"Actor: James Michael"

• Green Mile, The / Pay It Forward / Proof Of Life | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £40.99

  The book was better" has been the complaint of many a reader since the invention of movies. Frank Darabont's second adaptation of a Stephen King prison drama The Green Mile (The Shawshank Redemption was the first) is a very faithful adaptation of King's serial novel. In the middle of the Depression, Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) runs death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Into this dreary world walks a mammoth prisoner, John Coffey (Michael Duncan) who, very slowly, reveals a special gift that will change the men working and dying on the mile. With Darabont's superior storytelling abilities, his touch for perfect casting, and a leisurely 188-minute running time, his movie brings to life nearly every character and scene from the novel. Darabont even improves the novel's two endings, creating a more emotionally satisfying experience. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.comPay It Forward is a multi-level marketing scheme of the heart. Beginning as a seventh-grade class assignment to put into action an idea that could change the world, young Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) comes up with a plan to do good deeds for three people who then by way of payment each must do good turns for three other people. These nine people also must pay it forward and so on, ad infinitum. If successful, the resulting network of do-gooders ought to comprise the entire world. While this could have turned into unmitigated schmaltz, the acting elevates this film to mitigated schmaltz. By turns powerful and measured, the performances of Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Haley Joel Osment can't make up for the many missteps in a screenplay that sanitises the look of the lower-middle class and expects us to believe that homeless alcoholics and junkies speak in the elevated manner of grad students. One may wonder how it would have been handled by the likes of Frank Capra, who could balance sentiment with humour, clearly Capra would never have let the ending of his version to take the nosedive into cliché and pathos that director Mimi Leder has allowed in this film. --Jim Gay, Amazon.comWhen someone in Proof of Life says "Don't leave me hanging", you can bet they're going to be left hanging. There's little room for delicacy in Tony Gilroy's screenplay, adapted from an article by William Prochnau and the book Long March to Freedom by kidnapping survivor Thomas Hargrove. A hint of romance between Russell Crowe (the soldier-turned-"K&R") and Meg Ryan adds tension as the story shifts back and forth to David Morse's captivity. Avoiding that pitfall, director Taylor Hackford crafts the plot as a latter-day Casablanca that unfolds on a grander canvas (at stunning locations in Ecuador) while favouring an exciting rescue-mission climax over the tragedy of an ill-timed affair. It might have worked better as a straightforward macho action flick (with David Caruso doing lively work as Crowe's gung-ho K&R cohort), but Proof of Life effectively conveys the two-sided torment of a hostage crisis. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Children's Classic Adventures | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Jungle Book Rudyard Kipling's classic tale of the little boy who lives in the animal kingdom is a well-loved and enchanting tale that teaches honour and respect for all creatures. The Adventures Of Moby Dick There is nothing fishy about this tale - it's pure excitement from start to finish. A classic story with some new characters and some great sea songs too. Black Beauty This time-honoured tale follows a beautiful ebony horse on his journey through the ro

• The Mexican | Blu Ray | (11/02/2022) from £16.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Together for the first time, superstars Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts take a hilarious, action-packed tour south of the border with James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) in what People Magazine calls a quirky romantic comedy with plenty of gunplay and intrigue.Before reckless Jerry can make amends with Samantha, he has to take one more wild ride down to Mexico to pick up a priceless antique pistol and settle his debts. As things begin heating up with mob bosses and hit men, the action boils over with surprise twists and turns in the film Roger Ebert give a Thumbs Up.

• S.W.A.T | UMD | (01/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

• Love of My Life (Blu-ray 3D, Uncut Unrated Edition) | Blu Ray | (22/01/2015) from £4.91   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Master Of Disguise | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Dana Carvey stars as Pistachio Disguisey, a sweet natured Italian waiter who discovers he has inherited the ability to be a Master of Disguise from his family when his parents are kidnapped.

• Born And Bred - Series 4 - Part 1 | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Part 1 of the fourth series of the popular BBC drama series starring Richard Wilson and Maggie Steed.

