"Actor: Rick James"

• Girl In The Picture (1957) | DVD | (10/09/2012) from £10.98   |  Saving you £5.00 (62.58%)   |  RRP £12.99

  George Keefe's policeman brother was murdered four years ago and the killer is still on the loose. Flicking through the Evening Echo, a photography contest catches George's eye. One of the entries features enough detail to suggest it was taken on the day his brother died. George studies the photo; there's a girl waving at someone in a car and he can just make out the number plate. RYY80. George is stunned. It is the stolen car found wrecked at the scene of his brother's murder. Jon Deering, ...

• Once Upon a Time in the Midlands | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-10.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Dek (Rhys Ifans) is a gentle giant with two passions in his life: his souped up Ford Sierra 'Baby' and his girlfriend Shirley (Shirley Henderson). But while supporting her friend Carol (Kathy Burke) on a TV chat show Shirley is stunned when Dek walks on to propose live on air! As Dek is left to contemplate his future with Shirley in Nottingham Shirley's rogue ex-boyfriend has been watching in Glasgow and decides it's time to reclaim his woman. Heading south (swiftly followed by the gang he's just conned) Jimmy (Robert Carlyle) gets ready for an emotional and physical showdown with Dek and Shirley... little knowing that his daughter Marlene is also up for a fight!

• Saracen - The Complete Series | DVD | (07/06/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Saracen: The Complete Series

• The Tale Of Despereaux / Open Season 2 / Surf's Up | DVD | (14/09/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Titles Comprise: The Tale of Despereaux: Once upon a time there was a brave and virtuous mouse with comically oversized ears who dreamt of becoming a knight. Banished from his home for having such lofty ambitions Despereaux set off on an amazing adventure with his good-hearted rat friend Roscuro that eventually led him at long last on a very noble quest to rescue an endangered princess. Set in the far away kingdom of Dor this magical fable harkens back to a time of honour and chivalry inspiring fans of all ages to be the best mouse they can be! Open Season 2: Boog and Elliot are back for more crazy adventures. After falling head over hooves in love with Giselle Elliot's road to the altar takes a slight detour when Mr. Weenie is kidnapped by a group of pampered pets determined to return him to his owners. Boog Elliot McSquizzy Buddy and the rest of the woodland creatures launch a full-scale rescue mission for their sausage-shaped friend and soon find themselves in enemy camp: the world of the pets. Led by a toy poodle named Fifi the pets do not plan to let Mr. Weenie go without a fight. Can a toy poodle REALLY bring down an 900-pound grizzly bear? Will Elliot ever marry Giselle? Find out in Open Season 2. Surf's Up: A stylistically daring CGI feature Surf's Up is based on the groundbreaking revelation that surfing was actually invented by penguins. In the film a documentary crew will take audiences behind the scenes and onto the waves during the most competitive heartbreaking and dangerous display of surfing known to man the Penguin World Surfing Championship.

• The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | DVD | (16/02/2001) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-0.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Lion King II: Simba's Pride is another made-for-video sequel to a Disney masterpiece. As with the Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas sequels, most of the recognisable vocal talents return, creating a worthwhile successor to the highest-grossing animated film ever. We pick up the story as the lion king, Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick) and Nala (Moira Kelly) have a new baby cub, a girl named Kiara (Neve Campbell). Like her father before, she seeks adventure and ends up outside the Pridelands, where lions loyal to the evil Scar (who died in the original) have lived with revenge in their hearts. The leader, Zira (a spunky turn from Suzanne Pleshette), schemes to use her son Kovu (Jason Marsden) to destroy Simba. As luck with have it, Kiara has bumped into Kovu and fallen in love. This all sounds familiar since all of Disney's straight-to-video sequels have played it very safe, nearly repeating the originals' story, tone, and pace. Perhaps there were too many cooks for this production. Besides the two screenplay credits, there are eight other writers credited for additional written material. The look of the film has none of the surprise of the original but is far superior to other animated videos. In fact, the film played in European cinemas. For children, the sequel will be a favourite. The comic antics of Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumba (Ernie Sabella) are enjoyable, as is Andy Dick as Nuka, the mixed-up older son of Zira. And there's plenty of action. The best element is the music. Relying on more African-influenced music, the five songs featured are far superior to those in Disney's other sequels. Zira's song of revenge, "My Lullaby," was cowritten by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon. The oustanding opening number, "He Lives in You", was created for the Lion King Broadway smash and now finds a whole new audience. --Doug Thomas

