New Releases

• H.G. Wells' Island of Lost Souls (1932) (Masters of Cinema) | DVD | (28/05/2012) from £32.27   |  Saving you £-11.02 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Originally rejected by the BBFC on its original release for being against nature this first and best screen adaptation of H. G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau is a taboo-flaunting blood-curdling spectacular and one of Hollywood's wildest most notorious pre-Code pictures. Shipwrecked and adrift Edward Parker finds himself a guest on Dr. Moreau's isolated South Seas island but quickly discovers the horrifying nature of the doctor's work and the origin of the strange forms inhabiting the isle: a colony of wild animals reworked into humanoid form via sadistic surgical experiments. Furthermore Parker quickly begins to fear his own part in the doctor's plans to take the unholy enterprise to a next level. Featuring a peerlessly erudite and sinister performance by Charles Laughton (Spartacus Hobson's Choice The Hunchback of Notre Dame Mutiny on the Bounty) as the diabolical doctor a sterling appearance by Bela Lugosi (Dracula The Raven Ninotchka) as the half-beast-half-man Sayer of the Law and sensationally atmospheric cinematography by the great Karl Struss (Murnau's Sunrise Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) Island of Lost Souls now returns to claim a central position among the most imaginative and nightmarish fantasies from Hollywood's golden age of horror. Island of Lost Souls is a true classic of horror cinema from the early 1930s - alongside Dracula Frankenstein Freaks The Invisible Man Vampyr and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

• Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience - Series 1-2 | DVD | (21/05/2012) from £13.98   |  Saving you £8.00 (66.72%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The series follows award-winning stand-up comedian Rhod Gilbert as he tries out all manner of different day jobs. The series’ sees him try his hand at being a farmer, a fireman, a tattoo artist, and a bin man among others

• The Artist | DVD | (28/05/2012) from £6.75   |  Saving you £18.24 (270.22%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Hollywood 1927. George Valentin is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career. For extra Peppy Miller, major movie stardom awaits. THE ARTIST tells the story of their interlinked destinies.

• Rags And Riches: Life In The 1930s Part One | DVD | (14/05/2012) from £7.18   |  Saving you £5.81 (80.92%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The world is in the grip of the Great Depression but amongst the misery of unemployment and economic hardship there is a shining light. London is booming with a boost in house building which doubles the size of the city, creating the metropolis we know today. Using rare archive footage this film tells the story of how this happened against the backdrop of a turbulent and fascinating decade.

• The Grey | Blu Ray | (21/05/2012) from £6.79   |  Saving you £18.20 (268.04%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The plane crashes (boy, does it crash) in the remote Alaskan nowhere, and the rough-and-tumble oil wildcatters who survive must fight their way to safety. That in itself might be enough from which The Grey could fashion a suspenseful thrill-ride, but the movie has one more ace up its sleeve. Wolves! A pack of them, starving and considerably irritated that these outsiders have blundered into their territory. And while it is true that most real-world wolves are hardly man-eaters, director Joe Carnahan and cowriter Ian Mackenzie Jeffers are really not all that interested in reality. Despite some hair-raising moments and a healthy spattering of gore, The Grey is an existential action picture, and the wolves function only as all-purpose predator (being computer-generated, they never really look real anyway). What's really at stake are the souls of these men--how they get along together, and how they face death. Yes, there is always something faintly absurd hanging around this movie; it's like a Jack London story adapted by Luc Besson. But out of its pulpy mash, Carnahan extracts something gutsy. It certainly helps that he's got the mighty Liam Neeson on board as the most capable of the survivors; Neeson exudes the kind of authority that the average action hero can only play-act. Dallas Roberts and Dermot Mulroney add colour, and Frank Grillo jumps off the screen as the most belligerent of the desperate crew. It's possible for a movie to have an absurd premise yet carve something unexpectedly philosophical out of that: The Incredible Shrinking Man and Rise of the Planet of the Apes come to mind. Add this one to that oddball list. --Robert Horton

• Haywire | Blu Ray | (21/05/2012) from £8.20   |  Saving you £6.79 (82.80%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Releasing January 2012, Haywire stars champion MMA fighter Gina Carano alongside Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Channing Tatum.

• Grey's Anatomy - Season 7 | DVD | (28/05/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £30.99

  Let the healing begin. Primetime television's most beloved doctors return for an unprecedented season of emotional twists and turns. Relive every mesmerizing moment with ABC's Grey's Anatomy: Season 7. It's a year of new beginnings for the medical team of Seattle Grace Hospital as they slowly recover from the tragedy that hit too close to home.New relationships emerge and the strongest commitments are tested in this moving 6-disc set. From successes in the operating room to mistakes in the bedroom - and all the thrilling drama in between - the doctors find a way to survive as long as they lean on one another. Relive every heartbeat and get even more - including the extended version of the moving Musical Event and music videos featuring the doctors like you have never seen them before - only on DVD.

