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© St. Petersburg Times, published November 1, 2001
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New releases
John Travolta returns to good form after those Lucky Numbers and Battlefield Earth debacles. He plays a suave supervillain plotting to steal billions from the U.S. government to finance his private war against terrorism. Hugh Jackman (X-Men) is the computer hacker coerced into assisting the plot, and Halle Berry co-stars as a moll with her own agenda.
First impressions: ". . . A relatively engrossing techno thriller from director Dominic Sena (Gone in 60 Seconds) and producer Joel Silver (The Matrix) distinguished by stylish performances, expertly photographed chase sequences, mind-blowing explosions, a sexually charged atmosphere and casually brutal, graphic violence perpetrated on baddies and innocents alike." (Philip Booth, Times correspondent)
Second thoughts: One of the better examples of adult junk this year.
Rental audience: Travolta devotees; fans of loud, profane violence.
Rent it if you enjoy: Earplugs.
Mild-mannered guy (Rob Schneider) survives an auto accident through a series of organ transplants from wild animals. The surgeries enable him to run like a cheetah, swim like a dolphin, stalk like a tiger and desire sex with a goat. Survivor also-ran Colleen Haskell co-stars as Schneider's love interest and poop-scooper.
First impressions: ". . . compared with (Schneider's) first star vehicle, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, this effort is a baby-step up on the humor food chain. Instead of mean-spirited stupidity or a gush of gross-outs, Schneider, with his cherub curls and scrawny physique, adopts a pussycat persona that engenders goodwill. It's a ploy that mentor Adam Sandler (who's an executive producer) has beaten to near-extinction, but Schneider makes it fresh. Or at least less stale." (Susan Wloszczyna, USA Today)
Second thoughts: Is there a society for the prevention of cruelty to moviegoers?
Rental audience: High school dropouts.
Rent it if you enjoy: Bestiality gags.
New and noteworthy for digital players
DreamWorks gives Disney a dose of its own medicine with the DVD release of Shrek. No surprise, since Jeffrey Katzenberg invented the formula when he led the Mouse House animation department.
Katzenberg often staved off challenges to Disney's toon superiority by scheduling re-releases of classics like Pinocchio and Cinderella simultaneously with the competition's animated efforts. Brand names always trumped brand X. Now that Katzenberg has jumped ship to start DreamWorks and that studio has a bona fide hit, releasing Shrek on home video at the same time Disney's Monsters, Inc. hits theaters is a stroke of devious genius.
Many consumers won't care about such boardroom rivalries. They'll only notice that Shrek on DVD contains enough bonus material to warrant a much higher price tag than its $26.99 suggested listing. This bargain packaging of a loaded 2-disc set should inspire other studios to make future DVDs equally loaded and economical.
Viewers get the story of a gentle ogre (voice of Mike Myers) rescuing a spunky princess (Cameron Diaz) in widescreen format or full screen if you don't prefer letterboxing. The usual extras appear: a director's commentary, trailers, production notes, technical featurettes, etc.
Several other bonuses make Shrek more interactive than usual, with karaoke options, several puzzle and quiz games and a chance to toy with the voices of the main characters.
Deleted scenes are shown in storyboard format, and the producers aren't shy about sharing animation goofs and inside jokes that may have slipped by on first inspection. Myers, Diaz, Eddie Murphy and John Lithgow chip in with amusing interviews. Nothing as historically elaborate as the recent, comparably priced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs showcase, but still pretty impressive for a lesser film.
Videos worth another look
Pop quiz: Who has received more Academy Awards than anyone else alive?
The answer is Dennis Muren, and you'll be excused if you don't know who he is. That's the point of his particular talent: to make his art so seamless and believable that nobody thinks someone is pulling strings behind the curtain.
Muren is a special effects artist who shaped some of the most astounding effects in film history. He has won a total of nine Oscars and five other nominations for creating everything from Jurassic Park dinosaurs to Star Wars hardware. The total also includes three prizes for special technical achievements such as co-designing new animation photography techniques at Industrial Light & Magic.
In an industry thriving on fantasy, Muren is the only special effects artist with a personalized star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Today is Muren's 55th birthday, and here are some suggested home video selections to mark the occasion. As if you've never seen these blockbusters before:
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back -- The Academy didn't have a best visual effects category until 1982, and this film urged them to create it. A special achievement award had to suffice.
Dragonslayer -- When the category began, Muren was in the mix with this Dark Ages adventure. Raiders of the Lost Ark was the first winner, but Muren walked away with another special achievement prize.
E.T. the Extra-terrestrial -- Carlo Rambaldi designed the cute alien and shared the Oscar with Muren and Kenneth Smith for sending the little critter back home.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi -- Muren's third special achievement honor from the Academy.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom -- Muren's special effects, especially the extraction of a bad guy's heart, were so visceral that a new rating -- PG-13 -- was created for the film.
Young Sherlock Holmes -- Another nomination for an overlooked, entertaining fantasy about the origins of the world's greatest sleuth.
Innerspace -- Shrinking Dennis Quaid to fit inside Martin Short for a fantastic voyage won Muren another Academy Award.
Willow -- Ron Howard's epic of fairies and elves is the least impressive movie on this list, but it earned Muren another trip to the Oscars.
The Abyss -- Among the best undersea adventures ever filmed, with Ed Harris leading a search for intelligent life at the bottom of the ocean. Muren found another Oscar down there.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day -- The first pairing of Muren with makeup master Stan Winston, akin to having Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa in the same lineup. Together they won Oscars for this film, Jurassic Park and its sequel, The Lost World.
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace -- Last year's box office hit brought another nomination. This year, Muren should be in the running with A.I. Artificial Intelligence and again two years from now if The Incredible Hulk makes it to the screen as planned.