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Review Channel 4 DVD / Teachers - Series 3
Actors & Directors
  • Richard Dale
  • Jeremy Lovering
  • Nina Sosanya
  • Andrew Lincoln
Release date: 2007-09-24
Run time: 516 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £7.87

Review Teachers - Series 3 / Channel 4 DVD:


Review Bluebell Films / Artemisia [2004]
Actors & Directors
  • Miki Manojlovic
  • Agnes Merlet
  • Michel Serrault
  • Valentina Cervi
Release date: 2007-04-23
Run time: 93 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £7.98

Review Artemisia [2004] / Bluebell Films:


Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Sam Rockwell
  • Drew Barrymore
  • George Clooney
  • Dick Clark
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal
Release date: 2003-12-29
Run time: 113 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £2.98

Review Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind [2003] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:

Showbiz autobiographies don't come any stranger than Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, a fractured kaleidoscope of film styles-from sitcom to paranoid horror-accompanied by an infectious musical mosaic. It's based on a memoir by Chuck Barris-the mastermind behind The Dating Game (the format we know in the UK as Blind Date) and The Gong Show-which interweaves a fairly straight account of his toils in the television industry with outrageous fictions about his secret life as a CIA hit man. First-time director George Clooney takes Barris' bizarre book and-working with screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, who similarly mutated the truth in Adaptation-makes an extraordinary picture, with an awards-quality performance from Sam Rockwell as Barris. Clooney takes the secondary role of Barris' enigmatic boss, and there's sterling work from Drew Barrymore as Barris' ditzy regular girlfriend and Julia Roberts as an espionage dragon lady. It's an acidly witty film that consistently turns the tables on its hero and the audience. Priceless tiny gags include: a silent Brad Pitt and Matt Damon as contestants of The Dating Game and Barris coming up with the idea for a TV quiz show while half-listening to a CIA instructor explaining torture techniques. -Kim Newman.

Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / The Preacher's Wife [1997]
Actors & Directors
  • Penny Marshall
  • Gregory Hines
  • Whitney Houston
  • Jenifer Lewis
  • Courtney B. Vance
  • Denzel Washington
Release date: 2006-06-15
Run time: 119 min.
Creator: Robert Nathan
RRP: £14.99
Price: £16.99

Review The Preacher's Wife [1997] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:

This tedious remake of the classic Christmas movie The Bishop's Wife falls on its face by significantly altering the careful design of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert E Sherwood's story for the original film. In Sherwood's version, a rather wooden, inept bishop and his lonely wife unknowingly take into their lives a heaven-sent angel who aids the former and ends up falling in love with the latter. In this unnecessary update, an inner-city preacher (Courtney B. Vance) and his estranged spouse (Whitney Houston) are visited by a celestial goof (Denzel Washington), whose unsolicited offer of help is enough to galvanise Vance's character to fix his own problems. What that means is this: by the second act, there's no reason to have Washington's angel in the story. Even his infatuation with the missus isn't enough to warrant his hanging around this movie; the change is a colossal blunder by director Penny Marshall. Vance ends up stealing the film from Washington, but it's a Pyrrhic victory; for the most part this movie just seems like a series of random scenes between opportunities for Houston to belt out songs. -Tom Keogh.

Review Warner Home Video / Exit Wounds [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • DMX
  • Steven Seagal
  • Isaiah Washington
  • Anthony Anderson
  • Andrzej Bartkowiak
  • Michael Jai White
Release date: 2001-09-24
Run time: 97 min.
Creator: Richard D'Ovidio
RRP: £13.99
Price: £2.35

Review Exit Wounds [2001] / Warner Home Video:


Review Warner Home Video / Yankee Doodle Dandy [1942] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Joan Leslie
  • Carl H. Lindahl
  • Mel Blanc
  • Lewis Seiler
  • Friz Freleng
  • James Cagney
  • Walter Huston
  • John Rust
  • Billy Bletcher
  • Mervyn LeRoy
Release date: 2003-09-30
Run time: 125 min.
Creator: Bob Waldman
Price: £13.85

Review Yankee Doodle Dandy [1942] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:

James Cagney thrills in a rare (and limber) song-and-dance performance as composer-entertainer George M Cohan. This nostalgic biography is told in flashbacks, covering Cohan's formative years becoming Broadway's brightest star and touching upon his loves, musicals, and artistic triumphs. Director Michael Curtiz (The Adventures of Robin Hood) offers Cagney ample opportunities to invent an utterly charming performance in what is practically a one-man show. If you've never seen Cagney as a hoofer, you're in for a treat: his dancing is as dynamic as anything else he's ever done on screen. -Tom Keogh, Amazon. com.

