| January 2002 - Selected Home Video/DVD Releases |
JANUARY 1-2
"The Fast and the Furious"
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker star in this action film about urban street racing. Brian (Walker) is a Los Angeles policeman who goes undercover to investigate a series of truck hijackings. The police suspect that street racers are responsible for the hijackings and assign Brian to infiltrate a gang of them headed up by Dominic (Diesel). Soon Brian finds himself in a world where people eat, sleep, and breathe transforming ordinary Japanese cars into high-performance vehicles and drag racing them on the streets. Along the way Brian starts to fall for Dominic’s sister (Jordana Brewster), and he also meets a feisty female gang member (Michelle Rodriguez). All this leads to some exciting action sequences, and the film is generally visually arresting, featuring some great shots of customized cars and auto parts.
"The Glass House"
In this thriller,
16-year-old Ruby (Leelee Sobieski) and her younger brother Rhett (Trevor Morgan)
are suddenly orphaned when their parents are killed in an automobile accident.
The family attorney (Bruce Dern) tells the kids that their parents have left
them a $4 million trust fund and that they will live with Terry and Erin Glass
(Stellan Skarsgard and Diane Lane) in their large glass house in Malibu. But
as Ruby and Rhett try to adapt to their new situation, we gradually become aware
that the Glasses are up to some sort of diabolical scheme and the kids are in
danger. There’s some creepily moody cinematography in "The Glass House," but
80 percent of the critics on the Rotten Tomatoes Web site found the movie to
be rotten.
"Greenfingers"
"Greenfingers"
is a good-natured, slight British comedy about convicts who learn enough about
growing flowers that they have a shot at competing in a prestigious show. In
an "open prison" in the Cotswolds, Colin Briggs (Clive Owen) is doing time for
murder when he stumbles upon the fact that he seems to have a gift for growing
flowers. Colin quickly becomes quite enthusiastic about his new-found interest,
and when the warden furnishes him and some other convicts with tools and land,
they become downright passionate about growing flowers. The prisoners cultivate
such an impressive garden that it attracts the attention of Georgina Woodhouse
(Helen Mirren), a famous writer and gardener, and she tries to arrange for the
convicts to enter their flowers in a major competition, but complications arise.
Martin Lawrence and Danny DeVito star in this crime comedy. Kevin Caffery (Lawrence), a professional thief, becomes romantically involved with a beautiful young woman named Amber, who gives him a ring. Later, Kevin attempts to rob an unoccupied house belonging to a crooked millionaire named Max Fairbanks (DeVito), but Max unexpectedly turns out to be in the house with a girlfriend. When the police arrive, Max lies to them and winds up with the ring Amber gave to Kevin. Most of the rest of the movie involves Kevin trying to get the ring back from Max, and we also see Max embroiled in a number of legal problems resulting from his life of white-collar crime. Eighty-eight percent of the critics on the Rotten Tomatoes Web site found this movie to be rotten, but Martin Lawrence fans may not care.
JANUARY 8
"Jeepers Creepers"
In this teen horror movie, two college students, Trish (Gina Philips) and her younger brother Darry (Justin Long), are driving home together during a break when they are almost run off the road by a man in a beat-up old truck. Further down the road, they see the driver of the truck dumping something that looks like human bodies into a large pipe in the ground. Later, Trish and Darry return to the pipe, where they make a horrifying discovery. After some initial difficulties, the college kids get law enforcement involved, and along the way they encounter a creepy woman (Eileen Brennan) with lots of cats and a strange psychic named Jezelle (Patricia Belcher). But Trish and Darry must avoid the supernatural creature called "The Creeper" (Jonathan Breck) who is the cause of the horror they have stumbled upon.
