Get Smart (Cert 12, 105 mins, Warner Home Video, Comedy/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £26.99)

Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, Dwayne Johnson, Masi Oka, Nate Torrence, James Caan.

Maxwell Smart (Carell) is a surveillance expert for secret US agency CONTROL, monitoring and deciphering conversations between counterparts from the Russian agency KAOS. He is keen to prove his worth in the field but the Chief (Arkin) values Maxwell’s talents too much to let him stray from headquarters. When the secret identities of CONTROL’s operatives are compromised, the Chief has little choice but to promote Maxwell and to dispatch the new operative to Russia under the guidance of mentor Agent 99 (Hathaway). With geeks Bruce (Oka) and Lloyd (Torrence) providing technical backup and buff Agent 23 (Johnson) as additional muscle, Maxwell and Agent 99 uncover a dastardly plot hatched by Siegfried (Stamp) to kill the American president (Caan). Based on the madcap ’60s television series, Get Smart is a comic caper about an accident-prone yet sensitive secret agent who might just be mankind’s last, great hope. Peter Segal’s film incorporates many familiar characters and gizmos from the TV series including the shoe phone and so-called Cone Of Silence, but the director focuses too intently on big action sequences rather than slapstick, burdening the film with a split personality, which the screenwriters are unable to resolve. Carell embraces the film’s peculiar brand of unabashed silliness without restraint. He catalyses a pleasing screen chemistry with Hathaway, who has nothing to do apart from keep a straight face as her co-star goofs his way out of trouble. Supporting performances are largely forgettable and Bill Murray shines in a brief cameo as stir crazy Agent 13, who is stuck inside a tree.
DVD Extras: none stated.
Rating: ***

City Of Ember (Cert PG, 91 mins, Entertainment In Video, Family/Drama/Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: Harry Treadaway, Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Martin Landau, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Liz Smith, Amy & Catherine Quinn.

For the past 200 years, the subterranean metropolis of Ember has survived with the help of its massive generator but as food stores dwindle and machinery fails, this microcosm of life threatens to slip into eternal darkness. Graduate student Doon Harrow (Treadaway), the son of noted inventor Loris (Robbins), and feisty classmate Lina Mayfleet (Ronan) resolve to find a solution to the nightmare. Lina stumbles upon the answer when she finds a metal box containing badly torn, cryptic instructions. With the help of greenhouse keeper Clary (Jean-Baptiste), Lina and Doon attempt to decipher the instructions while outwitting self-serving Mayor Cole (Murray) and his lackeys Barton (Jones) and Looper (Crook). Based on the novel by Jeanne DuPrau, City Of Ember feels a tad sluggish even at 91 minutes, with just two action set pieces (a close encounter with a giant tentacle-nosed rat at the midway point and a high speed, log flume finale) to quicken the pulse. Director Gil Kenan (Monster House) works closely with production designer Martin Laing and cinematographer Xavier Perez Grobet to realise DuPrau’s vision of an entire city, laid out in concentrate circles. Created in a hangar in Belfast and bathed in light from hundreds of bulbs to mimic the sun, the sets are truly spectacular. Digital effects are used sparingly, but are noticeable by their clumsiness against such impressive production design. Ronan and Treadaway are both endearing but we don’t spend enough time with either of their adventurous urchins to feel we know them before the grand adventure begins. Murray plays his corrupt official so low key, he’s almost lifeless.

DVD Extras: Behind the scenes featurettes, Making Of A Scene: City Of Ember.
Rating: ***

(Cert 15, 102 mins, Pathe Distribution Ltd, Drama, also available to buy DVD £19.99)
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Stuart Graham, Liam Cunningham, Brian Milligan, Liam McMahon.

Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen recreates the hunger strikes of the early ’80s in the Maze Prison just outside of Belfast in this harrowing narrative feature film debut. The story begins with prison officer Raymond Lohan (Graham) who is part of the team in charge of the infamous H-Blocks. He arrives at work to welcome new inmate Davey Gillen (Milligan), who is flung into a cell with fellow non-conformer Gerry Campbell (McMahon).

