OnVideo JUNE Video Reviews

OnVideo JUNE Video Reviews

ALL I WANNA DO
Five intelligent students of an all-girls school resort to rebellion -- seduction, intoxication and high-spirited vengeance -- in a plot to sabotage the merger of all-male St. Amrose with Miss Godard's Prep School for Girls. Despite a talented cast -- Kirsten Dunst, Gaby Hoffman, Rachael Leigh Cook, Lynn Redgrave - - the comedy goes nowhere.
Director: Sarah Kernochan. Stars: Gaby Hoffmann, Kirsten Dunst, Lynn Redgrave, Rachael Leigh Cook. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 96 min.), Comedy, 1998, Box office gross: $0.780 million, (Miramax), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/13, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

ANNA AND THE KING
Sweeping interpretation of the classic story about an opinionated English schoolteacher (Jodie Foster) who travels to Siam to educate the children of the tradition bound king (Chow Yun-Fat). Banned by the current Thai government.
Director: Andy Tennant. Stars: Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 140 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $35.956 million, (Fox), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/20, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

BICENTENNIAL MAN
Sci-fi tale based on a short story by Isaac Asimov and the novel "The Positronic Man" by Asimov and Robert Silverberg follows two centuries in the life of a family and their robot, Andrew, who, as the years go by, becomes more and more human. All too predictable and tame for all but the kiddies. Stars Robin Williams (as the emotionally-yearning robot), Sam Neil, Wendy Crewson, Oliver Platt and Embeth Davidtz. Directed by Chris ("Home Alone") Columbus.
Director: Chris Columbus. Stars: Robin Williams, Sam Neill, Wendy Crewson, Oliver Platt, Embeth Davidtz. CC, (MPAA rating: PG, 140 min.), Science Fiction, 1999, Box office gross: $57.527 million, (Buena Vista), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/13, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

DEUCE BIGALOW: MALE GIGOLO
Gross-out comedy about fish tank cleaner (Rob Schneider) who puts himself on the escort service market to pay back damages he made to a high-priced gigolo's house. Naturally, the women he meets aren't top-drawer, setting the scene for plenty of physical humor. Crude and rude but teen audiences loved it.
Director: Mike Mitchell. Stars: Rob Schneider, William Forsythe, Eddie Griffin, Arija Bareikis. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 83 min.), Comedy, 1999, Box office gross: $65.061 million, (Buena Vista), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/20, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

EMPEROR AND THE ASSASSIN, THE
Historical Chinese epic set in the 20th century B.C. about a power-hungry heir to the throne of the kingdom of Qin and his goal to conquer the other kingdoms in China. In Mandarin with English subtitles.
Director: Chen Kaige. Stars: Ging Li, Zhang Fengyi, Li Xuejian. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 161 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $1.169 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/13, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

GIRL, INTERRUPTED
Film version of Susanna Kaysen's memoir of her two-year stay in a mental institution. In 1967, at the peak of the counter-cultural revolution (against middle-class mores and the Vietnam War) 17-year-old Kaysen (played by Winona Ryder) is incarcerated for "anti-social" behavior. In the institution she meets and befriends a variety of "sick" girls: a seductive sociopath (Angelina Jolie), a pathological liar (Clea Duvall), a "daddy's girl" (Brittany Murphy) and others. Through their interactions the film posits (predictably) an indictment of both mental health care and middle-class conformity. The meat of the film rests less on the story line than the acting laurels of Ryder and Jolie.
Director: James Mangold. Stars: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea Duvall, Brittany Murphy, Jared Leto, Vanessa Redgrave, Jeffrey Tambor, Whoopie Goldberg. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 125 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $21.160 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/06, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

GREEN MILE, THE

Set during the Depression, this prison drama focuses in on the inmates and guards at a Southern penitentiary, in particular head guard Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) and death row inmate John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), a giant hunk of a man with a gentle, spiritual healing nature. Coffey was convicted of murdering twin 9-year-old girls but Edgecomb suspects that the man's incarceration is a miscarriage of justice. The plot is melodramatically predictable as are the supporting players: sadistic guards, a psycho trustee, a well-meaning warden and dutiful wives. Co-stars David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter, Gary Sinise.
Director: Frank Darabont. Stars: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwell, Michael Jeeter, G Sinise. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 180 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $135.780 million, (Warner), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/13, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

HANGING UP
Three very different sisters -- one a stylish magazine publisher (Diane Keaton), one a party-planner (Meg Ryan), the third an insecure soap actress (Lisa Kudrow) -- battle each other, their own demons and a combative, hospital-ridden dad (Walter Matthau) in this lackluster, uninvolving comedy. The main connection between the trio -- and hence the film's title -- are telephone conversations, with Ryan's Eve the human switchboard. Stars Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, Liza Kudrow and Walter Matthau. Directed by Keaton.
Director: Diane Keaton. Stars: Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, Lisa Kudrow, Walter Matthau, Adam Arkin, Cloris Leachman, Jesse James. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 92 min.), Comedy, 1999, Box office gross: $35.900 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/27, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

