| brucekluger.com |
Armstrong and Billie Holiday playing themselves. Rich story and atmosphere galore, but the highlight is the Louie-Billie duet “The Blues Are Brewin.’” NR; 89 minutes (Kino) The Next Best Thing: Trés modern yoga instructor Madonna and gay pal Rupert Everett get drunk and naked, waking up in the A.M. with a baby on the way. Hard to believe one small movie could so blatantly miss the point about gay life and parenting, and still find the time to give Madonna her worst hair in years. Yuck. PG- 13; 107 minutes (Paramount) Next Friday: Writer-star Ice Cube’s sequel to his ’95 urban comedy hit Friday finds the rapper-actor still doing battle with the South Central bully (Tommy “Tiny” Lister, Jr.), while comic Mike Epps makes his screen debut as a cousin who wins the lottery and high-tails it to the suburbs. The soundtrack—with Ice, Snoop an Wyclef Jean— smokes. R; 98 minutes (New Line) The Ninth Gate: Roman Polanski’s back—and that’s the bad news. Johnny Depp is a rare book broker hired by a creepy, occult-obsessed millionaire (Frank Langella) to comb the globe in search of copies of a work co-authored by Satan (who knew he wrote?). Completely preposterous script and Polanksi working on auto-pilot make it plain hell. Pass. R; 132 minutes (Artisan) North by Northwest: This special edition of Alfred Hitchcock’s mistaken-identity classic (you remember the one: the crop duster? Mt. Rushmore? Cary Grant on the lam?) boasts widescreen formatting, a digital transfer and stereo remix, as well as a making-of documentary, featuring interviews with co-stars Eva Marie Saint and Martin Landau, and screenwriter Ernest Lehman. For serious Hitchockians. NR; 136 minutes (Warner) The Nutty Professor: The Jerry Lewis original; retrospective featurette on Paramount in the Fifties, special soundtrack...in French, of course. (Paramount) The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps: The corpulent chemist is back, this time battling his smarmy alter-ego over a priceless anti-aging formula. Man-of-a- thousand-characters Eddie Murphy puts form before content (the script is awful), while hilariously cranking out the titular clan with jaw-dropping precision—from the family’s sweet-hearted matriarch to its x-rated grandma. Tour-de-force Eddie—but beware the giant flying hamster pellets. PG-13; 107 minutes (Universal) On Our Merry Way: Finally on tape, this overlooked 1948 musical—originally titled A Miracle Can Happen—boasts a bevy of stars (Henry Fonda, Dorothy Lamour, James Stewart, Burgess Meredith) and a delightful script about jazz, Hollywood and thugs. Despite the sole direction credit to Leslie Fenton, George Stevens and King Vidor pitched in, too. In B&W. NR; 107 minutes (Kino) On the Ropes: Oscar-nominated documentary trails three boxing hopefuls through a year of Golden Gloves bouts. Not exactly When We Were Kings, but packs enough punch to go the distance. NR; 90 minutes (Fox Lorber) Outside Providence: Dim but decent blue-collar R.I. teen ships off to buttoned-up Connecticut prep school. Darkly funny coming-of-ager from the Farrelly brothers (Something About Mary) tries to be Diner but falls short. Alec Baldwin scores as a beer-swilling widower. R ; 103 mins. (Miramax) The Patriot: Mel Gibson is a widowed Revolutionary War hero who reloads his musket and takes on the Redcoats in revenge for the murder of his sons. If the real freedom fighters were as unconvincing as this film—it’s stagey and sappy and drowning in bad acting—we’d all still be speaking with English accents. Pass. R; 165 minutes (Columbia TriStar) The Perfect Storm: Wolfgang Petersen’s chronicle of a doomed swordfishing vessel swallowed up by a North Atlantic tsunami manages to extract suspense from a story whose gloomy outcome we suspect from the get-go. George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg gallantly pilot the action down to its thrilling finale, upstaged only by the mind-blowing special effects. Based on Sebastian Junger’s bestseller, and co- starring Diane Lane. PG-13; 130 minutes (Warner) Peter Pan: Mary Martin’s 46-year lease on the boy who wouldn’t grow up has officially expired. Eternally adorable Olympian Cathy Rigby soars in this specially produced vid version of her triumphant American revival of the James Barrie classic. Contagiously singable, with standout turns by Paul