It's the last day of school, and the kids of Dimmsdale eagerly await the start of those fun-filled months of Summer Vacation. But this summer the grownups of Dimmsdale are worried that their kids are getting too wild, so they call a town meeting to find a solution for their concerns. Enter Flappy Bob, the clown founder of Flappy Bob's Happy Peppy Learnatorium. Timmy and his friends are enrolled in Flappy Bob's school, and they immediately see all hope of a fun summer dwindling away. Timmy realizes he must find a way to bring fun back to summer, and it's all done through the magic of song.
The fifth Pokémonmovie takes Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu to the city of Altomare, a thinly disguised Venice guarded by the shape-shifting Pokémon Latios and Latias. Two new agents of Giovanni's, Annie and Oakley, are out to capture these rare Pokémonreducing Team Rocket to the role of spectators. Latios and Latias are linked to an elaborate, computer-generated mechanism that defends the city, controls the tides and brings fossil Pokémon back to life. Ash and Pikachu foil the evil plan with some help from Misty, Brock, and Bianca, a girl who lives in Altomare with her kindly grandfather. The contrived story suggests that as far as features are concerned, the Pokémonfranchise has pretty much run dry. (The film earned less than $1 million in its U.S. theatrical release.) Extras include a Camp Pikachushort and a Pokémon Heroestrivia game. (Rated G, all ages: minor cartoon violence) Charles Solomon
He could be big and loud and clumsy, shy and quiet graceful, and hilariously funny all at the same time. Chris Farley was an unstoppable force of nature at Saturday Night live in the 90s, and you ll see it all here, including the best of Motivational Speaker Matt Foley, the Chris Farley show, the slightly overweight Chippendales dancer and many other unique and endearing characters. Plus there s extra material, including scenes that were cut after Dress Rehearsal and never seen before now.
Meg Ryan emerges bloodied but unbowed from this botched comedy by Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill). Ryan plays a woman whose fiancé (Timothy Hutton) leaves her for a Parisian beauty. She jets over to the City of Lights to fight for her man, but an incapacitating fear of flying forces her to seek help from a fellow passenger, a French thief played by Kevin Kline, who then tutors her in the ways of getting her beau back. Kasdan seems incapable of pacing the story, let alone getting a firm grip on its comic tone and intentions. The production sputters and regroups and stalls repeatedly, forcing Ryan, particularly, to find the boundaries of her own screwball performance. Tom Keogh
Charlize Theron is the latest stunning blonde to be hanging around some big ape in a Hollywood movie, this one a remake of the 1949 semi-classic with echoes of the superior King Kong. Theron plays the daugher of an American researcher killed by poachers in Africa. The baby gorilla left in her care grows up to become a hugely tall and broad specimen named Joe, living in the mountains as a mostly unseen legend among people who live there. Along comes an eco-minded emissary (Bill Paxton) from a California sanctuary, who talks the jungle girl into providing safe haven for Joe at the L.A. facility. The transition is not without discomfort, but everything is aggravated via a conspiracy of poachers to get Joe into their own greedy hands. Director Ron Underwood (City Slickers) uses a combination of special-effects techniques to give Joe life and personality, and he succeeds quite effectively. The requisite giant-ape-goes-amok scenes are all in placea couple of them pretty intenseas is a conclusion that finds the simian hero performing a stunning feat of escalation. Underwood attempts to give a little modern spin to some classic Hollywood conventions regarding wild hearts lost in civilization, and the results are pretty agreeable family fare. Tom Keogh
Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team's popular, arrogant captain. If this isn't bad enough, he's stuck with a mother who frighteningly experimentsrather than cookswith food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all ... until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly original, slightly dark, and completely hilarious '80s teen comedy. Not as serious a "suicide-attempt" movie as, say, Harold and Maudebut just as funny, the film's more a collection of screwball sketches than a narrative. Holland livens the high jinks with surrealistic fantasy touches, including Jell-O that crawls, a hamburger that sings Van Halen, drawings that mock its creator, Japanese race-car drivers who only speak Howard Cosell, and a psychotic paperboy seeking blood over a missing $2. Cusack puts the whole thing on his shoulders and carries the insanity with another one of his touching, obsessively romantic performances, which, along with Say Anything, The Sure Thing, and One Crazy Summer, made him the quintessential (and appealing) personification of lovestruck adolescence and suffering. Dave McCoy
