At The Movies...

Pokemon the First Movie:

Mewtwo Strikes Back

Wannabe Pokemon Master Ash Ketchum continues his quest to become the greatest trainer in the world.  But when the bio-engineered Pokemon Mew Two creates a strain of Super-Pokemon, will Ash, Misty and Pikachu be able to defeat them?  With a genuine marketing phenomenon to back it, Pokemon has all the trappings of a sugar coated mega-hit.  Kids will go crazy for it, the same goes for their parents who are trying to find the ever eroding supply of Pokemon related toys before Christmas.  

Off The Record...

The Artist Formerly Known as Prince

Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic

November 1999 is a dangerous time for the A.F.K.A.P. to put out a new CD.  Expectations are at a peak because his most enduring tunes promised his public that after a cleansing Purple Rain he'd party like it's 1999.  The '80s-ish dance floor title cut opens the CD which trails into Undisputed that comes closer to the Prince we all worshipped.  With layers of electronic instrumentation creating a funk fantasy and the New Power Generation chanting, there are moments of transcendence.  The CD is on track and will sell well, is the synopsis for this back to basic Prince if there is such a thing.

On Video...

Instinct

Weird thriller about the attempt at rehabilitating a brilliant primatologist who went mad after living in the African wild with mountain gorillas.  Anthony Hopkins puts in a chilling turn as a scientist, now caged and brought to America after killing two Rwandan park rangers.  Cuba Gooding Jr. plays the shrink who tries to cure him.  The pair become verbal sparring partners and their roles often switch as the film slowly unveils the reasons behind Hopkin's seeming madness, culminating in a lesson in love and responsibility.

The Buzz...

Do the Backstreet Boys have another hit album in them?  Jive Records is willing to bet $60 million on that very fact after signing the Boys to a five-album deal.  Also included were royalties of as much as 20 percent, as well as involvement in both licensing and marketing strategies, and creative control over their projects.  Their current album, Millennium has sold over 9 million copies in North America alone.

After being left out of last week's NASCAR TV deal, CBS and Disney's ABC-ESPN are the front-runners for telecast rights for the NCAA men's basketball tournament.  The new deal is expected to be worth about $400 million a year.

The Pokemon craze of the grade-school set made child's play of other new movies, earning $31 million in its first weekend.  Repeat business helped it set a 5-day animated film record of $50.8 million.

The Goo Goo Dolls will be taping a segment for the popular children's show Sesame Street's 31st season.  The segment, which won't be airing until next year, features the band dueting with Elmo on a still-to-be-determined song.

If the regular version just wasn't enough for you, Disney and Pixar will offer A Bug's Life 2, a collector DVD on November 23rd, loaded with extra features and information.

While magazines such as Time and Entertainment Weekly to The New York Times are giving Kevin Smith's Dogma high marks, we found it interesting that the film had also earned positive review from the Catholic clergy.

Jodi foster will not reprise her role as FBI agent Clarice Starling in Hannibal, the sequel to Silence of the Lambs, due to her objections over a scene where the character eats human flesh.

John Edward, author and psychic will be the host on Sci Fi's first and yet-unnamed talk show set to debut in early 2000.

Appropriately enough for a film created entirely on computers, Toy Story 2 will be the first film released in both digital and traditional film formats.

Don't expect Van Halen to announce a replacement for recently departed lead singer Gary Cherone until sometime next year.  Lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen has other issues to deal with, not least of all, hip replacement surgery.

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