DVD roundup June

I can't blame HMV this time. I did it all myself by looking at Amazon...

The Bourne Ultimatum - it's still a tremendously thrilling experience although my favourite of the trilogy remains Supremacy. Ultimatum does suffer from a slight case of sequelitis, especially in the car chase sequence which seems determined to top that in it's predecessor but without the same effectiveness. David Strathairn makes a steely adversary even if Albert Finney is wasted. The Paul Greengrass commentary is typically informative and generous. I do hope though that the powers that be *don't* try to extend the franchise further. It would be a shame to see it succumb to the movie law of diminishing returns.

Out of the Blue - this disc has a lot of very useful extras that fill in the background to the true-life events depicted on screen. It becomes clear why the film is made with such care as the traumatic happenings in Aramoana have left a deep mark on the community. Out of the Blue is the complete antithesis of the Hollywood action film. There's no superhuman cop to save the day, no snarling embodiment of evil to revile. The sense of panic and confusion is perfectly captured and the acting complements this. No histrionics, no flashiness. As deeply moving as it was on first viewing.

The Chronicles of Riddick Director's Cut - I was hoping that the Director's Cut might make more sense than the theatrical version, and in some ways it does. The roles of Vaako and Dame Vaako are expanded considerably so their Macbeth-like subplot now feels less like an afterthought (plus more Karl Urban is always a good thing) However, the addition of Riddick's Furyan visions actually make that side of the plot more confusing. OK, so the film was supposed to be one of a sequence and in the overall scheme of things, Furya might have made sense, but as a one-off it's not helpful.