"Actor: Bd Wong"

• Jurassic Park / The Lost World (1993/97) | DVD | (09/10/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  On remote Isla Nuba entrepreneur John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) has built the ultimate theme-park, populated by genetically engineered dinosaurs painstakingly reconstructed from DNA extracted from prehistoric amber... and, of course, frogs! Adapted from Michael Crichton's novels, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park blockbusters became a cultural and commercial phenomenon thanks in part to the enduring appeal of all things prehistoric. But the films' extraordinarily realistic digital dinosaurs also showcased the spectacular computer-generated effects that have since become ubiquitous in Hollywood filmmaking. Indeed, in the years since 1993 it is debatable whether any films have revolutionised special effects to such an extent, and this DVD box set offers the perfect opportunity to relive both movies' visual and aural splendour (the original film was also the first to be released with a DTS soundtrack). Given their rather insipid human prey (including Dickie Attenborough and Jeff Goldblum) there is little doubt that the dinosaurs are the real stars, from the benign majesty of the towering brachiosaurus to the reptilian menace of the velociraptors. Most memorable of all is the T-rex, displaying a spine-chilling combination of physical ferocity and child-like bewilderment in the face of its reincarnation in the modern world. While Jurassic Park still retains a unique power and a seminal place in film history, Spielberg's The Lost World sequel exceeds its predecessor in almost every respect: the digital dinos are more populous, faster and meaner, the set-pieces have more bravura, and the special effects raise the benchmark even higher in blending CGI and live action spectacle. Overall, the first film's sense of awe and almost stately contemplation of its own visual splendour are replaced with a more visceral style and darker tone, as the raptors and rexes attack with a predatory ferociousness more reminiscent of Aliens than Godzilla. Highlights include the T-rexes' cliff-top assault on a trailer van, the trails of attacking raptors as they move silently through a field of tall grass, and the safari-style dinosaur round-up by the marauding hunters, led by a grizzled Pete Postlethwaite. --Steve Napleton

• The Salton Sea | DVD | (26/05/2003) from £5.38   |  Saving you £8.61 (160.04%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The largest lake in California becomes a symbol of a lost idyll in DJ Caruso's excellent noir-ish thriller The Salton Sea. Val Kilmer is superb as lowlife Danny Parker, or perhaps trumpeter Thomas Van Allen; a man so far over the edge in tragedy, duplicity and drugs he no longer knows or cares who he is. A warped revenge drama occupying similar territory to Memento, The Salton Sea is not as ingenious as that instant classic, but is more elegantly stylised, boasting superb production design, cinematography and music, the latter by Thomas Newman. Along for the ride is Deborah Kara Unger, and those who remember her from The Game will do well to take Kilmer's narration to heart when he says nothing is as it seems. Distinguishing what could have been simply a good thriller are elements not just of humour, but of laugh-out-loud hilarity funnier than most recent comedies; indeed, The Salton Sea is the most striking fusion of laughter and darkness since the admittedly very different An American Werewolf in London (1981). In this respect, Vincent D'Onofrio delivers a side-splitting and audacious performance as drug baron Pooh Bear. Watch out for the rabid badger. On the DVD: The Salton Sea is presented anamorphically enhanced at 1.77:1, with a flawless picture that captures the rich tones and extreme visual contrasts to perfection. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is crystal clear and deeply atmospheric. Extras are the theatrical trailer, plus features on the production design (eight minutes) and cast and crew (nine minutes). More intelligent than the expected Electronic Press Kit material, the running length means they are still fairly perfunctory. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Freshman | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Andrew Bergman’s tongue-in-cheek comedy The Freshman keeps the spoofing low key, underplaying the outrageous situations even as he piles them higher. Young Clark Kellog (Matthew Broderick) had no idea film school would drop him into the hands of a real-life Godfather, but after a street punk robs him during his first day in New York City, that’s just where the road leads. Marlon Brando lets everyone know he’s in on the joke with his hammy, good-humoured performance as the bulldog-jowled Mafioso Carmine Sabatini, the man Clark’s prissy, self-important professor swears was the real-life inspiration for Don Corleone. Carmine has a modest proposal for the naive kid from Vermont involving Carmine’s gorgeous daughter Tina (Penelope Ann Miller) and the illegal importing of an endangered lizard. And if the sight of a six-foot-long lizard scattering shoppers as it runs wild through a New York City mall doesn’t do it for you, there’s always Bert Parks’ rousing rendition of Bob Dylan’s "Maggie’s Farm".--Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Jurassic World Ultimate Collection | DVD | (26/09/2022) from £24.97   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Own the epic collection of all six films from the blockbuster franchise. Jurassic Park Jurassic Park takes you to a remote island where an amazing theme park with living dinosaurs is about to turn deadly, as five people must battle to survive among the prehistoric predators. The Lost World: Jurassic Park Four years since the disaster at Jurassic Park, two groups are in a race against time that will determine the fate of the remote island's prehistoric inhabitants. Jurassic Park III Adventure runs wild when renowned palaeontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) agrees to accompany a wealthy couple (William H. Macy and Téa Leoni) on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna, Dr. Grant soon discovers that his hosts are not what they seem, and the island's native inhabitants are smarter and more brutal than he ever imagined. Jurassic World 22 years ago, John Hammond envisioned a theme park where guests could experience the thrill of witnessing actual dinosaurs. Today, Jurassic World welcomes tens of thousands of visitors, but something sinister lurks behind the park's attractions: a genetically modified dinosaur with savage capabilities. Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom It's been three years since Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment, but when the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Jurassic World Dominion Four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed, dinosaurs now live - and hunt - alongside humans. This fragile balance will determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history's most fearsome creatures.

