A weekly round-up of the latest DVD releases.

By Damon Smith


New to rent on DVD/Blu-ray

DVD of the week

Jack The Giant Slayer (Cert 12, 109 mins, Warner Home Video, Fantasy/Action/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99/3D Blu-ray £26.99)

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Ewan McGregor, Eddie Marsan, Ewen Bremner, Simon Lowe and the voices of Bill Nighy, John Kassir.

Farm boy Jack (Nicholas Hoult) heads into town to sell his horse and cart and he encounters a monk (Simon Lowe) bearing a pouch of magic beans. That night, a sudden deluge causes one of the seeds to take root and a beanstalk rises terrifyingly into the sky, taking with it Jack's home and Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), who happens to be passing in the downpour. When King Brahmwell (Ian McShane) learns of his daughter's fate, he organises a search party including valiant knight Elmont (Ewan McGregor), his right-hand man Crawe (Eddie Marsan), Isabelle's conniving fiance Roderick (Stanley Tucci), snivelling sidekick Wicke (Ewen Bremner) and Jack. Atop the beanstalk, they discover an army of gargantuan warriors led by two-headed General Fallon (Bill Nighy, John Kassir) and his lieutenants, Fee, Fye, Foe and Fumm... Jack The Giant Slayer is a fast-paced fantasy that gives a smart CGI-heavy makeover to the English folktale of Jack And The Beanstalk. There are few pauses between the breathlessly orchestrated set pieces in Bryan Singer's film, including a first encounter with the giants viewed through Jack's eyes as he holds his breath underwater. Hoult is an endearing hero, plagued by a fear of heights, who comes to the fore in Isabelle's hour of need. Their romance is sweet, tempered by Tucci's delightful scenery-chewing as the Machiavellian traitor in the royal court. Violence is quite strong for a 12 certificate, including at least one member of supporting cast losing his head between a giant's festering teeth - which can be relished in 3D exclusively on Blu-ray.

Rating: ***


Also released

G.I. Joe - Retaliation (Cert 12, 110 mins, Paramount Home Entertainment, Action/Thriller/Sci-Fi, also available to buy DVD £19.99/G.I. Joe DVD Box Set £27.99/Blu-ray £26.99/3D Blu-ray £29.99/G.I. Joe Blu-ray Box Set £37.99)

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, DJ Cotrona, Adrianne Palicki, Channing Tatum, Lee Byung-hun, Elodie Yung, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson, Bruce Willis, Ray Park, Arnold Vosloo, Luke Bracey.

Arch-villain Zartan (Arnold Vosloo), who is impersonating the President of the United States (Jonathan Pryce), frames the G.I. Joes as traitors to the American cause in order to clear the way for his Cobra terrorist network. Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Flint (DJ Cotrona) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) survive the bloodbath and quickly realise that the order to terminate the Joes must have come from the White House. They head back to American soil and seek help from legendary retired operative General Joseph Colton (Bruce Willis) to bring down Zartan. Meanwhile, evil agent Firefly (Ray Stevenson) masterminds the escape of Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) and heroic mute swordsman Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and ninja Jinx (Elodie Yung) travel to the Himalayas to capture heinous henchman Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun). G.I. Joe: Retaliation is slicker and more entertaining than its predecessor, although the bar wasn't set particularly high. Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick sensibly kill off swathes of their cast in the explosive opening sequence, to then focus attention on a handful of undernourished characters. Director Jon M Chu (Step Up 3D) locks and loads this bigger-budget sequel with eye-popping set pieces and bruising showdowns that make good use of 3D on the Blu-ray version. A cliff-hanging Himalayas sword fight incorporates vertiginous shots of bodies tumbling to terra firma, and when Firefly unleashes a swarm of tiny mechanised insects, they buzz about the screen, apparently close enough to swat. A two-disc set comprising G.I. Joe - The Rise Of Cobra and the sequel is also available.

