DVD Review - November 16

By Damon Smith

New to rent on DVD/Blu-ray

DVD of the week

Monsters University (Cert U, 111 mins, Disney DVD, Animation/Family/Comedy/Action, also available to buy DVD £18.99/2 Movie Collection DVD Box Set £25.99/Blu-ray £22.99/3D Blu-ray £25.99/2 Movie Collection DVD Box Set £28.99)

Featuring the voices of: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Nathan Fillion, Helen Mirren, Steve Buscemi, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day.

Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) excitedly heads off to university to realise his dream of becoming a scarer. He befriends shy roommate Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi) and impresses his teachers by regurgitating facts from textbooks. However, classmate James P Sullivan aka Sulley (John Goodman) gets all of the attention and is courted by the Roar Omega Roar fraternity and its dashing president, Johnny Worthington (Nathan Fillion). Eventually, Mike snaps and declares war on Sulley: "I am going to scare circles around you this year!" The rivals' fates rest on an end-of-term exam, which must be passed or Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) will expel them from the course. Monsters University boasts the same appealing cocktail of comedy, action and touching friendship as its predecessor, Monsters, Inc., including some lively supporting performances. Dialogue zings and Crystal and Goodman ease back into their roles as if they were putting on a favourite pair of slippers. The script conceals few surprises - we know Mike and Sulley must end up friends - but there are some pleasing narrative detours, and the rivalry with Mirren's authoritarian creates a frisson of dramatic tension. Visuals are stunning but the prequel does lack one stand-out action sequence. The 3D version of the film is only available on Blu-ray but both home formats include Saschka Unseld's delightful six-minute short film, The Blue Umbrella, which recounts the first flushes of romance between blue and red umbrellas on a rain-lashed city street in dazzling photorealistic animation. A two-disc set comprising Monsters, Inc. and the prequel is also available.

Rating: ****

Released

The Great Gatsby (Cert 12, 143 mins, Warner Home Video, Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99/3D Blu-ray £26.99/Limited Edition Steelbook 3D Blu-ray £28.99)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Amitabh Bachchan.

Mysterious war hero Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) lives in a bay-side mansion with a menagerie of servants, who help him throw the most extravagant parties for the whole of New York. Lowly stockbroker Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), who lives next door, is drawn into Gatsby's orbit and falls under his neighbour's spell. As the stockbroker is granted admission to the millionaire's inner circle, he discovers heartbreak in Gatsby's past linked to Nick's cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan), who lives across the bay with her philandering husband, Tom (Joel Edgerton). Past and present collide and jealousy poisons friendships, pitting Tom against Gatsby for Daisy's brittle affections. The Great Gatsby is a visually sumptuous and overlong adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald. Baz Luhrmann's film is a razzle dazzle of gorgeous costumes, jaw-dropping set design and directorial brio that effortlessly evokes the excesses of swinging 1920s New York. Whirling camerawork and explosions of retina-searing colour embolden every impeccably crafted frame, bejewelled with dream-bubble flashbacks, slow-motion swoops and a blizzard of typewriter letters that fall into the words of the voiceover narration. DiCaprio inhabits his central role with conviction but sparks of screen chemistry with an expertly coiffed Mulligan fail to ignite. Relative newcomer Debicki is far more captivating, shimmying through every frame with a twinkle in her eye that is missing from the rest of the cast. Rip away the luxurious and gaudy packaging, and The Great Gatsby is reduced to an emotionally undernourished romance that fails to tug the heartstrings even with Craig Armstrong's score swelling and swooning in all of the right places.

Rating: ***

Pacific Rim (Cert 12, 131 mins, Warner Home Video, Sci-Fi/Action/Thriller/Comedy, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99/3D Blu-ray £26.99/Limited Edition Steelbook 3D Blu-ray £28.99)

Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr, Ron Perlman, Diego Klattenhoff.

