THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411160042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: CRAIG SHAPIRO
LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
SO MANY VIDEOS, so little time. How is this week's Couch Report like a big ol' bag of greasy potato chips? Because you can't watch just one. We'll skip the minutes and go right to new business.
``Speed'' (1994, FoxVideo). No way it could pack the same big-screen punch, but even on video, this thing moves. Director Jan De Bont learned from his days as Paul Verhoeven's cinematographer. The action sequences - on a rigged elevator, a bus wired to blow up, and finally a speeding subway - will raise your pulse. Keanu Reeves is believable in a down-to-earth way as the SWAT cop chasing the mad bomber. The best movie of its type since ``Die Hard.''
(CAST: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Daniels. RATED: R for language, violence)
``Wyatt Earp'' (1994, Warner). Here's hoping Kevin Costner's biopic finds the audience it deserves on video. Not only is it better structured and better looking than the disjointed mess that was ``Tombstone,'' Costner gives a fine, nuanced performance as the legendary lawman. Clearly, he and director Lawrence Kasdan were going for a ``big'' movie, and they got it. Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday is worth the rental price alone.
(CAST: Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman. RATED: PG-13 for violence, language)
``Beverly Hills Cop III'' (1994, Paramount). Can't tell if Eddie Murphy is playing Axel Foley as more mature or there's no life left in the character. Whatever, Part 3, with Axel tailing the thugs who offed his boss, just idles. It ends in a theme-park shootout, and John Landis typically musters all the excess he can, even recruiting his director pals for cameos. All for naught.
(CAST: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Hector Elizondo, John Saxon. RATED: R for language, violence)
``When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994, Touchstone). Unashamedly manipulative, this drama about a family torn by alcoholism is effective nonetheless. Meg Ryan tries, but is rather two-dimensional as the wife fighting the disease. Andy Garcia, though, is quite good as her husband. He stands by her through it all, then has to cope with her rejection. Not to worry, it comes to a happy ending.
(CAST: Meg Ryan, Andy Garcia. RATED: R for language, brief nudity, themes)
``For a Lost Soldier'' (1993, Fox Lorber). A choreographer stymied for inspiration recalls the first love he found as a 12-year-old boy with a Canadian soldier after the liberation of Holland. A delicate subject for sure, but touching and thoughtful, with good performances all around, especially Maarten Smit as young Jeroen. (Some Dutch with English subtitles.)
(CAST: Jeroen Krabbe, Maarten Smit, Andrew Kelly. UNRATED, but consider the adult themes)
``Cops & Robbersons'' (1994, Columbia TriStar). Remember ``The Dick Van Dyke Show'' when Godfrey Cambridge was a tough cop using the Petrie house for a stakeout, and Rob tried to help? That was funny. This is Jack Palance with somnambulism and Chevy Chase doing Clark Griswold, which is somnambulism, too.
(CAST: Chevy Chase, Jack Palance, Diane Wiest. RATED: PG, but it has bad language, bare butts and mild violence)
``The Three Avengers'' (1979/1994, Forum). Martial arts fans will eat up this long-out-of-print Bruce Li actioner. It has all the elements of the old Saturday-afternoon ``Kung Fu Theater'': bad dubbing, cheesy dialogue and super fight choreography. Li gets the gang that killed his mentor. Forum also has released ``When Taekwondo Strikes.''
(CAST: Bruce Li. RATED: R for language, simulated violence)
``Playmaker'' (Orion). An aspiring star signs on with an unconventional acting coach in hopes of getting a big role. Things, though, aren't what they seem. Nor is this yawn. Billed as an erotic thriller, it is neither.
(CAST: Jennifer Rubin, Colin Firth. RATED: R for language, violence, nudity)
``Private Lessons: Another Story'' (1994, Paramount). Here's original: Hot photographer fantasizes about her Cuban chauffeur, a stud named Raul. Plot? It's about getting nekkid, and everyone obliges. That's not a complaint.
(CAST: Mariana Morgan, Ray Garaza. RATED: R for lots of skin)
Also: ``The Favor,'' a romantic comedy with Elizabeth McGovern and Brad Pitt (R); ``Trancers 5,'' the final chapter in the Jack Deth saga (unrated); ``Black Diamond Rush,'' a Warren Miller ski flick (unrated); ``Marilyn: The Last Word,'' the ``Hard Copy'' report about the death of Marilyn Monroe (unrated), and three thrillers: ``The Spider and the Fly,'' with Mel Harris and Michael Moore (unrated); ``Breaking Point,'' with Gary Busey and Kim Cattrall (R), and ``The Paperboy,'' with Alexandra Paul and Marc Marut (R).
Tuesday: ``Little Buddha''
Next Wednesday: ``Sioux City''
Nov. 30: ``Getting Even With Dad,'' ``Germinal,'' ``Betty,'' ``Marianne & Julianne,'' ``Late Spring,'' ``Inner Sanctum 2''
TOP TAPES (in Billboard):
Sales: ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,'' ``Jurassic Park,'' ``The Nightmare Before Christmas,'' ``The 3 Tenors in Concert 1994,'' ``Sleepless in Seattle''
Rentals: ``Jurassic Park,'' ``The Crow,'' ``The Paper,'' ``The Nightmare Before Christmas,'' ``Four Weddings and a Funeral'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
WARNER BROS.
Dennis Quaid, left, and Kevin Costner star in the epic saga of the
Wild West ``Wyatt Earp.''
Eddie Murphy is back for a third time as ``Beverly Hills Cop III.''
by CNB