DVD Review - February 1

By Damon Smith

New to rent on DVD/Blu-ray

DVD of the week

Rush (Cert 15, 122 mins, Studio Canal, Drama/Action/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99/Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray £29.99)

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde, Jamie Sives, Natalie Dormer, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alexandra Maria Lara, David Calder, Julian Rhind-Tutt.

Rubber burns and tempers fray between two very different Formula 1 drivers in the 1970s: charismatic ladies' man James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and ambitious Austrian speed fiend Niki Lauda (Daniel Bruhl). The two men have very different approaches to their craft. Hunt relishes the trappings of fame, proposing to his first wife, model Suzy Miller (Olivia Wilde), on the spur of the moment. Lauda is devoted to testing, working his mechanics into the ground to shave a few hundreds off lap times at the expense of personal relationships. So when he falls madly in love with Marlene Knaus (Alexandra Maria Lara), he fears the repercussions. "Happiness is the enemy, it weakens you. Suddenly you have something to lose," he declares. Daredevil duels between the two men reach a horrifying crescendo at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring when Lauda's Ferrari bursts into flames, trapping him in the inferno. An incredible six weeks later, Lauda emerged from hospital with extensive scarring, determined to prevent Hunt from claiming the chequered flag at Monza. Directed with brio and turbo-charged by stirring performances from Hemsworth and Bruhl, Rush is a riveting evocation of a bygone era. An uplifting story of admiration and friendship purrs beneath the bonnet of Howard's direction offering plenty of high-speed thrills for petrol heads. Screenwriter Morgan selects the choicest cuts of the facts for the big screen, including horrific scenes at the hospital where a badly burnt Lauda drifts in and out of consciousness but still musters enough strength to growl, "Tell the priest to get lost. I'm still alive!".

Rating: ****

Released

Sunshine On Leith (Cert PG, 100 mins, Entertainment In Video, Musical/Drama/Comedy/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: George MacKay, Kevin Guthrie, Freya Mavor, Antonia Thomas, Peter Mullan, Jane Horrocks, Jason Flemyng, Emma Hartley-Miller, Paul Brannigan, Daniela Nardini.

Davy (George MacKay) and best mate Ally (Kevin Guthrie) return home to Leith after a roadside explosive kills one of their band of brothers during a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Ally falls into the arms of his girlfriend Liz (Freya Mavor), who is Davy's sister, while Davy kindles romance with Liz's best friend, Yvonne (Antonia Thomas). Both relationships blossom and Ally buys a ring, intending to go down on bended knee at the forthcoming 25th anniversary party of Davy and Liz's parents, Rab (Peter Mullan) and Jean (Jane Horrocks). A dark secret from the past threatens to tear the family apart, propelling the characters along divergent paths. Adapted from Stephen Greenhorn's critically acclaimed 2007 stage musical, Sunshine On Leith is an unabashedly feel-good tale of friendship and loyalty that draws inspiration from the songbook of chart-topping siblings Charlie and Craig Reid, aka The Proclaimers. Dexter Fletcher's film underscores its soap opera narrative with slickly executed song and dance sequences that are as hopelessly contrived as Mamma Mia!. Thus, one character decides to leave Edinburgh to pursue a career in Florida to make sense of the lyric, "Take a look up the railtrack/From Miami to Canada" in Letter From America. It's shamelessly sentimental and tugs heartstrings with abandon but the joyfulness gradually wears us down until we're powerless to resist. MacKay, Guthrie, Thomas and Mavor sing their parts with conviction and charm, while Mullan and Horrocks lend emotional gravitas as a long-time married couple in emotional crisis.

Rating: ***

The Call (Cert 15, 94 mins, Warner Home Video, Thriller/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £22.99)

Starring: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut, Michael Eklund, David Otunga, Michael Imperioli, Roma Maffia, Evie Thompson.

