DVD Review - August 24

By Damon Smith

New to rent on DVD/Blu-ray

DVD of the week

Oblivion (Cert 12, 126 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, Sci-Fi/Action/Thriller/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £26.99/Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray £29.99)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo, Zoe Bell.

Earth is reduced to a radiation-poisoned wasteland by a pernicious race called Scavs. Survivors are evacuated to Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, leaving behind small teams to protect the giant machines that extract vital resources to power mankind's new home. Drone maintenance officer Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and his partner, tech operator Victoria Olsen (Andrea Riseborough), are two weeks away from retirement on Titan when he rescues an astronaut (Olga Kurylenko) from a crashed space shuttle. This gung-ho act, in direct violation of orders from controller Sally (Melissa Leo), brings the former Marine into contact with a grizzled resistance leader, Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman), and his right-hand man (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). "It's time to learn the truth," booms Malcolm, hinting at a convoluted conspiracy. Based on the graphic novel by Joseph Kosinski and Arvid Nelson, Oblivion is a ponderous post-apocalyptic thriller that allows the leading man to perform impressive acrobatics amid a blitzkrieg of expensive pyrotechnics and digital effects. Cruise's portentous voiceover is matched by an orchestral score peppered with discordant rumbles. Freeman is wasted in a malnourished supporting role, while Riseborough and Kurylenko shed perfectly shaped tears on cue. Director Joseph Kosinski, who previously made TRON: Legacy, orchestrates the pivotal action sequences with breathless aplomb, including an aerial chase in a spacecraft that gimbals at stomach-churning speed. Looks aren't everything, though, and the script's philosophical musings about humanity and self-sacrifice are almost as flimsy as the central love triangle that fails to ignite the emotional afterburners for a slam-bang finale.

Rating: ***

Released

The Look Of Love (Cert 18, 101 mins, Studio Canal, Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £22.99)

Starring: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton, Peter Wight, Matt Lucas, David Walliams, Stephen Fry.

In the aftermath of his daughter's death, publisher and club owner Paul Raymond (Steve Coogan) surveys the ruins of his life. He recalls the 1950s, when he lays the foundations of his business empire with a touring show of nude models, supported by his long-suffering choreographer wife, Jean (Anna Friel). Raymond expands with his Revue Bar and the sex comedy Pyjama Tops, then jeopardises his marriage to conduct an affair with actress Fiona Richmond (Tamsin Egerton). Jean secures the largest divorce settlement in British history and walks away with her son Howard (Matthew Beard), while Raymond courts more controversy in the lucrative adult magazine market, assisted by editor Tony Power (Chris Addison). Meanwhile, Raymond's attention-seeking daughter Debbie (Imogen Poots) is sucked into her father's orbit. The Look Of Love oozes visual excess and Poots and Friel light up the colour-saturated screen. However, Coogan seems to be channelling Alan Partridge in his portrayal, which lessens the emotional wallop of closing scenes with Debbie. Matt Greenhalgh's script is peppered with zinging one-liners, such as when a newly bouffant Jean fishes for compliments from her husband and asks: "Do you like my hair?" Paul responds dryly: "It has a Myra Hindley effect." Quips aside, there's a disappointing lack of depth to the characters. Michael Winterbottom's film beautifully evokes the changing fashions and moods of each decade, from the titillation and rigorous censorship of the 1950s and 1960s to the lurid, drug-saturated debauchery of the 1970s and discofied 1980s. The soundtrack strums and shimmies in perfect unison, running the gamut of Burt Bacharach, Donovan, Hot Chocolate, Soft Cell and T-Rex.

Rating: ***

Also released

Aftershock (Cert 18, 89 mins, Studio Canal, Horror/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99 - see below)

Bernie (Cert 12, 99 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, Comedy/Drama, also available to buy DVD £12.99 - see below)

Compliance (Cert 15, 90 mins, Soda Pictures, Thriller/Drama, also available to buy DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £24.99 - see below)

Dragon (Cert 15, 98 mins, Metrodome Distribution, Action/Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £15.99 - see below)

Phantom (Cert 15, 95 mins, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Action/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99 - see below)

Scary Movie 5 (Cert 15, 86 mins, Entertainment In Video, Comedy/Horror/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99 - see below)

Shootout At Wadala (Cert 18, 155 mins, Eros International, Thriller/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99 - see below)

New to buy on DVD/Blu-ray

The White Queen - The Complete Series (Cert 15, 520 mins, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DVD £39.99/Blu-ray £49.99, Drama/Romance)

Based on the best-selling historical novels by Philippa Gregory, The White Queen is a BBC drama series documenting the dynastic tug of war for power during the Wars of the Roses. Three intelligent and resourceful women, Elizabeth Woodville (Rebecca Ferguson), Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale) and Anne Neville (Faye Marsay), are determined to make their voices heard at the latter part of the 15th century. Employing cunning and their womanly wiles, the plucky heroines attempt to out-manoeuvre King Edward IV (Max Irons) and his manipulative advisor, Lord Warwick (James Frain), but the monarch is wise to some of their ploys and will not renounce this throne without a fight. The four-disc set includes all 10 episodes.

