Osment, Haley Joel

Secondhand Lions (New Line Platinum Series)

If you can get past its thick layer of syrup and molasses, Secondhand Lions reveals itself as a thoroughly decent family film that anyone can enjoy. It gets a little sappy sometimes, but there's something to be said for a movie in which Michael Caine and Robert Duvall play eccentric old brothers who take the easy approach to fishing: instead of a peaceful rod and reel, they use 12-gauge shotguns. When 14-year-old Walter (Haley Joel Osment, teetering on puberty) spends an eventful summer with his great-uncles on their vast Texas farmland (he's been dumped there by his delinquent mom, played by Kyra Sedgwick), he soon discovers they've lived lives full of adventure, excitement, passion, and mystery. Either that or they're old-time bank robbers with a long criminal record, and writer-director Tim McCanlies (who invested similar warmth into The Iron Giant) does a nice job of concealing the truth until the very end. Full of enriching lessons and homespun humor, Secondhand Lions has more substance than most family films. If you enjoyed Holes, you'll probably enjoy this movie, too. --Jeff Shannon

This comedic and touching family film follows the adventures of a shy young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who is sent to spend the summer with his eccentric uncles (Michael Caine Robert Duvall). At first shocked by his uncles' unconventional behavior that includes ordering African lions through the mail the boy soon becomes enthralled with unraveling the mystery that has followed the uncles for years. Hearing tales of their exotic adventures involving kidnapped princesses Arabian sheiks and lost treasure not only brings him closer to his uncles but also teaches him what it means to believe in something... whether it's true or not.Running Time: 109 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 794043690426

Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward is a multi-level marketing scheme of the heart. Beginning as a seventh-grade class assignment to put into action an idea that could change the world, young Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) comes up with a plan to do good deeds for three people who then by way of payment each must do good turns for three other people. These nine people also must pay it forward and so on, ad infinitum. If successful, the resulting network of do-gooders ought to comprise the entire world. Trevor's attempts to get the ball rolling include befriending a junkie (James Caviezel) and trying to set up his recovering-alcoholic mother (Helen Hunt) with his burn-victim teacher (Kevin Spacey), who posed the assignment.

While this could have turned into unmitigated schmaltz, the acting elevates this film to mitigated schmaltz. By turns powerful and measured, the performances of Spacey, Hunt, and Osment can't make up for the many missteps in a screenplay that sanitizes the look of the lower-middle class and expects us to believe that homeless alcoholics and junkies speak in the elevated manner of grad students. (Can that really be Angie Dickinson as Hunt's dispossessed mother? Yes, it is!) The germ of the story is a good one, though, and one may wonder how it would have been handled by the likes of Frank Capra, who could balance sentiment with humor. But clearly Capra would never have let the ending of his version to take the nosedive into cliché and pathos that director Mimi Leder has allowed in this film. More than a few viewers will also recognize that Leder has blatantly borrowed her final image from Field of Dreams, where its intended effect was more keenly and honestly felt. --Jim Gay

Inspired by an assignment from his teacher, a young boy attempts to make the world a better place by doing good deeds for three strangers, paying them \""forward\"" instead of paying someone back.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 3-FEB-2004
Media Type: DVD

The Sixth Sense (Collector's Edition Series)

A boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.
Genre: Horror
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 6-MAY-2003
Media Type: DVD

"I see dead people," whispers little Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), scared to affirm what is to him now a daily occurrence. This peaked 9-year old, already hypersensitive to begin with, is now being haunted by seemingly malevolent spirits. Child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is trying to find out what's triggering Cole's visions, but what appears to be a psychological manifestation turns out to be frighteningly real. It might be enough to scare off a lesser man, but for Malcolm it's personal--several months before, he was accosted and shot by an unhinged patient, who then turned the gun on himself. Since then, Malcolm has been in turmoil--he and his wife (Olivia Williams) are barely speaking, and his life has taken an aimless turn. Having failed his loved ones and himself, he's not about to give up on Cole.

This third feature by M. Night Shyamalan sets itself up as a thriller, poised on the brink of delivering monstrous scares, but gradually evolves into more of a psychological drama with supernatural undertones. Many critics faulted the film for being mawkish and New Age-y, but no matter how you slice it, this is one mightily effective piece of filmmaking. The bare bones of the story are basic enough, but the moody atmosphere created by Shyamalan and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto made this one of the creepiest pictures of 1999, forsaking excessive gore for a sinisterly simple feeling of chilly otherworldliness. Willis is in his strong, silent type mode here, and gives the film wholly over to Osment, whose crumpled face and big eyes convey a child too wise for his years; his scenes with his mother (Toni Collette) are small, heartbreaking marvels. And even if you figure out the film's surprise ending, it packs an amazingly emotional wallop when it comes, and will have you racing to watch the movie again with a new perspective. You may be able to shake off the sentimentality of The Sixth Sense, but its craftsmanship and atmosphere will stay with you for days. --Mark Englehart

The Jungle Book 2 (Special Edition)

