"Actor: Robert Pa"

• Hornblower - Retribution | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £7.98   |  Saving you £2.01 (20.10%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Based freely on the classic novels by C. Forester, Hornblower is a series of TV films following the progress of a young officer through the ranks of the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The series greatest asset is the handsome and charismatic Ioan Gruffudd in the lead role, surely a major star in the making. For television films the production values are very good, though as Titanic, Waterworld and The Perfect Storm demonstrated, filming an aquatic adventure is a very expensive business, and it is clear that the Hornblower dramas simply make the best of comparatively small budgets. No more faithful to Forester's books than the 1951 Gregory Peck classic Captain Horatio Hornblower, the real inspiration seems to have come from the success of Sharpe, starring Sean Bean, which likewise featured a British hero in the Napoleonic Wars. Nevertheless, while rather more easy going than the real British navy of the time, the Hornblower saga delivers an entertaining adventure, greatly enhanced by the presence of such guest stars as Denis Lawson, Cheri Lunghi, Ronald Pickup and Anthony Sher.--Gary S Dalkin

• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Complete Seasons 1-3 (Amazon.co.uk Exclusive) | DVD | (23/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £159.99

  Murder, and its tale-telling aftermath, is the compelling subject of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Since its inauguration in late 2000 CSI has been a ratings triumph, spawned two spinoffs (CSI: Miami and CSI: New York and positioning itself for long-term success. Creator Anthony Zuiker's foolproof formula was established early on, bolstered by a fine ensemble cast and requiring minimal tweaking as the seasons progressed; its Las Vegas-based "criminalists" eventually became "CSIs" steeped in the scientific minutiae of forensic investigation, but the series arrived essentially intact, with an irresistible (and seemingly inexhaustible) supply of corpses and the mysteries that surround them. Influenced by the graphic precedent of movies like Seven and Kiss the Girls, CSI matches morbidity with dispassionate methodology; viewers are so fascinated by the investigative process that they're unfazed by intimate autopsies and internal (i.e., digitally animated) views of traumatized flesh, bone, and sinew. While keeping abreast of cutting-edge technologies, CSI combines the ingenuity (and fallibility) of villains with the appealing humanity of its heroes. CSI director and entomologist Gil Grissom (played by series co-producer William Petersen) is introverted but ethically intense; he's both mentor and moral compass for his night-shift team, including a former stripper-turned-CSI (Marg Helgenberger); a recovering gambler (Gary Dourdan); an eager ace (George Eads) with room for improvement; a workaholic (Jorja Fox) who can't always remain emotionally detached from her cases; and a chief detective (Paul Guilfoyle) who's a necessary link to police procedure. Like The X-Files, CSI supports its characters with feature-film production values, employing a Rashomon structure that turns murder into a progressively accurate study of cause and effect. Script quality is consistently high ("Blood Drops" and "Unfriendly Skies" are exceptional), direction is slick and sophisticated, and the mysteries are complex enough to invite multiple viewings. Despite a regrettable shortage of DVD features, CSI remains addictively worthy of its lofty reputation. --Jeff Shannon

• Hornblower - The Duchess And The Devil | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £6.95   |  Saving you £3.04 (30.40%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Based freely on the classic novels by C.S. Forester, Hornblower is a series of TV films following the progress of a young officer through the ranks of the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The series greatest asset is the handsome and charismatic Ioan Gruffudd in the lead role, surely a major star in the making. For television films the production values are very good, though as Titanic, Waterworld and The Perfect Storm demonstrated, filming an aquatic adventure is a very expensive business, and it is clear that the Hornblower dramas simply make the best of comparatively small budgets. No more faithful to Forester's books than the 1951 Gregory Peck classic Captain Horatio Hornblower, the real inspiration seems to have come from the success of Sharpe, starring Sean Bean, which likewise featured a British hero in the Napoleonic Wars. Nevertheless, while rather more easy going than the real British navy of the time, the Hornblower saga delivers an entertaining adventure, greatly enhanced by the presence of such guest stars as Denis Lawson, Cheri Lunghi, Ronald Pickup and Anthony Sher. "The Duchess and the Devil" has Hornblower and his men taken prisoners of war.--Gary S Dalkin

