To mark the release of Vanishing on 7th Street on DVD February 20th, Momentum Pictures have given us two copies of the movie to give away. The movie stars Hayden Christensen, John Leguizamo, Thandie Newton, Jacob Latimore and is directed by Brad Anderson.

When Detroit is suddenly plunged into darkness, airplanes crash to earth, vehicles and anything electrical ceases to work and the sun rises to reveal only a handful of survivors battling to stay in the light.

From the producers of Casino Royale and director Brad Anderson (The Machinist, Transsiberian), VANISHING ON 7^TH STREET fuses apocalyptic thriller and horror together to bring us one of winter’s most haunting and genuinely scary films. This race to stay in the light stars an award-winning cast in Golden Globe^® nominee Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Episodes I-III, Jumper), Emmy^® Award winner John Leguizamo (Moulin Rouge!, Carlito’s Way, Romeo + Juliet, Ice Age), BAFTA^® Award winner Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible II, 2012, Crash) and up-and-coming teenage R&B sensation Jacob Latimore (One Tree Hill), as the handful of survivors.

A disparate group of individuals find themselves alone; the entire city’s population has vanished into thin air, leaving behind heaps of empty clothes, abandoned cars and lengthening shadows. Soon the daylight begins to disappear completely.  As the survivors gather in an abandoned tavern they realise darkness is out to descend. But as their light fades, how long can they survive before the shadows devour them?

VANISHING ON 7^TH STREET combines the old-age phobia of the dark with a striking cinematic experience. Director Anderson skillfully executes this subtly disturbing film to target our dread of what happens when the light goes out…

To enter the competition, simply click next to be taken to the question and entry form…

To celebrate the release of Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS out on DVD on February 6th, HeyUGuys are offering you the chance to win a Classics DVD bundle including MIDNIGHT IN PARIS as well as Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Dr Zhivago and Blind Side! MIDNIGHT IN PARIS has recently achieved critical acclaim by scooping a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay as well as four Academy Award nominations and one BAFTA nomination!

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is Woody Allen’s valentine to the City of Light, which he considers equal to New York as the great city of the world.  “Of course I’m partial to New York because I was born there and grew up there,” he says, “but if I didn’t live in New York, Paris is the place I would live.”   The film is the second time Allen has filmed there, after a small bit of EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU.  “I get great enjoyment out of presenting Paris to the cinema audience the way I see it,” he says. “Just as with New York, where I present it one way, and other directors present it other ways, somebody else could come and shoot Paris in a completely different way.   I want to present it my way, projecting my own feelings about it.”

Witness a romantic comedy that is a breath of fresh air as ‘Gil’; (Owen Wilson; Marley and Me, Wedding Crashers), a talented Hollywood screenwriter and his wife ‘Inez’ (Rachel McAdams; The Notebook, Sherlock Holmes) travel to Paris with her wealthy parents. Gil is seeking inspiration for his first novel, but Inez does not share his romantic idealistic notion of the world. Unimpressed by Inez’s pseudo-intellectual, pompous acquaintances, Gil wanders off into the city one night alone to find his creativity and gets far more than he bargained for. As the clock strikes Midnight, Gil is transported back to the 1920s where he encounters idols of literary and art history and is swept up in a magical whirlwind of culture and nostalgic refinement. Torn between this newfound secret nightlife and the present day realism of his family vacation, Gil’s marriage, and his grip on reality are both called into question.

With an incredible all star cast including Adrien Brody (The Pianist, King Kong) Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, The Queen), Tom Hiddleston (The Deep Blue Sea, War Horse) Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose, Inception), Mimi Kennedy (Due Date, Pump up the Volume), Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim, Milk), Kathy Bates (Titanic, Misery) and Carla Bruni (The Lake House, 500 Days of Summer), this cinematic event and Golden Globe® nominee is one not to be missed.

We have THREE bundles to give away. To be in with a chance of winning click next for the question and the entry form.

One of the most lovable and popular children characters currently shown on television, Little Charley Bear was only released last year and yet it has already enjoyed success with the new series airing on the CBeebies channel and toys selling at shops.

The popular teddy bear has also enjoyed some DVD releases and with this week’s release being part of a big collection of merchandising, these six new episodes will appeal to children while also having some great appeal for grown-ups to enjoy watching with them.

Each of the six episodes included start with a white, blank screen with only a toy box sitting in the middle, with the narrator (voiced by James Corden) asking if Charley Bear is there and the teddy bear pops up from behind the box or playing with his toys in different scenarios that he is imagining.

We then enter his imagination to see him pretending to be another person, from an Antarctic adventurer to a zoo keeper in a different and colourful location with his toys coming to life and being part of Charley’s imagined stories. But there would always be a situation where he would either have to help or make amends with someone, reach a particular goal or to simply explore new things about the world that young children will also feel.

The ending of each episode sees his imaginative adventures finish and the narrator says goodbye to him, with Charley waving back and continues to enjoy playing with his toys.

All six of these episodes are really pleasant and charming stories that offer a surprisingly wide option of storytelling that has made the series and the main character really appealing towards young children.

As far as animated children’s shows go, this is not the most detailed use of computer animation compared to other CBeebies shows like the Octonauts or 3rd and Bird, but it is only because the settings, locations and some of the toys featured use a very simple design layout that doesn’t require a massive budget or too much detail. Even with Charley’s imagination coming to life, the animation team made it simple and recognizable enough so that children can just focus on the characters.

Character design is made in the same simple and recognizable style that really makes them each stand out in their own rights, especially with the star of the show. From Bellarina the ballerina doll to Frozo the toy penguin to Rivet the robot, each of the characters are given their fair share of screen time on all the episodes, being part of Charley’s imaginative stories.

Some grown-ups and people interested in animation might have some issues with the overall presentation, but the animation does well with the scripts and make the characters appealing towards children.

While young audience members will have enough appeal for the series, there is something for grown-ups to enjoy and that is the narration by James Corden.

