Actors & Directors
- John Badham
- Walton Goggins
- Kenny Johnson
- Catherine Dent
- Guy Ferland
- Michael Jace
- Brad Anderson
- Michael Chiklis
- Davis Guggenheim
- Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Run time: 573 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £9.97
Review The Shield : Series 2 / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:Everything good about the first season of The Shield is intensified in the second. For detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) and his amoral strike team, these 13 episodes follow "the money train," a stockpile of Armenian mob money ripe for the taking. Mackey's team plots to steal this criminal fortune while under pressure from Capt. Aceveda (Benito Martinez), whose political campaign is threatened by a civilian auditor (Lucinda Jenney) assigned to uncover corruption in "the Barn. " The uneasy alliance between Aceveda and Mackey provokes the suspicion of Wyms (CCH Pounder), whose by-the-book vigilance is rewarded while Dutch (Jay Karnes) endures a slump that worsens the Barn's sullied reputation. After being horribly disfigured by Mackey, a vile Mexican druglord (Daniel Pino) plots a territorial coup, prompting the strike team's finest police work while Mackey struggles to save his failing marriage. Post-9/11 tensions erupt when beat cop Danny (Catherine Dent) justifiably shoots an armed Arab civilian, and newlywed Julien (Michael Jace) copes with (literal) gay-bashing following his church-sponsored sexual reorientation. As always, The Shield supports these plotlines with gritty casework, including a brutal kidnapping, homicide, and gangland warfare. Every episode (shot in grainy 16mm) meets the series' high standard of excellence, but "Greenlit," "Homewrecker" (featuring the death of a recurring character), and "Dominoes Falling" are standouts, while the controversial "Co-Pilot" offers a retrospective look at the Barn's volatile origins. Writing and direction are consistently superb, and Pounder deserves honorable mention among the brilliant cast, striking a stoical balance of world-weary wisdom, procedural diligence, and righteous indignation. [+]Bonus features comprise a virtual film school for anyone seeking a career in television. While the commentaries explore the nuts and bolts of series development, the "Directors' Roundtable" (with creator Shawn Ryan, Scott Brazil, Peter Horton, and Paris Barclay) is a revealing, frequently hilarious study of the rigors of fast-paced production; "Sound Surgery" presents a track-by-track analysis of sound, music, and dialogue; and "Wrap Day" is a celebratory tribute to the series' hard-working cast and crew. It's all good, and guaranteed to stoke anyone's appetite for Season Three. -Jeff Shannon.
Actors & Directors
- Rosemary Murphy
- Frank Overton
- John Megna
- Ruth White
- Robert Mulligan
- Gregory Peck
Run time: 124 min.
Creator: Horton Foote
RRP: £19.99
Price: £6.11
Review To Kill A Mockingbird (2 Disc Special Edition) / Universal Pictures Video:Ranked 34 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest American Films, To Kill a Mockingbird is quite simply one of the finest family-oriented dramas ever made. A beautiful and deeply affecting adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, the film retains a timeless quality that transcends its historically dated subject matter (racism in the Depression-era South) and remains powerfully resonant in present-day America with its advocacy of tolerance, justice, integrity and loving, responsible parenthood. It's tempting to call this an important "message" movie that should be required viewing for children and adults alike, but this riveting courtroom drama is anything but stodgy or pedantic. As Atticus Finch, the small-town Alabama lawyer and widower father of two, Gregory Peck gives one of his finest performances with his impassioned defence of a black man (Brock Peters) wrongfully accused of the rape and assault of a young white woman. While his children, Scout (Mary Badham) and Jem (Philip Alford), learn the realities of racial prejudice and irrational hatred, they also learn to overcome their fear of the unknown as personified by their mysterious, mostly unseen neighbour Boo Radley (Robert Duvall, in his brilliant, almost completely nonverbal screen debut). What emerges from this evocative, exquisitely filmed drama is a pure distillation of the themes of Harper Lee's enduring novel, a showcase for some of the finest American acting ever assembled in one film, and a rare quality of humanitarian artistry (including Horton Foote's splendid screenplay and Elmer Bernstein's outstanding score) that seems all but lost in the chaotic morass of modern cinema. -Jeff Shannon.
