Inscoe, Joe

My Name Is Bill W

Based on the true story of Bill W. James Woods - in an Emmy award-winning performance - plays the successful stock broker whose life falls apart after the stock crash of the 1920's. As a result Bill W. and his loving wife Lois (Jo Beth Williams) must come to grips with his depression and downward spiraling alcoholism. In Bill's quest for recovery he forms a support group with fellow alcoholic Dr. Bob (James Garner) which eventually leads to the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous. In this inspiring portrayal My Name is Bill W. movingly depicts the trials trauma and triumph of people and loved ones coping and recovering from substance abuse. Director: Daniel Petrie. Starring: James Woods Jo Beth Williams James Garner and Gary Sinise.Running Time: 100 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 012569741140 Manufacturer No: 74114

Here's another example of TV giving James Woods the chance to stretch out from the intense-psycho roles he seems restricted to in too many of his movies. In My Name Is Bill W. he plays Bill Wilson, the overreaching businessman from the Roaring '20s who went on to found Alcoholics Anonymous. Woods gets plenty of chances to stretch out here in Bill's headlong slide to the bottom, through the terrors of the Wall Street crash (which amplifies a two-fisted drinking problem) and into the loss of everything he holds dear. Yet Woods also is convincing as the man who understands just how insidious his disease is and learns to try to take everything one day at a time. He receives strong support from James Garner as the alcoholic physician who teams with Bill to make AA a viable proposition. --Marshall Fine

The New World

The legend of Pocahontas and John Smith receives a luminous and essential retelling by maverick filmmaker Terrence Malick. The facts of Virginia's first white settlers, circa 1607, have been told for eons and fortified by Disney's animated films: explorer Smith (Colin Farrell) and the Native American princess (newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher) bond when the two cultures meet, a flashpoint of curiosity and war lapping interchangeably at the shores of the new continent. Malick, who took a twenty year break between his second and third films (Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line), is a master of film poetry; the film washes over you, with minimal dialogue (you see characters speak on camera for less than a quarter of the film). The rest of the words are a stream-of-consciousness narration--a technique Malick has used before but never to such degree, creating a movie you feel more than watch. The film's beauty (shot in Virginia by Emmanuel Lubezki) and production design (by Jack Fisk) seems very organic, and in fact, organic is a great label for the movie as a whole, from the dreadful conditions of early Jamestown (it makes you wonder why Englishman would want to live there) to the luminescent love story. Malick is blessed with a cast that includes Wes Studi, August Schellenberg, Christopher Plummer, and Christian Bale (who, curiously, was also in the Disney production). Fourteen-year-old Kilcher, the soul of the film, is an amazing find, and Farrell, so often tagged as the next big thing, delivers his first exceptional performance since his stunning debut in Tigerland. James Horner provides a fine score, but is overshadowed by a Mozart concerto and a recurring prelude from Wagner's Das Rheingold, a scrumptious weaving of horns fit to fuel the gentle intoxication of this film. Note: the film was initially 150 minutes, and then trimmed to 135 by Malick before the regular theatrical run. It was also the first film shot in 65mm since Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet. --Doug Thomas

In this romantic epic starring Colin Farrell Christian Bale and beautiful newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher acclaimed filmmaker Terrence Malick brings to life the classic true tale of Pocahontas and her relationship with adventurer John Smith set during the turbulent beginnings of America.Running Time: 150 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 794043102530 Manufacturer No: N10253

Nell

This film is an intelligent examination of an easygoing doctor (Liam Neeson at his teddy bear best) and his discovery of Nell (Oscar nominee Jodie Foster), a woman who was raised in the woods with no human contact except her speech-impaired mother. The movie covers a familiar "fish out of water" story unlocking Nell's soul (by deciphering her incomprehensible language) and then taking her into the modern world. What makes Nell special is the earnest work by Neeson, Natasha Richardson (as an uptight psychologist), and a rich, small array of supporting members (journeyman Nick Searcy as the town sheriff is marvelous). At its center is another extraordinary job by Foster, who also produced. Director Michael Apted (Thunderheart) brings his regular load of realism into the picture, set aglow by luscious camerawork (by Dante Spinotti) in the hills of North Carolina. Through lyrical speech and gesture, Foster makes you believe she's in another woman's body, akin to Jeff Bridges's work in Starman, a marvelous sight to behold that powers the movie. Written by William Nicholson (Shadowlands) and Mark Handley, based on Handley's play Idioglossia. --Doug Thomas

When doctor Jerry Lovell (Liam Neeson, Oscar - nominee for "Schindler's List") discovers a young woman living alone in the backwoods of North Carolina, he is intrigued by her erratic behavior and unique pattern of speech. Together with a psychologist (Natasha Richardson), Lovell determines to pierce Nell's private world and protect her from the courts - and a life of scientific study. In a race against time and a system bent on shattering her spirit, he finds that the woman whose way of life he has sought to protect, has transformed his own forever.

