"Actor: Ren"

• Audition | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Much of the controversy surrounding Takashi Miike's Audition centres on the disturbing nature of the later part of the film--understandable when you consider the imprint these admittedly horrific images leave on the viewer--but fails to note the intricate social satire of the rest. This is a film that offers insight into the changing culture of Japan and the generation gap between young and old. Shigeharu Aoyama is looking for an obedient and virtuous woman to love and asks, "Where are all the good girls?"--a comment that seals his fate. A fake audition is organised to find Aoyama a wife. Asami Yamazaki is introduced as the virtuous woman he is looking for, dressing for the majority of the film in white and behaving with the courtesy of an angel, especially when juxtaposed against the brash stupidity of the other girls at the audition. Although his friend takes an immediate "chemical" dislike to her, Aoyama begins a love affair to end all love affairs. But as Asami's history unfolds we see her pain and torture and slowly understand that the tortured in this instance holds the power to become the torturer. Aoyama is slowly drawn away from his white, metallic and homely environment into the vivid- red and dirty-dark environment of Asami's sadistic world. Audition can be viewed on a number of levels, with important feminist, social and human rights issues to be drawn from the story. However, the real power of this film is its descent into the subconscious, to a point where reality is blurred and the audience is unable to decide whether the disturbing images on screen are real or surreal. This refined, hard-hitting and essentially Japanese style of horror is ultimately much more powerful than anything offered by Hollywood. This is a film that will get under your skin and infect your consciousness with a blend of fearless gore and unimaginable torture. It is not for the faint-hearted. --Nikki Disney

• Reality Bites | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £10.08   |  Saving you £2.90 (40.90%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Winona Ryder Ethan Hawke and Ben Stiller (directing his first feature film) star in this wildly romantic comedy that looks at life love and the pursuit of gainful employment through the eyes of a generation sandwiched somewhere between The Brady Bunch and Melrose Place! As her college valedictorian Lelaina Pierce (Ryder) should be destined for greatness. In reality she is a lowly production assistant for an obnoxious TV morning show (John Mahoney). In her free time Lelaina is maki

• Wedding Planner, The / Down With Love / One Fine Day | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £9.70   |  Saving you £10.29 (106.08%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Wedding Planner While celebrating her newest and most lucrative account - the wedding of Internet tycoon Fran Donelly (Bridgette Wilson)- Mary is rescued from a near-fatal collision with a runaway dumpster by handsome pediatrician Steve Edison (Matthew McConaughey). After spending the most enchanting evening of their lives together Mary thinks she's finally found a reason to believe in love. What she doesn't know is that cupid and her career are about to collide head-on... Down With Love When best-selling feminist author Barbara Novak (Zellweger) becomes the target of dashing playboy Catcher Block (McGregor) the sparks they generate will fly you to the moon and back! Set in the early sixties every frame pops with 60's technicolour. One Fine Day Melanie Parker (Pfeiffer) is juggling single parenthood with a career as an architect. Jack Taylor (Clooney) is a commitment-shy newspaper columnist who only has his daughter every other weekend. When their kids miss a school field trip Melanie and Jack agree to take shifts babysitting for the day resulting in twelve hours of hilarious misadventures with one unexpected twist.

• DC's Legends of Tomorrow - Season 2 | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £4.71   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After the defeat of the immortal villain Vandal Savage and the corrupt Time Masters who colluded with him, a new threat emerges. Dr. Nate Heywood (new series regular NICK ZANO), an unconventional and charming historian, is thrust into the action upon making a shocking discovery - the Legends of Tomorrow are scattered throughout time. Nate must find a way to rescue the Waverider's beloved team of heroes and rogues, including Star City inventor Ray Palmer (series star BRANDON ROUTH), who has created an exo-suit with the power to shrink him to miniscule size, as the Atom; Sara Lance (series star CAITY LOTZ), a trained assassin known as the White Canary; Professor Martin Stein (series strar VICTOR GARBER) and Jefferson Jax Jackson (series star FRANZ DRAMEH), who together form the metahuman Firestorm; and career criminal Mick Rory (series star DOMINIC PURCELL), aka Heat Wave. When the Legends encounter the Justice Society of America (precursor to DC's Justice League) in the 1940s, Amaya Jiwe (new series regular MAISIE RICHARDSON-SELLERS), aka Vixen, joins the team. While the team reunites, a mystery looms - the fate of former captain Rip Hunter (series star ARTHUR DARVILL). Once reunited, the Legends continue their new mission to protect the timeline from temporal aberrations - unusual changes to history that spawn potentially catastrophic consequences. When Heywood, the grandson of J.S.A. member Commander Steel, unexpectedly finds himself with powers, he must overcome his own insecurities and find the hero within himself. Ultimately, the Legends will clash with foes both past and present, to save the world from a mysterious new threat.

