"Actor: Jeffrey"

• Lexx - Season 2 - Vol. 2 | DVD | (18/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A "Light Universe" and a "Dark Zone" keep good and bad apart for the characters of Lexx, even though it's often hard to tell the difference between the two in this offbeat and unique sci-fi show that delights in its own nastiness. The episodes in this second collection from the second series are: "Stan's Trial", "Love Grows", "White Trash", "791" and "Wake the Dead". In "Stan's Trial", he's still desperate for some "bingo bongo yum yum time", which blinds him to a sting operation laid at the Celes Pleasure Liner. His alleged traitorous past finally catches up, and the events of "Giga Shadow" are made clear. A new, shorter title sequence opens the gender questioning "Love Grows". The Lexx accidentally eats a rubbish dumper and the toxic cargo has an adverse effect on everyone--to say the least. Their sex organs are swapped! A cliffhanger surprise leads directly into "White Trash", where we find the yokel clan family have been stowed away since before the destruction of The Cluster. On a crashed ship a cyborg pilot has been decapitated, which gives 790 an idea. While Kai and Xev find a hold full of prisoners with their hearts removed, 791 is born--with more than just a little personality re-programming. This homage to Alien ends with Xev's immortal line: "You may still only be a head 790. But you're the best head I ever had." Then we're back into spoof territory as "Wake the Dead" enjoys turning The Lexx into the stomping ground for a crazed teen killer. Still asleep from a joyride begun 287 years before, the group of "deserving" kids are dispatched with glee in a great performance by Michael McManus. There's even a shower murder with a musical nod to Psycho from composer Marty Simon. And we finally see a Lexx toilet--and its tongue! On the DVD: the most exciting extra for fans is a commentary from Brian Downey (Stan) and writer Lex Giggeroff on the episode "Wake the Dead". They have great fun discussing Xenia Seeberg's wigs and confirm that this was indeed pitched as a "teen slasher flick". Also featured is a gallery of nine stills, some hilarious text "Faxx" about all five episodes, biographies of Stan and Lyekka, and a "Story So Far" re-cap. The 10-minute "Making of Lexx the Series Part 2" documentary is the same as the VHS release. --Paul Tonks

• There's Something About Mary | UMD | (27/03/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

• Vivaldi: Orlando Furioso | DVD | (22/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  For those with any interest in Vivaldi's operas Orlando Furioso is essential viewing, being a 1989 San Francisco Opera revival by Pier Luigi Pizzi of his own 1979 production which was largely responsible for beginning modern interest in Vivaldi's stage work. The composer first premiered Orlando finto pazzo in 1714, but the Orlando Furioso finalised in 1727 was so heavily reworked as to be virtually an entirely new opera, and so successful Handel set the same epic poem by Aristo under the title Alcina in 1735. Vivaldi's opera is not of that calibre, offering rather too much functional recitative and only a handful of truly memorable arias. However, the cast perform with such commitment and style as to make the work thoroughly enjoyable. It is a tale of romantic and magical intrigue on a small island, inevitably echoing Shakespeare's The Tempest, and the classically elegant set-design and colourful costumes evoke a suitable sense of fantasy. Mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne makes the title role her own while Susan Patterson is a characterful and strong-minded Angelica. William Matteuzzi makes a sympathetic Medoro, notably outmanoeuvred in love, while as the sorceress Alcina Kathleen Kuhlann is a appropriately complex and powerful in revealing the loneliness at the heart of her corruption. On the DVD: There are no features other than the two trailers which appear on almost all Arthaus releases. The production is presented in the original television 4:3 and the image is little better than a good video. The picture is not especially detailed and too often the performer's faces are slightly out of focus while the sets are pin-sharp. Overall the image suffers the usual problems from originally being shot on professional video, in addition to which some compression artefacting is noticeable. The prologic sound is fine, though appears simply to down mix the main stereo signal to the rear channel and the result is more accurate if switched to straight stereo. --Gary S Dalkin

• Learn Street Dance-Locking | DVD | (29/11/2010) from £20.23   |  Saving you £-4.24 (-26.50%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Do you want to be a better dancer have fun and learn some sik moves along the way? Locking is the must have DVD full of the coolest moves seen on any Dance TV series today. Learn Street Dance: Locking is the definitive Street Dance DVD series. Feel the essence and excitement of real street dance performed by top instructors. You will learn all the foundation skills and 3 fully choreographed fresh routines broken down ranging from beginner all the way up to advanced. Every move is broken down step by step with clear instruction so you can progress at a pace that suits you and uses multi-angle to be able to step clearly from different angles. No matter what level you are this DVD will help you become the dancer you've always wanted to be.

