"Actor: Art"

• Die Hard 2: Die Harder | DVD | (10/01/2000) from £5.98   |  Saving you £14.01 (234.28%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Director Renny Harlin (Cutthroat Island) took the reins of this 1990 sequel, which places Bruce Willis's New York City cop character in harm's way again with a gaggle of terrorists. This time, Willis awaits his wife's arrival at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC, when he gets wind of a plot to blow up the facility. Noisy, overbearing and forgettable, the film has none of the purity of its predecessor's simple story; and it makes a huge miscalculation in allowing a terrible tragedy to occur rather than stretch out the tension. Where Die Hard set new precedents in action movies, Die Hard 2 is just an anything-goes spectacle. -- Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Last Action Hero | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £10.16   |  Saving you £-2.91 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  John McTiernan (The Hunt for Red October) imaginatively directs this action comedy, which is an interesting failure with some fascinating ironies that make it well worth seeing. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays both a character named Jack Slater--a fictional cop hero who exists only in the movies (ie, the movies seen by the characters in this movie) and the actor who plays Jack Slater in the real world (ie, in the movie we're actually watching). McTiernan's hall-of-mirrors effect is fun, though Last Action Hero never quite identifies itself as a pure action movie, science fiction, a kid's movie, or anything else. (The expensive film suffered at the box office as a result and was roundly criticised for this ambivalence.) What lingers in the memory, however, is Schwarzenegger, playing himself, being confronted by Slater for having created an alter ego for film in the first place. It's a provocative moment: how often have we seen a major star blatantly wrestle with his actor's legacy in this way? --Tom Keogh

• Ghosted | DVD | (27/06/2011) from £6.69   |  Saving you £6.30 (94.17%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Jack (John Lynch) a model prisoner has kept his head down and done his time. After his wife leaves him on the anniversary of their son's death the only thing that keeps him from going under is the presence of a new prisoner Paul (Martin Compston). But when Paul falls under the influence of psychotic Baron Clay (Craig Parkinson) Jack soon finds he must risk his own life and sanity to help the newcomer. But can he save both himself and Paul in the process? A hard-hitting gritty prison drama starring a stellar cast of home-grown British talent and in your face violence Ghosted is a tough and powerful tale of loss survival salvation and life in a British prison.

• The Trip | DVD | (05/12/2005) from £19.30   |  Saving you £-4.31 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The things we do for love and things we should have done all come together on The Trip. An ambitious epic romance that traces the course of two men through their initial meeting as teenagers in 1973 until the mid 80's. Alan is a member of the Young Republicans and an aspiring journalist. He's working on a book about the evils of homosexuality and invites Tommy a gay rights activist over for dinner and to interview him for the book. Thus begins a friendship that leads to a

• Blood Simple | DVD | (30/10/2017) from £5.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blood Simple is grisly comic noir that marries the feverish toughness of pulp thrillers with the ghoulishness of even pulpier horror. (Imagine the novels of Jim Thompson somehow fused with the comic tabloid Weird Tales and you get the idea.) The story concerns a Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a seedy private detective (M Emmett Walsh) to follow his cheating wife (Frances McDormand in her first film appearance) and then kill her and her lover (John Getz). The gumshoe turns the tables on his client and suddenly a bad situation gets much, much worse, with some violent goings-on that are as elemental as they are shocking. (A scene in which a character who has been buried alive suddenly emerges from his own grave instantly becomes an archetypal nightmare.) Shot by Barry Sonnenfeld before he became an A-list director in Hollywood, Blood Simple established the hyperreal look and feel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose The Evil Dead had just been coedited by Joel). Sections of the film have proved to be an endurance test for art-house movie fans, particularly an extended climax that involves one shock after another but ends with a laugh at the absurdity of criminal ambition. This is definitely one of the triumphs of the 1980s and the American independent film scene in general. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Firestarter | DVD | (17/06/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Stephen King wasn't exactly in peak form when he wrote Firestarter, so this 1984 movie adaptation was at a disadvantage even before the cameras rolled. There were so many King movies being made at the time the weaknesses of this one became even more apparent. In her first film role after her memorable appearance in E.T., Drew Barrymore stars as a little girl whose parents acquired strange mental powers after participating in a secret government experiment. From this genetic background she has developed the mysterious ability to set anything on fire at will, especially when she's angry. That makes her very interesting to government officials seeking to exploit her skill as a secret weapon. Her father tries to protect her by using his powers of mind-control, while George C. Scott plays an Indian who believes the girl must be destroyed. There is a routine climax involving a lot of impressive pyrotechnics, but none of this is grounded in a dramatically solid foundation, and none of the characters are developed enough for us to care about them. Director Mark L. Lester, who the following year made Commando with Schwarzenegger, keeps the pace cracking along, but nevertheless the movie gradually turns into a laughable thriller with no suspense whatsoever. It's a movie only a pyromaniac could love. --Jeff ShannonOn the DVD: This is a largely no-frills presentation, albeit with a decent anamorphic print. The only extras are the original theatrical trailer and a nicely presented menu. A fold-out booklet has informative liner notes and a reproduction of the film poster.

