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Review Columbia TriStar / The Pest [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • John Leguizamo
  • Paul Miller
  • Tammy Townsend
  • Jeffrey Jones
  • Freddy Rodríguez
  • Edoardo Ballerini
Release date: 2000-06-13
Run time: 84 min.
Creator: Robert Papazian
Price: £4.05

Review The Pest [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Columbia TriStar:


Review Uca / I Spy [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Eddie Murphy
  • Malcolm McDowell
  • Betty Thomas
  • Famke Janssen
  • Gary Cole
  • Owen Wilson
Release date: 2005-04-04
Run time: 93 min.
Creator: Morton S. Fine
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.25

Review I Spy [2003] / Uca:

I Spy tried and failed to be Eddie Murphy's comeback after The Adventures of Pluto Nash. As with his previous turkey, Murphy's the least of this movie's problems; his spitfire delivery begs for better plotting and dialogue, and his teaming with Owen Wilson had even more promise than Wilson's Shanghai comedies with Jackie Chan. But this unfunny hash-bearing no resemblance to the 1960s Bill Cosby/Robert Culp TV series that inspired it-undermines Murphy and Wilson at every turn, stranding them in scenes that play well in isolation but never form a coherent action-comedy whole. It's not that director Betty Thomas is incapable; she just seems uninterested, going through the motions while Eddie, Owen and Famke Janssen play spy games in Budapest, chasing after a villain (Malcolm McDowell, wasted again) who's stolen a sleek, invisibility-cloaked jet bomber called the Switchblade. Explosions, shoot-outs, double-crosses. ignore it all, and find what pleasure you can in Eddie and Owen's aimless banter. -Jeff Shannon.

Review Lions Gate / Irreversible [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Jo Prestia
  • Gaspar Noé
  • Albert Dupontel
  • Vincent Cassel
  • Philippe Nahon
  • Monica Bellucci
Release date: 2003-08-05
Run time: 97 min.
Creator: Richard Grandpierre
Price: £5.91

Review Irreversible [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Lions Gate:

Irreversible begins with the closing credits running backwards before the film begins (or ends) with Marcus (Vincent Cassell) and Pierre (Albert Dupontel) being escorted out of a gay s/m club by the cops, Marcus with his arm broken and Pierre in handcuffs. The "story" proceeds to unwind in a series of single-take scenes that unfold Memento-style, with each scene giving more context to what we have seen previously. Each scenario depicts actions, dialogue, incident, behaviour and circumstance that the lead characters might have wished didn't happen, ranging from extreme violence through awkward social situations to mild embarrassment. The central character (and possible dreamer of this whole what-if story) emerges as Alex (Monica Bellucci), who suffers the worst in a very hard-to-watch rape sequence in an underpass. Semi-improvised, the scenes all have attack and power as themes, with later/earlier conversational sequences that suggest life isn't all sexual assaults in the dark, showing equal cinematic imagination with the horrors. Arguably, this is not a film most would subject themselves to twice, but it is something that stays in the mind for days after viewing, sparking far more ideas and emotions than most wallow-in-nastiness pictures. -Kim Newman.

Review MGM Entertainment / Cutter's Way [1981]
Actors & Directors
  • Jeff Bridges
  • Ivan Passer
  • Stephen Elliott
  • John Heard
  • Lisa Eichhorn
Release date: 2005-05-23
Run time: 105 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £2.81

Review Cutter's Way [1981] / MGM Entertainment:


Review Universal Studios / Kuffs [1992] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Bruce A. Evans
  • Christian Slater
  • Milla Jovovich
  • Chad Randall
  • Ric Roman Waugh
  • Steve Holladay
Release date: 2003-08-12
Run time: 102 min.
Creator: Mel Dellar
Price: £3.56

Review Kuffs [1992] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Universal Studios:


Review 20th Century Fox / Moontide [1942] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Jerome Cowan
  • Archie Mayo
  • Jean Gabin
  • Ida Lupino
  • Claude Rains
  • Thomas Mitchell
  • Fritz Lang
Release date: 2008-09-02
Run time: 94 min.
Creator: Willard Robertson
Price: £6.51

Review Moontide [1942] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / 20th Century Fox:


Review Paramount / The Warriors [HD DVD] [1979] [US Import]
Actors & Directors
  • Brian Tyler
  • David Harris
  • Michael Beck
  • Walter Hill
  • Dorsey Wright
  • James Remar
Release date: 2007-07-03
Run time: 93 min.
Creator: Laurent Bouzereau
Price: £6.99

Review The Warriors [HD DVD] [1979] [US Import] / Paramount:

Walter Hill's controversial 1979 drama was blamed for causing gang violence at theatres, but now it looks as highly stylised and pulpy as Hill (Last Man Standing) intended. The plot finds a New York gang having to cross the territory of rivals in order to get to their own 'hood. A sort of urban Western with a comic-book pace, artificial colours, fable-like tone and broad acting, the film isn't intended to steep us in gritty realities so much as spin a decadent fantasy out of them. Still, this is a tough film with an almost futuristic element to its characterisations of gang activity, and it is more absorbing than Hill's more elaborate youth opera of punk wars, Streets of Fire. -Tom Keogh, Amazon. com.