Schoeffler as Captain Hook and Dana Solimando as Tiger Lily. And you will clap for Tinkerbell. NR; 104 minutes (A&E) Picking Up the Pieces: Cuckolded Kosher butcher Woody Allen chops up wife Sharon Stone and buries her in the desert. When a blind woman stumbles upon an errant hand—and her sight returns—the town is beset by religious fanatics and fakes. As allegories go, it’s OK—but definitely not your first choice for family night at the VCR. David Schwimmer co-stars. R; 95 minutes (Artisan) Planet of the Apes: The Evolution: Years before he became a pistol-packing loudmouth, Charlton Heston dazzled as the unlucky astronaut stranded in a world of badly dressed monkeys. This DVD box set—which includes the 1968 original, four sequels and a making-of documentary—features a rotating cast: though Chuck bails out after two, subsequent knuckle-walkers include Sal Mineo, John Huston and the ubiquitous Brit simian, Roddy McDowell. PG (Fox) Play It to the Bone: Out-of work boxing buddies Woody Harrelson and Antonio Banderas are signed to duke it out in a flashy Las Vegas bout, but the question is: will they ever get there? Lolita Davidovich is the pair’s ride through the desert; and Lucy Liu is the lusty hitchhiker they pick up along the way. A riot. R; 124 minutes (Buena Vista) Plunkett & Maclean: Combo crime caper-buddy flick stars Trainspotting’s Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller as England’s “Gentlemen Highwaymen,” 18th Century bandits who targeted the rich. Gritty doings, with Liv Tyler adding grace to the mix. R; 102 minutes (USA) Pokémon: The First Movie: Trouble abounds when biologically engineered Mewtwo breaks from the pack (there are 151 Pokesters in all) to start own super race of pocket monsters. A tad rough for its rating. G; 75 minutes (Warner) The Powerpuff Girls: Move over, Pokémon. The Cartoon Network’s hip throng of lab-generated lassies debuts in two-tape, ten-episode set, including "Monkey See, Doggie Do" (a best-of collection) and "Bubblevicious" (fan faves). Be warned: It’s only beginning. NR; 82 minutes (Warner/Cartoon Network) Princess Mononoke: Claire Danes, Billy Crudup and Gillian Anderson provide the voices for this striking animated epic about an ancient Japanese warrior cursed by forest gods and searching for deliverance. The good-versus-evil storyline—like the artwork—is not cutesified for the Pokémon set, but instead complex and beautifully textured. The perfect diversion for kids and grown-ups alike. PG-13; 133 minutes (Miramax) The Prophecy 3: The Ascent: Christopher Walken reprises role as heaven’s busiest fallen angel, Gabriel, this time protecting mankind from doom. Surprisingly engaging for a threequel, though Walken now looks like Greta Van Susteren. Vincent Spano co-stars. R; 89 mins. (Dimension) The Quarry: Irish actor John Lynch is an escaped criminal in a small South African town who accidentally murders a Baptist minister, then takes on his identity. A sober allegory that sifts through the complexities of race and righteousness, it was adapted from Damon Galgut’s novel and earned the Grand Prize at the 1998 Montreal Film Festival. R; 112 minutes (First Run) Race Against Time: With Eric Roberts. Two behind-the-scenes featurettes, inside look at the sci-fi effects. NR; (Warner) Raising the Mammoth: Intrepid team of scientists from around the world brave icy Arctic Siberia to recover a 23,000-year-old wooly mammoth from its final resting place fully intact. (Not as easy as it sound, sports fans.) This riveting documentary first aired on the Discovery Channel—and in 145 countries—last March. Genuinely thrilling. NR; 120 minutes (Family Home Entertainment) Red Shoe Diaries: Two discs, six stories. Original diaries, never-before-seen footage, interactive trivia. NR (Showtime) Regret to Inform: Poignant portraits of American and Vietnamese women whose husbands were killed in the Southeast Asian war. Up-close interviews and now-and- then footage highlight this sad, sensitive journey, directed by Barbara Sonneborn, herself a Vietnam widow. NR; 72 minutes (Docurama) Reindeer Games: Ben Affleck is a just-released convict who takes on the identity of his dead former cell mate, only to discover that the role-switch includes an unpredictable girlfriend (Charlize Theron) and her psycho thug brother (Gary Sinise). Less confusing than it