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L.A. Times Archives

May 31, 2001 12 AM PT

* The House of Mirth (2000). England’s Terence Davies has done a splendid job of bringing the classic Edith Wharton novel to the screen, and Gillian Anderson gives one of the year’s finest performances as an aristocratic young woman whose nobility of spirit and meager means place her at great risk as she navigates high society in 1905 New York. With Eric Stoltz, Dan Aykroyd, Anthony LaPaglia, Laura Linney and Elizabeth McGovern. Columbia: no list price; DVD: $29.95; (CC); PG for thematic material.

Shadow of the Vampire (2000). Willem Dafoe gives one of the best performances of his career as a genuine vampire recruited by director F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) to star in his 1922 silent “Nosferatu.” The film is only adequate, but Dafoe is irresistible as the petulant and frightening thousand-year-old Peck’s Bad Boy of a vampire. Universal: no list price; DVD: $24.98; (CC); R, for some sexuality, drug content, violence and language.

Traffic (2000). Director Steven Soderbergh has once again opted for a change of pace. As written by Stephen Gaghan (based on a British TV miniseries), the film effortlessly intertwines several complex stories across two countries and several cities without ever dropping a stitch. Some of its narrative threads are noticeably less compelling than others, and its people have a tendency to sound a lot like standard brands. It feels like the filmmakers are tiptoeing around the implications of their good work. The film’s best performance is by Academy Award-winner Benicio Del Toro as a Mexican state policeman. With Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones. USA: no list price; DVD: $26.98; (CC); (Turan, Dec. 27) (2:27) R, for pervasive drug content, strong language, violence and some sexuality.

Two Family House (2000). Raymond De Felitta’s poignant take on a sensitive Italian American (Michael Rispoli) with thwarted dreams and the young Irish immigrant (Kelly Macdonald) who unexpectedly alters the course of his life is a film of rare delicacy; funny, sad, but ultimately affirmative. With Katherine Narducci as Rispoli’s narrow, killjoy wife. Universal: no list price; DVD: $24.98; (CC); (Thomas, Oct. 6) (1:48) R, for language and brief sexuality.

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 Rob Brown. PG-13, for brief strong language and some sexual references.

4. Pay It Forward (2000). Strong acting by Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and the remarkable Haley Joel Osment and restrained writing and direction (from Leslie Dixon and Mimi Leder) win us over, much against our better judgment, to this sentimental fantasy about the difficulty and the rewards of doing good in an uncaring world. PG-13, for mature thematic elements, including substance abuse-recovery, some sexual situations, language and brief violence.

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 Congeniality

3. AntiTrust (2001). This sleek suspense thriller set in the world of computers casts Tim Robbins in a malevolent parody of Microsoft’s Bill Gates but plays out in such sober conventional fashion that it is no more disturbing than a James Bond adventure. What might have been a satire as dark and outrageous as “Dr. Strangelove” ends up a not-bad diversion. Ryan Phillippe is the stalwart hero; with Claire Forlani and Rachael Leigh Cook. PG-13, for some violence and brief language.

4. Pay It Forward

5. Men of Honor

* Last week’s Top 5 VHS sellers:

1. 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.

2. Miss Congeniality

3. DBZ: Tournament, Jr. Division (edited)

4. DBZ: Tournament, Jr. Division (edited)

5. DBZ: Crash (edited)

* Last week’s Top 5 DVD sellers:

1. What Women Want

2. Miss Congeniality

3. The Emperor’s New Groove

4. Pay It Forward

5. The Mummy Ultimate Collection (1999). Energetically written and directed by Stephen Sommers, this silly and cartoonish remake of the 1932 horror classic is crammed with such familiar genre elements as secret brotherhoods and savage hordes on horseback, ancient booby traps and characters who exclaim, with as much of a straight face as they can manage, “Beware of the curse!” and “What have we done?” Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and Arnold Vosloo star. PG-13 for pervasive adventure violence and partial nudity.

What’s Coming

Tuesday: “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

June 12: “Cast Away,” “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” “Venus Beauty Institute.”

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.”

July 3: “The Body,” “Dracula 2000,” “Head Over Heels,” ’Snatch,” “The Wedding Planner.”

July 10: “Malena,” “Monkeybone,” “Thirteen Days.”

July 17: “The Caveman’s Valentine,” “Double Take,” “The Family Man,” “In the Mood for Love,” “Saving Silverman,” “Sugar & Spice.”

July 24: “Pollock,” “Sweet November,” “Valentine.”

July 31: “The Brothers,” “The Trumpet of the Swan.”

Aug. 7: “Chocolat,” “Recess: School’s Out.”

Rental video charts provided by VSDA