Midwest BEAT Magazine

FEATURES

THE VIDEO EYE
(a guide to feature film home video releases)

by Ben Likens

   Hello and welcome to the holiday edition of The Video Eye. I hope you all
enjoyed your turkey and various side dishes. Of course, now that the
holidays are upon us, there will be many parties and many meals at many
houses. What does this mean? It means that many videos will be needed for
the many all-important after-meal entertainments. That's where Eye come in.
Before I start, I should tell you that since we don't publish in January,
I'll cover a few January releases, which should get you through until we
return in February.
    We'll start out with The General's Daughter, starring John Travolta,
Madeleine Stowe, and James Woods. The film concerns a military investigator
who, in the midst of a murder investigation, uncovers a huge scandal. Dec.
14 is the release date from Paramount.
    Columbia TriStar is releasing Dick, a comedy about two rather dim high
school students on a Washington field trip who wander into a scandal during
the Nixon administration. Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams star in the
film, which should be sneak onto shelves by Dec. 14.
    Kirsten Dunst also stars, along with Steve Guttenberg and Nia Peeples, in
Tower of Terror, a film about two people trying to solve a mystery in an old
Hollywood hotel. Look for it on Dec. 14 with a Buena Vista label attached to
it.
    The true story of Sammy "The Bull" Gravano is told in Witness to the Mob.
Gravano turned state's evidence against John Gotti, the "Teflon Don."
Nicholas Turturro, Tom Sizemore, and Debi Mazar star in the film, released
via Trimark on Dec. 21.
    Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, and Natasha
Lyonne star in American Pie, a film about a group of friends who, fed up with
virginity, vow to lose it before their high school graduation. Universal
ships on Dec. 21.
    James Belushi and his canine companion are back, fighting crime, in
K-911, the sequel to the popular K-9. Christine Tucci, James Handy, and Wade
Williams also star in the film, released through Universal on Dec. 21.
    A staid art dealer falls in love with the daughter of a New York crime
boss in Mickey Blue Eyes. Hugh Grant, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and James Caan
star in the $33.4 million making film, which will be released via Warner on
Dec. 28.
   The accidental spillage of a secret ingredient in a soft drink nearly
causes the contamination of an entire town in Desert Blue, starring Christina
Ricci, Brendan Sexton III, Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, and Sara Gilbert.
Look for it to explode into stores by Dec. 28, courtesy of Columbia TriStar.
   In Zack & Reba, tragedies bring two people together in several unexpected
ways. The film stars Sean Patrick Flannery, Kathy Najimy, Martin Mull, and
Debbie Reynolds, and will be released thru Victory on Jan. 4.
       An unusual sounding film, Tinseltown, will be released on Jan. 4. It
tells the story of two screenwriters who are forced to live in a warehouse
with a serial killer. Kristy Swanson, Ron Perlman, Ayre Gross, and Tom Wood
star in the film, shipped via Columbia TriStar.
    MGM is releasing the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Pierce
Brosnan, Denis Leary, and Rene Russo. The story involves a bored billionaire
who desires to illegally relieve a heavily guarded museum of a priceless
painting, all in broad daylight. This film steals into stores on Jan 4.
    Antonio Banderas, Diane Verona, and Omar Sharif star in The 13th Warrior,
a film about an ambassador who, after being banished from his native land,
joins forces with a band of warriors to fight a mysterious enemy. Buena
Vista is shipping this film on Jan.18.
    The last script written by the late, great Orson Welles, The Big Brass
Ring, stars Nigel Hawthorne, William Hurt, and Miranda Richardson. A
gubernatorial candidate for from Missouri is blackmailed by his ex-lover in
the film, released via Columbia TriStar, Jan. 11.
    A group of inept hitmen have six hours to carry out a job in Hoods,
starring Joe Mantegna, Kevin Pollack, Joe Pantoliano, and Jennifer Tilly.
Pioneer ships this one on Dec. 7.
   Sidney Poitier, Dianne Wiest, and Mary-Louise Parker star in The Simple
Life of Noah Dearborn, released through Trimark. A land developer sets his
sights on a small farm, forcing its inhabitants to defend themselves and
their land. Dec. 7 is the release date.
    In New Rose Hotel, starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe, and
Gretchen Mol, a girl is trained to seduce a very rich geneticist. Sterling
ships it on Dec. 7.
    Currently available is Trey Parker and Matt Stone's South Park: Bigger,
Longer & Uncut. When the South Park gang decides to sneak into an R-rated
movie, their entire third grade class follows their lead, thus causing their
parents much chagrin, and a national scandal. Paramount is in charge of this
one.
    Espionage and murder, engaged in by a CIA junkie and an Interpol agent,
are the order of the day in Simon Sez, starring Dennis Rodman, Dane Cook, and
Filip Nicole. This one is now available via Columbia TriStar.
    The Designated Mourner, a film adaptation of a play by Wallace Shawn,
comes to video on Dec. 14. It stars Miranda Richardson and Mike Nichols, and
is being shipped through First Look.
    Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards, Ellen Barkin, and Kirstie Alley star in
Drop Dead Gorgeous. The film concerns a woman who enters her daughter in a
beauty contest. The twist is, the contestants mysteriously start turning up
dead. New Line is releasing this one on Dec. 14.
    In Summer of Sam, released through Buena Vista, the hysteria caused by
the Son of Sam murders in New York City in the summer of '77 is examined.
John Leguizamo, Mira Sorvino, and Jennifer Esposito star in the film, which
should be in stores by Dec. 21.
    Michelle Yeoh stars in Supercop 2, a film about a young up-and-comer in
the Chinese police force whose rise is interrupted when her boyfriend is
given a dishonorable discharge from the force. It ships from Buena Vista on
Dec 21.
    Columbia TriStar is releasing a film called Made Men, starring James
Belushi, Vanessa Angel, and Timothy Dalton. In it, a man in the Federal
Witness Protection Program somehow manages to steal millions from several
gangsters. Dec. 21 is the projected release date.
    A&E has released an eight video set called The Planets. It traces
humankind's fascination with the planets, and also space exploration from its
very early days to the present.
    Alas, I've once again run out of room. Have a great holiday season and
Eye'll see in February!