• Tom and Jerry and Friends - Vol.1 (DVD + Digital Copy) | DVD | (28/05/2012) from £5.38   |  Saving you £2.61 (32.70%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Tom – An ordinary grey-and-white house cat, of no great intelligence, Tom is driven by three goals: to eat, to sleep and to catch the mouse, Jerry, and eat him. Unfortunately, his plans are constantly thwarted by the quick-witted little rodent.

• Frida | Blu Ray | (14/05/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A double Oscar-winning biography of artist Frida Kahlo who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work...

• Puccini: Il Trittico | Blu Ray | (28/05/2012) from £25.09   |  Saving you £4.90 (19.53%)   |  RRP £29.99

  OA 7102D; OPUS ARTE - BBC - Inghilterra; Classica Lirica

• Fireman Sam - Rescue Pack (Triple Pack) | DVD | (21/05/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Choppy Waters: There are seaside shenanigans a plenty in Pontypandy as Norman and Penny take sailing lessons, a fire breaks out on Charlie's fishing boat and a whale becomes stranded on the beach. Back on dry land, there's even more adventures when Elvis is left in charge of the fire station. Join in the excitement and make a splash with 'Choppy Waters'!Ready for Action: The alarm has sounded and the Pontypandy Crew is off to rescue their friends in need. From fiery vegetables, water rescue and even some karaoke, there's a heap of trouble and many adventures to look forward to with your favourite hero, Fireman Sam!Helicopter Heroes: Norman & James go on some troublesome adventures flying a model plane, while Elvis is getting ready to become the next singing sensation and Trevor and Tom take part in a barbeque cook-off. Who will cook the most delicious dish? Find out with Fireman Sam as he tries to keep up with the whole town!

• Chronicle (Blu-ray + Digital Copy) | Blu Ray | (28/05/2012) from £11.17   |  Saving you £13.82 (123.72%)   |  RRP £24.99

  If you should come upon a glowing, possibly extraterrestrial object buried in a hole, go ahead and touch the thing--you might just get superpowers. Or so it goes for the three high-school buds in Chronicle, an inventive excursion into the teenage sci-fi world. Once affected by the power, the guys exercise the joys of telekinesis: shuffling cars around in parking lots, moving objects in grocery stores, that kind of thing. Oh yeah--they can fly, too: and here director Josh Trank takes wing, in the movie's giddiest sequence, as the trio zips around the clouds in a glorious wish-fulfillment. It goes without saying that there will be a shadow side to this gift, and that's where Chronicle, for all its early cleverness, begins to stumble. Broody misfit Andrew (Dane DeHaan), destined to be voted Least Likely to Handle Superpowers Well by his graduating class, is documenting all this with his video camera, which is driving him even crazier (the movie's in "found footage" style, so everything we see is from a camcorder or security camera, an approach that gets trippy when Andrew realises he can levitate his camera without having to hold it). Trank and screenwriter Max Landis (son of John) seem to lose inspiration when the last act rolls around, so the movie settles for weightless battles around the Space Needle and a smattering of mass destruction. Still, let's give Chronicle credit for an offbeat angle, and a handful of memorable scenes. --Robert Horton

• A Time Gone By: Life In The 1930s Part Two | DVD | (14/05/2012) from £24.99   |  Saving you £-12.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The second half of the 1930s was even more tumultuous than the first. The Cable Street riots of 1936 are just the start. Unemployment is still a curse on the nation, but the Government considers removing trams and horses to make room for an increasing number of car drivers. The unique footage of this film takes you to the heart of this remarkable period in British history.

• Not Going Out Series 1-5 | DVD | (21/05/2012) from £14.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (100.07%)   |  RRP £29.99

  BAFTA Winning comedians Lee Mack and Tim Vine star alongside Sally Bretton (The Office, Green Wing), Miranda Hart (Miranda), Megan Dodds (Spooks) and Katy Wix (Torchwood) in the hit BBC1 primetime series Not Going Out.Series 1: Lee is unburdened by ambition or drive, drifting from one ill-advised job to another, living off the goodwill and generosity of his landlady, Kate (Megan Dodds), a clean living Californian. Meanwhile, his best mate and uptight accountant Tim (Tim Vine), struggles to get over his break-up with Kate and cope with her rapidly blossoming friendship with Lee.Series 2: Lee's flatmate Kate has moved out for good and his best mate and landlord, Tim has put the apartment up for sale. Faced with the prospect of losing the flat, not to mention his well-meaning but utterly useless cleaner Barbara (Miranda Hart), Lee rents the spare room to Tim's ambitious younger sister Lucy (Sally Breton).Series 3: Having developed feelings for Lucy and successfully sabotaging her relationship with her then-boyfriend Guy, Lee still has no significant plans to confront her, and distractions such as pregnancies, insurance scams, and noisy neighbours keep his mind off the bigger picture.Series 4: Trouble seems to find Lee at every turn. Not only are friends Tim and his ditzy girlfriend Daisy (Katy Wix) on hand to cause problems, but Lee also has to cope with stolen drugs, missing OAPs, long-lost daughters and a coma.Series 5: Lee continues to get into all sorts of scrapes and sticky situations in his eagerness to please and impress the object of his affections. But will a drunken experiment with Lucy show once and for all that love really is in the air or will it just lead to more mayhem and mishaps...