• Blood Simple | DVD | (01/01/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The debut film of director Joel Coen and his brother-producer Ethan Coen, 1983's Blood Simple is grisly comic noir that marries the feverish toughness of pulp thrillers with the ghoulishness of even pulpier horror. (Imagine the novels of Jim Thompson somehow fused with the comic tabloid Weird Tales and you get the idea.) The story concerns a Texas bar owner (Dan Hedaya) who hires a seedy private detective (M Emmett Walsh) to follow his cheating wife (Frances McDormand in her first film appearance) and then kill her and her lover (John Getz). The gumshoe turns the tables on his client, and suddenly a bad situation gets much, much worse, with some violent goings-on that are as elemental as they are shocking. (A scene in which a character who has been buried alive suddenly emerges from his own grave instantly becomes an archetypal nightmare.) Shot by Barry Sonnenfeld before he became an A-list director in Hollywood, Blood Simple established the hyperreal look and feel of the Coens' productions (undoubtedly inspired a bit by filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose The Evil Dead had just been coedited by Joel). Sections of the film have proved to be an endurance test for art-house movie fans, particularly an extended climax that involves one shock after another but ends with a laugh at the absurdity of criminal ambition. This is definitely one of the triumphs of the 1980s and the American independent film scene in general. --Tom Keogh

• Minder - Series 5 | DVD | (01/01/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  By 1984 Minder was an international television award winner and Series 5 arrives with great fanfare and chart-topping episodes. Relive the comic capers of the crafty Cockney Arthur Daley (George Cole) and his tough-talking sidekick Terry McCann (Dennis waterman). Disc 1 - Episodes 1 to 3. Goodbye Sailor. What Makes Shamy Run? A Number Of Old Wives' Tale. Disc 2 - Episodes 4 to 6. The Second Time Around. Second Hand Pose. The Long Ride Back To Scratchwood. Disc 3 - Episodes 7 to 8. Hypnotising Rita. The Balance Of Power.

• 10 Days To War | DVD | (04/05/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  On March 20th five years ago the UK and US went to war. Thousands of Iraqis died millions were displaced and cities were practically destroyed. But why and how? Now a groundbreaking drama goes behind scenes of the countdown to the Iraq war. Part thriller part political drama 10 Days to War has a relentless ticking-clock intensity with all events unfolding in real time. From Tony Blair selling the idea of war to his sceptical party and cynical public and the American marketing of Ahmed Chalabi as the George Washington of Iraq to the shock and awe of the first strike this distinctive and compelling film lifts the lid on the back-room bullying and gripping human dramas played out privately in the corridors of power. On March 20th five years ago the UK and US went to war. Thousands of Iraqis died millions were displaced and cities were practically destroyed.

• Jack The Bear | DVD | (15/08/2005) from £11.30   |  Saving you £1.69 (13.00%)   |  RRP £12.99

  As the monster-host of a late night horror show John (Danny DeVito) delights the neighborhood kids with his silly ghoulish antics - but his embarrassed 12-year-old son Jack the Bear is not amused. The other dysfunctional lunatics on the block - and his monster crush on the cute girl at school (Reese Witherspoon) - don't make things any easier for Jack. But when a family crisis hits will Jack's dad be able to lift the grownup burden from his young son's shoulders? Oscar nominee G

• Art Of Noise - Into Vision | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Into Vision is a passable enough "greatest hits revisited" collection from the Trevor Horn/Anne Dudley/Paul Morley supergroup Art of Noise, whose millennial reunion was said by some to have been the grumpiest since that of the Velvet Underground. The main visual element is concert footage from four performances, two of which took place in the USA (there's one unintentionally--or is it?--hilarious shot of the band looking out over a sea of bucket hats) and two in London. This is subjected to various arty cut-and-paste editing tricks which perhaps compensate for what would otherwise have been a rather static visual experience, although that might have been preferable to the sight of Morley galumphing pointlessly around the stage like Bez's dad. No matter, though, because the music's excellent, with no shortage of faves like "Moments in Love". On the DVD: Into Vision also has plenty of other material, including a rather strident snapshot performance of Dudley playing some Debussy in a somewhat Wakemanesque, session-veteran fashion, some rehearsal footage which certainly belies the rumours of tensions within the relaunched band (witness Dudley seguing yet another dollop of Debussy into the Postman Pat theme, to the amused consternation of singer Amanda Boyd). There's also a band interview which Morley hi-jacks by acting like a twat throughout. Still pretty good, though.--Roger Thomas

• The Bay: Series 1-2 | DVD | (01/03/2021) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Starring Morven Christie and written by the award-winning Daragh Carville, The Bay is a beautifully crafted crime drama rooted in the families and communities of a distinctive coastal town. In the debut season, Family Liaison Officer Lisa Armstrong (Christie) is assigned to a missing persons investigation that, at first, seems like any other tragic, but all too familiar. But there's something very different about this particular case. With horror, Lisa realises she has a personal connection with this frightened family one that could compromise her and the investigation. Season two begins with Lisa at a low ebb, forced to do menial police work. However, when a new case involving a shocking murder within a loving family emerges, Lisa is called upon once again. Facing huge challenges at work and at home, Lisa must get under the skin of this new family and prove her worth to her colleagues, to her family and to herself.

