Russell, Chuck

The Mask (New Line Platinum Series)

Mild-mannered Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) takes Edge City by storm when he stumbles upon a mysterious and ancient mask.Running Time: 97 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 794043810824

Sometimes it's hard to tell if The Mask (or Jim Carrey's in-your-face mugging in general) is actually funny, or just bizarre and grotesque. And sometimes it just doesn't matter. Carrey plays a shy, Jerry Lewis-like nerd who discovers an ancient mask that magically transforms him into a green-faced, zoot-suited Tex Avery cartoon character with no inhibitions. As Roger Ebert said of Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the actor performs "as if he's being clocked on an Energy-O-Meter, and paid by the calorie expended." If that's your kind of humor, you'll love The Mask; if not, you may need a valium or two to sit through this one. --Jim Emerson

Eraser

If you're going to submit yourself to a dazzling example of mainstream action, this thriller is as good a choice as any. Eraser is a live-action cartoon, the kind of movie in which Arnold Schwarzenegger can survive nail bombs, hails of bullets, an attack by voracious alligators ("You're luggage," he says, after killing one of the beasts), and still emerge from the mayhem relatively intact. Arnold plays an "eraser" from the Federal Witness Protection Program, so named because he can virtually erase the existence of anyone he's been assigned to protect. His latest beneficiary is an FBI employee (Vanessa Williams) who stumbled across a secret government group involved in the sale and export of an advanced weapon capable of shooting rounds at nearly the speed of light. Fantastic action sequences are handled with flair by director Charles Russell (The Mask), so it's easy to forgive the fact that this movie is almost completely ridiculous. --Jeff Shannon

Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Eraser, an elite federal marshal who "erases" the pasts of jeopardized informers and relocates them into safe anonymity.

The Scorpion King (Widescreen Collector's Edition)

There's nothing original in The Scorpion King, but this derivative action franchise gets off to a rousing start by cleverly stealing from a lot of better movies. Capitalizing on his brief cameo in The Mummy Returns, Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. World Wrestling Federation star the Rock) stars as Mathayus, an Akkadian assassin in the age preceding Egyptian pharaohs, who vows to avenge his brother's murder by an undefeated warlord (Steven Brand) prophesied to become the desert-ruling Scorpion King. Their battle for supremacy comprises most of the film's brisk 95-minute running time, punctuated by comic relief from Mathayus's obligatory sidekick (Grant Heslov), romance with a beautiful sorceress (Kelly Hu), and alliance with a massive Nubian (Michael Clarke Duncan) on the eve of their climactic showdown. There's no rhyme or reason to the film's depiction of ancient civilization (the costuming is particularly ludicrous), but the Rock demonstrates adequate action-star potential, and director Chuck Russell (The Mask) wraps it all in a slick, professional package. --Jeff Shannon

The Blob

More graphically-realistic than ever THE BLOB has returned in this horrific tale about a vile malignant life-form that crashes to earth in a cozy rural American town called Arborville. Untroubled by conscience or intellect the Blob does only one thing-and does it well. It eats anything and everything that moves...men women children. And tonight it wants to swallow Arborville whole. The original version of THE BLOB thrilled and terrified audiences back in the 50's. Now the oozing gooey killer is back with a new high-tech 80's look. What was once only suggested now comes to life in this visually gut-wrenching thriller in the tradition of such classic remakes as "The Thing" and "The Fly".Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 043396059238 Manufacturer No: 05923

The Scorpion King (Full Screen Collector's Edition)

There's nothing original in The Scorpion King, but this derivative action franchise gets off to a rousing start by cleverly stealing from a lot of better movies. Capitalizing on his brief cameo in The Mummy Returns, Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. World Wrestling Federation star the Rock) stars as Mathayus, an Akkadian assassin in the age preceding Egyptian pharaohs, who vows to avenge his brother's murder by an undefeated warlord (Steven Brand) prophesied to become the desert-ruling Scorpion King. Their battle for supremacy comprises most of the film's brisk 95-minute running time, punctuated by comic relief from Mathayus's obligatory sidekick (Grant Heslov), romance with a beautiful sorceress (Kelly Hu), and alliance with a massive Nubian (Michael Clarke Duncan) on the eve of their climactic showdown. There's no rhyme or reason to the film's depiction of ancient civilization (the costuming is particularly ludicrous), but the Rock demonstrates adequate action-star potential, and director Chuck Russell (The Mask) wraps it all in a slick, professional package. --Jeff Shannon

Bless the Child

When Maggie (Kim Basinger of L.A. Confidential and Batman) comes home to her apartment building one night, she discovers her estranged, drug-addict sister Jenna huddling in the doorway. Jenna promptly abandons her newborn baby with Maggie, who proceeds to raise the child as her own, despite evidence of autism. But as the little girl, Cody, gets older, what seemed to be autism starts to manifest itself in more startling ways. At the same time, a series of child murders are sweeping the city--murders conducted by a mysterious cult with supernatural matters on their mind. Bless the Child starts promisingly, with subdued, creepy scenes contrasted with more outrageous moments like swarms of computer-generated rats. Fans of religious horror movies will enjoy its twist on The Omen, with an angelic child instead of a demonic one--only the child is still pretty eerie. The special effects go a little overboard towards the end. Jimmy Smits (Price of Glory) costars as an FBI cult chaser, and Rufus Sewell (Dark City, Cold Comfort Farm) gives a pleasantly restrained performance as the charismatic cult leader. Also featuring Christina Ricci as a cult escapee and Ian Holm as a Jesuit priest. --Bret Fetzer

Collateral Damage / Eraser

Arnold Schwarzenegger provides escapist heroics in two explosive hits. In Collateral Damage, he plays a firefighter tracking the terrorist bomber who killed his family. Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) guides the action that leaps from LA to Colombia to Washington, D.C. In Eraser, agent John Kruger (Schwarzenegger) protects a witness who uncovered a deal to put a super weapon in the wrong hands. If you're looking for a hero, you've found him. If you're looking for the witness, Kruger will make sure you find plenty of trouble.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Dream Warriors

Often described as the best of the Elm Street sequels, Patricia Arquette (Stigmata) is placed in a hospital psychiatric ward with six other troubled teens, who all dream about the same horrible Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) trying to kill them.

Extreme Action: 4 Film Favorites

Eraser The Last Boy Scout Passenger 57 Point of No Return

The Mask (New Line Platinum Series)

Sometimes it's hard to tell if The Mask (or Jim Carrey's in-your-face mugging in general) is actually funny, or just bizarre and grotesque. And sometimes it just doesn't matter. Carrey plays a shy, Jerry Lewis-like nerd who discovers an ancient mask that magically transforms him into a green-faced, zoot-suited Tex Avery cartoon character with no inhibitions. As Roger Ebert said of Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, the actor performs "as if he's being clocked on an Energy-O-Meter, and paid by the calorie expended." If that's your kind of humor, you'll love The Mask; if not, you may need a valium or two to sit through this one. Digital video disc extras include two deleted scenes and a commentary track from director Charles Russell. --Jim Emerson

A quiet bank clerk is turned into a cartoon character with strange abilities usually only available in animatation, all through an ancient mask he finds.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 3-FEB-2004
Media Type: DVD