"Actor: Ellis"

• Ray | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £6.99   |  Saving you £9.00 (128.76%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A biopic telling the life story of legendary music performer Ray Charles, as played by Jamie Foxx.

• Pink Floyd - The Wall | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  By any rational measure, Alan Parker's cinematic interpretation of Pink Floyd's The Wall is a glorious failure. Glorious because its imagery is hypnotically striking, frequently resonant and superbly photographed by the gifted cinematographer Peter Biziou. And a failure because the entire exercise is hopelessly dour, loyal to the bleak themes and psychological torment of Roger Waters' great musical opus, and yet utterly devoid of the humour that Waters certainly found in his own material. Any attempt to visualise The Wall would be fraught with artistic danger, and Parker succumbs to his own self-importance, creating a film that's as fascinating as it is flawed. The film is, for better and worse, the fruit of three artists in conflict--Parker indulging himself, and Waters in league with designer Gerald Scarfe, whose brilliant animated sequences suggest that he should have directed and animated this film in its entirety. Fortunately, this clash of talent and ego does not prevent The Wall from being a mesmerising film. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof (in his screen debut) is a fine choice to play Waters's alter ego--an alienated, "comfortably numb" rock star whose psychosis manifests itself as an emotional (and symbolically physical) wall between himself and the cold, cruel world. Weaving Waters's autobiographical details into his own jumbled vision, Parker ultimately fails to combine a narrative thread with experimental structure. It's a rich, bizarre, and often astonishing film that will continue to draw a following, but the real source of genius remains the music of Roger Waters. --Jeff Shannon

• Prime Suspect 2 | DVD | (06/11/2006) from £4.24   |  Saving you £10.01 (335.91%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A year after proving that she can handle a murder enquiry as well as any man D.C.I. Tennison is launched back into battle at Scotland Yard. The body of a young girl is discovered in a shallow grave in the back garden of a terraced house in an Afro-Carribean neighbourhood of London. The difficult job of identifying the body and finding the murderer is only made worse when the controversial subject of racism rears its ugly head. Having to contend with prejudice and misunderstanding from both the locals and from within her own team and dealing with a boss who has one eye on his own promotion D.C.I. Tennison has to use her powers of ingenuity courage and compassion as she faces the political disapproval of the public and her colleagues.

• Z Cars | DVD | (02/09/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Every decade has its own kind of cop show and in the 1960s and early 70s following years of national love and acclaim for Dixon of Dock Green it came time for a new breed of policeman to take to the screen. Set in Newtown a fictional setting to the North of Liverpool it captures a time when coppers were leaving the beat for fast-paced response vehicles - the Z-Cars of the title. These colour episodes from 1972 make up our first collection capturing some of the characters and crimes that shaped the long ago decade of old-school policing when the concept of a crime family was up to three generations of burglars shoplifters and smash-and-grabbers. Z-Cars was also innovative in reflecting a changing and challenging time for the police men and women themselves engaging with their own personal crises and their impact on the force. So sit back and buckle-up as we let the criminal underworld of Newtown know that Z-Cars on the way.

• Miranda - Series 1-2 box set | DVD | (07/11/2011) from £6.62   |  Saving you £23.37 (353.02%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Britain's Queen of comedy Miranda Hart in Her Brilliant TV Series.Miranda Hart's farcical, affectionate, laugh out loud sitcom introduces us to a woman desperate to fit in, and lead a normal life, while falling, often quite literally, flat on her face!Join Miranda, her eccentric mother Penny (Patricia Hodge), her boarding school frienemy Tilly (Sally Phillips), her long-term crush Gary (Tom Ellis), her old friend Stevie (Sarah Hadland) and her father (Tom Conti) for this fantastic show.

• Lovecraft Country: Season 1 | Blu Ray | (22/02/2021) from £14.89   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A young African-American travels across the U.S. in the 1950s in search of his missing father.

• The Resident | DVD | (04/07/2011) from £4.56   |  Saving you £13.19 (471.07%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Every year, several million single women in America move into an apartment. They don't know who lived in the apartment before them, they don't know their landlords, and they don't bother to change the locks. This is the story of one such woman...

