VideoDVD

Latest releases reviewed

LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

Directed by Brad Silberling. Starring Jim Carrey, Emily Browning, Liam Aiken, Meryl Streep, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Kara and Shelly Hoffman, Catherine O'Hara, Luis Guzman, Jude Law PG cert

When three children are orphaned, a greedy relative (Carrey on overdrive) concocts dastardly schemes to steal their inheritance in this stylised, fantastical and macabre fantasy that proves irresistibly entertaining, although too scary for very young viewers. Michael Dwyer

OCEAN'S TWELVE

Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Vincent Cassel, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner 12 cert

This baggy sequel to Soderbergh's nifty 2001 caper movie appears to have been almost as much of a lark for the cast as the original Ocean's Eleven was for the Rat Pack. They laugh about George's age. They play games with Roberts's celebrity. Most of those in-jokes are amusing even for little people such as ourselves. A few are painful. Donald Clarke

ELEKTRA

Directed by Rob Bowman. Starring Jennifer Garner, Terence Stamp, Kirsten Prout, Goran Visnjic, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Will Yun Lee 12 cert

With its preposterous plot and flat supporting performances, this de-fanged big-screen outing for Frank Miller's voluptuous comic-book assassin would be a total washout were it not for the fabulous Jennifer Garner. Constructed by the same firm that makes tornadoes, she almost kicks sense into Bowman's silly film. Almost. Donald Clarke

THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR

Directed by Tod Williams. Starring Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Jon Foster, Mimi Rogers, Elle Fanning, Bijou Phillips, Robert LuPone 18 cert

In this melancholy drama astutely adapted from the first third of John Irving's novel A Widow for One Year, a naive student (Foster) is dropped into the disintegrating relationship of an older, married couple (Bridges and Basinger) struggling to come to terms with the deaths of their teenage sons. Playing a vain, testy author, Bridges is at the top of his form.