POTOMAC VIDEO WEEKLY e-NEWSLETTER

New Releases for Tuesday 7/17/01

Book of Pooh - DVD and VHS
(USA, 2001)
Rated PG

    Join Winnie the Pooh as he and his friends explore the world of Christopher Robin's stories and lessons, in an all-new style blending puppets and computer animation. A.A. Milne's classic characters have never come to life more vividly than in this heartwarming feature, with six new songs.

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Caveman's Valentine - DVD and VHS
(USA,  2001)
Rated R
Directed By Kasi Lemmons
Staring
Samuel L. Jackson
Anthony Michael Hall
Giuseppe Sulfaro
Colm Feore


     Romulus Ledbetter (Samuel L. Jackson) is a schizophrenic homeless man who lives in a cave in a New York City park and believes that his nemesis is trying to control the world by projecting mind-control beams from the Chrysler Building. Romulus is also a Juilliard-trained pianist who retreated into a world of fantasy and paranoia when the stress of his professional and family lives became too much. When Romulus finds a young homeless man frozen to death outside his cave, the police write it off as an accident but Romulus investigates and discovers evidence of murder. While trying to reconcile with his policewoman daughter, Romulus sneakily investigates a trendy artist and his models for evidence of murder, blackmail, and more. Based on the novel by George Dawes Green, THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE is a unique trip into the disturbed but still highly intelligent mind of a character only Samuel L. Jackson could pull off. Director Kasi Lemmons, who previously directed Jackson in EVE'S BAYOU, takes us inside Romulus's mind using spectacular and jarring special effects, yet never letting the viewer forget the simple, human drama at the heart of the film. Offbeat and unique, THE CAVEMAN'S VALENTINE is a truly independent creation.

Double Take - DVD and VHS
(USA, 2001)
Rated PG-13
Directed By George Gallo
Staring
Eddie Griffin
Orlando Jones

    DOUBLE TAKE opens in Hitchcock fashion with a Manhattan businessman finding himself on the run; He is suspected of illegal activities, and has to prove his innocence while being pursued by the authorities. Hitchcock's classic version of this story is NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959). However, in spite of its thriller pedigree, DOUBLE TAKE is something else. Writer-director George Gallo has taken the classic elements, filtered them through the 1990s action and buddy films and produced a frenetic comedy built around the volatile chemistry of Orlando Jones and Eddie Griffin. Jones has the Cary Grant part--he is Daryl Chase, a Wall Street investment banker dealing in international accounts who becomes the fall guy when a Mexican client is revealed as the front man for a drug cartel. Griffin has the Eve Marie Saint part, but his Freddy Tiffany is no ice-cool Hitchcock blonde. Instead, he's the fast-talking streetwise hustler who aids and abets Chase as he is pursued by the police, the FBI, the CIA, and the DEA. DOUBLE TAKE swallows up the clichés of the innocent-on-the-run movie and the buddy movie, then--with Jones and Griffin trading quips and identities--throws them pell-mell on the screen in one long hilarious stream.

Family Man -  VHS and DVD
(USA, 2000)
Rated PG-13
Directed By Brett Rainer
Staring
Nicholas Cage
Tea Leoni
Jeremy Piven

    Nicolas Cage stars as Jack Campbell, a career-driven workaholic who has everything: an exciting job, a Ferarri, a closetful of Zegna suits, and the attention of any woman he wants. His life changes when, after working a full day on Christmas Eve, he intervenes in a convenience store holdup. The apparent criminal, Cash (Cheadle), speaks to Jack in epigrams about his satisfaction with life. When Jack wakes up the next day, he's suddenly living in a New Jersey suburb, where he's married to his college sweetheart (Leoni) and is the father of two children. At first he is aghast, but Jack soon warms to his new life even though he knows that it cannot last. Unabashedly sentimental, the film is also a great comedy, as Cage gives a superb performance that makes the most of his character's obvious disgust with his suburban surroundings and even allows for a few moments of hysterics reminiscent of VAMPIRE'S KISS. Filled with great performances (notably Ms. Leoni's role as Jack's wife), inspired comedy, and a premise that suggests a slightly darker version of classics like A CHRISTMAS CAROL and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, THE FAMILY MAN is an affecting and entertaining holiday film.