• Poldark - Series 1 Complete (Vol 1 & 2) | DVD | (22/06/2015) from £6.67   |  Saving you £8.32 (124.74%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Poldark is the beloved BBC miniseries set against the stormy sociopolitical backdrop of 18th-century England. The year is 1780 and Captain Ross Poldark has just returned to Cornwall from his battles in the American War. He hopes to settle down with his inheritance and his beloved Elizabeth but false reports of his death preceded his arrival resulting in heartbreaking circumstances. In addition Poldark must also contend with his fetching new housekeeper and the family copper mines which threaten to fall into the hands of his greatest archenemy.

• Corrina, Corrina | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In Corrina, Corrina Ray Liotta plays a 1950s jingle composer whose wife dies, leaving him to raise their grieving young daughter (Tina Majorino) alone. Dad hires an African-American housekeeper (Whoopi Goldberg), who helps fill the gap in the child's life--and then Dad's life. Soon an interracial relationship crossing the social mores of the era is underway. Written and directed by Jessie Nelson (The Story of Us), the film is a spot-on recreation of 1950s suburbia without gratuitous kitsch. Liotta is perfect as a working man of the day, given to white shirts and narrow ties; Goldberg gives one of her finest performances as the level-headed Corrina; and little Majorino is heartbreakingly effective. But the film entirely bears the stamp of one person, and that's Nelson, who has a wonderfully witty eye and a sophisticated but sensitive approach to the crosscurrents of emotion at play in this story. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Bad Girls - Series One | DVD | (18/06/2001) from £24.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (60.02%)   |  RRP £39.99

  If the concept of a TV drama set in a woman's prison was one potentially fraught with cliché, the critical and commercial success of Bad Girls is a testament to fine writing, performance and production. With no preamble or scene setting, Series 1 immediately plunges the viewer into the world of Larkhall Prison, its inmates and staff. This approach leaves the characters to reveal themselves at varying pace, with each episode bringing new details about their life on the outside. Given the nature of the setting, it is unsurprising that the show is an ensemble, female-dominated piece. Simone Lahbib, Mandana Jones and Debra Stephenson are all excellent in the three key roles, with impressive support throughout the cast. Male characters are generally relegated to the sidelines, with the exception of sleazy warden Jim Fenner (played with skin crawling accuracy by Jack Ellis). The sexual realities of the environment are handled realistically and sensitively, and not for nothing is the word "uncut" splashed across the cover: there are some quite disturbing scenes, especially in the earlier episodes. On the DVD: The DVD enhances the show's attempts to capture the atmosphere of prison, with sharp contrast between light and darkness and the constant barracking, cat-calling and snide asides sounding crisp, clear and suitably nasty. Of the impressive 70 minutes of extra features much will only be of real interest to absolute devotees. A documentary examining work on the forthcoming third series may go into admirable detail, but how much interest a costume truck can actually be is perhaps debatable. The footage itself is a little unpolished, but does provide the cast members with an opportunity to reveal themselves, as does the extensive interview section. Not only do the main actors give valuable insights into their characters, but it is also interesting to see how the process has influenced their opinions on the prison system. A feature on a book signing in London certainly puts the show into an audience context, but the collection of outtakes (presented in a, supposedly intentionally, amateurish and tacky manner by Lahbib) is at best superfluous. There is more than a hint of trying to find material to fill the space, but overall this is an impressive effort. --Phil Udell

• Poldark - Complete Series 1-2 | DVD | (22/06/2015) from £9.95   |  Saving you £0.05 (0.50%)   |  RRP £10.00

  The entire first and second series of this romantic TV drama series set in 1780s Cornwall. The story begins when Ross Poldark (Robin Ellis) returns from the American War of Independence to claim his inheritance and marry his fiancée Elizabeth (Jill Townsend). However during his two year absence false reports of Poldark's death have been circulated and Elizabeth has found comfort in the arms of another.

• King Richard | Blu Ray | (21/02/2022) from £9.95   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  From Warner Bros. Pictures comes King Richard, starring two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith ( Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness, Bad Boys for Life ), under the direction of Reinaldo Marcus Green ( Monsters and Men ). Armed with a clear vision and a brazen 78-page plan, Richard Williams is determined to write his daughters, Venus and Serena, into history. Training on Compton, California's abandoned tennis courts - rain or shine - the girls are shaped by their father's unyielding commitment and their mother's balanced perspective and keen intuition, defying the seemingly insurmountable odds and prevailing expectations laid before them. Based on the true story that will inspire the world, King Richard follows the uplifting journey of a family whose unwavering resolve and unconditional belief ultimately deliver two of the world's greatest sports legends.

