Robbins, Matthew

*Batteries Not Included

Quite possibly the nadir of Steven Spielberg's career as a producer, this piece of sentimental junk from 1987 concerns five little spacecraft which arrive on Earth just in time to help out some New Yorkers getting kicked out of a tenement. The script's goo just sticks to the viewer, and the cast looks silly by trying not to be silly. You get the feeling that Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment was pretty much throwing stuff at the wall to see what would hang there, and they came up with this ridiculous thing. --Tom Keogh

Dragonslayer

Despite its box-office failure in 1981, Dragonslayer was gradually recognized as one of the finest fantasies to emerge from the post-Star Wars boom in special effects. It's still one of the best adventures of its kind, featuring one of the most fearsome fire-breathing serpents in movie history. Ominously named Vermithrax Pejorative, this ill-tempered monster terrorizes the peasantry of sixth-century England, feeding on maidens sacrificed by a duplicitous king until a sorcerer's apprentice named Galen (Peter MacNicol, long before Ally McBeal) is recruited as a reluctant hero. Aided by a tenacious beauty (Caitlin Clarke) and his resurrected mentor (Ralph Richardson), Galen confronts the soaring beast in a breathtaking climax. Employing a then-innovative technique called Go-Motion to animate the dragon, the special effects are still dazzling, and stunning locations in Scotland and Wales allow director Matthew Robbins (cowriter of Steven Spielberg's feature debut, The Sugarland Express) to maintain a vivid atmosphere for the wealth of movie magic. --Jeff Shannon

Corvette Summer

A cherry Corvette Stingray. A gorgeous girl. And a summer in glittery Las Vegas. What more does a guy need for the wildest weirdest funniest freakiest time of his life? Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and Annie Potts (Designing Women) make comedic and romantic sparks fly in a revved-up tale of car-brained Kenny (Hamill) trailing a Corvette that's mysteriously boosted after his high school shop class restores it to perfection. The trail leads to Fun Capital USA and a ditzy diversion (Potts) whose dream is to become - a hooker! This damsel-in-distress needs a white knight on a candy-apple metal-flake superior-mags mercury-tubes steed - right Kenny? Both are in for a summer they'll never forget.Running Time: 105 min.System Requirements: Runnin Time 105 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 012569675568

Amazing Stories - The Complete First Season

As one experience ends another adventure begins in the extraordinary worlds of Amazing Stories! From acclaimed director-producer Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment comes the Emmy Award-winning TV series available on DVD for the first time ever. Join a roster of cinema s most illustrious stars including Kiefer Sutherland Charlie Sheen Tim Robbins John Lithgow Kevin Costner and more as well as some of Hollywood s greatest directorial talents in this epic collection of all 24 groundbreaking Season One episodes. Relive all the mesmerizing magic mystery and suspense in these unique episodes from some of filmmaking s finest storytellers!Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 025192526329 Manufacturer No: 25263

Steven Spielberg's mid-'80s foray into television, Steven Spielberg Presents Amazing Stories, was based loosely on a pulpy sci-fi magazine from the '40s and '50s--much as his rollicking hit Raiders of the Lost Ark had been based on movie action serials of the same era. Yet despite the retro concept, Amazing Stories brought high gloss and state-of-the-art production values to their yarns of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. The boxed set of the first season (which debuted in 1985), contains all 24 episodes, as well as more than 20 minutes of deleted footage. Spielberg himself was very hands-on in the series, and directed many episodes and wrote most, and some themes from his later films show up here. In The Mission, a special hourlong episode (most are half an hour), stars Kevin Costner and Kiefer Sutherland play World War II bombers whose plane is hit during a routine mission, and who face a dire choice, with one young colleague's life hanging in the balance. Spielberg's visceral direction of the wartime violence, camaraderie, and anxiety is pitch-perfect, and presages some of the most moving moments in Saving Private Ryan. Part of the fun of this collection is seeing the stars and guest directors Spielberg cajoled into service, including Martin Scorsese, Sam Waterston (with a head of bushy '80s hair), Tim Robbins, Clint Eastwood, Harvey Keitel, and John Lithgow. The storytelling is crackerjack, and the trip down TV memory lane priceless. --A.T. Hurley

Bingo

UNLEASH THE LAUGHS with this outrageous over-the-edge comedy! When Bingo a runaway circus dog who escapes the Big Top saves the life of Chuckie a young boy who's having trouble fitting in with his pals the two quickly become best friends skateboarding playing pinball and doing math homework together. But Chuckie's parents (Cindy Williams and David Rasche) discover the stowaway pooch and make no bones about the fact that Bingo will not accompany them on their cross-country move. What follows is a heartwarming 1000-mile adventure of puppy love and loyalty as Bingo and Chuckie encounter nutty characters and hilarious situations in their quest to be reunited. Dog catchers kidnappers hospitals even prison can't keep the two lovable misfits apart!System Requirements:Running Time: 89 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: PG UPC: 043396015326 Manufacturer No: 01532

There was a man who had a dog, and Bingo was his name-o. This particular Bingo escapes from a cruel master in a circus and is adopted by a little boy, who is the son of a professional football place-kicker (David Rasche). The father happens to be allergic to dogs, so the boy keeps him hidden from the rest of the family. When Dad is traded from the Denver Broncos to the Green Bay Packers, the family unknowingly leaves Bingo behind. The mock-heroic dog (who is smarter than most of the family members) must track the family across several states and time zones before he's reunited with his trusting young master. A spoof of movies about dogs with amazing powers, this one is often slim pickings. The humor, which tends toward slapstick, is strictly hit-and-miss. This broad comedy will undoubtedly amuse the under-10 set, with its numerous potty and dog-poop jokes. --Marshall Fine

Bingo [Region 2]

There was a man who had a dog, and Bingo was his name-o. This particular Bingo escapes from a cruel master in a circus and is adopted by a little boy, who is the son of a professional football place-kicker (David Rasche). The father happens to be allergic to dogs, so the boy keeps him hidden from the rest of the family. When Dad is traded from the Denver Broncos to the Green Bay Packers, the family unknowingly leaves Bingo behind. The mock-heroic dog (who is smarter than most of the family members) must track the family across several states and time zones before he's reunited with his trusting young master. A spoof of movies about dogs with amazing powers, this one is often slim pickings. The humor, which tends toward slapstick, is strictly hit-and-miss. This broad comedy will undoubtedly amuse the under-10 set, with its numerous potty and dog-poop jokes. --Marshall Fine

Dragonslayer [Region 2]

Despite its box-office failure in 1981, Dragonslayer was gradually recognized as one of the finest fantasies to emerge from the post-Star Wars boom in special effects. It's still one of the best adventures of its kind, featuring one of the most fearsome fire-breathing serpents in movie history. Ominously named Vermithrax Pejorative, this ill-tempered monster terrorizes the peasantry of sixth-century England, feeding on maidens sacrificed by a duplicitous king until a sorcerer's apprentice named Galen (Peter MacNicol, long before Ally McBeal) is recruited as a reluctant hero. Aided by a tenacious beauty (Caitlin Clarke) and his resurrected mentor (Ralph Richardson), Galen confronts the soaring beast in a breathtaking climax. Employing a then-innovative technique called Go-Motion to animate the dragon, the special effects are still dazzling, and stunning locations in Scotland and Wales allow director Matthew Robbins (cowriter of Steven Spielberg's feature debut, The Sugarland Express) to maintain a vivid atmosphere for the wealth of movie magic. --Jeff Shannon