DVD round-up from The TOMB

'Breakfast on Pluto', 'Jarhead' and 'Just Friends' all come under the microscope.

May 17 2006

Sorry for the delay in DVD action this week, but was busy swanning around New York doing interviews for the forthcoming remake of 'The Omen'. Expect them to hit The TOMB soon, but for now, let's take a look at this week's new releases.

And I'm afraid to say it's slim pickings. Highlight of the week is 'Jarhead', Sam Mendes' admirable if flawed rumination on the futility of war.

Based on writer Anthony Swafford's experiences as a marine during the Gulf War in 1991, it's a strange mix of comedy and drama, satire and 'soldiers in training' pic, and the result is quite unlike any war film ever made.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and Jamie Foxx all deliver fine performances, and Mendes directs with typical visual panache, yet 'Jarhead' never quite grips as it should and the result is a strangely empty experience that fails to live long in the memory.

It's nevertheless worth a look, as is 'Breakfast on Pluto', Neil Jordan's schizophrenic adaptation of Patrick McCabe's bestselling novel.

Featuring a who's who of Irish acting talent (Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea) the film's violent shifts in style and tone is sure to annoy some, but I thoroughly enjoyed Jordan's jarring journey from start to finish.

My final recommendation of the week is as surprising to me as it might be to you – 'Just Friends'.

Starring 'new Chevy Chase' Ryan Reynolds as a fat dude trying to escape from the 'friend zone' with his high school sweetheart, the film had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion.

And while 'Just Friends' central message might be slightly questionable (thin guys are attractive, fat guys aren't), it's nevertheless worth a look thanks to Reynolds' likable charm and a wonderfully unhinged performance from Anna Faris.

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