"Actor: Francine York"

• Bedtime Story | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  When conman and former soldier Freddy Benson arrives in the south of France he clashes with fellow conman Lawrence Jameson. To determine who will leave they arrange a wager to see who can con $25 000 from next woman they see.

• The Big Tease | DVD | (12/03/2001) from £21.25   |  Saving you £-7.26 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Anyone who's suffered the misfortune of stumbling upon Kevin Allen's nauseous debut Twin Town--a ramshackle Trainspotting transposed to the cinematic slag heap of Swansea--will be pleasantly surprised by this gentle sophomore effort. The Big Tease follows gay Glaswegian hairdresser Crawford Mackenzie (Craig Ferguson), a flamboyant character who stays just the right side of caricature, as he heads to LA to represent bonny Scotland in the World Freestyle Hairdressing Championship. Only there's a hitch: once in Hollywood, Crawford discovers he's only been invited to be a spectator at the event, which means the huge hotel bill he's racked up will have to come out of his own pocket. Undeterred, the stubborn stylist sets about gaining a union card and, ultimately, entry to the competition, frantically trying to establish Beverly Hills contacts with a mind to pulling a few much-needed strings. Allen's movie is an interesting hybrid, half Hollywood satire (the greed, the self-importance, the insincerity) and half sports-movie with a twist (events inevitably lead to a climactic showdown, as Crawford goes blade-to-blade with the wonderfully pompous Norwegian champ). And yet, by and large, it works, the loquacious Ferguson giving us someone to hold onto in a slippery world populated by disdainful creeps, his probity alone ensuring our heartfelt support come competition night. The filmmakers' decision to opt for a "mockumentary" format à la The Blair Witch Project and Drop Dead Gorgeous also pays dividends, for it is Crawford's candid confessions to camera that allow us to navigate beyond his carefully constructed plumage and discover the person beneath.--Jamie Graham

• The Doll Squad | DVD | (17/03/2014) from £7.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (38.50%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A foursome of female agents are out to stop a vicious evil mastermind from unleashing the bubonic plague in this action packed thriller which is rumoured to have inspired Charlie's Angels!

• The Doll Squad | DVD | (23/07/2001) from £8.47   |  Saving you £-5.48 (-183.30%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Both director-entrepreneur Ted V Mikels and the packaging of The Doll Squad claim that the TV show Charlie's Angels was ripped off from this cheapo action film. In truth both concepts owe a lot to Emma Peel, Pussy Galore's Flying Circus or the femme armies that crop up in Our Man Flint and other 60s spy efforts. Despite its (horrible) lounge score and eye-straining selection of flared, midriff-baring 70s outfits, Mikels' opus is basically a late-trailing Bond knock-off shot without a stunt budget. Extortionist baddie Eamon O'Reilly (the usually classier Michael Ansara) wants to blackmail the US into handing over secrets and giving into a load of terrorist demands by spreading a bubonic plague manufactured by twin (or clone) mad scientists. "Big Bertha", a computer, suggests that the best way to nail O'Reilly is to send out "the Doll Squad", a cadre of female agents led by Sabrina (Francine York), who can take advantage of his weakness for women (and occasional impotence). The first two choices, a Q-type scientist and a martial artist, are killed by O'Reilly's goons, though Sabrina sees off her would-be assassin with a cigarette lighter/flamethrower that scars his face (and only mildly perturbs the people in the next booth at the bar), so she rounds up a new gang of hairspray-addicted fashion victims: a librarian (Sherri Vernon), a stripper (Tura Satana) and a swimmer (Leigh Christian), later hauling in a squealy and useless undercover girl who is easily kidnapped by O'Reilly to lead them into a trap. We're supposed to believe most of the action takes place in a Dr No-like island retreat but it looks a lot like scrubby California desert and the director's ranch-style "castle". Aside from some fab gear (matching jumpsuits with bust-accenting white lines) the girls have little to do but run around shooting inept stuntmen. On the DVD: For a marginal title, The Doll Squad offers some pleasing extras: a lurid trailer that's probably a more fun watch than the film ("Sabrina's code-prefex is OO-38-24-35!"); a gallery of publicity materials and stills; an exhaustive Mikels filmography; and an odd 1993 interview with the director. The film itself looks as good as it ever will--it's muddily photographed with low-tech effects (the flamethrower flames are just scratched on the emulsion) but at least the colours are vivid and the print is in great condition. --Kim Newman

• Sexual Predator | DVD | (10/12/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Handsome Richard Grieco and the sensationally sexy Angie Everhart set the screen on fire in Sexual Predator - a blisteringly hot erotic thriller full of intrigue and suspense and packed with the most incredibly intense love scenes since 9 1/2 Weeks. Photographer J.C. Gale (Grieco) is found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the fatal and accidental erotic asphyxiation of a beautiful young woman. Beth Spinella (Everhart) the agent assigned to monitor his probation is the dead