New DVDs

MICHAEL DWYERand DONALD CLARKEreview this weeks DVD releases

AUSTRALIA**

Directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson 12 cert

Opposites attract when an uptight English aristocrat (Kidman, irritatingly mannered) and a macho Aussie drover (Jackman, amiably spirited) are drawn together on an epic cattle drive in the 1940s. The storyline is slender, conventional and unwisely over-stretched. The production design is impeccable, and Australia's vast natural landscapes are handsomely captured. MICHAEL DWYER

WHAT JUST HAPPENED ***

Directed by Barry Levinson.

Starring Robert De Niro, Catherine Keener, Sean Penn, John Turturro, Robinn Wright Penn, Stanley Tucci,Kristen Stewart, Michael Wincott, Bruce Willis 15 cert

In a breezy, entertaining Hollywood satire, De Niro chews the scenery with aplomb as a frazzled film producer dealing with his ex-wives, a glacial studio head (Keener), and a vain actor (Willis, playing himself). MICHAEL DWYER

DEAN SPANLEY ****

Directed by Toa Fraser.

Starring Jeremy Northam, Peter O'Toole, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown Gen cert

Based on a Lord Dunsany novella, Fraser's delightfully eccentric and ultimately touching film is set in Edwardian England and features O'Toole on sublime form as an irascible curmudgeon and an admirably deadpan Neill as an Anglican dean recalling his past life as a dog. MICHAEL DWYER

BEDTIME STORIES *

Directed by Adam Shankman.

Starring Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Courteney Cox, Lucy Lawless, Russell Brand PG cert

Useless family film in which the stories that Sandler tells to his nephew and niece appear to affect real life. The film-makers show little confidence in their central conceit and it takes an excruciatingly long time for everybody to decide to live happily after. The DVD features an actual bedtime story co-read by Rob Schneider. The kids can expect nightmares. DONALD CLARKE