Dakota Fanning in "Hide and Seek"
courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment
"Dakota Doesn't 'Hide' Her Talent"

Robert DeNiro is the star of the new movie on DVD "Hide and Seek" but it is Dakota Fanning who steals the show. She doesn't hide her talent and is always seeking interesting roles. In the new "War of the Worlds" movie she takes the film away from Tom Cruise.

In "Hide and Seek" she plays DeNiro's daughter. She has been traumatized by the death of her mother and is still in shock when she and her father move to a new town and a new house. There she begins to talk about a "new friend" named Charlie, that no one but she can see.

Things get hairy when "Charlie" turns murderous. Little Dakota is in a lot of jeopardy in this film and she makes you feel the fear right along with her. She is amazing.

On the DVD you get commentary and alternate endings among other features. But just being able to watch Dakota Fanning act is enough to warrant the cost of the DVD.

Now that "The Fantastic Four" is leading the box office numbers, you might want to watch the animated series from 1994-1995. All of those shows are now available on a tape titled - you guessed it - "The Fantastic Four."

One of the best things about this tape is that Stan Lee does an introduction for each and every episode. How's that for an endorsement. So get with the program and watch Sue and Johnny Storm, Mr. Fantastic and The Thing have adventure after adventure. You are bound to have fun with it. And then go out and see the movie again.

People seem to love watching old TV series on DVD. Maybe it is the lack of commercials, or maybe it is the nostalgia factor. Whatever it is, everything old is new again. A prime example is "The Nanny: The First Season." 

Fran Drescher whines her heart out in the episodes from the first year of the show. This is when Fran got hired by Mr. Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) to take care of his three kids. She also meets Niles, the butler and C C, Mr Sheffield's assistant (Daniel Davis and Lauren Babcock).

Best of all we once again get to see the brilliant Renee Taylor playing Fran's mom. What a combination the two of them were. And how wonderful that it is all preserved for us on the DVD.

It will only be another year and "Will and Grace" will be nostalgia. That is why Debra Messing is taking movie roles like the one in "The Wedding Date." This movie is hardly a stretch for her as it is Grace in England without Will.

Okay, it really is about a single woman (Messing) who hires a man (Mulroney) to pretend to be her boyfriend so everyone will not know she is single and unattached. But doesn't that sound like something Grace would do!

I can only call the movie mildly entertaining even though I am a Messing fan. It just doesn't offer anything new. So if you like the same old same old get "The Wedding Date."

If you are not familiar with the Bollywood phenomenon then get the DVD of "Bride and Prejudice." This remake of Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is loads of fun and features a large Asian cast. One of the most recognizable is Naveen Andrews from "Lost." You can also glimpse Alexis Bledel from "Gilmore Girls."

The stars of the film are Martin Henderson as Mr. Darcy and Aishwarya Rai as the woman he might love if he can overcome pride and prejudice. Both carry off their roles with beauty and elegance.

The musical numbers, the love story, the comedy all make "Bride and Prejudice" a movie you will not want to miss. Get it today.

Finally there is "Twenty Bucks," a movie that follows a twenty-dollar bill from its issuance through an ATM machine to its shredding at a bank. Along the way it passes through the hands of a variety of people and we get to see snippets of their lives as it goes along.

Starring in the film are Linda Hunt, Brendan Fraser, Gladys Knight, Elisabeth Shue and William H Macy. This is a solid cast of actors and they make the movie work. It is a movie of stories tied together by money but held together by heart.

 

 

 

 

 

©2005 Jackie K. Cooper

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