Review UMBRELLA / The Club
Actors & Directors
  • Bruce Beresford
  • Frank Wilson
  • Jack Thompson
  • Graham Kennedy
  • John Howard
  • Harold Hopkins
Release date: 2003-08-20
Run time: 95 min.
Creator: David Williamson
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.54

Review The Club / UMBRELLA:


Review Granada Media / Cold Feet - The Complete 2nd Series [1997]
Actors & Directors
  • Laurie Jenkins
  • Kimberley Joseph
  • Daniel O'Brien (III)
  • Ben Miles
  • Tim Sullivan (III)
  • Yasmin Bannerman
Release date: 2003-09-22
Run time: 290 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £6.99

Review Cold Feet - The Complete 2nd Series [1997] / Granada Media:


Review 4 Front Video / Love Actually [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Richard Curtis
  • Rowan Atkinson|Colin Firth|Laura Linney
Release date: 2004-03-19
Run time: 129 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £3.50

Review Love Actually [2003] / 4 Front Video:

With no fewer than eight couples vying for our attention, Love Actually is like the London Marathon of romantic comedies, and everybody wins. Having mastered the genre as the writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones's Diary, it appears that first-time director Richard Curtis is just like his screenplays: he just wants to be loved, and he'll go to absurdly appealing lengths to win our affection. With Love Actually, Curtis orchestrates a minor miracle of romantic choreography, guiding a brilliant cast of stars and newcomers as they careen toward love and holiday cheer in London, among them the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who's smitten with his caterer (Martine McCutcheon); a widower (Liam Neeson) whose young son nurses the ultimate schoolboy crush; a writer (Colin Firth) who falls for his Portuguese housekeeper; a devoted wife and mother (Emma Thompson) coping with her potentially unfaithful husband (Alan Rickman); and a lovelorn American (Laura Linney) who's desperately attracted to a colleague. There's more-too much more-as Curtis wraps his Christmas gift with enough happy endings to sweeten a dozen other movies. That he pulls it off so entertainingly is undeniably impressive; that he does it so shamelessly suggests that his writing fares better with other, less ingratiating directors. -Jeff Shannon.

Review MGM Entertainment / Bandits [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Bruce Willis
  • Billy Bob Thornton
  • Barry Levinson
  • Cate Blanchett
  • Brian F. O'Byrne
  • Troy Garity
Release date: 2002-05-20
Run time: 123 min.
Creator: Harley Peyton
RRP: £19.99
Price: £1.30

Review Bandits [2001] / MGM Entertainment:

Director Barry Levinson's eclectic film career has always been distinguished by quality scriptwriting, and Bandits is no exception, thanks to Harley Peyton's clever contribution. At the heart of the story is the onscreen chemistry between Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton, who, as the most successful bank robbers in US history, win the affections of the nation. The story is told via various flashback methods, such as the narration of a newscaster who gets an exclusive interview, while a framing device teases the audience with what the end will be at the start. But all is not as it seems. The impulsive hothead Willis falls easily for fiery redhead and frustrated housewife Cate Blanchett. The attraction is perfectly mutual until she realises the sweet appeal of hypochondriac Thornton. The resulting love triangle may not immediately seem to add up, especially as the romantic focus really ought to be on Willis' goofy cousin Harvey (a sensational Troy Garity) who dreams of being a stuntman. Originally Bandits was meant to be an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel, but here the tone is significantly lightened and the "Sleepover Bandits" are far more sympathetic characters than the likes of George Clooney's thief in Out of Sight. There's a kicker of a feel-good finale, too. On the DVD: Bandits on disc has an alternative and even sweeter ending, complete with commentary from Blanchett entitled "Who's the Dad?". [+]
It's one of five deleted scenes that were presumably only cut for running time. Other extras include a "Script to Screen" workshop with Levinson, an ad for the soundtrack album and a 20-minute documentary. The real find, though, is a commentary from Willis, Thornton, Blanchett, Garity, Producer Paula Weinstein and Peyton. They may not all be in the same room, but the apportioning of anecdotes fits perfectly. -Paul Tonks.

Review Warner Home Video / The Story Of Us [2000]
Actors & Directors
  • Michelle Pfeiffer
  • Colleen Rennison
  • Jake Sandvig
  • Casey Boersma
  • Bruce Willis
  • Rob Reiner
Release date: 2000-10-23
Run time: 95 min.
Creator: Jessie Nelson
RRP: £13.99
Price: £2.37

Review The Story Of Us [2000] / Warner Home Video:

The Story of Us is about the fear of potential separation most marriages are supposed to experience. Personalities clash; identities blur; responsibilities weigh heavy. This, then, is an exploration of the Jordans, an average American couple who can't find any reason to stay together after 15 years. Once you get past the star power of Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer, there's a terrifically pithy script working for them that effectively manages to juggle the genre crossover of a comedy-drama. Several montages cover years of petty squabbling, raising two kids, and long silences. There are confessions to camera about who picked what fight, and flashbacks to time spent offloading with friends. These provide the comedic backbone, with director Rob Reiner hogging the best lines. The best gag and narrative device is a bedroom scene following a therapist's revelation that every couple goes to bed with their parents' way of thinking rattling around in their minds. Sure enough, the super-wide bed shows all six in hilarious fashion. Despite the general paranoid atmosphere that everyone's doomed, you can rest assured that the guy who brought you When Harry Met Sally allows optimism to prevail. [+]
On the DVD: Reiner's commentary is a little sporadic, but like the great stand-up comic he always seems to be, each comment is priceless. He explains how he hates acting, yet can't help himself. A 20-minute documentary interviews all the cast and also composer Eric Clapton, and they all give their pessimistic views on why relationships break down. Willis is in fine form telling us that it was "so much more challenging than running down a street with a gun and shouting"! The widescreen presentation is crisp, as is the 5. 1 sound. One trailer rounds out the package. -Paul Tonks.

Review BBC Warner / Martin Chuzzlewit [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Charlie Condou
  • Stephen Mapes
  • Sue Wallace
  • Jimmy Gardner
  • Lynda Bellingham
  • Pedr James
Release date: 2005-09-06
Run time: 334 min.
Price: £6.81

Review Martin Chuzzlewit [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / BBC Warner:


Review New Line Home Video / Kit Kittredge: An American Girl [2008] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Patricia Rozema
  • Abigail Breslin
  • Chris O'Donnell
  • Joan Cusack
  • Stanley Tucci
  • Julia Ormond
Release date: 2008-10-28
Run time: 101 min.
Creator: Valerie Tripp
Price: £9.99

Review Kit Kittredge: An American Girl [2008] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / New Line Home Video:


Review Tartan Video / The Idiots [1999]
Actors & Directors
  • Jens Albinus
  • Anne Louise Hassing
  • Lars von Trier
  • Troels Lyby
  • Nikolaj Lie Kaas
  • Bodil Jørgensen
Release date: 2000-09-25
Run time: 110 min.
Creator: Svend Abrahamsen
RRP: £19.99
Price: £15.19

Review The Idiots [1999] / Tartan Video:


Review Paramount / Cheers: The Complete Eighth Season [1983] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Rhea Perlman
  • Shelley Long
  • James Burrows
  • Ted Danson
  • John Ratzenberger
  • Kirstie Alley
  • Andy Ackerman
Release date: 2006-06-13
Run time: 619 min.
Creator: David Isaacs
Price: £14.96

Review Cheers: The Complete Eighth Season [1983] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Paramount:


Review 4dvd / Shameless - Series 2 And Christmas Special [2004]
Actors & Directors
  • Peter Lydon
  • David Evans
  • Anne-Marie Duff
  • Jonny Campbell
  • David Threlfall
  • Jody Latham
  • Dean Lennox Kelly
  • Gerard Kearns
  • Dearbhla Walsh
Release date: 2005-10-31
Run time: 550 min.
Creator: Julie Rutterford
RRP: £24.99
Price: £39.99

