DVD Review - December 20

DVD OF THE WEEK

Into The Storm (Cert 12, 89 mins, Warner Home Video, Action/Thriller/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: Richard Armitage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Matt Walsh, Max Deacon, Nathan Kress, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Lee Whittaker, Arlen Escarpeta, Jeremy Sumpter, Kyle Davis, Jon Reep.

Documentary filmmaker Pete Moore (Matt Walsh) is poised to lose his funding unless he can drive his armour-plated vehicle Titus inside a tornado. Meteorologist Allison Stone (Sarah Wayne Callies) predicts a weather system will sweep through the town of Silverton and she joins Pete on the road with camera operators Lucas (Lee Whittaker), Daryl (Arlen Escarpeta) and new boy Jacob (Jeremy Sumpter). On the outskirts of town, the storm chasers encounter adrenaline junkies Donk (Kyle Davis) and Reevis (Jon Reep), who give chase, determined to place themselves in harm's way to guarantee more hits on their YouTube channel. Meanwhile, Silverton high school vice principal Gary Morris (Richard Armitage) clashes with his two sons, 17-year-old Donnie (Max Deacon) and younger brother Trey (Nathan Kress), shortly before tornado sirens sound. Shot through the lenses of crazed storm chasers and terrified residents, Into The Storm is a special effects-laden action thriller that harks back to the destruction of Jan de Bont's 1996 blockbuster Twister. The first-person concept doesn't always work - shaky handheld footage reduces some action sequences to a blur - but it does facilitate one excellent scene of heartbreak between Donnie and classmate Kaitlyn (Alycia Debnam-Carey). As a visual spectacle, Steve Quale's film delivers the sound and fury we expect, including one vortex bearing down on an airport and throwing around passenger jets as if they were toys. However, in the calm before this digitally-rendered hell, screenwriter John Swetnam doesn't spend enough time fleshing out his multitude of characters to ensure we care deeply that they survive the onslaught.

Rating: ***

RELEASED

Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For (Cert 18, 102 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, Action/Thriller/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/2 Movie DVD Box Set £24.99/Blu-ray £24.99/3D Blu-ray £27.99/2 Movie Blu-ray Box Set £29.99/Ultimate Killer Edition Blu-ray Box Set £44.99 or on-demand from various streaming services)

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Brolin, Eva Green, Jessica Alba, Powers Boothe, Julia Garner, Marton Csokas, Dennis Haysbert, Rosario Dawson.

The ghost of police detective John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) haunts exotic dancer Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba). She descends into booze-fuelled hell, desperate to put a bullet between the eyes of scheming Senator Roark (Powers Boothe). Nancy manipulates her protector Marv (Mickey Rourke) into taking down the politician and his goons, regardless of the consequences. Meanwhile, cocksure gambler Johnny (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his lucky charm Marcie (Julia Garner) prepare to take on Roark at the poker table. Johnny humiliates his powerful host and suffers horrific consequences. Nearby, Dwight McCarthy (Josh Brolin) struggles to rein in his violent impulses following an encounter with old flame Ava Lord (Eva Green). She begs Dwight to help her escape the clutches of her sadistic husband Damien (Marton Csokas) and his hulking bodyguard Manute (Dennis Haysbert). Love really hurts. Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For is a visually arresting sequel to the 2005 neo-noir anthology based on Frank Miller's comic series. Style pummels emotion into submission and snappy dialogue from the comics - "I was born at night, but it wasn't last night" - enhance the feeling that characters talk at each other not to each other. Blessed with the same black-and-white aesthetic as the original, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's film festoons every frame with corrupt cops, gun-toting hoodlums and scantily clad molls. Lurid splashes of colour, like a murderous vamp's emerald eyes or a working girl's tumbling copper curls, temporarily draw the eye away from the misery, degradation and mutilation. The sequel wears its 18 certificate as a badge of honour. Two-disc sets comprising the original Sin City and sequel, plus a limited edition four-disc Blu-ray collector's box set, are also available.

Rating: **

Also released

Hockney (Cert 15, 122 mins, Spirit Entertainment, Documentary, also available to buy DVD £19.99 - see below)

NEW TO BUY ON DVD/BLU-RAY

2014 FIA Formula One World Championship: The Official Review (Cert E, 240 mins, Duke Marketing, DVD £24.99, Special Interest)

Relive the hairpin twists and turns of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship, which saw Lewis Hamilton take the chequered flag ahead of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, including coverage of every race in the season, exclusive pre-season testing and on board footage plus interviews with key figures on and off the racetrack.

Justified - The Complete Fifth Season (Cert 15, 537 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, DVD £34.99, Drama)

Deputy US Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) receives threats from a mystery man in another 13 episodes of the gritty and involving US drama. Also this series, Dewey (Damon Herriman) receives orders to slay Wade Messer (James Le Gros) and the heroin trail from Boyd (Walton Goggins) leads Raylan back to the Crowes and into the jaws of death.

Toast Of London - Series 2 (Cert 15, 139 mins, Channel 4 DVD, DVD £19.99/Series 1 & 2 DVD Box Set £24.99, Comedy/Romance)

Matt Berry returns as struggling, middle-aged actor Steven Toast in six episodes of the award-winning Channel 4 comedy. This series, agent Jane Plough (Doon Mackichan) lands Toast a plum role in a West End production, oddball roommate Ed Howzer-Black (Robert Bathurst) continues to help him find work and an old flame, US soap star Lorna Wynde (Morgana Robinson), returns to London on a mission to fan the flames of Toast's long dormant desire. The DVD includes Match Fit, Desperate Measures, The Moose Trap, High Winds Actor, Buried Alive and Fool In Love. A two-disc set comprising both series is also available.