Top Of The Lake (Cert 15, 342 mins, BBC DVD, DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99, Drama/Romance)

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Jane Campion, Top Of The Lake is a gritty six-art crime drama about the secrets that bubble beneath the surface of every close-knit community. Sydney-based detective Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss) left the remote New Zealand township of Lakeside a long time ago and has flourished away from painful memories of the past. She is drawn back to Lakeside to investigate the disappearance of 12-year-old Tui Mitcham (Jacqueline Joe), the daughter of vicious drug lord Matt Mitcham (Peter Mullan). Shortly before she vanished, Tui announced she was pregnant but refused to name the father. As Robin searches for clues, she exposes the town's brutal underbelly and realises that Matt is the merciless puppet master behind most of the trouble.

NCIS: Los Angeles - The Fourth Season (Cert 15, 924 mins, Paramount Home Entertainment, DVD £34.99, Action/Thriller)

Six-disc set of 24 episodes of the popular spin-off drama series, starring Chris O'Donnell as Special Agent Callen, who is in charge of the Los Angeles branch of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. This series, Callen is suspended after the dramatic events at the conclusion of series three, and operations manager Hetty Lange (Linda Hunt) resigns from her post. Dark secrets bring them both back to active duty, in time to uncover intrigue and espionage within the ranks and to question the loyalty of colleague Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen).

Love And Marriage (Cert 12, 360 mins, Acorn Media, DVD £19.99, Comedy/Drama/Romance)

Recently broadcast on ITV1, this gentle six-part comedy drama centres on a doting wife, who uses her recent retirement as a springboard to a more fulfilling life. Pauline Paradise (Alison Steadman) is tired of having to take care of her husband Ken (Duncan Preston) and their three demanding children Heather (Niki Wardley), Kevin (Stewart Wright) and Martin (Graeme Hawley). In the wake of her father's death, Pauline hangs up her high visibility jacket as a lollipop lady, leaves the family home and moves in with her unconventional and free spirited sister, Rowan (Celia Imrie). The two women embrace life with gusto, leaving the rest of the clan to contemplate how much they took Pauline for granted.

Scary Movie 5 (Cert 15, 86 mins, Entertainment In Video, DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99, Comedy/Horror/Romance)

Launched in 2000 by director Keenen Ivory Wayans, the Scary Movie franchise has repeatedly lampooned horror movie characters and conventions of the time, beginning with The Blair Witch Project, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream and The Sixth Sense. Three sequels were released in 2001, 2003 and 2006 and now Malcolm D Lee helms this fifth instalment in the series, which bids farewell to recurring characters Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall). The targets for parody this time include Mama, Paranormal Activity, Sinister and adult comedy Ted, focusing on happily married couple Dan (Simon Rex) and Jody (Ashley Tisdale), who fear that their newborn baby is being haunted by a demonic spirit. They seek guidance from a priest (Katt Williams) and even set up cameras in the infant's nursery, but the dark forces are too strong for the madcap man of the cloth and the night-vision technology. Cameos include Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, Snoop Lion, Mike Tyson and Usher.

Geordie Shore - The Complete Fourth Series (Cert 15, 336 mins, Paramount Home Entertainment, DVD £16.99, Special Interest)

Pleasure-seeking housemates in Newcastle upon Tyne continue to fall in and out of love in another eight episodes of the MTV reality spin-off from Jersey Shore. This series, Jay Gardner has left so two new lads - Daniel Thomas-Tuck and Scott Timlin - enter the house and quickly stir up trouble. Vicky and Ricci almost call off their engagement, James tells a devastated Holly that he has a girlfriend and relations between Vicky and Sophie reach an all-time low, forcing the other housemates to take sides as the dispute escalates.

