Check out this week’s DVD picks from Avengers: Infinity War to Love, Simon

AVENGERS: Infinity War is the big beast in this week's Sun DVD reviews, but there are also quirky rom-coms in How To Talk To Girls At Parties and Love, Simon.

And it's a treat for horror fans, with Incident In A Ghostland alongside creepy classics Death Line, Assault and Apprentice To Murder. There's even boxset bliss with Keeping Faith and Nashville. Read on...

Avengers: Infinity War (12)

Out Sep 3

The latest instalment of Marvel's superhero juggernaut in one word? Scale.

This is a huge movie – in all aspects you can imagine. The gargantuan action set pieces, the seriously stunning special effects, not to mention the endless list of your favourite superheroes. This film is truly something to marvel at.

The gathering of much-loved characters from all the Marvel universe - from Iron Man and the Guardians of the Galaxy to Black Panther - into one blockbuster is "immensely satisfying”, as one of the film’s executive producers puts it in the showcase of DVD bonus features.

Though this praise does come with a note of caution: if this is your first venture into the Marvel universe, you’d best not start here.

Put simply, the superhero bingo will inherently be frustrating for Marvel newbies. It does try to fill in the gaps with dialogue, but not until another subplot comes along to confuse you even more. Moreover, the inexhaustible cast leaves little room for actors to shine, or characters to develop, as the plot gallops on to the next action sequence.

That aside, Infinity War is bold, it’s captivating, and it immediately immerses you in supervillain Thanos's quest to amass the universal power of the ‘Infinity Stones’ – each of which embodies and controls an essential aspect of existence. Yes, the 'collect-the-gems’ trope can be seen as clichéd, but it works effectively to simplify the film, especially when you’re focusing so much on soaking in its pure grandiose scale.

Big things happen in Avengers: Infinity War, big things. And throughout the rollercoaster
ride you’re about to strap into, just don’t forget to leave room for the post-credits scene.

★★★★☆

Winston Lo

How To Talk To Girls At Parties (15)

Out Sep 3

To teenage boys, girls can sometimes seem like another species. In John Cameron Mitchell’s How To Talk To Girls At Parties, which takes Neil Gaiman’s mysterious and unsettling short story and stretches it to a bubbly 100 minutes, this turns out to quite literally be the case.

The girl in question is Elle Fanning’s Zan, a rebellious member of a Spandex-clad group of humanoid extra-terrestrials. It's 1977 and they have taken up residence in a Croydon house for a strange ritual, the content of which is revealed to us only through the aliens’ idiosyncratic dialogue.

This makes it seem as though the audience have stumbled into the middle of the aliens’ story just as much as young protagonist Enn, a wannabe punk rocker who mistakenly ends up at the house with his friends and becomes smitten with Zan.

From then the film merrily bounds along without much structure as Zan becomes intrigued by 'the punk' and Enn is only too happy to show her more of it. The film is at once gleefully anarchic and a bit too try-hard in its presentation, happy to leave things to our interpretation but also too determined to make us feel the right way at its conclusion.

Fanning, however is delightfully naive, and is ably matched by Alex Sharp as Enn. There are
enjoyable turns from veterans such as Ruth Wilson and Joanna Scanlon, and Nicole Kidman has a bizarre role as Boadicea, an aging punk maven who presides over the local music venue.

★★★☆☆

Jasper Hart

Incident In A Ghostland (15)

Out Sep 3

A couple of teenage sisters move with their mum into a relative's dusty old mansion in the middle of nowhere.

And it's not long before some Texas Chainsaw Massacre-style creeps show up and wreak havoc.

Given that the local maniacs are a couple of depraved pant-sniffing weirdos with a fetish for dolls, it's a pity for the girls that their new home happens to be full of malformed porcelain monstrosities, some of which have a nasty habit of jumping out at anyone nearby.

One sister is a recluse who's obsessed with HP Lovecraft and has designs on becoming a successful horror writer herself.

And when we see flash-forwards of the girls as adults, she really is a top novelist whose latest best-seller is based on her childhood trauma.

But something's not right in at least one of these timelines...

This delivers on the jump scares and creepiness, as well as being a mind-teaser, although one can't help feeling something along the lines of Dolls' House would have been a more fitting title.

★★★☆☆

Jayme Bryla

Keeping Faith (12)

Out Sep 3

This portrayal of life in small-town Wales starts off slowly but is worth sticking with, for it turns as dark as any Scandi noir drama.

Eve Myles stars as Faith, a solicitor and new mum dealing with the disappearance of her husband Evan (Bradley Freegard)

Creator Matthew Hall carefully builds up the suspense, delivering twist after twist as Faith battles to keep her family together, her business afloat and her reputation intact.

Originally shown on Welsh-language channel S4C, this BBC iPlayer hit deserves your attention.

★★★★☆

Lou Ray

Love, Simon (12A)

Out now

At its heart, this is your typical rom-com/coming-of-age mash-up. It’s something you can’t get
away from. Love, Simon, however, comes across as a compassionate and whole-hearted attempt to bring the genre into the 21st century.

After a classmate anonymously comes out to the school, closeted Simon (Nick Robinson), strikes up an online romance with him under the pseudonym “Jacques”.

But when Martin (Logan Miller) finds out, he blackmails Simon - forcing him to betray his friends to keep his secret under wraps.

Encapsulating the genuine fears of a teenager who is not ready to be outed to the world - be it friends, family or total strangers - it's broken up by perfectly timed laugh-out-loud moments that show how, maybe, Simon didn’t have that much to worry about.

It's also beautifully brought together by a striking indie-pop soundtrack.

Rom-coms aren’t exactly known for their diversity. Centring the story on a gay man is a step in the right direction, but at times it’s difficult to look past the ‘perfection’ emanating from within. From the stereotypical good-looking lead to the well-off and fully supportive parents, the film seems to have missed a trick.