After a delightful opening, in which jungle boy Mowgli (voiced by Haley Joel Osment) recaps much of the original Jungle Book in a sprightly shadow puppet show, The Jungle Book 2 swiftly turns into a carbon copy of the splendidly swinging previous movie. After his old pal Baloo the bear (voiced by John Goodman) draws Mowgli away from the man-village, with all its work and rules, and back into the glorious indolence of the jungle, the movie repeats--in a less energetic form--an encounter with Kaa the snake, the cockney vultures, a musical number at the monkey's palace, the menace of Shere Khan the tiger, and even the song "The Bare Necessities." The only difference is that there's a girl named Shanti along for the ride; sadly, her character is so bland that it doesn't do much to justify the movie's existence. --Bret Fetzer

Walt Disney's jumpin' jungle classic continues in this special edition of THE JUNGLE BOOK 2 -- with all your favorite characters from the original toe-tappin' classic and more swingin' songs! Mowgli has been living in the man-village with his little stepbrother Ranjan and his best friend Shanti. But the man-cub still has that jungle rhythm in his heart and he misses his old buddies Baloo and Bagheera. When Mowgli wanders back to the wild for some swingin' fun he soon finds Baloo isn't the only one waiting for him -- the man-eating tiger Shere Khan is lurking in the shadows and planning his revenge. If he is to defeat his nemesis Mowgli will need the help of both his old friends and his new family. With an all-new "Mowgli's Story Time Adventure" game music videos and more THE JUNGLE BOOK 2 SPECIAL EDITION will have the whole family roaring for more!System Requirements:Running Time: 72 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: G UPC: 786936750010 Manufacturer No: 05595900

Last Stand At Saber River

Tom Selleck rides into Western adventure in grand gritty style as Paul Cable in Last Stand at Saber River from the novel Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty Out of SightRunning Time: 93 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: WESTERN/MISC. UPC: 053939676723

Tom Selleck shows a harder side of his persona as a disillusioned Confederate who returns home in the waning days of the Civil War in this adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel. His wife, Suzy Amis, isn't ready to forgive him for leaving his family behind for the "adventure" of war, and his children hardly remember him. Haunted by his actions in the war and caught in a power struggle in the Arizona territory, Selleck's soul-scarred survivor makes a last stand to protect the only thing left that matters to him--his homestead and his family. The film has its share of gunfights, showdowns, conspiracies, and Civil War rivalries, and even a runaway stagecoach, but its power lies in the somber exploration of how misunderstandings and conflicts tear at a marriage during such a volatile time, when ideals are set against duty to family. Director Dick Lowry's lean style makes the most of the gorgeous landscapes, and he creates a strong dramatic tension in the bubbling undercurrent between Selleck, who leaves behind the jovial character of his Louis L'Amour Westerns for a man hardened and embittered by war, and Amis, an excellent actress who brings to life a woman who shoots, speaks her mind, and harbors resentment just as well as any brooding male hero. Keith and David Carradine costar as Union wranglers who hold a grudge against the Confederate veteran. One of the most mature TV Westerns ever made. --Sean Axmaker

Beauty and the Beast - The Enchanted Christmas (Special Edition)

Obviously the Disney suits gave more than two figs about the legacy from the first Beast film, as they reassembled the former cast and spent some cash on production and tune-smithing for this straight-to-video effort. The events unfold between the time in the first film where Belle bartered herself to the Beast and her later return to the village to save her father. So the Beast's heart still hasn't been melted yet, and he's susceptible to the inky persuasions of Forte (Tim Curry), a malevolent pipe organ (and former music teacher to the prince). Belle is still trying to win over the Beast and decides that bringing Christmas to the castle will be the way to do it. Please control that gag reflex for this does work remarkably well, and though entirely unnecessary and certainly not a complement to the original, it doesn't tarnish its good name. --Keith Simanton

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II

Most of the original characters from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame--plus a few new ones--return for this animated sequel. Esmeralda (Demi Moore) and Phoebus (Kevin Kline) now have a son named Zephyr (Haley Joel Osment), with whom Quasi (Tom Hulce) has become friends. When the circus comes to town, the hunchback becomes enchanted by a magician's assistant, Madellaine (Jennifer Love Hewitt), but the her boss, the vain Sarousch (Michael McKean), is also a thief with an eye for the cathedral's jeweled bell. He forces Madellaine to woo Quasi while he carries out the theft. Will he get away with it? Will Madellaine learn to see the inner Quasi? And will he be able to trust again when he learns of her deception? Songs and humorous high jinks from the gargoyles, including Jason Alexander's Hugo, illustrate the lesson that--as in the first feature--you can't judge a book by its cover. This sequel is squarely aimed at a younger audience than the original was; children from 5 to 10 should be very entertained. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Return to the magnificence of Notre Dame in Disney's all-new movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II - a fun, romantic adventure told with vibrant animation and music as soaring as its setting. Still the faithful protector of Notre Dame's beloved bells, Quasimodo now rings them with the help of Zephyr, who is Quasi's best friend. Stopping with Zephyr at a traveling circus owned by the evil magician Sarousch, Quasi is captivated by Sarousch's lovely assistant, Madellaine. But greedy Sarousch is about to force Madellaine to help him steal the Cathedral's most famous bell. Encouraged by some laughable romantic advice from his gargoyle pals, Quasi listens to his own heart and discovers that he, too, must look past appearances to find true love.

