"Actor: Ian James"

• Donnie Darko/S. Darko - Donnie Darko 2 | DVD | (06/07/2009) from £9.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (50.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Titles Comprise: Donnie Darko: October 1988 and small town USA is about to witness the end of the world. It's home to Donnie Darko a brilliant but troubled teenager plagued by terrifying visions the meaning of which he alone holds the key. With his class mate and soul mate Gretchen and a mysterious ex teacher Grandma Death he must unravel the strange occurrences infecting his school his home and his life before a horrifying spectre known only as Frank can pull Donnie over the edge of his sanity. sDarko - Donnie Darko 2: Seven years after the death of her elder brother Donnie Samantha Darko (Chase) is struggling through adolescence as her family crumbles around her. Samantha tries to escape to Hollywood with her best friend Corey (Evigan) setting off on an ill-fated road trip which culminates in them breaking down in a remote desert town. As the pair are forced to stay in the town a meteorite hits nearby causing Samantha to begin to have visions of the universe's end. In addition she finds out that she was in fact adopted by the Darko's and that the fate of the world is in her hands.

• Luciano Pavarotti - Verdi: Ernani | DVD | (05/11/2007) from £16.79   |  Saving you £3.20 (19.06%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This version of Verdi's Ernani was a new Metropolitan Opera production filmed in 1983 and brought together an all-star billing of singers including Luciano Pavarotti in his absolute operatic prime. He was joined on stage by Leona Mitchell as the female heroine and the great baritone Sherrill Milnes and bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi. James Levine conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus on this DVD which has the wonderful atmosphere that only comes with live recordings. Tracklisting: 1. Verdi: Ernani - Opening Credits 2. Preludio 3. Evviva! Beviam! 4. Merc'' Diletti Amici 5. Come Rugiada Al Cespite 6. Oh Tu Che L'alma Adora 7. Surta ''ˆ La Notte 8. Ernani! Ernani Involami 9. Tutto Sprezzo Che D'ernani 10. Fa Che A Me Venga 11. Da Quel Di Che T'ho Veduta 12. Non T'ascolto Mia Sarai 13. Tu Se' Ernani 14. Che Mai Vegg'io! 15. Infelice! E Tuo Credevi 16. Infin Che Un Brando Vindice 17. Uscite ... Ma Signore 18. Mio Signor Dolente I Sono 19. Esultiamo! Letizia Ne Inondi! 20. Jago Qui Tosto Il Pellegrin Adduci 21. Oro Quant'oro Ogn'avido 22. Tu Perfida! 23. Ah Morir Potessi Adesso! 24. Scellerati Il Mio Furore 25. Cugino A Che Munito Il Tuo Castel Ritrovo? 26. Lo Vedremo Veglio Audace 27. Fu Esplorata El Castello Ogni Latebra Pi'' Occulta 28. Vieni Meco Sol Di Rose 29. Vigili Pure I Ciel Sempre Su Te 30. D'ernani I Fidi Chiedono 31. Odi Il Voto 32. E Questo Il Loco? 33. Gran Dio! Costor Sui Sepolcrali Marmi 34. Oh De'verd'anni Miei 35. Ad Augusta! 36. Si Ridesti Il Leon Di Castiglia 37. Qual Rumore? Che Sar'' 38. Io Son Conte Duca Sono 39. O Sommo Carlo Pi'' Del Tuo Nome 40. Oh Come Felici Gioiscon Gli Sposi! 41. Cessaro I Suoni Dispari Ogni Face 42. Ecco Il Pegno 43. Ferma Crudele Estinguere Perch'' Vuoi Tu Due Vite?

• Lord Peter Wimsey - Five Red Herrings ) | DVD | (27/12/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the series of novels written by Dorothy L Sayers in the 1920s and 30s, Lord Peter Wimsey was dramatised for TV by the BBC between 1972-5. Ian Carmichael, veteran of British film comedy, played the genial, aristocratic sleuth; Glyn Houston was his manservant Bunter. The pair are similar to PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and Bertie Wooster (whom Carmichael played in an earlier TV adaptation) though here the duo are equal in intelligence, breezing about the country together in Wimsey's Bentley and stumbling with morbid regularity upon baffling murder mysteries to test their wits. Those for whom this series forms hazy memories of childhood might be surprised at its somewhat stagy, lingering interior shots, the spartan paucity of music, the miserly attitude towards locations, especially foreign ones, and the rather genteel, leisurely pace of these programmes, besides which Inspector Morse seems like Quentin Tarantino in comparison. It seems that initially the BBC was reluctant to commission the series and ventured on production with a wary eye on the budget. The Britain depicted by Sayers is, by and large, populated by either the upper classes or heavily accented, rum-do-and-no-mistake lower orders, which some might find consoling. However, the acting is generally excellent and the murder mysteries are sophisticated parlour games, the televisual equivalent of a good, absorbing jigsaw puzzle. There were five feature-length adaptations in all. "Five Red Herrings" is the last and perhaps the least of the series, involving a trout fishing holiday interrupted by the death of a local artist. --David Stubbs

