Max Payne (Cert 15, 94 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Acton/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £27.99)

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Olga Kurylenko, Beau Bridges, Donal Logue, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Amaury Nolasco, Marianthi Evans.

Police officer Max Payne (Wahlberg) returns home to find his wife Michelle (Evans) and baby daughter slain by an intruder. Unable to rest until he unmasks the killer, Max scours every open case file and draws inspiration from his mentor BB (Beau Bridges), who urges patience. A tip-off from a snitch leads to a nightclub where Max meets Natasha (Kurylenko) and her sister Mona (Kunis). The former dies in an alleyway and police units discover Max’s stolen wallet at the scene, fingering him for the crime. While the cop tries to clear his name and outrun Internal Affairs Detective Jim Bravura (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), the real culprit – tormented soldier of war Jack Lupino (Nolasco) – seeks out the people closest to Max, determined to inflict more pain. John Moore’s tiresome video game-to-movie adaptation plods wearily through a plot that straddles reality and drug-induced fantasy on the crime-riddled streets of New York City. Fans of Max Payne will recognise characters and certain plot elements, like the conspiracy surrounding an experimental drug. The film also employs the slow motion bullet time effect, which was a key factor of the video game’s appeal. However, Moore’s vision is a poor substitute for the visceral thrill that comes from grabbing a game controller and taking charge of the hero. We don’t feel engaged with any of the characters, nor do we sense Max’s simmering rage. Wahlberg is inexpressive as the eponymous good cop on a mission, shooting first and thinking later, if at all, as Moore’s film builds to a lacklustre final showdown. The lack of dramatic momentum makes the 94-minute running time feel considerably longer. The DVD and Blu-ray include a harder cut of the film and an animated graphic novel detailing the story of Michelle Payne.

DVD Extras: none stated; Blu-ray: director, production designer and visual effects supervisor commentary, Picture in Picture option: “Walkthroughs & Cheats”, D-box capabilities, free digital copy of the film.

Rating: **

Mad Money (Cert 12, 99 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, Comedy/Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £15.99)

Starring: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson, Roger Cross.

When her husband Don (Danson) loses his job, leading to the shocking possibility that they could lose the house, resourceful mother Bridget (Keaton) takes a mundane job as a cleaner at the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Here she is immediately intrigued by the banknotes, which are due to be taken out of circulation via the shredder. She hatches a hare-brained scheme to steal these old banknotes with the help of fellow employees Nina (Latifah) and Jackie (Holmes), who form two vital links in the money chain. The first theft goes as planned but the haul isn’t as large as the three women expected so they try again, gradually succumbing to greed. Don begs her wife to stop, but she and her accomplices refuse to listen, eventually attracting the attentions of the authorities. Debuting on DVD and deservedly so, Mad Money is a generic crime caper which squanders the potentially winning chemistry between the leads, albeit with Holmes woefully miscast as the ditz in the mix opposite an ever-solid Keaton and Latifah, who both possess the acting chops and comic timing to make something out of their two-dimensional heroines. Glenn Gers’s screenplay has neither the subtlety, nor the intelligence, to probe the (im)morality of the female protagonists’ actions, whiling away the blessedly brief running time with pointless romantic subplots. To rent or buy, Mad Money would be a crime.

DVD Extras: Interviews, gag reel.

Rating: **

NEW TO BUY ON DVD


Lewis – Series Three (Cert 12, 372 mins, ITV DVD, DVD £24.99, Thriller/Drama)

Four-disc box set comprising the latest cases for Detective Inspector Robbie Lewis (Kevin Whately) and his partner DS James Hathaway (Laurence Fox) as they follow in the footsteps of Lewis’s mentor Morse, solving tricky cases in and around Oxford. In this series, Lewis comes face-to-face with the man who killed his wife, Hathaway receives news of a surprise promotion and the cops probe murders connected with C.S. Lewis and Shakespeare’s The Merchant Of Venice.

DVD Extras: none stated.


The Red Riding Trilogy (Cert 18, 300 mins, Optimum Home Entertainment, DVD £29.99, Thriller/Drama)

Adapted from David Peace’s books, The Red Riding Trilogy is Channel 4’s ambitious, three-part drama, which unfolds in 1974, 1980 and 1983, with different directors at the helm of each instalment (Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, Anand Tucker). Dramatised from real-life events, the story opens with rookie Yorkshire Post journalist Eddie Dunford (Andrew Garfield) sifting the evidence from a series of child abductions in a time of suspicion and institutionalised police corruption. Moving forward six years, police officer Peter Hunter (Paddy Considine) reviews the case of the Yorkshire Ripper and continues to make enemies as he challenges conventional thinking. In the final segment, Detective Chief Superintendent Maurice Jobson (David Morrissey) is horrified when a young girl vanishes without trace, recognising similarities to the Ripper case. As the police come to terms with the possibility that they may have convicted the wrong man, solicitor John Piggott (Mark Addy) prepares to right a terrible judicial wrong. Sean Bean, Warren Clarke, Andrew Garfield, Rebecca Hall, Peter Mullan and Maxine Peake co-star.

