DVD Review - November 2

By Damon Smith

New to rent on DVD/Blu-ray

DVD of the week

Before Midnight (Cert 15, 109 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Jennifer Prior, Charlotte Prior, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick.

Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) are married and have raised three children. They kiss goodbye to Jesse's son Hank (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick), who is going to spend the summer with his ex-wife in Chicago, then Jesse and Celine drive their two daughters Ella (Jennifer Prior) and Nina (Charlotte Prior) down the Greek coast to spend some time in the sun with friends. En route, Jesse and Celine chatter about the past and the future, including his career as a novelist and her job prospects working for the government. Their hosts arrange for Jesse and Celine to enjoy some quiet time together in a hotel room without the girls but this wonderful evening of togetherness forces the couple to confront fractures in the relationship. Nine years after Before Sunset, the gorgeously romantic sequel to Before Sunrise, director Richard Linklater and actors Hawke and Delpy reunite for this third chapter in the lives of Jesse and Celine, who met by chance on a train and spent a magical day together in Vienna. Unlike the previous two instalments, Before Midnight does not unfold entirely in real time, stitching together a handful of scenes which lay bare the precarious state of the couple's relationship and assess the likelihood they might stay together for another nine years. The two leads ease back into familiar roles with elan and the script, co-written by Hawke, Delpy and Linklater, rings true at every turn as relationships unravel at the seams. The Peloponnese peninsula provides a stunning backdrop to the soul-searching and turmoil.

Rating: ****

Released

Now You See Me (Cert 12, 116 mins, Entertainment One, Thriller/Action/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Melanie Laurent, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman.

Close-up conjurer Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), escapologist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), mentalist Merrit McKinney (Woody Harrelson) and street magician Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) each receive a Tarot card invitation to a meeting in New York. As instructed, the quartet arrives at an apartment where a dazzling light show reveals an illusion that will stun the world. One year later, Daniel, Henley, Merrit and Jack are reborn as The Four Horsemen. In front of a live audience, they select an audience member at random and magically raid millions from a bank vault in Paris to the amazement of their sponsor Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) and renowned sceptic Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman). Within hours, the performers are under arrest and facing interrogation by FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol agent Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent). Now You See Me is a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between four crowd-pleasing Las Vegas illusionists and the FBI. Eisenberg, Fisher, Harrelson and Franco relish the sniping banter between their characters, who always seem to be one step ahead of the authorities. Action scenes are orchestrated at full pelt including an explosive car chase. The three screenwriters hold all the aces and for the opening 30 minutes, their collective sleight of hand dazzles and intrigues in equal measure. Alas, when it comes to the grand final illusion which takes up most of the second hour, director Louis Leterrier doesn't play entirely fair. He untethers the plot from plausibility and logic, allowing everything to teeter risibly on coincidence, physical improbability and outrageous good fortune.

Rating: ***

Snitch (Cert 15, 112 mins, Entertainment One, Thriller/Action/Romance, also available to buy DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £19.99)

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jon Bernthal, Barry Pepper, Susan Sarandon, Rafi Gavron, Michael K Williams, Benjamin Bratt, Melina Kanakaredes, Nadine Velazquez.

Construction firm manager John Matthews (Dwayne Johnson) left his first wife Sylvie (Melina Kanakaredes) to begin afresh with Analisa (Nadine Velazquez). Out of the blue, John receives a panicked telephone call from Sylvie: their son Jason Collins (Rafi Gavron) has been arrested in possession of enough narcotics to earn him a decade behind bars. US attorney Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), who hopes to be re-elected on an anti-drugs platform, is sympathetic to John's pleas for leniency but is unmoved. In desperation, John bargains for his son's freedom in exchange for going undercover to bring down a drugs cartel controlled by Juan Carlos Pintera (Benjamin Bratt) aka El Topo. Thanks to an ex-con (Jon Bernthal) on the construction firm's payroll, John makes a connection to local dealer Malik (Michael K Williams), who in turn leads to El Topo. Snitch is an action thriller inspired by real events, which fails to get us hooked. Writer-director Ric Roman Waugh's script, co-written by Justin Haythe, fails to tug heart strings and there's a complete absence of jeopardy. At no point do we fear John will be injured let alone killed by the ruthless criminal fraternity he intends to bring down. Waugh competently orchestrates the action sequences including a confusing finale that descends into an explosive bloodbath. Johnson is cast in his familiar role as a gung-ho hero. John is sketched in broad strokes so we understand his desire to risk everything, including his happiness with Analisa, for the sake of his boy. Sarandon and Pepper are wasted in two-dimensional roles, but chew scenery when required.

Rating: ***

The Bling Ring (Cert 15, 91 mins, Studio Canal, Comedy/Drama, also available to buy DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £22.99)

Starring: Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Claire Julien, Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga.

Self-conscious loner Marc (Israel Broussard) nervously arrives at his new high school and is delighted when fashion-label queen Rebecca (Katie Chang) takes him under her wing and initiates him into her coterie of couture-conscious teens comprising Chloe (Claire Julien), Nicki (Emma Watson) and Sam (Taissa Farmiga). Rebecca follows Paris Hilton's every move and when she learns the headline-grabbing socialite will be out of town to host a high profile party, Rebecca encourages Marc to find Hilton's LA address so they can break in and rifle through her wardrobe. When the police fail to come a-knocking after their first raid, Rebecca and Marc make repeated nocturnal visits to the homes of other celebrities including Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom and Lindsay Lohan with the rest of their gang in tow. Inspired by a 2010 feature in Vanity Fair magazine entitled The Suspects Wore Louboutins, The Bling Ring observes the characters with cool detachment, including a terrific single static shot of Marc and Rebecca dashing from one room to the next of Audrina Patridge's swanky home, stuffing duffel bags with high value items. Writer-director Sofia Coppola creates a film that is just as plastic and emotionally hollow as the protagonists. Her intentional reluctance to form any emotional bonds with the teenagers makes it difficult for us to care one iota about them. By a similar token, celebrities who leave their homes unlocked hardly warrant our crocodile tears. As a resident of the culture she seems to be criticising, Coppola imposes no clear moral judgement on her characters. She bares her polished teeth, smiles, but doesn't bite.

Rating: ***

Also released

Call Girl (Cert 15, 140 mins, Artificial Eye, Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £15.99 - see below)

Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night (Cert 15, 104 mins, Studio Canal, Comedy/Horror, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99 - see below)

Rapture-Palooza (Cert 15, 85 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, Comedy/Romance, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99 - see below)

Stand Up Guys (Cert 15, 95 mins, Entertainment In Video, Comedy/Drama/Romance/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99 - see below)

Twixt (Cert 15, 88 mins, Metrodome Distribution, Horror/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £12.99 - see below)

New to buy on DVD/Blu-ray

Supernatural - The Complete Eighth Season (Cert 15, 931 mins, Warner Home Video, DVD £39.99/Seasons 1-8 DVD Box Set £79.99/Blu-ray £49.99/Seasons 1-8 Blu-ray Box Set £89.99, Horror/Drama)

Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki) escapes from Purgatory and reunites with his brother Sam (Jensen Ackles) in the opening episode of the eighth series of the popular supernatural drama. They pursue Kevin Tran (Osric Chau), who escaped from Crowley (Mark A Sheppard), and is on the run for his life. Meanwhile, Castiel (Misha Collins) attempts to atone for his sins and mysterious angel Naomi (Amanda Tapping) then possesses Castiel and dispatches her puppet to kill Dean and seize the angel tablet. A hefty 32-disc box set comprising all eight series is also available.

Doctor Who - The Complete Seventh Series (Cert 12, 675 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, DVD £49.99/Blu-ray £55.99, Sci-Fi/Drama/Thriller/Romance)

With a special 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who entitled The Day Of The Doctor due next month, fans can relive all 14 episodes of the last series on this five-disc box set. Trusty companions Amy (Karen Gillan) and Rory (Arthur Darvill) bid farewell to the timelord (Matt Smith) after being kidnapped by the Daleks and kicking up their spurs in the Wild West. A new sidekick, Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman), is introduced, and in the series finale she glimpses previous incarnations of the timelord and encounters a diabolical new adversary called the Whisper Men.

Community - The Complete Fourth Season (Cert 15, 267 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, DVD £24.99/The Complete First Four Seasons DVD Box Set £59.99, Comedy/Romance)

Thirteen offbeat episodes of the comedy centred on the eccentric and quirky students of a college study group including smooth-talking former lawyer, Jeff (Joel McHale), who originally formed the group as a pretence to spend more time with Britta (Gillian Jacobs). This series, Dean Laybourn (John Goodman) is upset when Chang (Ken Jeong) returns to Greendale as an amnesiac called Kevin, Abed (Danny Pudi) struggles to come to terms with the end of his time at the college and Annie (Alison Brie) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) spark a not so friendly rivalry in the race to become class valedictorian. A 13-disc set comprising all four series is also available.

