why, they
kidnap the woman, fake her death, and then try to reunite Biggs with his high
school sweetheart -- before she becomes a nun. Silly teenage comedy that sinks
far below even the lowest common denominator.
Director: Dennis Dugan. Stars: Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn, Jack Black, Amanda Peet.
2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 90 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $19.351
million, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Caveman's Valentine, The
Off beat suspense drama about a
once-promising Julliard-trained musician and composer (Samuel L. Jackson) whose
mind has deteriorated to the point where he lives in a cave in Central park in
New York. When he discovers a frozen corpse outside his cave, he becomes
convinced that the man was murdered and goes on a search through the city for
the murderer. Bizarre film fared poorly at the boxoffice but definitely deserves
a second chance on video.
Director: Kasi Lemmons. Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore, Ann Magnuson,
Anthony Michael Hall, Peter MacNeill, Damir Andrei. 2001, CC, MPAA rating:
R, 106 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.665 million, Universal, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Once Upon a Time in China III
When Wong Fei-Hung and sidekick
Chung arrive in Peking, they're just in time for the Empress-sponsored Lion King
martial arts contest. But before he can win that contest, he must win back his
secret love, defeat his awesome rival, and foil an assassination plot. All in a
hard day's work in 19th century China. Action sequences choreographed by Woo
Ping Yuen ("Matrix," "Crouching Tiger").
Director: Tsui Hark. Stars: Jet Li. 1993, CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min.,
Martial Arts, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: .
-
A Life Apart: Hasidism in
America
Explores the beautiful,
mesmerizing and mysterious world of Hasidic Jews. In N.Y.C., the Hasidim are a
common sight, but their way of life remains a mystery to those outside. With
their use of Yiddish, their distinctive clothes and their strict observance of
Jewish ritual and law, the Hasidim are considered by many an insular people with
little connection to mainstream America. Yet their values are those many
Americans find most precious: family, community and a life of meaning.
Director: Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky. Narrated by Leonard Nimoy and Sarah
Jessica Parker. 1997, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 95 min., Documentary, First Run
Features, $29.95 SRP.
DVD: Only.
-
Silence, The
A hypnotic symphony of visual and aural rhythms
that follows the life of Khorshid, a blind 10-year-old Iranian boy who
experiences life through sounds and the music of the world. In Farsi with
English subtitles.
Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 75 min., Drama, New
Yorker, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: No.
-
Lucky Town
A beautiful young girl sets off to Las Vegas to
surprise her long-lost father but the city of sin deals her more than just a bad
hand. It seems her dad is in trouble with the city's toughest gangster, and the
bad guys end up using the girl as bait in a deadly game of revenge. Also known
as "Luckytown Blues."
Director: Paul Nicholas. Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Vincent Kartheiser, Luis Guzman,
James Caan. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Thriller, Studio Home
Entertainment, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Pact, The
When a teenager witnesses the brutal murder of his
parents, he's enrolled in the Witness Protection Program and sent to a private
school in Montreal. But the one and only friend he meets turns out to be a young
hit man hired to kill him.
Director: Rodney Gibbons. Stars: Rider Strong, Lisa Zane, John Heard, Nick
Mancuso. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min., Thriller, Avalanche Home
Entertainment, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
City on Fire
Chow Yun-Fat plays an undercover cop sent to
infiltrate a notorious jewelry crime ring who becomes too friendly with one of
the thieves, endangering his assignment and his life.
Director: Ringo Lam. Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Roy Cheung, Carrie Ng, Danny Lee, Yueh
Sun. 1987, CC, MPAA rating: R, 106 min., Action, Dimension, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
- July 24
-
Sweet November
Fluff of a love story -- a remake of sorts of the
Sandy Dennis-Anthony Newley 1968 film -- about a good woman who makes over a bad
man. Here the baddie is a super ad executive (Keanu Reeves) who thinks he's
God's gift to the world while the sweet woman is played by Charlize Theron.
Through an odd set of circumstances the pair meet and she gets one month to turn
him around to regain his humanity. Guess who falls in love? Cut to a happy
ending.
Director: Pat O'Connor. Stars: Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, Jason Isaacs, Greg
Germann, Liam Aiken, Robert Joy, Lauren Graham. 2001, CC, MPAA rating:
Pg-13, 119 min., Romance, Box office gross: $17.787 million, Warner, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Pollock
Dutiful biodrama of the life of Jackson Pollock,
arguably America's first internationally famous painter, brought to the screen
by Ed Harris, who struggled for years to get it made. Harris plays Pollock (he
devoted himself to studying Pollock's style so that he could paint like him on
camera) and Marcia Gay Harden plays Lee Krasner, Pollock's fellow artist, lover
and eventually wife. The film is unremitting in its exploration of the demons
behind this creative giant.
