"Actor: Mary Anne"

• Parenthood | DVD | (28/03/2016) from £4.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (200.40%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Ron Howard's 1989 hit, written by fellow family men Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (Splash, A League of Their Own), is an original comedy about contemporary life and the eternal responsibilities of raising children. Steve Martin has never been better than as a dedicated husband and father trying (and inevitably failing, as do most of us) to balance the demands of his kids and his job. The actor, like his character, throws himself into the part quite touchingly, particularly in a scene where a hired clown fails to show up at a children's party and Martin's character unabashedly provides the entertainment. Good as Martin is, this is actually an ensemble piece with numerous actors playing members of the same family, with cross-generational joys and disappointments in the air--and parents in conflict, children in love and so on. Jason Robards is very good as a patriarch who finally accepts the reality that the son he adores (Tom Hulce) is a major screw-up. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Chuck And Buck | DVD | (06/12/2004) from £6.54   |  Saving you £-3.55 (-118.70%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Once upon a time, in a childhood land of lollipops and sleepovers, Chuck and Buck were the best of friends; their days marked out with "fun, fun, fun". The trouble is that Chuck grew up and Buck did not. When the pair are reunited at a family funeral, Chuck (now a thrusting music exec with a pert girlfriend and an apartment in the Hollywood hills) finds himself bothered and bewildered by the creepy lost boy he thought he'd left behind. "I like your house," mumbles Buck, sticking out like a sore thumb at an uptight yuppie party. "It's very old person-y." Shot on a shoestring budget by Miguel Arteta, Chuck and Buck offers a uniquely rich and strange comedy of retarded childhood. Think of this as a Peter Pan for modern-day America, or the Tom Hanks film Big viewed through a glass darkly. The slender premise contains deep pockets of ambiguity. After all, who's the real victim here? The harassed Chuck (played by American Pie co-creator Chris Weitz) or the spurned, saucer-eyed Buck (Mike White, who also wrote the script)? And who is the hero: the successful, status-conscious professional or the dopey, tearful wild card? Throughout the tale, you find your sympathies swinging back and forth between them. Make no mistake, Chuck and Buck is alive with hilarious, often horrific set-pieces. Yet Arteta's direction keeps it on a tight leash, prevents it from descending to the level of a simple freak-show. Instead his film blossoms from an odd-couple farce into a drolly provocative (and oddly humane) portrait of that shadow period between infancy and adolescence. White's character comes across as a very human kind of movie monster. Resplendent in stripy T-shirt, Buck is Chuck's conscience, his id, the ghost of childhood come back to haunt him. --Xan Brooks

• The House Of Mirth | DVD | (29/04/2002) from £5.98   |  Saving you £4.01 (67.06%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The crushing pressures of social conformity have always been a central concern of Terence Davies' movies, so Edith Wharton's astringent novel of innocence destroyed makes an ideal choice for him. Set in the edgy, nouveau riche ambience of 1900s New York, the story traces the downfall of the lovely but imprudent Lily Bart (Gillian Anderson) in a world where hypocrisy and predatory vice lurk behind genteel facades. Wharton (whose later novel The Age of Innocence was brilliantly filmed by Martin Scorsese) has an acute feel for the subtleties of social nuance, the way insiders and outsiders are defined, and Davies skilfully renders these hints and insidious judgments in cinematic terms. Working to a tighter budget than most period dramas, he turns his limitations to advantage. The film's never in danger of being swamped by the gorgeousness of its sets and costumes, or turned into an exercise in easy nostalgia. The northern austerity of Glasgow effectively stands in for New York. Throwing off the mantle of Scully (from The X-Files), Gillian Anderson gives a powerful and wholly convincing performance as Lily, movingly despairing as her options are closed off one by one; and there's a fine portrayal of self-satisfied brutality from Dan Aykroyd as the chief agent of her downfall. --Philip Kemp

• Murder In Mind | DVD | (01/04/2001) from £6.52   |  Saving you £-0.53 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A psychologist is recruited to interview a young wife found at the scene of a double murder. Through hypnosis he unravels a sinister and disturbed mind...

• Philadelphia | Blu Ray | (15/07/2019) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Hailed as a landmark film that dazzles with deep emotion and exceptional acting, PHILADELPHIA starsTom Hanks and Denzel Washington as two competing lawyers who join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. And as their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries. Special Features: One Foot on a Banana Peel, the Other Foot in the Grave Documentary Courthouse Protest Footage and Interviews Exclusive new documentary People Like Us: Making Philadelphia Original Making-of Featurette Deleted Scenes