![Review Pathe Distribution / The Chorus [2004]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31SA8XSHSQL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Kad Merad
- Francois Berleand
- Jacques Perrin
- Christophe Barratier
- Gerard Jugnot
- Jean-Bapiste Maunier
Run time: 93 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.70
Review The Chorus [2004] / Pathe Distribution:By getting nominated for Academy Awards in both the Foreign Language Film and Best Song categories, Les Choristes (The Chorus) made a rare (for a European film) double impression at the 2004 Oscars. This sentimental tale follows the arrival of a new teacher at a remote boys school in 1949 France (the war is a largely unspoken but ghostly presence). With disciplinary problems rampant, and the policies of the old-fashioned headmaster not helping, Monsieur Mathieu decides to introduce choral singing as a way to bridge the gap with his students. You don't need a crystal ball to figure out where this will go, although the movie uses its atmospheric location and lush vocal arrangements well. Bald, dumpy Gerard Jugnot provides a refreshingly offbeat hero: he's sort of a younger Philippe Noiret. Director Christophe Barratier works in the winsome-cute mode that makes a certain kind of French movie into an overly sweet bon bon, although at least this bon bon sings. -Robert Horton, Amazon. com.
![Review Warner Home Video / Stanley Kubrick : Special Edition 10 Disc Box Set [1968]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31iIAgCfQDL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Stanley Kubrick
- Jack Nicholson
- Nicole Kidman
- Tom Cruise
- Vincent DOnoforio
- Malcolm McDowell
Run time: 647 min.
RRP: £50.99
Price: £17.98
Review Stanley Kubrick : Special Edition 10 Disc Box Set [1968] / Warner Home Video:To date Stanley Kubrick remains one of cinema's most controversial film-maker. This box set highlights some of his greatest work, from the visionary 2001:A Space Odyssey, the violent and highly-debated A Clockwork Orange, the chilling adaptation of The Shining, the acclaimed war drama Full Metal Jacket, to his final piece, the controversial Eyes Wide Shut. And to top it off, the treat of this box set, the fascinating Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures. Stanley Kubrick was one of the most acclaimed and controversial filmmakers of his generation, but he was also an intensely private man who rarely gave interviews and produced most of his films under a shroud of secrecy, which tended to foster a great deal of rumour and speculation about his working methods. Jan Harlan, who worked as Kubrick's assistant and executive producer on several projects directed this feature-length documentary. Narrated by Tom Cruise, this offers a rare in-depth look into Kubrick's career as a filmmaker, structured around interviews with a number of actors, writers, technicians, composers, friends, and family who speak on the record about his relentless perfectionism, his creative vision, his life both on and off the set, his relationships with actors, his unrealised projects, and his importance and influence as an artist. Among those who share their thoughts in Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures are actors Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Malcolm McDowell, Peter Ustinov, and Keir Dullea; writers Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Herr; special effects artist Douglas Trumbull; composers Wendy Carlos and Gyorgy Ligeti; filmmakers Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Paul Mazursky, and Sydney Pollack; and Kubrick's spouse Christiane Kubrick. The choice of titles is undeniably spot on, and the extras really give a sense of who the man was, what his legacy is, and the privilege it was for the people who collaborated with him on his cinematic journey. - Jennifer Kilchenmann.
Actors & Directors
- Tom Hollander
- Matthew MacFadyen
- Keira Knightley
- Joe Wright
- Brenda Blethyn
- Donald Sutherland
Run time: 121 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.00
Review Pride & Prejudice - 2005 / Universal Pictures Video:Rightly winning wide acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, this latest take on Jane Austen's classic Pride & Prejudice is a real, all-round triumph. The age-old story still holds real resonance, and it follows the tale of five sisters dealing with love, and the many trials and tribulations that brings. There are so many delights to director Joe Wright's take on the story, and his direction is a strong place to start. In spite of having to condense the tale to fit a movie running time, he nonetheless injects a real energy and intelligence to his retelling, and he's served supremely well by his cast. Backed up by strong support by the likes of Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland, it's Keira Knightley in the lead turn who's a real surprise here. Her performance is a real joy, and very much at the core of the film's success. The film inevitably draws comparison with the superb 1995 BBC adaptation, and while arguably it doesn't quite scale the same peaks, it's to the credit of the filmmakers that their version still holds strong. For this is a tremendously enjoyable drama, and one that should continue to find an audience for a long time to come. An excellent film. -Simon Brew.
![Review Warner Home Video / Harry Potter Year 1-5 Box Set [Blu-ray] [2001]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ejQwoozgL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Emma Watson
- Daniel Radcliffe
- Rupert Grint
Run time: 719 min.
RRP: £79.99
Price: £47.50
Review Harry Potter Year 1-5 Box Set [Blu-ray] [2001] / Warner Home Video:
![Review ITV DVD / The Jewel In The Crown - The Complete Series [1984]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/612NS12XX0L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Art Malik
- Frederick Treves
- Geraldine James
- Charles Dance
- Peggy Ashcroft
Run time: 778 min.
RRP: £39.99
Price: £11.00
Review The Jewel In The Crown - The Complete Series [1984] / ITV DVD:
![Review Momentum Pictures / The Painted Veil [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51oHoAuKDvL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Liev Schrieber
- Diana Rigg
- Toby Jones
- Edward Norton
- Naomi Watts
- John Curran
Run time: 120 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £4.87
Review The Painted Veil [2007] / Momentum Pictures:
![Review Catherine Cookson Collection / The Catherine Cookson Collection [1956]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Lt34TYRgL._SL160_.jpg)
Release date: 2008-09-01
Run time: 3392 min.
RRP: £120.99
Price: £39.98
Review The Catherine Cookson Collection [1956] / Catherine Cookson Collection:
![Review Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Memoirs of a Geisha [2005]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51F3F7RPZDL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Michelle Yeoh
- Ken Watanabe
- Gong Li
- Rob Marshall
- Ziyi Zhang
- Koji Yakusho
Run time: 139 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £5.55
Review Memoirs of a Geisha [2005] / Buena Vista Home Entertainment:Chicago director Rob Marshall's pretty but empty (or pretty empty) film has all the elements of an Oscar contender: solid adaptation (from Arthur Golden's bestseller), beautiful locale, good acting, lush cinematography. But there's something missing at the heart, which leaves the viewer sucked in, then left completely detached from what's going on. It's hard to find fault with the fascinating story, which traces a young girl's determination to free herself from the imprisonment of scullery maid to geisha, then from the imprisonment of geisha to a woman allowed to love. Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo), a young girl with curious blue eyes, is sold to a geisha house and doomed to pay off her debt as a cleaning girl until a stranger named The Chairman (Ken Watanabe) shows her kindness. She is inspired to work hard and become a geisha in order to be near the Chairman, with whom she has fallen in love. An experienced geisha (Michelle Yeoh) chooses to adopt her as an apprentice and to use as a pawn against her rival, the wicked, legendary Hatsumomo (Gong Li). Chiyo (played as an older woman by Ziyi Zhang), now renamed Sayuri, becomes the talk of the town, but as her path crosses again and again with the Chairman's, she finds the closer she gets to him the further away he seems. Her newfound "freedom" turns out to be trapping, as men are allowed to bid on everything from her time to her virginity. Some controversy swirled around casting Chinese actresses in the three main Japanese roles, but Zhang, Yeoh and Gong in particular ably prove they're the best for the part. It's admirable that all the actors attempted to speak Japanese-accented English, but some of the dialogue will still prove difficult to understand; perhaps it contributes to some of the emotion feeling stilted. [+]Geisha has all the ingredients of a sweeping, heartbreaking epic and follows the recipe to a T, but in the end it's all dressed up with no place to go. -Ellen A. Kim.
Actors & Directors
- Pauley Perrette
- David McCallum
- Sean Murray
- Mark Harmon
- Michael Weatherly
Run time: 1012 min.
RRP: £49.99
Price: £15.77
Review NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) Season 3 / Paramount Home Entertainment:With two solid seasons already banked, NCIS returns for a compelling third year with exciting plotlines and a slightly tweaked cast. The show's second season ended with the brutal and shocking death of Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander). The first two episodes of this season deal with the aftermath of bringing her killer to justice and examining the emotional impact of her loss on the remaining members of the NCIS team, which is led by Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon). The six-disc set includes all 24 episodes, which aired on CBS during 2005-2006. Returning are happy-go-lucky ladies' man Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly, Dark Angel), forensics expert and resident Goth chick Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum, The Man from U. N. C. L. E), and agent Timothy McGee (Sean Murray). [+]Former Mossad intelligence officer Ziva David (Cote de Pablo) joins the close-knit cast, as does Jennifer Shepard (Lauren Holly, Dumb & Dumber) as the new NCIS director. Working on a daily basis with Shepard initially makes Gibbs wary. Not only is she a former girlfriend, but she also was his underling at one time. Equal parts CSI and JAG, NCIS works primarily because of its quirky cast, which is able to take sometimes regurgitated ideas and rework them into something engagingly watchable. Throughout this season, we will see agents endangered and framed, and one will accidentally kill an undercover detective who may not have been armed. But the explosive two-part season finale will finally shed light on Gibbs' painful history and help explain why he is who is he today. -Jae-Ha Kim.
Release date: 2006-03-27
Run time: 133 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £5.32
Review Princess Mononoke (Special Edition) / Optimum Home Entertainment:This epic, animated 1997 fantasy has already made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan, where its combination of mythic themes, mystical forces, and ravishing visuals tapped deeply into cultural identity and contemporary, ecological anxieties. For international animation and anime fans, Princess Mononoke represents an auspicious next step for its revered creator, Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service), an acknowledged anime pioneer, whose painterly style, vivid character design, and stylized approach to storytelling take ambitious, evolutionary steps here. Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects. When Ashitaka, a young warrior from a remote, and endangered, village clan, kills a ravenous, boar-like monster, he discovers the beast is in fact an infectious "demon god," transformed by human anger. Ashitaka's quest to solve the beast's fatal curse brings him into the midst of human political intrigues as well as the more crucial battle between man and nature. Miyazaki's convoluted fable is clearly not the stuff of kiddie matinees, nor is the often graphic violence depicted during the battles that ensue. If some younger viewers (or less attentive older ones) will wish for a diagram to sort out the players, Miyazaki's atmospheric world and its lush visual design are reasons enough to watch. For the English-language version, Miramax assembled an impressive vocal cast including Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup (as Ashitaka), Claire Danes (as San), Minnie Driver (as Lady Eboshi), Billy Bob Thornton, and Jada Pinkett Smith. They bring added nuance to a very different kind of magic kingdom. [+]Recommended for ages 12 and older. -Sam Sutherland.
