"Actor: John Sa"

• Flight | Blu Ray | (03/06/2013) from £5.99   |  Saving you £21.00 (350.58%)   |  RRP £26.99

  Few directors can meld high-tech whiz-bang with solid narrative values like Robert Zemeckis, a filmmaker whose best work (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Back to the Future trilogy, Cast Away) stands tall among the blockbusters. Although there have been times when Zemeckis's insistence on pushing the special effects envelope can end up overshadowing the story being told (as in his animated version of A Christmas Carol), his innate gifts persist: when he's in the groove, he can show you something you've never seen before, as well as a reason to care about it. Flight, the director's first wholly live-action film in over a decade, serves as a reminder of just how good he can be, featuring both an exquisitely terrifying crash sequence and a fearless central performance from Denzel Washington. John Gatins's script serves as a bizarro inversion of the Sully Sullenberger tale: when a routine flight over Atlanta goes terrifyingly wrong, the aircraft's pilot (Washington) saves his passengers with a near-miraculous display of skill. As the investigation into the disaster begins, however, it becomes apparent that its hero's impromptu bravery hides a multitude of bad habits. Washington does a brilliant job as a man who is all too aware of his feet of clay, subverting his innate nobility to shattering effect. (As in the earlier Training Day, when he goes to the dark side, the shock ripples the screen.) The strength of his central performance is only amplified by some outstanding supporting work from Kelly Reilly (as a recovering heroin addict), Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, and a scene-stealing John Goodman, who gets a few lines crass enough to remind you that yes, Zemeckis is the same person who once made the low-taste classic Used Cars. Impressive as the cast is, though, it's unlikely that things would work nearly as well without the director's grasp of the material, which shifts between horror, black comedy, and uplifting pathos without missing a beat. In his hands, this potential sap story makes for a smart, worldly addiction saga that blessedly refuses to stay within the usual melodramatic lines. Just don't ever, ever expect to see it as the in-flight entertainment. --Andrew Wright

• The Killing Fields | DVD | (01/01/2001) from £8.17   |  Saving you £7.82 (95.72%)   |  RRP £15.99

  This harrowing but rewarding 1984 drama concerns the real-life relationship between New York Times reporter Sidney Schanberg and his Cambodian assistant Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor), the latter left at the mercy of the Khmer Rouge after Schanberg--who chose to stay after American evacuation but was booted out--failed to get him safe passage. Filmmaker Roland Joffé, previously a documentarist, made his feature debut with this account of Dith's rocky survival in the ensuing madness of the Khmer Rouge's genocidal campaign. The script of The Killing Fields spends some time with Schanberg's feelings of guilt after the fact, but most of the movie is a shattering re-creation of hell on Earth. The late Haing S. Ngor--a real-life doctor who had never acted before and who lived through the events depicted by Joffé--is outstanding, and he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Oscars also went to cinematographer Chris Menges and editor Jim Clark. --Tom Keogh

• Lonely Hearts | DVD | (29/10/2007) from £2.69   |  Saving you £17.30 (86.50%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the true story two homicide detectives (Travolta and Gandolfini) track Martha Beck and Raymond Martinez Fernandez a murderous pair known as the ""Lonely Hearts Killers"" who lure their victims through the personals...

• Cat People | DVD | (18/08/2003) from £13.48   |  Saving you £-3.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Nastassja Kinski stars as Irena a beautiful young woman on the bridge of sexuality; she discovers love for the first time only to find that the explosive experience brings with it tragic consequences. The tremendous passion of this girl's first romantic love is so strong however it by-passes the chaos around her-including her brother's (Malcom McDowell) extraordinary demands - as it pushes her on to her own bizarre destiny. With a style as timeless as myth Cat People is an erotic

