DVD Find the Perfect Gift    Send a Gift Certificate
Search 
Home › Action & Adventure
Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Tears Of The Sun [Blu-ray] [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Bruce Willis
  • Monica Bellucci
  • Antoine Fuqua
Release date: 2006-10-16
Run time: 116 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £8.45

Review Tears Of The Sun [Blu-ray] [2003] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

Bruce Willis, Monica Bellucci

Review Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) / Mission Impossible: Ultimate Missions Collection (5 Disc Box Set)
Actors & Directors
  • Tom Cruise
Release date: 2006-11-06
Run time: 344 min.
RRP: £37.99
Price: £9.52

Review Mission Impossible: Ultimate Missions Collection (5 Disc Box Set) / Paramount Home Entertainment (UK):


Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Cloverfield (2 Disc Special Edition)
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Stahl-David
  • Mike Vogel
  • Matt Reeves
  • Jessica Lucas
  • Odette Yustman
  • Lizzy Caplan
Release date: 2008-06-09
Run time: 81 min.
RRP: £22.99
Price: £11.31

Review Cloverfield (2 Disc Special Edition) / Paramount Home Entertainment:

One of the first things a viewer notices about Cloverfield is that it doesn't play by ordinary storytelling rules, making this intriguing horror film as much a novelty as an event. Told from the vertiginous point-of-view of a camcorder-wielding group of friends, Cloverfield begins like a television soap opera about young Manhattanites coping with changes in their personal lives. Rob (Michael Stahl-David) is leaving New York to take an executive job at a company in Japan. At his goodbye party in a crowded loft, Rob's brother Jason (Mike Vogel) hands a camcorder to best friend Hud (T. J. Miller), who proceeds to tape the proceedings over old footage of Rob's ex-girlfriend, Beth (Odette Yustman)-images shot during happy times in their ex-relationship. Naturally, Beth shows up at the party with a new beau, bumming Rob out completely. Just before one's eyes glaze over from all this heartbreaking stuff (captured by Hud, who's something of a doofus, in laughably shaky camerawork), the unexpected happens: New York is suddenly under attack from a Godzilla-like monster stomping through midtown and destroying everything and everybody in sight. Rob and company hit the streets, but rather than run with other evacuees, they head toward the center of the storm so that Rob can rescue an injured Beth. There are casualties along the way, but the journey into fear is fascinating and immediate if emotionally remote-a consequence of seeing these proceedings through the singular, subjective perspective of a camcorder and of a story that intentionally leaves major questions unanswered: Who or what is this monster? Where did it come from? The lack of a backstory, and spare views of the marauding creature, are clever ways by producer J. [+]
J. Abrams and director Matt Reeves to keep an audience focused exclusively on what's on the screen. But it also makes Cloverfield curiously uninvolving. Ultimately, Cloverfield, with its spectacular effects brilliantly woven into a home-video look, is a celebration of infinite possibilities in this age of accessible, digital media. -Tom Keogh.

Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen (20th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] [1988]
Actors & Directors
  • John Neville
  • Terry Gilliam
  • Jack Purvis
  • Winston Dennis
  • Alison Steadman
  • Sarah Polley
Release date: 2008-04-07
Run time: 121 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £11.42

Review The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen (20th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] [1988] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

Monty Python's Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Brazil) directs this wild and wonderful version of the stories of Baron Munchausen, pushing the limits of 1989 special effects technology to bring us such sights as a horse divided in half and running around in two parts, and a giant Robin Williams with his head flying off his shoulders. Basically, this is a treat for Gilliam fans, as the sustaining idea of the film runs out of steam, and manic energy alone keeps the momentum going. Casual viewers might find it tedious after a while. There are nice parts for fellow Python Eric Idle, as well as Sting, Alison Steadman and Uma Thurman as a dazzlingly beautiful Venus on a half-shell. Gilliam had greater artistic and commercial success with Brazil, The Fisher King, and 12 Monkeys. -Tom Keogh.

