BIG HIT, THE
Mark Wahlberg stars in this tale of the professional and romantic misadventures
of a beleaguered hitman whose assignment to make a quick and easy weekend
kidnapping goes comically awry. Add to this a mistress who absconds with his
money, the arrival of his fiancee's parents, and an overzealous video store
clerk who keeps bugging him for an overdue video, and you have all the makings
of an off-kilter comedy thriller. Co-stars Lou Diamond Phillips, Avery Brooks
and Christine Applegate.
Director: Che-Kirk
Wong. Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina
Applegate, Lela Rochon, Elliott Gould, Lanie Kazan. CC, (MPAA
rating: R, 91 min.), Comedy-Thriller, 1998, Box office gross:
$26.910 million, (Columbia TriStar), No SRP,
Priced for rental Available:
10/20
DEEP IMPACT
The world is on the brink of destruction as a comet heads for the
Earth in this summer box office smash. Great special effects
highlight an intelligent story line that focuses in on an ambitious journalist
who unwititngly becomes the first to uncover the truth about the impending doom.
With the fate of the Earth in the balance, plans are made to both establish
shelters in which a few may survive and to destroy the comet. Stars Tea Leoni,
Robert Duvall, Morgan Freeman, Elijah Wood and Vanessa Redgrave. In pan-and-scan
and widescreen versions. Director:
Mimi Leder. Stars: Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni, Morgan Freeman,
Maximilian Schell, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave. CC, (MPAA
rating: PG-13, 123 min.), Action, 1998, Box office gross:
$140.000 million, (Paramount), No SRP, Priced for
rental Available: 10/20
HOPE FLOATS
A young married woman leaves her philandering husband and returns home to mom in
the small town of Smithville, Texas, where she starts life anew. This is a
gentle drama about mother-daughter relationships and about remaking one's life
and love. The cast shines here: Sandra Bullock stretches herself admirably, Gena
Rowlands turns in one of her always fine performances, and Harry Connick Jr. is
quite fine as Bullock's love interest.
Director: Forest
Whitaker. Stars: Sandra Bullock, Gena Rowlands, Harry Connick Jr.,
Michael Pare. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 110 min.), Drama, 1998, Box
office gross: $57.106 million, (Fox), $19.98 SRP
Available: 10/20
I GOT THE HOOK-UP
Comedy about a pair of street businessmen who run a "shopping center"
out of their van and scam their way into a truckload of cellular
phones, eventually running afoul of angry customers, crooks, and the
FBI. Stars hip-hop singer Master P, A.J. Johnson, Tommy "Tiny" Lister
Sr., with cameos by Ice Cube and Snoop Doggy Dog and a soundtrack by
the latter.
Stars: Master
P, A.J. Johnson. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 93 min.), Comedy, 1998, Box
office gross: $10.142 million, (Miramax), No SRP,
Priced for rental, Available: 10/13
LAST DAYS OF DISCO,
THE
A sequel of sorts to the director's talky "Metropolitan," this
tale of a group of the "me decade's" bourgeois young lovers and
their last gasp of freedom, set against the dying days of early
1980s disco, requires a lot of patience to get to the nourishing
meat. A 22-song soundtrack pulsates while the actors thrash
about trying to make sense of sex and love. Ensemble cast is
highlighted by Mackenzie Astin, Chloe Sevigny, Robert Sean
Leonard and Kate Beckinsale.
Director: Whit
Stillman. Stars: Mackenzie Astin, Chloe Sevigny, Robert Sean
Leonard, Kate Beckinsale, Chris Eigeman, Burr Steers. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 114
min.), Drama, 1998, Box office gross: $3.020 million, (PolyGram),
No SRP, Priced for rental, Available:
10/13
LOST IN SPACE
Remake of the 1960s TV series about the Robinson family and
their space-colonizing expedition that goes awry when the
diabolical Dr. Smith sabotages the mission. The family is sent
on an endless round of planet-hopping, searching for fuel and a
way home. Here the story is spruced up with special effects and
a more sophisticated sensibility for the '90s, but still has the
family hurtling through unknown galaxies and fighting space
aliens. Corny dialog and chug-a-lug non-stop action offers a
fun evening's viewing. In pan-and-scan and widescreen versions. Stars William
Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Matt LeBlanc, Heather Graham, Lacy Chabert and Gary Oldman.
Director: Stephen
Hopkins. Stars: Gary Oldman. William Hurt, Matt LeBlanc, Mimi Rogers,
heather Graham, Jared Harris. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 130 min.),
Science Fiction, 1998, Box office gross: $67.006 million, (New
Line), $22.98 SRP, Available: 10/6
MAJOR
LEAGUE: BACK TO THE MINORS
Second sequel to "Major League," which was a moderately successful
baseball comedy, here strikes out. Corbin Bernsen, the only returning
star from the original, is the owner of farm team South Carolina Buzz,
and he hires Scott Bakula to manage the players. Naturally the minor
leaguers are a group of misfits that the new manager must whip into
shape. Predictable minor league-major league team playoff at the end.
