DVD Monthly

Welcome to DVD Monthly’s new look website, we hope you like it!

There’s still all the stuff we had before, including the forum, where you can chat to like-minded home entertainment enthusiasts, as well as subscription information and info on the magazine team etc. However, now we have plenty more for you to enjoy, including our new look reviews section, where you can take a look at what we had to say, and then add your own rating out of 10 and even write you own review.

We’ll be keeping you up to date with DVD and Blu-ray related news stories, you can check out the latest previews in Trailer Park, or come and have a look at the blog, where members of the DVD Monthly team will come to warble on about anything that comes into their minds!

We hope you like the new site, and let us now your thoughts!

Tim Isaac, Editor

Reviewer: Jordan Brown
Issue 101 March 2008

(3 votes, average: 6.33 out of 10)

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He no nuts, he’s crazy!

The Lowdown: A bright-eyed and inquisitive lad, young Indiana Jones spends his childhood exploring the world, rubbing shoulders with some of history’s most important figures and getting into the odd scrape. After all, it takes a bit of work to become the world’s most beloved whip-cracking, relic-hunting explorer.

Review: With Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of the Crystal Skull due out this year, it’s hardly a coincidence that George Lucas has finally released the early exploits of the archaeologist adventurer on DVD. However, if you’re expecting the first season of Indy’s early adventures, you’ll be in for a surprise.

Upon first airing, the series’ timeline was all over the shop. With Indy as a headstrong teen in one episode and a pre-pubescent kid in the next, it was a tad confusing to say the least. Luckily the problem has been sorted for the DVD release as Lucas has put the episodes in chronological order and tacked them together into feature-length TV movies.

While this sounds like a top idea, unfortunately it means that the gist of this first set is from the viewpoint of an eight-year-old boy. While utterly entertaining and informative to boot, it means that, until you get to the episodes featuring the adolescent Jones, there’s little action to be found. It means that fans of the rough and ready Indy that we all know and love may be a little disappointed.

Still, the focus here is on having fun while learning and in that respect, the mammoth 12-disc box set delivers in droves. With a heap of historical featurettes for each film and the likes of Liz Hurley and Max Von Sydow showing up to help tutor the young explorer, education has never been this much fun.

FILM: 8 EXTRAS: 8

DVD Info:
Certificate: 12
Release Date: February 25th
Starring: Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flannery, George Hall, Lloyd Owen, Max Von Sydow, Elizabeth Hurley
Directed By: Various, 1992-1996
Distributor: Paramount
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Visuals: 4:3 Fullscreen
Running Time: 649 mins
Price:            £44.99
Film supplied by:  Shine Communications

Special Features:
Historical Series Overview
39 Historical Featurettes
Interactive Game
Interactive Timeline

Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 101 March 2008

(1 votes, average: 8 out of 10)

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Wiretap Scars.

The Lowdown: After three series concentrating on the Avon Barksdale/Stringer Bell narcotics empire, Season 4 changes tack with the introduction of a new drug gang muscling in on the newly vacant territory. On top of that we meet adolescents Michael, Namond, Randy and Dukie, who struggle to get a foothold in deprivation-saturated Baltimore. 

Review: Critically acclaimed cop drama The Wire began its fifth series Stateside in January, and this newly released Season 4 box set lets you play catch up and get up to speed with the dealings over in West Baltimore. The Wire has long been regarded as one of the most criminally ignored masterpieces in television, but no amount of superlative-filled column inches seems to be able to redress the balance. Cop dramas don’t get much subtler than The Wire, and people seem daunted by its understated approach. Fortunately, with crime-writers like Richard Price and Dennis Lehane joining George Pelecanos and the other regular staffers for this series, the scripts are still top notch.

The show has often been panned for its underwhelming DVD releases, and Season 4 endeavours to redress the balance with more cast and crew audio commentaries than ever, and an interesting two-part HBO documentary that was screened as ‘It’s All Connected’ and ‘The Game Is Real’. Bizarrely, alongside the glowing testimonies of cast and crew there are also baffling but effusive contributions from cult bad-taste filmmaker John Waters (!), a Baltimore resident who marvels at the show’s quality. It may not be the mouth-watering DVD package that anxious fans were hoping for, but these respectable extras complement the series just fine. The Wire – Season 4 is a new beginning of sorts after the rise and fall of the Barksdale/Bell drug empire that dominated the first three seasons. Regardless, cop dramas (or any other dramas for that matter), don’t come much more intelligent than this. Impressive stuff.    
 

