"Actor: Andrew"

• Punk In London | DVD | (31/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  With Punk now the stuff of postcards, its good to have Punk in London, a 1977 feature that taps the source of what the scene was all about. German director Wolfgang Büra interviews a number of players and promoters but, apart from concert sequences by The Adverts and The Clash--in gritty form on their ill-fated first European tour--the emphasis is on "almost were" bands. Büras reticent and awkward questioning wont win awards for journalism, but interviewees are prepared to open up to him. Theres political hard-talking from members of Chelsea, a chat with the unassuming bassist of The Lurkers (and parents!), priceless interview footage with Kevin Rowland, then in Birmingham band The Kiljoys; best of all, the laconic roadie of Subway Sect, a true leveller well aware that the whole "Punk thing" will fall victim to commercial pressure like counter-cultures before it. On the DVD: The 1977 film reproduces decently, its faded realism appropriate to the subject, and the sound captures the sweaty environs of Londons club scene with raw immediacy. A pity, though, that sound and vision in the interviews werent better synchronised. There are 21 access points; The Clash sequence is repeated with German subtitles (though markedly inferior picture quality), and an extended adverts sequence with German-only offstage banter. Overall, a quirky package, and a quirky documentary--but with a sincerity and authenticity that no "Best of" could ever hope to capture.--Richard Whitehouse

• Massacre at Central High (Beyond Terror) | DVD | (12/04/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A young students promising athletics career is cut short. School bullies smash his leg leaving him semi-crippled. Brooding and twisted he strikes back using spectacular and brutal methods he wreaks powerful revenge on each of his assailants. There is almost no limit to the ingenuity of his murderous imagination.

• Rat | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The premise of Rat is simple enough: when hard-drinking Hubert Flynn comes home late and bedraggled for the umpteenth time, he wakes up transformed into the rat he truly is. Flynn's family is upset and surprised, but somehow they recognise the appropriateness of this turn of events--Flynn's wife Conchita (Imelda Staunton) even takes a smug satisfaction in her husband's fate. When a writer arrives and offers to help Conchita write a bestselling book about this odd turn of events, she seizes on the opportunity to squeeze something positive from the man who's made her so miserable--and in the process, becomes a bit of a rat herself. Rat takes a little while to establish its comic tone, but once it settles into a kind of Irish magic realism, the deadpan reactions of the family becomes strikingly funny. For example, when Conchita takes the rat to visit Flynn's favourite tavern, one barfly blithely comments, "Still, all things considered, he's not looking so bad". Pete Postlethwaite plays Flynn in his brief time as a non-rat, and all the performances are excellent; particularly charming is Kerry Condon as Flynn's daughter, who desperately tries to preserve some sense of dignity for her altered dad. With its whimsical humour and sardonic streak, Rat is no doubt destined to become a cult favourite. Fans of Monty Python will appreciate the film's sly verbal wit. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

• Understanding Jane | DVD | (05/03/2007) from £13.48   |  Saving you £-3.49 (-34.90%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In desperation Oz and Elliot decide to reply to a telephone dating advert to kick-start their non-existent love lives. Their prayers are answered when two gorgeous girls agree to meet them on a blind date. Whilst fanning the flames of passion the two boys find themselves playing with fire. A fun-filled roller coaster ride begins as the boys get more than they bargained for in their search for love. Chic flick with bite!

• Teenage Caveman | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £10.99

  Known only as the boy he is the son of a leader of a prehistoric tribe who live in a desolate valley. Making a perilous journey with them he sees them killed one by one....

• Stravinsky - The Rake's Progress | DVD | (31/12/2007) from £25.59   |  Saving you £4.40 (17.19%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Stravinsky's masterwork The Rake's Progress, created for La Fenice in Venice in 1951, is based on a libretto by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman, inspired by a series of 18th-century prints by William Hogarth. This amazing production from La Monnaie - De Munt 'jazzifies' the setting by replacing Hogarth's sin city, London, with 1950s Las Vegas, turning it into a glittering, cinematic gallery of tableaux vivants inspired by the early days of television. Staged by one of the most visionary theatre directors of our age, the Quebecois Robert Lepage, the neo-classical morality tale truly becomes a grand spectacle. Lepage's visual imagination works its magic superbly, while Kazushi Ono's energetic musical direction drives the sparkling ensemble to exhilarating heights. Recorded in High Definition and true surround sound.