Director: John
Warren. Stars: Scott Bakula, Corbin Bernsen, Dennis Haysbert. CC,
(MPAA rating: PG-13, 100 min.), Comedy, 1998, Box office
gross: $3.551 million, (Warner), No SRP, Priced
for rental, Available: 10/13
ODD COUPLE II,
THE
Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon reunite for this sequel of sorts
to the classic Neil Simon 1968 comedy "The Odd Couple." Here the ex-
mismatched roommates -- uncompromising slob Oscar and fussy neatnik
Felix -- re-unite after three decades to go on a wacky road trip to
attend the wedding of Oscar's son to Felix's daughter. Along the way
they encounter a variety of missteps and mishaps, including meeting up
with a pair of biker chicks on the lam from their husbands. Silly
comedy that's more "Grumpy Old Men" than Neil Simon.
Director: Howard
Deutch. Stars: Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Christine Baranski,
Jonathan Silverman, Jean Smart. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 97
min.), Comedy, 1998, Box office gross: $18.000 million,
(Paramount), No SRP, Priced for rental,
Available: 10/13
OPPOSITE OF SEX,
THE
Offbeat comedy about a 16-year-old girl (Christina Ricci) who
leaves her Louisiana small town to live with her half-brother in
Indiana, where she disrupts the lives of everyone she encounters
-- from her brother's gay lover (whom she seduces) and a
spinster best friend (Lisa Kudrow) to a local sheriff and a
bible-thumping ex-boyfriend. She's more a catalyst than
protagonist, fomenting scandals, robberies and murder -- the
film is told in voice over from her point-of-view -- and when
she gets pregnant and splits for Los Angeles, everyone follows
her to set things right. Though the film revolves around sex,
there's little of it on-screen, leaving this pleasing film to
work its magic on an intellectual level. Well crafted and acted,
with a voluptuous turn by "Addams Family's" now grown up Ricci.
Co-stars Martin Donovan, Lyle Lovett, Johnny Galecki. Directed
by Don Roos.
Director: Don Roos.
Stars: Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Lisa Kudrow, Lyle Lovett,
Johnny Galecki. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 100 min.), Comedy-Drama,
1998, Box office gross: $5.070 million, (Columbia TriStar),
No SRP, Priced for rental, Available:
10/20
PERFECT MURDER,
A
This remake of Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Dial M for Murder" (1954)
has Michael Douglas playing a wealthy industrialist who blackmails his
young wife's lover into murdering her, bringing devastating
consequences when the attempt goes awry. Transferred from 1950s London
to 1990s New York, with Gwyneth Paltrow standing in for Grace Kelly,
the stylish thriller, directed by Andrew ("The Fugitive") Davis,
almost stands on its own. Co-stars Viggo Mortensen as the lover.
Director: Andrew
Davis. Stars: Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen,
David Suchet. CC, (MPAA rating: R, 107 min.), Thriller, 1998,
Box office gross: $67.360 million, (Warner), No SRP,
Priced for rental, Available:
10/6
SPECIES II
This sequel to the 1995 box office hit -- about DNA from outer space
cloned to make a star child who grows up to be a sexy killer --
continues in the tradition of splashing blood and guts that has made
the alien-being-on-the-rampage genre so popular. Never mind that the
story is patched together with bits and pieces of every sci-fi
thriller since "Alien," fans will love the dismembering and unsavory
action.
Director: Peter
Medak. Stars: Michael Madsen, Natasha Henstridge, Marg
Helgenberger, Mykelti Williamson, George Dzundza. CC, (MPAA
rating: R, 93 min.), Sci-Fi, 1998, Box office gross: $19.217
million, (MGM), No SRP, Priced for rental,
Available: 10/20
TARZAN AND THE
LOST CITY
Latest foray at capturing the Edgar Rice Burroughs' jungle king
on film makes one long for Johnny Weissmuller or even Miles O'Keeffe.
Here the ape-man is on the verge of marrying Jane in England when he
gets wind (so to speak) of danger back home, and lights out for
Africa. There (joined by Jane) he has to fight off an evil villain
bent on looting the legendary lost city of Opar. Where's George of the
Jungle when we need him? Stars Casper Van Dien, Jane March, Steve
Waddington.
Director: Carl
Schenkel. Stars: Casper Van Dien, Jane March, Steve Waddington.
CC, (MPAA rating: PG, 83 min.), Adventure, 1998, Box office
gross: $2.147 million, (Warner), No SRP, Priced
for rental, Available: 10/13
X-FILES, THE
The cult-TV show is transposed to the big screen with giant sound and special
effects. Agents Scully and Mulder come across a conspiracy by the Syndicate -- a
shadow government which manipulates history and has struck a deal with
colonizing ETs. In pan-and-scan and widescreen, with extra footage and
interviews with Chris Carter and Gillian Anderson.
Director: Rob
Bowman. Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Martin Landau, Armin
Mueller-Stahl, Blythe Danner. CC, (MPAA rating: PG-13, 121 min.), Science
Fiction, 1998, Box office gross: $2.147 million, (Fox), Pan-and-scan
$22.98, widescreen $24.98 Available:
10/13
|