inside LOVEFiLM

As if there wasn’t enough to choose from in our LOVEFiLM Instant catalogue, some excellent films are newly released (or coming very soon) on Blu-ray and DVD. So, by way of inspiration for your rental list, here’s my personal pick:

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Chernobyl, it turns out radiation poisoning is the least to be worried about. A gang of intrepid tourists head to the fallout zone with a local guide and Chernobyl Diaries captures their terrifying experience.

It’s not high art, or even particularly middle art, but what is it about horror movies set in dark abandoned buildings that grabs me? Yelling at characters for making stupid decisions, for one. Plus a nod to The Simpsons, with the brief appearance of a mutated fish. Or maybe I’ve just watched The Simpsons too much.

Next up is Red Tails, which looks like it might be weightier stuff, but is actually an old-fashioned, air combat romp telling the story of an African-American Fighter Squadron during WWII. The film deals with the racism they experienced, as well as their ultimate triumphs, but George Lucas keeps the tone light and there’s lots of fun to be had.

Also on a historical note (tenuous link ahoy!), Mad Men Season 5 offers more 60s cool and scandals aplenty. I should admit that I’ve yet to see a single episode (I know, I know: I’ll take myself to the gallows now), but the upside of this is that five seasons of the show in quick succession are mine for the taking.

Margin Call will soon be available on Blu-ray and DVD, a film I missed at the cinema but have been desperate to see. Based on the very real and recent mess in the financial sector, it might not sound that interesting, but I’m reliably informed it’s a well-written must-see with an excellent cast: Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany and many more.

Finally, two films that aren’t new but are coming to Blu-ray for the first time…

First, one of those formative childhood movies: Flight of the Navigator. Set in 1986, a boy returns after an eight year disappearance, apparently unchanged from the 12-year-old he was when he vanished. It includes the single greatest alien-robot in movie history, who’s called Max and likes The Beach Boys and does impressions. What more could you want?

Empire of the Sun is a Steven Spielberg classic that was long overdue the high resolution treatment. A young Christian Bale ends up in a WWII prison camp after being separated from his parents in Shanghai, and the film expertly mixes the terrors of war with a beautiful sense of childlike wonder.

Check out the New Releases and Coming Soon sections regularly to keep up with the latest releases, but be warned… you might end up with the kind of rental list I have.

628 titles, and counting…

Alexa Muir, UK Merchandising Manager

If your thumbs are twitching for some gamer action, there’s plenty here to keep your addiction satisfied. Or fuel it even further…

Shooters

• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier continues the much-loved gameplay of its forebears while offering fresh new challenges.Set in the near future (i.e. after Greece leave the Euro), warfare has become a delicate combination of negotiating table and covert action. A new soldier has been created: better than the best, and able to remain undetected on the battlefield.Yes, Deus Ex kind of did it already (and Metal Gear Solid before that), but this is Ghost Recon, so there’s lots of action to go with your stealth.
• Max Payne 3 is the much anticipated sequel of the sequel, and Mr. Payne isn’t doing too well.No longer a cop, and addicted to painkillers, Max takes a protection job in Sao Paulo, Brazil; but soon finds himself alone on the streets of an unfamiliar city, fighting for his life, and searching for answers.Plenty of amazing visuals and an in-depth story make this one game not to miss.

Role Playing Game

• Dragon’s Dogma has exhilarating action and the freedom to explore, and interact with, the world around you.And while this could easily have been just another RPG where you seek out and kill dragons, Dogma does it a little differently: your partners – or pawns, as they’re called in-game – fight independently, learning skills and abilities from you or your friends. And you can swap your pawn with a friend over Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network to gain experience.Expect lots of ye olde English, fireballs and sword fighting. Oh, and I continue to wait for a game that lets me be a dragon. (That isn’t Spyro, by the way. He’s just not scary enough.)

Platform

• LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes arrives on 22 June, and – just like the first game – your characters have different suits to put on, each of which grant different abilities. This time, though, you have all new characters to get to grips with, including a certain Man of Steel…Personally, I can’t wait to jump back into those little Lego boots and smack the Joker upside the head to collect some Lego studs.But then again, I don’t get out much.