A.I. - Artificial Intelligence (Full Screen Two-Disc Special Edition)

History will place an asterisk next to A.I. as the film Stanley Kubrick might have directed. But let the record also show that Kubrick--after developing this project for some 15 years--wanted Steven Spielberg to helm this astonishing sci-fi rendition of Pinocchio, claiming (with good reason) that it veered closer to Spielberg's kinder, gentler sensibilities. Spielberg inherited the project (based on the Brian Aldiss short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long") after Kubrick's death in 1999, and the result is an astounding directorial hybrid. A flawed masterpiece of sorts, in which Spielberg's gift for wondrous enchantment often clashes (and sometimes melds) with Kubrick's harsher vision of humanity, the film spans near and distant futures with the fairy-tale adventures of an artificial boy named David (Haley Joel Osment), a marvel of cybernetic progress who wants only to be a real boy, loved by his mother in that happy place called home.

Echoes of Spielberg's Empire of the Sun are clearly heard as young David, shunned by his trial parents and tossed into an unfriendly world, is joined by fellow "mecha" Gigolo Joe (played with a dancer's agility by Jude Law) in his quest for a mother-and-child reunion. Parallels to Pinocchio intensify as David reaches "the end of the world" (a Manhattan flooded by melted polar ice caps), and a far-future epilogue propels A.I. into even deeper realms of wonder, even as it pulls Spielberg back to his comfort zone of sweetness and soothing sentiment. Some may lament the diffusion of Kubrick's original vision, but this is Spielberg's A.I. (complete with one of John Williams's finest scores), a film of astonishing technical wizardry that spans the spectrum of human emotions and offers just enough Kubrick to suggest that humanity's future is anything but guaranteed. --Jeff Shannon

The Jungle Book 2

After a delightful opening, in which jungle boy Mowgli (voiced by Haley Joel Osment) recaps much of the original Jungle Book in a sprightly shadow puppet show, The Jungle Book 2 swiftly turns into a carbon copy of the splendidly swinging previous movie. After his old pal Baloo the bear (voiced by John Goodman) draws Mowgli away from the man-village, with all its work and rules, and back into the glorious indolence of the jungle, the movie repeats--in a less energetic form--an encounter with Kaa the snake, the cockney vultures, a musical number at the monkey's palace, the menace of Shere Khan the tiger, and even the song "The Bare Necessities." The only difference is that there's a girl named Shanti along for the ride; sadly, her character is so bland that it doesn't do much to justify the movie's existence. --Bret Fetzer

From Disney's wildly popular THE JUNGLE BOOK comes a thrilling, all-new animated feature film. The jungle is jumping again as Mowgli, Baloo, Bagheera, and the rest of your favorite characters return in the fun-filled musical adventure THE JUNGLE BOOK 2. "It's a work of such charm and imagination it should enchant children of all ages" (Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times). Mowgli (Haley Joel Osment) has been living in the village among the humans. His new life includes his little stepbrother, Ranjan, and his best friend, Shanti, but the man-cub still has that jungle rhythm in his heart, and he misses his old buddy Baloo (John Goodman). When Mowgli wanders back into the wild for some swingin' fun, he soon finds Baloo isn't the only one waiting for him -- the man-eating tiger Shere Khan is lurking in the shadows and planning his revenge. If he is to defeat his nemesis, Mowgli will need the help of both his old friends and his new family. With fresh new renditions of "Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You," and a host of original toe-tappin' tunes paired with classic Disney animation, THE JUNGLE BOOK 2 is sure to delight the entire family.

The Country Bears

Based on the Disney theme park attraction Country Bear Jamboree, The Country Bears is the tale of one cub's quest to discover his destiny. While a family's love may be unconditional, Beary just doesn't feel a sense of belonging within his family. With a push from his malcontent brother, Beary heads to Country Bear Hall, a place where "you can be different and still fit in." Beary's disillusionment upon finding the hall on the brink of demolition quickly turns to resolve as he realizes his purpose: to reunite the once famous Country Bears band and save the hall. The disparate lives of the ex-band members make the reunion highly implausible, but thanks to Beary's influence, each member soon realizes the power of collective effort. In the process, Beary gets a boost to his self-esteem and discovers how important he is to his own family. This 88-minute presentation features great music and puppetry, a healthy dose of humor, and a wonderful message about diversity and collaborative effort. (Ages 4 to 9) --Tami Horiuchi

Disney's legendary group comes alive as The Country Bears star in their first feature film. Chronicling one of the most heartwarming family adventures ever, The Country Bears is packed with hilarious comedy, fantastic fun, and foot-stomping music for the whole family. For Beary Barrington, The Country Bears' young #1 fan, fitting in with his all-too-human family is proving im-paws-ible. When he runs away to find Country Bear Hall and his heroes, he discovers the venue that made them famous is near foreclosure. Beary hightails it over the river and through the woods to get the Bears in the Band back together for an all-out reunion concert to save Country Bear Hall. And on the way to find his place in the world, Beary learns that true families are made up of those people who love you the most!