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ONVIDEO E-MAIL NEWS
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6/17/03 V7.24

ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
FOR TUESDAY, June 17 -- MONDAY, June 23


DELIVER US
From Eva In this appealing romantic comedy, a trio of men plot to
free themselves of their mates' unattached and seemingly
omnipresent older sister Eva (Gabrielle Union). Eva has a sweet
face but a steely disposition: a few choice words from her, and a
once-confident man becomes a virtual basket case. Eva has been in
charge of her younger sisters -- and the family money -- ever
since their parents died. But the cost of putting family first
has been the deferral of her own dreams -- and the assumption of
a harder-than-nails personality that no man has yet been able to
crack. Eva's uncanny ability to interfere in her sisters' affairs
has not endeared her to their spouses and partners. So they
concoct a simple plan: compensate cash-strapped ladies' man Ray
Adams (LL Cool J) to romance and distract Eva from her familial
duties. Introductions are made, sparks fly between Ray and Eva.
But the plan goes awry when they fall in love, leading to
surprising consequences and hilarious complications. Director:
Gary Hardwick. Stars: LL Cool J, Gabrielle Union, Duane Martin,
Essence Atkins, Robinne Lee, Meagan Lee, Mel Jackson, Dartanyan
Edmonds. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min., Comedy, Box office
gross: $17.334 million, Universal, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.

DRACULA II: ASCENSION
Direct-to-video sequel brings the greatest vampire of all to the
modern world for blood-chilling mayhem. A group of medical
students come upon the body of the world's most powerful vampire
and a mysterious stranger offers them $30 million to harvest the
body and steal the blood for auction. All the while, the students
are pursued by a vampire killer hired by the Vatican, to stop
Dracula's evil before it once more rages beyond control.
Director: Patrick Lussier. Stars: Jason Scott Lee, Jason London,
Roy Scheider, Craig Sheffer, Diane Neal. 2003, CC, MPAA rating:
R, 85 min., Horror, Dimension, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.

HEAVEN
Directed by Tom Tykwer ("Run Lola Run") and written by Krzysztof
Kieslowski ("Blue," "White," "Red") -- who was originally set to
direct until his death -- and Krzysztof Piesiewicz. A lonely
young police officer (Giovanni Ribisi) and a guilt-ridden crime
suspect (Cate Blanchett) set off on a desperate and thrilling
quest not so much for survival as to explore whether the
possibility for justice, redemption and love can be found on
earth. The result is part thriller about a woman forced to take
the law into her hands, part stirring romance about the search
for a higher form of rectitude. The setting is Turin, Italy where
Philippa (Blanchett), an English teacher at her wits end after
watching several people she cares about die from drug overdoses,
and fed up with a police force that will do nothing to help,
plants a bomb in a trashcan inside the office of one of Italy's
most despicable yet free dealers. Tragically, fate intervenes,
and the trashcan is moved, allowing the bomb to kill several
innocent people, and the dealer to escape yet again. Philippa is
quickly arrested and taken in for interrogation, where she learns
for the first time what she has done and discovers she is
suspected of being part of a terrorist organization. No one is
willing to listen to the truth of Philippa's story, but then
there is another twist of fate. One of her police captors, the
quiet Filippo (Ribisi), falls inexplicably in love with her, and
decides to help her in her quest to finish the process of meting
out justice that she began. Their journey together takes them
from simple retribution to a search for true redemption, a
journey that traverses through a moral and physical maze from
which there appears to be no obvious escape. A beautifully
executed meditation on fate and chance -- one of the best
(underrated) films of the year). Director: Tom Tykwer. Stars:
Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Reme Girone, Stefania Rocca,
Alessandro Sperduti. 2002, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Drama,
Box office gross: $0.774 million, Miramax, No VHS SRP, Priced for
rental. DVD: Day & Date.

JUST MARRIED
Lame comedy about mis-matched lovers who return from their
disastrous European honeymoon ready to hit the divorce court.
Ashton Kutcher plays Tom, a decidedly blue-collar late-night
radio traffic reporter who falls for and marries Sarah (Brittany
Murphy), a decidedly Beverly Hills princess. The film is told in
flashbacks: Tom's football hitting Sarah's head, Tom killing
Sarah's pooch, Sarah's family's loathing of Tom, their "opposites
attract" romance, marriage and -- horrific vacation in France and
Italy where the word Ugly American (in Tom's boorish case) comes
to the fore. Will they recover from their honeymoon? Contrived
and silly. Director: Shawn Levy. Stars: Ashton Kutcher, Brittany
Murphy, Christian Kane, David Mooscow, Monet Mazur, David Rashe,
Veronica Cartwright. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 95 min.,
Comedy, Box office gross: $55.285 million, Fox, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

