"Actor: Dan Li"

• The Simpsons: Complete Season 4 | DVD | (02/08/2004) from £19.47   |  Saving you £20.52 (105.39%)   |  RRP £39.99

  By its fourth series, The Simpsons had come far enough for Lisa to make a self-referential joke about Dustin Hoffman's and Michael Jackson's pseudonymous guest voice appearances in series 2 and 3, respectively. In this series, no less than Elizabeth Taylor (in two episodes), Bette Midler and even the reclusive Johnny Carson blessed The Simpsons with their iconic presences. Awhile back, US magazine Entertainment Weekly ranked the top 25 Simpsons episodes. Five gems from series 4 cracked the top 12, including the (debatable) choice for No. 1, "Last Exit to Springfield". Other episodes that loom large in the Simpsons legend are "Mr Plow" (you know the jingle: "Call Mr Plow / That's my name / That name again is Mr Plow"), "Marge vs. the Monorail", featuring a Music-Man-style extravaganza, and "A Streetcar Named Marge", the episode that outraged New Orleans residents, who heard their fair metropolis referred to as "a city that the damned call home". The Simpsons smartly subverts traditional family sitcom convention, but anyone who thinks the show doesn't have a heart is advised to watch "I Love Lisa" and "New Kid on the Block", two fourth-series gems that absolutely nail the agony and ecstasy of unrequited crushes ("You won't be needing this", a heartbroken Bart fantasises his babysitter saying while dropkicking his heart into a wastebasket in "New Kid"). While the Simpsons' celebrated ensemble gets all the glory, we must pause now to praise the peerless writing staff, among them George Meyer, Al Jean, Jon Vitti, John Swartzwelder, David Silverman and Conan O'Brien. One can only marvel in astonishment at the alchemy that went into creating, week after week, such essential episodes as "Kamp Krusty", "Streetcar", the profane and profound "Homer the Heretic" and "Lisa the Beauty Queen" (and that's just disc 1!). The animators, too, rose to the occasion, particularly in "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie", with its dead-on, ultra-violent sinking of the seminal Disney cartoon "Steamboat Willie". Another benchmark in The Simpsons' rise to the TV pantheon is its very first clip show. What Homer says about donuts in "Monorail" holds true as well for The Simpsons itself: is there anything this show can't do? --Donald Liebenson

• The Return Of Jafar | DVD | (27/12/2004) from £5.08   |  Saving you £10.91 (214.76%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The sequel to Aladdin which finds Jafar the evil sorcerer trapped inside the magic lamp. When a clumsy thief accidently releases Jafar he plots his revenge against Aladdin. Now it's up to Aladdin and his friends to foil Jafar once and for all and save the Sultan's kingdom.

• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | DVD | (18/03/2019) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  At the end of the first film, the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) was captured by MACUSA (Magical Congress of the United States of America), with the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings. In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world. Extras: Featurette-Unlocking Scene Secrets: Le Ministére des Affaires Magiques: The French Ministry

• Shooting Fish | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £6.75   |  Saving you £13.24 (196.15%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Shooting Fish is the kind of movie that evaporates once the end credits roll, but it's lightweight fun while it lasts. An amusing prologue sets the tone: two young orphan boys--one in America, one in England--demonstrate their precocious ability to subvert the strict rules of society. Eighteen years later, the clever Yankee schemer Dylan (Dan Futterman) and techno-geek Jez (Stuart Townsend) are fast friends in London, pulling off a series of royal scams to finance their dream of building a luxurious home for orphans--of course, it's a selfish cause since they're the orphans. Their newly hired secretary Georgie (played by the delightful Kate Beckinsale) goes along with their con games in the belief that their intentions are good, and when she discovers their selfish motivations... well, let's just say the boys (who are both smitten with the charming medical student Georgie) manage to rise to the occasion and do the right thing. Despite a few clever twists, this frothy plot meanders too much to be very involving, but the three young co-stars make it all worthwhile. (Futterman had already played Robin Williams's son in The Birdcage and Beckinsale made a strong impression in The Last Days of Disco.) It's one of those featherweight British comedies that's so good-natured you feel Scroogey if you resist it, and director and co-writer Stefan Schwartz has made the movie just smart enough to hold its own against a wall-to-wall soundtrack of kitschy pop songs. If you don't consider "cute" a derogatory term, this movie will offer an agreeable diversion. --Jeff Shannon

• The Simpsons Movie | DVD | (10/12/2007) from £4.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (300.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Springfield's first family finally come to the big screen in a feature length animated adventure.

