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Review Cinema Club / Short Circuit [1986]
Actors & Directors
  • John Badham
  • Steve Guttenberg
  • Austin Pendleton
  • G.W. Bailey
  • Ally Sheedy
  • Fisher Stevens
Release date: 2004-04-05
Run time: 95 min.
Creator: S.S. Wilson
RRP: £9.99
Price: £7.99

Review Short Circuit [1986] / Cinema Club:

John Badham's family-orientated adventure comedy Short Circuit, though obviously hatched in the wake of E. T. and Star Wars, manages to create its own identity through a sweet tone and an affectionate sense of fun. Military robot Number 5, a well-armed killing machine, is zapped by lightning during a test and emerges with a wacky sense of humour and a new peace-loving philosophy. Ally Sheedy (who debuted in Badham's hit WarGames) is the animal-lover whose home is sanctuary for a zoo-full of strays and who adopts the adolescent robot. Steve Guttenberg is the goofy but reclusive robotics designer who goes off in search of his creation to save him from the gun-happy army. The mix of gentle slapstick and innocent romance makes for a harmless family comedy. It veers toward the terminally cute, what with Number 5's hyperactive antics and E. T. -ish voice, and the mangled grammar of Guttenberg's East Indian sidekick (Fisher Stevens) threatens to become offensive, but Badham's breezy direction keeps the film on track. [+]
Sheedy and Guttenberg deliver spirited and engaging performances, but most importantly the robot emerges as a real person. Give credit to designer Syd Mead, an army of puppeteers and robotics operators, and the cartoony voice of Tim Blaney: Number 5 is alive. -Sean Axmaker.

Review Icon Home Entertainment / The Martins [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Linda Bassett
  • Terri Dumont
  • Tony Grounds
  • Lee Evans
  • Eric Byrne
  • Kathy Burke
Release date: 2007-11-05
Run time: 83 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.82

Review The Martins [2001] / Icon Home Entertainment:


Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / The Parent Trap [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Elaine Hendrix
  • Lindsay Lohan
  • Natasha Richardson
  • Dennis Quaid
  • Lisa Ann Walter
  • Nancy Meyers
Release date: 2001-01-22
Run time: 129 min.
Creator: Erich Kästner
RRP: £17.99
Price: £22.71

Review The Parent Trap [1998] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:

If you were a kid in the early 1960s, then you saw The Parent Trap with Hayley Mills-it's as simple as that. Now Disney has pulled the beloved comedy-about a pair of twins who meet for the first time at summer camp and vow to reunite their long-divorced parents-out of the mothballs and remade it with a decidedly 90s feel. This time, the twins act is performed by newcomer Lindsay Lohan, who plays both Hallie and Annie, who each live with one of their parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson). Adversaries when they first meet at camp, Hallie and Annie become, well, sisters when they figure out that they are siblings. The comedy springs from their efforts to sabotage Dad's impending marriage to the gold-digging Elaine Hendrix, while reintroducing Dad to Mom. Quaid has a nice, loosey-goosey way with slapstick, as does Richardson, who plays a very funny drunk scene. -Marshall Fine.

Review Warner Home Video / Curb Your Enthusiasm: Complete HBO Season 2
Actors & Directors
  • Cheryl Hines
  • Jeff Garlin
  • Larry David
Release date: 2004-10-18
Run time: 300 min.
Creator: Grady Cooper
RRP: £25.99
Price: £10.97

Review Curb Your Enthusiasm: Complete HBO Season 2 / Warner Home Video:

