Indian dvd rental

DVD & VIDEO: HHIII Cold Mountain DVD/VHS rental/retail

Wounded during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864, Confederate soldier Inman (Jude Law) deserts and heads homewards to North Carolina, where his faithful Penelope is preacher's daughter Ada (Nicole Kidman). Back at Cold Mountain, Ada struggles to keep her homestead going, while fending off a predatory Ray Winstone, piratical in beard and leather hat, as the local Home Guard leader responsible for hunting down deserters. For all the urgency of the war scenes, Cold Mountain leaves you with the impression of a highly artificial film, with an oddly vaporous, dream-like quality.

HHIII

Along Came Polly

DVD/VHS rental/retail

Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston should make a fetching rom-com couple, but they can't do much with this sporadically amusing hotch- potch from the co-writer of Meet The Parents. Aniston is meant to be a free spirit who lives for danger, while Stiller is an uptight risk assessor who always plays safe. But his allegedly hesitant nature doesn't stop him asking her out; and her bohemian impetuosity goes no farther than a palate for Indian food and salsa dancing. The only thing standing in the way of a happy ending is the lamentable lack of chemistry between them. Nicholas Barber

HHHHI

The Missouri Breaks

DVD retail

For many years after its release in 1976, The Missouri Breaks was condemned as a turkey - an out-of-control, bloated monster. All I can say is, they don't make out-of-control, bloated monsters like they used to. It's true that Marlon Brando saw Arthur Penn's western as a chance to try on every accent in his repertoire and every costume in the fancy dress shop, but Jack Nicholson gives his all as one of the horse rustlers being hounded by Brando's bounty hunter, and Thomas McGuane's dialogue overflows with colour and humour. NB