"Actor: Max Perlich"

• House On Haunted Hill | DVD | (14/08/2000) from £15.99   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  House on Haunted Hill is one of the new breed of waste-no-time thrill machines, like Deep Blue Sea, and a particularly effective example at that. The plot is pure contrivance: For a party stunt, a wealthy amusement-park manufacturer (Geoffrey Rush) offers five people a million dollars if they spend the night in a former insane asylum where the patients murdered the sadistic staff. But it turns out the five people who arrive aren't the five he invited--did his wife (Famke Janssen), who hates him, make the switch? From there events unfold with a smart combination of human and supernatural machinations; spooky jolts are dispensed at regular, but not entirely predictable, intervals. The visual effects owe a considerable debt to Jacob's Ladder, a much more ambitious movie; House on Haunted Hill just wants to get under your skin, and succeeds more than you'd expect. Rush is his entertainingly hammy self; Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter and Bridgette Wilson are attractive and reasonably straight-faced about it all; and Chris Kattan is genuinely funny as the house's neurotic owner. Some elements of the plot seem to have been lost in the editing process, but it hardly matters. More bothersome is that the scares go flat when computer effects take over at the end--the digital images just aren't as creepy as the more suggestive stuff that came before. But that's just the very end; most of the movie has a lot of momentum. Watch until the end of the credits for a final bit of eeriness. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

• The Shield: The Complete Collection | DVD | (02/10/2017) from £46.98   |  Saving you £3.96 (8.80%)   |  RRP £48.95

  Controversial, compelling and critically acclaimed, THE SHIELD reinvented the police genre and gave us one of the greatest antiheroes in television history. Vic Mackey, a corrupt cop, runs hie elite Strike Team under his own set of rules, bringing conflict to not only the streets of Los Angeles, but also within his precinct. THE SHIELD showcases acting, directing and writing of the highest caliber.

• Drugstore Cowboy | DVD | (16/09/2002) from £19.10   |  Saving you £-3.11 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Drugstore Cowboy was the breakaway change of pace and success for a number of those involved in its making. Principally, Gus Van Sant became a director of immediate notability winning multiple international Festival awards and acclaim. It also allowed Matt Dillon to stretch his acting abilities well outside of the teen rebel pigeonhole he'd become associated with in the 1980s and provided far meatier roles for Kelly Lynch and Heather Graham. Adapted from James Fogle's novel, the broad strokes of the plot are simple enough; a junkie foursome led by Dillon's headstrong Bob, move around the Pacific Northwest in the early 70s scoring pharmaceutical drugs in a series of robberies. The finer details, created with the sense of family developing between the principals, and how they are not portrayed as either victims or "bad" criminals. Van Sant occasionally slips into the surreal depicting Bob's drug-addled thinking like a James Bond title sequence, along with a questionable in-joke cameo with Williams S Burroughs, dish out advice and temptation to Bob. In one simple way, it's little more than a road movie. Yet on another level there's a cautionary tale of the life of a junkie that has relevance well beyond the film's timeframe. On the DVD: A stereo track and a grainy print in 1.85:1 usually does a movie little favours, but here they add to the overall gritty atmosphere surprisingly well. The only extra is unfortunately the original trailer. --Paul Tonks

• Blow | DVD | (19/11/2001) from £3.99   |  Saving you £16.00 (401.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz star in this true life story of a young man who worked with Colombian drug traffickers to smuggle cocaine into the United States in the 1970s.

• Cliffhanger (30th Anniversary SteelBook) | Blu Ray | (30/05/2023) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Cliffhanger | DVD | (02/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Cliffhanger was a 1994 comeback of sorts for action hero Sylvester Stallone, this time thanks to director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) and some spectacularly rugged and vertigo-inducing, high-mountain terrain. The opening sequence alone delivers what the title promises, and there's an extraordinary airplane stunt that was later reprised, with modifications, in Air Force One. Stallone, looking as tough and craggy as the mountains themselves, is a rescue climber who finds himself going after a gang of crooks (headed by John Lithgow in his bad-guy mode) who've hijacked a US Treasury plane and crash landed in the Rockies with millions of bucks. Outrageous action-packed, snow-packed and scenery-packed chase sequences (featuring whirring helicopters, whooshing skis, popping gunfire and clanging pitons that earned the movie Oscar nominations for sound and sound editing) abound. --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