Terrified teenager Leah Templeton (Evie Thompson) dials 911 to report an intruder in her family home. Skilled operator Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) coolly advises Leah to lock herself in a room and remain on the line. Unfortunately, the plan goes tragically awry. Six months later, the same madman, Michael Foster (Michael Eklund), abducts a blonde teenager, Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin), from a shopping mall. Jordan happens to be in the call centre "hive" when Casey's distressed telephone call comes through and the operator takes charge, determined to make amends for Leah. Haunted by the words of her police officer father - "You might be the difference between somebody living and somebody dying" - Jordan provides Casey with ingenious suggestions for attracting attention from passing motorists. When one driver (Michael Imperioli) takes note, it seems Casey's tearful prayers could be answered... The Call is a slick, nail-biting thriller that speed-dials suspense for the opening hour, cross cutting between jittery Jordan and hysterical Casey, who gradually bond through the magic of mobile communication. Berry is solid in an undemanding lead role while Breslin sobs with gusto, tugging our heartstrings when her teenager accepts she will die and asks Jordan to record a message for her mother: "I love you, please don't ever forget me." Once Eklund's villain reaches his sanctuary and prepares to enact his twisted plan, screenwriter Richard D'Ovidio screenwriter cold calls for originality for his bloody denouement - but he only connects with a limp homage to Silence Of The Lambs.

Rating: ***

The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (Cert 12, 124 mins, Entertainment One, Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robert Sheehan, Jared Harris, Kevin Zegers, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, Lena Headey.

Plucky 15-year-old Clary Fray (Lily Collins) is at one of the city's nightclubs with good friend Simon Lewis (Robert Sheehan) when she witnesses a murder. Curiously, no one else sees the killer, Jace Wayland (Jamie Campbell Bower), and Clary begins to doubt her version of events. The following day, Clary meets Jace again, who is invisible to Simon, and she learns that the killer is a Shadowhunter, a slayer of demons which inhabit the human world. She also discovers that she is connected to this magical world hidden from human eyes and Clary journeys with Jace to an old Gothic cathedral called The Institute where she meets monster-slaying mentor Hodge Starkweather (Jared Harris) and Shadowhunter siblings Alec (Kevin Zegers) and Isabelle (Jemima West). As Clary's world spins out of control, she delves into her past and a trail of evidence leads to the mighty warlock Magnus Bane (Godfrey Gao), who harbours secrets about the girl's mother (Lena Headey). Adapted from the first book in a series of young adult novels by written Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones is a limp fantasy adventure which plays out the battle between good and evil on the streets of New York. Jessica Postigo's script ticks off the cliches and provides Jonathan Rhys Meyers with plentiful opportunities for unintentional humour with his hammy delivery. "Appearances can be deceptive," he simpers at one point. Not so with Harald Zwart's film: it appears to be mediocre, and lives down to those expectations.

Rating: **

Also released

Bounty Killer (Cert 18, 89 mins, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Action/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £12.99/Blu-ray £15.99 - see below)

Crystal Fairy & The Magic Cactus (Cert 18, 99 mins, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Comedy/Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £12.99 - see below)

Hannah Arendt (Cert 12, 113 mins, Soda Pictures, Drama, also available to buy DVD £17.99 - see below)

Last Passenger (Cert 15, 96 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, Thriller/Action, also available to buy DVD £14.99/Blu-ray £15.99 - see below)

The Selfish Giant (Cert 15, 91 mins, Artificial Eye, Drama, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99 - see below)

Traveller (Cert 15, 103 mins, Metrodome Distribution, Drama/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £15.99 - see below)

New to buy on DVD/Blu-ray

The Selfish Giant (Cert 15, 91 mins, Artificial Eye, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Drama)

Loosely inspired by Oscar Wilde's story of the same name, The Selfish Giant is a breathtaking character study set in an impoverished community in Yorkshire. Arbor (Conner Chapman) and his best mate Swifty (Shaun Thomas) struggle to fit in at school and they frequently suffer the unwanted attentions of class bullies. While Swifty is sweet and sensitive, Arbor is cocksure and hotheaded, and during one encounter in the playground, Arbor loses his temper, leading to both boys being expelled from school. Prospects are bleak so the lads align themselves with local scrap dealer Kitten (Sean Gilder) and his wife (Lorraine Ashbourne), who pay good money for copper wire and any other metal the pair can get their grubby mitts on. Kitten rents his horse and cart to the boys to collect scrap and Swifty shows natural flair with the animal that puts Arbor in his shadow for the first time, sparking jealousy with shocking consequences.