Director: Ed Harris. Stars: Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Amy Madigan, Jennifer
Connelly, Jeffrey Tambor, Bud Cort, John Heard, Val Kilmer. 2000, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 122 min., Biodrama, Box office gross: $6.755 million, Columbia
TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Valentine
Typical teen slasher film about the revenge of a high
school nerd who was humiliated 13 years earlier at a Valentine's Day Dance. All
the pretty girls and boys get their comeuppance. Case closed.
Director: Jamie Blanks. Stars: David Boreanaz, Denise Richards, Narley Shelton,
Katherine Heigl, Jessica Capshaw, Jessica Cauffiel, Daniel Cosgrove. 2001,
CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Horror Thriller, Box office gross: $19.755 million,
Warner, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Akira
Pioneer Entertainment spent more than $1 million to
restore this landmark classic of Japanese anime, releasing it on widescreen VHS
and DVD. Neo-Tokyo has risen from the ashes of WWIII to become a dark and
dangerous megalopolis infested with gangs and terrorists and a corrupt
government. Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda plunge into Neo-Tokyo's darkest
secret when their motorcycle gang encounters a military operation to retrieve an
escaped government test subject. Tetsuo is captured and subjected to experiments
that give him extreme psychic powers, and he uses them to lash out at the world
that has oppressed him. The fate of the world hinges on stopping him. In English
subtitled and dubbed editions. The film's gritty action and style has set the
tone for the renaissance in Japanese animation.
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo. 1988, CC, MPAA rating: R, 125 min.,
Anime, Pioneer Entertainment, $19.98 VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Proximity
A former college professor, sentenced to life in
prison for vehicular manslaughter, hears rumors about a grisly murder ring
behind bars: 15 inmates have been eliminated in the past two years. His
suspicions are confirmed when on the way to his parole hearing the van carrying
him and other inmates crashes. He flees the scene and enlists his lawyer's help
in uncovering the conspiracy -- which leads them to the highest levels of the
correctional system.
Director: Scott Ziehl. Stars: Robe Lowe, James Coburn. 2001, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 86 min., Thriller, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal
More turmoil in the air. Slade Craven,
rock superstar and reigning king of Death Metal, has planned a spectacular
concert event: he'll be performing for a cargo load of fans onboard a 747 jumbo
jet as it flies from L.A. to Toronto, with the entire event to be broadcast over
the Web. But murder and mayhem take over as one sadistic fan hijacks the plane
and kills anyone who gets in the way of his ultimate sadistic plan.
Director: Jorge Montesi. Stars: Joe Mantegna, Craig Shefer, Gabrielle Anwar,
Rutger Hauer. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 96 min., Thriller, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Air Rage
Air adventure about a dishonored Marine taking over a
passenger airliner.
Director: Ed Raymond. Stars: Ice T, Cyril O'Reilly, Kim Oja, Gil Gerard.
2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Thriller, Paramount, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Skeletons in the Closet
A man is forced to confront the fact
that his 18-year-old son may be behind a string of murders in a small town. But
he has secrets of his own, which come to the fore when he finds a new love
interest and the truth behind the murders come to the fore. Direct-to-video
release.
Director: Wayne Powers. Stars: Treat Williams, Linda Hamilton, Jonathan Jackson.
2000, CC, MPAA rating: R, 86 min., Suspense, Artisan, No VHS SRP, Priced for
rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
In His Life: The John Lennon
Story
Telefilm about the life of
John Lennon.
Director: David Carson. Stars: Philip McQuillan, Daniel McGowan, Mark Rice
Oxley, Jamie Glover, Blair Bown, Christian Ealey. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: NR,
87 min., Biodrama, Studio Home Entertainment, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
- July 31
-
In the Mood for Love
Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-Wei has
established himself as one of the most stylish filmmakers to come out of Asia in
recent years and this outing should up the demand for his directorial talent.
His cinema is one of loneliness -- the modern loneliness one can feel even in a
crowded room or street. This film -- as in 1994's "Chungking Express" -- is shot
in the oppressive closeness of Hong Kong (the better to heighten the aloneness
his characters feel) and follows the emotional rollercoaster of a man and woman
-- neighbors in the same building -- who come to know each other when they
suspect that their respective spouses are having an affair.
Director: Wong Kar-Wei. Stars: Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Tony Leung Chiu-wai,
Rebecca Pan, Lai Chen, Siu Ping-lam. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 100 min.,
Drama, Box office gross: $2.632 million, USA, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: No.