The actor and comedian previously did a good job doing the voice of Mouse in both The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child and he does another good job as the narrator with a calm, approaching voice work and as he is also the only speaking character, he really does a good job at bringing the storytelling to homes in the UK.

Some people who are new to this series might be a bit surprised, especially if they have only seen his work in Gavin & Stacey and A League of Their Own and it’s great to see him working on different projects. This might even encourage them to watch these episodes with their children rather than putting the DVD on to keep them occupied.

Overall, the elements for both children and grown-ups blend together well enough that families might be invested in Little Charley Bear together rather than being solely for young children, something that the Big Barn Farm DVDs last week didn’t quite have. Who knows, you might even find yourself saying to the screen with Corden “Are you there, Charley Bear?”

 ****~ (4/5)

The Foundation are behind some of the most popular television shows for children for the past few years, including Mister Maker, Scorpion Island, Finger Tips, Dani’s House and Waybuloo.

But one of their shows that is still airing on CBeebies since it’s debut in 2008 is Big Barn Farm, a live action television show that stars barnyard animals who have adventures around the barn they all live on.

Three DVDs have been released this week (Welcome to Big Barn Farm, Greedy Goat and Other Stories and Best in Show and Other Stories) and rather than reviewing each one separately in different articles, I will review the DVDs in terms of the quality of the show and the episodes in these products.

These DVDs each feature five episodes from the television series and introduces viewers to the Farmyard Bunch, a group of farmyard animals that all live at Big Barn Farm.

The Farmyard Bunch is made up of four young animals – Petal the Piglet, Dash the Donkey, Gobo the Goat and Digger the Puppy. Every episode always follows these four characters on adventures around or on the farm, bumping into other characters including Madam the French Cow, Mrs. Snuffles the mother pig, the Duck Girls and Lester the rooster. Told entirely in the animals’ point of view, the only human beings that ever appear are either the farmer or one of his family members that only come in as part of a plot point.

But what makes the show interesting is the fact that they use similar techniques from the film Babe to make the series.

The actors and actresses (including Shelley Longworth and Ben Fairman), all bring good voice acting to each of the individual animal, making them unique and appealing for each other. Computer animation is used to make the animals mouths move for long pieces of dialogue, while their mouths do often move on their own as well. The voice actors really bring charm to the cute, young animal stars, making it very appealing to very young children.

These episodes are also narrated by Ben Fairman, who brings a good sense of storytelling towards the viewers before Dave Lamb (who narrates Come Dine With Me) took over the role since series two.

While young children will enjoy this with the animal characters and the voice work involved, older children and grown-ups might get a bit bored by this. This is mainly due to the fact that at times some of the characters do something naughty in a couple of the episodes and manage to get away with it or have very little consequences which they might be a bit wary about what the target audience are learning from it. With the presentation and music specifically aimed at young viewers as well, they might feel as though it isn’t aimed at them, which is probably why the second series had Dave Lamb to do the narration.

Each of the DVDs only feature five episodes and this may be a little disappointing for those who want to get them for a child or themselves, especially since they are each priced at around five pounds.

Compared to the other DVD releases from The Foundation’s other productions, they too only offer episodes (as television shows from CBeebies rarely offer special features), but some additional episodes would have been nice as parents might want to keep their children entertained a bit longer. Waybuloo generally features around eight episodes for each of their DVDs and because they are twenty minutes per episode, it’s nearly twice as long as the seventy minutes of the Big Barn Farm releases.

For those who have not seen the series, this is a pretty good introduction to the format and has a nice, charming appeal that children might be interested in for just over five pounds. Just be warned that if the running time is a bit too short for you at the price it is set at, it might be best to get another DVD package that offers more content.

***~~ (3/5)

Everyone’s favourite multi Emmy®-award animated series Futurama is back for a fifth season as it shuttles its way onto Blu-ray and DVD on 26 December from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The critically acclaimed sci-fi phenomenon, Futurama The Complete Season 5 sees Fry, Bender, Leela and the rest of the gang create in 13 brand new episodes and exclusive extras.

The award winning franchise, created by The Simpsons genius Matt Groening voices the talents of Billy West (The Looney Tunes Show, Doug), John DiMaggio (Kung Fu Panda The Legends of Awesomeness, Batman: The Brave and the Bold) and Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy, Married with Children), and was awarded a Guinness World Record for being the ‘Current Most Critically Acclaimed Animated Series’ in 2010.

The perfect purchase with your Christmas money, Futurama The Complete Season 5 features never-before-seen material including deleted scenes, ‘Behind the Fungus: Makin’ a Hit Song’, commentaries and ‘Previously on Futurama’ a montage of the episodic openings of the Futurama DVD epics.

To celebrate its release we are offering five lucky entrants the chance to win one of five copies of the DVD. All you need to do is answer the following question in the form on the next page:

We have three copies of this unique movie to give away! Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy is the erotic action epic that is breaking box office records all over the world. Think House of Flying Daggers. You can pre-order your copy here or scroll down for your chance to win.

An adaptation of the classic novel The Carnal Prayer Mat, the film follows a young Ming Dynasty scholar named Wei Yangsheng on an eye-opening journey of sexual discovery. Directed by Christopher Sun and produced by Stephen Shiu, the executive producer of its predecessor film Sex and Zen, the film is “The World’s First 3-D Erotic Film”. In Hong Kong the film beat the opening days grosses of ‘Avatar’ and ‘Titanic’ with an opening day gross of $US351K. The film continues to play and has racked up a staggering $HK25 million at the Box Office.

The film comes to DVD on January 2^nd in a special edition containing both 2D and 3D versions of the film along with retro red & cyan 3D glasses. (Any TV or device can therefore can see the film in its full 3D version). You can find out more on the film on the official Facebook page or all our coverage is here.

To be in with a chance of winning this unique prize, simply answer the following question using the form below:

Who directed the movie, 3D Sex and Zen?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 2nd January at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

To celebrate the December 5^th DVD release of The Rugby World Cup 2011 Official Review, we’re giving you the chance to win one of three copies! A must have for any rugby fan!

