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1999 Catalog of 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.
- '60s, The NBC miniseries that purported to accurately reflect the turbulence of the 1960s but instead boiled down the decade's events into a series of facile visual and sound bites. Stars: Jerry O'Connell, Josh Hamilton, Jordana Brewster, Bill Smitrovich. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, Drama, Trimark, $19.99 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- 10 Things I Hate About You Teen high-school comedy about a high school newcomer who can't date the girl of his dreams until her older, ill-tempered sister, a social outcast, has her first date -- which may never come. He hatches a complicated plot that ends up in mating confusion. Director: Gil Junger. Stars: Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, David Krumholtz, Larry Miller. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 97 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $37.741 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- 20 Dates Debut film of Myles Berkowitz, an indie filmmaker who decided to make his first movie a document of his search for love by filming his outings on 20 dates. Gently hilarious, this is the perfect voyuer film for the video generation. Director: Myles Berkowitz. Stars: Myles Berkowitz. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 92 min., Docu-Comedy, Box office gross: $0.536 million, Fox.
- 200 Cigarettes Ensemble comedy set on New Year's Eve 1981, about the planning and events leading up to a big party in Manhattan, with requisite jousting for bed partners, party crashers from Long island, yuppies, artists and more. Despite a talented cast, the dialogue and situations smother the actors, leaving viewers to care less about their various treks -- and problems -- leading up to the party. Director: Risa Bramon Garcia. Stars: Martha Plimpton, Christina Ricci, Courtney Love, Gaby Hoffman, Kate Hudson, Dave Chappelle, Janeane Garofalo, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Jay Mohr. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 101 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $6.851 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- 54 Life and love set against the backdrop of famed New York 1980s nightclub Studio 54. Throbbing disco soundtrack. Director: Mark Christopher. Stars: Mike Myers, Salma Hayek, Ryan Phillippe, Neve Campbell, Sela Ward. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 93 min., Drama, Box office gross: $16.574 million, Miramax.
- Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, The Disney's 11th animated feature, here restored to its original length with two tales: Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" and Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." 1949, MPAA rating: G, 68 min., Animated, Disney, $22.99 SRP.
- Affliction Hard hitting drama about the dysfunctional relationship between an alcoholic, hot-tempered father and his son, a police officer in a small town in New Hampshire. The set piece is an investigation of a hunting death, but it's merely the background for the disintegration of the cop's life, filled with tragedy and violence. Director: Paul Schrader. Stars: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Willem Dafoe, Mary Beth Hurt, Jim True. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 114 min., Drama, Box office gross: $5.612 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Alarmist, The Home security systems salesman finds success (both in selling systems and in seducing one of his clients) but gets in over his head when he discovers that his boss is robbing the homes he's supposed to be protecting. Director: Evan Dunsky. Stars: David Arquette, Stanley Tucci, Kate Capshaw, Mary McCormick. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 93 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $0.085 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Alice in Wonderland Great cast, stunning visual effects, rather slow-paced TV retelling of Lewis Carroll's children's classic. Director: Nick Willinag. Stars: Robbie Coltrane, Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lloyd, Miranda Richardson, Martin Short. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 129 min., Fantasy, Family Home Ent./Hallmark, $19.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein First direct-to-video feature for Alvin and the Chipmunks. While working at a world-famous movie studio tour, the gang wreak havoc in their usual fashion -- but also get involved with the Frankenstein monster when the park's castle attraction is taken over by the original Dr. Frankenstein. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: G, 78 min., Children, Universal, $19.98 SRP.
- American History X Two brothers become involved in the neo-Nazi movement in this disturbing look at hate, racisim, anti-Semitism. Stirring performances by Norton and Furlong, with fine supporting cast, but the film's topic makes for heady going. Director: Tony Kaye. Stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angeleo, Fairuza Balk, Avery Brooks, Stacy Keach. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 119 min., Drama, Box office gross: $6.314 million, New Line. DVD: Day & Date.
- American Pie Ribald teen comedy about a quartet of high school buddies who vow to lose their virginity before graduation. For the 18-24 demographic. Director: Paul Weitz. Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Jason Biggs, Tara Reid, Jennifer Coolidge, Shannon Elizabeth. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $101.502 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Among Giants Offbeat romance between the foreman (Pete Postlethwaite) of a rag-tag crew hired to paint electrical towers and a sexy Australian backpacker (Rachel Griffiths) in search of adventure. Stars: Rachel Griffiths, Pete Postlethwaite. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 90 min., Romance, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Analyze This Very funny film about a powerful New York crimelord having trouble with emotional outbursts and the hapless psychiatrist recruited to turn him back into a happy-go-lucky gangster. Great chemistry between Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal; wonderful sight gags. Director: Harold Ramis. Stars: Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal, Lisa Kudrow, Chazz Palminteri. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $104.000 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Another Day in Paradise Absorbing road picture about a pair of wired, dysfunctional teens (Wagner and Kartheiser) about to hit bottom who find the mostly unlikely of guardian angels: a pair of peripatetic dope dealers (Woods and Griffith). Director: Larry Clark. Stars: James Woods, Melanie Griffith, Vincent Kartheiser, Natasha Gregson Wagner. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 101 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.193 million, Trimark. DVD: Day & Date.
- Antz Animated feature about a neurotic and self-absorbed ant whose discontent with conformity leads to a subversion of authority in a typical military-run ant nest (a parable for an attack on fascism and totalitarianism, you say?). Great CGI and story. Director: Eric Darnell, Tim Johnson. Voices of Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Anne Bancroft, Jane Curtin, Jennifer Lopez, Danny Glover, Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, Christopher Walken. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 83 min., Animated, Box office gross: $90.000 million, DreamWorks, $26.99 SRP.
- Apt Pupil Honor high school student discovers that a Nazi war criminal has been quietly living in his hometown and, obsessed with the atrocities of the Holocaust, he blackmails the old man, opening up a riveting game of cat and mouse. Director: Bryan Singer. Stars: Brad Renfro, Sir Ian McKellen, David Schwimmer. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min., Drama, Box office gross: $8.838 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Arlington Road Widowed when his FBI agent wife is killed by a right-wing group, a college professor becomes obsessed with the culture of extremists, especially when his new, All-American neighbors begin to act suspiciously. Is there a conspiracy afoot -- or paranoia? Director: Mark Pellington. Stars: Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins, Joan Cusack, Hope Davis. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 117 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $23.800 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- At First Sight A story of faith, hope and love about a blind young man whose sight is restored by a remarkable operation. Val Kilmer is a blind masseur whose hands heal stressed out Manhattanite Mira Sorvino, and they promptly fall in love. But their burgeoning romance is put to the test after the surgery when he has to learn to see the world for the first time. Director: Irwin Winkler. Stars: Val Kilmer, Mira Sorvino, Kelly McGillis, Steven Weber, Bruce Davison, Nathan Lane. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 126 min., Romantic Drama, Box office gross: $21.825 million, MGM. DVD: Day & Date.
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me The further adventures of that throwback to the 1960s, photographer-spy Austin Powers, with more really really really bad and stupid jokes and gags, but people love it. Dr. Evil time travels to the 1960s to steal Powers' power -- his mojo. Naturally Powers journeys after the evil Evil, encountering the swingin' London scene and super- sexy spy Felicity Shagwell. Director: Jay Roach. Stars: Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Rob Lowe, Seth Green, Mindy Sterling. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 95 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $205.000 million, New Line, $22.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Autumn Tale Last chapter in director Eric Rohmer's "Tale of Four Seasons" series. In the autumn of her life, a winegrower in the South of France resists all attempts by her best friend and her son's girlfriend to find her companionship. An elegant tale of love. Director: Eric Rohmer. Stars: Beatrice Roman. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 110 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.300 million, USA Home Entertainment.
- Babe: Pig in the City This sequel to the highly successful "Babe" got blindsided by bad pre-release buzz and poor opening week positioning by Universal. It's a brilliant film, almost surreal in its telling, that follows the weird adventures of pig "Babe," lost in a big city and at the mercy of a group of mean chimps and humans. It's a tad dark for most kids but still a wonderful fable, kind of a modern "Animal Farm." Director: George Miller. Stars: Magda Szubanski, Mary Stein, Mickey Rooney, James Cromwell. Voices of E.G. Daily, Danny Mann, Glenne Headly, Steven Wright. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: G, 88 min., Family, Box office gross: $17.000 million, Universal, $22.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Baby Geniuses Insipid comedy aimed at the under 10 crowd, built on the premise that babies know the secrets of universe, as well as having their own language, but lose it all at the age of 2, when they "cross-over" and use grown-up language. The plot revolves around a sinister scientist, some superintelligent kids, and sight gags with babies mimicking adult actions. Director: Bob Clark. Stars: Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Peter MacNicol, Dom DeLuise, Kim Catrell. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 95 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $24.455 million, Columbia TriStar, $23.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Baby Huey"s Great Easter Adventure Direct-to-video live action musical about the giant diapered duck of Harvey Comics fame (since 1950), here with the innocent character becoming the darling of Bitzville but also running afoul of a coniving impresario who has shady ideas about Huey. Duracase packaging. Stars: Joseph Bologna, Maureen McCormick, Harvey Korman, David Lander, David Leisure. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 89 min., Children, Columbia TriStar, SRP estimated at $14.95.
- Bartok the Magnificent Direct-to-video sequel to 1997's "Anastasia," with the loveable but nasty bat Bartok attempting to prove himself a hero when young Prince Ivan is kidnapped by the evil Russian witch Baba Yaga. Voices of Hank Azaria, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Tilly, Tim Curry, Catherine O'Hara. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: G, 71 min., Animated, Fox, $19.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Belly Controversial ultra-violent urban drama that had difficulty getting booked in theatres, including those in urban neighborhoods. Director: Hype Williams. Stars: Nas, DMX, Taral Hicks, Tionne T-Boz Watkins, Method Man. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Drama, Box office gross: $9.630 million, Artisan. DVD: Day & Date.
- Beloved Based on Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this over-long melodrama centers on the tribulations of a former slave tortured by the ghosts of her horrific past, marring her attempts to free herself emotionally and spiritually. Director: Jonathan Demme. Stars: Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Beah Richards. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 172 min., Melodrama, Box office gross: $22.746 million, Touchstone.
- Bent Follows the story of gay men during the rise of Hitler and their interment at Dachau during WWII. Originally rated NC-17. Director: Sean Mathias. Stars: Clive Owen, Lothaire Bluteau, Ian McKellen, Mick Jagger, Jude Law. 1997, CC, MPAA rating: R, 107 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.450 million, Orion.
- Besieged Acclaimed director Bernardo Bertolucci weaves his cinematic magic with this luscious tale of an affair between an expatriate African and her employer, an eccentric recluse living in an enchanting villa in Rome. The pair find themselves in a web of attraction and denial, with new awakenings and discoveries. Director: Bernardo Bertolucci. Stars: Thandie Newton, David Thewlis. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 92 min., Drama, Box office gross: $2.032 million, New Line. DVD: Day & Date.
- Best Man, The This Italian drama takes place at the turn of the 19th century and concerns two passionate lovers kept apart by one minor reason -- she's the bride and he's the best man. Italian with English subtitles. 1997 Golden Globe winner. Director: Pupi Avati. Stars: Diego Abatantuono, Ines Sastre, Dario Cantarelli. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 99 min., Foreign, Universal.
- Better Than Chocolate Sexy romp about a secret affair between two women. Director: Anne Wheeler. Stars: Karyn Dryer, Christina Cox. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 101 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.968 million, Trimark.
- Beyond Silence Unusual story follows emotional growth of hearing daughter of deaf parents from childhood through teen years as she leaves the world of silence (where she translates sounds into signs for her parents) to the world of music, where she becomes a clarinet prodigy. Director: Caroline Link. Stars: Sylvie Testud, Tatjana Trieb, Howie Seago, Emmanuelle Laborit, Sibylle Canonica, Matthias Habich. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 107 min., Drama (German), Box office gross: $0.171 million, Miramax.
- Big Chill, The 15th anniversary reissue of the ensemble film that made careers for a host of actors as well as introducing the rock soundtrack to mainstream filmmaking. Follows the reunion of a group of 1960s college ex-radicals on the event of the funeral of one of their friends. Widescreen and pan-and-scan versions. Director: Lawrence Kasdan. Stars: Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Berenger, JoBeth Williams, Mary Kay Place. 1983, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Drama, Columbia TriStar, $14.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Big Daddy Flaky law school graduate who eschews career and marriage adopts a five-year-old boy to impress his girlfriend with his new found responsibility, becoming a reluctant dad when the boy steals his heart. Bathroom humor comedy. Director: Dennis Dugan. Stars: Adam Sandler, Joey Lauren Adams, Rob Schneider, Jon Stewart, Kristy Swanson, Cole and Dylan Sprouse. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 93 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $158.700 million, Columbia TriStar, $21.96 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Black Mask (Hak hap) Fast-paced Hong Kong 1996 actioner released in the States this year to capitalize on cachet of Jet Li after his great appearance in "Lethal Weapon 4." Story revolves around a gang of genetically engineered humans who go after cops and bad guys alike. Li, of course, is fabulous as one of the androids who hasn't turned bad and must fight them single-handedly. Showcase for Li's wonderful martial arts expertise. Director: Daniel Lee. Stars: Jet Li, Karen Mok, Ching Wan Lau. 1996, CC, MPAA rating: R, 89 min., Action, Box office gross: $12.491 million, Artisan. DVD: Day & Date.
- Black & White Not to be confused with the recently released James Toback study of American pop culture, "Black and White," this thriller follows a rookie cop and his sexy partner's passionate affair as they hunt for a serial killer. Director: Yuri Zeitser. Stars: Gina Gershon, Ron Silver, Allison Eastwood. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Thriller, Columbia TriStar. DVD: December 7.
- Blair Witch Project, The Very scary mock documentary about three students who travel to the remote hills of Maryland to investigate the legend of a witch who has plagued the community for two centuries. Made on a shoestring budget ($50,000), the film has captured the public consciousness and from the Sundance film festival has gone on to "murder" the boxoffice. Directors: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez. Stars: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael Williams. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 88 min., Horror, Box office gross: $36.140 million and rising, Artisan, $22.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Blast From the Past Comedy about a young man (Brendan Fraser), raised in a bomb shelter since the 1960s -- his father thought WWIII had started -- and what happens when he resurfaces in 1999 and meets up with modern culture, including a hip Eve (Alicia Silverstone). Despite poor reviews and a weak boxoffice, give this one a good look. You'll be pleased and surprised with the sweet performances and story line. Director: Hugh Wilson. Stars: Brendan Fraser, Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 106 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $26.494 million, New Line. DVD: Day & Date.
- Blood Guts Bullets & Octane Low budget indie about a pair of down-and-out used car dealers paid $250,000 to store a 1963 Pontiac LeMans on their lot for two days with the proviso that if they touch it, they die. Naturally they take off with it on the road, littering the highway with corpses. It seems that every sleazeball in the world wants this Pontiac, and they'll kill to get it. Told in weird flashback sequences, with such disjointed dialogue (and some monologues that just go on endlessly) that the film crashes and burns before it picks up any momentum. Gratuitous, nonsensical action and violence. Weak. Director: Joe Carnahan. Stars: Joe Carnahan, Dan Leis, Hugh McChord, Mark S. Allen. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 87 min., Action comedy, Box office gross: $0.013 million, Universal.
- Brave Little Toaster to the Rescue, The Second direct-to-video sequel about the brave toaster and his appliance friends -- lampy, radio, blanky, kirby -- here thwarting a plot by their master's sinister lab assistant to sell animals to a lab for experimentation. Voices of Alfre Woodard, Eddie Bracken, Jay Mohr. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 74 min., Animated, Disney, $22.99 SRP.
