Movie Renter's Guide

Current Movies - # 85 - April, 2002

Staff

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Ratings:
Extraordinary
Good
Acceptable
Mediocre
Poor

 

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"Joy Ride", 20th Century Fox, 2001, Color, Presented at measured aspect ratio 2.35:1, DD, 1 Hr 36 min, Rated R; Paul Walker, Steve Zahn, Leelee Sobieski, Jessica Bowman, Stuart Stone, Brian Leckner; On the spur of the moment, Lewis Thomas (Walker) decides to take a shot at romance when he finds out that his close friend, Venna (Sobieski) has just broken up with her boyfriend. This means packing up his bags and heading out to Colorado alone to pick her up. Not even halfway into his trip, Lewis finds out from home that his brother, Fuller (Zahn), has been arrested in Salt Lake City, so he detours north to bail him out. With nowhere to go himself, Fuller decides to tag along, promising not to cause any more trouble. While Fuller�s intentions were legitimate, a seemingly harmless act of CB Radio fun lands an innocent target in the hospital and a deranged truck driver hot on the tails of these two pranksters. A brief encounter leaves the brothers feeling lucky to be alive and prompts them to put this whole matter behind them for good. However, after picking up Venna, they find the business with the slighted truck driver is just beginning. As entertaining as this movie is, it still had plot holes big enough to drive a Mac 10 truck through :). Additional features on the DVD include four alternate endings and some deleted scenes long enough to make the sequel. Steve Zahn gives a surprisingly funny performance, and Paul Walker is proving to be a very good actor. - JB -

Entertainment: ****
Video Quality: ****
Audio: *****
Photography: ****
Violence: yes
Sex: no
Language: the "F" and "S" words

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"Jeepers Creepers", MGM/UA, 2001, Color, Presented at measured aspect ratio 1.85:1, 1 Hr 30 min, Rated R; Gina Philips, Justin Long, Jonathan Breck, Patricia Belcher, Eileen Brennan, Brandon Smith; While on their way from college, brother and sister Trish (Philips) and Darry Jenner (Long) are looking for a way to pass the time of the long drive ahead. What better way to do so than tell frightening stories of road trips gone badly? Little did they know that the stories they told were more truth than fiction. In the middle of nowhere, but still on route to their hometown, Trish and Darry are run off the road by what appears to be an angry local who is mad at the world about something these two could care less about. However, this local had a much bigger plan in mind than when he first harassed these unsuspecting passersby. While well on their away from this incident, Darry is very suspicious of what he sees as they drive by the angry man�s residence. Against their better judgment, they decide to take a closer look, completely unaware of what they have just become a part of. To make matters worse, no one in the next little town will listen to what they have to tell. The simplicity of this film doesn�t engage you as much as it could, but still works to some degree. If you are looking for a recent mad-trucker type movie, then check out "Joy Ride", reviewed above, instead. - JB -

Entertainment: ***
Video Quality: ****
Audio: ****
Photography: ****
Violence: yes
Sex: no
Language: the "F" and "S" words

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"Bandits", MGM, 2001, Color, Presented at measured aspect ratio 2.35:1, DD, 2 Hr 3 min, Rated PG-13; Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett; Joe Blake (Willis) and Terry Collins (Thornton) escape from an Oregon prison where they were serving a sentence for robbery. Since they have no other skills, they decide to commit more robberies, but this time, with a twist. First, they scout the bank and find out who is the officer that opens it in the morning. Then, they go to his/her house and hold the officer hostage until the next morning when they, along with the officer, go to the bank and open up the vault. They are dubbed "The Sleepover Bandits". It works fine for awhile, and then they hijack a car, driven by a bored housewife, Kate Wheeler (Blanchett), who decides she likes the excitement of robberies and tags along. They want her to go home, but she becomes a member of the gang instead. It all becomes very complicated when both guys fall for her, and she won't make up her mind which one she wants. In one last robbery, they fight it out among themselves rather than paying attention to the robbery itself. The story is rather preposterous, but the actors are good, especially Blanchett, and it has its funny moments, if bank robbery can be made funny.  - JEJ -

Entertainment: ***
Video Quality: *****
Audio: ****
Photography: ***
Violence: yes
Sex: mild
Language: the "S" word

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� Copyright 2002 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
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