• Black Christmas | DVD | (08/12/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  You may never have heard of Black Christmas, a neglected gem from 1974, but you've probably seen one of its many imitators. Olivia Hussey and Margot Kidder star as two residents of a sorority house that is emptying out as Christmas approaches. The atmosphere is jolly and carefree, except for an ongoing series of menacing telephone calls, and, oh yes, we've just seen someone climb into the attic with apparent ill intent. Kidder does some scene-stealing as the bad girl, Hussey illustrates one of the downsides to having beautiful long 70s hair and Keir Dullea does a nice turn as the creepy boyfriend. Director Robert Clark knows that the unseen is far scarier than what can be seen and he ratchets up the tension beautifully, making good use of ominous shadows, and putting in nice touches such as replacing the sound of a distraught woman's scream with the piercing ring of yet another ominous phone call. This is a terrific, well-made little movie that is genuinely sleep-with-the-lights-on scary. Don't miss it. --Ali Davis

• Happy - The Littlest Bunny | DVD | (22/03/2004) from £4.05   |  Saving you £3.94 (97.28%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Happy is the littlest bunny in the forest and he hates it. Because of his size Happy is always being picked on by his brothers Patch and Moosey and is left out of the forest animal games. With the help of his mischievous friend Chicky the Chipmunk Happy plots revenge and plays a practical joke on his brothers. He then starts to believe that the only way to get respect is by becoming mean tough and nasty. However one day one of ""Scrappy's"" rotten tricks goes horribly wrong and h

• X-Men 1/X-Men 2: 2 disc doublepack | DVD | (10/11/2003) from £9.43   |  Saving you £15.56 (165.01%)   |  RRP £24.99

  X-Men 2 picks up almost directly where X-Men left off: misguided super-villain Magneto (Ian McKellen) is still a prisoner of the US government, heroic bad-boy Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is up in Canada investigating his mysterious origin, and the events at Liberty Island (which occurred at the conclusion of X-Men) have prompted a rethink in official policy towards mutants--the proposed Mutant Registration Act has been shelved by US Congress. Into this scenario pops wealthy former army commander William Stryker, a man with the President's ear and a personal vendetta against all mutant-kind in general, and the X-Men's leader Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in particular. Once he sets his plans in motion, the X-Men must team-up with their former enemies Magneto and Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos), as well as some new allies (including Alan Cumming's gregarious, blue-skinned German mutant, Nightcrawler). The phenomenal global success of X-Men meant that director Bryan Singer had even more money to spend on its sequel, and it shows. Not only is the script better (there's significantly less cheesy dialogue than the original), but the action and effects are also even more stupendous--from Nightcrawler's teleportation sequence through the White House to a thrilling aerial dogfight featuring mutants-vs-missiles to a military assault on the X-Men's school/headquarters to the final showdown at Stryker's sub-Arctic headquarters. Yet at no point do the effects overtake the film or the characters. Moreso than the original, this is an ensemble piece, allowing each character in its even-bigger cast at least one moment in the spotlight (in fact, the cast credits don't even run until the end of the film). And that, perhaps, is part of its problem (though it's a slight one): with so much going on, and nary a recap of what's come before, it's a film that could prove baffling to anyone who missed the first instalment. But that's just a minor quibble--X-Men 2 is that rare thing, a sequel that's actually superior to its predecessor. --Robert Burrow

