Gurwitch, Annabelle

Mouse Hunt

They've tried Catzilla, a feline so ferocious it can't be euthanized. They've tried booby traps that Rube Goldberg would marvel at. They've even tried Caesar (hilariously played by Christopher Walken), a demented exterminator whose "Squeak Seeker 2000" mouse-cam will infiltrate even the cleverest rodent's secret lair. But the Smuntz brothers Ernie (Nathan Lane) and Lars (British comedian Lee Evans) just can't win against the tenacious mouse that wreaks havoc in the vintage home they've inherited from their father. That's the one-note premise of this chaotic, lavishly produced comedy that starts on a high note and never lets up, eventually leaving the viewer exhausted. The special mouse effects (live-action, animatronic, and computer-generated) are delightful, and the slapstick is frequently ingenious, but the title says it all in a movie that is little more than an elaborate variation of Home Alone. A prime choice for family fun, but it's really just a live-action cartoon that overstays its welcome. It's harmless fun if all you're looking for is a marathon of slapstick gags and pratfalls, and it's notable as the final film appearance of veteran character actor William Hickey, who died in June of 1997, shortly after filming of Mouse Hunt was completed. --Jeff Shannon

Pollock

The long road to Pollock began when actor Ed Harris received a biography of Jackson Pollock from his father, who noticed that his son bore an uncanny resemblance to the artist. Harris's fascination with Pollock matched his physical similarity; the actor chose to direct and star in this impressive film biography. And his devotion assured a work of singular integrity, honoring the artist's achievement in abstract expressionism while acknowledging that Pollock was a tormented, manic-depressive alcoholic whose death at 44 (in a possibly suicidal car crash) also claimed the life of an innocent woman. The film also suggests that Pollock's success was largely attributable to the devotion of his wife, artist Lee Krasner, played with matching ferocity by Marcia Gay Harden in an Oscar®-winning performance.

In many respects a traditional biopic, Pollock begins in 1941 when Pollock meets Krasner, who encourages him and attracts the attention of supportive critic Clement Greenberg (Jeffrey Tambor) and benefactor Peggy Guggenheim (Amy Madigan). As Pollock rises from obscurity to international acclaim, Harris brings careful balance to his portrayal of a driven creator who found peace during those brief, sober periods when art brought release from his tenacious inner demons. The film offers sympathy without sentiment, appreciation without misguided hagiography. As an acting showcase it's utterly captivating. As a compassionate but unflinching exploration of Jackson Pollock's intimate world, there's no doubt that Harris captured the essence of a man whose life was as torturous as his art was redeeming. --Jeff Shannon

The Shaggy Dog

Tim Allen barks, growls, and slobbers his way through the latest remake of the classic Disney suburban fable The Shaggy Dog. A mystical long-lived dog is kidnapped from Tibet by a nefarious corporation; when it escapes, it bites aspiring District Attorney Dave Douglas (Allen, The Santa Clause, Toy Story), who finds himself regressing into a dog in the courtroom. There's more to the plot--something to do with creating a youth serum from the dog's blood--but let's face it, that's not what anyone's going to see the movie for, and the "bad dad remembers how to love his family" theme is equally perfunctory. This is all about Allen running around like a dog and a cute sheepdog running around trying to do human things, and the movie does a competent job of playing with that scenario. Allen throws himself into doggieness with amusing abandon. Also featuring Kristin Davis (Sex and the City), Spencer Breslin (The Cat in the Hat), Jane Curtin (3rd Rock from the Sun), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), and Robert Downey Jr. (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Wonder Boys), who seems to be enjoying himself as a nefarious scientist at the nefarious corporation. --Bret Fetzer