• The Sopranos: Series 2 (Vols. 4-6) | DVD | (25/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £33.99

  The second series of The Sopranos, David Chase's ultra-cool and ultra-modern take on New Jersey gangster life, matches the brilliance of the first, although it's marginally less violent, with more emphasis given to the stories and obsessions of supporting characters. Sadly, the programme makers were forced to throttle back on the appalling struggle between gang boss Tony Soprano and his Gorgon-like Mother Livia, the very stuff of Greek theatre, following actress Nancy Marchand's unsuccessful battle against cancer. Taking up her slack, however, is Tony's big sister Janice, a New Age victim and arrant schemer and sponger, who takes up with the twitchy, Scarface-wannabe Richie Aprile, brother of former boss Jackie, out of prison and a minor pain in Tony's ass. Other running sub-plots include soldier Chris (Michael Imperioli) hapless efforts to sell his real-life Mafia story to Hollywood, the return and treachery of Big Pussy and Tony's wife Carmela's ruthlessness in placing daughter Meadow in the right college. Even with the action so dispersed, however, James Gandofini is still toweringly dominant as Tony. The genius of his performance, and of the programme makers, is that, despite Tony being a whoring, unscrupulous, sexist boor, a crime boss and a murderer, we somehow end up feeling and rooting for him, because he's also a family man with a bratty brood to feed, who's getting his balls busted on all sides, to say nothing of keeping the Government off his back. He's the kind of crime boss we'd like to feel we would be. Tony's decent Italian-American therapist Dr Melfi's (Loraine Bracco) perverse attraction with her gangster-patient reflects our own and, in her case, causes her to lose her first series cool and turn to drink this time around. Effortlessly multi-dimensional, funny and frightening, devoid of the sentimentality that afflicts even great American TV like The West Wing, The Sopranos is boss of bosses in its televisual era. --David Stubbs

• Bloodletting | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £23.99

  Serena Stalin (Albright) wanted to learn from the best. So she tracked down Butch Harlow (Edwards) one of the wold's most notorious serial killers and blackmailed him into teaching her the fine art of murder. As the lessons begin teacher and student leaving a trail of horribly mutilated victims in their wake the couple are about to uncover the terible secrets that bind them together the unspeakable passion that compells them to kill again and again...

• Taken Away | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Two teenagers kidnap Jan Hale and drive her to a snowy wasteland where they abandon her shackled to the steering wheel. Unknown to the kidnappers Jan has a heart condition and a simple kidnapping could result in murder. Real-life husband and wife actors Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker star in this edge of your seat thriller which is based on a true story.

• Guardian | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £5.91   |  Saving you £13.07 (447.60%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Though the Guardian opens with a nod or two to Three Kings, it really offers a cut-down version of Fallen, with Los Angeles Detective Kross (Mario Van Peebles) facing Telal--a body-hopping Sumerian demon he encountered at an archaeological site in Iraq during the Gulf War--entrusted by ritual scarification with the task of protecting a 12-year-old boy who will grow up to unite the three great monotheistic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) and thus set the Devil's work back millennia. A sub-plot deals with a red powder drug ("Chaos"), imported by the demon's minions, which catches on in LA sending coke-sniffing agents into murderous frenzies (the funniest scene) and briefly giving guest star dealer Ice-T superpowers until an ambiguously angelic hit lady (Stacy Oversier) tosses him off a building. There are elements of The Matrix stirred in, with Oversier and Telal dead ringers for the Carrie-Ann Moss and Hugo Weaving characters, but it inevitably boils down to a Fallen-style formula. It's stripped-down demonology--ever since The Evil Dead, those Sumerian demons have been getting a bad press--with direct-to-video action, but is by no means unlikeable. On the DVD: Along with the trailer, this disc offers IMDB filmographies for Van Peebles, Remar, Ice-T and John Terlesky (who used to be a busy B-actor in the likes of Chopping Mall and Valet Girls and now directs quickies such as Guardian). The transfer is augmented for 16:9 and looks significantly better than the video version, giving this low-budget effort a relatively lush feel, though the Iraqi desert does look as though it was an hour or so drive out of Los Angeles. --Kim Newman

• Friends - Series 7 - Episodes 1-4 Plus Director's Cut | DVD | (27/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  Lots happened behind the scenes between seasons and early on in the seventh year of the hit comedy, leaving audiences speculating that this might be the last. Perry became seriously ill again, and returned looking more emaciated than eve r. Cox regained weight, but despite finishing Scream 3 happily, things were already rocky with David Arquette. Much was made in the press about Aniston marrying Brad Pitt, of course, but the real news (allaying fans' fears) was NBC's expensive renewal of the cast for two years at $750,000 per episode each (more than six times their previous increase). On-screen, at least there was Chandler and Monica's engagement lasting the whole year, despite predictable ups and downs (eg: "T.O.W. The Truth About London" revealing that Monica fancied Joey). By the time we finally get to "T.O.W. Chandler's Dad" (Kathleen Turner), it seems inevitable that the two-part finale will be an insane mess--but with a happy-ish ending. Sure enough, "T.O.W. Chandler and Monica's Wedding" features Gary Oldman joining in the chaos as Chandler repeatedly goes missing. Other star-turns in the year were Seinfeld's Jason Alexander as a suicidal Office Manager, Susan Sarandon as soap queen bitch Jessica Lockhart, Denise Richards as one of Ross and Monica's endless number of cousins and Winona Ryder as a surprise old friend, prompting "T.O.W. Rachel's Big Kiss". But perhaps the most telling instalment of this weirdly atmospheric year was "T.O.W. They All Turn Thirty". It suggested that maybe the Friends are all getting too old to carry on living their frivolous lives the same way after all. Paul Tonks

