Najimy, Kathy

Hocus Pocus

This big, fat theatrical bomb has a lot going for it. There's the three leads, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, playing three resurrected witches who wreak havoc on Salem, Massachusetts, 300 hundred years after they were hung. There's music, special effects, and magic. There's a surprisingly horror-filled plot. Whoops, hold up on that last one. It's probably the extremes that this film goes to (displaying a Disney label), such as the witches sucking the life out of a little girl in the first five minutes, that put the brakes on any success for Hocus Pocus. Older children, however, in the 8 and up range should get a kick out of all the weird goings-on. It's a good measure of Halloween thrills and chills. --Keith Simanton

You're in for a devil of a time when three outlandishly wild witches -- Bette Midler (BEACHES, BIG BUSINESS), Sarah Jessica Parker (HONEYMOON IN VEGAS), and Kathy Najimy (SISTER ACT) -- return from 17th-century Salem after they're accidentally conjured up by some unsuspecting pranksters! It's a night full of zany fun and comic chaos once the tricky 300-year-old trio sets out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth -- but first they must get their act together and outwit three kids and a talking cat! Loaded with bewitching laughs, HOCUS POCUS is an outrageously wild comedy that's sure to entertain everyone!

Hope Floats

Cute-as-a-button Sandra Bullock is a homemaker who learns that her husband and best friend are having an affair. The so-called best friend reveals this information on a national chat show, leaving Bullock devastated and disgraced. Heading back to her small hometown in Texas, she seeks refuge with her eccentric mother. Laconic Harry Connick Jr., a former high-school classmate, attempts to bring Bullock out of her depression and win her heart. He has, you see, been carrying a torch for her since they were kids.

You will not need a crystal ball to see where this is going. It works as a middling romance, but is an annoying waste of potential. The script has much to say about finding your true identity, but does so with all the sentimentality and depth of a Hallmark card. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Birdee Pruitt (Bullock) has a life most people would envy. But when her cheating husband reveals infidelity to her on a national TV talk show, her perfect life comes crashing down. Devastated, Birdee and her young daughter head home to the small town she left behind. As mother and daughter struggle to adjust to their new lives, Birdee slowly gains the strength to open her heart and find hope again.

Soapdish

Though this movie did decent box-office business, it was never as funny as it should have been or as clever as it thought it was. The film is set behind the scenes at The Sun Also Sets, a soap opera starring Sally Field that is suffering a ratings slump. To lure the audience back, the producers resurrect a dead character, played by Kevin Kline, with whom Field was once a lover of but is now at odds (and helped exile to dinner theater, where he is first glimpsed playing Willy Loman). Written by Andrew Bergman and Robert Harling, the script has its funny moments but never manages to string them together, despite a cast that includes Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Downey Jr., Cathy Moriarty, and Carrie Fisher. --Marshall Fine

The Fisher King

Arthurian mythology and modern day decay seem perfect complements to each other in this Terry Gilliam drama/comedy/fantasy. Shock jock Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) makes an off-handed radio remark that causes a man to go on a killing spree, leaving Lucas unhinged with guilt. Lucas's later, chance meeting with Parry (Robin Williams), a homeless man suffering from dementia, gets him involved in the unlikely quest for the Holy Grail. The rickety, and patently unrealistic stand that insanity is just a wonderful place to be, and that the homeless are all errant knights, wears awfully thin, but there are numerous moments of sad grace and violent beauty in this film. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese launched his successful career and his smart wordplay helped garner Mercedes Ruehl an Oscar as Lucas's girlfriend. --Keith Simanton

Rat Race (Special Collector's Edition)

Modeled after 1963's It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Jerry Zucker's Rat Race lacks the irreverence of Zucker's 1980 hit Airplane! but has enough chuckles to make it an agreeable time-killer. Like Mad, Mad, Mad..., it employs a huge ensemble of comedy stalwarts, assembled by an eccentric hotelier (pearly-toothed John Cleese) to race from Las Vegas to New Mexico for a $2 million jackpot. With a backstage gambling subplot, Rowan Atkinson's Italian-geek lunacy, Seth Green's slacker antics, and some nicely understated work from SCTV alumnus Dave Thomas, the movie has almost as many highlights as clunkers, and Zucker's embrace of easy gags and traditional slapstick will tickle anyone's old-fashioned funny bone. Other ingredients are hopelessly stale: Whoopi Goldberg's frantic mugging, Cuba Gooding's latter-day Stepin Fetchit, "mature" humor that compromises the movie's broad appeal, and the assumption that crashing vehicles are inherently hilarious. Lamentable decisions, perhaps, but Rat Race maintains a pleasantly altruistic spirit. --Jeff Shannon

Sister Act

Whoopi Goldberg plays a Reno lounge singer who hides out as a nun when her villainous boyfriend (Harvey Keitel) goes gunning for her. Maggie Smith is the mother superior who has to cope with Whoopi's unorthodox behavior, but the cute script turns the tables and shows how the latter energizes the stodgy convent with song and attitude. A real crowd-pleaser and a perfect vehicle for Goldberg, this is a happy experience all around. --Tom Keogh

Relive all the fun, laughter, and irresistible music of SISTER ACT -- the inspired comedy hit that packed pews everywhere! Whoopi Goldberg stars as a sassy, low-rent lounge singer forced to hide out from the mob in the last place on earth anyone would look for her -- a convent. While she's there, her irreverent behavior attracts a flock of faithful followers and turns the nuns' tone-deaf choir into a soulful chorus of swingin', singin' sisters. But when the group earns rave reviews, her sudden celebrity jeopardizes her hidden identity. Harvey Keitel and Kathy Najimy join a heavenly cast in this habit-forming comedy bursting with '60s Motown hits.

Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit

Whoopi Goldberg returns in a gratuitous, poorly written sequel that contrives a reason to get her character back into Maggie Smith's convent. The "socially conscious" plot finds Goldberg being asked to relate to a bunch of street kids and pull them together into a choir. Since a bad guy is needed, the script grabs that old chestnut about a rich guy (James Coburn) preparing to close down the convent's school, and runs with it. The film is slow and unconvincing from start to finish, although costars Mary Wickes and Kathy Najimy get some good laughs, and the music is pretty spirited. --Tom Keogh

Everybody's favorite nun is back in the habit as Academy Award(R)-winner Whoopi Goldberg (Best Supporting Actress, 1990, GHOST) stirs up more laughs than ever before! This time, Whoopi goes undercover as Sister Mary Clarence at a troubled inner-city school. Equipped with a melody-marching lesson plan, she brings the gift of laughter, the power of music, and a touch of heavenly inspiration to the classroom -- before the streetwise students discover who she really is! Experience the joys of higher education with this crowd-pleasing favorite as Whoopi answers her calling once again and delivers her special brand of habit-forming fun!

Brother Bear 2

The bonds of true friendship and love are powerful enough to persist through even the most extreme circumstances, but can even the strongest bond endure when a young man and a young woman are split apart by the spirits? Since being turned into a bear as punishment for his insensitivity in Brother Bear, Kenai has managed to find true happiness and a compelling sense of purpose in his new relationship with his adopted brother Koda. But when Kenai's old friend Nita prepares for her wedding day with another man, the spirits send a sign indicating that a strong connection still exists between Kenai and Nita. The tribe Shaman suggests that the two join forces in a ritual to sever the bond between them and Nita, newly endowed with the ability to communicate with animals, seeks out Kenai in the woods. Even as the two friends resolutely journey to break the connection between them, the inescapable bond between them strengthens and threatens to disrupt not only Nita's upcoming marriage, but the special relationship between Kenai and Koda. In the end, destiny may require that each of the three choose between his or her happiness and the happiness of the other two. Like its predecessor Brother Bear, Brother Bear 2 features lush animation; a nice blend of action, suspense, and comedy; and a powerful message. (Ages 3 - 12) --Tami Horiuchi

We're back in an all-new movie, eh? Beauty. And not just us moose, but the large bear (that's Kenai) and his little brother bear (that's Koda) and also this new girl named Nita. She's a handful, eh? Nita knew Large Bear way back when he wasn't a bear. That was in the first movie, remember? Anyway, they thought they were gonna be together forever even though they get along like two angry beavers in a mud hut. Okay, so now the Great Spirits say they have to go on a great big, exciting journey to break the pact. So don't trample off. Join me and my brother -- oh, and there's a couple fetching moosettes in this story too -- for all sorts of laughs and wild adventure. (See what I did. I used the word "wild" 'cause we're out in the woods.) Beauty. It's gonna be tons of fun for the whole family, eh?

Cats Don't Dance

The rags-to-riches story of Danny a talented cat whose lifelong goal of movie stardom is sidetracked when he discovers only humans get the good roles in Hollywood. On the big screen animals can bark meow or moo but cats don't dance. Danny vows to break through the "species barrier" and prove that dreams really can come true.Running Time: 120 min.System Requirements: Running Time 75 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: G UPC: 053939643022

Actually, cats do dance, and there are a lot of little cat feet tapping all over this odd animated film. Complaints about originality can't be leveled here; the film works within the confines of the musical genre, but there's never really been anything like this. Danny the cat is from Kokomo, and he's got a short list of things he has to do to become a big star in Hollywood. Unfortunately, he's unaware that animals, even talented ones, aren't even considered for showy parts in films. They're considered window dressing for humans, especially big stars such as Darla Dimple, the unlikely antagonist here. The music is by Randy Newman, and it's not really his best, but toe tapping may occur. The animation is reminiscent of an upgraded Animaniacs, and there's a frenetic, jittery sense to the scenes (mostly dealing with slapstick humor). Older fans of animation or bygone Hollywood will have much more to appreciate here than small children, but that's refreshing in itself. --Keith Simanton

CinderElmo

Our favorite little red monster is the star of this delightful film that playfully skews the story of Cinderella. Originally aired on Fox television in 1999, the feature is a playful mix of human actors and Sesame Street characters that is an easy watch for families with 3- to 7-year-olds. Cinderelmo (he's a boy, if you didn't know) dreams of playing in a castle and meeting the princess (Keri Russell). Unfortunately his mean--but not that mean--stepmother (Kathy Najimy) wants her two other sons to go to the ball at which the princess must declare whom she wishes to marry.

The film is certainly focused on the youngsters (as opposed to the slightly older audience of the Muppet films), but there are plenty of puns and wry humor for adults to enjoy. The handful of songs are quite pleasant, as is the length (50 minutes). Oliver Platt (as a new "fairy godperson") and French Stewart (as Cinderelmo's dog-turned-footman) enjoy their roles with relish. Appearing in various small roles are plenty of the Sesame Street gang, including Grover, Kermit, Cookie Monster, Bert, and Ernie. Great fun. --Doug Thomas