Videos this week
Lost Souls (2000)
This was the second film of 2000 to star Winona Ryder, and the 75th or 76th (I lost count) to feature Satan. This time, the Dark Lord has sent his son to conquer the world, only no one knows who it is -- not even the innocent person whose body will be possessed.
Only Maya (Ryder), a young teacher in a Catholic school, can save the world. When she was younger, a priest performed an exorcism on her. This gives her an insight into how to identify the Son of Satan before it's too late. All she has to do is find him out of 6 billion possibilities.
Meanwhile, a young writer (Ben Chaplin) is struggling to finish his latest book on serial killers. Ryder recruits him to her cause.
While a story like this might make a nice, B-movie thriller, it just goes too far. The suspense is ruined by ludicrous ideas such as the Vatican having a method to discover the Anti-Christ by blood type. The few genuinely scary moments are lost in clichés and laughable dialogue.
Film students may find the film worth a look, though. Janusz Kaminski, a highly regarded cinematographer (Saving Private Ryan, Armageddon), makes his directorial debut. The film looks nice in parts, although after the 500th overexposed washout the thought occurred that he may have been trying a little too hard. Kaminski's commentary is the highlight of the DVD.
Nurse Betty (2000)
Fans of this black comedy thought star Renée Zellweger would easily get an Oscar nomination. Oh well, that's life Zellweger plays a woman whose mind breaks when she witnesses a shocking crime. She believes that her favourite soap opera is real life, and takes off to L.A. to marry the lead character. This is "Oh, isn't that clever?" comedy rather than the laugh-out-loud kind. The DVD, out Apr. 3, is packed with extras, including two audio commentary tracks.
Bedazzled (2000)
The remake of the 1967 Peter Cook-Dudley Moore comedy was met with indifference at the box office. Brendan Fraser plays a Joe Nobody, who is granted seven wishes by the Devil (Elizabeth Hurley). Of course, since this is the Devil, the wishes all contain a hidden trap. This is slapstick, silly laughs, and will play great on video. The DVD, out Mar. 13, contains two commentary tracks, from Hurley and director Harold Ramis.
Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
This is a difficult film to review; either you like standup comedy or you don't. If you do, then you'll love this. Four of the funniest men currently working the comedy circuit -- Bernie Mac, Steve Harvey, DL Hughley and Cedric the Entertainer -- tell jokes for 30 minutes each in an arena jammed with 15,000 people. This was actually a tour that proved so popular that Spike Lee decided to film it and release it to the theatres. Good idea.
Lady & the Tramp II:
Scamp's Adventure (2001)
This direct-to-video feature is sure to delight kids. It's been 46 years since the original became a huge hit in theatres, but the action here takes place merely six months later. Lady and Tramp are loving life, but one of their puppies runs off to join a gang of junkyard dogs. It doesn't come close to the original, but kids will love it.
The DVD is surprisingly full of extras, especially for a kids' film. It contains three Disney cartoon shorts from the 1940s, all starring Pluto. There's also an audio commentary and a hide-and-seek game.
DVDs this week
Dr. Strangelove (Special Edition)
Stanley Kubrick's 1964 black comedy about nuclear armageddon is best appreciated by people who lived with the threat (if you think about it, there are now teenagers to whom "Soviet Union" is a meaningless term). The DVD is jam-packed. There's a making-of documen-tary, a featurette on Kubrick, and interviews with co-stars Peter Sellers and George C. Scott.
The Directors (Box-set)
In 1997, the American Film Institute produced documentaries on what they considered the 22 greatest directors throughout history. The list includes Canada's own David Cronenberg, horror director Wes Craven and Terry Gilliam (Monty Python). The DVDs will also be available individually.
WEBLINKS
"The Faces You Can't Forget" goes the tagline. Ever watch a movie and recognize an actor, but can't remember his name or where you've seen him? This site can help. It lists hundreds of character actors, each with a small photo. You'll probably recognize two out of every three faces, and end up spending hours here.