• Delirious | DVD | (12/08/2002) from £13.48   |  Saving you £-0.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A 1991 comedy, Delirious stars John Candy as the head writer on a soap opera set in the fictional small town of Ashford Falls, whose naff power dressing and power wrangling is distinctly reminiscent of Dynasty. Candy has a crush on the somewhat imperious and Joan Collins-esque star of the show, played by Emma Samms, although waiting in the wings to be written into the show is the more wholesome and unaffected actress Mariel Hemingway. Delirious takes a turn when Candy is felled in an accident and awakes, supernaturally, to find himself in the very world of his own soap, with Ashford Falls a real town and its fictional characters, including Samms, now real people. Candy discovers, however, that in this world he has the power to "write" situations as they suit him--in this case, by casting himself as a dashing, wealthy and mysterious Wall Street hero, able to sweep Samms off her feet. The film is in some ways a precursor of Pleasantville (in which two teens are sucked into the world of a "Honey, I'm home" black and white 1950s sitcom). However, between them the star, writers and director (Tom Mankiewicz) make a ham fist of Delirious. The parody of soap mores is quite well done but quickly palls in its obviousness; Candy's performance is misjudged, as if trying too hard to make the best of a bad job; while overall, the film feels cheap, tacky and broad, once again raising the question why in the 1980s and 90s America produced such great sitcoms but such poor film comedies. On the DVD: Delirious is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. It's a decent enough edition but looks its age in places, in terms of colour definition in particular. The only extra is the original trailer. --David Stubbs

• White Palace | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Glenn Savan's depressing and self-loathing novel about a 27-year-old upper-class Jewish widower mired in self-pity after his beloved wife dies, and who finds love and sexual rebirth with a trailer-trash older woman, was brought to the big screen by the competent director Luis Mandoki (When a Man Loves a Woman, Message in a Bottle). But the savage irony in Savan's book has been face-lifted by screenwriters Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs) and Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People) into something else entirely: what passes for low-rent "slumming" in Hollywood means hiring sexy Susan Sarandon to play Nora Baker, the poor, uneducated 43-year-old waitress in a White Palace burger joint who strikes up an unlikely relationship with sad Max Baron (James Spader). Widower Max attends a bachelor party for best pal Neil (Jason Alexander) and discovers that the local White Palace has stiffed the boys a whopping six burgers. Max barges into the joint, bent on getting his money back, and meets a testy Nora, who is bemused at the young man's insolence. While driving home, Max stops abruptly at a bar for a drink. Inside, Nora is nursing a vodka and takes a shine to the tuxedo-clad, handsome, and morose younger man. He gives her a lift, she seduces him, and the rest of the movie examines how two such opposites in manners and morals can find happiness. The only common bond they have is great sex and a private tragedy. White Palace nudges at the dark journey and the smashing of illusion that was at the heart of the novel, but there is still a fairy-tale element to the film that negates the earthy essence that distinguished the book. In Mandoki's vision, White Palace is about overcoming class, family, and outside opinion to find true love. In Savan's book, Max wastes into decline while Nora ultimately thrives in the quest for truth, redemption, and self-forgiveness. She becomes his salvation only after he stops hating himself. But mainstream Hollywood shuns making "protagonists" so mad, bad, or sad, and as such, too much glitter is tossed on Spader, while Sarandon, as usual, is the only one who seems to embody and understand her character's angst. She deserved her Oscar for Nora, not the nun in Dead Man Walking. --Paula Nechak

• Monsieur Hulot's Holiday | DVD | (29/11/2004) from £9.98   |  Saving you £10.01 (100.30%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In a quiet French coastal resort chaos reigns when it is invaded by a noisy group of holidaymakers who want some fun in the sun. A charming movie with Tati starring as well as directing the film. This version was seen as a landmark in his illustrious career.

