Evans, Troy

Phenomenon

John Travolta's should've-been-nominated-for-an-Oscar performance is the best reason to see this largely moving work, which is a little reminiscent of the novel Flowers for Algernon (basis for the film Charly). Travolta plays a mechanic who sees a bright light in the sky one night and wakes up the next morning a genius, hungry for knowledge and so smart he figures out national defense secrets in his own living room (and gets in hot water for it). The more interesting drama, however, is not with the government but with the character's longtime neighbors and friends, who come to reject him for being different. Robert Duvall gives a stirring performance as a doctor who has known the hero all his life, and Kyra Sedgwick is very good as an ambivalent love interest. If you missed this one in the theaters, then you haven't seen one of Travolta's best performances since his comeback. The DVD release presents a widescreen image, optional French soundtrack, optional Spanish subtitles, and theatrical trailer. --Tom Keogh

An ordinary man experiences a piercing, bright light one night and soon begins to develop powers and intelligence beyond normal human capabilities.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG
Release Date: 4-FEB-2003
Media Type: DVD

Demolition Man

Years before the fast-food chain hired a talking chihuahua as its official spokeshound, Taco Bell got some high-profile product placement in this dopey thriller set in the year 2032, when the sprawling megacity of "San Angeles" has banned violence and profanity, and where virtually all the restaurants are Taco Bells. (So much for democracy!) Sylvester Stallone plays an ex-cop who's been thawed out after 36 years of imprisonment for manslaughter, and Wesley Snipes plays his nemesis who also emerges from deep-freeze and proceeds to wreak havoc. It's not nearly as funny as the similarly plotted Austin Powers,; but this special-effects-laden comedy-thriller does have a few highlights, including the pre-stardom Sandra Bullock as the cop-trainee who teaches Stallone proper behavior (and sexual etiquette) in the future's conservative society. Co-starring is Rob Schneider as a frantic sidekick who matches Stallone's one-liners with idiotic wit. --Jeff Shannon

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

The 1994 box-office hit that turned comedy maniac Jim Carrey into Hollywood's first $20-million man, this gag-filled no-brainer stars Carrey as the titular rubber-faced gumshoe who tracks down lost pets for his heartbroken clients. Ace's latest case involves the apparent kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins' team mascot, Snowflake the dolphin (natch). His investigation is a source of constant aggravation for Miami police lieutenant Lois Einhorn (Sean Young), who turns out to be packing more than a pistol under her skirt. Friends fans will appreciate the presence of Courtney Cox, who remains admirably straight-faced as the Dolphins' publicist and Ace's would-be girlfriend, but of course it's Carrey who steals the show with shameless abandon. One viewing may suffice for a lot of people, but Carrey's hyper antics have made Ace Ventura: Pet Detective one of the bestselling videos of the 1990s. --Jeff Shannon

He's the best there is, in fact, he's the only one there is! He's Ace Ventura Pet Detective. Jim Carrey (The Truman Show, The Mask, Liar Liar) is on the case to find the Miami Dolphins' missing mascot and quarterback Dan Marino. He goes eyeball to eyeball with a man-eating shark, stakes out the Miami Dolphins and woos and wows the ladies. Whether he's undercover, under fire or underwater, he always gets his man...or beast.

Under Siege

Steven Seagal can consider himself lucky if he ever makes a better movie than this one, which was appropriately dubbed "Die Hard on a battleship" when released in 1992. Seagal handles the heroic duties with his usual wooden efficiency, but the movie's greatest assets are a punchy script and the scene-stealing performances of Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey. The two play leaders of a terrorist group who take over the venerable battleship USS Missouri during its final commissioned voyage. They're crazed psychotics who seize control of the ship's nuclear arsenal, but they don't know that Seagal--as the ship's cook, no less--is a former Navy hero, lurking in the shadows and waiting to spoil their nefarious scheme. Director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) helms the action with skillful style, and as the cheesecake stripper who proves handy with a hand grenade, Playboy Playmate-turned-actress Erika Eleniak gives Seagal another reason to strut his macho stuff. Under Siege is hormonal hokum for gun-happy viewers, but as action movies go, this one's a definite guilty pleasure. --Jeff Shannon