sounds, and wonderfully acted by all, especially by the effortlessly sexy Theron. John Frankenheimer (Ronin) directed. R; 104 minutes (Dimension) Return to Me: Widowed architect David Duchovny reluctantly agrees to go on a blind date at an Irish-Italian restaurant where he unexpectedly falls in love—with the waitress (Minnie Driver). Engaging, if familiar, premise (As Good As It Gets, It Could Happen To You, etc.), yet proof once more that Duchovny is genuinely....funny. Carroll O’Connor checks in as Driver’s meddling grandfather. PG; 116 minutes (MGM) RKO 281: Liev Schreiber is Orson Welles in behind-the-scenes expose of the making of Citizen Kane. Made-for-TV and often looks it, but Schreiber’s fiery egotist gives it decent backbone. James Cromwell co-stars a W.R. Hearst. R; 90 minutes (HBO) Road Trip: New York college boy Breckin Meyer videotapes his one-nighter with a knockout sorority girl, only to have the tape accidentally sent to his girlfriend in Texas. Panic ensues, as the knucklehead enlists his buds to join him on the titular car journey to retrieve the tawdry evidence. A bumpy ride—it bounces from bawdy to strangely sweet—but not without its adolescent charms. R; 91 minutes (Dreamworks) The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Think about it: Ford was President when it debuted. This 25th Anniversary edition of the rock-and-rolling, cross-dressing, Frankensteinian freak show (and granddaddy of the midnight b-movie) is digitally remastered, THX-certified and includes the deleted song “Superheroes” (and tons more on the DVD). It still stars Susan Sarandon, Tim Curry and Barry Bostwick. R; 100 minutes (Fox) Romeo Must Die: Shakespeare in the ‘hood--and not bad. Human Swiss army knife Jet Li (whose eye-blink martial arts energized Lethal Weapon 4) plays an ex- cop from Hong Kong who arrives in Oakland to avenge the death of his brother, a victim of a local turf war. Li’s Juliet is pop singer Aaliyah, who’s music vid “Try Again” also appears on the tape. R; 115 minutes (Warner) Rosemary’s Baby: New Q&A with Polanski, making- of featurette. (Paramount) Royal Revelations: Bummed that Buckingham’s been quiet of late? Don’t be. Here’ s a sordid little scrapbook of the English throne that hangs out a century’s worth of dirty royal laundry, dating back to the Saxe-Coburgs of the late 1800s. Included: George the VI’s private demons, the Queen Mother’s “dark side,” Prince George’s supposed bisexuality, and QEII’s friction with her daughters-in-law. Veddy dishy. NR; 51 minutes (MPI) Rugrats: Discover America: The nation’s favorite snot-noses headline four mini- features, including a cross-country travelogue in which the tiny terrors trek from the Everglades to the Grand Canyon in search of a “zoomineer” (souvenir). Just what you’d expect. NR; 58 minutes (Paramount) Rules of Engagement: A Marine colonel (Samuel L. Jackson) wrongfully charged with slaughtering innocents in the Middle East calls on loyal Vietnam crony Tommy Lee Jones to defend him at court-martial. It’s all paint-by-the-numbers as the script marches on to a predictable finish—but watching this pair of old pros do their thing beats turning on Regis again tonight, right? R; 127 minutes (Paramount) Saving Grace: Feature-length audio commentary by Brenda Blethyn and others. R (New Line) Scary Movie: Director Keenan Ivory Wayans skewers the horror genre—from Halloween to Blair Witch—with a loose-knit series of vignettes ranging from bloody to bloody hysterical. Contrived around the usual premise (all hell breaks loose when dim-witted school chums start dropping like flies), its best yuks come from the black-robed, white-faced Scream ghoul, who, as it turns out, is actually a goofball. R; 88 minutes (Dimension) Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders: In a world of Rugrats and Powerpuff Girls, it’ s refreshing to know the ol’ pooch still has what it takes. This time out Scooby and Shaggy find themselves high-tailing it from E.T.s, uncovering government secrets and mysteriously falling in love (not with each other). A nice canine caper, with Jennifer Love Hewitt crooning the famed theme song. Really. NR; 80 minutes (Warner) Scream 3: Memo to Neve: Three’s a charm, move on. Ms. Campbell and fellow regulars David and Courteney Cox Arquette join newcomers Jenny McCarthy and Parker Posey in Wes