DVD This Week: October 23rd

By: John Thonen
Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2001

VIDEO NEWS

EVOLUTION proved Darwin wrong when it comes to movies, since director Ivan Reitman's work has de-evolved from the high of GHOSTBUSTERS to the low of this unfunny and derivative title. However, bad big budget movies don't become extinct, they just move to home video, and EVOLUTION will do just that in late December as the effects filled sci-fi "comedy" will come to VHS and DVD. The DVD release will feature a commentary by Reitman as well as interviews with cast and crew, deleted scenes (is it possible some of them may actually be funny?) and a making-of featurette.

DR. WHO will bring his time and space traveling Tardis to Earth once more when Anchor Bay releases special edition versions of the two Dr. Who feature films, DOCTOR WHO AND THE DALEKS and DOCTOR WHO: DALEKS INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D. Both titles feature the series' most popular creation, the Daleks - atrophied aliens who exist within powerful, robot-like transport machines. Both titles also feature Peter Cushing as the good doctor. Cushing's interpretation of the role is more that of a doddering but benevolent old grandfather, especially in comparison with the more imperious realization of the role which Tom Baker brought to the long-running BBC TV series. The two discs, which will presumably feature some as yet unannounced special features, will also be available in a box set featuring a third disc devoted to all things Dalek.

Rumors created by the September 11 tragedy continue to circulate throughout the country, and we're happy to dispel two which involve future DVD releases. It has been widely reported that both A.I and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK would undergo digital alterations to remove the presence of the World Trade Center towers from the New York skyline, an action already taken in a few other films. There were even reports featuring John Carpenter expressing his displeasure at the changes his film would undergo. Both Dreamworks and MGM have made official announcements that no such changes are being planned for either film. We applaud this decision and urge other studios to not take what seems to be the politically correct way out. America is proud of those towers and we don't want to forget them. Not now, not ever.

THIS WEEK'S NEW RELEASES

CHRISTINA'S HOUSE is a [IMG4R]very minor little thriller in the I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER vein. Lots of attractive young people, a killer, some suspects and you'll know "who done it" about ten minutes after it starts. ROSWELL and FINAL DESTINATION got star Brendan Fehr's career started, but stuff like this and THE FORSAKEN will likely end it quickly.

DEEP IN THE WOODS is the U.S. release of a rare item: a French horror film. Considering that the French rarely partake of this genre, it would be great to be able to say that this one is a classic, but such is not the case. There's a great set up and the first third of the film is pretty effective, but it quickly degenerates into a mass of cliches and the SCREAM-like attitude of the first part of the film soon fades away. If you have the urge for a French horror offering, pass on this one and try last week's CRIMSON RIVERS. While not without its faults, it's much better than this misfire.

DR. DOLITTLE 2 is a minor, but pleasant surprise: a sequel that's actually better than its predecessor. Eddie Murphy's screen charisma and comic genius are capable of carrying most any film, and often have, but this one manages to have some heart and some laughs that don't depend strictly on its star. There's actually a plot here, something the first film lacked, and the crude humor that so tarnished Murphy's NUTTY PROFESSOR 2 is kept at a level that will generally amuse parents without embarrassing them over letting their children see it. This is one doctor's visit that might merit more than just a second opinion.

The time will come when FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN will join TRON and THE LAST STARFIGHTER in film history books. Not that any of them are particularly good, but they are truly seminal entries in what is certain to be the future of movies. FINAL FANTASY is a film that exists only in a digital world. Every person, set, and effect is the product of a computer and, while the film itself leaves much to be desired, the effect is often startling. There's an all-star cast supplying the voices here, including Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Ving Rhames, James Woods, Ming Na and Steve Buscemi, but only Sutherland creates anything approaching a character. And, as beautiful as the artificially created Aki Ross might be, the fact remains that the actress supplying her voice, Ming Na, is both more attractive and real. Still, this is the future and we might as well start adapting to it.