Rating: ***


Sammy's Great Escape (Cert U, 91 mins, Warner Home Video, Animation/Children/Drama, also available to buy DVD £15.99/3D Blu-ray £24.99)

Featuring the voices of: Wesley Johnny, Carlos McCullers II, Isabelle Fuhrman, Billy Unger, Joe Thomas, Pat Carroll.

Sea turtle Sammy (voiced by Wesley Johnny) and his sweetheart Shelley (Isabelle Fuhrman) proudly welcome their tiny grandchildren into the world. Nearby, Sammy's best friend Ray (Carlos McCullers II) and his soul mate take care of their brood. The adult greenbacks and leatherbacks stand guard over the adorable hatchlings, protecting the newborns from circling gulls. The turtles are so focussed on airborne attacks, they fail to notice poachers, who capture Sammy and Ray and transport the animals to a vast undersea complex in Dubai. Two hatchlings, Ella and Ricky, are also snared by the poachers and join their grandparents on the terrifying adventure, encountering a maniacal seahorse known as Big D, his electric eel bodyguards Philippe and Marco, and a split-personality lobster called Lulu (Joe Thomas), who treats his claws like puppets. Sammy's Great Escape is a sweet and inoffensive computer-animated yarn pitched at very young viewers with a gentle message about mankind's plundering of underwater resources. Vincent Kesteloot and Ben Stassen's film is a sequel to the 2010 Belgian picture A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventure, about a sea turtle who is washed far away from his atoll but eventually finds his way home. In the follow-up, the diminutive hero is now grown up and has to risk life and flippers to escape from an underwater aquarium, where wealthy tourists pay small fortunes to survey the stolen specimens. Visuals are slightly more polished than the first film but still lack the impeccable detail of Finding Nemo, now 10 years old. The 3D version of the film is available exclusively on Blu-ray.

Rating: **


Also released

The ABCs Of Death (Cert 18, 124 mins, Bounty Films, Horror/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £12.99/Blu-ray £14.99 - see below)

In The House (Dans La Maison) (Cert 15, 100 mins, Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment, Drama/Thriller/Romance, also available to buy DVD/Blu-ray £17.99 - see below)

Reality (Cert 15, 117 mins, Independent Distribution, Drama, also available to buy DVD £15.99 - see below)

The Sigil (Cert 15, 68 mins, Metrodome Distribution, Horror/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £15.99 - see below)

Vinyl (Cert 15, 91 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, Comedy/Drama/Musical/Romance, also available to buy DVD £14.99 - see below)


New to buy on DVD/Blu-ray

The Newsroom - Complete First Series (Cert 15, 470 mins, Warner Home Video/HBO, DVD £39.99/Blu-ray £49.99, Drama)

Created by Aaron Sorkin, award-winning screenwriter of The Social Network and TV series The West Wing, The Newsroom is a fast-paced drama which goes behind the scenes of the fictional Atlantis Cable News programme to explore the dynamics between the staff. News anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) conducts a disastrous interview in which he criticises America. His reputation is left in tatters and to add to his woes, his ex-girlfriend MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer) is announced as the show's new executive producer. Meanwhile, ACN news division president Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston) attempts to keep the other staff in line including producer Jim Harper (John Gallagher, Jr.), associate producer Maggie Jordan (Alison Pill) and economist Sloan Sabbith (Olivia Munn). The four-disc box set includes all 10 episodes.


In The House (Dans La Maison) (Cert 15, 100 mins, Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment, DVD/Blu-ray £17.99, Drama/Thriller/Romance)

Francois Ozon, the enfant terrible of French cinema, returns to glorious form with a teasing psychological drama which playfully blurs the boundaries between fantasy and reality. Fabrice Luchini is perfectly cast as despairing teacher Germain, whose passion for the written word is reinvigorated by a talented student called Claude (Ernst Umhauer) and his detailed accounts of weekends spent with wealthy classmate Rapha (Bastien Ughetto), which course with homoeroticism and adolescent yearning. The lad's descriptions of spying on Rapha's unhappy mother, Esther (Emmanuelle Seigner), are especially tantalising, not to mention slightly creepy. Germain's sexually frustrated wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) becomes equally fixated when her husband reads aloud the lad's essays, providing Ozon with a framework for a delicious social satire of modern, voyeuristic mores that proves that you shouldn't always believe what you read. Except this potted review, of course.


Wimbledon: 2013 - Men's Final - Murray Vs Djokovic (Cert E, 210 mins, Good Guys Media, DVD £19.99, Sport)

Relive the drama and excitement of this year's final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic at The All England Lawn Tennis And Croquet Club in SW19, which saw the Scottish player beat his below-par rival in straight sets and become the first British male singles champion at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.


Beware of Mr Baker (Cert 15, 92 mins, Artificial Eye, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Documentary/Musical)

Best known for his work with Eric Clapton in Cream and Blind Faith, London-born drummer Ginger Baker famously brought African rhythms back from Nigeria to the West in the 1970s, many years before other musicians. His incredible creativity was tempered with personal misfortunes including divorces and a rampant self-destructive streak, taking him around the world from Italy to California and eventually to South Africa where the 73-year-old now lives with his 29-year-old internet bride, and 39 polo ponies, inside a fortified compound. Documentary film-maker Jay Bulger travels to Baker's lair to interview him about his incredible career, intercut with testimonies from friends, family and colleagues including Eric Clapton, Femi Kuti, Neal Peart, Carlos Santana, Chad Smith, Charlie Watts and Steve Winwood. The film also follows Baker on the comeback trail as he puts financial disaster behind him and embarks on a sold-out 30-date European tour, confirming his reputation as one of the drumming greats.


Unit One - Series Two (Cert 15, 401 mins, Arrow Films, DVD £24.99, Thriller/Drama)

Seven episodes of the acclaimed Scandinavian crime drama centred on the elite Rejseholdet task force led by Commander Ingrid Dahl (Charlotte Fich). In this series, Dahl, Detective Inspectors Allan Fischer (Mads Mikkelsen), Jens Peter Jorgensen (Waage Sando), Thomas La Cour (Lars Brygmann) and the rest of the team probe emotionally testing crimes such as the murder of a young boy, a suspicious house fire and a kidnapping, using guile and gut-feeling to unmask the perpetrators and bring the guilty to justice.


Vinyl (Cert 15, 91 mins, Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, DVD £14.99, Comedy/Drama/Musical/Romance)

Sara Sugarman directs this feel-good comedy inspired by the true story of Alarm front man Mike Peters, who stuck two fingers up to the ageist music industry in 2004 with a cunning hoax. Johnny Jones (Phil Daniels) is the former vocalist of The Weapons Of Happiness, a 1980s punk rock outfit, who once opened for the Buzzcocks but have now gone their separate ways. A funeral reunites Johnny with his band mates, Griff (Chris Turner), Minto (Keith Allen) and Robbie (Perry Benson), and that night, they jam together for the first time in years, high on alcohol and grief. In the morning, Johnny listens to the song they recorded and is pleasantly surprised. He attempts to sell the track to the label, which once represented The Weapons Of Happiness, only to be told that the youth of today aren't interested in middle-aged rock'n'roll has-beens. So Johnny concocts an ingenious scam: he claims that the single is the debut release of an undiscovered Welsh band called The Single Shots. He enlists the services of a busker called Drainpipe (Jamie Buckley) to front this bogus outfit then schools the talentless teenagers how to pass themselves off as bona fide rockers so that no one in the industry spots the deception.


