A weekly round-up of the latest DVD releases.

By Damon Smith

New to rent on DVD/Blu-ray

DVD of the week

Kill Your Darlings (Cert 15, 104 mins, Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd, Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99)

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Jack Huston, Ben Foster, Michael C Hall.

Young poet Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) arrives at Columbia University in 1944 full of trepidation and wonder. As a freshman, he is poorly versed in the social etiquettes of his new home but charismatic campus mate Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) takes Allen under his wing and introduces the newcomer to inner sanctums where other bright young things including Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston) and William S Burroughs (Ben Foster) intellectually spar with one another. Sparks of sexual attraction between Ginsberg and Carr are continually extinguished by Lucien's relationship with one of the teachers, David Kammerer (Michael C Hall), who writes all of the student's essays. That relationship deteriorates and when Lucien tells his lover that they must break up, the subsequent emotional fallout has devastating repercussions for several university students, not least Allen. John Krokidas's true crime thriller relives a dramatic page in history which brought together brilliant young men in a white-hot crucible of raging hormones and creativity. Radcliffe takes another confident step away from his iconic role as Harry Potter, getting beneath the skin of his naive Beat poet-to-be, whose education at Columbia University included a lesson in cold-blooded murder. DeHaan is equally mesmerizing as social limpet Lucien, who employs his sexuality as a weapon to manipulate the people closest to him. First-time director Krokidas, who co-wrote the screenplay with Austin Bunn, evokes the smoke-filled rooms and youthful exuberance of the era with aplomb, cranking up tension as Allen is drawn into Lucien's web and jeopardizes his university place for his friend.

Rating: ****

Released

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (Cert PG, 114 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Comedy/Drama/Romance/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £27.99)

Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Kathryn Hahn, Adam Scott, Adrian Martinez, Patton Oswalt, Sean Penn.

Walter (Ben Stiller) processes the negatives for Life magazine, taking care with each image, especially the work of globe-trotting photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn). Throughout the day, Walter 'zones out' and imagines declarations of love to pretty colleague Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), who seems oblivious to his existence. Arriving for work one morning, Walter learns that the magazine is being shut down to make way for the digital revolution of Life.com. Corporate toad Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott) is hired to oversee the "transition" and he rides roughshod over disgruntled staff. For the front cover of the final issue, Sean sends a special image but the negative goes astray. "It's a big deal," gasps Walter's assistant Hernando (Adrian Martinez), "you lost a Sean O'Connell!". Reluctantly, Walter abandons his mother Edna (Shirley MacLaine) and sister Odessa (Kathryn Hahn) to embark on a life-altering quest to track down Sean and the original image. The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty is a warm-hearted tale of a simple man striving to better himself in a world that repeatedly puts him down. Ben Stiller's contemporary remake of James Thurber's short story demands attention with its flashy slow-motion dream sequences and rousing soundtrack courtesy of Arcade Fire, David Bowie and Icelandic indie-folk band Of Monsters And Men. Stiller is inherently likeable and doesn't shamelessly curry sympathy in early sequences when Walter is abused by Ted and his cronies. The inevitable showdown between the two men doesn't produce the fireworks we expect or the film needs, and the romantic subplot with Wiig simmers but fails to come to the boil.

Rating: ***

Also released

13 Eerie (Cert 18, 87 mins, Metrodome Distribution, Horror/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £12.99 - see below)

Flu (Cert 15, 122 mins, Altitude, Thriller, also available to buy DVD £19.99 - see below)

Hustlers (Cert 18, 108 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, Comedy/Drama, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99 - see below)

The Patrol (Cert 15, 83 mins, Soda Pictures, War/Drama, also available to buy DVD £15.99 - see below)

Zombie Night (Cert 18, 85 mins, Anchor Bay Home Entertainment, Horror/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £7.99/Blu-ray £9.99 - see below)

New to buy on DVD/Blu-ray

Shetland - The Complete Series 1 & 2 (Cert 15, 480 mins, ITV Studios Home Entertainment, DVD £14.99)

Based on the novels by Ann Cleeves, this BBC Scotland crime drama follows Detective Inspector Perez (Douglas Henshall) as he solves a series of crimes on the Shetland Islands aided by Detective Sergeant Alison 'Tosh' Macintosh (Alison O'Donnell) and Detective Constable Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson). Each investigation creates conflicts for the team as they are compelled to probe the private lives of friends and neighbours including local recluse Magnus Bain (Brian Cox) and widower Cameron Watt (Alex Norton). The two-disc set includes all episodes.