- Bride of Chucky With the teaser line "Chucky Gets Lucky," you know this third sequel to 1988's "Child's Play," about an evil spirit inhabiting a doll, is sheer gore fun. Chucky comes back to life and gets back together with old flame Tiffany for another round of gruesome mayhem. Director: Ronny Yu. Stars: Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, Alexis Arquette. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 89 min., Horror, Box office gross: $32.368 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Buena Vista Social Club Spellbinding documentary on guitarist Ry Cooder that explores his music, craftsmanship, culture and roots as the musician tours New York and Europe. Director: Wim Wenders. Stars: Ry Cooder, Ruben Gonzalez, Compay Segundo. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, Documentary, Box office gross: $5.669 million, Artisan. DVD: Day & Date.
- Buffalo '66 Surreal, off-beat story of yet another loser (Vincent Gallo) who gets out of prison, quickly kidnaps a young woman (Christina Ricci) and takes her home to his parents where he forces her to play the role of his wife. Naturally the pair bond. Written, directed by Gallo. Director: Vincent Gallo. Stars: Vincent Gallo, Christina Ricci, Anjelica Huston, Ben Gazzara. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 110 min., Drama, Box office gross: $2.365 million, Universal.
- Bug's Life, A Delicious story and fabulous 3-D computer animation made this family feature a smash hit. A group of ants - toiling for their grasshopper overlords - enlist the aid of an out-of-work bug circus to save their society from oppression. Spirited and goofy. Director: John Lasseter. Stars: Voices of Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phyllis Diller, David Hyde Pierce. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: G, 94 min., Animated, Box office gross: $155.000 million, Buena Vista, 26.99 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Bulworth Brilliant political satire about burned-out California Senator who flips out on the last weekend before election day, starts telling the truth about big money, government and how special interests buy politicians, hangs with Compton "homies," starts speaking in hip-hop rhyme, and starts to win over more and more of his constituents for his straight talk. All the while he's dodging an assassin that he contracted for (in a fit of depression) to get insurance money for his daughter. Director: Warren Beatty. Stars: Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 107 min., Satire, Box office gross: $26.525 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Car, The A demonic, indestructible black sedan with a life of its own -- and no driver -- appears from nowhere and terrorizes a small town in New Mexico, killing people at random. It's up to the town Sheriff to stop it at all costs. Director: Elliot Silverstein. Stars: James Brolin, Ronny Cox, Kathleen Lloyd. 1977, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 96 min., Thriller, Anchor Bay, $9.99 pan-and- scan, widescreen Collector's Edition $14.98. DVD: Day & Date.
- Carla's Song Lower-class Glasgow bus driver becomes infatuated with Nicaraguan refugee, finds out she's suffering from post-traumatic stress, and accompanies her to her homeland to help her come to terms with her past. Moving love story of passion and politics. Released in France and Italy only. Director: Ken Loach. Stars: Robert Carlyle, Scott Glenn, Oyenka Cabezas. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 127 min., Drama, Fox Lorber. DVD: Day & Date.
- Celebrity Woody Allen's latest, a black & white diatribe that skewers our culture's fascination with fame and infamy, starring Kenneth Branagh as a writer going through a mid-life crisis and leaving his wife (Judy Davis) to pursue greener pastures among the cultural elite. Allen skewers supermodels, action movies, literary stars, actors, writers and just about everyone with pretensions to culture. Director: Woody Allen. Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis, Melanie Griffith, Michael Lerner, Winona Ryder, Joe Mantegna. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $5.032 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Central Station Captivating film about a lonely older woman, who makes a living scamming commuters in Rio de Janeiro's Central Station, and a young boy she takes under her wings when his mother is killed; together the pair set off on eventually heartwarming search for the boy's dad. Director: Walter Salles. Stars: Fernanda Montenegro, Vinicius de Oliveira. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 106 min., Drama, Box office gross: $5.444 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Chambermaid on the Titanic, The Set in 1912, about a French factory worker who wins a ticket to attend the launch of the Titanic in Southhampton, shares a hotel room with a chambermaid set to join the voyage the next day. Though nothing happens, after the ship sinks and he can't find her name on the list of survivors, he begins to tell his tale, embellishing it as a romance, eventually becoming a prominent storyteller ... until the chambermaid shows up. Director: Bigas Luna. Stars: Olivier Martinez, Romance Bohringer, Aitana Sanchez. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 99 min., Drama, New Yorker.
- Children of Heaven, The Wonderful film from Iran about a pair of kids -- a teenage boy and his younger sister -- living in poor economic conditions who come up with a unique solution to a difficult problem: After losing his sister's shoes, the brother shares his sneakers with here, creating all sorts of new problems. Director: Majid Majidi. Stars: Mir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahareh Seddiqi, Amir Naji, Fereshteh Sarabandi. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 88 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.925 million, Miramax.
- Civil Action, A Based on actual events, this gripping courtroom drama follows the trials and tribulations of a personal injury attorney (John Travolta) who sues giant corporation W.R. Grace/Beatrice Foods on behalf of families who claimed the company caused the death of their children by contaminating the town's water. Director: Steve Zaillian. Stars: John Travolta, Robert Duvall, William H. Macy, John Lithgow, Kathleen Quinlan, Tony Shalhoub. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 118 min., Drama, Box office gross: $56.615 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- Clay Pigeons Music video director David Dobkin helms this thriller, set in Montana, that revolves around suicide, infidelity, and the disappearance of a number of the town's women, with the finger pointing to a hapless loser played by Joaquin Phoenix. Darkly amusing. Director: David Dobkin. Stars: Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo, Joaquin Phoenix, Georgina Cates, Scott Wilson. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 104 min., Comic-Thriller, Box office gross: $1.789 million, PolyGram. DVD: Day & Date.
- Cleopatra TV miniseries Stars: Billy Zane, Timothy Dalton, Leonor Varela. 1999, CC, Historical drama, Hallmark.
- Cookie's Fortune Down-home comedy from Robert Altman about seemingly placid Southern town of Holly Springs, shaken by the death of Camille Dixon's aunt. Things get stirred up when Camille -- to avoid the stigma of her aunt's suicide -- decides that the death should look like a murder -- and events in the town soon spin out of control. Director: Robert Altman. Stars: Glenn Close, Julianne Moore, Liv Tyler, Chris O'Donnell, Charles S. Dutton, Ned Beatty. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 117 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $10.799 million, USA Home Entertainment. DVD: Day & Date.
- Cool, Dry Place, A Handsome young attorney is caught in a romantic triangle, forced to choose between his estranged wife and sexy young girlfriend. Limited theatrical run. Stars: Vince Vaughn, Monica Potter, Joey Lauren Adams. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 120 min., Drama, Fox.
- Corruptor, The Moody, convoluted actioner set in New York's Chinatown pitting bad cops against nasty villains. Feeble attempt at mimicking Hong Kong action flicks, with Mark Wahlberg all too bland and Chow Yun-Fat wasted. Director: James Foley. Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Mark Wahlberg, Ric Young, Paul Ben-Victor, Elizabeth Lindsey. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Action, Box office gross: $15.156 million, New Line. DVD: Day & Date.
- Crow, The: Stairway to Heaven Pilot for the TV series. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, min., Horror, USA Home Entertainment.
- Cruel Intentions Another modern updating of classic novel of sexual deception and betrayal, "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," here with hip young cast featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe as bored rich kids who get their kicks manipulating others. Sexy and wicked. Director: Roger Kumble. Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, Selma Blair. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Drama, Box office gross: $37.623 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Dame Edna's Neighbourhood Watch Dame Edna is the British housewife's worst enemy -- a wacky middle-aged, purple-haired matron who skewers British morals and morale with outrageous humor and wardrobe (the kindly Dame is played by Dr. Barry Humphries, who introduced her in the mid-1970s at his one- man show -- "Housewife Superstar!" -- in London). This three volume set features the wild lady -- sporting a wardrobe that Cher and RuPaul would envy -- hosting a make-believe game show, "Neighbourhood Watch," that selects three contestants from an all-female audience and then takes viewers on a journey that hilariously violates the nooks and crannies of one woman's house. Delightful, biting and witty British humor. Stars: Barry Humphries. 1999, MPAA rating: NR, 60 min., Comedy, Culture Q Connection.
- Dance With Me Handsome Cuban handyman (Latin American pop star Chayanne) sweeps a professional dance instructor off her feet with his unschooled footwork and charm in this passionate dancing yarn set to sizzling salsa. With music by Gloria Estefan, Jon Secada, Ruben Blades. Director: Randa Haines. Stars: Vanessa L. Williams, Chayanne, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Plowright. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 126 min., Musical drama, Box office gross: $15.814 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Dancing at Lughnasa Memory piece set in rural Ireland in 1936, about five unmarried sisters who live near a small village and their life that summer -- revolving around the arrival of two men and leading up to the yearly dance in honor of the harvest deity Lugh. The play of the same doesn't translate all that well to the big screen. Director: Pat O'Connor. Stars: Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon, Catherine McCormack, Kathy Burke, Sophie Thompson. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 94 min., Drama, Box office gross: $2.285 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Dark Crystal, The This first fully-animatronic feature film from Jim Henson and friends is a wonderful tale about two Gelflings who must return a shard of glass to the Dark Crystal in order to prevent the evil Skeksis from bringing devastation to their world. Imaginative adventure for the entire family. With behind the scenes featurette, never-before-seen footage. Director: Jim Henson, Frank Oz. 1982, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 93 min., Children, Columbia TriStar, $14.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Dark Romances Vol. 2 Anthology of weird vignettes of horror, death and destruction, sleazily shot with off-kilter production values that will titillate fans of cheap tabloid video thrillers. This is the second volume in the series and offers up five revolting tales of evil, malevolence and bizarre revenge, with the appearance of the icon Diana ("the beautiful and deadly Diana born of pure evil whose goal in life is to destroy lives") as a connecting thread through it all. Episodes include "She's Bad, She's Blonde, She's Lunch," about a pair of killers who get their just deserts; "Cardinal Sin," about a young man who gets even with his mom; and "What Goes Around," about an art collector who literally takes a piece of the artists she sponsors. These are so disgusting and bad that they're good. 1999, MPAA rating: NR, 99 min., Horror, Salt City, $39.95.
- Dead Man on Campus Very dumb comedy about two flunking college students who unearth an obscure regulation that offers straight A's to any student whose roommate commits suicide. Now the pair hunt for the university's most suicidal student so they can move in and knock him off. Ugh! Director: Alan Cohn. Stars: Tom Everett Scott, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Alyson Hannigan. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $15.062 million, Paramount.
- Deep End of the Ocean, The Tear-jerker about a family torn apart, first when their 3-year-old boy is kidnapped, and then again nine years later when he mysteriously reappears. Director: Ulu Grosbard. Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, Treat Williams, Jonathan Jackson, Ryan Merriman, Whoopi Goldberg. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 109 min., Drama, Box office gross: $13.376 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Deep Crimson Mexican director Arturo Ripstein's take on the classic Lonely Hearts murder case, set in 1949, about an obese nurse and a balding lothario who pose as brother and sister to seduce and rob women, ending up in a murder spree. Dark and evil. In Spanish with English subtitles. Director: Arturo Ripstein. Stars: Regina Orozco, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Marisa Paredes. 1997, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 109 min., Drama, New Yorker.
- Deep Blue Sea Genetically altered 25-foot-long mako sharks make sushi of scientists in this ho-hum modern-day "Jaws." Naturally there's the beleaguered well-meaning scientists and the nasty suits who want to cut budgets, all fodder for the proceedings. Director: Renny Harlin. Stars: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, Samuel L. Jackson, Jacqueline McKenzie, Stellan Skarsgard. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Horror Thriller, Box office gross: $12.100 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Deja Vu Love story about a woman travelling abroad to meet her fiance and the men and women she encounters, particularly one artist with whom she has an instant attraction. There's plenty of lost-love, free spirits, and philosophizing. Director: Henry Jaglom. Stars: Stephen Dillane, Victoria Foyt, Vanessa Redgrave. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 117 min., Romantic drama, Box office gross: $1.086 million, Warner.
- Desert Heat Direct-to-video Jean-Claude Van Damme revenge actioner about a man, bent on suicide, who rides to the last outpost of an abandoned desert highway ready to end it all. When he's attacked by a savage gang, he figures life is worth living -- to get even. Director: Danny Mulroon. Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Action, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Desert Blue Off-beat comedy set in small town in Eastern Calif. (Pop. 89) involving a professor of cultural studies (and his daughter) touring the backroads of America and the kooks and oddballs he encounters. Throw in an accident involving a truck carrying soda pop ingredients and an investigation by the FBI and the EPA , and you have a loony look at modern life. Director: Morgan J. Freeman. Stars: Brendan Sexton III, Kate Hudson, Christina Ricci, Casey Affleck, Sarah Gilbert, John Heard. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 92 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.099 million, Samuel Goldwyn. DVD: Day & Date
- Detroit 9000 Re-issued theatrically in January 1999, this blaxploitation film follows the bloody adventures of a pair of cops tracking down armed bandits who held up a fund-raising banquet for a black candidate. Released on Quentin Tarantino's Rolling Thunder imprint. Director: Arthur Marks. Stars: Alex Rocco, Hari Rhoades, Vonetta McGee, Scatman Crothers. 1973, CC, MPAA rating: R, 106 min., Action, Miramax.
- Dick Two 15-year-old ditzy girls accidently stumble upon the Watergate break-in and President Nixon's plumber squad in this revisionist-history comedy of life in the White House in the early 1970s. When Nixon appoints them official dog-walkers to keep tabs on them, they change the course of history by persuading Nixon to pull out from Vietnam, inspire a U.S.- Soviet treaty with spiked cookies, and become the "Deep Throats" of the Washington Post's Woodward and Bernstein. Director: Andrew Fleming. Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams, Dan Hedaya, Teri Garr, Harry Shearer, Saul Rubinek. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 90 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $6.200 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Digging to China Timothy Hutton's first time at directing produced this absorbing tale of the friendship between a mentally disabled young man and a young girl set in the 1960s, with fine turns by Kevin Bacon, Evan Rachel Wood as the mismatched friends. Director: Timothy Hutton. Stars: Kevin Bacon, Evan Rachel Wood, Mary Stuart Masterson, Cathy Moriarty. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: , 100 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.041 million, BMG.
- Disturbing Behavior Unsatisfying thriller about high school kids scientifically conditioned to behave well who eventually go ballistic when the programming goes awry. Cross between "A Clockwork Orange" and "Stepford Wives" with hot teen stars. Director: David Nutter. Stars: James Marsden, Katie Holmes, Nick Stahl, Bruce Greenwood, William Sadler, Steve Railsback. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 83 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $17.494 million, MGM. DVD: Day & Date.
- Double Platinum ABC Sunday Night Movie about international singing star reunited with the daughter she gave up for success. Director: Robert Alan Ackerman. Stars: Diana Ross, Brandy, Harvey Fierstein. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 91 min., Musical Drama, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Doug's 1st Movie Animated adventures of "Disney's Doug" (originally a Nick staple) comes to the big screen, with Doug and friend Skeeter discovering that Bluffington's mythical monster of Lucky Duck Lake is for real, but is in danger due to pollution in the lake. For kid fans of show. Director: Maurice Joyce. Voices of Thomas McHugh, Fred Newman, Chris Phillips, Constance Shulman. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: G, 84 min., Animated, Box office gross: $18.550 million, Buena Vista, $22.99 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Down in the Delta Story of black family's rebirth, centering on a self-destructive addicted mother and her kids, bogged down in a Chicago ghetto of violence and drugs, who are offered salvation when the woman's mother moves the family back to their ancestral home in the South. Director: Maya Angelou. Stars: Alfre Woodard, Al Freeman Jr., Esther Rolle, Mary Alice, Wesley Snipes. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, min., Drama, Box office gross: $5.662 million, Miramax.
