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Page # 18

Ranma 1/2 - Season 4 - Outta Control

Anime.Action

Ventura Distribution

The fourth broadcast season of this popular transgender comedy feels less inspired than the third (collected in the Hard Battle set). Ranma's duel with a feline specter in "My Fiancé, the Cat" plays like a retread of "You Really Do Hate Cats!" from the second season. In episode 17 Kasumi encounters a childhood friend after many years, but the reunion doesn't really go anywhere. Although series creator Rumiko Takahashi says the three-part "Ranma Gets Weak" story line is a personal favorite, it's not much fun. A trick of Happosai's deprives Ranma of his strength, so everyone pounds him into mochi. Ranma is funny when he's undone despite his strength, not when he's just a punching bag. Another problem is that Richard Ian Cox, who's taken over the voice of boy-type Ranma, sounds less like a petulant teenager than Sarah Strange did. But the better moments in this collection are still great fun. In episodes 15 and 16, a Martial Arts Calligraphy master leaves Ryoga with a pattern on his stomach that looks like Betty Boop's face. This story reveals the grudging affection Ranma and Ryoga share, despite their ongoing rivalry. (Only the perpetually lost Ryoga could dramatically bid everyone farewell--then set off on a loop trail.) Happosai's incurable fetish for girls' underwear severs the student-teacher bond in episode 10 and blights the old lecher's nascent romance with a pretty preschool teacher in episode 13. (Unrated; suitable for ages 12 and older: slapstick violence, nudity, mildly risqué humor) --Charles Solomon

Ranma 1/2 - Season 5 - Martial Mayhem

Anime.Action

Ventura Distribution

If the fifth broadcast season of Ranma 1/2 doesn't quite match the consistent inspiration of the third (Hard Battle), it's much better than the fourth (Outta Control), with more imaginative writing and fewer weak episodes. A spoof of American Westerns, with Ryoga as the wandering hero who confronts the villain in a saloon-cum-ramen parlor, is simply hilarious, as is a spoof of Japanese historical dramas with Ranma in formal hakama. An aphrodisiac-impregnated band-aid turns Ranma into a suave ladies' man; the cord binding his trademark pigtail turns out to be a charm that grows hair, something Happosai, Genma, and four characters with heads like bao rolls desperately want. The entire cast brings the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts style to such improbable activities as men's rhythmic gymnastics, Japanese chess, Okonomiyaki cooking, Bath House-Fu, and the "Gourmet de Foie Gras" technique of fine dining. Ryoga sets new records for geographical confusion, getting lost in a three-legged race and inside a log cabin. Even more improbable is Sasuke's suggestion that Furinken High's pidgin-speaking Principal may be the long-lost father of Kuno and Kodachi. A few gentle moments provide the needed balance to the insanity: Ranma apologizes--sincerely--to Akane in "Hot Springs Battle Royal" and admits he thinks she's cute in "Ranma the Lady-Killer." Richard Cox, the voice of boy-type Ranma (and Inu-Yasha), has grown more comfortable in the part, effectively conveying the sullen and likeable sides of Ranma's personality. (Rated 13 and older: slapstick violence, nudity, mildly risqué humor) --Charles Solomon

Ranma 1/2 - Season 6 - Random Rhapsody

Anime.Action

Ventura Distribution

The sixth broadcast season of Ranma 1/2 includes some of the silliest entries in a continuity known for its silliness: a seaside resort is terrorized by a ceramic octopus trap, and upperclassman/school gasbag Kuno is stricken with amnesia after a watermelon gets stuck on his head. But at times, the premises feel decidedly thin. When Akane is kidnapped by a Minotaur-like monster (the adult version of a baby Happosai bathed in the most accursed spring at Jusenkyo--the one in which a Yeti riding an ox carrying a crane carrying an eel drowned), Ranma and the gang discover there are worse fates than turning into a girl--or a monster. Director Junji Nishimura spoofs Japanese monster movies in "Scribbled Panda," as a Kabuki-style spider and demon emerge from a Chinese scroll to attack a carnival. But the most horrible beast is an icky-cute little drawing who develops a crush on Ranma: it's like Hello Kitty on a rampage. Ranma's furious when a newcomer who practices Martial Arts Calligraphy won't accept a challenge because Ranma's handwriting is so atrocious. The filmmakers balance the slapstick by making kindness an element in the way Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga defeat a Snow-Woman (Yuki-onna) and a bizarre Abominable Snowman who threaten to turn Furinkan into an outdoor icebox. Telepathic boy Satori sums up the series when he visits the Tendo-Saotomi household and screams, "The people in this house are weird!" (Rated 13 and older: brief nudity, slapstick violence) --Charles Solomon