DVD Extras: none stated.

Doctor Who – The Cybermen
Doctor Who – The Cybermen Collection (Cert PG, 180 mins, BBC DVD, DVD £15.65, Sci-Fi/Action/Thriller/Drama)

The Doctor (David Tennant) and companions Rose (Billie Piper) and Mickey (Noel Clarke) meet a terrible new incarnation of the metallic arch-nemeses in these four gripping episodes, in which the timelord must thwart a dastardly plot to meld human brains and mechanical bodies. However, in order to save Earth, the Doctor may have to sacrifice the one thing he values the most. The two-disc box set includes “Rise Of The Cybermen”, “The Age Of Steel”, “Army Of Ghosts” and “Doomsday”.

DVD Extras: Introduction by David Tennant, “The 25 Best Cybermen Moments” featurette.


Inkheart (Cert PG, 101 mins, Entertainment In Video, Family/Action/Drama, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Father and bookbinder Mo Folchart (Brendan Fraser) has kept a terrible secret from his daughter Meggie (Eliza Bennett) since she was three-years-old. He is a Silvertongue, who possesses the ability to bring a tome to life by simply reading it aloud and inadvertently sent his beloved wife Teresa (Sienna Guillory) into the pages of a book called Inkheart. In her place, various characters including the villainous Capricorn (Andy Serkis) and his henchmen escaped into this world. Stumbling upon a tatty, old copy of Inkheart, Mo finally believes he could be reunited with Teresa, only to embark on the greatest adventure of his life in the company of a stranger called Dustfinger (Paul Bettany) and the beautiful Elinor Loredan (Helen Mirren).

DVD Extras: “Eliza Read To Us” featurette, theatrical trailer.


The Thick Of It: The Specials (Cert 15, 118 mins, BBC DVD, DVD £19.56, Comedy)

Two hour-long specials – “Rise Of The Nutters” and “Spinners And Losers” – of Armando Iannucci’s award-winning satire. Foul-mouthed spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) stands on the brink of political oblivion when a scandal emerges at Watford Immigration Centre and the PM severs all lines of communication. Adding to his woes, immigration minister Ben Swain (Justin Edwards) makes a fool of himself on Newsnight. With just 24 hours to save his career and the party’s blushes, Tucker puts his gift of the gab to impeccable use, using blackmail and bullying to shape the news agenda for his own good.

DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, production stills gallery with commentary, behind the scenes gallery with commentary, Newsnight segments with Paxman and Crick, Opposition Extra, 15 minute sequence showing Spinners and Losers from the Opposition’s point of view.


Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Volume 1: A Galaxy Divided (Cert PG, 88 mins, Warner Home Video, DVD £12.99, Family/Sci-Fi/Action)

Anakin Skywalker (voiced by Matt Lanter) and young padawan Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) seek guidance from Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) and Master Yoda (Tom Kane) to defeat General Grievous and the Separatist droid army in four episodes of the computer animated series, currently screening on The Cartoon Network and Sky Movies. The DVD includes “Ambush”, “Rising Malevolence”, “Shadow Malevolence” and “Destroy Malevolence”. A box set, comprising all of the episodes from the first series, is expected later this year.

DVD Extras: none stated.

– The Complete Fifth Season (Cert 15, 420 mins, Warner Home Video, DVD £24.99, Comedy)

Incorrigible ladies man Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen) and his divorced brother Alan (Jon Cryer) pretend to be responsible adults for the benefit of Alan’s young son, Jake (Angus T Jones), in another 19 episodes of the popular American sit-com including “Fish In A Drawer”, a tongue-in-cheek cross-over with C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation featuring actor George Eads. Elsewhere during the series, Jake suffers the growing pains that invariably arise from trying to fit in at school while Charlie dates a judge (Ming-Na) and Alan has a fight with his sibling, forcing him to move out with his son in tow.

DVD Extras: none stated.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit – Season Eight (Cert 15, 901 mins, Universal Playback, DVD £44.99, Thriller/Drama)

Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) contends with some of their most shocking and unsettling cases yet in the gritty spin-off from the original Law & Order TV series. While Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hartigay) goes deep undercover for the FBI, Elliot welcomes a new partner, Detective Dani Beck (Connie Nielsen), to probe allegations of rape and murder. Personal relationships within the department threaten to cloud professional judgments, culminating in a cliffhanger finale “Screwed” which forces the detectives to atone for past sins in the glare of the media spotlight. The five-disc box set includes all 22 episodes.

DVD Extras: none stated.