At Sunday Mass, Davey is introduced to H-Block’s leader, Bobby Sands (Fassbender), to whom all the other inmates turn for guidance. Like his fellow prisoners, Bobby is brutalised by the guards and after one particularly vicious encounter that renders him conscious, he resolves to protest by starving to death. A confessional with priest Father Dominic Moran (Cunningham), captured in a bravura, 22-minute, single take conversation, poses difficult questions about the nature of sacrifice. “Putting my life on the line is not just the only thing I can do, it’s the right thing,” responds the prisoner defiantly. Hunger is a breathtaking, impressionistic portrait of a time in history when ten men effectively declared war on their bodies as the ultimate act of defiance against the Thatcher government.

It’s an immersive and disorienting piece of cinema, awash with haunting images, like the anguish of an inexperienced riot officer crying his eyes out to beg forgiveness for his part in the brutality. Fassbender is mesmerising, literally wasting away before our tear-filled eyes until every rib threatens to tear through his translucent, ulcerous skin. Violence begets more violence and nobody emerges from the melee with a clear conscience.
DVD Extras: “Making Of” featurette.
Rating: *****

Charlie Bartlett (Cert 15, 92 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Comedy/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99)

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Kat Dennings, Robert Downey Jr, Hope Davis, Tyler Hilton.
Deeply troubled teenager Charlie Bartlett (Yelchin) has no paternal influence to guide him (the old man is in prison for tax evasion) and a wealthy mother (Davis) who spends entire days in a drug-induced haze. Craving affection and attention, Charlie rebels against authority at his high school. At first, he is a prime target for bully Murphy Bivens (Hilton) but the new boy soon realises he can turn his outsider status to his advantage, doling out second-hand psychiatric advice and psychotropic drugs to fellow students from his ’office’ in a cubicle of the boys’ toilets. Charlie’s popularity soars and he woos classmate Susan (Dennings), whose father is Principal Gardner (Downey Jr). However, when the covert counselling service inspires students to rebel against Gardner and his edicts, the youngster realises he may have gone too far. Charlie Bartlett is a timely rites of passage story, sweetening the bitter pill of the laconic hero’s journey of self-discovery (“My family has a psychiatrist on call. How normal can that be?”) with droll humour and tender romance. Jon Poll’s film recalls Ferris Bueller’s Day Off but screenwriter Gustin Nash’s peculiar perspective on life sets this teen misfit apart from the self-absorbed crowd. Yelchin delivers a winning lead performance as the loner in charge of his own destiny. He forges wonderful screen chemistry with Downey Jr whose tour de force portrayal of a self-loathing alcoholic tugs the heartstrings. Beautifully scripted scenes, in which the two actors bare their characters’ damaged souls, are deeply moving.
DVD Extras:

Director and actors commentary, “Restroom Confessional” featurette, Spiral Beach “Voodoo” music video.
Rating: ****

Move over DVD: your time is up. The winner of the fairly quiet format war fought over the past couple of years is Blu-Ray, and these discs are coming to a High Definition screen near you. Well, if you get your hands on a player that is.

This new generation of player uses a blue laser to read and write data on to discs. For pub quiz devotees, it’s because this colour laser uses a shorter wavelength so more data can be packed in.

In addition to stunning image quality and superb sound, the extra storage space allows special features such as interactive games, director’s commentary and unseen scenes.
Here’s our choice of six, for a visual feast!

Great Gaming – Sony PS3 – £299.99 from Comet
This next-generation gaming console offers truly amazing picture quality and exceptional audio to really immerse you in the action.

Packed with a decent Blu-Ray player, and the ability to improve the on-screen quality of regular DVD discs, this a very clever box.

And we didn’t even mention that it features WiFi and a whopping 80GB memory to store all kinds of data inside?

Budget Box – Samsung BDP1500 – £139.95

One here, perhaps, to suit the Blu-Ray sceptics’ budget or for those so entranced by their new-found footage they need a second machine.

Delivering an all-round impressive performance, the Samsung might have been around a little longer but certainly hasn’t gathered any dust.

Slim Fit – Panasonic DMP-BD35 – £249.99 from Comet

Since its arrival on the Blu-Ray scene this player has been applauded by the pundits for being both slimmer than its bulkier stablemates while retaining the impressive feature set.

It contains BD-Live, enabling you can connect to the internet and download data such as images, subtitles and bonus content linked to specific Blu-Ray discs. Even more for your money.

