THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 27, 1994 TAG: 9407270030
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: CRAIG SHAPIRO
LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
SLY WAS RIGHT: Different strokes for different folks.
That goes for videos, too. Some people won't rent a tape that doesn't have a message or fine acting - shoot, they might even want a storyline. Others want thrills, cheap and quick.
Me? ``Six Degrees of Separation'' was wonderful, and ``Shadowlands'' truly moving, but I'm always drawn to the ``Dinosaur Islands'' out there. One, we're talking duty-free entertainment. Laugh/scream. Hit EJECT. Two, there's real appeal in seeing how far people will go to ``practice their craft.''
Videomatic's First Rule of Renting: Don't know the star? Rent the tape.
Videomatic's Second Rule of Renting: Does a Has-Been Play Second Fiddle? Rent the tape.
A handful of today's releases stack up in every way. Happy, happy.
``Test Tube Teens From the Year 2000'' (1993, Paramount) is dumb fun, like one of those ``USA Up All Night'' flix with the skin. Two guys from a sexless, corporate future do the time-warp to rewrite history. They end up at a girls' finishing school. Lotsa laughs - plus Morgan Fairchild. (RATED: R for nudity)
Fans of the Full Moon outfit (``Subspecies'') will go for ``Lurking Fear'' (1994, Paramount). There's an ``H.P. Lovecraft's'' over the title, but it's a loose fit. Odds are ol' Howard Phillips never envisioned a mud fight. You get good vs. evil, a body with stolen loot sewn inside it and a crew of creepy subterraneans. (RATED: R for violence and language)
OK, ``Scanner Cop'' (1994, Republic) had DUMB stamped all over it. A cop with psychic abilities tries to find out who's offing the L.A.P.D. But if he goes too far, people's heads explode. Surprise! This one was fun. The editing is crisp and Daniel Quinn is good in the lead. (RATED: R for violence, gore)
Republic also is repricing three titles from the glorious Hammer Studio's junior varsity list. You'd be pressed to find the literary connections in ``Lust for a Vampire,'' ``The Horror of Frankenstein'' and ``Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde'' ($9.98 each). Nor do they feature A-teamers like Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee; instead, Ralph Bates stars. But they're fun in that '70s Hammer way: A little skin, but not too sexy; a little blood, but not too gory; garish color, and cheesy stories - hormone experiments transform Dr. Jekyll into a murderous vixen!
While we were sneaking into the old Suburban for Saturday matinees, young Brits were ducking out to see those Hammer flicks. Check 'em out.
Didn't get to see ``Psycho Cop 2'' (1994, Columbia TriStar). No sweat, just apply the Videomatic Renting Rules: One of the stars is an ex-Penthouse Pet of the Year. It's rated R. Three guesses why.
MAIL CALL: Richard from Chesapeake is looking for ``Rock & Rule,'' a 1983 animated fable featuring the voices of Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. MGM/UA has it. Suncoast at Lynnhaven Mall can order it. But it ain't cheap: $80.35.
THE WILD THINGS: National Geographic adds to its kids-oriented ``Really Wild Animals'' series today. ``Adventures in Asia,'' ``Amazing North America'' and ``Totally Tropical Rain Forest'' are $14.95 each.
SUCH A DEAL: ``The Amazing Howard Hughes'' (Republic, $9.98); ``Lake Consequence,'' ``The Osterman Weekend,'' ``Knight Moves'' (Republic, $14.98 each)
TOP TAPES (in this week's Billboard):
Sales: ``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,'' ``The Return of Jafar,'' ``Mrs. Doubtfire,'' ``Yanni: Live at the Acropolis,'' ``Playboy: 1994 Playmate of the Year''
Rentals: ``The Pelican Brief,'' ``Ace Ventura: Pet Detective,'' ``Philadelphia,'' ``Tombstone,'' ``In the Name of the Father''
The Couch Report
``What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' (1993, Paramount). A thoughtful performance by Johnny Depp is the cornerstone of this comedy/drama about life being more and less than what you make of it - when you can make anything of it at all. Gilbert is a grocery clerk in a dead-end town, and there's plenty eating at him: His father committed suicide; his 500-pound mother is agoraphobic; his brother is mentally retarded. Funny and sad, thoughtful and quirky. A must-see.
(CAST: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen. RATED: PG-13 for situations)
``Wrestling Ernest Hemingway'' (1993, Warner). Asking Richard Harris to play an Irish sea captain is akin to handing him the scenery and saying, ``chew.'' Still, it's a fully realized character, as is Robert Duvall's Cuban barber. They're retirees living in Florida, and together they create a touching portrait of friendship and coming to terms with life.
(CAST: Richard Harris, Robert Duvall, Shirley MacLaine, Piper Laurie, Sandra Bullock. RATED: PG-13 for language and Harris' bare behind)
``Cabin Boy'' (1994, Touchstone). Chris Elliott as a priggish ``fancy lad'' who mistakenly sails with a crew of filthy fisherman? Sounds like a hoot. It is, a spoof of every yarn from ``Jason and the Argonauts'' to ``Captains Courageous.'' The goofy humor is all Elliott; the look all Tim Burton, who produced. The icing: David Letterman plays an old salt.
(CAST: Chris Elliott, Brian Doyle-Murray, Ann Magnuson. RATED: PG-13 for mild language, innuendo)
``Hans Christian Andersen's Thumbelina'' (1993, Warner). Don Bluth again proves why Disney should never have let him go. His fairy tale shows the same flair for action, color and memorable characters as he brought to ``The Secret of NIMH'' and ``An American Tail.'' Barry Manilow's music, especially a bouncy ``Copacabana''-like number with Charo, rivals that of the Mouse House, too.
(VOICES of Jodi Benson, Charo, Gilbert Gottfried, Carol Channing, John Hurt. RATED: G for kids young and old)
``Blank Check'' (1994, Walt Disney). One for the ``Home Alone'' crowd. An 11-year-old boy, misunderstood by Dad and hassled by his brothers, gets his hands on $1 million, sets up house and fools the imbecilic grownups. Thin premise, but it's harmless. Tone Loc is a panic; look for Norfolk's Alex Zuckerman, too.
(CAST: Brian Bonsall, Karen Duffy, Tone Loc, Miguel Ferrer. RATED: PG for mild language)
``Dragonworld'' (1994, Paramount). An orphaned boy goes to live with his Scottish grandpa and befriends a dragon; flash forward and an icy businessman has plans for Yowler. This little charmer - ``Puff, the Magic Dragon'' with a happy ending - comes with decent FX, a magical setting and a clear moral.
(CAST: Sam Mackenzie, Andrew Keir, Brittney Powell. UNRATED, but it's an easy G)
Also: ``By the Sword,'' F. Murray Abraham and Eric Roberts in a tale of retribution in the world of fencing (R); and ``Assault at West Point,'' based on the 1880 trial of a black cadet accused of faking his own attack. Sam Waterston and Samuel L. Jackson star (PG-13).
Monday: ``Lightning Jack''
Aug. 3: ``Major League II,'' ``The Chase,'' ``Angie,'' ``Woodstock: Three Days of Peace & Music'' (expanded director's cut) ILLUSTRATION: WARNER BROS. PHOTO
Richard Harris, left, and Robert Duvall star in ``Wrestling Ernest
Hemingway,'' now on video.
by CNB