– The Third Year (Cert 15, 854 mins, Universal Playback, DVD £44.99, Thriller/Drama)

Five-disc box set comprising 21 episodes of the spin-off series set in New York City, where quixotic Detective Robert Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) and his partner Alex Eames (Kathryn Erbe) lead the charge of the Major Case Squad, unmasking devious perpetrators by getting inside the minds of their prime suspects under the leadership of Captain James Deakins (Jamey Sheridan). As the evidence piles up, Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver (Courtney B Vance) readies his prosecution, sometimes clashing with Goren and other members of the team.

DVD Extras: none stated.

Ideal – Series 4 (Cert 15, 232 mins, 2entertain, DVD £19.56, Comedy)

In the aftermath of a suspected heart attack, bumbling weed dealer Moz (Johnny Vegas) cannot keep his affair with Jenny (Sinead Matthews) secret for long, while girlfriend Nicki (Nicolas Reynolds) begins an affair with Tom aka PC (Tom Goodman-Hill). A birthday party ends in disaster just as a local turf war spirals out of control in eight episodes of the award-winning sitcom.

DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, out-takes, “Back To The 90s” behind the scenes featurette, music featurette.


Flashpoint – The Complete First Season (Cert 12, 533 mins, ITV DVD, DVD £24.99, Action/Thriller/Drama)

An elite team of sharp-shooting Toronto cops called the Strategic Response Unit (SRU) puts lives on the line to avert disaster in 13 episodes of the fast-paced Canadian TV series. Gregory ’Greg’ Parker (Enrico Colantoni) leads the SRU through each precarious mission, defusing explosive situations involving bombs, hostages and terrorists with cool detachment, until one member, Ed Lane (Hugh Dillon), exorcises the ghosts of the past, with unexpectedly tragic consequences.

DVD Extras: none stated.

Gonzo: The Life And Work Of Dr Hunter S. Thompson (Cert 15, 119 mins, Optimum Home Entertainment, DVD £17.99, Documentary)

Journalist Hunter S Thompson enjoyed life in the fast lane, indulging in alcohol and drugs as a creative spark for his febrile imagination to churn out seminal articles on the Hell’s Angels and the political establishment for Rolling Stone magazine. Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side) employs a patchwork of home movies, archive TV footage, audio recordings, still photographs and other material to delve into the mind of this iconic yet tragic figure, interspersed with narration from Johnny Depp, who also reads excerpts from Thompson’s work.

DVD Extras: Director commentary, extended interviews, extended and deleted scenes, Ralph Steadman drawings, exclusive director interview, “Wayward & Weary” featurette about Tift Merritt tribute song, photo gallery, theatrical trailer.

A Love To Hide (Cert 15, 102 mins, Peccadillo Pictures, DVD £19.99, Drama/Romance)

French filmmaker Christian Faure follows up Juste Une Question D’Amour with this romance set in wartime Paris. Jean (Jeremie Renier) is secretly involved in an affair with Philippe (Bruno Todeschini), but conceals their liaisons for fear of persecution. When Jewish, childhood friend Sara (Louise Monot) arrives in the French capital, Jean gladly helps her elude the Nazis only to be betrayed by someone close to home.

DVD Extras: none stated.
Clough

Clough (Cert E, 70 mins, ITV DVD, DVD £14.99, Documentary)

Timed nicely to coincide with the cinema release of The Damned United, this documentary celebrates the achievements of Brian Clough, following his wise through the divisions with Derby County, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, becoming the only domestic football manager to date to win back-to-back European cups. Pete Postlethwaite narrates the archive footage, interspersed with interviews with his friends and family including his wife Barbara and son Nigel.

DVD Extras: none stated.

The Backyardigans: Tale Of The Mighty Knights (Cert U, 115 mins, Fremantle Home Entertainment, DVD £5.99, Children)

Pablo the penguin, Tyrone the moose, Austin the purple kangaroo, Tasha the hippo and the beautiful Uniqua search for a runaway egg, take a trip on the Orient Express and face a giant robot in five episodes of the Nick Jr computer animated series. The DVD includes “To The Centre Of The Earth”, “Front Page News”, “Tale Of The Mighty Knights Part 1”, “Tale Of The Mighty Knights Part 2” and “Le Masters Of Disguise”.

DVD Extras: none stated.

DVD RETAIL TOP 10

1 (1) Quantum Of Solace

2 (-) Changeling

3 (6) The Dark Knight

4 (-) Body Of Lies

5 (4) Green Street 2

6 (-) The Chronicles Of Narnia – Prince Caspian

7 (5) Mamma Mia – The Movie

8 (3) Wallace & Gromit – A Matter Of Loaf

9 (8) Casino Royale

10 (-) Knocked Up

Chart supplied by getcloser.com

UK RENTAL (VHS & DVD) TOP 10

1 (-) Zack And Miri Make A Porno

2 (2) Quantum Of Solace

3 (1) Changeling

4 (-) Lakeview Terrace

5 (3) Body Of Lies (DVD)

6 (4) Burn After Reading

7 (10) Eagle Eye

8 (6) Tropic Thunder

9 (7) Taken (2008)

10 (-) Ghost Town

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