• Wicked Minds | DVD | (26/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  After graduating from Harvard Holden Pryce pays a visit to his estranged father and is introduced to his to his stunning new bride half his age Lana Pryce who sets out to divide them... beginning with the planned seduction of her stepson. When Holden starts to fear his stepmother's true intentions and tells her he wants out of the affair he suddenly returns to the mansion to discover his father's dead body. Holden desperately tries to convince the police that the murder is the work of his calculating stepmother. With betrayal and blackmail one has to wonder if this was the conspiracy of a femme fatale or a jealous son looking for revenge.

• The Red Siren | DVD | (14/02/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A young girl who implicates her mother in murder finds herself on the run. A hitman employed by her mother becomes her protector whilst the pair seek out the estranged father in Portugal.

• State Of Mind | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Betrayal. Revenge. Murder. A crime of passion or a state of mind? Grace Hazlett reeling from the brutal discovery of her husbands adultery takes their young son Adam to move back to her old family home. Her mother Isabel now widowed is a busy GP and set in her own ways. Home as Grace discovers is not always so sweet...In the midst of this emotional turmoil Grace who is an experienced criminal psycologist is asked by the police to determine the guilt or innocence of Julian

• Night Of The Wolf | DVD | (05/09/2011) from £5.38   |  Saving you £-0.39 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Capturing the sadistic serial killer The Wolf was just the beginning for rookie cop Johnny Morgan. As he escorts the monster to his new home in the dark underground halls of Parker's Asylum bedlam ensues and Johnny along with a handful of civilians become players in a night of survival against the world's most terrifying inmates.

• INXS: Live Baby, Live | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  INXS fans will rejoice at Live Baby Live, a buoyant concert film shot during an ecstatic performance before 72,000 hopping fans in Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1991. The Australian band's vocalist, the late Michael Hutchence, is at his feral-romantic best, stalking and swivelling his way through an energised set of welterweight pop. The show starts with a big, boomy "Guns in the Sky", takes a turn toward unexpected soulfulness with "New Sensation", and spreads the wealth with a sharp set of ballads and rockers. Hutchence has fun with a naughty "Know the Difference", plays around with a Jagger-esque take on confessional soul in "The Loved One" and milks "Never Tear Us Apart" for all it's worth. The band sounds more muscular than they did in the studio, hard-charging and rough on "Suicide Blonde", drunk on a jazzy guitar hook in "Need You Tonight", and completely danceable on "Bitter Tears." --Tom Keogh

• The Commitments (Special Edition) | DVD | (08/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This is based on the first story of Roddy Doyle's 'Barrytown Trilogy'. Dubliner Jimmy Rabbitte is a man with a vision - to bring soul music to Dublin. His friends Derek and Outspan ask him to manage their band and Jimmy agrees but only on his terms. He places an ad in the local paper which simply reads have you got soul? If so the World's Hardest Working Band is looking for you. And so were born The Commitments... However all does not go smoothly and soon their success on stage is overshadowed by their off-stage rivalry. This is one of the best Irish feel-good movies of the early 1990's it is guaranteed to have you laughing cringing and singing along. Watch out for the bit parts and cameos by Andrea and Jim Corr and the man himself Alan Parker. Strong soul music soundtrack.

• Hellraiser | DVD | (27/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In a place between pleasure and pain there is sensual experience beyond limits. And in a world between paradise andpurgatory there is a horror that feeds the souls of evil. When Frank Cotton solves the mystery of a Chinese puzzle box he enters the world of the Cenobites a world where the cruel sadists thrive on pain. Restored to life by the blood of his brother Larry Frank rises to feed on the life force of others. When Larry's wife agrees to provide the sacrifices he needs the chills are just beginning...

