Selected February and March Releases on Video/DVD
February 6
Dr. T and the Women
Robert Altman's fable-like comedy/drama can spark heated debate. The title character (played by Richard Gere) is a Dallas gynecologist who puts women on so high a pedestal it’s inevitable something will eventually bring his vision of women down to earth.
February 13
Get Carter
Sylvester Stallone stars as Jack Carter, a Las Vegas debt collector who returns to Seattle for his brother's funeral. He discovers his brother was murdered and sets out on a personal quest to punish those responsible.
Woman on Top
This star vehicle for Penelope Cruz was panned by most critics, yet still managed to charm a few. Fans of this charismatic star will probably want to see it yet again on video/DVD.
Bring it On
A high-school comedy about a newly elected suburban head cheerleader who has a big problem: She finds out that her squad's hip-hop routine was ripped off from an inner-city high school.
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle
Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose return in this spin-off of the 1960s cartoon cold-war satire, and once again they have to find a way to outwit Boris, Natasha, and Fearless Leader. The film combines live action and animation.
February 27
Bedazzled
A lightweight, easygoing, mildly entertaining comedy that retells the Faust legend. Brendan Fraser stars as a nerdy guy who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for a handful of wishes. Of course with Elizabeth Hurley as the Devil, there are probably a lot of men who would jump at the chance to sign on the dotted line.
Nurse Betty
A dark comedy that examines the idea that reality can be a little overrated. The graphic violence and wild mood swings are sometimes off-putting, but if your sensibilities can handle this kind of thing, the sharp script and solid acting make it well worth seeing.
The Original Kings of Comedy
Spike Lee directs this documentary about four African American stand-up comics. There is some very funny, though sometimes edgy, material here, much of it dealing with the differences between blacks and whites.
March 6
Meet The Parents
Robert De Niro stars in this very silly film with lots of easy laughs--just the perfect movie for an evening when the last thing you want to do is take anything too seriously. One scene alone is worth the price of admission. So as not to spoil it, let me just say that it has to do with a chain reaction involving an errant champagne cork, an urn containing ashes, and a beloved cat.
The Broken Hearts Club
The Broken Hearts Club is a warm, funny, light movie about a circle of friends who are gay men living in West Hollywood. It’s meant to be a mainstream film, and anyone who's fond of love and laughter will probably enjoy it.
The Contender
In this political thriller, Laine Hanson (Joan Allen) is nominated for Vice President of the United States, only to become the victim of a smear campaign during the confirmation process. Allen received an Academy-Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in this film.
March 13
The 6th Day
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this thriller set in the near future when people routinely have their pets cloned. Although illegal, an evil corporation clones humans as well. In a case of mistaken identity the corporation clones the unsuspecting Adam Gibson (Schwarzenegger), who then must figure out just what is going on while avoiding the thugs sent by the corporation to kill him.
Almost Famous
Set in the early 1970s, this is a coming-of-age story about a 15-year-old boy who gets assigned by Rolling Stone to write a story about an up-and-coming rock band. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical, and Kate Hudson and Frances McDormand both received Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actress.
The Crew
Richard Dreyfuss and Burt Reynolds star in this comedy about four mobsters, all of whom have retired to the same rundown residential hotel in Miami. When plans to upgrade the hotel and charge higher rents threaten to price them out of their rooms, the four try to thwart those plans by embarking on a wacky scheme to make it look like a murder has been committed in the hotel.
The Legend of Drunken Master
Jackie Chan stars in this martial arts movie featuring virtuoso action sequences. Chan plays the role of Wong Fei-hung, a martial arts master who must stop foreign gangsters from smuggling precious artifacts out of China. Wong employs a style of fighting that involves duping his opponent either by pretending to be drunk or by being less drunk than the opponent thinks.
Wonder Boys
In this unusual comedy/drama, Michael Douglas stars as a tired, depressed college professor and novelist who is having a mid-life crisis. His third wife has left him, he’s gotten his department chairman’s wife pregnant, and his editor is hounding him to finish his new novel. Memorable characters, fine acting, and witty dialogue make this one of the year’s most entertaining films.
March 20
Dancer in the Dark
In this melodrama with musical numbers, Bjork portrays Selma, a woman who is going blind from an eye disease. Selma’s young son has inherited the disease, and she’s struggling to earn enough money for him to have an operation that will prevent him from going blind, too. But soon Selma is swept up in a series of events that lead to tragic consequences.
Lucky Numbers
In this dark comedy about rigging the Pennsylvania State Lottery, a television weatherman (John Travolta) and the TV lotto girl (Lisa Kudrow) successfully work a scam to fix the outcome of the drawing. But when they try to cash in the $6.4 million winning ticket, everything spins wildly out of control.
Remember the Titans
Denzel Washington stars in this drama about racially integrating a Virginia high school football team in 1971. When the high school is integrated, a black man (Washington) is brought in as head coach, and the white man who had successfully lead the Titans for years becomes his assistant. But the two men learn to work together and build a team comprised of both blacks and whites.
The Tao of Steve
This romantic comedy revolves around Dex, an overweight teacher in his early 30s who has bedded many women over the past decade. He believes his success has been due to a way of thinking he’s developed, which he calls "The Tao of Steve." But when he finds a woman he really desires, he discovers that the theories he’s so carefully worked out don’t help him at all.
Turn It Up
In this drama, Diamond (Pras) and Gage (Ja Rule) are best friends and inner-city residents who yearn for a better life. They pin their hopes on hip-hop artist Diamond making it big, but complications arise when Diamond’s girlfriend gets pregnant, his mom dies, and his dad moves in with him. Meanwhile, Gage goes on a crime spree to get money to advance Diamond’s career.
March 27
Charlie’s Angels
Based on a long-running television show, this action movie stars Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as three good-looking private investigators. Via speakerphone, they receive an assignment from their boss, Charlie Townsend, to rescue a kidnapped software executive. But soon they stumble onto a diabolical plot and find themselves fighting for their lives.
Red Planet
In this science-fiction film set in the near future, pollution on Earth has become so bad as to prompt a major effort to colonize Mars. As part of the advance preparations for colonization, a small team of scientists is sent on the first manned mission to the red planet. But problems beset the mission, and the scientists must use every bit of ingenuity they can muster just to remain alive.
Rugrats in Paris
Like the 1998 Rugrats movie, this animated children’s film is spun off from the Rugrats TV show. The father of one of a group of kids goes to Paris to repair a mechanical monster in a theme park and takes the whole gang with him. While there, a child-hating park executive seeks to marry the father of one of the kids for business reasons, but the kids try to thwart her scheme.