The Gift - DVD and VHS
(USA, 2000)
Rated R
Directed By Sam Raimi
Staring
Cate Blanchett
Giovanni Ribsi
Keanu Reeves
Katie Holmes

    Annie Wilson (Cate Blanchett) is a young widow living in Brixton, Georgia, who does psychic readings. She has a power that allows her to see things her neighbors don't see, and she talks about the things that they try to keep quiet. She eventually stirs up trouble by advising Valerie Barksdale (Hilary Swank) to leave her abusive husband, Donnie (an effectively menacing Keanu Reeves). Donnie chases after Annie and threatens her and her young sons. Then Jessica King (Katie Holmes), a sexually liberated rich girl, disappears, and Annie has visions of a gruesome murder that endanger her own life. THE GIFT is an unusual supernatural thriller. Director Sam Raimi (A SIMPLE PLAN) and DP Jamie Anderson use the huge gnarled trees and foggy swamps of Savannah to create a palpable sense of dread, and Raimi really knows how to jolt an audience. The script, by Billy Bob Thornton (SLING BLADE) and Tom Epperson, has enough twists to keep the audience guessing. Blanchett is very believable, and Giovanni Ribisi gives a heart-wrenching performance as Buddy Cole, a disturbed young man who seeks Annie's counsel. Their relationship gives the film an emotional weight that makes it more than just a good thriller.

Saving Silverman - DVD and VHS
(USA, 2001)
Rated PG-13
Directed By Dennis Dugan
Staring
Jason Biggs
Steve Zahn
Jack Black
Amanda Peet

    Darren Silverman (Jason Biggs, AMERICAN PIE) and his pals Wayne (Steve Zahn) and J.D. (Jack Black) are close friends since high school who perform together in a Neil Diamond cover band. Enter Darren's shrewd psychologist bride-to-be Judith (Amanda Peet, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS), who constantly schemes to keep Darren from hanging out with his old slacker buddies. Anxious to hold onto their right to spend time with Darren, Wayne and J.D. decide that they must stop at nothing to prevent the wedding from taking place and reunite Darren with his first love--who is about to become a nun! Dennis Dugan's (HAPPY GILMORE) comedy attempts to harness the white-hot comedic talents of Zahn and Black, throwing in an inspirational appearance from Neil Diamond himself, to tell a hilarious tale of undying friendship.

Sugar and Spice - DVD and VHS
(USA, 2000)
Rated PG-13
Directed By Francine McDougall
Staring
Mena Suvari
Marla Sokoloff
Marley Shelton
Melissa George
Rachel Blanchard

   SUGAR & SPICE is a wicked black comedy about high school, teenage pregnancy, and five bankrobbing cheerleaders armed with semi-automatic weapons. When Diane, (Marley Shelton), a popular high school cheerleader, gets pregnant with the star quarterback's baby, she turns to crime to support herself and her child. Fortunately, her five best friends on the cheerleading squad are, like, totally supportive of her decision! Together they devise a plan for a series of major bank heists to benefit Diane's future financial security. With a hot young cast including Mena Suvari (AMERICAN BEAUTY), Marla Sokoloff (TV's THE PRACTICE), and James Franco, SUGAR & SPICE is a teen comedy with some unusual twists.

*  Not all titles available at all locations

Potomac Video’s Top Ten Renting Titles for the Week of 7/9 -  7/15

1.    Snatch (Action, Rated R)
2.    Best in Show (Comedy, Rated PG-13)
3.    Thirteen Days (Drama, Rated PG-13)
4.    Traffic (Action, Rated R)
5.    Wedding Planner (Comedy, Rated PG-13)
6.    Castaway (Drama, Rated R)
7.    O Brother, Where Art Thou?  (Comedy, Rated PG-13) 
8.    State and Main (Comedy, Rated R)
9.    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Foreign, Rated PG-13)
10.  Unbreakable (Mystery, Rated PG-13)

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