Home entertainment for couch potatoes

Mr. Untouchable
Cast: Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes, Thelma Grant, Joseph 'Jazz' Hayden, Frank James

In 1977 the New York Times magazine carried a cover story titled Mr. Untouchable, with drug lord Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes smiling from the front page, as if daring America to touch him.

Among the people who read the story was President Carter and senior Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials.
Soon the man known as the Black Godfather and 20 others were behind bars.

This DVD looks at the rags-to-riches story of Barnes, a one-time junkie who rose to control a seven-man council with an annual income of $72million.

He spent 21 years in prison and was released in 1998 under a witness protection programme, after ratting on his former mates.

This documentary was filmed in a secret location and shows Barnes, who has a $1million contract on his head, in silhouette. It also features interviews with his ex-wife Thelma Grant, his former pals and DEA officials.

The big question is: Why did Barnes testify against his former partners? For some time after his conviction, the council carried on with the business. However, Barnes suspected that something dirty was afoot.

His reaction was in line with the teachings of his favourite philosopher Machiavelli who said, If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that you should not fear vengeance.

"They [his partners] struck me when I was down," says Barnes. "I came back to wound."

Rating: 12.

I Rreally Hate My Job
Cast: Shirley Henderson, Neve Campbell, Anna Maxwell Martin, Alexandra Maria Lara, Oana Pellea

This is a day (rather, a night) in the life of story featuring five feisty women working in a London restaurant – three waitresses, a cook and a dishwasher.

On the night in question, the restaurant's cook doesn't report for duty, and kitchen hand Alice (Shirley Henderson) reluctantly takes on the job of churning out the dishes. She's an aspiring writer whose novel has just been rejected as being "too French".

Apparently, the lead character in her book is a woman who continues to sit by the pier from pages 1 to 150.

As Alice tries to live in the moment, telling herself 'I'm fine' and 'Breathe', we get to see Rita (Oana Pellea) who is obsessed with cleanliness, scurrying after rats and Suzie (Alexandra Maria Lara) who sees herself as an artist, continually clicking pix of the others.

Meanwhile as Abby (Neve Campbell) laments the lack of opportunities to show off her acting skills, Madonna (Anna Maxwell Martin) talks about 'rationalising business strategies to be more effective.'

It's obvious that each woman dislikes her job and would be happy elsewhere. They are troubled by the 'crushing predictability of everyday life', by weight problems, relationship issues ... If you've ever been tied to a post you desperately wanted to quit, you'll like this movie, even though there are some inane moments.

Rating: 12.