Alyssa Milano

This release allows parents to share the joy of bleeding Dodger Blue with their youngsters. Full of images and sounds related to the Los Angeles baseball squad, this title allows for a whole new generation of Dodger faithful to acquire the desire to visit Chavez Ravine and cheer on the team. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Milo Ventimiglia (of the blockbuster TV series Heroes), headlines this dark crime thriller, which marks the sophomore directorial outing of Marc Schoelermann, following the 2006 telemovie Hexxx. Ventimiglia portrays a young intern, newly arrived at the University Hospital in Philadelphia, who stumbles onto a psychopathic group of colleagues playing a vile game. They regularly select one of their members (on a rotational basis) to commit the "perfect murder," while the rest use forensic methods to try to determine exactly how the homicide was executed. Alyssa Milano (of TV's Who's the Boss? and Charmed) co-stars as Ventimiglia's fiancée, while thesps Johnny Whitworth and Lauren Lee Smith are among the perpetrators. Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (of Crank fame) scripted. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A boy and a dinosaur join forces to bring peace to their village in this animated feature inspired by the popular television miniseries Dinotopia. Kex (voice of Alec Medlock) is a 12-year-old boy who, after the sinking of the ship he's boarded, is stranded on an uncharted island. To his surprise, Kex finds himself in a land called Dinotopia, where dinosaurs have not only survived and developed the ability to speak, they've learned to live in harmony with human beings. Kex is befriended by a young dinosaur named 26 (voice of Alyssa Milano), who teaches him about life on the island, but when the powerful Ruby Sunstone is stolen by Ogthar (voice of Malcolm McDowell), a notorious villain on the island, both the young boy and his reptilian pal find themselves in great danger. Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone also features the voice talents of Jamie Kennedy, Kathy Griffin, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Diedrich Bader. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In keeping with his background in television sitcoms, Sam Weisman directs the cameo-filled comedy Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star. Dickie Roberts (David Spade) was a child actor on the hit TV show "The Glimmer Gang" and remains remembered for a particular catch phrase. Now in his thirties, he finds work as a parking valet and spends time with other nominal child stars (enter cameos by Danny Bonaduce, Corey Feldman, and the like). Wanting to make a comeback, he manages to get an audition with director Rob Reiner. When the role requires him to be normal, he decides to hire a normal family in order to relive the childhood he missed out on. He ends up with sleazy salesman George Finney (Craig Bierko) and his loving wife, Grace (Mary McCormack). Dickie shares a room with their two kids: sunny daughter Sally (Jenna Boyd) and impressionable son Sam (Scott Tessa). Former child star Alyssa Milano appears as Dickie's girlfriend, Cyndi. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

New England native Vanessa Parise makes her directorial debut with the Italian-American wedding movie Kiss the Bride. Danni Sposato (Amanda Detmer) embarks on her wedding plans aided by her mother, Irena (Talia Shire), and grandmother Julia (Frances Bay). Danni's three sisters return home to Rhode Island for the wedding: oldest Niki (Brooke Langton) is the Hollywood star of a TV show, who brings along her rude boyfriend/manager Marty (Johnny Whitworth); icy Chrissy (played by director Parise) is a wealthy New York City businesswoman with no romantic prospects; and youngest Toni (Monet Mazur) drives a motorcycle and brings along her girlfriend Amy (Alyssa Milano). Also starring Burt Young and Sean Patrick Flanery. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

