PAY-PER-VIEW MOVIES

Simone Andrews previews the pick of the premieres on your movies-on-demand service.

Anna Karenina (2012) 12

On BT Vision, Virgin Movies and Sky Box Office from Monday Joe Wright’s adaptation of Tolstoy’s meaty classic is a feast for the eyes, a bold new take on a story that may be overfamiliar to some, a mystery to others. Tom Stoppard’s screenplay sets the action mostly in a theatre – on stage and backstage – and the effect is unreal, disconcerting even. Keira Knightley delivers a career-best performance as Anna, the woman who dares to question her life within a society of rigid conformity and ‘performance’ that is as tight as the lacing of her corset. The overall effect won’t be to all tastes, but its originality is dazzling.

Hotel Transylvania (2012) U

On BT Vision, Virgin Movies and Sky Box Office from Monday Packed full of cheesy lines, this animation follows Dracula’s daughter, Mavis, as she turns 118. Her home (the inn of the title) is a human-free oasis for monsters, into which stumbles a bumbling backpacker to whom Mavis instantly takes a shine. Naturally, this makes daddy and his monster chums very uneasy.

Ruby Sparks

(2012) 15

On BT Vision, Virgin Movies and Sky Box Office from Monday Paul Dano stars as a writer who inadvertently magics his ideal woman into existence. That woman is played by Zoe Kazan – Elia’s granddaughter – who also wrote the screenplay. The plot sounds ridiculous, but it has a quirky charm that critics fell for.

The Three Stooges (2012) PG

On BT Vision , Virgin Movies and Sky Box Office from Monday Miranda Hart has brought slapstick to a new audience, and so, perhaps, more Brits will appreciate the extreme pratfalls and (surely lifethreatening) stunts re-created here. Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes and Will Sasso do excellent impressions of Moe, Larry and Curly, and there’s a simply unforgettable cameo from Larry David as a nun. Sky Box Office Movies are available only to Sky subscribers, and can also be accessed online via Sky Go. Virgin Movies is available only to Virgin Media subscribers. BT Vision On Demand is available via a BT Vision set-top box.