Media reviews of the week

Firstly I have been watching a lot of DVDs in recent days. Eddie Izzard 7 a box set of all his shows is great entertainment if you enjoy slightly unpredictable and off the wall comedy. Star Trek (the film released earlier this year) is a very good watch. The only slightly unsettling thing about it is that I keep expecting Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock, to turn into Sylar rather than use the Vulcan neck pinch. I have also completed series 2 of Highlander.

I am still reading Ranulph Fiennes' latest book which as something of a history buff is incredible. This is one family going down through history affecting major events. I recommend it to you all but read after reading John O'Farrell's Utterly Impartial History of Britain.

Apologies for coming to the weeks televisual film offerings but I had a life at the weekend. I won't dwell on what we have missed so far but Wednesday has a number of films worthy of consideration. The Last Samurai is arguably my favourite of the day. It is beautifully shot and Ken Watanabe steals the show from Tom Cruise but unlike in his early days I suspect that Cruise is more comfortable with this. Cruise is good and with able support from Billy Connolly and Timothy Spall it is a well spent couple of hours. Also worth a look is The Sixth Sense which is up against one of the most overrated horror films of all time The Exorcist.

On Thursday we have Enter The Dragon. Arguably the most influential martial arts movie of all time. It is brilliant entertainment particularly if you get to see the unedited version. Bruce Lee was never better than in this and it is a tragedy that he never lived to see the successor possibly to fulfil his massive potential. Big Trouble in Little China is also on but if you watch Dragon then why would you bother with this effects driven chop socky adventure. On any other day Big Trouble is worth a look.

Friday's tour de force is Mars Attacks. It is hysterically funny and star studded. Perhaps those who make films based on computer games should watch this to see how to expand an idea where there is little actual source material. With nods to War of the Worlds, Airplane and many other films this is one that is well worth the effort. Also available is The Black Dahlia. This was a disappointment after LA Confidential but that being said it is worthy of a look. It was a bit slow and ponderous and didn't quite hit the film noir feel which it needed. Samuel L Jackson's version of Shaft is also worth a look. Like The Jackal which I reviewed some time ago it retains enough of the original but is more than capable of standing on its own two feet as a film in its own right.