I Want Your Love (Cert 18, 71 mins, Peccadillo Pictures, DVD £12.99, Drama/Romance)

Expanded from a 14-minute short made in 2010, I Want Your Love chronicles the rollercoaster emotions of gay performance artist Jesse (Jesse Metzger) as he prepares to leave his friends in beloved San Francisco to return home to his family in small-town America, in the hope that the change of address will fire his dormant creative juices. As leaving date approaches, Jesse begins to question his decision and seeks guidance from the people he will miss the most including his best friend and roommate Wayne (Wayne Bumb), wise downstairs neighbour Keith (Keith McDonald) and ex-boyfriend Ben (Ben Jasper), who has always been Jesse's salvation in times of stress. Desires bubble to the surface as Jesse prepares to say goodbye, culminating in a night of revelations and messy fumblings at Jesse's farewell party that strengthen some relationships and jeopardise others.


Reality (Cert 15, 117 mins, Independent Distribution, DVD £15.99, Drama)

The hordes of wannabes who apply for Big Brother every year are testament to our enduring fascination with celebrity and fame. Italian director Matteo Garrone, who won numerous awards for his violent thriller Gomorrah, pokes fun at the influence of reality TV in this unsettling satire of modern mores. Neapolitan fishmonger Luciano (Aniello Arena) is one of the most colourful characters in his bustling community. While attending a family wedding, Luciano crosses paths with former Big Brother contestant Enzo (Raffaele Ferrante), who makes a small fortune from personal appearances and even has a private helicopter to ferry him around. Luciano becomes obsessed with appearing on the Italian version of the show called Grande Fratello, convinced that his cheeky chappy personality is just what the producers will be looking for. Luciano's fixation on the TV show escalates out of control, jeopardising his personal relationships and livelihood.


White Elephant (Cert 15, 103 mins, Axiom Films, DVD £15.99, Drama)

In the Buenos Aires shantytown of Ciudad Oculta, drug dealers control the ruins where the homeless and the poor take refuge. In this Godless place, two dedicated priests - Father Julian (Ricardo Darin) and Father Nicolas (Jeremie Renier) - tend to the exploited and impoverished flock, determined to make a difference to a community that has been abandoned by the rest of society. While Julian, whose health is rapidly failing, is wary of the drug dealers and the various turf wars, Nicolas believes he can engage with the criminals and somehow mediate between the feuding factions. In the midst of this battle of ideologies, Nicolas begins to fall in love with pretty social worker Luciana (Martina Gusman).


Resident Evil: Damnation (Cert 15, 96 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, DVD £12.99/Blu-ray £22.99, Animation/Horror/Thriller)

In this second feature-length animated spin-off from the video games and films - the follow-up to Resident Evil: Degeneration - plucky US government agent Leon Kennedy (voiced by Matthew Mercer) is dispatched to eastern Europe to investigate rumours that bio-organic weapons are being used in a bitter civil war. Shortly after arriving and witnessing the carnage firsthand, Kennedy is instructed to withdraw from the country but he disobeys orders to see the assignment through to its bloody and horrific conclusion.


The ABCs of Death (Cert 18, 124 mins, Bounty Films, DVD £12.99/Blu-ray £14.99, Horror/Thriller)

A horror compendium comprising of 26 short films made independently by different directors, who had complete creative freedom to craft a story about death and suffering themed around any word beginning with one of the letters of the alphabet. These include E Is For Exterminate (directed by Angela Bettis), in which a man is tormented by a large spider; the animated K Is For Klutz (by Anders Morgenthaler), about a woman's disastrous visit to the bathroom; and U Is For Unearthed (directed by Ben Wheatley), where a man who is being chased by an angry mob is intent on spilling blood.


The Sigil (Cert 15, 68 mins, Metrodome Distribution, DVD £15.99, Horror/Thriller)

Forty-two residents of a house in Los Angeles perish and government experts reveal that they all died as a result of radiation poisoning from an undetected uranium mine, located close to the property. Devan (Devan Liljedahl), whose sister died in the house, travels to the site of the tragedy with good friends Brandon (Brandon Cano-Errecart) and Nate (Nathan Dean Snyder) to try and make sense of the official explanation. When the outsiders arrive at the house, they quickly surmise that the uranium mine is being used by the authorities as a cover-up for something far more deadly and sinister.