• Curse Of The Puppet Master | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £12.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (-116.70%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Andre Toulon's living puppets are back in Curse of the Puppet Master, this time in the possession of Dr. Magrew (George Peck), who runs a house of marvels and is experimenting to create the perfect being, without all the inner conflict and torment of humans. To do so, he recruits a talented young woodcarver named Tank (Josh Green). But Magrew's plans get complicated when his daughter (appealingly played by Emily Harrison) falls for the young man. Fans of the Puppet Master series will probably enjoy this sixth instalment. The three leads are well cast, the production design shows some imagination, and the script works--until the abrupt and nonsensical ending. The puppets also seem less animated than in previous films; nevertheless, they still manage to get their whacks in. Trivia factoid: director "Victoria Sloane" is one of several stage names used by David DeCoteau, who also directed instalments numbers three and seven in the series.--Geoff Miller, Amazon.com

• Fern Gully - The Last Rainforest | DVD | (21/05/2007) from £7.49   |  Saving you £0.50 (6.30%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Come join in a spectacular rainforest adventure - where the radar-impaired Batty and his magical friends Crysta Pips and the Beetle Boys try to save their special world from mankind's carelessness and the evil Hexxus.

• God's Gun | DVD | (24/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Violence begins when a wild bunch of outlaws hit the town. No mortal man can stop them - but what about the man of God?

• Antwone Fisher / Men Of Honour | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £13.93   |  Saving you £6.06 (43.50%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Autobiographical movies rarely get more truthfully moving than Antwone Fisher. The title is also the name of this fine drama's first-time screenwriter, a former Navy seaman who was working as a film-studio security guard when his life-inspired script was developed as Denzel Washington's directorial debut. This Hollywood dream gets better: unbeknown to the filmmakers, Derek Luke--a newcomer who won the title role over a throng of famous contenders--was also a friend of Fisher's, and the whole film seems blessed by this fortunate coincidence. Washington's sharp instincts as an actor serve him well, as both a subtle-handed director and Luke's costar playing Jerome Davenport, a Navy psychologist assigned to assess Fisher's chronic violent temper. Their therapy sessions prove mutually beneficial, as this touching true story addresses painful memories, broken desires, and heartfelt reunions without resorting to a contrived happy ending. Fisher's good life is worth celebrating, and Washington brings a delicate touch to the party. --Jeff Shannon Originally, Men of Honour was simply called Navy Diver and no doubt all involved held high hopes that it would be an award-winning biopic. Unfortunately, Carl Brashear's life as the first African-American Master Diver went through that vaguely distasteful contemporary Hollywood Marketing makeover and the result is not quite so worthy of its subject and intentions. The film's hopelessly clichéd tagline reads, "History is made by those who break the rules"; the direction is shot through with sunsets 'n' slow-mo; and the script is peppered with foreshadowing dialogue ("don't end up like me, son"). The plot devices follow a predictable arc: family poverty, a swiftly sweet romance, a shock accident, court hearing and, naturally, a grisly antagonist. It's with the last of these that the movie comes to life. We may have seen DeNiro spit nails countless times before, but his saltily intractable Master Chief is a terrific screen creation. Next to him, Cuba Gooding Jr really does shine as the endlessly persecuted Brashear. All-too brief cameos from Charlise Theron and Michael Rapaport lend sparkle too. But the film's message about how social attitudes toward race have changed is lost in a murky haze of Hollywoodisation. As one character declares, "some things just don't mix". --Paul Tonks

