I have to say that it’s an entertaining film and something for the whole family to watch. It’s no surprise that Mamma Mia! is now the largest selling DVD in the UK and 1 in 4 households now own a copy.  Pretty impressive for a DVD that was only released in November.

The Wire starts off as a slow-burning story about Baltimore cops trying to catch a drug gang. So far, so conventional. However, the real-life nature of the programme, the large cast of characters over its five seasons, and the uncompromising, but entirely plausible, storylines make this the must-watch TV series of all time in my opinion.

The fact that it has not won a string of awards is bizarre. Perhaps it is the nature of the story and the almost documentary style of the narrative that goes against it. However, give it a few episodes and you’ll be hooked like I was…

The episodes have an intensity that makes you want to sit down and watch it all again, just in case you missed something. The Baltimore slang makes you want to focus on every word. If you miss an episode, you might miss a small piece of the whole. I found it incredibly gripping.

Amazon UK: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5

The characters and the storylines evolve throughout the five seasons but there is a continuity of core characters that make you really want to know what will happen next in their lives. Every character has their good and bad points and the series is shot from every ’side’. The characterisation is so strong that I was stunned each time the invincibility of one of my favourite characters was sent crashing down by the writers. At the end of each episode, I always wanted the next episode to start immediately!

Each season focuses on a specific story or theme from Baltimore city life but the complete series is held together by a storyline about the drug trade ['the game']. For example, Season 1 is the drug gangs, Season 2 brings in the docks/unions, Season 3 pulls in politics and so on.

The Wire is not a series where you can watch one episode and ‘get it’. The whole thing is bigger than that. It’s one of my favourite shows.

More: The Wire on Wikipedia

I found the film moving and very funny but it’s not an over-the-top gag fest like some other modern films. The humour centres around the characters and their personal foibles. In particular, Jenna’s relationships with the other waitresses (Adrienne Shelly and Cheryl Hines) and the diner owner (played by Andy Griffith) are sympathetically illustrated with realism and warmth.

One of the main themes of the film is Jenna’s pie making which she uses to reflect her life. Each pie is made and named in her mind according to her daily mood. For example, “I Don’t Want Earl’s Baby” pie (an egg and cheese pie with ham!)

The film is made even more poignant by the murder of the director Adrienne Shelly in New York just after the film was finished. It’s a real life tragedy that puts everything into perspective.

The story revolves around her relationships with friends and people that she meets. In particular, the story focuses on her driving lessons with a driving instructor called Scott, played by Eddie Marsan, who has a completely different outlook and a sometimes threatening demeanour. Poppy’s attempts to inject some humour into the driving lessons and the effect of this on Scott are brilliantly done.

The driving lessons are the main story but the film covers quite a lot of ground, ranging from Poppy’s social life, her job as a primary school teacher, bullying at the school, Poppy’s relationship with her sisters, a meeting with a tramp, and the start of a relationship with a male social worker.

Overall, the film is more cheerful than some other Mike Leigh films that I have seen and I finished the DVD with a smile. The main character really shows her compassion and positive approach throughout the film and I found that it was impossible not to like this.

Buy Happy Go Lucky at Amazon UK

I have been a DVD rental user of LoveFilm for several years now and it has worked really well in my experience. You sign up for a monthly fee, add DVDs to an online list, and LoveFilm does the rest. They send you the next DVD on your list as soon as you return the previous one. There are no late fees and the website has a wide range of DVDs to choose from.

The website is organised into different categories and it’s easy to search for a particular film. I particularly like the ability to search for all films with a specific actor or directed by a specific director because I often like to view ‘DVD themes’ over several days/weeks. All films with Keira Knightley for example!

The website also allows you to purchase or download films and rent games – although I am not really a gamer myself.

Additionally, you can review and rate DVDs that you rent. There are some amusing and sometimes quite opposing views on some DVDs! It’s useful to see other reviews and ratings but I usually tend to go with what I think I will like.

Another benefit I have found is that my cinematographic knowledge has increased greatly since I have been using LoveFilm. Always handy for those pub quiz evenings!

If you want to watch DVDs with the minimum of fuss, I think LoveFilm does this really well. They offer a free trial. Why not try it and see?!