Ranma 1/2 - Season 7 - Ranma Forever

Anime.Action

Ventura Distribution

At the end of its seventh season, the Ranma 1/2 broadcast series concluded with its 161st episode. Although the filmmakers' imaginations were clearly flagging at times, this final collection offers very funny and oddly touching moments. The gentler side of the characters emerges in "Run Away with Me," as an old man revisits his lost youth with girl-type Ranma. "Meet You in the Milky Way" plays off the Asian sky myth of the Weaver Princess and the Cowherd. Princess Ori and Kengyu the herder visit Earth as martial artists, although the story may be a dream of Akane's. In "Mushroom Temple," Ranma and Akane inadvertently eat "love mushrooms"--and decide to marry. The perpetually quarreling duo addressing each other as "pretty baby" and "honey" may set a new standard for improbable humor, although Kuno, Ryoga, and Mousse turn their love feast into a free-for-all. More typical are the slapstick incidents: ghost cat Mao Mo Lin busts up a seaside beauty pageant and falls for Tsubasa, not recognizing his true gender. Nabiki and Sasuke sell scandalous photographs of "the pigtailed girl" to Kuno. Ryoga discovers the "Lion Roar Blast" technique, which grows more powerful as the practitioner grows more depressed, forcing him and Ranma to stage a misery contest. Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 ranks among the undisputed classics of anime, and few animated series can match the chaotic hilarity of its more inspired moments. (Rated 13 and older: brief nudity, risqué humor, slapstick violence) --Charles Solomon

The Ref

Comedy

Walt Disney Video

Caustic wit gets a full-body workout in this 1994 comedy, in which a cat burglar (Denis Leary) gets trapped in an affluent Connecticut neighborhood and is forced to hold a bickering couple hostage on Christmas Eve, only to discover that their Yuletide spirit is anything but cheerful. Caroline (Judy Davis) and her husband, Lloyd (Kevin Spacey), have been at each other's throats for so long that they've developed domestic arguments into an art form, and the would-be kidnapper turns into a reluctant mediator, even after he's got the battling couple wound up in bungee cords. The situation grows even more complicated when the couple's smart-aleck son comes home from military school, but it's not the plot here that's a top priority. Instead it's the sheer pleasure of witnessing a three-way verbal jousting match, written with razor-sharp skill and delivered by actors who are perfect for their roles. The movie's got a dark edge, but it never gets too dark--you know that it's not going to slide into more seriously damaging territory, so you can sit back and enjoy the volleys of scathing insults and sarcasm the way you would a Don Rickles performance. If that sounds like your idea of entertainment, "The Ref" will serve it up with style. "--Jeff Shannon"

Reservoir Dogs

Action.Adventure

Lions Gate

Quentin Tarantino came out of nowhere (i.e., a video store in Manhattan Beach, California) and turned Hollywood on its ear in 1992 with his explosive first feature, "Reservoir Dogs". Like Tarantino's mainstream breakthrough "Pulp Fiction", "Reservoir Dogs" has an unconventional structure, cleverly shuffling back and forth in time to reveal details about the characters, experienced criminals who know next to nothing about each other. Joe (Lawrence Tierney) has assembled them to pull off a simple heist, and has gruffly assigned them color-coded aliases (Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, Mr. White) to conceal their identities from being known even to each other. But something has gone wrong, and the plan has blown up in their faces. One by one, the surviving robbers find their way back to their prearranged warehouse hideout. There, they try to piece together the chronology of this bloody fiasco--and to identify the traitor among them who tipped off the police. Pressure mounts, blood flows, accusations and bullets fly. In the combustible atmosphere these men are forced to confront life-and-death questions of trust, loyalty, professionalism, deception, and betrayal. As many critics have observed, it is a movie about "honor among thieves" (just as "Pulp Fiction" is about redemption, and "Jackie Brown" is about survival). Along with everything else, the movie provides a showcase for a terrific ensemble of actors: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Christopher Penn, and Tarantino himself, offering a fervent dissection of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" over breakfast. "Reservoir Dogs" is violent (though the violence is implied rather than explicit), clever, gabby, harrowing, funny, suspenseful, and even--in the end--unexpectedly moving. (Don't forget that "Super Sounds of the Seventies" soundtrack, either.) "Reservoir Dogs" deserves just as much acclaim and attention as its follow-up, "Pulp Fiction", would receive two years later. "--Jim Emerson"

Resident Evil

Action.Adventure

Sony Pictures

Something rotten is brewing beneath the industrial mecca known as Raccoon City. Unknown to its millions of residents, a huge underground bioengineering facility known as The Hive has accidentally unleashed the deadly and mutating T-virus, killing all of its employees. To contain the leak, the governing supercomputer, Red Queen, has sealed all entrances and exits. Now a team of highly-trained super commandos including Rain (Michelle Rodriguez - The Fast and the Furious, Girlfight), Alice (Milla Jovovich - The Fifth Element) and Matt (Eric Mabius - Cruel Intentions) must race to penetrate The Hive in order to isolate the T-virus before it overwhelms humanity. To do so, they must get past the Red Queen's deadly defenses, face the flesh-eating undead employees, fight killer mutant dogs and battle The Licker, a genetically mutated savage beast whose strength increases with each of its slain victims.

