New Videos Coming Out This Week
The new releases scheduled for August 28, 2001, include Company Man, The Dish, Exit Wounds, Joe Dirt, and See Spot Run. But there are other movies coming your way, including the DVD releases of Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump (1994) and Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982). Let's take a quick look at these videos/DVDs, along with additional releases of interest, and take a sneak peek at next week.
Company Man
Length: 86 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for for sexual humor
and drug content
In this comedy, nerdy American high school teacher Allen Quimp (Dennis McGrath) is continually nagged by his wife (Sigourney Weaver) to get a better job. Then a Russian ballet dancer (Ryan Phillippe) who wants to defect comes to Quimp, and the C.I.A. hires Quimp so the agency can take credit for the defection. Soon Quimp is assigned to Cuba, where he has misadventures with other C.I.A. personnel portrayed by Woody Allen, Denis Leary, and John Turturro. But Quimp quickly finds himself in hot water when he is caught up in the revolution led by Fidel Castro (Anthony LaPaglia) against dictator Fulgencio Batista (Alan Cumming). Company Man plays like a sequence of comedy sketches similar to those on Saturday Night Live.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
The Dish
Tagline: "As Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, our only link was a satellite dish in rural Australia with a few bugs (And a few hundred sheep)."
Length: 104 minutes
MPAA
Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language
The Dish is a heartwarming comedy about the people in the sleepy backwater of Parkes, Australia, and their role in relaying television pictures of astronaut Neil Armstrong from the moon in 1969. The title of the film refers to a huge radio telescope in a sheep pasture outside Parkes that will receive the signals. Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill) heads up the telescope operation, and Al Burnett (Patrick Warburton) is the man sent by NASA to make sure things go as planned. As Parkes proudly, but nervously, awaits the arrival of the Prime Minister and the U.S. Ambassador, complications arise that cast doubt on the telescope’s ability to function properly. Fully ninety-three percent of the critics on Rotten Tomatoes liked The Dish.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
Exit Wounds
Tagline: "What Can Two Men Do Against A Gang Of Crooked Cops? Whatever It Takes."
Length: 101
minutes
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity
Steven Seagal and DMX star in this action-packed crime drama. Orin Boyd (Seagal) is a policeman who saves the life of the U.S. Vice President, but his maverick methods get him assigned to the nastiest precinct in Detroit. There Boyd’s sexy new precinct captain (Jill Hennessy) tries to keep him under control, but she finds his rugged masculinity hard to resist. Soon Boyd uncovers a scheme by corrupt cops to sell illegal drugs to an Internet billionaire named Latrell Walker (DMX), and all hell breaks loose. But of course the plot in Exit Wounds hardly matters: What’s important is the choreography of the car chases, explosions, shoot-outs, and butt kicking.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
Joe Dirt
Tagline: "Trailer Trash - Wig Wearin' - Acid Wash - Jean Lovin' - Rock Concert - T-Shirt Sportin' - Hero."
Length: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude and sex-related
humor, and for language
Toilet humor abounds in this comedy starring David Spade and Dennis Miller. Joe Dirt (Spade) was abandoned by his parents when he was eight years old, and the movie consists mostly of the thirty-something Joe recounting incidents in his life on a radio show run by Zander Kelly (Miller). Shown in flashback are some attractive young women Joe has encountered and some unusual experiences he has had, including the time he got covered by human waste. Ninety-three percent of the critics on Rotten Tomatoes found this movie rotten, but fans of Spade and Miller probably won’t care.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
See Spot Run
Tagline: "The Smart One Isn't Wearing Any Pants."
Length: 94 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated
PG for crude humor, language and comic violence
This lowbrow comedy about an F.B.I. dog named Spot is aimed at kids. When Spot bites off the testicle of a mob boss, a hit is put out on the dog. Due to a mix-up, Spot winds up in the care of Gordon (David Arquette), a goofy U.S. mail carrier who is also caring for his neighbor’s young son James (Angus T. Jones). This leads to a number of slapstick adventures for Gordon, James, and Spot. The movie has a plethora of jokes involving dog excrement, not to mention a scene where gas emitted from a zebra’s hind end is set afire.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
Additional Releases of Interest
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Carrie - Special Edition (1976)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Dracula (1931)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Gandhi (1982)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Lewis & Clark - The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
MacKenna's Gold (1969)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Marathon Man (1976)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - 30th Anniversary Edition (1971)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
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