"Actor: Mary Allen"

• Twin Town | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £9.78   |  Saving you £6.21 (63.50%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Producer Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) is behind this decadent comedy about a pair of lowlife but oddly intelligent Welsh brothers who generally make a pain of themselves in their small community, but who get serious about exacting revenge for a family tragedy. Director Kevin Allen succeeds at turning the entire film into a jacked-up freak show, with petty terrorism, cops on the take, a young virgin getting it on with a middle-aged creep and a male choir inexplicably singing Mungo Jerry's ancient hit "In the Summertime". Twin Town is loony, nasty stuff all around, but the only good laughs in the movie are top loaded into the first few minutes. After that, it's sheer tedium. --Tom Keogh

• Twin Town | DVD | (21/08/2023) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Twin Town | Blu Ray | (21/08/2023) from £14.39   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Bryn Cartwright, a wealthy roofing contractor, Rugby Club Chairman and local kingpin rules the roost until Fatty Lewis, a local handyman, falls off a ladder on a Cartwright job. Bryn refuses to pay compensation. The twins, Fatty's wayward sons, devise a wickedly comic way of getting even and Bryn ends up paying dearly. Representing the thin blue line of the law are Terry and Greyo, two local policemen who employ their own dubious peacekeeping methods as events spiral out of control. Product Features Interview with Morgan Hopkins Interview with Mark Thomas (music composer) Commentary with Morgan Hopkins & Gary Slaymaker

• The Perfect Storm | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £5.85   |  Saving you £8.14 (139.15%)   |  RRP £13.99

  George Clooney & Mark Wahlberg star in this spectacular tale of a fishing boat caught at sea during the worse storm ever recorded.

• Twin Town | DVD | (15/05/2006) from £22.79   |  Saving you £-6.80 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Bryn Cartwright a wealthy roofing contractor Rugby Club Chairman and local kingpin rules the roost until Fatty Lewis a local handyman falls off a ladder on a Cartwright job. Bryn refuses to pay compensation. The twins Fatty's wayward sons devise a wickedly comic way of getting even and Bryn ends up paying dearly...

• Ragtime | DVD | (07/07/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A portrait of America in the early part of the twentieth century based on a bestselling novel by E.L. Doctorow and directed by Oscar winning film maker Milos Forman.

• Sleeping Beauty (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) - 2 Disc DVD and Book Set (Disney) | DVD | (27/10/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Disney's 1959 Sleeping Beauty was the studio's most ambitious effort to date, a lavish spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapted from the music of Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her sixteenth birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Fortunately, some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are on hand to assist. It's not really all that much about the title character--how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here, alongside Maleficent's castle, which, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. --David Kronke, Amazon.com

• Sleeping Beauty : Deluxe Collector's Edition | DVD | (13/01/2003) from £17.97   |  Saving you £10.01 (66.82%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Disney's 1959 Sleeping Beauty was the studio's most ambitious effort to date, a lavish spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapted from the music of Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her sixteenth birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Fortunately, some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are on hand to assist. It's not really all that much about the title character--how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here, alongside Malificent's castle, which, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. --David Kronke, Amazon.com

• White Christmas | DVD | (03/12/2001) from £8.16   |  Saving you £10.82 (209.28%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Two talented song-and-dance men (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business.

• Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £4.75   |  Saving you £1.24 (26.11%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Kathy Bates stars as an unhappy wife trying to get her husband's attention in this amusing and moving 1991 screen adaptation of Fannie Flagg's novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. After befriending a lonely old woman (Jessica Tandy), Bates hears the story of a lifelong friendship between two other women (Mary Stuary Masterson and Mary-Louise Parker, seen in flashback) who once ran a cafe in town against many personal odds. The tale inspires Bates to take further command over her life, and there director Jon Avnet (Up Close and Personal), in his first feature, has fun with the film. Bates develops a real attitude toward her thickheaded spouse at home and some uppity girls in a parking lot, but dignity is generally the key to Avnet's approach with the story's crucial relationships. Tandy is a joy and clearly loves the element of mystery attached to her character, and Masterson and Parker are excellent in the historical sequences. --Tom Keogh

