Social commentary with teeth

SUMMER DVDs:One of the many things that set George Romero's Night of the Living Deadaside from the horror pack was its inclination towards a class of grubby verité.

A little less than a decade later, in 1978, the master brought a similar degree of earthiness to the vampire genre with the singular and still somewhat under-rated Martin. Returning to Pittsburgh – Romero's literal and spiritual home – the picture follows an inefficient blood-sucker as he drugs victims and hacks desperately at their helpless wrists.

But is he really a vampire at all? Weighed down by the era's economic gloom, Martininvites us to speculate that the protagonist's condition is a manifestation of western decline. Sober, disturbing stuff. This fine new two-disc reissue offers lucky punters several documentaries, the original trailer, a nice booklet and the Italian cut of the movie. Fans of Let the Right One Inshould definitely investigate this more-rugged precursor.

THE LOVELY BONES, 12A cert **

Creepy adaptation of Alice Sebold’s bestseller starring Ronan as a teenager who continues to observe her family following her rape and murder. The performances are mostly competent, but Jackson’s vision of heaven, all Tellytubbies meadows and LSD skies, is absolutely vile. Proof that thumping good reads too often make films you just want to thump.

MICMACS, 15A cert ***

The latest film from the director of Amélieattempts to combine slapstick comedy with something like political satire. Boon plays a video-store employee who joins forces with a gang of eccentrics to help embarrass a disreputable munitions firm. It's very lovely and very ingenious. Shame the story is so poorly structured.

THE LAST STATION, 15A cert ***

Plummer plays Tolstoy and Mirren his wife in this study of the last days in the great novelist’s life. The film is more than a little stagy but, between some decent set-pieces, it does have interesting things to say about the birth of 20th-century celebrity. Mirren eats her role with impressive relish.

NO GREATER LOVE, G cert ***

Beautifully made documentary on an order of Carmelite nuns in west London. Unencumbered by a voice-over, the shadowy, wood-stained picture restricts itself to medium shots of the nuns at work and discreet interviews with some more forthcoming sisters. Denied newspapers or television, restricted to just two windows of conversation a day, the nuns exist untouched by information overload.

PERCY JACKSON & THE LIGHTENING THIEF, PG cert ***

So, the director of the first two Harry Potter films offers us a film about a young boy with magic powers. It’s rather like hearing that Spielberg had followed up Jaws by directing Piranha. That said, concerning itself with Greek mythology and featuring Pierce Brosnan as a grumpy centaur, the film is far from being the worst Potter clone around.

DOUBLE TAKE, Club ***

Grimonprez has come up with a wonderful idea. Scratch that. Grimonprez has come up with a dozen wonderful ideas. The Belgian artist’s satisfyingly original film takes its cue from a Jorge Luis Borges story to weave together impressions of cold war politics with meditations on the art of Alfred Hitchcock. Sadly, the conceit runs out of steam within an hour and many of the deductions are a tad banal. Intriguing, nonetheless.

A SINGLE MAN, 15A cert ****

This gorgeous debut feature from fashion designer Ford follows Firth’s bereaved gay academic as he spends a day contemplating suicide, gossiping with his drunk pal (Moore) and making sure his seams are immaculate. The fetishisation of early 1960s style is a tad over-the-top, but Firth’s superbly subtle performance gives the film weight. Christopher Isherwood, author of the source novel, has been very well served.

GREEN ZONE, 15A ***

Greengrass's latest film occupies territory between his United 93and his Bournefilms. Damon plays a US officer who, having failed to discover any WMDs in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion, begins to suspect a conspiracy. Like United 93, the picture attempts a study of a recent calamity. Like Bourne, it finds Damon fleeing bullets down alleyways. The two objectives do work against one another, but the film remains fairly gripping.

LEAP YEAR, PG cert *

Uptight Adams travels to Ireland to propose to her boyfriend on February 29th. This appalling comedy manages to be equally offensive in two distinct areas. The female lead – unable to suggest marriage! – seems unaware that sexual politics have moved on from the 16th century. The depiction of Ireland – all superstitious idiots and twinkly drunks – is borderline racist.