- Dracula New scored version of the classic with an original musical score composed by Philip Glass and performed by the Kronos Quartet. Director: Tod Browning. Stars: Bela Lugosi, David Manners, Helen Chandler. 1931, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 75 min., Horror, Universal, $14.98 SRP.
- Dreamlife of Angels, The Two 20-year-old women, living on the fringes of society, form an intense emotional bond in Lille, France. Winner of the Cesar Award for Best Film, Actress. French with English subtitles. Director: Erick Zonca. Stars: Elodie Bouchez, Natacha Regnier. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 113 min., Drama, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Drop Dead Gorgeous Unfunny comedy look at beauty pageants in the heartland of America -- with the cameras of a documentary film crew looking on -- where treachery and cheating come to the fore. Two moms (an ex-teenqueen, played by Kirstie Alley, and a "trailer trash" mom, Ellen Barkin) and their girls (Denise Richards and Kirsten Dunst) battle for the crown. Director: Michael Patrick Jann. Stars: Kirstie Alley, Ellen Barkin, Kirsten Dunst, Brittany Murphy. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 96 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $10.291 million, New Line. DVD: Day & Date.
- Dudley Do-Right Silly attempt to transfer Jay Ward's classic cartoon character to the big screen in live-action form, with Brendan Fraser as hapless Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right trying to outwit evil villain Snidely Whiplash. For the kids only. Director: Hugh Wilson. Stars: Brendan Fraser, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alfred Molina, Robert Prosky, Eric Idle. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 76 min., Family, Box office gross: $9.694 million, Universal, priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.
- Earthly Possessions An older woman meets up with a younger man and gets involved in romance, car chases and bank robberies. An HBO telefilm. Director: James Lapine. Stars: Susan Sarandon, Stephen Dorff. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Drama, HBO. DVD: Day & Date.
- EDtv In order to offset a ratings slide, a local cable channel comes up with the idea of putting one ordinary person's life -- a video store clerk (Matthew McConaughey) on TV 24 hours a day. What first seems like a good idea becomes a national obsession, messing up the young man's life. Director: Ron Howard. Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jenna Elfman, Woody Harrelson, Ellen Degeneres, Sally Kirkland. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 123 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $22.362 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Eight Days a Week A recent high school graduate, hopelessly in love with his next door neighbor, camps in her front yard for an entire summer and witnesses the activities of his crazy neighbors, helping him grow to learn more about life and love. Weak comedy. Stars: Keri Russell, Josh Shaefer. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 92 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.011 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Eight Millimeter Nicolas Cage plays a skilled surveillance expert hired by the estate of a powerful industrialist to track down the truth behind an apparent snuff film, becoming obsessed with the girl in the film and being drawn into a sleazy world that takes him to the underbelly of life in N.Y. and L.A. Director: Joel Schumacher. Stars: Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, Peter Stormare, Catherine Keener. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 123 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $36.283 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Election Very funny high school teen satire about overachieving co-ed (Reese Witherspoon) who has her sights set on the student government presidency and the teacher (Matthew Broderick) who opposes her run for the office: it turns out she's been seducing her teachers. Director: Alexander Payne. Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Matthew Broderick, Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell, Delaney Driscoll, Colleen Camp. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 104 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $14.813 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Elizabeth A sweeping, full-bodied depiction of the ascendancy to the throne of Queen Elizabeth in 1558. There's family intrigue, political machinations, geopolitical warring and, of course, the fine turns by Blanchett, Rush and Fiennes. Director: Shekhar Kapur. Stars: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Joseph Fiennes, Richard Attenborough, James Fain, Christopher Eccleston. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 124 min., Biodrama, Box office gross: $27.000 million, PolyGram. DVD: May 25.
- Elmo in Grouchland Loveable Sesame Street character Elmo loves his fuzzy blanket more than anything else in the world. So when a tug-of-war with Zoe sends the blanket into a faraway land, Elmo heads after it on an action-packed adventure into Grouchland. Director: Gary Halvorson. Voices of Vanessa Williams, Mandy Patinkin. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: G, 73 min., Children, Box office gross: $11.180 million, Columbia TriStar, $21.96 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Enemy of the State Successful attorney unwittingly comes into possession of filmed evidence that implicates a National Security Agency official in the slaying of a Congressman and is thrown into a terrible high-tech game of cat and mouse, with his life at stake. Fast-paced action-thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat. Director: Tony Scott. Stars: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Lisa Bonet. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 127 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $110.887 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- Entrapment Exciting game of cat and mouse as a hot-shot insurance investigator (Catherine Zeta-Jones) goes after a master thief (Sean Connery), joining him in a series of gambits over three continents leading up to a multi-billion dollar heist tied to a millennium celebration in Kuala Lampur. Director: Jon Amiel. Stars: Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ving Rhames, Will Patton. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 130 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $87.600 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Ever After Updating of Cinderella fairy tale with '90s sensibility has 16th century Danielle (Drew Barrymore) placed at the mercy of evil stepmother (Anjelica Huston) when her father dies. Fabulous sleeper hit has all the right elements in all the right places. Director: Andy Tennant. Stars: Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott, Megan Dodds, Melanie Lynskey. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 121 min., Melodrama, Box office gross: $65.644 million, Fox, $19.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- eXistenZ A computer game creator (Jennifer Jason Leigh) develops a virtual reality system that gets her in big trouble with unknown assassins. When she convinces a corporate friend to escape with her in the alternate world, they enter a universe of espionage, duplicity and double agents as the film shifts between different realities and fictions. A return to sci-fi roots for David Cronenberg, who here embellishes on one of his recurrent -- and powerful -- themes: the transcendence of the flesh and the desire to be made into machine. Director: David Cronenberg. Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 110 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $2.840 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Facade Thriller about a pair of entrepreneurs who kill off everyone who gets in the way of their scheme to build an extravagant hotel in Malibu, Calif., and the surreal turn of events when one of them discovers it's an elaborate fantasy concocted by escaped mental inmates. Director: Carl-Jan Colpaert. Stars: Eric Roberts. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 93 min., Thriller, Columbia TriStar.
- Faculty, The High school-set take on "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," with being from outer space slowly taking over faculty and students, with only a handful of students realizing what's going on and trying to stop it. Written by Kevin Williamson, and like "Scream," which Williamson also wrote, the film pokes grisly fun at itself and horror films in general, with the protagonists mapping their actions according to the sci-fi films they've seen. Director: Robert Rodriguez. Stars: Jordana Brewster, Clea Duvall, Salma Hayek, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Robert Patrick, Bebe Neuwirth. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 104 min., Sci-fi Horror, Box office gross: $34.840 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Finding Graceland Road picture about a young man (Jonathan Schaech) leaving his past behind who picks up a drifter (Harvey Keitel) who believes he's Elvis on his way home to Graceland. There's a Marilyn Monroe look-a-like (Bridget Fonda) thrown in for good measure. Director: David Winkler. Stars: Jonathon Schaech, Harvey Keitel, Bridget Fonda. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 97 min., Drama, Columbia TriStar.
- Firelight Period romance set in the mid-19th century, about a Swiss governess who has a brief liaison with an English landowner, bears his child, is forced to leave, and returns seven years later as the child's governess. A real romantic tear-jerker. Director: William Nicholson. Stars: Stephen Dillane, Sophie Marceau, Kevin Anderson. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Melodrama, Box office gross: $0.775 million, Buena Vista. DVD: 2.
- Fitzcarraldo Digitally remastered edition of Herzog's classic, about an obsessed man and his dream of bringing a grand opera up the Amazon River in Peru. Amazing jungle cinematography as natives literally bring a boat up the river by hand. German with English subtitles. Director: Werner Herzog. Stars: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale. 1982, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 157 min., Drama, Anchor Bay, widescreen, $19.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Foolish Rauncy comedy about brothers trying to make it big in the comedy business. Stars funnyman Eddie Griffin and hip-hop man Master P. Director: Dave Meyers. Stars: Eddie Griffin, Master P, Amy Petersen, Frank Sivero, Marla Gibbs. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 84 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $6.026 million, Artisan Entertainment. DVD: Day & Date.
- Forces of Nature Everything seems to be getting in way of button-down book-sleeve copy writer Ben Affleck's road to marriage: first his grandfather suffers a heart attack at the groom's bachelor party, his airplane flight to the wedding crashes, and then he gets teamed up with a free-spirited woman (Sandra Bullock), making his trek to the altar that more difficult. Will romance blossom or will he get to the church on time? Pleasant, if not remarkable, comedy outing. Director: Bronwen Hughes. Stars: Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck, Maura Tierney, Blythe Danner, Steve Zahn, Ronny Cox. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 102 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $52.9 million, DreamWorks. DVD: Day & Date.
- Free Enterprise Low-budget comedy about pair of twentysomething Star Trek fanatics worried about turning 30 and their encounter with the hero of their dreams, William Shatner himself, who turns out to be just a run-of-the-mill person, hooked on alcoholic beverages. Director: Robert Meyer Burnett. Stars: Rafer Weigel, Eric McCormack, Audie England, William Shatner, Patrick Van Horn. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.030 million, Pioneer. DVD: Day & Date.
- Friends and Lovers Loose romantic comedy about six friends who spend a ski weekend together in Utah, with requisite sex, romance and dumb jokes. Director: George Haas. Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Stephen Baldwin, Alison Eastwood, Claudia Schiffer, Danny Nucci, Suzanne Cryer. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 93 min., Romantic comedy, Box office gross: $0.094 million, Universal.
- General, The Based on the story of Martin Cahill, a notorious Dublin gangster who was the mastermind behind a series of dazzling robberies that stunned Ireland in the 1980s, and the policeman determined to bring him down. The film won John Boorman the best director award at the 1998 Cannes International Film Festival. Director: John Boorman. Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Jon Voight, Adrian Dunbar, Sean McGinley. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 125 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.211 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- General's Daughter, The Routine detective thriller set on an Army base has Army dick John Travolta investigating the rape and murder of a General's daughter, uncovering a lot of dirt and transgressions along the way. Madeleine Stowe plays his Army sleuth partner and old flame. Director: Simon West. Stars: John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, James Woods, Clarence Williams III. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 116 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $102.000 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Gloria Director Sidney Lumet has fallen on hard times. This weak remake of John Cassavete's 1980 classic -- about an ex-mob mistress who risks everything to save the life of a young boy orphaned when his family is rubbed out by her criminal cohorts -- is merely a star vehicle for Sharon Stone, who fails mightily in filling the shoes worn by Gena Rowlands in the original. Spruced up for the 1990s, this Gloria doesn't age well. Rent the original before watching this one. Director: Sidney Lumet. Stars: Sharon Stone, Jeremy Northam, Jean-Luke Figueroa, Cathy Moriarty, George C. Scott, Mike Starr. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $4.155 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Go Edgy comedy about group of young Los Angelenos whose lives collide in one 24-hour period surrounding a botched drug deal; misadventures involve sex, partying, multi-level marketing, all told using overlapping time frames. An interesting black comedy. Director: Doug Liman. Stars: Scott Wolf, Katie Holmes, Sarah Polley, Jay Mohr, Desmond Askew, Taye Diggs. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 102 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $16.551 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- God Said, Ha! Julia Sweeney's (of Saturday Night Live) one-woman performance piece that recounts the trials and tribulations of one year in her life when, after buying a new home, her terminally ill brother moves in with her, as do her parents, only to discover that she has cancer. Director: Julia Sweeney. Stars: Julia Sweeney. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 87 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.052 million, Miramax.
- Gods and Monsters Breathtaking story of director James Whale -- "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein" -- and his days of glory in early Hollywood, told from the perspective of his memories in 1957 -- at age 67 -- after years of obscurity and in frail health after a stroke. Director: Bill Condon. Stars: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, David Dukes. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 105 min., Drama, Box office gross: $5.541 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Goodbye, Lover Talented cast and director couldn't save this muddled affair about pair of ad-agency brothers (Don Johnson and Dermot Mulroney), the younger brother's wife (Patricia Arquette), murder, sex, double and triple crosses and a serial killer named The Doctor. Ellen DeGeneres is terrific as a cop investigating murders. Director: Roland Joffe. Stars: Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney, Don Johnson, Mary-Louise Parker, Ellen DeGeneres. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 102 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $1.923 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Governess, The Sweeping story of a young Jewish woman in mid-19th century England who leaves her London life and reinvents herself as a governess in Scotland when her father is murdered and her family dissolves. In this new environment, she blossoms, returning to London years later a new woman. Director: Sandra Goldbacher. Stars: Minnie Driver, Tom Wilkinson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 114 min., Drama, Box office gross: $3.708 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Great Mouse Detective, The Re-issue of the Disney animated adventure about super mouse sleuth Basil of Baker Street who matches wits with notorious villain Professor Ratigan. Score by Henry Mancini. Director: John Musker & Ron Clements. Voices of Vincent Price, Alan Young, Barrie Ingham. 1986, CC, MPAA rating: G, 80 min., Animated, Disney, $26.99 SRP.
- Happiest Millionaire, The Disney musical about the wild goings-on in the house of an eccentric millionaire (Fred MacMurray). Tommy Steele is a recently arrived butler who has to put up with all sorts of nonsense; Greer Garson is mom; Lesley Ann Warren is the young daughter. Available in roadshow widescreen (with overture and intermission music), widescreen and full frame editions. Director: Norman Tokar. Stars: Fred MacMurray, Tommy Steele, Greer Garson, Geraldine Page, Lesley Ann Warren, John Davidson. 1967, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 144 min., Musical, Anchor Bay, $14.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Happiness Exploration into the unhappy lives of a variety of very unhappy denizens of New Jersey, with a black and bleakly comedic look at sexual mores, fantasies and failures -- a decidedly downer of a film but brilliant in its descent into hell. Director: Todd Solondz. Stars: Jane Adams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Cynthia Stevenson, Dylan Baker, Ben Gazzara, Camryn Manheim. 1998, CC, MPAA Rating: NC-17, 134 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $2.746 million, Trimark. DVD: Day & Date.
- Harmonists, The True story of German a capella group in 1920s Germany and their rise to fame and fall in the shadow of the ascendancy of the Nazi. Director: Joseph Vilsmaier. Stars: Ben Becker, Heino Ferch, Ulrich Noethen, Heinrich Schafmeister, Max Tidof. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 114 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.479 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Haunting, The Lackluster remake of classic Robert Wise 1963 film, based on Shirley Jackson's book, about people investigating an evil house that comes alive and terrorizes them. The original was truly scary in its subtlety; here there's a muddled plot, overdone special effects. Director: Jan De Bont. Stars: Lili Taylor, Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bruce Dern, Virginia Madsen. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 117 min., Horror, Box office gross: $89.600 million, DreamWorks. DVD: Day & Date.
- Heaven or Vegas Romantic drama about Vegas call-girl and high-class gigolo who meet and fall and love, take off for a fairy tale existence in Montana, along the way getting involved with psychotic strangers. Director: Gregory C. Haynes. Stars: Richard Grieco, Yasmine Bleeth. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 110 min., Drama, Columbia TriStar.
- Henry Fool Art-house critical success about unassuming garbage man who supports his depressed mother and oversexed sister who overcomes low self-esteem when he's tutored by a degenerate, would-be intellectual/novelist who takes up residence in the family basement. Naturally the garbage man's subsequent book-length poem outshines the work of his mentor. Director: Hal Hartley. Stars: Parker Posey, James Urbaniak, Kevin Corrigan, Maria Porter. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 137 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.334 million, Columbia TriStar.