-
Brothers, The
Run of the mill comedy about four young
professional men and their pretty much failed love lives. Their main problem:
they're ultimately too self-involved to understand the opposite sex, instead
preferring to hang together and shoot hoops and complain about women. They're
hard to like -- as is the film.
Director: Gary Hardwick. Stars: Morris Chestnut, Bill Bellamy, D.L. Hughley,
Shemar Moore, Gabrielle Union, Jenifer Lewis, Susan Dalian. 2001, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 98 min., Romantic Comedy, Box office gross: $22.488 million, Columbia
TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Head Over Heels
Monica Potter plays an unlucky-at-love art
restorer in New York who finally meets the man of her dreams (Freddie Prinze
Jr.). She's just moved in with four models whose apartment overlooks her new
boyfriend's and, one day, she thinks she sees him murdering a young woman. So
she starts to snoop around with her roommates in search of a body. Should she
keep dating him? Should she call the cops? Should she rent a copy of "Rear
Window"? A low-rent comedy that has its shares of laughs and twists and turns.
Director: Mark Waters. Stars: Monica Potter, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah O'Hare,
Shalom Harlow, China Chow, Ivana Milicevic, Tomiko Fraser. 2001, CC, MPAA
rating: PG-13, 86 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $10.397 million, Universal, No
VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Discworld: Soul Music
Britain's Channel 4's second animated
series based on Terry Pratchett's sci-fi fantasy novels. The Discworld series
takes place on a pizza-shaped planet supported by four elephants standing on the
back of a giant turtle. When a young troubadour leaves his home for a life as a
rock musician in the city of Ankh-Morpork, he can't predict the effects his
actions will have on life and Death. For Death has abandoned his post as the
Grim Reaper, passing the mantle to his teenage daughter. This poses a problem
when she develops a crush on the musician, who's the next soul on her list.
Wonderful spoof of rock music and pop culture. The "Discworld" franchise is an
international sensation, with sales of 21 million books, and includes U.K.
action figures and video games. "Discworld" is now flying across the ocean to
make its mark on the U.S.
Director: Jean Flynn. Voice of Christopher Lee as Death. 1996, CC,
MPAA rating: NR, 175 min., Animated, Acorn Media, $29.95 VHS SRP.
DVD: Day & Date.
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Trumpet of the Swan, The
Charming animated tale of a mute swan
who takes extraordinary steps to find his own voice, including enlisting the aid
of a young boy to learn how to read and write and then embarking on a journey to
become a world-class trumpet player. Based on the children's novel by E.B.
White.
Director: Richard Rich. Voices of Jason Alexander, Reese Witherspoon,
Seth Green, Carol Burnett, Mary Steenburgen, Joe Mantegna. 2001, CC, MPAA
rating: G, 75 min., Animated, Columbia TriStar, $19.96 VHS SRP.
DVD: Day & Date.
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Tomorrow Man, The
A blue-collar dad in the 1970s is determined
to make a better future for his son. From out of nowhere, a time traveler from
2000 kidnaps his son, and the father travels into the future to save his boy.
But the future holds some surprises: the time traveler is really his grown son,
now a notorious criminal. TV movie.
Director: Bill D'Ellia. Stars: Corbin Bernsen, Beth Kennedy, Morgan Russler,
Zach Galligan. 1996, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Science Fiction, MTI Home
Video, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
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American Tragedy
TV miniseries about the O.J. Simpson murder
trial.
Director: Lawrence Schiller. Stars: Ving Rhames, Ron Silver, Bruno Kirby,
Christopher Plummer. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 170 min., Drama, Trimark,
No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
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Two Ninas
Mild comedy about a young man who can't seem to make
it in the big Apple: he has no job, no money and no women. Just when he's about
to pack it in and head back home to Maine, he meets Nina Cohen ... and then Nina
Harris. And both Ninas fall head over heels for him. Just when he thinks his
love life couldn't be better, both Ninas show up at a party and the sparks fly.
Director: Neil Turitz. Stars: Cara Buono, Ron Livingston, Amanda Peet. 1999,
CC, MPAA rating: R, 88 min., Comedy, Avalanche Home Entertainment, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
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Big Day, The
A family starts to unravel on Sara (Julianna
Margulies) and John's (Ivan Sergei) wedding day when John's brothers reveals a
past indiscretion, which sends John into a downward spiral of paranoia and
doubt, culminating in a stolen car and a no-show to the wedding. Also known as
"We Met on the Vineyard."
Director: Ian McRudden. Stars: Julianna Margulies, Ivan Sergei, Dixie Carter,
Clayton Rohner, Kevin Tighe, Adrian Pasdar. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 88
min., Comedy, Monarch Home Video, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
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.
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CyberPod and OnVideo are trademarks of CyberPod Productions.
July 14, 2001
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