New Videos Coming Out This Week
Here's what you need to know to plan your next trip to the video store. There are some interesting video/DVD releases slated for Tuesday, December 4, 2001, including "American Outlaws," "Ghosts of Mars," "Pearl Harbor," and "Summer Catch." Let's take a look at these films, along with a few additional releases of interest, and take a sneak peek at next week's videos and DVDs.
"American Outlaws"
Tagline: "Bad Is Good Again"
Length: 93 minutes
MPAA
Rating: PG-13 for western violence
This Western is a modern take on the legend of Jesse James. After the end of the American Civil War, Jesse James (Colin Farrell) and his brother Frank (Gabriel Macht), along with Cole Younger (Scott Caan) and his brothers Jim (Gregory Smith) and Bob (Will McCormack), find their hometown of Liberty, Missouri, to be deeply troubled: A greedy railroad tycoon is forcing local farmers to sell their land at absurdly low prices. The James brothers and the Younger brothers fight the railroad by forming the James-Younger gang, and they soon become famous for their daring robberies. But the railroad hires Pinkerton (Timothy Dalton) and his men to go after the outlaws, and it’s not long before the James-Younger gang finds itself wracked with internal dissension.
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
"Ghosts of Mars"
Tagline: "You Don't Stand A Ghost
Of A Chance"
Length: 98 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for strong
violence/gore, language and some drug content
Co-written and directed by John Carpenter, "Ghosts of Mars" is a science-fiction film that takes place in 2176 on the Red Planet, which has been colonized by several hundred thousand people. The story centers around a small group of police officers who travel to a mining outpost to pick up a dangerous prisoner (Ice Cube). When the police officers, including Lt. Melanie Ballard (Natasha Henstridge), arrive at the outpost, they find that most of the residents have been possessed by some ancient Martian spirits that have turned them into a mob of mindless killers. This leads to some impressive action sequences, during which the police form an unlikely alliance with some hardened criminals to battle the murderous ghost-creatures.
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
"Pearl Harbor"
Tagline: "December 7, 1941 - It Was
A Sunday Morning..."
Length: 183 minutes
MPAA Rating:
PG-13 for sustained intense war sequences, images of wounded, brief sensuality
and some language
Set during World War II, "Pearl Harbor" mixes action with drama, but is much more successful at the former than at the latter. Two U.S. Army Air Corps pilots, Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett), who have been friends since childhood, both find themselves in love with Navy nurse Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale). But when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, all their lives are changed forever. The movie features some great combat sequences, including 40 minutes of harrowing footage depicting the Pearl Harbor attack, but the characters never really come alive and the film offers very little historical insight. "Pearl Harbor" was a blockbuster in its theatrical release, but on the Rotten Tomatoes Web site the movie received three negative reviews for every positive one.
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
"Summer Catch"
Tagline: "Are you game?"
Length:
108 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, language and some
drinking
This movie is a Freddie Prinze Jr. vehicle that centers around affairs of the heart and baseball. Prinze plays Ryan Dunne, a young man who helps his father earn a modest living on Cape Cod by taking care of lawns, a line of work heavily dependent on the wealthy who summer in the area. Ryan is also a hard-throwing pitcher who plays local baseball and hopes to attract the attention of major league scouts. But things don’t go smoothly for Ryan and his teammates, and his life gets even more complicated when he becomes romantically involved with Tenley Parrish (Jessica Biel), a wealthy young woman who is vacationing on the Cape. Ninety-two percent of the critics on Rotten Tomatoes found "Summer Catch" to be rotten, but Freddie Prinze Jr. fans probably won’t care.
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Additional Releases of Interest:
"8 1/2" - Criterion Collection (1963)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
"Almost Famous" - The Bootleg Cut - Director's Edition (2000)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
"Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure " (1989)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
"Walt Disney Treasures - Disneyland USA"
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
"Walt Disney Treasures - Silly Symphonies" (1934)
Selected Special DVD Features:
Formats Available: The above information on special features refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.
Next page A Sneak Peek at Next Week Page1, 2