And probably won’t, with this little lot to keep me busy. Until next time, happy gaming…

Alexa Muir, UK Merchandising Manager

January is always a time of looking back while looking forward, preferably without tripping over the cat. So here’s my Games pick of 2011…

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim set the RPG world alight in November. With its vast geography, excellent graphics and immersive story, dragon slaying has never been so fun. Meanwhile, in 1940s LA…
2. L.A. Noire broke new bounds, merging the worlds of cinema and games for the first time. An ensemble cast of movie and TV actors are on hand as Detective Phelps tries to clean up the streets, and motion capture technology shows a suspect’s every twitch and nervous gulp.



3. Portal 2 offered more puzzle delights, albeit those involving a maniacal robot and a gun that shoots holes in space. Lateral, three-dimensional thinking is required here – it’s funny, frustrating and endlessly brilliant, and worth all the hair pulling, especially for the song in the end credits.
4. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Fortune saw straight-up adventure fare with Nathan Drake, fortune hunter extraordinaire. Gorgeous to look at and with gameplay to match, Drake is on a daring trek in search of the ‘Atlantis of the Sands’. Finally: soldiers, shooting, explosions… but no whiff of the words ‘Duty’ or ‘Call’, it’s…
5. Gears of War 3, with even more of the steroid-infested stuff we loved about the prequels. The plot may not be entirely original but the characters and the action more than make up for it.

And so to 2012, and the games I’m ready to sacrifice a goat for in the year ahead…

1. The Last Guardian, from the people who brought us Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, promises more beautiful imagery and clever gameplay.
2. Bioshock Infinite set in a city floating in the sky, and – if the previous games in the series are any indication – likely to be another immersive and stunningly beautiful shooter.
3. Aliens: Colonial Marines may finally come out, after years of waiting, and any game that lets me act out scenes from Aliens has to be a good thing.
4. Halo 4 is also, possibly, on the cards – it goes without saying that it’ll sell like hotcakes. And last, but very much not least – it is, in fact, my most anticipated game of 2012…
5. Mass Effect 3, an intergalactic, shooter-adventure-RPG, beautifully mashing game genres to amazing effect. A malevolent alien race called The Reapers has invaded our galaxy, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Only Commander Shepherd and his crew remain to take on this menace, and the price of failure is the total destruction of Earth. The weeks can’t go fast enough, because it’s due in March.

And notable mentions should also go to Street Fighter X Tekken, Grand Theft Auto V, Max Payne 3, and the rumoured Assassins Creed III. With this lot on the way, 2012 looks like being another great year for the gamer. Let me know what you’re most looking forward to…

Alexa Muir, UK Merchandising Manager

I don’t know about everyone else but I had an excellent Bank Holiday weekend – hours of watching films and playing games, mainly LA Noire, which has taught me that being a woman in the ’40s was not good for your health, and that if someone looks away while talking to you, they are definitely lying. Most of the time. But even with the extra day I still haven’t caught up on even half of the things I want to see and play…

I totally missed Source Code when it came out in the cinema – a film with Jake Gyllenhaal, a science-fiction/time-twisty plot and directed by Duncan Jones, the man who gave me Moon to love and cherish forever. It’s top of my rental list, with a few others which have “odd” as a common feature.

As a big fan of sci-fi and anything weird, I’m also looking forward to seeing Attack the Block. I used to watch Adam and Joe religiously and I love it that Joe of the duo has gone on to make a proper film. Even if I suspect that, post riots, my sympathies may be a bit skewed towards the aliens…

In the same area of weird, Red Riding Hood, Sucker Punch and Beastly also appeal, though with differing expectations of quality. Likewise, I’ve heard mixed things about Your Highness, and while I worry that the trailer may have included the best bits, I’m still hoping to be entertained, and a parody is always welcome. Though I know it won’t come close to The Princess Bride.

Lastly, I have been dying to see Insidious. The moment I saw the trailer, with the weird face behind Patrick Wilson, I knew it was a film for me – horror movies that are genuinely frightening and spooky are always right up my street. I get chills just thinking about that trailer…

All this film watching is going to seriously hamper my game-playing time, of course. I haven’t even finished Gears of War 1 and 2, and yet I cannot wait to see Gears of War 3; more alien busting action from the one and only Marcus Fenix. Oo-rah!

