THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 21, 1994 TAG: 9412210023
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Craig Shaprio
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
RIGHT NOW, with only four days to go, you're dealing with the part of Christmas that's not fun: the gift-giving shakes. You know, that cold-sweat, 11th-hour, pit-of-the-stomach kind of feeling.
Amazing, huh? Just like Kreskin.
Relax. If you're stuck for an idea, and the person in question is a movie buff - which makes him or her a video buff - I have a suggestion.
``VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever.''
Yeah, yeah. I've gone on and on before about the guide, but the '95 edition came out recently and it reminded me of just how much fun it is - 1,574 pages, more than 22,000 videos reviewed, 1,500 new films. It's one of those books you can leaf through for a few minutes or take with you to the bathroom. Which might be the same thing.
It still includes cast and director indexes, plus a distributor guide with phone numbers and addresses. But this year screenwriter, composer and song title indexes have been added, bringing the total to 13.
Besides its thoroughness - it already has reviews for ``Pulp Fiction,'' ``The Lion King'' and other movies that won't make it to tape for months - the best thing about the ``Retriever'' is its attitude. Titles are listed under categories like Killer Appliances, Eco-Vengeance! and Nazis & Other Paramilitary Slugs.
Check this excerpt from ``Fortress'': ``How come the future is never a place you'd want to be?'' Or this one from ``Alice's Restaurant'': ``Sort of a modern movie in the cinematic ambling genre, in that nothing really happens.'' And ``Sliver'': ``Lots of hype, little to recommend.''
See what I mean?
``We're strictly sort of a monitoring service,'' said Beth Dempsey of Visible Ink Press, the Detroit outfit that publishes the guide. ``We update daily, continually . . . whatever it takes.''
Dempsey added that the ``Retriever'' has a good reputation and connections with all the studios, the sort of things that ensure they're always up on what's what. But the best thing going is their staff - movie fans each and every one.
``They go out and see everything and know when it's coming out on video.''
That's obvious if you pick up a copy. It goes for $17.95 and comes with an unofficial guarantee: The video type on your list will love it.
A-OK: I've yet to convert to laserdiscs but a friend who has says if you haven't seen the new ``Oklahoma!'' (CBS/Fox, $59.95), you haven't seen ``Oklahoma!''
Seems when the 1955 classic was made, each scene was shot twice - first in Todd-AO, an early wide-screen process, then standard Cinemascope, which most theaters back then were equipped to handle. ``Oklahoma!'' was the first film to try Todd-AO; it was shot in 65mm, then printed on 70mm film. Director Fred Zinneman used the extra room to add six stereophonic soundtracks.
The new laser, he said, is the first time in nearly 40 years audiences can see the expanded film - all the TV broadcasts and videotapes are in Cinemascope - and the difference is something. You notice additional camera angles and livelier action sequences, and can sense a first-take spontaneity in the actors.
Makes you want to hitch up a surrey with the fringe on top and high-tail it to the laser mart.
TOP TAPES (in Billboard):
Sales: ```Speed,'' ``Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,'' ``Jurassic Park,'' ``The Nightmare Before Christmas,'' ``The Flintstones''
Rentals: ``Speed,'' ``When a Man Loves a Woman,'' ``City Slickers II,'' ``Guarding Tess,'' ``Beverly Hills Cop III''
The Couch Report
``The Client'' (1994, Warner). So much here is typical John Grisham: little man vs. corrupt powers that be (on both sides of the law). And so much isn't: the complex relationship between Susan Sarandon and her client, a boy wanted by the mob for what he knows and the D.A. for political gain. Sarandon is quite good; Tommy Lee Jones' flamboyant district attorney is a ``Fugitive'' rehash. Kudos to Brad Renfro, an 11-year-old newcomer who handles his demanding assignment like a pro. It's not too tense, but under director Joel Schumacher's guidance, it's the most involving Grisham adaptation yet.
(CAST: Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Renfro. RATED: PG-13 for language, violence)
``Spanking the Monkey'' (1994, New Line). David O. Russell's audacious film, a winner at this year's Sundance Festival, won't sit with everyone, but those who can latch onto its black humor will find a lot to like. It plays like ``The Graduate'' with a dysfunctional '90s twist - Mrs. Robinson is the protagonist's mother. That's a small part of the story; the larger issue raised is personal freedom, and a solid performance by Jeremy Davies, as an MIT student who spends a summer tending to his invalid mother, makes it believable and very funny.
(CAST: Jeremy Davies, Alberta Watson, Carla Gallo, Benjamin Hendrickson. RATED: R for language, nudity, themes)
Also: Two murder-mysteries: ``Eyes of a Witness'' with Jennifer Grey and Daniel J. Travanti (not rated), and ``Broken Vows'' with Tommy Lee Jones and Annette O'Toole (not rated); and ``Silence of the Hams,'' a spoof starring Dom DeLuise, Billy Zane and Rip Taylor (R).
Monday: ``The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure''
Next Wednesday: ``Endless Summer II,'' ``The Last Butterfly''
Jan. 4: ``Airheads,'' ``North,'' ``Fear of a Black Hat,'' ``Renaissance Man'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by NEW LINE HOME VIDEO
Jeremy Davies and Alberta Watson star in ``Spanking the Monkey,''
now on video.
by CNB