Frost/Nixon (Cert 15, 116 mins, Universal Pictures UK, Drama, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Hall.

Based on the award-winning stage play by Peter Morgan, who pens the screenplay, Frost/Nixon sensationally documents the efforts of British talk show host David Frost (Sheen) to interview shamed former US President Richard Nixon (Langella), the first President to resign from the Oval Office in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The film recreates the build-up to the four interviews as Nixon and his advisors, led by Jack Brennan (Bacon), look forward to running rings around Frost and his three-strong research team: John Birt (Macfadyen), Bob Zelnick (Platt) and James Reston (Rockwell). The first couple of tapings are a disaster and Frost looks like a buffoon, concentrating on his romance with Caroline Cushing (Hall) rather than research. However, as the agreed interview time nears an end, Frost begins to get under the skin of Nixon and incites him to lay himself bare before a television audience of millions. Frost/Nixon is a terrific distillation of a time that America would possibly rather forget. Langella reprises his role as the fallen President, whose sense of right and wrong has become horribly confused. Sheen is equally compelling as the charming ladies man and bon viveur, who is completely out of his depth against such a well-drilled opponent. Verbal fireworks from the two leads are complimented by strong supporting turns from Bacon as an ardent patriot, who won’t let anyone besmirch the elderly statesman and Rockwell as a rabble-rouser, who makes it abundantly clear from the start, “I want to give Richard Nixon the trial he never had!”

DVD Extras: Director commentary, deleted scenes, “The Making Of Frost/Nixon” featurette, “The Interview” footage from the actual encounter, “The Nixon Library” featurette; Blu-ray: Director commentary, deleted scenes, “The Making Of Frost/Nixon” featurette, “The Interview” footage from the actual encounter, “The Nixon Library” featurette, Picture-in-Picture U-Control option, “The Nixon Chronicles” featurette, “Discovering Secrets: The People And Places Behind The Story” featurette.

Rating: ****


Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (Cert 18, 88 mins, Entertainment In Video, Horror/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Underworld Trilogy DVD £29.99/Blu-ray £24.99/Underworld Trilogy Blu-ray £40.99)

Starring: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra.

The third instalment of the Underworld series sketches the origins of the ancient feud between the vampires and werewolves, concocting another forbidden inter-species romance, which sparks centuries of bloodshed and misery. As Viktor (Nighy) continues to rule the aristocratic bloodsuckers with an iron fist, an enslaved Lycan called Lucian (Sheen), who is able to suppress the beast within, rises up the ranks within the vampire castle stronghold, tamed by a natty silver collar. He dutifully helps his fanged masters to quash the feral werewolves, which threaten the Death Dealers reign, and then embarks on a secret affair with Viktor’s spunky daughter, Sonja (Mitra). When Lucian is presented with an opportunity to lead his persecuted race in a rebellion against the enemies, who have persecuted them for hundreds of years, he casts off his chains in a series of darkly lit and violent action set pieces, spattered with impressive computer-generated effects. Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans bid farewell to director Len Wiseman and leading lady Kate Beckinsale as Patrick Tatopoulos takes up the reins behind the camera. The absence of these key figures from the franchise is a strong indication of the weaknesses of the script, co-written by Danny McBride, Dirk Blackman and Howard McCain. Sheen is impressively buff but, like the rest of the film, there’s considerably more brawn than brains, while Nighy nudges the film into the realms of tongue-in-cheek camp. A three-disc DVD box set, comprising Underworld, Underworld: Evolution and this third film, is also available.

DVD Extras: Director commentary, “From Script To Screen” featurette, “Origin Of The Feud” featurette, “Recreating The Dark Ages: The Look Of Underworld” featurette, Death Club music video.

Rating: **


Bride Wars (Cert 12, 85 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Comedy/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £28.99)

Starring: Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Candice Bergen, Chris Pratt, Steve Howey.

