Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

VIDEO PREVIEW: Summer Doldrums

Summer Doldrums

Paquette (Olivier Martinez) and Illeana (Angelina Jolie) trail a serial killer in "Taking Lives." In "Connie and Carla," the title characters (Toni Collette, Nia Vardalos) strut their stuff -- and save their lives -- by masquerading as drag queens.

A pair of less-than-thrilling thrillers and an odd but hardly comedic couple duke it out for top honors in today's edition of ...

• The big screen scene: Angelina Jolie stars as an FBI profiler drawn to Ethan Hawke, who may be a murderer -- or a future victim -- in "Taking Lives" (Warner). And in "Godsend" (Lions Gate), enigmatic geneticist Robert De Niro makes grieving parents Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos an offer they can't refuse: cloning their 8-year-old son, who has been killed in an accident.

And life's a drag for "Connie and Carla" (Universal), two song-and-dance gals ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding's" Nia Vardalos and Toni Collette) who flee their airport lounge gig when their boss gets iced -- and wind up headlining a West Hollywood drag club. Think "Some Like It Hot" meets "Victor/Victoria" -- without the laughs of either.

"New York Minute" (Warner), meanwhile, finds tween queens Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as squabbling Long Island siblings getting in all kinds of trouble all over Manhattan.

Rounding out today's recent release lineup: the French comedy "Bon Voyage" (Columbia/TriStar), set just before the Nazis goose-stepped into 1940 Paris. Isabelle Adjani and Gerard Depardieu lead the cast.

• Critic's choice: They're still making movies, but star directors Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg merit multititle retrospectives today.

Leading Warner's five-title Scorsese tribute: the DVD debuts of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1974), featuring Ellen Burstyn's Oscar-winning performance in the title role, and the comic New York nightmare "After Hours" (1985). Universal, meanwhile, recalls Steven Spielberg's thrilling days of yesteryear with the made-for-TV suspense classic "Duel" (1971) and his 1974 big-screen debut, "The Sugarland Express."

Back in the here and now, the mock documentary "Showboy" (Wolfe) follows "Six Feet Under" writer Christian Taylor to Las Vegas, where he tries on the title career. Strip icons Siegfried and Roy contribute cameos.

Moving from mockumentary to documentary, "Mayor of the Sunset Strip" (First Look) follows Los Angeles scenester Rodney Bingenheimer from autograph hound to nightclub owner and DJ.

On the foreign-language front, Chinese coal miners risk their lives in the award-winning "Blind Shaft" (Kino), while the action shifts to a hip Taipei bar in another award-winner, the coming-of-age tale "Millennium Mambo" (Palm).

• Kidvid corner: It's all for one and fun for all as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy buckle their swashes in "The Three Musketeers" (Disney), the first feature-length teaming of the animated favorites. And underage underdogs take on a motorcycle gang threatening to commandeer their motocross track in the live-action "Moto X Kids" (Fox).

• TV transfers: If the phrases "Ehhhhhhh!" and "Schlemiel, Schlimazal!" strike a nostalgic chord, you'll welcome DVD debuts of the '70s sitcom favorites "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley" (Paramount).

On the satirical front, Al Franken spoofs late-night news shows in "Lateline: The Complete Series" (Paramount), while Britain's "Da Ali G Show: The Complete First Season" (HBO) features chameleon comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

• Vintage vault: Those wonderful folks at Kino put on a "Slapstick Symposium" with DVD compilations featuring silent clowns Stan Laurel, Harold Lloyd and Charley Chase, plus a newly remastered DVD of another fine Laurel and Hardy mess, 1939's "Flying Deuces."