Pretty Little Liars - The Complete Third Season (Cert 12, 1015 mins, Warner Home Video, DVD £29.99, Drama/Romance)

The secrets and lies never end for the residents of Rosewood, Pennsylvania in 24 episodes of the glossy drama based on the young adult novels penned by Sara Shepard, which centres on four high school friends - Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell), Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson) and Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) - and their involvement in the disappearance of the school's queen bee, Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse). This series, the girls discover if Garrett Reynolds (Yani Gellman) killed Alison, the murderer of Maya St Germain (Bianca Lawson) is unmasked and a mysterious figure who wears a red trench coat targets the plucky quartet.

Nurse Jackie - Season Five (Cert 15, 270 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, DVD £24.99, Comedy/Drama)

Edie Falco injects a large dose of laughter and tears as enterprising nurse Jackie Peyton in another 10 episodes of the medical black comedy set at All Saints' Hospital in New York. This series, Dr Ike Prentiss (Morris Chestnut) is promoted to the new chief of ER, Gloria (Anna Deavere Smith) battles with her ailing memory and Jackie fights for the custody of her daughters in the aftermath of her acrimonious divorce.

Hemlock Grove - The Complete First Season (Cert 18, 650 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, DVD £29.99/Blu-ray £34.99, Horror/Thriller/Romance)

Eli Roth, director of Cabin Fever and Hostel, is one of the executive producers of this US series based on the novel by Brian McGreevy. The inhabitants of the close-knit Pennsylvania town of Hemlock Grove are dependent on Hemlock Acres Hospital and Godfrey Institute for Biomedical Technologies for employment. The latter institution is run by the wealthy and secretive Godfrey clan, spearheaded by Norman (Dougray Scott) and his wife Olivia (Famke Janssen), who are reportedly conducting secret experiments. When the lifeless bodies of two teenage girls are discovered close to town, 17-year-old traveller Peter Rumancek (Landon Liboiron) becomes the prime suspect for the murders. He is the source of fervent gossip - residents speculate he is a werewolf - and as an outsider, Peter is the most likely culprit. Determined to clear his name, Peter resolves to unmask the killer and save Hemlock Grove from itself. The four-disc box set includes all 10 episodes.

The Patrol (Cert 15, 83 mins, Soda Pictures, DVD £15.99, War/Drama)

Tom Petch, who served for eight years in the British Army including tours of Bosnia, Cambodia and the Special Forces, writes and directs this gritty drama which examines the conflict in Afghanistan through the eyes of British soldiers. A Special Forces Operation in Helmand Province prompts a Taliban counter attack, which has terrible repercussions for one British Army patrol fighting the deadly, invisible enemy alongside the Afghan Army. The unit's three-day patrol extends into double figures and ammunition runs low, causing divisions in the ranks. The Captain in charge of the mission fails to extinguish simmering tensions and the disillusioned and exhausted soldiers question their role in the war.

Kiss The Water (Cert E, 768 mins, Soda Pictures, DVD £17.99, Documentary)

Eric Steel, director of the acclaimed 2006 documentary The Bridge, celebrates one of the most popular pastimes in the UK: fishing. In particular, his film Kiss The Water highlights the life and work of Megan Boyd, a legendary Scottish maker of salmon flies. Self-taught, Boyd has become an internationally renowned artisan and supplies her handmade, feather-adorned flies to the rich and famous including Prince Charles. Augmented with Em Cooper's oil-painted animation, Steel's film meditates on Boyd's unlikely place in history against stunning views of the Scottish countryside.

Hustlers (Cert 18, 108 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Comedy/Drama)

Paul Walker delivers one of his final performances in Wayne Kramer's crime caper. He plays an enterprising meth addict named Raw Dog, who hatches a hare-brained plot with a group of friends to steal from his supplier. The scheme involves a pawn shop, where Raw Dog's fate intersects with a struggling Elvis impersonator called Ricky (Brendan Fraser) and a recently remarried man called Richard (Matt Dillon), who stumbles upon a wedding ring belonging to his missing first wife, which could finally reveal the truth about her disappearance.

Bomb Girls - The Complete Second Series (Cert 12, 506 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, DVD £19.99/Series 1 & 2 DVD Box Set £24.99, Drama/Romance)

War rages on and hearts continue to be broken in another 12 episodes of the Canadian wartime drama about four women - Betty (Ali Liebert), Gladys (Jodi Balfour), Kate (Charlotte Hegele) and Lorna (Meg Tilly) - who are granted new responsibilities and freedoms with the men off fighting in Europe. This series, Betty and Kate cover up a mysterious death, Gladys returns to work at the factory and a visit from the Governor General sends ripples of excitement through the workforce. A four-disc set comprising both series is also available.

