DVD Review - February 15

By Damon Smith

New to rent on DVD/Blu-ray

DVD of the week

Captain Phillips (Cert 12, 134 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Thriller/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99/Limited Edition Steelbook Blu-ray £27.99)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Catherine Keener, Michael Chernus, David Warshofsky, Yul Vazquez.

Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) kisses his wife Andrea (Catherine Keener) goodbye and takes charge of his cargo vessel, the Maersk Alabama, bound for Mombasa, Kenya. He is aided by a hard-working international crew including Chief Mate Shane Murphy (Michael Chernus) and Chief Engineer Mike Perry (David Warshofsky). Somali pirates led by Muse (Barkhad Abdi) board the vessel and Phillips conceals his crew below deck in the engine room while he takes charge of the situation. Faced with threats of violence from Muse and his hot-headed compatriot, Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman), Phillips puts himself in harm's way to ensure the safety of every man on board. The stand-off spirals out of control and destroyer USS Bainbridge, captained by Frank Castellano (Yul Vazquez), races to the scene to avert disaster. Based on the book by Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty, Captain Phillips is a nerve-racking thriller that fully deserves its six Oscar nominations. Hanks is flawless and Abdi delivers a striking supporting performance, adding depth and complexity to a role that could easily have been a caricature. Working from a lean script by Billy Ray, Paul Greengrass demonstrates once again why he is one of the finest directors of nail-biting action. If you thought the Surrey-born filmmaker had peaked with the adrenaline-pumping thrills of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, think again. From the moment the Somalia pirates first appear on the radar, Captain Phillips leaves us feeling seasick with tension until the extraordinary final scene that releases all of that pent-up emotion in a torrent of tears. Our tears.

Rating: *****

Released

Turbo (Cert U, 95 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Animation/Comedy/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray & DVD Combi-pack £27.99/3D Blu-ray & DVD Combi-pack £33.99)

Featuring the voices of: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Samuel L Jackson, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Michael Patrick Bell, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez.

Turbo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) is a garden snail, who works alongside his worrywart brother Chet (Paul Giamatti) in the tomato patch. Unlike his fellow molluscs, Turbo has big dreams: he yearns to put a pedal to the metal like his hero - French-Canadian Indianapolis 500 champion, Guy Gagne (Bill Hader). What seems like outrageous misfortune sucks Turbo into the engine of a street-racing car and the snail is coated in nitrous oxide, which fuses with his DNA and allows him to perform bursts of death-defying speed. Taco truck driver Tito (Michael Pena) befriends the snail and exploits a loophole in the rules of the Indianapolis 500 to enter Turbo alongside Gagne. Supported by his fellow racing snails - Whiplash (Samuel L Jackson), Smoove Move (Snoop Dogg), Burn (Maya Rudolph), Skidmark (Ben Schwartz) and White Shadow (Michael Patrick Bell) - Turbo risks everything to defy Mother Nature and out-manoeuvre his arrogant idol. Turbo is a heart-warming computer-animated adventure about a garden snail who feels the need, the need for slime-burning speed. Following a tried and tested formula that propels David Soren's film into the winner's circle (albeit without any surprising detours), this is a classic David and Goliath story enlivened with larger-than-life characters and high-octane action sequences. The title character is instantly likeable and we root for Turbo as more obstacles are flung in his path. Snails have rarely looked so gosh-darn strokeable. Reynolds radiates warmth in the lead opposite a suitably downbeat Giamatti, with supporting cast dividing up the one-liners including Ken Jeong as a sassy manicurist. Visuals are slick, even at high-speed in 3D, which is available exclusively on Blu-ray.

Rating: ***

Enough Said (Cert 12, 123 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Comedy/Romance/Drama, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £27.99)

Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Catherine Keener, Toni Collette, Ben Falcone, Tavi Gevinson, Phillip Brock, Tracey Fairaway, Eve Hewson.

