Analyze This (VHS)
What happens when the worlds of the Mafia and psychiatry collide? This outrageous farce answers that question, as mob boss Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) and psychiatrist Ben Sobol (Billy Crystal) are forced to work together. When a prominent leader of the New York Mafia suddenly starts having panic attacks, he enlists the help of a New York psychiatrist for a fast cure. The two men suddenly find themselves struggling to understand each other`s professional and private lives as they battle the FBI and the impending threat of a Mafia takeover, not to mention an irritable fiancie (Lisa Kudrow) eager to get married.R"
Director: Harold Ramis
ACTORS: Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Lisa Kudrow, Joe Viterelli, Chazz Palminteri
Substance of Fire (DVD)
A successful New York publisher and Jewish family patriarch watches his family and business crumble when his painful childhood memories of the Holocaust cause him to become obsessed with publishing a four-volume compendium of Nazi medical literature at the expense of more commercially viable projects. Adapted by Jon Robin Baitz from his stage play.R"
Director: Daniel Sullivan
ACTORS: Ron Rifkin, Tony Goldwyn, Sarah Jessica Parker, Timothy Hutton, Ronny Graham
Diary of a Serial Killer (DVD)
After inadvertently witnessing the handiwork of a brutal serial murderer, an investigative journalist is compelled to unravel the killer`s twisted mind. But his attempts to know his subject drag him down into his world, and he`s soon suspected of the very murders he`s chronicled...while the real killer is at large.R"
Director: Joshua Wallace
ACTORS: Gary Busey, Michael Madsen, Arnold Vosloo, Julia Campbell, Reno Wilson
God`s Army (VHS)
Written and directed by Robert Dutcher, the threateningly titled GOD`S ARMY is a Mormon made film whose grassroots theatrical distribution scheme resembled 1999`s THE OMEGA CODE. The film itself follows a group of young missionaries who behave much like typical college students on the weekends, but who spend their days ringing the doorbells of everyone from prostitutes to suburban housewives distributing the tenets of their faith and seeking conversions. Fortunately, the boys have a mentor in Elder Dalton (Dutcher), a wise beyond his years 29 year-old who teaches them acceptance and the importance of skepticism. Entertaining and insightful, GOD`S ARMY is an involving look at both Mormonism and the difficulties of maintaining religious faith.PG"
Director: Richard Dutcher
ACTORS: Richard Dutcher, Matthew Brown, Michael Buster, Kelly Coleman, DeSean Terry
The Cooler (VHS) Spanish Subtitled William H. Macy adds another quirky, offbeat, and original character to his resume in the form of Bernie Lootz, a sad-sack loser who has the worst luck in town. Unfortunately for him, that town happens to be Las Vegas...
William H. Macy adds another quirky, offbeat, and original character to his resume in the form of Bernie Lootz, a sad-sack loser who has the worst luck in town. Unfortunately for him, that town happens to be Las Vegas. He gets hired by his old friend Shelly Kaplowitz (the excellent Alec Baldwin, hitting his stride) to work at the Shangri-La Hotel and Casino, where his bad luck rubs off on the gamblers previously doing well at the tables. But Lootz isn`t actually getting paid; he owes money to Shelly, so he is merely working off his debt. Things go haywire when he meets Natalie (Maria Bello) and falls instantly in love--threatening to change his luck. Meanwhile, Shelly is trying to keep the old-school feel of the casino, battling Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston), who wants to update the place into a glitzy multimedia entertainment center. This struggle of old versus new is also seen in Sokolov`s plans to replace aging lounge singer Buddy (Paul Sorvino) with hot newcomer Johnny Capella (Joey Fatone of *NSYNC). THE COOLER, screenwriter Wayne Kramer`s directorial debut, is everything an independent film should be: intelligent, entertaining, thought-provoking, and never predictable. The soundtrack includes songs by Fatone, Sorvino, and Diana Krall. Watch out for the subtle references to Frank Capra`s LOST HORIZON, which influenced Kramer`s depiction of the Shangri-La as an old-time paradise.
R"
Director: Wayne Kramer
ACTORS: William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, Ron Livingston, Paul Sorvino
