Movie Renter's Guide

Current Movies - Part 79 - October, 2001

Staff

Ratings:
		Extraordinary
		Good
		Acceptable
		Mediocre
		Poor

"Joe Dirt", Columbia/TriStar, 2001, Filmed spherically and presented at measured aspect ratio 1.85:1 (DVD), DD, 1 Hr 31 min, Rated PG-13; David Spade, Brittany Daniel, Dennis Miller, Adam Beach, Christopher Walken, Jaime Pressly, Kid Rock; Joe Dirt (Spade) has been knocked down, shot down, and beaten down his whole life. Abandoned at the tender age of 8, Joe has set out on a lifelong quest to find his family that he lost so long ago. This quest has turned up fruitless so far, but Joe may have stumbled onto some unexpected help when he is booked for a radio show with popular host Zander Kelly (Miller). At first, Joe is simply the punch line to many jokes and cheap shots, but his story had some unforeseen elements such as a lost love and a fighting spirit that never stops trying. As Joe's life story unfolds, he goes from joke of the town to the talk of the town. This exposure is just what Joe needs to find his family and reclaim his one true love, Brandy (Daniel). There are the usual cameos by SNL notables, but nothing could have saved this movie, including the show-stealing performance by Christopher Walken. Also there are a couple of extras, including a few deleted scenes; however, this whole movie should have been deleted. - JB -

Entertainment:
Video Quality:
Audio:
Photography:
Violence:	yes
Sex:	suggestive
Language:	the "S" word

"The Mummy Returns", Universal Pictures, 2001, Filmed in Panavision and presented at measured aspect ratio 2.35:1 (DVD), DD, 2 Hr 10 min, Rated PG-13; Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velasquez, The Rock; Rick O'Connell (Fraser) and his wife Evie (Weisz) head back to Egypt with their son Jonathan (Hannah) to dig up more old bones in the pyramids. At the same time, Anck-su-namun (Velasquez) having risen from the dead, works with her colleagues to find the mummy of Imhotep (Vosloo), so that they can defeat the Scorpion King (The Rock) and use his armies to rule the world. Rick's son accidentally puts a mystical bracelet on that the bad guys need to defeat the Scorpion King, so naturally, a kidnapping occurs, and Rick has to get him back before the sun rises on the seventh day. I don't know what it is about the 1930's time frame that make such stories more exciting, but it sure works for me. Non-stop action and spectacular digital effects make this a good Saturday night's entertainment in the family home theater. - JEJ -

Entertainment:
Video Quality:
Audio:
Photography:
Violence:	yes
Sex:	suggestive
Language:	no

"The Crimson Rivers", Columbia Tristar Pictures, 2000, Filmed in Panavision and presented at measured aspect ratio 2.32:1 (DVD), DD, 1 Hr 45 min, Rated R; Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Nadia Fares; In a French village in the Alps, a horribly mutilated body is found by a local university student Fanny Ferreira (Fares). Police Inspector Pierre Niemans (Reno) and Policeman Max Kerkerian (Cassel) try to find the murderer before he kills again. Unfortunately, bodies keep turning up. The hands and eyes have been removed from the bodies, so it becomes obvious that a psychopath is on the loose. The key seems to be in the records of a little girl who was killed in an automobile accident some 20 years ago, but the locals seem reluctant to discuss it, and the web becomes more difficult to unravel. This is a French film with an English sound track if you choose. It is very well done, and as scary as "Se7en". - JEJ -

Entertainment:
Video Quality:
Audio:
Photography:
Violence:	gruesome
Sex:	no
Language:	the "F" and "S" words

"Swordfish" (HD DVD), Warner Brothers, 2001, Filmed in Panavision and presented at measured aspect ratio 2.33:1 (DVD), DD, 1 Hr 39 min, Rated R; John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle; Stanley (Jackman) is a convicted computer hacker living in a trailer. Gabriel (Travolta) wants his services to break into a bank and steal more than 9 billion dollars from a US Government Program called Swordfish. Stanley will go back to prison if caught even using a computer, but he needs the money to get his daughter back from his former wife. The DEA wants Gabriel for drug dealing, so they try and enlist Stanley's help. Gabriel's girlfriend Ginger (Berry) claims to be a DEA agent and urges Stanley to complete the computer hack, but he does not know whom to believe, or whom to trust. The film is fast paced and violent, just the thing for a rainy Saturday night. Well, maybe Thursday too, as long as you can record the football game on TiVo. - JEJ -

HD DVD Version - July, 2006 - Kris Deering - Video quality is outstanding across the board here. Depth of image and detail are just about perfect, and the hyper-stylized look of the film is well preserved. Colors are rich and border on over-saturation. One of the better HD presentations I�ve seen to date!

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital + 5.1 and is also outstanding. Plenty of action scenes to really make use of the surround soundstage, and the low end has lots of oomph.  - Kris Deering -

Entertainment:
Video Quality:
Audio:
Photography:
Violence:	yes
Sex:	nudity
Language:	the "F" and "S" words

"Star Wars - Episode 1", LucasFilm Ltd, 1999, Color, Filmed in Panavision and presented at measured aspect ratio 2.32:1 (DVD), DD,  2 Hr 13 min, Rated PG; Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd; Not only do we all know this movie, we have reviewed it before when it was released in widescreen version on VHS. Now that it is out on DVD, it is time for additional comments. We were surprised to find that so much edge enhancement was used for the DVD. Supposedly, it is THX certified, and the edge enhancement is far too much. It actually seems to obscure some of the detail. Perhaps it is optimized for small TV screens, because it sure is distracting on a big screen (72" wide). However, the movie is still great, and the pod race makes it worth the rental and probably a purchase. The sound is spectacular, with far more directional cues in DD than were possible on the VHS tape in Dolby Pro Logic. - JEJ -

Entertainment:
Video Quality:
Audio:
Photography:
Violence:	yes
Sex:	no
Language:	no