Best friends Liv (Hudson) and Emma (Hathaway) share the same dream: to be married in the splendour of the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Thanks to event planner Marion St Claire (Bergen), the women both get their wish, just weeks apart in sunny June, and they excitedly begin to plan every detail of their big days. Then disaster strikes: due to an administrative error, the friends are double-booked on the same day meaning that only one of them can walk down the aisle at the dream venue. Reluctant to give up their fantasy, the friends set about sabotaging each other’s weddings so only one of them will be able to tie the knot at the Plaza, pitting Liv, a ball-breaking lawyer who always gets her own way – at any cost, against Emma, a demure, selfless teacher, who can ill-afford her dream nuptials at the venue. Bride Wars is a dull, lifeless comedy, which lacks the sparkle of The Wedding Singer or My Best Friend’s Wedding. Hudson and Hathaway try not to grimace at the tedious, limp dialogue, but it’s hard to care for either woman while their fiances (Pratt, Howey) provide little more than a bemused backdrop to the brides’ crazed antics, which include the sabotage of a tanning session and a hair appointment. All very silly. The ending is as predictable as the two women’s journeys of self-discovery, which sees them acknowledge their faults and in one case, question the sense of stepping down the aisle. Meanwhile, we question why we sat through this fluff.

DVD Extras: “Meet Me At The Plaza” featurette, “The Perfect White Dress” featurette, “In Character With Kate Hudson” featurette, “In Character With Anne Hathaway” featurette, “Mad Den” featurette, “Maid Of Honour” featurette, “Amanda-Cam” featurette, 7 deleted scenes including new opening, 2 improvised scenes (Amanda’s wedding speech, Liv at Tanhatten); Blu-Ray: “Meet Me At The Plaza” featurette, “The Perfect White Dress” featurette, “In Character With Kate Hudson” featurette, “In Character With Anne Hathaway” featurette, “Mad Den” featurette, “Maid Of Honour” featurette, “Amanda-Cam” featurette, 7 deleted scenes including new opening, 2 improvised scenes (Amanda’s wedding speech, Liv at Tanhatten), free digital copy of the film.

Rating: **


Defiance (Cert 15, 131 mins, Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment, Drama/Action/Romance, also available to buy DVD £17.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, Ravil Isyanov, Martin Hancock.

As Hitler’s army marches through Belarussia, three Jewish brothers escape the onslaught to lead hundreds of survivors into the dense forests. While Tuvia Bielski (Craig) and his gentle, youngest sibling Asael (Bell) establish an ever-expanding community beneath the tree canopy, fiery-tempered middle son Zus (Schreiber) refuses to stand by as his people are wiped out. He abandons the refuge and aligns himself with Viktor Panchenko (Isyanov), charismatic commander of an otriad determined to strike at the heart of the Nazi machine. In Zus’s absence, Tuvia struggles to maintain control of the rapidly swelling number of refugees, constantly meeting resistance from rival, Peretz Shorshaty (Hancock). Thankfully, the beautiful Lilka (Davalos) and Asael help to keep Tuvia grounded as he awaits his middle brother’s return. Based on the book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec, Edward Zwick’s history lesson relates a stirring tale of heroism and sacrifice during the horrendous years of conflict in Europe. Unfortunately, awe and wonder about the incredible facts underpinning Zwick’s film gradually wane as the script, co-written with Clayton Frohman, distils facts at a pedestrian pace through competent action sequences and lack lustre verbal exchanges. Craig lacks spark in his pivotal role, delivering his character’s emotionally charged, rallying cries (“We may be hunted like animals but we will not become animals!”) without conviction, in an accent that comes and goes at whim. Schreiber is far more compelling as a man of action, who realises that time will not wait for a condemned man. Skirmishes between the Germans and rebels are well choreographed, providing respite from the limp, ponderous dialogue.

DVD Extras: Director commentary, “Return To The Forest: The Making Of Defiance” featurette; Blu-ray: Director commentary, “Return To The Forest: The Making Of Defiance” featurette, “Scoring Defiance” featurette, “Children of The Otriad” featurette, Bielski partisan photo gallery (as taken by director Ed Zwick).

Rating: ***

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