"Actor: Phil Jones"

• Bo Selecta | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £5.78   |  Saving you £17.20 (616.49%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Featuring Avid Merrion as the Scandinavian stalker/host and sketches in which he plays the parts of pop stars like Craig David and Britney Spears in lurid, latex masks, Bo' Selecta! is a brilliantly surreal take on celebrity culture. This first series (originally broadcast in 2002) features a number of cameos and guest appearances from minor celebs: Boyzone's Keith Duffy, Davina McCall, Vanessa Feltz and the hapless Christine Hamilton, one of numerous guests to be interviewed by a puppet bear played by Merrion whose feverish line of questioning invariably results in him sprouting a little erection. Another character is hauled up in a neckbrace (following an altercation with Lisa Tarbuck), but Merrion's innocent broken English can't conceal the fact that he's a psychotic sex maniac who explicitly lusts after celebs who "make me do a sex wee", keeps Craig from Big Brother locked in a cupboard and his dead mother in a wardrobe. Merrion's pop spoofs are also masterly: rather than mimic the stars, he reinvents them--Mel B and Britney Spears--as farting, hairy-chested Northerners, slobbing out on fry-up breakfasts washed down with lager and, most improbably, Michael Jackson as a cussing, jive-talking black dude à la Huggy Bear. Bo' Selecta! doesn't so much satirise celebrities as debase them, exposing their humiliating none-dimensionality by drawing them into a vortex of vulgar absurdity, not unlike Vic Reeves' Shooting Stars. Of course, they play along--they're on television. Although initially off-putting to some, once you get into Bo' Selecta! there is, as for Big Brother's Craig, no escape. On the DVD: Bo' Selecta! on disc features numerous extras, including a behind the scenes feature in which the production team discuss making the show ("like directing a squirrel on roller-skates"), deleted scenes including Gareth Gates as a Tourette's victim, which was deemed a little beyond the pale, some unfunny bloopers and a feature on the life story of "Craig David" with Kate Thornton, including an unmissable nativity scene in which the infant Craig plays Jesus. There's also a commentary, with Merrion as his stalker self watching himself with consternation (It's strange seeing yourself on TV"). It's a pity we don't get to hear from the "real" Merrion. --David Stubbs

• Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Adventure Of The Clapham Cook / Murder In The Mews | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £4.98   |  Saving you £5.01 (100.60%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Adventure Of The Clapham Cook: Mrs Todd from Clapham comes to ask Poirot if he will help her to find her cook Eliza who has disappeared. Poirot is at first insulted by such a trivial request for his talents but then decides the case could be intriguing. Murder In The Mews: Chief Inspector Japp calls on Poirot to assist in the investigation of the suicide of a young woman Mrs Allen who has been found in her London mews home on Guy Fawkes night. Poirot soon suspects that Mrs Allen is the victim of foul play.

• Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £10.09   |  Saving you £-0.10 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd opens with a retired Poirot (David Suchet) cursing vegetable marrows in his country garden. When his old friend is found stabbed in the neck, Poirot begins an investigation that reunites him with Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) and uncovers a chain of furtive phone calls and secret romances. Unfortunately, the restructuring necessary to adapt the story from text to film takes away some of the shock value of Christie's original ending, which caused quite a controversy when the book was first published in 1926. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

• Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - Dumb Witness | DVD | (14/07/2003) from £24.93   |  Saving you £-14.94 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Poirot and Hastings are in Windermere watching Charles Arundel's attempt to break the world water speed record. They return to the Arundel's family members. The situation is exasperated when Aunt Emily falls down the stairs. Poirot suspects foul play and his suspicions are confirmed when she is found dead the following day. It becomes clear to Poirot that the only one who knows who murdered Emily is Bob the resident fox terrier. Poirot understands that this dumb witness must find its own way of telling him what he has seen...

• Route 666 | DVD | (13/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This is the thrilling story of a Federal Agent whose pursuit of an escaped witness brings him directly in contact with a highway haunted by a treacherous past. Set in the desert on a condemned stretch of road just off the historic Route 66. Darkly humurous and suspenseful 'Route 666' is a uniquely macabre horror film where a desert highway's legacy of evil meets the present in a gory confrontation.