The Rugby World Cup Official Review is the definitive story of the most exciting and unpredictable tournament of the year’s sporting calendar, defying all predictions and featuring all the action, drama and intensity of every scything run and tackle from pool stage to final.

A Tournament of extraordinary upsets, which produced countless outstanding performances from its opening on 9^th September when New Zealand comfortably beat Tonga at Eden Park, to the colourful group stage matches that saw unprecedented moments from Russia, Japan and Georgia. To the knockout stage that saw England sent home early despite beating both Argentina and Scotland; all the way through to the stunning semi-finals filed with hope for Wales against France and which saw the hosts squeeze past the tournament favourites and onto the final on 23^rd October where they beat France by a single point. With the final whistle triggering scenes of jubilation for the host nation and culminating in New Zealand being crowned world champions of the seventh Rugby World Cup for the first time in 24 years.

Re- live all the great moments and best tries, along with New Zealand’s triumphant story in The Rugby World Cup Official Review, available on DVD December 5th!

All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is answer this question using the form below:

Where was the 2011 Rugby World Cup held?

1. Australia
2. Tonga
3. New Zealand

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 12th December at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Back in April the animated comedy Rio hit UK cinemas and is the story about a blue macaw, appropriately called Blu and voiced by Jesse Eisenberg, who is taken from the rainforest by poachers but accidentally marooned in snowy Minnesota and raised by Linda (Leslie Mann) as she grows from small girl to small town bookshop owner. After many years of mutual admiration their cosy life is disrupted when Brazilian bird expert Tulio arrives and persuades Linda to take Blu to Brazil to meet Jewel (Anne Hathaway) as he believes them to be the last female and male blue macaws on earth. As you might expect it doesn’t go to plan and the rest of the film follows the adventures of Blu and Jewel as they battle smugglers, an evil cannibal parrot called Nigel and the twists and turns of both circumstance and adventure in equal measure.

If you haven’t seen the film I can’t do better than to point you to our original review here by Vicki which goes into greater detail about the plot and throws in the odd spoiler or two, and means that I can spare you my attempts to reinvent the wheel.

I missed the film in the cinema when it came out, though my family saw it and loved it, so they were happy to get the chance to see it again which means that I’d say that it does have repeat viewing value unlike some I could mention. In a crowded market of computerised animal animations it’s bound to draw comparisons with Madagascar but it really does create its own space, reminding me in parts of Disney classics, such as 101 Dalmatians with its bumbling baddies, plus more recent films such as Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs for its geeky heroes. Nigel the evil parrot is definitely a star turn as the evil bird cooperating with the poachers and a source of perfectly voiced malevolence.

To whet your appetite we’ve been given an exclusive clip for you to enjoy

Now the chances are that you’ll be getting the DVD because you saw the film when it originally came out though if you missed it the first time around like me then I’d really recommend it.

As is customary with these things the DVD does have a selection of extras

• Deleted scene – Fruit Stand
• Taio Cruz- Telling The World music video….
• Bring The Party – UK families videoed dancing with the Rio birds

The final points to make are that you get the code for a free copy of the Angry Birds Rio game with it and that it also includes a digital copy to enjoy on your  iPhone, iPad or tablet.

Rio is available on DVD and Blu-ray in shops now or available to rent on LOVEFiLM

@ColinHartUK

As an avowed Star Wars afficionado of over 30 years I was pleased to have the opportunity to review the latest Clone Wars series on DVD.

Clone Wars is a computer-animated spin-off of the Star Wars movie franchise and it explores the further adventures of the Star Wars characters from the Clone Wars period of the films, plus a variety of others. If you’ve been following them you may remember that the first Clone Wars TV shows were conventional animation but this has been superseded in the more recent series with a slick computer animation look which they seem to push to a new level with each series.

To go back in time a little the original Star Wars films were in part inspired by the old black and white Saturday morning favourite Flash Gordon, and while it would be easy to consider the Clone Wars as only being a Saturday-morning kids cartoon series that would to be at the risk of seriously underestimating it. To be fair this isn’t just a tip of the hat to the Star Wars universe as each storyline is overseen by George Lucas himself and research material includes not only the original films but also extends out into some of the comic book story lines to give us characters such as Savage Opress, a journeyman Jedi with an unconventional Jedi personality.

The episodes themselves have their own distinct characteristics and feature certain personalities with “Evil Plans” being a C-3PO and R2-D2 special including Anthony Daniels providing the voice for C-3PO, “Nightsisters” featuring Count Dooku’s Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress and there’s even an episode featuring Chewbacca, who returned at the specific request of George Lucas himself.

If you know the Star Wars universe and movies well there are plenty of cameo appearances from droids and other characters from the original films to spot. Added to that they’ve ramped up the scale of the space battles to match those of the movies with scores of small fighters bobbing and weaving between fleets of massive starships and torrents of laser fire. Lightsabre battles are well presented with some fabulous set pieces between the warring Jedi and Sith, particularly showcased in the journey of Asajj Ventress from Jedi trainee to Sith apprentice.

South Park has remained one of the most respected, loved and controversial animated television shows for adults since it’s debut in 1997 and this year has not also marked it’s fourteenth season, but also the two hundredth episode special.

Even though it is great to see a great season finally being released on DVD, UK fans might be disappointed by two key things that they have taken out compared to the American version of the DVD: Episode 200 and 201 are not included with the other twelve great episodes and there is no blu-ray release currently available. This reduction of content and quality has made this DVD really disappointing as the two-part two hundredth episode special is one of the funniest episodes that I have personally seen and the blu-ray release of seasons twelve and thirteen make the show look better and more colorful then it has ever been seen. While I understand Disney may not have released Winnie the Pooh on blu-ray in the UK, Paramount has made this the most disappointing release for fans.

However, you can still view twelve hilarious episodes and at least people who buy this set are also treated to a couple of bonus features.

