"Actor: John S"

• Impromptu | DVD | (01/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  There are Victorian country-house shenanigans aplenty in Impromptu: novelist George Sand (Judy Davis, affected but pretty charming) has eyes for Franz Liszt's young protégé Chopin (Hugh Grant, solid as always, but burdened by a silly Polish accent and a script that never lets him stretch out), but various lovers, jealous rivals, and Chopin's own overdeveloped sense of propriety conspire to confound her. Impromptu is witty but overlong--probably 20 minutes of hijinks and repartee, not to mention several completely gratuitous and redundant characters, could have been sliced from the film. Davis plays Sand as an impetuous, overgrown tomboy, outraging her genteel hosts by wearing pants, chomping cigars, and falling off horses; her coterie of artist-friends assure us, in a series of naked plot devices, that she nonetheless has a heart of gold. It's all good silly fun, and about as feminist as your average Def Leppard video--the other two developed female characters are ugly stereotypes: a featherbrained, feckless social climber (Emma Thompson, who once again proves she's up for anything) and a spiteful, back-stabbing shrew (the ever-capable Bernadette Peters). Director James Lapine clearly belongs to the Dr Quinn: Medicine Woman school of historical accuracy, so don't expect to learn anything about the period or the artists themselves. --Miles Bethany

• Empire Of The Sun - Special Edition | DVD | (06/03/2006) from £7.49   |  Saving you £9.50 (55.90%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Roundly dismissed as one of Steven Spielberg's least successful efforts, this very underrated film poignantly follows the World War II adventures of young Jim (a brilliant Christian Bale), caught in the throes of the fall of China. What if you once had everything and lost it all in an afternoon? What if you were only 12 years old at the time? Bale's transformation, from pampered British ruling-class child to an imprisoned, desperate, nearly feral boy, is nothing short of stunning. Also stunning are exceptional sets, cinematography and music (the last courtesy of John Williams) that enhance author J.G. Ballard's and screenwriter Tom Stoppard's depiction of another, less familiar casualty of war. In a time when competitors were releasing "comedic", derivative coming-of-age films, Empire of the Sun stands out as an epic in the classic David Lean sense--despite confusion or perceived competition with the equally excellent The Last Emperor (also released in 1987, and also a coming-of-age in a similar setting). It is also a remarkable testament to, yes, the human spirit. And despite its disappointing box-office returns, Empire of the Sun helped to further establish Spielberg as more than a commercial director and set the standard, tone and look for future efforts Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. --N.F. Mendoza

• Why We Fight | DVD | (24/03/2008) from £8.15   |  Saving you £11.84 (145.28%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Inspired by Dwight Eisenhower's legendary farewell speech filmmaker Eugene Jarecki surveys the scorched landscape of a half-century's military adventures asking how - and telling why - a nation of by and for the people has become the savings-and-loan of a system whose survival depends on a state of constant war. Why We Fight won the Grand Jury Prize (Documentary) at the Sundance Film Festival. It is an unflinching look at the anatomy of the AMerican War Machine weaving unforgettable personal stories with commentary by a 'who's who' of military and Washington insiders. Featuring John McCain Gore Vidal William Kristol Chalmers Johnson Richard Perle and others.

• The Numbers Station | DVD | (01/07/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  After his latest mission goes disastrously wrong veteran CIA black ops agent Emerson Kent (John Cusack 2012) is given one last chance to prove he still has what it takes to do his job. His new assignment: guarding Katherine (Malin Akerman Watchmen) a code operator at a top-secret remote CIA 'Numbers Station' where encrypted messages are sent and received. When an elite team of heavily armed assailants lays siege to the station Emerson and Katherine suddenly find themselves in a life-or-death struggle against an unknown enemy. With the station compromised and innocent lives at stake they must stop the deadly plot before it's too late.