• Home Town Story | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £4.15   |  Saving you £1.84 (30.70%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Hometown Story: Released in May 1951 featuring a stunning young Marilyn Monroe on the brink of stardom. It is a rare glimpse of Monroe before her breakthrough roles in 'Niagara' and 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' which catapulted her to fame... and into history. Monroe plays Iris Martin a secretary whose boss is an editor of a newspaper who suspects that big business is reponsible for his recent defeat in a state legislature election. He begins a campaign against his opponent...

• Jeffrey Osbourne in Concert | DVD | (07/08/2006) from £10.98   |  Saving you £-0.99 (-9.90%)   |  RRP £9.99

• Dark Waters | DVD | (07/02/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Nature's perfect killing machine has now become man's greatest weapon... For many years the US Navy has been training Dolphins for mine sweeping. But what if a more deadly maritime creature could be trained as an attack weapon? One such creature exists today; a prehistoric creature that has outlived the dinosaur; a creature that is the perfect killing machine... the shark. Bio-engineer Jim Castle has developed the 'warrior shark'. Bred from replicated DNA samples these sharks are bigger than a Killer Whale and 10 times as deadly! However when Castle's creations break out of the facility and head for the Florida coastline a battle is set in motion between an army of monster sharks and those who created them.

• Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione di Poppea | DVD | (04/12/2000) from £2.96   |  Saving you £23.29 (1,370.00%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea (1642) marks one of the very foundations of opera. Revolving around real historical characters, the Roman emperor Nero, his love for Poppea, the betrayal of the empress Octavia, and death of the philosopher Seneca, Monteverdi pits human love, ambition and intrigue against the fates. The set, a symbolic part-globe, and the costumes drawn from various ages suggest--very much in the way of the surreal film of Shakespeare's Titus (1999)--that the concerns of ancient Rome are timeless. With the emphasis on the text (the music alone does not hold the attention for 150 minutes) conductor Jacobs depends upon an excellent cast to bring the production alive. Patricia Schumann dominates the stage, her Poppea is warm, sensual and likeable, without being entirely trustworthy, an effective counterpart to Richard Croft's Nero. Darla Brooks brings just the right degree of vivacious gullibility to Drusilla, while Curtis Ryam offers eccentric comedy as Arnalta. As Ottone Jeffrey Gall is a man acutely tormented by love. Recorded at the 1993 Schwetzinger Festspiele, there is no sign of an audience, the many close-ups suggesting this performance was specially given for video. On the DVD: There are subtitle options for English, French and German, but no special features. The booklet is well documented but does not contain the libretto. The sound is good PCM stereo while the 4:3 image (not 16:9 as stated on the packaging) is better than video but otherwise unremarkable. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Lexx - Season 2 - Vol. 4 | DVD | (10/06/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  In the fourth collection of episodes from the second series of Lexx the crew finally acknowledge that they're worried about Mantrid taking over the universe, and decide to test "The Uncertainty Principle" to be found at the centre of the universe. The Lexx is ensnared by "The Web", and everyone begins behaving peculiarly. Worst of all--Stanley can't find his hat. This extremely clever instalment should be watched back-to-back with the following "The Net", where all is revealed. It's the same show all over again, but with extended shots and external footage of what is happening to the Lexx. Some TV shows cobble together a "clips episode" in order to save budget. Lexx proves itself different yet again with this ingenious idea. The difference continues into "Brigadoom", which is a musical: a theatre appears from nowhere to put on a show telling the tale of the Brunnen-G. Kai and Xev take to the boards, and singalong quite oblivious to the fact TV SF usually can't pull this sort of thing off. They do. Desperate to call Mantrid's bluff, the Lexx crew are even prepared momentarily to trust his old tutor the Bio Vizier "Brizon". They know he has some treacherous agenda, but never guess what until it's almost too late. The storyline links straight into "End of the Universe", and the season finale sees every player of Mantrid's game attempting checkmate. 790 builds a counter army of drone arms, but it's Lyekker's efforts that once again save the day. The show ends with the very definition of a Big Bang, and leaves everything under one enormous question mark. On the DVD: Lexx Series 2 Vol. 4 has the most extras yet. There's one last commentary from Brian Downey (Stan) and writer Lex Giggeroff on the episode "End of the Universe". The humour remains, but it's fun to hear their awe for the CG interpretation of their original idea: putting 790's head on a Drone Arm. We also learn about the writer's arguments about the physics. Also featured is a gallery of stills, some hilarious text "FAXX" about all five episodes, four Sci-Fi Channel character spots, a fascinating interview with composer Marty Simon, biographies of 790, The Lexx, Brizon and Mantrid, and a story so far recap. Best of all, is a Sing-A-Long-a-Brunnen-G karaoke lyrics option for "Brigadoom", surely one of the greatest ideas ever had for a DVD. --Paul Tonks