ME WITHOUT YOU
Charming romantic comedy about the agonies and ecstasies of
friendship between two young girls during three tumultuous
decades in England. One long, hot summer in '70s London, young
neighbors Holly (Michelle Williams) and Marina (Anna Friel) make
a childhood pact to be friends forever. For the troubled,
unpredictable Marina, with her seemingly glamorous father and her
Valium-addicted mother, Holly is the only constant in a life of
divorcing parents, experimental drugs and fashionable self-
destruction. Meanwhile, Holly buries herself in books --
frustrated with her overprotective mother and insecure around her
beautiful and possessive best friend. She holds just one secret
from Marina: her increasing passion for Marina's brother Nat. As
the years roll by, the girls experience everything life has to
offer -- sex, love, loss and rock 'n' roll. But eventually for
Holly, a friendship which has never been equal gradually begins
to feel like a trap. Featuring an eclectic soundtrack with songs
from The Clash, Depeche Mode, Adam & The Ants, the Stranglers,
Echo & The Bunnymen and Nick Drake, the film reeks with the
fashion and punk musical styles of '70s and '80s Britain.
Director: Sandra Goldbacher. Stars: Michelle Williams, Anna
Friel, Kyle MacLachlan, Trudie Styler. 2002, CC, MPAA rating: R,
101 min., Romantic comedy, Box office gross: $0.301 million,
Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

NARC
Taut and violent police thriller stars Jason Patric as suspended
undercover narcotics officer Nick Tellis reluctantly drawn back
into the force to find the truth behind the murder of a young
police officer killed in the line of duty. He's teamed with Henry
Oak (Ray Liotta), the slain officer's partner, a rogue cop who
will stop at nothing to avenge his friend's death. As Tellis and
Oak unravel the case, the dark underbelly of the narcotics world
reveals itself in surprising ways that are more twisted than
either officer has ever seen before -- and the mystery threatens
to destroy them both. Director: Joe Carnahan. Stars: Ray Liotta,
Jason Patric, Chi McBride. 2002, CC, MPAA rating: R, 105 min.,
Thriller, Box office gross: $10.460 million, Paramount, No VHS
SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: Day & Date.

PIPE DREAM
After a tipsy one-night stand, two New York neighbors realize
they have nothing in common: he's an unnoticed plumber (Martin
Donovan) and she's an aspiring movie scriptwriter (Mary-Louise
Parker). But when the plumber pretends to be a film director to
get himself noticed by the hottest actresses in the city, the
writer builds on the scam to get her movie made. Each thinks they
are using the other to get what they want -- but they may
discover that what they want is each other. Only in the movies .
Director: John C. Walsh. Stars: Martin Donovan, Mary-Louise
Parker, Rebecca Gayheart. 2002, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min.,
Romantic Comedy, Lions Gate, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD:
Day & Date.

TSUI HARK'S VAMPIRE HUNTERS
Hong Kong martial arts meets Transylvania blood suckers in this
action horror film written and produced by acclaimed
international filmmaker Tsui Hark ("The Godfather of Hong Kong
Action Cinema"). In 19th century China, an evil monk awakens a
nest of ghoulish vampires hell-bent on devouring human life. A
quartet of heroes trained in the Taoist Mao Shan school of magic
and their master must use their unique powers to destroy the
Vampire King and his lethal coven before it's too late. Masters
of the martial arts, each of the four students specializes in
controlling the elements of his namesake: Rain, Lightning,
Thunder and Wind. In Chinese with English subtitles. Director:
Wellson Chin. Stars: Michael Chow Man-Kin, Anya. 2002, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 98 min., Horror, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental. DVD: Day & Date.


For more release info, check out our calendar pages at
<http://www.onvideo.org/calendar.htm>


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THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES:

Weekly listings of DVD releases can now be viewed on mobile
devices at www.tagtag.com/onvideo

