"Actor: Kim Murphy"

• The Abyss | DVD | (05/07/2004) from £8.25   |  Saving you £9.74 (118.06%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Academy Award winning director and master storyteller James Cameron journeys back to the site of his greatest inspiration -- the legendary wreck of the Titanic.

• The Abyss | DVD | (26/02/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  James Cameron's 1989 aquatic epic The Abyss was, quite literally, a watershed in the annals of filmmaking: not only was it the first (and only) movie to be shot almost entirely underwater, in the largest tank ever used for a movie set, and to use live dialogue from specially designed headsets, it also pushed forward the boundaries of computer animation in one gigantic leap. The famous water tentacle sequence is now regarded as the defining moment when CGI came of age; ironically perhaps, its very success has ensured that the punishing realism of the setting, which is the best thing about the movie, is likely never to be attempted again. But the impressive technical aspects aside, is the movie any good? Granted it contains any number of striking moments, from forcing a rat to breathe liquid (it really works, apparently) to resurrecting a drowned Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. But the story is a slim one for the running time, especially in the extended Special Edition version which plays almost half an hour longer than the theatrical cut and contains a completely excised subplot featuring much too much heavy-handed moralising: "How all the world can stop fighting and learn to get along with each other", by James Cameron esq. All you need is love, apparently. Here is one rare example of the theatrical cut being preferable to the director's. Now, if only he had cut the love story from Titanic too On the DVD: The Abyss Special Edition two-disc set has plenty of neat extra features, but is let down a little by the non-anamorphic 2.35:1 letterboxed picture. Sound, on the other hand, is vivid THX mastered Dolby 5.1. Happily, the first disc contains both the original theatrical cut and the extended special-edition version. There's a reasonably informative though inevitably rather dry text-only commentary. The principal extra on Disc 2 is a 60-minute documentary, "Under Pressure", with retrospective interviews in which cast and crew detail the extraordinary challenges involved in making the film, and more than one near-death experience. In addition there's the complete screenplay, various different pieces on the effects sequences, storyboards, artwork, DVD-ROM features--in short, plenty to keep even jaded DVD enthusiasts amused for hours. The menu interfaces for both discs are a treat and the set comes with a good 12-page booklet. --Mark Walker

• Houseguest | DVD | (22/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Conman Kevin Franklin is on the run from the Mob. His only escape is to impersonate the long-lost friend of an uptight lawyer and move in with his family. Unfortunately the Mob soon discover his hideout.

• 8 Mile | Blu Ray | (30/03/2009) from £14.83   |  Saving you £5.16 (34.79%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Eminem makes his movie debut in this tale of an aspiring talented rapper in Detroit, and the most crucial week of his young life.

• Five Dances | DVD | (28/10/2013) from £11.98   |  Saving you £6.00 (60.06%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A coming-of-age portrait of a talented young dancer who leaves behind a troubled family life to join a small dance troupe in New York City Five Dances is a visually-arresting feature by award-winning writer-director Alan Brown (Private Romeo). Featuring a heartbreakingly memorable performance by Broadway-star Ryan Steele in his screen debut the film follows the rocky emotional journey of an 18-year old dancer with talent to burn who must choose between his responsibility to his broken family in the Midwest and forging a life and career for himself. Shot with a vibrant immediacy and featuring five of New York's most gifted dancers performing the choreography of internationally celebrated Jonah Bokaer Five Dances artfully navigates the border between dance and film art and entertainment and offers a modern gay love story for a new generation.

• 8 Mile/Boyz 'N The Hood/Higher Learning | DVD | (26/05/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  8 Mile (2002): Eminem (Marshall Mathers) makes his big screen debut with 8 MILE a bracing drama directed by Curtis Hanson. Set in 1995 in the bleak urban battle zone of Detroit the film follows the struggles of a young man who is desperate to make a better life for himself. Jimmy Smith Jr. better known as Rabbit is destined for a life of squalor. Living in a cramped trailer with his deadbeat mom (Kim Basinger) Rabbit works in a factory to make ends meet. His only outlet is hip-hop. Possessing a talent for freestyle rapping Rabbit still hasn't managed to unleash his true potential. But his best friend Future (Mekhi Phifer) is determined to make that happen. Future forces Rabbit to enter a freestyle battle that he blew the week before giving him another chance at redemption. Hanson's stellar portrait of lower-class urban disillusionment shot with uncompromisingly gritty realism by Rodrigo Prieto proves that the issue is no longer about race it's about money. Eminem delivers a bold performance as the troubled youngster who is still trying to find his place in a harsh cruel world. Boyz N The Hood (1991): Boyz N The Hood is the critically acclaimed story about three friends growing up in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood and of street life where friendship pain danger and love combine to form reality. ""The Hood"" is a place where drive-by shootings and unemployment are rampant. But it is also a place where harmony co-exists with adversity especially for the three young men growing up there: Doughboy (Ice Cube) an unambitious drug dealer; his brother Ricky (Morris Chestnut) a college-bound teenage father; and Ricky's best friend Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who aspires to a brighter future beyond the ""The Hood."" Higher Learning (1995): Director John Singleton's Higher Learning follows three very different freshman students in their first term of university who find themselves having to reassess their lives and confront such thought-provoking issues as prejudice racism and sexism... Former high school track star Malik Williams finds that instead of cruising through his first year of an athletic scholarship he's actually going to have to run faster and harder in order to make the grade. Naive Kirstin Conne is ill prepared for a completely different aspect of college life - not only does she discover that male students don't always accept ""no"" for an answer but she also starts to reassess her own sexual leanings. Finally there's Remy the sad quiet kid from Idaho who nobody wants to befriend. Ultimately he turns to the only group that will have him - the trouble-making neo-Nazi skinheads. Among the characters that act as forces in the lives of these three students are Professor Phillips and long-term student Fudge who serve as positive role models as this provocative portrait of modern life builds to its searing and shocking climax.