• Blood Simple | DVD | (01/01/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blood Simple is grisly comic noir that marries the feverish toughness of pulp thrillers with the ghoulishness of even pulpier horror. (Imagine the novels of Jim Thompson somehow fused with the comic tabloid Weird Tales and you get the idea.) The story concerns a Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a seedy private detective (M Emmett Walsh) to follow his cheating wife (Frances McDormand in her first film appearance) and then kill her and her lover (John Getz). The gumshoe turns the tables on his client, and suddenly a bad situation gets much, much worse, with some violent goings-on that are as elemental as they are shocking. (A scene in which a character who has been buried alive suddenly emerges from his own grave instantly becomes an archetypal nightmare.) Shot by Barry Sonnenfeld before he became an A-list director in Hollywood, Blood Simple established the hyperreal look and feel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose The Evil Dead had just been coedited by Joel). Sections of the film have proved to be an endurance test for art-house movie fans, particularly an extended climax that involves one shock after another but ends with a laugh at the absurdity of criminal ambition. This is definitely one of the triumphs of the 1980s and the American independent film scene in general. --Tom Keogh

• Simon Sez | DVD | (09/10/2003) from £5.49   |  Saving you £0.50 (9.11%)   |  RRP £5.99

• The Prince And Me | DVD | (25/07/2005) from £4.98   |  Saving you £14.01 (281.33%)   |  RRP £18.99

  Julia Stiles stars as a medical student who falls for an incognito student prince in this modern take on a fairy tale love story.

• Class | DVD | (06/01/2003) from £19.39   |  Saving you £-6.40 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  As rites-of-passage films featuring a young man's sexual initiation in the arms of a beautiful woman go, Class (1983) has plenty going for it, not least its attractive cast: Andrew McCarthy as Jonathan, Rob Lowe as Gatsby-ish best friend Skip and Jacqueline Bisset as the beautiful woman who is old enough to know better and just happens to be Skip's mother. Lewis John Carlino's film has moments of insight, taking a few well-aimed shots at the vaguely sinister network of American public school life. In the first reel it neatly subverts the bullying scenario that threatens when the geekish Jonathan arrives at the school, while offering the briefly intriguing sight of Lowe in scarlet bra and pants. And there's a subplot of deceit and complicity that both strengthens and threatens the friendship that rapidly forms between Skip and Jonathan. In many ways, though, the most interesting element of the picture--Skip's relationship with his dysfunctional family--is left unexplored. Jonathan's deflowering and subsequent interludes are merely titillating. And Bisset's Ellen, a desperately sad character, becomes superfluous once the revelation that she is the "teacher" sets the boys' friendship on the path to fraternal solidarity. On the DVD: Class is presented in widescreen anamorphic format and looks as good as its leading players, although the Dolby Digital mono soundtrack has odd moments of flatness that detract from the cinematic experience. Extras are limited to the cinema trailer that now looks like a red rag to the puritanical objectors who were appalled by the graphic scenes in which Jonathan loses his virginity to the predatory Ellen. --Piers Ford

• The Secret Of My Success | DVD | (28/05/2001) from £11.95   |  Saving you £8.04 (67.28%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Derivative fluff from 1987, The Secret of My Success is made tolerable by its bawdy exuberance and an appealing performance by Michael J Fox, who was still enjoying TV stardom and the career momentum he earned by travelling Back to the Future. Here he plays a Kansas farm boy who dreams of scoring big in New York City... but reality turns out to be brutal to his ambition. When his uncle (Richard Jordan) gives him a mail-room job in the high-rise headquarters of a major corporation, Fox occupies an empty office and poses as a young executive, winning the attention of a lovely young colleague (Helen Slater) and having an affair with his boss's wife (Margaret Whitton). Sporadically amusing as a yuppie comedy and rather off-putting as a wannabe sex farce, the film's still recommendable for its lively cast and a breezy style that almost succeeds in updating the conventions of vintage screwball comedy. Whitton is a standout performer here, so you may wonder why her comedic talent has been underrated, apart from a good role in the first two Major League movies. This may be little more than a big-screen sitcom, but it's not without its charms. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Behind Enemy Lines / Tigerland / Thin Red Line | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Behind Enemy Lines On a reconnaissance flight over eastern Europe disillusioned naval pilot Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) and his partner Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht) photograph a scene they were not meant to see. When their plane is shot down and Stackhouse is quickly captured and executed Burnett must struggle to survive in unfamiliar hostile territory with a cold-blooded assassin and hundreds of enemy troops on his heels. Meanwhile on an American battleship in the Adriatic Sea Burnett's commanding officer Admiral Reigart (Gene Hackman) attempts to negotiate his soldier's return amidst tense political and military maneuvers. Soon Burnett discovers exactly why he's being hunted making his situation and Reigert's actions even more perilous... Tigerland Roland Bozz after being conscripted into the US army joins a platoon of other young soldiers preparing to fight in Vietnam. He has no interest in fighting for his country and tries to get sent home as a trouble maker but his superiors mistake his defiance as intelligence and he soon gets a chance to try his hand at leadership... The Thin Red Line A powerful front line cast including Sean Penn Nick Nolte Woody Harrelson and George Clooney explodes into action in this hauntingly realistic view of military and moral chaos in the Pacific during World War II. Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director (Terrence Malick) 'The Thin Red Line' is an unparalleled cinematic masterpiece.