Alien creatures known as Kaiju emerge from a temporal rift in the sea floor. Humanity responds by creating Jaegers - 25-storey tall robots operated by two pilots - whose minds are melded by a neural link known as The Drift. Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and older brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff) are ace pilots of the American robot Gipsy Danger, but their run of victories comes to a tragic end at the claws of one particularly vicious Kaiju. Five years later, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba), commander of the Pan Pacific Defense Corp, approaches Raleigh to step back inside the Gipsy Danger with a new co-pilot. Ballsy protegee Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), who is battling private demons, proves a perfect match and she could swing the balance of power back in favour of mankind. Pacific Rim is a sci-fi action adventure that takes a simple premise - giant robots versus gargantuan aliens - and expands that idea into a soulless exercise in technological might over emotional matter. Director Guillermo Del Toro concentrates on digital effects and thunderous action sequences at the expense of the characters and relationships. Hunnam is a bland, all-American hero, who dutifully flashes his naked torso in early scenes to create a spark of sexual tension with Kikuchi. Regrettably, their on-screen chemistry is inert. The script, co-written by Travis Beacham, is a wasteland of two-dimensional characters and hoary cliches, replete with an obligatory stirring call to arms against the extra-terrestrial invaders. Grown men pump their fists in the air, whoop and holler, energised by the titanic battle that lies ahead. We're considerably less impressed.

Rating: **

The Internship (Cert 12, 114 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Comedy/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne, Aasif Mandvi, Josh Brener, Dylan O'Brien, Tiya Sircar, Tobit Raphael, Max Minghella, Josh Gad, John Goodman.

Watch salesmen Billy (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are stunned when their company goes out of business. "Watches are obsolete. So are you!" laments their boss (John Goodman). Unperturbed, Billy applies for an internship at a global brand and the two men are delighted to sail through a video conference interview. Arriving on the west coast, Billy and Nick discover they will be pitted against dozens of other applicants in team-based challenges that will weed out the mental wheat from the chaff. The buddies are paired with oddballs Neha Patel (Tiya Sircar), Stuart Twombly (Dylan O'Brien) and Yo-Yo Santos (Tobit Raphael), who are mentored by lovable geek Lyle (Josh Brener). From the very first assignment, Billy and Nick's team fails to impress Mr Chetty (Aasif Mandvi), who runs the internship program, but every underdog has its day. Shot on location at the San Francisco corporate headquarters of an internet search engine, The Internship is a glossy promo for a new generation of hi-tech companies that inspire creativity by transforming workspaces into playgrounds. Shawn Levy's buddy comedy has a smattering of laughs but increasingly becomes clogged with sickly sentiment. Vaughn and Wilson share likeable onscreen rapport, and the latter sparks with Rose Byrne in a throwaway romantic subplot. The central narrative feels like it could have been generated by a computer from the keywords 'misfits', 'triumph' and 'adversity'. Some of the gags wear thin very quickly, like Billy repeatedly saying "on the line" instead of online. We're tempted to log off before the two hours are up.

Rating: **

Also released

Easy Money (Cert 15, 125 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, Thriller/Romance/Action, also available to buy DVD £17.99 - see below)

Foxfire: Confessions Of A Girl Gang (Cert 15, 144 mins, Artificial Eye, Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £15.99 - see below)

A Magnificent Haunting (Cert 15, 101 mins, Peccadillo Pictures, Drama/Romance/Comedy, also available to buy DVD £12.99 - see below)

New to buy on DVD/Blu-ray

Downton Abbey - Series Four (Cert 12, 350 mins, Universal/Playback, DVD £29.99/Complete Collection DVD Box Set £49.99/Blu-ray £34.99/Complete Collection Blu-ray Box Set £54.99)

Life must go on for Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) as she comes to terms with the death of her beloved Matthew in these eight episodes of the award-winning ITV1 drama. Head housemaid Anna (Joanne Froggatt) is the victim of a shocking attack and when valet Bates (Brendan Coyle) discovers why she shies from his touch, he hungers for revenge. Meanwhile, Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) makes an agonising decision, Alfred (Matt Milne) hopes to become at trainee chef at The Ritz and the imperious Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith) continues to dispense her pithy words of wisdom. A 15-disc box set comprising all four series is also available.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Extended Edition) (Cert 12, 175 mins, Warner Home Video, DVD £24.99/3D Blu-ray £29.99/Limited Edition Steelbook 3D Blu-ray £34.99, Fantasy/Action/Drama/Comedy)

