Masthead created by Good & Associates

Guide to Home Video Releases: October 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. October 2 Mummy Returns, The The cast and crew of 1999's "The Mummy" return for a smash sequel that keeps viewers on the edges of their seats. As in the original, there's plenty of action-adventure scenes, irreverent humor, PG-13 violence (lots of killings but no blood) and romance, though this time adventurer Rick O'Connell (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) are married. It's 10 years after the action in "The Mummy," and the pair lead a quiet life with 9-year-old son Alex. But hold on to your turbans. There's evil forces afoot -- some new bad guys want to resurrect mummy Imhotep (Arnold Vosloo) so he can take over the (reincarnated) invincible army of the Scorpion King (The Rock) to conquer the world. There's reincarnation flashbacks, scarabs, a jungle journey, more creepy monsters and a host of plot lines that keep this supercharged action adventure on a non-stop roller coaster ride from beginning to end. And the special effects push the genre up one more notch. Director: Stephen Sommers. Stars: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velasquez, Freddie Boath, The Rock. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 129 min., Action-Adventure, Box office gross: $202 million, Universal, $22.98 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date. Boogeymen A "butcher's dozen" (18) of "only the best" scene excerpts from horror flicks, including "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Halloween," "Candyman," "Nightmare on Elm Street," "I know What You Did Last Summer," "Wishmaster," "Hellraiser," "Puppetmaster," "Leprechaun," "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday," "Scream," "Phantasm," more. The DVD features onscreen animated trivia and production notes, audio commentaries by the original film actors, interactive trivia games, character backstories and more. 2001, CC, 81 min., Horror, Flixmix/Universal, $14.98 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date. Tremors 3: Back to Perfection Second sequel to cult favorite "Tremors" has Michael Gross returning as gun-toting survivalist Burt Gummer, coming home to Perfection, Nevada, to find the town overrun by tourists checking out the Graboid Tours complete with cheesy special effects. No one expects the giant worms to ever come back -- but, natch, they do, and this time they're mutating into something more lethal and impossible to stop than ever before. Gummer can't wait to start killing some worms, but wait -- the Graboids have been declared an endangered species. Oops! Director: Brent Maddock. Stars: Michael Gross, Charlotte Stewart, Shawn Christian, Susan Chuang, Ariana Richards, Robert Jayne, Tony Genaro. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 104 min., Science Fiction, Universal, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. White River (aka The White River Kid) Mismatched con men duo (Bob Hoskins, Antonio Banderas) drive across Arkansas selling socks for God allegedly made by blind children. Their monetary mission is interrupted, however, when they meet a blind prostitute (Ellen Barkin), a corrupt singing sheriff (Randy Travis), an eccentric family (Beau Bridges and Swoosie Kurtz) and are kidnapped and held hostage by The White River Kid (Wes Bentley) and his waitress girlfriend (Kim Dickens). Director: Arne Glimcher. Stars: Bob Hoskins, Antonio Banderas, Ellen Barkin, Wes Bentley, Beau Bridges, Randy Travis, Swoosie Kurtz, Kim Dickens. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Comedy, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Beautiful Creatures Rachel Weisz and Susan Lynch star as Petula and Dorothy, two sexy young women who have one thing in common -- rotten taste in men. When the pair cover up the accidental death of one jerk boyfriend, they hatch a hilarious scheme to collect a huge ransom. It's a perfect plan until a corrupt detective and an old beau want in on the scam. Director: Alan Wands. Stars: Rachel Weisz, Susan Lynch. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: R, 89 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $0.055 million, Universal, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Barbie in the Nutcracker Barbie gets the CGI animation treatment in this feature-length movie: she's cast in two roles in this modern adaptation of the classic Nutcracker -- as Clara and the Sugarplum Princess. For girls only. 2001, CC, Animated, Artisan, $19.98 VHS SRP. DVD: October 23. Dead Sexy Former Playboy Playmate of the Year Shannon Tweed plays detective Kate McBain, hot on the trail of a serial killer who has murdered four of Los Angeles' sexiest high-class hookers. Naturally she falls for a guy who may very well be the killer. Predictable. Director: Robert Angelo. Stars: Shannon Tweed, John Enos, Kenneth White, Eric Keith, Mary Shannon. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 89 min., Erotic thriller, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. October 9 Bridget Jone's Diary Delightful, warm, witty filmization of the best-selling book, about an overweight thirtysomething young woman searching for career and love in London. American Renee Zellweger raised eyebrows when she was cast as the lead but she pulls off the role with zeal and aplomb. Bridget Jones has simple goals in life: to lose weight, cut back on her drinking, and find true love. She's a publicist for a British publisher and has a habit of striking out with men, including a set-up date with the son (Colin Firth) of a neighbor, who snubs her. She eventually has an affair with her boss (Hugh Grant), but that too goes sour when she finds he's having another affair. When both men have a change of heart, so to speak, and come after her, she has to make a romantic decision. What's a post-feminist to do? Director: Sharon Maguire. Stars: Renee Zellweger, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent, Shirley Henderson, Sally Phillips, Embeth Davidtz, James Callis. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min., Romantic Comedy, Box office gross: $71.409 million, Miramax, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Godfather DVD Collection, The The three Godfather films finally make it to DVD in a five-disc set, with commentary by Coppola and three hours of bonus material. Director: Francis Ford Coppola. Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia. , Paramount, $105. DVD: Only. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Digitally remastered and restored, with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Two-disc set with four-hours of bonus material, including a music video of Barbra Streisand singing "Someday My Prince Will Come," recorded for the DVD; commentary by Walt Disney pieced together from hours of archival recordings; "Still the Fairest of Them All: The Making of Snow White"; "Dopey's Wild Mine Ride" game; "Goddess of Spring" animated short; "Snow White's Wishing Well" (Walt Disney biographical timeline, Snow White production timeline, Brothers Grimm original version of Snow White, storyboard-to-film comparisons); "The Queen's Castle" (Virtual gallery 3-D animated environment of the queen's castle, early camera tests, character voice talent); "The Queen's Dungeon" (abandoned concepts, restoration of Snow White featurette); "The Dwarf's Mine" (deleted scenes including the cut song "Music in Your Soup"); "The Dwarf's Cottage" (Los Angeles theatrical premiere, eight decades of trailers, two black and white shorts: "A Trip Through the Walt Disney Studios" and "How Disney Cartoons Are Made," publicity materials, vintage audio programs); more. 1937, MPAA rating: G, Disney. DVD: Only. One Night at McCool's Off-kilter dark comedy that plays out "Rashomon"-style, with three men -- McCool's bartender Randy (Matt Dillon), hot-shot attorney Carl (Paul Reiser) and police detective Dehling (John Goodman) -- telling the overlapping stories of each man's involvement in the death of another man at the bar, which kicks things off, but more crucially, their involvement with sexy young Jewel (Liv Tyler). Each story is related by the three men to their confessors -- a hit-man (Michael Douglas) in a senior citizen bingo parlor for Randy, a shrink (Reba McEntire) for Carl and a priest for Dehling. And each story, though going over the same grounds, differs from the others, giving the film a shifting shape that is delightfully wild. A gem in the rough. Director: Harald Zwart. Stars: Matt Dillon, Liv Tyler, John Goodman, Paul Reiser, Michael Douglas, Reba McEntire, Richard Jenkins. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 93 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $6.276 million, USA, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Latest in the Scooby-Doo franchise. Here Scooby and the gang face their most electrifying case ever when they're zapped into a high-tech computer game based on their own Mystery Inc. adventures. While pursuing the Phantom Computer Virus through the 10 levels of the video game, the gang travels from prehistoric past to space-age future and even manages to meet up with their own digital doubles along the way. Director: Jim Stenstrum. Voices of Joe Alaskey, Bob Bergen, Grey Delisle, Scott Innes, Tom Kane, Mikey Kelley, Gary Sturgis, B.J. Ward, Frank Welker. 2001, CC, Animated, Warner, $19.96 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date. Children of the Corn: Revelation A woman searching for her grandmother who has mysteriously disappeared from her home in the rundown Hampton Arms complex discovers that the buildings were erected on the site of the children of the corn's first uprising. Sixth in the direct-to-video series. Director: Guy Magar. Stars: Claudette Mink, Kyle Cassie, Michael Ironside. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 82 min., Horror, Dimension, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Bruiser Betrayed by everyone close to him -- an unfaithful wife, an overbearing boss, and cheated out of a fortune by his best friend -- Harry wakes up one morning to discover he has lost his identity, both inside and out. Now a featureless phantom, Harry sets out on a bloody rampage of revenge in an attempt to regain his humanity. Direct-to-video. Director: George Romero. Stars: Jason Flemyng, Peter Stormare. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Horror, Trimark, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. 2103 The Deadly Wake Sci-fi thriller set on the high seas that involves a sexually spirited entity that dominates and pleases the crew. As the crew navigates with a secret cargo, they realize they are pawns delivering biological weapons, and they must choose to fight -- or die -- together. Director: Philip Jackson. Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Michael Pare. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 100 min., Science Fiction, York/Maverick, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man Breathtaking odyssey that follows the stages of human development from birth to maturity, with each stage presented by a Cirque du Soleil act. The signature Cirque du Soleil celebration of color, light, music and costume combine with a backdrop of various natural and historical landmarks around the world to create a wonderful artistic statement. From the opening explosion of light and sound Cirque du Soleil leads us through the birth of the Universal Child as it travels from childhood through adolescence through maturity. Includes a behind-the-scenes featurette. CC, MPAA rating: G, 39 min., Columbia TriStar, $19.95 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date. Luminous Motion Indie film about Phillip, a 10-year-old boy who is most at home on the road with his mother, who in turn is most at home in the beds of strange men. Together they're a dynamic duo, and Phillip's childhood is the ultimate adolescent fantasy and Freudian dream: a separate world where there are no boundaries for the love between mother and son. But Phillip's world is shattered when their car breaks down and mom decides it's time to settle down. She chooses a carpenter as her new beau, but Phillip decides he can't accept the new, claustrophobic life style, and he decides he must save his mother from the new man. Director: Bette Gordon. Stars: Eric Lloyd, Deborah Unger, Terry Kinney, Jamey Sheridan. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 94 min., Drama, Fox Lorber, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Red Dirt Locked within the confines of a rural Mississippi town, 20-year-old Griffith is laden with the burden of caring for his invalid aunt. He dreams of leaving Pine Apple yet is held back by his cousin/lover. With the arrival of a stranger, Griffith's carefully constructed walls of shame and silence begin to come down and his life takes an unexpected turn when he is tantalized with the possibility of escape. Director: Tag Purvis. Stars: Karen Black, Walton Goggins, Aleska Palladino, Dan Montgomery. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, min., Drama, Fox Lorber, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. October 16 Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace The long-anticipated DVD release of the first installment in the Star Wars saga. Two-disc set with commentary by director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, special effects experts; deleted scenes, an hour-long documentary "The Beginning"; a storyboard-to-animatic-to finished product option available in various key action sequences; five behind-the-scenes featurettes; more. Director: George Lucas. Stars: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 133 min., Sci-Fi, Fox, $29.98. DVD: Only. Angel Eyes A romantic drama disguised as a cop suspenser, with Jennifer Lopez as a beautiful and intelligent Chicago cop who likes to hang with her male pals at restaurants and bars but has some difficulties with family matters (an abusive father and brother) and affairs of the heart (her trysts with civilian men leave her cold). Enter a strange man, Catch, played by Jim Caviezel, who comes to the policewoman's rescue when a thug almost kills her. He's a child-like wanderer of the city, but the woman is oddly drawn to him. What follows, then, is the story of their romance, told in a leisurely, emotional way. Forget violence and explosions, this is a lush tale of love. Director: Luis Mandoki. Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Jim Caviezel, Terrence Howard, Jeremy Sisto, Sonia Braga, Victor Argo, Shirley Knight. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Drama, Box office gross: $23.021 million, Warner, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Cats & Dogs Delightful family-friendly live action/animatronic/computer assisted comedy about the age-old battle between cats and dogs. Except here the dogs -- fitted with enough super high-tech gadgets to make James Bond envious -- are the centuries long protectors of human kind against a world takeover by cats. Enter Mr. Tinkles, a white Persian on his own mission, who wants to thwart human professor Brody (Jeff Goldblum) from perfecting an antidote for human allergies to dogs. To stop this evil gambit, the dogs send in a green-behind-the-ears beagle puppy to protect the family, and the action begins. This one belongs to the special effects, as the humans are here strictly for window dressing for the special effected cat and dog antics. Director: Lawrence Guterman. Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, Alexander Pollock, voices of Tobey Maguire, Alec Baldwin, Sean Hayes, Susan Sarandon, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Lovitz, Charlton Heston. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 88 min., Family, Box Office gross: $93 million, Warner, $22.98 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date. Pros & Cons Wrongfully imprisoned cellmates Ben (Larry Miller) and Ron (Tommy Davidson) must stick together to survive prison life. Through a number of comical errors and misunderstandings, they become well-respected by the toughest inmates. Ben and Ron use their new found power to develop a scheme to break out of jail and prove their innocence, but things slowly go awry. Director: Boris Damast. Stars: Larry Miller, Tommy Davidson, Delroy Lindo, David Rasche, Christina Eversole, Julie Warner. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Comedy, New Line, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: No. Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, The Documentary on Hank Greenberg, a secular Jew from the Bronx who became the baseball Moses (the game's first Jewish star) for the WII era Detroit Tigers and who came close to breaking Babe Ruth's homerun record. Plenty of interviews, with Hammerin' Hank and his teammates, as well as a host of others. Ends up with actor Mandy Patinkin's rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in Yiddish. Director: Aviva Kempner. Interviews with Walter Mattheau, Alan Dershowitz, Bob Feller, Charlie Gehringer, Ralph Kiner, Maury Povich, Dick Schaap, many others.. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 95 min., Documentary, Box office gross: $2 million, Fox, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Crimson Rivers, The Thriller about France's leading serial killer investigator (Jean Reno) and his trek to investigate a grisly murder in a remote university town hidden in the icy coldness of the French Alps. Here he finds the work of a twisted killer, who removes the hands and eyes of those he's murdered. Each body is a clue to a tradition the killer can no longer bear, each murder means something more, each victim a guilty conspirator in a grand immoral experiment. Plenty of twists and turns to keep you wondering what's really happening -- right up to the shocking conclusion. In French with English subtitles. Director: Mathieu Kassovitz. Stars: Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Fares, Dominique Sanda. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Thriller, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Replicant A heinous serial killer (Van Damme) is stalking the streets of Chicago. Detective Jake Riley (Michael Rooker) has come very close to catching him, but the killer has always eluded him. Then, just when Jake retires from the force, the U.S. National Security Agency asks him to take part in a secret new project: Using DNA technology, a genetic clone of the killer has been created, with the ability to see into the killer's mind. Jake accepts the challenge of teaming up with the potentially dangerous replicant (Van Damme in another double role). Direct-to-video. Directed by Hong Kong action pro Ringo Lam. Director: Ringo Lam. Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michael Rooker. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Science Fiction, Artisan, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Startup.com The rise and fall of an American Dream: This fascinating documentary goes behind the scenes of the Internet Gold Rush to expose the human drama, cutthroat realities and painfully intimate inner workings of one would-be cyber-empire from dot.com liftoff to dot.com flameout. Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman were childhood friends whose bright idea -- govWorks.com, a Web site meant to reduce bureaucratic hassles -- turned them into overnight Internet millionaires. Soon, investors were lining up to throw money at them, they hired hundreds of employees, rubbed shoulders with President Clinton. What could go wrong? Everything. As the Net meltdown begins, they see it all slipping away. Its a true tale of ambition, greed, loyalty, and passion. Director: Jehane Noujaim and Chris Hegedus. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Documentary, Box office gross: $1.280 million, Artisan, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Anima Sam and Iris escaped Nazi Germany but vivid memories of the horror remain with them, including mysterious secrets and knowledge regarding taxidermy and mummification. They have been living out their twilight years in a secluded New England farmhouse making sure the outside world will never know. Unfortunately, their strange and beautiful world is discovered by a young man bent on knowing, and exploiting, the dark secrets of their past -- and the delicate balance of their simple lives is forever disrupted. Director: Craig Richardson. Stars: George Bartenieff, Jacqueline Bertrand, Bray Poor, Geoffrey Cantor. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 88 min., Horror, Vanguard, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Chasing Sleep A literature professor (Jeff Daniels) in a small town awakens one morning to find his wife is missing. The professor falls into a panic; a police investigation uncovers a journal that shows the wife was leading a life of adultery and deceit. Now the professor slips over the edge into countless days and nights of paranoia and sleeplessness. And to make matters worse, he's having hallucinations -- the house comes alive with an array of horrifying sights and sounds, and the line between nightmare and reality dissolves. Direct-to-video. Director: Michael Walker. Stars: Jeff Daniels, Emily Bergil, Gil Bellows. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: R, 104 min., Thriller, Trimark, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Chunhyang A beautiful and epic tale of forbidden passion and devotion unfolds in the spectacular settings of 18th century Korea. Mongryong, the privileged son of a governor, falls in love and secretly marries Chunhyang, the beautiful daughter of a proud former courtesan. It's a classic tale of lovers torn apart by two different worlds, but brought back together through the power and ultimate triumph of love over adversity. Korean with English subtitles. Director: Im Kwon Taek. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 120 min., Romantic Drama, New Yorker, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Same Old Song Charming romantic musical comedy revolving around two Parisian sisters caught in a web of dysfunctional relationships and romantic confusion, directed by one of the fathers of the French New Wave, Alain Resnais ("Hiroshima, Mon Amour"). As a group of Parisians bump into each other throughout the film in their search for happiness, they occasionally jump into song, lip-syncing popular French tunes by the likes of Edith Piaf and Maurice Chevalier. Director: Alain Resnais. Stars: Pierre Arditi, Sabine Azema, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Andre Dussollier, Agnes Jaoui, Lambert Wilson, Jane Birkin, Jean-Paul Roussillon. 1997, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 120 min., Comedy with Music, New Yorker, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: No. Rat An offbeat tale of family values about the transformation of Hubert Flynn (Pete Postlethwaite) into a large, white rat and his family's reactions to coping with the stress of an ill-mannered, accident prone rodent in the family. His wife is tempted to profit (with a book/movie deal) from his misfortune, his daughter wants to take care of him, his son wants to put him in the oven. Hubert has many adventures -- in the washing machine, a refrigerator and the town dump -- before love triumphs and the rats come home to roost. Director: Steve Barron. Stars: Pete Postlethwaite, Imelda Staunron, Ed Byrne, Andrew Lovern, Kerry Condon. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 91 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.002 million, Universal, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Let It Snow Romantic comedy about two high schoolers who meet one snowy day -- and are linked for life. Unfortunately, they go their separate ways until four years later when, in New York City, they meet again. She's a career driven sleeps-with-her-beeper woman and he regularly attends open mike therapy at a stand-up comedy club. While she plans her wedding to someone else, he prays for snow and a second chance at first love. Director: Adam Marcus. Stars: Kip Marcus, Alice Dylan, Judith Malina, Henry Simmons, Bernadette Peters. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 91 min., Romantic Comedy, Monarch, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. October 23 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Produced and directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, who created the video game series that the movie is based upon, this hyperReal CGI animated feast for the eyes is still a comic book struggling to become a big screen event. The story line revolves around an adventure team of space travelers who have to reclaim the Earth from human spirit cannibalizing aliens. May hold up better on the small screen. Director: Hironobu Sakaguchi. Stars: Voices of Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, Peri Gilpin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 106 min., Animated, Box office gross: $32.000 million, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Dumbo Special 60th Anniversay Edition Behind-the-scenes features, production materials, more. 1941, MPAA rating: G, Disney, $22.99 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date. Dr. Dolittle 2 The good doctor who talks to animals is back, and this time out he's making house calls -- or should we say forest calls. Doctor Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) is called upon by the furry denizens of the wilderness to help save a forest about to be strip-cut by a nasty developer. It turns out that a judge will prevent the destruction, if it can be proved that there's an endangered species living there. So it's up to Dolittle to persuade a city- dwelling circus bear to head out to the wilds to woo the last remaining female of his species and prevent the destruction. That's pretty much the story line, though there are side trips with Dolittle's daughter (Raven-Symone) who's embarrassed by dad's animalistic conversations. There's plenty of cute animal jokes (including a standing gag about a chameleon who has trouble blending in) and lots of animal potty humor, but in the long run its just for the kids. Director: Steve Carr. Stars: Eddie Murphy, Kristen Wilson, Raven-Symone, Kyla Pratt, Lil' Zane, Kevin Pollak, Jeffrey Jones. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 88 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $114 million, Fox, $22.98 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date. Town & Country You wonder what was on everyone's minds when this dud was greenlighted. Apparently it took three years for this baby to come to the big screen, and it'll take at least that long for everyone involved here to live it down. This film of marital infidelities, neurotic behavior, midlife crises and men acting like boys is so clumsy that it's embarrassing to contemplate. Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton, and Goldie Hawn and Garry Shandling are married couples. Shandling cheats on Hawn, she files for divorce. Keaton sends Beatty to comfort Hawn; they sleep together (it's not his first extramarital affair). Soon they're all divorced, and Beatty and Shandling head to Sun Valley with Elfman. There's attempt at slapstick and farce but few real laughs. Director: Peter Chelsom. Stars: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Garry Shandling, Andie MacDowell, Charlton Heston, Marian Seldes, Josh Hartnett, Jenna Elfman, Natassja Kinski, Katherine Towne. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 104 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $6.712 million, New Line, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Freddy Got Fingered Repulsive Tom Green outing about an aspiring animator who leaves his folks' basement, heads for Hollywood, fails at a job at a cheese sandwich factory, and returns home to his basement. In between there's all sorts of the sick humor -- with cows, horses, and a paraplegic girlfriend -- that Green has become known for. Director: Tom Green. Stars: Tom Green, Rip Torn, Harland Williams, Julie Hagerty, Marisa Coughlan, Anthony Michael Hall. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 87 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $14.249 million, Fox, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Boss of Bosses TNT biodrama about real-life Mafia godfather Big Paulie Castellano (Chazz Palminteri). Stars: Chazz Palminteri, Daniel Benzali, Clancy Brown. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 93 min., Biodrama, Warner, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. With a Friend Like Harry Surprisingly complex suspenser has a nice middle-class family on their way to their vacation at their summer house when they encounter Harry and his girlfriend. Seems Harry is an old school chum of Michel, though Michel doesn't seem to remember him. Nevertheless, Harry and Plum join the family as houseguests, and things start to turn dark: there's an ominous undercurrent of sex and unreality bubbling below a seemingly benign surface. Harry is magnanimous with his time and money: he even buys the family a new car. But what does he really want? Director: Dominik Moll. Stars: Laurent Lucas, Mathilde Seigner, Sergi Lopez, Sophie Guillemin. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: R, 117 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $3.818 million, Miramax, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Eight Legs to Love You A mixture of camp, shock and sex appeal by exploitation filmmaker Jess Franco. The focus is on Sheriff Marga (Michelle Bauer), a tough yet beautiful law enforcement officer whose beat is the notorious waterfront district. A new crime wave is sweeping the area, and the Sheriff has a couple of suspects in her gaze: the mysterious Queen, a shadowy ruler of the dancehall circuit, or Killer Tarantula, a criminal mastermind who weaves a spidery web of cunning and bloodshed. Will the Sheriff be able to solve the crimes before all the eyewitnesses and suspects vanish? Director: Jess Franco. Stars: Michelle Bauer, Linnea Quigley, Amber Newman. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 85 min., Exploitation, Sub Rosa, Priced for rental. DVD: No. About Adam Dublin cafe torch singer Lucy (Kate Hudson) meets the man of her dreams, Adam (Stuart Townsend), a charismatic good-looking young man who appears to be a perfect match for the spontaneous Irish lass. But after she brings him home to meet her family all bets are off -- Adam begins having secret romances with Lucy's two lovelorn sisters. What's a guy to do? Director: Gerard Stembridge. Stars: Kate Hudson, Stuart Townsend, Frances O'Connor, Charlotte Bradley, Rosaleen Linehan, Alan Maher. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.151 million, Miramax, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Christina's House Typical "this house is really bad" horror flick about normal family whose normal life is disrupted when dead bodies start popping up in their house. Normal Christina (Allison Lange) must figure out who -- or what -- is lurking within the walls, turning every room into a death chamber -- and calling her for its nest victim. Director: Wilding Gavin. Stars: Brendan Fehr, Brad Rowe, John Savage, Allison Lange, Lorne Stewart. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Horror, MGM, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Ricochet River Based on the award-winning novel of the same name, "Ricochet River" is a coming of age story about three teenagers in search of their place in the world. Change comes slowly to the small logging community of Calamus Grove; folks seem to like things just the way they are. So when two high school seniors befriend a mysterious newcomer, it causes quite a stir and, fearful of the outside, the townspeople lash out with prejudice and hate. But the kids stay together, finding that age doesn't always bring wisdom. Director: Deborah Del Prete. Stars: Kate Hudson, Douglas Spain, Linda Hawkins, Matthew Glave, John Cullum, Dan Lauria. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 111 min., Drama, Studio Home Entertainment, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. October 30 Swordfish Complicated but explosive techno thriller about a reclusive rich villain (John Travolta in an especially nasty role reminiscent of "Face/Off") who enlists a superhacker (Hugh Jackman) to crack a secret code to get access to a billion-dollar bank account that once belonged to a now defunct secret government project. Throw in plenty of hostages, an SUV chase, a cybercrime federal agent (Don Cheadle), a covert right-wing patriot Senator (Sam Shepard), a sexy assistant (Halle Berry), tons of plot twists and twisting characters, plenty of explosions, and a finale with a bus hoisted through the streets of downtown L.A. by a helicopter, and you have non-stop, breathtaking action and excitement. Director: Dominic Sena. Stars: John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Vinnie Jones, Sam Shepard, Camryn Grimes. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $68.760 million, Warner, $22.98 VHS SRP. DVD: Day & Date. Animal, The Gross-out comedy has Rob Schneider starring as an inept property room cop in a small town police department who ends up killing himself (by driving off a cliff) when he get's his first opportunity to prove his mettle. Bought back to life by a mysterious vet (and stitched up with parts from various denizens of the animal kingdom), Schneider becomes a super-human cop, with extraordinary animal powers (running, swimming, jumping and even, yes, sexual) that constantly allow him to save the day and in the end, win the woman of his dreams. At times crude and, with a slightly ghoulish ending, this animal is definitely aimed at those adolescents more fond of bodily functions than intelligence. Director: Luke Greenfield. Stars: Rob Schneider, Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley, Edward Asner, Michael Caton, Louis Lombardi, Guy Torry. 2001, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 83 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $55.000 million, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Route 666 When a pair of special agents (Lou Diamond Phillips and Lori Petty) cut through a condemned, desolate highway known as Route 666 while tracking a suspect, they discover a danger far worse than deadly twists and turns. Years ago, it seems, a notorious chain gang was killed in a horrific roadside murder, and the highway still echoes with its brutal legacy. Now the pair must face a terrifying reality -- there's no escape and no way to deny the secret behind the force haunting this bleak wasteland. Director: William Wesley. Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips, Lori Petty, Steven Williams. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: R, 90 min., Horror, Studio Home Entertainment, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date. Three Brothers A classic of the Italian cinema, about three very different brothers who return to their home town to attend their mother's funeral, and confront their past and current lives. With English subtitles. Director: Francesco Rosi. Stars: Phillippe Noiret, Michele Placido, Vittorio Mezzogiorno. 1981, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 113 min., Drama, Facets Video, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. For more info: www.facets.org. DVD: No. Road Rage (aka A Friday Night Date) Predictable actioner about a young couple (Casper Van Dien and Danielle Brett) who are thrust into a cat and mouse race for survival in the middle of nowhere when they accidentally cut off a giant pickup truck. Director: Sidney J. Furie. Stars: Casper Van Dien, Danielle Brett, Joseph Griffin. 2000, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 93 min., Thriller, Paramount, 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. July 2001 Releases August 2001 Releases September 2001 Releases November 2001 Releases December 2001 Releases January 2002 Releases February 2002 Releases | Contents/Site Map | Home | Resources | VidNews | KidVid | Sell-Through | Reviews | Links | E-mail: mail@cyberpod.com ©1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 CyberPod. All rights reserved CyberPod and OnVideo are trademarks of CyberPod Productions. October 5, 2001