System Requirements:
Running Time: 100 Min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Resident Evil - Apocalypse

Action.Adventure

Sony Pictures

2002's popular video-game-derived hit "Resident Evil" didn't inspire confidence in a sequel, but "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" defies odds and surpasses expectations. It's a bigger, better, action-packed zombie thriller, and this time Milla Jovovich (as the first film's no-nonsense heroine) is joined by more characters from the popular Capcom video games, including Jill Valentine (played by British hottie Sienna Guillory) and Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr, from 1999's "The Mummy"). They're armed and ready for a high-caliber encounter with devil dogs, mutant "Lickers," lurching zombies, and the leather-clad monster known only as Nemesis, unleashed by the nefarious Umbrella Corporation responsible for creating the cannibalistic undead horde. Having gained valuable experience as a respected second-unit director on high-profile films like "Gladiator" and "The Bourne Identity", director Alexander Witt elevates this junky material to the level of slick, schlocky entertainment. "--Jeff Shannon"

Return to Me

Comedy

MGM (Video & DVD)

Bob Rueland (David Duchovny) and Grace Briggs (Minnie Driver) have very little in common. Granted, they both live in Chicago and they're both a bit lovelorn, but that's about it. Still, fate has something in mind for these two somewhat-depressed souls (a construction worker and budding artist, respectively), who've both recently had brushes with death--he's a recent widower, she's just recovered from a heart transplant--and are a little more serious than their friends and relatives. After a series of misbegotten blind dates and almost-meetings, though, these two finally get together, and find that they fit seamlessly with each other. Despite their differences, they have a lot in common--in fact, "quite" a lot. It seems that the heart that now beats inside Grace's chest once belonged to Bob's wife (Joely Richardson), who died in a car crash. Coincidence? We think not.
A gentle, pleasing romantic comedy, "Return to Me" marks the directorial debut of Bonnie Hunt, an acclaimed actress known most famously for her role as Renee Zellweger's sister in "Jerry Maguire". A shining, happy bright spot in whatever role she's in, Hunt has also invested the film with her trademark brand of humor: dry but sincere, sarcastic but not caustic, and with a deep current of humanity and romance. In the midst of all the permutations that fate surrounds them with, Driver and Duchovny make a pleasantly low-key couple; the triumph of the film is that despite all the contrived angst, the romance is never overly saccharine. They provide a quiet center in a film that has a fair amount of chaos in it, particularly due to Driver's extended family of Irish "and" Italian relatives (which occasionally tips the film into cutesy territory) and most hilariously to Driver's best friend, played by director Hunt . As a harried mother with innumerable kids and a likable oaf of a husband (James Belushi), Hunt again steals scenes effortlessly; Belushi is a comic revelation, better than he's been in years. You'll have the pleasant memories of both of these couples--one falling in love, one together for years--with you a long while after seeing this film. "--Mark Englehart"

Rose Red

Horror

Lions Gate

PG-13

On regular television, punctuated by frenetic commercials, the leisurely pace of the horror miniseries "Rose Red" probably felt grueling; but on its own terms, the effect is like settling into a long book full of detail--a book not unlike those of Stephen King, who wrote the script. The story (about a researcher into the paranormal who takes a team of psychics into a haunted house) recycles themes that King has used before--a telekinetic girl, a house with its own consciousness--but for his fans, the familiarity is probably comfortable and even enjoyable. The cast (including Nancy Travis, Julian Sands, and Melanie Lynsky from "Heavenly Creatures") give committed performances, and the special effects are television-grade but used pretty well. Most of it doesn't make much sense, but at its best "Rose Red" is absurd and creepy at the same time. "--Bret Fetzer"

Saved by the Bell - Seasons 1 & 2

Comedy

Lions Gate

For five seasons on NBC (1989-1993), Saved By The Bell followed the adventures and misadventures of six students and their principal at Bayside High School. Zack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), the cool preppy, Slater (Mario Lopez), the good-looking athlete, Screech (Dustin Diamond), the lovable nerd, Lisa (Lark Voorhies), the gossip queen, Kelly (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), the cheerleader, and Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley), the honor student. With Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) keeping a watchful eye, the students of Bayside tackled topics ranging from popularity and the prom to death and drug use.

System Requirements:
Starring: Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Mark Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies, Elizabeth Berkley, and Dennis Haskins
Producer: Peter Engel Productions in association with NBC Productions & Bennett Tramer
Director: Don Barnhart
Copyright 2003 Lions Gate Entertainment.