• God's Pocket | Blu Ray | (12/01/2015) from £5.98   |  Saving you £13.00 (434.78%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Mickey (Philip Seymour-Hoffman) makes ends-meet by partaking in petty crime and gambling with his friend Arthur (John Turturro) and then spending most of it in the local flea-pit bar before stumbling home to his long-suffering wife Jeanie (Christina Hendricks). When his mentally unstable step-son Leon is killed by a co-worker on a construction site – a crime that is quickly covered up and explained away as an ‘accident’ nobody in the depressed blue collar neighbourhood of God’s Pocket is particularly sorry except of course his own mother. Mickey tries to bury the bad news along with the body but when Jeanie demands the truth Mickey finds himself stuck in a struggle between a body he can’t bury a wife he can’t please and a debt he can’t pay.

• Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - Sad Cypress | DVD | (19/04/2004) from £14.98   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Another intriguing investigation for the brilliant Belgian detective as the beautiful Elinor Carlisle stands accused of a double murder; that of her wealthy aunt Laura Wellman and also of her rival in love Mary Gerrard. Elinor had the motive and the opportunity to administer the fatal poison to both women. Poirot believes the evidence to be irrefutable but once his little grey cells get to work he begins to piece together another version of events as Elinor finds time running out...

• Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - Tragedy At Marsden Manor / The Double Clue | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Tragedy At Marsden Manor: Poirot is called in to investigate a murder at the local hotel. The Double Clue: Four unsolved robberies are creating work for Inspector Japp who has to call in Poirot for some assistance.

• Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - Death On The Nile | DVD | (21/06/2004) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-7.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A TV adaptation of Agatha Christie's whodunnit 'Death On The Nile' starring David Suchet as sleuth Hercule Poirot.

• Bo Selecta - Series 1 And 2 | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Aided by ""The Bear"" and rubber masked celebrities obsessive fan Avid Merrion hosts two full series of Bo' Selecta! from the squalor of his bedroom guiding us through an eclectic mix of celebrity stories interviews and gossip.

• A Christmas Carol - The Northern Ballet Theatre | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Charles Dickens' immortal tale here revels in a delightful adaptation for dance drama in three acts by Christopher Gable distinguished choreographer actor and former Royal Ballet star who died in 1998. The work is laced with Carl Davis' sparkling Christmas music which also requires the dancers to sing at various points. The featured company is the renowned Northern Ballet Theatre who here dance with infectious ebullience and vivacity.

• Assembly | Blu Ray | (05/05/2008) from £8.85   |  Saving you £16.14 (182.37%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Based on a true story Assembly follows one man's journey in search of truth and honour. The Huaihai Campaign of the Chinese Civil War broke out in the winter of 1948 and became one of the bloodiest battles in Chinese history. Thousands from The People's Liberation Army and the KMT Army fought in a bloodbath in between Xuzhou and Bengbu. Captain Guzidi commanding the Ninth Company led the infantry unit which consisted of a mere 46 men on a sniping mission to defend the south bank of the Wen River. His orders were to fight until the retreat assembly call was charged. After long hours of defence ammunition was running out and the number of men standing in the Ninth Company was quickly decreasing. Everyone began to wonder if they had missed the retreat bugle call. But Guzidi insisted that the bugle had not sounded and that they were to continue to battle at all costs. It was not until later when he found that all the neighbouring troops had already left the field that he realised he might have made a mistake and contributed to his men's deaths. Guzidi woke up in the hospital and discovered that due to a military re-organisation he and the 46 men who sacrificed themselves during the deadly engagement had last their identities and ranks and were deemed missing. Determined to prove the existence of the 46 men and honour their glorious deaths Guzidi embarks on his journey to search for his troops...

• Assembly | DVD | (05/05/2008) from £7.14   |  Saving you £10.85 (151.96%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Based on a true story Assembly follows one man's journey in search of truth and honour. The Huaihai Campaign of the Chinese Civil War broke out in the winter of 1948 and became one of the bloodiest battles in Chinese history. Thousands from The People's Liberation Army and the KMT Army fought in a bloodbath in between Xuzhou and Bengbu. Captain Guzidi commanding the Ninth Company led the infantry unit which consisted of a mere 46 men on a sniping mission to defend the south bank of the Wen River. His orders were to fight until the retreat assembly call was charged. After long hours of defence ammunition was running out and the number of men standing in the Ninth Company was quickly decreasing. Everyone began to wonder if they had missed the retreat bugle call. But Guzidi insisted that the bugle had not sounded and that they were to continue to battle at all costs. It was not until later when he found that all the neighbouring troops had already left the field that he realised he might have made a mistake and contributed to his men's deaths. Guzidi woke up in the hospital and discovered that due to a military re-organisation he and the 46 men who sacrificed themselves during the deadly engagement had lost their identities and ranks and were deemed missing. Determined to prove the existence of the 46 men and honour their glorious deaths Guzidi embarks on his journey to search for his troops...