Portable Player – Sony Vaio VGN-FW35X – from £1035.94 at www.sonystyle.co.uk
It costs a wallet-weary amount in comparison to the other players on parade, but this 16.4 inch screen machine also boasts high spec computing prowess.

A 128GB flash memory means this all-rounder is ideal those on the move who take their entertainment seriously.

Picture Perfect – Denon DVD-2500BT – £599.95 from www.richersounds.com
Currently courted by some of the UK’s leading audio/visual experts, this Denon will make a serious dent in your finances. But rest assured, you will be investing in a serious bit of kit of near-off-the-scale superiority.

The look of this machine matches its price tag, giving you plenty of pleasure before you even turn on the TV. A wonderful assault on the senses.

Silly Money – Goldmund 20BD – £8000 from www.goldmund.com
For this eye-watering amount of money, you could have yourself a very respectable saloon car with change left over for a family break.

Still, then you would be missing out on super high tech features – like Magnetic Dampers and an AC-Curator power supply circuit – with no idea what to do with them.

An expletive-laden rant by Christian Bale on the set of Terminator: Salvation was dismissed as “just a moment that passed” by the film’s assistant director.

Bruce Franklin told US entertainment channel E! News that the four-letter tirade was the result of Bale being distracted during an emotional scene.

Clips of the British actor shouting at the movie’s director of photography have been circulating on websites.

Burn After Reading (Cert 15, 92 mins, Universal Pictures UK, Comedy/Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: George Clooney, Richard Jenkins, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, JK Simmons, Tilda Swinton.

CIA agent Osbourne Cox (Malkovich) loses his job and decides to bide his time, when he’s not drinking, by penning his memoirs.

An electronic copy of the manuscript ends up in the possession of gym employee Chad Feldheimer (Pitt) and co-worker Linda Litzke (McDormand), who attempt to blackmail Osbourne.
Unfortunately, the former agent refuses to accede to their demands so Chad and Linda head to the Russian embassy, intent on selling Osbourne’s insider secrets to the enemy.

Meanwhile, Osbourne’s hard-nosed wife Katie (Swinton) revels in an extra-marital affair with serial womaniser Harry Pfarrer (Clooney), who has also begun dating Linda.

Unbeknownst to all of them, the CIA is monitoring every twist and turn.

After the nerve-racking tension of the Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men, writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen return to comedic territory with this pithy tale of espionage and infidelity.
Burn After Reading is peppered with colourful characters we love and loathe in equal measure.
Malkovich relishes his role as a hard-drinking curmudgeon, who cannot believe the incompetence of his would-be blackmailers.

Clooney essays another charming oddball, while Pitt steals every scene.
Whether Chad is dancing goofily to music from his MP3 player or attempting to conceal his identity on the telephone by adopting a risible, raspy voice, we cannot help but chuckle at his comical misadventures.
The unlikely double-act with McDormand’s cosmetic surgery-obsessed spinster is a joy to behold.
Not classic Coen brothers fare but there are enough flashes of insanity and brilliance here to keep us smirking for almost the entire 92 minutes.

DVD Extras: none stated.

Rating: ****

Taken (Cert 18, 89 mins, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Action/Thriller, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £28.99)

Starring: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Olivier Rabourdin, Katie Cassidy, Xander Berkeley, Holly Valance.

Former government operative Bryan Mills (Neeson) has turned his back on top-secret missions to work bodyguard detail instead for vulnerable celebrities.
Hoping to rebuild bridges with his spoilt, 17-year-old daughter Kim (Grace), Bryan reluctantly bows to pressure from ex-wife Lenore (Janssen) to allow the girl to visit Paris with best friend Amanda (Cassidy).
Midway through a telephone call to Kim, to check the girls have arrived safely, Bryan’s worst fears are confirmed.

Albanian thugs break into the girls’ city centre apartment and drag away Amanda and Kim while Bryan listens across the Atlantic.
Boarding the next available flight, the former operative seeks out old contact Jean Claude (Rabourdin) who impresses upon Bryan the severity of his mission: “You have a 96 hour window from when she was grabbed.to never finding her.

” Taken puts the pedal to the metal from the moment the girls are snatched, barely pausing for breath as Bryan wreaks havoc in the French capital, leaping through gaping plot holes against a backdrop of the Champs-Elysees and the Seine, where a climactic night-time boat trip goes overboard on wanton bloodshed.
Neeson is an unlikely choice for Pierre Morel’s adrenaline-pumping action thriller.
He is imposing in the thuggish and somewhat two-dimensional lead role, bludgeoning anyone or anything that dares to get in his way, including common sense.

