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Video / DVD

New releases

A look at what's headed for the shelves

By Times Staff
Published July 21, 2005

Constantine

DIRECTOR: Francis Lawrence

CAST: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Djimon Hounsou, Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Gavin Rossdale

SYNOPSIS: A bounty hunter for heaven (Reeves) hunts and kills renegade souls trying to escape hell.

WHAT WE SAID: St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall gave the movie a D, describing it in his February review as "a garish mass of theological mumbo jumbo bathed in blood and demon innards." He wrote, "First-time director Francis Lawrence is a music video veteran and it shows. Constantine exists only for its visual effectiveness, and some of the edits are sharp enough to make viewers jump. Any emotional content is dwarfed by the overblown computer-generated images of molting demons and scorched landscapes. This is as empty as a jam-packed screen can be."

MPAA RATING: R; strong violence, gore, profanity

RUNNING TIME: 121 min.

DIRECTOR: Tim Fywell

CAST: Michelle Trachtenberg, Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall, Hayden Panettiere, Trevor Blumas

SYNOPSIS: A wallflower (Trachtenberg) blossoms when a figure skating coach (Cattrall) believes she can be a champion. Cusack co-stars as the girl's doubting mother.

WHAT WE SAID: Times reviewer Rick Gershman gave the movie a B-. "Disney's latest G-rated live-action film is a perfectly plain, utterly unambitious, totally tepid bit of entertainment for kids," he wrote. "That's not entirely a criticism. In an age where entertainment for kids is increasingly comparable in subject matter to that for adults, with increasing violence, strong language and even sexuality, this film is refreshingly chaste."

MPAA RATING: G

RUNNING TIME: 92 min.

DIRECTOR: Stephen Herek

CAST: Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Archer, Brian Van Holt, Christina Milian, Paula Garces, Monica Keena, R. Lee Ermey, Cedric the Entertainer, Paget Brewster, Shea Whigham, Shannon Marie Woodward, Kelli Garner, Vanessa Ferlito

SYNOPSIS: An ill-tempered Texas Ranger (Jones) is assigned to protect sexy college cheerleaders who witnessed a murder.

WHAT WE SAID: The Times did not review this movie.

MPAA RATING: PG-13; violence, sexual content, crude humor and a drug reference

RUNNING TIME: 97 min.

DIRECTOR: Jan Hrebejk

CAST: Jiri Machacek, Petr Forman, Emilia Vasaryova, Natasa Burger, Jan Triska, Ingrid Timkova

SYNOPSIS: Jan Hrebejk's film places the ensemble mechanics of Magnolia and Short Cuts in Eastern Europe, with smugglers, white supremacists, soccer hooligans and upper-class neurotics crossing paths.

WHAT WE SAID: Persall gave the film a B. "Hrebejk's film smashes together disparate characters whose lives have only minor connections, yet combine to make a social statement," he wrote. "Up and Down goes around and around these (social) issues in brisk style, ensuring that viewers won't be bored. Irony and pop culture references are fairly universal, but the ultimate lesson - we're all brothers and sisters under our skins - is elementary for the film's complex mechanics."

MPAA RATING: R; language, sexual content and brief violence

RUNNING TIME: 108 min.

[Last modified July 20, 2005, 09:58:07]