FILM: 8 EXTRAS: 7

DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: Dominic West, Aidan Gillen, Lance Reddick, Wendell Pierce
Directed By: Various, 2006
Distributor: HBO
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 4:3 Fullscreen
Running Time: 643mins
Price:            £39.99
Film supplied by: Premier PR

Special Features:
Episode Selection
Audio Commentaries With Cast & Crew On Episodes ‘Boys Of Summer’, ‘Refugees’, ‘Margin Of Error’, ‘A New Day’, ‘That’s Got His Own’ & ‘Final Grades’
‘It’s All Connected’ & ‘The Game Is Real’ Two-Part Documentary

Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 101 March 2008

(1 votes, average: 6 out of 10)

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A get rich quick scheme with a difference!

The Lowdown: The Malloys have spent their lives roaming the country, pulling scams with a travelling band of modern gypsies. Dahlia’s two-year imprisonment prompts a midlife crisis in Wayne, but upon her release they are presented with a golden opportunity to ‘steal the American dream’ and leave their grubby existence behind them…

Review: Star/executive producer Izzard has dabbled in acting for years, only coming to prominence in America recently with his superfluous stints alongside the swollen casts of Ocean’s 12/Ocean’s 13. The Riches gives Izzard something much meatier to sink his teeth into, and he impresses as Malloy patriarch Wayne, an inventive conman who has married into one of the most dangerous travelling families in the Deep South. Anyone expecting Izzard to play for laughs will be disappointed, but (ropey transatlantic accent aside) Wayne is a plausible, involving central character. Similarly impressive is Minnie Driver as Dahlia, his half-feral ex-jailbird wife who finds herself struggling to shake off her prison-fuelled substance addiction. After a tragic car accident the Malloy clan assume the identities of the deceased Riches, an affluent family who are preparing to move into a gated community in Louisiana. The ensuing drama comes from their scam-happy attempts to integrate themselves into polite society, whilst Dahlia’s vicious cousin Dale tries to hunt them down to reclaim some stolen loot. 

The special features are slightly underwhelming with only the two audio commentaries offering anything of interest. The ‘webisodes’ are pleasant but insubstantial, and the Fox Channel featurettes are unnecessarily brisk. The Riches has rubbed up against the TV schedules and let loose an invigorating gypsy stink-burp. It may be a well-acted, enticing new offering, but it struggles to rise above the cream of the TV crop. It’s good, but maybe not good enough…

FILM: 6 EXTRAS: 5

DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: Eddie Izzard, Minnie Driver, Noel Fisher, Shannon Marie Woodward
Directed By: Various, 2007
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 641mins
Price:            £34.99
Film supplied by: Taylor Herring

Special Features:
Episode Selection
Audio Commentaries On Episodes ‘Pilot’ & ‘Waiting For Dogot’ With Eddie Izzard & Creator Dmitry Lipkin
9 x Webisodes
‘Fox Movie Channel Presents ‘Casting Session’’ Featurette
‘Fox Movie Channel Presents ‘World Premiere’’ Featurette
Gag Reel

Reviewer: Jordan Brown
Issue 101 March 2008

(2 votes, average: 6 out of 10)

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Great (Michael) Scott!

The Lowdown: Despite corporate threats of downsizing, Michael Scott continues to run the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin into the ground. As the team struggles to keep the branch from closing, Michael ‘helps’ matters by hooking up with his boss and accidentally grilling his foot. Welcome back to The Office.

Review: It’s all too easy to go dismissing the American version of The Office as a shameless imitation of Ricky Gervais and Steven Merchant’s series. After all, there’s no denying the Yanks brazenly pilfered our gags and repeated them verbatim for the first series. For the second year though, they’ve got their own jokes and situations. Combine that with superb performances and a solidly hilarious script and you’ve got one of the most entertaining shows around.

Michael Scott is no longer the second-rate David Brent we saw in the first series, while Dwight’s borderline insanity has seen him emerge a totally different animal to his British counterpart, Gareth. On top of that, they’ve fleshed out the minor characters enough to ensure that the comedy never lags throughout the course of the 22 episodes. From Dwight’s geeky relationship with the highly-strung Angela to Michael trying to spit in Dwight’s mouth during a fight, the American Office has become a very, very funny series indeed.