Then there’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which looks ah-maz-ing, and has three different modes of play: action, stealth or hacking. Though I suspect my usual stealthy preference will give way to all-out ‘blow it up! blow it up!’ terror when I face a boss.

And finally, there’s the return of zombies, albeit in a beautiful holiday setting in Dead Island. To be honest, I will likely watch Dead Island being played, rather than play it myself. Horror movies are fine, but horror-survival games… well, we don’t get on. I blame Silent Hill. It freaked me out forever and now I can’t play horror games at all.

Seeing all of that I’m wondering when I’m ever going to fit it all in… If anyone has one of those time-turner things from Harry Potter, please get in touch.

Alexa Muir, Merchandising Manager

With E3 behind us, it’s now time to wait… and wait… and wait some more for some of the titles that were promised. But there are a few new games to keep us all going until the big hitters arrive. Personally, I cannot wait for Mass Effect 3, and everything else seems to fade into insignificance next to it – but I’ll take what I can get in the meantime.

One of the games with the biggest fan fare (and then the biggest critical backlash) was Duke Nukem Forever (PS3, Xbox360), which was in development hell for over a decade. Irreverent, rude, crude and – in some ways – hugely out of date, the new Duke proved to be as controversial as ever. And mixed reviews surely make for a perfect rental – time to decide for yourself?

Shooters have been a feature of the last month, with Infamous 2 coming to PS3 exclusively, the Red Faction franchise continuing in Red Faction: Armageddon, the game adaptation of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and scary action in F.E.A.R. 3. I don’t know about you but I’m exhausted already. If shooters aren’t your thing, older games have also returned, with Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition bringing new characters to do battle with, Alice returning with knife in hand in Alice: Madness Returns, and – of course – the unforgettable Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the 3DS. Yes, we’ve played it before, but it’s always a happy sight to see Link back (and this time in 3D), even if it is for an old adventure.

Last, but in no way least, Child of Eden has been released – the much anticipated game that showed what motion controls could do in last year’s E3. Beautiful, mesmerising and very similar to Rez (if you don’t remember Rez, you really missed out), Child of Eden is putting the Kinect and PlayStation Move through their paces. You can also play it with a controller if you want, though you won’t look nearly as silly, *cough*, I mean interesting.

Alexa Muir, Merchandising Manager

Some major players are duking it out in the gaming world right now, and you can rent them all from us, with each of the main formats catered for. It’s time to get your game face on…

1. L.A. Noire (PS3, Xbox360) – Cole Phelps is an up and coming member of the LAPD. And corruption is rife in post-war Hollywood, with plenty of opportunities for a hungry cop to rise through the ranks. Astounding visuals and a story to rival the movie industry, L.A. Noire puts players in their own film-noir, challenging them to solve crimes and catch the perps. All while wearing a fedora. Highly recommended.

2. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean (DS, PSP, PS3, Xbox360, Wii) – Avast! Ye scurvy sons o’ dogs, there be Lego pirates aboard. Or something like that, anyway. Jack Sparrow and friends are the latest characters to be turned into little play pieces, and this features all the destruction, platforming and puzzling fun you’d expect from  the Lego franchise.

3. DiRT 3 (PS3, Xbox360) – Rallying returns, and this time in even more detail. Whether you want to race over snow, roads, dirt, or through the rain, DiRT 3 has it all.

4. Brink (PS3, Xbox360) – The Ark is a man-made floating city. Originally built as a self-sufficient habitat, it has become the refuge for thousands fleeing the rising water levels. With civil war looming, you have the power to decide the fate of the Ark – and with it, the fate of humanity itself.

5. Portal 2 (PS3, Xbox360) – Mind-boggling puzzles abound in Portal, as your gun opens gravitational holes in the walls, floor or ceiling, and you use these to reach seemingly impossible places.

6. Plants vs. Zombies (DS) – The now infamous zombies-eating-plants game has finally come to a console, so if you missed this little gem and you have a DS why not try holding back the horde – using only sunflowers, pea shooters and other leafy allies.

7. Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie (DS) – This is the sixth instalment in the series (remade from the original SNES version), which – as always – involves battling across vast areas, exploring new towns and wandering through dungeons. Just another day in the Dragon Quest world.

8. Dead or Alive: Dimensions (3DS) – The world-renowned fighting game Dead or Alive returns in 3D for the new 3DS console. You can move into the foreground or background to mount side attacks, and use the touch screen to execute combos.

9. Mortal Kombat (PS3, Xbox360) – Another returnee, another fighting game – in this case, Mortal Kombat: upping the ante on high definition gore and fatalities. Definitely not for the squeamish.

10. Virtua Tennis 4 (PS3, Xbox360, Wii) – If you’re tired of just watching the tennis (but don’t want to actually leave the house), you can’t go far wrong trying out Virtua Tennis 4. Added compatibility with PlayStation Move, and the Kinect, means you don’t even need to hold the controller anymore, just swing your arm and body as you would in real tennis. It may be wise to move small children and pets out the way before trying this…

Alexa Muir, Merchandising Manager

It’s a great time to catch up on some movies and games – here are some of the top titles you can add to your rental list right now…

DVD

1. Meet the Parents – Little Fockers – Ten years on, Greg and Pam are married with two children. But Greg still has to struggle to be in the “circle of trust”…
2. Rubber – Bizarre comedy horror is the order of the day in this tale of Robert, a killer with psychic powers. He also happens to be a rubber tyre.
3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – In the final chapter of the Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth is faced with a murder charge and only her old friend Mikael Blomkvist can help her.
4. Tron – Legacy – Sam Flynn is the son of Kevin Flynn, the man who built the Grid. Thrown into the same dangerous world as his father before him, Sam must survive the gladiatorial games. And perhaps find Kevin in the process.
5. Monsters – Small budget but no small impact from this sci-fi drama, where two people must cross a no-man’s land in Central America, declared such after a NASA probe crashed back to Earth, and brought something with it.
6. Of Gods and Men – Faith and trust are put to the test when eight French monks decide to stay in the face of major political and religious instability in North Africa.
7. Loose Cannons – Inspiring, satirical comedy about two gay brothers, both trying to come out at the same time to their rather conservative family.
8. Fred The Movie – True love never did run smooth, and this is especially the case for Fred, who is in love with the girl next door, but never gets a chance to see her.
9. Freight – Local ‘businessman’ Gabe Taylor crosses paths with a Russian gang and, when his daughter is taken to be sold into the sex trade, takes matters into his own hands.
10. Chatroom – Aaron Johnson stars in a thriller where four strangers meet William online in a new chat room, little realising what their new friend is capable of.

Blu-ray

1. Tron – Legacy – Blu-ray – The cyber universe is brought richly to life in this high-definition version, where Sam Flynn must try to survive in a world that has some new rules since his father’s visit twenty years before.
2. Monsters – Blu-ray – The terrors of a quarantined area in Mexico in vivid sound and vision, as two people try to escape with their lives.
3. Meet the Parents – Little Fockers – Blu-ray – Comedy capers in the third film in the series with Robert De Niro still looking down on son-in-law Ben Stiller.
4. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – Blu-ray – Noomi Rapace takes the role of Lisbeth for the third time, as the conspiracy that has dictated her life begins, at last, to unravel.
5. Of Gods and Men – Blu-ray – Perched in the mountains of North Africa, eight monks decide to stay in their monastery after foreign workers are killed in the area.

Games

1. Mortal Kombat (PS3, XB360) – The classic beat ‘em up returns, with all the blood, gore, and fatalities any Mortal Kombat fan could hope for.
2. SOCOM: Special Forces (PS3) – Step into the boots of a NATO Operations Commander and lead an elite, five-man squad through inhospitable jungles, city streets, and crumbling urban ruins, there to engage an army of rebel fighters and discover their plans.
3. Michael Jackson: The Experience (DS, PS3, PSP, Wii, XB360) – Sing and dance along with the King of Pop.
4. Kinect: Fantastic Pets (XB360) – Forget puppies and kittens, in Fantastic Pets you can evolve your animal into a number of magical creatures, including unicorns and dragons.
5. Zumba Fitness (PS3, Wii, XB360) – Get fit while you dance to hot, Latin tunes.