- Hi-Lo Country, The Modern Western about two brothers who return to New Mexico after WWII and try to build a life as cowboys raising cattle. But their womanizing, drinking and brawling ignites a powderkeg of anger and violence. Director: Stephen Frears. Stars: Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Cole Hauser, Patricia Arquette, Sam Elliott. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 115 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.163 million, PolyGram. DVD: Day & Date.
- Hideous Kinky A young mother and her two daughters escape gray London for exotic adventures in Morocco. Director: Gillies Mackinnon. Stars: Kate Winslet, Said Taghmaoui. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.262 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Hilary and Jackie Touching, insightful story of Jacqueline and Hilary du Pre, gifted musical sisters who grew up in England in the 1950s. Treated as musical royalty, the constant touring eventually took a toll on their lives. Director: Anand Tucker. Stars: Emily Watson, Rachel Griffiths, David Morrissey. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 124 min., Bio-Drama, Box office gross: $4.874 million, PolyGram. DVD: Day & Date.
- Holy Man Lackluster comedy has Eddie Murphy star as an inspirational guru who moves from the streets to television to become an over-the-top marketing genius, taking a home shopping network -- and the country -- by storm. Stars: Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Preston. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, min., Comedy, Box office gross: $12.065 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- Home Fries Dark comedy that takes a satirical (but affectionate) look at middle America. Plot revolves around a pregnant fast-food worker who's lover is "murdered" by his wronged wife and stepsons. Afraid she knows that they did dad in, one son infiltrates the burger stand to find out what she knows, but instead of getting rid of her he starts to fall for her. Director: Dean Parisot. Stars: Drew Barrymore, Catherine O'Hara, Luke Wilson, Jake Busey, Shelley Duvall. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 94 min., Black comedy, Box office gross: $10.307 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- How Stella Got Her Groove Back Spicey, touching romance about a 40-year-old black woman's (Angela Bassett) middle-life crisis and her trip to Jamaica with her best friend (Whoopi Goldberg) to rekindle her love life. Based on the best-selling Terry McMillan novel. Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan. Stars: Angela Bassett, Whoopi Goldberg, Taye Diggs, Regina King, Suzzanne Douglas. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 125 min., Drama, Box office gross: $37.279 million, Fox. DVD: January 26.
- HurlyBurly Sean Penn and Kevin Spacey play a pair of cynical and malicious casting agents whose fractured lives affect all those around them in this acerbic play by David Rabe. Director: Anthony Drazan. Stars: Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright Penn, Meg Ryan, Anna Paquin, Chazz Palminteri, Garry Shandling. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 126 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.796 million, New Line. DVD: Day & Date.
- Husbands John Cassavetes' involving look at three middle-aged men who take a vacation from their routine suburban lives following the death of a mutual friend. A brilliant, though oftimes slow-paced, study of mid-life angst and renewal. Director: John Cassavetes. Stars: John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk. 1970, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 140 min., Drama, Columbia TriStar, $19.95 SRP.
- I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Weak sequel to the smash horror hit of 1997, this one has the survivor of the original's bloodbath taking a holiday to the Bahamas with some friends a year later, only to be confronted again by the crazed murderer. Way, way derivative. Director: Danny Cannon. Stars: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Brandy, Muse Watson, Mekhi Phifer. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Horror, Box office gross: $39.842 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- I Want You Desolate drama about a young boy and his sister lured into one man's obsessive pursuit of his former lover. Director: Michael Winterbottom. Stars: Rachel Weisz, Alessandro Nivola, Luka Petrusic, Labina Mitevska. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 87 min., Drama, USA Home Entertainment.
- Idle Hands Teen horror comedy about a channel-surfing, junk food-munching slacker whose hand is possessed by the devil. Director: Rodman Flender. Stars: Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Jessica Alba, Elden Henson, Vivaca A. Fox. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 92 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $4.002 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Impostors, The Two out of work actors end up becomming stowaways on an an ocean liner bound for Europe, wreaking havoc with crew and passengers alike as they evade the authorities and foil the bomb plot of a deranged crewman in this Marx Bros.-type slapstick. Director: Stanley Tucci. Stars: Stanley Tucci, Oliver Platt, Alfred Molina, Campbell Scott, Tony Shalhoub, Lily Taylor. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 101 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $2.197 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- In Dreams Misfired thriller about a woman who has prescient dreams foreshadowing the murder of her daughter and somehow has her mind melded with the serial killer. Seemingly off the deep end, she's thrown into the exact same loony bin that housed the killer years earlier and -- well, there's too much coincidental action here to make this outing very involving. Director: Neil Jordan. Stars: Annette Bening, Robert Downey Jr., Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn, Paul Guilfoyle. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $11.347 million, DreamWorks.
- Insomnia Brooding, absorbing police thriller about a brilliant but arrogant detective sent to remote Northern Norway to solve a murder. When he tries to cover-up the accidental shooting of his partner, he comes under scrutiny by a suspicious female detective. As the case progresses, he falls deeper and deeper in a torturous world of guilt and insomnia. Director: Erik Skjoldbjaerg. Stars: Stellan Skarsgard, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Bjorn Floberg. 1997, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 97 min., Thriller, Home Vision, $29.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Inspector Gadget Based on the 1980s cartoon series, this kiddy comedy revolves around the transformation of a bumbling security guard into a super-scientific police robot, Inspector Gadget, whose hands and head sprout utensils (helicopter blades). For kids only. Director: David Kellogg. Stars: Matthew Broderick, Joely Fisher, Rupert Everett, Michelle Trachtenberg, Andy Dick, Dabney Coleman. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 78 min., Family, Box office gross: $87.554 million, Disney, $24.99 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Instinct Weird thriller about the attempt at rehabilitating a brilliant primatologist who ostensibly went mad after living in the wild with mountain gorillas. Anthony Hopkins puts in a chilling turn as the caged scientist and Cuba Gooding Jr. plays the shrink who tries to cure him. Director: Jon Turteltaub. Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Sutherland, Maura Tierney, George Dzundza, John Ashton. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 123 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $33.648 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- Invasion Earth Three volume set of the big budget Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, which aired in December, about the Earth caught in the crossfire of an interplanetary war. Stars: Fred Ward, Vincent Regan, Maggie O'Neill, Phyllis Logan. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 207 min., Science Fiction, BBC Video, $39.98 SRP.
- Iron Giant, The Well-executed, fanciful adaptation of British poet laureate Ted Hughes' children's book about a metal giant from outer space who is befriended by a young boy, set in 1957 during the height of the cold war. Director: Brad Bird. Voices of Eli Marienthal, Vin Diesel, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Christopher McDonald. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 86 min., Animated, Box office gross: $20.700 million, Warner, $22.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Jack Frost Sentimental, affectionate family film about an up-and-coming rock star who juggles career and fatherhood and doesn't spend as much time with his boy as he should. When he's killed in a car accident, he comes back as a snowman, nurturing his wife and son. Director: Troy Miller. Stars: Michael Keaton, Kelly Preston, Joseph Cross, Mark Addy. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 108 min., Family, Box office gross: $34.600 million, Warner, $19.96 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Jackie Chan's Who Am I? Hong Kong actioner with Jackie Chan as sole survivor of commando raid on a secret high tech weapons research lab in the African jungle. With total amnesia, Chan must return to civilization to answer the question, Who Am I? Director: Jackie Chan and Benny Chan. Stars: Jackie Chan 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 108 min., Action, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Jawbreaker Dark comedy about the plight of the most popular girls at Reagan High as they try to cover up the death of the sweetest member of the clique when she's accidently killed as part of an innocent birthday party prank. Like wow, for party girls only. Director: Darren Stein. Stars: Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, Pam Grier, Carol Kane, Judy Greer. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 87 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $3.071 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- John Carpenter's Vampires Violent modern day vampire saga about a contingent of "religious" mercenaries who hunt down the nightstalkers with modern weapons to stop 600-year-old Master Vamp Valek from implementing a ritual which will give the ghouls omnipotent daylight power. Director: John Carpenter. Stars: James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Horror, Box office gross: $19.915 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Judas Kiss A police investigation into the kidnapping of a computer mogul that ended with the accidental murder of the wife of a powerful senator uncovers not-so accidental motives in high political places. Director: Sebastian Gutirrez. Stars: Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hal Holbrook. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Thriller, Columbia TriStar.
- Just the Ticket Mangled comedy about a streetwise New York ticket scalper whose girlfriend dumps him because she sees no future in their relationship and his lifestyle. Trying to make one big score, he tries to sew up tickets to the Pope's Easter Mass visit, but gets stymied when his archival beats him to it. Now he must struggle to make his score and get his girl back. Director: Richard Wenk. Stars: Andy Garcia, Andie MacDowell, Richard Bradford, Elizabeth Ashley, Andre Blake. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.427 million, MGM. DVD: Day & Date.
- King and I, The Animated version of Rodgers and Hammerstein classic about an attractive English widow who travels to Siam in 1862 to become the proper governess for the king's royal children. Great songs: "Shall We Dance" and "Getting to Know You" among them. Stars: Voices of Miranda Richardson, Martin Vidnovic, Ian Richardson, Darrell Hammond. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: G, 87 min., Animated, Box office gross: $11.000 million, Warner, $22.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Knocks at My Door Venezuelan political thriller about a pair of nuns who harbor a rebel fugitive and who become pawns in the rivalry between Church and State when they're found out. Tense and stirring. In Spanish with English subtitles. Director: Alejandro Saderman. 1993, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 105 min., Foreign, Fox Lorber.
- Kurt and Courtney Disturbing, lurid documentary that probes the life and death of alternative rock group Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Did he really commit suicide or was there something more sinister involved? Director: Nick Broomfield. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Documentary, Box office gross: $0.600 million, BMG.
- La Sentinelle Psychological thriller about a medical student on his way to Paris who discovers a shrunken human head in one of his bags. He doesn't know how it got there, but he becomes fascinated and obsessed with it until it takes over his life. In French with English subtitles. Director: Arnaud Desplechin. Stars: Emmanuel Salinger, Marianne Denicourt, Thibault De Montalembert. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 144 min., Thriller, Fox Lorber. DVD: Day & Date.
- La Separation Intense French drama about the breakup of a stale marriage. Pierre illustrates a children's book at home while Anne goes to work each day. When Anne suddenly announces she loves another, Pierre suffers a quiet breakdown, losing his wife and their beloved 15-month-old son. Director: Christian Vincent. Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Daniel Auteuil. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 85 min., Drama, Box office gross: $.010 million, Fox Lorber. DVD: Day & Date.
- Labyrinth Story of a young girl (Jennifer Connelly) who must enter the remarkable world of the Labyrinth to rescue her baby brother who was kidnapped by Jareth the Goblin King (David Bowie). Though there's an imaginative plot and great creatures, the movie bogs down in its story telling. With behind-the-scenes featurette, never-before-seen footage. Director: Jim Henson. Stars: Jennifer Connelly, David Bowie 1986, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 102 min., Children, Columbia TriStar, $14.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Lansky HBO dramatization of the life of Meyer Lansky, the mastermind behind Murder Inc. and the man who put the organization into organized crime. Director: John McNaughton. Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Eric Roberts, Illeana Douglas, Beverly D'Angelo, Anthony LaPaglia. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, Drama, HBO Video.
- Last Days, The Academy Award-winning documentary presented by Steven Spielberg and the Shoah Foundation about victims of the Holocaust. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 87 min., Documentary, PolyGram.
- Last Rites TV thriller about a serial killer who gains lifesaving psychic powers after being spared the electric chair by a freak accident, and the shrink who fights for his freedom. Stars: Randy Quaid, Embeth Davidtz. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 88 min., Thriller, Universal.
- Legionnaire This direct-to-video big budget Jean-Claude Van Damme starrer follows the adventures of a French boxer when he enlists in the French Foreign Legion and fights tribesmen in Morocco in the 1920s. Director: Peter MacDonald. Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Berkoff, Jim Carter, Nicolas Farrell. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 99 min., Action-Adventure, Sterling Home Entertainment. DVD: Day & Date.
- Life Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence play a pair of losers -- Murphy a small-time hustler, Lawrence an aspiring bank teller -- who get involved in bootlegging in 1932 Mississippi and are wrongly convicted of murder. The film follows their 60-year jail sentence and their never-ceasing friendship. Director: Ted Demme. Stars: Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $63.844 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Life Is Beautiful (La Vita e Bella) Academy Award-winning (Best Actor, Foreign Film, Score) comedy-drama about the Holocaust with Robert Benigni directing and starring as a bookshop owner who must use his bold imagination and spirit to save the ones he loves. Director: Roberto Benigni. Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 114 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $50.013 million, Miramax. Subtitled and dubbed versions. DVD: Day & Date.
- Limbo Moody John Sayles exploration about losers in Alaska whose desolate lives correspond to the wilds of that beautiful Northern country, revolving around a fisherman traumatized by a boat accident years before and an unlucky-at-love bar singer. Director: John Sayles. Stars: Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn, Vanessa Martinez, Kris Kristofferson, Casey Siemaszko. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 127 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.997 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Little Voice Pleasing comedy about a working class girl who barely talks but can sing up a storm, recapturing the personas of Garland, Dietrich, Bassey and Monroe, and the effect on her life and her boozy mother's life when she's discovered by a sleazy agent. Director: Mark Herman. Stars: Michael Caine, Brenda Blethyn, Ewan McGregor, Jane Horrocks. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $4.464 million, Miramax.
- Living Out Loud Pair of losers -- Holly Hunter as the spurned/divorced wife of philandering surgeon, Danny DeVito a schlub of an apartment doorman -- move through post-marriage life rudderless, isolated and alone, until the unlikely lovers come together. Thoughtful, mature relationship film. Director: Richard LaGravenese. Stars: Danny DeVito, Holly Hunter, Queen Latifah, Richard Schiff, Elias Koteas. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Romantic comedy, Box office gross: $12.708 million, New Line. DVD: Day & Date.
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Kind of a "Reservoir Dogs" meets "Trainspotting" in the East End of London, about four mates who get set up in a card game and lose $800,000 to local mobster. Plenty of sleaze, blastings, venalties and bloodshed, all in an almost incomprehensible East End dialect. Director: Guy Ritchie. Stars: Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Jason Statham. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Comedy-Thriller, Box office gross: $3.714 million, PolyGram. DVD: Day & Date.
- Lolita Showtime's reworking of Nabokov's classic novel (and a classic film by Stanley Kubrick). Director: Adrian Lyne. Stars: Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith, Frank Langella, Dominique Swain. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 137 min., Drama, Trimark, $14.99 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Loss of Sexual Innocence, The Interconnected short stories that form a sexual/psychological portrait of a man, from his earliest experiences at age 5, through his adolescence (12), teen years (16) and then finally as a grown man. An idiosyncratic outing by director Mike Figgis. Director: Mike Figgis. Stars: Julian Sands, Saffron Burrows, Stefano Dionisi, Kelly McDonald. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 101 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.299 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: December 7.
- Lost and Found Dumb, adolescent comedy about goofball (David Spade) who tries to win the affection of his attractive neighbor (Sophie Marceau) by kidnapping her dog. Director: Jeff Pollack. Stars: David Spade, Sophie Marceau, Patrick Bruel, Artie Lange. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 99 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $6.545 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Love Letter, The A mysterious unsigned love letter upsets the status quo in a sleepy New England town, unlocking startling secrets and changing the lives of everyone it touches. American debut of Hong Kong director Peter Ho-sun Chan. Director: Peter Ho-Sun Chan. Stars: Kate Capshaw, Blythe Danner, Ellen DeGeneres, Tom Selleck, Tom Everett Scott. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, min., Drama, Box office gross: $8.300 million, DreamWorks. DVD: Day & Date.
