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OnVideo OCTOBER Video Reviews

Big Hit photo 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

3 stars go
back





Deep Impact photo 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

4 stars go
back





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

3
stars go
back





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

2
stars go
back





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

3 stars go
back





LOST IN SPACE
Lost in Space photo
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

3
stars go
back





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

2 stars go
back





ODD COUPLE II, THE
Odd Couple 2 photo 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

3 stars go
back





OPPOSITE OF SEX, THE
Opposite of Sex photo 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

4 stars go
back





Perfect Murder
photo 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

3 stars go
back





Species 2
photo 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

2 stars go
back





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

2 stars go
back





X-Files photo 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

3 stars go
back






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September 15, 1998