What’s New

Before Night Falls (2000). Anchored by a charismatic and accessible performance by Javier Bardem as star-crossed Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, this florid examination of an artist’s coming of age, of cultures in collusion and conflict, is difficult to resist. Directed by Julian Schnabel. New Line Line/Warner: no list price; DVD: $24.98; (CC); R for strong sexual content, some language and brief violence.

Dungeons & Dragons (2000). Strictly for the obsessed. The movie version of the celebrated/notorious role-playing game is high on sorcery and noise, low on coherence. Plenty of bad acting, though. New Line/Warner: no list price; DVD: $24.98; (CC); PG-13, for fantasy action violence.

Requiem for a Dream (2000). Darren Aronofsky, who made a virtuoso debut with “Pi,” returns with a film from the Hubert Selby Jr. novel that is as bleak as it is beautiful, a fable about how a mother (Ellen Burstyn), her son (Jared Leto), his lover (Jennifer Connelly) and his best friend (Marlon Wayans) are betrayed by their longings in moments of self-deceptive euphoria. Artisan: no list price; DVD: $24.98; (CC); Unrated. Extreme depiction of the effects of dangerous diet pills and drugs; some language, sex, violence.

Vertical Limit (2000). Nail-biting sequences of mountaintop peril characterize this old-fashioned tale of high-altitude derring-do,though the plot and the dialogue are strictly by the numbers. Directed by Martin Campbell. Chris O’Donnell, Bill Paxton and Robin Tunney star. Columbia/Tristar: no list price; DVD: $27.96; (CC) PG-13, for intense life/death situations and brief strong language.

What’s Hot

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS rentals:

1. What Women Want (2000). A vaguely amusing formulaic comedy with a premise--chauvinist male gets the ability to hear what women are thinking--that is more discomforting than endearing. You have to be a Mel Gibson-aholic to fully enjoy the proceedings. Helen Hunt co-stars. Directed by Nancy Meyers. PG-13 for sexual content and language.

2. Miss Congeniality (2000). Sandra Bullock plays a drab, dedicated FBI agent who undergoes a make-over by suave expert Michael Caine to go undercover as Miss New Jersey in a beauty pageant menaced by a terrorist threat. With Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen and William Shatner. PG-13, for sexual references and a scene of violence.

3. Finding Forrester (2000). “Good Will Hunting” in the Bronx. A well-oiled piece of Hollywood machinery, tolerably entertaining until it piles on the contrivances at the close. Sean Connery is the film’s star, but his I’m-crankier-than-you-are performance feels like a reprise of greatest hits. More affecting is the debut work done by a 16-year-old actor named Rob Brown. PG-13, for brief strong language and some sexual references.

4. 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, Patrick Warburton and Wendie Malick. G.

5. 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. Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Brashear is pitted against Robert De Niro, a fictionalized composite of all the racists Brashear endured. R, for language.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD rentals:

1. What Women Want

2. Miss Congenialty

3. Men of Honor

4. Finding Forrester

5. Little Nicky (2000). The kindest thing that can be said about this vanity project from Adam Sandler is that it’s unapologetically juvenile. A deeply unfunny comedy about a family feud between the devil’s three sons, it’s not a dangerous movie, just a stupid one. PG-13 for crude sexual humor, some drug content, language and thematic material.

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS sellers:

1. The Emperor’s New Groove

2. Miss Congeniality

3. M:I-2 (2000). Hong Kong action-meister John Woo brings his marvelous visual sense and showy flair to this follow-up to the 1996 blockbuster. Tom Cruise, looking a bit shaggier but still appropriately steely eyed in this new incarnation of special agent Ethan Hunt, is one of “M:I-2’s” strongest weapons. With Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton and Ving Rhames. PG-13, for intense sequences of violent action and some sensuality.

4. 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. There are some scenes of violence that strain its G rating. G.

5. 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 and Richard Harris. R, for intense graphic combat.

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD sellers:

1. What Women Want

2. Miss Congenialty

3. The Emperor’s New Groove

4. The Mummy Ultimate Collection (1999). PG-13 for pervasive adventure violence and partial nudity.

5. The Magnificent Seven (1960). A Mexican town, suffering yearly raids by local bandits, hires mercenaries for a bloody defensive stand. A rousing Western with one of the cinema’s most instantly recognizable scores. With Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson and Eli Wallach, who, as the bandit chief, gives a great, roaring over-the-top performance.

Rental video charts provided by VSDA

VidTrac, sales charts by VideoScan Inc.