• Field Of Dreams | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £5.99   |  Saving you £14.00 (233.72%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Field of Dreams is, in the words of its makers, a baseball film that "isn't about baseball". Rather, it's a magical film that works its spell on all but the most hard-boiled of viewers, an altogether superior slice of apple-pie sentimentality. Kevin Costner plays a young Iowa farmer who finds himself pestered by a whispering voice urging him, "If you build it, he will come". With the consent of an uncharacteristically supportive Hollywood wife (Amy Madigan) he sets about building a baseball diamond in the middle of his land. This action invites the prospect of bankruptcy--however, it also invites the spirit of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, a baseball superstar disgraced following his role in the 1919 World Series scandal. The supernatural voices continue to urge Costner to "go the distance"--and he seeks out reclusive writer Thomas Mann (James Earl Jones) and "Doc" Graham (Burt Lancaster), impelled by purposes he is as yet unable to divine. Field of Dreams works because it touches so endearingly on themes of redemption, inner peace and the possibility of second chances--the "dreams" which elude most of us. It also cites baseball as an idyllic metaphor for all that is decent and constant about America. Costner gives immense plausibility to an utterly, deliberately implausible scenario. On the DVD: Presented in anamorphic 1.78:1, the vivid, almost unnaturally natural Iowa colours are depicted to vivid effect (much of the diamond grass had to be painted green when it died). Generous extras include a making-of feature, an interview with WP Kinsella, author of the novel on which the book is based, and Costner. Director/writer Phil Alden Robinson also provides a director's commentary in which he describes the logistical difficulties of assembling 1500 automobiles for the memorable final scene. --David Stubbs

• Rivals | DVD | (26/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  On 20 December 1991 having been mercilessly stalked Laurie Show was mutilated and murdered by her love-rival Lisa Michelle Lambert. It was a crime of exceptional brutality made all the more shocking by the fact that both killer and victim were teenagers.

• Henry Portrait Of A Serial Killer: Special Edition Double Play - (Blu-ray + DVD) | Blu Ray | (24/10/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Released from prison following his mother's murder. Henry (Michael Rooker, JFK) supplements his job as an exterminator with a series of violent, indiscriminate murders. Crazed drug dealer and fellow jailbird Otis (Tom Towles) provides Henry with a willing accomplice in his grisly pursuits but as the depravity escalates and Henry begins to form a tentative bond with Otis' sister Becky (Tracy Arnold) events spiral towards a chilling and violent conclusion. Based on the harrowing true story of convicted mass-murderer Henry Lee Lucas (portrayed with a dead-eye passivity by a magnetic rooker), John McNaughtonis (Mad Dog and Glory, Wild Things) Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer is one of the most remarkable films in the crowded serial killer genre. Impressively building to a disquieting and horrific climax, the film provides a sobering and nightmarish glimpse into a deranged and damaged mind. A bona-fide cult classic that as well as being long unavailable is presented here for the first time in its entirety and as the director intended: it's a startling, morally complex and frequently uncompromising work of genuine daring and vision.

• Love Potion No. 9 | DVD | (29/04/2002) from £24.99   |  Saving you £-19.00 (-317.20%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The premise of Love Potion No. 9--that a magic potion makes the user irresistible to the opposite sex--could be the setup for the crassest sex farce imaginable. Instead, this film is a surprisingly subtle romantic comedy. Nebbishy scientist Paul (Tate Donovan) goes to a Gypsy fortune teller (Anne Bancroft), who tells him she sees no women in his entire life. To make up for this depressing news, she gives him a few drops of a love potion--number 8. Paul, a biochemist, scoffs; but when his pet cat accidentally gets a taste and attracts every female cat in the neighborhood, he enlists fellow dweeby scientist Diane (Sandra Bullock) to analyse it. After experimenting on monkeys, they decide to test it on themselves; soon Diane is being pursued by handsome Italians in the street and comes close to marrying the Prince of England (sic), while Paul gets a little revenge on a woman who previously rejected him, then embarks on his own love spree. Shortly they discover that they really want each other; but before they can get married, an old boyfriend of Diane returns with his own dose of love potion number 8. Paul's only hope is to get something even more powerful. Love Potion No. 9 is genuinely clever and sweet, and both Donovan and Bullock work well with the low-key but effective humour of the movie's well-written script. It's a tribute to her talent and her girl-next-door looks that Bullock, unlike most pretty stars dressing down, is effective as both a lovelorn loser and the confident glamour-girl she becomes. Altogether, a charming and enjoyable film.--Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

• Housesitter/Parenthood/Roxanne | DVD | (15/01/2007) from £12.13   |  Saving you £0.86 (7.09%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Housesitter: (1992) When architect Newton Davis' girlfriend Becky (Dana Delany) turns down his marriage proposal his newly-built dream house suddenly becomes nothing more than an empty monument to her rejection. That is until a chance encounter with Gwen (Goldie Hawn) turns his life upside-down. Intrigued by Newton's story Gwen visits the house and decides to move in on her own. Resourceful and creative Gwen is soon fixing up the house and charming Newton's family and neighbors - all the while passing herself off as his new wife! Gwen even befriends Becky who begins to see a Newton she never knew existed. Horrified at the deception yet unable to stop it Newton finds himself playing along with her preposterous stories her attempts at reconciling differences within his family and her campaign for his promotion at work. Finally he convinces Gwen to fabricate their ""divorce"" so he can still get married to Becky - until he has a change of heart. Parenthood: (1989) The Buckmans are a modern-day family facing the age-old dilemma of trying to raise children the ""right way"". At the centre of the storm is Gil (Steve Martin) who manages to keep his unique sense of humour while attempting to maintain a successful career and be a loving husband and parent all at the same time. As Gil and the rest of the Buckmans discover being the ""perfect"" parent often means just letting children be themselves. Roxanne: (1987) Small town fire chief CD Bales (Steve Martin) falls madly in love with the new girl in town a gorgeous astronomer (Daryl Hannah). But there's an enormous problem - CD has an amazingly big nose and is convinced that such a beauty could never love a man with such a gargantuan appendage. Roxanne proves him right when she falls for Chris a hunky and good looking fireman. The mayhem continues when CD agrees to ghost-write Chris's love letters in which he pours out his own secret feelings. In this charming modernisation of the Cyrano de Bergerac story will CD's nose (and Chris's body) come between him and true love?

