DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor Cinderella season for Sox added heat to `Fever Pitch' After the Boston Red Sox's David Ortiz David Ortiz (born November 18, 1975 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball designated hitter who has played for the Boston Red Sox since 2003. Previously, Ortiz played for the Minnesota Twins (1997-2002). had beaten the Angels again with a home run the night before, the idea of talking to Noun 1. talking to - a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to" lecture, speech rebuke, reprehension, reprimand, reproof, reproval - an act or expression of criticism and censure; "he had to Bobby Farrelly, a lifelong Red Sox fan, was not appealing. Well, he didn't gloat. In fact, Farrelly, who along with his brother, Peter, directed the charming romantic comedy ``Fever Pitch fever pitch n. A state of extreme agitation or excitement. fever pitch Noun a state of intense excitement Noun 1. ,'' was gracious. And why not? Starring Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon, ``Fever Pitch'' was pure serendipity serendipity happy finding of an unexpected object or solution while searching for something else. . Based on Nick Hornby's novel about an English soccer fanatic who meets the girl of his dreams, ``Fever'' was Americanized by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who made Fallon's Ben a lifelong Sox fan - which meant, as everyone knew at the time of filming, a life of despair. After all, the Sox hadn't won a World Series in 86 years. But lo and behold, last year the Sox, the wild card team, beat the Angels in the first round of the playoffs (with the help of an Ortiz home run), made the greatest comeback in playoff history by beating the hated Yankees to win the American League pennant, and then ran over the Cardinals to take the World Series. Farrelly says that he couldn't believe that the Red Sox let them film around the stadium in September during the playoff race because ``it really could have backfired on them because if, for any reason, they went into a slump and started losing, the newspapers would have killed them.'' But the Sox's winning also forced adjustments in the ``love triangle of a guy and a girl and a guy's love for the sport.'' Farrelly says that there had been talk of letting the Sox win in the end, but being a lifelong fan, he thought it was ``fake.'' Still, the Farrellys had the time of their lives making the movie. ``It was guerrilla filmmaking. We didn't know what was going to happen.'' The filmmaking brothers, known for raunchier fare like ``There's Something About Mary,'' had to lobby to make ``Fever Pitch,'' but except for one joke for their hard-core fans, the pair stayed true to the story and were ``good boys.'' The Farrellys' next film will also be a romantic comedy, the remake of ``The Heartbreak Kid,'' which will be in the ``Mary'' mode. ``We felt that people are ready to go back to a little more aggressive comedy, and this summer you look at ``Wedding Crashers'' and ``The 40-Year-Old Virgin,'' and they push the envelope - and it really worked,'' says Farrelly. And while ``Fever Pitch'' wasn't a typical Farrelly movie, making it was enough of a thrill - and no, Farrelly says, laughing, they did not get season tickets despite bringing the Sox luck. ``Fever Pitch'' (Fox; $29.98) `Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' `Palindromes' ``The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,'' the long-awaited big-screen adaptation of Douglas Adams' beloved offbeat off·beat n. Music An unaccented beat in a measure. adj. Slang Not conforming to an ordinary type or pattern; unconventional: offbeat humor. sci-fi novel and radio drama, suffers a bit in comparison to the originals, but it's still filled with enjoyable moments. It's the story of an English milquetoast milque·toast n. One who has a meek, timid, unassertive nature. [After Caspar Milquetoast, a comic-strip character created by Harold Tucker Webster (1885-1952). type named Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman, the lovesick love·sick adj. 1. So deeply affected by love as to be unable to act normally. 2. Exhibiting a lover's yearning. love salesman from the original British TV series ``The Office''), who is saved from death by his friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def), who is really an alien and helps him hitch a ride on a passing Vogon spaceship. Dent needed to be saved because the Vogons, with their nasty dispositions, obliterate o·blit·er·ate v. 1. To remove an organ or another body part completely, as by surgery, disease, or radiation. 