• Underworld: Awakening | DVD | (14/05/2012) from £4.90   |  Saving you £15.09 (307.96%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans...

• Vera - Series 2 | DVD | (21/05/2012) from £13.09   |  Saving you £11.90 (90.91%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The first series of Vera may have left the show a little bit of work to do, but this follow-up run of stories improves things with considerable skill. The basic premise remains similar. Vera follows the work of Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope, a woman driven to solve crime, whilst battling a catalogue of problems of her own. So far, so conventional. Television is hardly short of detectives, after all. But Vera has a trump card, and her name is Brenda Blethyn. The Oscar-nominated actress gives a considered performance in the title role, and the lends the show the gravitas it needs to keep us hooked. Blethyn is front and centre for much of the four episodes collected together here, and it's a complex collection of cases she's presented with. For instance, she has to face the mysterious suicide of a former colleague, and the odd murder of a social worker, each of which comes with a labyrinthine backstory that Vera needs to get to grips with. There are still problems with Vera that this second series doesn't completely solve. Based once more on Ann Cleeves' novels, the wonderful Blethyn has proven to be a divisive choice amongst hardened fans of the books, and whilst her character is deepened here, more work on the writing and less reliance on the leading actress would serve the show well. That said, her adventures here are fleshed out, interesting, and intriguing to watch. And Vera continues, as it did in the second half of its maiden series, to improve. Well worth a look. --Jon Foster

• The Only Way Is Essex - Series 4 | DVD | (07/05/2012) from £11.98   |  Saving you £10.00 (100.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Get a spray tan, put on your tightest clothes and be reem as we return with some more diamante-clad drama from everyone's favourite county

• Men In Black I & II | Blu Ray | (07/05/2012) from £9.09   |  Saving you £10.90 (54.50%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Men In Black:They are the best kept secret in the Universe. Working for a highly-funded yet unofficial government agency, 'K' (Tommy Lee Jones) and 'J' (Will Smith) are the Men In Black, providers of immigration services and regulators of all things alien on earth. They are your best, last and only line of defence. They work in secret and dress in black... they are the Men In Black - protecting the earth from the scum of the Universe...Men In Black II:Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are back in black as the scum-fighting super-agents Kay and Jay - regulators of all things alien on planet Earth. Their latest mission: to save the world from a total intergalactic disaster! When a renegade Kylothian monster disguised as a lingerie model threatens the survival of the human race, the boys of the MIB get the call to step up and get busy.With their headquarters under siege and time running out, Agents Kay and Jay enlist the help of Frank the Pug and a posse of hard-living worms to help them kick some seriously sexy alien butt!

• Crime or Punishment?!? | DVD | (14/05/2012) from £4.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (200.40%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Ayame is an unsuccessful girl celebrity, who happens to take on the PR role of a police chief for a day. It is the job of a campaign girl to smile and act as a police chief for one day.It should have been a simple job, however, the police station staff treat her like the real police chief and look to her for instructions, which makes Ayame feel perplexed. In addition, she runs into her ex-boyfriend, Haruki, who is now a detective at the station, which means her ex is her subordinate for the day.Furthermore, Haruki holds a dreadful secret which was the cause for the couple's separation. To make matters worse, a major event takes place on that particular day, and the situation takes an unexpected turn. Would Ayame be able to solve the case, and what is Haruki's secret?

• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - Triple Play (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy | Blu Ray | (14/05/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £26.99

  The good news is, Dr. Watson does get married. The bad news is, Sherlock Holmes throws his bride off a moving train. Actually, there's even worse news than that--but all will be explained in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the sequel to Guy Ritchie's 2009 hit. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return to their roles as Holmes and Watson, as the duo take on the world's greatest criminal mind, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), a man whose latest scheme has global implications. Sherlockians who prefer their consulting detective to remain in a traditional mode had best look the other way, for the sequel continues Ritchie's vision of Holmes as a hard-punching action hero hurtling through a barrage of special effects sequences. If you can go with that, A Game of Shadows actually improves on the first film: the story makes a little more sense (or possibly the whole thing moves so smoothly you don't notice the illogic), Harris is a delicious villain, and new cast members Noomi Rapace (from the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series) and Stephen Fry (playing Sherlock's brother Mycroft, who calls his sibling "Sherlie") add appeal. It's all frivolous and superficial, but the film's playful attitude and breathless forward motion are skillfully managed--and the final note adds just the right punctuation. --Robert Horton