• The Bay: Series 2 | DVD | (01/03/2021) from £13.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  From award-winning writer Daragh Carville, beautifully crafted crime drama hit The Bay returns. Series two begins with Lisa Armstrong at a low ebb, forced to do menial police work while she watches Med go from strength to strength. But a new case involving a shocking murder within a loving family brings Lisa unexpectedly back to the front line. Can she get under the skin of this new family and prove her worth - to her colleagues, to her family and to herself?

• Kubo and the Two Strings (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + UV Copy) | Blu Ray | (16/01/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £11.69

  Young Kubo's peaceful existence comes crashing down when he accidentally summons a vengeful spirit from the past. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey and Beetle to unlock a secret legacy. Armed with a magical instrument, Kubo must battle the Moon King and other gods and monsters to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known.

• The Santa Clause 2 | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £3.32   |  Saving you £14.67 (441.87%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) has been Santa Claus for the past eight years, and his loyal elves consider him the best Santa ever. But Santa's got problems and things quickly go south when he finds out that his son has landed on this year's "naughty" list!

• Fright Night 4K Ultra HD SteelBook (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital) | Blu Ray | (04/10/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Simon And Garfunkel - Old Friends - On Stage | DVD | (29/11/2004) from £5.79   |  Saving you £0.20 (3.30%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Old Friends: Live On Stage captures the historic 2003-2004 Simon & Garfunkel 'Old Friends Tour'. Featuring a wealth of classic material from the legendary pair who recently toured together for the first time in over twenty years. Old Friends: Live On Stage spans the duo's unparalleled career and includes such enduring Simon & Garfunkel favorites as ""The Sound Of Silence "" ""I Am A Rock "" ""Scarborough Fair "" ""Bridge Over Troubled Water "" ""Mrs. Robinson "" ""A Hazy Shade Of Winter "" ""The

• Death Warrant | DVD | (09/07/2001) from £11.97   |  Saving you £4.01 (44.65%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In 1990, Death Warrant was one of several back-to-back action movies that suddenly made Jean Claude Van Damme's name a rival to Stallone's and Schwarzenegger's. Its distinction from the likes of Cyborg or Double Impact is in its firm grounding in reality. In fact, Los Angeles County Jail couldn't seem more harshly real. That's where Detective Burke finds himself going undercover to investigate a string of mysterious (and politically embarrassing) deaths. Of course, the prison environment is ideally suited to Van Damme's strengths, where he elicits sympathy as the innocent abroad during one fight sequence after another. Lots of colourful secondary characters are along for the ride, such as the enigmatic Priest, tough-as-nails peanut-shucking Sergeant DeGraf and Burke's arch nemesis, the Candyman (Patrick Kilpatrick). There's an admirable attempt at portraying the action with some panache. Light and shadow is used to good effect and every kickbox move is punctuated by a double cut. Although the script dispenses with the essential Van Damme elements in the opening seconds (he lost a partner / he's from Canada / he can kickbox), this is definitely an above-average Van Damme flick. On the DVD: The bare-bones transfer offers an occasionally grainy picture in 1.85:1 ratio and a three-channel surround soundtrack. The only extra off the static menu is the original theatrical trailer. --Paul Tonks

• Toys | DVD | (21/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Enter a spectacular world of whimsy fun and fantasy in this acclaimed visual extravaganza. Leslie Zevo is a fun-loving adult who must save his late father's toy factory from his evil uncle a war-loving general who builds weapons disguised as toys. Aided by his sister and girlfriend Leslie sets out to thwart his uncle and restore joy and innocence to their special world.

• Zone Troopers | Blu Ray | (20/06/2022) from £15.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  This silly, low budget science fiction feature somehow combines Nazisploitaion with spaceships and horror to create a cartoonish romp through a history that never was. When a World War II American military patrol gets lost behind enemy lines in Italy and stumbles upon a crashed alien spacecraft, they quickly come to realise they must join forces with the surviving extra-terrestrials if they are to defeat a Nazi crack team who are hell-bent on using alien technology to win the war. Madcap, fun and charmingly cheap, this daft science fiction potboiler is a must for all collectors of cult 80s movie.