Action

• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | DVD | (14/05/2012) from £7.25  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £N/A

  The good news is, Dr. Watson does get married. The bad news is, Sherlock Holmes throws his bride off a moving train. Actually, there's even worse news than that--but all will be explained in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the sequel to Guy Ritchie's 2009 hit. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return to their roles as Holmes and Watson, as the duo take on the world's greatest criminal mind, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), a man whose latest scheme has global implications. Sherlockians who prefer their consulting detective to remain in a traditional mode had best look the other way, for the sequel continues Ritchie's vision of Holmes as a hard-punching action hero hurtling through a barrage of special effects sequences. If you can go with that, A Game of Shadows actually improves on the first film: the story makes a little more sense (or possibly the whole thing moves so smoothly you don't notice the illogic), Harris is a delicious villain, and new cast members Noomi Rapace (from the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series) and Stephen Fry (playing Sherlock's brother Mycroft, who calls his sibling "Sherlie") add appeal. It's all frivolous and superficial, but the film's playful attitude and breathless forward motion are skillfully managed--and the final note adds just the right punctuation. --Robert Horton

• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - Triple Play (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) | Blu Ray | (14/05/2012) from £11.99  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £N/A

  The good news is, Dr. Watson does get married. The bad news is, Sherlock Holmes throws his bride off a moving train. Actually, there's even worse news than that--but all will be explained in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the sequel to Guy Ritchie's 2009 hit. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return to their roles as Holmes and Watson, as the duo take on the world's greatest criminal mind, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), a man whose latest scheme has global implications. Sherlockians who prefer their consulting detective to remain in a traditional mode had best look the other way, for the sequel continues Ritchie's vision of Holmes as a hard-punching action hero hurtling through a barrage of special effects sequences. If you can go with that, A Game of Shadows actually improves on the first film: the story makes a little more sense (or possibly the whole thing moves so smoothly you don't notice the illogic), Harris is a delicious villain, and new cast members Noomi Rapace (from the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series) and Stephen Fry (playing Sherlock's brother Mycroft, who calls his sibling "Sherlie") add appeal. It's all frivolous and superficial, but the film's playful attitude and breathless forward motion are skillfully managed--and the final note adds just the right punctuation. --Robert Horton

• Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol | DVD | (30/04/2012) from £9.95  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £N/A

  On the cusp of turning 50, it looks like Tom Cruise has entered a new phase of self-conception with a more maturely controlled version of superspy Ethan Hunt in the sleek and supercharged Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. The things Cruise has done right in M: I part four include toning down his youthful, arrogant preening and letting his cast mates share more of the spotlight (Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg all have some terrifically shiny moments). He also lets the unique creative vision of director Brad Bird shine through in a first live-action outing for the acclaimed helm of Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. Still looking much younger than his years (that hair! those pecs! those abs!), Cruise is playing more age-appropriately, letting a little wisdom and grace seep into his charisma so the wattage of his mere presence smoulders a little deeper. It's a nice nod to a greying generation that says you can get older and still be cool. All that is not to say he doesn't play up his action-star chops to the max. In a mostly inconsequential narrative arc that has something to do with purloined nuclear launch codes, an important metal briefcase, satellite uplinks, and global annihilation that leaps from Moscow to Dubai to Mumbai, Cruise is as dangerously nimble as he has ever been. He dangles one-handed from the tallest building in the world, bounds off ledges, springs out of speeding vehicles, tumbles and careens up and down the levels of an automated parking garage, and generally sprints and jumps his way across the movie with only a scratch or bruise to show for it. Also on the outlandish upside is a happily stereotypical villain straight out of Connery-era Bond and as many bleeding-edge gadgets as the art department techno-geeks could dream up. A running gag is that many of these electronic fantasy tools fail at just the wrong moment, which is part of a larger wink acknowledging how utterly preposterous yet ingeniously conceived this behemoth of a movie really is. The gadgetry is not limited just to the miraculous props. Ghost Protocol employs CGI fakery of the highest order from the sub-industry of effects contractors that ratchet up the standard of computing power and software design, one-upping each successive action-adventure extravaganza. The loving detail that goes into blowing up the Kremlin or rendering a photo-realistic sandstorm erupting across the enhanced skyline of an Oz-like desert city is nothing short of miraculous. What's more astonishing is that Tom Cruise closes the deal with a selling power that's as new and improved as the laminates on his multi-million-dollar teeth. --Ted Fry