The twelve episodes on offer are brilliantly written and offer some of the funniest and entertaining episodes for the last few years. These twelve episodes are: Sexual Healing, The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs, Medicinal Friend Chicken, You Have 0 Friends, Cripples Summer, Poor and Stupid, It’s a Jersey Thing, Insheeption, Coon 2: Hindsight, Mysterion Rises, Coon vs. Coon and Friends and Creme Fraiche.

From the My Neighbor Totoro parody with Cartman (as the Coon) befriending Clhulhu to Stan getting forced to use Facebook that then acts as like the Tron universe, this season offers the mixture of great writing and ridiculously odd situations that the characters get themselves into that just proves that it can still stand on its own.

But despite the quality of each episode, it still hurts that they did not include the two-part episode that features all the celebrities that South Park has taken the mickey out of and the ginger kids wanting to get hold of Mohammed, who is always covered either by having a censored rectangle over him or having him inside a bear suit. These two episodes are a true celebration to the many characters and memorable moments that the show has offered and even though I understand that they may not included them for some reasons, they should have still be included even if they had to release a “too rude for TV” edition for an extra five pounds.

As for the bonus features, we are treated to the usual mini commentaries from the creative duo behind South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who still work very closely to the show. These are usually fun to listen to and learn more about how they came up with the ideas for each episode and they are no exception here, offering the same amount of fun production stories and learn more about the creative process.
Meanwhile, there are also some deleted scenes that you can watch that are nice additions as the DVD releases usually see just mini commentaries in terms of special features, but it’s nice to see the extra content being included.

For those who may not have seen the three-part episodes featuring Cartman as The Coon, there is the first episode to feature this “super hero” from season thirteen.

Overall, the episodes included are fun and we are treated to the same amount of bonus features that have always been included in each DVD and blu-ray set.

If you can look past the fact that there are only twelve episodes and no blu-ray released yet, you can easily have a fun time watching the entire set. But if you feel that the £15 price tag is a bit much for an incomplete season, then it might be worth purchasing at ten pounds.

As a fan and someone who absolutely loved the previous effort that went into releasing the previous two seasons on blu-ray, I will wait until they decide to release it either on blu-ray with the two missing episodes that deserved to be a part of it, no matter how controversial some people may have seen it.

***~~ (3/5)

House M.D. is the multi-award winning US TV series starring English actor Hugh Laurie alongside a host of other stars including Lisa Edelstein, Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard, Jesse Spencer, Peter Jacobson and Olivia Wilde. The show has received four Emmys from twenty-three nominations, two Golden Globes and two Screen Actors Guild awards and has gone from being a speculative entry into the already crowded market of TV medical dramas to being an outstanding show.

Hugh Laurie plays grumpy and sarcastic Doctor Gregory House whose bedside manner is entirely absent and whose constant companion is his walking stick as he struggles to manage his constant physical pain while running the diagnostic unit of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Historically the standard fare of medical dramas has been to have a mix of the medical and the personal but House has raised the bar on this with outstandingly complex relationships partnering almost unbelievably mystifying medical cases requiring detective skills reminiscent of the likes of Sherlock Holmes.
What took the programme to a new level was that the while House is generally recognised as being a brilliant doctor his natural inclination maintain a solitary existence has had to be balanced with the understanding that he needs the context of a creative team to be able to unleash his diagnostic talents.

One of the most complex relationships from the first six series was that between House and hospital boss, Lisa Cuddy, and the “will they, won’t they” tension of the earlier series was an ever-present factor but series seven is the one in which they explore their relationship, having finally got it together, although as with all things to do with House nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

I have to confess that after five series of House my love for it began to waver during series six as my fear that the developing relationship between House and Cuddy would see the series slide into the realms of the formulaic so when series seven came around I found myself giving excuses for not watching it. As a result I’m somewhat surprised to report that seeing series seven has rekindled the embers of that fading fire and that my particular highlight of the series being the surreal and masterfully bonkers episode “Bombshells”.

The DVD set includes all twenty-three episodes as you would expect and while it’s not packed with special features it does have a couple of episode commentaries plus some peeks behind the scenes and again I’d have to recommend the one where they look at the “Bombshells” episode as being a great example of what makes this series such an outstanding one.

Series 7 of House M.D. is available from 26th September.
CONTENTS

Disc 1

1. Now What?
2. Selfish
3. Unwritten
4. Massage Therapy

Disc 2

1. Unplanned Parenthood
2. Office Politics
3. A Pox on our House
4. Small Sacrifices

Special Features:

1. Meet Martha Masters
2. Huddy Dissected

Disc 3

1. Larger Than Life
2. Carrot or Stick
3. Family Practice
4. You Must Remember This

Disc 4

1. Two Stories
2. Recession Proof
3. Bombshells

Special Features:

1. Anatomy of an Episode: Bombshells
2. Bombshells commentary with director Greg Yaitanes and series star Lisa Edelstein

Disc 5

1. Out Of The Chute
2. Fall From Grace
3. The Dig
4. Last Temptation

Disc 6

1. Changes
2. The Fix
3. After Hours
4. Moving On

Special Features:

1. Moving On commentary with creator/executive producer David Shore and director/executive producer Greg Yaitanes

To most the question of what is your favourite Martin Scorsese film is one that will be answered with very few answers. Taxi Driver most likely but if not that then probably Raging Bull or Godfellas. There’ll probably even be a few that would opt for King of Comedy, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed or even Shutter Island but one thing would most likely be near unanimous, the film picked would be a fiction film. When asked this question recently I answered without a seconds pause, A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (a slight cheat as this is better known as a TV series but it has been shown theatrically).

Scorsese’s 1995 documentary A Personal Journey… to me is probably the best thing Scorsese has ever made and is the only film of his that I have never tired of watching. Over the 225 minute runtime Scorsese guides you through his favourite American films and why he loves them. As the title would suggest it is an entirely personal journey and therefore an entirely subjective one, but this is perhaps its greatest strength. It is a pleasure to watch and a film that I have happily returned to again and again.