• Jurassic World Ultimate Collection | Blu Ray | (26/09/2022) from £43.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Own the epic collection of all six films from the blockbuster franchise. Jurassic Park Jurassic Park takes you to a remote island where an amazing theme park with living dinosaurs is about to turn deadly, as five people must battle to survive among the prehistoric predators. The Lost World: Jurassic Park Four years since the disaster at Jurassic Park, two groups are in a race against time that will determine the fate of the remote island's prehistoric inhabitants. Jurassic Park III Adventure runs wild when renowned palaeontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) agrees to accompany a wealthy couple (William H. Macy and Téa Leoni) on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna, Dr. Grant soon discovers that his hosts are not what they seem, and the island's native inhabitants are smarter and more brutal than he ever imagined. Jurassic World 22 years ago, John Hammond envisioned a theme park where guests could experience the thrill of witnessing actual dinosaurs. Today, Jurassic World welcomes tens of thousands of visitors, but something sinister lurks behind the park's attractions: a genetically modified dinosaur with savage capabilities. Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom It's been three years since Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment, but when the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Jurassic World Dominion Four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed, dinosaurs now live - and hunt - alongside humans. This fragile balance will determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history's most fearsome creatures.

• Jurassic World Ultimate Collection | Blu Ray | (26/09/2022) from £32.35   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Own the epic collection of all six films from the blockbuster franchise. Jurassic Park Jurassic Park takes you to a remote island where an amazing theme park with living dinosaurs is about to turn deadly, as five people must battle to survive among the prehistoric predators. The Lost World: Jurassic Park Four years since the disaster at Jurassic Park, two groups are in a race against time that will determine the fate of the remote island's prehistoric inhabitants. Jurassic Park III Adventure runs wild when renowned palaeontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) agrees to accompany a wealthy couple (William H. Macy and Téa Leoni) on an aerial tour of Isla Sorna, Dr. Grant soon discovers that his hosts are not what they seem, and the island's native inhabitants are smarter and more brutal than he ever imagined. Jurassic World 22 years ago, John Hammond envisioned a theme park where guests could experience the thrill of witnessing actual dinosaurs. Today, Jurassic World welcomes tens of thousands of visitors, but something sinister lurks behind the park's attractions: a genetically modified dinosaur with savage capabilities. Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom It's been three years since Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment, but when the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Jurassic World Dominion Four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed, dinosaurs now live - and hunt - alongside humans. This fragile balance will determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history's most fearsome creatures.

• Jurassic World - Steelbook | Blu Ray | (26/05/2022) from £62.91   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom | Blu Ray | (10/05/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A