[VIDEO REVIEWS]Of Bovine Theories and Porcine Provisions

Late-August video releases range from romantic comedy to gangster sagas.

SOMEONE LIKE YOU (2001)

Directed by Tony Goldwyn. Starring Ashley Judd, Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman and Ellen Barkin.

The latest craze these days is for single females trying to make sense of men and the dating world. Think of books such as "Bridget Jones' Diary" and "The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing," and television sitcoms like "Sex and the City," and there you have the premise to "Someone Like You" － but with an added bovine twist.

Jane Goodale (Judd), a talent booker for the talk show host Diane Roberts (Barkin), has a "new cow" theory that explains why men leave women: Bulls will mate with a cow once, and then wait for a new cow. But all Goodale has is theories until she meets the show's new executive producer, Ray (Kinnear). It's love at first sight.

Ray drops his longtime girlfriend for Goodale, and they decide to move in together. But Ray unexpectedly gets cold feet after Goodale gives notice to her landlord. She is forced to move in with another coworker, the womanizing Eddie (Jackman).

Goodale's obsession with the mating habits of cows becomes fodder for a pseudonymous column in a men's magazine. Soon, everyone in New York wants an exclusive with the mysterious author, including Roberts.

"Someone Like You" depends on Judd's charms. Judd is charming, but the movie is predictable and saccharin sweet.

SNATCH (2001)

Directed by Guy Ritchie. Starring Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Jason Statham, Stephen Graham, Alan Ford and Brad Pitt.

The two main schemes are simple. Franky Four Fingers (Del Toro) fingers a large diamond for his Jewish mafia boss, Avi (Farina) in New York City. Boxing promoters Turkish (Statham) and Tommy (Graham) enter the big time by fixing a bare-knuckle fight for a fellow promoter, Brick Top (Ford). Easy money all around? Not when everyone botches up, Guy Ritchie-style.

Franky loses the diamond before he can deliver it to Avi. He also has a gambling problem and places bets on the bare-knuckle boxing match.

Meanwhile, Turkish's boxer is wiped out in a scuffle with a crazy Irish Gypsy, Mickey O'Neil (Pitt). Brick Top, who chops his enemies to pieces to feed his pigs, is unhappy. So Turkish and Tommy hire Mickey instead to take a dive in an upcoming match. Mickey knocks out his opponent with a single punch. From there, the plot becomes a lurid mess of killing sprees, double crossing and robberies, and a feeding frenzy for Brick Top's pigs.

In "Snatch," Ritchie replays the formula of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," but it's such a fun ride you don't care.

by Joe Yong-hee