• Dear Zachery | DVD | (20/09/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  One of the most acclaimed American documentaries in recent years is this heartbreaking story of a crime that escalated into a devastating tragedy. On hearing of the murder of his friend Andrew Bagby filmmaker Kurt Kuenne decided to interview all those involved so that Bagby's son Zachary would have a record of his father. However what begins as a kindly act by a friend soon transforms into a record of accusation and recrimination as the dead man's parents attempt to gain custody of the boy from his mother who is the primary suspect in the murder investigation. A searing and emotionally devastating documentary.

• Memorial Day Killer | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £9.45   |  Saving you £6.54 (69.21%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Beers Burgers Bloodshed.... It's going to be a scream! Welcome to Memorial Lake - where just under the calm icy surface something unspeakable is waiting to rise. Rachel can't remember the last time she fell asleep without hearing the screams from her past. Three years ago her brother mysteriously died while she and a group of friends partied by the lakeside. But this weekend they are returning to the very same lake to finally put the nightmares to rest. To come to grips

• Bean - The Ultimate Disaster Movie | DVD | (01/10/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Translating Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean character from British television to the big screen takes a bit of a toll, but there are some hilarious sequences in this popular comedy. The eponymous Bean, a boy-man twit with a knack for getting into difficult binds (and then making them worse and worse and worse), is a London museum guard who is sent to Los Angeles in the company of the famous painting Whistler's Mother. He's mistaken as an art expert by the well-meaning curator (Peter MacNicol) of an LA museum, but Bean's famously eccentric behaviour soon causes the poor guy to almost lose his family and job. The insularity of Bean's TV world is sacrificed in this film, and that change diminishes some of the character's appeal. But Atkinson is a man naturally full of comedy, and he doesn't let his fans down. --Tom Keogh

• The Cry Of Jazz | DVD | (07/03/2005) from £12.13   |  Saving you £-3.14 (N/A%)   |  RRP £8.99

  Filmed in Chicago & finished in 1959 The Cry Of Jazz is film maker composer and arranger Edward O Blands polemical essay on the politics of music and race - a forecast of what he called 'the death of jazz'. A landmark moment in film forseeing the civil unrest of subsequent decades it also features the only known footage of visionary pianist Sun Ra from his beloved Chicago period. Featured are ample images of tenor saxophonist John Gilmore and the rest of Ra's Arkestra in windy city night clubs all shot in glorious black and white.

• Serial Killer | DVD | (19/06/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  On a rainy night in a dark alley award-winning journalist Nelson Keece witnesses a vicious murder. Although horrified his curiosity takes over when this cold-blooded killer forces Nelson to interview him. Now the tension mounts as fast as the body count rises while the killer stalks the streets. This film's disturbing portrayal of the killer the cop and the writer is shocking and not to be forgotten.

• G | DVD | (10/12/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

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• Risk | DVD | (16/07/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The world of insurance hasn't exactly inspired a wealth of memorable cinema, but Australian film Risk is a feisty, funny, clever and, yes, insurance-related movie. Drawing on a range of cinematic themes (good cop/bad cop, the young newcomer and his guiding light, a love triangle) the film offers a fresh insight by virtue of its unusual setting. Ben Madigen (Tom Long) finds himself working in the business by default and is soon taken under the wing of the charismatic John Kreisky (Brown). While trying to undertake his job without compromising his principles, Madigen is unwittingly lured into a scam by Kreisky and his girlfriend, lawyer Louise Roncaldi (Claudia Karvan). The burgeoning and later unravelling relationship between the three is the film's key story, as Long finds himself torn between the other two. Brown is excellent as the scheming Kreisky, once again proving that his failure to move into a more major acting league is little short of baffling--but then, this type of imaginative film offers him more scope than Cocktail or FX ever could and serves as a welcome advertisement for the growing Australian movie industry. This is a highly intelligent film that keeps its plot-cards closely to its chest, keeping the viewer guessing throughout. On the DVD: the usual scene selection is coupled with the trailer, which presents the film (slightly misleadingly) in pulsating, high-action tones. The "making of" featurette offers the viewer an insight into not very much happening (look, there's a man pushing something) and gives the cast an opportunity to take themselves a little too seriously. --Phil Udell