Forced To Fight (Cert 15, 100 mins, 4Digital Media, DVD £15.99, Action/Drama)

A former professional fighter risks everything to protect the people he loves in Jonas Quastel's brutal action drama. Shane (Gary Daniels) has turned his back on his old life to pursue a relationship with Connie (Alexandra Weaver). However, when his brother Scotty (Arkie Reece) runs up huge debts to ruthless gangster Danny G (Peter Weller), Shane has no choice but to re-enter the punishing world of mixed martial arts to repay the arrears. Out of shape and out of practice, Shane suffers horribly at the hands of his opponents, risking permanent damage to protect Scotty.


Post Tenebras Lux (Cert 18, 115 mins, Drakes Avenue Pictures, DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £19.99, Drama)

Mexican film-maker Carlos Reygadas controversially won the Best Director prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival for this challenging and hypnotic portrait of a family in crisis. Middle-class couple Juan (Adolfo Jimenez Castro) and Natalia (Nathalia Acevedo) live in the mountains with their two small children in a large house which is constantly tended by handymen. The parents occasionally let their minds wander and allow their bodies to do the same during a sexually charged holiday in Europe, intended as an outlet for their carnal desires.


Jennifer Saunders - Back In The Saddle (Cert E, 104 mins, Dazzler, DVD £19.99, Documentary)

As a child, comedian Jennifer Saunders competed in Pony Club gymkhanas but gradually lost touch with her equine passion. On this two-part ITV1 series, she joins forces with show jumper Tim Stockdale and eventer Piggy French to reacquaint herself with the world of horse riding and compete in the Badminton Grassroots Championships. During this journey of rediscovery, Saunders meets former Olympian Princess Anne and national treasure Clare Balding.


The Aquabats! Super Show! - Season One (Cert PG, 300 mins, Fremantle Home Entertainment, DVD £12.99, Children/Musical/Animation)

Inspired by the Californian rock band of the same name, this popular children's TV show combines live action and animation to follow MC Bat Commander, Crash McLarson, Ricky Fitness, EagleBones Falconhawk and Jimmy the Robot as they fight crime across the universe, facing diabolical adversaries including evil scientist Dr Eva Mudlark, half-human half-insect monstrosity ManAnt and slithery CobraMan.


Barney: Play With Barney (Cert U, 75 mins, HIT Entertainment, DVD £9.99, Children)

The fun-loving purple dinosaur and his friends Baby Bop, BJ and Riff discover the joy of sports including baseball and basketball and the importance of playing as a team and following the rules to get the most out of each game.


DVD retail top 10

1 (1) Despicable Me

2 (-) Luther: Series 1-2 Box Set

3 (3) Jillian Michaels: 30 Day Shred

4 (-) Sherlock - Complete Series 3

5 (-) Safe Haven

6 (4) Les Misérables

7 (2) Oz the Great and Powerful

8 (6) Dexter - Season 7

9 (-) Parker

10 (10) Game of Thrones - Season 2

Chart supplied by Amazon.co.uk


DVD rental top 10

1 (-) Life of Pi

2 (4) Django Unchained

3 (-) Hansel and Gretel - Witch Hunters

4 (1) The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey

5 (3) Flight

6 (2) Argo

7 (-) Oz the Great and Powerful

8 (-) Broken City

9 (6) Wreck-It Ralph

10 (-) Warm Bodies

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com


Film streaming top 10

1 (-) The Reef Fast Five

2 (-) Hall Pass Hanna

3 (-) Scooby Doo 2 - Monstors Unleashed Bad Teacher

4 (-) Scooby Doo Hop

5 (-) Dumb and Dumber Just Go With It

6 (-) How to Rob a Bank Sex and the City

7 (-) Yogi Bear Ratatouille

8 (-) Barbie - Princess Charm School Rampage

9 (-) Up

10 (-) Hop

Chart supplied by www.LOVEFiLM.com