![Review Cinema Club / Mom And Dad Save The World [1991]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DT1M7F3GL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Thalmus Rasulala
- Teri Garr
- Greg Beeman
- Wallace Shawn
- Jon Lovitz
- Jeffrey Jones
Run time: 87 min.
Creator: Ed Solomon
RRP: £5.99
Price: £0.74
Review Mom And Dad Save The World [1991] / Cinema Club:
Run time: 55 min.
Price: £7.99
Review Rainbow: Down On The Farm [1987] / Thames Video:
Run time: 57 min.
Price: £7.99
Review Rainbow: Goes Camping [1986] / Thames Video:
![Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Like Mike [2002]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NR589ZD2L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Jonathan Lipnicki
- Jesse Plemons
- Bow Wow
- Morris Chestnut
- Brenda Song
- John Schultz
Run time: 96 min.
Creator: Michael Elliot
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.50
Review Like Mike [2002] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:A modern-day fairy tale with a distinctly American feel, Like Mike is an engaging mixture of the old and the new that will play well with younger teenagers. At first sight this is a very modern piece of work and one aimed squarely at the US market, with its lead the teenage rap sensation Lil Bow Wow and the role of the NBA in the making of the film leading to the appearance of several basketball stars who will mean little beyond American shores. Many of the story's elements, however-from its orphanage setting to the fantasy elements and the triumph of the kids over the evil adults-are straight from the classic school of children's filmmaking. Rap stars moving into acting is nothing new, but Bow Wow would seem to have the makings of a real talent, even if he is largely playing himself here. Amidst the bright and breezy brashness of the story there are also touching moments, particularly the growing relationship between Bow Wow's Calvin and Morris Chestnut's grumpy Tracy and the desperation of the orphans to find a home, all handled well by director John Schultz. Like Mike could well have been inaccessible to audiences outside the US, but ended up as a universal tale of the underdog having his day. On the DVD: Like Mike puts the success of the movie in America firmly in context, giving some idea of just what a big deal Lil Bow Wow is in his own country. There are two behind-the-scenes documentaries, one a fairly standard series of talking heads interviews, the other a rough and ready and ultimately more revealing piece from the film's acting coach, complemented by Schultz's audio commentary. The director's aim to combine sports, music and cinema is well supported by the film's bold audio and visual style-also featured in the promo video for the title track, proof that Bow Wow is a natural a rapper as he is an actor. -Phil Udell.
Release date: 2003-04-07
Run time: 49 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £15.19
Review The Hoobs - Groove's Wish / Uca Catalogue:
![Review 4 Front Video / Paddington Bear - Please Look After This Bear / The Picture Of Paddington Brown / The Ghost Of Christmas Paddington [1975]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41W4G9T33KL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Joel Grey
- Michael Hordern
- Barry Leith
Run time: 52 min.
Creator: Renate Cole
RRP: £5.99
Price: £11.64
Review Paddington Bear - Please Look After This Bear / The Picture Of Paddington Brown / The Ghost Of Christmas Paddington [1975] / 4 Front Video:
Actors & Directors
- George Carlin
- Michael Brandon
- Ringo Starr
- Michael Angelis
- Alec Baldwin
Run time: 44 min.
Creator: Lindsey Dillion-Massey
RRP: £9.99
Price: £1.95
Review Thomas And Friends - Happy Little Helpers / 2 Entertain Video:
Run time: 23 min.
Creator: Phil Harnage
Price: £2.99
Review Where's Wally? - The Land Of The Carpet Flyers / Abbey Home Media:
Review Hanna Barbera Super Stars in Rompin' Romance / Hanna Barbera Home Video:
Actors & Directors
- Stephen Tompkinson
- Michael Kitchen
- Jenny Agutter
Run time: 27 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £4.99
Review Shakespeare - The Animated Tales - The Winter's Tale / S4c International:
Actors & Directors
- Jamisin Matthews
- David Rountree
- Britney Spears
Run time: 30 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £0.24
Review Britney Spears - Britney: The Videos / Sony Bmg:Not as definitive as its title suggests, Britney-The Videos is a bare 30 minutes long and contains only two actual promotional videos for singles "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know". The only other item of interest to anyone (other than the sort of Britney Spears obsessive who is but a short step from a restraining order) is the undeniably spectacular performance of "I'm a Slave 4 U" at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, during which a boa constrictor briefly became the most bitterly envied creature on planet earth. The rest of The Videos is naked hucksterism of which all involved should feel thoroughly ashamed. Apart from a rendition of soppy ballad "I'm a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" lifted from an Australian television programme, everything else is an advertisement for other products: Pepsi, a forthcoming HBO concert special and Spears' imminent movie debut. Someone is taking Britney fans for granted-and for mugs. -Andrew Mueller.