• The Kingdom | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £4.04   |  Saving you £19.21 (691.01%)   |  RRP £21.99

  The Kingdom has been described as "ER meets Twin Peaks", and seldom can the standard and the surreal have met in more perfect accord. The hospital that conceals dark secrets is the premise for this riveting "soap"--seen on Danish TV in 1994--in which science and civilisation are eroded by superstition and instinct. Lars von Trier is not a director who aims to please, and the claustrophobic visuals he draws from handheld cameras and natural lighting anticipate the stripped-down film work of his Dogme 95 movement. Yet there's nothing cerebral about the goings-on here, thanks to the rich variety of characters who people the labyrinthine corridors and functional wards. The Minister's visit and the Haiti jaunt are slapstick humour worthy of the best Python sketches, and Trier is never afraid to mix the prosaic with the profound. There are wonderfully observed performances from Ernst Hugo Jaregard as chequered Swedish surgeon Stig Helmer, and Kirsten Rolffes as common-sense psychic Sigrid Drusse. These are only the first five episodes: having seen them, you'll be awaiting the remainder with impatience. This is persuasive, provocative filmmaking. On the DVD: The Kingdom on disc has audio and visual reproduction that is authentically Trier, with English subtitles and 10 access points per episode. Each part is viewable separately or in sequence, though make sure you don't lose some of the director's amusingly offbeat postscripts. The first disc also features Tranceformer, a frank insight into the mind and movies of Lars von Trier with extracts from his features between 1984 and 95. --Richard Whitehouse

• Dead Or Alive | DVD | (24/06/2002) from £5.49   |  Saving you £9.50 (63.40%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The director of Dead or Alive, Takashi Miike, made his name on the international scene with Audition, a chilling psychological thriller that builds from a quiet start towards a prolonged torture sequence almost too unbearable to watch. But such deliberate pacing isn't typical of Miike, whose movies often assault the viewer with an onslaught of slam-bang action that makes John Woo look like Eric Rohmer. Dead or Alive, his most successful cops-vs-yakuza thriller to date, kicks off with six non-stop minutes of machine gun-paced violence, sex and slaughter, all set to a pounding heavy-metal beat. Thereafter things calm down a little, though not much. Given Miike's penchant for murky, livid-toned visuals and skewed camera angles, it's not always too easy to work out exactly who's doing what to whom, but the general outline's clear enough. The Tokyo underworld is being torn apart by a turf war between the yakuza gangs and the invading Chinese triads. Ambitious yakuza member Ryuichi isn't above playing both sides off against each other in his bid for power, while police detective Jojima, himself none too scrupulous in his methods, is out to destroy the gangs. Into this conventional plot framework Miike piles enough warped characters and bizarre, twisted happenings to fuel half-a-dozen Tarantino movies, while cheerfully borrowing--and inflating--key moments from such hard-boiled gangster-noirs as The Big Heat and Kiss Me Deadly. One character deep-fries his own hand, a stripper is drowned in a paddling-pool filled with her own excrement, and the literally apocalyptic finale, the showdown to end all showdowns, will leave you gasping. The appallingly prolific Miike, who regularly makes about five movies a year, has since directed two sequels--the first only three months after the original.--Philip Kemp

• Sonatine | DVD | (22/04/2002) from £14.93   |  Saving you £-1.95 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Takeshi is Murakawa an established and ruthless Yakuza sent outside his usual turf to intervene in a gang war on the tropical island of Okinawa. Things go badly wrong and he and his gang get caught in the crossfire. Forced to retreat to a seaside hideaway they kill time and fool around on the beach but then their enemies start picking them off one by one. Murakawa decides to go on the offensive for a final and breathtaking showdown... Contrasting lyrical scenes with shocking burs

• Single White Female | DVD | (12/10/1998) from £11.11   |  Saving you £1.88 (16.92%)   |  RRP £12.99

