We're back! Hope everyone had a great holiday season! With 2003 just around the corner, here's our last update of the year. Enjoy, and see you in 2003!

Sibling rivalry - 12:00am

While it didn't exactly ignite the box office as expected given the star power involved, Warner will give the thriller White Oleander a second chance on DVD with a new feature-laden special edition due on March 11th. Available in separate anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions, each includes English and French 5.1 Dolby surround tracks, a longer cut of the film with additional footage not seen in theatres, audio commentary by director Peter Kosminsky, producer John Wells and the novelís author Janet Fitch, the featurettes "The Journey of White Oleander" and "The Making of White Oleander," trailers and filmographies. Retail is $27.95.

Warner also has a real surprise in store for fans of the little-seen cult favorite Empire Records on June 3rd, with the release of the never-before-seen Empire Records Bootleg Cut - Special Fan Edition. This disc includes a new cut of the film in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, an English 5.1 Dolby surround track, commentary by director Allan Moyle, rare music videos, and trailers. Retail is $24.95.

Up the Creek - 12:00am

Speaking of thrillers that tanked, Katie Holmes made another bid for big screen stardom with last fall's Abandon, but the results failed to deliver at the box office. Paramount Home Video will release the flick on DVD on March 18th, in both anamorphic widescreen and full screen versions. Each includes English 5.1 Dolby surround tracks, audio commentary by writer and director Stephen Gaghan and cinematographer Matthew Libatique, the "A Look At The Dark Side: The Making Of Abandon" featurette, deleted scenes with optional commentary, and the trailer. Retail is $29.95.

Also due on the 18th from Paramount is the "Wicked delight" Just a Kiss, a comedy of infidelity starring Taye Diggs, Ron Eldard and Kyra Sedgewick. This one comes complete with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, English and French 5.1 surround tracks, a commentary, and the trailer. Retail is $29.95.

Murder, he sang - 12:00am

Perhaps one of the strangest shows in television history, but also one of the most beloved, Dennis Potter's award-winning miniseries The Singing Detective will hit DVD on April 15th from BBC Home Video. This new 3-disc box set includes every episode of the cult classic, each presented in 4:3 full screen and English 1.0 mono, along with an audio commentary by director Jon Amiel and star Michael Gambon, 3 behind-the-scenes featurettes, and a still gallery. Retail is $59.95.

How much is that doggy in the window? - 12:00am

Riddle me this. How do you know when The Criterion Collection is at it again? A flick the studios wouldn't dare touch gets a nice new remaster and plenty of extras? Sounds like the right answer to me. Case in point is My Life as a Dog, Lasse Hallstrom's acclaimed import that will get the deluxe treatment on March 18th. Featuring a newly remastered anamorphic widescreen transfer, extras include a new video interview with Hallstrom, his 1973 45-minute short film "Shall We Go To My Place Or Your Place Or Each Go Home Alone?", "Reflections on My Life As A Dog" by Kurt Vonnegut, and the original theatrical trailer. Retail is $29.95.

Criterion will also another classic on the 11th: Robert Bresson's Les Dames Du Bois De Boulogne, this one presented in its original 1.37:1 full screen aspect ratio and mono. The only extras is the trailer, and retail is $29.95.

Street date alert - 12:00am

Just in from Columbia TriStar home Entertainment is a quintet of new street dates. Arriving in stores on March 18th is Paul Schrader's acclaimed biopic of the late Bob Crane, AutoFocus. Also due for release on the 18th is The Man from Elysian Fields, The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation, The Eighteenth Angel, and the classic In a Lonely Place. Stay tuned for specs.

Columbia has also announced the full specs for the recent Eddie Murphy stinkeroo I Spy. This one includes both 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and fullscreen transfers, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track, English and French subtitles, audio commentary by director Betty Thomas, the featurettes "Cloak and Camouflage," "Gadgets and Gizmos," "Schematics and Blueprints," and "The Slugfest", and trailers. Retail is $27.95 and street date March 11th.

Continuing to raid their vaults for the best of their vast library, Universal Studios Home Video also has another batch of catalog faves on tap for April 1st. A mix of DVD debuts and reissues, the lineup includes: Legal Eagles, John Belushi in Continental Divide, a new special edition of the sci-fi classic The Andromeda Strain, Francois Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451, and (finally!) new versions of the John Hughes classics The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Weird Science. No specs yet, but watch this space!

last but not least, Universal has announced a big batch of price reductions, also due to take effect on the 1st. Dropping to $14.95 are Steven Spielberg's Always, *batteries not included and The Wiz. Reduced to $19.95: American Graffiti, Brazil, K-9: P.I., The Last Starfighter, The Man Who Wasn't There, Monsoon Wedding, Mulholland Drive, Reality Bites and Xanadu.