Review Verve Pictures / Middletown [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Gerard McSorley
  • Charlene McKenna
  • Matthew Macfadyen
  • Eva Birthistle
Release date: 2007-04-23
Run time: 86 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £0.81

Review Middletown [2007] / Verve Pictures:


Review Universal Pictures UK / The Truth About Charlie [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Thandie Newton
  • Olga Sékulic
  • Stephen Dillane
  • Tim Robbins
  • Mark Wahlberg
  • Jonathan Demme
Release date: 2003-09-29
Run time: 99 min.
Creator: Steve Schmidt
RRP: £17.99
Price: £0.49

Review The Truth About Charlie [2003] / Universal Pictures UK:

It seems blasphemous to remake Stanley Donen's classic romantic thriller Charade, but The Truth About Charlie achieves its own unique identity. Rather than mimic the inimitable chemistry of the original, director Jonathan Demme takes a vividly contemporary approach, with Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton well cast in roles originated by Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The plot's essentially the same, kicking into high gear when Newton-the unwitting courier of a priceless treasure-is chased around Paris by her murdered husband's military cohorts, an avuncular embassy official (Tim Robbins), and a suave stranger (Wahlberg) whose true identity remains elusive. In a film filled with twists and turns, Demme fails to find a consistent tone of humor, romance, and danger. But he's crafted a peculiar Parisian valentine, seasoned with Gallic cameos (singer Charles Aznavour, Anna Karina, director Agnès Varda) and vibrantly alive with music, style, and forward momentum. Charade it's not, but that's not necessarily a complaint. -Jeff Shannon.

Review Universal Pictures UK / Touch Of Evil [1958]
Actors & Directors
  • Janet Leigh
  • Joseph Calleia
  • Orson Welles
  • Orson Welles
  • Akim Tamiroff
  • Charlton Heston
Release date: 2003-11-10
Run time: 105 min.
Creator: Whit Masterson
RRP: £9.99
Price: £5.49

Review Touch Of Evil [1958] / Universal Pictures UK:

Considered by many to be the greatest B movie ever made, the original-release version of Orson Welles' film noir masterpiece Touch of Evil was, ironically, never intended as a B movie at all-it merely suffered that fate after it was taken away from writer-director Welles, then reedited and released in 1958 as the second half of a double feature. Time and critical acclaim would eventually elevate the film to classic status (and Welles' original vision was meticulously followed for the film's 1998 restoration), but for four decades this original version stood as a testament to Welles' directorial genius. From its astonishing, miraculously choreographed opening shot (lasting over three minutes) to Marlene Dietrich's classic final line of dialogue, this sordid tale of murder and police corruption is like a valentine for the cinematic medium, with Welles as its love-struck suitor. As the corpulent cop who may be involved in a border-town murder, Welles faces opposition from a narcotics officer (Charlton Heston) whose wife (Janet Leigh) is abducted and held as the pawn in a struggle between Heston's quest for truth and Welles' control of carefully hidden secrets. The twisting plot is wildly entertaining (even though it's harder to follow in this original version), but even greater pleasure is found in the pulpy dialogue and the sheer exuberance of the dazzling directorial style. -Jeff Shannon.

Review Universal Studios / Heroes: Season 1 (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Allan Arkush
  • Noah Gray-Cabey
  • David Semel
  • Adam Kane
  • Greg Grunberg
  • Tawny Cypress
  • Santiago Cabrera
  • Donna Deitch
  • Ali Larter
  • Ernest R. Dickerson
Release date: 2007-08-28
Run time: 1009 min.
Price: £33.45

Review Heroes: Season 1 (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Universal Studios:


Release date: 2007-02-05
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.20

Review Thirteenth Floor / Universal Pictures UK:


Review Prism Leisure / Ivans XTC [2002]
Actors & Directors
  • James Merendino
  • Lisa Enos
  • Adam Krentzman
  • Bernard Rose
  • Danny Huston
  • Peter Weller
Release date: 2006-03-27
Run time: 91 min.
Creator: Leo Tolstoy
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.00