• Chase | DVD | (25/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  When beloved mentor Judge Pettitt (Richard Farnsworth) is murdered lawyer Sandy Albright (O'Neill) is faced with the agonising task of having to defend his alleged killer. But even before the suspect a migrant worker who may or may not be guilty can be brought to trial Sandy finds herself in a life or death battle with a vigilante posse and a corrupt police deputy who will stop at nothing including cold-blooded murder to ensure that neither she nor her client survive to see their

• Jess Franco Double Bill - Vol. 1 - Dracula Vs Frankenstein / Curse Of Frankenstein | DVD | (24/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Dracula Prisoner Of Frankenstein (1972): Yesterday they were cold and dead. Today they're hot and bothered! When Dracula despatches another innocent victim Dr. Seward decides it's time to eradicate the evil count once and for all. However when Dr Frankenstein reanimates the lifeless Count in an attempt to create the perfect master race it's a three way battle between the man the vampire and the monster. Plus a werewolf thrown in for good measure! Curse Of Frankenstein

• There's Something About Mary / Rat Race / Austin Powers / Nine Months / Dude, Where's My Car? | DVD | (16/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  There's Something About Mary Still suffering from a High School crush on Mary (Cameron Diaz) the nerdy angst-driven Ted (Ben Stiller) tracks her down thirteen years later with the help of a sleazy private investigator (Matt Dillon) who also falls for her. Unfortunately both men discover that virtually every man who sets his eyes on the dazzling Mary finds himself head over heels in love and determined to win her hand. Rat Race Donald Sinclair owns the biggest snazzi

• Pool Girl | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Meet Hugo Dugay (Alyssa Milano) a lonely disenfranchised female pool cleaner. She has 44 pools to clean today her mother Minerva (Cathy Moriarty) is a chronic gambler and her father Henry (Malcolm McDowell) is a lost soul trying to kick a menu of addictions. These are the least of her problems as today's clients range from a film director who shot and killed a movie extra for over acting (Robert Downey JR) to a bully who flouts the law to have his pool filled by 6:30pm. Through all this she picks up a mysterious hitchhiker (Sean Penn) and a new customer suffering from ALS (Lou Gaehrig's Disease) which keeps him trapped in a wheelchair.Through Hugo's day begins with threats from a menacing customer confrontations with her dysfunctional parents and the promise of too much hard work this magical person who comes into her life makes all that wrong turn right.

• Even Angels Eat Beans | DVD | (25/04/2005) from £8.08   |  Saving you £-2.09 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Zany comedy with slapstick humour set in mafia America during the 30's. Two men a wrestler and an ice cream seller are mistaken for killers by the mafia sorriso. The mafia want Gemma to get Spencer to agree to throw a wrestling match. Spencer doesn't waste time in making them realise their big mistake....

• Strange Hearts | DVD | (13/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Jack Waters (Robert Forster) is a gambler. Once a child star his luck has been on a downward slope since his show finished. Now middle aged he carries on trying to win a cash payout from national television game shows yet his lucky streak eludes him. But with the arrival of the naive Henry Fields (Kip Pardue) a change of fortune may occur. Jack takes him under his wing and introduces him to the world of game shows and the winnings that might be made. Jack also introduces Henry to his friend Moira (Rose McGowan) an exotic dancer who beguiles Henry. Moira is also Jack's neighbour and has a dream of winning at any cost in common with him. As Henry's lucky streak takes him to the most popular game show on TV Jack's luck is fading. He has a plan though and sees that Henry could be his way of making a fortune but as Henry falls for Moira will she get to him before Jack? Or will the manipulating game show producer ruin everyone's plans?

