Latest video releases reviewed
WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT *****
Directed by Nick Park and Steve Box. Voices of Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Peter Kay, Nicholas Smith, Liz Smith G cert
When Wallace comes over all rabitty, it's Gromit to the rescue. Aardman Animation's gloriously funny tribute to all things Ealing and Hammer arrives in the form of a lavishly appointed two-disc package. In the highly unlikely event that parents become sick of watching the feature, they can, perhaps, persuade the little ones to screen one of the multitude of amusing extras. A cracking bargain. Donald Clarke
INTO THE BLUE **
Directed by John Stockwell. Starring Paul Walker, Jessica Alba, Scott Caan, Josh Brolin 12 cert
Scuba divers happen across a sunken wreck in this dumb thriller. Stockwell, a decent director of harmless fluff, fails to edit the footage of Alba's bottom and Walker's six-pack into anything remotely like a coherent drama. Indeed, domestic viewers will make about as much sense of it in Finnish - one of the languages offered on the DVD - as they will in English. Donald Clarke
PRIMER ****
Directed by Shane Carruth. Starring David Sullivan, Shane Carruth, Casey Gooden 12 cert
Already accumulating the status of a cult classic, Carruth's brilliant low-budget debut uses naturalistic techniques to follow the very unnatural story of two geniuses and their time machine. The result is blackly humorous, poundingly exciting and sickeningly confusing. Perhaps Carruth's DVD commentary will explain all. But don't count on it. Donald Clarke
VITAL ****
Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto. Starring Tadanobu Asano, Nami Tsukamoto, Kiki , Ittoku Kishibe 18 cert
The latest film from the director of Tetsuo and A Snake in June follows a medical student's descent into instability after encountering his late girlfriend on the dissecting slab. Not nearly as fantastic as its predecessors, Vital is, nonetheless, bracingly unsettling throughout. Tartan, the flick's admirable distributors, deliver yet another nicely presented DVD. Donald Clarke
ONE NIGHT IN MONGKOK/WONG GOK HAK YAU ***
Directed by Derek Yee. Starring Daniel Wu, Cecilia Cheung, Alex Fong, Lam Suet 18 cert
This Hong Kong thriller, all smoke and sunglasses, follows the adventures of a young hick, potentially an assassin, who befriends a whore with a heart of gold after being lured to the city by an untrustworthy associate. The picture features some stirring set-pieces but still feels a little too familiar. Donald Clarke
LE GRAND VOYAGE ****
Directed by Ismael Ferroukhi. Starring Nicolas Cazale, Mohamed Madj PG cert
Generational and cultural conflicts crackle when a strict Muslim (Majd) and his westernised adult son (Cazale) embark on a 3,000-mile car journey from France to Mecca in this thoughtful and absorbing road movie. Michael Dwyer
