"Actor: Drew Snyder"

• Commando | DVD | (25/08/2003) from £6.86   |  Saving you £0.39 (6.96%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A massively underrated action thriller which kept Schwarzenegger occupied between blockbusters, Commando may be one of the last shoot-out films ever to have real characters in it. Not, of course, that they're anything other than stereotypes, but they're painted with such detailed, positive strokes that it's impossible not to relate to them. Arnie plays a retired military special-ops officer whose daughter (played with an expert balance of cute/feisty by Alyssa Milano) is kidnapped by the baddest of bad guys, who'll only hand her back as and when he's assassinated a tiresome banana-republic president on their behalf. Needless to say, Arnie is deeply annoyed by this, rescues the moppet single-handed amid more bullets and explosions than you can shake a stuntman's pay cheque at, and... well, why spoil the fun by revealing any more? Co-star Rae Dawn Chong gets some nice one-liners as the innocent bystander who gets caught up in the mayhem. The DVD comes with no additional features at all, but who needs 'em anyway? --Roger Thomas

• The Secret of My Success | DVD | (04/07/2005) from £9.72   |  Saving you £-3.73 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Can a kid from Kansas come to New York to conquer the business world and maneuver his way from the mailroom to the boardroom in a matter of weeks? Michael J. Fox proves it can be done in this very funny lampoon of corporate business life. Fresh out of college he's determined to climb New York's corporate ladder in record time by masquerading as an up-and-coming executive even though he's really the new mail boy. However Fox's plans begin to go awry when the boss's wife falls in love with him and he falls in love with a junior executive who also happens to be the boss's mistress...

• 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.

• The Secret Of My Success | DVD | (28/05/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Derivative fluff from 1987, The Secret of My Success is made tolerable by its bawdy exuberance and an appealing performance by Michael J Fox, who was still enjoying TV stardom and the career momentum he earned by travelling Back to the Future. Here he plays a Kansas farm boy who dreams of scoring big in New York City... but reality turns out to be brutal to his ambition. When his uncle (Richard Jordan) gives him a mail-room job in the high-rise headquarters of a major corporation, Fox occupies an empty office and poses as a young executive, winning the attention of a lovely young colleague (Helen Slater) and having an affair with his boss's wife (Margaret Whitton). Sporadically amusing as a yuppie comedy and rather off-putting as a wannabe sex farce, the film's still recommendable for its lively cast and a breezy style that almost succeeds in updating the conventions of vintage screwball comedy. Whitton is a standout performer here, so you may wonder why her comedic talent has been underrated, apart from a good role in the first two Major League movies. This may be little more than a big-screen sitcom, but it's not without its charms. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Teen Girl Triple: Freaky Friday / The Princess Diaries / Lizzie McGuire | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Freaky Friday (Dir. Jim Fall 2003): Mother and daughter Tess and Anna don't seem to be getting on at all well. Neither understands the other and they regularly come into conflict. In a strange coincidence they receive identical fortune cookies which seems to create a curious mystical situation. They wake up on Friday morning and find that they have swapped bodies. Clearly this causes some considerable disturbance as they must adapt to the change of events and gradually they learn more respect for each other. The Princess Diaries (Dir. Garry Marshall 2001): A modern-day Cinderella story about Mia Thermopolis a shy gawky teenager whose main aim in life is to survive each day at school with the minimum amount of attention and embarrassment. Her ideals of the quiet life are thwarted when her strict grandmother tells her she is the Princess and heir to the throne of Genovia. Having to take on this new responsibility she takes Princess lessons and become totally transformed only to find out that she's in the middle of a media storm jealous schoolmates and a plot to take over her newly founded country. The Lizzie McGuire Movie (Dir. Mark S. Waters 2003): Lizzie and friends Kate Gordo and Ethan take a trip to Rome in celebration of their graduation. The trip however does not turn out how they might expect when Lizzie is mistaken for Italy's biggest singing sensation. A whirlwind few days spent as a pop star leaves Lizzie with a major crush on a handsome Italian pop star and a serious decision to make about her future.

• Separate Lives | DVD | (18/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Linda Hamilton stars as a psychiatrist who herself has a split-personality problem: she keeps waking up in strange houses with odd clothes on and weapons. She hires a private detective James Belushi to follow her and he works out the problem quick enough. However the mystery deepens when some of her close friends are found dead. Is her other half the killer?

• Separate Lives | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Ex-homicide detective Tom Beckwith (James Belushi) is hired by psychologist Lauren Porter (Linda Hamilton) to watch her every move. Haunted by a secret fear that she is leading a dangerous double life Lauren confronts a dark incident from her past.