Evidence (Cert 15, 90 mins, Signature Entertainment, DVD £14.99, Horror/Thriller)

Olatunde Osunsanmi directs this found footage horror set at an abandoned filling station. Detective Burquez (Radha Mitchell) travels into the Mojave desert to a perplexing crime scene. As she surveys the bloodbath, Burquez searches in vain for compelling evidence but is left only with questions. Aided by troubled but insightful colleague Detective Reese (Stephen Moyer), Burquez examines video cameras and mobile phones that captured fragments of the slaughter. As the two cops sift through the video footage, they learn many secrets, some of which chill them to the bone.

Zombie Night (Cert 18, 85 mins, Anchor Bay Home Entertainment, DVD £7.99/Blu-ray £9.99, Horror/Thriller)

Daryl Hannah and Anthony Michael Hall headline this made-for-TV horror directed by John Gulager. Patrick (Hall) is taking his daughter Tracie (Rachel G Fox) and her friend Rachel (Meg Rutenberg) home when they hit something on the road. The victim turns out to be a zombie and more shuffling members of the undead begin to swarm around the vehicle. Meanwhile, Patrick's wife Birdie (Hannah), her mother (Shirley Jones) and the neighbours, the Laddens, face a similar onslaught from flesh-hungry predators.

Flu (Cert 15, 122 mins, Altitude, DVD £19.99, Thriller)

A deadly strain of avian flu sweeps through a suburb of Seoul with devastating consequences in this edge-of-seat thriller, directed by Kim Sung-su. Byeong-woo (Lee Sang-leob) smuggles illegal immigrants into Bundang in a container but one of them is carrying a virus. When the container is opened, everyone lies dead apart from one passenger, who escapes and quickly infects dozens of people in the city. Within hours, hundreds of patients complain of the same symptoms and since Bundang is located so close to Seoul, the government orders a complete shutdown controlled by a deranged army colonel (Ma Dong-Seok) and his men, who will do anything to prevent the spread of the virus. Rescue worker Kang Ji-koo (Jang Hyuk) and virologist Dr Kim In-hae (Soo Ae) are trapped in the quarantine zone patrolled by the military but Dr In-hae's work becomes increasingly vital when her young daughter (Park Min-ah) falls ill, apparently infected by the same strand of flu.

13 Eerie (Cert 18, 87 mins, Metrodome Distribution, DVD £12.99, Horror/Thriller)

Six forensic science students are given assignment, which takes them to the abandoned island of Eerie Strait, where life-term prisoners were once held. In this far-flung outpost, the students quickly realise that the bodies of the lifers were never reclaimed from where they fell many years ago. Horrors beyond the wildest imagination greet the students and the resourceful interlopers must put all of their academic knowledge and ingenuity to the test to survive their terrifying ordeal.

Raptor Ranch (Cert 15, 90 mins, Dazzler, DVD £19.99, Sci-Fi/Horror/Action/Thriller)

Dinosaurs rule the earth once more in Michael Beberashvili and Dan Bishop's straight-to-DVD horror. Dr Cane (Jack Gould) has been secretly breeding velociraptors on his ranch but the highly intelligent creatures eventually get the better of him. Unable to contain the prehistoric creatures, Cane is horrified as the killing machine cut a swathe through the nearby small Texan town, devouring anyone who stands in their way. Two federal agents arrive in town to investigate the bloodbath and must find a way to prevent the raptors from decimating the entire population and moving onto a new hunting ground.

Top 10 DVD rental

1. (1) Frozen

2. (2) The Hunger Games - Catching Fire

3. (3) Thor - The Dark World

4. (10) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

5. (4) Saving Mr Banks

6. (7) Captain Phillips

7. (6) Monsters University

8. (5) Captain America - The Winter Soldier

9. (8) Rush

10. (9) The Hunger Games

(Chart supplied by Amazon Prime Instant Video)

Top 10 film streaming

1. (8) Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa

2. (-) Journey 2 - The Mysterious Island

3. (-) This Means War

4. (-) Contagion

5. (-) Horrible Bosses

6. (-) Crazy, Stupid, Love

7. (-) Midnight in Paris

8. (1) Tangled

9. (2) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

10. (-) Project X

(Chart supplied by Amazon Prime Instant Video)

(Note to Editors: The DVD Retail charts are not yet available and the column will be re-sent with them later)

(Note to Editors: The retail release of Bomb Girls - The Complete Second Series, originally scheduled for March 24, has been moved to April 21. Copy for this title is re-transmitted below)