Massage therapist Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is separated from her husband Jason (Phillip Brock) but still lives with their beautiful daughter, Ellen (Tracey Fairaway), who is poised to fly the nest and head to college. At a party organised by best friend Sarah (Toni Collette), Eva meets a television archivist called Albert (James Gandolfini). A nervous first date sparks tender romance that promises to blossom into something far deeper. At the same party, Eva woos a new client, a celebrated poet called Marianne (Catherine Keener), who doesn't have a nice word to say about her ex-husband. Eva realises with a jolt that Marianne's ex-husband is Albert. Secretly stuck in the middle between the feuding former spouses, Eva covertly gathers details about their failed relationship for personal gain. Galvanised by the winning rapport of Gandolfini and Louis-Dreyfus, Enough Said is a valentine to the transformative power of love and to the film's leading man, who died suddenly in June last year. "For Jim" reads a simple dedication during the end credits. Holofcener's dialogue trips off the tongue, peppered with some great one-liners, and we get a lump in our throats when Albert invariably discovers Eva's deception and laments, "I know it sounds corny but you broke my heart and I'm too old for that nonsense". Bedroom scenes feel genuine: slightly awkward, tender and underscored with flashes of humour. It's a fitting swansong for Gandolfini - an actor who was unafraid to lay himself emotionally bare for his art.

Rating: ****

Filth (Cert 18, 93 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, Comedy/Drama, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99/Steelbook Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: James McAvoy, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Eddie Marsan, Shirley Henderson, John Sessions, Emun Elliott, Gary Lewis, Brian McCardie, Joanne Froggatt, Jim Broadbent.

Misanthropic schemer DS Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy) lords over his colleagues in Edinburgh and shamelessly sucks up to his superior, Chief Inspector Bob Toal (John Sessions). When Toal dangles a promotion in front of Bruce, the DS ruthlessly targets his five rivals - Peter Inglis (Emun Elliott), Amanda Drummond (Imogen Poots), Dougie Gillman (Brian McCardie), Ray Lennox (Jamie Bell) and Gus Bain (Gary Lewis) - by exploiting their insecurities. Unfortunately, Bruce's mental state is precarious and when his plans suffer a setback, his world whirls out of control. The only glimmer of hope is a young widow, Mary (Joanne Froggatt), whose innate kindness might drag Bruce back from the abyss. Adapted from Irvine Welsh's 1998 novel of the same name, Filth is a giddy and grim black comedy anchored by an all-guns-blazing central turn from McAvoy. He has gained a few pounds for the role and looks sweaty and exhausted by the gloomy closing frames. Supporting performances in Jon S Baird's film are equally colourful, including Shirley Henderson in breathlessly vampish form, plus Starsky & Hutch star David Soul enjoys a hallucinogenic cameo, leading a boozy sing-along to his song Silver Lady. Not since Danny Boyle's breathless screen version of Trainspotting more than 15 years ago has a film realised Welsh's distinctive voice with such flair. By necessity, some of the book's devices, including a tapeworm, have been sacrificed to construct a narrative thread that we can cling to through the madness and debauchery. But the author's twisted humour defiantly sticks up two fingers in almost every frame.

Rating: ****

Le Week-end (Cert 15, 93 mins, Curzon Film World, Comedy/Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99)

Starring: Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Goldblum, Olly Alexander, Brice Beaugier.

Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg (Lindsay Duncan) have watched their brood fly the nest and must now contemplate spending their twilight years in each other's company. They choose to celebrate 30 years of marriage by revisiting old haunts in Paris. Festivities start on a sour note when the two-star hotel that Nick has chosen turns out to be a dog-eared vision in beige. "I knew this trip was going to be a disaster!" snipes Meg. She takes charge and they move into a plush suite with a balcony view of the Eiffel Tower that is clearly going to test their credit card to its limit. Strolls around arrondissements are accompanied by occasional bickering and one evening, the couple crosses paths with Nick's university pal Morgan (Jeff Goldblum). He invites Nick and Meg to a dinner party, where simmering tensions finally boil over. Le Week-end is an elegiac portrait of a married couple testing the robustness of their relationship during a celebratory weekend in the city of amour. The French capital looks glorious and provides a suitably swoonsome backdrop to screenwriter Hanif Kureishi's verbal grenades that explode with devastating impact. Regret hangs in the air like parfum and amorous advances ("May I touch you?") are swatted away with casual indifference ("What for?") that cuts to the bone. Kureishi rubs salt into every open wound, while director Roger Michell elicits powerful performances from his leads as they dance awkwardly around the possibility they might be happier apart.

