What’s New

What’s New

American Outlaws (2001). In yet another retelling of the legend of Jesse and Frank James and their cousins, the Younger brothers, the filmmakers do a solid job of showing how some Missouri farmers returned home in defeat after the Civil War only to face the loss of their farms to a ruthless railroad tycoon, transforming them into outlaw heroes. Colin Farrell and Scott Caan head a strong ensemble cast.

Warner: no list price; DVD: $24.95; (CC); PG-13, for western violence.

John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001). A surprisingly lackluster space adventure from the usually energetic Carpenter, set in 2176, when overpopulation on Earth has led to colonization of the Red Planet. With Natasha Henstridge, Jason Statham, Pam Grier, Clea Duvall and Joanna Cassidy.

Warner: no list price; DVD: $24.95; (CC); R, for strong violence/gore, language and some drug content.

Pearl Harbor (2001). An intelligent, briskly paced and action-filled summer blockbuster that views Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor as the beginning of America’s loss of innocence, a point of view that encompasses passion, valor, epic disaster and spectacular aerial warfare.

Walt Disney: $24.99; DVD: $29.99; director’s cut DVD: $39.99; gift box DVD: $49.99; (CC); PG-13, for sustained intense war sequences, images of wounded, brief sensuality and some language.

Summer Catch (2001). Freddie Prinze Jr. has his most complex role to date in this overly complicated and uneven film about a local boy who makes the Cape Cod League, giving him the chance to show off his pitching skills to pro scouts.

Warner: no list price; DVD: $19.98; (CC); PG-13, for sexual content, language and some drug content.

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What’s Hot

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS rentals:

1. Planet of the Apes (2001). The least surprising movie of the summer. It’s not only that after the original 1968 film, four sequels plus two television series, everyone who cares knows the underlying material; it’s also that the sensibility of director Tim Burton is equally well-known and twice as predictable. Outside of a hyper-energetic, irresistibly evil portrayal by Tim Roth as General Thade, the baddest ape in town, the sad truth about “Planet of the Apes” is that, disappointingly, it’s just not very much fun to watch. With Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Clarke Duncan.

PG-13, for some sequences of action/violence.

2. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). The film’s frenetic attempts to create a full-length feature film out of a slender, albeit beloved 1957 children’s book can be exhausting; however, the lively and amiable spirit of the endeavor converts our inner curmudgeon just as the spirit of Christmas overpowers that larcenous Grinch.

PG, for some crude humor.

3. America’s Sweethearts The film is well-cast and enormously engaging in its opening segments, but it’s unable to sustain that good feeling over the long haul. Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, Catherine Zeta-Jones and John Cusack star.

PG-13, for language and some crude and sexual humor.

4. Shrek (2001). A gleeful piece of wisenheimer computer animation, this new version of William Steig’s fractured fairy tale about an ogre who rescues a princess from captivity is all comic attitude, all the time. The movie especially benefits from superb voice talent, including Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow and Eddie Murphy. PG, for mild language and crude humor.

5. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001). It’s got perhaps the most popular of video games as source material and a sought-after star as its marquee attraction, but it lacks genuine thrills.PG-13, for action violence and some sensuality.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD rentals:

1. Planet of the Apes

2. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas

3. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

4. America’s Sweethearts

5. Swordfish (2001). A dirty fairy tale of cyber-terrorism in which nasty people inhabit a trash-talking world of fast cars, complaisant women and major explosions, with John Travolta, Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman. R, for violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS sellers:

1. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2. Shrek

3. Mary-Kate and Ashley Holiday in the Sun

4. Mickey’s Magical Christmas

5. Barbie in the Nutcracker

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD sellers:

1. Planet of the Apes

2. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (wide screen).

3. Shrek

4. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

5. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (pan and scan).

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What’s Coming

Tuesday: “The Basket,” “Hedwig & the Angry Inch,” “Jurassic Park 3,” “Rush Hour 2,” “The Score.”

Dec. 18: “The Center of the World,” “Moulin Rouge,” “Princess Diaries,” “Scary Movie 2,” “Series 7.”

Dec. 26: “Dancing at the Blue Iguana,” “Evolution,” “Two Can Play That Game.”

Jan. 2: “Brother,” “The Fast and the Furious,” “The Glass House,” “Greenfingers,” “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?”

Jan. 8: “Jeepers Creepers,” “Wet Hot American Summer.”

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Rental video charts provided by VSDAVidTrac, sales charts by VideoScan Inc.