A weekly round-up of the latest DVD releases.

By Damon Smith

New to rent on DVD/Blu-ray

DVD of the week

Upstream Colour (Cert 15, 97 mins, Metrodome Distribution, Drama/Sci-Fi/Romance, also available to buy DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £19.99)

Starring: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Thiago Martins, Andrew Sensenig.

Office worker Kris (Amy Seimetz) is kidnapped and subjected to a strange operation by The Thief (Thiago Martins), who pilfers her life savings and injects her with a parasite, which he has cultivated from orchids. When she eventually wakes from her hallucinogenic stupour, Kris has no recollection of her ordeal. Teetering on the brink of insanity, Kris encounters former stockbroker Jeff (Shane Carruth), who might have been a victim of the same procedure. These two broken spirits find strength in each other's company and they begin a relationship. Kris and Jeff's fates are mysteriously connected to The Sampler (Andrew Sensenig), an experimental sound recordist and pig farmer, who removes the parasitic worm from Kris and transfers it to one of his animals, somehow transplanting fragments of the young woman into the porcine host. Weird is indeed wonderful where Upstream Colour is concerned. Perplexing, beguiling and unforgettable, Carruth's second feature defies categorisation or easy explanation, casting a dreamlike spell with its colour-bleached cinematography and lingering shots of skin and worms. This is Carruth's vision in every sense - as well as donning the three-pointed hat of writer-director-actor, he also produced the film, co-edited every frame and composed the music. It's an uncompromising piece of work that will delight as many people as it infuriates, abandoning the constraints of a linear narrative to ebb and flow in gloriously peculiar directions. Viewers who go with the film will be unable to shake Kris and Jeff's entwined story from their memories for a long time. Understanding it is another matter entirely.

Rating: ****

Also released

Bullet Ballet (Cert 15, 86 mins, Third Window, Thriller/Romance, also available to buy DVD £14.99/Blu-ray £19.99 - see below)

The Cat (Cert 15, 104 mins, Matchbox Films, Horror/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £15.99)

New to buy on DVD/Blu-ray

Trollied - Complete Series 3 (Cert 15, 334 mins, Fremantle Media, DVD £24.99, Comedy/Drama)

Starring: Jane Horrocks, Jason Watkins, Chris Geere, Mark Addy, Nick Blood, Carl Rice, Beverly Rudd, Adeel Akhtar, Danny Kirrane, Dominic Coleman, Elizabeth Bower

Gavin (Jason Watkins), manager of Valco, and deputy manager Julie (Jane Horrocks) are horrified when youthful and ambitious director of strategy, Richard France (Chris Geere), takes charge. "Big is the new small," he professes and it transpires that Richard will oversee the transformation of the Warrington branch into a Valco Better superstore. The tug of war between Richard and Gavin creates friction, reflected on the butcher counter where Andy (Mark Addy) makes a bold decision about his future that could also impact colleague Kieran (Nick Blood). Fishmonger Ray (Adeel Akhtar) has to contend with an exuberant newcomer Dave (Danny Kirrane) at his station, while shelf stacker Colin (Carl Rice) and checkout girl Lisa (Beverly Rudd) excitedly plan their wedding. Conversely, kiosk assistant Neville (Dominic Coleman) is coming to terms with divorce and Julie must grit her teeth to induct Gavin's new Spanish girlfriend, Anna (Elizabeth Bower). Sadly, third time is not a charm for Sky1 sitcom Trollied, which debuted in 2011. These 13 episodes, plus the festive special which was broadcast on Christmas Eve, indicate a series on its last legs, not least with the mid-season departure of Addy, who was one of the show's shining stars. New additions to the Valco ranks are largely irritating and tend to distract from the emotional core - the relationship between Watkins and Horrocks, both gifted comedy actors who deserve far better than any of these scripts deliver.

Rating: **

Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty (Cert E, 140 mins, Decca, DVD £14.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Musical/Romance)

Matthew Bourne is one of the most celebrated choreographers working today, creating imaginative re-workings of fairy-tales and films with his dance company New Adventures. Recorded live at Sadler's Wells in London, this staging of Tchaikovsky's ballet is set initially in 1890 and moves to 1911 when Beauty pricks her finger and falls into a 100-year sleep. She rouses from her slumber in the contemporary world and discovers that she has lost everyone and everything she once held dear.

The Cat (Cert 15, 104 mins, Matchbox Films, Horror/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £15.99)

So-yeun (Park Min-young) is a lonely pet shop worker, who seeks comfort in the animals in her care. When one of So-yeun's clients is found dead in an apartment block elevator, she doesn't think twice about adopting the deceased customer's cat. However, the feline's arrival coincides with terrifying visions of a little girl and So-yeun comes to the startling realisation that the animal must be linked to the client's death. So she joins forces with her good friend, Joon Suk (Kim Dong-wook), to investigate the history of the cat.

Two Mothers (Cert 15, 72 mins, TLA Releasing, DVD £15.99, Drama/Romance)

Anne Zohra Berrached directs and co-writes this hard-hitting drama about a lesbian couple, who face tough challenges when they decide to start a family. Katja (Sabine Wolf) and Isabella (Karina Plachetka) are happily married and hope to take their relationship to the next level by raising a child. So they search for a suitable sperm donor but the process is more difficult and emotionally draining than either woman expects. With each passing month, Katja and Isabella seem to face more bureaucratic hurdles and their marriage founders under the strain.

