"Actor: Michael B"

• Billion Dollar Brain | DVD | (25/07/2022) from £8.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Secret agent Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) is blackmailed into working for MI5 again on his wildest - and most dangerous - assignment yet. An insane oil billionaire, intent on destroying Communism by starting a new world war, is close to achieving his goal with the help of the world's largest, and most powerful, computer. Harry is the only man who may be able to stop him; but as he races from London to Finland to Latvia to Texas and back, he must determine who of his supposed allies is the one he can actually trust, a sexy Russian agent, Soviet colonel or an American mercenary. Legendary filmmaker Ken Russell directed this third and final film in the great Harry Palmer series. The wonderful supporting cast includes Karl Malden, Ed Begley and Francoise Dorleac.

• The Day the Earth Stood Still | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (25.03%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The very epitome of a cult SF classic, The Day the Earth Stood Still is more often referenced than seen, which is a pity since it remains even now one of the most thought-provoking examples of the genre. The title is a misnomer, a mere tease to entice 1950s audiences into the cinema in the expectation of seeing another sensationalist B-movie about murderous aliens (i.e. Communists). In fact, Robert Wise's film of Edmund North's screenplay is a thoughtful Cold War allegory about a Christ-like visitor (Michael Rennie) who comes to Earth preaching a message of salvation for mankind, only to be spurned, killed then finally resurrected (significantly, Rennie's character Klaatu adopts the pseudonym "Mr Carpenter" while on the run from the authorities). Aside from its philosophical message, the film also boasts memorable imagery--notably the giant robot Gort--a much-quoted catchphrase in "Klaatu barada nikto", and one of composer Bernard Herrmann's most admired scores, featuring the theremin and other electronic instruments that must have sounded very otherworldly back in 1951. The result is a bona fide landmark in cinema SF with a central message about "weapons of mass destruction" that's still uncannily relevant today. On the DVD: The Day the Earth Stood Still has been splendidly restored for its DVD incarnation from the original 35 mm print, and the results are demonstrated in the "Restoration Comparison" feature. Also included is a fascinating 1951 newsreel showing Klaatu receiving a certificate of merit amid stories of Communist threats, the Korean war and beauty pageants ("Pomp and pulchritude on parade in Atlantic City"). Best of all is an absorbing commentary track with director Robert Wise in conversation with Nicholas Meyer (both men have Star Trek movies on their CV). --Mark Walker

• Arrival | Blu Ray | (20/03/2017) from £11.98   |  Saving you £-3.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team led by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity's very existence.

• Love Soup | DVD | (21/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tamsin Greig and Michael Landes star in this romantic comedy drama penned by sitcom legend David Renwick. Love Soup looks at what happens when your first love is a distant memory but you haven't yet found the one. Dealing with the parallel lives of a perfectly matched couple who have yet to meet each other the comedy-drama follows their hopes fears and dating disasters as they try to remain sane in a world from which they each feel increasingly excluded. Tamsin Greig (Green Wing) plays Alice Chenery an account manager for a perfume company in a London department store struggling to maintain a flat in Brighton she cannot afford. Michael Landes who has starred in The Wonder Years and The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air plays Gil Raymond a successful American comedy writer who has fled his home country in search of artistic integrity and a lasting relationship.

• One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest | Blu Ray | (16/02/2009) from £8.99   |  Saving you £11.00 (122.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A nice rest in a state mental hospital beats a stretch in the pen right? Randle P. McMurphy (Nicholson) a free-spirited con with lightning in his veins and glib on his tongue fakes insanity and moves in with what he calls the nuts. Immediately his contagious sense of disorder runs up against numbing routine. No way should guys pickled on sedatives shuffled around in bathrobes when the World Series is on. This means war! On one side is McMurphy. On the other is soft-spoken Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) among the most coldly monstrous villains in film history. At stake is the fate of every patient on the ward...

• Almost Famous | DVD | (10/04/2002) from £4.99   |  Saving you £21.00 (420.84%)   |  RRP £25.99

  Inspired by director Cameron Crowe's own experiences and set in the 1970s, the film follows a fifteen year old wannabe journalist who gets the opportunity to interview and go on the road with a hard living rock band.

