NEWDVDs

Latest DVD releases reviewed

Directed by Wes Anderson. Starring Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon 15 cert

Played with droll, deadpan aplomb by Murray, an oceanographer-filmmaker sets out with his crew to track down the jaguar shark that devoured his closest colleague. Anderson's playfully whimsical comedy survives as a remarkably well-sustained conceit, embellished with some gorgeous imagery and a succession of agreeable surprises and quirky creations.

Directed by Alejandro Amenábar. Starring Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas 12 cert

A quadriplegic man's claim for the right to an assisted suicide is the theme of this masterly and profoundly moving Spanish drama. He is played in a wonderfully expressive performance by Bardem, who relies on just his eyes and voice to communicate all the complex emotions his character feels in this factually based film, which is ultimately life-affirming.

Directed by Niels Mueller. Starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Don Cheadle, Jack Thompson 15 cert

Fascinating, factually based film probes the psychology of Samuel Byck, a salesman who in 1974 plotted to hijack a jet plane and force the pilot to fly it into the White House. In a riveting, achingly honest and vividly detailed performance, Penn plays Byck as a man wallowing in self-pity and deeply embittered at missing out on the American Dream.

Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. Starring Nathalie Press, Emily Blunt, Paddy Considine 18 cert

Set in rural Yorkshire over a long hot summer, this heady, lyrical and deeply absorbing coming-of-age picture draws together two teenaged girls (remarkable newcomers Press and Blunt) from different social backgrounds in a close friendship that turns into a tender summer romance.

Directed by Andy Tennant. Starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Adam Arkin, Michael Rapaport 12 cert

Smith lays on his easy charm and understated comic flair, playing a professional modern-day Manhattan matchmaker who flounders when he finds himself falling for a sassy tabloid journalist (Mendes). This light but slight romantic comedy is self-indulgently and pointlessly stretched out for two hours.

Directed by Guy Maddin. Starring Mark McKinney, Isabella Rossellini, Maria de Medeiros 15 cert

Based on a Kasuo Ishiguro screenplay, Maddin's most inventive film to date is set during the Depression. When Winnipeg is named the world capital of sorrow, a local brewery owner (Rossellini) launches a competition to find the saddest music in the world. The consequences are wildly unpredictable in this loving, quirky homage to silent cinema.