To round off the year, we collate the DVDs, CDs and Games reviewed in-house at DVDfever.co.uk
throughout 2008, all of which are linked through their individual sections on the left-hand menu.
DVDs (film content only) (plus some cinema):
16 Blocks 8/10 (review)
30 Days of Night 6/10 (review)
Aliens Vs Predator Requiem: Special Edition 5/10 (review)
Assembly 8/10 (review)
Big Nothing 8/10 (review)
Black Sheep 7/10 (review)
Blade: Trinity 8/10 (review)
Cashback 9/10 (review)
Casino Royale 8/10 (review)
Chapter 27 4/10 (review)
Clerks X: 10th Anniversary Edition 8/10 (review)
The Darjeeling Limited 8/10 (review)
Deacon Blue: Live 8/10 (review)
Death Proof 4/10 (review)
Edmond 8/10 (review)
The Entrance 7/10 (review)
Felicity (1979) 5/10 (review)
The Guard Post 6/10 (review)
Happy-Go-Lucky 7/10 (review)
Heavenly Creatures 6/10 (review)
Heart: Live 7/10 (review)
The Hoax 9/10 (review)
Interstate 60 6/10 (review)
James Bond: Quantum of Solace (cinema) 6/10 (review)
Jim Jeffries: Contraband Live 10/10 (review)
The Last Enemy 10/10 (review)
The Last House on the Left: 3 Disc Ultimate Edition (Uncut) 2/10 (review)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (cinema) 6/10 (review)
In the Shadow of the Moon 10/10 (review)
Next 8/10 (review)
The Passage 10/10 (review)
Peep Show Series 5 9/10 (review)
Postal 1/10 (review)
Rescue Dawn 10/10 (review)
Sean Lock: Live 9/10 (review)
The Secret 10/10 (review)
The Simpsons Movie 4/10 (review)
Solstice 3/10 (review)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (cinema) 7/10 (review)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (DVD) 7/10 (review)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 7/10 (review)
Vanessa (1977) 2/10 (review)
War of the Worlds (2005) 9/10 (review)
WaZ 9/10 (review)
Games: Enjoyment Overall
Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) 5/10 8/10 (review)
Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360) 8/10 9/10 (review)
The Bourne Conspiracy (Xbox 360) 6/10 6/10 (review)
Burnout: Paradise (Xbox 360) 8/10 9/10 (review)
Call of Duty: World At War (Xbox 360) 9/10 9/10 (review)
Chessmaster: Xbox Live Arcade (Xbox 360) 10/10 8/10 (review)
Fracture (Xbox 360) 6/10 7/10 (review)
Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360) 6/10 8/10 (review)
God of War: Chains of Olympus (Sony PSP) 10/10 10/10 (review)
Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360) 10/10 10/10 (review)
James Bond: Quantum of Solace (Xbox 360) 6/10 8/10 (review)
John Woo's Stranglehold (Xbox 360) 10/10 10/10 (review)
Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Xbox 360) 5/10 6/10 (review)
Mirror's Edge (Xbox 360) 10/10 10/10 (review)
Patapon (Sony PSP) 4/10 8/10 (review)
PlayStation Network Collection Power Pack (Sony PSP) 8/10 7/10 (review)
PlayStation Network Collection Puzzle Pack (Sony PSP) 8/10 7/10 (review)
Pure (Xbox 360) 5/10 7/10 (review)
Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice (Sony PSP) 10/10 9/10 (review)
SOCOM: US Tactical Strike (Sony PSP) 10/10 8/10 (review)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (Xbox 360) 2/10 6/10 (review)
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow (Sony PSP) 5/10 6/10 (review)
Tron: Xbox Live Arcade (Xbox 360) 10/10 8/10 (review)
Oh, and the only CD reviewed was Swing Out Sister's Beautiful Mess, which wasn't very beautiful and only worth 5/10.
Click here for the freview
CHARTS: Leona Lewis vs Alexandra - who got the Xmas No.1...?
The release dates for singles and albums go up until mid-February
and there are also lists for early 2009 so you can plan your post-Xmas music purchases.
The release dates for singles and albums go up until mid-February
and there are also lists for early 2009 so you can plan your post-Xmas music purchases.
Return to the trenches with Call of Duty: World At War on Xbox 360...