Review Universal Pictures UK / Unleashed [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Bob Hoskins
  • Jet Li
  • Michael Webber
  • Louis Leterrier
  • Jaclyn Lee
  • Morgan Freeman
Release date: 2005-11-21
Run time: 97 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £2.21

Review Unleashed [2005] / Universal Pictures UK:

Luc Besson wrote and directed the stylish thrillers La Femme Nikita and The Professional; though he didn't direct Unleashed, the script has his trademark fusion of outrageous sentimentality and over-the-top violence. Hong Kong action superstar Jet Li (Romeo Must Die, Hero) stars as Danny, a man raised to be a brutal attack dog by a nasty gangster named Bart (Bob Hoskins, Mona Lisa)-when Bart removes Danny's collar, Danny pulverizes everyone in the room. But a chance encounter with a blind piano tuner (Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby) reveals to Danny the possibility of a less brutal life, and when a retaliation attack gives him the chance to escape, he does-but Bart won't let him go that easily. The fighting in Unleashed is effectively jolting; Li and fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping (The Matrix) have purposefully stripped away the smoothness of most movie combat (especially with a genuine martial artist like Li) with raw, unnerving results, especially when juxtaposed with the sweet and earnest scenes of Li regaining his humanity with Freeman and his step-daughter (Kerry Condon). This freewheeling cocktail of bloody noses and ice-cream cones isn't for everyone, but fans of both Besson and Li will leave satisfied. -Bret Fetzer.

Review Warner Home Video / Ocean's Thirteen [Blu-ray] [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Eddie Izzard
  • Steven Soderbergh
  • Andy Garcia
  • Casey Affleck
  • Elliott Gould
  • Ellen Barkin
Release date: 2007-11-05
Run time: 122 min.
RRP: £26.99
Price: £9.49

Review Ocean's Thirteen [Blu-ray] [2007] / Warner Home Video:

Geroge Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle It comes as something of a relief to find that Ocean's Thirteen eases itself back to the charm and suave, sophisticated swagger that underpinned the first in what's become a trilogy of capers. And for those who endured the self-indulgent mess that was Ocean's Twelve, this latest and final entry in the franchise is a very welcome treat, proving very much that lessons were learnt. Dropping Catherine Zeta Jones and Julia Roberts from the cast list, but signing up the smaller matter of Al Pacino instead, the rest of the players remain broadly intact. So it's George Clooney's Danny Ocean who leads the team of cons, supported by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle and Carl Reiner. And it's the easy chemistry between these and the rest of the team that underpin what makes Ocean's 13 such an enjoyable ride. The plot pits Ocean and his gang against Al Pacino's ruthless casino boss, and while the script perhaps lacks the cleverness and dense plotting that worked so well in the first adventure, it still leaves plenty of room for outright entertainment. The end result is an easy-to-enjoy caper, that's not the equal of Ocean's Eleven, yet far superior to Ocean's Twelve. And considering it was released in the midst of a summer where threequels generally weren't too well received, Ocean's Thirteen arrives in fine shape, and rounds off the trilogy with panache. -Jon Foster.

Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Boyz 'N The Hood [1991]
Actors & Directors
  • John Singleton
  • Hudhail Al-Amir
  • Mia Bell
  • Lloyd Avery
  • Cuba Gooding Jr.
  • Yolanda Whittaker
Release date: 2004-07-19
Run time: 107 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.84

Review Boyz 'N The Hood [1991] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

John Singleton, at the age of 23, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his debut film, Boyz n the Hood. The film stars Laurence Fishburne, Angela Basset, Ice Cube, and Academy Award-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. in his first starring role in a feature film. Gooding plays Tre Styles, a teenager growing up in South Central Los Angeles. His father, Furious (Fishburne), is divorced and living away from Tre and his mother (Basset), but he's still involved in Tre's upbringing, teaching him responsibility and the values of right and wrong. Meanwhile, Tre's childhood buddies Ricky (Morris Chestnut) and Doughboy (Ice Cube) are living their lives in terms of the epidemic of violence and poverty that has plagued their neighborhood. Ricky, a talented football player, strives to get a full athletic scholarship to college. If only his SAT scores were higher. Doughboy lives a life full of crime but still remains true to his friends. The obstacles that these three young men come across result in dire consequences, devastatingly avoidable and inevitable at the same time. [+]
Boyz n the Hood is a landmark film beyond its commercial success, presenting a portrait of South Central in the late '80s and early '90s as painted by Singleton (who grew up in that neighborhood), achieving accuracy and dramatic resonance in this story of at-risk youth. -Shannon Gee.