Rating: ****

Also released

Ain't Them Bodies Saints (Cert 15, 96 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £15.99 - see below)

Gloria (Cert 15, 109 mins, Network, Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £17.99 - see below)

How I Live Now (Cert 15, 101 mins, Entertainment One, Drama/Romance/Sci-Fi, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £17.99 - see below)

Not Another Happy Ending (Cert 12, 102 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, Comedy/Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £15.99 - see below)

Prince Avalanche (Cert 15, 90 mins, Metrodome Distribution, Comedy/Drama, also available to buy DVD £17.99 - see below)

New to buy on DVD/Blu-ray

Death Comes To Pemberley (Cert 12, 172 mins, BBC DVD, DVD £19.99/Special Double DVD Gift Set £24.99, Drama/Romance)

Anna Maxwell Martin and Matthew Rhys headline a three-part BBC adaptation of the novel by PD James, which continues the story of Jane Austen's classic Pride And Prejudice. Elizabeth (Martin) and Darcy (Rhys) are happily married and are raising a young son. Domestic bliss is shattered by the arrival of Elizabeth's sister Lydia (Jenna-Louise Coleman), who reveals that her husband Wickham (Matthew Goode) has been implicated in a murder in Pemberley woods. As authorities debate Wickham's guilt, secrets in the family's past come to light that test Elizabeth and Darcy's bonds of trust. A two-disc set comprising the popular 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride And Prejudice and Death Comes To Pemberley is also available.

Dracula - Season One (Cert 15, 430 mins, Universal/Playback, DVD £29.99/Blu-ray £34.99, Horror/Drama/Romance)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers sinks his teeth into the titular bloodsucker in this erotically charged 10-part series, which broadcast on Sky Living. Dracula (Meyers) arrives in Victorian society, posing as American entrepreneur Alexander Grayson in order to wreak a terrible revenge on the people who ruined his life centuries earlier. His dastardly plan is jeopardised when he falls head over heels in love with medical student Mina (Jessica De Gouw), who is the re-incarnation of his long-dead wife Ilona. This tug of war pits Dracula against Mina's lecturer Abraham Van Helsing (Thomas Kretschmann) and ambitious journalist Jonathan Harker (Oliver Jackson-Cohen).

Metallica: Through The Never (Cert 15, 94 mins, Entertainment One, DVD £17.99/3D Blu-ray £19.99, Documentary/Drama/Musical)

Taking its title from a 1991 album by Metallica, Through The Never is a concert film of the American heavy metal band performing at various concerts during August 2012, interspersed with a fictional narrative about a young roadie called Trip (Dane DeHaan), who is dispatched to retrieve an important item from a truck that has broken down. En route, Trip's vehicle is involved in an accident and he finds himself in a race against time against Death while James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo thrash and strum the hits on stage.

Nikita - The Complete Third Season (Cert 15, 891 mins, Warner Home Video, DVD £29.99/Blu-ray £39.99, Action/Thriller)

Another 22 episodes of the action-packed series based on Luc Besson's 1990 film and the 1997 TV series La Femme Nikita about an elite assassin who declares war on the men who trained then double-crossed her and murdered the man she loved. This series, Michael (Shane West) is arrested for murder and Nikita (Maggie Q) risks an international incident to prove his innocence. Later, Nikita joins forces with Owen (Devon Sawa) to track down rogue agents associated with the secret government agency known as Division.

