New DVD/video releases
Owning Mahowny (Momentum, 15)
The true story of the Canadian bank manager who led a completely secret life and was feted by casino owners as he gambled away his customers' money. It stars the great Philip Seymour Hoffman and is remarkable because it neither makes dramatic capital out of the gift of a story, nor attempts any explanation as to why he did it. Talk about blowing it.
Friends - Series 10, Vol 1 & 2 (Warner, 12)
The one where the long-running comedy phenomenon comes to an end. And once the romance between Joey and Rachel is out of the way - a furball in the throat of everyone involved (characters, actors and even writers) - it's business as usual.
Closely Observed Trains (Arrow, 15)
Jirà Menzel's Oscar-winner from 1966 is a brilliantly played physical comedy about a young signalman's desperate attempts to lose his virginity while the local resistance plot to blow up a trainful of Nazi munitions. If the phrase 'Czech New Wave' normally has you reaching for the inhaler, you're in for a pleasant surprise.
Jonathan Richman: Take Me To The Plaza (Sanctuary, E)
In a live show from San Francisco featuring just himself and a drummer, Jonathan Richman demonstrates once again how not to sing, how not to play the guitar and - with songs as fresh as 'I Was Dancing In A Lesbian Bar' - why he's still better than most bedbound singer-songwriters.
