ADVENTURES OF
PINOCCHIO, THE
This live-action version of the classic story about a
rambunctious puppet who longs to be a boy is closer to the spirit
of Collodi's story than previous versions. The folks at Jim
Henson's Creature Shop have not only created a "living" wooden
puppet, they've breathed life into the cricket who helps guide
Pinocchio through the vagaries of wooden boyhood. With a fine
turn by Martin Landau as woodworker Geppetto, this is one story
that will grow on you. A great family film.
Director: Steve Barron. Stars: Martin Landau,
Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Bebe Neuwirth. CC (MPAA rating: G 88
min.) Animated Kids 1996 (New Line N4438V) $19.98
SRP Available: 11/5
ANNE FRANK
REMEMBERED
This 1995 Academy-Award winner for best documentary, narrated by
Kenneth Branagh, is the first-ever first-hand account of the life and legacy
of Anne Frank, the 25-year-old Jewish girl who came to symbolize the horrors
of the Holocaust. Combining personal testimony, never-before-seen photos,
undiscovered family letters and rare archive footage with commentary, the film
chronicles the history of the Frank family with special focus given to the girl
-- not the icon -- whose diary of two years in hiding from the Nazi in Amsterdam
during World War II has sold over 25 million copies in 54 languages since it was
first published in 1947. The original editions of the diary, by the way,
were excised by Anne's father, Otto; a more definitive edition, recently
published, paints a teenage girl more self-absorbed and more naturally curious
about sex than the one mythologized by the original book and the 1959 movie.
Excerpts from the unexcised diary are read by Glenn Close.
Director: Jon Blair. Stars: Narrated by Kenneth
Branagh and Glenn Close. CC (MPAA rating: PG 117 min.)
Documentary 1995 (Sony Classics 84643) Priced for rental
Available: 11/5
BOYS
The ever-popular Winona Ryder steals more hearts in this romantic
drama about a young girl on the run from her terrible past who takes refuge in a
boy's school and changes the life of the boy who shields her from her pursuers.
Lukas Haas plays a high school senior at the end of his miserable stint at the
Sherwood School for Boys, dreading having to follow in his father's corporate
footsteps. But his life soon takes on new meaning when he encounters the
mysterious "older woman" and puts her up in his room. Their mutual attraction
turns to romance; for the boy, it's a portal to adulthood; for the young woman,
a return to innocence. But reality beckons and Ryder must reconcile the dark
choices of her recent past. Flopped at the box office but a definite for Ryder
fans.
Director: Stacy Cochran. Stars: Winona Ryder,
Lukas Haas. CC (MPAA rating: PG-13 86 min.) Romantic comedy
1996 (Touchstone 5951) Priced for rental Available:
11/12
COLD COMFORT
FARM
This charming period satire stars Kate Beckinsale as Flora Poste, a
1930's London society girl, recently orphaned, who exercises her familial
"rights" and seeks refuge with her feudal relatives, the woebegone Starkadders
of Cold Comfort farm, a part of her family tree that contains more than a few
nuts. This odd collection of eccentric and superstitious family members don't
necessarily befit Flora's upper crust social standing but they do provide heady
material for the novel she's writing. Flora quickly discovers that her work is
cut out for her when she discovers a variety of concerns on the farm -- hygiene,
grooming, proper manners, commerce, finance and romance -- and in her own
inimitable way, she managers to create order out of chaos. Despite a meager box
office performance, the film is developing a small but strong following.
Director: John Schlesinger. Stars: Kate
Beckinsale, Joanna Lumley, Rufus Sewell, Ian McKellen. CC (MPAA
rating: PG 104 min.) Comedy/Satire 1996 (MCA/Universal 82959)
Priced for rental Available: 11/12
DRAGONHEART
Dennis Quaid and Sean Connery star in this costume drama filled
with spectacular special effects and chivalrous adventure. A
disillusioned but noble knight (Quaid) in the 10th century goes
on a quest to destroy dragons but meets more than he bargained
for in the "person" of Draco (voiced by Connery), the last of the
magical dragons, whose wit, intelligence, power and strength
changes the knight's mission and changes the face of the medieval
world. Despite a name cast, this is for sword and sorcery lovers only.
Director: Rob Cohen. Stars: Sean Connery,
Dennis Quaid, Julie Christie. CC (MPAA rating: PG-13 103 min.)
Fantasy 1996 (MCA/Universal 82826) Priced
for rental Available: 11/26
HELLRAISER:
BLOODLINE
Pinhead, that Grand Black Prince of Hell, is back again in what
is billed as the final chapter in writer Clive Barker's
"Hellraiser" saga. In this nightmarish "finale," all the loose
ends of the previous installments are tied up and the beginning,
middle and end of the mythology are brought together. Pinhead
puts up a grand fight but the portal to hell is finally closed.
Or is it? Of limited appeal even to horror film lovers. The director's
name --
Alan Smithee -- is a pseudonym used when the real director doesn't,
for whatever
reason, want to be associated with a film.
Director: Alan Smithee. Stars: Bruce Ramsey,
Valentina Vargas. CC (MPAA rating: R 81 min.) Horror 1996
(Dimension 9245) Priced for rental
Available: 11/12
INDEPENDENCE
DAY
No need to rant or rave about this one: American (and now
international) moviegoing audiences have made this movie one of
the highest grossing films of all time (approaching $300 million).
The only question that remains about this alien-invasion saga
about beings from outer space that attack the Earth on the Fourth
of July is how those incredible special effects of city-sized
flying saucers and mass-destruction will play on the small
screen. Get this one while it's hot.
Director: Roland Emmerich. Stars: Will Smith,
Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Margaret Colin, Vivica Fox. CC
(MPAA rating: PG-13 145 min.) Science Fiction 1996 (FoxVideo
4118) $22.98 SRP Available: 11/22
KAZAAM
This is basketball star Shaquille O'Neal's first segue to the big
screen and, naturally, he plays a superstar, although of a very
different nature. He's Kazaam, a 3,000-year-old genie who pops
out of a boombox when its knocked over by a young city kid being
chased through a condemned warehouse. The kid gets the benefit of
Kazaam's powers to get out of trouble while the loveable genie
becomes a rap star and falls in love. Ah, antiquity was never
like this.
Director: Paul M. Glaser. Stars: Shaquille
O'Neal. CC (MPAA rating: PG 94 min.) Comedy 1996 (Buena
Vista 8294) Priced for rental
Available: 11/19
MISSION:
IMPOSSIBLE
Tom Cruise took venerable 1960s TV series "Mission: Impossible"
to the big screen and, despite a drumming by the critics,
audiences loved the spectacular action and special effects,
ignoring the lost story line (something about a list of
undercover agents falling into the wrong hands) embedded in
techno-gloss (a hallmark of the TV series - the impossible
missions were always impossibly obtuse). No need for plot:
there's Cruise, espionage and stunts, and that's all that's
required for this popcorn-chomper. Directed by Brain De Palma and
co-starring Jon Voight and Emmanuelle Beart.
Director: Brian De Palma. Stars: Tom Cruise,
Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Beart, Jean Reno. CC (MPAA rating: PG-13
110 min.) Action thriller 1996 (Paramount 31899) $14.79
SRP Available:
11/12
MRS.
WINTERBOURNE
Weak remake of Barbara Stanwyck's 1950 tearjerker "No Man of Her
Own" about a down-and-out pregnant woman (Ricki Lake) who takes
the identity of a socialite when the rich woman (also pregnant)
and her husband are killed in a train crash. Nurturing her new
son and her new identity, the young woman enters the rich world
of the Winterbournes, headed up by matron Grace (Shirley
MacLaine), and becomes an integral part of her "new" family.
Director: Richard Benjamin. Stars: Ricki Lake,
Brendan Fraser, Shirley MacLaine. CC (MPAA rating: PG-13 106
min.) Romantic Comedy 1996 (Columbia TriStar 11663) Priced for
rental Available:
11/05
NUTTY PROFESSOR,
THE
Based on the 1963 Jerry Lewis film of the same name, this wild
comedy has been touted as a "comeback" of sorts for Eddie Murphy,
who weaves his manic comic prowess in seven different roles.
Murphy challenges himself as 400-pound professor Sherman Klump
who invents a revolutionary fat gene formula that literally melts
off pounds. Now incarnated as sweet-talking ladies man Buddy
Love, Sherman pursues the woman of his dreams (Jada Pinkett) only
to discover that his wonder drug is unstable -- and can wear off
at any time.
Director: Tom Shadyac. Stars: Eddie Murphy,
Jada Pinkett, James Coburn. CC (MPAA rating: PG-13 96 min.)