Out now :
In our last main update prior to Xmas, the game that takes us there is the latest installment of Call of Duty, subtitled World
At War. Yes, there's an abundance of Xbox Live games to play with this title as always but I'm one for the single-player
campaign and, in addition to the fantastic sound and graphics, I'm pleased to see the AI is a lot better this time round.
He doesn't seem to have been around for very long so far, but already this singer/songwriter has taken the world by storm
with hits like You Raise Me Up and Awake and already he's released a 22-track compilation just in time for Xmas.
Find out what
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts
thinks of this.
Will The Company win in the end? Prison Break Season 4 continues...
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Dan Owen returns with reviews
of the eagerly awaited fourth season of Prison Break, this time featuring Michael's operation and why has an old friend returned?
Once again, we look at a few titles in more detail, this time for titles coming out over the next two weeks as anything of interest
coming out this week is due on Boxing Day.
The titles of note are the following, but read on for further details about the highlights:
The Love Guru (17.99 DVD, 24.99 Blu-ray, Paramount)
Make It Happen (17.99, Optimum)
Playboy Calendar 2009 (15.99, Playboy)
Rab C. Nesbitt 2008 Xmas Special (15.99, BBC)
Shoot on Sight (17.99, High Fliers)
The Strangers (19.99 DVD, 24.99 Blu-ray, Universal)
Wallander (29.99, BBC)
White Crane: Special Collectors Edition (19.99, Brightspark Productions)
Bangkok Dangerous:
After their hit THE EYE was remade by others, this time the Pang Brothers take the wheel as they revisit their first film together.
In BANGKOK DANGEROUS, Nicolas Cage (NATIONAL TREASURE, LORD OF WAR) stars as Joe, a hit man who goes to Thailand on a mission.
The beauty of both the city and one of its residents distracts Joe, and he begins to take a young man under his wing,
but his boss won't let the original goal be forgotten.
For his film debut, director Brian Bertino has crafted a fantastically creepy horror flick based on the very simple premise of strangers who come knocking late at night. Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) have arrived at a secluded vacation ho
me in the woods after attending a friend's wedding. It's four in the morning, and they're both tearful and emotionally exhausted after a disagreement about their relationship. As they awkwardly try to navigate the long night together, they are distracted
by the sound of a heavy knock at the door.
They open it to find a dazed young woman hidden in the shadows. Assuming she is lost, James sends her away, but Kristen is disturbed by the late-night visit. When James leaves to go on a drive and pick up some cigarettes, Kristen is left alone, and we wat
ch her move through the huge house in a painfully eerie silence, all the while knowing that she is being watched. By the time James returns, Kristen is in hysterics, and together they must face the terrifying fact that they are indeed in grave danger.
Both Tyler and Speedman give excellent, understated performances that lend the film a truly frightening edge of realism. The story's simplicity is a refreshing change from over-the-top torture films like SAW, and the violence in the film is minimal, and m
uch of it off camera. THE STRANGERS also lacks any big-budget special effects. You won't find any CGI creatures or armies of zombies. The only monsters depicted here are the very real human kind, which is what leaves you thoroughly spooked and shaken, and
ready to push a chair against your own front door.
The Sylvester McCoy era of Doctor Who tends to get a rough ride from some, but Battlefield is proof that even in some of the darker days for the show, and with the budget seemingly vanishing into thin air, it could deliver a very good story.
Penned by Ben Aaronovitch, who also scribed the underrated adventure Remembrance of the Daleks from the same era, Battlefield instantly wins favour by bringing back Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, played with his usual dignity and class by Nicholas Courtney
. Along with companion Ace, they then find themselves caught up in an Arthurian adventure, with nods to Merlin, Excalibur, and the Lady in the Lake. It’s a good yarn, with an impressive monster waiting near the end. And while it does stretch the story a l
ittle thin, it’s one of the better adventures of the McCoy era.
As usual, the DVD release is really very impressive. Battlefield benefits from a packed commentary track, and a host of behind the scenes extras (that recall, among other things, the moment when a water tank shattered with Sophie Aldred still inside it).
Spread across two discs, it’s a genuinely packed DVD set with many hours of extras to sort through.
Doctor Who: Battlefield is out now on
DVD (£12.98).
