Sonnenfeld, Barry

Men in Black (Deluxe Edition)

To the Men in Black: New York City is being threatened by a villainous bug who has inhabited the body of a farmer. Your mission is to locate and exterminate this bug before it destroys our planet. We have a cache of weapons for you to arm yourselves with including the Carbonizer Series 4 De-Atomizer and the Noisy Cricket. Make sure you also bring your Neuralyzers. You may also find Dr. Laurel Weaver and an alien arms dealer useful in carrying out your task. Good luck!Bonus Features:Visual Commentary by Director Barry Sonnenfeld and actor Tommy Lee Jones with on-screen diagramsEdgar Bug Fight Study using Multi-Angle (Limited Edition Exclusive)Character Animation Studies using Multi-AngleWill Smith & Mikey Music VideoFilmographyProduction StillsStoryboards and Conceptual ArtAudio Commentary by Director Barry Sonnenfeld Rick Baker and ILM TeamMaking Of FeaturetteExtended and Alternate Scenes"Creatures: Concept to Completion" Making Of (Limited Edition Exclusive)Tunnel Scene Deconstruction using Multi-AngleTrailer and TeaserProduction InfoCast/Crew BiographiesDVD-ROMDocumentary "Metamorphosis of Men In Black"Storyboard-to-Film comparison2-page booklet with letter from Director Barry SonnenfeldReproduction of conceptual drawings signed by director Sonnenfeld and Rick BakerSecret Files: Sneak Peek at "MIB II"System Requirements:Starring: Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith. Running Time: 98 Min. Color. This film is presented in both "Widescreen" and "Standard" formats. Copyright 2002 Columbia TriStar.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396087712 Manufacturer No: 08771

This imaginative summer comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty) is a lot of fun, largely on the strength of Will Smith's engaging performance as the rookie partner of a secret agent (Tommy Lee Jones) assigned to keep tabs on Earth-dwelling extraterrestrials. There's lots of comedy to spare in this bright film, some of the funniest stuff found in the margins of the major action. (A scene with Smith's character being trounced in the distance by a huge alien while Jones questions a witness is a riot.) The inventiveness never lets up, and the cast--including Vincent D'Onofrio doing frighteningly convincing work as an alien occupying a decaying human--hold up their end splendidly. --Tom Keogh

Men in Black II (Widescreen Special Edition)

More remake than sequel, Men in Black II safely repeats everything that made Men in Black the blockbuster hit of 1997. That's fine if you loved the original's fresh humor, weird aliens, and loopy ingenuity, but as sequels go, it's pure déjà vu. Makeup wizard Rick Baker is the only MIB alumnus who's trying anything new, while director Barry Sonnenfeld and costars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (as alien-fighting agents Jay and Kay, respectively) are on autopilot with an uninspired screenplay. The quest of a multitentacled alien--on Earth in the form of Lara Flynn Boyle--for the light of Zartha requires Jay to deneuralize Kay, whose restored memory contains the key to saving the planet. The tissue-thin premise allows all varieties of special effects--mostly familiar, with some oddly hilarious new stuff tossed in for good measure. Certainly enjoyable as a popcorn distraction, but the MIB magic has worn a bit thin. --Jeff Shannon

Wild Wild West

One of the box-office smashes of the summer of 1999, this film by director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black, Get Shorty) was raked by critics but embraced by audiences. Based on the 1960s TV adventure show that starred Robert Conrad, this film reimagined Secret Service agent James West as Will Smith, adding Oscar-winner Kevin Kline as his sidekick, agent-inventor Artemus Gordon. President Ulysses S. Grant puts West and Gordon on the trail of malign genius (and former Confederate soldier) Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh) in a story about racism, partnership, and world domination. The special effects are lavish, even garish, but not all that special; they're not enough to elevate a mundane and familiar plot. Even Branagh, playing a man who only exists from the waist up--literally--can't find the juice in this lumbering affair. Still, the fast-talking team of Smith and Kline is a nimble one. Smith's affable charm and Kline's subversive wit win many points, though not nearly enough. --Marshall Fine

Wild, wild laughs, adventure and special-effects wizardry abound when megastar Will Smith reteams with the director of "Men in Black." Smith is agent James West, leading sidekick Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline) and a sexy adventuress (Salma Hayek) on a perilous assignment: stop Dr. Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh) and his contraption-driven plot to establish a Disunited States of America.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Director commentary
DVD ROM Features:The Steel Assassin interactive game; Artemus Gordon's Mind-Protection Theater reveals a trainload of behind-the-scenes clips; genre essays; web events and chat room access; sampler trailers
DVD ROM exclusive web site
Documentaries:Full arsenal of behind-the-scenes documentaries
Filmographies
Interactive Menus
Music Video:Wild Wild West - Will Smith Ballamos - Enrique Iglesias
Outtakes
Photo gallery:Stills gallery
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer

Get Shorty

Hailed by many critics as one of the best films of 1995, this finely tuned black comedy sparked a renewed interest in movies based on books by prolific crime novelist Elmore Leonard, whose trademark combination of tight plotting and sharp humor is perfectly captured here. After the success of Pulp Fiction, John Travolta continued his meteoric comeback as Chili Palmer, a Mob "mechanic" whose latest assignment takes him to Los Angeles, where his fascination with the movie business turns into a new career as a would-be movie producer. He pitches ideas with a sleazy producer (Gene Hackman) and a major star (Danny DeVito), and also finds time to deal with a vengeful Mobster (Dennis Farina) and assorted Hollywood types (including Renee Russo and Delroy Lindo) who all want their piece of a tempting show-biz pie. The plot unfolds with enticing precision, but it's really Elmore's snappy dialogue--and the performances that bring it to life--that make this one of the best comedies of the 1990s. --Jeff Shannon

Golden Globe(r) winner* John Travolta leads an all-star cast in the hysterical comedy thatTime calls "smart, shrewdly crafted [and] hilarious!" Loan shark Chili Palmer (Travolta) is bored with the business. So when he arrives in LA to collect a debt from down-and-out filmmaker Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), Chili talks tough...and then pitches Harry a script idea. Immediately, Chili is swept into the Hollywood scene: He schmoozes film star Martin Weir (Danny DeVito), romances B-movie queen Karen Flores (Rene Russo) and even gets reservations at the hottest restaurants intown. In fact, all would be smooth for this cool new producer, if it weren't for the drug smugglersand the angry mobster who won't leave him alone! *1996: Actor (Comedy)Get Shorty

Big Trouble

The frantic pacing of Big Trouble is surely intentional, but the movie leaves you wanting more of... something. Not more characters--it's got plenty of those--but more room for them to breathe in a top-heavy plot that recalls Get Shorty (also directed by Barry Sonnenfeld) without reaching those heights of ingenuity. Based on the bestseller by syndicated Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry, this Miami-based mayhem bears the distinct imprint of Barry's humor, in which absurdities pile up like rush-hour traffic, involving a former journalist (Tim Allen) connected by circumstance to a wealthy schemer (Stanley Tucci), his bored wife (Rene Russo), Russian mobsters, mismatched cops (Janeane Garofalo, Patrick Warburton), power-crazed FBI agents (Heavy D, Omar Epps), a Frito-loving drifter (Jason Lee), cretinous criminals (Tom Sizemore, Johnny Knoxville), and a gigantic toad that shoots hallucinogenic saliva. Culminating in an airport bomb smuggling (prompting the film's delayed release after the tragedy of September 11, 2001), Big Trouble needs the brilliant cohesion of Dr. Strangelove; what it gets is Sonnenfeld's knack for sustained chaos, and a few decent belly laughs. --Jeff Shannon

The laughs come fast and furious as Tim Allen (JOE SOMEBODY, GALAXY QUEST) and Rene Russo (SHOWTIME, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR) star in a film from Barry Sonnenfeld, director of GET SHORTY and MEN IN BLACK. Based on humorist Dave Barry's best-selling first novel, BIG TROUBLE follows the comedic chaos created when a mysterious suitcase that threatens the security of Miami changes the lives of a divorced dad, an unhappy housewife, 2 hit men, a pair of street thugs, 2 love-struck teens, 2 FBI men, and a psychedelic toad. There is something for everyone no matter who is looking for BIG TROUBLE -- and in the end, all-star comedy conquers all.

The Tick - The Entire Series

In a world where criminals rule the streets evil has finally met its match. There is a new protector of the weak and oppressed the hilarious blue defender of goodness known as & THE TICK (Patrick Warburton TV's "Seinfeld")! Together with his sidekick Arthur (David BurkeTV's "Party of Five") and their friends - the insatiable Batmanuel (Nestor Carbonell TV's "Suddenly Susan") and the alluring Captain Liberty ( Liz Vassey TV's "Push Nevada") - these heroes will prove they are more than just big dumb guys in silly-looking suits. Produced by Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black I & II Wild Wild West) and based on the hit comic book this hysterical 2-disc-set contains nine episodes spanning the entire series. So let this be a warning to naughty people everywhere for you have met THE TICK!System Requirements:Starring: Patrick Warburton David Burke Liz Vassey Nestor Carbonell Running Time: 200 Min. Copyright Sony Pictures Home Entertainment 2005Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 043396012196 Manufacturer No: 01219

He's the Wild Blue Yonder, and The Tick is back to show why this outlandishly funny TV series should never have been canceled! After proving his mettle in comic books and animated TV, creator Ben Edlund's blue-insect superhero made his auspicious debut on Fox (in November 2001), portrayed in live action (in a buff-muscled rubber suit) by Patrick Warburton, the popular Seinfeld guest star (as "Puddy"), who instantly perfected the role he was born to play. In his appreciative commentary track, co-executive producer (and Men in Black director) Barry Sonnenfeld calls the pilot episode "the best thing I've ever directed," and it's easy to agree: wide-angle lenses, stylized sets, hilarious dialogue, and a comedically gifted cast make the episode (and the entire series) a perfect summation of Sonnenfeld's wacky style. Edlund concurs, observing that The Tick is "something you get or you don't," and the impatient Fox executives obviously didn't get the show's expert blend of absurdity, stupidity, and good-natured irreverence. They axed the series after eight of these nine episodes aired, only proving that The Tick was too hip for their bean-counting mentalities.