Comedy 1996 (MCA/Universal 82594) $22.98 SRP
Available: 11/12
ORIGINAL
GANGSTAS
"Original Gangstas" features an unprecedented reunion of
African-American actors
who headlined a series of classic 1970s urban action films -- the
so-called
Blaxploitaion films. Uniting on the big screen were Fred Williamson,
"The
Hammer" from his football days and a director-producer through his
Po'Boy
productions; Jim Brown, the National Football League Hall of Famer
whose credits
include "The Dirty Dozen," "Ice Station Zebra" and "The Running Man";
Richard
Roundtree, who gained international fame as "Shaft" (1971); Pam Grier,
the
undisputed queen of '70s Black action films, starring in "Coffy" and
"Foxy
Brown"; and Ron O'Neal, best known for his roles in "Superfly" and
"Superfly
T.N.T." Joining them are Paul Winfield, whose credits span every film
genre, and
Isabel Sanford of "The Jeffersons." And the story line is great --
old-time
gangstas set out to rid the neighborhood of the new breed of
remorseless urban
punks. It's mainstream and overdone but fun to watch.
Director: Larry Cohen. Stars: Fred Williamson,
Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree, Pam Grier, Paul Winfield, Isabel
Sanford, Ron O'Neal. CC (MPAA rating: R 99 min.) Action 1996
(Orion Home Video OHV-8809) Priced for
rental Available: 11/5
PHANTOM, THE
True to its title, "The Phantom" disappeared without a trace from
screens this summer. And that's too bad, because the film, loaded
with tongue-in-cheek action and thrills, deserves a closer look.
Billy Zane plays the title character, a kind of Indiana Jones in
purple tights, who fends off villains seeking illicit riches in
the Bengalla jungle, New York City and an uncharted island, with
the aid of his horse, Hero, and his pet wolf, Devil. Love
interest is supplied by Kristy Swanson.
Director: Simon Wincer. Stars: Billy Zane,
Kristy Swanson, Treat Williams. CC (MPAA rating: PG 100 min.)
Action-Adventure 1996 (Paramount 328503) Priced
for rental Available: 11/19
SPY HARD
This self-indulgent spoof of the spy film genre in general and
James Bond in particular stars Leslie Nielsen as agent WD-40
who's lured back to active duty to stop an evil villain (Andy
Griffith) from destroying the world. Along the way we're treated
to every sort of slapstick and joke revolving around spys and
espionage, as well as parodies of scenes from "Speed," "Sister
Act" and other recent films. Sex interest is provided by Nielsen
(uhh, that's Nicollette Sheridan).
Director: Rick Friedberg. Stars: Leslie
Nielsen, Nicollette Sheridan, Charles Durning. CC (MPAA rating:
PG-13 81 min.) Comedy 1996 (Hollywood 8289) Priced for
rental
Available:
11/5
STRIPTEASE
Here's a movie that goes to show what lots and lots of money can
buy: Demi Moore and a perfect, well-conditioned body. This well-
intentioned project that went awry with cost overruns and bad
publicity is a comedy-drama (with scant few laughs) about a mother who
takes a
job as a stripper in order to raise enough money to wage a custody
battle
for her daughter. Andrew Bergman, who brought the smooth satires
"The Freshman" and "Honeymoon in Vegas" to the big screen, helmed
this rough outing: It's cliche-driven without the irony of his
past outings.
Director: Andrew Bergman. Stars: Demi Moore,
Robert Patrick, Burt Reynolds. CC (MPAA rating: R 115 min.)
Comedy Drama 1996 (Columbia TriStar 80193) No SRP
Priced for rental Available:
11/19
SUNSET PARK
This typical teacher-turns-around-the-bad-boys saga stars Rhea
Perlman as a female P.E. teacher who takes over as coach of a
boys' high school varsity basketball team. The only problem is
she's white, short and female. A soundtrack featuring 2Pac, Tha
Dog Pound, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Onyx and Groove Theory lays a
solid foundation as Perlman transform this group of mixed-up kids
into a winning team.
Director: Steve Gomer. Stars: Rhea Perlman,
Fredro Starr, Carol Kane, Terrence DaShon Howard. CC (MPAA
rating: R 99 min.) Comedy 1996 (Columbia TriStar 89513)
Priced for rental Available:
11/12