Ripper Street - Series II (Cert 15, 468 mins, BBC DVD, DVD £24.99/Series I & II DVD Box Set £34.99/Blu-ray £29.99/Series I & II DVD Box Set £39.99, Thriller/Drama)

Another eight episodes of the grisly BBC drama set in the aftermath of the Jack The Ripper murders, which sent shivers down the spine of the residents of late 19th century Whitechapel. Detective Inspector Edmund Reid (Matthew Macfadyen) and his colleagues at H Division breathe a sigh of relief as the immediate threat posed by the Ripper recedes. However, the streets of the East End are still festooned with dark deeds and even darker secrets, which will test the resolve of Reid, hard-boiled Sergeant Bennett Drake (Jerome Flynn) and American forensics expert Captain Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg) to the limit. A six-disc box set comprising both series is also available.

Lucan (Cert 12, 172 mins, ITV Studios Home Entertainment, DVD £14.99, Drama/Romance)

Rory Kinnear delivers a towering performance as the real-life Earl of Lucan in this two-part ITV1 drama. Known as Lucky Lucan due to his excessive gambling, John Bingham (Kinnear) plots the murder of his wife Veronica (Catherine McCormack) in order to gain custody of his children. In the darkness, he mistakes the children's nanny Sandra Rivett (Leanne Best) for Veronica and kills her. Having realised his mistake, Lucan then attacks Veronica but she escapes his clutches. Aided by fellow club members and casino owner John Aspinall (Christopher Eccleston), Lucan vanishes without trace, never to be seen again, but as the years pass, different theories emerge about his fate.

Great British Railway Journeys - Series 4 (Cert E, 675 mins, Fremantle Home Entertainment, DVD £29.99, Documentary)

Michael Portillo continues to share his passion for historic rail journeys across Britain using Bradshaw's Handbook as his guide. The five-disc box set includes 25 episodes: High Wycombe To Stratford-Upon-Avon, Birmingham To Stafford, Stoke-On-Trent To Winsford, Dudley To Bridgnorth, Welshpool To Aberystwyth, Portsmouth To Gomshall, Woking To Clapham Junction, London Victoria To Abbey Wood, London King's Cross To Peterborough, Spalding To Grimsby, Stirling To Invergowrie, Dundee To Aberdeen, Dufftown To Aviemore, Inverness To Plockton, Invergordon To John O'Groats, London Paddington To Warminster, Salisbury To Castle Cary, Taunton To Minehead, Lynton And Lynmouth To Exeter, Exmouth To Newton Abbot, Killarney To Cobh, Charleville To Waterford, Kilkenny To Athy, Newbridge To Roscrea and Athlone To Galway.

The Epic Of Everest (Cert E, 89 mins, BFI DVD, Blu-ray & DVD Combi-pack £19.99/Two-Disc Blu-ray & DVD Combi-pack £29.99, Documentary)

Directed by Captain John Noel, The Epic Of Everest is the third documented attempt to climb the mountain, which culminated in the deaths of climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, and sparked a debate about whether the men did indeed reach the summit or perished on the ascent in treacherous conditions. Shot with a specially adapted camera, the film has been loving restored by the BFI National Archive, which has reintroduced the original coloured tints and tones, set to a newly commissioned score by Simon Fisher Turner, which melds electronic music, found sounds, western and Nepalese instruments and vocals. A two-disc set comprising The Epic Of Everest and the 1924 documentary The Great White Silence is also available.

Traveller (Cert 15, 103 mins, Metrodome Distribution, DVD £15.99, Drama/Thriller)

One selfless deed condemns a good man to death in Benjamin Johns's gritty drama. Owen McBride (Bill Cook) risks his life to rescue a stranger from a bloodthirsty gang. As the sole witness to the attack, Owen goes on the run for his life from the criminal fraternity and seeks refuge with his father, Blackberry (David Essex), in the close-knit gypsy community. Owen takes a job as a wild horse trainer and immerses himself in the traditions of his new existence but the past continues to haunt him, and eventually the gangsters catch up with Owen.