Compliance (Cert 15, 90 mins, Soda Pictures, DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £24.99, Thriller/Drama)

Ann Dowd delivers a powerful performance, which garnered the Best Supporting Actress prize from the esteemed National Board Of Review, in Craig Zobel's deeply upsetting thriller, which is inspired by real life events. Sandra (O'Dowd), the manager of a fast-food restaurant, receives a telephone call from Police Officer Daniels (Pat Healy), who believes that one of Sandra's employees, Becky (Dreama Walker), has stolen money from a customer's purse. The police officer confirms he is currently searching the suspect's home and asks Sandra to call Becky into her office for an interview. Listening intently to Officer Daniels, Sandra questions Becky as instructed and agrees to carry out a humiliating strip search of her employee to ascertain Becky's innocence. Tensions rise and Sandra is completely unaware that the man on the other end of the line isn't a police officer at all, but a sick and twisted prank caller.

Phantom (Cert 15, 95 mins, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Action/Thriller)

Captain Demi (Ed Harris) is on his final assignment before retirement, in charge of a missile submarine during the Cold War. Unbeknown to the rest of the crew, including executive officer Kozlov (William Fichtner), Demi has been secretly dealing with health issues, which resulted in the loss of crewmembers on a previous mission. KGB agent Bruni (David Duchovny) and a small team of men join the submarine before it dives putting Demi and his crew on edge. As the tension intensifies, Demi discovers the reason for Bruno's presence on board the craft and he is compelled to take drastic action to prevent the outbreak of war on terra firma.

Accused - Series 2 (Cert 15, 240 mins, Acorn Media, DVD £19.99/Complete Series 1 & 2 DVD Box Set £29.99, Drama)

Olivia Colman, Sean Bean, Sheridan Smith, Anne-Marie Duff, Anna Maxwell Martin and Stephen Graham star in four gritty hour-long episodes of Jimmy McGovern's drama about modern day crime and punishment. This series, a bored English teacher transforms into a transvestite by night, a gutsy single mother stands up to gang warfare on the streets, a 17-year-old is driven to the brink of despair by his mother's death and a prison officer questions her loyalties when an inmate needlessly dies behind bars. A four-disc set comprising both series is also available.

Bag Of Bones (Cert 15, 156 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, DVD £12.99, Horror/Thriller)

Pierce Brosnan headlines this two-part TV mini-series based on the acclaimed Stephen King novel of the same name. Successful author Mike Noonan (Brosnan) seeks sanctuary at his lake house in Maine to recover from the death of his beloved wife, Jo (Annabeth Gish). Mike meets young widow Mattie (Melissa George), who in embroiled in a messy legal tussle with her wealthy father-in-law Max (William Schallert) for custody of her daughter Kyra (Caitlin Carmichael). Disturbing events in the nearby town reveal that Mike's house is cursed and more lives will be taken unless he can banish the evil. So the writer joins forces with the spirit of his late wife to cleanse the town while helping Mattie to cling onto her daughter.

Bernie (Cert 12, 99 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, DVD £12.99, Comedy/Drama)

The foibles of the human heart are stranger than truth or fiction in Richard Linklater's darkly comic yarn based on the true story of a thirty-something Texan funeral home worker who murdered his wealthy eighty-something companion but still curried sympathy from friends and neighbours. Jack Black is in scintillating form as mortician Bernie Tiede, whose easygoing manner curries favour with the residents of Carthage, Texas. He becomes an unlikely companion to widowed curmudgeon Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), who has lots of money but few social graces. To the astonishment of the locals, Bernie and Marjorie become inseparable companions and travel everywhere together. However, Marjorie's demands begin to grate on Bernie and in a fit of anger he murders the crone and then uses her money to support his friends and neighbours in the community. For nine months, no one misses Marjorie Nugent, then her stockbroker begins to ask difficult questions and Bernie has to construct a tower of lies to conceal his part in the old woman's untimely demise. Bernie is a warm and witty portrait of small-town life peppered with interviews from real-life Carthage residents reminiscing about Marjorie's demise. Their loyalties remain divided; ours are firmly behind Linklater's quirky picture.

Aftershock (Cert 18, 89 mins, Studio Canal, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Horror/Thriller)

The battle for survival in the aftermath of a terrible disaster tests a ragtag group of strangers to breaking point in Nicolas Lopez's grisly thriller. American lawyer Gringo (Eli Roth) travels to Chile with his pals Ariel (Ariel Levy) and Pollo (Nicolas Martinez) and they head to a subterranean nightclub. At the height of the revelry, there is a massive earthquake. Thankfully, Gringo, Ariel and Pollo survive the initial devastation and they search for a route back to the surface in the company of other survivors including sexy Russian model Irina (Natasha Yarovenko), party girl Kylie (Lorenza Izzo) and her sister Monica (Andrea Osvart). With the threat of aftershocks driving them on, the survivors are horrified to discover polite society has disintegrated and they will have to sacrifice everything, perhaps even human life, to emerge unscathed from the rubble.

