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9°c
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
Ecological with the truth
Metro 02.01.07
Al Gore shows that he can be a charismatic and impassioned speaker
Look here too
Al Gore uses his skills and clout to try to stop global warming in An Inconvenient Truth, Adrift proves to be one of 2006's finest psychological nail-biters and Crank is Speed without the bus...
An Inconvenient Truth
Paramount Home Entertainment, no cert, £19.99
****
'Hi,' says Al Gore to the crowds who've come to hear his lecture on the parlous state of the environment. 'I used to be the next president of the United States.' It always gets a laugh but it's not actually funny: if Gore suffered from the results of the 2000 US election, our planet has suffered more. Still, rather than sink into self-pity, Gore has used his skills and clout to try to stop the terrible damage we are causing our world.
Davis Guggenheim's film focuses mostly on Gore's lectures, where the man formerly mocked as 'Al Bore' shows that, when the subject is close to his heart, he can be a charismatic and impassioned speaker, toning down his formidable intelligence and detailed knowledge enough to entice casual viewers. The morsels that intersperse them aren't as successful: Al at his desk or Al getting a plane (commercial, natch) can't hold attention the way his terrifying statistics do. See this - then act on it.
Extras: Update from Gore, featurette, commentaries.
Adrift
Pathè Distribution Ltd, 15, £15.99
****
Six high-school friends, now twentysomethings, reunite for a sunny, birthday yacht trip. It's all larks and tequila slammers, until they all leap off the boat for a jolly swim - and realise they can't climb back on board. Admittedly, it sounds silly as a set-up - particularly with a disappointing lack of sharks about. But the inter-character tension mounts superbly, as a baby left sleeping below decks starts to wail, and secrets bob to the surface. The tight setting creates an atmosphere, impressively claustrophobic for a thriller set on infinite horizons. A memorably dark undertow is admittedly almost drowned by the melodramatic finale. Ignore that and you've got one of 2006's finest psychological nail-biters.
Extras: Making-of featurette, trailer.
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh
Crank
Universal Pictures UK, 18, £19.99
****
Think Speed - without the bus - and you'll realise that Jason Statham isn't the only brilliantly simple element of this flick. He stars as Chev Chelios, a poisoned hitman who can't let his adrenaline levels fall, or he snuffs it. This cartoonish concept ensures hilarious, non-stop action as Chev races across LA, snorting coke, waffle-toasting his hand and, in surely a new classic moment of post-modern cinema, running through town sporting only a nightie and a hard-on, before banging his girlfriend in front of a cheering bus of Japanese schoolgirls - all in a bid to keep him (and us) excited. The ending doesn't let you down, either. Awesomely entertaining.
Extras: None
LI-Z
The Secret Policeman's Ball: The Ball In The Hall
Warner Vision International, 15, £17.99
****
This series of Amnesty fundraisers has been a sporadic event since its 1976 beginnings, when the likes of the Pythons and Peter Cook were the belles of the comedy ball. Last year's Royal Albert Hall event also boasted a few bands in the mix, as well as a lot of stand-up and sketch stuff from telly favourites (Al Murray, Green Wing, The Mighty Boosh) and a sprinkle of Hollywood (Chevy Chase and Jimmy Fallon).
But it's lesser-known names that make this worth viewing: exciting stand-up Andrew Maxwell winning a load of new fans; a blacker-than-black set from US comedienne Sarah Silverman, who'll leave you wanting more; and the talented Prince Charming Russell Brand, who walks onstage to lacklustre applause and takes his bow to a rousing one.
Extras: Includes extra footage, animations, photo gallery.
You, Me And Dupree
Universal Pictures Video, 12, £19.99
**
A barely adequate 'frat pack' comedy starring overgrown kid Owen Wilson as an unwelcome bachelor couch crasher on the newlywed bliss of Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson. Even the ever-likeable Wilson can't charm you into laughing at this tired scenario where Michael Douglas, as Hudson's ball-crushing mogul dad, is the sole highlight. Watchable if you're tired, hungover and have pizza to hand. Wait until it hits the bargain bin.
Extras: None
LI-Z
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