"Actor: Heather Ames"

• The Duke | DVD | (13/06/2022) from £4.96   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60 year old taxi driver, stole Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery's history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly - he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge - Kempton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage - how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale.

• Drugstore Cowboy | DVD | (16/09/2002) from £19.10   |  Saving you £-3.11 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Drugstore Cowboy was the breakaway change of pace and success for a number of those involved in its making. Principally, Gus Van Sant became a director of immediate notability winning multiple international Festival awards and acclaim. It also allowed Matt Dillon to stretch his acting abilities well outside of the teen rebel pigeonhole he'd become associated with in the 1980s and provided far meatier roles for Kelly Lynch and Heather Graham. Adapted from James Fogle's novel, the broad strokes of the plot are simple enough; a junkie foursome led by Dillon's headstrong Bob, move around the Pacific Northwest in the early 70s scoring pharmaceutical drugs in a series of robberies. The finer details, created with the sense of family developing between the principals, and how they are not portrayed as either victims or "bad" criminals. Van Sant occasionally slips into the surreal depicting Bob's drug-addled thinking like a James Bond title sequence, along with a questionable in-joke cameo with Williams S Burroughs, dish out advice and temptation to Bob. In one simple way, it's little more than a road movie. Yet on another level there's a cautionary tale of the life of a junkie that has relevance well beyond the film's timeframe. On the DVD: A stereo track and a grainy print in 1.85:1 usually does a movie little favours, but here they add to the overall gritty atmosphere surprisingly well. The only extra is unfortunately the original trailer. --Paul Tonks

• The Duke | Blu Ray | (13/06/2022) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60 year old taxi driver, stole Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was the first (and remains the only) theft in the Gallery's history. Kempton sent ransom notes saying that he would return the painting on condition that the government invested more in care for the elderly - he had long campaigned for pensioners to receive free television. What happened next became the stuff of legend. Only 50 years later did the full story emerge - Kempton had spun a web of lies. The only truth was that he was a good man, determined to change the world and save his marriage - how and why he used the Duke to achieve that is a wonderfully uplifting tale.

• Lost In Space | DVD | (01/10/1999) from £5.58   |  Saving you £14.41 (258.24%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Packed with more than 750 dazzling visual effects, this US$70 million adventure does more (and less) than give the 1965-68 TV series a state-of-the-art face-lift. Aimed at an audience that wasn't born when the series originally aired, the sci-fi extravaganza doesn't even require familiarity, despite cameo appearances by several of the TV show's original cast members. Instead it's a high-tech hybrid of the original premise with enough sensory overload to qualify as a spectacular big-screen video game, supported by a time-travel premise that's adequately clever but hardly original. Lost in Space is certainly never boring, and visually it's an occasionally awesome demonstration of special effects technology. But in its attempt to be all things to all demographics, the movie's more of a marketing ploy than a satisfying adventure, thankfully dispensing with the TV show's cheesy camp but otherwise squandering a promising cast in favour of eye-candy and ephemeral storytelling. --Jeff Shannon

• Uptown Girls | DVD | (21/06/2004) from £7.71   |  Saving you £8.28 (107.39%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Molly Gunn (Brittany Murphy) is the toast of the Manhattan social scene. But when her inheritance is stolen, Molly is forced to do something she's never done before - get a job as a nanny!

• Dynasty - The Complete Seasons Box Set | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £55.35   |  Saving you £-15.36 (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Collection of every episode from all nine seasons of the long-running American soap following the mixed fortunes of a wealthy Denver oil business family presided over by Blake Carrington (John Forsythe). Scandalous love affairs, dirty business deals, power struggles, catfights and bulging shoulder pads all add to the drama in the show that epitomised the glamour and greed of the 1980s. Season 4 (7 Discs), Season 5 (8 Discs), Season 6 (8 Discs), Season 7 (7 Discs) and Season 8 (6 Discs) offer...

• Elvis - Loving You | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £10.79   |  Saving you £1.20 (11.12%)   |  RRP £11.99

  Digitally re-mastered for superior sound and picture quality Lovin’ You is a genuine Elvis classic and an absolute “must have” for any true fan of the undisputed King of Rock’n’Roll from the days when he was lean mean and magnificent and had a hip wiggle that drove the girls crazy. Only Presley’s second ever feature film and his first in colour this rocking romance uncannily mirrors Elvis’s own explosion onto the music scene and rocket ride to fame and fortune. His raw animal prescence leaps sensationally from the screen in the all-singing all-dancing story of a humble delivery boy turned rock’n’roll star Deke Rivers – featuring the hit songs Teddy Bear Got A Lot Of Lovin’ To Do Hot Dog Mean Woman Blues Party and of course the tender ballad Lovin’ You. First released in the cinema in 1957 the movie showed Elvis had genuine acting talent with his gritty and emotional portrayal of a simple country boy catapulted to stardom. Interestingly two versions of the title song were recorded for the film and although two versions are on the Complete Fifties Masters both are shorter than the 2 minutes 12 seconds on-screen version here!

