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Review Universal Pictures UK / Death Becomes Her [1992]
Actors & Directors
  • Ian Ogilvy
  • Meryl Streep
  • Bruce Willis
  • Goldie Hawn
  • Isabella Rossellini
  • Robert Zemeckis
Release date: 2002-09-02
Run time: 99 min.
Creator: Martin Donovan
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.04

Review Death Becomes Her [1992] / Universal Pictures UK:

If Robert Zemeckis's mega-hit Forrest Gump was too sweet for your taste, you may enjoy the undiluted bitterness of his previous movie, a cynical black comedy that was ahead of its time. Death Becomes Her, an outlandish parable about America's obsession with youth and vanity, exposes the corrosive side of Zemeckis's comic sensibility, the sort of scathing satirical edge he gleefully flourished in his overlooked 1980 Used Cars, which has developed a cult following. Meryl Streep has a ball as the deliciously vicious Madeline Ashton, a flamboyantly mannered actress who makes Bette Davis's formidable Margo Channing in All About Eve look like a wallflower. Goldie Hawn is also in razor-sharp comedic form as Madeline's long-time "best friend," Helen. Sensing a bargain she just can't resist, Madeline steals Helen's meek, plastic-surgeon husband Ernest (Bruce Willis) for her own convenience, and the two women become sworn enemies. But the real complications arise when the two are introduced to a secret anti-aging formula by a mysterious and exotic woman (Isabella Rossellini, delightfully ridiculous) that not only smoothes away wrinkles but actually guarantees immortality. As their undying bodies are twisted and mutilated by violent attacks on each other, both women grow increasingly dependent on Ernest for cosmetic repair. The pioneering digital effects inflicted on Streep and Hawn are as grotesque as they are imaginative and hilarious. Like James Cameron (The Abyss, Titanic), Zemeckis loves a technical challenge, and the new visual tools developed for this movie made his later work (in Forrest Gump and Contact) possible. The digital video disc includes a short feature on the movie's production. [+]
-Jim Emerson, Amazon. com.

Review Warner Home Video / Chuck - Complete Season 1 [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Zachary Levi
  • Sarah Lancaster
  • Yvonne Strahovski
  • Joshua Gomez
  • Scott Krinsky
Release date: 2008-08-18
Run time: 562 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £12.95

Review Chuck - Complete Season 1 [2007] / Warner Home Video:

Zachary Levi was born to play Chuck. A computer nerd who finds himself thrust into the role of a Government secret agent, it's a career-making role in a television show that's got plenty to offer, whether you're along for the action or the comedy. Every episode from Chuck's first season is gathered together in this set, and thus we get to see how a geek effectively became a wannabe-Jack Bauer. It goes without saying that Chuck has a lot of fun with its premise, and it happily asks you to suspend your disbelief as plausibility quickly goes out of the window. But so what? For when the action and comedy are as strong as they are with Chuck, that proves to be no price to pay whatsoever. Mix in the surprisingly high production values and the very witty scripts, and you have a surprise hit of a show that's hard not to warm to. One of the chief reasons for this is Levi in the title role, but Chuck also boasts good supporting turns from the likes of Adam Baldwin and Yvonne Strahovski. It also packs a surprising amount into its 13 episodes, and displays an ambition and verve that serves the show exceedingly well. What's more, it also leaves you positively thirsting for more. Highly recommended. [+]
-Jon Foster.

Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Only You [1995]
Actors & Directors
  • Joaquim de Almeida
  • Marisa Tomei
  • Robert Downey Jr.
  • Norman Jewison
  • Fisher Stevens
  • Bonnie Hunt
Release date: 1999-11-01
Run time: 104 min.
Creator: Diane Drake
RRP: £19.99
Price: £2.45