JANUARY 15
"American Pie 2"
This lowbrow comedy
is a sequel to "American Pie," and all of the major cast members from the earlier
film are back. This time around, Jim (Jason Biggs) and his buddies have just
finished their first year of college, and for the summer the sex-obsessed guys
rent a lakeside house, where they are joined by the lecherous Stifler (Seann
William Scott). Jim still suffers from performance anxiety, but he gets some
help from band geek Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Also, when Jim applies to his
body what he believes to be a lubricant that turns out to be glue, he has to
be taken to the hospital by his father (Eugene Levy). And there are other funny
sequences as well, including one where three of the guys watch two scantily
clad babes kiss and caress each other, but the gals make the guys pay a price
for their voyeurism.
Alan Cumming,
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, Parker Posey,
John C. Reilly, and Jennifer Beals are among those making up the fine ensemble
cast of "The Anniversary Party," a drama centering around the wedding anniversary
of a writer and his actress wife. Even though Joe and Sally Therrian (Cumming
and Leigh) have spent most of the previous year apart, they invite several friends,
mostly Hollywood types, over to celebrate their sixth anniversary. Joe is involved
in making a film whose female lead is based on Sally, but he thinks Sally is
too old for the role and has cast Skye Davidson (Paltrow), who is a guest at
the party. As the long night wears on, the party-goers indulge in the drug ecstasy,
and some painful truths are revealed.
"Bubble Boy" is
a satire about a young man named Jimmy Livingston (Jake Gyllenhaal) who has
lived his entire life inside a protective bubble because he was born with a
faulty immune system. Jimmy is attracted to Chloe, his next door neighbor, but
she goes off to Niagara Falls to marry another. Jimmy then makes himself a portable
bubble suit and sets out on a long journey across the United States to try to
prevent the wedding. On his journey, Jimmy encounters much that is ugly in American
life, and at one point falls in with a traveling freak show. Meanwhile, Jimmy’s
bigoted mother (Swoosie Kurtz) tries to locate and retrieve her son. In its
theatrical release, this strangest of all Disney movies found little favor with
either critics or audiences.
Mariah Carey stars in this musical drama about a singer who rises from obscurity to achieve stardom in 1980s New York City. Carey portrays Billie Frank, who as a child was taken away from her troubled, blues-singing mother and put in an orphanage. As a young adult, Billie gets a job singing backup for a beautiful but talentless performer. Then she teams up with a DJ called Dice, and he helps her get a record contract with a major label. Billie and Dice begin a romantic relationship, but as Billie’s star shines brighter and brighter, some nasty legal problems surface, leading to heartbreak. On the Rotten Tomatoes Web site, 96 percent of the critics found "Glitter" to be rotten, but Mariah Carey fans may not care.
"Tortilla Soup"
In 1994 Ang Lee directed a much-loved little film titled "Eat Drink Man Woman" about a Chinese chef and his three daughters. "Tortilla Soup" is a remake of that earlier movie where the Chinese family has been transformed into a Mexican-American family. Martin Naranjo (Hector Elizondo) is a widower whose three unmarried adult daughters still live at home with him. The eldest daughter (Elizabeth Pena) is a spinster schoolteacher, the middle daughter (Jacqueline Obradors) a successful career woman, and the youngest (Tamara Mello) is of college age. But as Martin whips up some great-looking Mexican food for them all to share, each of the three daughters and Martin himself find someone to pair off with. On the Rotten Tomatoes Web site, "Tortilla Soup" got three positive reviews for every negative one.
JANUARY 22
"Kiss of the Dragon"
Jet Li and Bridget Fonda star in this martial-arts action movie. Liu Jian (Jet Li) is a top Chinese law enforcement official who travels to Paris to investigate a drug lord. There he must work with Richard (Tcheky Karyo), a crooked French cop who kills the suspect and frames Liu for the murder. While trying to avoid the men Richard has dispatched to get him, Liu encounters Jessica (Bridget Fonda), a prostitute who works for Richard. Jessica is desperate to escape Richard’s clutches, and she and Liu form an unlikely partnership against the evil French policeman. But the plot in "Kiss of the Dragon" is mainly a device to showcase exciting action sequences, particularly those featuring the astonishing martial-arts skills of Jet Li.