• Green Mile, The / Pay It Forward / Proof Of Life | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £40.99

  The book was better" has been the complaint of many a reader since the invention of movies. Frank Darabont's second adaptation of a Stephen King prison drama The Green Mile (The Shawshank Redemption was the first) is a very faithful adaptation of King's serial novel. In the middle of the Depression, Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) runs death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary. Into this dreary world walks a mammoth prisoner, John Coffey (Michael Duncan) who, very slowly, reveals a special gift that will change the men working and dying on the mile. With Darabont's superior storytelling abilities, his touch for perfect casting, and a leisurely 188-minute running time, his movie brings to life nearly every character and scene from the novel. Darabont even improves the novel's two endings, creating a more emotionally satisfying experience. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.comPay It Forward is a multi-level marketing scheme of the heart. Beginning as a seventh-grade class assignment to put into action an idea that could change the world, young Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) comes up with a plan to do good deeds for three people who then by way of payment each must do good turns for three other people. These nine people also must pay it forward and so on, ad infinitum. If successful, the resulting network of do-gooders ought to comprise the entire world. While this could have turned into unmitigated schmaltz, the acting elevates this film to mitigated schmaltz. By turns powerful and measured, the performances of Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Haley Joel Osment can't make up for the many missteps in a screenplay that sanitises the look of the lower-middle class and expects us to believe that homeless alcoholics and junkies speak in the elevated manner of grad students. One may wonder how it would have been handled by the likes of Frank Capra, who could balance sentiment with humour, clearly Capra would never have let the ending of his version to take the nosedive into cliché and pathos that director Mimi Leder has allowed in this film. --Jim Gay, Amazon.comWhen someone in Proof of Life says "Don't leave me hanging", you can bet they're going to be left hanging. There's little room for delicacy in Tony Gilroy's screenplay, adapted from an article by William Prochnau and the book Long March to Freedom by kidnapping survivor Thomas Hargrove. A hint of romance between Russell Crowe (the soldier-turned-"K&R") and Meg Ryan adds tension as the story shifts back and forth to David Morse's captivity. Avoiding that pitfall, director Taylor Hackford crafts the plot as a latter-day Casablanca that unfolds on a grander canvas (at stunning locations in Ecuador) while favouring an exciting rescue-mission climax over the tragedy of an ill-timed affair. It might have worked better as a straightforward macho action flick (with David Caruso doing lively work as Crowe's gung-ho K&R cohort), but Proof of Life effectively conveys the two-sided torment of a hostage crisis. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• The Searchers (2 Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (07/08/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  With The Searchers John Wayne and director John Ford forged an indelible saga of the frontier and the men and women who challenged it. Wayne plays Ethan Edwards an ex-Confederate who sets out to find his niece captured by Comanches who massacred his family. He won't surrender to hunger thirst the elements or loneliness. And in his obsessive quest Ethan finds something unexpected: his own humanity. One of the most influential movies ever made.

• Revenge | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A right-wing terrorist army Strike Force go on a murderous rampage in the quest to get their bloodthirsty hands on a defence contractor's awesome NK-2 assault weapon. A hardened Vietnam vet is hired to pursue the fanatical killers and does so with vengeance after two loyal friends are callously slain by the Strike Force's ruthless members. Now it's revenge! Roger Rudd is Jason Shepherd who discovers even in time of peace he has to prepare for war...

• There's Something About Mary Play Exclusive | DVD | (23/03/2010) from £10.74   |  Saving you £-4.75 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  There's Something About Mary is one of the funniest films in years, recalling the days of the Zucker-Abraham-Zucker movies, in which (often tasteless) gags were piled on at a fierce rate. The difference is that co-writers and co-directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly have also crafted a credible story line and even tossed in some genuine emotional content. The Farrelly brothers' first two pictures, Dumb and Dumber and Kingpin, had some moments of uproarious laughter, but were uneven. With Mary, they've created a consistently hilarious romantic comedy, made all the funnier by the fact that you know that they know that some of their gags go way over the line. Cameron Diaz stars as Mary, every guy's ideal. Ben Stiller plays a high-school suitor still hung up on her years later; the obstacles standing between him and her include a number of psychotic suitors, a miserable little pooch and, oh yeah, a murder charge. The Farrellys' admittedly simplistic camera work, which adapts easily to a TV screen, and the fact that you'll likely to laugh yourself so silly over certain scenes you'll want to replay them to see what you were missing while you were busy convulsing, make this a perfect film for home-viewing. --David Kronke, Amazon.com

