Rydbeck, Whitney

Sleeper

If Interiors was Woody Allen's Bergman movie, and Stardust Memories was his Fellini movie, then you could say that Sleeper is his Buster Keaton movie. Relying more on visual/conceptual/slapstick gags than his trademark verbal wit, Sleeper is probably the funniest of what would become known as Allen's "early, funny films" and a milestone in his development as a director. Allen plays Miles Monroe, cryogenically frozen in 1973 (he went into the hospital for an ulcer operation) and unthawed 200 years later. Society has become a sterile, Big Brother-controlled dystopia, and Miles joins the underground resistance--joined by a pampered rich woman (Diane Keaton at her bubbliest). Among the most famous gags are Miles's attempt to impersonate a domestic-servant robot; the Orgasmatron, a futuristic home appliance that provides instant pleasure; a McDonald's sign boasting how-many-trillions served; and an inflatable suit that provides the means for a quick getaway. The kooky unthawing scenes were later blatantly (and admittedly) ripped off by Mike Myers in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. --Jim Emerson

Miles Monroe has been cryogenically frozen for 100 years. When he's illegally awakened, he discovers he's a wanted criminal in world that has drastically changed from the one he left behind.

The Brady Bunch Movie / A Very Brady Sequel

The Brady Bunch Movie
The big-screen version of the hugely popular 1970s television sitcom takes an original angle: instead of simply re-creating the old series, the film spoofs it by presenting the merged family as blithely unaware that fashions and customs have changed in the '90s. Shelley Long and Gary Cole are hilarious as the ultra-square yet libidinous Mr. and Mrs. Brady, Christopher Daniel Barnes is an ideal Greg, and Christine Taylor seems practically cloned from the original Marcia. But director Betty Thomas (Private Parts) shifts the emphasis away from comparisons between old and new Bradys and concentrates on quasi-surreal parodies and set pieces featuring the Brady kids doing their spirited, singing thing for a disbelieving public. Smart, sharp, and happy to share its conspiratorial mood with an appreciative audience, The Brady Bunch Movie is a kick.

A Very Brady Sequel
This second ironic send-up of the old Sherwood Schwartz sitcom is even funnier than The Brady Bunch Movie. Shelley Long and Gary Cole return as the married heads of the merged family known as the Bradys, and Christopher Daniel Barnes and Christine Taylor reprise their roles as eldest stepsiblings Greg and Marcia. As with the first film, the clever premise finds the Brady clan caught in a kind of '70s time warp, while the rest of the world has moved well into the '90s. Greg is still looking for a "groovy girlfriend," Mr. Brady thinks the idea of a cable that sends 50 channels to one's TV set must be a joke, and Mrs. Brady spends hours at the beauty shop only to look exactly the same as she went in. There's a plot involving an imposter (Tim Matheson) who claims to be Carol's long-lost husband, but the real charge in this comedy comes from the way these pseudohip characters deal with sexual taboos (is there any real reason that Greg and Marcia shouldn't get it on?) and the incredulous reactions of other people. --Tom Keogh

A Very Brady Sequel

This second ironic send-up of the old Sherwood Schwartz sitcom is even funnier than The Brady Bunch Movie. Shelley Long and Gary Cole return as the married heads of the merged family known as the Bradys, and Christopher Daniel Barnes and Christine Taylor reprise their roles as eldest stepsiblings Greg and Marcia. As with the first film, the clever premise finds the Brady clan caught in a kind of '70s time warp, while the rest of the world has moved well into the '90s. Greg is still looking for a "groovy girlfriend," Mr. Brady thinks the idea of a cable that sends 50 channels to one's TV set must be a joke, and Mrs. Brady spends hours at the beauty shop only to look exactly the same as she went in. There's a plot involving an imposter (Tim Matheson) who claims to be Carol's long-lost husband, but the real charge in this comedy comes from the way these pseudohip characters deal with sexual taboos (is there any real reason that Greg and Marcia shouldn't get it on?) and the incredulous reactions of other people. --Tom Keogh

Friday the 13th, Part VI - Jason Lives

As a child, Tommy Jarvis did what many others died trying to do, he killed Jason Vorhees, the mass murderer who terrorized the residents of Crystal lake. But now, years later, Tommy is tormented by the fear that maybe Jason isn't really dead. So, Tommy and a friend go to the cemetery to dig up Jason's grave. Unfortunately for Tommy, (and very unfortunately for his friend), instead of finding a rotting corpse, they discover a well rested Jason who comes back from the dead for another bloody rampage in Friday The 13th - Part VI: Jason Lives.

The Jayne Mansfield Story

Copacabana

Based on the ever-popular Barry Manilow song, 1985's Copacabana is a light, innocuous hour and a half. Dime-a-dance girl Lola LaMar (Annette O'Toole) longs to showcase her talents at NYC's famous Copacabana club. She and bartender-songwriter Tony Starr (Manilow) meet cute and fall in love with visions of fame dancing in their heads. O'Toole's strong voice and sexy shimmers are showcased in "Man Wanted," while Manilow shines in "Who Needs to Dream" and "Sweet Heaven (I'm in Love Again)." When suave Rico (Joe Bologna) offers Lola a headliner at his Havana nightclub Tropicana, she jumps at the chance. Broken-hearted Tony stays behind singing the blues until he discovers Rico's intentions are not honorable. A big dance number and rescue ensue. But as in the song, there is a showdown at the end and Lola is left alone with faded feathers in her hair. Campy and clean, Copacabana gives musical fans a fix but leaves them wishing for a little more substance. --Dana Van Nest

The tune-filled story of star-crossed lovers Tony and Lola comes to life in this delightful musical. Bringing his hit song to life, Barry Manilow stars as Tony, a struggling young pianist/composer at New York's famous Copacabana nightclub who falls for beautiful showgirl Lola ("Smallville's" Annette O'Toole). Love is in the air, but smarmy rival nighclub owner Rico (Joseph Bologna) offers Lola a shot at the big time performing in Havana. When heartbroken Tony learns that Rico's intentions are not exactly honorable, chaos ensues! An irresistible combination of Manilow's infectious melodies, splashy song and dance numbers, and glitzy costumes, "Copacabana" is a delirious musical romp the whole family will enjoy!

Striking Resemblance

Recognizing the difference between two devastatingly handsome twin brothers can be murder. In this erotic thriller, a beautiful detective is called upon to solve a double homicide of a famous photographer and a sexy supermodel. The detective soon becomes a pawn in a psychological game of double crossing seduction as she falls hard for her number one suspect.

Exploring the Supernatural

The three discs in this boxed set cover quite a bit of territory. Volume 1 does a great job on UFOs, especially on Roswell and alien-human hybrids, but falls woefully short in the ghost-stories segment. Volume 2 thoroughly explores vampires and Nostradamus, although the style is somewhat dry. And Volume 3 purports to be about miracles and mysteries, though it shortchanges us in both categories, especially in the mystery department in which they present only one kinda crappy mystery about Whitley Strieber. Also, this one mysteriously ends 30 minutes too soon. The sound and visual quality of the first and third discs is uniformly bad. And the second one is just fine in both areas, for some reason. In many ways, this set is a grab bag of supernatural explorations rather than a consistently produced product. They've mixed and matched from several sources to put this together, with predictable results. Some terrific stuff, and some duds. The UFO and vampires pieces are particularly engrossing. --Jim Gay

Folle d'elle [Region 2]

Murder of Innocence [Region 2]