"Actor: Charles Ley"

• The X Files : Series 7 | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  With the original conspiracy plot arc fallen into a muddle of loose ends no-one could possibly fathom, once-hungry lead actors on the verge of big screen careers and making demands for more time off or shots at writing and directing, and the initial wish list of monsters-of-the-week long exhausted, it's a miracle The X Files is still making its airdates, let alone managing something pretty good every other show and something outstanding at least once every four episodes. Season seven opens with a dreary two-parter ("Sixth Extinction" and "Amor Fati") and winds up with the traditional incomprehensible cliffhanger ("Requiem"), but along the way includes a clutch of shows that may not match the originality of earlier seasons but still effortlessly equal any other fantasy-horror-sf on American television. Highlights in this clutch: "Hungry", a brain-eating mutant story told from the point of view of a monster who tries to control his appetite by going to eating disorder self-help groups; "The Goldberg Variation", a crime comedy about a weaselly little man who has the gift of incredible good luck, which means Wile E Coyote-style doom for anyone who crosses him; "The Amazing Maleeni", guest-starring Ricky Jay in a rare non-fantastic crime story about a feud between stage magicians that turns out to be a cover for a heist; "X-Cops", a brilliant skit on the US TV docusoap Cops with Mulder and Scully caught on camera as they track an apparent werewolf in Los Angeles (season-best acting from David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson); "Theef", a complex revenge drama with gaunt Billy Drago as a hillbilly medicine man stalking a slick doctor; "Brand X", a horror comic tale of corruption in the tobacco industry; "Hollywood AD" (written and directed by Duchovny), in which Tea Leoni and Garry Shandling are cast as Scully and Mulder in a crass movie version of a real-life X file; and "Je Souhaite", a deadpan comedy about a wry, cynical genie at the mercy of trailer trash masters who haven't an idea what to wish for. Among the disasters are: "Fight Club", a grossly laboured comedy; "All Things", Gillian Anderson's riotously pretentious religious-themed writing-directing debut; "En Ami", written and understood by William B Davis, the cigarette-smoking villain; and the very silly "First Person Shooter", the lamest killer video-game plot imaginable courtesy of distinguished guest writer William Gibson. Still essential, despite the occasional pits, but yet again you go away thinking that the next season had better come up with some answers. --Kim Newman

• The Knack And How To Get It | DVD | (02/08/2004) from £17.95   |  Saving you £-1.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Cool and sophisticated Tolen has a monopoly on womanising - with a long line of conquests to prove it - while the naive and awkward Colin desperately wants a piece of it. But when Colin falls for an innocent country girl it's not long before the self assured Tolen moves in for the kill. Is all fair in love and war or can Colin get the knack and beat Tolen at his own game?

• To Be Or Not To Be | DVD | (26/12/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An elegant comedic story of a Polish acting troupe who help in their small way to resist the Nazi occupation. When it is discovered that a Polish hero residing in Britain is actually a German agent a Polish RAF officer is deployed to stop him. Upon arriving in Poland the RAF officer together with the already forewarned actors concoct a convoluted charade designed to collect the information from the spy kill him and pass on the false information to the Gestapo.

• David Lean Box Set | DVD | (20/11/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  A collection of David Lean's finest films. Include: 1. The Sound Barrier (1952) 2. Hobsons Choice (1954) 3. Blithe Spirit (1945) 4. Brief Encounter (1945) 5. Great Expectations (1946) 6. Oliver Twist (1948) 7. Madeleine (1950) 8. The Passionate Friends (1949) 9. This Happy Breed (1944)

• The Man With One Red Shoe | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £12.90   |  Saving you £0.09 (0.70%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An innocent man is targeted for surveillance by the CIA. However the intelligence agency finds it increasingly difficult to liquidate the musician as he continues to be oblivious of the attempts to kill him...

• 10 To Midnight | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £11.74   |  Saving you £4.24 (48.46%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The clock is ticking and time is running out as ace detectives Leo Kessler and Paul McAnn track down a psychotic killer who is brutally slaying young women. Caught in a web of red tape they seem unable to bring the murderer to justice until Kessler's daughter becomes the next victim and revenge becomes the most powerful of motives...

• Shenandoah | DVD | (23/08/2004) from £17.97   |  Saving you £-4.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  James Stewart stars as a Virginia farmer during the Civil War. He refuses to support the Confederacy because he is opposed to slavery yet he will not support the Union because he is deeply opposedito war. When his son is taken prisoner Stewart goes to search for the boy. Seeing first-hand the horrors of war he is at last forced to take his stand...

• Made For Each Other | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £5.79   |  Saving you £-0.80 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  This highly appealing comedy drama stars James Stewart and Carole Lombard as a young couple battling illness lack of money inept servants and interfering in-laws...

• Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 - The Complete Series - DVD | DVD | (29/07/2020) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Earth is on the verge of complete annihilation. Threatened by an intergalactic superpower known as Gamilas, humankinds last hope for survival depends upon the generous assistance of another alien civilization - Iscandar. The Space Battleship Yamato - manned by a skilled, motivated crew and with advanced tech at its core - has only one year to seek out this planet and recover a device that could revitalize Earth. But Gamilan interference, dangerous cosmic phenomena, and conflict among the officers will test the whole of humanity's resolve.