Mirroring the effort that has been put into the feature itself, there’s also a ton of quality extras on board. On top of some fake public service announcements and a heap of deleted scenes, the cast and crew have provided some chucklesome and insightful commentaries for a bunch of episodes. It rounds off a box set that just begs to be watched. If you felt the series blew its chance the first time around, now is the time to give it another shot – you won’t be sorry.

FILM: 8 EXTRAS: 8

DVD Info:
Certificate: 12
Starring: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer, John Krasinski, B.J. Novak
Directed By: Various, 2005-2006
Distributor: Universal
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 457 mins
Price: £29.99
Film supplied by: Ocean Media

Special Features:
Episode Selection
Audio Commentary on Nine Episodes With Cast And Crew
‘The Office: The Accountants’ Webisodes
Blooper Reel
Fake PSAs
Olympics Promos
‘Steve On Steve’ Featurette
‘The Faces Of Scranton’ Short Film
Deleted Scenes

Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 101 March 2008

(1 votes, average: 7 out of 10)

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Spit or swallow?

The Lowdown: 1984 saw the first ever appearance of ITV’s legendary rubber puppet comedy spoof, Spitting Image, a long-running satire that gleefully skewered the leading lights of the British political scene and the monarchy for 12 years. This two-disc box set gathers together the complete first series for your viewing pleasure.

Review: The scathing rubberized machinations of Spitting Image are a fondly remembered part of the comedy landscape, and this timely DVD reissue (ahead of a rumoured new series) gives comedy connoisseurs a chance to reassess the show’s latex charms. As fans will likely concur, the show tailed off noticeably towards the end of its 12-year stretch, when most of its regular political targets had long since retired. It is interesting, then, to sample the show’s early days for a glimpse of how it all began. However, it soon becomes clear that to fully enjoy this particular series you need a functional knowledge of 1980s British politics, especially as some of the sketches refer to things that might have only been relevant for a week or two – which isn’t ideal for new viewers who find themselves tempted to dip into this comedy classic.

Many of the characters and references left me, for one, utterly flummoxed. Nevertheless, despite a cloudy understanding of the old political climate it is still easy to appreciate the show’s satirical charge. Although this debut series is casually scathing, the show’s most vicious, hilarious years were yet to come. Nevertheless, with amusing attacks on Margaret Thatcher and her creepy cabinet, and an ongoing skit concerning an easily confused Ronald Reagan (and his missing brain) in which the former US president has two buttons next to his bed, ‘Nurse’ and ‘Nuke’, there is still much to enjoy. Comedy fans will also enjoy checking out the early vocal work of Chris Barrie and Harry Enfield, and the scripts of Ian Hislop and Richard Curtis. No extras, but a decent enough trip down memory lane.

FILM: 6 EXTRAS: 1

DVD Info:
Certificate: 12
Starring: (voices) Chris Barrie, Harry Enfield, John Sessions, Jon Glover
Directed By: Peter Harris, Philip Casson, Bob Cousins, 1984
Distributor: Network
Audio: Mono
Visuals: 4:3 Fullscreen
Running Time: 300mins
Price:            £19.99
Film supplied by: Network

Special Features:
Episode Selection

Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 101 March 2008

(1 votes, average: 6 out of 10)

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Masters of the TV universe? Not quite…

The Lowdown: This set of stand-alone sci-fi extravaganzas is a futuristic attempt to replicate the success of last year’s impressive, star-studded ‘Masters of Horror’ collection. Unfortunately, these stories about anthropoids, aliens, robotic droids and space refugees struggle to hit the spot, despite a wealth of acting talent…     

Review: Last year’s ‘Master’s of Horror’ collection was a surprisingly impressive treat, which saw a whole host of directorial luminaries take the reigns for a selection of dirty little shockers. The thought of a sci-fi equivalent inspired fervent anticipation, and it is unfortunate that despite a mouth-watering set of cast lists, Masters of Sci-Fi comes up seriously short. In comparison to the top-drawer line-up of Dario Argento, John Carpenter, Stuart Gordon and John Landis, this set of episodes is lumbered with a baffling selection of also-ran directors like Mark Rydell, Michael Petroni and Michael Tolkin, who all fall well short of the ‘Masters’ tag. The American viewing public voted with their remotes when the show aired on ABC last autumn, and it was ignominiously hauled off the air after just four episodes.