• Shining Through | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £9.97   |  Saving you £-3.98 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Based on a novel by Susan Isaacs, Shining Through is uncomfortably close to Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious. This World War II drama concerns a love affair between a spy (Michael Douglas) and a secretary (Melanie Griffith) that goes south when duty turns him cold and pushes her into dangerous, behind-the-lines intelligence work. Liam Neeson plays the gentleman Nazi unwittingly providing Griffith with cover as domestic help. The best parts of the film are the twists and turns in the romance (Douglas is very good at playing a character who can turn off all feeling at will) at the beginning; the German scenes are less compelling despite such high stakes for the heroine. The climax--taking us back to Notorious whether it wants to or not--is quite gripping, largely due to Douglas's performance.--Tom Keogh

• The King's Speech | Blu Ray | (09/05/2011) from £5.96   |  Saving you £18.29 (389.15%)   |  RRP £22.99

  The King's Speech tells the story of the relationship between Britain's reluctant King George VI, plagued by a nervous stammer, and the unorthodox Australian speech therapist who helps him.

• Mission Without Permission | DVD | (18/10/2004) from £6.38   |  Saving you £9.61 (150.63%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Mission Impossible y'know for kids! This Hollywood remake of the Danish blockbuster 'Klatretosen' sees 12 year old Maddy (Kristen Stewart) and her friends using all their skills to raise money (by 'appropriating' money from a bank's vault protected by hi-tech security!) for an operation that may help Maddy's father walk again...

• Dark Angel: Complete Season 1 | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £19.99   |  Saving you £20.00 (100.05%)   |  RRP £39.99

  One of TV's more interesting tough-girl action shows, Dark Angel is a distinctive blend of the personal, the adventurous and the politically aware. Cocreators James Cameron (yes, that James Cameron) and Charles Eglee present a complex scenario of biological super-science and social collapse in which their gene-manipulated heroine and hacker/journalist hero can genuinely make a difference. In this first series they also provide an adversary who is a lot more than just a conventional villain. Jessica Alba is impressive as Max, bred and trained as a super-soldier but reclaiming her individual humanity; Michael Weatherly is scruffily attractive as Eyes Only, who sits semi-paralysed in his eyrie above Seattle uncovering crime, corruption and other skulduggeries and sending the woman whom he hopelessly loves out on deadly errands. Jon Savage has real authority as Lydeker, a man who has stretched his conscience to breaking point, but is not personally corrupt. Some of the best episodes here--"Prodigy" for example--are ones in which Lydeker and Max are forced into temporary alliance. Early on the relationship between Max and the other workers at Jam Pony--the courier firm that provides her with a cover identity--is a little forced, but later on the two parts of Max's life are more successfully integrated: "Shorties in Love", for example, is a genuinely touching tale about Diamond, the doomed criminal ex-lover of Max's lesbian roommate. Dark Angel was never a perfect show, but at its occasional best it manages to be simultaneously funny and dramatic. On the DVD: Dark Angel, Series 1's Region 2 DVD is ungenerous with special features, providing only short interviews with James Cameron and Charles Eglee and with the stars, and giving us a preview of the Dark Angel computer game. The episodes are presented in widescreen and have excellent Dolby Digital sound which gives vivid presence to both the dialogue and the hard-driving contemporary rock score that is part of the show's style. --Roz Kaveney

• Flashdance (Special Collectors Edition) | DVD | (10/09/2007) from £5.74   |  Saving you £4.25 (74.04%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In Adrian Lyne's Flashdance a young woman Alex (Jennifer Beals) strives to achieve success as a classical dancer but economic forces require her to work as a welder by day and an exotic dancer by night. Standing in her way is an abundance of profound social obstacles not the least of which is her boss at the welding factory Nick (Michael Nouri) who is also her boyfriend. Alex strives to be accepted into a prestigious ballet academy and she is furious when she realizes t

• The Queen's Castle | DVD | (11/11/2005) from £6.44   |  Saving you £16.55 (256.99%)   |  RRP £22.99

  For the best part of a millennium Windsor Castle has been at the heart of the national story; the awesome fortress; family home; treasure chest; and burial ground for the Royal dynasty who went on to take its name. But there is another unseen side to the Castle which the tourists never see... It is the real Windsor - home workplace playground and paradise. The Queen's Castle explore this hidden world in all its glory. This year for the first time ever Windsor ha

• Lovecraft Country: Season 1 | DVD | (22/02/2021) from £12.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A young African-American travels across the U.S. in the 1950s in search of his missing father.