This is in contrast to Scorsese’s fiction films, which I have found more and more disappointing as his career has gone on and even his earlier films look less accomplished under the scrutiny of re-watches. Some of the camera work and compositional choices in Cape Fear, for instance, are baffling, frustrating and down right daft and grate a great deal the first time and even more so with further viewings. Whilst my joy at watching Scorsese’s fiction films has greatly diminished the pleasure at watching him curate a collection of clips and recall his first experiences with certain films has lost none of its sheen.

Scorsese clearly loves cinema and this shines through A Personal Journey… and also his love letter to Italian cinema, My Voyage to Italy. Again choosing to present this journey as an entirely subjective one Scorsese takes the viewer in hand and leads them through a selection of Italian films that left a profound impression on him, stopping short of moving into the late sixties and beyond.

Scorsese finds epic scope in silent classics such as Cabiria, beauty in the work of Rossellini, truth in the work of the so called neo-realists, particularly Vittorio De Sica and fascination in the more thrilling modernity of directors such as Fellini. His observations are those born out of a love of the films and what they mean to him not out of critical considerations, although these occasionally slip in.

The film’s strength is in his personal recollections though and his passionate decelerations of love for the clips he shares with us. When he does move into more critical areas, analysing the way in which certain films work, things tend to get a little derailed and pronouncements regarding the films are little vague and lacking substance. These diversions are minor though and for the most part his commentary is impassioned and absorbing.

With the overwhelming way in which cinematic marketing materials seem to be dominating discussions surrounding films there are too few voices reaching mainstream audiences that are actually talking about film, sharing a passion for films and in particular for foreign language and ‘old’ films. Scorsese has a position within the popular consciousness that affords him the opportunity to add greatly to this discussion and here he provides the casual film fan with a list of must-see Italian films and an impassioned plea to watch them.

When shown on TCM in 2002 the documentary was followed by a host of Italian films and this is exactly the desire one has once the credits roll, to gorge on everything Italian cinema has to offer.

The quality of the image on this Mr. Bongo DVD is not particularly pleasing to the eye and a lot of the clips are of very poor quality but this is all as source (Scorsese amusingly replicates his own TV experience of the films at one point) and the disc adds nothing negative to the film visually. The audio is equally uninspiring but is clear and always easy to understand.

Please note, I have not graded the disc or gone into greater detail about the release as the DVD received for review appeared to be an unfinished check disc and not entirely representative of the final release.

My Voyage to Italy is available to buy or rent from the 26th of September.

***½~ (3.5/5)

Needle Park, an area in New York in which heroin addicts hung out, scored drugs, shot up and generally killed time. Introducing us to this area is Bobby (Al Pacino) and Helen (Kitty Winn), a pair of addicts who dream of a different life but seem set on a path that seems to have no possibility of a happy ending.

Based on a book by James Mills, also titled Panic in Needle Park and equally as grim, the script for Panic in Needle Park was written by married writers Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. The script, and indeed director Jerry Schatzberg’s approach, is rooted in capturing an essence of the real lives of the people it is striving to represent. The efforts to capture these lives is very reminiscent of works such The Addict in the Street, originally published in 1964 and written by Jeremy Larner and Ralph Tefferteller, which also took an uncompromising look at the problems of heroin addiction in America, all through the voices of those living with addiction, bringing personal stories to something that so often people see from the distance.

With a bleak and emotionally impactful script that focuses on a sense of realism, Schatzberg stylistically approaches the material informed more by the recent developments in documentary filmmaking than narrative cinema and the way in which the camera seems to be following these characters closely rather than moving around them adds to the feeling that we are there with them rather than outsiders looking in. There is a real sense of claustrophobia too, heightened by close ups when scenes move indoors, including close ups of needles going into arms and heroin being prepared. Schatzberg puts you right there with the characters and makes sure that you don’t miss any of the cold realities, avoiding any glamour or visual flourishes favouring a more fluid and gritty style. There is, of course, some restraint shown purely due to permissiveness about what could be shown in the seventies but scenes such as the death of a puppy, not really seen but suggested, still seem pretty shocking even in a time in which more graphic scenes can be shown.

The thing that ultimately sells the truth of Panic in Needle Park though is the central performances from Al Pacino and Kitty Winn, they’re addiction, sadness and dreamy wistfulness all conveyed with nuance on subtlety. Winn was awarded the best actress award at Cannes in 1971 for the role and Pacino’s performance is credited as leading to his role in the Godfather and it’s easy to see why, with both turning in performances that belie their relative inexperience on camera at the time.

This new DVD from Second Sight Films is presented in anamorphic widescreen (for the first time on DVD in the UK) and despite the transfer being far too soft in places it is the best the film has looked in some time on a home entertainment release in the UK. The two extras included are entitled ‘Panic in the Streets of New York’ and ‘Writers in Needle Park’, the former being an overview of the film and the second focusing on the writers. They both mostly consist of interview segments but are informative and interesting. A commentary or further input from Schatzberg and Al Pacino, who is completely absent from the extras, would have made for extra features more worthy of the ‘special edition’ tag that this release has been labelled with but the release is still a reasonably decent package.

Film ****~ (4/5)

Blu-ray **½~~ (2.5/5)

Panic in Needle Park is available to buy or rent now.

Review by Mark Foker.

“I just missed your heart” are the first and last words uttered in this marvellous adventure thriller by Director Joe Wright. See?…you’re interested already.

Hanna is a 16-year old killing machine played with just the right amount of wonderment and naivety by Irish actress Saoirse Ronan.

Hanna has been brought up in the wild woods of North Finland singlehandedly by her widowed Father Erik (Eric Bana) who, as an ex-CIA agent who trains her in martial arts and armed combat, transforms her into the perfect assassin. At the same time her home education all seems to come from encyclopedias and traditional fairy tales. In her secluded life this is all normal as she has never had any physical contact outside of her homeland.

