Bovie Movie

The DVD of Goodfellas has got to be one of the very first DVDs ever released by Warner Brothers because they make a critical error in the release. While many films offer widescreen on one side and full screen on the other, this film offers only one version — a widescreen film broken into two sides. Viewers have to flip the DVD over to watch the second half of the film; 19 chapters are on side A and the last 15 chapters are on side B. Goodfellas is a classic film, and the DVD offers a great video transfer and excellent Dolby Digital 5:1 Surround, but no DVD fan will accept the two-sided format. In terms of extras, there are very few, limited only to theatrical trailers, production notes, and cast bios. For many, this Martin Scorsese classic is a must-have for any collection, but those who can wait for a future, corrected release of this film are better off watching the widescreen VHS tape. Language option in English and French and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Two men on the run from the mob end up negotiating more than their share of obstacles along the way in this comedy drama from director Harold Ramis. Vic Cavanaugh (Billy Bob Thornton) and Charlie Arglist (John Cusack) are a pair of friends who work for Bill Gerard (Randy Quaid), a mobster with his finger in a number of illegal businesses. Vic runs a pornography distribution outfit for Bill, while Charlie is a lawyer who keeps Bill and his partners out of jail, and between them, Vic and Charlie have stolen over two million dollars in cash from Bill. On Christmas Eve, Vic and Charlie plan to make off with their money and escape Bill’s clutches once and for all, but while Vic stays cool and collected, an increasingly nervous Charlie stops off at a topless bar to fortify his courage with a few drinks, and ends up causing a scene with Renata (Connie Nielsen), a dancer he’s long had his eye on. It doesn’t take long for word about Charlie to get back to Bill, who sends an enforcer out to track him down, but while Charlie tries to make tracks, he ends up having to look after his friend Pete (Oliver Platt), who is much more drunk than Charlie and even more inclined to make a nuisance of himself. The Ice Harvest was adapted from the novel by Scott Philips.

Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a rookie cop who witnesses a robbery in progress on her first night on the job. With her more experienced partner using the men’s room, Megan decides to take action on her own. She creeps into the supermarket where a man (Tom Sizemore in a small role) is holding the clerk at gunpoint. Megan gets close enough to shoot the gunman, and calls out for him to drop his weapon. He spins the gun toward her, and she unloads her service revolver into his chest. His gun goes flying, and a bystander, Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver), surreptitiously picks it up and takes it home. Megan’s superiors, unable to confirm that the man she shot was armed, suspend her. Eugene, a wealthy commodities broker, becomes obsessed with Megan. He sets up an “accidental” meeting between them and begins dating her, romancing her with fancy restaurants and helicopter rides over Manhattan. He also carves her name into the bullets he uses to gun down strangers in the street. A tough homicide detective, Nick Mann (Clancy Brown of The Shawshank Redemption), gets Megan’s gun and badge back so she can help him track down the psycho killer. Eventually, Megan realizes that Eugene is the killer, but he uses his money and influence to elude the law, and he starts coming after Megan’s friends and family. Megan’s determination to bring Eugene to justice quickly becomes a very personal obsession. This intense cop drama, Blue Steel, was director Kathryn Bigelow’s major studio follow-up to her well-received indie vampire flick, Near Dark. Bigelow co-wrote both films with Eric Red (The Hitcher).

Jennings (Michael Caine), a corrupt company owner will stop at nothing to open a new refinery in Alaska. Forrest Taft (Steven Seagal), a disgruntled former employee is chosen by an Eskimo chief as savior of his people. Forrest’s mission is to prevent the new refinery from beginning work before the land rights are returned to the Eskimos.

Lawrence Kasdan originally wrote his script for The Bodyguard in the late 1960s as a vehicle for Steve McQueen; by the time it reached the screen, Kasdan’s star was another movie hearthrob, Kevin Costner. When imperious musical superstar Whitney Houston begins receiving death threats, she is compelled to hire a bodyguard. Enter Costner, who immediately incurs the wrath of Houston and her entourage by imposing prison-like security measures. An ex-Secret Service agent, Costner still hasn’t purged himself of his guilt feelings over his inability to protect President Reagan from would-be assassin John Hinckley (in the original concept, the agent had been guarding JFK in Dallas, but Costner was too young to make this credible; besides, he and Oliver Stone had been there before). Gradually, and inevitably, Costner and Houston fall in love. Ralph Waite is cast as Costner’s father, while Robert Wuhl and Debbie Reynolds please the crowd in their cameo roles. The Bodyguard was a huge box-office success, helped along in no small part by Whitney Houston’s bestselling rendition of the old Dolly Parton hit “I Will Always Love You.”