Latest video releases reviewed
INSIDE MAN ****
Directed by Spike Lee. Starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Plummer 15 cert
Lee's first genre picture, which finds Detective Washington negotiating with Owen's villain after he takes over a Manhattan bank, does address some political issues of the day, but for the most part it functions as a twisty thriller. There are logical flaws, but it remains the director's most purely entertaining film in a decade. A bare-bones DVD, sadly.
V FOR VENDETTA ***
Directed by James McTeigue. Starring Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Stephen Rea 15 cert
A modern Guy Fawkes (Weaving) opposes a totalitarian British state in this flawed, though fascinating, adaptation of Alan Moore's classic graphic novel. The atmosphere is nicely oppressive, but the Wachowski brothers' script can never quite decide where it sits politically. A two-disc edition of this genuine oddity is available exclusively from HMV.
FINAL DESTINATION 3 **
Directed by James Wong. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Texas Battle, Gina Holden 15 cert
The two-disk edition of the third part in the horror franchise is certainly packed with delightful bonuses. Fans can now use an interactive feature to "choose the fate" of the characters. Sadly, no amount of decoration can conceal the fact that the film itself, wherein teenagers once again meet their death in the manner of the board game Mousetrap, is the weakest in the series yet.
FIREWALL *
Directed by Richard Loncraine. Starring Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Virginia Madsen, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Alan Arkin, Robert Forster, Robert Patrick 15 cert
Which role suits the 64-year-old Harrison Ford less well, action hero or computer geek? He plays both in this hilariously terrible thriller, which finds Bettany kidnapping the old codger's family. Clearly wishing to release the ghastly thing with minimum fanfare, Warners Bros offers scant DVD extras.
THE RINGER *
Directed by Barry W Blaustein. Starring Johnny Knoxville, Brian Cox, Katherine Heigl, Geoffrey Arend PG cert
Knoxville, once a college athlete, decides to fake disability so that he can triumph in the pentathlon at the Special Olympics. What might have been an amusing exercise in bad taste proves to be utterly neutered by its determination to avoid offense.The DVD even includes a message from the Special Olympics chairman.
SHE'S THE MAN *
Directed by Andy Fickman. Starring Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Vinnie Jones, Julie Hagerty PG cert
Young Miss Bynes, Hilary Duff without the edge, dresses up as her twin brother in order to play on the male soccer team. This witless transposition of Twelfth Night to a US high school might just be the worst such reinvention of the bard's work yet. Is Bynes even trying to look like a boy?