  You can take this 1992 thriller one of two ways: it's either a highly suspenseful movie about an unfortunate young woman's psychological breakdown, or it's a glossy slasher movie starring two of Hollywood's best young actresses. Or maybe it's both at the same time-or perhaps it's the clever and well-acted thriller for its first hour before resorting to the routine shocks of a cheap horror flick. However you look at it, there's no denying that this is a dynamite showcase for Jennifer Jason Leigh as the flatmate from hell who becomes the bane of Bridget Fonda's existence. First she picks up Fonda's mannerisms, then starts to borrow her wardrobe, cuts her hair to resemble Fonda's, and even "borrows" her roommate's boyfriend for a deceitful night of lovemaking. By that point Fonda's totally freaking out (wouldn't you?), and, well, that's when the whole thing gets a little too silly. Still, this is a nifty little shocker, and director Barbet Schroeder brings more intelligence and style to the material than it really deserves. Add that to the fine performances by the battling roommates and you've got a movie that will make you think twice before inviting total strangers to live with you. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Cold Mountain | Blu Ray | (01/02/2021) from £7.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Sweeping American Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier, directed by Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, The Talented Mr Ripley). Jude Law stars as Inman, a wounded Confederate soldier who is slowly making the perilous journey back to his home town of Cold Mountain in North Carolina, meeting a string of colourful characters along the way (played by actors including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Ray Winstone and Kathy Baker). At home waits Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman), the pre-war sweetheart to whom he has vowed to return. In his absence Ada, the shy and reserved daughter of a preacher (Donald Sutherland), has befriended the feisty Ruby (Renée Zellweger), a tough-talking young woman who can work the land as well as any man. Ruby supports Ada both emotionally and practically as she waits for Inman's return - but as the war drags on and her letters go unanswered, Ada finds it increasingly difficult to keep the faith.

• Jerry Maguire | DVD | (09/09/2002) from £5.53   |  Saving you £5.46 (98.73%)   |  RRP £10.99

  Jerry Maguire, the film that launched the careers of writer-director Cameron Crowe and actress Renée Zellwenger, is accurately regarded as one of the best romantic comedies of the 1990s. It's an unconventional tale about the paradoxical nature of success in which a top sports agent (Tom Cruise) is forced to reassess his life when he is unceremoniously dumped by his employer. After falling in love with single mother Dorothy Boyd (Zellwenger), and supported by loyal client and second-rate football star Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), Maguire attempts to rebuild his fractured life. At times the film's lightweight, pop-sociology view of the hungry nature of the modern day workplace is clichéd to say the least. However, because Crowe is able to develop meaningful characters, his contradictory lunges against capitalism are submerged by the excellent performances of Cruise and company. There are also top notch supporting roles from Zellwenger's screen son Ray (child star Jonathan Lipnicki) and dictatorial older sister Laurel (Bonnie Hunt). On the DVD: Jerry Maguire's animated menus are created in the style of a messy desk with Post-It-Note selection icons but these don't function as anticipated. As well as the audio commentary over the main feature, the bonus disc unnecessarily includes live action visual footage of Cruise, Crowe, Gooding and Zellwenger providing the same remarks. Unfortunately, the visuals only add to irritability of the exclusive banter between the four. There's also a short "making-of" featurette along with Cameron Crow's documentary Drew Rosenhaus: Sports Agent, which highlights the inspiration behind the film's character Bob Sugar. The "Mission Statement", reproduced in its entirety, isn't a quick and easy read. The music video for Bruce Springsteen's "Secret Garden" adds a mellow, atmospheric twist to the bonus disc. There are also exclusive DVD-ROM extras tucked away, including the screenplay and photo gallery. --John Galilee

• Jesus Christ Superstar | DVD | (16/10/2000) from £4.50   |  Saving you £15.49 (344.22%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Jesus Christ Superstar has been the definitive rock musical ever since its 1972 London stage premiere. Revived to great acclaim in the late 1990s, it has everything you'd expect from a blockbuster: great songs, strong characterisation and, crucially, a cracking story. This video is based on the 1998 London production. Director Gale Edwards pulls few punches in her efforts to draw a truly modern interpretation from a gifted cast. Pilate's cronies are sinister Darth Vader look-alikes. The whole thing has a hard, brutal edge, which both startles and thrills. And anyone who dismisses musicals as lightweight confections could do worse than look at the way Lloyd Webber and Rice treat Judas: this is a complex, well-written role. The performances are largely excellent: Jerome Pradon' Judas shines, and Renee Castle's Mary reinvents "I Don't Know How to Love Him" as a delicate exploration of her dilemma, far removed from its usual overblown treatment. Rik Mayall's relentlessly gurning Herod is less of a bonus than he would like us to believe, but will doubtless appeal to his fans. And the quality of Glenn Carter's singing in the title role makes up for a slight deficiency in the charisma department. --Piers FordOn the DVD: Die-hard groupies will appreciate the inclusion of a documentary about the making of the video, which includes interviews with the cast, the production team and Lloyd Webber and Rice. There are also previews for video productions of Cats and Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

