The latest DVDs reviewed
CASINO ROYALE ****
Directed by Martin Campbell. Starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench 15 cert
The series gets back to its roots in Ian Fleming's novels, with Daniel Craig perfectly cast as a younger, tougher James Bond at the beginning of his espionage career. Out go the gadgetry and the doubles entendres in favour of thrilling action sequences that are grounded in sheer physical dexterity. Ranks as one of the very best in the series. The two-disc DVD contains four documentaries. Michael Dwyer
HOLLYWOODLAND ***
Directed by Allen Coulter. Starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, Bob Hoskins, Robin Tunney, Joe Spano 16 cert
A private eye (Brody) investigates the mysterious death of George Reeves, the first actor to play Superman. The main plot sticks a little too closely to gumshoe conventions. But the flashback sequences, in which Reeves becomes tragically entwined with a studio boss's wife (Lane), stand comparison with Hollywood's best dissections of its own rotten guts. DVD extras are merely ho-hum. Donald Clarke
THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE **
Directed by Mary Harron. Starring Gretchen Mol, Chris Bauer, Lili Taylor, Jared Harris, Sarah Paulson, David Strathairn 15 cert
Mol immerses herself in an engaging, heroically uninhibited portrayal of Bettie Page, a victim of sexual abuse and domestic violence in Nashville before achieving minor celebrity as a pin-up model in 1950s New York. The screenplay proves to be as scanty as the outfits Page wore in coy fetishist magazines. Michael Dwyer
