Show-HD East: Extreme Ops *+ (2002, Action / Ad)
Summary: When an extreme-sports filmmaking team sets out to make a commercial featuring a gold-medal skier outrunning an avalanche, they run afoul of a Serbian war criminal hiding out in a mountain resort. So it's snowboards vs. bullets on steep slopes of snow--and if that's your thing, Extreme Ops is for you. There are also subplots about the high-class skier (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, House on Haunted Hill) trying to prove herself with the rough-and-tumble snowboard scamps, and various romantic sparks flying, but the only real point to this movie is lengthy shots of stuntpeople zipping down the mountainsides. Though it could stand to have less plot and more action, there's a good dose of spectacle nonetheless. Rufus Sewell (Dark City), Devon Sawa (Final Destination), and the cast do a serviceable job, but poor Brit Rupert Graves (excellent in Mrs. Dalloway) was forced to act through a terrible American accent. --Bret Fetzer
Show-HD East: Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie *** (2002, Children's)
Summary: Parents seeking kid-friendly, Christian entertainment can be comfortable letting their kids watch Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, which turns the characters from the biblical story of Jonah into a bunch of talking cucumbers, asparagus, peas, and other vegetables. When God instructs the prophet Jonah to go to the wicked city of Ninevah to spread His word, Jonah balks and tries to flee by ship--only to end up in the belly of a whale. When he finally consents to go to Ninevah, things don't turn out quite the way he expects. The VeggieTales team uses computer animation and upbeat musical numbers to express Christian themes, but they do so without being painfully didactic. The animation (and the humor) isn't as sophisticated as that in Toy Story or Shrek, and kids may find some elements of the story confusing, but this may provide an opportunity for parents and kids to discuss values. --Bret Fetzer
Show-HD East: The Karate Kid *** (1984, Action / Ad)
Summary: John G. Avildsen not only directed Rocky, he tried remaking it over the years in a dozen different ways. One of them was this popular 1984 drama about a new kid (Ralph Macchio) in town targeted by karate-wielding bullies until he gets a new mentor: the handyman (Pat Morita) from his apartment building, who teaches him self-confidence and fighting skills. The screen partnership of Macchio's motor-mouth character and Morita's reserved father figure works well, and the script allows for the younger man to develop sympathy for the painful memories of his teacher. But the film's real engine, as with Rocky, is the fighting, and there's plenty of that. Elisabeth Shue is on board as the girl the klutzy Macchio dreams of winning. The DVD release features a theatrical trailer, Dolby sound, full-screen (pan and scan) presentation, and optional subtitles in French, Spanish, and English. --Tom Keogh
