Check out this week’s DVD picks from The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society to The Last Warrior

THIS week's Sun DVD reviews include Downton Abbey's Lily James as an author after World War Two and Maxine Peake playing a female comic trying to make it big in the working men's clubs in the 1970s.

Our list of films this week are Funny Cow, The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society, James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge, The Last Witness, 2036 Origin Unknown, Black Clover, Beast, The Last Warrior and Le Crime De Monsieur Lange feature in this week's Sun DVD reviews. Read on...

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society (12)

Out Aug 27

In Nazi-occupied Guernsey during WW2, the starving inhabitants claim they are meeting as a book club to disguise the fact they are sharing dinners of contraband pork.

After the war the author Juliet Ashton (Downton Abbey’s Lily James) gets a letter from the pig farmer asking if she can recommend where to buy his favourite book - Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare.

She is intrigued by the story of the literary society and he invites her to the Channel Islands to speak to a meeting of the club - their first real author.

She isn’t exactly made welcome by some of the islanders but starts to discover there was more to the society than sharing books or even pigs.

A mysterious and tragic tale emerges of occupation, starvation, slave labour and forbidden love.
It’s a moving story with a saccharine-sweet ending.

★★★★☆

Lucy Shersby

Funny Cow (15)

Out Aug 27

Maxine Peake stars as a comedienne trying to hack it as a stand-up in the working men's clubs of the North in the 1970s.

She uses her troubled life as a misfit and domestic abuse victim to give her material a raw, unnerving edge of melancholy.

We see various stages of her life as flashbacks in which the adult comedienne (her character goes unnamed other than as the Funny Cow) interacts with her childhood self, and the timeline hops around briskly.

It's a device that doesn't work here, and leads more to head-scratching rather than any admiration of the director's sleight of hand - especially with Stephen Graham playing both Funny Cow's abusive dad and her downtrodden brother later in the timeline.

It's a ballsy film though: not only does it not shy away from the un-PC humour of the era, it resists the obvious narrative temptation to make its heroine a crusader against it. In fact, she's just as happy to use racist humour to get an easy laugh as her male counterparts.

Peake's Funny Cow isn't exactly a sympathetic figure either: wilful and disdainful of others, it's not hard to see why she alienates many of those around her, including her brute of a husband Bob (Line Of Duty's typecast but excellent bruiser Tony Pitts) or her wimpy intellectual lover Angus (Paddy Considine).

The film is said to be inspired by the life of 70s and 80s TV variety star Marti Caine, but it's in no way a biopic - any links are loose.

Nevertheless, Peake's performance is strong - but the best part of this film is without a doubt Alun Armstrong, who plays a washed-up comedian so dead inside after years of dying on stage that he's now impervious to the abuse.

Armstrong's hangdog misanthropy gives Funny Cow its most moving scene, and it's a film worth watching if only for that.

★★★☆☆

Jayme Bryla

The Last Witness (15)

Out Aug 27

In the aftermath of the Second World War, journalist Stephen Underwood (Alex Pettyfer) uncovers a conspiracy after investigating a spate of suicides by Polish ex-servicemen at a resettlement base in Bristol.

Underwood soon discovers the Allies’ cover-up of the Katyn Massacre: the slaughter of over 20,000 Polish POWs by the Soviet secret police in 1940. While Underwood becomes determined to break the story, the British government is equally intent on keeping the conspiracy secret.

Although The Last Witness carries a certain poignancy given that director Piotr Szkopiak’s own grandfather was murdered in the actual Katyn Massacre, the film doesn’t work as a political thriller.

Crucially, there’s barely any screen-time dedicated to conveying the atrocities, which subdues any emotional impact.

This is further marred by the insertion of a bizarre and unnecessary romantic subplot that sees Underwood and his brother John (Gwilym Lee) secretly compete for the affections of Jeanette (Talulah Riley) which completely distracts from the dark subject matter.

And Michael Gambon is criminally underused - restricted to a two-scene cameo as the editor of Underwood’s paper.

The Last Witness may be a compelling piece of history but ultimately the film lacks power as a successful drama.

★★☆☆☆

James Grant

James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge (PG)

Out now to download, DVD out soon

Avatar and Titanic director James Cameron's 2012 quest to travel 36,000ft down into the deepest part of the ocean is captured on camera in this enthralling documentary.

While there are numerous shots of mysterious sea beasties, this isn't a wildlife programme. It's the story of one man who, thanks to being a multi-millionaire movie director, was able to indulge his childhood passion for deep-sea adventure.

By adulthood, the passion has become an obsession and we see how Cameron's team of nerds try to overcome obstacles - and tragedy - to get their man seven miles down and back in a one-man submersible.

The documentary was released in US cinemas as a 3D film back in 2014 but it's now finally getting its UK release.