Bullet Ballet (Cert 15, 86 mins, Third Window, DVD £14.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Thriller/Romance)

A re-issue of Shin'ya Tsukamoto's brooding thriller, in which the actor-director assumes the lead role. Goda (Tsukamoto) is devastated when Kiriko (Kyoka Suzuki), his girlfriend of 10 years, commits suicide by a gunshot to the head. Japan is subject to strict laws and acquiring a handgun would require underworld contacts. So Goda descends into a world of treachery and brutality, finding himself in the midst of gang warfare that throws up uncomfortable questions about Kiriko's demise.

Il Bidone (Cert 12, 113 mins, Eureka!, Blu-ray & DVD combi-pack £19.99, Drama)

A welcome re-release of Federico Fellini's celebrated 1955 drama, his follow-up to La Strada, set in a world of ruthless con men and tricksters. Augusto (Broderick Crawford), Picasso (Richard Basehart) and Roberto (Franco Fabrizi) survive by engineering scams on the poor and the gullible. Their dog-eat-dog existence is challenged to the core when Picasso's wife Iris (Giulietta Masina) loses patience with her spouse and Augusto is unexpectedly reunited with his estranged daughter Anna (Sue Ellen Blake), who reminds him of the happiness he has let slip through his fingers.

Fitness DVD special

Here is a round-up of some of the high-profile fitness and keep-fit DVDs available this Christmas, all promising to get you back in shape after the excesses of the festive season...

Davina: Fit In 15 (Cert E, 90 mins, 2entertain, DVD £19.99, Special Interest)

No longer the queen of Big Brother, but Davina McCall continues to reign supreme when it comes to fitness DVDs and this year's offering continues to appeal to viewers who want to keep fit but don't have lots of spare time to achieve a perfect physique. These five routines - Cardio 15, Legs 15, Arms 15, Core 15 and Stretch And Chillout - concentrate on different areas for quarter of an hour and can be combined to provide an intense daily workout.

Josie Gibson's 21 Day Fat Burn (Cert E, 82 mins, 2entertain, DVD £19.99, Special Interest)

In her follow-up to last year's 30 Second Slim, which revealed the high-intensity interval training that helped Gibson shed three stone and drop five dress sizes, the 2010 winner of Big Brother hosts a DVD designed to shed weight in 21 days, comprising three workouts to increase your metabolic rate, tone muscle and burn fat, plus a Fitness Test to help viewers keep track of their progress over the three weeks.

Kenya Moore: Booty Boot Camp (Cert E, 90 mins, Acorn Media, DVD £15.99, Special Interest)

On the reality TV series The Real Housewives Of Atlanta, former Miss USA Moore is keen to show off her curvaceous figure. On this DVD, she presents three body-sculpting workouts designed to burn fat and produce a rounded, pert posterior that will draw attention for all of the right reasons.

Natalie Cassidy: The Perfect Ten (Cert E, 90 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, DVD £19.99, Special Interest)

Best known as long-suffering Sonia Fowler on EastEnders, actress Cassidy proudly demonstrates the fitness regime she follows to maintain her size 10 frame, including fat-blasting workouts that claim to produce long-lasting results.

Tabata: The Official Workout (Cert E, 60 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, DVD £19.99, Special Interest)

Created by Japanese scientist Izumi Tabata, this new fitness regime claims that short, sharp bursts of intense exercise performed over four minutes can be better than an hour of cardio to improve the body's calorie-burning capabilities. This DVD showcases high-intensity interval training with warm-up and cool-down exercises.

Tracy Anderson: The Method For Beginners (Cert E, 60 mins, Anchor Bay, DVD £19.99, Special Interest)

Renowned as the personal trainer who helps Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Shakira stay in shape, Tracy Anderson goes back to basics with two 30-minute total body workouts designed to kick-start weight loss and produce visible results in just 30 days.

Vicky Pattison's 7 Day Slim (Cert E, 90 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, DVD £19.99, Special Interest)

Pattinson is one of the stars of reality TV series Geordie Shores and she has managed to lose three stone and drop five dress sizes. This workout DVD designed by personal trainer Robbie Thompson, fat-loss expert David Souter and team GB long-jumper Chris Kirk promises to help you lose five pounds in the space of one week.

Vincent & Flavia's Argentine Tango (Cert E, 154 mins, Digital Classics DVD, DVD £19.99, Special Interest)

Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace were two of the most popular professional dancers on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, but this year they took a break from the series to concentrate on stage shows including Midnight Tango and the forthcoming Dance Til Dawn. In this DVD, the couple promotes fitness through dance by presenting a step-by-step guide to performing Argentine tango moves including the Tango Vals and Milonga dances.

DVD retail top 10

1 (3) The Class of '92

2 (2) Despicable Me 2

3 (7) Top Gear - The Perfect Road Trip

4 (6) Micky Flanagan: Back in the Game Live

5 (5) Harry Potter - The Complete 8-Film Collection

6 (1) Monsters University

7 (-) The Croods

8 (-) Les Miserables

9 (5) Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

10 (-) Breaking Bad: The Complete Series

Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk

DVD rental top 10

1 (1) Now You See Me

2 (2) Oblivion

3 (3) World War Z

4 (4) Monster's University

5 (5) Behind The Candelabra

6 (6) Snitch

7 (7) Cloud Atlas

8 (8) Hummingbird

9 (9) Trance

10 (10) After Earth

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com

Film streaming top 10

1 (1) Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger

2 (2) Immortals

3 (3) The Place Beyond The Pines

4 (3) Broken City

5 (5) What's Your Number

6 (9) Scrooge

7 (6) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

8 (3) Johnny English Reborn

9 (-) Evil Dead

10 (7) Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com