The Big Hit
Directed by Che-Kirk Wong Starring Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Philips, Antonio Sabato Jr, Bokeem Woodbine, Christina Applegate, Lela Rochon, Lainie Kazan, Elliott Gould
Going directly to video here, this slight but vigorously paced action movie keeps its tongue firmly in cheek throughout. Marking the US debut of Hong Kong film-maker Che-Kirk Wong, it features a perfectly deadpan Mark Wahlberg as an athletic, cool-as-ice professional assassin with a problematic personal life - which is further complicated when he kidnaps the daughter of a Japanese film producer. The action scenes are expertly staged and make effective use of sound effects.
Entrapment
Directed by Jon Amiel Starring Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta Jones
The radiant star quality of its Scottish and Welsh leading players, and a number of well-staged set-pieces go a long way towards sustaining this glossy romantic caper movie through its longueurs and propensity for daft plotting. Oozing with style and presence, Zeta Jones plays an insurance investigator convinced that a 60-year-old expert art thief (Connery) is responsible for the daring theft of a priceless Rembrandt. She poses as a thief and gets involved with him in an audacious heist which hinges on Y2K safeguards.