Before we're treated to the cinema release of The Hobbit: Desolation Of Smaug on December 13, an extended version of the first salvo in Peter Jackson's trilogy arrives on home formats promising 13 minutes of additional footage and nine hours of bonus content. Wise wizard Gandalf The Grey (Sir Ian McKellen) recruits Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) to join a 13-strong company of dwarves who intend to reclaim their lost gold from the dragon Smaug in his mountain lair. Excitedly, Bilbo accompanies dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and his troops - Bifur (William Kircher), Bofur (James Nesbitt), Bombur (Stephen Hunter), Balin (Ken Stott), Dwalin (Graham McTavish), Fili (Dean O'Gorman), Kili (Aidan Turner), Dori (Mark Hadlow), Nori (Jed Brophy), Ori (Adam Brown), Gloin (Peter Hambleton), Oin (John Callen) and Thror (Jeffrey Thomas) - on a perilous mission. En route, the brave souls encounter allies including Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Elrond (Hugo Weaving) as well as the wretched Gollum (Andy Serkis). However, the dwarves must not be distracted from the task at hand because they need to muster their courage to defeat the mighty dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch).

Smash - Season Two (Cert 12, 697 mins, Universal Playback, DVD £24.99, Musical/Drama/Romance)

Personal rivalries have devastating consequences in the second series of the US musical drama, charting the rise and fall of the cast and crew of hit musical Bombshell, which chronicles the turbulent life of Marilyn Monroe. This series, formidable producer Eileen Rand (Anjelica Huston) races against time to secure funding for the show's transfer to Broadway, diva Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) and talented ingenue Karen Cartwright (Katharine McPhee) continue their rivalry, songwriting duo Tom Levitt (Christian Borle) and Julia Houston (Debra Messing) face an uphill battle to rework their musical numbers and the Tony award nominations create friction between one-time allies. The five-disc set includes all 17 episodes.

Derek (Cert 15, 161 mins, 4DVD, DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £21.99, Comedy/Drama)

All six episodes and the pilot of the Channel 4 comedy drama written by and starring Ricky Gervais. Derek Noakes (Gervais) is a middle-aged caregiver with a heart of gold, who always puts other people before himself. So his patients adore him but the other members of staff at Broad Hill nursing home including Hannah (Kerry Godliman) and Dougie (Karl Pilkington) tend to give Derek a wide berth due to his poor social skills and shambolic physical appearance.

Fresh Meat - The Complete Second Series (Cert 15, 315 mins, 4DVD, DVD £24.99/Complete Series 1 & 2 DVD Box Set £29.99, Comedy/Romance)

Six university students - Howard (Greg McHugh), Josie (Kimberley Nixon), JP (Jack Whitehall), Kingsley (Joe Thomas), Oregon (Charlotte Ritchie) and Vod (Zawe Ashton) - return for another term of fun and games in eight episodes of the acclaimed Channel 4 sitcom from the creators of Peep Show. This series, the flatmates welcome Dutch woman Sabine (Jelka van Houten) into the fold and quickly discover that the simplest and smallest things can get lost in translation. A two-disc set comprising both series is also available.

Body Of Proof - The Complete Third Season (Cert 15, 533 mins, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, DVD £22.99/The Complete Collection DVD Box Set £39.99, Drama/Thriller/Romance)

Medical examiner Dr Megan Hunt (Dana Delany) experiences friction when she has to work with her ex-boyfriend, Detective Tommy Sullivan (Mark Valley), in 13 episodes of the US drama. Also this series, Megan's daughter Lacey (Mary Mouser) is kidnapped by a murderer and the mother races against time to save her flesh and blood from an early grave. A seven-disc box set comprising all three series is also available.