Action set pieces are well choreographed including a breakneck car chase and some bone-crunching fist fights that recall Jason Bourne’s recent forays for ferocity and slick editing.
The skirmishes ultimately become rather repetitive, without any droll humour to leaven the relentless brutality.

DVD Extras: “Making Of ” featurette, “The Premier Launch” featurette, Inside Action segments (Peter Dies, Bryan Escapes Construction Site, Good Luck, The Interrogation, Bryan At St Clair’s, Boat Fight); Blu-ray: “Making Of ” featurette, “The Premier Launch” featurette, Inside Action segments (Peter Dies, Bryan Escapes Construction Site, Good Luck, The Interrogation, Bryan At St Clair’s, Boat Fight), Real Time Mission Intelligence BONUSVIEW mode.

Rating: ***

Nights In Rodanthe (Cert PG, 93 mins, Warner Home Video, Romance/Drama, also available to buy DVD £15.99/Blu-ray £26.99)

Starring: Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Viola Davis, Scott Glenn, Christopher Meloni, Mae Whitman, James Franco.

With her marriage in freefall, Adrienne Willis (Lane) takes time out from her wayward husband (Meloni) and resentful, teenage daughter (Whitman) to spend a weekend in the North Carolina coastal community of Rodanthe, looking after the beachside inn run by her good friend, Jean (Davis).
Only one guest has booked in for the weekend so Adrienne should have lots of time to contemplate her future.

The promise of peace and quiet is short-lived with the arrival of the inn’s solitary guest, Dr Paul Flanner (Gere), who has unfinished business with local resident Robert Torrelson (Glenn).
As a storm descends on Rodanthe and rocks Jean’s guesthouse to its foundations, Adrienne and Paul cling to one another for emotional and physical comfort, sparking a passionate dalliance that will change the course of their lives forever.

Adapted from the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook), Nights In Rodanthe is a slushy romance about two lost souls gifted a second chance at love.
Comparisons to The Bridges Of Madison County are inevitable but George C Wolfe’s love-in possesses none of that picture’s deep, emotional resonance, shamelessly tugging the heartstrings with its contrived tale of chance encounters.

Lane and Gere look beautifully windswept against the picture postcard locations, while Glenn delivers a memorable supporting turn as a husband scarred by grief.
James Franco is wasted in a minor role as Flanner’s son, who bathes in the glow of his old man’s newfound lust for life.

There’s an inevitability to the tears of the final act, accomplished with surprisingly little fanfare.

DVD Extras: none stated.

Rating: ***

The House Bunny (Cert 12, 93 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Comedy/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Starring: Anna Faris, Emma Stone, Colin Hanks, Dana Goodman, Katharine McPhee, Rumer Willis, Kiely Williams, Kat Dennings, Kimberly Makkouk, Monet Mazur.

Playboy bunny Shelley Darlingson (Faris) is one of the most popular residents at Hugh Hefner’s mansion, winning the affections of all the other girls – except jealous rival Cassandra (Mazur), who schemes to get rid of Shelley so she can take her place at Hef’s side.

Made to believe that Hugh no longer requires her services, Shelley tearfully heads into the great unknown and lands a position as house mother to the Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority, which is threatened with closure unless it can attract 30 pledges by the end of the semester.

So Shelley inspires the dowdy house residents – Carrie Mae (Goodman), Harmony (McPhee), Joanne (Willis), Lilly (Williams), Mona (Dennings), Natalie (Stone) and Tanya (Makkouk) – to pull out all the stops to ensure Zeta Alpha Zeta doesn’t fall to the bulldozers.

Blessed with a tour-de-force performance from Faris, The House Bunny is a guilty pleasure – a harmless piece of comic fluff that tickles our fancy despite myriad, glaring shortcomings.

Screenwriters Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith’s use Legally Blonde as a framework for the ditzy heroine’s metamorphosis, even copying the grandstand finale, which falls a little flat here.
Director Fred Wolf relies on musical montages such as that old chestnut, the makeover, to pad out the running time.