• Carry On Admiral | DVD | (10/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A case of mistaken identity means that Tom Baker (David Tomlinson) Parliamentary Private Secretary to the First Sea Lord is piped aboard HMS Sherwood as the new Captain. Calamity rules as the 'Captain' causes a right old carry-on.

• Miranda - Series 3 | DVD | (04/11/2013) from £8.07   |  Saving you £11.92 (147.71%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Miranda is back for a third series and it's the best yet. It's impossible not to fall head of heels in hysterics with this multi-award winning hit sitcom. Love is very much in the air for Miranda. Will she cope seeing her one true love Gary (Tom Ellis) with a girlfriend? Can she sustain the relationship with her new boyfriend Mike? Will she impress Mike's father (Tim Piggot-Smith) with her first attempt at a dinner party whilst her already embarrassing mother (Patricia Hodge) arrives drunk? Can her best friend Stevie (Sarah Hadland) handle Miranda's distraction from their friendship? Who will Miranda end up with? And how come she managed to kiss Gary Barlow? All will become clear in this fantastic Series 3 of the TV ratings smash that is Miranda.

• Lewis | DVD | (12/03/2007) from £15.98   |  Saving you £11.00 (78.63%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Kevin Whately returns in this new drama. Picking up five years after his mentor Inspector Morse's death it sees Lewis now an inspector himself returning to Oxford after two years overseas. Back in his old stomping ground he is teamed with a new sidekick Det Sgt. James Hathaway and is anxious to prove himself! Episodes Comprise: 1. Whom The Gods Would Destroy 2. Old School Ties 3. Expiation

• Licorice Pizza | Blu Ray | (06/06/2022) from £8.41   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  California's San Fernando Valley, 1973. Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) is a precocious high schooler and child star who meets - and is immediately besotted with - Alana (Alana Haim), a twenty-something photographer's assistant trying desperately to find herself. The two of them form an unlikely bond, and soon begin running around the Valley together taking part in Gary's many haphazard schemes.

• Brother To Brother | DVD | (04/10/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Brother To Brother

• The Express | DVD | (30/03/2009) from £3.00   |  Saving you £12.99 (81.20%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Based on the real-life story of college football hero Ernie Davis, The Express will remind some moviegoers of the heart-tugging Brian's Song. Ernie Davis was a star athlete at Syracuse University and the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy. Unlike other winners of that era, he wasn't allowed to attend his banquet dinner because the venue didn't serve blacks. He died of leukemia at the age of 23 in 1963. That element of his story is well known to football fans. What the filmmakers concentrate on in The Express isn't just Davis' athletic prowess, but the relationship he had with his coach Ben Schwartzwalder (Dennis Quaid). Rob Brown (Stop-Loss, Coach Carter) lends both gravity and charm to the role of Davis. He plays Davis as a strong willed and moral young man who refuses to let racism and discrimination dominate his life. He joins a Jewish fraternity, gets along with his predominantly white teammates and shows respect for his family and coach. The film is wise not to present Schwartzwalder as wholly colour blind. Though not overtly racist, he makes a few references that would not be acceptable in modern-day society. Overall though, the coach doesn't care what colour his players are, as long as they share the common goal of winning. Quaid is well cast in the role, adding just the right amount of gruff mannerisms without becoming a caricature. Brown has the difficult task of adding suspense to a character where most of the audience already knows his fate. Still, he manages to keep moviegoers on their toes--hoping for a miracle that we know will never come. --Jae-Ha Kim

• It's A Free World | DVD | (01/10/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Angie gets the sack from a recruitment agency for bad behaviour in public. Seizing the chance she teams up with her flatmate Rose to run a similar business from their kitchen. With immigrants desperate to work the opportunities are considerable particularly for two girls....

• Get On Up | Blu Ray | (30/03/2015) from £20.93   |  Saving you £4.06 (19.40%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Based on the incredible life story of the Godfather of Soul, the film will give a fearless look inside the music, moves and moods of James Brown.