• Beautiful Girls | DVD | (07/01/2002) from £8.92   |  Saving you £7.33 (95.69%)   |  RRP £14.99

  This town drama from Ted Demme centres on former classmates coming together for their 10-year reunion. Scott Rosenberg's (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead) script thoughtfully passes over the usual grumblings of young adults who can't believe they still live in the same snowbound town. They accept--even welcome--their blue-collar jobs, whether ploughing snow or cutting hair. Willie (Timothy Hutton), the lone wanderer, returns to his listless house in a state of flux, the piano-bar circuit wearing thin as is his relationship with Tracy, a well-off attorney (Annabeth Gish). He isn't the only one with problems. Tommy (Matt Dillon) occasionally sleeps with his now-married high school sweetheart Darian (Lauren Holly) while the earnest Sharon (Mira Sorvino) is left to wait. Paul (another thick-headed role for Michael Rapaport) refuses to commit to Jan (Martha Plimpton) until it's too late. Paul is enamoured with the idea of the supermodel (the title's "beautiful girls") that, he believes, can make life perfect. It's a very satisfying comedy, with some forced poignancy (Willie's description of Tracy as a "seven and a half" comes off as a death sentence). Rosie O'Donnell's dissertation on why Playboy and Penthouse have ruined male expectations is much like Meg Ryan's orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally: it's hilarious, even memorable, but never wholly believable. The two wild cards thrown into Beautiful Girls give the film its kick. Uma Thurman enters as the local barman's (Pruitt Taylor Vince) radiant cousin. From the big city, she can flirt with the awestruck guys and still keep her head. Willie's true emotional tug is from Marty, his precocious 13-year-old neighbour. If you didn't see Natalie Portman's sophisticated work in Leon, her performance here will come as a revelation. You deeply believe that Willie and Marty are connected despite their age difference. Their courtship will never come to be, but the way the two talk (and talk some more) about their lives is the most insightful part of Rosenberg's script. Everyone's so comfortable in his or her roles that you may truly feel sad when the film ends. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com

• The Butcher's Wife | DVD | (22/04/2002) from £8.08   |  Saving you £4.91 (37.80%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Marina (Demi Moore), a blonde Southern belle with a clairvoyant streak, sees signs--a shooting star with two tails, a snowglobe that washes up on the beach, a wedding band inside of a fish--telling her that her true love is about to come ashore. And soon enough, a boat lands on the beach in front of her home; only the guy inside is a stout butcher from New York City named Leo (George Dzundza). Still, portents are portents, and the next thing you know she's married and running barefoot around a butcher's shop in Greenwich Village, where she inspires various residents with her predictions. Leo, however, is frightened by his wife's abilities and encourages her to see Alex (Jeff Daniels), a psychiatrist who works across the street. To placate him, she does--and soon begins to suspect that she's misread her signs and married the wrong man. The Butcher's Wife could use a little more humour about Marina's powers (her pronouncements are dizzyingly earnest) but the movie is buoyed up by a fantastic supporting cast, particularly Margaret Colin as a soap opera actress, Frances McDormand as a lesbian dress shop owner and Mary Steenburgen as a dowdy church choir leader who just wants to sing the blues. Like Marina, you know what's going to happen but the cast manages to make getting there charming. --Bret Fetzer

• Sometimes They Come Back ...For More | DVD | (11/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Hell has finally frozen over! Two military officers (Clayton Rohner and Chase Masterson) set out to investigate a remote Antarctica-based governmental outpost where a mysterious occurrence has killed crewmembers. The only survivors are a medical officer (Faith Ford - TV's Murphy Brown) and a tech officer (Max Perlich). Not knowing who to trust the officers cautiously begin to explore a world of horror that soon reveals a chilling secret that will haunt them forever...if they live.

