Norris, Fred

Private Parts

Give credit to director Betty Thomas for making the notorious Howard Stern, self-proclaimed "king of all media," into a nerdish but appealing media rebel who loves his wife and family. Even if you hate Stern's rude radio show, you may discover that the underdog charm of this warm, whimsical film (based on Stern's autobiography) turns you into a fan--for the length of the film at least. Stern delivers a winning performance as the clumsy college kid and aspiring disc-jockey-turned-demon-shock-jock, who becomes an unlikely hero as he battles station managers, network executives, and conservative "arbiters of decency" in the name of unfettered bad taste. Mary McCormack is fine as his understanding wife, Alison, and longtime Stern sidekicks Robin Quivers and Fred Norris acquit themselves nicely appearing as themselves. By the end of this smart, funny little film, don't be surprised if you find yourself cheering for the slob. --Sean Axmaker

Cruel Intentions

This modern-day teen update of Les Liaisons Dangereuses suffered at the hands of both critics and moviegoers thanks to its sumptuous ad campaign, which hyped the film as an arch, highly sexual, faux-serious drama (not unlike the successful, Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons). In fact, this intermittently successful sudser plays like high comedy for its first two-thirds, as its two evil heroes, rich stepsiblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), blithely ruin lives and reputations with hearts as black as coal. Kathryn wants revenge on a boyfriend who dumped her, so she befriends his new intended, the gawky Cecile (Selma Blair), and gets Sebastian to deflower the innocent virgin. The meat of the game, though, lies in Sebastian's seduction of good girl Annette (a down-to-earth Reese Witherspoon), who's written a nationally published essay entitled "Why I Choose to Wait." If he fails, Kathryn gets his precious vintage convertible; if he wins, he gets Kathryn--in the sack. When the movie sticks to the merry ruination of Kathryn and Sebastian's pawns, it's highly enjoyable: Gellar in particular is a two-faced manipulator extraordinaire, and Phillippe, usually a black hole, manages some fun as a hipster Eurotrash stud. Most pleasantly surprising of all is Witherspoon, who puts a remarkably self-assured spin on a character usually considered vulnerable and tortured (see Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons). Unfortunately, writer-director Roger Kumble undermines everything he's built up with a false ending that's true to neither the reconceived characters nor the original story--revenge is a dish best served cold, not cooked up with unnecessary plot twists. --Mark Englehart

Cruel Intentions / Cruel Intentions 2

CRUEL INTENTIONS (FEATURE): Sarah Michelle Gellar (I Know What You Did Last Summer Scream 2 TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Ryan Phillippe (I Know What You Did Last Summer 54) sizzle as a pair of unscrupulous siblings in a deliciously sexy tale of seduction revenge and conquest. After cleverly seducing and ruining the reputation of an unsuspecting classmate (Selma Blair Can't Hardly Wait Zoe Duncan Jack & Jane) the sparks fly when Kathryn (Gellar) poses the ultimate challenge to her insatiable stepbrother Sebastian (Phillippe): deflower the Headmaster's beautiful virgin daughter Annette (Reese Witherspoon Pleasantville The Man In The Moon). If he fails Kathryn gets his most prized possession but if he succeeds Sebastian gets to possess and bed Kathryn. The stakes are high but for Sebastian the payoff is feverishly irresistible and before the summer's over no one will escape their relentless game of cat and mouse until one of them is bitten by the most unlikely sensation of all ...love.CRUEL INTENTIONS 2: After his precocious behavior has gotten him bounced out of one more in a string of exclusive private schools 16-year old Sebastian Valmont (Dunne) has arrived in New York City to live with his father and stepmother. The cunning and handsome Sebastian may have met his match however in his equally manipulative and beautiful stepsister Kathryn Merteuil (Amy Adams). As Sebastian arrives for his first day at Manchester Prep the exclusive school where Kathryn is student body president he realizes that he'll have to do his best if he's to survive in the cutthroat world of the young and privileged.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE UPC: 043396063846 Manufacturer No: 06384

Cruel Intentions
This modern-day teen update of Les Liaisons Dangereuses suffered at the hands of both critics and moviegoers thanks to its sumptuous ad campaign, which hyped the film as an arch, highly sexual, faux-serious drama (not unlike the successful, Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons). In fact, this intermittently successful sudser plays like high comedy for its first two-thirds, as its two evil heroes, rich stepsiblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), blithely ruin lives and reputations with hearts as black as coal. Kathryn wants revenge on a boyfriend who dumped her, so she befriends his new intended, the gawky Cecile (Selma Blair), and gets Sebastian to deflower the innocent virgin. The meat of the game, though, lies in Sebastian's seduction of good girl Annette (a down-to-earth Reese Witherspoon), who's written a nationally published essay entitled "Why I Choose to Wait." If he fails, Kathryn gets his precious vintage convertible; if he wins, he gets Kathryn--in the sack. When the movie sticks to the merry ruination of Kathryn and Sebastian's pawns, it's highly enjoyable: Gellar in particular is a two-faced manipulator extraordinaire, and Phillippe, usually a black hole, manages some fun as a hipster Eurotrash stud. Most pleasantly surprising of all is Witherspoon, who puts a remarkably self-assured spin on a character usually considered vulnerable and tortured (see Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons). Unfortunately, writer-director Roger Kumble undermines everything he's built up with a false ending that's true to neither the reconceived characters nor the original story--revenge is a dish best served cold, not cooked up with unnecessary plot twists. --Mark Englehart