Men At Work

Proving that a little success can be a dangerous thing, Emilio Estevez parlayed his early-'80s "brat-pack" fame into a dubious directorial career, beginning with 1986's Wisdom (in which Estevez costarred with then-fiancée Demi Moore), and resuming with this sophomore-effort 1990 comedy that benefits most from Emilio's teaming with brother Charlie Sheen. (Close your eyes and listen: their voices sound like their dad Martin Sheen after inhaling helium.) The brothers play a pair of garbage collectors who discover a body on their daily rounds, and the corpse draws them into a scheme involving corrupt politics, illegal hazardous-waste dumping, and a lovely neighbor (Leslie Hope) with connections to the dead guy. Add a wacko Vietnam vet (Keith David), an unsuspecting pizza deliverer (Dean Cameron), and a pair of overzealous cops, and you've got a comedy that lazily rambles from one lightweight scene to another. It's way too loose to have any noteworthy quality, but that's also part of the movie's low-brow appeal: Estevez and Sheen play well together, and this is just their way of goofing off with Hollywood money. With a sharper script and an experienced director, Men at Work could have paid off handsomely. As it is, these sibling antics are amiable enough, and the early-'90s fashion crimes (like Charlie's "dork knob" ponytail) offer an amusing diversion from the lamest gags. --Jeff Shannon

It s up to a pair of trash-hauling heroes to clean up the city in this action-comedy starring real-life brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez. With hilarious supporting performances and an all-star soundtrack Men at Work is an engaging comically crackpot (The New York Times) adventure that has very few moments when it s not generating laughs (Los Angeles Times)! Garbage men James (Estevez) and Carl (Sheen) dream of opening a surf shop but often land in hot water due to their practical jokes. When they discover the body of a murdered politician on their route they attempt to sniff out the killer themselves a bad idea that rapidly ensnares them in a toxic waste scandal. Soon they re thrown headlong into a manic escapade involving a deranged veteran an attractive campaign manager a kidnapped pizza deliveryman and a greedy polluter who wants them hauled off to a landfill for good!System Requirements: Running Time 99 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 027616876638 Manufacturer No: 1003513

My Blue Heaven

The idea is clever but the movie can't seem to pull its comic weight: Steve Martin plays a mob informer who is placed in the witness-protection program and doesn't fit into the suburban California life the Feds have picked out for him. Rick Moranis is the FBI agent assigned to protect him. Martin mugs his way through the role of an Italian wise guy from the New York streets, but his performance is never more than an impersonation. The script leaves a lot to be desired, as well. Director Herbert Ross (The Turning Point) brings some gloss to the production, but he can't seem to do much else with the material. --Tom Keogh

View from the Top

An ingeniously campy and enormously entertaining piece of fluff, View from the Top stars the impossibly lithe Gwyneth Paltrow as Donna, a white-trash girl with dreams of escaping her dead-end life by becoming an international flight attendant. Her destiny is complicated by a sweet guy (Mark Ruffalo) who just wants to live with his family in Cleveland and by a sister stewardess (Christina Applegate) who stabs Donna in the back. View from the Top doesn't take itself seriously, yet takes itself just seriously enough--Donna and the rest of the characters treat their absurdly candy-colored world as if it mattered. As Donna experiences the world and improves her fashion sense, the result is both hilarious and hilariously touching. Also featuring Mike Myers, Kelly Preston, and Candice Bergen as Donna's visionary mentor. --Bret Fetzer

Academy Award(R)-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, Best Actress, 1998; SHALLOW HAL) stars in this hilarious comedy hit about a small-town girl who's about to get a taste of the big-time world! No one thought Donna (Paltrow) would go very far. But when she sets her sights on becoming a first-class international flight attendant, Donna throws caution to the wind and takes off in pursuit of her dream! The ride is anything but smooth, however, and Donna's laugh-packed journey of a lifetime is rocked by more turbulence than she bargained for! Also starring Christina Applegate (TV's MARRIED WITH CHILDREN), Rob Lowe (AUSTIN POWERS Trilogy, TOMMY BOY), Kelly Preston (WHAT A GIRL WANTS, JERRY MAGUIRE), and Candice Bergen (SWEET HOME ALAMBAMA, MISS CONGENIALITY), this charmingly funny treat will send your spirits soaring!

