Conan

Valhalla Rising (DVD)

~ Nikki Baughan

Hellboy

Set in the desolate wilderness of Scotland, in 1000 AD, Danish director Winding Refn’s film focuses on the aptly names One Eye (Mikkelsen) a mute and unbeaten warrior of supernatural strength. Murdering his clan captors, and aided by young boy Are (Stevenson), One Eye makes his escape; encountering a group of Christian crusaders, the pair boards a longboat headed to the Holy Lands but, after they lose their way in fog, ends up on unknown shores. Without food or water, and preyed on by the locals, the group search desperately for a way home, led by One Eye whose vision mark him out as a prophet of sorts. As madness descends, an hellish battle for survival ensues.

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Sherlock Holmes (DVD)

~ Nikki Baughan

No Clue

When it was announced that Guy Ritchie was to bring a new version of Sherlock Holmes to the big screen, many thought that the director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and the iconic gentleman sleuth created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would not make for easy bedfellows. And now that we’ve seen Richie’s revamped Holmes in all its glory, it seems the sceptics were right. For although this modern Sherlock may be popcorn friendly it is, in essence, a by-the-numbers action movie with misplaced literary pretensions that will leave fans of the novel cold.

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