'Eastern Western,' romantic comedy rate second looks

By STEVE PERSALL

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 12, 2000

Here is what reviewers thought of this week's new video releases back when they were released on the big screen. Second thoughts include hindsight about the movies, what they'll be like on video and suggestions about who might want to rent them.

NEW RELEASES

Shanghai Noon

(PG-13) An emperor's intrepid guard (Jackie Chan) travels to the Wild West to rescue a kidnapped princess. He teams with a clumsy, over-confident train robber (Owen Wilson) to save the day. Cheeky comedy blends with martial arts mayhem for a rousing Western spoof.

First impressions: ". . . a rowdy reminder of how entertaining Chan can be with that face, those fists and his adorably fractured English. Chan has inspired an Eastern-Western, a frisky, funny cowboys-and-Indians-and-Asians adventure that leaves Wild Wild West rotting in trail dust."

Second thoughts: It was a crowd pleaser in theaters, so entertaining folks at home should be a breeze.

Rental audience: Chan fans, anyone in tune with Wilson's surfer-stud humor.

Rent it if you enjoyed: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, any of Chan's chop-socky hits.

Love and Basketball

(PG-13) Hot-shot basketball player (Omar Epps) and his talented hoops-playing neighbor (Sanaa Lathan) put romance into a four-period stall. The movie is divided into quarters like a game, following the inevitable lovers from childhood through pro basketball careers.

First impressions: "The most striking aspect of (the film) is how ordinary it is. Attractive people dodge romance until they can't anymore, underdogs win, favorites are humbled. Such run-of-the-mill movies are made all the time, but rarely with an African-American cast . . . Their problems aren't violent or fluffy, just simple, predictable obstacles to happiness."

Second thoughts: Lathan has a nice screen presence deserving to be seen again. Aside from a few sensual moments, the film is an inspiration for athletic teens.

Rental audience: Date-flick seekers, basketball fans.

Rent it if you enjoyed: The Wood, Forget Paris.

Time Code

(R) Director Mike Figgis splits the screen into four sections, each one showing another part of an improvised story carried out in real time with single takes and no edits. Feuding lesbian lovers (Salma Hayek, Jeanne Tripplehorn) are the dramatic hub. Or perhaps it's the cocaine-stoked movie producer (Stellan Skarsgard) coming between them. Holly Hunter and Steven Weber co-star.

First impressions: "Even when Time Code gets on your nerves, it is obvious that Figgis is accomplishing something special. (His) process is more meaningful than the story he tells. This is, after all, an experiment in structure. The mundane becomes remarkable, though, as Figgis fiddles with cinema customs."

Second thoughts: Television could compress the four visual quadrants too small to matter. However, it might be fun to watch particular scenes four times to enjoy the timing between quadrants.

Rental audience: Only the adventurous types.

Rent it if you enjoy: Being puzzled by style, not substance.

Double journey to the Jurassic

DVDs

New and noteworthy for digital players

Jurassic Park and The Lost World Special Editions

(Both PG-13) Steven Spielberg's monster hits are gussied up with the usual DVD trimmings, except for the lack of an audio commentary track by the filmmaker himself. One wonders why Spielberg has only taken time to explain a flop like 1941 and none of his triumphs.

Even without such expert testimony, these special editions are worth a look, not only for the crystal-clear wide screen renditions of the films, but a few extras that should satisfy.

Jurassic Park features an animated "rough draft" of the raptors-in-the-kitchen scene devised by special effects ace Phil Tippett. It's interesting to see this raw yet adept footage in comparison to the live-action version.

There are also peeks into preproduction meetings with Spielberg and his crew. A camera is set up in one location, eavesdropping on the artists discussing the dramatic body language of dinosaurs, figuring out which movements will be most effective. Once again, realizing that these germs of ideas made it to the screen virtually intact makes the sequences special.

The Lost World includes the same extras, plus deleted scenes including a corporate boardroom debate on the future of the dinosaur amusement park in the movie. A throwaway line explains what happened to Samuel L. Jackson's character in the first film, a lingering question in the minds of some viewers.

Both discs, list-priced at $53.98 each, include storyboards, production notes and preview trailers of the two films and next year's sequel, Jurassic Park 3. A dinosaur encyclopedia with background information on the creatures shown in the films is worth a browse. Nothing especially scientific, but a nice premium for dino fans.

A limited collector's edition is available for a suggested retail price of $119.98, including all of the aforementioned extras, CD musical soundtracks from both movies, plus a senitype image from the film and a certificate of authenticity.

Happy Friday the 13th

REWIND

Videos worth another look

What could be more appropriate for this weekend than a reunion with hockey-masked mass murderer Jason Voorhees and his Friday the 13th movie series?

Of course, sitting through all nine of these slasher flicks would be crueler than Kevin Bacon taking an arrow through the throat in part one. Nice career start.

But, watching Jason slice and dice oversexed slackers on Friday the 13th is kind of like singing Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve. Traditional, grisly as it may be.

At times, the only differences between the movies were the addendums to their titles. Try to match the correct chapter (we'll skip the first two, easy flicks) with its subtitle.

Something to keep you occupied until chapter 10 (currently subtitled Jason X) arrives in 2001.

a. Jason Takes Manhattan

b. The Final Chapter

c. The New Blood

d. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

e. 3-D

f. Jason Lives

g. A New Beginning

Answers: a. 8; b. 4; c. 7; d. 9; e. 3; f. 6; g. 5.

Here's the whole Friday family, with the years of release:

1. Friday the 13th (1980)

2. Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

3. Friday the 13th Part 3: 3D (1982)

4. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

5. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

6. Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives (1986)

7. Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood (1988)

8. Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

9. Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993)

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