Dragon (Cert 15, 98 mins, Metrodome Distribution, DVD £15.99, Action/Drama/Romance)

A village worker hides a dark secret in Peter Chan's martial arts thriller, which premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. Two bandits attack a shopkeeper and his family. Liu Jinxi (Donnie Yen) happens to be in the local grocery store during the assault and he fights with the assailants, killing both men. Detective Xu Baijiu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) investigates the case and discovers that one of the dead men was notorious fugitive Yan Dongsheng (Yu Kang). Liu Jinxi becomes a hero to the local community to the delight of his wife Yu (Tang Wei) and two sons, Fangzheng (Zheng Wei) and Xiaotian (Li Jiamin). However, Xu Baijiu is suspicious how a simple man could not only trade blows with Yan Dongsheng but also defeat such a skilled opponent. By following the evidence, the detective deduces that Liu Jinxi is in fact Tang Long, a warrior from the bloodthirsty 72 Demons clan who is wanted in connection with the murder of a butcher's family 10 years earlier.

Shootout At Wadala (Cert 18, 155 mins, Eros International, DVD £19.99, Thriller/Action)

Based on the book Dongri To Dubai by Hussain Zaidi, Sanjay Gupta's crime thriller is the follow-up to Shootout At Lokhandwala, which chronicled a real-life battle between the police of Mumbai and men on the wrong side of the law. Spanning two decades between the late 1960s and early 1980s, Shooting At Wadala focuses on gangster Manya Surve (John Abraham), who masterminds a series of daring robberies that cause intense embarrassment to the authorities. His reign of terror is brought to a premature end when he is shot dead in 1982 by specialist police officer Afaque Baghraan (Anil Kapoor) and his partner Raja Tambat (Ronit Roy).

Into The Dark (Cert 15, 112 mins, Metrodome Distribution, DVD £15.99, Horror/Thriller/Romance)

A young woman enters a world beyond her nightmares to save the man she loves in Mark Edwin Robinson's horror thriller. Sophia (Mischa Barton) is consumed by depression after her parents die within six months of one another. The young woman shuts herself off from the rest of the world, unable to comprehend why the two people who meant the most to her in the world would be taken from her. In the nick of time, she meets nice guy Adam (Ryan Eggold) and falls head over heels in love. The romance pulls her back from the brink of self-destruction but when he disappears one night in a mysterious apartment block, Sophia must face her demons as she crosses into the land of the dead.

Inseparable (Cert 15, 97 mins, Matchbox Films, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Comedy/Drama)

Prosthetic engineer Li (Daniel Wu) is at the end of his tether. His marriage to emotionally volatile journalist Pang (Beibi Gong) is on he rocks and he is being put under pressure to lie at work to save his company from embarrassment. In Li's mind, there is no escape from the misery and he contemplates suicide. At this low ebb, Li meets charismatic American neighbour Chuck (Kevin Spacey), who takes the desperately unhappy prosthetic engineer under his wing and encourages Li to seek an outlet for his frustrations. The two men become bona fide superhero vigilantes but their crusade for justice further loosens Li's grasp on reality.

DVD retail top 10

1 (2) Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred

2 (1) Despicable Me

3 (-) Star Trek Into Darkness

4 (10) Boardwalk Empire - Season 3

5 (-) Downton Abbey - Series 4

6 (-) The Jungle Book

7 (-) The British and Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2013

8 (-) Red

9 (7) Quartet

10 (4) Luther: Series 1-3 Box Set

Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk

DVD rental top 10

1 (3) Side Effects

2 (1) Gangster Squad

3 (2) Life of Pi

4 (4) Les Miserables

5 (-) Welcome to the Punch

6 (-) The Host

7 (6) Oz the Great and Powerful

8 (5) Robot and Frank

9 (7) Django Unchained

10 (-) The Paperboy

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com

Film streaming top 10

1 (2) The Smurfs

2 (1) Barbie - Princess Charm School Scooby Doo

3 (3) Looper

4 (4) Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Rodrick Rules

5 (5) 10,000 BC

6 (6) The Sweetest Thing

7 (-) Sucker Punch

8 (8) Van Wilder - Party Liaison

9 (-) Cars 2

10 (10) Up

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com