Sadly it is easy to see why ABC executives took this drastic move as most of these episodes fall regrettably short. Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes’ The Discarded (based on a story by Harlan Ellison) is one of the more interesting offerings and concerns a ship full of hideously deformed mutants who have been sentenced to drift in outer space for eternity, but the rest of the episodes seem amateurish in comparison. With this much acting talent at their disposal it is a shame that ABC couldn’t come up with anything more worthwhile and Terry O’Quinn and Malcolm McDowell are saddled with particularly uninspiring episodes. ABC, it seems, should have quit while it was ahead…

FILM: 4 EXTRAS: 1

DVD Info:
Certificate: 12
Starring: John Hurt, Anne Heche, Brian Dennehy, Malcolm McDowell
Directed By: Various, 2007
Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 2.35:1 Letterbox
Running Time: 250mins
Price:            £19.99
Film supplied by: The Associates

Special Features:
Episode Selection
Scene Selection

Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 101 March 2008

(No Ratings Yet)

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The needle and the damage done.

The Lowdown: Ana developed HIV 11 years ago after shooting drugs with her long-term boyfriend Slick. Now, after turning her back on her squalid past, Ana devotes her energies to ‘Life Support’, an AIDS outreach group that hopes to educate the African-American community about the dangers of sex and drugs.

Review: In Life Support, Queen Latifah delivers a Golden Globe winning performance as Ana, a character based on writer/director Nelson George’s activist sister, Andrea Williams. Noted cultural commentator George is best known for his music writing and documentary filmmaking, and once again applies his personal touch to the proceedings. During its early stages, Life Support is almost documentary-like in its approach, with a succession of ‘talking head’ style admissions from those involved in the AIDS awareness programme. However, as soon as it finds its feet, it hits the spot with some poignant, sincere, TV-shaped melodrama. It may have missed the target as part of Sundance’s closing night selection last year, but I imagine it fared much better on HBO, a place where its dynamic seems far better suited.

Ana carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and arguably Queen Latifah carries this TV movie on her own shoulders. However, to give credit where credit is due, she is ably backed up in all quarters by a fine spread of talent. The Wire’s Wendell Pierce plays Ana’s equally combative husband Slick (the man whose casual approach to drug use originally led to the pair’s infection), Rachel Nicks plays Kelly, the embittered daughter that Ana was forced to give up and Evan Ross (the young son of soul superstar Diana Ross) gives an eye-catching performance as Amare, a virus-ravaged teenage street hustler. The smattering of special features are all very brisk, but at £7.99 Life Support offers an uncomfortable, affordable lesson that is well worth paying attention to. Uncompromising stuff.

FILM: 6 EXTRAS: 4

DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: Queen Latifah, Wendell Pierce, Rachel Nicks, Evan Ross
Directed By: Nelson George, 2007
Distributor: HBO Video
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 87mins
Price:            £7.99
Film supplied by: Premier PR

Special Features:
Scene Selection
‘More Support’ Deleted Scene
Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Nelson George
‘The Story Behind The Story’ Featurette
‘Interview With Andrea Williams – The Inspiration For Life Support’ Featurette
‘On-Set Video Diary With Writer/Director Nelson George’

Reviewer: Tim Isaac
Issue 101 March 2008

(No Ratings Yet)

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Killing in miniature.

The Lowdown: While Grissom is away, Keppler continues to work with the Vegas CSI squad,  although even in Sin City, he can’t escape his past. And while the crew thought they’d solved the miniature killer murders, Grissom’s return shows they thought it was the wrong person.

Review: We’re nearing the end of CSI as we know it. The show managed to keep all of its first season main cast through seven season, which is remarkably rare (neither ‘CSI: Miami’ nor ‘CSI: New York’ got past three years before cast changes). However Jorja Fox announced a few months back that she is leaving the show, and so except for the beginning of Season 8, she’ll be gone. What will Gil Grissom do without his girlfriend? We’ll just have to wait to find out.

We don’t have to worry about that yet, as she’s still around for Season 7. The first few episodes of the box set concentrate on Michael Keppler (Liev Schreiber) joining the team while Grissom is away. After his introduction at the very end of the first half of the season, there are three more episodes featuring Schreiber. In many ways it’s a shame about what happens in the last of those episodes, as he’s a surprisingly good fit for CSI. It’s always been difficult to see CSI working without William Petersen at the helm, but Schreiber shows that there can be life for the series without him, although there’s no doubt that if Petersen ever does decide to go, his loss would be a big blow to the series.

