Win 1 of 5 HBO DVD packs, including Nightingale & Show Me A Hero Competition

Show Me Hero

HBO, David Simon (The Wire) and Paul Haggis (Crash) combine to produce Show Me A Hero, six-part miniseries Show Me A Hero. In an America generations removed from the greatest civil rights struggles of the 1960s, the young mayor (Oscar Isaac) of a mid-sized American city is faced with a federal court order that says he must build a small number of low-income housing units in white neighbourhoods of his town. His attempt to do so tears the entire city apart, paralyses the municipal government and, ultimately, destroys the mayor and his political future.

Out to own February 3

Rated MA 15+

Nightingale

A searing drama of isolation and delusion in the cyber age, Nightingale is a skilfully produced drama that offers a poignant look at how life has failed one man, and vice-versa. Virtually all the action takes place inside a drab ranch house, with the sole focus being on one character: Peter Snowden, an Army veteran who harbor’s a litany of grievances against the world and, especially, his mother, whom he has just murdered as the drama begins. It is clear from Peter’s rambling monologues that he has been damaged by his life experiences; though we never learn whether any are war-related (we do find out his brother died when he was six). Starring Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo, film is a Cinderella story for first-time writer Frederick Mensch, who brought it to the attention of director Elliott Lester.

Out to own February 10

Rated M