OnVideo Guide to Home Video Releases: July 2001 Calendar of Releases

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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.


calendar page 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. 2 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 2 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 2 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 2 stars

  • 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. 2 stars

  • 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. 2 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 2 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 2 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 3 stars

  • 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. 2 stars

  • 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. 2 stars

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.


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    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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