New DVDs

The latest releases reviewed

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
****
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Tess Harper 18 cert
The setting is west Texas in 1980, as a cold-blooded killer (Bardem) doggedly pursues a Vietnam veteran (Brolin) with a stash of cash. The consequences are powerfully gripping as the Coens ratchet up the tension in this visceral modern western (adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel) that ranks with their best work. It won four Oscars, including best picture. MICHAEL DWYER

THE KITE RUNNER
***
Directed by Marc Forster. Starring Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi 15 cert
Forster's film of Khaled Hosseini's novel is most effective in the first half, when it introduces two boyhood friends in late 1970s Kabul and as it establishes its themes of betrayal and redemption. Later stages, set in the 21st century, feel quite rushed and truncated, but the film remains compelling.
MICHAEL DWYER

NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS
**
Directed by Jon Turteltaub. Starring Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, Helen Mirren, Bruce Greenwood, Justin Bartha PG cert
Whatever else you might say about the new Indiana Jones epic, you could never accuse it of being as cheesy as the National Treasure series it helped spawn. The second flick, in which boffin Cage discovers ancient secrets about the presidency, makes no sense whatsoever. But Mirren is good value as Cage's mum, and it does move at a reasonably jaunty pace. DONALD CLARKE