- Lulu on the Bridge Off-beat thriller about hip jazz saxophonist Izzy Maurer (Harvey Keitel) and the weird world he enters when he's hit by a stray bullet, ending his musical career. After he recovers, Izzy stumbles upon a murdered man in an ally and finds a strange stone that glows in the dark and brings intense pleasure to whomever holds it. A phone number on a napkin leads him to Celia (Mira Sorvino), who becomes his true love. Soon events get more bizarre as a group of ruthless murderers come after the pair, demanding the stone back. Worth a peek. Director: Paul Auster. Stars: Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, Willem Dafoe, Gina Gershon, Mandy Patinkin, Vanessa Redgrave. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 103 min., Thriller, Trimark. DVD: Day & Date.
- Madeline: Lost in Paris Direct-to-video original production based on Ludwig Bemelman's endearing character; here Madeline is whisked away from Miss Clavell's school by a "long-lost uncle" who turns out to be a henchman for the evil Miss La Croque, who forces orphan girls to make lace in a factory. Voices of Jason Alexander, Lauren Bacall, Christopher Plummer. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, Animated, Disney, $22.99 SRP.
- Mafia Typical Jim ("Hot Shots") Abrahams spoof, this time taking pot shots at the Mafia in a rough take-off "The Godfather." Swan song for the late-Lloyd Bridges. Director: Jim Abrahams. Stars: Lloyd Bridges, Olympia Dukakis, Christina Applegate, Jay Mohr. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 87 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $19.847 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Feb. 9.
- Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human Mock documentary, "filmed" by extraterrestrials, that examines the mating habits of Earthlings as exemplified by the relationship between one human man (MacKenzie Astin) and one human female (Carmen Electra). Narrated by David Hyde Pierce. Director: Jeff Abugov. Stars: MacKenzie Astin, Carmen Electra, Lucy Liu. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 90 min., Comedy, Columbia TriStar.
- Matrix, The Bizarre and totally absorbing virtual reality thriller about humans being manipulated by a future machine intelligence to believe they are living in the late-20th century -- when they are in fact bred in vats as batteries to create the energy of the Matrix, the computer net that strings the world together. Story revolves around a group of revolutionaries who chose computer geek Neo (Keanu Reeves) as the "one" to overthrow the machines and break down the veil of the Matrix's virtual reality. Astounding special effects and believable story line makes this one of the best sci-fi films to come down the pike in years (despite Reeves' acting). In widescreen and pan-and- scan. Sell-through edition available December 7 for $14.98. Director: The Wachowski Brothers. Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 136 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $170.00 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Meet Joe Black Loose remake of "Death Takes a Holiday," with Pitt as the personification of death come to visit a media tycoon (Hopkins), who's on the verge of a heart attack. The otherworldly presence sticks around to savor life, while giving the businessman a sense of his importance. Matters become even more complicated when Death falls for the mogul's daughter. Way too long, way too overblown. In widescreen and pan-and-scan. Director: Martin Brest. Stars: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Tambor, Claire Forlani, Marcia Gay Harden. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 180 min., Drama, Box office gross: $44.522 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Mercenary 2: Thick and Thin Pair of mercenaries discover they've been set up when they agree to rescue a captured man from the jungles of Central America. Stars: Robert Townsend, Nicholas Turturro, Olivier Gruner. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, Action, Buena Vista.
- Message in a Bottle Lackluster romance about a lovelorn journalist (Robin Wright Penn) who tracks down the writer (Kevin Costner) of a romantic note she finds in a bottle washed up on the beach, setting off a long-distance romance. Director: Luis Mandoki. Stars: Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, Paul Newman, John Savage, Illeana Douglas, Robbie Coltrane. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 126 min., Romance, Box office gross: $52.799 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Metroland Spurred on by the '60s, boyhood friends escape the dull life of their hometown Metroland. But nine years later, one returns to find the other living the life they dreaded -- married and settled. His goal -- do anything to free his friend from the Metroland existence. Director: Philip Saville. Stars: Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Lee Ross. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.299 million, Universal.
- Mickey Blue Eyes When an Englishman who runs a New York auction house (the likeable Hugh Grant) proposes marriage to his girlfriend of three months, he discovers that he'll be marrying into the mob. From there on out its downhill for this faltering comedy. Director: Kelly Makin. Stars: Hugh Grant, James Caan, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Burt Young, James Fox. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 103 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $32.100 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream The Bard's comedy about star-crossed lovers, feuding sprites and a love potion gone awry, shifted to Tuscany at the end of the 19th century, with an all-star cast. Director: Michael Hoffman. Stars: Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Stanley Tucci, Calista Flockhart. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 115 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $16.000 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Mighty, The Story revolves around the friendship between two teen boys -- one a big, quiet, slow learner, the other bright but physically handicapped -- and how they pool their strengths to achieve self-esteem and popularity in spite of their outcast status. Director: Peter Chelsolm. Stars: Elden Henson, Kieran Culkin, Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands, Gillian Anderson. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 100 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $2.643 million, Miramax.
- Mighty Joe Young Remake of the 1949 classic about a giant but kindly, friendly gorilla who's brought from Africa to the States to be put on display by greedy entrepreneurs. This version is updated to include nasty poachers, a theme park where Joe is supposed to be on exhibit, and the delightful Charlize Theron as Joe's companion. Director: Ron Underwood. Stars: Charlize Theron, Bill Paxton, Rade Sherbedgia, Peter Firth, David Paymer. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 115 min., Adventure, Box office gross: $45.000 million, Buena Vista, $24.99 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Mod Squad, The Updating of 1960s-70s TV cop drama about group of hip teens in trouble with the law who are given the opportunity to escape their sentences by working as undercover cops. Wasn't very cool then and certainly isn't cool now. Director: Scott Silver. Stars: Claire Danes, Giovanni Ribisi, Omar Epps, Denis Farina. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 92 min., Action, Box office gross: $13.249 million, MGM. DVD: Day & Date.
- Monument Avenue Depressing tale of petty Irish criminals in the working class section of Boston. Director: Ted Demme. Stars: Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Billy Crudup, Colm Meany, Famke Janssen. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.332 million, Miramax.
- Mother and the Whore, The Classic of latter-day New Wave filmmaking about a self-indulgent student and his relationships with both his lover and another woman who enters his bed; a lengthy but masterful diatribe on how power (sexual and political) emanates in society. Director: Jean Eustache. Stars: Bernadette LaFont, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Francoise Lebrun. 1973, MPAA rating: NR, 210 min., Drama, New Yorker.
- Mulan Disney's best animated musical since "The Lion King," this one clicks for all the right reasons: fine songs, luscious animation, luminous story (about a Chinese girl who saves her kingdom from invading Huns) and characters you can care about. Director: Barry Cook, Tony Bancroft. Voices of Ming-Na Wen, Eddie Murphy, B.D. Wong, Donny Osmond, Harvey Fierstein, Gedde Watanabe. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: G, 82 min., Animated, Box office gross: $120.387 million, Walt Disney, $26.99 SRP. DVD: no.
- Mummy, The Boris Karloff plays Im-Ho-Tepp, a 3,700-year-old Egyptian mummy accidentally brought back to life when a British archaeology team discovers an ancient tomb in the desert. Digitally remastered with original trailer to tie-in with this summer's remake starring Brendan Fraser. Director: Karl Freud. Stars: Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan. 1932, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 74 min., Horror, Universal, $14.98 SRP.
- Mummy, The Delightfully entertaining horror adventure thriller (with great touches of comedy/whimsy) about a beautiful librarian (radiant Rachel Weisz) who searches for the Egyptian City of Dead with a reluctant hero (Brendan Fraser). Great effects, a thrill-every-minute. Widescreen and pan-and- scan. Director: Stephen Sommers. Stars: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Arnold Vosloo, John Hannah, Kevin J. O'Connor. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 125 min., Horror, Box office gross: $154.000 million, Universal, $22.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Muppets From Space Latest installment in Muppet adventures (can it really be 20 years since The Muppet Movie?) has Muppet Gonzo believing aliens like himself are bent on invading the Earth. Live appearances by Jeffrey Tambor, Andie MacDowell, F. Murray Abraham, David Arquette and Ray Liotta. Director: Tim Hill. Stars: Voices of Dave Goelz, Steve Witmire, Bill Barretta, Frank Oz. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: G, 88 min., Children, Box office gross: $16.000 million, Columbia TriStar, $21.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Murder of Crows, A A disbarred lawyer (Cuba Gooding Jr.) in Key West comes across a dead man's manuscript -- a murder novel -- submits it as his own, and becomes a celebrity -- until it turns out that the murders depicted in the story are real, and he must prove his innocence. Direct-to-video. Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Berenger, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Eric Stoltz. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 102 min., Thriller, Sterling Home Entertainment. DVD: Day & Date.
- My Favorite Martian Weak remake of the 1960s TV series about a martian who crash lands on Earth and befriends a young man, posing as his uncle until he can fix his spaceship. Plenty of terrific special effects here but lacking a punchy script. Director: Donald Petri. Stars: Jeff Daniels, Christopher Lloyd, Daryl Hannah, Elizabeth Hurley. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 93 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $35.389 million, Disney, $22.99 SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.
- My Name Is Joe Small film about a working class bloke named Joe, on the wagon for almost a year, and his attempt to live a normal life doing odd jobs, coaching a local Glasgow soccer team and making time with a local social worker. But his drinking past eventually catches up to him. Director: Ken Loach. Stars: Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall, Gary Lewis, David McKay. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.346 million, Artisan Entertainment.
- Never Been Kissed Drew Barrymore plays a cub reporter who goes back to high school eight years after she graduated to do an undercover story on today's teens, reliving her own high school geekhood in the process. Pleasing comedy. Director: Raja Gosnell. Stars: Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Molly Shannon, John C. Reilly, Garry Marshall, Leelee Sobieski. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 107 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $55.094 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Next Stop Wonderland Tale of a man and a woman brought together by circumstance: The woman's just been dumped by her Marxist boyfriend; the man is an ex-plumber working his way through a marine biology course. Too heady for most; the characters and story never jell. Still, for the romantically inclined viewer, the gentle "search-for-true-love" story will hit a resonant note. Director: Brad Anderson. Stars: Hope Davis, Alan Gelfant, Victor Argo, Jon Benjamin, Cara Buono. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 96 min., Drama, Box office gross: $3.386 million, Miramax.
- Night at the Roxbury, A Dumb teenage boy oriented comedy about a pair of losers who are the epitome of unhip. Because of a fluke car accident, their dreams come true: they get into a fashionable club and actually meet women! Things go down hill from there. Based on "Saturday Night Live" skits. Director: John Fortenberry. Stars: Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Molly Shannon, Dan Hedaya, Loni Anderson. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 81 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $30.324 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Nights of Cabiria Fellini's classic tale of an eternally hopeful prostitute in post-World War II Rome and her search for true love. Restored director's cut features a sequence censored by the Catholic Church. Stars Giulietta Masina, Fellini's wife. In Italian with English subtitles. Director: Federico Fellini. Stars: Giulietta Masina. 1957, MPAA rating: NR, 117 min., Drama, Home Vision, $29.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Noah's Ark Hallmark TV version of the biblical flood. Stars: Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen, F. Murray Abraham, James Coburn. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, Drama, Artisan, $19.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Nosferatu the Vampyre Werner Herzog's inimitable tribute to F.W. Murnau's classic 1922 silent "Nosferatu" is as creepy -- and stylishly original -- as they come. This surrealistic Dracula version has long been a cult favorite and comes to video for the first time. In widescreen. Director: Werner Herzog. Stars: Bruno Ganz, Isabelle Adjani, Klaus Kinski. 1978, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 107 min., Horror, Anchor Bay, $14.98 SRP. DVD: Due February.
- Notting Hill An American movie superstar (Julia Roberts) and a quiet, travel-bookshop owner (Hugh Grant) fall for each other and have to surmount their cultural differences. Witty, charming, sensitive vehicle for Roberts and Grant. Director: Roger Michell. Stars: Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 124 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $114.701 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Nuttiest Nutcracker, The Direct-to-video computer animated musical -- in which all the leading characters are nuts, fruits and vegies -- follows the adventures of the Nutcracker Prince as he tries to reclaim his rule over his kingdom after Reginald the Mouse King enslaves everyone. Voices of Jim Belushi, Cheech Marin, Phyllis Diller. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 48 min., Children, Columbia TriStar, $14.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- October Sky Uplifting story about a young man who realizes his dream of breaking out of his goal-mining hometown by reaching for the sky with homemade rockets. Set against the dawn of the Space Race in 1957. Director: Joe Johnston. Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, William Lee Scott, Chris Owen, Laura Dern. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 108 min., Drama, Box office gross: $26.654 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Office Killer Offbeat thriller about an underappreciated, dissatisfied office worker -- a copy editor for a magazine -- who witnesses the inadvertent electrocution of an odious colleague and decides to kill off the rest of the staff. Lucky I edit my own copy. Director: Cindy Sherman. Stars: Carol Kane, Molly Ringwald, Jeanne Tripplehorn. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 83 min., Comic Thriller, Box office gross: $0.074 million, Dimension.
- Office Space Stressed-out office worker goes in for therapy and comes out with a new philosophy: work sucks. Intent on becoming a slacker, he shows up late (if at all), plays computer games, destroys property, tells off his boss -- and gets a promotion. Fantasy. Director: Mike Judge. Stars: Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 90 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $10.824 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- One Hundred and One Dalmatians Restored and digitally remastered Disney animated classic. 1961, CC, 79 min., Animated, Walt Disney, $26.99 SRP.
- One True Thing Delicate melodrama about successful NY journalist who returns home to help care for her dying mother and is confronted by her past -- and her philandering father -- and learns to understand them both. A hanky puller for sure. Director: Carl Franklin. Stars: Renee Zellweger, William Hurt, Meryl Streep. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 127 min., Drama, Box office gross: $23.209 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- One Tough Cop Dogged investigation by highly decorated New York cop into the rape/mutilation of a nun in an East harlem convent. Gripping thriller. Director: Bruno Barreto. Stars: Stephen Baldwin, Gina Gershon, Chris Penn, Mike McGlone, Amy Irving. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $1.220 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Open Your Eyes Psychological thriller about a handsome young man who loses his good looks in a car accident engineered by a jilted lover, aborting a love affair with a new woman. Soon he finds that he can't differentiate reality from fantasy and enters a bizarre world where he has no grounding. Director: Alejandro Amenabar. Stars: Eduardo Noriega, Penelope Cruz, Najwa Nimri. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $0.368 million, Artisan.
- Orgazmo Misfired satire of religion and the porn industry, with a young Morman who takes the word of the lord door-to-door finding himself involved in sex films as the super-hero Orgazmo -- who packs an orgasm- making gun -- to finance his wedding. Things spiral out of control when his new-found friend and porn sidekick invents a real ray-gun and the pair take their roles too seriously. A real stinker of an outing -- somewhere way below the worst bad taste of John Waters -- by Trey Parker, creator of TV's "South Park." Use of four-letter words will offend even the staunchist defender of the First Amendment. Director: Trey Parker. Stars: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bachar, Robyn Lynne, Michael Dean jacobs. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NC-17, 94 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.549 million, PolyGram.
- Other Sister, The A somewhat mentally challenged young woman (Juliette Lewis) comes home from a special boarding school, determined to assert herself in the face of her overly protective mother (Diane Keaton), along the way falling for a similarly challenged young man. Director: Garry Marshall. Stars: Juliette Lewis, Diane Keaton, Tom Skerritt, Giovanni Ribisi. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 124 min., Romantic Comedy, Box office gross: $27.316 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- Our Friend, Martin A unique feature that combines animation and live footage to tell the story of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his leadership of the Civil Rights movement. A group of students travel back in time to meet Dr. King at various points in his life. Voice stars: Angela Bassett, LeVar Burton, Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Samuel L. Jackson, James L. Jones, Oprah Winfrey. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: 61, NR min., Animated/Live Action, Fox, $14.98 SRP.
