Pringle, Joan

Original Sin (Unrated Version)

Original Sin belongs in the "so bad it's good" category of languid potboilers, offering enough nudity, sexual chemistry, and far-fetched plotting to make it an enjoyable lazy-day diversion. Based on Cornell Woolrich's novel Waltz into Darkness (previous filmed by François Truffaut as Mississippi Mermaid) and set in turn-of-the-century Cuba, the film traces a tailspin of amorous obsession when coffee plantation owner Luis (Antonio Banderas) discovers that his American mail-order bride (Angelina Jolie) is not the plain wife he'd expected, but a beautiful, scheming thief who's after his fortune. The movie asserts that love is truly blind, but absurd twists of plot make Luis appear more stupid than passionate. Writer-director Michael Cristofer fared better with Jolie in Gia; here, he's made another good-looking film about beautiful people, but its plot just can't be taken seriously. --Jeff Shannon

J.D.'s Revenge

It's been branded with the "blaxploitation" label, but there is little that's exploitive in J.D.'s Revenge, a film of well-drawn, articulate characters dragged into a supernatural showdown. Glynn Turman (Cooley High) is especially fine as the sensitive and quiet Ike, a determined student moonlighting as a cab driver, so wound up he's on the verge of cracking. Enter (literally) the ghost of J.D., a violent, vengeful gangster murdered in the opening moments. He could be Ike's own Mr. Hyde, a dapper, flamboyant ladykiller with a fiery temper and a straight razor who slowly smothers Ike's easygoing personality. Driven by flashes of memory, he sets his vengeful sights on fire-and-brimstone preacher Reverend Bliss (Louis Gossett Jr.), whose dark past is intricately tied up with J.D.'s murder. Director Arthur Marks (Detroit 9000) sidesteps the usual spooky clichés to stir up a modern New Orleans gumbo of ghost story, gangster tale, and character drama. J.D. is both devilish sadist and avenging angel, while the tortured Ike awakens from J.D.'s violent rampages with a hole in his memory but a sick feeling from his imagined complicity in the crimes. The story gets wrapped up a little too neatly in the end, but the dark character shadings and the evocative mystery at the center of Ike's possession makes J.D.'s Revenge an unexpectedly compelling supernatural thriller. --Sean Axmaker

Outta the grave and into the ghetto comes the tortured spirit of a 1940's tough-as-nails gangster who pries his way into the body of a hip and likable young soul brother (Glynn Turman How Stella Got Her Groove Back). With terrifying twists and turns this spine-tingling "sharp hip and offbeat" (Boxoffice) adventure delivers pure urban action excitement!Ike (Turman) is having a night on the town when he volunteers to be part of a hypnotist's nightclub act. But when the demonic spirit of a long-dead gangster muscles its way into Ike's mind all hell breaks loose! Calling himself J.D. Ike thinks he is the reincarnation of the murdered gangster as he launches a rampage of revenge to destroy those who did him in years ago. It seems no one can stop this killing machine until one of his soon-to-be-victims a reformed hood turned preacher (Academy Award® winner* Lou Gossett) comes to the ghastly conclusion that if he hopes to survive he must save Ike's soul himself!*1982: Supporting Actor An Officer and a GentlemanSystem Requirements:Running Time: 96 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 027616870452 Manufacturer No: 1002855

Best Friends

After five successful years of living and working together a couple decide to get married. But what they don't count on is how to survive the honeymoon -- especially one that involves meeting each other's family.Running Time: 109 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 085392887927

Art imitates life in this romantic comedy, which casts Reynolds and Hawn as a successful Hollywood screenwriting team. Their harmonious working and romantic relationship goes south when they decide to get married after years of living together. Written by and based on the lives of writers Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin, the film is a decidedly bittersweet affair: after all, Levinson and Curtin got married, then divorced, just like the characters in the movie. Consequently, there's less real humor than kidding as the relationship develops cracks, chinks, and leaks, before foundering altogether. Still, Reynolds and Hawn have a likable chemistry because neither is trying too hard. Watch for a particularly funny and crass cameo by Ron Silver, as a big-shot director they wind up working for. --Marshall Fine

Original Sin (R Rated Version)