• You'll Like My Mother | Blu Ray | (24/07/2023) from £13.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Oscar® winner* Patty Duke stars in the tense and claustrophobic psychological thriller, You'll Like My Mother. When her husband is killed in Vietnam, Francesca Kinsolving (Duke) finds herself alone...and pregnant. She makes her way to Minnesota in order to meet her late husband's mother, certain that she'll be greeted with open arms. But Francesca soon discovers that there may be more to the Kinsolving family than she ever imagined...and that this simple family reunion is only the beginning of a waking nightmare. Rosemary Murphy (To Kill A Mockingbird), Richard Thomas (The Waltons), and Sian Barbara Allen (who was nominated for a Golden Globe® for her performance) also star in this intriguing, tautly directed thriller [that delivers] a high level of terror and tension (TV Guide)!

• Perfect Storm / Three Kings / Deep Blue Sea | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Perfect Storm: George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg lead a talented cast in this harrowing special-effects adventure that intercuts the plight of seafarers struggling to reach safe harbor with the heroics of air/sea rescue crews. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen The Perfect Storm tosses excitement your way in waves. Three Kings: The Gulf War is over. Operation Desert Storm is no more. Now three American soldiers have the opportunity of a lifetime; to become Three Kings. Amid the partying and confusion three soldiers disappear into the Iraqi desert to find millions in stolen Kuwaiti bullion and are plunged into the heart of a democratic uprising that spins the day - and their lives - out of control. Deep Blue Sea: Researchers on the undersea laboratory Aquatica have genetically altered the brains of captive sharks to develop a potential cure for Alzheimer's disease. There is one unexpected side effect. The sharks are getting smarter. Which could mean trouble for the researchers. And lunch for the sharks.

• Go Toward The Light | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  The emotional true story of a family's powerful love as they unite to save their eight year-old boy's life from AIDS...

• Mr Saturday Night | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £21.72   |  Saving you £-11.73 (-117.40%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Comedian Billy Crystal invested a life's worth of experience into his directorial debut, starring in and cowriting it as well. Mr. Saturday Night is a fascinating alternate biography of the career he never had. From the 1920s to the 90s, the movie uses flashbacks to follow a comedian's turbulent journey from making the family laugh, to stardom, to retirement. Buddy Young Jr (Crystal) and his brother Stan (David Paymer) show us the decidedly unfunny behind-the-scenes family events that can bolster or destroy an act. It's unfortunate that the flip side of Buddy's comic face is a viciously cruel streak. Distanced from his daughter and with Stan's need to move on, the contemporary segments are tinged with tragedy. They're assisted immeasurably by some impressive old-age make-up (which so often fails), transforming Crystal into an unrecognisable cantankerous creature. The gags come thick and fast; there are numerous cameos and the good-natured tone of the movie make it universally appealing. If only more acts from Saturday Night Live had been handled as well. On the DVD: Mr. Saturday Night is a standard transfer with no frills in 4:3 and stereo. The extras package offers a series of mini-interviews that are interesting in themselves, but inexplicably repeated in the accompanying five-minute featurette. --Paul Tonks

• 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

• Funny Girl | Blu Ray | (17/09/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Richard III | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The third and final entry in Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare triptych, Richard III is an audacious portrait of a man determined to prove himself a villain. A pure master of the political stage, Richard deploys a barrage of odious, unscrupulous traps in an attempt to exercise complete control over his rivals. As the personification of evil impudence, Olivier portrays the Duke of Gloucester with such aplomb that he even lures the audience on to his side. This is true even as Richard engineers plots to murder his brother Clarence (John Gielgud), betray his cousin Buckingham (Ralph Richardson) and seduce his niece Lady Anne (Claire Bloom). From the play's famous opening lines ("Now is the winter of our discontent"), Olivier delivers every speech with truly Machiavellian splendour. As usual, his voice is a force of nature--a full-bodied coloratura at one moment, an earthy baritone cello a few beats later. As a director, Olivier fully realises but underplays the corners of the script that most directors would hinge their dramatisation on. But he can also play it large: Olivier's superb staging of the climactic battle rivals his work on Henry V. Though Richard is finally brought down by the whispered curses of Queen Margaret, the audience exits feeling that the journey has been both entertaining and complete. Regrettably, this would be Olivier's last Shakespeare film, as a planned adaptation of Macbeth was abandoned for financial reasons. Olivier justly received an Oscar nomination for his performance; and believe it or not, this film was the inspiration for the original Blackadder! --Kevin Mulhall