Mr Stink (Cert U, 59 mins, BBC DVD, DVD £12.99, Family/Comedy/Drama)

Adapted from David Walliams's children's book of the same name, Mr Stink is a festive fable about kindness and generosity starring Nell Tiger Free as spirited 12-year-old girl Chloe, who doesn't have any friends. One day in the park, she meets a tramp called Mr Stink (Hugh Bonneville) and his dog Duchess, and the girl invites the homeless man to stay in her family's garden shed where it will be considerably warmer than a park bench. At first, Chloe's father (Johnny Vegas) and mother (Sheridan Smith) are horrified to have Mr Stink on their property but the tramp's celebrity spreads and he slowly but surely reunites Chloe's fractured family before embarking on a momentous journey to 10 Downing Street.

Easy Money (Cert 15, 125 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, DVD £17.99, Thriller/Romance/Action)

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Jens Lapidus, Easy Money is a serpentine Nordic thriller about an enterprising social climber, whose desire to gatecrash Sweden's elite eventually lands him in hot water. Johan Westlund (Joel Kinnaman), known as JW to his friends, is a student at the Stockholm School of Economics, who moonlights as a taxi driver in the evenings to finance an expensive fake lifestyle as a fashion-conscious entrepreneur and playboy. At one lavish party, he meets a beautiful and rich socialite, Sophie (Lisa Henni), who is already in a relationship with Carl (Christian Hillborg). As luck would have it, Carl's father is on the board of an investment bank that is in financial trouble so JW uses his charm and academic knowledge to propose a bail-out to save the ailing business. Meanwhile, Abdulkarim (Mahmut Suvakci), who runs the taxi firm, introduces JW to a lucrative yet illegal line of work: delivering cocaine. As JW sinks deeper into the mire, he crosses paths with crime boss Radovan Kranjic (Dejan Cukic) and hit man Mrado Slovovic (Dragomir Mrsic), who puts a bullet in the head of anyone that dares to cross him. An English language remake starring Zac Efron has already been announced.

A Magnificent Haunting (Cert 15, 101 mins, Peccadillo Pictures, DVD £12.99, Drama/Romance/Comedy)

Pietro (Elio Germano) is a 28-year-old gay actor, who arrives in Rome to chase his dreams. Initially, he stays with his cousin Maria (Paola Minaccioni) while holding down a job in a bakery but her snoring and occasional overtures convince Pietro to find a place of his own. He thinks he has hit the jackpot when an estate agent shows him an old apartment with a balcony within his price range. The apartment is too good to be true because Pietro discovers too late that it is haunted by the ghosts of an old theatrical troupe, whose ranks include Beatrice (Vittoria Puccini), Filippo (Beppe Fiorello), Lea (Margherita Buy), Luza (Andrea Bosca) and Yusuf (Cem Yilmaz). Once Pietro overcomes his fear, he grows fond of his spectral flat mates and agrees to help them make contact with a face from the past. In return, they coach Pietro in the finer points of performance so he can make a big impact at a forthcoming audition.

Foxfire: Confessions Of A Girl Gang (Cert 15, 144 mins, Artificial Eye, DVD £15.99, Drama/Romance)

Based on the 1996 film starring Angelina Jolie, adapted from Joyce Carol Oates's award-winning novel, Foxfire chronicles the messy coming of age of five teenage girls living in 1950s upstate New York. Goldie (Claire Mazerolle), Lana (Paige Moyles), Legs (Raven Adamson), Maddy (Katie Coseni) and Rita (Madeleine Bisson) live in a working class neighbourhood controlled by men. The teenagers are poor but are also viewed as the weaker sex by gangs, which rule the mean streets. So Legs decides to form a secret female society called Foxfire, devoted to ending the humiliation and intimidation, so that women might enjoy the same freedoms and privileges as men. It's a noble ideal but the girls quickly learn that every action has a consequence and that living by their own rules comes at a price.