Original Sin belongs in the "so bad it's good" category of languid potboilers, offering enough nudity, sexual chemistry, and far-fetched plotting to make it an enjoyable lazy-day diversion. Based on Cornell Woolrich's novel Waltz into Darkness (previous filmed by François Truffaut as Mississippi Mermaid) and set in turn-of-the-century Cuba, the film traces a tailspin of amorous obsession when coffee plantation owner Luis (Antonio Banderas) discovers that his American mail-order bride (Angelina Jolie) is not the plain wife he'd expected, but a beautiful, scheming thief who's after his fortune. The movie asserts that love is truly blind, but absurd twists of plot make Luis appear more stupid than passionate. Writer-director Michael Cristofer fared better with Jolie in Gia; here, he's made another good-looking film about beautiful people, but its plot just can't be taken seriously. --Jeff Shannon

A young man falls obsessively in love with a mysterious woman who is as obsessed with his fortune as she is with him.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 30-JUL-2002
Media Type: DVD

The White Shadow: The Complete Second Season

The White Shadow's sophomore year, its last with the series' original roster, is a winning season as the inner city Carver High School basketball team, led by former Chicago Bulls forward Ken Reeves (Ken Howard), further share "the unique joys and sorrows experienced in organized sport." To quote an aspiring sportswriter in the season opener, "On the Line," it's the "blending of friendship, teamwork, discipline, and trust that makes this unit what it is." The Carver team will be tested on and off the court in their run for the city championship. Several episodes take an authentically gritty look at such hot-button issues as sports betting ("On the Line"), race ("Albert Hodges," "Links"), child abuse ("The Hitter"), sexually transmitted diseases ("Me?"), inappropriate teacher-student extracurricular activities ("Salami's Affair"), and the scourge of drugs ("Gonna Fly Now"). But it is the hard-earned life lessons that put The White Shadow in a class by itself. In "Globetrotters," a good team goes astray with bad sportsmanship after a winning streak, prompting Reeves to recruit an incognito Harlem Globetrotters to give his players a much-needed comeuppance. Tragedy strikes in two of the season's most memorable episodes. In "Sudden Death," Reeves is guilt-stricken after a promising player he encouraged to join the team suffers a fatal aneurysm during practice ("I hope very much this burdens you for the rest of your life," the boy's unforgiving mother tells him). And in "The Death of Me Yet," jubilation over the team's Cinderella story is short-lived after one of the team's (and series') most valuable players is slain during a liquor store robbery.

The White Shadow was never a ratings slam-dunk, but, especially, if you were on a high school basketball team, it was must-see viewing. Some more prurient episodes find The White Shadow off its game (in "The Stripper," Reeves is stunned to discover his new girlfriend, a Carver chemistry teacher, moonlights as an exotic dancer), but overall, it still scores with its real-world tone that often leaves conflicts and crises unresolved by the final freeze frame. Now available for replay on DVD, The White Shadow should find a new generation of fans. --Donald Liebenson

When professional basketball player Ken Reeves sustains a career-ending injury, he accepts a job as basketball coach at a Los Angeles inner-city high school. Now, in his second year at Carver High, he realizes he's become more than just a basketball coach. He's the person his players can turn to when things go wrong at home, or when things get tough out on the street. Clashes still arise highlighting the differences between the world Coach Reeves knows and the tough neighborhoods where his players live, but ultimately the bond between coach and player is strengthened—and the daily hardships they face become a true learning experience for all.

That's My Mama - The Complete First Season

Welcome to Oscar's Barbershop recently inherited by Oscar's son Clifton. Clifton's got it made - a successful business luck with the ladies- but he still lives with Mama. She rules the roost and dispenses advice to everyone who'll listen (and some who won't). Clifton's sister Tracy brother-in-law Leonard friends Earl and Junior barbershop regulars Wildcat and Josh; no one is spared from Mama's wisdom. And they wouldn't have it any other way. A hidden gem of 1970s television comedy "That's My Mama" was a highlight in the careers of Clifton Davis and Jester Hairston (both of TV's "Amen") and Ted Lange (Isaac on "The Love Boat") and featured guest appearances by Tim Reid and Gordon Jump both of whom went on to star in the hit show "WKRP in Cincinnati."System Requirements:Starring: Clifton Davis Theresa Merritt Theodore Wilson Lynne Moody Ted Lange Running Time: 624 Min. Copyright Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2005Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 043396114623 Manufacturer No: 11462