After five years of dating, David (Jerry O'Connell) gets what he feels is an ultimatum from his girlfriend, Sarah (Bridgette Wilson). She thinks they should get married. When his old buddy, Tyler (Ron Livingston of Swingers), a legendary womanizer, calls to announce his wedding plans, it only increases the pressure on David. When Sarah leaves town on a business trip, David has a chance to explore his options. He turns to his friends, Jonesey (Bill Bellamy), and the unrepentant lothario Michael (Ryan Reynolds, who also starred in director Walt Becker's National Lampoon's Van Wilder) for advice. Jonesey half-heartedly encourages David to marry Sarah. Michael, who treats women shabbily, tries to talk David out of it. David tells his friends about an epiphany that he had many years earlier, when he saw beautiful blond Julie (Erinn Bartlett) in an airport, and was instantly smitten. He knew she was the one. He courageously handed the strange girl his phone number, and a brief romantic correspondence ensued, but it ended disastrously. Uncertain about his destiny with Sarah, David spots another woman at a Mexican restaurant, and has the same feeling he had with Julie. He spends a lot of time and effort trying to track this mystery woman down, while Sarah, frustrated by their lack of progress, considers ending their relationship. Michael, meanwhile, has a real identity crisis, when he wakes up in a strange bed after a night of drinking, drugs, and debauchery, only to find a gay man in the bedroom with him. Buying the Cow also stars Alyssa Milano, Annabeth Gish, and Jon Tenney. The film was co-written by director Becker and Peter W. Nelson. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

It's Opening Day for the Boston Red Sox, so Peter (voice of Seth MacFarlane) decides to keep the kids out of school and take them to Fenway. He calls in sick to work, telling Mr. Weed (voice of Carlos Alazraqui), "I was in a terrible plane crash. My entire family was killed and I am a vegetable. See you tomorrow." Later, he runs into Mr. Weed at the ballpark, and expects to be fired, but the next day, the El Dorado Cigarette Company buys out the toy company, and Weed loses his job. The cigarette guys turn out to be poodle-shooting evil madmen who are using toys to get children addicted to their cigarettes. When Peter brings home a "Baby Smokes-A-Lot," Lois (voice of Alex Borstein) expresses her disapproval. When Peter confronts his new bosses, they make him president of the company to keep him quiet. Peter gets an executive parking space and his own personal yes man. The company hires an ugly girl to hang out with Meg (voice of Mila Kunis) at school, so she'll look prettier by comparison. They even hire Martha Stewart to help Lois out around the house. Lois is so enamored of all the perks that she forgets about her moral qualms. When an anti-smoking bill comes before Congress, a tobacco exec suggests, "They're all idiots in Washington. Instead of a smart guy, we should send a moron they can relate to." Thus, Peter becomes a tobacco industry lobbyist. Alyssa Milano makes an appearance in this episode, with the episode's writer, Ricky Blitt, playing her attorney. There's also a parody of the theme from That Girl, and Jack Sheldon, who worked on the original Schoolhouse Rock shorts, plays the bill. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Three of the most gorgeous TV witches since the days of Elizabeth Montgomery were the heroines of the hour-long WB fantasy series Charmed, which first materialized on October 7, 1998. Reunited in their ancestral San Francisco mansion, the Halliwell sisters -- Prudence (aka Prue, played by Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), and came upon a dusty tome titled the "Book of Shadows," which by and by revealed a secret that had long been withheld from them: the sisters were witches known as the "Charmed Ones," blessed with extraordinary powers which they were expected to use in the never-ending fight of good against evil. Prue, the oldest, had the gift of telekinesis, enabling her to move objects at will; middle child Piper was able to stop time; and Phoebe, the baby of the family, was able to see the future. The ritual enabling them to combine their powers involved the linking of hands and chanting in unison, "The power of three will set us free." Of course, now that the girls knew they were witches, they were immediately targeted for destruction by all manner of warlocks, sorceresses, and malevolent spirits, many of these hoping to steal the Halliwells' powers for themselves. Also, in their efforts to lead "normal" lives and not give away their secrets, the ladies encountered a great deal of difficulty in the romance department -- not to mention the holding and maintaining of regular employment.

