DVD OF THE WEEK

HARRY BROWN ****
Starring: Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer. Dir: Daniel Barber

Harry Brown is very efficient; within the first 10 minutes we've been introduced to old Harry (whom we immediately like, what with him being played by Michael Caine and all), his best friend, his sick wife, and the murderous young punks who terrorize the run-down council estate where they all live.
Then Harry's wife dies and the thugs kill his friend and his days of avoiding trouble and recommending asking the police to help are over – time for the old marine to take a stand.
Vigilante films have experienced a recent revival with everything from big star vehicles (Taken with Liam Neeson) to bloody low-rent versions (the Aussie thriller Horseman with no-one in particular) and everything in between. Harry Brown seems to be a slightly more thoughtful variant, with particular attention paid to its location and atmosphere. It is certainly more nuanced than most and has an ending that visits unexpected places.
Caine is predictably perfect (a possible Oscar contender if the film's more unpleasant moments – and there are a good few – don't alarm the Academy), Emily Mortimer makes the most of what could have been a very bland cop role, and as far as violent nasty vigilante pensioner thrillers go, this is the absolute bollocks.

The Special Relationship (***) starts with archival footage of British and American leaders, from Roosevelt to Churchill through Thatcher and Reagan, and alights in 1992 with Tony Blair in America studying Clinton's election tactics. A quick four years later Tony and Bill, and their wives, form a friendship.
After The Deal and The Queen Michael Sheen is now an old hand at playing Blair, while Dennis Quaid's take on Clinton is fascinating – reminiscent of Jeff Bridges' scarily charming president in The Contender – initially seducing Blair by sheer force of personality. Unlike The Deal and The Queen, however, this lacks a central lynchpin to focus the narrative. But for political junkies it's a fascinating glimpse at the corridors of power, and the ending is a real kicker.

Seven teens go camping for the weekend in outback Australia. They return to find the country has been invaded and everyone is in internment camps. So they fight back. Tomorrow When The War Began (**) is strictly for teen fantasists since it makes not the slightest attempt to be believable, particularly in its basic set-up with the focus solely on rural Oz (no cities are even mentioned) and the vague nature of the invading ‘coalition forces' and their unnamed ‘General'. Fans of the popular books by John Marsden might disagree, but I found it kinda dumb and yucky, with some particularly risible dialogue and iffy acting.

Ladies and Gentlemen The Rolling Stones (****) is a concert film of the band's 1972 American tour, which disappeared after a brief theatrical run in 1974. It is sensational. The band was plugging their Exiles on Main Street album and most of the material is drawn from that along with Sticky Fingers, Beggar's Banquet and Let It Bleed (ie the best stuff). Mick Taylor is on second guitar duties and if you ever wondered why they called The Stones the best rock ‘n' roll band in the world, look no further. By the end of the show you will be breathless.

You expect standards to be low in a sequel to a remake of a film that was only intended to be cheap trash in the first place. But Death Race 2 (*) is even worse than you fear. It is, in fact, a prequel, explaining how the ‘Death Race' started in the first place. Who cares?

Exam (***) is an economical thriller which places candidates for a dream job in a room with a list of rules, a question, and the edict that only one of them will succeed. How will they behave? Who will make it through? What is the actual question? It's all pretty well done (a remake I think of a Spanish film) but falters at the very end, making the journey far more entertaining than the destination.