• Gasaraki (Vol.3): Betrayal | DVD | (11/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The intrigue continues in the third volume of Gasaraki...

• Great Expectations | DVD | (22/05/2000) from £5.60   |  Saving you £1.39 (24.82%)   |  RRP £6.99

  This lavish adaptation of Charles Dickens immortal tale follows Pip an orphan given the chance to break free from poverty and live life as a gentleman. The stunning performances by an all-star cast are unforgettable. James Mason is Magwitch the escaped convict Pip helps in an act which is to affect his whole life; Robert Morley plays his kindly uncle; Anthony Quayle is Jaggers the lawyer who intercedes for Pip's anonymous benefactor; and the rich but deeply troubled Miss Havisha

• Taken | DVD | (21/04/2003) from £63.99   |  Saving you £-44.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Steven Spielberg's alien abduction opus Taken is what happens when you cross-breed Close Encounters of the Third Kind with The Waltons. Obviously flushed with the success of the TV mini-series Band of Brothers, Spielberg's Dreamworks studio has created an equally epic 10-part story chronicling 50 years of habitual abduction over several generations of three American families. Beginning with the most notorious alien cover-up in US history, the 1947 "crash" at Roswell, New Mexico, Taken introduces the "Greys" and the families they routinely abduct, probe and, in a couple of cases, impregnate over the course of the ten hour-and-a-half-long episodes. The three families are: the Keys, from which first Russell, then his son Jessie, then grandson Danny, are all abducted; the Clarkes, who are descended from a liaison between lonely put-upon housewife Sally Clarke and one of the Roswell crash survivors; and the Crawfords, the ruthless G-men who are committed to uncovering the purpose behind the alien visitations at any cost. But even though the Greys' actions are at best ambiguous and at worst hostile, Taken is basically a soap opera, lacking the sinister undercurrent of either Dark Skies or The X-Files despite its science-fiction trappings. Nevertheless, this is an engaging series which has decent performances--most notably Joel Gretsch as psychotic Owen Crawford--special effects and an engaging enough storyline to make it entertaining, if somewhat disposable, TV. --Kristen Bowditch

• The End Of The Affair | DVD | (21/08/2000) from £7.98   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  THE END OF THE AFFAIR is a brilliant and powerful story of love, betrayal and sexual jealousy.

• Dynasty - Season 9 | DVD | (28/01/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The phenomenon of Dynasty reaches its crowning conclusion in the astonishing ninth and final season. A lifelong, deadly secret stuns everyone, marriages, fortunes and lives are shattered forever, and the war between the Carrington and Colby empires rages on to the very end. The glittering cast, the spectacular glamour, the jaw-dropping twists--they're all here with a shocking series climax that is quintessential Dynasty. The monumental hit drama from legendary producer Aaron Spelling and cre...

• Swingers | DVD | (06/12/1999) from £4.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (160.32%)   |  RRP £12.99

  For anyone who wants to catch a glimpse of the Los Angeles "lounge" scene that was in vogue during the early and mid-1990s, here's the movie that virtually defined that brief but colourful nightlife milieu. As an added bonus, it just happens to be a very funny, observant story about love, loss and male bonding among a group of friends who struggle to find decent jobs by day, and lurk through Hollywood's hottest nightclubs by night. A sort of latter-day Rat Pack, they include Mike (writer-actor Jon Favreau) and his closest buddy, Trent (Vince Vaughn), who are waiting for the big show-biz break that seems to be eluding them. Mike's twisted up about the girlfriend he left back East to pursue his going-nowhere standup comedy career, and Trent uses the word "money" as an adjective ("Man, we look totally money tonight") with such frequency that you may find yourself slipping into lounge-lizard mode after watching the movie. One of the most noteworthy indie-film success stories of the 90s, Swingers is a time-capsule comedy that seized its moment in the spotlight, launched several promising careers and continues to maintain its lasting appeal. --Jeff Shannon

• Sorority Boys | DVD | (10/03/2003) from £8.93   |  Saving you £6.06 (67.86%)   |  RRP £14.99

  When three college lads are thrown out of their fraternity they become so desperate for free lodgings that they join the female Delta Omicron Gamma sorority house....