• Scrubs - Season 9 | DVD | (07/02/2011) from £6.53   |  Saving you £17.46 (267.38%)   |  RRP £23.99

  See how the story ends for J.D. Elliot Turk and the rest of your favourite characters in ABC's Scrubs: The Complete Ninth And Final Season. The heroes of Sacred Heart may have finished their rounds but the laughs never stop as they mentor a brand-new class of med students! J.D. returns to teach at Sacred Heart's medical school with the old gang and is surprised to find an impressionable young student has picked up where he left off. Meet Lucy and her classmates Drew and Cole as they try to fit in while they do their best to stand out. Relive every clever and quirky moment of Scrubs' outrageous final season complete with never-before-seen bloopers deleted scenes and interviews with the show's cast. Complete your Scrubs collection with The Ninth And Final Season on DVD. It's the best house call you'll ever get! Episodes Comprise: 1. Our First Day of School 2. Our Drunk Friend 3. Our Role Models 4. Our Histories 5. Our Mysteries 6. Our New Girl-Bro 7. Our White Coats 8. Our Couples 9. Our Stuff Gets Real 10. Our True Lies 11. Our Dear Leaders 12. Our Driving Issues 13. Our Thanks

• The Land That Time Forgot | DVD | (30/07/2012) from £7.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (100.13%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Rediscover The Land That Time Forgot, a lost world with Dinosaurs, hostile tribes and deadly wildlife in this much loved Sci-Fi Classic.When a German U-Boat torpedoes a British supply ship, the survivors manage to swim to the surfacing German vessel. Among the survivors are Bowen Tyler (Hollywood superstar Doug McClure) a young allied soldier and a young biologist Lisa Clayton (Susan Penhaligon). They manage to force their way onto the ship and overpower the German crew. Despite sending signals to an allied ship that they have commandeered the German vessel, they are depth charged and forced to allow the German crew to steer the vessel to rendezvous with a German supply boat. They drift of course and find a strange island. Whilst investigating what the island has to offer the crew are attacked by a huge pre historic monster and a tribe of primitive humans. Lisa is kidnapped in the fight and Bowen rushes after the tribe to rescue her. When a huge volcano erupts Bowen's plight to rescue Lisa becomes even more desperate. Can he save them and get back to the Submarine before they are killed by the oncoming lava?

• Dragonslayer | Blu Ray | (21/03/2023) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Killers | Blu Ray | (24/02/2014) from £23.98   |  Saving you £3.00 (13.64%)   |  RRP £24.99

  There Is More Than One Way To Kill A Man... I gotta find out what makes a man decide not to run. Why all of a sudden he'd rather die. So muses hitman Charlie (Lee Marvin) after his high-priced victim Johnny North (John Cassavetes) gives in without a fight. Obsessed with the answer Charlie and his hot-headed associate Lee (Clu Gulager) track down Johnny's associates and uncover a complex web of crime and deceit involving his femme fatale girlfriend Sheila (Angie Dickinson) and ruthless mob boss Jack Browning (Ronald Reagan in his last screen role). Loosely inspired by the Ernest Hemingway story and directed by Don Siegel (whose many other taut efficient thrillers include Dirty Harry and the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers) The Killers was commissioned as the very first 'TV movie' but was given a cinema release because of its violence - although a cast like that really belonged on the big screen in the first place. Special Features: High Definition digital transfer of the film by Universal Pictures presented in alternative 'television' and 'cinema' aspect ratios Original uncompressed 2.0 mono PCM audio Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired Reagan Kills: interview with New York Times bestselling writer Marc Eliot author of 'Ronald Reagan: The Hollywood Years' Screen Killer: interview with Dwayne Epstein author of 'Lee Marvin: Point Blank' Archive interview with Don Siegel (1984) from the French television series 'Cinéma Cinémas' Gallery of rare behind-the-scenes images Reversible sleeve featuring the original poster and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh Booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mike Sutton extracts from Don Siegel's autobiography and contemporary reviews illustrated with original lobby cards