• Deliver Us From Evil | DVD | (10/03/2008) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-0.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The story of the most notorious paedophile priest in the modern history is told in this Oscar-nominated documentary.

• Miss Firecracker | DVD | (04/02/2002) from £5.99   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Comedy about Carnelle (Hunter) a sexually-loose hellraiser who enters the Miss Firecracker contest in the very old-fashioned town where she was raised Yazoo City Mississippi. Carnelle's not the usual kind of contestant -- but her cousin is a famous winner -- and Carnelle's determined to equal her no matter what the obstacles.

• Sorority House Massacre | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £32.90   |  Saving you £-29.91 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  A group of girls are terrorised by a knife-wielding killer who is drawn to their sorority house because of mysterious past connections.

• Henry - Portrait Of A Serial Killer | DVD | (25/05/2001) from £13.59   |  Saving you £-3.60 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Most horror films exist in a fantasy movie-world safely removed from our existence, populated by zombie-like killers and psychopathic madmen. The power of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is its chilling placement in the mundane existence of everyday life. Michael Rooker plays Henry not as a raving psychopath but as the frumpy guy next door, a drifter who takes out his frustrations on random victims and escalates his body count after teaming up with the violent ex-con Otis (Tom Towles). Though not exceedingly gory in light of the excesses of such fantasy horrors as the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series, director John McNaughton's straightforward presentation and documentary-like style creates a chilling realism that many viewers will find hard to watch. McNaughton neither comments on nor flinches at the brutal violence, which reaches its apex in a disturbing camcorder-eye view of a particularly sadistic murder of a middle-class couple, with Henry and Otis smiling through the deed as they record it for their continued pleasure. Henry straddles the line between True Crime (though fictional, the story was inspired by the confessions of real-life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas) and horror, a bleak, brutal kind of terror for a generation deadened by the escalating outrageousness of movie murders and nightly news crime scene clips. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends Complete Box Set | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £44.99

  Contains all 3 volumes from this classic family program. Disc One: 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny' 'The Tale of Flopsy Bunnies & Mrs. Tittlemouse' and 'The Tale of Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddleduck'. Disc Two: 'Tale of Pigling Bland' 'Tale of Samuel Whiskers' and 'The Tailor of Gloucester'. Disc Three: 'The Tale of Mrs Tiggywinkle & Jeremy Fisher' 'The Tale of Mr Tod & The Further Adventures of Peter Rabbit' and 'The Tale of 2 Bad Mice & Johnny Town Mouse'.

• Stage Fright | DVD | (13/10/2003) from £12.25   |  Saving you £-6.26 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Director Michele Soavi does the impossible by squeezing a few more drops of blood out from the slasher genre. Not only that, Soavi lensed one of the most beautiful and suspenseful horror movies of the 1980s. A genuinely haunting horror where the killer dressed as an owl goes to bloody work with a chainsaw that slices through flesh and bone...

• Clifford - Forever Friends | DVD | (08/05/2006) from £6.73   |  Saving you £6.26 (93.02%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Animated adventures with Clifford the big red dog. Episodes Comprise: 1.My Best Friend 2.Fair Weather Friend 3.A New Friend 4.The Dog Who Cried Woof 5.Friends 6.Morning 7.Noon And Night 8.Screaming For Ice Cream

• The Onedin Line - Series 1 - Part 2 | DVD | (05/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Welcome to Liverpool in the late 19th century the hub of Great Britain's growing Atlantic trade. But for Captain James Onedin these waters are treacherous indeed. Can he keep his beloved Onedin Line out of the hands of Callon his rival enemy and ex-employer and enter the age of steam unhindered? Or will everything including the elements be against him? This release features Parts Three and Four of the classic BBC drama serial The Onedin Line.

• The Onedin Line - Series 1 - Part 1 | DVD | (07/04/2003) from £29.99   |  Saving you £-12.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The initial instalment of episodes from the classic TV serial.

• The Trip To Bountiful | DVD | (06/02/2006) from £32.42   |  Saving you £-30.43 (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  Set in Houston Texas during the 1940's Carrie Watts lives with her hen-pecked son and his controlling wife. Entering the last years of her life she wishes that she could revisit the town of Bountiful the place where she grew up as a child. However her son and his wife are very reluctant to let her go for her health and financial reasons. Carrie decides that an escape attempt is due... Catching a bus to Bountiful she meets and strikes up a conversation with a young woman (Rebecca De Mornay) to whom she recounts the story of her life...