Hanna knows that her training has been leading up to one moment, a moment soon approaching when she will be unleashed into the real world to exact revenge on the ‘wicked witch’ responsible for her Mother’s death.
The Witch in question is Marissa Viegler (Cate Blanchett) a ruthless CIA operative who once worked with Erik and has been obsessively searching for him and his daughter. On completion of Hanna’s mission Erik arranges to rendezvous with her in Berlin at a spooky abandoned fairy tale theme park, very Grimm (sorry). Hanna makes her way there via Morocco by hitching a lift with a new age English family in their hippy VW Dormobile. Saoirse Ronan’s acting talents really shine here as this is Hanna’s first experience with a real life family.

She may just as well be from another planet as she has no point of reference to compare them with and she exudes a child like quality but at the same time could snap your neck like a twig. The Mother and Father (Olivia Williams and Jason Flemyng) are very liberal parents but show concern that Hanna is travelling around the world on her own. Hanna strikes up a touching relationship with their daughter Sophie (Jessica Barden, last seen upstaging Gemma Arterton in Tamara Drewe) who teaches Hanna about life through her knowledge of ‘Entertainment Now’ and ‘Hello’ magazine.

The chase scenes and fight sequences are superbly choreographed with brutal realism rather than the usual overused slo-mo bullet time acrobatics. Hot on Hanna’s trail is rogue executioner Isaacs hired by Marissa through unofficial channels. Isaacs is played by English actor Tom Hollander as you’ve never seen him before, complete with bleached hair and a Nazi accent and an awful eighties fashion sense. The action is enhanced with a thumping good Chemical Brothers soundtrack as well.

It’s always good to see the versatile Eric Bana but I feel that he was slightly under used here and he almost plays the same angst ridden character straight from the film Munich. I find it amazing that Joe Wright has only ever made three other movies prior to Hanna, Pride & Prejudice (2005), nominated for 4 Oscars, Atonement (2007), winning an Oscar for best original score and The Soloist (2009). Wright also throws in a thumping good Chemical Brothers soundtrack.

Although I enjoyed the film it seemed to end all too soon and I felt that there were one or two things left unexplained. Perhaps part of the reason may have been because Universal changed the certification from the original 15 to a 12A? Having said all that I still put this down as my film of the year so far.

I give it an ‘edge of the seat’ ****~ (4/5)

Take Two.

I didn’t warm to this film at all. There was an emotional weight to Joe Wright’s work in Atonement, most of which came through from Ian McEwan’s stunning novel but there is nothing like the connection  necessary to give the film its power. What we have here is a by the numbers revenge thriller with some great performances lost in a film within a narrative that doesn’t deviate from expectations. A refusal to defy conventions shouldn’t count against the film however when it quickly becomes clear that Hanna will always escape, always find her mark it becomes a passive experience. The soundtrack is, as Mark says, is something special but I found myself becoming distracted by it, just as I did with Tron: Legacy, and the action on screen was not nearly as exciting. I’m a fan of Joe Wright’s films, his anemic Pride & Prejudice aside, but for all the technical virtuosity on display here there was nothing to keep me involved.

**~~~ (2/5)

- Jon Lyus

DVD extras:

• 
Joe Wright audio commentary.
• 
‘Escape from Camp G’ featurette.
• 
Deleted scenes
• 
Alternative ending.

Hanna is out on Blu-ray and DVD now.

Title a film The Haunted Castle and you are probably going to build up a certain number of expectations in an audience’s mind, namely there’s going to be a castle and it’s going to be haunted, but this early film by German master Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau is not the Gothic ghost story that you may expect. The original German title for the film is perhaps more appropriate, and it’s the one Masters of Cinema have opted to place more prominently on the DVD cover, translating to the less suggestive ‘Vogelöd Castle’.

Just a year after Schloß Vogelöd Murnau made what is almost certainly his most famous, if not best, film Nosferatu, a wonderful achievement and an iconic film from the silent era. Schloß Vogelöd is much more of a restrained and understated film than something like Nosferatu but it is nonetheless a very interesting film both as an entertaining watch and as a film of historical significance.

Based on a novel by Rudolph Stratz, Schloß Vogelöd is a story told in five acts, with literal divides, and surrounds a group of aristocrats staying in the titular castle. One of the guests is the somewhat sinister seeming Count Johann Oetsch, played with wonderful intensity by Lotar Mehnert, a man that no-one seems to trust and most believe killed his own brother. As the story plays out we are treated to various new pieces of information that lead us to question this suspicion and ultimately to a surprise conclusion that wraps up all the loose ends that unravel nicely.

The plot and staging of Schloß Vogelöd is very close to a theatre production and to modern eyes seems very much of its time but Murnau does some remarkable cinematic work here in the composition of certain scenes and the way in which he externalises the inner emotions of the characters through a variety of techniques. The contrast between the ‘present day’ scenes and a series of flashbacks in particular highlight the wealth of intricate choices made by Muranau in the way in which the scenes are constructed. The lighting and set design are particularly stunning, especially the satisfying way in which they are so well tied to the mood being created in each scene. Whilst not perhaps as visually rich as Murnau’s later films, Schloß Vogelöd is certainly an interesting film within the context of his career and despite a plot that is a little laboured in places it’s also a mostly entertaining and intriguing mystery film.

This new DVD from Masters of Cinema draws on a restoration of the film carried out in 2002 with the company, as usual, carrying out their own transfer and adding newly translated English subtitles (subtitling the inter-titles rather than replacing them with English inter-titles). The video presentation here is quite extraordinary with no obvious stability issues or signs of any serious damage.

The film has bold colour tints throughout and despite some conflicting opinions regarding who was actually responsible in 1921 for decisions regarding the tinting, the version presented here is supposedly in keeping with the original release of the film. There are certainly some instances in which the tints add something but for the most part they do not seem to compliment the film too well and I personally prefer the film without them. The booklet suggests that if you are not a fan of the tints you could turn the colour down on your television.