Yet, whenever the leading lady totters merrily into shot on outrageously high heels, we can’t help but smile, falling head over heels in love with her bona fide innocent, who believes that “the eyes are the nipples of the face!” Now you know ladies!

DVD Extras: 12 behind the scenes featurettes (”House Bunny Style” “The Girls Of Zeta”, “Calendar Girls”, “Anna Faris: House Mom”, “The Girls Upstairs”, “Colin Hanks: Mr Nice Guy”, “House Bunny Memories”, “From Tour Bus To Trailer: Tyson Ritter”, “From Song To Set: Katherine McPhee”, “Look Who Dropped By”, “Zetas Transformed”, “Getting Ready For A Party”), Katherine McPhee “I Know What Boys Like” music video.

Rating: ***

The Escapist (Cert 15, 97 mins, Contender Home Entertainment, Thriller/Drama/Action, also available to buy DVD £15.99)

Starring: Brian Cox, Dominic Cooper, Liam Cunningham, Joseph Fiennes, Seu Jorge, Damian Lewis.

Frank Perry (Cox) is a lifer content to spend the rest of his days behind bars as punishment for his sins.
An unexpected piece of correspondence from his wife shocks Frank back to life.

“My first letter in 14 years telling me our little girl’s a junkie, her heart stopped twice.

“he confides in trusted friend Brodie (Cunningham).
“I’ve got to see her, I’ve got to make things right.
” So the lifer concocts a plan to break through the panelling at the back of the chapel confessional then descend into the bowels of the building, out-running the guards in the dark.
Brodie agrees to help and Frank enlists the services of bruiser Lenny (Fiennes), cellblock drug dealer Viv (Jorge) and new boy James (Cooper), who have vital roles to play if the group is to stay under the radar of effete top dog Rizza (Lewis) and his goons.

The Escapist is a prison break thriller that breathes new life into the well-worn genre.
Director Rupert Wyatt and co-writer Daniel Hardy have a narrative ace up their sleeve that they confidently play in the film’s dying moments.

It’s a daring though ultimately disappointing final flourish.
Director of photography Philipp Blaubach employs different colour palettes to distinguish between timeframes: cold grey/blue for the break out and a jaundiced tinge for flashbacks.
Cox brings a brooding intensity to his role but other members of the escape team aren’t sketched in any detail.

Fiennes in particular should be sent down for a woeful accent.

DVD Extras: Director and actor commentary, “The Making Of The Escapist” featurette, behind the scenes featurette, storyboard comparison, theatrical trailer.

Rating: ***

Blu-Ray RETAIL TOP 10

* Hancock
* Wanted
* Dark Knight
* Wall-E
* Hellboy 2 – The Golden Army
* Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
* Iron Man
* Kung Fu Panda
* Tropic Thunder
* There Will Be Blood

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

David Fincher pulls off an almost unfilmable F. Scott Fitzgerald novella about a man who ages backwards, from old age to infancy. Brad Pitt and the effects guys work magic here.

Doubt

What happened between the boy and the priest in the rectory? ’s movie of his own play will keep you second-guessing. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep head the cast.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Woody Allen’s best in years. Honest! Scarlett Johansson gets in bed with Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz. Rebecca Hall wonders if she’s jealous.

Bolt

Dynamic doggie derring do with a star mutt on the loose and learning to disbelieve his own publicity.

The Good, the Bad and the Weird

Cult action heroics from South Korea – and maybe the best title of the year.

8th The BAFTAs

13th

Friday the 13th

20th

Che: Part Two

Benicio Del Toro takes the Revolution to Bolivia. The concluding part of Soderbergh’s diptych is no advertisement for armed struggle.

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Clint Eastwood’s last hurrah? Dirty Harry makes peace with his Southeast Asian neighbours and his reputation in this amusingly gruff and grumpy thriller.

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Franklyn

22nd The Oscars

27th

The Class

Last year’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner. A naturalistic schoolroom drama from Laurent Cantet (Time Out).

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The International

Postponed from last year. Clive Owen stars as James B, sorry, as Louis Salinger, an Interpol agent trying to expose arms dealing skullduggery. Naomi Watts costars, Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) directs.

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Hamlet 2

Steve Coogan gets a rare leading role as a frustrated actor-playwright fired from his gig teaching drama to high school students when details of his latest production leak out.

