What’s New

* Cotton Mary (2000). In Ismail Merchant’s masterful third feature as a director (after years of producing for director James Ivory), the focus is on two very different women who feel out of place in post-colonial India: an Anglo Indian woman (Madhur Jaffrey) whose hatred of her partial Indian ancestry and passion to identify with the British leads her to take over the household and identity of an ineffectual British woman (Greta Scacchi), who is too sensitive and intelligent to fit in with the remnants of raj society and is sorely neglected by her self-absorbed husband (James Wilby). Universal: no list price; DVD: $24.98; (CC); R, for a scene of sexuality.

Dinosaur (2000). This computer-animated tale of a brave orphaned iguanadon is a technical amazement that points computer-generated animation toward the brightest of futures but is also cartoonish in the worst way, the prisoner of pedestrian plot points and childish, too-cute dialogue. Walt Disney: $26.99; DVD: $29.99; (CC); PG, for intense images.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000). Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato’s documentary on the former Tammy Faye Bakker, once the first lady of Christian broadcasting, has no interest in being authoritative, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyed as a privileged look at one of the loopiest of late 20th century lives. Universal: no list price; DVD: $24.98; (CC); PG-13, for some sexual content.

* Goya in Bordeaux (2000). Carlos Saura’s superb, contemplative film, which finds the 82-year-old artist in exile, his mind wandering between memories and dreams as he recalls events of his tumultuous life, echoed in his art, which Saura brings alive in surreal fashion. Francisco Rabal is glorious as the aged Goya. Columbia TriStar: no list price; DVD: $29.95; (CC); R, for some sexuality and violent images.

Solomon and Gaenor (2000). Welsh film about star-crossed lovers back in 1911 when a young Jew (Ioan Gruffudd) passes himself off as a Gentile to a young woman (Nia Roberts) in a mining community about to go on strike. This extremely bleak and drawn-out tale might have been easier to take had its hero been more honest, responsible and realistic. In Welsh and Hebrew with English subtitles. R, for sexuality and a scene of violence.

What Lies Beneath (2000). A suspense thriller with a brisk succession of bump-in-the-dark moments shoehorned into an old-fashioned, dark-and-stormy-night ghost story. Spooky with a polished kind of creepiness added by director Robert Zemeckis, it nevertheless feels more planned than passionate, scary at points but unconvincing overall. Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer star. DreamWorks: no list price; DVD: $26.99; (CC); PG-13, for terror/violence, sensuality and brief language.

What’s Hot

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS rentals:

1. Me, Myself and Irene (2000). Jim Carrey has his moments as a Rhode Island state policeman whose two personalities are in love with Renee Zellweger, but this Farrelly brothers comedy lacks the warmth that made “There’s Something About Mary” such a hit. Strictly for the hard-core, gross-out crowd. R, for sexual content, crude humor, strong language and some violence.

2. “Coyote Ugly” It’s a bad movie--but it’s not one of those fiascoes that leaves you in a foul mood. A small-town innocent (Piper Perabo) moves to New York to follow her dream of becoming a songwriter in this combination of sentimental romance and carefully sanitized raunch. PG-13, for sensuality.

3. “Hollow Man” (2000). Despite a wealth of special effects and direction by Paul Verhoeven, Mr. Over-the-Top himself, this movie is surprisingly inert, more dull than anything else, with little to recommend it on any level. Kevin Bacon stars as a cocky, cerebral scientist who tests an invisibility serum on himself. With Elisabeth Shue. R, for strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.

4. “Autumn in New York” (2000). Richard Gere gives an unsparing, far-ranging performance as a middle-aged Manhattan playboy who, at long last, experiences genuine emotion and all it entails when he unexpectedly falls for a radiant woman (an exquisite Winona Ryder) young enough to be his daughter. This is a classic woman’s picture in the best Old Hollywood sense, daringly wearing its heart on its sleeve but made with uncommon honesty and intelligence. With Anthony LaPaglia and Elaine Stritch. (Thomas, Aug. 11) (1:43) PG, for language and some sensuality.

5. “Battlefield Earth” (2000). Sure, science fiction gets leeway, but “Battlefield Earth” doesn’t even make sense on its own terms. Compounded by a dated visual style, patched-together special effects and ludicrous dialogue, the film is a wholly miserable experience. At ground zero of this disaster sits John Travolta, producer and star. (Travolta is a longtime Scientologist, and the novel is based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s novel.) PG-13, for intense sci-fi action.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD rentals:

1. “Hollow Man”

2. “Coyote Ugly”

3. “The Cell” (2000). Psychologist Jennifer Lopez enters the mind of a twisted serial killer in hopes of helping his latest victim stay alive. A torture-chamber film about a man who torments women, it puts viewers through as much misery as the people on the screen. R, for bizarre violence and sexual images, nudity and language.

