DVD & Blu-ray out this week

Nowhere Boy DVD & Blu-ray, Icon Nowhere Boy is the anti-Avatar, a film that plays much better at home than it did in the cinema. It seemed a little undernourished and out of place on the big screen, and it was hard to think of reasons other than the pre-Beatles John Lennon subject matter and the reputation of debuting feature director Sam Taylor-Wood that put it there. Indeed, if you didn't know Taylor-Wood came from the world of photography and conceptual art, you'd be hard-pressed to tell from her flat direction. Nowhere Boy looks like something that should be on the telly, early evening, on a Sunday, so it's at home that this less-than-cinematic biopic works best (it's a wonder there aren't ad breaks every half-hour, so you can put the kettle on). Aaron Johnson – by now better known for starring in Kick-Ass and that embarrassing interview on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross the other week – plays the young Liverpudlian, a be-quiffed Goons fan who lives with his starchy guardian, Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas), but starts spending time with his ukele-playing, flighty mum, Julia (Anne-Marie Duff), who abandoned him at the age of five. Lennon forms a band, of course, but the nascent Beatles stay in the background, and Taylor-Wood concentrates instead on the human drama between the three leads. It's well-acted all round, and the usual rock biopic cliches are nicely skirted. But there's no escaping that this is far from the most interesting era in Lennon's short life. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Raucous biopic of the late punk poet Ian Dury, starring Andy Serkis. DVD, EV Taking Woodstock Ang Lee revisits those heady days of peace and music. DVD & Blu-ray, Universal The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day Violent sequel to the Boston-set, US cult vigilante drama. DVD, Sony The Prisoner All six parts of the baffling mini-series in one dull package. DVD & Blu-ray, ITV The Limits Of Control Jim Jarmusch's hypnotic, existential hitman thriller. DVD, Revolver The Railway Children 40th anniversary edition of the classic kids' story. DVD & Blu-ray, Optimum