• The Four Minute Mile | DVD | (27/03/2006) from £6.98   |  Saving you £-3.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  In 1954 four athletes across three continents were trying to run a mile under the milestone 4 minute mark - a feat then thought impossible. With two supremely gifted athletes emerging as front runners: England's Roger Bannister and Australia's John Landy a race into the history books was on...Based on Roger Bannister's sporting achievement this film is a story of dedication perseverance and glory.

• Eddie Murphy - Raw / Coming To America / Trading Places | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £24.99   |  Saving you £-5.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Raw (1987): Uncensored. Uncut. Irresistible! 'Raw' the record-setting No 1 stand up concert film of all time is Eddie Murphy doing what he does best: making people laugh! Filmed live at New York's Felt Forum Murphy delights shocks and entertains with dead-on celebrity impersonations observations on '80s love sex and marriage a remembrance of Mum's hamburgers and much more. Take a front-row centre seat for the hottest show in town and the hottest comedian in recent ent

• Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas | Blu Ray | (07/10/2013) from £9.37   |  Saving you £0.03 (0.32%)   |  RRP £9.40

  Have you herd the news? Your favourite sub-zero heroes are coming at you in this holiday adventure - now in 3D! When Sid accidentally destroys Manny's heirloom Christmas rock and ends up on Santa's naughty list he leads a hilarious quest to the North Pole to make things right - and ends up making things much worse. Now it's up to Manny and his prehistoric posse to band together and save Christmas for the entire world!

• Survivors - The Complete Series 3 | DVD | (14/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Conceived by Dr Who's Terry Nation 'Survivors' is a groundbreaking and startlingly realistic television drama series. First aired in 1975 at the height of the Cold War the post-apocalyptic storylines immediately gripped the imagination of the British public and remains compelling viewing to this day. Episodes comprise: 1. Manhunt 2. A Little Learning 3. Law Of The Jungle 4. Mad Dog 5. Bridgehead 6. Reunion 7. The Peacemaker 8. Sparks 9. The Enemy 10. The Last Laugh 11. Long

• That Touch Of Mink | DVD | (04/06/2007) from £6.41   |  Saving you £3.58 (55.85%)   |  RRP £9.99

  How much should a girl sacrifice to get the man of her dreams? That's the question facing an innocent country girl (Doris Day) who is swept into the whirlwind of the rich and famous when a Rolls Royce splashes her with mud. Profound apologies come courtesy of a romantic business tycoon (Cary Grant) who becomes enchanted with the girl's simple direct manner and open honest heart. But he's not interested in marriage...and she's never been interested in anything else. It's a delicious game of cat-and-mouse as working girl and wealthy bachelor pursue each other with hilarious results. 'That Touch Of Mink' is an enchanting romantic comedy featuring wonderful performances from Hollywood favourites Cary Grant and Doris Day. Bouncy dialogue and superb supporting performances from Gig Young and Audrey Meadows earned this dazzling comedy three Oscar nominations including Best Screenplay in 1962.

• Forget Me Not | DVD | (27/06/2011) from £5.05   |  Saving you £10.94 (216.63%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Forget Me Not is a moving modern day love story set against a stunning London backdrop. Taking place over the course of one night and the following day the story centres on Will Fletcher a passionate musician and Eve Fisher a beautiful free-spirited woman who works in the local bar. Whilst struggling to cope with a tragic secret Will saves Eve from a drunken customer at closing time and their paths become inextricably linked. Intrigued by one another they journey through London not knowing what the night holds or what the day may bring. As dawn turns to light on the London Eye and the two draw ever closer can Will reveal the truth to Eve?

• Kinsey | DVD | (11/07/2005) from £3.90   |  Saving you £16.09 (412.56%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Liam Neeson stars as American sociologist and sexual pioneer Alfred Kinsey in this biopic.

• Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2 Disc) | DVD | (23/10/2006) from £4.01   |  Saving you £20.98 (523.19%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The love life of a woolly mammoth - handled with U-rated delicacy - drives this sequel to the first computer-animated romp in the age of prehistoric mammals. While the first Ice Age took a delightful premise and suffocated it with a formulaic plot - in which a mammoth named Manfred (voiced by Ray Romano, Everyone Loves Raymond), a sloth named Sid (John Leguizamo, Moulin Rouge!), and a sabre-tooth tiger named Diego (Denis Leary, Rescue Me) helped an abandoned human infant return to its tribe (basically, Three Mammals and a Baby) - the sequel takes the now-familiar setting, gives it a shapeless, episodic storyline, and yet somehow becomes pretty darn entertaining. Faced with the threat of a flood from melting ice, our heroic trio are on the run to escape from their blossoming valley. On the way, they meet a female mammoth (Queen Latifah, Bringing Down the House) who thinks she's an opossum and get menaced by some freshly defrosted carnivorous fish. Add into the mix a herd of lava-worshipping mini-sloths, some Busby Berkeley-style vultures, and more ingenious slapstick featuring the acorn-crazed Scrat, and Ice Age: The Meltdown will amuse even jaded adults. --Bret Fetzer

• Fimbles - Smelly Jelly! | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  More fun with the Fimbles. Join Rockit and the Fimbles in a series of adventures which involve delivering the post finding a shoe and playing hide and seek.

• The Arcata Promise | DVD | (17/09/2012) from £8.98   |  Saving you £6.00 (85.84%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Once upon a time, in the small town of Arcata in California, a rich and successful actor made a promise to a young, attractive and vulnerable girl: I shall love you. Look after you. I don't want to hurt you or oppress you, or deny you in any way. But the promise was broken. After being constantly abused and assaulted, the girl left, and the actor fell into a self-destructive spiral: drink, no friends, no work. Now, left alone in a shabby basement flat, he is haunted by that promise, the girl to whom he made it, and himself. Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins stars opposite Kate Nelligan in renowned playwright David Mercer s intense, harrowing screenplay, for which producer Peter Willes received a Silver Medal for Outstanding Creative Achievement from the Royal Television Society. First screened as part of ITV s Sunday Night Drama anthology, The Arcata Promise showcases a tour-de-force performance from one of the world's most significant and respected actors.

• Harley Davidson And The Marlboro Man | DVD | (21/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Sheathing itself in bad taste, this film flaunts its tackiness, its machismo, and its very stupidity, which of course makes for a lot of dopey fun. Harley Davidson (Mickey Rourke) returns to his roots, the LA of 1996 (the film was set in the near future, as it was made in 1991). Burbank has become an airport, a new drug called Crystal Dream is all the rage and Harley's favourite bar is being torn down. To save it, he and the Marlboro Man (Don Johnson, at his most engaging) concoct an armed robbery that goes awry. Instead of cash, they end up with a shipment of Crystal Dream. Hunted by a drug dealer's goons, the two bark, fight, drink and squint at each other as they try to get themselves out of their mess. This is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for the monster-truck crowd, with plenty of breasts, choppers, broken pool cues and empty bottles. It's impossible to blame this film for being so emphatically trashy; its creators would consider that a compliment, anyway. --Keith Simanton, Amazon.com

• The Mummy | DVD | (21/07/2008) from £2.59   |  Saving you £7.40 (74.10%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Set ten years after the original movie, adventurer Rick O'Connell's son is kidnapped by the followers of his old nemesis The Mummy, in the belief that the boy can lead them to the tomb of the ancient and evil warrior The Scorpion King.

• The Big C - Season 2 | DVD | (20/08/2012) from £6.70   |  Saving you £18.29 (272.99%)   |  RRP £24.99

  As the failure of her chemotherapy sends her in search of a clinical trial that could save her life, Cathy Jamison (Laura Linney) returns to work and lands a job coaching the high school swim team. But just as she begins getting her life back on track and agrees to house a student whose family is moving to Africa, her husband, Paul (Oliver Platt), loses his job and their health insurance. Meanwhile, Cathy must confront a fellow trial patient’s difficult battle with cancer and the baby that her best friend is having with her mentally unstable brother, Sean (John B. Hickey), all while her son, Adam (Gabriel Basso), struggles with his emerging sexuality. And in the wake of a Thanksgiving dinner gone awry, a series of tragic events serves to underscore the harsh realities of the difficult road ahead for Cathy. Season two guest stars include Alan Alda, Cynthia Nixon, Hugh Dancy and Parker Posey.