• War Of The Roses | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £17.99   |  Saving you £-5.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito are reunited for a third time to fabulous effect in The War of the Roses. This is a dark, disturbing comedy of marital trauma and revenge, which couldn't be more different from their sunnier outings in Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile. Douglas and Turner, in career-best performances, are the materialistic, consumer-driven Roses of the title (Oliver and Barbara) whose seemingly perfect marriage has soured beyond repair; their only point of contact is their meticulously maintained dream house, which Douglas bought and Turner decorated to perfection. When Turner gets a taste of financial independence, she asks Douglas for a divorce--all she wants is the house and everything in it (aside from his clothes and shaving kit). He laughs at her and she punches him in the face. Things only get worse from there, as nasty divorce proceedings (with DeVito as Douglas's lawyer) give way to insults, threats, ruined dinner parties and pet abuse. And through it all, the Roses begin destroying their beloved home and its contents, just to spite each other. DeVito, who also directed, takes Michael Leeson's blacker-than-black screenplay and gives it a hyper-stylised spin, complete with skewed camera angles and wonderfully expressionistic cinematography (by Stephen Burum) as Douglas and Turner barricade themselves in their house, both refusing to give an inch. Shocking for a mainstream studio picture, with its unsympathetic protagonists, escalating bitterness and disturbing finale, Roses is a poisonously funny valentine to both marriage and 1980s materialism, tempered only by its framing device as a cautionary tale. --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

• House of Mirth | DVD | (17/09/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Gillian Anderson and Eric Stoltz star in this adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel about the hypocrisy at the heart of New York society at the start of the last century.

• Wayne's World | DVD | (11/12/2001) from £5.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (166.94%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Thanks to Mike Myers' wonderfully rude, lowbrow humour and his full-bodied understanding of who his character is, Wayne's World proved to be that rare thing: a successful transition of a Saturday Night Live sketch to the big screen. Wayne Campbell (Myers) and his nerdy pal Garth (Dana Carvey) are teens who live at home and have their own low-rent cable-access show in Aurora, Illinios, in which they celebrate their favourite female film stars and heavy-metal bands. When a Chicago TV station smells a potential youth-audience ratings hit, the station's weasely executive (Rob Lowe) tries to co-opt the show--and steal Wayne's new rock 'n' roll girlfriend (Tia Carrere) at the same time. Like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure before it (and the later Detroit Rock City), this is a film that affectionately parodies and celebrates slacker teenage culture. It's also filled with all kinds of knowing spoofs of film conventions, from Wayne talking to the camera (while forbidding other characters to do so) and hilariously self-conscious product placements, to labelling a moment a "Gratuitous Sex Scene". Dumb yet clever--and very funny. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com

• The Hunger | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £6.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (100.14%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) an ancient vampire who survives on the blood of her lovers promises the gift of eternal youth in return for her continued longevity; that is until she tires of them. When her current beau John (David Bowie) falls victim to this very fate he attracts the attention of premature aging specialist Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon)...

• Stakeout | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £5.38   |  Saving you £9.61 (178.62%)   |  RRP £14.99

  A comedy thriller with a silken thread of romance, 1987’s Stakeout stars Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez as a pair of undercover cops assigned to watch the apartment of the former girlfriend (Madeleine Stowe) of a violent escaped convict. Complications ensue when Dreyfuss’ cop poses as a telephone inspector to get in and bug the girlfriend’s phone and they strike up a relationship. Initially coming on a bit like a cross between Hitchcock's Rear Window and Porky's, Stakeout ends up falling between the two stools of mirth and suspense. Some half-amusing business involving a series of practical jokes between the cop duo and their relief partners doesn’t add materially to the film. Emilio Estevez’s sidekick role is under-developed and he brings to this none of the loose cannon mania he would later bring to Young Guns. Dreyfuss isn’t entirely convincing as a tough, seasoned cop and Aidan Quinn as the villain comes across as a poor man’s James Woods. Yet for all these flaws, director John Badham just about manages to cobble together a watchable caper. On the DVD: Stakeout on disc has no extras of any kind, not even a trailer. The feature is presented in widescreen 1.85:1 format with Dolby digital 5.1 sound. The dubbing briefly goes awry near the end. --David Stubbs

• The Simpsons - Season 10 | DVD | (10/09/2007) from £11.99   |  Saving you £30.00 (300.30%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Join the residents of Springfield for the tenth season of the classic animated series.

