Dr Who: Dreamland: DVD Review

Dr Who: Dreamland: DVD Review

Dr Who: Dreamland
Rating: PG
Released by Roadshow Entertainment/ BBC
This animated treat was one of the spin offs for the gap year the BBC's flagship show took in 2009.
But fans of the show don't need to worry - while David Tennant may have been touring with Hamlet, he took time off to record the voiceover for this 40 minute computer animated adventure.
The 10th Doctor ends up in Roswell, New Mexico in 1958 - and on the eve of an alien invasion as the bug like Viperox look to steal an alien who crashed in the area (sounds familiar to fans of the UFO genre.)
However, 10's not alone - he's got two new animated companions along for the adventure.
While Dreamland may take a little bit to adjust to the chunky animation, it's a zippy paced adventure which hurtles along. The short segments of the original broadcast made this easy to digest and in its long form it's still quite the treat. Plus for fans of sci fi there's smart nods to Roswell and a cliffhanger moment that echoes Aliens in many ways.
The animators have thought big and the writer Phil Ford haven't lost trace of the smart dialogue - and once again, David Tennant looms large over this project.
Dreamland is a must for fans of the show.
Extras: A second disc collects together the UK highlights trio of episodes of Dr Who: Greatest Moments - there are 3 programmes here, all an hour long selected from episodes from the show's return in 2005. Packed with interviews from various members of the cast which have never been screened before, it's a fluffy insight into the show, its characters and its titular hero. However, that may anger purists of the show as they will argue the greatest moments have spanned the past 45 years and Doctors before Christopher Eccleston.

Rating: 7/10 

Fantastic Mr Fox: DVD Review

Fantastic Mr Fox: DVD Review

Fantastic Mr Fox
Released by Roadshow Entertainment
Rating: PG
Madcap and inspired, George Clooney stars in this version of the classic Roald Dahl tale.
Clooney is Mr Fox, who's given up his chicken philandering ways and taken a job with a local newspaper to appease Mrs Fox (Meryl Streep).
However, when farmers Boggis, Bean and Bunce move in nearby Fox is suddenly taken with the idea of one last major chicken heist to retire on. But he finds the adrenaline thrill of the theft intoxicating and soon he's upto his neck in it as the farmers fight back.
Fantastic Mr Fox is great fun - a wonderful vocal cast (including the likes of Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and a brilliantly deadpan turn from Jason Schwartzman as cousin Ash) will delight you from the beginning to the end.
However, it's director Wes Anderson who's the big winner here as he rocks the stop motion animation world with this. It's beautiful watch and you really appreciate the painstaking effort put in by the animators.
Quite simply Fantastic Mr Fox is one of the best pieces of family fodder I've seen for a long time.
Extras: A doco exploring the look of FMF, a look at the cast and a short detailing the basics of the insane game WhackBat from the film are an adequate package - but are a little weak to tie in with such a great film.

Rating: 8/10

Dr Who: Next Doctor: Blu Ray Review

Dr Who: Next Doctor: Blu Ray Review

The Next Doctor - Blu Ray
Rating: PG
Released by BBC/ Roadshow Entertainment
This 2008 Christmas special found itself the centre of much speculation coming after David Tennant's announcement he would be moving on from the show.
Writer Russell T Davies clearly delighted in the ambiguity of this tale which finds Tennant's Doctor on Christmas Eve in 1861 - and arriving in Victorian London, the Doc's thrown into a mystery which involves plenty of missing bodies.
Teaming with Jackson Lake (a wonderful David Morrissey), the Doc soon discovers the Cybermen are back on the scene - but he's not accounted for Lake's perception that he is firmly of the belief that he is the Doctor.
It all culminates in a rather silly pastiche of the Iron Giant with the Cyber King rising and threatening to crush London.
But it's in Tennant and Morrissey's performance that this episode succeeds. The pair offer up a masterclass in acting and along with Dervla Kirwan's evil Miss Hartigan. Coupled with the high quality of the HD with Blu Ray, this is a fairly disposable piece of Who entertainment. Which is all very well for a light fluffy Christmas audience, but long term viewing it's only thanks to the human acting of Kirwan, Morrissey and Tennant that this holds up
Extras: A behind the scenes doco and concert at London's Proms make up the rest of this disc - The Proms are worth seeing; the doco is the usual standard stock fare.