Run time: 57 min.
Price: £7.99
Review Rainbow: Goes Camping [1986] / Thames Video:
Actors & Directors
- Michael Brandon
- Ringo Starr
- Alec Baldwin
- Michael Angelis
- George Carlin
Run time: 48 min.
Creator: Lindsey Dillion-Massey
RRP: £9.99
Price: £7.56
Review Thomas The Tank Engine : The Fogman and Other Stories / 2 Entertain Video:
Run time: 55 min.
Price: £7.99
Review Rainbow: Down On The Farm [1987] / Thames Video:
![Review Cinema Club / Adventures In Babysitting [1987]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VJ27HRS2L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Elisabeth Shue
- Chris Columbus
- Calvin Levels
- Maia Brewton
- Anthony Rapp
- Keith Coogan
Run time: 98 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.77
Review Adventures In Babysitting [1987] / Cinema Club:
Actors & Directors
- John Beach
- Kerry Butler
- Robert Mandell
- Laura Dean
- Corinne Orr
- Bob Kaliban
Run time: 41 min.
Creator: Winnie Chaffee
Price: £2.99
Review Starla And The Jewel Riders - Jewel Quest Parts 1 And 2 / Carlton Visual Entertainment Ltd:
![Review ITV DVD / Bananas In Pyjamas - Topsy Turvy [2000]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510AKCHCDAL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Mary-Ann Henshaw
- Sandie Lillingston
- Ian Munro
- Ken Radley
- Duncan Wass
- Michael Ailwood
- Nicholas Opolski
Run time: 41 min.
Creator: Simon Hopkinson
RRP: £9.99
Price: £4.95
Review Bananas In Pyjamas - Topsy Turvy [2000] / ITV DVD:
Actors & Directors
- Jamisin Matthews
- Britney Spears
- David Rountree
Run time: 30 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £0.24
Review Britney Spears - Britney: The Videos / Sony Bmg:Not as definitive as its title suggests, Britney-The Videos is a bare 30 minutes long and contains only two actual promotional videos for singles "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know". The only other item of interest to anyone (other than the sort of Britney Spears obsessive who is but a short step from a restraining order) is the undeniably spectacular performance of "I'm a Slave 4 U" at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, during which a boa constrictor briefly became the most bitterly envied creature on planet earth. The rest of The Videos is naked hucksterism of which all involved should feel thoroughly ashamed. Apart from a rendition of soppy ballad "I'm a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" lifted from an Australian television programme, everything else is an advertisement for other products: Pepsi, a forthcoming HBO concert special and Spears' imminent movie debut. Someone is taking Britney fans for granted-and for mugs. -Andrew Mueller.
![Review ITV DVD / Oliver Twist [1948]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NCWKNR17L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Kay Walsh
- John Howard Davies
- Alec Guinness
- Francis L. Sullivan
- David Lean
- Robert Newton
Run time: 111 min.