Gary Barlow: Since You Last Saw Him (Cert E, 90 mins, Universal Music, DVD £19.99, Documentary/Musical)

Filmed live at the Phones 4u Arena in Manchester earlier this year, this concert film includes songs from Barlow's double-platinum 2013 solo album as well as a selection of the biggest hits from Take That, showcasing his talents as both a singer and composer.

The Strain - The Complete First Season (Cert 15, 559 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, DVD £29.99/Blu-ray £34.99, Thriller/Drama/Action)

Based on the novel of the same name by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, The Strain is a 13-part horror series about a potential deadly outbreak on board an airplane. The mystery begins when a flight lands at John F Kennedy Airport in New York with no lights and the doors sealed shut. Epidemiologist Dr Ephraim Goodweather (Corey Stoll), trusted colleague Dr Nora Martinez (Mia Maestro) and their crack team investigate. Of the 210 passengers and crew, 206 are dead. The four survivors are the team's best hope to learn about events leading up to the carnage. When bodies of the deceased vanish without trace from the morgue, Goodweather and Martinez subsequently become embroiled in a hellish conspiracy, which threatens not only the east coast of America but also the whole of mankind.

Come Into The Light (Cert 15, 91 mins, Odyssey DVD, DVD £12.99/The Luca Zingaretti Collection DVD Box Set £39.99, Thriller/Drama)

Luca Zingaretti, star of the popular Inspector Montalbano TV series, headlines this Italian drama directed by Roberto Faenza. Don Giuseppe Puglisi (Zingaretti) is a priest from Palermo, who is determined to save the young children and teenagers in his flock from a life of crime. His noble endeavours impact on the local Mafia-controlled environment and the criminal underworld retaliates, leading to a confrontation between the holy man and shady figures in power. A five-disc box set comprising Come Into The Light, Borsellino: The 57 Days, Calling Inspector Marotta, Cefalonia and Perlasca: The Courage Of A Just Man is also available.

Derren Brown: Infamous (Cert 12, 90 mins, Channel 4 DVD, DVD £19.99, Special Interest)

Recorded live at the Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House during Brown's 2014 tour, this impressive demonstration of audience manipulation and coercion, which was nominated for the coveted 2014 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment, joins the BAFTA Award-winning magician and psychological illusionist as he encourage his audience to take control of their lives.

Hockney (Cert 15, 122 mins, Spirit Entertainment, DVD £19.99, Documentary)

A documentary portrait of influential artist David Hockney spanning his entire career including formative years in Bradford, where he took to heart his father's credo - don't care what the neighbours think - and played Scrabble with the rest of the family, the vibrant period when he made his mark on the artistic establishment, and modern times as an irascible national treasure. The mosaic of archive material and interviews is embellished with Hockney's revealing home-movie footage.

Nas: Time Is Illmatic (Cert E, 75 mins, Dogwoof, Steelbook Blu-ray & DVD Combi-pack £22.99, Documentary/Musical or on-demand from various streaming services)

Director One9 marks the 20th anniversary of Nas' ground-breaking debut album with this intimate documentary, which ventures back to the star's childhood home in the Queensbridge housing project in Long Island City. Nas reminisces about his formative years with his musician father, Olu Dara, and muses on the profound impact of the burgeoning hip hop scene in New York City, which sparked his creativity and led to him signing to a major record label at the age of 19. The film includes interviews with fellow chart stars Pharrell Williams and Alicia Keys as well as the producers of the Time Is Illmatic LP: Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S. and DJ Premier.

Hello Carter (Cert 15, 77 mins, Signature Entertainment, DVD £19.99, Romance/Comedy/Drama or on-demand from various streaming services)

Loosely based on a 2011 short of the same name, Anthony Carter's feature directorial debut centres on thirty-something slacker Carter (Charlie Cox), who has lost his job and girlfriend, and now languishes in the flat belonging to his despairing brother Eliott (Christian Cooke). Eventually, Eliott grows tired of his sibling's intrusion and Carter moves in with their eccentric aunt Miriam (Judy Parfitt), while he searches for employment. At one interview, he meets Jenny (Jodie Whittaker) and romance sparks. However, Carter is convinced that his life will turn around if he can just win back his American ex-girlfriend. By chance, he meets her actor brother Aaron (Paul Schneider) on the Underground. After much begging and pleading, Aaron agrees to give Carter his sister's mobile phone number in exchange for the delivery of a letter to a friend. A simple task spirals out of control, including the accidental kidnapping of a baby.

TOP 10 DVD RETAIL

1 (2) The Inbetweeners 2

2 (-) Frozen

3 (1) Guardians Of The Galaxy

4 (8) Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie

5 (7) Lee Evans: Monsters Live

6 (6) The Fault In Our Stars

7 (-) Top Gear - The Perfect Road Trip 2

8 (5) How To Train Your Dragon 2

9 (9) Maleficent

10 (4) Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

(Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk/DVD)

TOP 10 DVD RENTAL

1 (1) Guardians Of The Galaxy

2 (4) The Inbetweeners 2

3 (3) Frozen

4 (6) Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

5 (5) How To Train Your Dragon 2

6 (2) X-Men: Days Of Future Past

7 (7) Maleficent

8 (9) Transformers: Age Of Extinction

9 (8) The Fault In Our Stars

10 (-) The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

(Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk/DVD)

TOP 10 FILM STREAMING

1 (1) The Dark Knight Rises

2 (3) Monsters Inc.

3 (-) Horrible Bosses

4 (2) Escape Plan

5 (4) Non-Stop

6 (5) The Dark Knight

7 (8) Nativity 2: Danger In The Manger

8 (-) Arthur Christmas

9 (6) Crazy, Stupid, Love

10 (-) Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas

(Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk/DVD)