Towards the end of Season 7 they’re more concerned about finding the miniature killer. While they thought they’d got their man in Season 7, Part 1, it turns out things aren’t quite so simple. As always with crime dramas, things get personal when the killer decides to target Gil, which has dire consequences for Sara. While the structure of having the miniature killer as an ongoing case throughout the season means that occasionally the over the top twists of the case become jarring, it’s actually helped hold the season together overall. CSI is always in danger of seeming a bit random, especially as it’s a new case every week and there’s little ongoing story, but the miniature killer has generally worked well. It even lets the lab staff have their moment of glory when the main cast take a back seat in one episode while the lab rats do their best to bring something new to the miniature case.

While CSI box sets tend to be a bit hit or miss on the features front, this one is pretty good. There are three good audio commentaries with various members of the cast and production team (again it’s nice the recurring background cast have a chance to shine with the audio commentary for ‘Lab Rats’). There are also four featurettes, which while they’re fairly generic ‘making of…’ and retrospective fodder, are still worth a watch. Few shows can get to the end of their seventh season and still be this good, but with changes ahead, it’ll be interesting to see what happens in Season 8.

FILM: 8 EXTRAS: 6

DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger, Jorja Fox, George Eads, Gary Dourdan
Directed By: Various, 2007
Distributor: Momentum Pictures
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 500 mins
Price:            £34.99
Film supplied by: Cathy Beck Communications

Special Features:
Episode Selection
Audio Commentary On Episode ‘Law Of Gravity’ With Producer/Writer Carol Mendelsohn, Writer Richard Catalini And Director Richard Lewis
Audio Commentary On Episode ‘Lab Rats’ With Director Brad Tanenbaum, Writer Sarah Goldfinger, And Actors Wallace Langham, Jon Wellner, Liz Vassey, Sherri Rappaport and Archie Kao
Audio Commentary On Episode ‘Living Doll’ With Director Ken Fink and Writer Naren Shankar
‘The Real Crime Solvers’ Featurette
‘Smoke & Mirror: Direction’ Featurette
‘The Evolution Of CSI – Season 7’ Featurette
‘Miniature Murders’ Featurette

Reviewer: Jordan Brown
Issue 101 March 2008

(1 votes, average: 8 out of 10)

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Peaceful protest goes pear-shaped.

The Lowdown: Despite attempts to avoid bloodshed, an anti-internment march through Derry descends into carnage when British troops open fire on unarmed civilians. Prompting hundreds of young men to join the IRA, the day will forever be remembered as the catalyst for 25 years of conflict. January 30th, 1972 – Bloody Sunday.

Review: When a film deals with a subject as sensitive as the blood-drenched day that kicked off 25 years of violence, you can expect it to be met with controversy. With his leading man James Nesbitt getting death threats for his portrayal of Northern Irish MP Ivan Cooper, director Paul Greengrass can at least be certain that his uncompromising movie struck an emotional chord.

Receiving umpteen awards and nominations, Greengrass’ account of Derry’s dark Sunday garnered much-deserved critical praise upon its release back in 2002. Largely unbiased, the action follows peaceful protester Ivan Cooper as he attempts to rally locals in an anti-internment march. Despite his best efforts to keep the situation civilised, things take a nasty turn when British paratroopers open fire on the marchers for throwing rocks. As 13 are shot dead and another 13 wounded, the horrific situation sees Britain facing a future of IRA backlash.

Using natural lighting and handheld cameras, Bloody Sunday is a meticulous and astoundingly realistic representation of the events that transpired that fateful day. With award-winning performances, jaw-dropping visuals and extras that include a chat with Ivan Cooper himself, Bloody Sunday is a disc that boasts reality at its most heart-wrenchingly brutal. With the helmer’s bigger projects (The Bourne Ultimatum/Supremacy, United 93) casting a shadow over his lesser-known works, this emotive masterpiece is the sort of material that’s in danger of being forgotten about within a few years. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

FILM: 8 EXTRAS: 6

DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: James Nesbitt, Allan Gildea, Gerard Crossan
Directed By: Paul Greengrass, 2002
Distributor: Optimum
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Visuals: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 106 mins
Price:            £17.99
Film supplied by: Optimum

Special Features:
Scene Selection
Audio Commentary With Director Paul Greengrass and Star James Nesbitt
Audio Commentary With Eyewitness and Author Don Mullan
Cast & Crew Interview
Q&A Session
‘History Retold’ Featurette
‘Ivan Cooper Remembers’ Featurette