DVDS: JUDE TAKES THE MICHAEL; NEW RELEASES.

Byline: JESSICA MELLOR

SLEUTH (15, pounds 19.99) ***

With Jude Law and Michael Caine making up the sparse cast, Kenneth Branagh behind the lens and Harold Pinter adapting Anthony Shaffer's hit play, surely this revenge drama couldn't fail to succeed on every level?

Well, regrettably, it only comes out on top in the acting stakes. Caine is rich crime author Andrew Wyke who invites his wife's lover Milo Tindle (Law) to his remote mansion to trick and humiliate him.

Tindle takes the bait and the pair embark on a pointless power struggle in which no-one emerges victorious.

Caine's acting is exemplary - he played Law's role in the 1972 version of Sleuth - while Jude flits between hammy and rather good. I suspect he may have been struggling with following orders from Branagh while reading Pinter's unpredictable, overly emotional prose.

With decent set design and photography, this is a good-looking, if a little dull, drama.

PARANOID PARK (15, pounds 15.99) ***

Director Gus Van Sant is on familiar ground with this dreamy drama. Sixteen-year-old skateboarder Alex (Gabe Nevins) wants to hang with the cool crowd at Paranoid Park. But when a security guard is accidentally killed on a nearby train track, his life is about to get a lot more complicated. Heavy on imagery and teen angst, it's beautiful to look at, while remaining strangely sterile and unemotional.

BORSTAL BOY (15, pounds 12.99) **

I wish I could say this is a little gem from director Peter Sheridan, but it's a bit of a stinker. Set during the Second World War and based on an early-life memoir of celebrated poetcum-IRA recruit Brendan Behan (Shawn Hatosy), this focuses on the time Behan spends banged up after a foiled bomb plot, and the relationship he forges with a gay sailor (Danny Dyer). With no energy in the direction and little chemistry between the leads, the funniest thing in it is Dyer talking about his love scene on the extras.

THE OH IN OHIO (15, pounds 12.99) ***

I was pleasantly surprised by this smart sex comedy. Priscilla (Parker Posey) is an advertising executive who is seemingly happily married to biology teacher Jack (Paul Rudd), but she has never had an orgasm. Meanwhile, he bolsters his battered ego by having an affair with student Kristen (Mischa Barton). From here on in, the raunchy story is played out by the competent cast. A funny, frivolous treat.

STAR RATINGS: ***** Brilliant **** Good *** Average ** Poor * Dreadful

CAPTION(S):

GETTING A GRIP: Caine and Law