Review Only You [1995] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

While director Norman Jewison's Moonstruck is a romantic cornerstone, this 1994 film is often overlooked. It's a sweet valentine about a young woman, aptly named Faith (Marisa Tomei, never cuter), who chases an unknown man to Europe because the name "Damon Bradley" was once spelled on a Ouija board as her true love. With her sister-in-law (Bonnie Hunt, whose own marriage seems to be falling apart), she travels the streets of Rome looking for Damon Bradley. And lo and behold, she literally runs into a man claiming to be Damon. Is this meant to be? Faith certainly thinks so. Robert Downey Jr. (also never cuter) plays Damon in a role that showcases his charms. He shows his quick wit in handing Faith's advances and his absolute devotion to her when the winds change. Despite the cuteness factor, this is a movie to fall in love with. Jewison and Sven Nykvist (Ingmar Bergman's cameraman) present a sun-kissed Italy so beautiful, you might be tempted to hop on a plane immediately after viewing the movie. [+]
-Doug Thomas.

Review Pathe Distribution / Le Gout Des Autres [2000]
Actors & Directors
  • Gerard Lanvin
  • Agnes Jaoui
  • Wladimir Yordanoff
  • Alain Chabat
  • Agnes Jaoui
  • Jean-Pierre Bacri
Release date: 2001-11-19
Run time: 108 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.19

Review Le Gout Des Autres [2000] / Pathe Distribution:


Review 2 Entertain / Summer Heights High & We Can Be Heroes Box Set [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Chris Lilley
Release date: 2008-10-06
Run time: 420 min.
RRP: £39.99
Price: £28.73

Review Summer Heights High & We Can Be Heroes Box Set [2005] / 2 Entertain:


Review Contender Entertainment Group / Will and Grace: Complete Series 8
Actors & Directors
  • Debra Messing
  • Sean Hayes
  • Eric McCormack
  • Megan Mullally
Release date: 2006-08-07
Run time: 492 min.
RRP: £49.99
Price: £8.99

Review Will and Grace: Complete Series 8 / Contender Entertainment Group:


Review Uca / Adventures Of Elmo In Grouchland [2000]
Actors & Directors
  • Vanessa Williams
  • Gary Halvorson
  • Kevin Clash
  • Sonia Manzano
  • Roscoe Orman
  • Mandy Patinkin
Release date: 2004-03-08
Run time: 70 min.
Creator: Mitchell Kriegman
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.45

Review Adventures Of Elmo In Grouchland [2000] / Uca:

Welcome to Grouchland, USA, place of a thousand stenches. This is where everyone's favourite red monster winds up when he stars in his first feature film, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. Elmo learns a lesson when he refuses to share his blanket with his best friend, Zoe, then loses it in Oscar's can, where it goes all the way to Grouchland. There the beloved blanket winds up in the clutches of the greediest man alive, Huxley (played by Mandy Patinkin), and Elmo has to venture alone to Huxley's lair to get it back. The Sesame Street gang follows Elmo but ends up in the Grouchland jail. Fortunately, whenever things start looking too bleak, our hosts Ernie and Bert stop the film and offer reassurance. There are also numerous opportunities for audience participation (canned kids' voices will prevent parents from feeling too silly when viewing at home). This 73-minute film has plenty to entertain the youngsters as well as details and inside jokes for parents. And of course there are marvellous animated effects-although seeing Elmo dance in 1999 isn't quite as remarkable as it was to see Kermit ride a bicycle in 1977's The Muppet Movie. The songs are fun and bouncy, and veteran performers Patinkin and Vanessa Williams (as the Queen of Trash) contribute their exceptional talent. [+]
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland was conceived as a film kids could see in the cinema; in the safe environs of home, it's good fun for anyone over the age of two, or even younger in small doses. -David Horiuchi, Amazon. com.