Mademoiselle C (Cert 12, 93 mins, Studio Canal, DVD £19.99, Documentary)

Traipsing down a similar narrative catwalk to The September Issue, Fabien Constant's glossy documentary is a love letter to Carin Roitfeld, the highly influential editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris who decided to sever her ties with the magazine in 2010 to set up her own magazine CR Fashion Book with her gregarious creative director, Stephen Gans. Through the lens of Constant's camera, we go backstage with Roitfeld as she rubs padded shoulders with Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld and Donatella Versace, models Karolina Kurkova and Kate Upton and celebrity admirers including Sarah Jessica Parker to bring her indefatigable sense of style to the lucrative and fiercely competitive fashion publishing industry.

Stand Up Guys (Cert 15, 95 mins, Entertainment In Video, DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99, Comedy/Drama/Romance/Action)

After 28 years behind bars for a botched heist, Val (Al Pacino) is finally granted parole and he swaggers out of jail into a warm welcome from his only friend and former partner-in-crime, Doc (Christopher Walken). The two men reminisce as Val re-acclimatises to life on the outside, which includes a visit to the brothel run by Wendy (Lucy Punch), a late night raid on a pharmacy for Viagra pills and a reunion with old getaway driver Hirsch (Alan Arkin). As an eventful night unfolds, Val comes to terms with the fact that he is a dead man walking and that gangland boss Claphands (Mark Margolis) will have hired someone to put a bullet in his head in revenge for the death of his son. The only question that remains is: who has been paid handsomely to pull the trigger?

Saving Hope - The Complete First Season (Cert 15, 572 mins, Entertainment One, DVD £29.99, Drama/Romance)

Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) is Chief Of Surgery at Hope-Zion Hospital in Toronto, where he works alongside his beautiful surgeon fiancee, Alex Reid (Erica Durance). En route to their wedding, Charlie and Alex are involved in a horrific car crash. The groom is left in a coma while Alex eventually returns to work, waiting patiently for the man she loves to regain consciousness. She is unaware that Charlie's spirit is free to leave his body and wander the hospital corridors, providing guidance where it is most needed. The four-disc set includes all 13 episodes.

Camp 14: Total Control Zone (Cert E, 104 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, DVD £17.99, Documentary/Animation)

Located about 80 kilometres north of Pyongyang and measuring 500 square kilometres, Camp 14 is a holding station for 40,000 political prisoners. Inside, there are coal mines, farms, ceramic and textile factories, and prisoners work tirelessly on meagre rations at the mercy of wardens who dole out vicious beatings. Shin Dong-Huyk grew up in Camp 14 as the son of two prisoners and was forced into hard labour at the age of six-years-old. Separated from the outside world by barbed wire fences, he escaped 17 years later with the help of an older prisoner and ventured through North Korea, China and South Korea - worlds that are alien to him. Documentary filmmaker Marc Wiese looks back at Dong-Huyk's extraordinary life using animated sequences to relive pivotal memories, enhanced by first-hand testimonies from two camp officers.

Love, Marilyn (Cert 15, 107 mins, Studio Canal, DVD £19.99, Documentary)

More than half a century after her death, which continues to spark conspiracy theories, Marilyn Monroe remains one of the most glittering icons of the silver screen. That mystique was enhanced in 2010 with the publication of the non-fiction book Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters, which brought together two boxes of her diaries, poems and letters discovered by chance in the home of her acting coach, Lee Strasberg. Documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus intercuts readings of these private thoughts by actors, journalists and critics with archive footage of the people who worked with Monroe and knew her best. The film includes contributions from F Murray Abraham, Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Paul Giamatti, Lindsay Lohan, Uma Thurman and Marisa Tomei.

Low Winter Sun - Complete Series One (Cert 15, 412 mins, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DVD £39.99/Blu-ray £49.99, Drama/Thriller)

Based on the 2006 British miniseries of the same name, Low Winter Sun is a 10-part US drama about a Detroit homicide detective who reluctantly decides to break the law in order to exact revenge. Frank Agnew (Mark Strong) is a good cop, who always plays by the rules in his pursuit of justice. However, when his girlfriend is slain and the culprit appears to be fellow detective, Brendan McCann (Michael McGrady), Frank vows to do whatever it takes to make McCann suffer. Frank aligns himself with McCann's former partner Joe Geddes (Lennie James) but as the diabolical plan comes into effect, Frank begins to question Geddes's motives for wanting his former partner dead.

Would I Lie To You? - Series 6 (Cert 15, 270 mins, Front Row Home Entertainment, DVD £24.99, Comedy)

Rob Brydon hosts the light-hearted BBC panel show in which team captains Lee Mack and David Mitchell and their guests must attempt to pass off little white lies as the truth and double bluff the opposition into believing their fibs. Celebrities who attempt to conceal the truth this series include Clare Balding, Rhod Gilbert, Armando Iannucci, Sarah Millican, Des O'Connor and Chris Tarrant.