• Grosse Pointe Blank | DVD | (22/01/2001) from £6.97   |  Saving you £9.02 (129.41%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Hit man Martin Q Blank (John Cusack) is in an awkward situation. Several of them, actually. He's attending his high school reunion on an assignment; he's got a rival hit man (Dan Aykroyd) on his tail; and he's going to have to explain to his old girlfriend (Minnie Driver) why he stood her up on prom night. Grosse Pointe Blank is an amiable black comedy, cowritten by Cusack and directed by Jonathan Demme protégé George Armitage (Miami Blues), has the feel of Demme's Something Wild and Married to the Mob--which is to say its humour is dark and brightly coloured at the same time. Cusack and Driver are utterly charming--as is the leading man's sister, Joan, who plays his secretary. (Cusack received an Oscar nomination for her next role, in In & Out.) Alan Arkin is also very funny as Martin's psychiatrist. --Jim Emerson

• Daylight | DVD | (02/05/2005) from £9.68   |  Saving you £0.31 (3.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This echo of 1970s disaster films stars Sylvester Stallone as the disgraced former head of New York City's Emergency Medical Services, a loser who is nevertheless a compulsive rescuer of people in danger. When the Holland Tunnel is sealed off after a fiery explosion and car passengers are trapped within, he goes inside and leads a group of survivors (a mixed group allegorically representing America's diversity) through all manner of pestilence toward safety. Directed by the imaginative Rob Cohen (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), Daylight finds Stallone outrageously (and to almost campy effect) pushing the envelope of his martyr persona to near-religious levels. He throws himself, quite literally, into this part and between that entertainment factor and the unnervingly convincing effects, this is a pretty watchable film.--Tom Keogh

• James Stewart Westerns Box Set | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £43.95   |  Saving you £-28.97 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.98

  The Rare Breed:In the 1880s Englishwoman Martha Price (Maureen O'Hara) and her daughter Hilary (Juliet Mills) come to America to sell their prize Hereford bull. The women hire Burnett (James Stewart) to help them transport the animal to its new owner Bowen (Brian Keith).Shenandoah:A dramatic story of a man caught in a dilemma. James Stewart stars as a Virginia farmer during the Civil War. He refuses to support the Confederacy because he is opposed to slavery yet he will not support the Union because he is deeply opposed to war.Night Passage:When the local railroad becomes the constant target of a band of desperadoes led by Whitey Harbin (Dan Duryea) officials recruit Grant McLaine (Stewart) to guard the payroll from any more robberies. Trouble is the gang's most skilled and lethal gunslinger The Utica Kid (Audie Murphy) is Grant's kid brother.The Far Country:James Stewart and Walter Brennan are a loner and his sidekick who figure to get rich by selling a herd of cattle at a fancy price during the wild gold rush days. They are soon caught up in a conflict with the local lawman John McIntire and his henchmen.Bend Of The River:James Stewart guides a band of pioneers from Missouri over the Oregon Trail to a new life in the Columbia River Basin in this western adventure. When the settlers are cheated out of their supplies and cattle Stewart crosses rivers climbs mountains and out-guns hijackers to ensure their survival through the first winter.Winchester '73:Frontiersman Lin McAdam (Stewart) is attempting to track down both his father's murderer and his one-of-a-kind rifle the Winchester '73 as it passes among a diverse group of desperate characters including a crazed highwayman (Dan Duryea) an immoral gunrunner (John McIntire a savage young Indian chief (Rock Hudson) and McAdam's own murderous brother (Stephen McNally)Destry Rides Again:As Destry a mild-mannered deputy who doesn't like guns Stewart is called to restore order to the frontier town of Bottleneck. He reluctantly takes the task after meeting French (Dietrich) an alluring saloon girl who belts out unforgettable show-stoppers while winning the hero's heart.

• The Simpsons: Complete Season 3 | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  First broadcast in 1991 the third series of The Simpsons contains a clutch of candidates for "Best Simpsons Episode Ever". Homer is on such appallingly good form throughout this series that a reasonable case can be made for asserting that he has superseded the importance of his Greek namesake in the annals of culture and civilisation. The opening "Stark Raving Dad", for instance, features a guest appearance by an un-credited Michael Jackson, who plays an obese white inmate whom Homer meets while confined to a mental institution. Other standout episodes include "Like Father, Like Clown", in which Krusty reveals he is estranged from his Rabbi father; this is The Simpsons at the height of its powers, mature, ironic, erudite and touching while bristling with slapstick and Bart-inspired cheek. "Flaming Moe's" features Aerosmith and sees Homer invent a cocktail which desperate, sleazy bartender Moe steals from him. "Radio Bart" is another demonstration of the series' knack for cultural references, parodying the Billy Wilder movie Ace in the Hole. Finally, there's "Brother Can You Spare Two Dimes", in which Danny DeVito reprises his role as Homer's brother, regaining the fortune Homer lost him by inventing a Baby Translator. Immensely enjoyable at anything from a primary to a doctoral thesis level, this third year of the show demonstrates conclusively that The Simpsons is quite simply, and by a large margin, the greatest television programme ever made. --David Stubbs

