Also of Interest - September New Video/DVD Releases New Video/DVD Releases • Part 1: September Week One • Part 2: September Week Two • Part 3: September Week Three • Part 4: September Week Four

More Related Resources • Recommended October Releases • Movies on Video/DVD - January, 2002 to the Present • More Movies on Video and DVD in the Upcoming Months

by Ivana Redwine

There are some exciting movies on DVD and video this month! Some of the more watchable new movie releases on video and DVD slated for September, 2002, include "Monsters Inc.," "Changing Lanes," "Panic Room," and "Monsoon Wedding." Let's take a look at some of the better releases on video/DVD for this month.

September 3 - Video and DVD Releases

No recommendations.

"Changing Lanes" (2002)

Starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson, this drama takes a look at two New Yorkers under stress. Gavin Banek (Affleck) and Doyle Gipson (Jackson) are both driving to the courthouse when their vehicles collide in a minor accident. Banek, an attorney, is trying to deliver key documents in a case that will bring big bucks to his law firm. Gipson, a recovering alcoholic, is headed for a custody hearing that will determine whether his kids stay in New York or move to Oregon. The result of the fender bender is a series of tit-for-tat exchanges between Banek and Gipson that threaten to escalate out of control. But what makes the movie interesting is the way the accident and its aftermath are used as points of departure for showing many things about the lives and families of each of the two men.

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.

"The Count of Monte Cristo" (2002)

A straightforward adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's classic novel, this action-adventure film features high production values and good acting. In 19th-century France, Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel) is betrayed by his friend Mondego (Guy Pearce) and imprisoned for years at the dreaded Chateau d'If. There Dantes meets the Abbe Faria (Richard Harris), who teaches him many things, including fighting skills. Eventually Dantes escapes and locates hidden treasure using information Faria provided him. Dantes' new-found wealth enables him to transform himself into the fictitious Count of Monte Cristo and enter Parisian high society, where he takes revenge against Mondego. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is basically an old-fashioned swashbuckler that most people find entertaining.

Selected Special DVD Features:

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.

September 17- Video and DVD Releases

"Frailty" (2002)

This thriller is about a religious fanatic who kills in the name of God and involves his young sons in the murders. The central character is a Texas man known simply as Dad (Bill Paxton), a widower who is raising a 12-year-old son Fenton and a 9-year-old son Adam. Dad is a loving, caring father, and the boys are relatively happy until he has a vision where an angel tells him that the three of them have been chosen by God to kill demons posing as humans. As Dad carries out a series of murders in which Adam and Fenton participate, the boys are emotionally scarred for life. But all of this is told years later by a grown-up Fenton (Matthew McConaughey) to an F.B.I. agent (Powers Boothe) investigating the "God's Hand" serial murders. "Frailty" goes through many twists and turns as its story unreels.

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.

"Kissing Jessica Stein" (2001)

Open-minded audiences have been charmed by this girl-meets-girl romantic comedy, and 85 percent of the Rotten Tomatoes critics liked it. Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a neurotic Manhattan copy editor who despairs of ever finding the right man. She answers a personal ad placed by Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen), a SoHo art gallery employee who has much more sex with men than she has with women. As the attraction between the two women grows, Helen is very patient with the skittish Jessica during a prolonged courtship. There are lots of big laughs as the uneasy relationship develops, and the movie seems to be at least partly about the difficulty in separating the erotic from the platonic. The two lead actresses wrote the screenplay, which they adapted from their own Off Broadway play.

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.

"Monsters, Inc." (2001)

This animated comedy is aimed at kids, but most adults find it reasonably entertaining. Voices heard include those of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, James Coburn, and Jennifer Tilly. "Monsters, Inc." confirms a belief held by many children: Sometimes there really are monsters in their bedroom closets. But those monsters are just doing their job. They work for a company called Monsters, Inc., which is responsible for the energy supply in Monstropolis, the place where monsters live. Monstropolis is powered by screams, and the monsters come to the closets to collect kids' screams to use as a power source. But Monsters, Inc. has a big problem: Kids are getting harder to scare, and Monstropolis is facing an energy shortage. Ninety-five percent of the Rotten Tomatoes critics liked "Monsters, Inc."

"Panic Room" (2002) Superbit Deluxe Collection

This thriller stars Jodie Foster and Forest Whitaker. After a divorce, Meg Altman (Foster) moves with her teenage daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) into a large Manhattan brownstone. The house includes a "panic room," a special room that is very hard to break into and has its own supplies of air, water, and electricity. On their first night in the house, Meg and Sarah lock themselves in the panic room when they become aware there are intruders, who have come to take something they believe the previous occupant left behind. There are three burglars, including Burnham (Whitaker), who has been building panic rooms for the last several years. Soon a tense standoff develops, with Burnham trying to get into the panic room while Meg attempts to summon help and/or get the housebreakers to leave.

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.

"Big Fat Liar" (2002)

Starring Frankie Muniz, Amanda Bynes, and Paul Giamatti, this is a good-hearted comedy aimed at kids that most adults won't mind. A Michigan eighth-grader named Jason (Muniz) is a habitual fibber who writes an autobiographical story called "Big Fat Liar" for a class assignment. On his way to give the story to his teacher, Jason encounters a Hollywood producer named Marty Wolf (Giamatti), who steals the story. When Jason later learns that a movie is being made based on his story, he and his friend Kaylee (Bynes) travel to Tinseltown to confront Wolf. Jason and Kaylee want the sleazy producer to set the record straight about where "Big Fat Liar" really came from, but Wolf refuses, so they find imaginative ways to make his life miserable in an attempt to get him to tell the truth.

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.

"Enigma" (2001)

Set in England during World War II, this thriller revolves around the Brits who broke the Nazi communications code known as Enigma. A large convoy of merchant ships must cross the North Atlantic, and it's imperative that the Allies know the movements of German submarines. A brilliant mathematician named Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) has just returned to work on breaking the Enigma code after a nervous breakdown, which was caused by a failed romantic relationship with Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows). But Claire has disappeared, and Jericho teams up with her roommate Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet) to try to find out what happened to her. Also, possible security breaches in the code-breaking operation result in Jericho butting heads with a haughty intelligence officer (Jeremy Northam).

Selected Special DVD Features:

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.

"Monsoon Wedding" (2001)

Directed by Mira Nair, this film is a joyous celebration of life that centers around a big wedding in India. The characters alternate between speaking English, Hindi, and Punjabi. Although the predominant tone of the movie is light, including the presence of some song-and-dance numbers, there are some dramatic elements as well. The marriage is an arranged one, but the pretty bride-to-be is having an affair with a married TV host and the groom is a techie who lives in Houston, Texas. There's also a heartwarming thread where the exasperating wedding planner becomes smitten with an attractive housemaid. On the more serious side, a situation arises that forces the father of the bride to face painful truths. "Monsoon Wedding" won the Golden Lion at Venice, and 93 percent of the Rotten Tomatoes critics liked it.

Selected Special DVD Features:

Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.

More New Video/DVD Releases for September, 2002

New Video/DVD Releases - September Week One

New Video/DVD Releases - September Week Two

New Video/DVD Releases - September Week Three

New Video/DVD Releases - September Week Four

More Video and DVD Releases

Movies on Video/DVD - January, 2002 to the Present

Video and DVD releases from the beginning of this year to the present month.

More Video and DVD Releases Upcoming Movies on Video and DVD

Selected movies on video and DVD that will be released in the coming months.

 




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