In the title role, Warburton (with highly expressive antennae) hits all the right notes of dimwitted innocence and brute-force gallantry, aided immeasurably by his moth-costumed sidekick Arthur (David Burke), wannabe lothario Batmanuel (Nestor Carbonell), and buxom beauty Captain Liberty (Liz Vassey). Attentive to the more mundane aspects of superheroism, The Tick offers outrageous villains (like the nefarious "Destroyo") and eccentric allies (like Ron Perlman's hilarious "Fiery Blaze") while showing that even crimefighters have everyday problems and desires. Brilliantly conceived and executed, The Tick can now be enjoyed by an audience it never had a proper chance to cultivate. --Jeff Shannon

Men in Black (Collector's Series)

This imaginative summer comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty) is a lot of fun, largely on the strength of Will Smith's engaging performance as the rookie partner of a secret agent (Tommy Lee Jones) assigned to keep tabs on Earth-dwelling extraterrestrials. There's lots of comedy to spare in this bright film, some of the funniest stuff found in the margins of the major action. (A scene with Smith's character being trounced in the distance by a huge alien while Jones questions a witness is a riot.) The inventiveness never lets up, and the cast--including Vincent D'Onofrio doing frighteningly convincing work as an alien occupying a decaying human--hold up their end splendidly. --Tom Keogh

The Addams Family

Director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) brings his distinctly cartoonish sensibility to this feature film version of the old Charles Addams comic strip. Anjelica Huston was born to play Morticia Addams, matriarch of the ghoulish Addams clan, while the late Raul Julia is a very agreeable, lusty Gomez. But it's Christina Ricci who arguably steals the show as their stone-faced daughter, Wednesday. As is often the problem with adaptations of comics or television shows, somehow an original story has to be implemented that doesn't clutter things up. But clutter is an issue here as the script gets tangled on a lame plot concerning efforts to steal the Addams' house and fortune. Still, it's fun to see an ideal cast reanimate an old favorite. --Tom Keogh

Men in Black (Deluxe Edition)/Men in Black II (Widescreen Special Edition)

Men in Black
This imaginative summer comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (Get Shorty) is a lot of fun, largely on the strength of Will Smith's engaging performance as the rookie partner of a secret agent (Tommy Lee Jones) assigned to keep tabs on Earth-dwelling extraterrestrials. There's lots of comedy to spare in this bright film, some of the funniest stuff found in the margins of the major action. (A scene with Smith's character being trounced in the distance by a huge alien while Jones questions a witness is a riot.) The inventiveness never lets up, and the cast--including Vincent D'Onofrio doing frighteningly convincing work as an alien occupying a decaying human--hold up their end splendidly. --Tom Keogh

Men in Black II
More remake than sequel, Men in Black II safely repeats everything that made Men in Black the blockbuster hit of 1997. That's fine if you loved the original's fresh humor, weird aliens, and loopy ingenuity, but as sequels go, it's pure déjà vu. Makeup wizard Rick Baker is the only MIB alumnus who's trying anything new, while director Barry Sonnenfeld and costars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones (as alien-fighting agents Jay and Kay, respectively) are on autopilot with an uninspired screenplay. The quest of a multitentacled alien--on Earth in the form of Lara Flynn Boyle--for the light of Zartha requires Jay to deneuralize Kay, whose restored memory contains the key to saving the planet. The tissue-thin premise allows all varieties of special effects--mostly familiar, with some oddly hilarious new stuff tossed in for good measure. Certainly enjoyable as a popcorn distraction, but the MIB magic has worn a bit thin. --Jeff Shannon

Addams Family Values

This somewhat more cohesive follow-up to The Addams Family has the same director, Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black), but a better story line. Joan Cusack plays a busty gold digger who ingratiates herself into the Addams home and convinces Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) that she wants to marry him. Besides Lloyd, the cast includes Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia, ideal as those Brontëan lovers, Morticia and Gomez. But Christina Ricci again walks away with the best moments as the chilly Wednesday Addams, making life miserable for two camp counselors (Peter MacNicol and Christine Baranski) who want her to fit in with other kids.--Tom Keogh