• They Call Me Bruce? | DVD | (26/05/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A young man is constantly being confused with Bruce Lee.

• Militia | DVD | (11/09/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In order to save the United States from mass destruction ATF agent Ethan Carter (Dean Cain) must go undercover and join the 'Brotherhood of Liberty' a subversive militia group who are determined to implement a 'new world order' headed by passionate radical right-wing talk show host George Montgomery (Stacey Keach). The militia has stolen three missiles whose warheads each contain enough anthrax to wipe out a city the size of Los Angeles. Agent Carter must team with his old nemesis and former militia member William Fain (Frederic Forrest) who Carter put behind bars three years ago. Having just completed her ATF agent training programme Julia Sanders (Jennifer Beals) is assigned to protect Carter. The Militia takes Carter and Fain hostage after they are caught breaking into Montgomery's headquarters. With the countdown already begun Carter and Fain must rely on each other and Agent Sanders to destroy Montgomery and save the millions of lives in jeopardy.

• The Pink Jungle | Blu Ray | (11/01/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Born And Bred - Series 3 - Part 2 | DVD | (12/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tom and Arthur's relationship deteriorates when Tom is offered a job in New Zealand which Arthur promptly steals. As Tom is heading for the port Phyllis and Deborah discover that Ormston is under threat of demolition for a new road scheme. Len and Linda get their foster child. Jean and Eddie's wedding doesn't go according to plan and Jean's long-estranged mother Violet turns up which makes her happy but her father Wilf furious. Tom decides to make amends with his father when he r

• Zulu: Paramount Centenary Edition (Steelbook) (Blu | Blu Ray | (14/05/2013) from £21.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Zulu is one of the great movies, an epic adventure of courage in the face of incredible odds. Based on a true story, it tells the amazing tale of 100 British soldiers who stood fast against an overwhelming force of 4,000 of the Zulu nation's mightiest warriors in the defence of Rorkes Drift in 1879.Set amongst the stunning South African scenery, Zulu is a landmark action film and a fitting tribute to some of the most magnificent acts of heroism in the history of warfare. Michael Caine's role as the arrogant but courageous Lt. Bromhead brought him international fame, and there are powerful performances from other great British actors including Stanley Baker and Jack Hawkins.

• The Bogus Witch Project | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £6.55   |  Saving you £2.43 (68.26%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A spoof on 'The Blair Witch Project': suddenly everyone's getting lost in the woods shopping malls and public parks searching for that Witch!

• Bye Bye Blackbird | DVD | (29/09/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Starring Derek Jacobi and Jodhi May Bye Bye Blackbird is a tragic and compelling love story set in a turn of the century travelling circus. When Josef falls in love with the beautiful trapeze artist Alice he knows the only way to woo her is if he too masters the trapeze. Lord Dempsey the circus owner and Alice's father is at first opposed to Josef's attempts to create a new act but as he sees how talented Josef is he reluctantly agrees to allow it to go ahead. On the night of the first time the act is performed Alice falls and word reaches the camp that she has died. Josef is destroyed and vows never to set foot on the ground again. Using Josef as a curious circus act Lord Dempsey tours the circus through various European cities until his popularity begins to wane and he persuades Josef to recreate the act solo. But in doing so Josef is plagued by terrible visions and the scene is set for a final unexpected revelation. Elegantly filmed by photographer Robinson Savory Bye Bye Blackbird has a stellar cast including stage and screen star Derek Jacobi in the role of Lord Dempsey and James Thierre in his first lead role as Josef who grew up in a circus and is an acrobat performer and musician and creator of 'La Veillee des abysses' a French circus.

• The Vault | DVD | (29/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  When students visit a derelict school they accidently unleash a horrific spirit that's been locked away in a vault for over 100 years...