MARCH

6th

Watchmen

Maybe the year’s most anticipated movie, though whether Zack “300″ Snyder is the right man to bring Alan Moore’s legendary comic book to the screen remains to be seen. At least he’s not Frank Miller. Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, and Carla Gugino pull double duty. Meanwhile the lawyers are trying to sort out rights issues in time for the release.

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Wendy & Lucy

Michelle Williams holds the screen in this authentic US neo-realist drama about a woman on the edge of dropping off the map. Lucy is her dog. Directed by Kelly Reichardt (Old Joy).

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The Young Victoria

Emily Blunt gets her best role yet in what promises to be a very different costume drama, written by Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) and directed by Jean Marc Vallee (CRAZY).

20th

Duplicity

Clive Owen and Julia Roberts star a thriller from Tony “Michael Clayton” Gilroy. The impressive supporting cast includes Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson. With no Bond or Bourne movies this year, Owen is stepping into the breach.

27th

The Damned United

APRIL

3rd

Il Divo

An exuberant dissection of the gnomic, ruthless Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti by the flashy Paolo Sorrentino. It’s like a Peter Morgan script crossed with The Sopranos and directed by Baz Luhrmann.

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The Lovely Bones

Peter Jackson’s take on Alice Sebold’s best-seller was rocked by the abrupt departure of Ryan Gosling, to be replaced by Mark Wahlberg (!). Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Saorise Ronan stayed.

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Monsters vs Aliens

The latest Dreamworks animation pits alien invaders against comical earth monsters. Expect plenty of pop culture references, puns and product placement.

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Ponyo on a Cliff

We anticipate an altogether purer form of animation from Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away). A five year old boy meets a goldfish princess who wants to become human.

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The Wolf Man

The date may yet go back to autumn, but we’re so looking forward to this one, we’re hoping for sooner not later. Benicio Del Toro steps in Oliver Reed’s paw prints. Emily Blunt is the scream queen, and Joe Johnston calls the shots.

A group of pampered movie stars are dropped deep into the Vietnamese jungle in a bid for action movie authenticity. However, slapstick tragedy strikes, leaving the molly-coddled thesps to fend for themselves, away from the comfort of their agents and personal trainers, as an unseen enemy closes in.

Quantum of Solace

Quantum Of Solace continues the high octane adventures of James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Casino Royale.

Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (Judi Dench) interrogate Mr White (Jesper Christensen) who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organisation.

On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world’s most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio). Using his associates in the organisation, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.

In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene’s sinister plan and stop his organisation.

Buy Quantum of Solace now on Blu-Ray, DVD

A collection of comedy titles, with 4 hero titles, new releases;

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan
Pineapple Express
House Bunny
Step Brothers

Death Race (Cert 15, 106 mins, Universal Pictures UK, Action, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)
Starring: Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Natalie Martinez, Ian McShane, Frederick Koehler, Jacob Vargas, Tyrese Gibson, Max Ryan, Justin Mader, Robert LaSardo, Robin Shou, Janaya Stephens.
Doting family man Jensen Ames (Statham) is framed for the slaying of his wife Suzy (Stephens) and sent to Terminal Island maximum-security prison, run by no-nonsense warden Hennessy (Allen). She presides over Death Race, a three-day showdown on the facility’s specially constructed course. Hennessy offers Ames his freedom if he agrees to race as the mythical masked driver Frankenstein against three-time champion Machine Gun Joe (Gibson), Pachenko (Ryan), Travis Colt (Mader), Grimm (LaSardo) and 14K (Shou). Ames reluctantly agrees and prepares for the big day behind the wheel of his Mustang V8 Fastback, aided by lead mechanic Coach (McShane), pit crew Lists (Koehler) and Gunner (Vargas), and sassy navigator Case (Martinez). Loosely based on a 1975 cult classic, Death Race is a non-stop assault on the senses, from the deafening soundtrack intensified with the sound of growling engines to Niven Howie’s hyperactive editing and writer-director Paul WS Anderson’s insatiable hunger for crash-bang-wallop destruction. Square-jawed hard man Statham is perfectly cast as the hero of the hour, a three-time speedway champion with an aversion to any emotion in his delivery of the admittedly clumsy dialogue. Oscar nominee Allen brings gravitas to her thankless role as the ice maiden who tells Ames, “foul language is an issue for me,” setting up an expletive-laden tirade later in the film when Hennessy’s plans fail. She spits out the film’s best line with relish – “Release the Dreadnought!” – but gets her comeuppance without any real fanfare. When the film screams out for a spectacular final flourish, Anderson opts for restraint.

