James's DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews

Each week, LBC film critic James Hartigan picks out the best DVD release of the week. Read his reviews here.

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• Where the Wild Things Are (Blu-Ray/DVD)

  

  Spike Jonze's "creative, enchanting" movie hits the shops...

• A Serious Man

  

  The Coens' funniest film since Fargo, this sits alongside their Oscar-winning drama No Country For Old Men in the "masterpiece" category.

• The White Ribbon

  

  Another masterpiece from Austrian film-maker Michael Haneke, this is one of the best films of 2009.

• Up

  

  One of my favourite films of last year, given an excellent release on Blu-ray.

• Broken Embraces

  

  Pedro Almodovar is a master of cinema, creating enchanting characters, engrossing stories and films that are stunning to look at.

• Mesrine (Parts 1 & 2)

  

  A two-part French gangster biopic, starring the always-excellent Vincent Cassel as notorious criminal Jacques Mesrine.

• (500) Days of Summer

  

  Last year's unexpected hit gets a release on DVD.

• Inglorious Basterds

  

  Quentin Tarantino's 'most visually impressive film' gets the thumbs up on its DVD/Blu Ray release.

• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

  

  A disappointment. The spark, wit and fun of the first film have been replaced by unfunny, childish humour.

• Terminator: Salvation

  

  Overall, a decent sci-fi film and an enjoyable addition to this franchise. But it does have some negatives.

• Star Trek

  

  A terrific re-boot which has total respect for the original franchise.

• Bruno

  

  Less entertaining, more contrived than Borat. But it's totally hilarious!

• Public Enemies

  

  Another masterpiece from Michael Mann, as he takes elements from earlier films and places them in a gorgeous 30s setting.

• Drag Me To Hell

  

  Sam Raimi doing what he does best - creating really effective, totally entertaining horror.

• X-Men Origins: Wolverine

  

  A pretty pointless prequel which brings nothing new to the franchise.

• Coraline

  

  A creepy, quirky dream-world stop-motion animation which looks beautiful.

• Red Cliff

  

  Woo has a style of film-making you either love or hate... and unfortunately, I can't stand it!

• Telstar

  

  A lively, often gritty biopic of legendary music producer Joe Meek with an engrossing central performance from Con O'Neill.

• State of Play

  

  A first-rate thriller. Moves along at a lightning pace, without ever feeling rushed.

• Angels and Demons

  

  Even more daft and pretentious than 'The Da Vinci Code', says James Hartigan.

• The Boat That Rocked

  

  Richard Curtis is a talented writer, but The Boat That Rocked is a film that I loath.

• In the Loop & I Love You, Man

  

  Two very different comedies. Both are very funny, but neither is perfect.

• Two Lovers

  

  Vinessa Shaw stands out in this "simple, intimate drama", says James Hartigan.

• Let The Right One In

  

  A film which lingers in the memory and is, without doubt, one of the best of the year so far.

• Duplicity

  

  Clive Owen and Julia Roberts have great chemistry in this modern-day spy thriller.

• Young Victoria

  

  A superior historical epic, filled with drama, romance and top-notch performances.

• The International

  

  A clunky, ineffective thriller. It aspires, but fails to capture the tone of a 1970s conspiracy drama.

• Che: Parts 1 and 2

  

  This biopic works better as a single film, but the first half is still much stronger.

• Gran Torino

  

  A cleverly written and beautifully directed drama - arguably Clint Eastwood's finest performance.

• The Class (Entre les Murs)

  

  Anyone who thinks teachers "have it easy" should be forced to watch this film.

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

  

  Yet another cinematic masterpiece from David Fincher - an enchanting, magical tale.

• Slumdog Millionaire

  

  Mis-marketed as a "feel good flick", this is actually a clever, original concept - superbly executed.

• The Reader

  

  You can't fault Kate Winslet's performance but Stephen Daldry's direction is distinctly average.

• Defiance

  

  A gripping, moving story which I'm surprised hasn't been told on screen before.

• Role Models

  

  Crude and childish, but also very funny, James has good things to say about Role Models.

• Sin City (Blu-ray)

  

  Brutal, brilliant film-making which looks and sounds stunning in high-definition.

• Australia

  

  A charming homage to the so-called 'Golden Age of Movie-making'.

• The Baader Meinhof Complex

  

  An engaging re-enactment of an interesting period in German history.