• The Founder | DVD | (12/06/2017) from £7.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The incredible true story of how Ray Kroc (Academy Award nominee Michael Keaton, Spotlight, Birdman), a salesman from Illinois, met Mac (John Carroll Lynch, Jackie) and Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman, 22 Jump Street), who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. So impressed by the brothers' 'speedy system' Kroc risked his marriage, bankruptcy and his reputation to create a billion-dollar empire that revolutionised the world. From director John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks, The Blind Side) and writer Robert D. Siegel (The Wrestler) comes a stunning and shocking portrayal of the man whose hunger for the American Dream ate away everything he knew.

• Streets Of Fire | DVD | (03/08/2009) from £31.89   |  Saving you £-21.90 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Bombers motorcycle gang headed by the vicious Raven Shaddock kidnap diva Ellen Aim. Her hope for rescue lies with unlikely heroes: soldier of fortune Tom Cody and his sidekick the two-fisted beer-guzzling McCoy. Joined by Ellen's manager Billy Fish the trio plunge headfirst into a world of rain-splattered streets hot cars and deadly assassins.

• Batman | Blu Ray | (17/04/2019) from £4.68   |  Saving you £16.57 (484.50%)   |  RRP £19.99

  After a young boy witnesses his parents' murder on the streets of Gotham City he grows up to become Batman a mysterious figure in the eyes of Gotham's citizens who takes crime-fighting into his own hands. He first emerges out of the shadows when the Joker appears - a horribly disfigured individual who is out for revenge on his former employer and generally likes to have a good time but the identity of the bat is unknown. Perhaps millionaire Bruce Wayne and photographer Vicki Vale have a good chance of finding out?

• Hanover Street | DVD | (16/09/2002) from £10.78   |  Saving you £2.21 (20.50%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Written and directed by Peter Hyams 'Hanover Street' stars Harrison Ford as David a WWII American bomber pilot who meets and falls in love with a beautiful nurse during an air raid in London. Unbeknownst to him she is married. David is then shot down behind enemy lines while accompanying a British agent into France. In the midst of danger David comes to realise that the agent is his lover's husband...

• The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash | DVD | (25/04/2005) from £13.23   |  Saving you £-7.24 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  First screened on BBC2 in 1978, at a time when the standing of The Beatles was at its lowest, The Rutles--All You Need is Cash is the original and (pace This is Spinal Tap) best "rockumentary" spoof. Codirector Eric Idle was then enjoying success with Rutland Weekend Television, while his script displays the same feeling for the inane non-sequitur evident in his Monty Python work. The band's progress from "penniless, untalented nobodies" to "rich, untalented somebodies" is vividly brought to life--with dialogue adapted from actual Beatles interviews and newsreels, and a roster of songs sounding uncannily close to Beatles originals thanks to "Nasty" Neil Innes' genius for pastiche. Interviews with a suitably primed Mick Jagger and Paul Simon give added realism, as do cameos from George Harrison (one-time Beach Boy Rikki Fataar plays his Rutles double Stig) and Stones guitarist Ron Wood. Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi make characterful, pre-Blues Brothers appearances. On the DVD: The Rutles--All You Need is Cash has come up well in this DVD transfer. The fullscreen 4:3 ratio picture and mono sound wear their age well, enhanced by the extra scenes included. There's further interview material with Jagger and Simon, and a specially recorded, though wholly unfunny, DVD introduction from Idle, who also contributes a running commentary. All in all, this is an ideal way to get to know, or renew acquaintance with, a film that brings the swinging 60s back down to earth. --Richard Whitehouse

• X-Men: Apocalypse | 4K UHD | (07/11/2016) from £21.98   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £18.00

  Following the critically acclaimed global smash hit X-Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer returns with X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshipped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel's X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction

• Quantum Leap: Complete Season 1 | DVD | (08/11/2004) from £24.35   |  Saving you £3.64 (14.95%)   |  RRP £27.99

  ""Theorising that one could time travel within his own lifetime Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al an observer from his own time who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to l