• Captain America - The First Avenger | DVD | (05/12/2011) from £6.95  |  Saving you £13.04 (65.20%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Captain America leads the fight for freedom in the action-packed blockbuster starring Chris Evans as the ultimate weapon against evil! When a terrifying force threatens everyone across the globe, the world's greatest soldier wages war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, The Matrix).

• Thor | DVD | (26/09/2011) from £6.00  |  Saving you £13.99 (70.00%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Of all the folks in long underwear to be tapped for superhero films, Thor would seem to be the most problematic to properly pull off. (Hypothetical Hollywood conversation: "A guy in a tricked-out, easily merchandisable metal suit? Great! An Asgardian God of Thunder who says stuff like thee and thou? Um, is Moon Knight available?") Thankfully, the resulting film does its source material rather proud, via a committed cast and an approach that doesn't shy away from the over-the-top superheroics. When you're dealing with a flying guy wielding a huge hammer, gritty realism can be overrated, really. Blending elements from the celebrated comic arcs by Walter Simonson and J. Michael Straczynski, the story follows the headstrong Thunder God (Chris Hemsworth) as he is banished to Earth and stripped of his powers by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) after inadvertently starting a war with a planet of ticked-off Frost Giants. As his traitorous brother Loki (the terrific Tom Hiddleston) schemes in the wings, Thor must redeem himself and save the universe, with the aid of a beautiful scientist (Natalie Portman). Although director Kenneth Branagh certainly doesn't skimp on the in-jokes and fan-pleasing continuity references (be prepared to stick around after the credits, Marvel fans), his film distinguishes itself by adopting a larger-than-life cosmic Shakespearean air that sets itself apart from both the cerebral, grounded style made fashionable by The Dark Knight and the loose-limbed Rat Packish vibe of the Iron Man series. Glorying in the absolute unreality of its premise, Branagh's film is a swooping, Jack Kirby-inspired saga that brings the big-budget grins on a consistent basis, as well as tying in with the superhero battle royale The Avengers. --Andrew Wright

• Underworld: Awakening | DVD | (14/05/2012) from £9.70  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £N/A

  When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrioress Selene leads the battle against humankind.

• Underworld: Awakening (Blu-ray 3D) | Blu Ray | (14/05/2012) from £14.00  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £N/A

  When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrioress Selene leads the battle against humankind.

• Alien Anthology | Blu Ray | (16/01/2012) from £9.95  |  Saving you £24.04 (70.70%)  |  RRP £33.99

  Titles Comprise:Alien: The terror begins when the crew of the spaceship Nostromo investigates a transmission from a desolate planet and makes a horrifying discovery, a life form that breeds within a human host. Now the crew must fight not only for its own survival, but for the survival of all mankind.Aliens: Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley, the only survivor from mankind's first encounter with the monstrous Alien. Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew are received with skepticism, until the mysterious disappearance of colonists on LV-426 lead her to join a team of high-tech colonial marines sent in to investigate...Alien 3: Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is the lone survivor when her crippled spaceship crash lands on Fiorina 161, a bleak wasteland inhabited by former inmates of the planet's maximum security prison. Ripley's fears that an Alien was aboard her craft are confirmed when the mutilated bodies of ex-cons begin to mount. Without weapons or modern technology of any kind, Ripley must lead the men into battle against the terrifying creature. And soon she discovers a horrifying fact about her link with the Alien, a realisation that may compel Ripley to try destroying not only the horrific creature, but herself as well.Alien Resurrection: Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) died fighting the perfect predator. Two hundred years and eight horrific experiments later, she's back. A group of scientists have cloned her, along with the alien queen inside her, hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the resurrected Ripley is full of surprises for her creators, as are the aliens. And soon, a lot more than all hell breaks loose! To combat the creatures, Ripley must team up with a band of smugglers, including a mechanic named Call (Winona Ryder), who holds more than a few surprises of her own.

• Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - Triple Play (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) | Blu Ray | (30/04/2012) from £14.95  |  Saving you £13.04 (46.60%)  |  RRP £27.99

  On the cusp of turning 50, it looks like Tom Cruise has entered a new phase of self-conception with a more maturely controlled version of superspy Ethan Hunt in the sleek and supercharged Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. The things Cruise has done right in M: I part four include toning down his youthful, arrogant preening and letting his cast mates share more of the spotlight (Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton, and Simon Pegg all have some terrifically shiny moments). He also lets the unique creative vision of director Brad Bird shine through in a first live-action outing for the acclaimed helm of Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. Still looking much younger than his years (that hair! those pecs! those abs!), Cruise is playing more age-appropriately, letting a little wisdom and grace seep into his charisma so the wattage of his mere presence smoulders a little deeper. It's a nice nod to a greying generation that says you can get older and still be cool. All that is not to say he doesn't play up his action-star chops to the max. In a mostly inconsequential narrative arc that has something to do with purloined nuclear launch codes, an important metal briefcase, satellite uplinks, and global annihilation that leaps from Moscow to Dubai to Mumbai, Cruise is as dangerously nimble as he has ever been. He dangles one-handed from the tallest building in the world, bounds off ledges, springs out of speeding vehicles, tumbles and careens up and down the levels of an automated parking garage, and generally sprints and jumps his way across the movie with only a scratch or bruise to show for it. Also on the outlandish upside is a happily stereotypical villain straight out of Connery-era Bond and as many bleeding-edge gadgets as the art department techno-geeks could dream up. A running gag is that many of these electronic fantasy tools fail at just the wrong moment, which is part of a larger wink acknowledging how utterly preposterous yet ingeniously conceived this behemoth of a movie really is. The gadgetry is not limited just to the miraculous props. Ghost Protocol employs CGI fakery of the highest order from the sub-industry of effects contractors that ratchet up the standard of computing power and software design, one-upping each successive action-adventure extravaganza. The loving detail that goes into blowing up the Kremlin or rendering a photo-realistic sandstorm erupting across the enhanced skyline of an Oz-like desert city is nothing short of miraculous. What's more astonishing is that Tom Cruise closes the deal with a selling power that's as new and improved as the laminates on his multi-million-dollar teeth. --Ted Fry

• Iron Man 2 | DVD | (25/10/2010) from £N/A  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Robert Downey Jr. returns to play Tony Stark in Iron Man 2 the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 2008 superhero smash Iron Man. In this sensational follow-up Stark must become Iron Man once more and do battle with Whiplash (Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler) and corporate rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell - Moon). Scarlett Johansson (Lost In Translation) stars as sexy Russian spy Black Widow and Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights) assumes the role of Colonel James Rhodes from Terrence Howard.

• Tintin: Secret Of The Unicorn | DVD | (19/03/2012) from £8.99  |  Saving you £11.00 (55.00%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Globally beloved young reporter Tintin and his fiercely loyal dog Snowy-iconic characters, created by Herge-are brought to life in the worldwide smash hit, The Adventures of Tintin. After discovering a model ship carrying an explosive secret, Tintin and his friends find themselves in the crosshairs of a diabolical villain. From the high seas to the sands of the North African deserts, every new twist and turn sweeps viewers to ever greater levels of thrills, peril and adventure for the whole family.

