Shrek Forever After: The Final Chapter (2010) [DVD]
(Brand:DreamWorks Home Entertainment)
Shrek Forever After delivers laughs, life lessons, and a strikingpicture of the realities of parenthood in this surprisingly good,
fourth Shrek film. Like the original film, this fractured fairytale
works because of the humour--it pokes fun at the whole fairytale genre
on a multitude of intellectual levels while simultaneously offering
visual humour that's appealing to all ages. After a frantic flip
through a tongue-in-cheek fairytale book of the first three Shrek
films, the scene opens on a beaming Shrek and Fiona as they awaken to
a chorus of their noisy children standing at the foot of the bed, and
it follows them through a typically hectic day of feeding, diapering,
and caring for their children until they collapse into a satisfied
heap at the end of the day. One of the funniest bits in the film, at
least for adults, is how this scene repeats, faster and faster and in
smaller and smaller excerpts, until Shrek's look of bliss slowly turns
into a pained, midlife-crisis expression that screams "Help me, I'm
trapped in this domestic purgatory and there's no escape in sight." As
in any good fairytale, the protagonist's chance for escape comes in
the form of a deal with the devil, in this case Rumpelstiltskin.
Following in the footsteps of the classic film It's a Wonderful Life,
Shrek is granted the opportunity to spend a day in an alternate
reality in which he is the independent, terrifying ogre he once was.
Of course, the deal carries some very serious, unintended
consequences, and Shrek's day of freedom may just cost him Fiona, the
children, and even his very existence. Mike Meyers and Cameron Diaz
are once again stellar as the voices of Shrek and Fiona; Antonio
Banderas is still all swagger despite Puss-in-Boots' now-portly figure
and thoroughly domesticated ways; Eddie Murphy remains just as
hilarious as in the first film as Donkey, who in this story doesn't
recognize Shrek and can't fathom the possibility of a donkey and an
ogre becoming friends; and Walt Dohrn is an extremely effective
newcomer as the voice of Rumpelstiltskin. Other key players are the
Pied Piper, with his new, tricked-out flute; a mob of broom-riding,
jack-o'-lantern-throwing witches; an overgrown white goose; and a
whole resistance movement of ogres under the command of a most
unexpected leader. The battles are fierce and the lesson powerful:
learn to appreciate what you've got. While 3-D digital is always nice,
most viewers will completely forget that the film is in 3-D after the
initial scene, and it will view just as well in the traditional
format. --Tami Horiuchi...
Price: £9.00
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Sex And The City 2 [DVD]
(Brand:Warner Home Video)
Big budget sequel following the lives of four fashion-obsessedManhattan girlfriends as they navigate the uncharted waters of
marriage and motherhood. Although for Carrie Sarah Jessica Parker,
Samantha Kim Cattrall, Charlotte Kristin Davis and Miranda Cynthia
Nixon domesticity is turning out to be all theyd wished for, its not
long before the girls are yearning for something/anything to break the
routine. Luckily for them, a little spice, this time in the form of a
glamorously exotic adventure, proves to be just what the girls need to
recharge their batteries....
Price: £7.97
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How To Train Your Dragon [DVD]
(Brand:Dreamworks Home Entertainment)
A winning mixture of adventure, slapstick comedy, and friendship, Howto Train Your Dragon rivals Kung Fu Panda as the most engaging and
satisfying film DreamWorks Animation has produced. Hiccup (voice by
Jay Baruchel) is a failure as a Viking: skinny, inquisitive, and
inventive, he asks questions and tries out unsuccessful contraptions
when he's supposed to be fighting the dragons that attack his village.
His father, chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), has pretty much
given up on his teenage son and apprenticed him to blacksmith Gobber
(Craig Ferguson). Worse, Hiccup knows the village loser hasn't a
chance of impressing Astrid (America Ferrera), the girl of his dreams
and a formidable dragon fighter in her own right. When one of Hiccup's
inventions actually works, he hasn't the heart to kill the young
dragon he's brought down. He names it Toothless and befriends it,
although he's been taught to fear and loathe dragons. Co-directors and
co-writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, who made Disney's
delightful Lilo and Stitch, provide plenty of action, including
vertiginous flying sequences, but they balance the pyrotechnics with
moments of genuine warmth that make the viewer root for Hiccup's
success. Many DreamWorks films get laughs from sitcom one-liners and
topical pop culture references; as the humour in Dragon comes from the
characters' personalities, it feels less timely and more timeless.
Toothless chases the spot of sunlight reflected off Hiccup's hammer
like a giant cat with a laser pointer; Hiccup uses his newly found
knowledge (and an icky smoked eel) to defeat two small dragons--and
impress the other kids. How to Train Your Dragon will be just as
enjoyable 10 or 20 years from now as it is today. --Charles Solomon...
Price: £9.85
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John Bishop Live (with Digital Copy) [DVD]
(Brand:2 entertain)
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Price: £6.57
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Michael McIntyre - The Stand-Up Collection [DVD]
(Brand:Universal Pictures UK)
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Price: £7.99
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Nativity! [DVD]
(Brand:Entertainmentone)
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Price: £10.88
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Billy Connolly Live in London 2010 [DVD]
(Brand:Universal Pictures UK)
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Price: £7.99
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The Sorcerer's Apprentice [DVD] [2010]
(Brand:Walt Disney Home Entertainment)
Who doesn't wish they could unleash fire from their fingertips andmake mops come to life? The Sorcerer's Apprentice enjoyably captures
this fantasy as a young physics student named Dave (Jay Baruchel,
She's Out of My League) learns that he's the inheritor of the powers
of Merlin--and suddenly finds himself in the middle of a war between
two of Merlin's protégés, Balthazar (Nicolas Cage) and Horvath
(Alfred Molina, Spider-Man 2). The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a
special-effects blockbuster--but it's a pretty good one, not reaching
the charmed heights of Pirates of the Caribbean but so much better
than Prince of Persia. It runs out of air toward the end, but before
that it's jauntily entertaining, with capable dialogue, clever
curlicues of plot, and most importantly delightful performances: Cage
maintains a light touch, with enough eccentricity to be interesting
but not so much that it derails the momentum; Baruchel continues his
nerdy hero streak; supporting performances from Toby Kebbell
(RocknRolla) and Alice Krige (best known as the Borg Queen from Star
Trek) are comic and creepy respectively; Monica Bellucci (Shoot 'Em
Up) and Teresa Palmer (Bedtime Stories) are mostly eye-candy but
likable nonetheless; and Molina, as ever, is the best thing in the
movie, playing silky villainy with effortless aplomb. All in all, good
fun. --Bret Fetzer...
Price: £11.89
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Frankie Boyle Live 2: If I Could Reach Out Through Your TV and Strangle You I Would [DVD] [2010]
(Brand:Channel 4 DVD)
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Price: £5.99
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Kevin Bridges - The Story So Far...Live in Glasgow [DVD]
(Brand:Universal Pictures UK)
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Price: £6.93
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