Craven’s third installment of the cheeky shriek-fest franchise. This time the gang dodges mayhem on the set of, you guessed it, a horror movie. You’ll yawn, then shriek. R; 117 minutes (Dimension) The Secret Life of Geisha: Intimate docu-portrait unwraps 400-year history of Japan’s exquisite pleasure providers. Inspired by best-seller, Memoirs of a Geisha, program debunks enduring myths (no, they are not high-priced hookers) and includes interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. NR; 100 mins. (A&E) Secrets of the Dead: This four-volume history lesson follows modern-day scientists who unravel the world’s great mysteries via DNA analysis, ice-core sampling and forensic archaeology. Among the globe’s probed puzzlements: the fate of the Pueblo people, the Hindenburg explosion, the onset of the Dark Ages, and the disappearance of the Vikings (anyone check Minnesota?). Marvelous. NR; 240 minutes (PBS) Shaft: In John Singleton’s slick update of the 1971 blaxploitation classic, Samuel L. Jackson is the NYPD detective with an attitude and a mission, now combing the streets in search of a homicidal rich kid. Despite rumors of director-star friction on the set, it still crackles, thanks to Singleton’s singular stylings, namely ace camera work and tons of mood. Isaac Hayes’ Oscar-winning title theme remains. R; 99 minutes (Paramount) Shanghai Noon: Chinese imperial guard Jackie Chan posses up with Wild West gunslinger Owen Wilson to save a kidnapped princess and score a trunkload of gold. The east-west gimmick hits the bullseye as Chan, the Zen master of crossover, brings chop-socky to the old barroom brawl. Lucy Liu plays the royal lady in distress. PG-13; 110 minutes (Touchstone) The Sid Caesar Collection: It was the Saturday Night Live of its era and still holds up. This three-tape compilation of Caesar’s salad days includes sketches and musical numbers from Your Show of Shows, meticulously restored from the original kinescopes. Also included: exclusive interviews with Sid’s exceptional writing crew, among them Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and Carl Reiner. NR; 75 minutes each (Creative Light) Simpatico: Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges and Sharon Stone are former racetrack cons whose past catches up with them when Nolte unfolds a blackmail scheme timed with Bridges’ sale of the titular racehorse. Director Matthew Warchus remains true to the passionate. quirky underpinnings of Sam Shepard’s stage play, on which the script was based. Albert Finney and Catherine Keener co-star. S. R; 97 minutes (New Line) The Simpsons Political Party: Six politically-themed episodes in which Homer runs for Sanitation Commisisioner, George Bush spanks Bart, and the IRS targets Mr. Burns as an international spy. Three-tape set includes bonus montage of Homer’s greatest “D’ohs.” NR; each tape 50 minutes (Fox) The Sixth Sense: Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan’s tale of a devoted shrink treating a ghost-channeling kid was critics’ darling—for good reason. Willis and H.J. Osment soar in 1999’s smartest, most compelling mind-bender. PG-13; 105 minutes (Touchstone) Sleepy Hollow: Heads fly in Tom Burton’s creepy, cheeky retelling of Washington Irving’s tale of the noggin-lopping horseman. Johnny Depp’s faint-hearted detective Ichabod Crane delights, as the Oscar-winning sets cast the perfect shadows. Christina Ricci co-stars. R; 105 minutes (Paramount) Small Time Crooks: Schlemiel con man Woody Allen (who also wrote and directed) and ex-stripper wife Tracey Ullman devise a bank robbery scheme that backfires, turning them into cookie industry moguls instead. Thirty-one years after Take the Money and Run, the Woodman obviously still knows his way around a crime caper—it’s a hoot. Hugh Grant, Michael Rapaport and John Lovitz co-star. (PG; 94 minutes (Dreamworks) Snow Falling on Cedars: Fifties reporter Ethan Hawke reunites with childhood love while covering a murder trial on wintry Puget Sound isle. Soapy doings, with a worthy back story about post-WWII Anglo-Japanese tensions. Directed by Scott Hicks (Shine). PG-13; 128 minutes (Universal) Somewhere in Time: 20th Anniversary Edition: Making-of documentary, interviews, fan club report. PG (Universal) Son of the Sheik (1926): Rudolph Valentino is don of the desert in sequel to his ‘21 