GINGER SNAPS finally reaches a mass

U.S. audience, relegated to home video while dreck like VALENTINE, THE FORSAKEN and LOST SOULS get theatrical play. This Canadian tale of a distaff werewolf is clever, imaginative and very well acted, not to mention that it possesses the rare focal point of a female point of view. The film is about two teenage sisters with a penchant for the dark side of life. Then one of them finds herself a part of that dark side after a nighttime animal attack leaves her a lycanthrope. I suspect part of the problem with the film's distribution was that it deals with a subject still largely taboo in this country, the female menstrual cycle - a sexist attitude that proves too much of the film industry is still run by bleeding idiots.

JABBERWOCKY is a semi-Monty Python film featuring Python alumnus Terry Gilliam behind the camera and Michael Palin in front, plus a brief appearance by Terry Jones. Somewhat in the vein of MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, this is loosely adapted, quite possibly while under the influence of illegal medications, from a Lewis Carroll story. It's about as black a comedy as you're likely to see, but it's often hilarious nonetheless.

It usually rather irks me when I don't get a screener to a major direct-to-video release like WISHMASTER 3: BEYOND THE GATES OF HELL, but considering how weak the first film in the series was and how downright bad the second one was, I'm not complaining. And then factoring in that one of the few strengths of the first two entries, Andrew Divoff's performance as the evil Jin, is absent this time around - I'm tempted to just send Artisan a thank you letter. Factor in that David DeCoteau walked off the directing job on this one, and expectations remain low. Of course, I'll see it nonetheless and share my vitriol on it next week.

IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF

Halloween usually brings a slew of horror titles to the video store, many of which are barely publicized as they are certain to sell reasonably well just because of the season. This week and next I'll be taking a look at a few of these titles.

2103: THE DEADLY WAKE was filmed in 1996 and is only now getting a U.S. video release. It's not surprising as this is a frustrating film to watch because there is such a great idea here and such a lot of imagination on display, yet the results are dull, confusing and derivative. Malcolm McDowell is well cast as a down and out sea captain of the future, and several other cast members also do a good job, including the usually thespically challenged Michael Pare, but it's all for naught. The miniatures used to realize the futuristic cargo ship are badly utilized and poorly designed and the sets for the inside of the vessel are threadbare at best. Add in a confusing narrative and some inept supporting actors and no amount of good intentions can hope to keep this one from going down.

THE BROTHERHOOD 2 is the first

of a promised string of semi-sequels to David DeCoteau's surprise direct-to-video hit, THE BROTHERHOOD. This time around we're at a different small college, with a different group of kids and a bad guy who's a warlock instead of the first film's vampire, but the formula stays pretty much the same and continues to work so well that I'm looking forward to the next one. The director's gay subtext remains a presence here, particularly in a sequence in a swimming pool, but DeCoteau also offers a strong heterosexual aspect to the proceedings that will probably keep the homophobes from catching on to the subversive nature of the film. This is a formula that DeCoteau just might be able to go a long way with.

EROTIC RITES OF COUNTESS DRACULA is a generally well produced and tolerably acted shot-on-video offering from Don Glut, genre expert and sometime filmmaker (DINOSAUR VALLEY GIRLS). It's also one of those infuriating films that manages to make naked women dull and vampires unsexy. On the DVD commentary track, Glut admits that they wrote, produced and funded the film in less than three weeks, and the lack of time and effort shows in so many ways. Factor in that the video transfer is horribly dark in many scenes, and the reasons to sit through this become just about nil.

FINAL STAB is a SCREAM-styled entry from David DeCoteau's new film factory, Rapid Heart, and it's no worse but not all that much better than the horde of similar entries (DEVILS PREY, TEQUILA BODY SHOTS) that have been hitting the video store over the past few months. There's a bunch of good-looking young people in this one, many of whom are familiar from other DeCoteau films, and there's a masked guy with a knife. The plot has so many twists it's a wonder the tape plays, and the ending is unexpected but not all that convincing or satisfying. DeCoteau plays it straight here (I'm referring both to humor and sexuality) and offers a little more blood than in his other recent films, so undemanding teen renters will probably get what they're looking for with this one.

COMING NEXT WEEK

Giant apes that act more like people, a second string comic who acts like animals and the most far out women-in-prison film ever made. Plus, more bottom shelf goodies and some Halloween recommendations.

Vidiocy is our weekly Video & DVD column.