LIBERTY HEIGHTS
Director Barry Levinson goes back to his roots in Baltimore (home of his "Diner" and "Avalon") for this study of three Jewish men in the mid-1950s -- a time of desegregation, comic books, jazz, and a new emphasis on mobility (read the automobile) -- and their encounters in a non-Jewish world. Two stories focus on brothers: young student Ben, who spends time with the black student daughter of a doctor, and older brother Van, who falls for a pretty "gentile" woman and enters into the "fast" life. The third story follows their father, whose burlesque house is a front for the numbers racket. Levinson tracks the changing values and mores of the 1950s as mainstream American culture was opened up to a variety of new influences.
Director: Barry Levinson. Stars: Adrien Brody, Ben Foster, Bebe Neuwirth, Joe Mantegna, Orlando Jones, Rebekah Johnson. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 127 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $3.732 million, (Warner), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/20, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

LIGHT IT UP
When a teacher at a rundown inner city high school (in, where else, New York) is suspended for taking his students to a make-shift off-campus classroom, his students revolt and barricade themselves inside the building with a wounded campus security guard as hostage. Stars Usher Raymond, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawso, Robert Ri'chard, Fredro Starr and Melissa Gilbert.
Director: Craig Bolotin. Stars: Usher Raymond, Forest Whitaker, Judd Nelson, Sara Gilbert, Rosario Dawson, Fredo Starr. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 99 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $5.871 million, (Fox), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/13, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

NEXT FRIDAY
Sequel to the surprise hit "Friday," this version finds laid-back Craig (Ice Cube) heading out to his uncle's house in the suburbs to hide from the local bad boy -- who has escaped from prison and is looking for the guy who put him there. But the suburbs aren't as safe as one would think: Craig gets into trouble with the Joker gang when he hits on their sister and Craig's cousin is being terrorized by his pregnant ex-girlfriend. Plenty of kookiness and fun, driven forward by talented Ice Cube's acting and screenplay.
Director: Steve Carr. Stars: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Justin Pierce, John Witherspoon, Tamala Jones. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 92 min.), Comedy, 2000, Box office gross: $56.000 million, (New Line), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/06, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

PLAY IT TO THE BONE
Two out-of-work boxers (rivals and best buddies) Vince (Woody Harrelson) and Cesar (Antonio Banderas) get the chance of a lifetime -- a match against each other in Las Vegas. But there's one hitch: they have one day to get there. So the pair hit the road with Cesar's girlfriend (who also is Vince's ex) (Lolita Davidovich) and her car, a lime-green 1972 Olds 444 convertible, provoking a day-long Vegas-bound ride that, naturally, dredges up past histories and quarrels as the film unspools through the desert en route to a bloody denouement of a boxing bout. A disappointing outing for all concerned. Directed by Ron ("Bull Durham," "White Men Can't Jump") Shelton.
Director: Ron Shelton. Stars: Woody Harrelson, Antonio Banderas, Lolita Davidovich, Tom Sizemore, Robert Wagner, Lucy Liu. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 124 min.), Action Comedy, 1999, Box office gross: $8.427 million, (Buena Vista), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/13, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

SWEET AND LOWDOWN
Harking back to his 1983 "Zelig," Woody Allen here introduces the story -- set in the 1930s and told in vignettes mixing reality and fiction -- of a somewhat emotionally hobbled jazz guitar player (Sean Penn) who lives in the shadow of the great Django Reinhardt. Penn is at his peak here, particularly in his interactions with Samantha Morton, who plays a mute woman the jazzman takes up with.
Director: Woody Allen. Stars: Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman, James Urbaniak, Anthony LaPaglia, Gretchen Mol. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 95 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $2.014 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/20, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, THE
Remake of sorts of the 1960 French thriller "Purple Noon" (starring the handsome Alain Delon) based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, about Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), a young American sent by a wealthy man to Europe to keep tabs on his wastrel son (Jude Law). Eventually Ripley goes one step further: he kills the son and takes over his identity. Sleek, involving film that showcases the young actors (including co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett). Directed by Anthony ("The English Patient") Minghella. Rent both versions and have a Ripley of an evening. (And don't forget that Wim Wenders' superb "The American Friend" was also based on a Patricia Highsnith novel, and revolved around Tom Ripley).
Director: Anthony Minghella. Stars: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, James Rebhorn. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 139 min.), Thriller, 1999, Box office gross: $81.178 million, (Paramount), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/27, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

THIRD MIRACLE, THE
Ed Harris plays a church appointed spiritual detective sent to investigate a statue crying tears of blood. While investigating the death of the woman said to be responsible for the miracle, his task gets complicated when he begins to develop feelings for a non-believer (Anne Heche).
Director: Agnieszka Holland. Stars: Ed Harris, Anne Heche, Armin Mueller-Stahl. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 118 min.), Drama, 2000, Box office gross: $0.655 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/13, DVD: Day & Date. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

TOPSY-TURVY
Brilliant evocation of late-19th century English musical theater world follows a pivotal time in the careers of Gilbert and Sullivan -- their collaboration was threatened by financial and personal failings -- just prior to the rousing success "The Mikado." Stars Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner. Directed by Mike Leigh.
Director: Mike Leigh. Stars: Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Ron Cook, Martin Savage, Timothy Spall, Alsion Steadman. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 159 min.), Drama, 1999, Box office gross: $5.916 million, (USA), No SRP, Priced for rental, Available: 6/13, DVD: No. Buy or preorder this title at up to 40% discount

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

| Contents/Site Map | Home | Resources | VidNews | KidVid | Calendar | Sell-Through | DVD | Reviews |

E-mail: mail@onvideo.org
© 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 OnVideo. All rights reserved

May 15, 2000