Amid the lo-fi wasteland of the 1990s, Dream Theater were an unashamedly unhip throwback to the glory days of progressive rock; and in their 1999 album Scenes from a Memory they even dared to exhume that once-extinct species, the concept album. In 2000 the band took Scenes on the road, and the resulting concert footage is a testament both to their musical creativity and the fanatical loyalty of their audiences. Filmed on a sweltering August evening in New York, this was the last time the band played the album right through, using an on-stage narrator and even bringing on a Gospel choir for the grand finale. But the heat of the night is nothing to that generated by the blistering performances from a group of unrepentant musos who like nothing better than to play in complex time signatures and thrash out lengthy riffs at dizzying speed. Those not already converted will doubtless be puzzled by the sight of five hairy blokes earnestly expounding a quasi-operatic story of dying and "learning to live", while drummer/director Mike Portnoys decision to intercut film snippets of the album's story with the concert footage seems redundant. But fans of this band, and anyone who yearn for the classic days of Rush, Genesis and Yes, will have nothing to complain about here: dont believe the music press, prog-rock is alive and well. On the DVD: heres a disc thats going to make this band's audience very happy indeed. Aside from the main concert itself there are five additional tracks--and this being Dream Theater, they are all pretty substantial, climaxing with the epic "A Change of Seasons". Then theres a fun 25-minute behind-the-scenes documentary with crew and fans waxing enthusiastic about the band, and even more additional concert footage. The whole band gather to provide a concert commentary, which ordinarily might seem an odd thing to do, but this is prog-rock after all. A picture gallery of tour photos rounds out the extras. Sound is unfussy Dolby stereo.--Mark Walker
More from the classic BBC drama set on Tyneside at the end of the first world war starring James Bolam as the loveable rogue Jack Ford....
X-Men: Season 1 & 2 Box Set (4 Discs)
Few would have guessed from its initial headline-grabbing shock tactics, but the BBC's This Life went on to become one of the most influential television dramas of the 1990s. The show's creators certainly went for the jugular with liberal smatterings of sex, drugs and general debauchery--not many television shows then or now come with an 18 certificate. But beneath all the surface gloss lay a drama of real substance. The first 11 episodes begin with the five individuals coming together in London's legal world and then take us through their shared experiences. This Life's great strength was that there was enough drama between the main protagonists to maintain the show's momentum, while introducing just the right amount of secondary characters (Delilah, Ferdy)--a trick that Queer as Folk, perhaps the show's natural successor, was also to employ. The chemistry between the leading players has rarely been bettered since and, all in all, This Life has aged not a jot. On the DVD: while there is little in the way of extra features, the DVD format suits This Life perfectly. And where 430 minutes of VHS would be too unwieldy, this two-disc collection is sharp and snappy. The menu layout is excellent, enabling easy access to those classic moments, and the hip soundtrack (The Prodigy, Iggy Pop, Dubstar) sounds crisp and clear. --Phil Udell
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...
A veteran rancher risks everything when he recruits schoolboys to man a dangerous cattle drive. One of John Wayne's solid twilight hits co-starring Bruce Dern and Colleen Dewhurst.
A faithful and powerful adaptation of JM Coetzee's 1999 Booker-winning novel, this is a disquieting study of desire and its consequences, and an unblinking portrait of post-apartheid South Africa.
A feature length documentary telling the story of Los Angeles band Love and their singer Arthur Lee. The film premiered at the 50th London Film Festival and features interviews with band members Arthur Lee (sadly his last ever interviews) Johnny Echols Bryan Maclean Alban Snoopy Pfisterer Michael Stuart John Fleckenstein and Robert Rozelle as well as Elektra Records head Jac Holzman producer Bruce Botnick The Doors' John Densmore and arranger David Angel. Other interviews include Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream) Mani (The Stone Roses/Primal Scream) John Head (Shack) Ken Livingstone and MPs Stephen Pound & Peter Bradley who passed an Early Day Motion in Parliament to proclaim the band's 1968 masterpiece Forever Changes The greatest album of all time. The film also includes rarely seen television performances from the band from 1966 & 1970 and rare & unseen archive photographs.
Seeking a better life Oscar Ramirez and his family decide to move from the poverty stricken rice fields of the Northern Philippine mountain ranges and journey towards the capital mega city of Metro Manila. Upon arrival in Manila Oscar and his family fall foul to various city inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of their survival. Oscar manages to land a job as a driver for an armoured truck company and is befriended by Ong his senior officer. Before long it becomes apparent that Ong has been planning the arrival of someone just like Oscar for some time.