Incognito

Erin (Allison Dean), A beautiful, young and wealthy corporate executive witnesses a brutal crime and becomes the key witness in the prosecutions case. After a long bid the murderer is released and sets his sights on revenge. to protect his baby, Erin's father (Ron Glass) hires a handsome bodyguard (Richard T. Jones) to protect her from this psychotic killer. The suspense and thrills prove to be overwhelming forcing Erin to find refuge in and the arms of her protector. Can love save the day?

The White Shadow - Season 1

The entertaining and sometimes powerful The White Shadow gets under one's skin very quickly. Ken Howard plays former NBA star Ken Reeves, whose career in the pro game is cut short by serious injuries. Along comes Ken's old college roomate, Jim Willis (Jason Bernard in the pilot episode, Ed Bernard after that), principal of an inner-city high school in Los Angeles with a high dropout rate and plenty of antagonism between thuggish students and an angry faculty. Jim makes Ken an offer any sensible man might refuse, but somehow Ken can't: becoming coach of the school's low-achieving basketball team.

Hardly a bleeding heart and prone to inopportune wisecracks, Ken nevertheless gets the team on its feet and slowly takes cautious interest in the personal lives of individual players. Over the course of 15 first-season episodes, Ken gets in the middle of his students' problems, including alcoholism, gang affiliations, early fatherhood, racism, and fighting. Ken is not without his own issues and biases, which have to be faced at critical times. In "Just One of the Boys," the addition of a new player, who might be gay, to the team makes him terribly anxious--and embarrassed that he feels that way. "Spare the Rod" finds Ken at his lowest moment after striking a student who punched him in the nose. What makes this story interesting is that every adult in the school rushes to Ken's defense, even praises him for taking a stand. Yet the attention deepens his shame, and makes Ken too ready to forgive his dangerous attacker. Actress Joan Pringle is excellent as vice-principal Sybil Buchanan, Ken's ally-adversary. Be on the lookout for a number of actors who would soon have starring roles on 1980s TV series, among them Michael Warren and Bruce Weitz (Hill Street Blues), Peter Horton (thirtysomething), and Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation). --Tom Keogh

A timeless classic that fans are clamoring for! From the Creators of "COACH CARTER," "ST. ELSEWHERE," "NORTHERN EXPOSURE" AND "NYPD BLUE."

When professional basketball player Ken Reeves (Ken Howard) suffers a serious knee injury, his career comes to a grinding halt—and all his dreams of glory seem shattered. Fortunately an old friend, who is now the principal of a Los Angeles inner-city high school, offers him a job as a basketball coach. Although initially hesitant, Reeves' love of the game finally convinces him to accept the position. But he soon discovers the only thing worse than his team's lack of skill on the court is their lack of belief in themselves off the court. Yet the new coach feels certain that the right combination of guts, sweat, luck and attention will make his players winners in the end.

That's My Mama - The Complete Second Season

Step into Oscar's Barbershop for another hilarious season of "That's My Mama" one of the '70s funniest hits. There have been some changes- Earl's quit the post office to take up cutting hair Junior's in college( yes college) and oddball neighbor Laura (Helen Martin of TV's "227") is along for the ride. But Mama's still Mama and she's still in charge. Whether it's settling fights or keeping an eye on the money Mama's the one to count on in this family. Starring Clifton Davis (TV's "Amen") and Ted Lange("The Love Boat's" Isaac) this season of the show includes episodes from the creative minds of TV's "M*A*S*H" and "Barney Miller"System Requirements:Starring: Clifton Davis Theresa Merritt Theodore Wilson Lynne Moody Ted Lange Running Time: 312 Min. Copyright Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2005Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 043396118775 Manufacturer No: 11877

Visions of Terror

Dr. Newman is back on the case with her extra sensory skills. Jessie is assigned to treating a grieving policeman who lost his partner of 10 years in a shoot out.