Blu-ray

Akira Kurosawa's 1954 epic is long overdue a quality Blu-ray release in the UK. Sadly, this BFI release does little to change matters. Restored by Toho in Japan (with additional work done in the UK to remove further damage), it appears that somewhere along the way someone went a little overboard with the digital noise reduction tools – eliminating much of the native film grain and fine detail. Couple that with the relative lack of extras (a trailer and interview) and connoisseurs are far better off importing Criterion's Region A-locked US set with its more authentic transfer and copious goodies.

Taking elements from three of Bernard Cornwell novels (Sharpe's Tiger, Sharpe's Triumph and Sharpe's Fortress) this 2006 production finds Sean Bean's legendary British soldier undertaking 'one last mission' for the Duke of Wellington. The story takes him to India, where he must put pay to the treacherous Major William Dodd (Toby Stephens) and rescue the lovely Celia Burroughs (Lucy Brown) from the the leader of a local revolt. It's all fairly brisk paced stuff - especially as this disc only features the shorter 106min cut, not the original two-part 138min version - with Bean scowling and swashing his buckles at every opportunity. Fans of Primeval stunner Lucy Brown are also in for a real treat - head to 20mins 19secs for an unhindered look at here *ahem* two biggest assets, and visit 35mins 35secs for a slightly less clear, but still skin-tastic, bath scene.

This sequel to Guy Ritchie’s successful 2009 cinematic reinvention of Conan Doyle’s ‘consulting detective’ finds Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) and Watson (Jude Law) joining forces with Gypsy fortune-teller Simza (Noomi Rapace) to foil the nefarious plans of master criminal Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris).

Stephen Soderbergh's cinematic swan song is a curious beast. What looks at first to be a timely drama about medical ethics and prescription drugs suddenly changes tack and transforms into the kind of fun-but-dumb thriller you'd expect to have seen Richard Gere and Kim Basinger topline in the 1990s. This BD's AVC 1.78:1 1080p imagery looks entirely true to source (awash with the kind of sickly green and yellow palette the filmmaker favoured recently) and is joined by a suitably restrained DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix. Extras include interviews, promo featurettes, a tongue-in-cheek look behind-the-scenes and commercials for the fake drugs featured in the film.

Having been quite taken with English filmmaker Michael J. Bassett's swords 'n' sorcery outing Solomon Kane, we were looking forward to seeing what he'd do with this videogame-inspired horror sequel. Sadly, apart from adding 3D to the mix, the answer is not very much.

It may not be quite as sophisticated as the awards-hype led us to believe, but this likeable film still manages to inject some much-needed intelligence, strong performances and a sense of emotional realism back into the usually trite rom-com genre. Entertainment in Video's hi-def release provides a slightly dull AVC 2.40:1 108 encode that often lacks detail – although this appears to be endemic of the source material rather than the disc itself. The DTS- HD MA 5.1 mix is more accomplished, with superb dynamic range. Ten cast and crew interviews are the only extras.