• The X Files: Existence | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £6.55   |  Saving you £9.44 (59.00%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The pretentiously titled Existence is another two-part X-Files yarn glued together to make a feature-length episode. Here the story concerns the birth of Scully's perhaps-alien-tinged child and proves the old maxim that you should stop watching any series when the characters start having babies. By now, newbie Robert Patrick is settled into the role of Agent Doggett, Scully's new partner on the X-Files, but David Duchovny's contract negotiations have enabled Fox Mulder, no longer in the FBI, to come back and hang about the delivery, clashing and then bonding with his replacement. The action content comes from a mild-mannered alien abductee transformed into an unstoppable killing machine, ripping through everything as he tries to prevent the upcoming nativity for reasons that (as ever) don't quite become clear. Also in the support cast are semi-regular Nicholas Lea as lurking plot-explaining conspirator Alex Krycek, and the more welcome Annabeth Gish, whose interestingly spiritual Agent Monica Reyes is being worked up as a replacement for Scully when Gillian Anderson gets out of her contract. Weirdly, The X-Files is in pretty good shape for a show that's been running this long--the performances and the direction are still strong, and outside the "continuing story" shows individual episodes hold up well. But this dreary muddle of running about (plus the odd decapitation) and agonised rumination (blathery philosophical musings about the miracle of life and childbirth) does not represent the series' strengths, suggesting that the best thing that could happen would be to get shot of the long-time stars and their played-out characters to make room for a revitalised show starring Patrick and Gish. On the DVD: The full-screen print, with the extra detail of the DVD image and Dolby Digital, allow you to pick up a lot more than from the murky telecasts. "Alex Krycek Revealed" Parts 1 and 2, a couple of character profiles, turn out to be very snippet-like Fox TV promo pieces, with some interview footage and behind-the-scenes stuff amid the usual teaser clips.--Kim Newman

• Taggart - Vol. 2 | DVD | (01/01/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  'Taggart' is the longest running police drama on TV. Thanks to its explosive storylines and tough-talking Glasgow detective Jim Taggart (Mark McManus) it has become a national institution with these next six feature length editions averaging over eleven million viewers. Set Comprises: 1. Cold Blood 2. Dead Giveaway 3. Root Of Evil 4. Double Jeopardy 5. Love Knot 6. Hostile Witness

• China Girl | DVD | (13/09/2004) from £15.20   |  Saving you £-9.21 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A street-smart Italian youth falls in love with a shy Chinese girl. Their romance blossoms igniting an ugly all-out gang war led by his hot-head brother and her own brother the leader of the reigning Chinese gang.

• Robot Overlords Steel Book | Blu Ray | (10/08/2015) from £9.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (150.15%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Limited Edition Steelbook Earth has been conquered by robots from a distant galaxy. survivors are confined to their houses and must wear electronic implants risking incineration by robot sentries if they venture outside.

• Beast Wars - Volume 1: Deep Metal/Changing of the Guard | DVD | (12/04/2004) from £8.07   |  Saving you £-2.08 (-34.70%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Featuring three episodes from series 2 and four from series 3 of the CGI sequel to 80's Animation classic The Transformers. The Agenda 1: The Maximals and the Predacon Alliance are at peace but can things remain this way? A Predacon Alliance secret police ship is on the hunt for Megatron. But can they arrest him before he causes any more trouble? The Agenda 2: The cybertron ship is in trouble in desperate need of Energon in order to make it home. Megatron lets them know ab

• Nightmare At Noon | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  A vial containing a mind altering drug is dumped into a lake by a group of armed men led by a mysterious pale-eyes albio (Brion James). Two days later the inhabitants of the local town Canyonlands start to go beserk. A married couple (Wings Hauser and Kimberly Beck) travelling through the town and Sheriff Roy Hank (George Kennedy) are among those caught up in the mayhem...

• The X Files: Season 9 | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  With so many promises to fulfil and questions left unanswered, the ninth and final series of The X-Files was inevitably going to short-change some of its audience. Mulder is missing, Scully is in and out with various baby concerns, Reyes frequently seems like she's only along for the ride and Doggett seems so right in the role that some fans wondered if he should have appeared sooner. Other cult cameos flitted across the screen in an attempt to keep viewers transfixed. Lucy Lawless, Cary Elwes and Robert Patrick's real-life wife were interesting diversions, but when Burt Reynolds appeared to be none other than God himself, it was apparent that nothing at all was sacred in this last year. Standalone episodes (for example, on Satanic possession and a Brady Bunch psycho) proved to be amongst the least interesting of the show's efforts. No doubt because everyone was focussing on the all-important arc story episodes. Was there more than one alien faction? Were they all in collusion? Who had control of the black oil virus? Who had been in charge of the abductions? More importantly, would Mulder and Scully finally get in bed together? Scattered through the 19 episodes (the fewest of any season), were answers to some of these points. Then as much as possible that remained was packed into the two-hour finale. After 200 episodes, it's just possible that The X-Files overstayed its welcome; nonetheless it will always be remembered for being the most influential TV product of the 1990s. And since this is science-fiction, don't assume it's completely dead either. --Paul Tonks

