Bare Witness (DVD)
Julie Spencer is a porn actress and call girl with a large collection of videotapes of herself performing with clients. When she turns up dead, the first person the authorities come to for answers is her roommate Carly (Angie Everhart). But when it becomes clear that she is also a potential victim, Detective Killian (Daniel Baldwin) is assigned to protect her. It isn`t long before the two of them embark on an affair which will lead him into the eyes of a killer.R"
Director: Kelley Cauthen
ACTORS: Angie Everhart, Daniel Baldwin, Catalina Larranaga
A Zed and Two Noughts (DVD)
The always elliptical Peter Greenaway once again creates a beautiful film-as-puzzle. The tale begins when a car wreck involving a rare swan kills the wife of a doctor (who has a twin brother, also a doctor). The brothers then form an unusual and strangely close relationship with the woman who was driving the car, now an amputee. Meanwhile, they organize elaborate studies on the decomposition of animals. It`s all very beautiful to look at and makes a great companion piece to Cronenberg`s `Dead Ringers`.NR"
Director: Peter Greenaway
ACTORS: Andrea Ferreol, Brian Deacon, Eric Deacon, Frances Barber, Joss Ackland
Timeline (VHS)
The archaeological excavation at La Roque Castle in Castelgard, France, appears to be like any other dig. At least it does until archaeology student Kate (Frances O`Connor) and assistant professor Andre Marek (Gerard Butler) discover a note dated 1357 from their boss, Professor Edward Johnston (Billy Connolly), in a chamber that has been sealed since the mid-14th century. Knowing that Johnston is visiting the dig`s main funder--cutting-edge computer company ITC--Kate and Marek head for corporate headquarters along with Johnston`s son Chris (Paul Walker) and team members Stern (Ethan Embry) and Francois (Rossif Sutherland). To their astonishment, the team finds that ITC inadvertently discovered a wormhole leading to Castelgard circa 1357, that they have the ability to transport 3D objects through the hole, and that Johnston is trapped there with the team being his only hope for rescue. But is ITC telling them the whole truth? And can the team journey back in time and return to the 21st century with the professor without changing the course of history? Only time will tell. TIMELIME is directed by Richard Donner (LADYHAWKE, the LETHAL WEAPON series) and also features Anna Friel, Neal McDonough, David Thewlis, and Lambert Wilson.PG-13"
Director: Richard Donner
ACTORS: Paul Walker, Frances O`Connor, Gerard Butler, Billy Connolly, Ethan Embry
Tadpole (DVD)
Fifteen-year-old Chauncey Prep student Oscar Grubman (Aaron Stanford) feels that girls his own age haven`t lived enough, which is why he`s coming home to Manhattan`s Upper East Side for Thanksgiving to profess his love to his stepmother, Eve (Sigourney Weaver)--whose marriage to his professor father (John Ritter) has become routine and uninspiring. Unable to find the right moment to express himself, Oscar slips out to a bar after dinner and finds himself drunk and missing his wallet. Walking home, he bumps into Eve`s best friend, Diane (Bebe Neuwirth), a sexy chiropractor who offers to take him home to detox. A backrub leads to a kiss, which results in Oscar and Diane spending the night together. Oscar, feeling he has betrayed his true love, must now prevent Diane--who laughs at the whole situation--from telling Eve what has happened between them.
TADPOLE`s sophisticated script by Heather McGowan and Niels Mueller plays like Woody Allen minus the neuroticism, taking a potentially exploitative situation and handling it with with intelligence and great wit. Stanford (who was 23 at the time of filming) gives a restrained comic performance as the Voltaire-quoting youth, holding his own with veterans Weaver, Ritter, and Neuwirth--who practically holds the film together with her timing and sexuality. This scant (77 minutes), but charming production, shot on digital video, was a surprise hit at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.PG-13"
Director: Gary Winick
ACTORS: Sigourney Weaver, Aaron Stanford, Bebe Neuwirth, John Ritter, Robert Iler
My Louisiana Sky (DVD)
Newcomer Kelsey Keel stars in this touching drama as Tiger Ann Parker, a 12 year-old girl in 1950s Louisiana who lives with her mentally handicapped parents. Old enough now to realize the gravity of her parents` disability, Kelsey struggles to come to grips with these unsettling revelations. Fortunately, Kelsey is lent a helping hand by her grandmother and her lively Aunt Dorie (Lewis), who try to ease both Kelsey`s mind and her parents` burden. Directed by Adam Arkin, MY LOUISIANA SKY is a thought provoking and touching coming of age drama.NR"
ACTORS: Adam Arkin, Juliette Lewis, Kelsey Keel, Shirley Knight
