DVDs of the week

In 1966 Vietnam, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) witnesses first-hand the loss of US troops and reports back his grave concerns to Defence Secretary Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood). Fearful that the administration is whitewashing the unflattering truth, Ellsberg photocopies classified reports and leaks pages to The New York Times. Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), crusading executive editor of The Washington Post, reads his rival’s front scoop with envy. “Anyone else tired of reading the news rather than writing it?” he despairs to his team. Bradlee encourages reporter Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk) to obtain a copy of the report so The Washington Post can bloody its nose too. Publisher Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), who is a good friend of McNamara, faces an impossible decision to pursue the uncomfortable truth at the expense of a cherished personal relationship. The Post is a handsome if sluggish dramatisation of the high-profile 1971 legal showdown between President Richard Nixon and the free press, which feels uncomfortably relevant in a modern era of fake news and US presidential Twitter outbursts. Former NYPD detective Michael McCauley (Liam Neeson) heads home on New York City’s busy Metro-North Railroad, trading pleasantries with conductor Sam (Colin McFarlane) and fellow passenger Walt (Jonathan Banks). An enigmatic woman called Joanna (Vera Farmiga) slinks into the opposite seat and strikes up a cryptic conversation. She intimates there is a brown paper bag containing $25,000 hidden in one of the toilets and Michael can earn a further $75,000 if he agrees to find a passenger called Prynne, who is travelling to Cold Spring station in Zone 7. Curiosity piqued, Michael takes the cash then hesitates when he consults his rusty moral compass. The Commuter is a high-octane action thriller, which orchestrates a preposterous high-stakes game of hide and seek aboard an evening rush hour train. DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and his new assistant DS Jamie Winter (Nick Hendrix) solve six tricky cases of murder, deceit and skulduggery in the picturesque county of Midsomer, based on the books by Caroline Graham. This series, past and present collide in the village of Little Auburn, death stalks a Jane Austen-themed event, a renowned cricketer perishes during a high-profile tournament and the strings of a prized violin become a deadly weapon during a disagreement about the winner of a music prize. The two-disc DVD set includes the episodes The Village that Rose from the Dead and Crime and Punishment.