VIDEO NEWS

What’s New

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. MGM: no list price; DVD: $26.98; (CC); PG, for language and some sensuality.

Crime + Punishment in Suburbia (2000). It doesn’t add up to much: A stolid daughter (Monica Keena) and her sullen mother (Ellen Barkin) stuck in a tastelessly luxurious tract house with the mother’s awful husband (Michael Ironside), plus other complications, leads to bloodshed and, of all things, redemption. But these people aren’t worth bothering about in the first place. With Vincent Kartheiser, James DeBello and Jeffrey Wright. MGM: no list price; DVD: $24.98; (CC); R for brutal violence, strong sexuality, language and substance abuse.

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. Columbia: no list price; DVD: $24.95; (CC); R, for strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.

Under Suspicion (2000). Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman draw upon their considerable experience and enduring presence to involve us in this thought-provoking, police-interrogation drama in which Freeman’s implacable cop is determined to get Hackman’s rich tax attorney to confess to raping and strangling two girls barely into their teens. A solid rather than inspired reworking of the 1981 “Garde a vue,” with Lino Venture and Michel Serrault. Columbia: no list price; DVD: $24.95; (CC); R, for sexual content and language.

The Way of the Gun (2000). Great title, less movie. Two professional wastrels kidnap a surrogate mother, whose womb turns out to be married to the mob. Vicious and pretentious without much payoff. With Benicio Del Toro, Ryan Phillippe, James Caan, Juliette Lewis, Taye Diggs, Nicky Katt, Scott Wilson. Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Artisan: no list price; DVD: $24.98; (CC); R, for strong violence/gore, language and some sexuality.

What’s Hot

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS rentals:

1. “Scary Movie” (2000). Keenen Ivory Wayans, with help from his brothers Shawn and Marlon, among many 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 strong crude sexual humor, language, drug use and violence.

2. “Road Trip” (2000). Uproarious college gross-out comedy from newcomers writer-director Todd Phillips and co-writer Scot Armstrong that finds a bunch of Ithaca College students hitting the road to Austin to intercept a compromising videotape inadvertently sent to the girlfriend of one of the guys. Breckin Meyer, Seann William Scott, Amy Smart, Paulo Costanzo, DJ Qualls and Tom Green head a smart ensemble cast. R for strong sexual content, crude humor, language and drug use.

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 tortures women that 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) who is 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. “Gladiator” (2000). Director Ridley Scott’s latest is a supremely atmospheric film that shrewdly mixes traditional Roman movie elements--like senators in carefully pressed togas and fighters who say, “We who are about to die salute you”--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.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD rentals:

1. “The Cell”

2. “Scary Movie”

3. “Gone in 60 Seconds”

4. “Shaft” (2000). Director and co-writer John Singleton’s updated take on the 1970s detective who was “Hotter Than Bond, Cooler Than Bullitt” benefits greatly from a galvanic performance by Samuel L. Jackson in the title role. Otherwise this is standard-issue, cops-and-crooks fare, not particularly interesting or involving. With Vanessa L. Williams, Christian Bale and Toni Collette. R, for strong violence and language.

5. “Road Trip”

Last week’s Top 5 VHS sellers:

1. “Chicken Run” (2000). Nick Park, British master of clay animation and three-time Oscar-winning creator of “Wallace and Gromit,” and co-director Peter Lord have put chickens front and center with this gleeful parody of prison and escape movies. A delightful pageant of chicken romance, chicken rescue and chicken intrigue that never loses its priceless stamp of individuality. G.

2. “Toy Story 2” (1999). Lively and good-humored with a great sense of fun, it picks up where its predecessor left off. Even if the existential despair of toys never previously interested you, the gang at Pixar makes it all irresistibly comic as well as surprisingly emotional. With the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack. G.

3. “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.

4. “X-Men” (2000). A solid summer entertainment with “The Usual Suspects’ ” Bryan Singer directing British heavyweights Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. It doesn’t take your breath away, but it’s an accomplished piece of work that has considerable pulp watchability and a self-referential sense of humor. PG-13, for sci-fi action violence.

5. “Nutty Professor II: The Klumps” (2000). The further adventures of the poundage-challenged Professor Sherman Klump is all Eddie Murphy, all the time--he plays eight roles--but the film’s decision to compete in Hollywood’s trendy Gross-Out Derby means this sequel is a lot less funny than it sounds.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD sellers:

1. “Gladiator”

2. “Scary Movie”

3. “Gone in 60 Seconds”

4. “The Patriot” (2000). An epic look at America’s war for independence that is more serious and skillful than might be expected from the team that gave the world “Independence Day.” But the benefits of star Mel Gibson’s charisma aside, its attempt to blend a broad canvas with an intimate family story is not completely successful. R, for strong war violence.

5. “The Cell”

What’s Coming

Tuesday: “Antigone: Rites of Passion,” “Claire Dolan,” “Me, Myself & Irene,” “The Sorrow and the Pity” and “Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol.”

Jan. 16: “Battlefield Earth,” “Coyote Ugly” and “Disney’s The Kid.”

Jan. 23: “An Affair of Love,” “Bait,” “Cecil B. Demented,” “The Five Senses,” “Steal This Movie” and “MVP: Most Valuable Primate.”

Jan. 30: “Dinosaur,” “Goya in Bordeaux” and “What Lies Beneath.”

Feb. 6: “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” and “Woman on Top.”

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

Feb. 27: “Lost Souls” and “The Fantasticks.”

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

March 27: “Once in the Life.”

Commentary by Times critics.

Rental video charts provided by VSDA

VidTrac, sales charts by VideoScan Inc.