![Review 2 Entertain Video / The Other Boleyn Girl [2003]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kMUPmFCmL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Steven Mackintosh
- Jared Harris
- Phillipa Lowthorpe
- Natascha McElhone
- Yolanda Vasquez
- Jodhi May
Run time: 90 min.
RRP: £4.99
Price: £2.98
Review The Other Boleyn Girl [2003] / 2 Entertain Video:
![Review Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Desperate Housewives: Season 3 [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51V7CObPa8L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Felicity Huffman
- Teri Hatcher
- Marcia Cross
Run time: 953 min.
RRP: £44.99
Price: £21.97
Review Desperate Housewives: Season 3 [2006] / Buena Vista Home Entertainment:
![Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Up The Junction [1968]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51S4wkSn7XL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Suzy Kendall
- Maureen Lipman
- Peter Collinson
- Dennis Waterman
Run time: 114 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £4.47
Review Up The Junction [1968] / Paramount Home Entertainment:
Actors & Directors
- Alex Nesic
- Oded Fehr
- Michael Ealy
- Grant Heslov
Run time: 659 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £3.59
Review Sleeper Cell / Tla Releasing:
Actors & Directors
- Phillip Noyce
- Shawn Reaves
- Jason Priestley
- Zach Galifianakis
- A.J. Cook
- Eliza Dushku
Run time: 999 min.
RRP: £39.99
Price: £9.97
Review Tru Calling - The Complete Series / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:
![Review Optimum Home Entertainment / Rise Of The Footsoldier - Single Disc Edition [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51izvpqSuxL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Julian Gilbey
- Terry Stone
- Billy Murray
- Ricci Harnett
- Frank Harper
- Roland Manookian
Run time: 114 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £4.79
Review Rise Of The Footsoldier - Single Disc Edition [2007] / Optimum Home Entertainment:
Release date: 2006-03-27
Run time: 90 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £6.07
Review My Neighbour Totoro / Optimum Home Entertainment:
Actors & Directors
- Jensen Ackles
- Jared Padalecki
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan
RRP: £39.99
Price: £9.97
Review Supernatural - The Complete Second Season / Warner Home Video:Horror series Supernatural delivers some of the most satisfying small-screen scares in recent memory. The premise is deceptively simple: brothers Sam and Dean (Jared Padalecki from Gilmore Girls and Jensen Ackles) travel the darker corners of the American landscape in search of their father, who's gone missing while hunting the malevolent forces that lead to the death of their mother. In the course of their search, the siblings encounter a host of otherworldly creatures, including vampires, ghosts and witches, as well as such distinctly American phenomena as the urban-legend favourite the Hook, monsters from Native American mythology and fearful figures from well-known children's games. Supernatural's integration of elements from American pop culture and folklore, combined with its skilled cast and crew (creator/co-writer Erik Kripke delivered 2005's Boogeyman, while director/executive producer David Nutter is a veteran of The X-Files and Millennium), and better-than-average attempts at atmosphere and suspense place the series well above the other spookshow programs that arrived on TV screens at about the same time (Invasion, Night Stalker), and should hold considerable appeal for fans of frightful fare. The six-disc set contains all episodes of the second season, with commentaries, making-of documentaries, a brace of unaired scenes and a gag reel completing the set. -Paul Gaita.
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The Shield : Series 2, To Kill A Mockingbird (2 Disc Special Edition), The Chorus [2004], Stanley Kubrick : Special Edition 10 Disc Box Set [1968], Pride & Prejudice - 2005, Harry Potter Year 1-5 Box Set [Blu-ray] [2001], The Jewel In The Crown - The Complete Series [1984], The Painted Veil [2007], The Catherine Cookson Collection [1956], Memoirs of a Geisha [2005], NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) Season 3, Princess Mononoke (Special Edition), The Other Boleyn Girl [2003], Desperate Housewives: Season 3 [2006], Up The Junction [1968], Sleeper Cell, Tru Calling - The Complete Series, Rise Of The Footsoldier - Single Disc Edition [2007], My Neighbour Totoro, Supernatural - The Complete Second Season |