• Avengers - Endgame | DVD | (05/09/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• A Soldier's Story | DVD | (17/08/2009) from £9.98   |  Saving you £-3.99 (-66.60%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Charles Fuller adapted his Pulitzer Prize-winning A Soldier's Play for the big screen in 1984. The film version, A Soldier's Story is essentially a murder mystery, played out against a background of inter and intra-racial conflict at a Second World War training camp. To the consternation of his white opposite number at the camp, a black captain (Howard W Rollins) arrives to investigate the death of a black sergeant (Adolph Caesar). Suspicion immediately falls on a pair of bigoted white officers but as the tale unfolds in a series of flashbacks, it soon becomes clear that a different kind of prejudice is also at work. Assisted by some excellent performances, director Norman Jewison opens the story out from its stage roots. There's a wonderful baseball scene (filmed on location at Little Rock) in which the double standards of Dennis Lipscomb's fidgety white captain are exposed with neat irony; he'll cheer his successful black team all the way home in the name of sport. His gradual, forced liberalisation provides the film with an important comic element. A Soldier's Story wears its heart on its sleeve without being superficial in any way. It's a compelling tale, well told and often highly entertaining, in which nobody gets off lightly, least of all the good guy. On the DVD: The widescreen presentation helps give an epic feel to what could, in other hands, have been a claustrophobic production. The picture quality is fine. But the monaural sound track is often rather muffled, leaving you straining to catch some of the dialogue. This is also a shame because the blues music--an inspired job by Herbie Hancock, assisted by Patti Labelle singing her lungs out as bar owner Big Mary--is an important element of the film's underlying theme and deserves to be better heard. The extras are valuable. Norman Jewison's commentary is detailed and sensitive. As he says, the film deals with "ideas in racism never seen on screen before", and he acknowledges the strength of his actors in getting those ideas across. "March to Freedom" is an excellent short documentary which features the moving testimonies of black servicemen on the insufferable prejudices they encountered while attempting to defend their country during the Second World War; A Soldier's Story is thus put sharply into context. --Piers Ford

• The Zone | DVD | (23/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Former Gulf War hero Rowdy Welles (Davi) is framed for murder by unscrupulous CIA boss Dick Althorp (Gazzara). As the price of his freedom Welles is ordered to undertake a deadly mission to destroy a nuclear processing plant in a foreign nation owned by dangerous tyrant Lothar Krasna (Godunov)...

• The People's Passion | DVD | (01/04/2000) from £13.92   |  Saving you £4.07 (22.60%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The People's Passion is a BBC/NVC Arts co-production, originally shown on BBC in short instalments, but presented here as a single 50-minute programme. This is a musical version of the story of Holy Week, the narrator sung by the leading American opera star Jessye Norman, commenting on the action played-out by a very familiar British television cast. The use of modern dress and readily identifiable faces such as Robert Hardy (Pilate), Patricia Hodge (Procula), Ron Moody (The Donkey Minder) and Kevin Whatley (Judas) is an excellent device to stress the contemporary relevance of the story. Though if this is the aim, it is a brave move to refuse to "dumb down" musically, Donald Fraser's score being more in the English classical tradition of Vaughan-Williams' Pilgrim's Progress, than a populist Jesus Christ, Superstar musical. Rather old-fashioned, too, is the portrayal of Jesus, who does not speak but is danced in Spirit by Jonathan Cope, and given voice by the boys of St Paul's Cathedral Choir. With Thomas Allen also appearing as The Centurion--in rather more dignified style than John Wayne in The Greatest Story Ever Told--this is a direct, uncluttered and highly effective version of The Passion.On the DVD: The picture is presented at approximately 1.7:1 ratio, but lacking anamorphic enhancement for widescreen televisions. The sound, disappointingly for a 1999 production, is PCM stereo. The booklet offers biographies of only Jessye Norman and Jonathan Cope, but does not include the libretto, which can be printed out via a DVD-ROM. The programme can be viewed with or without English subtitles. --Gary S. Dalkin