Wallander:
Kenneth Branagh plays Swedish detective Kurt Wallander in three new detective dramas based on the best-selling books by Henning Mankell - an international publishing phenomenon with over 25 million copies sold worldwide. Sidetracked, Firewall and One Step
Behind follow Inspector Kurt Wallander – a disillusioned everyman – as he struggles against a rising tide of violence in the apparently sleepy backwaters in and around Ystad in beautiful Southern Sweden. Baffling crimes and seemingly motiveless murders a
re investigated by Wallander leading to surprising and shocking discoveries in these compelling films.
Extras: 'Who is Kurt Wallander?', 'Branagh’s Wallander', 'The Wallander Look', Branagh and Mankell Interview, Audio Description
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Sarah Smart, Sadie Shimmin, Tom Beard, Tom Hiddleston, Richard McCabe, David Warner, and Jeany Spark
A classic live CD from Neil Young, 40 years after it was recorded...
Arriving as a dual-disc release on CD and DVD Audio, this solo live gig, recorded
shortly after Neil Young left Buffalo Springfield, finally sees the light of
day after 40 years in the vaults.
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
tells whether it's worth the wait...
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchcester Showcase Cinema can be found on this page, and won't differ
much from what's on in the rest of the country.
The new films out include: Twilight, Tales of Desperaux, Stone of Destiny, A Bunch of Amateurs and also listing the new films out from Boxing Day,
those include Yes Man, Bedtime Stories and Australia.
A double helping of Brazillian music with Gilberto Gil on CD...
21 tracks involving bossa nova delights and playful blues-infected music
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
took great delight in listening to some class music here.
No, it's not a re-release of the films yet again, but an animated version
which preceeded a new TV series of the same name. This movie didn't seem to
do particularly well at the box office and the cinema was pretty empty when I
went even though it wasn't long after opening, but if you imagine seeing all the
CGI sequences from a game stuck up on the big screen it's so cool.
Set between Episodes 2 & 3, Star Wars: The Clone Wars sees
Anakin and Obi Wan having to form an alliance with Jabba the Hut, whilst the
former has to train a new Padawan learner at the same time...
Command & Conquer triumphs again with Red Alert 3 on the PC...
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Gaz Williams
is a massive fan of RPG titles and the latest addition to the C&C clan is no
exception with some great new elements whilst retaining some classics ones too.
Find out more in the review.
Australian comic Jim Jeffries is a comedian who I saw at the Manchester
Comedy Store on several occasions before he became a household name, appearing
on panel shows from time to time such as 8 Out of 10 Cats and Never Mind the
Buzzcocks, and there's a repeat of his April 2006 appearance on the latter on
Sunday 28th December, BBC2 at 10.30pm.
I knew this particular live DVD would be a treat and it didn't let me down,
particularly the segment about his being attacked by a punter at the aforementioned
comedy establishment and this review includes a Youtube link to the event itself.
Indulge in the best of Josh Rouse's Rykodisc Years CD...
According to
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts,
Josh Rouse is one of America's best singer/songwriters, ever since his debut
album 10 years ago, Dressed Up Like Nebraska. This collection features
32 tracks including outtakes and demos.
The release dates for singles and albums go up until mid-February
and there are also lists for early 2009 so you can plan your post-Xmas music purchases.
Crash/bang/wallop aplenty with Sgt Fenix in Gears of War 2 on Xbox 360...
Out now :
Two years ago the original Gears of War was a defining game for this console's graphics. This sequel certainly lives up to the
anticipation of more of the same, but how does the gameplay feel?
Everyone knows a track by the Smiths and there are so many fantastic ones, but how does this latest compilation fare?
It contains 45 tracks but does it feature all the right ones? Find out from
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts.
Prison Break's crew continue on the run as Season 4 continues...
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Dan Owen returns with reviews
of the eagerly awaited fourth season of Prison Break, continuing with trying to work out what's going on now
that Don Self's turned traitor...
Does Joan Osborne befit the title of her 'wild' CD?...
It doesn't seem like five minutes since her debut single, One of Us, went
to No.6 but it was way back in February 1996. Continuing to make music today,
Joan has reunited with the producer/writer team that got her to stardom first
time round so find out from
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
whether it'll return her to the fore.