• Johnny English Reborn | DVD | (13/02/2012) from £N/A  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Rowan Atkinson returns to the role of the accidental secret agent who doesn't know fear or danger in the comedy spy-thriller Johnny English Reborn. In his latest adventure, the most unlikely intelligence officer in Her Majesty's Secret Service must stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos. In the years since MI-7's top spy vanished off the grid, he has been honing his unique skills in a remote region of Asia. But when his agency superiors learn of an attempt against the Chinese premier's life, they must hunt down the highly unorthodox agent. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English is back in action. With one shot at redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout the KGB, CIA and even MI-7. With mere days until a heads of state conference, one man must use every trick in his playbook to protect us all. For Johnny English, disaster may be an option, but failure never is.

• Hugo | DVD | (02/04/2012) from £8.00  |  Saving you £11.99 (60.00%)  |  RRP £19.99

  In resourceful orphan Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield, an Oliver Twist-like charmer), Martin Scorsese finds the perfect vessel for his silver-screen passion: this is a movie about movies. After his clockmaker father (Jude Law) perishes in a museum fire, Hugo goes to live with his Uncle Claude (Ray Winstone), a drunkard who maintains the clocks at a Paris train station. When Claude disappears, Hugo carries on his work and fends for himself by stealing food from area merchants. In his free time, he attempts to repair an automaton his father rescued from the museum, while trying to evade the station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen), a World War I veteran with no sympathy for lawbreakers. When Georges (Ben Kingsley), a toymaker, catches Hugo stealing parts for his mechanical man, he recruits him as an assistant to repay his debt. If Georges is guarded, his open-hearted ward, Isabelle (Chloë Moretz), introduces Hugo to a kindly bookseller (Christopher Lee), who directs them to a motion-picture museum, where they meet film scholar René (Boardwalk Empire's Michael Stuhlbarg). In helping unlock the secret of the automaton, they learn about the roots of cinema, starting with the Lumière brothers, and give a forgotten movie pioneer his due, thus illustrating the importance of film preservation, a cause to which the director has dedicated his life. If Scorsese's adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret isn't his most autobiographical work, it just may be his most personal. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

• Harry Potter - The Complete 8-Film Collection | DVD | (02/12/2011) from £21.24  |  Saving you £16.02 (35.60%)  |  RRP £44.99

  From the first spell to the final battle! The entire eight-film Harry Potter collection is now available for you to own.Join Harry, Hermione and Ron from their first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone all the way through to Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2. In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort.It all starts and ends here.Titles Comprise:Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone (2001)Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (2002)Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005)Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007)Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009)Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

• The Incredible Hulk | DVD | (13/10/2008) from £4.39  |  Saving you £15.60 (78.00%)  |  RRP £19.99

  A more accessible and less heavy-handed movie than Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk, Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk is a purely popcorn love affair with Marvel's raging, green superhero, as well as the old television series starring Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the beast within him. Edward Norton takes up where Eric Bana left off in Lee's version, playing Bruce (that's the character's original name) Banner, a haunted scientist always on the move. Trying to eliminate the effects of a military experiment that turns him into the Hulk whenever his emotions get the better of him, Banner is hiding out in Brazil at the film's beginning. Working in a bottling plant and communicating via email with an unidentified professor who thinks he can help, Banner goes postal when General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross and a small army turn up to grab him. Intent on developing whatever causes Banner's metamorphoses into a weapon, Ross brings along a quietly deranged soldier named Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), who wants Ross to turn him into a supersoldier who can take on the Hulk. The adventure spreads to the U.S., where Banner hooks up with his old lover (and Ross' daughter), Betty (Liv Tyler), and where the Hulk takes on several armed assaults, including one in a pretty unusual location: a college campus. The film's action is impressive, though the computer-generated creature is disappointingly cartoonish, and a second monster turning up late in the movie looks even cheesier. Norton is largely wasted in the film--he's essentially a bridge between sequences where he disappears and the Hulk rampages around. As good an actor as he is, Norton doesn't have the charisma here to carry those scenes in which one waits impatiently for the real show to begin. --Tom Keogh

• John Carter (Blu-ray 3D) | Blu Ray | (02/07/2012) from £16.00  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £N/A

  From Academy award-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton (Best Animated Film, WALL-E, 2008) comes John Carter - a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). Based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic novel, John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to Mars and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands. Stunning special effects, great characters and villains - and complete with extraordinary bonus features - John Carter is a heroic and inspirational adventure that will thrill you beyond imagination.