- Out of Sight Off-kilter love story-cop actioner-thriller about a U.S. Marshal (Jennifer Lopez) and a career bank robber (George Clooney) who meet and fall in love when he escapes from a prison in Florida and heads back to Detroit for one last score. Flashbacks fill out the characters and their motivation. Director: Steven Soderbergh. Stars: Jennifer Lopez, George Clooney, Ving Rhames, Dennis Farina, Don Cheadle. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 123 min., Action thriller, Box office gross: $37.400 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Out-of-Towners, The Bland remake of 1970 Jack Lemmon-Sandy Dennis comedy about visitors to New York set upon by the wilds of the city, here with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn as ad exec and wife on a Big Apple trip that goes awry. Director: Sam Weisman. Stars: Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn, Mark McKinney, John Cleese. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 91 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $28.400 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Patch Adams Robin Williams stars as Patch Adams, a rebellious former-mental-patient-turned medical student who bucks the establishment at the Medical College of Virginia by using humor and outrageous antics to help cure patients. Williams is cuddly sweet; the film pulls out every sentimental trick in the bag to please audiences. Director: Tom Shadyac. Stars: Robin Williams, Daniel London, Monica Potter, Seymour Hoffman. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 116 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $133.824 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Patriot, The Typical Steven Seagal actioner, with the stony one playing a government immunologist turned small-town doctor in Montana who has to simultaneously fend off a strange new epidemic and a group of extremists who take over the town. No U.S. distribution. Stars: Steven Seagal. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, Action, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- Payback Mel Gibson plays a no-holds barred tough guy out for revenge -- he wants $70 thousand that was taken from him by his disloyal partner and wife -- and will stop at nothing in this maxed-out violence fest that owes a big debt to film noir (the movie is shot in washed out blues). A finely crafted work, if a tad crude. Director: Brian Helgeland. Stars: Mel Gibson, Deborah Kara Unger, Gregg Henry, David Paymer, William Devane, Lucy Liu. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 102 min., Action, Box office gross: $80.906 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Pecker Scatologically funny John Waters send-up of the art world and fame, with Edward Furlong as a Baltimore amateur photographer who gets discovered and becomes a big name in the hot NYC art world, inadvertently alienating the people he loves. Nasty and tasteless and wonderful. Director: John Waters. Stars: Edward Furlong, Christina Ricci, Martha Plimpton, Mary Kay Place, Lili Taylor. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 86 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $2.279 million, New Line. DVD: Day & Date.
- Permanent Midnight Depressing bio of TV writer Jerry Stahl and his fall from success and tumble into the world of drugs. Director: David Veloz. Stars: Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Hurley, Janeane Garofalo, Maria Bello. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.166 million, Artisan. DVD: Day & Date.
- Pi This very weird film -- about a somewhat mad young scientist who holes up in his urban garret with a variety of electronic gear in order to find a mathematical order to life and gets involved with Wall Street types and Hasidic Jews -- balances philosophy with an off-the-wall mystery. Director: Darren Aronofsky. Stars: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Samia Shoaib, Pam Hart, Stephen Pearlman. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 85 min., Drama, Box office gross: $3.171 million, Artisan. DVD: Day & Date.
- Pirates of Silicon Valley TNT telefilm about the rise of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Steve Jobs (Apple). Could be subtitled "Your Lyin,' Cheatin' Hearts." Director: Martyn Burke. Stars: Noah Wylie, Anthony Michael Hall. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 120 min., Telefilm, Warner.
- Playing by Heart Ensemble cast comes to the fore in this comedy-drama about an eclectic group of people searching for love and meaning in Los Angeles. Director: William Carroll. Stars: Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands, Ellen Burstyn, Anthony Edwards, Angelina Jolie, Gillian Anderson. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 120 min., Comedy-Drama, Box office gross: $3.956 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Pleasantville 1990's brother and sister are magically zapped into the world of a 1950s TV sitcom where they bring color and social change to an otherwise black and white, complacent world of conformity in this wonderful look at the clash between modernity and conservative family values. Director: Gary Ross. Stars: Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, Joan Allen, William H. Macy, Jeff Daniels. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 124 min., Fantasy-Drama, Box office gross: $39.194 million, New Line. DVD: Day & Date.
- Plump Fiction Spoof of the work of Quentin Tarantino, about two exterminator hit-men and what happens when some routine extermination work goes wrong. Director: Bob Koherr. Stars: Paul Dinello, Julie Brown, Sandra Bernhard, Tommy Davidson. 1998, CC, Comedy, Rhino. DVD: Day & Date.
- Polish Wedding Life and love among first and second generation Polish immigrants in Detroit has enough humor, romance and family values to cast a warm glow around stars Lena Olin and Claire Danes (as mother and daughter) looking for love and happiness. Sweet. Director: Thersea Connelly. Stars: Lena Olin, Gabriel Byrne, Claire Danes. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 107 min., Romantic comedy, Box office gross: $0.600 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Practical Magic Two hot female leads strut their stuff in this fantasy tale about a pair of witchy sisters -- modern day sorceresses who try to peacefully co-exist with normal folk -- who nevertheless resort to magic when things don't quite go their way. Director: Griffin Dunne. Stars: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, Aidan Quinn. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 104 min., Fantasy, Box office gross: $42.262 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Prisoner of Love A beautiful bartender (supermodel Naomi Campbell) is witness to a murder and marked for a hit. The Mob boss gives the job to a small time hood (Eric Thal), who decides to save her life instead by kidnapping her, forcing him to live a double life. Direct-to-video. Stars: Naomi Campbell, Eric Thal, James Gallander, Beau Starr. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Thriller, Sterling Home Entertainment. DVD: Day & Date.
- Psycho Frame-for-frame reshoot and homage to the original and director Alfred Hitchcock -- albeit brought up to the present in tone and setting -- doesn't equal nor add anything to the classic. A curiosity piece at best. Director: Gus Van Sant. Stars: Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy, Robert Forster. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 106 min., Horror, Box office gross: $21.380 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Pushing Tin Talky drama about the stressful lives of air traffic controllers in New York, with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton as rival controllers in the air traffic tower. Cate Blanchett and Angelina Jolie are the not-so-dutiful wives. Director: Mike Newall. Stars: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 123 min., Drama, Box office gross: $8.406 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Rage: Carrie 2, The Weak sequel to Brian De Palma's classic, here with newcomer Emily Bergl playing Carrie's sister (same father, different mother), with telekinetic powers that allow her to get even with mean high school kids pulling an elaborate hoax on her. Ugh! Director: Katt Shea. Stars: Emily Bergl, Jason London, Amy Irving, Dylan Bruno. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 104 min., Horror, Box office gross: $17.759 million, MGM. DVD: Day & Date.
- Ravenous Gruesome, gory story of cannabism near a snowbound isolated army post in Northern California in the 1840s. Bloody, graphic visions of murdering and flesh-eating. Director: Antonia Bird. Stars: Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette, Jeremy Davies. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Horror, Box office gross: $2.060 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Razor Blade Smile 150-year-old Lilith Silver is part seductress, part La Femme Nikita, and all vampire in this delightful send-up and homage to the bloodsucking genre. Director: Jake West. Stars: Eileen Daly, Christopher Adamson, Jonathon Coote, Kevin Howarth, David Warbeck. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 101 min., Horror, A-Pix. DVD: Day & Date.
- Reach the Rock Small film about life small town, revolving around the animosity between two men -- the town police sergeant and 21-year-old -- that comes to a head one hot summer night several years after the tragic accidental death of the policeman's nephew. Director: William Ryan. Stars: William Sadler, Alessandro Novola, Bruce Norris, Karen Sillas, Brooke Langton. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.004 million, Universal. DVD: .
- Rear Window Bland TV remake of Hitchcock's classic about a wheelbound architect who becomes convinced that one of his neighbors has committed a murder. Stars: Christopher Reeve, Daryl Hannah. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 89 min., Thriller, Artisan, $19.98 SRP.
- Red Violin, The Story spanning three centuries follows the lives affected by a particularly unique red violin, from its 17th century creation in Italy to Austria, England, Shanghai, and finally modern-day Canada. A rich tapestry of drama with an almost mystic tinge. Director: Francois Girard. Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore, Sylvia Chang, Greta Scacchi. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 130 min., Drama, Box office gross: $7.926 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Rescuers, The Re-release of the 1977 animated film about a society of mice that comes to the aid of people in trouble; here they try to save a little girl from an evil woman out after the world's biggest diamond. Voices of Bob Newhart, Eva Gabor, Geraldine Page. 1977, CC, MPAA rating: G, 76 min., Animated, Disney, $26.99 SRP.
- Resurrection Two detectives on the trail of a serial killer uncover a mass-murderer feared to be the anti-Christ, who intends to reassemble the body of Christ in time for his resurrection on Easter Sunday. Director: Russell Mulcahy. Stars: Christopher Lambert, Leland Orser. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Thriller, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Return to Paradise A joy-ride Malaysian vacation of sex and drugs turns bad for three carefree guys when, after two return to the States, the third is arrested on drug charges and sentenced to death. The prisoner's lawyer tries to persuade the pair to return to help save his life. Director: Joseph Ruben. Stars: Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Joaquin Phoenix, David Conrad, Jada Pinkett Smith. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 109 min., Drama, Box office gross: $8.288 million, PolyGram.
- Return of the Musketeers Daughter of D'Artagnan reunites the Musketeers to thwart a conspiracy to overthrow the King of France. Not released in the U.S. Stars: Sophie Marceau. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, Action-Adventure, Miramax.
- Ringmaster The king of TV sleaze comes to the big screen in this fictionalized account of events leading up to an appearance by a group of unfaithful wives, husbands and lovers on "Lifestyles of the Poor and Trashy." Low-brow budget, direction and acting -- yet fans of this sleaze will enjoy the titillation. Director: Neil Abramson. Stars: Jerry Spinger, Jaime Pressly, William McNamara, Molly Hagen, Michael Jai White. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $9.002 million, Artisan. DVD: Day & Date.
- Ronin Intelligent actioner about ex-Cold War operatives, kind of modern-day Ronins -- samurai warriors without masters -- who are hired by a mysterious employer in France to recover, at all costs, a well-guarded suitcase, killing anyone who gets in the way. Director: John Frankenheimer. Stars: Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Jonathan Pryce, Sean Bean. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 122 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $41.486 million, MGM. DVD: Day & Date.
- Rounders Story of a rounder (serious card player) whose attempt to keep away from the tables by studying to be a lawyer goes astray when he comes to the aid of a loser friend and returns to gambling. Star vehicle for Matt Damon and Edwrad Norton, with scams galore. Director: John Dahl. Stars: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, John Turturro, Martin Landau, Famke Janssen. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 121 min., Drama, Box office gross: $22.905 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Rugrats Movie, The Nick's animated darlings move to the big screen in this splendid full-length feature that follows Rugrats Chuckie, Tommy, twins Lil & Phil and Angelica as they embark on an adventure to return "broke" newborn Dil Pickles (he must be "broke" cause he cries all the time) to the hospital, instead getting lost in the forest and battling a group of monkeys who have escaped from a circus. Wonderful almost surreal humor. Director: Norton Virgien and Igor Kovalyov. Stars: Voices of E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: G, 82 min., Family, Box office gross: $92.000 million, Paramount, $26.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Run Lola Run Surprise German hit, first on the international and now U.S. art-house circuit, about a young woman who has 20 minutes to find a lost bag of DM100,000 to save her boyfriend from a gangster's wrath. The film is told with three different scenarios and in different ways -- with animation, 35mm, video -- as Lola races across town to get to a phone booth with a plan in mind. A wonderful, successful "experiment" in filmic storytelling. Director: Tom Tykwer. Stars: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Armin Rohde. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 81 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $6.548 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Rush Hour High-octane thriller teams up Jackie Chan (as a Hong Kong cop sent to the U.S. to help an old friend get back his kidnapped daughter) and Chris Tucker (as a misfit L.A. cop) for fantastic stunts, action and comedy. Non-stop enjoyment. Director: Brett Ratner. Stars: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Ken Leung, Elizabeth Pena, Julia Hsu, Chris Penn. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 97 min., Action, Box office gross: $130.000 million, New Line. DVD: March 2.
- Rushmore A precocious 10th-grader -- who excels at everything but his grades -- tries to win the affection of a first-grade teacher at his school, enlisting the aid of a school benefactor/business mogul (Bill Murray) who has an agenda of his own: he's also fallen in love with the teacher. This idiosyncratic comedy, with its off-the-wall story line and characters, stays one step ahead of sticky sentimentality as it explores -- with an almost black humor touch -- three lives in search of emotional repair. Bill Murray turns in one of his best comedy roles in a long time. Director: Wes Anderson. Stars: Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $15.189 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- Safe Men Two bumbling musicians are mistaken for safecrackers by a powerful mobster and are forced to pull off a series of heists -- or die. Director: John Hamburg. Stars: Steve Zahn, Sam Rockwell, Harvey Fierstein, Paul Giamatti, Michael Lerner. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 89 min., Comedy Thriller, Box office gross: $0.036 million, Universal.
- Saving Private Ryan Academy Award winning (including best director for Steven Spielberg) World War II epic that swirls around the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach and branches out in the search for the missing-in- action Pvt. Ryan, whose three siblings were all killed within days of each other. Gruesome and horrible in its depiction of the blood-soaked human cost of battle, the film is ultimately a search for the minute amount of humanness that rises up against all odds to the contrary. Powerful filmmaking. Director: Steven Spielberg. Stars: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 160 min., War, Box office gross: $211.000 million, DreamWorks.
- Savior Decent family man and soldier gets revenge when his wife and child are blown up in a Parisian cafe by terrorists -- first he slaughters praying Arabs in a mosque, then joins the Foreign Legion and goes on a killing spree in Serbia. Director: Peter Antonijevic. Stars: Dennis Quaid. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Action, Box office gross: $0.012 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- School of Flesh, The An older woman -- a Paris fashion designer played by Isabelle Huppert -- carries on an affair with a young bisexual hunk. Based on Yukio Mishima's novel. Director: Benoit Jacquot. Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Vincent Martinez, Marthe Keller. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 103 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.401 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost Direct-to-video feature length Scooby Doo! cartoon finds Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne and Fred investigating a haunted New England town and uncovering the ghost of a witch from the 17th century. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 70 min., Children, Warner, $19.96 SRP.
- Shadow of a Doubt Courtroom drama about a high-profile Los Angeles defense attorney who faces off against her former lover, wealthy Los Angeles scions and politicians in a headline-caliber murder case. Director: Randal Kleiser. Stars: Melanie Griffith, Tom Berenger. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Drama, Columbia TriStar.
- Shadrach Based on a story by the director's father, William Styron, this small film is set in the South in 1935 and centers on the return of an aged black man to a now-rundown plantation to be buried on the land he grew up on, and the people who take him into their heart. Director: Susanna Styron. Stars: Harvey Keitel, Andie MacDowell, John Franklin Sawyer. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 88 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.020 million, Columbia TriStar.