It's more of the same for Larry David's sitcom from HBO, and for fans, that's a good thing. The show-largely extemporized-follows suit of David's former series, Seinfeld: it's a show about nothing, just the everyday life of the star going about his pseudo-real world. But David's show has far more edge (thanks, in part, to airing on cable TV) with all the bad luck, embarrassing situations, and dreadful behavior as its premiere season. The closest thing to an arc is David's season-long pitch to the networks for a new show starring former Seinfeld stars Jason Alexander and Julia-Louis Dreyfus. Each network is lampooned, especially HBO, which David has a bad history with in this alternate world. Sure to repel those with soft funny bones, Curb's acerbic comedy allows jokes where David is accidentally framed-if ever so briefly-as a child molester, wife abuser, or murderer. But for those who do love his shtick, there are big laughs, especially when we bump into characters as unbridled as David, like a fellow writer who is quite protective of his dad's invention, the Cobb salad. Many comic actors pop up, some as "themselves" (Richard Lewis, Rob Reiner) and others as characters (Rita Wilson, Ed Asner) along with the delights of co-stars Cheryl Hines as David's wife and his affable manger, Jeff Garlin. There are several touchstone bits: what a thong brief can do to a relationship, a run-in with pro wrestler, Larry's first baptism, and one very collectible doll. To pick one episode to capture this second season-and its grandstanding nature-it would be "Shaq," in which the NBA star is accidentally tripped, changing David's usual bad luck with gut-busting results. [+]
-Doug Thomas.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Big Trouble In Little China [1986]
Actors & Directors
  • Victor Wong
  • Kim Cattrall
  • Dennis Dun
  • James Hong
  • Kurt Russell
  • John Carpenter
Release date: 2004-07-05
Run time: 96 min.
Creator: W.D. Richter
RRP: £17.99
Price: £3.75

Review Big Trouble In Little China [1986] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

Trying to explain the cult appeal of John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China to the uninitiated is no easy task. The plot in a nutshell follows lorry driver Jack Burton (Kurt Russell) into San Francisco's Chinatown, where he's embroiled in street gang warfare over the mythical/magical intentions of would-be god David Lo Pan. There are wire-fu fight scenes, a floating eyeball and monsters from other dimensions. Quite simply it belongs to a genre of its own. Carpenter was drawing on years of chop-socky Eastern cinema tradition, which, at the time of the film's first release in 1986, was regrettably lost on a general audience. Predictably, it bombed. But now that Jackie Chan and Jet Li have made it big in the West, and Hong Kong cinema has spread its influence across Hollywood, it's much, much easier to enjoy this film's happy-go-lucky cocktail of influences. Russell's cocky anti-hero is easy to cheer on as he "experiences some very unreasonable things" blundering from one fight to another, and lusts after the gorgeously green-eyed Kim Cattrall. The script is peppered with countless memorable lines, too ("It's all in the reflexes"). Originally outlined as a sequel to the equally obscure Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Big Trouble is a bona fide cult cinema delight. [+]
Jack sums up the day's reactions perfectly, "China is here? I don't even know what the Hell that means!". On the DVD: Big Trouble in Little China is released as a special edition two-disc set in its full unedited form. Some real effort has been put into both discs' animated menus, and the film itself is terrific in 2. 35:1 and 5. 1 (or DTS). The commentary by Carpenter and Russell may not be as fresh as their chat on The Thing, but clearly they both retain an enormous affection for the film. There are eight deleted scenes (some of which are expansions of existing scenes), plus a separate extended ending which was edited out for the right reasons. You'll also find a seven-minute featurette from the time of release, a 13-minute interview with FX guru Richard Edlund, a gallery of 200 photos, 25 pages of production notes and magazine articles from American Cinematographer and Cinefex. Best of all for real entertainment value is a music video with Carpenter and crew (the Coupe de Villes) coping with video FX and 80s hair-dos. -Paul Tonks.

Review 2 Entertain Video / Dad's Army - The Complete Sixth Series [1973] [2006]
Actors & Directors
  • Arthur Lowe
  • James Beck
  • Clive Dunn
  • John Le Mesurier
  • John Laurie
Release date: 2006-05-08
Run time: 210 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £5.53

Review Dad's Army - The Complete Sixth Series [1973] [2006] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / The Producers [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Andrea Martin
  • Susan Stroman
  • Uma Thurman
  • Matthew Broderick
  • Will Ferrell
  • Nathan Lane
Release date: 2006-04-24
Run time: 134 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £2.46

Review The Producers [2005] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

The film-of-the-musical-of-the-film, The Producers unites the hit Broadway pairing of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, drafts in Uma Thurman, and somewhere along the way loses half the fun that made the original movie and the Broadway show such a success. Under the watchful eye of creator Mel Brooks, this may be a musical version but it tells the same tale-two men stumble across a great way to make money, by putting on a Broadway flop. So off they go to devise the most offensive, sure-fire failure, only to see their creation-Springtime For Hitler-become the town's hot ticket. While there's undoubtedly some fun to be had here, and Lane and Broderick are clearly have a great time in their roles, there are a couple of key problems with The Producers. Firstly, and most crucially, is the staid direction. This very much feels like a camera was placed in front of a stage, and it hurts the film a lot. Secondly, the wonderful energy of Mel Brooks' original movie is sadly lacking, and at no time does this no version threaten to be an equal to its predecessor. And yet there are winning moments, some good laughs, and a gentle couple of hours of entertainment. Yet the key attraction is clearly a chance for the majority who never got to see Lane and Broderick treading the boards in their acclaimed performances before, and for many, that rightly justifies the asking price. You just can't help wishing the film around them was a little better, though. [+]
-Simon Brew.

Review 2 Entertain Video / Little Britain - Series 2 [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Declan Lowney
  • Steve Bendelack
Release date: 2005-10-10
Run time: 180 min.
RRP: £21.99
Price: £2.11

Review Little Britain - Series 2 [2003] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Effingee Productions Limited / Dear Green Place - Series 1
Actors & Directors
  • Carmen Pieraccini
  • Ford Kiernan
  • Paul Riley
  • Jenny Ryan
  • Paul Blair
Release date: 2007-12-03
Run time: 173 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £11.98

Review Dear Green Place - Series 1 / Effingee Productions Limited:


Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / The Taming Of The Shrew [1967]
Actors & Directors
  • Alfred Lynch
  • Michael Hordern
  • Richard Burton
  • Elizabeth Taylor
  • Cyril Cusack
  • Franco Zeffirelli
Release date: 2001-03-19
Run time: 117 min.
Creator: William Shakespeare
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.77

Review The Taming Of The Shrew [1967] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

The 1967 Franco Zeffirelli film of The Taming of the Shrew had all the ingredients to make it a high point in Shakespearian cinema. In Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor it starred the most bankable couple in Hollywood history as the sparring leads in the Bard's quick-firing comic battle of the sexes; and in Zeffirelli, it had a director with a Shakespearian pedigree second to none. But the reality is that this is Burton's picture all the way. His Petruchio is a weighty performance of such intelligence that the whole film is thrown off-kilter whenever he is on screen and the other performers just can't keep up. Apart from Michael Hordern's wonderfully distracted Baptista, Burton is the only actor in total, effortless command of the language. Taylor's bosomy glamour and fiery spirit are ample compensations for her occasionally murderous treatment of Katharina's verse. Whether or not she is really tamed by the end is another matter: those legendary violet eyes suggest otherwise. Ultimately it's a rich, bawdy and colourful romp, with Burton at the peak of his powers. The DVD includes the theatrical trailer, a "making-of" featurette and filmographies. -Piers Ford.

Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / Scary Movie 1-4 [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Tori Spelling
  • Charlie Sheen
  • Pamela Anderson
  • Keenen Ivory Wayans
  • Tim Curry
  • Peter Boyle
  • David Zucker
Release date: 2006-10-02
Run time: 334 min.
RRP: £30.99
Price: £23.40

Review Scary Movie 1-4 [2001] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:


Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Saving Face [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Michelle Krusiec
  • Lynn Chen
  • Alice Wu
  • Joan Chen
Release date: 2005-12-12
Run time: 93 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £5.83

Review Saving Face [2005] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:


Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / That 70s Show - Series 8 - Complete [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Topher Grace
  • Mila Kunis
  • Wilmer Valderrama
  • Laura Prepon
  • Ashton Kutcher
Release date: 2008-06-09
Run time: 458 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £14.00

Review That 70s Show - Series 8 - Complete [2005] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review ITV DVD / Jeeves And Wooster : Complete ITV Series (8 Disc Box Set) [1990]
Actors & Directors
  • Hugh Laurie
  • Simon Langton
  • Charlotte Attenborough
  • Robert Daws
  • Simon Treves
  • Stephen Fry
  • Robert Young
  • Ferdinand Fairfax
Release date: 2005-07-18
Run time: 1161 min.
RRP: £49.99
Price: £20.98

Review Jeeves And Wooster : Complete ITV Series (8 Disc Box Set) [1990] / ITV DVD:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Love Soup - Series 1 And 2 [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Charlie Brooks
  • Sheridan Smith
  • Tamsin Greig
  • Ronnie Corbett
  • Lynda Bellingham
Release date: 2008-05-05
Run time: 711 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £17.49