Review Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Gone in Sixty Seconds [Blu-ray] [2000]
Actors & Directors
  • Chi McBride
  • Scott Caan
  • James Duval
  • Dominic Sena
  • Timothy Olyphant
  • Nicolas Cage
Release date: 2007-03-19
Run time: 113 min.
RRP: £26.99
Price: £14.58

Review Gone in Sixty Seconds [Blu-ray] [2000] / Buena Vista Home Entertainment:

Gone in 60 Seconds opens on Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi), a cocky young car thief working with a crew to steal 50 cars for a very bad man whose nickname is "The Carpenter". Being young and cocky, Kip messes up, so it's up to his big brother, Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage), to come out of car-thief retirement and save him. With a cast that includes Robert Duvall, Angelina Jolie, Delroy Lindo, Cage and Ribisi, it would be easy to say this story wastes all their talents-which it does-but that's not the point. This is a Jerry Bruckheimer film. A good story and complex characters would only get in the way of the action scenes and slow the movie down. No, Gone in 60 Seconds (based on the cult 1974 film of the same name) is not about the stars as much as it's about cars. Fast cars. Rare cars. Wrecked cars. All cars. [+]
Too bad director Dominic Sena (Kalifornia) doesn't come across as more of a gearhead; he seems less interested in fast cars than fast cuts. But is this movie fun? Absolutely, and it's fun because it's so stupid. With pointless car chases and hackneyed dialogue in one of the most predictable plots of the year, Gone in 60 Seconds is a comic film that's not quite a parody of itself, but darn close. -Andy Spletzer, Amazon. com Nicolas Cage, James Duval, Scott Caan, Chi McBride, Timothy Olyphant.

Review Optimum Home Entertainment / Redacted [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Brian De Palma
Release date: 2008-07-21
Run time: 87 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £8.29

Review Redacted [2007] / Optimum Home Entertainment:


Review Warner Home Video / Ben 10: Race Against Time [2008] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Haley Ramm
  • Graham Phillips
  • Beth Littleford
  • Don McManus
  • Christien Anholt
  • Alex Winter
Release date: 2008-04-08
Run time: 67 min.
Price: £4.91

Review Ben 10: Race Against Time [2008] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:


Review Optimum Home Entertainment / Rambo - The Ultimate Blu-Ray Collection [Blu-ray] [1982]
Actors & Directors
  • Peter MacDonald
  • David Caruso
  • Steven Berkoff
  • George Pan Cosmatos
  • Ted Kotcheff
  • Sylvester Stallone
  • Richard Crenna
  • Brian Dennehy
  • Sylvester Stallone
Release date: 2008-06-23
Run time: 489 min.
RRP: £69.99
Price: £32.99

Review Rambo - The Ultimate Blu-Ray Collection [Blu-ray] [1982] / Optimum Home Entertainment:

Considering it's a saga that started in 1982 with the story of a Vietnam War vet caught in the wrong place at the wrong time that had by 2007 turned into a full-on action spectacular, it's fair to say that the Rambo: Ultimate Blu-ray Collection gives you plenty of bang for your buck. As one of Sylvester Stallone's career-defining roles, John Rambo has become a modern day action cinema icon. Yet it's also been the platform for some very good films. The first, Rambo: First Blood is the best, with Rambo's fight in the mountains against corrupt police officers. Morally ambiguous yet thoughtful, it's a very strong action flick, and Richard Crenna is, as usual, worth the asking price alone. The first of the sequels, Rambo: First Blood Part II, also keeps the momentum up. This is the one where Rambo gets sent off to rescue prisoners of war, and the body count really begins to ramp up. That said, by the time we got to Rambo III, it was all guns blazing- by then any modicum of reality had disappeared. And the recent fourth outing, Rambo, very much maintains that spirit, with the bullets and bodies mounting up in double time. Beautifully presented in high definition, what the Rambo: Blu-ray Ultimate Collection offers is a defining collection of action cinema, and a bringing together of a franchise of films that, despite their flaws, certainly know how to entertain you. [+]
The fact that they've never looked better just sweetens the deal. -Jon Foster.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Aliens [1986]
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Biehn
  • Paul Reiser
  • James Cameron
  • Sigourney Weaver
  • Lance Henriksen
  • Carrie Henn
Release date: 2000-05-15
Run time: 148 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £2.55