Toy Soldiers

Toy Soldiers is a slick dose of high-concept absurdity, and lots of fun if you don't think about it afterward. Adapted from a novel by William P. Kennedy, it's got the swift momentum that's a specialty of screenwriter David Koepp, whose later credits include Jurassic Park and Spider-Man. Matching Koepp's narrative energy is director and cowriter Daniel Petrie Jr., who wrote Beverly Hills Cop, and whose big-screen career stalled after this crowd-pleasing debut. The hokey plot involves a class of prep-school misfits (led by Sean Astin and Wil Wheaton) who use their rebellious ingenuity to foil Colombian terrorists who've taken over their school. The lead villain (Andrew Divoff) demands the return of his extradited drug-lord father (one of the prep students is the residing judge's son), and the inevitable showdown provides a heady mix of nonsense, graphic violence, and military muscle. It shouldn't work but it does, especially if you've got a tolerance for Die Hard clones that barely pass inspection. --Jeff Shannon

The Regis School a specialized prep school for rich boys is taken hostage by an elite squad of commandos headed by the son of a South American drug czar who is in prison. He vows to kill one student each day until his drug-lord dad is released. The students decide to risk their lives in a deadly campaign to stop him. Sean Astin (LORD OF THE RINGS) stars in this film based on the novel by William P. Kennedy.System Requirements:Running Time: 111 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 043396089006

Black Knight

In Black Knight, Martin Lawrence plays an amusement park employee who is magically transported back to medieval times and helps return a queen to her rightful throne (while learning some valuable lessons along the way). Despite the script's lack of logic and originality, Lawrence is an engaging performer, with a loose-limbed amiability that makes him most enjoyable company, even if he's not necessarily a better actor than most comedians. If Lawrence ever does a movie with a decent script, he might really have something; as it is we'll have to settle right now for the cheesy yet funny sight of Lawrence teaching a medieval band to play some Sly and Family Stone. --Bret Fetzer

When a Medieval World theme park worker (Lawrence) is magically transported back to 14th century England he must do battle with an evil king deadly assassins - and really bad plumbing!System Requirements:Run time: 95 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/COMEDY OF ERRORS Rating: PG-13 UPC: 024543039907 Manufacturer No: 2003990

Paul Mooney's Analyzing White America

Though Paul Mooney reached a new level of public familiarity in 2004 with his appearances on Comedy Central s "Chappelle s Show" the comedian has made millions laugh for over 30 years. As a television writer for the classics "Sanford & Son" and "Good Times" sketch comedy shows "Saturday Night Live" and "In Living Color" and a long-time Richard Pryor collaborator Mooney has lived in the public ear if not in the public eye for a very long time. As head writer on "In Living Color" it was Mooney who created "Homey the Clown" "Dial a Nigger" and "The Brothers Brothers" never one to shy away from controversial racial themes. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 826663100280 Manufacturer No: DVD10028

Son's Promise

First Kid

An underrated actor, Sinbad is very good in this comedy-drama about a Secret Service agent who gets the thankless detail of guarding the president's bratty son. In time, the two become touchingly close, with Sinbad's character providing the kind of surrogate fathering the boy's ultra-busy dad can't give. The plot takes an inevitable turn toward greater drama when the young man is kidnapped, but director David Mickey Evans handles the whole thing very well, and the resolution makes for fairly satisfying action. But Sinbad's presence is an agreeably warm one--though he is also quite funny and original in early sequences when the prez's son is tormenting him--and makes this film surprisingly watchable. --Tom Keogh

Sinbad plays wisecracking Secret Service agent Sam Simms, assigned to protect the President's rebellious 14-year-old son Luke (THE MIGHTY DUCKS' Brock Pierce). Simms would much rather be protecting the President, and Luke would prefer to be just a regular kid without a watchdog trailing him everywhere he goes. But a genuine friendship develops between the two when Simms volunteers to teach Luke how to deal with a school bully (HOME IMPROVEMENT'S Zachery Ty Bryan), and to untie his tongue so that he can win over a cute girl in class. But when Luke's mysterious Internet buddy convinces him to ditch his bodyguard in a crowded mall, the fun and games suddenly become a matter of life and death! The votes are in from both audiences and critics -- "Sinbad is hilarious" (KNX Radio/CBS Radio) in this "laugh-a-minute" comedy (Sneak Previews).

The Locket

Gentle sentiment turns The Locket into an old-fashioned weeper for anyone who loved Driving Miss Daisy. It's not nearly as effective as that 1989 Oscar®-winner, but this Hallmark Hall of Fame production--adapted from the novel by Richard Paul Evans--has similar charms of its own, and its warm-hearted themes of love and compassion offer a welcomed alternative to network sex and violence. After caring for his terminally ill mother, an aspiring medical student named Michael (Chad Willett) works at a nursing home, where an elderly resident (Vanessa Redgrave) teaches him valuable lessons using her own past--and a long-lost love--to illustrate the importance of second chances. Their friendship, and an unexpected court trial, encourages Michael to reconcile with his estranged father (Terry O'Quinn), with the support of his loving fiancée (Marguerite Moreau). No surprises here, but have your Kleenex handy just in case. --Jeff Shannon

Hush

In the tradition of Die! Die! My Darling comes this tale of a young heroine made miserable by a lover's eccentric relations. Gwyneth Paltrow plays a New Yorker who marries a handsome boyfriend (Jonathon Schaech) and--following a confidence-shattering encounter with Manhattan crime--moves to his family's thoroughbred ranch. There, the young man's dominating mother (a hammy, Blanche DuBois-like role for Jessica Lange) goes to war with new bride's claim on mama's Oedipal turf. A stock thriller ensues, and while one has a sense of déjà vu about the whole thing, the film is fun for its audacity, its underpinnings of dime-store psychology, and some gothic stereotypes. (Hal Holbrook is perfect as one's fantasy of a country doctor.) --Tom Keogh