The image quality in general really is quite stunning for a film that is now over 90 years old and with no Blu-ray likely this is a catalogue release that deserves a place in one’s film library.

The stereo audio track supplied is a piano accompaniment to the film in keeping with the kind of musical accompaniment popular at the time. Whilst not as sublime as the Maxence Cyrin piano track included on last month’s Cœur fidèle release, this is still a very nice and entirely appropriate score.

The disc comes with the 2007 documentary ‘The Language of Shadows’ which focuses on Murnau’s films from the early twenties and goes into some detail regarding his influences. It has a relatively scholarly approach and is a very interesting watch. The DVD, of course, comes with one of Masters of Cinema’s wonderful booklets including a collection of beautiful stills and two essays, one from 1966 and the other from 1973.

Film ****~ (4/5)
Blu-ray ****~ (4/5)

The Haunted Castle is available to buy or rent on DVD now.

Opening with a montage of sequences that recall the ‘Previously on…” style recaps that are ever so popular on American television, Stigoi throws the viewer into the Romanian village in which it is set with swift and enthusiastic vigour.

These scenes also introduce us to the bulk of the central chracters, a group of Romanian villagers, who seem intent on killing a local wealthy landowner and his wife. Another quick cut and we’re into the opening credits and the villagers drink, rejoice and loot the dead couple’s belonging, all to the strains of ‘Spirit in the Sky’ by Doctor & The Medics. A fun and narratively economic opening that won’t necessarily be to everyone’s tastes, but it certainly ensures that the film hits the ground running.

As the opening credits end the film settles into what is its usual pace for the remainder of the story, a slow burn and a slightly meandering pace. This is not a problem though as Writer/Director/Editor Faye Jackson manages to introduce enough intrigue throughout to keep the film steadfastly moving forward.

Providing our entry into this unique world of Romanian villagers is Vlad (Catalin Paraschin), a local to the area but one who has been away for some time. Returning from studying medicine and travelling around Europe, he arrives to find that one of the villagers has died and that his name has been put on the death certificate. Those involved simply assumed that he would remain out of the country for some time and so would be none the wiser. His interest sparked by this forging of the death certificate he begins investigating, amateur sleuth style, and uncovers a dark and possibly supernatural side to the village.

Rooted in the Romanian folklore idea of the Strigoi (an undead being) the film unsurprisingly moves more and more into the horror genre as the story develops, with the walking undead attacking people and recently buried corpses being uncovered by Vlad, but descriptions of this as a vampire film or indeed a horror could miscommunicate what Strigoi really is. More a wry black comedy at times and a subtly observed character piece at others, Strigoi is not a vampire flick with gushing veins and elaborate make-up (in the special effects or Twilight sense) and anyone expecting a stylised and thrilling horror will need to look elsewhere.

Strigoi even goes so far as to criticise the vampire film lover’s obsession with the rules of vampirism, as the villagers sit around a corpse drinking they point out that what’s going on doesn’t really follow the laws of the Strigoi myth and therefore the undead may not actually be ‘Strigoi’. It’s an amusing scene and the way in which it never suffers from an unsubtle wink at the camera is a welcome change from too many recent self-referential but ultimately pretty bland entries in the horror genre.

The script is generally very good with an attention to tone and a witty approach that makes the film feel pretty unique but there are a few pacing issues which result in the Strigoi feeling far longer than the 101 minute runtime would suggest. The dialogue is also a little too heavy on exposition in places but the actors are very engaging and manage to deliver some of the more clumsy lines with enough conviction as to make them feel more natural than they probably did on the page.

The DVD from Bounty Films is of a high grade for a DVD release and the clear audio track supplied is essential in navigating some of the thicker Romanian accents (SDH subtitles are included though in case you need any help). Apart from a trailer the only extra is Faye Jackson’s short film ‘Lump’. Lump is a rather effective short that does a lot to unsettle and intrigue but is let down by a somewhat unsatisfying ending. A reasonably good short though and a great addition to the disc.

Film ***~~ (3/5)

DVD ***~~ (3/5)

Strigoi is available to buy or rent on DVD now.

It seems almost a cliche at this point to reference out how many films Donnie Yen is making right now and it’s also hard to avoid the phrase ‘churning out’ too. This observation is so prevalent because of the reasonably high number of films Yen has made in recent years and the amount of physical exertion needed to make the kind of action spectacle that has come to define his career.

His latest, depending on how you look at worldwide distribution, is The Lost Bladesman, a film based on parts of the historical epic ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. Yen plays Guan Yu, a general, a legendary figure in Chinese history and perhaps most importantly for Yen’s choice to portray him, a practitioner of martial arts. In this latter role, that of a martial artist, Yen unsurprisingly excels with incredible control and precision in all his movements. He truly is an exceptional performer and some moments in Lost Bladesman showcase his extraordinary talents well.

These are not the best that Yen has to offer though and at times in The Lost Bladesman it is hard not to wander off mentally to some of his more iconic performances and the most memorable sequences from those films. Sequences that have also often been important moments within their respective films, scenes that are there to tell the story through action and/or hold emotional weight. Take the scene in Ip Man between Yen’s title character and ten Japanese men, the scene is memorable for the impressive action but it is significant within the film for a number of narrative reasons and carries emotional weight for the character and what his defiance represents within a wider context. This kind of action within the narrative is not evidenced in The Lost Bladesman, which has a few impressively choreographed and performed scenes but they carry no weight whatsoever.

Feeling your mind wander in The Lost Bladesman will probably be a very common occurrence too, with the filmmakers doing little to engage the viewer, with little attention paid to an enthralling plot, character development or interesting dialogue. Also the action, whilst entertaining in places, is not exactly gripping. The script appears to be the most serious issue though with a large amount of the dialogue leaving actors reading out large expositional paragraphs that are increasingly hard to engage with or even digest properly. Add to this a plot that takes a long time to get going, and when it does it then seems to run out of steam before falling back on on-screen text and an epilogue, and it’s hard to care too much about the events depicted.