"Rock Star"
Set in the 1980s, Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston star in this drama about a Pittsburgh copy-machine repairman who becomes the lead singer for a big-time heavy metal band. Chris Cole (Wahlberg) has an ordinary day job and enjoys a good relationship with his supportive girlfriend Emily (Aniston), but he’s also the lead singer for a local band called Blood Pollution that performs songs in the style of the famous Steel Dragon band. But when internal dissension causes Steel Dragon to dump its lead singer, Chris winds up replacing him. However, Chris’s new-found celebrity as a member of Steel Dragon puts a severe strain on both Chris and Emily, and they face some difficult decisions. The story in "Rock Star" is apparently inspired by something that happened in the real-life band Judas Priest.
JANUARY 29
"Atlantis: The Lost Empire"
Set in 1914, this
animated adventure film is about a science geek who sets out to find the lost
world of Atlantis. Milo Thatch (voice of Michael J. Fox) joins an expedition
financed by an eccentric millionaire (voice of John Mahoney) to search for the
legendary sunken continent. To conduct the search, Milo and a motley crew travel
under the seas in a boat captained by an old salt named Rourke (voice of James
Garner). Although they have to battle fierce creatures, some of them manage
to reach the fabled land at the bottom of the ocean. There they find an amazing
civilization that has some issues that need to be dealt with. Milo befriends
Princess Kida (voice of Cree Summer), but her father, the King of Atlantis (voice
of Leonard Nimoy), is not favorably disposed toward the outsiders.
Written and directed
by Woody Allen, this comedy stars Allen himself, Dan Aykroyd, Helen Hunt, Elizabeth
Berkley, and Charlize Theron. Allen portrays CW Briggs, an insurance investigator
in 1940 New York City. At the office CW doesn’t get along with Betty Ann "Fitz"
Fitzgerald (Hunt), the efficiency expert who’s having an affair with their boss
(Aykroyd). But a magician uses a jade scorpion pendant to hypnotize CW and Fitz
and make them believe they’re in love with each other. Soon CW is investigating
a string of home robberies where diamonds are stolen, but little does he know
that he is the thief, stealing the jewels under the command of the magician,
who is still able to put him back under hypnosis! The film features a labyrinthine
plot and pays careful attention to period detail.
Tom Tykwer’s "Run
Lola Run" starring Franka Potente drew a lot of attention, and "The Princess
and the Warrior" is another German-language art house drama from that writer-director
featuring the same leading actress. Sissi (Potente) is a nurse at a mental hospital
who is badly injured in an accident inadvertently caused by bank robber Bodo
(Benno Furmann). While Sissi is still conscious, Bodo manages to save her life.
Then she passes out, and when she regains consciousness, he has vanished. Later,
Sissi recovers and tracks Bodo down, but he rebuffs her. However, the lives
of Sissi and Bodo seem fated to be intertwined, and this leads to a remarkable
series of events. What sets this film apart is Tykwer’s talent for telling his
story and revealing his characters in unexpected ways.
John Cleese, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Rowan Atkinson are among the many talented people appearing in the comedy "Rat Race," a remake of the 1963 film "It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." Tycoon Donald Sinclair (Cleese) creates a contest where six teams will travel by any means they can the several hundred miles from Las Vegas to Silver City, New Mexico, where the first team to arrive will collect $2 million. The contestants are a diverse group of people who have a number of adventures as they race across the desert. Meanwhile, Sinclair and his high-roller cronies place bets on the outcome. There’s no question that the sight gags and pratfalls in "Rat Race" provide some laughs, but critics are divided as to whether there are enough to make the movie worth seeing.
Related Home Video/DVD Features of Interest:January 2002 - Recommended Releases on Home Video/DVD
February 2002 - Recommended Releases on Home Video/DVD
February 2002 - Selected Home Video/DVD Releases
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