• Fail-Safe | DVD | (04/06/2007) from £24.99   |  Saving you £-12.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  It will have you sitting on the brink of eternity! One of the greatest anti-war thrillers ever Fail-Safe stars Henry Fonda Walter Matthau Dan O'Herlihy Larry Hagman and Fritz Weaver (in this film debut) as a group of military men on the verge of World War III. When a military computer error deploys a squadron of SAC bombers to destroy Moscow the American President (Fonda) tries to call them back. But their sophisticated fail-safe system prevents him from aborting

• Beauty & The Beast | Blu Ray | (17/07/2017) from £4.47   |  Saving you £3.58 (80.09%)   |  RRP £8.05

  The story and characters audiences know and love come to spectacular life in the live-action adaptation of Disney's animated classic Beauty and the Beast, a stunning, cinematic event celebrating one of the most beloved tales ever told. Beauty and the Beast is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a Beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast's hideous exterior and realize the kind heart of the true Prince within. The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle's father; Josh Gad as Le Fou, Gaston's long-suffering aide-de-camp; Ewan McGregor as Lumière, the candelabra; Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; Audra McDonald as Madame De Garderobe, the wardrobe; Hattie Morahan as the enchantress; and Nathan Mack as Chip, the teacup; with Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.

• Robocop | Blu Ray | (27/01/2014) from £8.75   |  Saving you £11.24 (128.46%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When it arrived on the big screen in 1987, Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop was like a high-voltage jolt of electricity, blending satire, thrills, and abundant violence with such energized gusto that audiences couldn't help feeling stunned and amazed. The movie was a huge hit, and has since earned enduring cult status as one of the seminal science fiction films of the 1980s. Followed by two sequels, a TV series, and countless novels and comic books, this original RoboCop is still the best by far, largely due to the audacity and unbridled bloodlust of director Verhoeven. However, the reasons many enjoyed the film are also the reasons some will surely wish to avoid it. Critic Pauline Kael called the movie a dubious example of "gallows pulp," and there's no denying that its view of mankind is bleak, depraved, and graphically violent. In the Detroit of the near future, a policeman (Peter Weller) is brutally gunned down by drug-dealing thugs and left for dead, but he survives (half of him, at least) and is integrated with state-of-the-art technology to become a half-robotic cop of the future, designed to revolutionize law enforcement. As RoboCop holds tight to his last remaining shred of humanity, he relentlessly pursues the criminals who "killed" him. All the while, Verhoeven (from a script by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner) injects this high-intensity tale with wickedly pointed humour and satire aimed at the men and media who cover a city out of control. --Jeff Shannon, amazon.com

• Ace Ventura - Pet Detective (1994) | DVD | (24/01/2000) from £5.04   |  Saving you £13.95 (276.79%)   |  RRP £18.99

  The 1994 box-office hit that turned comedy maniac Jim Carrey into Hollywood's first $20-million man, this gag-filled no-brainer stars Carrey as the titular rubber-faced gumshoe who tracks down lost pets for his heartbroken clients. Ace's latest case involves the apparent kidnapping of the Miami Dolphins' team mascot, Snowflake the dolphin. His investigation is a source of constant aggravation for Miami police lieutenant Lois Einhorn (Sean Young), who turns out to be packing more than a pistol under her skirt. Friends fans will appreciate the presence of Courtney Cox, who remains admirably straight-faced as the Dolphins' publicist and Ace's would-be girlfriend, but of course it's Carrey who steals the show with shameless abandon. One viewing may suffice for a lot of people, but Carrey's hyper antics made Ace Ventura: Pet Detective one of the bestselling videos of the 1990s. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Waterloo | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £7.74   |  Saving you £-1.75 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A film that will never be equalled for its spectacle and dramatic power" says the stirring trailer on this otherwise sparsely featured DVD. Taking the story of the Napoleonic Wars to Bonapartes final defeat, Waterloo is an unofficial continuation to director Sergei Bondarchuks own 70mm super-epic War and Peace (1968). The climactic battle of Waterloo is shown in the second half of the film and re-enacted with such stunning realism by a cast of around 20,000 extras that it looks like documentary footage from history itself (some 20 years later, Gettysburg, 1993, did the same for the American Civil War). Those who hailed the groundbreaking impact of Saving Private Ryan should see Bondarchuks films, as for sheer scale and intensity--if not bloodiness--they make Spielbergs hit look like an amateur video. Without ever attempting a French accent, Rod Steiger makes a commanding Napoleon, Christopher Plummer a worthy adversary as Wellington, while the supporting cast led by Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins and Virginia McKenna is excellent. The DVD transfer is richly detailed and clear, though the print itself could have done with just a little restoration. Though dated, Abel Glances Napoleon (1928) remains definitive for many, perhaps explaining why Stanley Kubrick eventually abandoned his planned Napoleon film, instead making the 18th Century period epic Barry Lyndon (1974). --Gary S.Dalkin