During season one, Prue worked for the Buckland Auction House, whose owner turned out to be a warlock; she also lost her policeman boyfriend, Andy Trudeau (T.W. King), who was killed in an effort to save the Halliwells from a demon. Phoebe's private life was not quite so tempestuous, though she had a bad habit of losing jobs due to the bad things happening around her. The impressionable Piper, who managed to find work as a caterer and later as the owner of the "P3 Club" nightspot, thought she had found true love in the form of hunky handyman Leo Wyatt (Brian Krause), until learning that Leo was a "Whitelighter," a guardian angel fated to protect all good witches from harm -- and as such, was off limits. In later seasons, however, Leo was demoted to "mortality" and was able to marry Piper, with whom he had a "bewitched" son named Wyatt. By the time Leo's powers were back to full steam in season five, he'd been appointed an "Elder" Whitelighter; his former job of protecting the sisters was taken over by another Whitelighter named Chris Perry (Drew Fuller), who turned out to have a hidden agenda.

Season three saw quite a few upheavals in the lives of the sisters, with Phoebe falling for Assistant DA Cole Turner (Julian McMahon) -- who turned out to be the demon Belthazor, and whose mission was to kill the sisters. Cole managed to purge himself of evil, only to revert to wickedness -- a cycle that continued to repeat itself until, in season four, the "bad" Cole married and impregnated Phoebe with his evil seed. Eventually the baby was stolen by a demon called The Seer (Debbi Morgan), and poor, mixed-up Cole wound up trapped in another dimension before being "vanquished" permanently. (At least Phoebe landed a permanent job as a newspaper advice columnist once the dust had settled!) As for Prue, season three of Charmed turned out to be her last when she was killed during a "demon assault." Her place in the Halliwell household was taken in season four by the girls' half sister, Paige Matthews (Rose McGowan), who like the late Prue possessed telekinetic powers. Paige would eventually find "civilian" employment as a social worker, enabling her to emulate the other girls by applying her powers for the forces of good on a full-time basis.

There were scores of additional plot complications and story arcs occurring in and out of the "real world" and back and forth in time (at one point, for example, the heroines were converted into Greek goddesses). "Charmed" though the Halliwell girls may have been, it didn't mean that they exactly led charmed lives. Perhaps it was the unstable nature of the world in which our heroines dwelled that made Charmed one of the WB's most successful offerings; viewers literally never knew what to expect from one week to the next! ~ All Movie Guide

"El Rancho," a sort of punk rock Animal House, is the setting for this college drama. Five roommates live in this group house on the cusp of college graduation. Jack (a mohawk-wearing Ben Affleck) is an art major pining over his ex-girlfriend, while Rob (Sam Rockwell) fears domestication after graduation. The artist of a popular campus comic strip, Mickey (Vinnie DeRamus), is still too shy to talk to girls. Slosh (Vien Hong) is an A-student who gave up his education in favor of drinking and partying. The elder of the crew is Dennis (French Stewart), who, despite the wisdom and advice he offers to his younger housemates, is unaware of the less-than-academic attentions of his professor (John Rhys-Davies). The five consider whether they can postpone their lives to stay for one more year. The film missed the trend in Generation X films (Reality Bites, Singles, Kicking and Screaming) by a few years; as a result, the punk characters and soundtrack of this latecomer probably provide a more authentic atmosphere. The rowdy debauchery distinguishes itself through genuine honesty -- drinking and destroying furniture may not be the healthiest way to deal with youthful angst, but it is certainly popular. Spalding Gray, Matt Damon, and Matthew McConaughey make interesting cameo appearances. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide

Mark Wahlberg stars in one of his first features as a hoodlum drug dealer from the wrong side of the trackswho falls in love with Nicole Walker, an upper-middle-class high school girl (Reese Witherspoon). In this psycho-drama (with the emphasis on psycho), Nicole happily loses her virginity to her first love, but, when she begins to doubt the relationship, his tenderness turns to violence, as he stalks and terrorizes her and her friends and family. The girl's father never trusted him in the first place, but his reservations about his daughter's first serious boyfriend are interpreted as Oedipal paranoia, until the boy and his drug-dealing, date-raping buddies besiege the overly fortified house in a twisted attempt to win back Nicole's love. The Seattle setting juxtaposes a grunge rock underworld with an over-privileged suburban household, and includes a very sexual ride on a roller-coaster. And yes, former underwear model Wahlberg appears shirtless several times. ~ Laura Abraham, All Movie Guide