"Actor: Luke Brady"

• Gremlins | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.19   |  Saving you £6.80 (94.58%)   |  RRP £13.99

  When his absent-minded father gives young Billy Pelzer (Zach Galligan) a new pet, he warns him to abide by three rules. The rules get broken, of course, and the pet--a cute Mogwai named Gizmo--unwittingly gives birth to the vicious Gremlins who proceed to terrorise the town. Although the long shadow of Producer Steven Spielberg hangs over Joe Dante's 1984 comedy Gremlins almost as much as it did over Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982), Dante doesn't allow it to overwhelm his own quirky style too much. Glimpses of Robbie the Robot and The Time Machine (which promptly disappears) at an inventors' convention reveal his passion for old-movie references (which culminated with Matinee, 1993). Aided and abetted by Spielberg's guidance and a script by Chris Columbus (who would go on to direct and produce the Home Alone franchise) and a music score by Jerry Goldsmith, Dante had all the help he needed to make the biggest hit of his career. Much of the humour derives from Dante's playful handling of the setting in Smallsville, USA, whose inhabitants are as much the target of his satire as they are of the Gremlins' unwanted solicitations. The xenophobic neighbour who warns prophetically of "gremlins" in foreign cars and machinery provides a subtext for the attack on homely American values, as does showing Invasion of the Body Snatchers on TV while the wicked Gremlins hatch. The sight of the little tykes cavorting in a bar, getting drunk and even dancing in pink leggings looks suspiciously like a satirical dig at the whole 1980's culture of selfishness: with their destructive impulses and overindulgences the Gremlins are the ultimate egotistical yuppies. As with many Spielberg projects, the bland hero saves the day for nostalgic, old-fashioned values, but there are plenty of laughs along the way--for example in the now-classic scene when the hero's mother fights off Gremlins in the kitchen by stuffing them in the blender and microwave. Dante's 1990 sequel is even more satirically pointed, and he effectively remade the original with Small Soldiers (1998), replacing Gremlins with toys. On the DVD: Disappointingly, there are no extra features at all here, aside from subtitles and "interactive menus"--which simply means there is an onscreen menu and it works. --Mark Walker

• Gremlins (1984) | Blu Ray | (30/09/2019) from £18.63   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A father returns from Chinatown with an unusual pet, a Mogwai--a gift for his son. The rules are simple: Keep your Mogwai away from water, bright lights and, most importantly, never--never--feed him after midnight. But the rules are inadvertently broken, and the consequences multiply at an alarming rate.

• The Prince of Egypt: The Musical | DVD | (26/02/2024) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Prince of Egypt: The Musical | Blu Ray | (26/02/2024) from £15.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Gremlins | Blu Ray | (15/10/2018) from £13.94   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Gremlins is a roller-coaster ride of wild originality. One minute your hair will stand on end, the next you'll hold your sides with laughter at the havoc these supposedly gentle furballs create when the rules surrounding their care and feeding are inadvertently broken one fateful Christmas. Presented by Steven Spielberg, written by Chris Columbus and directed by Joe Dante, Gremlins is hilariously funny and wickedly scary! SPECIAL FEATURES: Over 10 minutes of footage not seen in cinemas, making-of featurette, 2 commentaries: (1) Director Joe Dante, Phoebe Cates, Zach Galligan, Dick Miller and Howie Mandel, (2) Director Joe Dante, Producer Michael Finnell and Special Effects Artist Chris Walas. Includes Funko Pocket Pop! Keychain of Gizmo.

• Love Life | DVD | (10/02/2003) from £8.98   |  Saving you £6.00 (85.84%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When a one-night stand results in pregnancy Scott Fields has to embark on a personal quest to convince Allison to give him a second chance...