• Silver Bullet | DVD | (22/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Silver Bullet is a generic, by-the-numbers Stephen King film with a Stephen King screenplay adapted from an earlier novella. Back in the innocent days of 1976--the age of innocence gets later every year--the town of Tarker's Fall finds itself in the grip of mass hysteria when something starts tearing people apart. Only a crippled child Martie (Corey Haim) works out the truth, which is that the new pastor is a werewolf. Eventually he manages to convince his supercilious sister Janey and his unreliable drunk Uncle Red (Gary Busey) and there is the usual confrontation involving a silver bullet melted down from the children's religious jewellery; the title also refers to the boy's motorised wheelchair. The film neglects interesting possibilities--the lynch-mob mentality that takes over the town fizzles after the major vigilantes are killed, the pastor tries to justify the killings to himself--in favour of stock ultra-violent confrontations and extended metamorphoses; its major strength is a familiar King theme, the helplessness of being a child in a world full of people who will not listen to you. On the DVD: The DVD comes with a director's commentary by Daniel Attias and dubbed versions in German, French and Italian. The soundtrack has Dolby sound which brings out the stylised fairy-tale elements in the score and the widescreen picture is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic ratio. The sometimes muddy-looking night-scenes are balanced by brisk pastoral daylight scenes that have their own innocence. --Roz Kaveney

• Barbara Stanwyck | DVD | (13/03/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  A bumper box set of classic films featuring 'The Queen' Barbara Stanwyck! Double Indemnity (Dir. Billy Wilder 1944): Director Billy Wilder and writer Raymond Chandler ('The Big Sleep') adapted James M. Cain's hard-boiled novel into this wildly thrilling story of insurance man Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) who schemes the perfect murder with the beautiful dame Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck): kill Dietrichson's husband and make off with the insurance money. But of cou

• Bowfinger/the Nutty Professor/Life | DVD | (14/08/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Bowfinger: How does Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) Hollywood's least successful director get Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) Hollywood's biggest star in his ultra low-budget film? Any way he can. With an ingenious scheme and the help of the eager nerd Jiff an ambitious and sexy wannabe (Heather Graham) and an over-the-hill diva (Christine Baranski) Bowfinger sets out to trick Kit Ramsey into the performance of a lifetime.... (Dir. Frank Oz 1999) The Nutty Professor: Eddie Murphy stars as Dr Sherman Klump a kind ""calorically challenged"" genetics professor who longs to shed his 400-pound frame in order to win the heart of beautiful Jada Pinkett. So with one swig of his experimental fat-reducing serum Sherman becomes ""Buddy Love"" a fast-talking pumped-up plumped-down Don Juan. Can Sherman stop his buff alter ego before it's too late or will Buddy have the last laugh? (Dir. Tom Shadyac 1996) Life: Eddie Murphy is the fast talking con-artist Rayford Gibson and Martin Lawrence is the conservative bank teller Claude Banks. The two are accidentally teamed up to become the funniest ""odd couple"" east of the Mississippi. In an effort to pay off Ray's debt and restore Claude's reputation they travel south on a bootlegging run for some quick cash. There is no limit to their comical misfortune as they are placed at the scene of a crime and their mistaken identity lands them right in front of the judge. This hysterical comedy gives a whole new meaning to friends for life. (Dir. Ted Demme 1999)

• All The Real Girls | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £7.84   |  Saving you £12.15 (154.97%)   |  RRP £19.99

  From the young director of 2000's critically acclaimed "George Washington" comes a love story set in a small country town in Southern America.

• Gasaraki (Vol.7): In the Spider's Web | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  As Yushiro struggles desperately to rescue Miharu the noose around the neck of the free world begins to tighten. As the US and Japan find themselves driven to the brink of war the very fabric of civilization begins to unravel. Caught in the crossfire the TA Team must make the difficult decision of whom and what to fight for in a war that no one can possibly win. Apocalypse approaches in Gasaraki!

• Illusions | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  As Greg Sanderson helps his wife Jan to recover from a nervous breakdown their privacy is soon interrupted by his stunning and mysterious sister Laura. Distraught by the paranoia that their relationship is a little too close she shares her fears only to become more confused and starts to question everything surrounding her breakdown.