Hannah Arendt (Cert 12, 113 mins, Soda Pictures, DVD £17.99, Drama)

Barbara Sukowa delivers a strong central performance as the German-Jewish philosopher in Margarethe von Trotta's biopic. The film focuses on the 1961 trial of a former Nazi, Adolf Eichmann, which Arendt covered for the distinguished magazine The New Yorker under the aegis of editor William Shawn (Nicholas Woodeson). Her writing - and notably her depiction of the Jewish councils - stirred up huge controversy and introduced the phrase "the banality of evil" into the lexicon of the time. Debate rages and Arendt finds herself in the eye of a storm, debating the trial and its repercussions with fellow intellectuals including novelist Mary McCarthy (Janet McTeer) and philosopher Martin Heidegger (Klaus Pohl).

Thomas & Friends: The Thomas Way (Cert U, 61 mins, HIT Entertainment, DVD £12.99, Children/Animation)

The plucky blue tank engine and his locomotive pals chug full steam ahead to make a special delivery in six animated episodes of the popular TV series. The DVD includes The Thomas Way, The Switch, Percy's Lucky Day, Calm Down Caitlin, The Lost Puff and Luke's New Friend.

Last Passenger (Cert 15, 96 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, DVD £14.99/Blu-ray £15.99, Thriller/Action)

A London commuter train becomes the backdrop for a diabolical game of life and death in Omid Nooshin's thriller. Overworked doctor Lewis Shaler (Dougray Scott) is devoted to his young son Max (Joshua Kaynama) and after a long day at work, Lewis escorts his boy home on the last train out of London. A flirtatious stranger called Sarah (Kara Tointon) provides Lewis with a pleasant distraction as the train speeds out of the capital into the countryside but it soon becomes clear that something is wrong. The guard (Samuel Geker-Kawle) disappears without trace and the train passes through stations at breakneck speed. It transpires that a vengeful sociopath has taken control of the locomotive and intends to crash at high speed, killing himself and everyone on board. Police are powerless to stop the diesel-powered train so Lewis and the other terrified passengers must take their fate into their own hands and attempt to thwart the sociopath before they reach the end of the line.

Blood Glacier (Cert 15, 93 mins, Studio Canal, DVD £15.99, Horror/Thriller)

Mother Nature conceals a deadly secret in the Alps in Marvin Kren's Austrian horror. Janek (Gerhard Liebmann) is based at a weather research station as part of a team dedicated to gathering evidence about the impact of climate change. They discover a glacier in the mountains, which contains an organic red matter with the terrifying power to mutate animals and humans into hideous monsters. Janek and his colleagues fear for their lives as the mysterious red substance spreads at frightening speed. Meanwhile, Janek's former girlfriend Tanja (Edita Malovcic) heads to the research station with government official Bodicek (Brigitte Kren), unaware of the horrors that await them.

Cutie And The Boxer (Cert E, 92 mins, Dogwoof Digital, DVD £14.99, Documentary)

Zachary Heinzerling directs this revealing Oscar-nominated documentary about renowned painter Ushio Shinohara and his turbulent 40-year marriage to his artist wife, Noriko. The film sketches the relationship from its foundations, when Ushio was a brilliant, confrontational artist working in Japan, who moved to New York to seek recognition on an international stage. There, he met then 19-year-old art student Noriko, who gave up her education to work as her husband's devoted assistant. Decades later, the balance of power in the relationship has altered. Ushio is now 80 years old and his creative output languishes in the shadow of Noriko's "cutie" drawings, which depict her challenging past with her husband.

Bounty Killer (Cert 18, 89 mins, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DVD £12.99/Blu-ray £15.99, Action/Thriller)

Henry Saine directs this post-apocalyptic action thriller set 20 years after the greed-fuelled corporations were destroyed and a group of law-makers called The Council Of Nine resolved to re-instate law and order. To achieve this goal, the Council created The Bounty Killers, pillars of the community with the authority to strike down white-collar criminals and protect the weak and vulnerable from exploitation and harm. When a large corporation called Second Sun begins to gain momentum and threatens the fabric of human life, the three greatest Bounty Killers - Drifter (Matthew Marsden), Mary Death (Christian Pitre) and Jack (Barak Hardley) - grab weapons by the armful for a battle royale to the grisly end.