• A League Of Their Own | DVD | (13/03/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Penny Marshall's popular 1992 comedy sheds light on a little-known chapter of American sports history with its story of a struggling team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league was formed when the recruiting of soldiers during World War II resulted in a shortage of men's baseball teams. The AAGPBL continued after the war (until 1954), and Marshall's movie depicts the league in full swing, beginning when a savvy baseball scout (Jon Lovitz) finds a pair of promising new players in small-town Oregon sisters (Geena Davis, Lori Petty). The sisters are signed to play for the Rockford Peaches near Chicago, whose new manager (Tom Hanks) is a former home-run king who wrecked his career with alcoholism. They're all a bunch of underdogs, and Marshall (with a witty script by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) does a fine job of establishing a colorful team of supporting players including Madonna and (in her movie debut) Rosie O'Donnell. It's a conventional Hollywood sports story (Marshall's never been one to take dramatic risks) but the stellar cast is delightful and the movie's filled with memorable moments, witty dialogue and agreeable sentiment. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• The Others | DVD | (23/09/2002) from £6.63   |  Saving you £13.36 (201.51%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Nicole Kidman stars as the mother of two ailing children in this moody tale of the supernatural, set on the island of Jersey just after World War Two.

• The Evil That Men Do | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Holland (Charles Bronson) a professional killer is persuaded to come out of retirement when his friend a Latin American journalist is tortured to death by his country's dictator - the sadistic Dr. Clement Moloch. The journalist's widow Rhiana (Theresa Saldana) and her daughter Sarah provide cover for Holland by posing as his family. As Holland gets closer to Moloch and his coterie he begins to fear more for 'his' family's safety and insists they leave so he can get on with his deadly mission but the idealistic Rhiana is determined to witness the death of her husband's killer.

• The Bachelor | DVD | (14/08/2000) from £6.98   |  Saving you £13.01 (186.39%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Bachelor got critically slammed when it played in cinemas, probably because reviewers couldn't help comparing it with the movie on which it's based, the brilliant Buster Keaton comedy Seven Chances. But on its own terms, The Bachelor is a modest and enjoyable picture about Jimmie (Chris O'Donnell), a happily single young man who suddenly gets an ultimatum from his grandfather's will: marry by his 30th birthday or lose an inheritance of 100 million US dollars. This is revealed the day before that very birthday. Unfortunately, Jimmie had already proposed to his girlfriend Anne (Renee Zellweger) and been turned down; she can see in his eyes that he isn't ready to get married and refuses to accept him until he is. So Jimmie needs to find a bride--fast. Though the commitment-shy man is a hoary clichè, The Bachelor successfully exaggerates Jimmie's fears to comic proportions. O'Donnell is his usual affable self, but it's Zellweger who seizes every scene she's in and makes something really enjoyable out it. The movie's greatest weakness is that she's such a small part of the second half. Still, there's good supporting performances from Hal Holbrook, Ed Asner, James Cromwell and Marley Shelton (as Zellweger's sister), and Peter Ustinov and Brooke Shields both have very funny scenes. The Bachelor skirts some dangerously chauvinistic territory at times, but by and large it's a pleasant comedy with some genuine good humour. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

• Romantic Comedy | DVD | (13/02/2006) from £68.83   |  Saving you £-18.84 (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Pride And Prejudice: The five Bennet sisters have all been raised by their mother with one purpose in life - finding a husband. However the second eldest Lizzie can think of 100 reasons not to marry. When Mrs Bennet hears the exciting news that a wealthy bachelor and his circle of sophisticated friends are to take up summer residence in a nearby mansion the Bennets are abuzz with the hope that potential suitors will be in full supply. Obligingly the newcomer Mr Charles Bingl

• Mahler-Complete Symphonies | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £63.99