• Married To The Mob | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £8.92   |  Saving you £4.07 (45.63%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Angela de Marco (Michelle Pfeiffer) is fed up with her life Married to the Mob. As luck would have it, her hubby Frank (Alec Baldwin) is knocked off by head honcho Tony "the Tiger" Russo (an Oscar-nominated Dean Stockwell), which leaves her free to start a new life in the Big Apple. The only problem is that the FBI are desperate to nab Tony, and manage to send the one Agent (Matthew Modine) most likely to fall in love with her. Plot-wise, then, this is predictable fluff. The joys are in the details of Jonathan Demme's direction: New York's streets come alive under his hand-held camerawork; a lot of dialogue is comically delivered direct to camera (a device he used for dramatic effect later with The Silence of the Lambs); and background characters each leave their mark given memorable--often-hilarious--screen time. As a black comedy it isn't quite so memorable as Demme's explosive earlier work on Something Wild, but if there's one thing sure to stick with you here it's the sensationally colourful late-80s fashions and hairstyles. On the DVD: Married to the Mob is a bare-bones release that only adds a trailer. It is presented in its original widescreen ratio, however, and for the most part the transfer is pretty clean. --Paul Tonks

• Disco Pigs | DVD | (25/02/2002) from £6.59   |  Saving you £13.40 (203.34%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Pig and Runt were born moments apart in the same hospital and except for blood are twins. They grow up together and have equal appetites for recklessness and destruction. Just before their seventeenth birthdays Pig's behaviour threatens the private world they have spent a lifetime building. Their special relationship is stretched to breaking point and the survival of one of them depends upon which one can break free.

• All Dogs Christmas Carol | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £4.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (37.50%)   |  RRP £7.99

  An All Dogs Christmas Carol is another straight-to-video sequel of a so-so animated film. The original 1989 All Dogs Go to Heaven was hardly inspired but contained expert Don Bluth animation and the amusing voices of Burt Reynolds and his gang. Now Steven Weber voices the animated mutt Charlie who is still palling around with the same gang through three movies and an animated series. Here the arch villain, Carface (Ernest Borgnine), gets the traditional Dickens treatment of being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. The opening number, "When I Hear a Christmas Carol", is a good start, but soon TV-ish animation and the low humour becomes wearing. Kids who like the earlier Dog efforts won't be disappointed, but the entire series can hardly be defined as great entertainment. The saving grace is the foolproof Christmas Carol visitations. --Doug Thomas

• Revenge Of Frankenstein | DVD | (19/08/2002) from £34.99   |  Saving you £-22.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Revenge of Frankenstein was an inevitability after Hammer Films had made an international star of Peter Cushing in The Curse of this sequel-rich franchise. The plot here is a braver twist on the story than the many follow-ups would take. The Creature doesn't make its presence known until the final reel, up to which point the only sense of lurking menace comes from Cushing's deliciously mannered performance as a disguised Dr Stein. A new name and a new town is a gamble sure to fail, and circumstances almost immediately conspire against the deceit. Also rattling around the brilliantly lit studio sets are Eunice Gayson and Francis Matthews, while Michael Gwynn gives everything he's got in stiff competition to predecessor Christopher Lee in the Creature role. It's subtle and simply screams out for enfranchisement--so of course Hammer dutifully made another five in the series. On the DVD: The Revenge of Frankenstein comes with mono sound (all you're going to get from Hammer and 1958), but the 1.66:1 ratio is a treat. You also get a trailer (and a surprise additional movie trailer) plus 10 photos. --Paul Tonks

• The Confidence Man | DVD | (07/04/2003) from £5.80   |  Saving you £0.19 (3.20%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Cops are supposed to be the protectors of society men of the law. But living in a world of moral absolutes it has become less and less unusual to see a cop go off at the deep end. Detective Stevie Grimes (Jack Conley) kept his faith in the brotherhood of the badge and always managed to stay on the right side of the law. But for the past year he has been suspended on trail for the accidental shooting of a young boy. The trail ends in a 'hung jury' and finally after twelve months Stevie is reinstated but the possibility that the state may retry the case still remains forcing him to relive the nightmare.

• Beethoven/Beethoven's 2nd | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Beethoven: A St. Bernard puppy 'adopts' a new home after escaping from dog thieves. The Newton family just haven't realised the trouble that 185lbs of dog can get into... (Dir. Brian Levant 1992) Beethoven's 2nd: Beethoven has fallen in love with the fetching Missy and is ready to settle down with a family of his own. Like it or not George Newton his hapless owner is about to discover the meaning of chaos - times four! Tchaikovsky Chubby Dolly and Mo a quartet of irresistible puppies that have definitely inherited their father's talent for getting into mischief. Trouble ensues when Missy's evil owner Regina heartlessly severs Beethoven from his lady love and plots to steal the pups too. Will Beethoven and the puppies be reunited with Missy? Will Regina get her comeuppance? Will George Newton ever know peace and quiet again? (Dir. Rod Daniel 1993)

• Amazing Stories: The Complete Series | DVD | (15/01/2021) from £39.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Fallen Angel | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £17.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (11.12%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Down on his luck Eric meets the wealthy June and formulates a plan to marry her then divorce her and steal her fortune that will enable him to live in comfort with Stella with whom he is in love. However when Stella is mysteriously murdered things start to go very wrong indeed...

• The Night Stalker | Blu Ray | (02/10/2018) from £27.24   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Dracula, Prince Of Darkness | DVD | (23/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Ignoring a strange warning a young party travelling to the Carpathian Mountains are abandoned by their coachman. Their luck changes however when another mysterious coach appears and delivers them to the hospitality of Count Dracula...

• Whirlpool | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-0.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The wife of a successful psychoanalyst is arrested for shoplifting and only saved from any scandal by a somewhat dubious hypnotist. Soon finds herself caught up in a murder hunt...