Kiss Of The Damned (Cert 18, 95 mins, Eureka, DVD £9.99/Blu-ray £12.99, Horror/Thriller)

Aspiring screenwriter Paolo (Milo Ventimiglia) falls head over heels in lust with an alluring and mysterious woman called Djuna (Josephine de La Baume). They begin a passionate affair but Djuna pushes him away before they can consummate the relationship. Paolo demands an explanation and eventually Djuna confesses that she is a vampire and it would be too dangerous for him to enter her dark world. So Paolo implored Djuna to transform him into a vampire as well so they can be together for all eternity. She agrees but their romantic plans are torn to shreds when Djuna's manipulative sister Mimi (Roxane Mesquida) sets her sights on Paolo too.

The Complex (Cert 15, 106 mins, Koch Media, DVD £12.99, Horror/Thriller)

Things go bump in the night in a rundown apartment building in the latest horror thriller from Japanese director Hideo Nakata (Ring, Dark Water). Student nurse Asuka (Atsuko Maeda) moves into ramshackle new lodgings with her parents and younger brother. Muffled scratching noises from a neighbour's room keep Asuka awake at night and she retreats from the other residents, fearful of the noises in the spooky old buildings. When the scratching noises finally tip Asuka over the edge, the student nurse resolves to find out what is causing the disturbance but her curiosity might just be her undoing.

Celluloid (Cert 15, 93 mins, TLA Releasing, DVD £15.99, Drama)

Jody Latham headlines this British psychological drama directed by Lloyd Eyre-Morgan about a dysfunctional family struggling to come to terms with its shortcomings. Emotionally fragile mother Dawn (Janet Bamford) is in the midst of a mental breakdown and is unable to provide her teenager children, Nicola (Olivia Sweeney) and Josh (Daniel Booth), with the support they need. For their part, the youngsters wrestle with their identity and sexuality with the help of friend and a scoundrel called Barnsey (Latham) from the local estate.

Crystal Fairy & The Magic Cactus (Cert 18, 99 mins, Anchor Bay Entertainment, DVD £12.99, Comedy/Drama/Romance)

Sebastian Silva writes and directs this meandering Chilean road movie centred on American tourist Jamie (Michael Cera), who is determined to track down a legendary hallucinogen in the company of three brothers, Champa (Juan Andres Silva), Lel (Jose Miguel Silva) and Pilo (Agustin Silva). En route, Jamie is bewitched by a bohemian free spirit called Crystal Fairy (Gaby Hoffman), who thinks nothing of wandering around hotels in her birthday suit. As the group heads into the desert in search of the drug, friendships are tested to the limit.

The Stuart Hall Project (Cert PG, 95 mins, BFI DVD, DVD £19.99, Documentary)

Raised in Jamaica with Scottish, African and Portuguese Jewish roots, Stuart Hall is a leading cultural theorist, who has used his own heritage and experiences to inform his central argument that external forces continually shape and mould a person's identity. Documentary film-maker John Akomfrah celebrates the life of Hall with a montage of the intellectual's own film, radio, photographic and television archive material set to a soundtrack by his musical hero, Miles Davis. Through these images, Akomfrah paints a vivid portrait of his subject but he also explores how the documentary format has been used over the years to question the notion of identity.

DVD retail top 10

1 (-) The Walking Dead - Season 1-3

2 (-) Sherlock - Complete Series 3

3 (2) Davina - Fit in 15

4 (4) Sherlock - Series 1 and 2 Box Set

5 (1) Vicky Pattison's 7 Day Slim

6 (3) Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred

7 (5) Downton Abbey: The London Season

8 (-) Riddick

9 (-) Homeland - Season 1-2

10 (7) Breaking Bad - Season 5

Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk

DVD rental top 10

1 (1) Oblivion

2 (2) 2 Guns

3 (3) The Lone Ranger

4 (4) Now You See Me

5 (5) Grownups 2

6 (6) The Purge

7 (7) Pain & Gain

8 (8) Red 2

9 (9) Monsters University

10 (10) Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com

Film streaming top 10

1 (1) Blood Glacier

2 (2) Midnight's Children

3 (-) The Hangover Part II

4 (4) In Time

5 (3) The Impossible

6 (5) Tangled

7 (7) Tower Heist

8 (-) Monte Carlo

9 (9) Thomas and Friends: Blue Mountain Mystery

10 (6) Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com