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchcester Showcase Cinema can be found on this page, and won't differ
much from what's on in the rest of the country.
The new films out include: Inkheart, Secret Life of Bees and The Day The Earth Stood Still.
The Flaming Lips release a movie soundtrack on CD...
A package combining of CD and DVD,
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts
looks at the CD here and how they fare doing the soundtrack to a movie, but it
doesn't quite go to plan...
The first of two live comedy DVDs we're taking a look at prior to Xmas features
8 Out of 10 Cats panel host Sean Lock, covering a wide variety of topics
with a surreal bent, such as swans and their relation to pub toilets,
sexism against men when it comes to calling the AA or RAC out to your car,
the classification for film as containing "mild peril" and the necessity to
buy a new pillow going on for years...
So many great tunes from the late 80s and early 90s served to bring this band
to the fore with Ricky Ross' unique vocals and complementing melodies from the
rest of the band. And this DVD is technically free as it comes as part of a
package with a CD of the same thing.
Ray Lamontagne returns with a new CD... a bit happier now?...
Not one to jump about the stage at his live gigs by any stretch of the imagination,
this artist can certainly pump out a great tune, but for a man who appears
just a little uncomfortable with his fame, how does his third album fare?
Fine out from
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts
Free-running in an original game - Mirror's Edge on Xbox 360...
Out now :
It's so rare when you come across a game that's actually original, but Mirror's Edge manages exactly that with free-running
and death-defying leaps - although you will die a lot through trial and error - in an audio/visual stunner that blows you
away.
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Helen M Jerome
took her seat for the 2-week extravaganza in Germany, with the pride of place
for her including the films A Year Ago In Winter, Absurdistan and North Face.
Enya releases her latest winter collection on CD...
She may be a recluse but the Irish songstress knows how to turn out a fine album and
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts
took delight in listening to it. This review also includes her recent GMTV interview and a performance of the single,
Trains and Winter Rains.
Prison Break's crew deal with Don Self's treachery as Season 4 continues...
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Dan Owen returns with reviews
of the eagerly awaited fourth season of Prison Break, continuing with trying to work out what's going on now
that Don Self's turned traitor...
Once again, we look at a few titles in more detail.
The titles of note for this week are the following, but read on for further details about the highlights:
Batman: The Dark Knight (22.99 DVD, 26.99 Blu-ray, Warner)
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (22.99 DVD, 24.99 Blu-ray, Universal)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (19.99 DVD, 26.99 Blu-ray, Warner)
The Wire: Complete HBO Season 1-5 (124.99, Warner)
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (15.99, Paramount)
Wild Child (17.99, Universal)
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (17.99, Manga)
Stargate: Continuum/The Ark Of Truth (19.99, MGM)
Dear Green Place Series 2 (14.99, John Williams Productions)
Batman: The Dark Knight:
The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movi
e great--in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision--is that it bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly real.
Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have paralysed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale)
, the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon--and whom only Gordon seems to trust.
They make progress until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, after K
atie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.
In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world is a dark, dangerous place where there are no easy choices. Eckhart and Oldman
also shine, but as good as Bale is, his character turns out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for heroes facing more colorful villains).
Director/co-writer Christopher Nolan (Memento) follows his critically acclaimed Batman Begins with an even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man because of its sheer emotional impact and striking
sense of realism--there are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152 minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But for most movie fans--and not just superhero fans--The Dark Knight is a film for the ages.
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army begs any number of referential mash-ups to be used as description of its outlandish tonal and stylistic qualities. It's a little like a romantic and sophisticated live-action Ninja Turtles movie imbued with a cracked version of
H.P. Lovecraft's monster storytelling. It's a feature-length version of STAR WARS's Mos Eisley Cantina mixed with a scrappy, proficient passion for creature design reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen. It's also kind of director/co-writer Guillermo del Toro's H
ellboy (2004) wrapped in a blanket of his Pan's Labyrinth.
This sequel is all these things, but none of them can accurately capture the singularity of a movie which, in some ways, stands alone in its ability to capture the crass and literary luridness of reading a comic book. It's filled with gross creatures burs
ting with humanity, dark poetry, and slapstick comedy; in one scene, an argument between Hellboy and Johann Krauss, a formless gas contained in a mobilized suit, escalates to the point of Tom-and-Jerry-like violence.