Format: DVD MOVIE

School for Scoundrels

Comedy

Weinstein Company

PG-13

"School for Scoundrels" is the kind of stupid-fun comedy for which the phrase "Wait for the DVD" was invented. Like a lot of its jokes, it fell flat in its brief theatrical release, but there's enough funny stuff here to warrant a look, especially if you enjoyed writer-director Todd Phillips' previous films "Old School" and "Road Trip". Of course, Phillips also directed the comedy remake of "Starsky and Hutch", so you know there's going to be as many misses as hits in the movie's constant barrage of slapstick, insults, and tasteless gags. Loosely inspired by the 1960 British comedy directed by Robert Hamer, this crudely Americanized version finds a meek and geeky parking-meter reader named Roger ("Napoleon Dynamite"'s John Heder) looking for love and not getting any, so he enrolls in a confidence-building school led by Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton), who turns out to be Roger's #1 rival in his quest to win the heart of Amanda (Jacinda Barrett), Roger's cute Australian neighbor and the would-be girl of his dreams. As an escalating war of one-upmanship in which Roger's quick learning provokes Dr. P's competitive instincts, "School for Scoundrels" isn't exactly a laff-riot, but it's got some aces up its sleeve that make it worthwhile, like a crazed appearance by Ben Stiller, a fun if not-always-funny supporting cast (Michael Clark Duncan, Horatio Sanz, Todd Louiso) and a pair of stars who work well together as comedic opposites in the game of love. "--Jeff Shannon"

School of Rock

Comedy

Paramount

PG-13

Turbo-charged comic Jack Black shakes "School of Rock" to its foundations, wailing with born-again metalhead passion as Dewey Finn, a guitarist who gets kicked out of a band because he grandstands too much--or, to put it another way, enjoys himself. Through an intercepted phone call, Finn gets a job as a substitute teacher for a fifth grade class at a private grade school. Neither students nor teacher quite know what to do with each other until Finn discovers that some of his young charges can play instruments; at once he starts turning them into a blistering rock & roll troupe that can crush his former band at an upcoming competition. "School of Rock" is silly and formulaic, but director Richard Linklater ("Dazed and Confused"), writer Mike White ("The Good Girl"), and especially Black and co-star Joan Cusack invest the formulas with such glee that the movie is irresistibly fun. "--Bret Fetzer"

Scream 3

Horror

Dimension

This third installment of the hugely popular "Scream" trilogy doesn't have the moxie and smarts of its two predecessors, but it's still a great thrill ride. Scripted by Ehren Kruger (from an outline by "Scream" writer Kevin Williamson), "Scream 3" takes the three surviving characters from the first two films--beleagured heroine Sidney (Neve Campbell), ruthless TV journalist Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox Arquette), and hapless deputy Dewey (David Arquette)--and transplants them to the environs of Hollywood. Turns out a familiarly masked killer is stalking the cast of "Stab 3", the third installment of the movies within the "Scream" movies. (Following all this? Don't worry, it's not entirely vital to the plot.) It's supposed to be a fun house of mirrors, with each character encountering the actor playing themselves and visiting reconstructed sets of the murder scenes, but it doesn't have the same snap and crackle of the first two films. Rather than parodying the teen horror genre, "Scream 3" seems to be playing by the rules instead of breaking them gleefully, and its postmodern plotting is a little too fast and loose. Williamson's presence is sorely missed--it's the difference between hitting one out of the park and scoring a solid triple. Director Wes Craven, though, still brings his die-hard energy to the proceedings, from the requisite heart-pumping prologue to the go-for-broke (but somewhat predictable) ending. Kudos to Campbell, Cox, and especially Arquette for bringing spirit to characters who should be justifiably tired of being corpse magnets; Campbell is remarkably graceful considering she's saddled with plot twists involving heretofore undisclosed family baggage. And in the film's one inspired stroke of brilliance, Cox's Gale is trailed by a hilarious Parker Posey as the actress playing Gale in "Stab 3", who astutely realizes that if they're caught by the killer together, it'll be the "real" Gale who gets it. If "Scream 3" had stuck to such ingenious parody throughout, it would have been a real winner; as it is, it's an energetic shadow of itself. With "Scream" alums Liev Schreiber and Jamie Kennedy in brief but winning cameos. "--Mark Englehart"

Sealab 2021 - Season 1

Animated.Comedy

Warner Home Video

Episode 01: I, Robot
Episode 02: Happycake
Episode 03: Radio Free Sealab
Episode 04: Chickmate
Episode 05: Lost in Time
Episode 06: Predator
Episode 07: Little Orphan Angry
Episode 08: Waking Quinn
Episode 09: All That Jazz
Episode 10: Murphy Murph and the Feng Shui Bunch
Episode 11: In The Closet
Episode 12: Stimutacs
Episode 13: Swimming in Oblivion

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