Silence (Cert PG, 87 mins, New Wave Films, DVD £15.99, Drama)

Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhride co-writes and stars in this haunting drama that relies on sound as much as imagery to convey emotion. Directed by Pat Collins, Silence centres on sound recordist Eoghan, who left Ireland 15 years ago to pursue his career. A job offer draws him back to his homeland, where he has been asked to travel to remote towns and villages, searching for locations completely devoid of man-made noise. As Eoghan roams these far flung communities, he meets locals whose stories of triumph and woe move him, and distract him from the task at hand. These reminiscences also compel Eoghan to reflect on everyone and everything he left behind.

Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night (Cert 15, 104 mins, Studio Canal, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Comedy/Horror)

Based on Tiziano Sclavi's comics, Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night is a comedy horror set in New Orleans, which chronicles the adventures of the titular paranormal investigator. Dylan (Brandon Routh) is hired by rival clans of vampires, werewolves and zombies to maintain the status quo between the creatures of the night, hunting down any rogue elements which threaten the fragile truce. When it becomes clear that war is imminent and dark supernatural forces are going to be unleashed upon the unsuspecting city, Dylan joins forces with his friends Elizabeth (Anita Briem) and Marcus (Sam Huntington) to search for an ancient artefact that holds the key to averting a bloody conflict.

I Do (Cert 15, 91 mins, Peccadillo Pictures, DVD £15.99, Drama/Romance)

Following the death of his brother, British photographer Jack (David W Ross) moves to New York to care for his niece Tara (Jessica Tyler Brown) and sister-in-law Mya (Alicia Witt). His career flourishes and he puts down roots in his new home in the Big Apple. When his green card runs out, the law dictates that he must leave the country to reapply for a visa to stay. To avoid leaving his home, Jack asks lesbian friend Ali (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) to become his wife and they tie the knot to ensure the photographer can remain in America. However, the sham marriage feels the strain when Jack falls in love with Spanish architect Mano (Maurice Compte) and must keep his sexuality secret from the authorities, who could deport him.

Five Dances (Cert 18, 83 mins, TLA Releasing, DVD £15.99, Drama/Romance)

Alan brown writes and directs this sensitively handled coming of age story, set in the ranks of a modern dance company in New York City. Chip (Ryan Steele) is an aspiring dancer from a small town in the Midwest, who must leave home and his troubled life to chase his dreams. He arrives in the Big Apple with high hopes of impressing the troupe's artistic director, and Chip embraces the rigorous training regime. His focus is distracted by dance partner Theo (Reed Luplau) and as his feelings for Theo deepen, Chip is forced to confront a far greater challenge than simply mastering the physical demands of his dance.

Call Girl (Cert 15, 140 mins, Artificial Eye, DVD £15.99, Drama/Romance)

Set in 1970s Stockholm and directed by Mikael Marcimain, Call Girl is a controversial and gritty drama, reportedly based on true events, which exposes vice and corruption at the blackened heart of the capital city's upper echelons of power. Fourteen-year-old Iris (Sofia Karemyr) and her friend Sonja (Josefin Asplund) are two youngsters at the mercy of the country's care home system. The girls make the most of their grim circumstances, drinking and smoking at parties where they tantalise men by removing their clothes. Notorious brothel madam Dagmar Glans (Pernilla August) recruits Iris and Sonja to her coterie of young women, who earn vast sums of money as high-class prostitutes. While the teenagers rise up the ranks and gain a devoted client base, tenacious young detective John Sandberg (Simon J Berger) embarks on a personal crusade to bring down Dagmar's sex ring and save the girls from a life of degradation and exploitation.

Twixt (Cert 15, 88 mins, Metrodome Distribution, DVD £12.99, Horror/Thriller)

Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern and Elle Fanning star in this supernatural horror written and directed by Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola. Hall Baltimore (Kilmer) is a mystery writer, whose career has taken a nosedive. Following the publication of a new work, he embarks on a tour of bookstores including a visit to a supposedly haunted town. In this spooky community, Hall becomes actively involved in a murder case, which could provide the inspiration for his next book. As the shocking truth about the murder unravels, Hall realises that he might be personally connected to the case and its bloody aftermath.

