Randy Pearlstein Movies

Season two of Chappelle's Show brings forth such guest stars as DMX, Ludacris, Jamie Foxx, Wayne Brady, Eddie Griffin, Samuel L. Jackson (hawking his own brand of beer), and Snoop Dogg (who also appears in puppet form!). In one memorable episode, Dave Chappelle reintroduces one of his season-one characters, crackhead Tyrone Biggums, in a "lost episode" of Fear Factor. This season also introduced the recurring segment "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories," in which Chappelle would reenact supposedly true incidents between Murphy and such celebrities as Rick James and Prince (with Chappelle playing those celebrities). Other highlights include the trials and tribulations of a white family named the "Niggars"; Chappelle magnanimously taking the place of such famous black courtroom defendants as R. Kelly and Michael Jackson; what the world would be like if everyone was gay; a very close encounter with Oprah Winfrey; and the saga of "Prince NegroDamus." ~ Rovi

Five college buddies retreat to the woods for a little R & R and end up getting a horrific lesson in infectious disease in this low-budget shocker. Cabin Fever stars Rider Strong as the geeky Paul, who hopes to settle in around the campfire with his brash buds Jeff (Joey Kern) and Bert (James DeBello), and make the moves on the nubile-but-shy Karen (Jordan Ladd). Unfortunately, a wayward, forest-dwelling vagrant (Arie Verveen) stumbles into their lives, his skin badly desiccated by a mysterious virus. Fearing for their own lives, the quintet decide to do away with the man, with little success: He stumbles away from the campsite and into a nearby stream, where his disease quickly infects the local water supply. It isn't long before the oblivious co-eds get a taste of the man's illness, and in their desperation, each learns that he or she will stop at nothing to survive. Cabin Fever premiered at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, where it was snapped up by Lions Gate for a fall 2003 release. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Before the box-office success of Varsity Blues (1999) and the critical acclaim of Election (1999), the MTV cable channel created this raunchy campus comedy, the debut feature from MTV Films, the network's motion-picture production banner. Josh Miller (Tom Everett Scott) is a studious and responsible pre-med student entering college as a freshman. His wild, hard-partying roommate, Cooper Frederickson (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), on the other hand, is a spoiled rich kid who never studies and spends his time getting drunk and ogling coeds. Before long, Cooper's fun-filled lifestyle has corrupted Josh, and both are on the verge of flunking out of school. That's when they discover a little-used codicil in the college's charter stating that any student whose roommate commits suicide will automatically receive straight A's. Since their third roommate has moved in with his girlfriend, Josh and Cooper set about recruiting the most depressed, suicidal classmate they can find. The prime candidate: Cliff (Lochlyn Munro), a mentally unbalanced wild man. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

As visually stylish as it is graphically violent, this thriller directed by Luc Besson concerns Mathilda (Natalie Portman), a 12-year-old girl living in New York City who has been exposed to the sordid side of life from an early age: her family lives in a slum and her abusive father works for drug dealers, cutting and storing dope. Mathilda doesn't much care for her parents, but she has a close bond with her four-year-old brother. One day, she returns from running an errand to discover that most of her family, including her brother, have been killed in a raid by corrupt DEA agents, led by the psychotic Stansfield (Gary Oldman). Mathilda takes refuge in the apartment of her secretive neighbor, Leon (Jean Reno), who takes her in with a certain reluctance. She discovers that Leon is a professional assassin, working for Tony (Danny Aiello), a mob kingpin based in Little Italy. Wanting to avenge the death of her brother, Mathilda makes a deal with Leon to become his protégée in exchange for work as a domestic servant, hoping to learn the hitman's trade and take out the men who took her brother's life. However, an affection develops between Leon and Mathilda that changes his outlook on his life and career. Besson's first American film boasted a strong performance from Jean Reno, a striking debut by Natalie Portman, and a love-it-or-hate-it, over-the-top turn by Gary Oldman. Léon was originally released in the U.S. in 1994 as The Professional, with 26 minutes cut in response to audience preview tests. Those 26 minutes were restored in the director's preferred cut, released in 1996 in France as Léon: Version Intégrale and in the U.S. on DVD as Léon: The Professional in 2000. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When a snoopy journalist gets too close to the shady secrets of a Nuclear power plant, those that run it toss him into a seething vat of radioactive waste in this horror film. Unfortunately for them, the reporter's looks are horribly altered, but he is far from dead. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi