NEWLN: JACK E. WILKINSON United Press International
What's new on the home video scene ...NEWLN: NEWLN: MOVIES
'Sleeping With The Enemy' -- Julia Roberts is showcased in this romantic thriller about an abused wife fleeing her brutish husband. Laura Burney (Roberts) seems to have it all, living like a princess in a beautiful oceanfront home with a doting husband. But, there's horror in the household where husband Martin (Patrick Bergin), an obsessive, psychopathic lout, will hug her one minute, slug her the next. After taking the battering for three years, Laura fakes her own death and escapes to a small Iowa town where she meets a sensitive college professor (Kevin Anderson) and starts a new life. Or, tries to, as her worst fears become real when Martin discovers her trick and starts after her. The film is orchestrated for the captivating Roberts, who plays it well, and, while predictable, it has its gripping moments, almost Hitchcockian at times, with a hint of 'Fatal Attraction.' 1991. 99 minutes. Fox Video. Rated R. $92.98.NEWLN:
'Alice' -- Alice Tait (Mia Farrow) is the winsome centerpiece in Woody Allen's charmingly sentimental comic fantasy, a sheltered, self- indulgent, easily flustered Park Avenue wife, married to a smug, rich businessman (William Hurt), becoming confusingly disenchanted with her life. It seems Alice is no longer in wonderland. Boredom with everyday rituals of shopping, beauty parlors and the like lead to a suspicion that there's something more out there. This in turn leads to a series of sessions with a far-out oriental, Dr. Yang (Keye Luke), who arms her with an array of magic potions, and a sudden urge to have an extramartial affair with a saxophonist named Joe (Joe Mantegna). The splendid ensemble cast also includes Alec Baldwin, Cybill Shepherd, Bernadette Peters, Blythe Danner and Gwen Verdon. 1990. 106 minutes. Orion Home Video. Rated PG-13. No suggested retail price.NEWLN:
'Lionheart' -- Muscular, super-agile Jean-Claude Van Damme plays Lyon, a deserter from the Foreign Legion who gets involved in a brutal business while trying to help his brother's family. To earn money for his destitute relatives, Lyon tries his hand -- and feet -- as a bare- knucks, no-holds-barred street gladiator fighting for the amusement of some easily amused rich folks. The money's good, the risks great, as Lyon, now known as Lionheart, dispatches some real mean dudes until his benefactor ruthlessly pits him against a sadistic giant called Atilla. It's a humdinger of a match. Though predictable, it's generally an entertaining action film, the fights are well choreographed and Van Damme is impressive in his role as the lion-ized hero. 1990. 105 minutes. MCA-Universal Home Video. Rated R. No suggested retail price.NEWLN:
'My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys' -- An appealing, well-done modern Western about rodeo life and the prodigal son, about bucking bulls and bucking the odds, a Rocky with spurs. Injured bullrider H.D. Dalton (Scott Glenn) returns home to recover and finds things have changed considerably since he left years before. The old homestead is deserted, his sister Cheryl (Tess Harper) has put their father Jesse (Ben Johnson) into a nursing home and her wheeler-dealer husband (Gary Busey) wants to sell the place. Further, his childhood sweetheart Jolie (Kate Capshaw) is now a widow and suddenly available again. Never a man on speaking terms with responsibility, H.D. 'liberates' Jesse and takes him back home, over the bitter objections of his sister, vowing to take care of the irascible old man. To save the farm and his father, and maybe marry Jolie, H.D. sets his sights on the $100,000 prize in the upcoming Bullmania rodeo. All he has to do is ride the unridable Thunder Bolt. And, that's a lot of bull. 1991. 106 minutes. Media Entertainment. Rated PG. $92.98.NEWLN:
'Final Warning' -- In the early morning hours of April 26, 1986, a routine test at a plant in a small Russian town goes awry. The result: a nuclear disaster that will shake the world. In this tense, thought- provoking re-telling of the Chernobyl crisis, Jon Voight stars as American Dr. Robert Gale, who volunteers to help victims contaminated by the escaping radiation. Jason Robards portrays industrialist Armand Hammer whose contacts help Gale on his mission. 1990. 94 minutes. Turner Home Entertainment. Rated M. $79.98.NEWLN:
In the vintage corner ...
'My Friend Flicka' -- A winning, sentimental, beautifully photographed story of a boy and a rebellious horse. Then-child star Roddy McDowell has the lead in this 1943 hit now on home video. McDowell obviously got along well with animals. That same year, he starred in 'Lassie Come Home.' 89 minutes. Fox Video. $14.98.NEWLN: more