Cruel Intentions 2
There's a reason you haven't heard of this straight-to-video "sequel" to the seamy teen romp that had Ryan Phillippe baring his polished behind: it's twice as bad as the first one and is only worth a look to see just how embarrassing it can get. Writer-director Roger Kumble's original was no classic, Lord knows, but at least the game, nubile cast knew how to smack its lips--his follow-up (which, in tamer form, was to be the pilot for a proposed series called Manchester Prep) can't even pout properly. Phillippe's Sebastian character (here played by a bland, doughy Robin Dunne) is carted back out to be reintroduced to scheming stepsister Kathryn, enacted by a woefully unsexy Amy Adams (Sarah Michelle Gellar played Sebastian's ripe cousin in the first film). The two don't hit it off, and Sebastian--far more sentimental than his big-screen counterpart--immediately decides he's all for love, in the form of pristine deb Danielle (Sarah Thompson). It all amounts to a ponderously cartoonish nothing, including a twist ending that renders everything proceeding it completely incomprehensible. Kumble has the film spouting homilies on love and self-esteem, then randomly throws in bare breasts; it's like a horny Saved by the Bell, without the kick or pacing of good camp. --Steve Wiecking

Cold Hearts

Two Ninas

Cruel Intentions

Cruel Intentions [Region 2]

This modern-day teen update of Les Liaisons Dangereuses suffered at the hands of both critics and moviegoers thanks to its sumptuous ad campaign, which hyped the film as an arch, highly sexual, faux-serious drama (not unlike the successful, Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons). In fact, this intermittently successful sudser plays like high comedy for its first two-thirds, as its two evil heroes, rich stepsiblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), blithely ruin lives and reputations with hearts as black as coal. Kathryn wants revenge on a boyfriend who dumped her, so she befriends his new intended, the gawky Cecile (Selma Blair), and gets Sebastian to deflower the innocent virgin. The meat of the game, though, lies in Sebastian's seduction of good girl Annette (a down-to-earth Reese Witherspoon), who's written a nationally published essay entitled "Why I Choose to Wait." If he fails, Kathryn gets his precious vintage convertible; if he wins, he gets Kathryn--in the sack. When the movie sticks to the merry ruination of Kathryn and Sebastian's pawns, it's highly enjoyable: Gellar in particular is a two-faced manipulator extraordinaire, and Phillippe, usually a black hole, manages some fun as a hipster Eurotrash stud. Most pleasantly surprising of all is Witherspoon, who puts a remarkably self-assured spin on a character usually considered vulnerable and tortured (see Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons). Unfortunately, writer-director Roger Kumble undermines everything he's built up with a false ending that's true to neither the reconceived characters nor the original story--revenge is a dish best served cold, not cooked up with unnecessary plot twists. --Mark Englehart

Private Parts [Region 2]

Give credit to director Betty Thomas for making the notorious Howard Stern, self-proclaimed "king of all media," into a nerdish but appealing media rebel who loves his wife and family. Even if you hate Stern's rude radio show, you may discover that the underdog charm of this warm, whimsical film (based on Stern's autobiography) turns you into a fan--for the length of the film at least. Stern delivers a winning performance as the clumsy college kid and aspiring disc-jockey-turned-demon-shock-jock, who becomes an unlikely hero as he battles station managers, network executives, and conservative "arbiters of decency" in the name of unfettered bad taste. Mary McCormack is fine as his understanding wife, Alison, and longtime Stern sidekicks Robin Quivers and Fred Norris acquit themselves nicely appearing as themselves. By the end of this smart, funny little film, don't be surprised if you find yourself cheering for the slob. --Sean Axmaker

Two Ninas

Cruel Intentions [Region 2]

This modern-day teen update of Les Liaisons Dangereuses suffered at the hands of both critics and moviegoers thanks to its sumptuous ad campaign, which hyped the film as an arch, highly sexual, faux-serious drama (not unlike the successful, Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons). In fact, this intermittently successful sudser plays like high comedy for its first two-thirds, as its two evil heroes, rich stepsiblings Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe), blithely ruin lives and reputations with hearts as black as coal. Kathryn wants revenge on a boyfriend who dumped her, so she befriends his new intended, the gawky Cecile (Selma Blair), and gets Sebastian to deflower the innocent virgin. The meat of the game, though, lies in Sebastian's seduction of good girl Annette (a down-to-earth Reese Witherspoon), who's written a nationally published essay entitled "Why I Choose to Wait." If he fails, Kathryn gets his precious vintage convertible; if he wins, he gets Kathryn--in the sack. When the movie sticks to the merry ruination of Kathryn and Sebastian's pawns, it's highly enjoyable: Gellar in particular is a two-faced manipulator extraordinaire, and Phillippe, usually a black hole, manages some fun as a hipster Eurotrash stud. Most pleasantly surprising of all is Witherspoon, who puts a remarkably self-assured spin on a character usually considered vulnerable and tortured (see Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons). Unfortunately, writer-director Roger Kumble undermines everything he's built up with a false ending that's true to neither the reconceived characters nor the original story--revenge is a dish best served cold, not cooked up with unnecessary plot twists. --Mark Englehart