"Actor: Melanie Moore"

• Spiceworld The Movie | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £39.99   |  Saving you £-30.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The girl's first live concert at the Royal Albert Hall is in just five day's time. With trusty bus driver Dennis (Meatloaf) at the wheel they hurtle from guest appearances to parties photoshoots and even dance camp! But when evil tabloid editor Kevin McMaxford steps up his campaign against them their best friend goes into labour and their manager collapses in hysterics the girls must draw on all their Girl Power to make it to the show on time...

• Brassed Off | DVD | (10/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Take The Full Monty, add a sharper emotional edge and replace the strutting strippers with a dignified British band. That's the essence of Brassed Off, a bittersweet gem released in 1996, a year before its more popular (and Oscar-nominated) counterpart. In the Yorkshire town of Grimley, there has always been a coal mine, just as for the last 111 years there has been a brass band and it seems that Danny (the wondrous Pete Postlethwaite) has been the director for every one of those years. Tory economic policies, however, are closing coal mines around the country in favour of nuclear power and Grimley appears to be next on the list. Danny is unfazed by the threat, claiming, "It's music that matters." But some of the men are about to quit the band until the appearance of Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald at her most radiant), who dazzles the all-male group (including old flame Andy, played by Ewan McGregor) first with her beauty, then with her flügelhorn playing. The new member gives the band a boost as they continue to perform and compete but closure remains very real, as director Mark Herman (Little Voice) accompanies the band's performances (played with gusto by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band) with scenes of angry labour-management confrontations and family strife. In this context, some of the characters claim that the music is an irresponsible form of escapism. It becomes clear, however, from a touching performance of "Danny Boy" to the stirring conclusion at Royal Albert Hall, that music is an expression of the human spirit, a bit of beauty and sanity in a harsh world. With defiance, the band can play "Land of Hope and Glory" even when the land offers them neither. --David Horiuchi

• Now And Then | DVD | (28/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  It's all for one and one for all in this heartwarming comedy about the childhood mischief of four best friends who reunite after twenty years. Roberta Teeny Samantha and Chrissy have been busy growing up but they always remembered the promise they made to be there for each other. Now they're together again to relive the greatest summer of their lives.

• Out Of The Blue | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Part of the gritty, punk-inspired wave of US independent cinema of the early 1980s, Out of the Blue is a bleak, harrowing drama. Essentially the vision of actor and director Dennis Hopper, the film finds the man behind the sepia-tinged soul searching of Easy Rider at a far lower ebb, in terms of the tone of the film and his own character, Donny. The undoubted star of the movie, however, is Linda Manz, who plays the troubled 15-year-old CB, a troubled teenage girl on the brink of adulthood. Waiting for Donny to return from a jail sentence for manslaughter, CB is living with her drug-addicted mother and seeking solace in the Sex Pistols and Elvis Presley. The events that unfold on Donny's return are often unbearably grim (the final scenes are practically unwatchable) but produce a movie that is worthy of its hallowed status. Hopper in particular is an uncomfortable sight, made all the more unsettling by the knowledge that it is hard to tell where his character ends and he begins. It's hard work, but more than worth the effort. On the DVD: for its first release on DVD much effort has been made to give Out of the Blue the treatment it deserves. The enhanced visuals are excellent, focusing on Hopper's inspired direction. The audio soundtrack is available in Dolby Digital sound, particularly effective on the recurring use of Neil Young's fragile "Hey, Hey, My, My (Out of the Blue)", the song which gave the movie its title. Hopper's audio commentary is fascinating and reflects his dedication to the project, a film that he practically rewrote on set after stepping in to replace the original director. The movie's place in both Hopper's career and alongside works such as Repo Man and Driller Killer is also examined in an excellent 12-page booklet. --Phil Udell

• Drama - 10 movies | DVD | (07/12/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Films included: Fifteen & Pregnant Based on a true story. Tina Spangler is just another happy kid at fourteen. At fifteen she's pregnant and faces the choices of abortion adoption or the lonely life of a single parent. Abandoned by her boyfriend she has only one person to turn to - her mother a single parent herself. What starts out as a hopeless tale could re-unite this shattered family. The War Bride With all the men away to war Lily (Anna Friel) falls madly in love and marries a handsome Canadian soldier Charlie Travis (Aden Young). But Charlie is shipped off to the front and Lily discovers she's expecting his baby not knowing if she will ever see him alive again. Lily receives instructions from the Canadian Embassy that she is to be shipped across the sea to her new Canadian in-laws. Remember Me Women of Valor For the Moment The Crossing Along for the ride Two Ex-Lovers One Open Road. Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing) and Melanie Griffith (Working Girl) are Ben and Lulu. Years ago they had an intense passionate affair a relationship that ended very badly. Now fifteen years later he's a successful married writer who gets a desperate call . . . Lulu needs his help. Chaotic and confused she reveals a huge secret that they alone must deal with. Together on a fiery cross-country journey they will find a new direction that points to their future. Hidden in America Map of the world Sigourney Weaver stars as Alice Goodwin a mother of two and part-time school nurse who has moved from the city to help her husband Howard (David Strathairn) run a farm in rural Wisconsin. Single minded and outspoken Alice has her own way of looking at life and not everyone in the community takes to her. Tragedy strikes when Alice is minding the children of her best friend and neighbour Theresa Collins (Julianne Moore) and Theresa'a two year old daughter Lizzy strays into a pond and drowns. Alice has barely begun to recover from the event which has left her guilt stricken and filled with self hatred when she is arrested and accused of abusing a young boy at her school. Already on the verge of a nervous breakdown she is plunged into an even worse nightmare as she is shunned by the community spat on by her neighbours and left languishing in prison after Howard fails to raise the money for her bail. If Only He loved her like there was no tomorrow Jennifer Love Hewitt stars as a talented young singer/songwriter who's met the love of her life (Paul Nicholls Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason) while studying classical music in London. Unfortunately on the very day they have a major fight she's involved in a terrible accident. But when fate miraculously intervenes her grief-stricken boyfriend gets a second chance to relive the tragic day and hopefully change their destiny in this gripping romantic drama.