• David And Lisa | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £5.48   |  Saving you £-3.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  When two troubled teenagers meet they discover an extraordinary empathy for each other that will lead them on the most emotionally painful journey of their lives. Both David and Lisa have experienced loneliness and terror and suffer from different mental afflictions. He is obsessive and fears touch while she acts childishly and talks only in rhymes in order to prevent her other persona the one she calls Muriel from coming out. David and Lisa's meeting in a mental health facility for disturbed teenagers also brings them under the watchful care of Dr. Jack Miller. What now unfolds is one of the most moving tender and heart-rending stories that eventually sees David and Lisa being forced to confront their problems and reach out to one another. The moment when they finally touch will live with you forever. Sidney Poitier Lukas Haas and Brittany Murphy deliver intensely powerful performances that explore every emotion and the tremendous healing power of love.

• Greatest Ever Urban Collection | DVD | (29/09/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Titles Comprise: Do the Right Thing: The hottest day of the year explodes on-screen in this vibrant look at a day in the life of Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast that includes Danny Aiello Ossie Davis Ruby Dee Richard Edson Giancarlo Esposito Robin Harris Samuel L. Jackson Bill Nunn Rosie Perez and John Turturro. Spike Lee's powerful portrait of urban racial tensions sparked controversy while earning popular and critical praise. Spike received a Best Director nomination whilst the veteran Italian-American actor Danny Aiello was nominated for best actor. 8 Mile: The people of Detroit know 8 Mile as the city limit a border a boundary. It is also a psychological dividing line that separates Jimmy Smith Jr. (Eminem) from where and who he wants to be... Boyz N The Hood: Boyz N The Hood is the critically acclaimed story about three friends growing up in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood and of street life where friendship pain danger and love combine to form reality. The Hood is a place where drive-by shootings and unemployment are rampant. But it is also a place where harmony co-exists with adversity especially for the three young men growing up there: Doughboy (Ice Cube) an unambitious drug dealer; his brother Ricky (Morris Chestnut) a college-bound teenage father; and Ricky's best friend Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) who aspires to a brighter future beyond the The Hood. Lockdown: Avery had it all: his beautiful girlfriend Krista a young son and a full scholarship ahead of him. But in the blink of an eye it was all taken away. What started as a night out with his buddies ended with the shooting of a cop and Avery behind bars. He's innocent but that doesn't matter in a place that has its own set of rules. As Krista works to prove his innocence Avery struggles to survive the day-to-day hardships of prison life. Gridlock'd: When their friend Cookie OD's best buddies and musicians Spoon (Tupac Shakur) and Stretch (Tim Roth) decide it's time to kick their drug habit by putting themselves into detox. But they soon discover that the road to rehab is paved with reams of social service red tape. Spoon and Stretch are just trying to stay alive until they can get treatment. But between the angry drug dealers the cops who have mistaken them for murderers and the people with forms and clipboards this turns into a task of epic proportions. Thus enfolds their comic adventure to sobriety.

• 8 Mile | UMD | (05/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Rap star Eminem makes a strong movie debut in 8 Mile, an urban drama that makes a fairly standard plot fly through its gritty attention to detail. Jimmy Smith (Eminem), nicknamed B Rabbit, can't pull himself together to take the next step with his career--or with his life. Angry about his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) and worried about his little sister, Rabbit lets out his feelings with twisting, clever raps admired by his friends, who keep pushing him to enter a weekly rap face-off. But Rabbit resists--until he meets a girl (Brittany Murphy) who might offer him support and a little hope that his life could get better. Under the smart and ambitious direction of Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential, Wonder Boys) and ably supported by the excellent cast and the burnt-out environment of Detroit slums, Eminem reveals a surprising vulnerability that makes 8 Mile vivid and compelling. --Bret Fetzer

• Films That Define A Decade: '00s | Blu Ray | (22/08/2016) from £7.12   |  Saving you £6.59 (92.56%)   |  RRP £13.71

  The ˜noughties' was a turbulent decade, with things seemingly changing faster than we could keep up with! Addictive social media platforms saturated our daily lives, and the innovation of technology made films more popular and accessible than ever before. We bring together four iconic films that celebrate this decade: Eminem starred in the American hip-hop biopic 8 Mile; Matt Damon played a spy on the run in The Bourne Identity; Mamma Mia! was a musical sensation with an all-star cast; and there was British zombie madness with Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead.

• Films That Define A Decade: '00s | DVD | (22/08/2016) from £3.86   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The ˜noughties' was a turbulent decade, with things seemingly changing faster than we could keep up with! Addictive social media platforms saturated our daily lives, and the innovation of technology made films more popular and accessible than ever before. We bring together four iconic films that celebrate this decade: Eminem starred in the American hip-hop biopic 8 Mile; Matt Damon played a spy on the run in The Bourne Identity; Mamma Mia! was a musical sensation with an all-star cast; and there was British zombie madness with Simon Pegg in Shaun of the Dead.