Atlantis: The Legend Begins (Cert 12, 650 mins, BBC DVD, DVD £24.99/Blu-ray £29.99, Sci-Fi/Drama)

The lost city of Atlantis provides a vibrant backdrop to this big budget series, which recently screened on Saturday evenings on BBC One. Jack Donnelly plays deep-sea diver Jason, who is beneath the waves searching for his missing father when a strange disturbance in the water magically transports him to the titular realm. Jason navigates the power struggles at the heart of the mythical city with the help of mathematician Pythagoras (Robert Emms) and washed-up hero Hercules (Mark Addy). The newcomer also woos the beautiful Ariadne (Aiysha Hart), despite fierce resistant from her conniving step-mother Ariadne (Sarah Parish). The four-disc box set includes all 13 episodes.

The 7.39 (Cert 15, 114 mins, Universal/Playback, DVD £19.99, Drama/Romance)

Desire has devastating consequences for two commuters in this two-part BBC drama. Carl Matthews (David Morrissey) has a long-suffering wife Maggie (Olivia Colman) and two teenage children, who do not appreciate the sacrifices he has made. On his usual morning commute by train, Carl meets Sally (Sheridan Smith), who manages a health club and has a handsome fiance, Ryan (Sean Maguire). The spark of attraction between the two strangers leads to a full-blown affair. As a maelstrom of emotions consumes Carl and Sally, they must confront the repercussions for their partners and deal with the emotional fall-out from their selfish actions.

How I Live Now (Cert 15, 101 mins, Entertainment One, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £17.99, Drama/Romance/Sci-Fi)

Adapted from Meg Rosoff's young adult novel of the same name, How I Live Now centres on a New Yorker called Daisy (Saoirse Ronan), who suffers from obsessive tendencies and is sent to England to spend the summer with her British cousins in the countryside. Initially, there is friction as 15-year-old Daisy meets her Aunt (Anna Chancellor) and cousins, sensitive Edmond (George MacKay), sweet natured Isaac (Tom Holland) and bubbly baby of the bunch, Piper (Harley Bird). After her aunt goes to Switzerland for business, Daisy and Edmond start to fall in love. The lovebirds have to put their romance on hold when a series of bombs hits the UK and the country is plunged into darkness. Daisy and Piper are packed off to live with a peculiar older couple but they escape from the house and attempt to track down Edmond and Isaac.

Muscle Shoals (Cert E, 111 mins, Dogwoof Digital, DVD £14.99, Documentary/Musical)

Muscle Shoals in Alabama is a close-knit town on the Tennessee River, which has faced crushing poverty and tragedy, and survived. It is also the home of FAME Studios founded by Rick Hall, who defied racial hostility to bring together the black and white communities and create the "Muscle Shoals sound", epitomised by the studio's house band, The Swampers. Greg 'Freddy' Camalier's documentary explores the history of the town, its music and Hall's enduring legacy in the company of the residents and musical luminaries such as Gregg Allman, Bono, Clarence Carter, Mick Jagger, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Keith Richards and Percy Sledge.

Not Another Happy Ending (Cert 12, 102 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, DVD £15.99, Comedy/Drama/Romance)

Selected as the Closing Night Gala of the 2013 Edinburgh International Film Festival, John McKay's homegrown romantic comedy centres on a writer, who is struggling to get her creative juices flowing. Jane Lockhart (Karen Gillan) is delighted when her debut novel, Happy Ending, courts critical success and rockets up the bestsellers list. Her publisher Tom (Stanley Weber) encourages Jane to pen a follow-up to capitalise on her popularity but when she reaches the final chapter of the manuscript, Jane develops a crippling bout of writer's block, unable to decide how her story should finish. Tom believes misery is the best cure for writer's block so he joins forces with his best friend Roddy (Iain De Caestecker) to wreck everything that is good in his star client's life including her relationship with fellow writer Willie (Henry Ian Cusick). As Jane's world implodes, she seeks advice from her fictional heroine Darsie (Amy Manson). Fantasy and reality blur as poor Jane struggles to cling onto her sanity.