4. “Gone in 60 Seconds” (2000). Remake of H.B. “Toby” Halicki’s 1974 cult classic about a legendary car thief (Nicolas Cage) drawn out of retirement to save the life of his brother (Giovanni Ribisi), also a car thief. The movie, which co-stars Angelina Jolie, features some fine driving, but the problem is not what “Gone” does on the straightaways; it’s how it maneuvers through those hard-to-handle character curves. PG-13, for violence, sexuality and language.

5. “Scary Movie” (2000). Keenen Ivory Wayans, with help from brothers Shawn and Marlon, among others, sends up the “Scream” franchise and a slew of other horror pictures and skewers the cliches of teen pics with an envelope-pushing dose of raunchy humor. Thanks to Wayans’ all-crucial light touch, the result is frequently hilarious. Capable newcomer Anna Faris heads a lively ensemble cast. R, for crude sexual humor, language, drug use and violence.

Last week’s Top 5 VHS sellers:

1. “Shirley Temple Gift Set”

2. “The Road to El Dorado” (2000). Animated tale about two feckless guys looking to get rich quick, who stow away on Cortes’ ship bound for the New World and actually stumble onto that fabled lost city of gold, where their adventures leave them with less materialistic values. PG, for mild thematic material and language.

3. “The Green Mile” (collector’s edition) (1999). Not even the excellent, elevating acting of Tom Hanks as the head guard on death row and some pleasing supernatural moments can make up for a film that moves with the suffocating deliberateness of a river of molasses. Written and directed by Frank Darabont from Stephen King’s serial novel. R, for violence, language and some sex-related material.

4. “Chicken Run” (2000). Nick Park, British master of clay animation and three-time Oscar winner, and co-director Peter Lord have put chickens front and center with this gleeful parody of prison and escape movies. G.

5. “Tae-Bo Workout.” Exercise tape with Billy Blanks combining taekwondo, boxing and music.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD sellers:

1. “Hollow Man”

2. “Gladiator” (2000). Director Ridley Scott’s latest is a supremely atmospheric film that shrewdly mixes traditional Roman movie elements with the latest computer-generated wonders. Russell Crowe is commanding as the heroic gladiator Maximus, but the movie--too long at 2 1/2 hours--is not as nimble outside the arena as inside. With Joaquin Phoenix as the ruthless young emperor Commodus, Richard Harris as Marcus Aurelius, Connie Nielson as Commodus’ shrewd sister Lucilla, Djimon Hounsou as the gladiator Juba, and in his last screen role, Oliver Reed as a former gladiator named Proximo. R, for intense graphic combat.

3. “Gone in 60 Seconds”

4. “Scary Movie”

5. “Road Trip” (unrated version) (2000). Uproarious college gross-out comedy from newcomers writer-director Todd Phillips and co-writer Scot Armstrong. Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, Amy Smart, Paulo Costanzo, DJ Qualls and Tom Green head a smart ensemble cast. Unrated version.

What’s Coming

Tuesday: “Digimon: The Movie,” “Dr. T & the Women,” “Urban Legend: Final Cut” and “Whipped.”

Feb. 13: “The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle,” “Bless the Child,” “Bring It On,” “Get Carter,” “Sunset Strip” and “Woman on Top.”

Feb. 20: “Beautiful,” “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2,” “The Original Kings of Comedy,” “The Watcher” and “Wonderland.”

Feb. 27: “Bedazzled,” “The Fantasticks,” “Humanite,” “Lost Souls,” “Nurse Betty” and “The Tic Code.”

March 6: “The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy,” “The Contender,” “The Little Vampire” and “Rear Window.”

March 13: “Almost Famous,” “The Crew,” “The Legend of Drunken Master,” “The Sixth Day,” “Urbania” and “Wonder Boys.”

March 20: “Dancer in the Dark,” “Lucky Numbers,” “Remember the Titans,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “The Tao of Steve” and “Turn It Up.”

March 27: “Charlie’s Angels,” “Girlfight,” “Red Planet” and “Once in the Life.”

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Commentary by Times critics.

Rental video charts provided by VSDA

VidTrac, sales charts by VideoScan Inc.