• Sergeant Bilko / Housesitter / Roxanne | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Sgt. Bilko: Sgt. Bilko is back and up to his old tricks. The arrival of Major Thorn threatens to put a stop to the casino under-the-table deals and Bilko's other illicit businesses... Housesitter: 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 (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... Roxanne: 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 modersnisation of the Cyrano de Bergerac story will CD's nose (and Chris's body) come between him and true love?

• Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - Hercule Poirot's Christmas | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £14.98   |  Saving you £-4.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A wealthy old man invites Poirot to his house as he fears for the safety of his family...

• The Signifyin' Works of Marlon Riggs (The Criterion Collection) (Ethnic Notions/Tongues Untied/Affirmations/Anthem/Color Adjustment/Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret)/Black Is . . . | Blu Ray | (22/06/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - Lord Edgware Dies | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £6.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (42.92%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Lord Edgware Dies finds Poirot (David Suchet) reopening his London office with the help of Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) and Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser). As they celebrate their reunion, Japp quips that there's "only one thing missing...the body". Right on cue, a corpse turns up just moments later. Most of the suspects are actors by profession, but Poirot's "little grey cells" are able to penetrate the murderer's disguise--though only after two more victims heighten the suspense. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

• Bo Selecta - Series 2 | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £4.97   |  Saving you £20.02 (402.82%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Aided by ""The Bear"" and rubber masked celebrities obsessive fan Avid Merrion hosts another series of Bo' Selecta! from the squalor of his bedroom guiding us through an eclectic mix of celebrity stories interviews and gossip.

• America's Sweethearts / Mona Lisa Smile / My Best Friend's Wedding | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  America's Sweethearts (Dir. Joe Roth 2001): Gwen (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Eddie (John Cusack) are America's Sweethearts two wildly popular celebrities who share their love on and off the screen in this farcical romantic comedy. A messy breakup sends Eddie to a New Age Hollywood healing center and Gwen into the arms of her current affair a Spanish bohunk short on charm (Hank Azaria). When their relationship troubles begin to threaten their superstar celebrity status and the release of their final film together the studio heads call in legendary press agent Lee Phillips (Billy Crystal) to helm the troubled film's press junket. Julia Roberts costars as Kiki Gwen's personal assistant and sister who has always lived to please her demanding diva sister. Once overweight and severely self-conscious Kiki's life revolves around her sister's ridiculous demands in this send up of ego-driven movie star vanity. Phillips manages to gather the warring superstars together at a remote desert location for the all important press junket where his best laid plans begin to unravel in this hysterical parody of the movie industry replete with neurotic actors eccentric crazed directors (Christopher Walken in a gem of a cameo) maniacal studio heads and gossip-starved press who will do anything or anyone for the next big story. Mona Lisa Smile (Dir. Mike Newell 2003): Set in 1953 Katherine Watson (Roberts) is a free-spirited graduate of UC Berkeley who accepts a teaching post at Wellesley College a women-only school where the students are torn between the repressive mores of the time and their longing for intellectual freedom. My Best Friend's Wedding (Dir. P.J. Hogan 1997): Julia Roberts Cameron Diaz Rupert Everett and Dermot Mulroney star in My Best Friend's Wedding a high-spirited romantic comedy that serves up something wild something new sometimes touching and sometimes truly hilarious! Roberts's dazzles as commitment-shy Julianne Potter who suddenly realises she is in love with her best friend Michael (Mulroney). There's just one catch - he's about to marry someone else. Now she has to win him back and with just four days the help of her resourceful boss (Everett) and the benefits of an extremely devious mind Jules will do anything to steal him back - except tell him the honest truth!

• Poirot - Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Adventures Of Johnnie Waverly / Four And Twenty Blackbirds | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £6.37   |  Saving you £3.62 (56.83%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Adventure Of Johnnie Waverly: Country squire Marcus Waverly calls on Poirot to ask for help in dealing with kidnap threats against his son Johnnie. It becomes a race against time to discover the identity of the mystery letter writer and save little Johnnie from a terrible fate. 4 & 20 Blackbirds: As elderly Anthony Gascoigne lies dying at his Brighton home his estranged twin brother Henry falls to his death. A tragic accident or murder? Poirot believes the answer lies in the eating of a blackberry pie.