What’s New

All the Pretty Horses (2000). Billy Bob Thornton’s respectful version of the Cormac McCarthy novel stars a well-cast Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz, and even with the benefit of a careful Ted Talley adaptation that leans heavily on the dialogue of the book, this film inevitably has to do without the glow the original language provides. Columbia: no list price; DVD: $24.95; (CC); PG-13 for violence and some sexuality.

The Emperor’s New Groove (2000). A lighthearted animated adventure-morality tale ideal for youngsters yet conceived with a wit and sophistication that will be appreciated by their parents. This story of how a spoiled, petulant Incan ruler (voice of David Spade) who gets turned into a llama features the also splendidly cast voices of John Goodman, Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton. Walt Disney: $26.99; DVD: $29.99, special edition: $39.99; (CC); G.

Miss Congeniality (2000). Sandra Bullock plays a drab, dedicated FBI agent who undergoes a make-over by suave expert Michael Caine so that she can go undercover as Miss New Jersey in a beauty pageant menaced by a terrorist threat. Brash and broadly humorous, the film fits Bullock like a one-piece bathing suit, as it should, since she also produced. With Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen and William Shatner. Warner: $22.98; DVD: $26.98; (CC); PG-13, for sexual references and a scene of violence.

What’s Hot

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS rentals:

1. Space Cowboys (2000). The story of a quartet of “Leisure World aviators” who want to prove they won’t be old and in the way in outer space, this is a mostly genial film that gets as much mileage as it can out of the undeniable charisma of its stars: Clint Eastwood (who also directed), Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner. PG-13, for some language.

2. Men of Honor (2000). The life of Carl Brashear, the first African American Navy diver, has been turned into socially critical pop mythology at its most potent. You may be left wondering what Brashear’s real life was really like, but this is nonetheless a rousing cheer-the-superhero, hiss-the-supervillain entertainment, with Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Brashear pitted against Robert De Niro, a fictionalized composite of all the racists Brashear endured along the way. R, for language.

3. Charlie’s Angels (2000). This reworking of the 1970s TV series is a potato chip of a movie. Tasty and lightweight, it’s fine for a cinematic snack, but making it an entire meal really isn’t advisable. Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Bill Murray star. Directed by McG. PG-13, for action violence, innuendoes and some sensuality.

4. Meet the Parents (2000). Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro star as prospective in-laws in one of the most fun mainstream comedies in years, a film that gets its laughs from shrewd casting, well-timed line readings and gags that are worked out to a remarkable degree. PG-13, for sexual content, drug references and language.

5. Bounce (2000). A failed romantic weepy, starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, about a coldhearted advertising guy working through tragedy to learn the meaning of life. The two stars exhibit little chemistry playing two people brought together by a plane crash that only one of them knows is a factor in their relationship. To be fair, they’re straitjacketed by the standard, cliched nature of a script by director Don Roos. PG-13, for some language and sensuality.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD rentals:

1. Men of Honor

2. Space Cowboys

3. Charlie’s Angels

4. Bounce

5. The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). A highly polished, genteel fantasy about the game of golf and its relation to, yes, the game of life, this Robert Redford-directed film is so earnest in its storytelling that it negates a charismatic performance by Will Smith and ends up physically and spiritually airbrushed. PG-13, for some sexual content.

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS sellers:

1. 102 Dalmatians (2000). Die-hard fans of “101 Dalmatians” may be pleased by this sequel, with Glenn Close’s ferocious Cruella De Vil up to her old tricks, eager as ever, despite temporary reform, to create a cloak made of the skins of Dalmatian puppies. Gerard Depardieu is her aide-de-camp (in all senses of the word). There are some scenes of violence that strain its G rating. G.

2. Rugrats in Paris--The Movie (2000). This sequel to the 1998 hit feels like a half-hour TV show inflated into a feature film. For all the machinations and theme park attractions, the plot doesn’t cover much ground. All is nearly forgiven, however, for the short but memorable scene of Sumo wrestlers singing a karaoke version of “Bad Girls.” G. Times guidelines: Lots of potty humor. Young child deals with mother’s death.

3. Gladiator (2000). Director Ridley Scott’s Oscar winner 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, Richard Harris, Connie Nielson, Djimon Hounsou and, in his last screen role, Oliver Reed. R, for intense graphic combat.

4. Remember the Titans (2000). Producer Jerry Bruckheimer in a serious mood is still Jerry Bruckheimer. An earnest look, based on a true story, at how two football coaches--one black, one white--brought racial harmony to a divided community, told with his usual energy, shrewdness and ability to reduce things to the simplest terms. PG, for thematic elements and some language.

5. Big Momma’s House (2000). If you think Martin Lawrence dressed up as a hefty grandmother is funny, off to the cineplex with you. But the whole project works so hard at creating funny situations that Lawrence gets no chance to be funny as himself. PG-13, for crude humor, including sexual innuendo, and for language and some violence.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD sellers:

1. Space Cowboys

2. Men of Honor

3. Billy Elliot (2000). Jamie Bell is a natural as a young British lad from a strike-bound mining town who’s determined against obvious odds to become a ballet dancer, but the film’s determination to overdo sure-fire material makes it impossible to wholeheartedly embrace. R, for language.

4. Charlie’s Angels

5. Remember the Titans

What’s Coming

Tuesday: “The Ballad of Ramblin’ Jack,” “Boesman and Lena,” “Duets,” “Quills,” “Sunshine,” “What Women Want,” “Yi Yi.”

May 15: “AntiTrust,” “Best in Show,” “Pay It Forward.”

May 22: “Before Night Falls,” “Dungeons & Dragons,” “Requiem for a Dream,” “Vertical Limit.”

May 29: “The House of Mirth,” “Shadow of the Vampire,” “Traffic,” “Two Family House.”

June 6: “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

June 12: “Cast Away,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

June 19: “The Pledge,” “Proof of Life,” “Save the Last Dance,” “State and Main.”

June 26: “The Claim,” “Dude, Where’s My Car?,” “Unbreakable,” “You Can Count on Me.”

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Rental video charts provided by VSDA

VidTrac, sales charts by VideoScan Inc.