- Shakespeare in Love What a wonderful idea: take the greatest writer in the English language, give him writer's block, have him fall in love with an aspiring actress, and viola, he writes "Romeo and Juliet." With great direction and acting, it works. And it garners seven Oscars. Director: John Madden. Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Judi Dench, Ben Affleck. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 122 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $100.000 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Shattered Image Weird surrealistic thriller about a woman who faces a dual reality -- in one incarnation she's a demure, scared newlywed who may be the target of foul play, in the other she's a hitwoman -- with the connecting thread being that each woman has dreams in which she sees herself in her other incarnation; the film seamlessly bounces back and forth between the realities. Director: Raul Ruiz. Stars: Anne Parillaud, William Baldwin, Lisanne Falk, Graham Greene. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 103 min., Psychological drama, Box office gross: $0.102 million, Universal. DVD: .
- She's All That Romantic-comedy high school take on "My Fair Lady" has two senior gods betting whether or not one of them (Prinze) can transform the school free-thinker, dweeb and all-around loser (Cook) into a queen on Prom Night. Director: Robert Iscove. Stars: Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Paul Walker, Anna Paquin, Kieran Culkin. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 95 min., Romantic Comedy, Box office gross: $60.850 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season Sequel to 1997's "Shiloah," about a young boy who rescues an abused beagle from a big meanie. Here the bad guy comes back for more. Director: Sandy Tung. Stars: Zachary Browne, Scott Wilson, Michael Moriarty. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 96 min., Children, Warner, $19.96 SRP.
- Shooting Fish This delightful comedy about two likeable con artists in London, on the verge of retiring after their last big score, starts out slow but rewards patient viewers with plenty of laughs and good feelings. Dan Futterman and Stuart Townsend play young scammers saving to buy the mansion they've dreamed about all their lives. When a young medical student (Kate Beckinsale) is enlisted to help them out, she gets the pair involved in a scam of her own -- to raise cash for a good cause. A pleasant departure from the spate of recent -- and violent -- caper films. Director: Stefan Schwartz. Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Dan Futterman, Stuart Townsend. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 93 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.254 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Siege, The New York City comes under siege by a group of Arab zealots who blow up, first, a bus loaded with passengers and then a full-house Broadway theater in an effort to blackmail the government into freeing one of their leaders. Counterterrorist Denzel Washington gets on the case, but his pursuit of terrorist cells is hampered by the CIA (Annette Bening) and the military (Bruce Willis). Director: Edward Zwick. Stars: Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Bruce Willis, Tony Shalhoub. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 120 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $40.932 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Simon Birch Simon Birch was the smallest birth at Gravestown Memorial Hospital and his mischievous idyllic childhood is lacking only one thing: parental love. With an old soul and a funny voice, he hangs with a loser friend born out of wedlock, just having fun -- until a chain of events change their lives forever. Director: Mark Steven Johnson. Stars: Ian Michael Smith, Joseph Mazzello, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt, David Strathairn. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 110 min., Comedy-Drama, Box office gross: $18.239 million, Buena Vista.
- Simon Sez Convoluted thriller about an Interpol agent (NBA's Dennis Rodman) who gets involved in a kidnapping case, arms dealers and stolen computer software. Hot action but feeble-minded story line. Director: Kevin Elders. Stars: Dennis Rodman, Dane Cook, Natalia Cigliuti. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 90 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $0.185 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Simple Plan, A Trio of Midwest small towners -- a hard working bookkeeper, his simple-minded brother and one of their beer buddies -- come across a crashed private plane with a dead pilot and $4.4 million in cash. They decide to keep the money -- no one will know after all -- but the threesome get involved in a modern "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" scenario of mistrust and murder, sending their simple plan awry. Director: Sam Raimi. Stars: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Brent Briscoe. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 121 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $16.013 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Simply Irresistible A beautiful restaurant owner (Sarah Michelle Gellar of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") goes after Mr. Right, a hard-working executive (Sean Patrick Flanery) who doesn't know she exists until he falls under her tantalizing spell, thanks to a mysterious fairy-godfather and some sensuous cooking. Despite pleasant stars, there's very little momentum -- nor magic -- in the story. Director: Mark Tarlov. Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sean Patrick Flanery. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 100 min., Romantic Comedy, Box office gross: $4.394 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Since You've Been Gone This is David ("Friends") Schwimmer's male version of "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" in which he -- and some of his classmates -- go to their 10-year reunion plotting to get even for being humiliated in school. Director: David Schwimmer. Stars: Teri Hatcher, Laura Flynn Boyle, Joey Slotnick, David Schwimmer. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Comedy, Miramax.
- Six Ways to Sunday Inventive, clever, stylish indie film about an 18-year-old man (Norman Reedus) who discovers his true calling in life: a shakedown artist unafraid to bash some heads and spill some blood for his job. Throw in the Jewish mob in Youngstown, Ohio, and a wildly way-too-possessive mom (Debbie Harry) and you have one cockeyed black comedy. Director: Adam Bernstein. Stars: Debbie Harry, Adrien Brody, Norman Reedus, Isaac Hayes, Jerry Adler, Elina Lowensohn. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Thriller, A-Pix. DVD: Day & Date.
- Six-String Samurai Wild, off-beat adventure takes place in a world in which Russia dropped the bomb and conquered the world in 1957; 40 years later a guitar-swinging bespectacled swordsman (Buddy) makes his way to Lost Vegas to claim the title of King of Rock 'n' Roll. Part "Wizard of Oz," part "Star Wars." Director: Lance Mungia. Stars: Jeffrey Falcon, Justin McGuire, Stephane Gauger. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 90 min., Sci-Fi Action, Box office gross: $0.124 million, Palm Pictures, $19.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- SLC Punk Growing up and rebelling, a la punk, in Reagan-era Salt Lake City. The film poses the question: Do you stay hardcore (mohawk hair, earrings, leather) or do you infiltrate the system (go to law school)? Director: James Merendino. Stars: Matthew Lillard, Michael Goorjian, Jennefer Lien, Annabeth Gish, Christopher McDonald. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 98 min., Satire, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & date.
- Slums of Beverly Hills Wonderfully funny and gentle coming-of-age-comedy about a 15-year-old girl's two main problems in life: her rising sexuality and her dysfunctional, nomadic family (headed by a Willie Loman-type car dealer dad) who move from dump to dump so that the kids can stay in the better Beverly Hills' schools. Great look at life on the cusp in the mid- 1970s . Director: Tamara Jenkins. Stars: Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Corrigan, Jessica Walter, Rita Moreno, Carl Reiner. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 91 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $5.376 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date
- Smoke Signals Explores modern life on an Indian Reservation, following two men who take off on a life-changing road trip in this off-beat film that won a Filmmakers Trophy and Audience Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. Stars: Adam Beach, Tantoo Cardinal, Irene Bedard. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 89 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $6.653 million, Miramax.
- Snake Eyes A corrupt detective gets embroiled in investigating the assassination of the Secretary of Defense at a boxing match, with 14,000 screaming fans as potential suspects. Director Brian De Palma weaves a thrilling tale of truth and deception. Director: Brian De Palma. Stars: Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise, Carla Gugino, Joan Heard. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $55.104 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Soldier Run of the mill sci-fi adventure about fighting men in outer space, in particular Kurt Russell as a no-nonsense, unfeeling killing machine who eventually faces off against a bio-engineered rival on a distant planet. Rehashed themes and outworn ideas. Director: Paul Anderson. Stars: Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Gary Busey, Connie Nielsen. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 98 min., Sci-Fi, Box office gross: $14.567 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, A Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Kaylie Jones, daughter of author James Jones ("From Here to Eternity," "The Thin Red Line"), about her family's lives first as expatriates in Paris in the '60s and '70s, then in the States. Wonderfully moving melodrama with fine turns by Kristofferson, Hershey. Director: James Ivory. Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Barbara Hershey, Jane Birkin, Jesse Bradford, Leelee Sobieski. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 128 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.738 million, Universal.
- South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Trey Parker and Matt Stone's R-rated animated TV series makes it to big screen, nastier and more flamboyant (if that's possible). The story line loosely revolves around the fine folks of South Park, Colorado, who get the U.S. into war with Canada over a Canadian movie that "corrupts" the town's kids. Director: Trey Parker. Stars: Voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman, Isaac Hayes, George Clooney, Eric Idle. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 80 min., Adult animation, Box office gross: $51.900 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- South Park Volumes 7-8-9 This almost-R-rated Comedy Central cartoon series has slapped America's funny bone and audiences are still recovering -- to the tune of 8 million visits to the weekly TV show. The folks at Rhino have put together three new volumes of the nasty-minded and toilet- humored cartoons -- basically about a group of third-graders wandering through a bizarre world of mayhem and supernatural, extraordinary and insane events in the Colorado Rockies town of South Park -- highlighted by the infamous two-parter "Cartman's Mom Is a Dirty Slut" and "Cartman's Mom Is Still a Dirty Slut." There's two episodes on each video. Director: Trey Parker & Matt Stone. 1999, MPAA rating: NR, Adult cartoon, Rhino.
- Space Truckers Direct-to-video big budget special effects extravaganza with some off-the-wall overacting by Dennis Hopper, Stephen Dorff and Debi Mazar; tale follows adventures of a space trucker who hijacks a load of robot killing machines sent to take over the earth. Dialogue and plot are about as corny as they get; swelling music is too robust for the production. Stars: Dennis Hopper, Stephen Dorff, Debi Mazar. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, min., Science Fiction, Sterling Home Entertainment. DVD: Day & Date.
- Splendor A young woman's lackluster love life takes a turn for the better when, on one crazy night, she meets and falls in love with two men. Soon the trio live together -- until she meets another suitor who makes her an offer she can't refuse. Director: Gregg Araki. Stars: Kathleen Robertson, Jonathan Scheach, Matt Keeslar. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 93 min., Romance comedy, Box office gross: $0.013 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Star Trek: Insurrection The ninth feature film in the Star Trek franchise has the crew of the Starship Enterprise initially investigating a survey mission gone awry on a strange planet. Here they not only discover a planet whose population has attained eternal youth, they uncover a sinister plot by an aging, dying race to forcefully "cleanse" the planet of its civilization in order to harness the "fountain of youth." Against Federation orders, the crew joins in to save the planet and its inhabitants. Not as spectacular as previous voyages, but nevertheless an outer space thrill ride. Director: Jonathan Frakes. Stars: Patric Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, F. Murray Abraham. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 103 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $70.118 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Stepmom Weepy melodrama from director Chris Columbus ("Mrs. Doubtfire," "Home Alone") about the turmoil of an upper-middle class family when mom (Susan Sarandon) and dad (Ed Harris) separate and dad takes up with a younger, career-minded fashion photographer (Julia Roberts) who's forced into the role of an unwelcome stepmother for his two kids. Director: Chris Columbus. Stars: Julia Roberts, Ed Harris, Susan Sarandon. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 125 min., Melodrama, Box office gross: $90.002 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Still Crazy Wild rock comedy about a quintessential 1970s British rock band, the Strange Fruit, who disbanded in 1977 and attempt to reunite in 1998 for a legendary open-air rock festival. Director: Brian Gibson. Stars: Stephen Rea, Billy Connolly, Jimmy Nail, Timothy Spall, Bill Nighy. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.477 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Storm of the Century Video release of the three-part ABC February telefilm of Stephen King's horror drama about a small Maine town besieged by evil during the worst storm of the century. On two cassettes. Director: Craig Baxley. Stars: Tim Daly, Colm Feore, Debrah Farentino. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 248 min., Horror, Trimark. DVD: Day & Date.
- Strangeland Heavy Metal horror film about a sadistic madman who lures victims using the Internet. Stars: Dee Snider, Elizabeth Pena, Robert Englund. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 85 min., Horror, Box office gross: $0.649 million, Artisan.
- Summer of Sam Character study of two friends and their lives set against the rising paranoia in their community during the summer of 1977 New York murder spree by the Son of Sam. As the temperatures rise, so does tension, fear and betrayal. Ambitious but failed outing for director Spike Lee. Director: Spike Lee. Stars: John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Rispoli. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 142 min., Drama, Box office gross: $19.283 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- Supercop 2 Sequel of sorts to Jackie Chan's "Supercop," here following the adventures of Chinese Inspector Jessica Yang (Michelle Yeoh) as she travels to Hong Kong to help stop a notorious crime ring lead, unbeknownst to her, by a former boyfriend. Director: Stanley Tong. Stars: Michelle Yeoh. 1993, CC, MPAA rating: NR, min., Martial arts, Miramax.
- Supreme Sanction Below-average direct-to-video political thriller about an assassin (Kristy Swanson) for a clandestine government agency who aborts her assignment to kill a TV journalist; both end up on the run as they seek to expose a high-level plot. Big budget, weak story line, dialogue and acting. Director: John Terlesky. Stars: Michael Madsen, Kristy Swanson, David Dukes, Ron Perlman. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 93 min., Thriller, Sterling Home Entertainment. DVD: Day & Date.
- Talk of Angels Romantic drama about an Irish woman who travels to Spain to work as a governess for an aristocratic family, and her love affair with the married son of the patriarch. Stars: Vincent Perez, Polly Walker, Frances McDormand. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.015 million, Miramax.
- Tango Passionate mix of dance and drama about a young director, abandoned by his wife, who throws himself into the making of a film about tango, getting involved with a gorgeous young dancer who happens to be the mistress of the film's main investor. In Spanish with English subtitles. Director: Carlos Saura. Stars: Miguel Angel Sola, Cecilia Narova, Mia Maestro. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 115 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.644 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Taste of Cherry Award-winning story of a despondent man's attempt to find someone to help him commit suicide and the people he encounters, including a museum employee who argues that if he takes his life he'll miss the simple pleasures of life: the taste of cherries, for example. Filmed in the hills above Tehran, Iran. In Iranian with English subtitles. Director: Abbas Kiarostami. Stars: Homayon Ershadi, Abdolhossein Bagheri, Ali Moradi, Mir Hossein Noori. 1997, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 95 min., Drama, Home Vision, $29.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Tea With Mussolini Semi-autobiographical film about director Franco Zeffirelli's (as a child) life with group of expatriate British and American woman just before, during and after World War II in Italy. Director: Franco Zeffirelli. Stars: Cher, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, Charlie Lucas, Baird Wallace, Lily Tomlin. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 116 min., Drama, Box office gross: $13.700 million, MGM. DVD: Day & Date.
- Teaching Mrs. Tingle Screenwriter Kevin Williamson's first directorial outing takes another of his stabs -- so to speak -- at high school evil, here in the form of a nasty, holy terror teacher (Helen Mirren) and the three students who eventually get even with her. Director: Kevin Williamson. Stars: Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes, Jeffrey Tambor, Barry Wilson, Marisa Coughlan, Michael McKean. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 93 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $8.800 million, Dimension. DVD: Day & Date.
- Telling You Relationship comedy about a group of friends who return to their hometown the summer after graduating college looking for love and excitement. Stars: Peter Facinelli, Jennie Garth, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Matthew Lillard. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, Comedy, Miramax.
- Temptations, The Home video version of the TV miniseries bio of the acclaimed Motown group, sporting a fabulous soundtrack of originals from "My Girl" to "Just My Imagination." 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 150 min., Musical bio, Artisan, $19.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Ten Benny Gritty urban drama about an ambitious shoe salesman/hustler who borrows ten grand to bet on a sure thing at the horse races, only to find himself on the short end of the stick when the horse doesn't come in but the mob does. Director: Eric Bross. Stars: Adrien Brody, Sybil Temchen, Tony Gillan, Frank Vinent. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 98 min., Drama, BMG.
- The Prince of Egypt Beautifully animated story of Moses and his ascension to the leadership of the Hebrews. Based on the book of Exodus, with a nod to Cecil B. DeMille. Stars: Voices of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 96 min., Animated, Box office gross: $101.105 million, DreamWorks, $26.99 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Theory of Flight, The A stressed out man is sentenced to perform community service and ends up caring for a young woman in the final stages of a terminal motor disease, naturally learning to love her. Great performances but typical story arc. Director: Paul Greengrass. Stars: Helena Bonham Carter, Kenneth Branagh, Gemma Jones, Holly Aird. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 98 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.071 million, New Line.
