DVDS TO BOLDLY GO `OVER THE HEDGE'.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor You know, William Shatner <noinclude></noinclude> William Alan Shatner (born on March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor who gained fame for playing Captain James Tiberius Kirk, captain of the starship USS Enterprise has been captain of a starship. You'd think that when he was offered a role in DreamWorks' amusing animated feature ``Over the Hedge'' that it wouldn't be as a possum possum or phalanger Any of several species (family Phalangeridae) of nocturnal, arboreal marsupials of Australia and New Guinea. They are 22–50 in. (55–125 cm) long, including the long prehensile tail, and have woolly fur. . I mean, he's bigger than life. Why not the bear? Shatner just laughs for a while when he hears the question. ``Well, it was for DreamWorks, and I don't think you ask questions when it's for DreamWorks ... and I merely asked, `Why not?''' the Emmy-winning actor and current star of ABC's ``Boston Legal'' finally says. ``Over the Hedge'' involves a raccoon raccoon, nocturnal New World mammal of the genus Procyon. The common raccoon of North America, Procyon lotor, also called coon, is found from S Canada to South America, except in parts of the Rocky Mts. and in deserts. , RJ (voiced by Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. He came to fame in the late 1980s and has since retained a career as both a Hollywood leading man and a supporting actor, in particular for his role as John McClane in the Die Hard series. ), who awakens a bear (Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, model, and producer. Biography Early life Nolte was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Helen (née King), a department store buyer, and Franklin Nolte, a farmer's son who ) from hibernation, who then demands RJ get him food. The sly raccoon then enlists other woodland pals to get snacks from the nearby human community. Shatner and Avril Lavigne voice father and daughter possums. ``A pretty busy fellow'' by his own admission, Shatner was about to go out and pitch an idea for an animated series. He is a partner in a Canadian animation company called Core, which recently released ``The Wild,'' so he has an interest in family films. He calls ``Over the Hedge'' a fun family movie but says it was a little strange walking down the red carpet at Cannes for it. Along with Willis and the others, there was another group walking the carpet. When Shatner asked who they were, he was told they were the French actors who had dubbed it in French. ``So, not only weren't we faces on the screen, but it wasn't even our voices.'' `The Break-Up' Peyton Reed's ``Down With Love'' was a clever reimagining of a '50s Doris Day-Rock Hudson comedy. Too bad it didn't do much at the box office. His latest, ``The Break-Up,'' had a lot more going for it with then-off-screen couple Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn going for it (she, hot off a real-life divorce; he, a big name after ``The Wedding Crashers''). Too bad the film's kind of flat, even with the shot of Jen naked from behind. The premise was amusing -- the story of a couple forced to cohabit co·hab·it intr.v. co·hab·it·ed, co·hab·it·ing, co·hab·its 1. To live together in a sexual relationship, especially when not legally married. 2. To coexist, as animals of different species. their condo while going through a divorce. During the early going, there are some funny moments, but ``The Break-Up'' soon breaks into tired pieces. `Reds' Warren Beatty's ``Reds'' was an ambitious -- even crazy -- undertaking. The 3 1/2-hour historical epic by the writer-director-star, about Jack Reed, an American radical and journalist who aided the Communists in the Russian Revolution, is sweeping in scope and compelling drama, but who would want to see it? Beatty used his star power to get it made, and as it turned out, he made a film worth remembering. Besides Beatty as Reed, it starred Diane Keaton as Louise Bryant, his political colleague and wife. Jack Nicholson is memorable as playwright Eugene O'Neill, a friend and admirer of Louise. Maureen Stapleton won an Oscar for her role as the radical-feminist Emma Goldman. And Beatty won for directing. (The film received 12 nominations.) Beatty tried to contrast the personal stories against the larger picture (think ``Dr. Zhivago''), and for the most part he succeeded. ``Reds' is available for the first time on DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. on a 25th Anniversary Edition that features a number