Nearly every biblical film is ambitious, creating pictures to go with some of the most famous and sacred stories in the Western world. DreamWorks' first animated film was the vision of executive producer Jeffrey Katzenberg after his ugly split from Disney, where he had been acknowledged as a key architect in that studio's rebirth (The Little Mermaid, etc.). His first film for the company he helped create was a huge, challenging project without a single toy or merchandising tie-in, the backbone du jour of family entertainment in the 1990s. |
The paucity of quality family movies available is underscored by the fact that everything about The Tigger Moviescreams direct-to-video, yet it has put up some impressive box-office numbers. Its very premise belies Tigger's memorable song, "the most wonderful thing about tiggers is, I'm the only one," as our bouncy, flouncy hero decides, apropos of nothing, that he has family out there, somewhere, and he's determined to find them. Well, a 6-year-old can figure out that in the end, Tigger'll realize his pals in the Hundred Acre Woods are, in fact, his family, and that a locket introduced early on will wind up in little Roo's hands. The animation may be acceptable on the small screen, but looks pretty cheesy by contemporary feature standards, although an avalanche near the end is kind of cool, and the songs, by Disney legends Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman (their first Disney music in nearly 30 years), are virtually tuneless ditties. David Kronke
Fasten your garter belt and come up to the lab and see what's on the slab! It's The Rocky Horror Picture Show Special Edition, a screamingly funny, sinfully twisted salute to sci-fi, horror, B-movies and rock music, all rolled into one deliciously decadent morsel. And now there's even more to make you shiver with antici...pation: two additional musical numbers, "Once In A While" and "Superheroes", never seen theatrically or available on video! The madcap, musical mayhem begins when rain-soaked Brad and Janet take refuge in the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite mad scientist from outer space who is about to unveil his greatest creation - and have a bit of fun with his reluctant guests! Join Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon and rock star Meat Loaf in the most popular cult classic of all time.
The plot line may sound familiar: Two mismatched cops are assigned as reluctant partners to solve a crime. Culturally they are complete opposites, and they quickly realize they can't stand each other. One (Jackie Chan) believes in doing things by the book. He is a man with integrity and nerves of steel. The other (Chris Tucker) is an amiable rebel who can't stand authority figures. He's a man who has to do everything on his own, much to the displeasure of his superior officer, who in turn thinks this cop is a loose cannon but tolerates him because he gets the job done. Directed by Brett Ratner, Rush Hourdoesn't break any new ground in terms of story, stunts, or direction. It rehashes just about every "buddy" movie ever madein fact, it makes films such as Tango and Cashseem utterly original and clever by comparison. So, why did this uninspired movie make over $120 million at the box office? Was the whole world suffering from temporary insanity? Hardly. The explanation for the success of Rush Houris quite simple: chemistry. The casting of veteran action maestro Jackie Chan with the charming and often hilarious Chris Tucker was a serendipitous stroke of genius. Fans of Jackie Chan may be slightly disappointed by the lack of action set pieces that emphasize his kung-fu craft. On the other hand, those who know the history of this seasoned Hong Kong actor will be able to appreciate that Rush Hourwas the mainstream breakthrough that Chan had deserved for years. Coupled with the charismatic scene-stealer Tucker, Chan gets to flex his comic muscles to great effect. From their first scenes together to the trademark Chan outtakes during the end credits, their ability to play off of one another is a joy to behold, and this mischievous interaction is what saves the film from slipping into the depths of pitiful mediocrity. Jeremy Storey
Having proven itself as a favorite film of children around the world, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factoryis every bit as entertaining now as it was when originally released in 1971. There's a timeless appeal to Roald Dahl's classic children's novel, which was playfully preserved in this charming musical, from the colorful carnival-like splendor of its production design to the infectious melody of the "Oompah-Loompah" songs that punctuate the story. Who can forget those diminutive Oompah-Loompah workers who recite rhyming parental warnings ("Oompah-Loompah, doopity do...") whenever some mischievous child has disobeyed Willy Wonka's orders to remain orderly? Oh, but we're getting ahead of ourselves ... it's really the story of the impoverished Charlie Bucket, who, along with four other kids and their parental guests, wins a coveted golden ticket to enter the fantastic realm of Wonka's mysterious confectionery. After the other kids have proven themselves to be irresponsible brats, it's Charlie who impresses Wonka and wins a reward beyond his wildest dreams. But before that, the tour of Wonka's factory provides a dazzling parade of delights, and with Gene Wilder giving a brilliant performance as the eccentric candyman, Wonkagains an edge of menace and madness that nicely counterbalances the movie's sentimental sweetness. It's that willingness to risk a darker toneto show that even a wonderland like Wonka's can be a weird and dangerous place if you're a bad kidthat makes this an enduring family classic. Jeff Shannon
