The latest releases reviewed.
DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES *****
Directed by Terence Davies. Starring Freda Dowie, Pete Postlethwaite, Angela Walsh, Dean Williams 12 cert
One of the masterpieces of British cinema, and the deserved winner of the international critics' prize at Cannes in 1988, Davies's debut full-length feature is now available on DVD for the first time.
A deeply personal film, it draws on his childhood experiences among a working-class Liverpool community in the 1940s and 1950s. Davies doesn't flinch from depicting the harshness of those times and his painful memories of the startling brutality meted out by his tyrannical father, played with unnerving conviction by Postlethwaite in his breakthrough cinema role. Emotions shift from horror to joy as Davies celebrates the excitement of discovering the pleasures of movies and the release that songs provide for his family and their friends.
Formed in a series of immaculately composed vignettes, the film is presented on DVD in a striking digital restoration by the British Film Institute. Extras include an interview with Davies, a commentary from him, and a 24-page booklet. MD
DIE HARD 4.0 ****
Directed by Len Wiseman. Starring Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Cliff Curtis, Maggie Q, Kevin Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead 15 cert
Having lost his hair and dirty white vest, but not his flair for wisecracking under pressure, Willis returns as remarkably resourceful NYPD detective John McClane, this time tangling with terrorists intent on shutting down the US computer infrastructure. The visceral action kicks in early and continues relentlessly for two hours of expertly staged races, chases and confrontations.
HOSTEL: PART II ***
Directed by Eli Roth. Starring Lauren German, Roger Bart, Heather Matarazzo, Bijou Phillips, Richard Burgi 18 cert
Once again we follow a group of Americans, this time young women, as they are lured to a Slovakian hostel whose owners allow their guests to be carved up by recreational torturers. Though the picture found fewer supporters on release, it remains as creatively disgusting as its predecessor and, in this "unseen" DVD cut, reveals yet more vile happenings.
GOODBYE BAFANA ***
Directed by Bille August. Starring Joseph Fiennes, Dennis Haysbert, Diane Kruger 15 cert
Decent if unadventurous treatment of the relationship between Nelson Mandela (Haysbert) and the warder (Fiennes) who worked alongside him during his confinement. The film is frequently moving and has things to say about the dynamics of racism, but it feels somewhat undercharged throughout. DC
LUCKY YOU *
Directed by Curtis Hanson. Starring Eric Bana, Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall, Debra Messing, Horatio Sanz, Jean Smart, Charles Martin Smith, Robert Downey Jr 12 cert
A card shark romances a waitress while playing in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Lucky You - hampered by the requirement to explain the game to novices - turns out to be an enormously boring dud. The script is repetitive and, for all the sense of place achieved, the picture might as well have been filmed in Bundoran. Poor DVD extras to boot. DC
CAPTIVITY * Directed by Roland Joffe. Starring Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies, Pruitt Taylor Vince 18 cert
Joffe, who made his mark in the 1980s with The Killing Fields and The Mission, slums it for an utterly formulaic horror yarn featuring Cuthbert (from 24) as a supermodel held prisoner by a sadistic psychopath. Despite its parade of disgusting imagery, the movie is, above all, boring. MD