• Rush | DVD | (23/06/2003) from £9.43   |  Saving you £3.56 (27.40%)   |  RRP £12.99

  What happens when two cops stop loving their job...and start living it? 'Rush' is an emotionally riveting powerful and unsparing film (scripted by novelist Pete Dexter) exposing the plight of two narcotics officers who cross the line and become enmeshed in the dangerous but intoxicating underbelly of the drug world. Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh give rich full-blooded performances as undercover officers Jim Raynor and Kristen Cates partners who become lovers and add

• Gleaming the Cube | DVD | (31/01/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

• Born Yesterday | DVD | (10/08/2004) from £23.99   |  Saving you £-9.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The story of a Las Vegas showgirl whose lack of sophistication worries her boyfriend. He fears her ignorance will ruin his business opportunities. He hires an intelligent journalist to educate her in the ways of the world but she soon learns there is more to life than mink coats and diamond rings.

• The Brave | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £8.76   |  Saving you £4.22 (73.14%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Raphael (Johnny Depp also making his directorial debut) and his young family live in Morgantown on the edge of the American Dream. With one step over the poverty line he sees only one way out... money. Raphael meets the monstrous snuff movie maker McCarthy (Marlon Brando). He offers Raphael $30 000 to be the star of one of his movies. He accepts and has $5 000 in his hand $25 000 to go to his family and just one week to live the rest of his life. Determined to make something good o

• Liebestraum | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £9.43   |  Saving you £3.56 (27.40%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas) directs an incredibly sexy cast (Kevin Anderson Pamela Gidley and Kim Novak) in this tale of lust and murder -- one of the most visually stunning films of the '90s.

• Truth Or Consequences N.M. | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £5.91   |  Saving you £7.08 (54.50%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Actor Kiefer Sutherland makes his directorial debut with Truth or Consequences NM, a ho-hum film about a threadbare subject: a drug heist that goes badly, resulting in the bad guys having to kidnap two people and the ensuing complications. A fine cast assures good performances all around, but it's hard to go down this narrative road for the umpteenth time in the 90s. One bonus is the presence of Kim Dickens, an interesting actress who started becoming more visible in films in 1997 and 1998 (Zero Effect, Great Expectations). The DVD release has optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, optional French and Spanish soundtracks and subtitles, and theatrical trailer. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Evil Never Sleeps | DVD | (13/01/2003) from £8.97   |  Saving you £-2.98 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  This ultra-dark shocker opens in tragedy when a beautiful young woman watches in terror as her raging husband kills her love and then himself. Her life is made increasingly traumatic when she becomes the victim of a relentless stalker who casts an evil shadow over her every move.

• The Independent | DVD | (12/04/2005) from £6.98   |  Saving you £-0.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A mockumentary of the movie business a la 'Spinal Tap' featuring a film crew who follow the downward spiral of low budget moviemaker Morty Fineman (Jerry Stiller)...

• 7 Mummies | DVD | (06/03/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Six prisoners stumble upon hell itself... Six escaped convicts and their female hostage make a desperate run for the Mexican border where they stumble across a lost treasure of untold wealth. However instead of the answer to all their prayers they find certain death in the Arizona desert... Hell hath no fury like a Mummy scorned!

• Street Warrior | DVD | (24/08/2009) from £5.95   |  Saving you £12.03 (406.42%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The Street Warrior is Jack Campbell played by Max Martini an ex-army ranger who comes back home to discover his brother beaten near death because of an underground no holds barred fight club. He enters the gauntlet to avenge his brother and bring order to the town that has been corrupted by the ring leader played by Nick Chinlund.

• Confessions Of A Trickbaby | DVD | (29/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Life in prison is the dismal future faced by 'White Girl' , a career criminal who specializes in armed robbery, often posing as a prostitute. Her cell-mate, Cyclona, is a psychotic young lesbian who is about to do life for murder. Cyclona develops a strong passion for White Girl which goes unreciprocated until the two girls manage to break out of prison.On the run, Cyclona reveals a horrifying secret about the victims of her murder conviction. Shocked by what she hears White Girl realizes she's in the company of a serial killer who is following the call of her hallucinatory visions an signs sent from hell, but is in no position to cope on her own, having been wounded in the escape.In a race for their lives, these two desperados tear across the States, leaving a trail of chaos and mayhem on their bizarre road-trip to Mexico