• Sherlock Holmes - Terror By Night / The Many Faces Of Sherlock Holmes | DVD | (26/05/2008) from £4.98   |  Saving you £1.01 (20.28%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A precious jewel 'The Star Of Rhodesia' is stolen from a train. The master detective is forced to use all his powers of deduction with the help of his trusty aid Dr. Watson in this fast paced thriller.

• Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice? | DVD | (02/07/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? sees a change of direction for Robert Aldrich's unofficial trilogy which all involve "ageing actresses" in macabre thrillers (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte). The busy Aldrich only produced What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, calling in TV director Lee H Katzin (a Mission: Impossible regular) to handle the megaphone. Aldrich also opted to shoot the film in pastel colours appropriate to the unusual Arizona desert setting rather than the gothic black and white of the earlier films. The film cast the less iconic Geraldine Page as the genteelly unpleasant Mrs Clare Marrable. Left apparently penniless by her departed husband, Mrs M opts to keep up appearances by hiring a succession of timid elderly housekeepers, bossing them around with well-spoken nastiness, duping them out of their life savings and, on the pretence of getting help with a midnight tree-planting program, lures them into their own graves, batters them to death and plants lovely pines over them. Page gets her own way with the meek likes of Mildred Dunnock, until the feistier, red-wigged R!uth Gordon applies for the job and gets down to amateur sleuthing. While Bette Davis and her partners went wildly over the top in previous films, Page and Gordon play more subtly, finding odd pathetic moments in between the monstrous, irony-laced horror stuff. The supporting cast of pretty or handsome young things, mostly putty in the hands of the manipulative Page, contribute striking little cameos (Rosemary Forsyth sports a pleasing 1969 hairdo as the kindly but intimidated neighbour), but the film belongs to its leading ladies, delivering a fine line in twist-packed cat-and-mouse theatrics. The video is handsomely letterboxed, as befits a film made before widescreen films were shot with all the action in the middle of the frame to facilitate television sales. --Kim Newman

• The Perfect Storm | DVD | (25/11/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £20.99

  In October 1991 the fishing community of Gloucester Massachusetts experienced the full wrath of Mother Nature when a freak meteorological event produced the fiercest storm in modern history. Director Wolfgang Petersen has fashioned this heroic true story (as chronicled in Sebastian Junger's bestseller) into a star-laden blockbuster employing computer power to whip up the terrifying titular storm. George Clooney plays Billy Tyne captain of the Andrea Gail who has been plagued by bad luck at sea and is on a poor run of catches. Frustrated by the huge hauls of the Hannah Boden captained by Linda Greenlaw (Mary Ann Mastrantonio) Tyne decides to head back out to sea for the Flemish Cap a remote area renowned for its rich fishing prospects. He is joined by a number of his regular crew including Billy Shatford (Mark Wahlberg) Dale Murphy (John C Reilly) David Sullivan (William Fichtner) Alfred Pierre (Allen Payne) and Michael Moran (John Hawkes). Sure enough Tyne's luck changes for the better at the Flemish Cap and the Andrea Gail catches a full haul. Buoyed by the money that awaits them back home the crew sets off back to Gloucester but disturbing weather patterns hamper their progress and they soon find themselves battling against 100ft waves and 120mph winds that threaten to tear the boat apart. Includes the Novel and the HBO 20 minute documentary 'Creating the Storm' highlighting the groundbreaking special effects and story behind the movie.