• Digby - the Biggest Dog in the World | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £15.00   |  Saving you £-5.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  ""Everybody's Favourite Shaggy Dog Story!"" Young Billy can't keep Digby the lovable sheepdog he brought home from the pound so he decides to leave him with animal expert Jeff (Jim Dale). But while Jeff's back is turned Digby accidentally drinks a top secret chemical which makes him grow... and grow... and grow! The gigantic Digby is soon being chased all over the country. The army think he dangerous and want to blow him up. Two thieves are trying to sell him to the circus! In this frantic and hilarious race against time Billy and the hapless Jeff must get to Digby with the antidote or lose him forever. With and all star cast including Spike Milligan and Victor Spinetti Digby The Biggest Dog In The World is a classic adventure story for the whole family. Available for the first time on DVD!

• Monsters, Inc. --Widescreen Two Disc Collector's Edition | DVD | (07/09/2002) from £11.93   |  Saving you £13.06 (109.47%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The monsters in Monsters, Inc. are just so incredibly cute--and they know it. Whereas Woody, Buzz and pals in the Toy Story saga were filled with self-doubt about just how much the children in their lives would continue to love them, here our heroic monsters and their impossibly lovable human ward Boo have no such worries, at least when it comes to the cinema audience. And that's why Monsters, Inc., for all its wondrous computer-animated artistry, its smart humour and its family-friendly appeal, doesn't quite capture the naïve charm of its predecessors. Nevertheless, John Goodman and Billy Crystal, as scare-champions Sulley and Mike, are a great double-act whose comedy never goes over kids' heads but still reaches up to make their parents laugh. The film's central conceit--that monsters in the bedroom closet are just doing a night's work in order to generate power from screams for the city of Monstropolis--is funny and cleverly worked out; and kids will of course love the fact that the monsters are mortally afraid of the very children they are trying to frighten. The animation is extraordinarily detailed (Sulley's fur is a marvel in itself) and the set-piece action sequences top anything that has gone before for sheer audaciousness. But overall Pixar play things very safe, from the hissable villain to the end credit "outtakes". A bolder film might have taken inspiration from The Nightmare Before Christmas; instead, a little of that Disney disease of knowing cuteness seems to have crept into the formula. --Mark Walker

• The Kentuckian | DVD | (01/03/2004) from £14.35   |  Saving you £-1.36 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Burt Lancaster's one and only feature as star and director, The Kentuckian, has a bedrock American folk tale at its core, but scarcely a clue how to tell it. For all his balletic control as an actor-athlete, Lancaster shows no sense of how a film should move and breathe over an hour and a half, or how to make the characters' growth or changes of mind credible. It's the early 18th century--Monroe is president--and buckskin-clad Lancaster and his son (Donald MacDonald) are lighting out for Texas. "It ain't we don't like people--we like room more." They plan briefly to visit Lancaster's tobacco-dealer brother (John McIntire) in the river town of Humility, and then move on. But there are complications from a long-running feud, and some nasty baiting from a whip-cracking storekeeper (Walter Matthau in his film debut); the need to replace their "Texas money" after buying freedom for a bondservant (Dianne Foster); also the matter of deciding who's prettier, her or the local schoolmarm (Diana Lynn). Lancaster aims for some quaint Americana--a sing-along to the tinkling of a pianoforte, a jaw-dropping riverside production number--and there's one nifty bit of action based on how long it took to reload a flintlock rifle. But mostly this film just lies there in overlit CinemaScope. --Richard T Jameson