** Chinese Box (1997) Dir.: Wayne Wang; Jeremy Irons, Rueben
Blades, Li Gong. Extras: Commentary by Wang, "Hong Kong '97"
documentary. (Lions Gate Signature Series).
** The Dead Zone: The Complete First Season. Four-disc set;
$49.99. (Lions Gate).
** Deliver Us From Eva (2003) LL Cool J, Gabrielle Union, Duane
Martin, Essence Atkins, Robinne Lee, Meagan Lee, Mel Jackson,
Dartanyan Edmonds. Extras: Commentary by director Gary Hardwick,
"Delivering Eva" behind-the-scenes featurette, music videos.
(UniversaL).
** Dracula II: Ascension (2003) Jason Scott Lee, Jason London,
Roy Scheider, Craig Sheffer, Diane Neal. Direct-to-video.
(Dimension).
** Happiness (1998) Dir.: Todd Solondz; John Lovitz, Lara Flynn
Boyle, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jane Adams, Dylan Baker, Camryn
Manheim. (Lions Gate Signature Series).
** Heaven (2002) Dir.: Tom Tykwer; Cate Blanchett, Giovanni
Ribisi, Reme Girone, Stefania Rocca, Alessandro Sperduti. Extras:
Commentary by Tykwer, deleted scenes, "The Story of Heaven"
featurette. (Miramax).
** Just Married (2003) Dir.: Shawn Levy; Ashton Kutcher, Brittany
Murphy, Christian Kane, David Mooscow, Monet Mazur, David Rashe,
Veronica Cartwright. Extras: Commentary by Levy, Kutcher and
Murphy, four deleted scenes, "making-of" featurette, Comedy
Central "Reel Comedy" featurette. (Fox).
** Mayhem: European Legions (2003) Norwegian metal band life from
Marseille, France, Sept. 24, 1999. (Music Video Distributors).
** Me Without You (2002) Michelle Williams, Anna Friel, Kyle
MacLachlan, Trudie Styler. (Columbia TriStar).
** Narc (2002) Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Chi McBride. Extras:
Commentary by writer-director Joe Carnahan and editor John
Gilroy, four new featurettes. (Paramount).
** Pipe Dream (2002) Martin Donovan, Mary-Louise Parker, Rebecca
Gayheart. (Lions Gate).
** Robert Townsend: Partners in Crime Vol. 1 (2003) Comedy
ensemble of Townsend, Damon Wayans, Keenan Ivory Wayans, John
Witherspoon, Paul Mooney and Ann-Marie Johnson; broadcast on HBO
in 1991. (Urbanworks Entertainment).
** Songcatcher (2000) Janet McTeer, Aidan Quinn. Extras:
Production commentary, cast and crew interviews, featurette,
extended scenes, music only track. (Lions Gate Signature Series).
** Stargate SG-1 Third Season. Five-disc set. Extras: "Secret
Files of the SGC" featurettes: "Colonel Jack O'Neil," "The
Stargate Universe" and "Personnel Files"; $69.96. (MGM).
** Topper/Topper Returns "Topper" (1937), starring Cary Grant,
Constance Bennett, Roland Young and Billie Burke; and "Topper
Returns" (1941), starring Joan Blondell, Roland Young, Carole
Landis and Billie Burke on one disc. (Artisan).
** Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters (2002) Michael Chow Man-Kin, Anya.
(Columbia TriStar).
** What's Cooking (2000) Julianna Margulies, Mercedes Reuhl, Kyra
Sedgwick, Alfre Woodard, Joan Chen. Extras: Commentary by writer-
director Gurinder Chadha and writer Paul Mayeda Berges, cast and
crew interviews, recipes from the film. (Lions Gate Signature
Series).


For more DVD info, check out our DVD calendar pages at
<http://www.onvideo.org/calendar/cal_dvd.htm>


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NEWS

COMING SOON:
Due August 12: Paramount will release Tommy Lee Jones starrer
"The Hunted" (2003) on VHS rental and DVD; the DVD will include
commentary by director William Friedkin, deleted scenes, and four
featurettes. From DreamWorks comes Chris Rock comedy "Head of
State" (2003), available on rental VHS and DVD. Disney will
release "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" (2003), starring Hilary Duff
and the rest of the cast from the Disney TV show, on VHS at
$24.99 and DVD. Due August 26: Surprise hit "Better Luck
Tomorrow" (2003), about a group of Asian-American teens and their
struggles for social status in high school, on VHS rental and
DVD. On September 23 Disney will release "Holes" (2003), directed
by Andrew Davis and starring Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight,
Patricia Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson and Shia LaBeouf, on VHS at
$24.99 and DVD.