• The Twilight Zone - Vol. 2 | DVD | (29/05/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It was in 1959 that ex-boxer and paratrooper turned screenwriter Rod Serling first opened the door to the "dimension of imagination" that is The Twilight Zone, a show quite unlike anything that had gone before, and better than much that has followed in its wake. This television series ran from 1959-1964 and it still looks fresh as ever, particularly on DVD. What distinguished the series (and still does) is the quality of the scripts, many of which were penned by Serling, but with significant contributions from veteran sci-fi authors and screenwriters such as Richard Matheson. Actors of the calibre of Robert Redford, Burgess Meredith, Lee Marvin and William Shatner gave some of their best small-screen performances, while an unforgettable main title theme by Bernard Herrmann and musical contributions from young turks such as Jerry Goldsmith underline the show's attraction for great creative talent both behind and in front of the cameras.There are four more selected episodes from the series on Volume 2. "Time Enough at Last" (episode 8) features Burgess Meredith in a heartbreaking role as the only survivor of nuclear holocaust whose dreams are (literally) shattered before his very eyes. "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" (episode 22) is Serling at his humanitarian best, issuing a plea against prejudice and intolerance and dissecting the mechanics of mob hysteria all in the space of a half-hour television show. "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (episode 123) is one of the Zone's most celebrated set pieces, featuring a pre-Star Trek William Shatner as the paranoid passenger who sees a gremlin on the plane's wing. Directed by Richard (Lethal Weapon) Donner from a script by Richard Matheson, this episode was one of those remade in the 1983 Twilight Zone film. There is more aircraft oddity in "The Odyssey of Flight 33" (episode 54), co-written by Serling with technical dialogue assistance from a TWA pilot, giving the crew's conversation the stamp of authenticity as they plunge back and then forward in time.On the DVD: A neat animated menu with a winking eye guides the viewer "Inside the Twilight Zone", which consists of digests of background information on the individual episodes, as well as a general history of the show, season-by-season breakdown and a potted biography of Serling. --Mark Walker

• Men Of Honour / Tigerland / The Thin Red Line | DVD | (15/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Men Of Honour: One of those rare films that grabs you by the gut and never lets go 'Men Of Honour' was inspired by the life of Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding Jr.) an African American who dared to dream of becoming a U.S. Navy Master Diver. Despite a bigoted training officer (Robert De Niro) and a tragic shipboard accident Carl never gives up and achieves the impossible in an incredible finish that will leave you cheering. 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.

• Identity / Gothika / House Of Nine | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Identity (Dir. James Mangold 2003): A daring new thriller from director James Mangold and producer Cathy Konrad featuring an all-star ensemble cast including John Cusack Ray Liotta Amanda Peet Alfred Molina Jake Busey Clea DuVall and Rebecca De Mornay. Caught in a savage rainstorm ten travellers are forced to seek refuge at a strange desert motel. They soon realize they've found anything but shelter. There is a killer among them and one by one they are murdered. As the storm rages on and the dead begin to outnumber the living one thing becomes clear: each of them was drawn to the motel not by accident or circumstance but by forces beyond imagination forces that promise anyone who survives a mind-bending and terrifying destiny. Gothika (Dir. Mathieu Kassovitz 2003): Halle Berry stars as Dr. Miranda Grey a psychiatrist who becomes a patient in her own mental hospital after she is accused of murdering her husband (Charles S. Dutton). Grey's only initial memory of the incident involves a chilling encounter with a distraught girl (Kathleen Mackey) on a rain-soaked road. The incarcerated and medicated Grey is now haunted by the same apparition and she must convince her former colleague Pete Graham (Robert Downey Jr.) that she is not insane or guilty of murder. Meanwhile the seemingly mad ramblings of Chloe (Penelope Cruz) one of Grey's former patients now make more sense and Grey must throw aside clinical logic to solve the supernatural murder mystery. House Of Nine (Dir. Steven R. Munroe 2005): Nine strangers with no apparent connection between them are abducted: drugged kidnapped and sealed in a house together. Doors are bolted shut windows are plugged with brick. No way out. Disoriented and angry they are greeted by a voice on an intercom system: they are to be watched as they 'compete' for a prize of five million dollars. And the winner will be the only one who gets out alive!