Review Archive: July 2009
Claymore Vol. 1 & 2
Likely to appeal to fans of Brotherhood of the Wolf and Highlander, this fine anime proves to have a lot more to offer than initial impressions suggest.
Let The Right One In
One of the arthouse/multiplex crossover successes of 2009 comes to DVD courtesy of Momentum. Mike Sutton takes a look.
Juliet Bravo Series 6
Les Anderson looks at last year's DVD release of the sixth and final series of the police drama set in the fictional Lancashire town of Hartley...
Manhunt: The Complete Series
Les Anderson takes a look at Network's DVD release of this epic wartime drama that was first broadcast in 1970...
Lonely Are the Brave
Kirk Douglas is the last cowboy in this contemporary western, often mentioned by the actor as his favorite film and now on DVD for the first time in R1.
Life Is A Long Quiet River
Artificial Eye release Étienne Chatiliez's 1989 feature, a French comedy of social observations when the babies of families from two very different backgrounds are switched at birth. Noel Megahey reviews.
Animalada
Synapse Films release Sergio Bizzio's bizarre "Animalada", a black comedy horror dealing with somewhat taboo subject matter....
Blue Dragon: Volumes 3 & 4
Shu & co. make their way to Grankingdom's capital, while Jibral prepares to launch an all-out attack on Nene and his evil robot army. Volumes 3 and 4 are available to own from Monday. ...
Watchmen (Special Edition)
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?...
Fireball XL5: Special Limited Edition
James reviews Network's superb new release of one of Gerry Anderson's less well-remembered Supermarionation series. ...
Far North
Asif Kapadia's second feature, starring Michelle Yeoh and Sean Bean is a bizarre fable set in the icy tundras of the Arctic. Noel Megahey reviews Soda Pictures DVD release.
Bloody Mama
In the wake of Public Enemies, Optimum releases Roger Corman's take on the fearsome Ma Barker.
Funny Games
Recently remade for US audiences, Michael Haneke’s original 1997 film portrays a bourgeois Austrian family who are held captive and tortured, and questions our reactions to what we are seeing. Noel Megahey reviews the new Artificial Eye release.
The Haneke Trilogy
Artificial Eye bring out a new edition of the out-of-print Tartan edition of three early Austrian films by Michael Haneke - The Seventh Continent, Benny’s Video and 71 Fragments Of A Chronology Of Chance.
A Love To Hide
Jérémie Rénier stars in Christian Faure's emotional drama based around the Nazi deportation and "re-education" of homosexuals in France during WWII.
Gardens in Autumn
Otar Iosseliani's absurdly comic touch is applied to the world of politics, when a government minister falls from power and tries to recover meaning in his life. Noel Megahey reviews Artificial Eye's DVD.
Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon
More historical and epic action from Asia in this dramatisation of a classic Chinese novel. Andy Lau, Maggie Q and Sammo Hung fight it out in the story of Zao Zilong......
Hush
Mark Tonderai's debut feature is a masterful little UK suspense chase thriller set against the backdrop of the M1. Noel Megahey reviews Optimum's DVD release.
That Mitchell and Webb Look Series 3
Comedy was once the new rock 'n' roll, now it's the new pipe 'n' slippers. John talks double acts......
Lola Montes
Lola Montčs was Max Ophuls's final film and an epic production now fully restored. Gary Couzens reviews Second Sight's DVD.
Before Stonewall
Before Stonewall is an award-winning documentary in which gay men and women describe their lives in the decades leading up to the 1969 Stonewall riots and the founding of the gay rights movement. Review of the UK DVD from Peccadillo Pictures by Gary Couzens.
The Other Side of the Underneath
Jane Arden's long-lost experimental study of madness, The Other Side of the Underneath is released on DVD by the BFI, one of three releases of her work. Review by Gary Couzens.
This Filthy Earth
Rural drama and tragedy in This Filthy Earth, a 2001 film directed by Andrew Kötting and cowritten by Sean Lock, released on DVD by the BFI. Gary Couzens reviews.
Little Ashes
Robert Pattinson stars as Salvador Dalí in Paul Morrison's film on the relationships between Buńuel, Dalí and Lorca in 1920s' Madrid. Noel Megahey reviews.
Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody
The first Bleach movie hits UK DVD courtesy of MangaUK.