Outside of his talents as a martial artist Yen also brings little to the film, with common complaints about his wooden acting being entirely justified by what is seen here. The character of Guan is clearly supposed to be stoic and noble but with little depth to the writing or Yen’s performance the character just comes across as flat and uninteresting. The only crack in his character appears when he is drugged, but even then his rigid stoicism wins out; when asked by an imagined version of his sister-in-law, who he clearly desires, “Why must you be so serious?” he replies “Dreaming doesn’t excuse impropriety”. Even when we are transported into the imagination of the central character the results are still dull.

The DVD transfer is adequate although some scenes look a little murky in places and others look over saturated. The inconsistent cinematography and a baffling approach to colour timing make for an unbalanced look to the film though and this could quite possibly explain away the slightly off-kilter transfer. The audio is clear and showcases the reasonably interesting sound design choices well, with a focus on musicality in the fight sound effects being a particularly intriguing addition. The only extras included are a lacklustre making of and a trailer.

The Lost Bladesman is available to buy or rent on DVD and Blu-ray now.

Film **~~~ (2/5)
DVD ***~~ (3/5)

Studio Ghibli’s beautifully enchanting animation, Arrietty arrives in cinemas nationwide on 29th July 2011. Adapted from Mary Norton’s well-known, children’s favourite ‘The Borrowers’, and voiced by Saoirse Ronan (Lovely Bones), Tom Holland, Mark Strong, Olivia Colman, Pyhllida Law and Geraldine McEwan.

Arrietty tells the story of 14 year old adventurous Arrietty, who despite being warned by her family of “little” people to never let humans see her, is determined to explore the world beyond the floorboards of a sprawling mansion, set in the magical, overgrown garden in the suburbs of Tokyo. When Arrietty is discovered by human Sho, she discovers that some humans can be trusted, and before long, a friendship begins to blossom…

To celebrate the release of Arrietty, HeyUGuys are giving three lucky winners the chance to win a collection of Studio Ghibli DVDs including Ponyo, Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away.

For your chance to win one of these great bundles, answer the question using the form below,

Which of these is not a Studio Ghibli animation?:

Ponyo
Winnie The Pooh
Arrietty

Competition Now Closed

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 8th August at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available
• Prize is non-exchangeable and non-refundable.
• The Editor’s decision is final and binding on the entrants. No correspondence will be entered into

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

James Gunn’s Super is a dark take on the superhero genre, which asks the question – what would it take to become a real life superhero? It’s subversive, brutal and has some excellent performances from Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and Kevin Bacon. It hits DVD and Blu-ray on the 1st of August and hey – you could bag one for free.

Need to know more? How about this for a synopsis you can be proud of?

After his wife Sarah (Tyler) hooks up with a smooth-talking drug dealer named Jacques (Bacon), Frank (Wilson) transforms himself into superhero “The Crimson Bolt”. Then with the help of a trusty wrench, Frank wages a one man war on crime. Libby (Page), a local comic book store employee, transforms herself into a superheroine named “Boltie” and becomes Frank’s sidekick. The two then team up to take Jacques down.

We have 5 Blu-rays of the film to give away and all you have to do is answer the following question using the form below,

What was the name of James Gunn’s 2006 film, which starred Nathan Fillion?

Competition Now Closed

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 10th August at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available
• Prize is non-exchangeable and non-refundable.
• The Editor’s decision is final and binding on the entrants. No correspondence will be entered into

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Based on a 1929 novel by Richard Hughes, A High Wind in Jamaica was brought to the screen by director Alexander Mackendrick in 1965 but thanks to the lack of a decent home entertainment release it has since been a little off the radar. This has been rectified by Eureka who are releasing the film on DVD with a brand new transfer presented in the original 2.35:1 ratio.

A High Wind in Jamiaca opens with a married couple and their children battening down the hatches at their home in the Carribean in preparation for a particularly nasty hurricane, the high wind of the title. Following the storm, and a little bit of misbehaviour on the children’s part, the mother decides that they must be sent to England to be educated. Her reasoning being that “It’s this place! It turned them into savages!” The idea of savages contrasting with the more civilised folk is a theme that is oft returned to throughout the film and it is very sensitively treated by both the script and the excellent performances, which never fall into the over the top hamminess that they so easily could have.

Very shortly after the children are sent off to England on a ship, the parents stay behind in the Carribean, they are kidnapped by a group of pirates who decide to take the children with them rather than risk leaving them on the ship. In these early scenes there is a wonderful piece of foreshadowing that occurs with the death of a monkey, which sets up the fact that there are real stakes in the  story and also cleverly prefigures a later scene. This is not just a carefree kids film with no real consequences.

Captaining the pirates is Chavez (Anthony Quinn) and fighting alongside him is Zac (James Coburn) and luckily this film can be chalked up on the good sides of the uneven careers of these two fine actors. Aided by well written characters Coburn and Quinn bring complexity to their roles and the pirates are not just simplistic villains spouting clichéd ‘pieces of eight’ catchphrases.

The film lacks any complex or exciting action, the battle sequences are rather sedate affairs when compared to most swashbucklers, but it is well paced and only falls down a little in the second act where it begins to drag a touch. Events quickly escalate though and the film reaches an interesting and rather dark climax.

A High Wind in Jamaica is a children’s film in many ways but it is certainly not childish. Filled with excellent performances, a nuanced script and directed with both a wide scope and appropriate intimacy, A High Wind in Jamaica is a charming but occasionally dark film that could provide many a lesson for the makers of modern pirate fare.

The DVD from Eureka is very light on extras, two trailers are the only supplemental features, but the transfer is excellent and showcases Douglas Slocombe’s rich cinematography particularly well.

A High Wind in Jamaica is available to buy or rent on DVD from the 25th of July.

Film ***½~ (3.5/5)
DVD ***~~ (3/5)