• Muppet Movie, The / Muppet's Wizard Of Oz | DVD | (03/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Muppet Movie (1979): Jim Henson's Muppets make their film debut in this charming story that chronicles their rise to fame. It all begins with Kermit the Frog sitting in a swamp singing and strumming a guitar. Realizing he can use his talent to ""make people happy "" Kermit decides to head for Hollywood. During his trip Kermit meets fellow Muppets Fozzie the Bear the Great Gonzo Miss Piggy and an odd assortment of others who join Kermit on his song-filled journey. But before

• Mom And Dad Save The World | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  An American housewife becomes an alien's object of desire. Now her husband must save her and the planet!...

• The Frighteners | HD DVD | (26/11/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In the sleepy little town of Fairwater a monstrous evil has awakened... An evil so powerful its reach extends beyond the grave. Director Peter Jackson and executive Producer Robert Zemeckis unleash a riveting thriller with the most spectacular special effects this side of the hereafter. For Frank Bannister (Michael J Fox) death is a great way to make a living: ridding haunted houses of their unwelcome guests. But he's in cahoots with the very ghosts he promises to evict! It's the perfect scam... Until Frank finds himself at the centre of a dark mystery. A diabolical spirit is on a murderous rampage and the whole town believes Frank is behind it. Boasting music by Danny Elfman and co-starring Trini Alvarado Jeffrey Combs and John Astin this supernatural chiller is so fiendishly entertaining it's scary!

• Mr Mum | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £27.99   |  Saving you £-15.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When mom goes to work dad goes berserk! Jack and Caroline are a couple struggling to make ends meet. When Jack loses his job they agree that he should stay at home and look after the house while Caroline works. It's just that he's never done it before and really doesn't have a clue; as she is climbing the ladder of success at work he puts great effort into becoming hopelessly inept at home!

• Air Bud | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Air Bud: Golden Receiver: This time out Buddy the hoop-shooting hotshot canine tackles a new sport - American football. When his teenage owner reluctantly becomes the school's new quarterback Buddy catches the spirit and joins the team. Soon the two find themselves leading the Timberwolves to the state championship. But victory hopes are sidelined when two sinister Russian circus owners take a bite out of everyone's plans and dognap Buddy for their star attraction! Give three cheers for Air Bud full of outrageous fun and adventure it goes the whole nine yards for family fun. Air Bud: World Pup: Disney is proud to present the second heartwarming and hilarious sequel to the popular family favorite Air Bud! Buddy masters two new starring roles... soccer player and father. 'Air Bud: World Pup' is loaded with laughs and cool soccer action as Buddy teams up alongside U.S. women's soccer greats Brandi Chastain Briana Scurry and Tisha Venturini meanwhile keeping a protective eye over his adorable new family of soccer-playing puppies! Air Bud: Spikes Back: Disney serves up an all-new adventure starring everyone's favorite sports-playing golden retreiver Buddy! This time he masters the coolest sport under the sun... beach volleyball! But there's plenty of action off the courtias well - a rash of mysterious crimes have been puzzling everyone and the paw prints seem to point to Buddy! So it's up to Buddy to lead the authorities to the real culprit! With a special appearance by pro-volleyball champion Gabrielle Reece and a heartwarming story your family is sure to enjoy this fun-filled adventure! Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch: Air Bud knocks one out of the park when he takes up baseball in this all-new fun and heartwarming Disney adventure! This time Buddy joins in and shows that he's a natural baseball player with major league talent! In the midst of the season however a terrible discovery is made: Buddy's now grown puppies have mysteriously begun to disappear from their new homes. Now it's up to Buddy to stop the dog-nappings and find his pups before it's too late!

• Kidnapped | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When young David Balfour arrives at his uncle's bleak Scottish house to claim his inheritance his relative first tries to murder him and then has him shipped off to be sold as a slave in the colonies. Fortunately for David he strikes up a friendship with Alan Breck (Michael Caine) and together they manage to escape. On arriving back in Scotland they set out for Edinburgh dodging the ruthless Redcoats to claim David's rightful inheritance...

• Hoodlum And Son | DVD | (19/01/2003) from £3.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (50.13%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Set in 1933 when a naughty ten year old named Archie finds himself being looked after by his inattentive father Charlie who is in debt to mob bosses. The pair flee with a suitcase of money to a town where Charlie gets a job as a teacher but a beautiful widowed mother Ellen decides she wants Charlie to get out of town. Archi realises they are really in love and with the help of his new friends tries to bring them together and save them from the mob!