Bill Bailey: Qualmpeddler (Cert 12, 93 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99, Comedy)

Recorded live during his recent tour, Qualmpeddler finds the shaggy-haired stand-up confronting his fears and concerns about 21st-century life including celebrity culture, the perils of text speak, contemporary art, religion and parenting. Bailey also creates some of his trademark musical mash-ups including an ear-catching re-interpretation of the theme tune to the ITV costume drama Downton Abbey in a dubstep stylee.

Kuma (Cert 12, 89 mins, Peccadillo Pictures, DVD £15.99, Drama/Romance)

Fifty-something housewife Fatma (Nihal G Koldas) lives in Vienna, where she tends to six children and her 60-year-old husband Mustafa (Vedat Erincin). She has been diagnosed with cancer and fears for the future of her loved ones if she is not there to take care of them. So Fatma contrives a sham wedding in rural turkey between her 21-year-old son Hasan (Murathan Muslu) and 19-year-old beauty Ayse (Begum Akkaya). The blushing bride then travels to Europe, where she will become a second wife or kuma to Mustafa. Fatma's two older daughters, Kezvan (Alev Imak) and Nurcan, pour scorn on the plan while Hasan cannot bear to be around Ayse. However, the bond between the two wives strengthens and when Fatma undergoes chemotherapy, she relies increasingly on Ayse to hold the family together.

Night Of Silence (Lal Gece) (Cert PG, 92 mins, Drakes Avenue Pictures, DVD £15.99, Drama/Romance)

Reis Celik's haunting drama won the coveted Crystal Bear at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival and chronicles an ancient blood feud between two families in a remote Anatolian village. After years of animosity, the ill feeling is finally laid to rest with an arranged marriage between sixty-something ex-con Damat (Ilyas Salman) from one clan, who has spent decades behind bars for murder, and teenage bride Gelin (Dilan Aksut) from the rival dynasty. Damat and Gelin meet for the first time during the lavish and colourful wedding ceremony then retire to the bridal chamber, where their union must be consummated before sunrise in order to prove her virginity and his virility. As the minutes tick by, the old man and the nervous girl struggle to overcome their shyness and fear, both knowing the terrible repercussions should they not fulfil their nuptial duties.

Shackled (Cert 15, 96 mins, Terracotta Distribution, DVD £14.99, Horror/Thriller)

Upi Avianto writes and directs this Indonesian horror about a loner haunted by strange visions. Elang (Abimana Aryasatya) appears deeply troubled to his friends and neighbours because be claims to be stalked by a man in a rabbit costume. This is only the beginning of Elang's inner turmoil because when his hometown is plague by a series of brutal slayings, he becomes the prime suspect for the heinous crimes. Elang questions if his terrifying dreams of corpses are linked in some way to the murder and he might unwittingly hold the key to apprehending the killer.

DVD retail top 10

1 (-) Now Your See Me

2 (3) Breaking Bad - Season 1-4

3 (-) Supernatural - Season 8

4 (1) World War Z

5 (-) The British and Irish Lions 2013: Lions Raw

6 (4) Iron Man 3

7 (5) Breaking Bad - Season 5

8 (9) The Little Mermaid

9 (-) Mad Men - Season 6

10 (-) Star Trek Into Darkness

Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk

DVD rental top 10

1 (-) Oblivion

2 (-) Behind The Candelabra

3 (-) World War Z

4 (1) Jack The Giant Slayer

5 (4) Cloud Atlas Olympus Has Fallen

6 (-) The Big Wedding

7 (-) Trance Mud

8 (2) Identity Thief

9 (-) After Earth

10 (-) Hummingbird

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com

Film streaming top 10

1 (1) Friends with Benefits

2 (9) Swiss Family Robinson

3 (3) Barbie - Princess Charm School

4 (4) The Smurfs

5 (2) The Princes And The Frog

6 (8) I Give It A Year

7 (5) The Perks of Being a Wallflower

8 (6) Straw Dogs

9 (-) Moneyball

10 (-) SupermanL Red Son Motion Comics

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com