But, whilst full to the brim with clichés, it balances both rom and com to near perfection and
keeps you hanging on to the very end.

★★★★☆

Alex Smith

Nashville: The Final Season (12)

Out now

For any TV series, a six-season stint ought to be seen as a success many a screenwriter would bite your hand off for.

And so, 124 episodes later, Nashville is dropping the mic for one final time.

If you are completely new to Nashville, the series immerses viewers into the lives of country musicians and songwriters living in: you guessed it, Nashville.

But it’s not just a show full of feel-good music and uplifting stories. There is intrigue, mystery, sub-plot – all tangled up as Nashville’s country superstars juggle their relationships with the attention that comes with success, or lack thereof.

Hayden Panettiere and Sam Palladio front an extensive cast, which is sometimes to its downfall as some characters’ development leaves much to be desired. Something that’s a lot to ask for in a 24-episode season commitment.

Irrespective of this, Nashville has heart; and its unwavering passion for country music is to be admired.

★★★☆☆

Winston Lo

Death Line (18)

Out now

A long-forgotten London Underground line is the last place you would expect a hideout for a family of flesh-eating cannibals. Well, except in this 1972 grisly slasher film, now re-released on Blu-ray.

Young lovers Alex and Patricia (David Ladd and Sharon Gurney) find themselves caught up in the late-night disappearance of a sleazy politician.

Things take a turn for the worse when Underground workers are brutally murdered. Step in shoddy Police Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence) who is more interested in the perfect cuppa than solving these brutal crimes.

Things really ramp up when Patricia is attacked and taken as a slave to the cannibals' underground fortress.

The result is a fun, albeit gruesome ride that earns its place in the history of classic B-grade horror flicks.

A ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ cameo from Christoper Lee is worth it alone.

Warning though, there are some gut-churning scenes that are not for the faint-hearted (it was called Raw Meat for its US release). It may also have Londoners preferring the night bus over the last Piccadilly line Tube for a while. All things considered, a worthwhile journey.

★★★☆☆

Chris Tyrrell

Assault (15)

Out now

A prowler is on the loose near a girls' school in this 1971 British thriller starring Frank Finlay, now released on Blu-ray.

The girls all wear pink mini-skirts and knee-socks, while even the art teacher is dolled up in knee-high boots. It's quite jarring with the more sinister themes - almost like they ran out of Carry On ideas and decided to do Carry On Serial-Killing.

It's an insight into a bygone age, and feels hugely outdated now - and that curiosity value as a relic is almost its main selling point.

There's also some fun to be had spotting a young David Essex and James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont from Game Of Thrones) in small roles.

And it must be said, the film is quite good at keeping you guessing the identity of the prowler.

But the (unintentional) comedy provided by the incompetence of the cops and the teachers take away from any sense of dread. And as for the dodgy newspaper reporter, well... he's ridiculous beyond even the normal cliche of unscrupulous hacks - imagine Vic Reeves playing Frank Butcher.

★★☆☆☆

Jayme Bryla

Apprentice To Murder (15)

Out now

While its title evokes thoughts of a sinister plot to kill, Apprentice To Murder is anything but that at the outset. In fact, it could be mistaken for a pleasant Sunday matinee when we are introduced to the unassuming country boy Billy Kelly.

But when he teams up with eccentric "Pow-Wow" folk healer Dr John Reese (Donald Sutherland), the mood starts to turn as they investigate a sickness that has afflicted the community.

They blame the plague on a local hermit, and like Billy, the viewer is soon enthralled by the powers and curses of Dr Reece.

But the deeper motif running through this 1988 film - now restored and given a Blu-ray release - is how you choose to interpret his actions in the wider battle between good and evil.

★★★☆☆

Denise Dale

An Actor Prepares (15)

Out on demand Sep 3, DVD release to follow

This father/son bonding film, with cliché road-trip across America thrown into the mix, is a bit like much of the American landscape – mainly flat with a few wonderful peaks.

Jeremy Irons plays Atticus Smith, the last of a dying breed of Hollywood actors - literally dying in this case. After a heart attack the hardened alcoholic, drug-taking and womanising Atticus is forced to drive across America to his daughter’s wedding as his doctor won’t let him fly. His companion is his sensitive snowflake-son from whom he’s been estranged for 15 years.

The son, Adam, played with nuance by Jack Huston, is appalled at having to spend that much time with the person he never considered a father.

What ensues is the usual breaking down of barriers between an emotionally guarded duo who think they hate each other but underneath it all they actually don’t.

The script is funny and plays on an age-old comedy duo staple with Irons’ blasé attitude pitted against Huston’s earnest seriousness. Especially so when the duo are forced to change a tyre Adam loses all hope when his father admits 'I’m an actor - I don’t know how to do anything.'

While this may be true of many actors, which is why it strikes a chord, the lack of insight into this deeply troubled man is frustrating.

The title of the film is the same as that of the 'method acting' training manual by Konstantin Stanislavsky. It’s a clever title because Atticus is preparing for death, for what he leaves behind, his relationships with his children and presumably for meeting God.

Irons is fantastic as the aged yet delinquent actor but with his depth of talent it’s a shame the film didn’t draw more on the ‘Great Lakes’ of his emotional capability.

Huston plays Adam with sensitivity, with a palpable desire to break his snowflake chains yet with a deep confusion as to who he really is.

It’s just a shame that most of the film is these two characters just playing these two characters without effecting real change on each other. A bit like staring at a long endless highway in the middle of America waiting for the sight of the Grand Canyon or the Rocky Mountains to appear and give perspective to what is in front of you.

★★★☆☆

Louis Labovitch (also an actor)