As Hellboy himself, a heartfelt anti-hero who regularly eliminates supernatural threat as an agent for the U.S. Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense alongside girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair) and comrade Abe Sapien, Ron Perlman again embodies the role wi
th the kind of pathos and humour that one can only expect from a horned, red-skinned Hell-spawn who loves kittens and acts like a hardboiled detective who happens to watch TV and drink a lot of canned beer.
Hellboy 2's rather interesting antagonist, Prince Nuada, isn't just an evil dude. In the mold of the complex villains typically found in Hayao Miyazaki's animated fairy tales, his intentions of restoring control over Earth to an Elvish race by regaining t
he key to unlock the indestructible Golden Army are at least based on a legitimately noble sentiment before megalomania kicks in.
In Star Wars - The Clone Wars, the heroic Jedi Knights struggle to maintain order and restore peace. More and more systems are falling prey to the forces of the dark side as the Galactic Republic slips further and further under the sway of the Separatists
and their never-ending droid army.
Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano find themselves on a mission with far-reaching consequences, one that brings them face-to-face with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. But Count Dooku and his sinister agents, including the nefarious Asajj Vent
ress, will stop at nothing to ensure that Anakin and Ahsoka fail at their quest. Meanwhile, on the front lines of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda lead the massive clone army in a valiant effort to resist the forces of the dark side...
The Wire is one of those programmes where the increasing number of people who seem to passionately recommend it are simply not wrong. For buried underneath a mountain of praise, and talk of it being one of the finest television shows of all time, is a sta
ggering piece of work, one that slowly but surely takes a look at the many facets of the drugs trade, centred in the city of Baltimore.
Series by series, we spend time with the cops, the dealers, the media, local politicians, the education system and more, as The Wire gives each careful treatment, and a three-dimensional portrayal. It also paints a picture of a city in real trouble, with
Baltimore one of The Wire’s uncredited stars. But where the show really delivers is in the characters it creates and moulds, and the very real troubles and challenges each of them must face. The show’s detailed strokes are even more compelling than the br
oader picture it paints.
Enhanced by a series of non-showy performances in front of the camera, and some immaculate writing behind, The Wire really is that proverbial real deal. It’s genuinely unpredictable (characters of all sizes find themselves ruthlessly bumped off when you l
east expect them to), fearless in its tackling of certain subjects, and is that very masterpiece that an increasing army of champions of The Wire suggest it is. The five series contained here are genuinely American television at its very finest, right thr
ough to the final scene. Mesmerising television
The Wire: Complete HBO Season 1-5 is out now on
DVD (£89.98).
But the singer who first came to the fore after appearing on an Eminem song tends to divide opinion, so will she
be easy-listening or just leave you comatose?
Check out the opinion from
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer Elly Roberts.
Stuck for something to do this weekend? The list of films showing at
Manchcester Showcase Cinema can be found on this page, and won't differ
much from what's on in the rest of the country.
The new films out include: Madagascar 2, The Children, Transporter 3 and The Day The Earth Stood Still.
The release dates for singles and albums go up until the end of December
and there are also lists for early 2009 so you can plan your post-Xmas music purchases.
Action and fun with the PSP Network Power Pack on Sony PSP...
Out now :
With three titles on one disc and costing just a penny short of fifteen quid,
they can be played on your own or online with others, and are great fun
to while away the time if you're looking for something a bit different from
the average title.
Bond... James Bond: Quantum of Solace on Xbox 360...
Out now :
The latest film came out in the cinema recently and a game based on both that
and Daniel Craig's first 007 outing is in the shops now... but is it any good?
Simply Red release 25 years of Greatest Hits on CD...
25 Years of Simply Red and yet it feels like just yesterday when Holding Back
the Years was in the charts, but enough of my reminiscing - have a listen to
25 tracks from one of the UK's longest-running groups, now that they've come
to an end, with this brought to you by
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Elly Roberts
Prison Break's crew go after Scylla as Season 4 continues...
DVDfever.co.uk reviewer, Dan Owen returns with reviews
of the eagerly awaited fourth season of Prison Break, continuing with their
continued attempts to get to Syclla itself...
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
