Category: DVD & Digital

Reviews of the latest UK DVD & Digital releases.

DVD & Digital

Film review: Get Duked

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Writer director Ninian Doff carries forward his filmmaking flair from music videos into his feature debut Boyz in the Wood, a coming-of-age comedy set in the Scottish Highlands. The story follows four teenagers as they embark on an orienteering trip, competing for the coveted Duke of Edinburgh award. Misfits miscreants Dean (Rian Gordon), Duncan (Lewis Gribben), and DJ Beatroot (Viraj Juneja) are joined by do-gooder Ian (Samuel Bottomley) for the great adventure, but they soon run into trouble when they lose their map and encounter some eccentric, unwelcoming locals.

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: My Friend the Polish Girl

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Filmmakers Ewa Banaszkiewicz and Mateusz Dymek come together to write and direct indie drama My Friend the Polish Girl. A film about a film, the narrative is told from the point-of-view of American documentarian Katie (Emma Friedman-Cohen) who focuses her lens on aspiring Polish actress Alicja (Aneta Piotrowska) for her latest work. Intended as a study of an immigrant living in a post-Brexit-vote Britain, the project soon takes a dark turn.

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: Booksmart

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Olivia Wilde enjoyed her breakthrough acting role in The OC back in 2004 and returns to the teen scene with Booksmart, her first film behind the camera. The plot centres around nerdy BFFs Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) on the cusp of high school graduation. Feeling as though it’s been all work and no play in their 12thgrade, they decide to attend the biggest party in the neighbourhood to see off their senior year in style.

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: Rocketman

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The director and actor pairing of Dexter Fletcher and Taron Egerton soared on the slopes for their Eddie the Eagle underdog story back in 2015, and now they’ve reunited to reach for the stars in Elton John biopic Rocketman. After a troubled working-class upbringing, we see Reginald Dwight (Egerton) come of age when he meets songwriter Bernie (Jamie Bell) and they start making music together. When the duo head to Los Angeles to crack America, Elton’s head is turned by hotshot producer John Reid (Richard Madden), and his rock and roll lifestyle soon spirals out of control.

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: Beats

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It’s the summer of 1994 in a West Lothian housing scheme, and Britain is on the cusp of the New Labour era. The scene is set for Beats, an indie drama directed by Brian Welsh. Based on Kieran Hurley’s award-winning play of the same name, the story follows best pals Johnno (Cristian Ortega) and Spanner (Lorn Macdonald) who share a love of acid house music. With the future of their friendship looking uncertain due to Johnno’s impending move out of town, they have a ‘fuck it’ moment and seek out an underground rave as a last hurrah.

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: Wild Rose

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Director Tom Harper and writer Nicole Taylor explore a working-class pipedream with music drama Wild Rose. The plot follows Glaswegian singer Rose-Lynn Harlan (Jessie Buckley) who, fresh out of jail, is yearning to become a Nashville country star. Her far-fetched pursuit sees her clash with her no-nonsense mother Marion (Julie Walters) as she neglects her two young kids in the process. However, when she gets a job as a ‘daily woman’ for middle-class housewife Susannah (Sophie Okonedo), an unexpected door of opportunity opens.

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: Mid90s

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After graduating from the Judd Apatow school of stoner comedy, Jonah Hill has gone onto work under some of the biggest filmmakers in the business. Now he has transitioned behind the camera to write and direct coming-of-age drama Mid90s. Set across a summer in Los Angeles, the plot centres around thirteen-year-old Stevie (Sunny Suljic) who is taken in by a tightknit but troubled skater group as he struggles to find his place in cultural society.

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: Us

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Comedian Jordan Peele turned filmmaker with his stellar social satire Get Out back in 2017, and he returns to the director’s chair for doppelgänger horror Us. As a child, Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) has a traumatic experience in a hall of mirrors after wandering away from her parents at Santa Cruz beach. Years later, she revisits the boardwalk with her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) and their two kids. The fun family vacation soon descends into terror when their beachhouse is invaded by unwelcome guests.

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: Galveston

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Author turned screenwriter Nic Pizzolatto made his name when he created crime drama True Detective, and he returns to the Texan landscape for his latest feature with French filmmaker Mélanie Laurent on directorial duty. Based upon Pizzolatto’s novel of the same name but adapted for the screen under his pseudonym Jim Hammett, road thriller Galveston follows ailing hitman Roy (Ben Foster) and young escort Rocky (Elle Fanning) as they go on the run from a dangerous mob, and of course, the law. They seek solace in Roy’s hometown, but it’s only a matter of time until their chequered pasts catch up with them.

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: Tyrel

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Chilean writer and director Sebastián Silva explores social cues amongst a group of thirty-something year old men in his indie comedy drama Tyrel. Unfolding across an alcohol-fuelled weekend, the plot centres around Tyler (Jason Mitchell) who is invited by Johnny (Christopher Abbott) to his friend’s birthday celebrations at an isolated cabin in the Catskill mountains. Being the only black guy in the bunch, Tyler begins to feel increasingly uncomfortable when inhibitions are lost, and the culture gap appears to widen.

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