Review Aliens [1986] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

James Cameron's Aliens digests all the virtues of Alien and regurgitates them bigger, louder and brasher than before. By the simple expedient of turning the singular beast of the original into a plural, Cameron transforms the franchise's focus from horror to all-out action. Sigourney Weaver's Ripley-one of the strongest roles for a female lead in mainstream cinema-is centre-stage throughout, more than able to hold her own either among the butch Marines and insectoid aliens. Although the director later revealed that there were only ever six alien costumes in any one shot, rapid-fire editing makes it seem like hundreds. Aliens is one of the most dynamic, viscerally exciting movies of the decade and, as a bug-fest, remained unsurpassed until the glorious Starship Troopers in 1997. On the DVD: The Director's Cut reinstates 17 crucial minutes of footage deleted from the theatrical release. It reveals how the colony on LV-426 encountered the aliens, and more importantly why Ripley's maternal bond with Newt is so strong, which adds an extra dimension to the film's climax. Also included is a short, fairly bland interview with James Cameron, recorded at the time of the cinema release, as well as some background explanation on how specific special effects were created. Unlike the Alien disc, there is no directorial commentary. -Mark Walker Aliens is one of the few cases of a sequel that far surpassed the original. [+]
Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, who awakens on Earth only to discover that she has been hibernating in space so long that everyone she knows is dead. Then she is talked into travelling (along with a squad of Marines) to a planet under assault by the same aliens that nearly killed her. Once she gets there, she finds a lost little girl who triggers her maternal instincts-and she discovers that the company has once again double-crossed her, in hopes of capturing one of the aliens to study as a military weapon. Directed and written by James Cameron, this is one of the most intensely exciting (not to mention intensely frightening) action films ever, with a large ensemble cast that includes Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser, and Michael Biehn. Weaver defined the action woman in this film and walked away with an Oscar nomination for her trouble. -Marshall Fine.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Commando [1986]
Actors & Directors
  • James Olson
  • Vernon Wells
  • Dan Hedaya
  • Mark L. Lester
  • Rae Dawn Chong
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger
Release date: 2003-08-25
Run time: 86 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.99

Review Commando [1986] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

A massively underrated action thriller which kept Schwarzenegger occupied between blockbusters, Commando may be one of the last shoot-out films ever to have real characters in it. Not, of course, that they're anything other than stereotypes, but they're painted with such detailed, positive strokes that it's impossible not to relate to them. Arnie plays a retired military special-ops officer whose daughter (played with an expert balance of cute/feisty by Alyssa Milano) is kidnapped by the baddest of bad guys, who'll only hand her back as and when he's assassinated a tiresome banana-republic president on their behalf. Needless to say, Arnie is deeply annoyed by this, rescues the moppet single-handed amid more bullets and explosions than you can shake a stuntman's pay cheque at, and. well, why spoil the fun by revealing any more? Co-star Rae Dawn Chong gets some nice one-liners as the innocent bystander who gets caught up in the mayhem. The DVD comes with no additional features at all, but who needs 'em anyway? -Roger Thomas.

Review Lois and Clark / Lois And Clark - The New Adventures Of Superman - Series 4
Release date: 2006-10-23
Run time: 1002 min.
RRP: £39.99
Price: £20.94

Review Lois And Clark - The New Adventures Of Superman - Series 4 / Lois and Clark:


Review Hellboy Animated / Hellboy Animated - Blood and Iron [2007]
Release date: 2007-06-25
Run time: 75 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £3.31

Review Hellboy Animated - Blood and Iron [2007] / Hellboy Animated:


Review Universal Pictures UK / The Fast And The Furious [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Michelle Rodriguez
  • Vin Diesel
  • Jordana Brewster
  • Paul Walker
  • Rick Yune
  • Rob Cohen
Release date: 2005-07-04
Run time: 107 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £2.92

Review The Fast And The Furious [2001] / Universal Pictures UK:

A guilty pleasure with excess horsepower, The Fast and the Furious efficiently combines time-honored male fantasies (hot cars, hot women, hot action) into a vacuous plot of crystalline purity. It's trash, but it's fun trash, in which a hotshot Los Angeles cop named Brian (Paul Walker) infiltrates a gang of street racers suspected of fencing stolen goods from hijacked trucks. The gang leader is Dom (Vin Diesel), ex-con and reigning king of the street racers, who lives for those 10 seconds of freedom when his high-performance "rice rocket" (a highly modified Asian import) hurtles toward another quarter-mile victory. Racing is street theater for a lawless youth subculture, and Dom is a star behind the wheel-charismatic, dangerous, and protective toward his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster), who's attracted to Brian as the newest member of Dom's car-crazy team. Director Rob Cohen treats this like Roman tragedy for MTV junkies, pushing every scene to adrenaline-pumping extremes; when his camera isn't caressing a spectrum of nitrous oxide-enhanced dream machines, it's ogling countless slim 'n' sexy race babes. The undercover-cop scenario cheaply borrows the split-loyalty theme perfected in Donnie Brasco; a rival Asian gang adds mystery and menace; and digital trickery is cleverly employed to explore the fuel-injected innards of the day-glo racecars. It's about as substantial as a perfume ad, but just as alluring, and for heavy-metal maniacs of any age, Diesel's superblown '69 Charger proves that Detroit muscle never goes out of style. -Jeff Shannon.