Review Love Soup - Series 1 And 2 [2007] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Universal Pictures UK / True Lies [1994]
Actors & Directors
  • Jamie Lee Curtis
  • James Cameron
  • Bill Paxton
  • Tom Arnold
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger
  • Charlton Heston
Release date: 2003-09-08
Run time: 135 min.
Creator: Simon Michaël
RRP: £9.99
Price: £2.27

Review True Lies [1994] / Universal Pictures UK:

From The Terminator to Titanic, you can always rely on writer-director James Cameron to show you something you've never seen on the big screen before. The guy may not consistently pen the most scintillating dialogue in the world (and, especially in this movie, he doesn't seem to have a particularly high regard for women), but as a director of kinetic, push-the-envelope action sequences, he is in a class by himself. In True Lies, the highlight is a breathtaking third-act jet and car chase through the Florida Keys. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a covert intelligence agent whose wife of 15 years (Jamie Lee Curtis) finally finds out that he's not really a computer salesman and who becomes mixed up in a case involving nuclear arms smuggling. Tom Arnold is surprisingly funny and engaging as Schwarzenegger's longtime spy partner, and Bill Paxton is a smarmy used-car salesman whom Arnold thinks is having an affair with his wife. Purely in terms of spectacular action and high-tech hardware, True Lies is a blast. -Jim Emerson, Amazon. com.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines
Release date: 2006-09-01
RRP: £12.99
Price: £9.24

Review Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review Dreamworks Home Entertainment / Catch Me If You Can [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Christopher Walken
  • Martin Sheen
  • Tom Hanks
  • Nathalie Baye
  • Leonardo DiCaprio
Release date: 2004-02-02
Run time: 135 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £2.99

Review Catch Me If You Can [2003] / Dreamworks Home Entertainment:


Review MGM Entertainment / The Cutting Edge [1991]
Actors & Directors
  • Paul Michael Glaser
  • Terry O'Quinn
  • Moira Kelly
  • D.B. Sweeney
  • Roy Dotrice
Release date: 2002-05-06
Run time: 97 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.28

Review The Cutting Edge [1991] / MGM Entertainment:

The Cutting Edge is a 1991 romantic sports comedy-drama set in the allegedly exciting world of Olympic-level figure-skating. Ice maiden Moira Kelly has been reared from birth by her driving father (Stepfather star Terry O'Quinn adding a creepy touch) to be a champion, but is constantly let down because she's so unpleasant that no one wants to be her partner. On the other side of the tracks, macho jock DB Sweeney is invalided out of ice hockey and recruited by Kelly's Russian coach (Roy Dotrice) to team up with her. They hate each other on sight but develop into a potential winning team, and, in between being nasty to each other, fall in nauseating lurve. The tension builds up as to who is going to win that Olympic gold medal in the finale (guess!) and whether the leads will be able to hold off strangling each other in time for the big last-minute clinch. The whole thing is a stew of mismatched couple and underdog-triumphs-in-sport clichés, directed by ex-Starsky and Hutch star Paul Michael Glaser, but it really falls down because Sweeney and Kelly obviously can't skate for toffee. The on-ice sequences, choreographed by medal-winning Robin Cousins in an only-job-he's-fit-for turn, employ doubles and tricky editing, which means the climactic struggle has to be quite literally skated over. On the DVD: The Cutting Edge comes to DVD in an anamorphic widescreen print that's in good shape but with that slightly feathery colour common in pre-digital transfers. There are English, German, French and Italian tracks; plus a single measly trailer. -Kim Newman.

Review Cinema Club / The Detectives - Series 5 [1993]
Actors & Directors
  • Steven Knight
Release date: 2007-04-23
Run time: 219 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £6.44

Review The Detectives - Series 5 [1993] / Cinema Club:


Browse Comedy:

Models & Brands:
Short Circuit [1986], The Martins [2001], The Parent Trap [1998], Curb Your Enthusiasm: Complete HBO Season 2, Big Trouble In Little China [1986], Dad's Army - The Complete Sixth Series [1973] [2006], The Producers [2005], Little Britain - Series 2 [2003], Dear Green Place - Series 1, The Taming Of The Shrew [1967], Scary Movie 1-4 [2001], Saving Face [2005], That 70s Show - Series 8 - Complete [2005], Jeeves And Wooster : Complete ITV Series (8 Disc Box Set) [1990], Love Soup - Series 1 And 2 [2007], True Lies [1994], Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, Catch Me If You Can [2003], The Cutting Edge [1991], The Detectives - Series 5 [1993]

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