What’s New

Battlefield Earth (2000). Sure, science fiction gets leeway, but “Battlefield Earth” doesn’t even make sense on its own terms. A dated visual style, patched-together special effects and ludicrous dialogue combine in a film that is a wholly miserable experience. At ground zero of this disaster sits John Travolta, producer and star. Warner: no list price; DVD: $19.99; (CC); PG-13 for intense sci-fi action.

Coyote Ugly (2000). It’s a bad movie, but 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 combo of sentimental romance and carefully sanitized raunch. Touchstone: no list price; DVD: $29.99; (CC); PG-13, for sensuality.

What’s Hot

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS rentals:

1. “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.

2. “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. PG, for language and some sensuality.

3. “Scary Movie” (2000). Keenen Ivory Wayans, with help from brothers Shawn and Marlon, among others, sends up the “Scream” franchise and 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. R, for crude sexual humor, language, drug use and violence.

4. “Art of War” (2000). Wesley Snipes is excellent as always as a U.N. covert-operations type, but this B-grade picture, alternating acceptable action sequences with unconvincing plotting and characterization, makes one wonder why an actor this gifted chooses material this indifferent. R, for strong violence, some sexuality, language and brief drug content.

5. “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.

Last week’s Top 5 DVD rentals:

1. “Hollow Man”

2. “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.

3. “Gone in 60 Seconds”

4. “Scary Movie”

5. “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. R, for strong violence and language.

Last week’s Top 5 VHS sellers

1. “Shirley Temple Box Set.” Includes “Heidi,” “Curly Top” and “Baby Take a Bow.”

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. “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.

4. “X-Men” (2000). A solid summer entertainment with “The Usual Suspects’ ” Bryan Singer directing 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, 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. “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. R, for intense graphic combat.

3. “Gone in 60 Seconds”

4. “Scary Movie”

5. “Road Trip” (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: “An Affair of Love,” “Bait,” “Cecil B. Demented,” “Disney’s The Kid,” “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,” “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,” “Lost Souls” and “The Tic Code.”

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

March 13: “Almost Famous,” “The Sixth Day” and “Turn It Up.”

March 20: “The Tao of Steve.”

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Commentary by Times critics.

Rental video charts provided by VSDA

VidTrac, sales charts by VideoScan Inc.