Dark Days (Cert E, 84 mins, Dogwoof Digital, DVD £14.99, Documentary)

Marc Singer's extraordinary documentary feature took the 2000 Sundance Film Festival by storm, garnering the Audience Award, Cinematography Award and Freedom Of Expression Award. Shot on grainy black and white film on handheld cameras, the picture chronicles several years in the lives of the people who call the streets of New York City their home. Singer focuses in particular on the communities of drifters who live in the railroad tunnels beneath the streets of Manhattan. Filming in almost perpetual darkness, the director interviews the men who have forged a spirit of togetherness in such inhospitable conditions, constructing makeshift homes (complete with running water and lighting) using the rubbish that the city folk throw away. Moving, poignant, depressing and ultimately life-affirming, Dark Days is an incredible testament to the human capacity to endure and overcome hardship, and to find glimmers of hope where most people see only the dark.

In The Name Of (Cert 15, 102 mins, Peccadillo Pictures, DVD £15.99, Drama/Romance)

Polish director Malgoska Szumowska's sensitively handled drama won the coveted Teddy Award at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival. Devout priest Father Adam (Andrzej Chyra) is transferred to a small parish, close to a reformatory for troubled boys. The holy man opens a centre for these wayward youths and to the surprise of the bishop, he demonstrates remarkable success in taming the boys' foul language and destructive tendencies, aided by a loyal assistant, Michal (Lukasz Simlat). Adam is devoted to his work and the Lord and he politely rebuffs sexual overtures from Michal's frustrated wife Eve (Maja Ostaszewska). In fact, Adam is secretly wrestling with his sexuality and his friendship with one lad, Lukasz (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz), threatens to expose these desires as the bond between them blossoms into something far more emotionally intense.

Gloria (Cert 15, 109 mins, Network, DVD £17.99, Comedy/Drama/Romance)

Paulina Garcia won the Berlin Film Festival's coveted Silver Bear prize as Best Actress for her emotionally raw portrayal of a fifty-something divorcee looking for love in Sebastian Lelio's contemporary comedy-drama. Now her children have left home, Gloria (Garcia) is determined to defy loneliness and old age by throwing herself into brief encounters with bachelors. At one party, she meets a charming older man, Rodolfo (Sergio Hernandez), who literally sweeps her off her feet. Gloria gives into her churning emotions and surrenders to intense passion, but dark secrets from her past threaten to wreck both the relationship and her happiness.

Ain't Them Bodies Saints (Cert 15, 96 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, DVD £15.99, Drama/Romance)

Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck deliver powerful performances in David Lowery's gritty drama set in the rolling hills of 1970s Texas. Bob Muldoon (Affleck) and his lover Ruth Guthrie (Mara) are bank robbers, whose crime spree comes to an end during a shoot-out at a farmhouse. Ruth seriously wounds local cop Patrick Wheeler (Ben Foster) but Bob claims responsibility for the near-fatal shot and is sentenced to prison, leaving Ruth to raise their unborn daughter alone. Four years later, Bob escapes from prison and makes the slow and arduous journey across country to be reunited with Ruth and his child. In the mean time, Ruth has raised their little girl and has tried to keep her head down, watched over by their neighbour Skerritt (Keith Carradine). When she learns that Bob is en route, she's thrown into an emotional whirl, which is complicated by an unexpected friendship with Wheeler, who survived the gunshot but doesn't know she fired the bullet.