• Brand | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Patrick McGoohan gives an outstanding performance as Henrik Ibsen's uncompromising and ultimately tortured priest in the original 1959 BBC World Theatre production. Highly powerful 'Brand' sometimes makes difficult viewing as the character forces those around him to accept the only true path to God...

• Dockers | DVD | (01/08/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Dockers is a landmark one-off drama suspended somewhere between Ken Loach and Alan Bleasdale's Boys from the Blackstuff. A striking Channel Four production Dockers dramatises the infamous struggle that developed when five Merseyside dockworkers were fired for refusing to work overtime with no pay, and gained the support of co-workers who wouldn't cross their picket line. As a result, those who stood in solidarity with the original five were sacked as well--500 in total--leading to a two-year stand-off. Co-written by award-winning screenwriters Jimmy McGovern (Cracker) and Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting), the two-year ordeal is brought home with startling reality, not least because of the contribution of the real-life Liverpool dockers who helped develop the script in extensive writing workshops, lending the film an authenticity it might have otherwise lacked. While the narrative hangs around the moving central story of one family in which both father and son are caught up in the strike, dramatic conflicts develop on multiple levels: between father and son; between the families of the sacked workers (this is particularly well realised as one long-time friend, played by The Royle Family's Ricky Tomlinson, turns scab); and between the workers and the union that betrays them. Ken Stott and Crissy Rock (Ladybird, Ladybird) are outstanding as the central working-class couple, old before their time at 47, and if nothing else, the film reveals one further reason why Liverpool loved Robbie Fowler quite so ferociously: during post-goal celebrations, Fowler lifts his jersey to reveal a T-shirt emblazoned with a message of support for the wronged dockers, ensuring national attention for the action at a time when all hope seemed lost. --Tricia Tuttle

• The X Files: Deadalive | DVD | (06/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  This release consists of two episodes--"This is Not Happening" and "Deadalive"--of the eighth series of The X-Files spliced together into a feature-length story. With David Duchovny contracted only to do a certain percentage of shows this year, Robert Patrick was brought in as Agent John Doggett, partnering Gillian Anderson's Agent Scully while Duchovny's Mulder is off being tortured by alien-abductors in what looks like an industrial dentist's chair. This story comes about two-thirds of the way through the arc and sets up Duchovny's return to the show--though he literally has to die and come back to get back on the case. It's an unfortunate paradox that most X-Files stand-alone releases concentrate on the dreary alien-abduction/conspiracy episodes which carry the greater storyline of the show, giving the misleading impression that the series is a drearily solemn, badly plotted, straight-faced but stupid sci-fi soap opera. Always skipped over are the far more interesting, entertaining and impressive stand-alone supernatural mysteries or strange comic exercises. Though Duchovny is mostly lying in a hospital bed with oatmeal all over his face, Anderson--whose character is pregnant this series, another dull sub-plot--still gives an amazingly committed performance and gets terrific support from Patrick, whose character has shaken up a lot of what was settled or stale about the show, and the always-underrated Mitch Pileggi as Assistant Director Skinner. The story features several wild-eyed UFO guru types (including Roy Thinnes, once star of The Invaders) and returned abductees transformed into un-killable alien zombies. It's as well made as ever, with ominous shadows and the odd smart line, but you need to have been paying very close attention for seven years to understand what's going on. With Duchovny a potential escapee and Anderson perhaps in line to follow, this episode brings on the excellent Annabeth Gish as Agent Monica Reyes, a specialist in bizarre rituals, who is being effectively set up to partner Patrick in a post-Mulder-and-Scully X-Files that might well keep the franchise going on forever Star Trek-fashion. --Kim Newman