• To Catch A Thief | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £7.59   |  Saving you £8.40 (110.67%)   |  RRP £15.99

  From the undisputed master of the suspense-thriller Alfred Hitchcock's (Rear Window The Birds) To Catch A thief is a stylish and witty thriller starring Cary Grant (North by Northwest) and Grace Kelly(Rear Window). The on-screen chemistry between the two protagonists enhances Hitchcock's subtle and ambiguous story of a retired jewel thief forced to uncover the identity of a copycat thief before he is framed for the crimes himself. Grant's charm and sophistication as the retired cat-burglar set opposite the sensuous character of Kelly's socialite ensure that the atmosphere of the film is sexually charged leaving the audience with no doubt that the relationship could unravel at any point...

• The Dark Half | DVD | (22/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Although it lacks the creepy subtleties of Stephen King's celebrated novel, George Romero's underrated adaptation of The Dark Half is among the best films based on King's fiction, with Romero taking care to honour the central theme while serving up some gruesome gore in the film's much-criticised finale. Inspired by King's own admission that he wrote several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Dark Half explores the duality of a writer's impulse, ranging from literary respectability to the viscerally cathartic thrills of exploitative pulp fiction. Author and teacher Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) finds himself torn between those extremes when he "kills" his profitable alter ego, George Stark (the bestselling dark half to Thad's light), who then assumes evil, autonomous form (again played by Hutton) to defend lethally his role in Thad's creative endeavours. Forced to wrestle with this evil manifestation of his own unformed twin, Thad must fight to protect his wife (Amy Madigan), their twin babies and himself. While Romero skilfully develops the twin/duality theme to explore the writer's dilemma, Hutton is outstanding in his dual roles, playing Stark (in subtly fiendish makeup) as a redneck rebel with a knack for slashing throats. Julie Harris adds class in a supporting role, and horror fans will relish Romero's climactic showdown, in which swarms of sparrows seal Stark's fate. It favours a pulp sensibility with clunky exposition to explain Stark's existence, but The Dark Half is a laudable effort from everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• The Shadow | DVD | (06/07/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Another masked avenger is reincarnated as a big budget movie. Idle playboy Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin), schooled in Tibetan mysticism, fights crime in late '30s New York while wearing a natty hat and false beak. He finds time to romance telepathic sweetie Margo Lane (Penelope Miller), whose crusty old scientist Dad (Ian McKellen) has just invented an atom bomb which is in danger of falling into the hands of Shiwan Khan (John Lone), conquest-happy last descendent of Genghis Khan.Director Russell Mulcahy turns out the regulation death traps (a locked chamber filling with water, a bomb timer which ticks away during the climax) and the Shadow breezes through via nifty "invisible" effects. It evokes the conventions and charms of 1930s' pulp fiction in rather more nostalgic mode than Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and adds little of its own attitude, although a sly camp sensibility (notably in the extremely chi-chi Tim Curry and John Lone as the villains) goes for snickering at the expense of tension. A pleasant, eye-pleasing movie but, after the super-heroic likes of Batman, The Crow and The Mask, the merely mysterious Shadow seems somewhat grandfatherly and remote. --Kim Newman

• Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man | DVD | (02/08/2004) from £5.99   |  Saving you £14.00 (233.72%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The trials and tribulations of Stephen Dedalus a young man growing up in Ireland in the early part of the 20th century. He starts to feel a stranger in his own land as he starts to understand the nature of art and politics and he has to make a decision whether to accept exile in another land or stay and fight....

• The Deer Hunter 4K SteelBook | Blu Ray | (05/07/2021) from £32.55   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The First Rebel | DVD | (21/04/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In colonial America adventurer James Smith (John Wayne) pressures the British governor (George Sanders) to make it illegal to supply weapons with the Indians. But trader Ralph Callender (Brian Donlevy) hides rifles inside military supply trains forcing Smith to intercept the wagon train with his feisty girlfriend Janie (Claire Trevor).