Susan Granger’s VIDEO UPDATE for week of Friday, July 14:
If you’ve ever responded to a telephone solicitation, be prepared for an eye-opener in “Boiler Room,” a disturbing cautionary tale about a stock scam that take you into the nefarious realm of Gen-Xers who want the adrenaline rush of easy money. Giovanni Ribisi and Ben Affleck star in this timely, high-wire drama about today’s mega fortune-hunters.
“Down to You” is a shallow teen saga of the trials and tribulations first love. Freddie Prinze Jr. plays a college student aiming for a career as a world-class chef, like his celebrated father, while Julia Stiles is a talented art student who steals his heart, murmuring “Cake is my world.”
For family viewing, I recommend “My Dog Skip,” based on Willie Morris’s wistful, warm, wise childhood memoir, narrated by Harry Connick Jr. Set in the Mississippi town of Yazoo in the ’40s during World War II, it’s the coming-of-age story of a scrawny, shy, awkward boy (Frankie Muniz of TV’s “Malcolm in the Middle”), learning about the world with his loyal, loving dog at his side.
There’s the 25th anniversary edition of “Jaws” on VHS and DVD. Steven Spielberg’s thriller has both fascinated and terrified audiences, introducing the predatory shark as a new cinematic icon while striking a primal chord with action adventure, terror and moments of hilarity.
PICKS OF THE WEEK: “The Hurricane” stars Oscar-nominee Denzel Washington as Ruben “Hurricane” Carter, whose dreams of winning the middleweight boxing title were destroyed when he was arrested for a triple murder in a New Jersey bar. And the Oscar-winner for Best Foreign Language Film, “All About My Mother,” is what Spanish director Pedro calls “a screwball drama,” a baroque, non-judgmental, witty and warm saga about what it means to be a woman