• Iron Sky (Blu-ray + Digital Copy) | Blu Ray | (28/05/2012) from £10.98  |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)  |  RRP £N/A

  In the last moments of World War II, a secret Nazi space programme evaded destruction by the Allies and made a daring escape to the Moon. In the intervening 70 years they have re-colonised, re-armed with devastating new weapons and silently plotted their revenge.When an American astronaut stumbles upon their secret Moon lair, the Fhrer (Udo Kier, Blade) decides to unleash their alien armada upon the unprepared Earth, to be led by ruthless army leader Klaus Alder (Gotz Otto, Schindler's List, Downfall). Now every man, woman and child must unite to repel the UFO Nazi invasion and save humanity!

• Hugo (Blu-ray 3D) | Blu Ray | (02/04/2012) from £13.99  |  Saving you £11.00 (44.00%)  |  RRP £24.99

  In resourceful orphan Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield, an Oliver Twist-like charmer), Martin Scorsese finds the perfect vessel for his silver-screen passion: this is a movie about movies (fittingly, the 3-D effects are spectacular). After his clockmaker father (Jude Law) perishes in a museum fire, Hugo goes to live with his Uncle Claude (Ray Winstone), a drunkard who maintains the clocks at a Paris train station. When Claude disappears, Hugo carries on his work and fends for himself by stealing food from area merchants. In his free time, he attempts to repair an automaton his father rescued from the museum, while trying to evade the station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen), a World War I veteran with no sympathy for lawbreakers. When Georges (Ben Kingsley), a toymaker, catches Hugo stealing parts for his mechanical man, he recruits him as an assistant to repay his debt. If Georges is guarded, his open-hearted ward, Isabelle (Chloë Moretz), introduces Hugo to a kindly bookseller (Christopher Lee), who directs them to a motion-picture museum, where they meet film scholar René (Boardwalk Empire's Michael Stuhlbarg). In helping unlock the secret of the automaton, they learn about the roots of cinema, starting with the Lumière brothers, and give a forgotten movie pioneer his due, thus illustrating the importance of film preservation, a cause to which the director has dedicated his life. If Scorsese's adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret isn't his most autobiographical work, it just may be his most personal. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

• Road House | DVD | (11/07/2002) from £3.49  |  Saving you £9.50 (73.10%)  |  RRP £12.99

  Road House is one of those movies that helped usher out the era of action films that had feasible plot lines (and also helped reverse the direction of Patrick Swayze's career arc). Swayze stars as Dalton: a handsome, existential bouncer who owns both a degree in philosophy and a Mercedes and that's perhaps the most believable aspect of the whole movie. Dalton runs afoul of Wesley (Ben Gazzara), the meanest SOB round these parts, by taking up with his former girlfriend, Doc (Kelly Lynch)--the only woman in town with an IQ approaching double digits, even if she had unfathomably hooked up with such a lowlife. Swayze had complained about being typecast as beefcake when this was made, but that didn't stop him from revealing as much skin as possible. It's so insulting to its audience that it's nice to be able to turn the tables and laugh at the filmmakers.--David Kronke, Amazon.com

• Iron Man (1 Disc Edition) | DVD | (27/10/2008) from £5.00  |  Saving you £14.99 (75.00%)  |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the long-running Marvel comic book series and featuring an all star cast including Robert Downey Jr Terrence Howard Gweneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges Iron Man is winging his way to you! Iron Man tells the story of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) the enigmatic heir to the Stark Enterprises fortune. A driven inventor and executive who seems to have it all Tony is haunted by his dark side. Though he commands his empire by day by night he secretly becomes Iron Man the living embodiment of decades of defense spending and innovation. Strapping on billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art armor and weaponry each night to fight crime terrorism and corporate espionage Tony begins to crack under the strain of his fractured lifestyle and must ultimately confront the one enemy he can never beat - himself.