That it's not in 3D may be a shame for some, but the visuals are still sumptuous, as you might expect from Cameron, and his quest inspires the same sense of wonder in the viewer that he felt as a child.

With the DVD slightly delayed, all we can do is repeat the dirctor's words to his crew at the outset of his terrifying dives: 'Release, release, release!'

★★★★★

Jayme Bryla

2036 Origin Unknown (12)

Out Aug 27

What does the future of artificial intelligence look like? Will AI take our jobs? Will it annihilate mankind? Would that be a bad thing? This new sci-fi film by director Hasraf Dulull explores these big questions in this trippy space movie.

Since the last human exploration mission to Mars ended in tragedy, an AI system called ARTI is running the show under limited human supervision.

Mackenzie 'Mack' Wilson (Katee Sackhoff), a mission controller who lost her father during the failed Mars mission, is uncomfortable with humans taking a back seat. “We made AI to help us, not to lead us”, she says.

When ARTI starts a global conflict and an 'origin unknown', i.e. a black cube with powers, is discovered on Mars, Mack realises her new robot friend has a plan of its own.

2036 Origin Unknown's cinematography is innovative: some shots, outlined with electric blue and slightly out of focus, are from ARTI’s point of view, while the shots from Mars are surprisingly convincing. The long abstract visual sections feel more like a bizarre music video then a movie, but they are fun to watch.

The story is a bit ludicrous and doesn’t entirely add up, yet it’s still enjoyable. If you want to fear for the future of mankind and yet feel strangely positive about its demise, this is the film for you.

★★★☆☆

Sophia Moss

Black Clover: Season 1 Part 1 (12)

Out now

Our hero in this anime is Aster, a 15-year-old boy who has vowed to become The Wizard King one day, despite his complete lack of any magical ability whatsoever.

Undaunted by this challenge, Aster goes to join the Magic Knights, a skilled group of mages who protect the kingdom, and is accepted by The Black Bulls, a ragtag group of outcasts and rejects. From there, he begins to make himself useful alongside his new comrades.

The Blu-Ray release contains the first ten episodes of the manga, which shows how Aster comes to join the Bulls and his first mission.

The animation is smooth, and the soundtrack helps tie the story together. Unfortunately, the characterisation for Aster depicts him as a very loud person, and as a result, the majority of his lines feel like the volume has been turned up to 11.

Regardless, the story itself is fun and the rest of the characters are all enjoyable to watch, so it all really comes down to how much you can put up with the protagonist’s yelling.

★★★★☆

Graham Osborne

The Last Warrior (18)

Out now

This loosely historical action romp is Conan The Barbarian with a pinch of Game Of Thrones thrown in to spice things up. It may not be everyone’s first choice on the 'what to watch' menu as it plunges you into a world of extreme violence and brutality with blood and gore and, yes, more blood.

When Lutobor (Aleksey Faddeev), a noble and formidable warrior, becomes unintentionally entangled with a rival tribe, his wife and son are kidnapped. Lutobor then embarks on a dangerous mission to save his family, taking with him a sly and crafty captured Scythian as his guide, precariously navigating the hazardous wilds.

Despite somewhat poor acting skills and a slight lack of creativity, The Last Warrior does manage to pull you in and captivate you with non-stop action and adventure.

★★★☆☆

Denise Dale

Beast (15)

Out now

This captivating psychological thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat for the duration, and kick your brain into gear.

Jessie Buckley is incredible as Moll, trying to decide between her controlling and intimidating mother and her growing relationship with outsider Pascal, who is suspected of dark crimes.

Johnny Flynn shatters expectations of a typical criminal suspect as Pascal on the tiny and isolated island.

While the ending may leave some people disappointed and longing for more after the twists and turns of the plot, it will stick in your mind for days to come.

★★★★☆

Emma James

Le Crime De Monsieur Lange (PG)

Out Aug 27

Jean Renoir’s classic film has been restored into 4K and re-released on DVD.

It tells the story of Monsieur Lange (played by René Lefèvre) a man who works for a magazine publishing company. One day his lecherous and selfish boss fakes his own death to escape his creditors, leaving the staff of the company to form a cooperative, where things go well for them before their former chief returns demanding his stake in the company.

The plot is fairly simplistic, told through flashbacks of the lead up to the crime itself, yet the ending itself may leave you scratching your head somewhat, although, in many ways, it does fit in with the overall tone of the film.

Also included on the disc is a 30-minute featurette explaining the link between the film itself and French politics in the 1930s. The documentary also features Renoir’s biographer Pascal Mérigeau and Dominique Maillet, an expert in French cinema.

Le Crime de Monsieur Lange is a fine, lighthearted film that will keep you entertained.

★★★★☆

Graham Osborne