Review ITV DVD / The Way Ahead [1944]
Actors & Directors
  • Stanley Holloway
  • David Niven
  • Leslie Dwyer
  • John Laurie
  • Carol Reed
  • James Donald
Release date: 2004-05-17
Run time: 110 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.77

Review The Way Ahead [1944] / ITV DVD:


Review MGM Entertainment / Over The Top [1986]
Actors & Directors
  • Sylvester Stallone
  • Menahem Golan
  • Robert Loggia
  • Susan Blakely
  • David Mendenhall
Release date: 2004-05-03
Run time: 89 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.99

Review Over The Top [1986] / MGM Entertainment:

Arm-wrestling might be far down on most viewers' list of "most cinematic sports," but Sylvester Stallone certainly goes the distance to prove the contrary in this lightweight but entertaining mid-'80s action/family feature. Stallone (who co-wrote the script with Stirling Silliphant) plays taciturn trucker Lincoln Hawk (though he's called "Hawks" by large portions of the cast), who faces two considerable challenges at once: to win the Las Vegas Arm Wrestling Championship, and to impress the son (David Mendenhall) who's been turned against him by his grandfather (Robert Loggia, snarling up a storm). Menahem Golan's direction and the soundtrack of bombastic '80s pop-rock (by Sammy Hagar, Kenny Loggins and others) is anything but subtle, and the host of opponents Stallone faces look like they were culled from professional wrestling (indeed, veteran grappler Terry Funk is in the cast), but Sly stalwarts and '80s action aficionados may find this rousing entertainment. The widescreen anamorphic DVD offers only the original theatrical trailer as an extra. - Paul Gaita.

Review Universal Pictures Video / Tremors [1990]
Actors & Directors
  • Kevin Bacon
  • Reba McEntire
  • Finn Carter
  • Ron Underwood
  • Fred Ward
  • Michael Gross
Release date: 2003-07-21
Run time: 91 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.48

Review Tremors [1990] / Universal Pictures Video:

Tremors didn't actually break any new ground (even though its tunnelling worm monsters certainly did), but it revved up the classic monster-movie formulas of the 1950s with such energetic enthusiasm and humour that it made everything old seem new again. It's also got a cast full of enjoyable actors who clearly had a lot of fun making the film, and director Ron Underwood strikes just the right balance of comedy and terror as a band of small-town rednecks battles a lot of really nasty-looking giant worms. The special effects are great, the one-liners fly fast and furious between heroes Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward (and yes, that's country star Reba McEntire packin' awesome firepower), and it's all done with the kind of flair one rarely associates with goofy monster flicks like this. -Jeff Shannon, Amazon. com.

Review Uca / DOA - Dead Or Alive [2006]
Actors & Directors
  • Corey Yuen
  • Natassia Malthe
  • Jaime Pressly
  • Holly Valance
  • Devon Aoki
  • Sarah Carter
Release date: 2008-10-06
Run time: 83 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £2.98

Review DOA - Dead Or Alive [2006] / Uca:


Browse Action & Adventure:

Models & Brands:
Tears Of The Sun [Blu-ray] [2003], Mission Impossible: Ultimate Missions Collection (5 Disc Box Set), Cloverfield (2 Disc Special Edition), The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen (20th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] [1988], Unleashed [2005], Ocean's Thirteen [Blu-ray] [2007], Boyz 'N The Hood [1991], Gone in Sixty Seconds [Blu-ray] [2000], Redacted [2007], Ben 10: Race Against Time [2008] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Rambo - The Ultimate Blu-Ray Collection [Blu-ray] [1982], Aliens [1986], Commando [1986], Lois And Clark - The New Adventures Of Superman - Series 4, Hellboy Animated - Blood and Iron [2007], The Fast And The Furious [2001], The Way Ahead [1944], Over The Top [1986], Tremors [1990], DOA - Dead Or Alive [2006]

Top headlines:
Search 
DVD Rental: try it for free