2. To blot out, especially through filling of a natural space by fibrosis or inflammation. the Earth to make way for for an interstellar in·ter·stel·lar adj. Between or among the stars: interstellar gases. interstellar Adjective between or among stars Adj. 1. bypass. That is only the beginning. ``Hitchhiker'' is pure lunacy lunacy: see insanity. , of course, but often inspired and funny. The are a number of freaky freak·y adj. freak·i·er, freak·i·est 1. Strange or unusual; freakish. 2. Slang Frightening. freak and fun special effects and weird Jim Henson puppets. Plus, there's Trillian (another Earth survivor played by queen of deadpan Zooey Deschanel); the president of the galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox (a zany Sam Rockwell, a cross between Elvis and ``W''); a really weird turn by John Malkovich; and Marvin, the depressed robot perfectly voiced by Alan Rickman - so what's not to like? Todd Solondz's ``Palindromes'' continues the filmmaker's exploration into the more grotesque aspects of middle-class life as he did in ``Welcome to the Dollhouse.'' ``Palindromes,'' starring Ellen Barkin and Jennifer Jason Leigh, involves a woman's intentional pregnancy, her forced abortion and then her time with a group of evangelical Christians. While Solondz tries to be provocative in his explorations of morality, the darkness of ``Palindromes'' makes it very hard to get involved in the questions. ``The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (Buena Vista; $29.99) ``Palindromes'' (Wellspring well·spring n. 1. The source of a stream or spring. 2. A source: a wellspring of ideas. wellspring Noun ; $29.98) `Ben-Hur,' `Coal Miner's Daughter' The four-disc set of ``Ben-Hur'' includes a crisp new digital transfer of the Oscar-winning film. Besides William Wyler's 1959 film starring Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur and Stephen Boyd as the Tribune Messala, the set includes the original 1925 silent version with some colorized tints, directed by Fred Niblo and starring Ramon Novarro as Hur and Francis X. Bushman as Messala. There are also numerous extras, including a new documentary about one of the truly spectacular films ever made. Sissy Spacek, who won an Oscar playing country singer Loretta Lynn, and Tommy Lee Jones For the musician, see . Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an Academy Award-winning American actor and director. Biography Early life Jones was born in San Saba, Texas, the son of Clyde C. , who played her husband, are on hand for ``Coal Miner's Daughter - 25th Anniversary Edition.'' The Michael Apted film is noted for both its performances and ability to tell a compelling, complex story. ``Ben-Hur (Four-Disc Collector's Edition)'' (Warner; $39.98) ``Coal Miner's Daughter - 25th Anniversary Edition'' (Universal; $19.98) `Empire Falls,' `Black Adder,' more TV HBO's ``Empire Falls,'' based on Richard Russo's novel, boasts a stellar cast - Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Robin Wright Penn, Ed Harris and Aidan Quinn - with a number of very good performances. The prickly look at blue-collar life in a small town isn't always successful, but there is much about it to keep you watching. If anyone wants to see Hugh Laurie in a purely comedic role - as opposed to his acerbic one as he plays in `House'' - then check out ``Black Adder - The Complete Collector's Set.'' Other TV-related sets are listed below. ``Empire Falls'' (HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy ; $29.98) ``Black Adder - The Complete Collector's Set'' (BBC BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broadcasting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. ; $99.98) ``Everybody Loves Raymond Everybody Loves Raymond is an American sitcom originally broadcast on CBS from 1996 to 2005. It is one of the most critically acclaimed American sitcoms of its time. - The Complete Fourth Season'' (Warner; $44.98) ``Smallville - The Complete Fourth Season'' (Warner; $59.98) ``One Tree Hill - The Complete Second Season'' (Warner; $59.98) ``Frasier - The Complete Sixth Season'' (Paramount; $38.99) ``Da Ali G Show Da Ali G Show was the name of two related satirical TV series starring British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen and featuring the character Ali G. The original (single season) series was made by Channel 4 in the UK, and the second (two season) series by Channel 4 in the UK - The Complete Second Season'' (HBO; $29.95) ``Las Vegas - Season Two'' (Universal, $59.98) ``Taxi - The Complete Third Season'' (Paramount; $38.99) ``Cheers - The Complete Sixth Season'' (Paramount; $38.99) ``The Brady Bunch - The Complete Third Season'' (Paramount; $38.99) CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) JIMMY FALLON and DREW BARRYMORE in ``Fever Pitch'' (2) ``THE BRADY BUNCH - THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON'' |
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