Directed by Brian Robbins (VARSITY BLUES THE PERFECT SCORE) this updated spin on THE SHAGGY DOG and THE SHAGGY D.A. features Tim Allen as Dave Douglas a Deputy District Attorney who spends way too much time at the office and way too little time with his family. His son Joe (Spencer Breslin) feels completely misunderstood and his wife Rachel (Kristin Davis) feels like a single parent. To make matters worse his teenage daughter Carly (Zena Gray) considers Douglas the enemy because he is representing a pharmaceutical company Grant and Strickland in their case against her social studies teacher who is accused of burning down their lab to protest animal testing. Douglas life changes in an instant when animal-loving Carly brings home a friendly shaggy dog that bites the dog-disliking D.A.What Douglas doesn t know is that the dog has a secret. This Tibetan wonder dog is 300 years old as smart as a human and as playful as a pup. Soon Douglas is exhibiting canine tendencies himself - a heightened sense of smell a tendency to growl at opposing counsel in court and an overwhelming urge to defend his front yard. His full transformation to a dog allows him rare insight into what his family really thinks and feels and gives Douglas the opportunity to decide what is truly important. To further complicate matters Grant and Strickland the very company Douglas is representing are certain that the dog that bit him holds the secret to the Fountain of Youth and are determined to learn what it is. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Dr. Kozak Grant and Strickland s evil mastermind and Philip Baker Hall plays head honcho Strickland. Jane Curtin and Danny Glover are also featured.System Requirements:Running Time 99 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 786936709940 Manufacturer No: 05107500

Life with Mikey

Michael J. Fox's Mikey is the Broadway Danny Rose of child actors. A former child sitcom star turned half-hearted agent to a stable of overeager adolescents, he finds a natural talent when he watches a 12-year-old pickpocket (Christina Vidal) work a crowd to tears. Of course, nothing comes without a price, and the self-involved bachelor soon becomes the unlikely big brother to street-smart Vidal, who soon gives way to sunny cheer. Fox is such an inspired casting choice that most critics missed the undercurrent of self-loathing and loneliness in his impulsive irresponsibility and glib, effortless charm, and Nathan Lane is hilarious as his overworked brother and business partner. They don't get much help from the script, which bounces between smarmy showbiz satire and warm, fuzzy family comedy and winds up as neither, but they manage to make it funny nonetheless.--Sean Axmaker

Hollywood favorite Michael J. Fox (BACK TO THE FUTURE Trilogy) is at his best in this hilarious comedy about show biz. Fox stars as Mikey, a former child star having a little trouble with his new role as a kids' talent agent. He's desperate to find a way to keep his third-rate talent agency from going under when he meets Angie, a young con artist. With her streetwise smarts and irresistible charm, she's a natural for TV commercials and could be their ticket to the big time -- if they don't drive each other crazy first! Count on big laughs with LIFE WITH MIKEY, a fun-filled comedy treat that's sure to entertain everyone!

Bright Lights, Big City

Michael J. Fox ("Spin City" Back to the Future) just "couldn't be better" (L.A. Daily News) in this "wildly effective [and] truly powerful picture" (David Sheehan NBC-TV)! Co-starring Kiefer Sutherland Phoebe Cates Dianne Wiest and Swoosie Kurtz and featuring a pulsating soundtrack from New Order Depeche Mode and Prince this "chronicle of wasted days and misplaced nights" (Roger Ebert) is a must-see!Jamie Conway (Fox) is an aspiring writer who trades the wheat fields of Kansas for the imposing skyline of Manhattan - and the seductive party culture hidden within. When Jamie hits the club scene to enliven his nights and deaden his pain he takes it to the limit...until the limit threatens to take away everything and everyone he's ever loved.System Requirements:Starring: Michael J. Fox Phoebe Cates Kiefer Sutherland Dianne Wiest Directed By: James Bridges Running Time: 108 Min. Color Copyright 2003 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 027616888402 Manufacturer No: 1004810

Michael J. Fox plays the most sympathetic cocaine addict you've ever seen in the movie of Jay McInerney's popular novel Bright Lights, Big City, the book that famously chronicled the coke- and cash-fueled era of the 1980s. Jamie Conway (Fox) works as a fact-checker for a major New York magazine, but because he spends his nights partying with his glib best friend (Kiefer Sutherland), he's on the verge of getting fired. His wife, a fast-rising model (Phoebe Cates), just left him; he's still reeling from the death of his mother (Dianne Wiest) a year earlier; and he's obsessed with a tabloid story about a pregnant woman in a coma. Bright Lights, Big City doesn't have much of a plot, but in its meandering way it captures some of the glossy chaos of the time and of a man desperately trying to escape the pain in his life. --Bret Fetzer