Review Shameless - Series 2 And Christmas Special [2004] / 4dvd:


Review ITV DVD / Diana Dors - Icon Collection
Actors & Directors
  • Diana Dors
Release date: 2007-08-27
RRP: £59.99
Price: £19.46

Review Diana Dors - Icon Collection / ITV DVD:


Review Cinema Club / Michael [1997]
Actors & Directors
  • John Travolta
  • Andie MacDowell
  • Bob Hoskins
  • Robert Pastorelli
  • Nora Ephron
  • William Hurt
Release date: 2000-07-03
Run time: 101 min.
Creator: Peter Dexter
RRP: £5.99
Price: £9.49

Review Michael [1997] / Cinema Club:

After the box-office success of Phenomenon, John Travolta continued to charm audiences with this 1996 comedy-fantasy in which he plays a grubby angel who's got one last good deed to do before heading back to heaven. Living peacefully in the rural Iowa home of an old, friendly motel owner (Jean Stapleton), the winged Michael (Travolta) is hardly the image of a perfect angel. He's scruffy, unshaven, eats sweetened cereal by the box-full and chain-smokes all day long. But when tabloid reporters (William Hurt, Robert Pastorelli) learn of Michael's alleged existence and head to Iowa to check him out, Michael soon realises that it's his task to see that Hurt falls in love with an "angel expert" (Andie MacDowell) and breaks free from his habitually cynical attitude. There's more to the story, of course (and Chasing Amy fans will recognise Joey Lauren Adams as a waitress who charms the angel), but Michael is more about the effect that this enchanting angel has on the earthbound humans around him. Whether he's chipping away at Hurt's scepticism or attracting a crowd of women on a truck-stop dance floor, Michael is an enchanting figure, and Travolta plays him with just the right tone of humour, reverence and effervescent charm. Sure, it's lightweight fluff, but director Nora Ephron specialises in lightweight fluff, and Michael is the kind of feel-good movie that never wears out its welcome. -Jeff Shannon.

Review New Yorker Video / Songs from the Second Floor [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Stefan Larsson
  • Sten Andersson
  • Roy Andersson
  • Bengt C.W. Carlsson
  • Lars Nordh
  • Torbjörn Fahlström
Release date: 2004-03-23
Run time: 98 min.
Creator: Sanne Glæsel
Price: £6.99

Review Songs from the Second Floor [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / New Yorker Video:


Review Universal Pictures UK / A Life Less Ordinary [1997]
Actors & Directors
  • Danny Boyle
  • Ewan McGregor
  • Holly Hunter
  • Delroy Lindo
  • Dan Hedaya
  • Cameron Diaz
Release date: 2009-01-05
Run time: 103 min.
Creator: John Hodge
RRP: £9.99
Price: £2.33

Review A Life Less Ordinary [1997] / Universal Pictures UK:

This is a surprising disappointment, considering it is the third film from director Danny Boyle, writer John Hodge and actor Ewan McGregor. This disjointed and strained romantic comedy is not even near the same league as Trainspotting and Shallow Grave. Cameron Diaz is a spoiled heiress and McGregor an aimless janitor brought together by two angels (Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo) hoping to hang onto their wings. McGregor kidnaps Diaz, the boss's daughter, after being fired from his crummy job. She is not all that averse to being snatched. Most of the laughs are lost to a scattershot story that feels preposterous instead of magical. -Rochelle O'Gorman.

Models & Brands:
Teachers - Series 3, Artemisia [2004], Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind [2003], The Preacher's Wife [1997], Exit Wounds [2001], Yankee Doodle Dandy [1942] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Club, Cold Feet - The Complete 2nd Series [1997], Love Actually [2003], Bandits [2001], The Story Of Us [2000], Martin Chuzzlewit [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Kit Kittredge: An American Girl [2008] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Idiots [1999], Cheers: The Complete Eighth Season [1983] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Shameless - Series 2 And Christmas Special [2004], Diana Dors - Icon Collection, Michael [1997], Songs from the Second Floor [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC), A Life Less Ordinary [1997]

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