- There's Something About Mary Farrelly Bros.' smash summer hit about nerdy, angst-driven man (Ben Stiller) still suffering from high school crush on Mary (Cameron Diaz) who tracks her down 13 years later, only to have the detective and a host of others get in his way. Slapstick, bathroom humor. Director: Peter and Bobby Farrelly. Stars: Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, Chris Elliott, Markie Post, Keith David. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 119 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $180.000 million, Fox.
- Thief, The Venice Film Festival winner about life during Stalin's regime in Russia, following the interaction between a young, fatherless boy, his mother and the stranger who enters their lives with profound consequences. Russian with English subtitles. Director: Pavel Chukhrai. Stars: Vladimir Mashkov, Ekaterina Rednikova, Misha Philipchuk. 1997, CC, MPAA rating: R, 92 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.126 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Thin Red Line, The Director Terrence Malick goes behind the camera after a 21 year absence to create this harrowing vision of personal hell during the fierce battle of Guadalcanal Island during WWII. Highlighted by a fine ensemble cast, fabulous visuals and editing. Director: Terrence Malick. Stars: Sean Penn, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, Jim Caviezel, Elias Koteas, Ben Chaplin, Nick Nolte, Woody Harrelson. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 170 min., War drama, Box office gross: $36.324 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Thirteenth Floor, The Sci-fi mystery thriller about computer visionaries who create a living simulation of 1937 Los Angeles on a computer located on the 13th floor of a downtown office building. When one of them turns up dead, the other travels to the virtual world for some answers. Director: Josef Rusnak. Stars: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Vincent D'Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $11.722 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- This Is My Father Moving story of a burned-out Illinois school-teacher (James Caan) who travels to Ireland to search for his roots, uncovering a family tragedy (told in flashbacks to a 1939 love affair) that illuminates his life. Director: Paul Quinn. Stars: Aidan Quinn, James Caan, John Cusack, Stephen Rea, Moira Deady, Colm Meaney. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 120 min., Drama, Box office gross: $.896 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Three Seasons Sundance Film Festival winner weaves together four absorbing tales about life in modern-day Vietnam, following the day-to-day lives of a cyclo driver, a prostitute, a young man hustling trinkets on the street, and a girl hired to be the assistant to a reclusive spiritual master. Director: Tony Bui. Stars: Don Duong, Ngoc Hiep, Tran Manh Cuong, Harvey Keitel, Zoe Bui. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 113 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.957 million, USA Home Entertainment.
- Trekkies Docucomedy that takes an off-kilter look at the "menace" of Star Trek fandom. Hosted by Denise Crosby of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 87 min., Documentary, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Trippin' A day-dreaming high school student (trippin' a la Walter Mitty) is more concerned with getting his dream date for the prom instead of applying himself to find a good college in this teen comedy starring Deon Richmond (TV''s "Sister, Sister"). Director: David Raynr. Stars: Deon Richmond, Adeosun Falson, Guy Torrey, Maia Campbell, Michael Warren, Bill Henderson. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 85 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $9.000 million, USA Home Entertainment. DVD: Day & Date.
- True Crime Clint Eastwood directed and stars in this thriller about a down-and-out journalist who must prove that a man on death row is innocent -- with only hours to go before his lethal injection. Eastwood plays his typical antihero, boozing womanizer to perfection. Director: Clint Eastwood. Stars: Clint Eastwood, Isaiah Washington, Lisa Gay Hamilton, James Woods, Denis Leary, Diane Venora. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 127 min., Drama, Box office gross: $16.635 million, Warner. DVD: Day and Date.
- Truman Show, The Possibly the finest film of the year is director Peter Weir's dissertation on the nature of existence and faith, in the form of naif Truman Burbank, whose whole life -- unbeknownst to him -- has been orchestrated in a fabricated environment for the sole purpose of a TV show. Brilliant satire of 20th century media and human relations. Stars: Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Natascha McElhone. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 103 min., Satire, Box office gross: $125.618 million, Paramount. DVD: Jan. 26.
- Twin Dragons Jackie Chan does double duty in this Hong Kong martial arts actioner, playing twins separated at birth and raised in two different worlds -- one as a concert pianist in New York, the other on the streets of Hong Kong. Naturally their worlds collide -- in typical Chan fashion. Director: Ringo Lam and Hark Tsui. Stars: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Nina Li Chi. 1992, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 100 min., Action, Box office gross: $7.758 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Two-Lane Blacktop Classic American road film of the 1970s, about a pair of car fanatics in a 1955 Chevy who meet a pathological liar in a new GTO and decide to race cross-country, along the way meeting up with unsuspected twists and turns. Never before released to video due to music clearance problems. Director: Monte Hellman. Stars: Warren Oates, James Taylor, Dennis Wilson. 1971, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 103 min., Action, Anchor Bay, widescreen, $14.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Un Air De Famille A simple story about a family that gets together for dinner once a week; this darkly comic tour-de-force displays their petty politics, family squabbling, whining and needling to reveal universal truths about family life. French with English subtitles Director: Cedric Kapisch. Stars: Agnes Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Catherine Frot, Claire Maurier. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 105 min., Comedy-Drama, Fox Lorber. DVD: Day & Date.
- Universal Soldier: The Return Sequel to 1992's hit, here with reformed cyborg Jean-Claude Van Damme a consultant to the lab where Unisols are made. When the Army axes the project, the main computer goes mad, and Van Damme must fight inhuman killing machines to save the world. Haven't we been here before? Director: Mic Rodgers. Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michael Jai White, Nill Goldberg, Heidi Schanz, Kiana Tom. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 83 min., Action, Box office gross: $10.400 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Urban Legend A demented killer murders co-eds in quaint New England college town, basing his deeds on well-know urban legends -- those macabre folk tales that make the rounds of campouts, sleepovers and slumber parties. Director: Jamie Blanks. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Horror, Box office gross: $36.494 million, Columbia TriStar. DVD: Day & Date.
- Varsity Blues By-the-numbers teen drama starring James Van Der Beek of "Dawson's Creek," about the trials and tribulations of a second-string high school football quarterback who butts up against his father's failed high school football ambitions and teen love. Director: Brian Robbins. Stars: James Van Der Beek, Jon Voight, Paul Walker, Ron Lester, Amy Smart, Ali Larter. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Drama, Box office gross: $52.000 million, Paramount. DVD: Day & Date.
- Velvet Goldmine Story of the rise and fall of a mythical glam rock star who suddenly disappears at the peak of his fame in the early 1970s. Director: Todd Haynes. Stars: Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Toni Collette, Christian Bale. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, min., Rock Drama, Box office gross: $1.043 million, Miramax.
- Very Bad Things Five buddies on a bachelor party romp in Las Vegas accidentally kill a prostitute, setting off a horrific chain of events that leads to paranoia, various coverups, and more murders before the happy couple trip the light fantastic down the wedding aisle. A mad comic vision that attempts to strip away the veneer of middle-class civility by showing the dark side of seemingly normal people. There's some very funny moments here but for the most part the film is just too over-the-edge dark to be enjoyable. Kudos to the fine ensemble cast -- particularly Cameron Diaz playing against her goody-goody roles of the past -- for attempting to pull it off. Director: Peter Berg. Stars: Christian Slater, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Stern, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Jon Favreau, Jeremy Piven. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Dark Comedy, Box office gross: $9.876 million, PolyGram. DVD: Day & Date.
- Very Thought of You, The Gentle British romantic comedy about three buddies who independently fall for the same American woman. Only one of the three realizes her connection to the others, but if he acts on his romantic instincts, he betrays them. What's a good guy to do? Director: Nick Hamm. Stars: Monica Potter, Joseph Fiennes, Rufus Sewell, Tom Hollander, Ray Winstone. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 88 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.094 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Virus The crew of a small salvage tug encounters a deserted Russian intelligence ship that has been taken over by an alien life form that considers humans to be a virus and is out to conquer the earth. Typical horror scenes with crew members becoming fodder for the alien. Director: John Bruno. Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Joanna Pacula. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Sci-Fi Horror, Box office gross: $14.010 million, Universal. DVD: Day & Date.
- Waco: The Rules of Engagement Investigative documentary that offers evidence that the FBI, contrary to official assertions, fired on and then torched the Branch Davidian Compound near Waco, Texas, in the famous battle that outraged survivalist and civil libertarians alike. 1997, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 136 min., Documentary, New Yorker. DVD: Day & Date.
- Waking Ned Devine Wonderful tale about the inhabitants of a small Irish town who find out that one in their midst has won the national lottery -- 6 million pounds. When the winner -- Ned Devine -- is found dead, the townsfolk join together in an outrageous scheme to claim the winnings. One of the better comedies out of the British Isles in years -- and heads above "The Full Monty" in its subtle comedic underpinnings. Director: Kirk Jones. Stars: Ian Bannen, David Kelly, Fionnula Flanagan. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 91 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $23.099 million, Fox.
- Walk on the Moon, A A 31-year-old housewife (Lane) travels to the Catskills in 1969 for a vacation with her Jewish mother and daughter, ends up having an affair with a traveling salesman, bringing out her existential freedom -- exemplified by tie-dyed clothing, drugs and a trip to Woodstock. Oh yeah! Director: Tony Goldwyn. Stars: Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber, Anna Paquin, Tovah Feldshuh. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Drama, Box office gross: $4.741 million, Miramax. DVD: Day & Date.
- Waterboy, The Goofball comedy has Sandler as socially-retarded 31-year-old Cajun football waterboy who's been tormented all his life by everyone around him -- until he joins a losing football team and learns to transform his anger into awesome tackles. Sparkling slapstick and Sandler humor. Director: Frank Coraci. Stars: Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, Fairuza Balk, Jerry Reed, Henry Winkler. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 86 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $140.000 million, Buena Vista. DVD: Day & Date.
- Welcome to Woop Woop A New York con man flees to Australia, where he has a fling with a lusty woman and ends up a hostage to her after a shotgun wedding. Locked in a barn, he discovers that previous husbands all met the same fate: shot in the back while escaping. Black comedy by the director of "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert." Director: Stephan Elliott. Stars: Jonathon Schaech, Rod Taylor, Susie Porter, Dee Smart. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $0.035 million, Orion.
- What Dreams May Come This beautifully created visual orgy of an afterlife fantasy has Robin Williams dying and going to heaven, leaving behind his true love/wife. After exploring Paradise (which is made up of his thoughts), he discovers that his wife has committed suicide, and he journeys to her self- made hell to find her soul. Gorgeous. Director: Vincent Ward. Stars: Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Annabella Sciorra. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 114 min., Fantasy, Box office gross: $55.350 million, PolyGram. DVD: May.
- Whatever Aspiring artist wants to leave her anonymous New Jersey town for the wilds of Manhattan in the hopes of encountering rebellion and adventure. A coming-of-age saga set in the early 1980s with music by Iggy Pop, Blondie, Ramones, Patti Smith, David Bowie. Director: Susan Skoog. Stars: Liza Weil, Chad Morgan, Mark Riffon, Dan Montano, John G. Connolly. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 113 min., Drama, Box office gross: $0.307 million, Columbia TriStar.
- Wild Wild West 1960s Western TV series brought to the big screen, with President Ulysses S. Grant bringing together government agent James West (Will Smith) and U.S. Marshall (and man of many disguises) Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline) to foil Dr. Arless Loveless (Kenneth Branagh). Plenty of special effects and mechanical gizmos. In widescreen and pan-and-scan versions. Director: Barry Sonnenfeld. Stars: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, M. Emmet Walsh. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 107 min., Western comedy, Box office gross: $111.724 million, Warner, $22.96 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Wilde Lush photographed biography of famed and controversial writer Oscar Wilde. Director: Brian Gilbert. Stars: Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 116 min., Biodrama, Box office gross: $2.157 million, Columbia TriStar.
- Winchell HBO TV dramatization of the life of gossip columnist Walter Winchell who, at the height of his journalistic powers, could make and break stars, businessmen and even politicians. Stanley Tucci won a Golden Globe for his performance. Director: Paul Mazursky. Stars: Stanley Tucci, Glenne Hedley, Paul Giamatti, Christopher Plummer. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Drama, HBO.
- Wing Commander This "Topy Gun" meets "Starship Troopers" is all "crash and burn," with terrible acting laid over a hokey story about fighter pilots who have to fend off an attack on Earth by a vicious alien race, the Kilrathi. A very lame outing. Director: Chris Roberts. Stars: Freddie Prinze Jr., Saffron Burrows, Matthew Lillard, Ginny Holder, Jurgen Prochnow, David Warner. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 100 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $11.538 million, Fox. DVD: Day & Date.
- Wishful Thinking Comedy about the complexities of modern relationships, revolving around a young couple whose trust in each other is threatened when the young man decides he doesn't want marriage as an option and is wooed by a sexy interloper. Stars: Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Beals, Jon Stewart. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, Comedy, Miramax.
- Wishmaster 2 Direct-to-video sequel about an evil force that grants wishes, turning them into the worst nightmares that people could ever imagine. Stars: Andrew Divoff, Paul Johansson, Holly Fields, Bokeem Woodbine. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: R, 96 min., Horror, Artisan. DVD: Day & Date.
- Without Limits Intelligent bio of late long-distance running champ Steve Prefontaine, who rose to international prominence in the 1970s. Unfortunately, this pic never made it past the first turn and audiences stayed away. Director: Robert Towne. Stars: Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, Monica Potter, Judith Ivey. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 120 min., Biodrama, Box office gross: $0.777 million, Warner. DVD: Day & Date.
- Wizard of Oz, The The classic digitally remastered for a better image -- and stereo sound. Director: Victor Fleming. Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton. 1939, CC, MPAA rating: G, min., Musical, Warner, $16.95 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Yellow Submarine The Beatles' classic animated film returns after an 11-year moratorium, with an added song ("Hey Bulldog"), featuring a digitally renovated picture and remixed stereo surround soundtrack 1968, CC, MPAA rating: G, 88 min., Animated, MGM, $19.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Young Frankenstein Special Edition Mel Brooks' crazy comedy take (in B&W) on the Frankenstein monster, with Gene Wilder as the Doctor's grandson inheriting the family castle and repeating the infamous experiments -- with wild and wacky twists. This 25 1/2 year anniversary edition has behind-the-scenes footage, bloopers, feature. Director: Mel Brooks. Stars: Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman. 1974, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 105 min., Comedy, Fox, $14.98 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- You've Got Mail Rough remake of Ernst Lubitsch's 1940 classic "The Shop Around the Corner," about co-workers in a shop who don't know they're loney-hearts pen pals, here updated with Meg Ryan as neighborhood book store owner and Tom Hanks as the mogul of a conglomerate trying to put her out of business, who fall in love via e-mail. Sickly sweet sentimental romance. Director: Nora Ephron. Stars: Tom Hanks, Parker Posey, Meg Ryan, Jean Stapleton, Dave Chappelle, Dabney Coleman. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 120 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $114.000 million, Warner, $22.96 SRP. DVD: Day & Date.
- Your Friends & Neighbors Director Neil Labute's followup to his breakthrough "In the Company of Men" follows the disaffected personal and love lives of a pair of mismatched couples and their friends. Director: Neil LaBute. Stars: Amy Brenneman, Aaaron Eckhart, Catherine Keener, Natassja Kinski, Jason Patric, Ben Stiller. 1998, CC, MPAA rating: R, 100 min., Drama, Box office gross: $4.710 million, PolyGram. DVD: May.
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December 15, 2000