• The X-Files: The Truth | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-5.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The guest cast list for The X-Files: The Truth runs almost to the first commercial break, suggesting how many plot strands this season-and-series finale needs to make room for, with many old characters (including ghostly appearances for the dead ones) popping up. Mulder (David Duchovny), teasingly absent for the final season, is suddenly back, accused of murdering a super-soldier who isn't supposed to be able to die. He faces a military tribunal, defended by AD Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), as guest stars trot out testimony that fills the double-length episode with explanations recapping nine years of confusion as creator Chris Carter tries to spatchcock his impromptu conspiracy theories into a real plot. Last-season regulars Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish are shunted aside as Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder get to dodge a last-scene explosion and wind up in a pretty silly clinch-with-philosophy in the face of vaguely imminent apocalypse. Seriously, if the franchise is to continue on the big screen, how about ditching the embarrassing alien conspiracy mess and doing a monster story? On the DVD: The X-Files: The Truth comes to disc with a lovely widescreen transfer, a 13-minute "Reflections on the Truth" featurette that, though it hits the self-congratulation button a couple too many times, has a little more meat than the puff pieces included on previous releases, and a bonus episode ("William") that is unfortunately another of the maudlin ones, this time resolving the plotline about Scully's super-baby. --Kim Newman

• Nothing Personal | DVD | (11/08/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The deadliest gangsters are those with a cause. Belfast 1975. A bomb goes off in a crowded pub and battle lines are drawn. Loyalist and Republican bosses are negotiating a cease-fire but the foot soldiers want vengeance. Leonard a high-ranking Loyalist orders his men to keep control but gang leader Kenny wants blood. Innocently caught in the cross-fire is Kenny's childhood friend whose involvement places events on a personal level. Tough decisions need to be made as Liam and Kenny find themselves trapped in an escalating spiral of violence from which there is no escape.

• The X Files: Season 5 | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £22.98   |  Saving you £12.01 (34.30%)   |  RRP £34.99

  The fifth season of The X-Files is the one in which the ongoing alien conspiracy arc really takes over, building towards box-office glory for the inevitable cinematic leap in The X-Files Movie (1998). The series opener "Redux" begins with Mulder having been framed for everything going. Scully finally sees a UFO ("The Red and the Black") before being presented with a potential daughter (the two-part "Christmas Carol" and "Emily"). By "The End", there's an enormous tangle of threads for the big-screen adaptation to unravel (or not, as it turned out). Cigarette Smoking Man is being hunted, playing every side against the middle, as well as chasing after information on Mulder's sister. Krycek is back, too, as is an old flame for Mulder in the shape of Agent Diana Fowley. If that wasn't enough to goad viewers into the cinema, there was the Lone Gunmen's 1989-set back story ("Unusual Suspects", with Richard Belzer playing his Homicide: Life on the Streets character), a musical number in the black and white Frankenstein homage "Post Modern Prometheus", and scripts co-written by Stephen King ("Chinga"), William Gibson ("Kill Switch"), and even Darren McGavin (who had inspired the show as Kolchak: The Night Stalker) in "Travellers". On the DVD: The X-Files, Season 5 extras include Chris Carter's commentary over "Post Modern Prometheus", which reveals the decision making behind shooting in black and white as well as the problems it caused. A second commentary is from writer/coproducer John Shiban on "Pine Bluff Variant", where he openly admits the influence of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Across the six discs (only 20 episodes because of the movie of course) you get credits for every episode, their TV promo spots, deleted and international versions of several scenes (some with commentary from Carter), and a couple of TV featurettes. The best of these is "The Truth About Season 5", talking to an excited Dean Haglund (Langly) amongst other crew members.--Paul Tonks

• Tim | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £12.96   |  Saving you £-6.97 (-116.40%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A handsome young man who has the mental age of a child shares a relationship with an attractive older woman for whom he works as a gardener. When the question of marriage eventually arises they suddenly realise the seriousness of their friendship.

• The Nutcracker | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £4.96   |  Saving you £1.03 (20.77%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The Nutcracker

• Sleeping Beauty | DVD | (15/09/2003) from £8.93   |  Saving you £-0.94 (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  When a princess falls into a deep sleep after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel she can only be awoken by a knight in shining armour!

• The Avengers : The Definitive Dossier 1966 (Box Set 2) | DVD | (30/12/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Seven further swingingly stylish adventures with super spies John Steed and Mrs Peel! Flashback to the Sixties with the coolest duo in crimefighting! Room Without A View Steed becomes a Gourmet and Emma awakens in Manchuria. Small Game For Big Hunters In which Steed joins the natives and Emma gets the evil eye. A Touch Of Brimstone Steed joins the Hellfire Club and Emma becomes the Queen of Sin. What The Butler Saw Steed becomes a Gentleman's Gentleman and Emma faces a fate worse than death. A Sense Of History Steed dons a gown and Emma becomes a Don. How To Succeed...At Murder Steed becomes a perfect boss and Emma goes seeking charm. Honey For The Prince Steed becomes a Genie and Emma joins a harem.