blockbuster, The Sheik. Classic kidnapping plot-line plays second fiddle to opulent sets and great overacting. In B&W with color tints. NR; 68 minutes (Kino) The Sopranos: The Complete First Season: Thirteen hours of episodes, behind- the-scenes featurettes, commentary, interview with creator David Chase (by Peter Bogdanovich). NR (HBO) The Sound of Music: They’re alive again—the hills, that is. This special 35th Anniversary edition of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s do-re-mi classic boasts a fully- restored, THX-digital transfer, while the DVD includes tons of archival material (from storyboards to radio spots), as well as a full-length making-of documentary. Julie what's-her-name stars as the nun with the heavenly pipes. G; 175 minutes (Fox) The Source: Director Chuck Workman delivers a crash course on the Beat movement—from Kerouac and Ginsberg to today’s poetry slams. Interviews and footage galore, with appearances by Bob Dylan, Dennis Hopper, Ken Kesey and Timothy Leary. NR; 89 minutes (Fox Lorber) South Park: New three-pack replays Christmas episodes (featuring Mr. Hanky), a Brit documentary (Goin’ Down to South Park) and Chef’s hit music video, “Chocolate Salty Balls.”(Warner) A Star is Born (1954): Arguably the best version of the classic showbiz love saga (it came after the 1937 Janet Gaynor original, and before the 1976 remake with Babs), was George Cukor’s rendition, starring Judy Garland at her finest. The DVD edition includes the network telecast of the premiere (plus documentary footage of the after-party), audio from missing scenes, and alternate filmings of "The Man that Got Away" and "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street"; PG (Warner) Star Wars Trilogy: Previously shelved, the original triptych is boxed and back for a limited time. It includes a 10-minute sneak-peek at Episode II. Bargain-priced. (Lucasfilm/Fox) Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace: First chapter of new Skywalker trilogy raked in nearly a billion at the b.o. Story flags and Liam coasts—but Lucas’ fireworks and Jar Jar Binks bring home the goods. PG; 133 minutes (Lucasfilm/Fox) Storm Tracker: Black op General Martin Sheen and meteorologist Luke Perry whip up a man-made hurricane, then accidentally sic it on L.A. (Is that so bad?) Strangely compelling—in that cheesy, TV-movie way. PG-13; 90 minutes (Touchstone) The Straight Story: Richard Farnsworth won an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of real-life septuagenarian Alvin Straight, who rode a tractor from Iowa to Wisconsin to mend fences with his dying brother. A true heart-warmer from—surprise!—David Lynch. G; 111 minutes (Disney) Stuart Little: The mouse that roared: Fetching live-action /animated spin on rodent-in-the-house classic pulled in $140 million at b.o. Fun story and visuals, with Geena Davis nicely convincing as a human. PG; 84 minutes (Columbia TriStar) A Summer’s Tale: In the third chapter of director Eric Rohmer’s "Four Seasons" cycle, a shy mathematician vacationing at the Brittany seashore finds himself torn among three alluring women (it should only happen to all of us). Despite its chattiness, Rohmer keeps the characterizations sharp and the young man’s dilemma sweetly upbeat. In French, with English subtitles. NR; 113 minutes (Winstar) Supernova: A deep-space infirmary ship answers a distress call from a dying star, then races to make a getaway before being blown into galactic bits. James Spader, Angela Basset and Lou Diamond Phillips do what they can to elevate this latest addition to the Star Wars-weary genre—but count your blessings: At least it doesn’t star Travolta in alien makeup. R; 90 minutes (MGM) Superstar: Molly Shannon’s geeky, frantic Catholic school girl, Mary Katherine Gallagher, dreams of getting kissed in a Hollywood movie. Just like it plays on SNL— only longer. Will Ferrell co-stars. PG-13; 92 minutes (Paramount) Sweet and Lowdown: Woody Allen replays the clever Zelig gimmick, blending fact and fiction in a faux documentary about the second greatest jazz guitarist in the world. Allen’s script dips and soars like a playful sax solo; Sean Penn’s smarmy charm keeps the tempo smart, and a mute Samantha Morton provides the soul. PG- 13; 95 minutes (Columbia TriStar) (See Bruce Kluger's 2000 Us Weekly video/DVD reviews, A-E, F-M, T-Z) |