This special 25th Anniversary edition includes the classic 1981 The Fox and the Houndmovie in its entirety and an abundance of special features including a Backstage Disney featurette, two interactive hide-and-seek games, sing-along, read-along, art gallery, and two Disney shorts. The fascinating six-and-a-half minute Backstage Disney segment "Passing the Baton" emphasizes the The Fox and the Hound'splace as a historical turning point in Disney animation; chronicling the process by which legendary animators Woolie Reitherman, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnston, three of "Disney's Nine Old Men" whose names were synonymous with Disney Animation from the Snow Whiteera, began work on The Fox and the Houndcharacters and their relationships and then encouraged a whole new generation of young Disney animators including Glen Keane, Randy Cartwright, Ron Clements, and John Musker to build upon that foundation, completing the movie's animation and effectively initiating a whole new chapter in Disney animation that would later culminate in movies like Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. The "Passing the Baton" segment also touches upon The Fox and the Hound'sunderlying messages about friendship, racial prejudice, stereotyping, and bigotry. The "Art Gallery" features a large selection of original art from the movie and includes concept art rendered in both pastels and storyboard pencil sketches, live action footage shot with co-director Art Stevens acting as Amos Slade, footage of voice and musical talent, as well as merchandising and publicity art. Two captivating, eight-minute bonus shorts are also included. The 1951 Lambert the Sheepish Liontells the story of a young lion cub mistakenly delivered to a mother sheep by a confused stork and promotes acceptance and tolerance of diversity and the 1941 Lend A Pawis a Mickey Mouse short in which Pluto rescues a drowning kitten and learns important lessons about kindness and acceptance. Tami Horiuchi
It's, like, Shakespeare, man! This good-natured and likeable update of The Taming of the Shrewtakes the basics of Shakespeare's farce about a surly wench and the man who tries to win her and transfers it to modern-day Padua High School. Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) is a sullen, forbidding riot grrrl who has a blistering word for everyone; her sunny younger sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is poised for high school stardom. The problem: overprotective and paranoid Papa Stratford (a dryly funny Larry Miller) won't let Bianca date until boy-hating Kat does, which is to say never. When Bianca's pining suitor Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) gets wind of this, he hires the mysterious, brooding Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to loosen Kat up. Of course, what starts out as a paying gig turns to true love as Patrick discovers that underneath her brittle exterior, Kat is a regular babe. The script, by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, is sitcom-funny with peppy one-liners and lots of smart teenspeak; however, its cleverness and imagination doesn't really extend beyond its characters' Renaissance names and occasional snippets of real Shakespearean dialogue. What makes the movie energetic and winning is the formula that helped make She's All Thatsuch a big hit: two high-wattage stars who look great and can really act. Ledger is a hunk of promise with a quick grin and charming Aussie accent, and Stiles mines Kat's bitterness and anger to depths usually unknown in teen films; her recitation of her English class sonnet (from which the film takes its title) is funny, heartbreaking, and hopelessly romantic. The imperious Allison Janney (Primary Colors) nearly steals the film as a no-nonsense guidance counselor secretly writing a trashy romance novel. Mark Englehart
Disney's 1986 Flight of the Navigatorcombines a strong ensemble cast and classic '80s soundtrack with dazzling special effects for a high-flying sci-fi adventure. While searching for his little brother in the woods, 12-year-old David Freeman (Joey Cramer) falls down a ravine and is knocked unconscious. After what seems like minutes, he returns home, only to discover that eight years have passed since he was declared missing and presumed dead. Even more mystifying is that David hasn't aged, nor can he account for the time lapse. Meanwhile, NASA officials stumble upon a futuristic spacecraft and are determined to assess what David knows about it by locking him in a top-secret lab for scanning and testing. His only chance of escape is in the spacecraft manned by Max, a wisecracking robot. Cramer gives an earnest performance, which overcomes an imperfect script, while enough one-liners and imaginative animation will keep families engaged. Watch for Sarah Jessica Parker in one of her first film appearances. Rated PG for language. (Ages 6 and older) Lynn Gibson |
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