Scanlines
Twister
Fri., Oct. 18, 1996
Laserdisc
Encore Movies & Music, 8820 Burnet
The days when it took years for blockbuster movies to make the transition to video seem to be, well, gone with the wind. Twister, the early box-office smash during the summer '96 season, has made its way to store shelves only a few months after its theatrical release. Despite the fact that the story is an exercise in predictability and the main characters do virtually everything that would get a person killed in a real tornado, Twister still manages to provide an enjoyable ride. The visuals and audio were the film's strong points and are well-presented on disc. Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, and Jami Gertz are fairly engaging in their roles, but the tornadoes are the real star. If you missed it in the theatres or are thrilled by the sight of funnel clouds wreaking destruction, you might want to give Twister a whirl. -- Bud Simons
Heaven
D: Diane Keaton.VHS Home Video
Welcome to Heaven. Meet Estes Perkle, a religious king of kitsch who attempts to convey heaven's grandeur to his congregation by comparing its size to Manhattan. Listen to a testimonial asserting that Jesus visited a household room by room and eventually rested on the family's ottoman. Don't get me wrong; this 1987 Diane Keaton documentary which I found in the "Offbeat Comedy" section of the video store, is not entirely a freak show. Although Keaton has a quality in common with the best documentarians -- she allows her subjects to speak for themselves -- she is so occupied combining old film footage both campy and classic with the thoughts of her subjects that at times the eccentricity and clear simplicity of their responses to questions like "Are you afraid to die?" and "Have you ever had a vision?" get lost in the process. Really more a postmodern fantasia than a "documentary," this film, despite its occasional clutter, is certain to entertain, particularly in light of the more recent actor-turned-filmmaker ventures that do not risk as much as this engaging headspin does.
-- Clay Smith
Muppet Treasure Island
D: Brian Henson; with Tim Curry, the Henson Muppets, Billy Connolly,
Jennifer Saunders, Kevin Bishop, Frederick Warder, Peter Geeves, Danny
Blackner, Harry Jones. VHS Home Video
I Luv Video, 4631 Airport Blvd.
Forty years later and no matter how you dress 'em, they still fit the movie. The infamous stock of adored Muppet characters dons resplendent pirate attire (by the veteran Muppet costume designer Polly Smith) to breathe new life into Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale. After ol' pirate Billy Bones turns over the treasure map to young Jim Hawkins, the lad, along with his dish- washing mates Gonzo and Rizzo, leave their drying towels behind to set out on the high seas with the level-headed green Captain Smollet (Kermit). Swashbuckling adventures with the shifty one-legged cook Long John Silver (Curry), a crew of mutiny-hungry, cross-dressing pirates, and the "maroooooned" Queen of the Wild Boars (Miss Piggy), certainly outweigh the promise of riches. The movie itself is a treasure with its witty screenplay (bountiful in its tickling anachronisms, rousing dialogue, and meta-fictitious slants), a gold mine of "human" comedic actors, hand-picked gems Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil as song composers, and Hans Zimmer (The Lion King's very own) to score the music. Miss Piggy's musical entrance as Boomchakalaka is a riot.
-- Stephany Baskin
Time Lapse
GTE EntertainmentCD-ROM for Windows & Mac
Think of Time Lapse as Myst cubed. It's a puzzle game in which you travel through time to explore parts of Egypt, Maya, Anasazi, and Easter Island in order to discover the lost city of Atlantis where you can solve the final riddles and win the game. The graphics are attractive and plentiful, but not quite as stunning as some of its competitors. The puzzles are often obvious, but occasionally quite tough. If you're a fan of games such as Myst, 7th Guest and their ilk then you might enjoy Time Lapse. Otherwise you ought to steer clear.
-- Kurt Dillard
A Fatal Inversion
D: Tim Fywell; with Jeremy Northam, Douglas Hodge, Rachel Joyce, Philip
Bowen, Jane Wymark, Shirley Dickson.VHS Home Video
Vulcan Video, 609 W. 29th
This 1992 television adaptation of the gripping Ruth Rendell novel is tantalizingly terrifying. Two college-age men plan to spend a summer of debauchery in a recently inherited baronial mansion. An innocent enough summer progresses, but the tease of horror and mystery lurks just beneath the surface. When the men take in the beautiful but mentally ill Zosima as their lover, their well-planned futures are already permanently changed. As life at the sunny mansion dissolves into a nightmare, the story races to a jaw-dropping finish. You'll hardly notice that the movie was produced for television. In fact, you'll hardly notice anything as you get entirely caught up in Rendell's compelling suspense. -- Kayte VanScoy