The Frighteners

One movie lover's nightmare is another's raucous joyride, and this special effects-laden horror comedy is bound to split both camps right down the middle. (Or, as Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide puts it, "definitely not for all tastes but a wild time for those who get into it.") Michael J. Fox plays a psychic investigator who can actually see ghosts, and lives with a trio of undead spirits who scare people to promote Fox's ghost-busting business. In a town infamous for serial killings, a new series of deaths prompts Fox to induce his own out-of-body experience so he can battle death in a spirit-plagued netherworld where evil reigns supreme--or something like that. So much happens in this chaotic film that you might feel like you're watching several movies at once--a slasher pic, a supernatural thriller, and a black comedy all rolled into a nonstop showcase for grisly makeup and a dozen varieties of special effects. It's an odd but wildly inventive film from New Zealand director Peter Jackson, who earned critical acclaim for his previous film Heavenly Creatures and would later create the ingenious pseudo-documentary Forgotten Silver. --Jeff Shannon

One movie lover's nightmare is another's raucous joyride, and this special effects-laden horror comedy is bound to split both camps right down the middle. (Or, as Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide puts it, "definitely not for all tastes but a wild time for those who get into it.") Michael J. Fox plays a psychic investigator who can actually see ghosts, and lives with a trio of undead spirits who scare people to promote Fox's ghost-busting business. In a town infamous for serial killings, a new series of deaths prompts Fox to induce his own out-of-body experience so he can battle death in a spirit-plagued netherworld where evil reigns supreme--or something like that. So much happens in this chaotic film that you might feel like you're watching several movies at once--a slasher pic, a supernatural thriller, and a black comedy all rolled into a nonstop showcase for grisly makeup and a dozen varieties of special effects. It's an odd but wildly inventive film from New Zealand director Peter Jackson, who earned critical acclaim for his previous film Heavenly Creatures and would later create the ingenious pseudo-documentary Forgotten Silver. --Jeff Shannon

The Black Dahlia (Widescreen Edition)

Inspired by the Most Notorious Unsolved Murder in California History.From the acclaimed director of Scarface and the author of LA Confidential comes the spellbinding thriller The Black Dahlia. Two ambitious cops Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) investigate the shocking murder of an aspiring young starlet. With a corpse so mutilated that photos are kept from the public the case becomes an obsession for the men and their lives begin to unravel. Blanchard's relationship with his girlfriend Kay (Scarlett Johansson) deteriorates while Bleichert finds himself drawn to the enigmatic Madeleine (Hilary Swank) a wealthy woman with a dark and twisted connection to the victim.System Requirements:Running Time: 122 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 025192918025 Manufacturer No: 61029180

The Black Dahlia drips with film noir atmospherics as it unspools a lurid and complicated story taken from James Ellroy's true-crime-inspired novel of the same name. Two boxers-turned-cops--Lee "Mr. Fire" Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart, Thank You For Smoking) and Bucky "Mr. Ice" Bleichert (Josh Hartnett, Black Hawk Down)--are morally tested as they pursue the killer of a young would-be actress, grappling with corruption, narcissism, stag films, and family madness along the way. L.A. Confidential turned Ellroy's heated prose into a taut, compelling movie, but The Black Dahlia collapses like a soggy meringue. Director Brian De Palma (who once made such vibrant, entertaining movies as Carrie and The Untouchables) can't muster the energy to craft one of his trademark bravura action sequences and seems outright bored by the more mundane tasks of shaping performances and establishing mood. The actors flounder; Eckhart seems to be emoting for two, perhaps to compensate for Hartnett's bland lack of affect; even actresses as dependable as Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) and Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry) give clumsy, unconvincing performances. The one exception is an unsettling performance by Mia Kirshner (Exotica) as the doomed actress, seen only in perverse screen tests and stag films. The story is incomprehensible (and when you can follow it, it's silly); the dialogue is atrocious; the characters make hardly any sense from scene to scene. The movie is, however, good for many moments of absurd camp, such as when Bucky enters the most lavish, palatial lesbian bar you'll ever see, featuring a Busby-Berkeley-style stairway of smooching babes and a crooning k.d. lang. --Bret Fetzer

Kuffs