Review Ivans XTC [2002] / Prism Leisure:


Review MGM Entertainment / Throw Momma From The Train [1988]
Actors & Directors
  • Danny DeVito
  • Danny DeVito
  • Anne Ramsey
  • Kim Greist
  • Kate Mulgrew
  • Billy Crystal
Release date: 2001-08-06
Run time: 84 min.
Creator: Stu Silver
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.28

Review Throw Momma From The Train [1988] / MGM Entertainment:


Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Anaconda [1997]
Actors & Directors
  • Ice Cube
  • Jon Voight
  • Eric Stoltz
  • Luis Llosa
  • Jonathan Hyde
  • Jennifer Lopez
Release date: 1998-09-14
Run time: 86 min.
Creator: Jim Cash
RRP: £12.99
Price: £4.96

Review Anaconda [1997] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

This giant-man-eating-snake-in-the-jungle thriller definitely scores points as a guilty pleasure, especially with Jon Voight hamming it up as the monster-poacher. He makes life miserable for a team of documentary filmmakers on the Amazon river. Anaconda is one of those movies that exists for no other reason than to give computer animators a chance to strut their stuff with a new digital beastie, and they don't disappoint. It's a lot of fun to watch the mega-snake scarf down its victims and-in the case of Voight-regurgitate him right back up again, all covered in gooey digestive juices. You might wonder why Eric Stoltz, who plays Dr. Steven Cale, showed up for a role that requires him to be off-screen for most of the movie,but hey-when it comes to big snake movies, you might as well put your brain on hold and sitback for the slimy ride. -Jeff Shannon.

Review Warner Home Video / On Deadly Ground [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • John C. McGinley
  • Joan Chen
  • Steven Seagal
  • Michael Caine
  • Steven Seagal
  • R. Lee Ermey
Release date: 1999-05-18
Run time: 102 min.
Creator: Ed Horowitz
Price: £3.39

Review On Deadly Ground [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:


Review Eds / A Woman Scorned
Release date: 2006-05-29
RRP: £13.99
Price: £9.99

Review A Woman Scorned / Eds:


Review Prism Leisure / Let Him Have It [1991]
Actors & Directors
  • Rebecca Eccleston
  • Peter Eccleston
  • Peter Medak
  • Christopher Eccleston
  • Eileen Atkins
  • Tom Courtenay
Release date: 2002-07-29
Run time: 103 min.
Creator: Robert Wade
RRP: £5.99
Price: £8.69

Review Let Him Have It [1991] / Prism Leisure:


Review Odeon Entertainment / Best Of British Thrillers
Actors & Directors
  • Tod Slaughter
Release date: 2006-10-23
Run time: 206 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £12.85

Review Best Of British Thrillers / Odeon Entertainment:


Review MGM Entertainment / Get Shorty [1996]
Actors & Directors
  • Dennis Farina
  • John Travolta
  • Barry Sonnenfeld
  • Danny DeVito
  • Rene Russo
  • Gene Hackman
Release date: 2000-02-01
Run time: 101 min.
Creator: Scott Frank
RRP: £15.99
Price: £10.40

Review Get Shorty [1996] / MGM Entertainment:

John Travolta is the standout in this somewhat cartoonish adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel about a smalltime Miami enforcer (Travolta) who decides to get into the movie business in LA. The cast sparkles-Gene Hackman as a failing cut-rate-movie producer, Rene Russo as a failed actress, Danny DeVito as a vain thespian, Delroy Lindo as a mobster who wants a cut of Travolta's film action-and the script is clever. But not clever enough: this isn't Robert Altman's The Player, as far as satires about Hollywood go. But director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men in Black) keeps Get Shorty cute and brisk and that makes for an enjoyable experience. Travolta is great as a vaguely dangerous, supremely self-confident man whose love of movies makes him almost cuddly. -Tom Keogh.

Browse Crime, Thrillers & Mystery:

Models & Brands:
The Pest [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC), I Spy [2003], Irreversible [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Cutter's Way [1981], Kuffs [1992] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Moontide [1942] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Warriors [HD DVD] [1979] [US Import], Middletown [2007], The Truth About Charlie [2003], Touch Of Evil [1958], Heroes: Season 1 (REGION 1) (NTSC), Thirteenth Floor, Ivans XTC [2002], Throw Momma From The Train [1988], Anaconda [1997], On Deadly Ground [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC), A Woman Scorned, Let Him Have It [1991], Best Of British Thrillers, Get Shorty [1996]

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