• Penguins of Madagascar: Dr Blowhole Movie Musical Spectacular | DVD | (27/08/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Neil Patrick Harris stars as Dr. Blowhole in the complete Blowhole story from the Emmy award-winning DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon series, The Penguins Of Madagascar. In this three-part saga, Skipper and the Penguins face off against their sinister nemesis and must put a stop to his diabolical plans for revenge... and more revenge. With five original musical numbers, it's a super-spy spoof of Penguins proportions!

• 976 Evil II - The Astral Factor | DVD | (11/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Disguised as a harmless horoscope this number is the vehicle for evil. When a caller named Gruber phones in he is hooked by devilish forces that send his spirit on murderous sprees while his body sleeps...

• The Amazing Mr Blunden | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £50.00   |  Saving you £-44.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The Amazing Mr. Blunden

• Nesting | Blu Ray | (28/06/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Class of 1999 | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £20.97   |  Saving you £-11.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Even though this violent indie film has "exploitation" stamped all over it--with its gratuitous car chases, shootouts, and anarchistic characters--it is a guilty pleasure. Unfolding in the future--well, at least at the time of its release it was a decade ahead of schedule--this movie shows how US urban schools have deteriorated to the point that gangs run the classroom and the police, scared to even go near these educational wastelands, use hired goons to keep law and order there. (In fact, the US government now has a Department of Educational Defence.) In Class of 1999, a corporate representative (Stacy Keach), eager to rake in potential billions in government contracts, convinces a Seattle-area school principal (Malcolm McDowell) to test out three lifelike android teachers (including Pam Grier). This technological trio possesses intelligence and superhuman strength, which offer to both educate and discipline the bad apples at school. Unfortunately, the androids quickly move from harsh discipline such as spankings and beatings to murder, and Keach's corporate scumbag convinces McDowell's educator that despite this, the program needs to stay its course. Thus it is up to a newly paroled ex-gang member (Bradley Gregg) and the principal's daughter (Traci Lind) to uncover the teachers' identities and alert students and rival gangs to the impending danger. Despite its formulaic approach and some plot implausibilities, Mark Lester's film is entertaining to watch, especially with such exchanges as this: "So they've been waging war with my students." "Well, isn't that what all teachers do?" --Bryan Reesman, Amazon.com

• The Time Of Your Life | DVD | (01/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  When James Cagney starred in the movie adaptation of The Time of Your Life in 1948, it was hotly been debated whether William Saroyan’s stage play was really filmable at all. Because of its small cast, because all the action takes place on a single claustrophobic set, because the "plot" consists entirely of sub-plots, and because Saroyan’s "dirty sentimentality" isn’t to everyone’s taste, such doubts are still understandable today. However, accept the movie for what it is--a play in a box--and you’ll be captivated. The story revolves around a slightly down-at-heel bar-restaurant, where a group of disparate characters come and go as their stories gradually unfold. They include an ex-prostitute desperately seeking a new life, a dancer looking for a break into showbusiness, a down-and-out who discovers a vocation as a pianist, a beer-sodden cowboy and a villainous "stoolie" who, needless to say, gets his comeuppance. This gaggle of misfits is presided over by an enigmatic, champagne-drinking philanthropist (brilliantly played by Cagney) who gently nudges them towards their goals while indulging his own fascination with the minutiae of daily life. Throughout this quietly delightful picture the audience are not told why he’s this way, but it is possible to make an educated guess. On the DVD: The Time of Your Life might be a classic, but it apparently warrants no extra features. The black and white picture is 4:3. --Roger Thomas

• Off Beat | DVD | (20/04/2004) from £5.38   |  Saving you £9.61 (178.62%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The story of a wacky librarian who impersonates a New York city policeman during a dance contest. When he unexpectedly wins the competition the fast paced comedy begins.