Our Children (Cert 15, 111 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Drama/Romance)

Inspired by chilling real-life events, Our Children is a haunting portrait of one woman's mental decline and a random act of violence that tears her entire family apart. Belgian schoolteacher Murielle (Emilie Dequenne) falls madly in love with handsome Moroccan immigrant Mounir (Tahar Rahim). They move in together in the house that Mounir shares with his mentor and sponsor, Doctor Pinget (Niels Arestrup), who married Mounir's sister in order to secure a visa to live in France. Murielle and Mounir begin to raise a family and at first they are blissfully happy, supported by Pinget's generosity. However, the wife begins to notice the influence that the medic exerts over his protege and meets resistance when she suggests that she and Mounir should find their own dwelling. When Murielle prepares to give birth to a fourth child, tensions between the wife and the two men are painfully evident and the emotionally shattered mother looks to a psychiatrist (Nathalie Boutefeu) to help her cling on to her sanity.

Father Figure (Cert 15, 168 mins, BBC DVD, DVD £19.99, Comedy/Romance)

Irish stand-up Jason Byrne writes and stars in this six-part BBC One sitcom about a stay-at-home father, whose parenting skills leave a lot to be desired. While his boozy wife Elaine (Karen Taylor) holds down a full-time job, husband Tom (Byrne) assumes full-time care of their sons Dylan (Matthew Fenton) and Drew (Alexander Aze). Ignoring the advice of his meddlesome parents Pat (Dermot Crowley) and Mary (Pauline McLynn), Tom blunders from one disaster to the next, leaving chaos in his wake.

Rapture-Palooza (Cert 15, 85 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Comedy/Romance)

Armageddon looms, just as The Bible predicted, and The Devil (Craig Robinson) prepares to claim the souls of the wicked and the damned. Resourceful teenagers Lindsey (Anna Kendrick) and Ben (John Francis Daley) become annoyed that the impending annihilation of mankind is disrupting their day-to-day lives so they tackle the problem head on by disrupting The Devil's schemes. With the battle between good and evil finely balanced, Ben comes up with a masterstroke: set Lindsey up on a hot date, literally with the Antichrist.

Ghost Shark (Cert 15, 84 mins, Signature Entertainment, DVD £14.99/Blu-ray £17.99, Horror/Thriller)

It's not safe to go back into the water, any water, in Griff Furst's low-budget made-for-TV horror. A great white shark disrupts the haul of a group of fishermen and the enraged seadogs retaliate by slaying the predator. Unwittingly, the men unleash the spirit of the shark upon the nearby seaside town of Smallport and the beast manifests in any body of water large enough to support its frame in order to hunt the terrified locals. Plucky youngsters Ava (Mackenzie Rosman), Cicely (Sloane Coe) and Blaise (Dave Davis) witness the shark's first kill and try to warn the authorities about the ghostly great white but their words fall on deaf ears. So the plucky trio joins forces with drunken lighthouse keeper Finch (Richard Moll) to end the bloodbath.

Unidentified (Cert 15, 88 mins, Metrodome Distribution, DVD £12.99, Sci-Fi/Thriller)

Dave (Colton Dunn), Jeremy (Parry Shen), Jodie (Eric Artell) and Nick (Eddie Mui) accrue sizeable debts with a Las Vegas loan shark and expect a beating when they can't pay up. Instead, the quartet wake in the Nevada desert far from the strip and come to the conclusion that they must have escaped retribution. When Dave, Jeremy, Jodie and Nick subsequently stumble upon a piece of otherworldly metal then experience unexpected phenomena, they begin to wonder if they have had a close encounter of a far more deadly kind than a brush with their loan shark.

DVD retail top 10

1 (9) The Jungle Book

2 (2) Breaking Bad - Season 1-4

3 (-) Wreck-It Ralph

4 (-) Behind the Candelabra

5 (-) Brave

6 (-) World War Z

7 (3) Epic

8 (2) Breaking Bad - Season 5

9 (1) Homeland - Season 2

10 (6) Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred

Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk

DVD rental top 10

1 (1) Jack The Giant Slayer

2 (2) Identity Thief

3 (3) Iron Man 3

4 (4) Cloud Atlas

5 (5) Olympus Has Fallen

6 (6) Star Trek: Into Darkness

7 (7) Mud

8 (8) Lincoln

9 (9) A Good Day To Die Hard

10 (10) Zero Dark Thirty

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com

Film streaming top 10

1 (1) Friends with Benefits

2 (2) The Princes And The Frog

3 (5) Barbie - Princess Charm School

4 (3) The Smurfs

5 (-) Rise of the Planet of the Apes

6 (-) Straw Dogs

7 (6) The Perks of Being a Wallflower

8 (-) I Give It A Year

9 (-) Mr Popper's Penguins

10 (9) Tinker bell

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com