of extras that include a look at the ``witnesses'' -- real people who knew Reed and Bryant and are interviewed in the movies. There's no commentary from Beatty, but he was interviewed for the making-of documentary on the DVD. It can be argued that Reed was naive, that he was duped by the Communists. That's what makes ``Reds'' so fascinating; you can argue the politics. But there's no arguing that Beatty made a marvelously entertaining and intelligent film. `Big Love' Bill Hendrickson (Bill Paxton) is a home-improvement-store owner who has a lot of home improving to do in HBO's ``Big Love -- The Complete First Season.'' After all, he has three wives -- Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) was the first wife, called ``boss lady'' by wife No. 2, Nicki (Chloe Sevigny)-- and then there's Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin), who can't match the other two in wits or verbal agility. ``Big Love'' is often intriguing, particularly because Bill and the girls have broken off from the Mormon Church The Mormon Church is a religious body founded in 1830 in Fayette, New York, by Joseph Smith. It is also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or LDS Church. There are 7.7 million Mormons worldwide. he grew up with. It also pits Bill against Harry Dean Stanton's character,Roman, the head of a polygamist po·lyg·a·mist n. One who practices polygamy. Noun 1. polygamist - someone who is married to two or more people at the same time polyandrist - a woman with two or more husbands commune in Utah, where his parents still live. A story of a polygamist and his wives adds a new twist to the ``other woman'' story. But it's nothing that Viagra doesn't help, which goes toward the oddness of the story. If you can swing with it, though, ``Big Love'' can be fun. `Alfred Hitchcock Presents' Alfred Hitchcock knew creepy -- think ``The Birds.'' But even more than his movies, his television show was where you saw his macabre side come through. ``Alfred Hitchcock Presents -- Season Two'' features 39 more chilling stories from the 1956-57 season. Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Rip Torn and Vic Morrow are among the stars. One hallmark of a Hitchcock production is the wicked twist at the end. Just watch the Emmy-winning ``Fog Closing In.'' It involves a lonely wife, an absent husband and a dangerous mental patient -- and you know somebody isn't going to make it. Rob Lowman, (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com NEW FILMS ``Over the Hedge'' (Paramount; $29.99) ``The Break-Up'' (Universal; $29.98) ``The Omen'' (Fox; $29.99) ``Feast'' (Weinstein; $28.95) ``Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil'' (Fox; $26.98) OLDER FILMS ``Reds --25th Anniversary Edition'' (Paramount; $19.99) ``The Other'' (Fox; $14.98) ``Billy Wilder Speaks'' (Kino kino the juice of certain plants, some tropical and some Australian eucalypts, used in medicine as an astringent. ; $24.95) TELEVISION ``Big Love -- The Complete First Season'' (HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy ; $99.98) ``Charmed -- The Complete Sixth Season'' (Paramount; $49.99) ``La Femme Nikita -- The Complete Fifth Season'' (Warner; $39.98) ``Murder, She Wrote -- The Complete Fourth Season'' (Universal; $49.98) ``CSI CSI Crime Scene Investigator CSI CompuServe, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems, Inc. CSI Commodity Systems Inc. (Boca Raton, FL) CSI Crime Scene Investigation (CBS TV show) CSI Christian Schools International : New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of -- The Complete Second Season'' (Paramount; $64.99) ``Alfred Hitchcock Presents -- Season Two'' (Universal; $34.98) ``Inspector Lynley Mysteries -- Set 4'' WGBH; $39.95) ``Starsky & Hutch hutch 1. standard cagelike accommodation for rabbits. 2. light, movable cabin for calves or pigs; to provide shelter and warmth for animals at pasture. hutch burn -- Complete Fourth Season'' (Columbia; $49.95) ``Masters of Horror Masters of Horror is an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. New episodes premiere every Friday at 10pm EST throughout the season. : Larry Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. -- Pick Me Up'' (Anchor Bay; $16.98) ``Masterpiece Theater -- Casanova'' (WGBH; $24.95) CAPTION(S): photo Photo: A raccoon voiced by Bruce Willis leads a group of small creatures -- including William Shatner's possum -- on a quest to find enough food for Nick Nolte's no-longer-slumbering bear in ``Over the Hedge.'' |
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