Rating: 6/10

Secret Diary of A Call Girl S3: DVD Review

Secret Diary of A Call Girl S3: DVD Review

The Secret Diary of A Call Girl - Series 3

Rating: R18
Released by Roadshow Entertainment

Dr Who's Billie Piper continues to ditch her wholesome image as she takes on the role of Belle de Jour, the infamous London sex blogger who kept the tongues wagging with her online antics.
This series finds a distinct similarity with life as Billie's escort by night Belle is celebrating the success of a book deal in the eight episodes which comprise Series 3.
But Belle's struggling to keep up with three different lives - that of the escort, the author and of the everyday Hannah. Coupled with the fact she's attracted to her publishing boss, it's all getting a little steamy - in more ways than one.
Light and frothy with a salacious edge, The Secret Diary of a Call Girl - Season 3 is really a series of encounters with a bit of plot thrown here and there. But it's Piper's charms which keep the show going and stop it from delving too deeply into mere titillation from its (at times comic) sex scenes. There's some subtle character development within the series but it's a return to form for a show which suffered a crippling creative lull in its second year.
Raunchy and edgy, The Secret Diary of a Call Girl - Season 3 is a guilty treat.
Extras: Webisodes from the series

Rating: 7/10

The Brothers Bloom: DVD Review

The Brothers Bloom: DVD Review

The Brothers Bloom
Rating: M
Released by Roadshow Entertainment
Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel Weisz star in this drama about a pair of con-men.
Brody and Ruffalo are Stephen and Bloom, who've spent all of their lives getting by thanks to various scams and plots. But Bloom (a light comic turn from Adrien Brody) yearns for more - he wants a real life rather than one that's the result of their continuing deceits.
One day Bloom meet NY heiress Penelope (an enchanting Rachel Weisz) and falls in love - despite their plans to scam her, the trio end up entangled in their own ways as Penelope becomes addicted to their thrill seeking ways.
However, one last heist involving a book trapped in a Prague museum and Robbie Coltrane's Maximillian could prove to be their undoing.
The Brothers Bloom is a quirky character piece which has plenty of "What the??" moments thanks to odd visual moments. It starts off with gusto but runs a little foul of itself towards the end.
However, there is quite an emotional pay off at the end - and thanks to good solid performances from all involved, The Brothers Bloom is a breezy refreshingly different film.
Extras: Featurette, deleted scenes and a theatrical trailer make me feel there's been some sleight of hand somewhere.

Rating: 7/10

The Wolfman: DVD Review

The Wolfman: DVD Review

The Wolfman
Released by Universal Home Video
Rating: R16

Released in an extended director's cut just a few months since its release in cinemas, The Wolfman remains a much maligned horror film.

In 1880s London, Lawrence Talbot (Benicio del Toro) is summoned to the family home after the disappearance of his brother Ben.

Talbot is reunited with his father (Anthony Hopkins) - something that he hadn't planned on after fleeing domestic life after the death of his mother. After being called back by Ben's wife Gwen (Emily Blunt), the hunt soon turns to a funeral after the discovery of Ben's mutilated body.

Talbot begins an investigation into the brutal slaying of his brother - and even Scotland Yard's finest (including Hugo Weaving) are called in. But as Talbot digs deeper into claims an animal killed his brother, he's drawn into a dark world and finds himself facing his deepest fears.

A remake of the 1914 film, this version remains a darkly compelling and gory take on the Victorian legend. Full of spooks and shocks (as well as blood), it's great to see a Wolfman which is nightmarish as its original premise suggested it would be.

Del Toro is good as the tortured Talbot - and one scene inside an asylum where the wolf breaks out is just terrifically terrifying.

16 minutes of extra footage make this version worthwhile - and I still standby the fact this was dismissed as boring and slow in the cinema. It's actually a nice character piece which has some great set moments which really ramp up the fear.

Perfect entertainment for the dark, winter nights.

Extras: Not so exciting, deleted scenes - sometimes, there's a reason why they're deleted.

Rating: 7/10

The Sarah Janes Adventures S1 and S2: DVD Review

The Sarah Janes Adventures S1 and S2: DVD Review

The Sarah Jane Adventures - Series One and Two
Released by BBC and Roadshow Entertainment
Rating: PG
Much loved former 70s Dr Who companion Sarah Jane Smith (played with chutzpah by Elisabeth Sladen) gets her own spin off series aimed at the younger end of the Who spectrum.
Writer Russell T Davies always said Dr Who was aimed at all ages; whereas spin offs Torchwood was for the older end and Sarah Jane adventures was for the younger generation.
Each series features twelve episodes broken down into six stories (except the first series which includes the pilot Invasion of the Bane) and sees Sarah Jane and her team of teen youngsters Luke, Clyde and Maria dealing with the threat of Slitheen, Sontarans and new recurring enemy The Trickster. The second series has Maria leave and the gang gets a replacement in the form of new girl Rani.
It's easy to write off the Sarah Jane Adventures as a childish fantasy spin off - but thanks to some smart writing, there's plenty to admire here. Writers have taken the everyday and put a slightly nightmarish tinge on it - for example one adventure sees the gang menaced by a clown scary enough to rival Stephen King's IT. But there's also an adult vein to the writing as Sarah Jane faces her own past and the chance to right some wrongs - the Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith (series 2) and Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (Series 1) show some of the best and most mature writing in children's TV these days.
Extras: A clutch of special features on both sets - including interviews with Elisabeth Sladen, trailers, behind the scenes visits and many others make these sets good fun.

Rating: 7/10