DVD Extras: none stated. Rating: ***
Step Brothers (Cert 15, 101 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Comedy, also available to buy DVD £17.99/two-disc DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)
Starring: Will Ferrell, John C Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn.
Brennan (Ferrell) is 40-years-old going on 14. He still lives at home with his mother Nancy (Steenburgen) and openly nurtures resentment for his arrogant, younger brother Derek (Scott), whose perfect family includes a beautiful wife (Hahn) and two adorable children. During a medical convention, Nancy meets Robert (Jenkins), who has his own adult son at home – Dale (Reilly) – and the lonely fifty-somethings embark on a whirlwind romance. Wedding bells peel and Nancy excitedly moves in with her new husband, with a clearly unimpressed Brennan in tow. The new living arrangements pose a dilemma because Dale must share his bedroom. Sibling rivalry spirals out of control until the stepbrothers unexpectedly discover common ground: a shared hatred of Derek. Step Brothers is just as scatological, messy and puerile as Anchorman and Talladega Nights, and will therefore delight audiences who lapped up Ferrell’s buffoonery in those pictures. There’s undeniably a spark between the leads and their energy, riffing off one another, powers the film through its many lulls to a shameless feel good resolution. The biggest laugh in Adam McKay’s comedy of escalating sibling rivalry comes before the opening credits even roll. We are treated to one of George W Bush’s infamous turns of phrase, taken from a campaign speech in 2000 in Wisconsin, when he proudly declared, “Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.” This unintentional verbal faux pas surpasses anything in McKay and Ferrell’s screenplay, which is as gleefully mean-spirited as it is unnecessarily foul-mouthed.
DVD Extras: none stated; two-disc version: cast and crew commentaries, 3 featurettes, 6 deleted scenes, behind the scenes rehearsal footage, music video; Blu-ray: cast and crew commentaries, 3 featurettes, 6 deleted scenes, behind the scenes rehearsal footage, music video, “Boats And Hoes” music editor game.
Rating: **

RocknRolla (Cert 15, 109 mins, Warner Home Video, Thriller/Action/Comedy/Romance, also available to buy DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £26.99)
Starring: Gerard Butler, Idris Elba, Mark Strong, Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkinson, Tom Hardy, Chris ’Ludacris’ Bridges, Jeremy Piven, Toby Kebbell, Karel Roden, Dragan Micanovic.
Ageing mobster Lenny Cole (Wilkinson) is keen to forge business ties with shady Russian billionaire Uri Obomavich (Roden). Unfortunately for Uri and his thuggish associate Victor (Micanovic), their investment money is half-inched as part of a get rich scheme orchestrated by sexy accountant Stella (Newton) and a pair of petty thieves, One Two (Butler) and Mumbles (Elba). Meanwhile, Lenny has problems of his own to retrieve a stolen masterpiece. He instructs right-hand man Archie (Strong) to find the precious canvas. Enquiries lead to American record producers Mickey (Bridges) and Roman (Piven) and eventually to supposedly dead rock star Johnny Quid (Kebbell). Three years after the disaster of Revolver, writer-director Guy Ritchie returns to the mean streets of London for this serpentine gangland thriller. RocknRolla is fleeting style and no substance, with a plot that quite literally goes round in circles. The film leans heavily on slow motion and the plot hangs together by a thread, with the stolen painting as a MacGuffin. Butler and Newton generate sparks of sexual tension, including a ridiculous dance floor seduction, but their characters don’t develop over the course of the film. Wilkinson could play his kingpin in his sleep. A minimalist sex scene of quickly edited sighs and groans, and a comical chase involving indestructible Russian goons, finally picks up the slackened pace. Regrettably, the film ends with a whimper rather than a bang and the very real threat of a sequel as end credits disclose that surviving characters “will be back in The Real RocknRolla”.
DVD Extras: Director commentary, “Guy’s Town” featurette, deleted scenes; Blu-ray: director commentary, “Guy’s Town” featurette, “Blokes, Birds And Backhanders: Inside RocknRolla” featurette, deleted scenes, free digital copy of the film.
Rating: **

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