Creator: Stanley Haynes
RRP: £5.99
Price: £4.93
Review Oliver Twist [1948] / ITV DVD:There have been many film and TV adaptations of Oliver Twist but this 1948 production from director David Lean remains the definitive screen interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic. From the ominous symbolism of its opening storm sequence (in which Oliver's pregnant, ill-fated mother struggles to reach shelter before childbirth) to the mob-scene climax that provokes Bill Sikes's dreadful comeuppance, this breathtaking black-and-white film remains loyal to Dickens while distilling the story into its purest cinematic essence. Every detail is perfect-Lean even includes a coffin-shaped snuffbox for the cruel Mr. Sowerberry-and as young Oliver, eight-year-old John Howard Davies (who would later produce Monty Python's Flying Circus for the BBC) perfectly expresses the orphan's boyish wonderment, stern determination and waifish vulnerability. Best of all is Alec Guinness as Fagin, so devious and yet so delightfully appealing under his beak-nosed (and, at the time, highly controversial) make-up. (Many complained that Fagin's huge nose and greedy demeanour presented an anti-Semitic stereotype, even though Lean never identifies Fagin as Jewish; for this reason, the film wasn't shown in the US until three years after its British release. ) Likewise, young Anthony Newley is artfully dodgy as Fagin's loyal accomplice, the Artful Dodger. Guinness's performance would later provide strong inspiration for Ron Moody's equally splendid portrayal of Fagin in the Oscar-winning Oliver! and while that 1968 musical remains wonderfully entertaining, it is Lean's film that hews closest to Dickens' vision. The authentic recreation of 19th-century London is marvellous to behold; Guy Green's cinematography is so shadowy and stylised that it almost qualifies as Dickensian film noir. Lean is surprisingly blunt in conveying Dickens's theme of cruelty but his film never loses sight of the warmth and humanity that Oliver embodies. [+]-Jeff Shannon An astonishingly good David Lean double-bill featuring his two Dickensian adaptations, Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948), this is a reminder that cinema does not necessarily have to debase its literary sources, sometimes it can enhance them. Lean's painterly eye for evocative locations-be they windswept marshes or bustling London streets-provides the backdrop, but his focus on smaller details-the ominous tree in the graveyard with its almost human face, the reaction of Bill Sikes' dog to Nancy's murder-adds the vital ingredient that brings both place and character to life. Starring a youthful John Mills as Pip, Lean's Great Expectations is an unadulterated delight, a serendipitous gelling of screenplay, direction, cinematography and acting that produces an almost perfect film. The cast is exemplary, with Alec Guinness in his first (official) role as Pip's loyal pal Herbert Pocket; Martita Hunt is a cadaverous Miss Havisham; Finlay Currie transforms himself from truly threatening to entirely sympathetic as Magwitch; while the young Jean Simmons makes more of an impact as the girl Estella than Valerie Hobson does as the older incarnation. Perhaps best of all, though, is Francis Sullivan as the pragmatic but kindly attorney Jaggers. The cinematography alone (courtesy of Guy Green) would qualify Oliver Twist as a classic: the opening sequence of a lone woman struggling through the storm is an indelible cinematic image. Fortunately, Lean's film has many more aces up its sleeve thereafter, notably Alec Guinness' grotesque Fagin-a caricature certainly, but a three-dimensional one-and Robert Newton's utterly pitiless Bill Sikes. The skewed angles and unsettling chiaroscuro lighting transform London itself into another threatening character. -Mark Walker.
![Review Electric Pictures / White Balloon [1995]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TR43RZ98L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy
- Jafar Panahi
- Mohammad Shahani
- Aida Mohammadkhani
- Anna Borkowska
- Mohsen Kafili
Run time: 81 min.
Creator: Abbas Kiarostami
Price: £15.99
Review White Balloon [1995] / Electric Pictures:
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Models & Brands:
Mom And Dad Save The World [1991], Rainbow: Down On The Farm [1987], Rainbow: Goes Camping [1986], Like Mike [2002], The Hoobs - Groove's Wish, Paddington Bear - Please Look After This Bear / The Picture Of Paddington Brown / The Ghost Of Christmas Paddington [1975], Thomas And Friends - Happy Little Helpers, Where's Wally? - The Land Of The Carpet Flyers, Hanna Barbera Super Stars in Rompin' Romance, Shakespeare - The Animated Tales - The Winter's Tale, Britney Spears - Britney: The Videos, Rainbow: Goes Camping [1986], Thomas The Tank Engine : The Fogman and Other Stories, Rainbow: Down On The Farm [1987], Adventures In Babysitting [1987], Starla And The Jewel Riders - Jewel Quest Parts 1 And 2, Bananas In Pyjamas - Topsy Turvy [2000], Britney Spears - Britney: The Videos, Oliver Twist [1948], White Balloon [1995] |
