Video Rentals

1 Cast Away

$15.02 million 1 week in release $15.06 million to date

PLOT A plane crash survivor learns to stay alive after he's stranded on a remote island.

Rated PG-13 for intense action sequences and some disturbing images.

BOTTOM LINE Ocean and island scenes that are cinematically majestic but spiritually empty.

$6.7 million 3 weeks in release $27 million to date

PLOT Three interwoven stories each chronicle a different aspect of the U.S. government's war on drugs.

Rated R for pervasive drug content, strong language, violence, and sexuality.

BOTTOM LINE Harsh but honest treatment of the U.S. drug war.

$6.23 million 2 weeks in release $14.03 million to date

PLOT Mythic tale of martial-arts masters who go after a stolen sword and a young princess; she must choose between using her fighting skills for good or evil.

Rated PG-13 for violence and some sexuality.

BOTTOM LINE Exhilarating story that transcends the martial-arts genre, with a moral, but decidedly non-Christian, worldview.

$5.08 million 1 week in release $5.11 million to date

PLOT Epic comedy, set in 1940s rural Mississippi and loosely based on Homer's Odyssey, in which three prison escapees search for buried treasure.

Rated PG-13 for violence and bad language.

BOTTOM LINE Lauded as much for the retro-hillbilly soundtrack as the movie itself.

$3.86 million 6 weeks in release $43.58 million to date

PLOT An "unusual" bathroom accident allows a man to hear women's thoughts, teaching him lessons about his own and the opposite sex.

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and bad language.

BOTTOM LINE Stars make a ridiculous plot watchable; movie says much, but explains little, about how the sexes interact.

Who knew that drag racing was still popular? The Fast and the Furious (Universal, rated PG-13 for violence, sex, and bad language) is the latest in the new Hollywood genre of car movies-where speed, steel, and sound are more important than anything else. This one takes some cues from the James Dean legend. This movie is particularly irksome because it glorifies a common thug. Vin Diesel plays Dominic Toretto, the leader of a gang of street racers who pour tens of thousands of dollars worth of parts into their cars so they can run faster and faster. They feed their habit by hijacking 18-wheelers and selling the cargo. Dominic is so addicted to the thrill of racing that he's willing to sacrifice everything else in life for it. The story follows an undercover officer (Paul Walker) trying to stop the crime spree. He joins the gang and quickly bonds with Dominic. In time, this non-hero falls for the hood's girlfriend and winds up protecting the gang. Furious winds up taking the audience for a ride.