Review 2 Entertain Video / Porridge - Series Three [1974]
Actors & Directors
  • Fulton Mackay
  • Brian Wilde
  • Ronnie Barker
  • Richard Beckinsale
  • Sam Kelly
Release date: 2003-09-29
Run time: 180 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £6.12

Review Porridge - Series Three [1974] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Mean Girls (Special Collector's Edition) [2004]
Actors & Directors
  • Mark Waters (VIII)
  • Tina Fey
  • Rachel McAdams
  • Amy Poehler
  • Lindsay Lohan
  • Tim Meadows
Release date: 2004-10-18
Run time: 93 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £3.65

Review Mean Girls (Special Collector's Edition) [2004] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

The cutting wit of Tina Fey (the first female head writer for US comedy breeding ground Saturday Night Live) brilliantly fuses pop culture and smart satire. Fey wrote Mean Girls, in which a formerly home-schooled girl named Cady (Lindsay Lohan) gets dropped into the sneaky, vicious world of the Plastics, three adolescent glamour-girls who dominate their public high school's social heirarchy. Cady first befriends a couple of art-punk outsiders who persuade her to infiltrate the Plastics and destroy them from within-but power corrupts, and Cady soon finds the glory of being a Plastic to be seductive. Mean Girls joins the ranks of Clueless, Bring It On, and Heathers, cunning movies that use the hormone-pressurized high school milieu to put the dark impulses of human nature-ambition, envy, lust, revenge-under a comic microscope. Fey manages to skewer everyone without forgetting the characters' hapless humanity; it's a dazzling and delightful balancing act. -Bret Fetzer.

Review Jimmy Carr / Jimmy Carr - Live Collection
Release date: 2006-11-13
Run time: 155 min.
RRP: £22.99
Price: £13.27

Review Jimmy Carr - Live Collection / Jimmy Carr:


Review 2 Entertain / Paul Merton In China 2008
Actors & Directors
  • Barbie MacLaurin
  • Paul Merton
Release date: 2008-10-27
Run time: 240 min.
Creator: Simon Onwurah
RRP: £24.99
Price: £16.98

Review Paul Merton In China 2008 / 2 Entertain:

What could just be another travelogue documentary, Paul Merton In China is lifted enormously by its star. Merton, best known of course for the likes of Have I Got News For You, covers the well and lesser known destinations within China’s border, all the while proving to be an engaging and genial guide. It helps, of course, that Merton is one of the funniest people working in television today, but Paul Merton In China is a lot more than a chance for him to display his wit (although it is frequently very funny). Instead, he displays a continuing inquisitive interest in the places that we see him visit, never forgetting that his job is to help document a broad, yet often mysterious nation. Across the four hours of Paul Merton In China, he covers both the contrasting modern and more traditional areas of the country, from the big cities through to the lesser-known areas, meeting some interesting characters while on his travels. And the only problem is that there isn’t more of it, for there’s surely scope for some kind of follow-up here, given that Merton scratches the surface of the country. Nonetheless, Paul Merton In China is a quite brilliant piece of television, and you only hope that the BBC ensures Mr Merton’s passport is kept regularly stamped in the years ahead. -Jon Foster.

Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Anchorman - The Legend Of Ron Burgundy/Wake Up, Ron Burgundy - The Lost Movie [2004]
Actors & Directors
  • Fred Willard
  • Adam McKay
  • Steve Carell
  • David Koechner
  • Christina Applegate
  • Will Ferrell
Release date: 2008-08-18
Run time: 179 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £8.98

Review Anchorman - The Legend Of Ron Burgundy/Wake Up, Ron Burgundy - The Lost Movie [2004] / Paramount Home Entertainment:


Review Caroline Reid / Pam Ann - Come Fly With Me [2007]
Release date: 2007-10-29
Run time: 90 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.89

Review Pam Ann - Come Fly With Me [2007] / Caroline Reid:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Open All Hours - Series Four [1985]
Actors & Directors
  • Ronnie Barker
  • Lynda Baron
  • David Jason
Release date: 2005-10-31
Run time: 177 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £5.68

Review Open All Hours - Series Four [1985] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night [1964]
Actors & Directors
  • George Harrison
  • Paul McCartney
  • The Beatles
  • Wilfrid Brambell
  • Ringo Starr
Release date: 2002-09-30
Run time: 89 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £4.94

Review The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night [1964] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:

A Hard Day's Night may have been The Beatles' first big-screen experience but, as they had become the biggest band in the world by the time of its production, the Moptops were able to ensure it was a bit different from the band-movie norm. "We'd made it clear that we weren't interested in being stuck in one of those nobody-understands-our-music plots," John Lennon would later recall. "The kind of thing where we'd just pop up a couple of times between the action, all smiles and clean shirts, to sing our latest record. Never mind all your pals, how could we have faced each other if we had allowed ourselves to be involved in that kind of movie?" Instead the quartet recruited a young director named Richard Lester-who had previously worked with the Fab Four's beloved Goons-to make a movie that followed them as they enjoyed and endured the phenomenon that was Beatlemania. "The film wrote itself right in front of our eyes," says Lester. "We just took the dirty bits and cut them out. " The result is a frenetic hour and a half inside The Beatles' personal space as they engage in all manner of surreal hi-jinks-more often than not involving Paul's "grandfather" (played by Steptoe and Son's Wilfrid Brambell) while dodging the ever-present horde of screaming fans. Although the result now seems a little dated, there remains an almost heart-breakingly good-natured aura around the foursome's naïve performances while few could argue about the quality of a soundtrack that includes "Can't Buy Me Love", "And I Love Her" and "A Hard Day's Night" itself, to name but a few. Whether the film would have been quite so successful if Lester had followed McCartney's suggestion and called it "Oh, What A Lovely Wart!" will, sadly, never be known. -Clark Collis A Hard Day's Night may have been the Beatles' first big-screen experience but, as they had become the biggest band in the world by the time of its production, the Moptops were able to ensure it was a bit different from the band-movie norm. [+]
"We'd made it clear that we weren't interested in being stuck in one of those nobody-understands-our-music plots," John Lennon would later recall, "The kind of thing where we'd just pop up a couple of times between the action, all smiles and clean shirts, to sing our latest record. " Instead the quartet recruited a young director named Richard Lester-who had previously worked with the Fab Four's beloved Goons-to make a movie that followed them as they enjoyed and endured the phenomenon that was Beatlemania. "The film wrote itself right in front of our eyes," says Lester. "We just took the dirty bits and cut them out. " The result is a frenetic hour and a half inside the Beatles' personal space as they engage in all manner of surreal hijinks-more often than not involving Paul's "grandfather" (played by Steptoe and Son's Wilfrid Brambell) while dodging the ever-present horde of screaming fans. Although the result now seems a little dated, there remains an almost heartbreakingly good-natured aura around the foursome's naïve performances, while few could argue about the quality of a soundtrack that includes "Can't Buy Me Love", "And I Love Her" and "A Hard Day's Night" itself, to name but a few. Whether the film would have been quite so successful if Lester had followed McCartney's suggestion and called it "Oh, What a Lovely Wart!" will, sadly, never be known. -Clark Collis.

Review Playback / All Creatures Great & Small - Series 1 - Volume 2 [1978]
Actors & Directors
  • Mary Hignett
  • Peter Grimwade
  • Robert Hardy
  • Lynda Bellingham
  • Christopher Timothy
  • Peter Davison
Release date: 2003-05-05
Run time: 347 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £11.00

Review All Creatures Great & Small - Series 1 - Volume 2 [1978] / Playback:


Review Walt Disney Home Video / The Emperor's New Groove [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Eartha Kitt
  • David Spade
  • Mark Dindal
  • John Goodman
  • Wendie Malick
  • Patrick Warburton
Release date: 2001-11-05
Run time: 74 min.
Creator: Roger Allers
RRP: £17.99
Price: £3.70

Review The Emperor's New Groove [2001] / Walt Disney Home Video:

The Emperor's New Groove was originally developed as an epic called Kingdom of the Sun and lost scale and most of Sting's song score (some of which can be heard on the soundtrack) on its way to the screen. The end result is the lightest Disney film in many a moon, a joyous romp akin to Aladdin in its quotient of laughs for children and adults. The original story centres on the spoiled teenage emperor Kuzco (David Spade), who enjoys getting the best of his Aztecan subjects. When he fires Yzma (Eartha Kitt), his evil sorceress, she seeks revenge and turns Kuzco into a llama with the help of Kronk, her hunk of the month (Patrick Warburton). Alone in the jungle, the talking llama is befriended by Pacha (John Goodman), who has just been told to vacate his pastoral home by the human Kuzco. What's an ego to do? That's pretty much the story and the characters-simple, direct, fun-a Disney film on a diet. For any fan of the acidic humour of Spade, this is essential viewing. As narrator of his tale, Kuzco uses a sarcastic tone to keep the story jumping with plenty of fun asides (he even "stops" the film at one point to make sure you know the story is about him). Even better is character actor Warburton (Elaine's stuck-up boyfriend on Seinfeld), who steals every scene as the dim-witted, but oh-so-likable Kronk. There's even a delicious Tom Jones number that starts the film off with a bang. [+]
-Doug Thomas, Amazon. com.

Review Contender Entertainment Group / Kenny [2007] [2006]
Actors & Directors
  • Hayley Preusker
  • Shane Jacobson
  • Travis Golland
  • Clayton Jacobson
  • Alf Scerri
  • Chris Davis
Release date: 2008-01-21
Run time: 100 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £3.40

Review Kenny [2007] [2006] / Contender Entertainment Group:

It's been a while since the dependable Australian movie industry served up another of the quirky, enjoyable comedies it became famed for in the 1990s. But Kenny proves that there's no shortage of talent down under, with a well put together marriage of comedy and drama that pays off handsomely. The film is a spoof documentary surrounding plumber Kenny Smyth, played by Shane Jacobson. Building its character up carefully and diligently, Kenny then takes us through the lows (unpleasant father, equally unpleasant ex-wife, not altogether pleasant job), and then better days. These come when Kenny heads off to the International Pumper & Cleaner Expo in America, and while we won't spoil what happens here, it's a well-told, rounded story that emerges. There are plenty of reasons to like Kenny, and its lead actor is one of the main ones. Shane Jacobson's performance is strong and engaging, capturing the optimistic outlook of the central character very well. The film is then directed by Shane's brother, Clayton, and his work too is full of promise. Mock documentaries haven't been scarce in recent times, yet the two Jacobsons nonetheless carve out a warm and engaging story within the confines of the genre. Kenny isn't a film without a couple of problems, and there are a couple of lulls that come with the journey. [+]
But it's a film with a rounded central character who you'll laugh at, care about, and ultimately, enjoy spending time with. An easy recommendation. -Jon Foster.

Review Warner Home Video / Must Love Dogs [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Gary David Goldberg
  • Elizabeth Perkins
  • Diane Lane
  • John Cusack
  • Ali Hillis
  • Christopher Plummer
Release date: 2006-02-06
Run time: 98 min.
RRP: £18.99
Price: £3.28

Review Must Love Dogs [2005] / Warner Home Video:


Review Universal Pictures UK / American Pie Boxset 1-5 [1999]
Actors & Directors
  • January Jones
  • Chris Owen
  • Mena Suvari
  • Jesse Dylan
  • Paul Weitz
  • Steve Rash
  • J.B. Rogers
  • Natasha Lyonne
  • Jason Biggs
Release date: 2006-12-04
Run time: 497 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £14.99

Review American Pie Boxset 1-5 [1999] / Universal Pictures UK:


Browse Comedy:

Models & Brands:
Death Becomes Her [1992], Chuck - Complete Season 1 [2007], Only You [1995], Le Gout Des Autres [2000], Summer Heights High & We Can Be Heroes Box Set [2005], Will and Grace: Complete Series 8, Adventures Of Elmo In Grouchland [2000], Porridge - Series Three [1974], Mean Girls (Special Collector's Edition) [2004], Jimmy Carr - Live Collection, Paul Merton In China 2008, Anchorman - The Legend Of Ron Burgundy/Wake Up, Ron Burgundy - The Lost Movie [2004], Pam Ann - Come Fly With Me [2007], Open All Hours - Series Four [1985], The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night [1964], All Creatures Great & Small - Series 1 - Volume 2 [1978], The Emperor's New Groove [2001], Kenny [2007] [2006], Must Love Dogs [2005], American Pie Boxset 1-5 [1999]

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