Out on DVD

Jennifer's Body (out 22 February 10, Cert. 15)

Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, directors Karyn Kusama / M. David Mullen, 2009, Cert. 15

MonkeyScore: 60%

Hailing from the production team behind indie smash-hit Juno, Jennifer's Body is a horror/comedy about possessed teenagers and satanic rock stars. High-school student Needy (Amanda Seyfried, Sophie in 2008's humongous hit Mamma Mia!) has to protect the town against her beautiful but dangerous best friend Jennifer, (Megan Fox - of Transformers fame). Jennifer's fit body now houses a hungry demon after an encounter with a Satan worshipping rock band. She starts targeting male students to feed appetite for human flesh, while the seemingly powerless Needy looks in terror.

Megan Fox may not be the most gifted thespian of the young generation but she makes up for it by being rather hot. Co-star Seyfried fares a bit better here. Both are helped tremendously by the decent script and often witty dialogues penned by the talented Diablo Cody. Yet this is no Juno. Jennifer's Body doesn't quite work as a slasher film, nor does it as a teen comedy. As a mixture of both, however, it manages to be surprisingly entertaining, in a Saturday-night no-brain-power-required disposable kind of way. A bit of disposable & gory fun, just the ticket if you're not in the mood to think much.

We have secured 3 copies of Jennifer's Body DVD for you to win to in our competition this week, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox.

Sons Of Anarchy - Season 1 (out 22February 10, Cert. 15)

Ron Perlan, Charlie Hunman, Katey Sagal, 2009, Cert. 15

MonkeyScore: tbc%

Charming, California. Members of a local outlaw motorcycle club Jackson Teller (Charlie Hunman), his mom, Gemma (Katey Sagal), and stepfather, Clay (Ron Perlman), are bound by both blood and duty. Each of them is a prominent figure in a gang that runs a legal auto body shop, and a less legit arms trade business. Series one follows follows each member as they struggle to contain their family secrets while battling rivals and the police.

review coming soon

Strength & Honour (out 22 February 10, Cert.15)

Vinnie Jones, Michael Madsen, Richard Chamberlain, dir. Mark Mahon, 2007, cert. 15

MonkeyScore: 41%

Sean Kelleher (Michael Madsen) gave up boxing after accidentally killing his friend in the ring years ago. His son needs expensive surgery to treat a fatal heart disorder. Desperate, Kelleher enters an annual underground bare-knuckles boxing tournament held by a band of gypsies. The prize money would cover the costs of the operation but the odds look nasty when Kelleher finds out he'll have to fight Smasher (Vinnie Jones), a tough fighter who not only won the previous year but has already killed two men in the ring.

Madsen is usually a decent performer but his Irish accent doesn't quite cut it, and is not helped by rather dismal dialogues. Vinnie Jones does his thing reasonably well but the material hardly makes the most of him. Shame as the underground world of gypsy fighting was an interesting setting. The run-off-the-mill story could have led to an average yet watchable film, but somehow Strength & Honour manages to fall short of low expectations.

We have 3 DVDs of muscle-man Vinnie's Strength & Honour on DVD for you to win to in our competition this week

Michael Jackson's This Is It (out 22 February 10, Cert. PG)

Michael Jackson, produced & directed by Kenny Ortega, 2009, cert. PG

MonkeyScore: 78%

Michael Jackson's This Is It gives a glimpse into what Jackson's mammoth 50-date residency at the O2 could have yielded, had the King Of Pop lived. It gives rare access to the backstage world of what was to be a massive production as Michael created the show and rehearsed for the series of sold-out UK concerts. This Is It follows Michael from April through to June 2009, and was put together by his producer and friend Kenny Ortega with the full support of his estate.

This Is It was put together from many hours of taped rehearsal sessions never intended for theatrical release or indeed home entertainment. There is no fancy camera work. The editing is kept light, too, to preserve the integrity of the performance. The resulting film is both very intimate and completely surreal, and true to its original brief: the footage was commissioned by Michael who privately wanted to document the rehearsals for his own library. Michael's estate may have worked closely with the production to release the picture yet a perfectionist like Michael would have possibly asked for quite a few changes. While he is commanding when performing the likes of Man In The Mirror, Michael appears frail almost to breaking point at other times: the camera captured it all, like the fly on the wall that it was. By its very nature This Is It is a clip show, a montage of various bits and pieces cobbled together with a loose narrative thread. From a purely 'film' perspective, it's weak at best, even by music film standards. Yet This Is It redeems itself ten times over by offering fans a side of Michael that has rarely been seen during his lifetime: Michael the incredibly gifted performer, hard at work to produce a show he could be rightly proud of, warts and all. The fans will obviously need no prompting to lap This Is It up. The others will probably struggle but should persist: anyone with even the most passing interest in music should watch til the end credits roll.