DVD COLLECTIBLES:
Anchor Bay has just announced a slew of collectible cult classics
(and would-be classics). Topping the list is an exciting
Downunder highway thriller, "Road Games" (1981), directed by
Richard Franklin and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Stacy Keach.
In this adept suspenser, a serial killer is haunting the Aussie
highways, and road weary trucker Quid (Keach) becomes the prime
suspect when a hitchhiker he picked up (Curtis) disappears. The
DVD includes commentary by Franklin, "Kangaroo Hitchcock: The
Making of Road Games" featurette, original storyboards, posters,
still galleries; available now. Next up is "The Angel
Collection," a trilogy of exploitation films about a high school
honor student whose extracurricular activities include
prostitution on the mean streets of Hollywood: "Angel" (1984),
"Avenging Angel" (1985) and "Angel III: The Final Chapter";
$39.98 the set, available now. Due June 24 from Anchor Bay are
"Freeway" (1988), starring Richard Belzer, James Russo, Darlanne
Fluegel and Billy Drago in a thriller about a killer taking out
drivers on L.A. freeways; "The Aurora Encounter" (1986), starring
Jack Elam and Peter Brown in a sci-fier about an alien encounter
in the Wild west town of Aurora, Texas, in 1897; and "Star
Crystal" (1986), starring C. Juston Campbell and Faye Bolt in a
sci-fier about a rock from outer space that contains the alien
GAR, a monster that destroys all in its path.

FROM TV TO VIDEO:
Due this week are "Stargate SG-1 Third Season," a five-disc set
with such three "Secret Files of the SGC" featurettes: "Colonel
Jack O'Neil," "The Stargate Universe" and "Personnel Files";
$69.96 from (MGM) ... "The Dead Zone: The Complete First Season,"
a four-disc set for $49.99 from Lions Gate ... From Urbanworks
Entertainment comes "Robert Townsend: Partners in Crime Vol. 1,"
variety show starring Townsend, Damon Wayans, Keenan Ivory
Wayans, John Witherspoon, Paul Mooney and Ann-Marie Johnson;
originally broadcast on HBO in 1991 ... "Christmas Rush" (2002)
is a telefilm about a shopping mall overrun by criminals during
the Christmas shopping season, starring Eric Roberts, Dean Cain
and Erika Eleniak, from Columbia TriStar.

FOREIGN:
First Run Features will release this week "Dad on the Run"
(2000), a French comedy fueled by Klezmer music and set in the
Paris night world about a Bar Mitzvah entertainer and father to a
newborn son who is sent on a wild mission through the streets of
Pairs to fulfill an obscure Jewish custom concerning his son's
circumcism; his mission is hampered by a jealous, gin- wielding
husband, a flat-tire, a trunk loaded with frozen fish, and tens
of thousands of Roman Catholics celebrating in the streets the
arrival of Pope John Paul II. Available on VHS rental and DVD.

ON THE INDIE FRONT:
Indie newcomer Hart Sharp Video will release "Tully," winner of
the best film award at the L.A. Independent Film Festival and the
Gen Art Film Festival. The film is based on an O'Henry prize-
winning story by Tom McNeil, about the legacy of love between a
family of men and the events one summer that change their world
forever. Available on VHS rental and DVD.

BUZZIN' THE 'B's:
Artisan Entertainment's slate this week includes a two-disc set
of "The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw" and "The Gambler
V: Playing for Keeps," two Kenny Rogers' Westerns; "Family
Reunion," a comedy about the renewal of family feuds during an
annual summer reunion, on VHS rental and DVD; "Suicide Blonde," a
thriller about a valet parking attendant lured into the
underworld by a mysterious blonde, on VHS rental and DVD; "Frost:
Portrait of a Vampire," a horror thriller starring Gary Busey
about the ex-head of a U.S. covert mercenary outfit who comes out
of retirement to track down and eliminate his old partner, who
has become a "creature of the undead," available on VHS rental
and DVD; and "Da Hip Hop Witch," about the "Black Witch in the
Projects" who attacks rap and hip-hop artists in New York,
starring Eminem, Ja Rule, Mobb Deep and Rah Digga, available for
$14.98 on both VHS and DVD ... Columbia TriStar will release
"Tsui Hark's Vampire Hunters" (2002), an actioner where Hong Kong
martial arts meet Transylvania blood suckers, written and
produced by acclaimed international filmmaker Tsui Hark ("The
Godfather of Hong Kong Action Cinema"), on VHS rental and DVD ...
MTI Home Video will release this week "Air America: Operation
Jaguar," an actioner set in South America, starring Lorenzo Lamas
and Scott Plank, on VHS rental and DVD.

SPECIAL INTEREST:
First Run Features this week will release an important document
analyzing U.S. foreign policy and imperialism in relation to
9/11, "Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times." Directed by
John Junkerman, this documentary -- with interviews and excerpt
from speeches -- gives the public a rare opportunity to see and
listen to one of the most articulate, committed and hard-working
political dissidents of our time. His often unpopular but
incisive arguments, based on decades of research and analysis,
has earned him the title of "the most important intellectual
alive" by the New York Times. Available for $24.95 on DVD and
VHS.


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Copyright 2003 CyberPod. All rights reserved.
ISSN 1094-3676

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