Alexa Muir, Merchandising Manager

The Oscars have no doubt provided much inspiration for your rental list, and here’s a little more – our latest releases on DVD and Blu-ray…

Latest DVDs

1. 3 Idiots – Two old friends recall their lost comrade and set out to find him.
2. Accidents Happen – Geena Davis stars in this fable of family, fate and misfortune.
3. Alpha and Omega – Two wolves (voiced by Hayden Panettiere and Justin Long) find they have to band together to get back home.
4. Buried – Does what it says on the box: Ryan Reynolds wakes up, buried alive.
5. Burke and Hare – Bring out your dead! Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis team up to rob some graves.
6. From Time to Time – Directed by Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes and starring Maggie Smith, From Time to Time is a ghost story where secrets will be revealed and one family will face its past.
7. Open Season 3 – Boog, Elliot and their forest friends return for another adventure.
8. Red – Helen Mirren. Morgan Freeman. John Malkovich. Bruce Willis. They’re undercover agents, Retired and Extremely Dangerous. What more could you want?
9. The Kid – Based on the international bestselling book, The Kid is an inspiring tale of overcoming adversity.
10. The Social Network – Oscar-winning David Fincher film, based on the true story of the founder of Facebook.

Latest Blu-rays

1. Buried – Join Ryan Reynolds in his race against time to escape a claustrophobic death trap, in vivid Blu-ray sound and vision.
2. Burke and Hare – A medical fraternity needs cadavers but there’s a distinct lack in dead bodies. Burke and Hare, however, have some ideas…
3. Game of Death – Betrayed by his former allies in the CIA, Wesley Snipes does what he does best in this action thriller.
4. Red – A retired team of black-ops agents are reassembled for one last job.
5. The Social Network – Jesse Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg, the infamous founder of Facebook.

Alexa Muir, Merchandising Manager

Say goodbye to those January blues and hello to the year of the Rabbit. And bouncing into the new bunny year, here are the latest releases on DVD and Blu-ray…

Latest DVDs

1. 22 Bullets – Jean Reno (Leon) returns in this thriller which sees him shot 22 times before swearing vengeance on those involved.
2. Dare – Teenage angst abounds when three teens dare to be different.
3. Eat, Pray, Love – Based on the bestselling book, Julia Roberts fronts this tale of self-discovery.
4. French Film – A Frenchman’s Guide to Love – A romantic comedy where an English man turns to the wisdom of a French director to understand love. After all, what don’t the French know about love?
5. I Spit On Your Grave – The video nasty is given an update. Don’t watch while having your dinner.
6. Mr. Nice – The life of the infamous Howard Marks, with all his wheeling and dealing… mainly the latter.
7. The Rebound – Catherine Zeta-Jones unexpectedly falls for her male (and much younger) nanny in this ‘cougar comedy’.
8. The Runaways – Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are the leads of a real-life, all-girl, ‘70s rock band, who fell victim to their own success.
9. Takers – An apparently unstoppable criminal gang plan the biggest robbery of their lives. One detective (Matt Dillon) is determined to stop them.
10. Winter’s Bone – Caring for her younger siblings and threatened with losing their house, Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) searches for her AWOL, meth-cooking dad in this critically acclaimed drama.

Latest Blu-rays

1. 22 Bullets – Revenge is a dish best served cold, especially if you’re Jean Reno and you’ve been shot 22 times.
2. Eat, Pray, Love – Doubts and dissatisfaction pushes one woman to seek out meaning in her life.
3. Mr. Nice – Rhys Ifans plays Howard Marks, a family man who takes up drug smuggling to provide for his family.
4. Takers – Matt Dillon tracks a gang of expert criminals, convinced that they are bound to make a mistake sooner or later.
5. Winter’s Bone – Hard-hitting drama featuring a young woman doing all she can to save her family from losing their home.

Alexa Muir, Merchandising Manager