• The Clint Eastwood DVD Legacy | DVD | (09/12/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £61.99

  Includes the following 8 great films: Dirty Harry The Outlaw Josey Wales Kelly's Heroes Magnum Force Pale Rider Space Cowboys The Gauntlet True Crime

• Silent Night, Bloody Night | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  The new owner of a mansion discovers it was once a mental home. When he visits his inheritance he sets about investigating some old crimes that took place at the mansion scaring the local populace in the process.

• Class Of 1999 | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Even though Class of 1999 has "exploitation" stamped all over it--with its gratuitous car chases, shoot-outs, and anarchistic characters--it is a guilty pleasure. Unfolding in the future--well, at least at the time of its release it was a decade ahead of schedule--this movie shows how our urban schools have deteriorated to the point that gangs run the classroom and the police, scared to even go near these educational wastelands, use hired goons to keep law and order there. (In fact, the US government now has a Department of Educational Defense.) In Class of 1999, a corporate representative (Stacy Keach), eager to rake in potential billions in government contracts, convinces a Seattle-area school principal (Malcolm McDowell) to test out three lifelike android teachers (including Pam Grier). This technological trio possess intelligence and superhuman strength, which enable them to both educate and discipline the bad apples at school. Unfortunately, the androids quickly move from harsh discipline such as spankings and beatings to murder, and Keach's corporate scumbag convinces McDowell's educator that despite this, the programme needs to stay its course. Thus it is up to a newly paroled ex-gangbanger (Bradley Gregg) and the principal's daughter (Traci Lind) to uncover the teachers' identities and alert students and rival gangs to the impending danger. Despite its formulaic approach and some plot implausibilities, Mark Lester's film is entertaining to watch, especially with such exchanges as: "So they've been waging war with my students". "Well, isn't that what all teachers do?"--Bryan Reesman, Amazon.com

• Die Hard / Die Hard 2: Die Harder | DVD | (04/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Exceptionally well directed by John McTiernan, Die Hard made Bruce Willis a star back in 1988 and established a new template for action stories. Here the bad guys, led by the velvet-voiced Alan Rickman, assume control of a Los Angeles high-rise with Willis' visiting New York cop inside. The attraction of the film has as much to do with the sight of a barefoot mortal running around the guts of a modern office tower as it has to do with the plentiful fight sequences and the bond the hero establishes with an LA beat cop. Bonnie Bedelia plays Willis' wife, Hart Bochner is good as a brash hostage who tries negotiating his way to freedom, Alexander Godunov makes for a believable killer with lethal feet and William Atherton is slimy as a busybody reporter. Director Renny Harlin took the reins for the 1990 sequel, Die Harder, which places Bruce Willis in harm's way again with a gaggle of terrorists. This time, Willis awaits his wife's arrival at Dulles Airport in Washington DC when he gets wind of a plot to blow up the facility. Noisy, overbearing and forgettable, the film has none of the purity of its predecessor's simple story; and it makes a huge miscalculation in allowing a terrible tragedy to occur rather than stretch out the tension. Where Die Hard sets new precedents in action movies, Die Hard 2 is just an anything-goes spectacle. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Die Hard (Two Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (04/02/2002) from £10.95   |  Saving you £12.04 (109.95%)   |  RRP £22.99

  This seminal 1988 thriller made Bruce Willis a star and established a new template for action stories: "Terrorists take over a (blank) and a lone hero, unknown to the villains, is trapped with them." In Die Hard, those bad guys, led by the velvet-voiced Alan Rickman, assume control of a Los Angeles high-rise with Willis's visiting New York cop inside. The attraction of the film has as much to do with the sight of a barefoot mortal running around the guts of a modern office tower as it has to do with the plentiful fight sequences and the bond the hero establishes with an LA beat cop. Bonnie Bedelia plays Willis's wife, Hart Bochner is good as a brash hostage who tries negotiating his way to freedom, Alexander Godunov makes for a believable killer with lethal feet and William Atherton is slimy as a busybody reporter. Exceptionally well-directed by John McTiernan. --Tom Keogh