Johnny English (Dir. Peter Howitt 2003): Bumbling British intelligence officer Johnny English has to step into the breach when all his fellow agents are suddenly bumped off. With the machinations of mysterious millionaire Pascal Sauvage becoming increasingly threatening it's up to Johnny to save the crown jewels and the very fate of the Royal family I-Spy (Dir. Betty Thomas 2002): When the 'Switchblade' the most sophisticated stealth fighter plane ever created is stolen the US government brings in their top spy Alex Scott (Owen Wilson) to track it down. What he doesn't expect is to be teamed up with Kelly Robinson (Eddie Murphy) a cocky boxing champion. The duo's mission is to retrieve the plane from the hands of one of the world's most notorious illegal arms dealers Arnold Gundars (Malcolm McDowell) without getting themselves killed! Tuxedo (Dir. Kevin Donovan 2002): Cabbie-turned-chauffeur Jimmy Tong (Jackie Chan) learns there is really only one rule when you work for playboy millionaire Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs): never touch Devlin's prized tuxedo. But when Devlin is temporarily put out of commission in an explosive accident Jimmy can't resist trying on the tux and soon discovers that this extraordinary suit may be more black belt than black tie! Suddenly thrust into a dangerous world of espionage paired with a rookie partner (Jennifer Love Hewitt) even less experienced than he is Jimmy becomes an unwitting if impeccably dressed secret agent.
Award-winning actor John Leguizamo is ''Mr. Wolf '' an Iraq war veteran who leads his ex-platoon on a daring bank heist. But when the robbery goes tragically wrong the onetime soldier has no choice but to take hostages. Going head-to-head with Mr. Wolf is ''Horst Cali'' (Donnie Wahlberg) a no-nonsense hostage negotiator who refuses to back down. What follows is a thrilling match of wits and guts between two men who both have something to prove and everything to lose.
DCI Matt Burke's professional life is left hanging in the balance when the body of a librarian is found behind the wheel of his car in the Clyde after an apparent hit and run. The detectives are baffled - it appears that the victim had been tied up and was already dead before the car hit the water.
When Danny Fisher (John Cena) stops a thief during a heist, the thief's girlfriend is accidentally killed. But the criminal wants revenge, taunting the cop with 12 rounds of near-impossible tasks that he must complete to save his fiancee's life.
Mr Majestyk (Bronson) is an ex-con and Vietnam vet whose efforts to run a normal life as a farmer are thwarted by narrow-minded locals and corrupts cops. When a Mafia hitman destroys Majestyk's crop, the farmer snaps. Taking his rifle in hand, he goes after the syndicate assassin, refusing to stop until his work is done. Written for the screen by Elmore Leonard (Out of Sight, Get Shorty), directed by Richard Fleischer (10 Rillington Place, Soylent Green) and starring cinema tough guy Charles Bronson (The Dirty Dozen, Death Wish), Mr Majestyk is a gritty action film full of car chases, shoot-outs and bare-knuckle brawls.
Terror has surfaced.... Meet the fiercest killer evolution has ever known.... Twenty-four million years ago Megalodon was a 20 tonne killing machine with a 10 foot gaping bite. When two researchers discover a colossal shark tooth off the Mexican coast their worst fears surface. The most menacing beast to ever rule the waters is still alive and mercilessly feeding on anything that crosses its path. Now they must hunt the fierce killer and destroy it... before there is no one left to stop its reign of terror.
Ireland, 1209. A group of monks including a young novice (Tom Holland, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Lost City of Z) and a mute lay-brother (Jon Bernthal, The Punisher, The Wolf of Wall Street) are tasked with transporting an ancient relic across the wilderness. As the true significance of the relic becomes apparent; their path becomes increasingly fraught with danger. The monks quickly realise that in this wild land of ancient superstitions, the faith that binds them together may ultimately lead to their destruction.
John Travolta and Michael Pitt star in this crime thriller Criminal Activities directed by Jackie Earle Haley. When four friends - Zach (Pitt), Noah (Dan Stevens), Warren (Christopher Abbott) and Bryce (Rob Brown) - reunite after the death of the fifth member of their group, they get to reminiscing about old times. When Bryce mentions to the others that he has an insider trading tip about a stock that's predicted to soar, Noah offers to put up the money required. After the stock nosedives and the group loses all of the money, Noah reluctantly reveals that he borrowed the funds from Mob boss Eddie (Travolta). Realising that the boys are unable to return his money, Eddie suggests an alternative method of repayment, but will they be able to pull off Eddie's wishes?
Available for the first time on DVD! Timmy and Sid are entertainment officers at a holiday camp. They must organise a beauty contest successfully or find themselves out of work!
The Overlanders
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