"Actor: Brian McDermott"

• Inspector Gadget 2 | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £7.97   |  Saving you £10.02 (125.72%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Inspector Gadget 2 sees the unlikely detective with higher-tech gadgets and more special effects. French Stewart (from TV's Third Rock from the Sun) replaces Matthew Broderick as the bumbling detective in a plot that revolves around the glitch-ridden Gadget being replaced by a completely robotised female. Parent Trap's Elaine Hendrix does what little she can with the one-dimensional role of "G2". Still, Gadget falls for his rival and the pair team up with his smart-as-a-whip niece Penny and her brainy beagle for a showdown with Claw. Where Broderick struggled to humanise the caricature of an inept detective in the 1999 original, Stewart doesn't even try. Instead he plays Gadget as a cartoon with endless over-the-top theatrics. The enhanced special effects may placate young viewers, but without the comedy of the original, that's small comfort. --Kimberly Heinrichs

• Komodo | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £22.98   |  Saving you £-6.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  I think they're contesting our place in the food chain", quips an Imperilled teen at an especially low moment of Komodo, a regulation trapped-with-monsters straight-to-video quickie. There was a millennial blip of such nature-on-the-rampage horrors in the year 2000 and Komodo settles comfortably onto the shelf with King Cobra, Blood Surf, They Nest, Crocodile, Spiders and Octopus. If you've seen all of them, you'll probably want to see this too--but don't say we didn't warn you. Komodo familiarly packs a few no-name actors to an island supposedly off the shore of Carolina (actually somewhere in Australasia and has them menaced by CGI creatures, then fighting back and beating the beasts. Though the title gives away the nature of the menace, ex-effects technician-turned-director Michael Lantieri keeps the monsters off-screen and purportedly mysterious for half the running time. Teenage Patrick (Kevin Zegers) is traumatised by the deaths of parents (and his dog) and retreats into an amnesiac fugue, but his psychiatrist Victoria (Jill Hennessy) brings him back to the site of the tragedy to stir his memories. It turns out that the local evil oil company has always known that a bunch of giant, flesh-eating lizards were on the loose but kept quiet about it for nebulously nefarious purposes. Oates (Billy Burke), a rebellious company minion, hooks up with Patrick (who shows unexpected resourcefulness in whipping up lizard traps) and the shrink and they have a last-reel confrontation with the monsters that allow for some very distant echoes of Jurassic Park. The CGI and model work is seamless but the monsters have too little personality and, despite their voracious appetites, require all manner of contrivances to bring their victims within snapping distance. Nice bit at the end though with a gory if not dramatic finale. --Kim Newman

• Leeds Rhino's - Engage Super League Champions (07/08/09/11) 8 Disc Box Set | DVD | (21/11/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  What an achievement!Four times in five seasons Leeds have lifted the Engage Super League trophy - who'd have thought Old Trafford would become their second home?The M62 has become the road to success for the Rhinos though. Tony Smith, Brian McLennan and now Brian McDermott have guided them to Grand Final glory, incredibly conquering the much admired St Helens on each occasion.This unique DVD box set features every minute and every twist and turn from four of the most memorable days in Rhinos history:2007 LEEDS 33 - 6 ST HELENSThe Rhinos belie their underdog status to thrash St Helens and give coach, Tony Smith, the ultimate send-off.2008 LEEDS 24 - 16 ST HELENSBrian McClennan guides Leeds to a repeat success against the Saints in his first season in charge.2009 LEEDS 18 - 10 ST HELENS The Rhinos back up their table-topping campaign in one of the most intense finals ever.2011 LEEDS 32 - 16 ST HELENS An amazing story. Fifth place during the regular season, Leeds reclaim the trophy following a final quarter master class. With the full Engage Super League story of the four seasons that laid the foundations for these classic triumphs, this is the complete DVD record of a golden era for the Rhinos.