Prince Avalanche (Cert 15, 90 mins, Metrodome Distribution, DVD £17.99, Comedy/Drama)

David Gordon Green writes and directs this comedy drama based on the Icelandic film Either Way. Alvin (Paul Rudd) is a thoughtful man, who decides to spend the summer far from the hustle and bustle of the city by repainting the traffic lines down the centre of a country highway, which was ravaged by wildfire. His girlfriend's dopey brother, Lance (Emile Hirsch), decides to join Alvin on this enterprise and at first, the two men don't seem to have a great deal in common. As they bicker and discover interesting facts about one another, Alvin and Lance forge a tender and lasting friendship that stands them in good stead further down the road. Rock band Explosions In The Sky and composer David Wingo provide an evocative score to complement the breathtaking landscapes of the Texan wilderness.

The Nun (Cert 15, 107 mins, Metrodome Distribution, DVD £15.99, Drama)

Adapted from Diderot's novel, The Nun is a character study about an unfortunate young woman at odds with her cloistered life. Suzanne (Pauline Etienne) has a gift for music but her dreams of nurturing this talent are sidelined when her parents despatch her to a local convent. When she learns that she is an illegitimate child, Suzanne bears the shame of her mother's sin, determined to atone by pledging her devotion to God. After a long period cut off from the outside world, Suzanne prepares to revoke her vows but the Mother Superior dies and her successor, Sister Christine (Louise Bourgoin), is cruel and vindictive, denying Suzanne food and clothing in order to nudge her back towards the path of righteousness.

Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf's (Cert E, 94 mins, Curzon Film World, DVD £15.99, Documentary)

Founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf, then owned and run by his descendants, Bergdorf's is one of New York's most glittering and exclusive department stores. In this rarefied world of haute couture and celebrity clientele, documentary filmmaker Matthew Miele goes behind the scenes to meet the key staff who have made the brand such a roaring success, including the teams of artists who put together the iconic Christmas window displays to draw large crowds of yuletide shoppers.

A Map For Love (Cert 15, 82 mins, Peccadillo Pictures, DVD £14.99, Drama/Romance)

A single mother faces family resistance to her new lover in Fernandez Constanza's tender Chilean drama. Roberta (Moro Andrea) devotes her life to her young son in Santiago, sacrificing personal relationships to provide stability to the boy. So when she falls in love with actress Javiera (Francisca Bernardi), Roberta's life is shaken to its foundations. Roberta tells her mother Ana (Mariana Prat) about her new lover but the matriarch is opposed to the match so Roberta arranges a boat trip in order that Ana can spend some quality time with Javiera and hopefully give her blessing to the relationship.

Exposed: Beyond Burlesque (Cert 18, 76 mins, Matchbox Films, DVD £15.99, Documentary)

Beth B directs a documentary celebrating the art of burlesque as a means of breaking down social and sexual taboos, including performances from Rose Wood, Julie Atlas Muz, Mat Fraser, Dirty Martini, Bunny Love, Bambi The Mermaid, World Famous 'Bob' and Tigger. The film demonstrates how these eight men and women are using the naked human form to question the concept of normality and challenge and satirise the political status quo.

DVD retail top 10

1 (5) Rush

2 (-) Sunshine On Leith

3 (1) Sherlock - Complete Series 3

4 (7) Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred

5 (-) The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

6 (6) Davina - Fit in 15

7 (-) Breaking Bad - Season 5

8 (-) Sherlock - Series 1-3

9 (9) Downton Abbey: The London Season

10 (8) Vicky Pattison's 7 Day Slim

Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk

DVD rental top 10

1 (-) The World's End

2 (2) The Wolverine

3 (1) The Great Gatsby

4 (-) The Heat

5 (8) Elysium

6 (3) Pacific Rim

7 (-) Rush

8 (-) Despicable Me 2

9 (5) The Internship

10 (6) The Frozen Ground

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com

Film streaming top 10

1 (9) Space Jam

2 (5) Son of Rambow

3 (1) Blood Glacier

4 (7) Awaydays

5 (2) Midnight's Children

6 (-) Cass

7 (3) In Time

8 (4) The Hangover Part II

9 (8) Tangled

10 (6) The Impossible

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com