Three Wishes

What happens when a widowed mother and her two sons invite an injured drifter into their home? Put aside those modern, jaded visions of a psychotic killer on the rampage and enter the gentler, yet extremely rigid world of 1955 Suburbia USA. Jeanne Holman has lost her husband to the Korean War and is doing her best to support her family in a community that reveres conformity and frowns upon anyone who dares to be different. As Jeanne questions her chosen path, her oldest son Tom struggles to fit in with his peers and her youngest son, Gunny, who's frightened of virtually everything, is soon to be diagnosed with a serious illness. Enter a chance encounter with drifter Jack McCloud and his dog Betty Jane, and the pair temporarily move in with the Holman family. What essentially begins as one woman's act of guilt-induced charity evolves into a magical journey of personal growth for each family member. The end result is a wish come true for everyone involved. This film has widespread appeal: there's romance, magic, physical and spiritual journeys, self-revelation, and even a celebration of diversity and personal strength. The PG rating seems apt due to the film's intensity and one short almost nude scene. --Tami Horiuchi

In a time of prosperity and whole happy families Jeaane Holman (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and her two sons Tom and Gunny (Joseph Mazello and Seth Mumy) are different. Jeanne's husband is missing in the Korean War and without him they are doing the best they can. But one day while driving with her children Jeanne runs into a drifter Jack McCloud (Patrick Swayze) an event that will change their live s forever. Jeanne invites the injured stranger and hi s dog Betty Jane into her home for a brief recuperation but before long the whole family find themselves wanting him to stay. The Holman family soon discovers that there is far more to Jack than meets the eye. - and he brings more to their home than just his scruffy four-legged friend. For Jeanne and her children are about too discover the magic that comes with the kindness of helping a stranger and what could be captured by just THREE WISHES.Running Time: 115 min.System Requirements: Running Time 115 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 026359129124

Bright Lights, Big City

Michael J. Fox plays the most sympathetic cocaine addict you've ever seen in the movie of Jay McInerney's popular novel Bright Lights, Big City, the book that famously chronicled the coke- and cash-fueled era of the 1980s. Jamie Conway (Fox) works as a fact-checker for a major New York magazine, but because he spends his nights partying with his glib best friend (Kiefer Sutherland), he's on the verge of getting fired. His wife, a fast-rising model (Phoebe Cates), just left him; he's still reeling from the death of his mother (Dianne Wiest) a year earlier; and he's obsessed with a tabloid story about a pregnant woman in a coma. Bright Lights, Big City doesn't have much of a plot, but in its meandering way it captures some of the glossy chaos of the time and of a man desperately trying to escape the pain in his life. --Bret Fetzer

In the vein of Less then Zero and Trainspotting Bright Lights Big City is a gritty and powerful drama of a young writer with big aspirations who moves from Kansas to Manhattan to start his career but ends up in a dead end job and falling into the dark and fast paced world of cocaine and late nights clubbing. But can he find himself again?System Requirements:Running Time: 107 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/COMING OF AGE Rating: R UPC: 883904111504 Manufacturer No: M111150

Your Mother Wears Combat Boots

The 4th Tenor

Long-suffering comic Rodney Dangerfield (Caddyshack, Back to School) stars in this cinematic fairy tale about a New York restaurant owner named Lupo, a cynic who suddenly falls madly in love with a tempestuous singer (Annabelle Gurwitch). She spurns him, saying she can only love a man who can sing great opera--so Lupo sets out to learn and falls under the sway of a couple of Italian con men who promise to teach him how to sing. But when he is given a role in an opera, his voice turns the audience into an angry mob. He flees and ends up meeting a buxom young widow (Anita De Simone) with a family secret that can give Lupo the voice he desires--but will it give him Gina? The 4th Tenor strives for a gentle, magical tone. Fans of Dangerfield may enjoy the movie as the comic's last hurrah; others will find him far too old for the part. His spirit yearns, but his flesh is weak. --Bret Fetzer

Comedy king and star of Caddyshack and Back to School, Rodney Dangerfield, plays a lovestruck restaurateur determined to wow his dream girl by learning to sing.

Moola

Sometimes "manure happens" and unfortunately for business partners and best pals Steve (William Mapother) and Harry (Daniel Baldwin) they're in it up to their eyeballs. With their chemical light-stick company and both their marriages on the brink of collapse their hoped-for success story is about to go Chapter 11 - until a huge deal suddenly materializes and promises to change their lives forever. Based on improbable-but-true events Moola is an illuminating comedy about love friendship success corporate greed... and dairy cows in heat!System Requirements:Running Time: 110 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/DOWN ON THEIR LUCK UPC: 783722274590 Manufacturer No: 27459