THE best new rental title of the week Carandiru (15, Columbia Tristar, 146 mins) comes from one of the leading film-makers in Brazil, Hector Babenco (Pixote, Kiss of the Spiderwoman), who is back with this stunning based-on-fact prison drama that has become the biggest box office movie in Brazil for a decade (and that includes City of God).

This moving, engrossing and shocking film tells the story of a famous prison in Sao Paulo and the lives of its prisoners as seen through the eyes of Dr Drauzio Varella (Luis Carlos Vasconcelos) who was based inside while he was doing research into Aids prevention. There he found hundreds of convicts living under degrading conditions. The feared ones were the criminals who ran Carandiru: Ebony (Ivan de Almeida), an honourable thief and respected leader; Highness (Ailton Graca), a smooth operator with two families to support; Ezequiel (Lazaro Ramos); an ex-surfer turned crack addict and Dagger, a brutal killer 'with God on his side'.

They were among the prison's elite, the select few who ruled the prison by their own codes and laws. The situation came to a climax in 1992, when in order to smother a rebellion, police killed 111 men, a tragedy that shocked the world. Homosexuality, while appropriate for any prison tale, seems to dominate the entire movie and throws into relief the director/ writer's interest in the subject that began in Kiss. One of the most affecting scenes is the marriage of a devoted, physically mismatched couple and the subsequent attempt by the smaller 'husband' to protect his 'bride'. Babenco and the actors manage to relay dignity and gravity in a situation that could easily have been laughable. Babenco's film is a sad commentary on society's failure to turn these criminals into law-abiding citizens. Highly recommended.

THERE'S light relief in The Girl Next Door (15, Twentieth Century Fox, 105 mins), a terrific romantic comedy that proves that true love never did run smooth. Emile Hirsch plays Matthew Kidman, a 19-year-old high school senior who hasn't lived life to the full. While fellow schoolmates skip school to go and party at the beach, Matthew sits in class, gazing outside wishing he could be like them.

Then the girl next door moves in: Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert), a drop-dead-gorgeous blonde beauty who undresses across the street from Matthew as he watches in his bedroom. They fall

head-over-heels in love but their relationship is put to the test when he discovers (along with the rest of the town, eventually) that she used to be a porn star. Matthew's best friends Eli (Chris Marquette) and Klutz (Paul Dano) cannot believe Matthew's luck but when porn-fan Eli, makes known the startling discovery, he shatters Danielle's perfect image. Matthew soon realises that Danielle wants to leave her past behind her, but is finding it hard now her secret is out and she is being pursued by her old agent Kelly (Timothy Olyphant) who will do anything to get back his highest earning star. With the help of his friends, Matthew makes it his mission to rescue Danielle from the clutches of Kelly and her porn-star past with outrageous results. With a scholarship dinner, the high school prom, and the Adult Film convention looming, Danielle must make some tough decisions and Matthew realises he will have to fight hard and risk everything if he is to win her hand. Obviously inspired by the teen films of the 1980s, such as Risky Business and the plethora of John Hughes-produced/directed flicks, The Girl Next Door even boasts a great soundtrack that complements the film's fast pace. The acting is one of the movie's most surprising elements -- Hirsche and Cuthbert are great.

This is raunchier than American Pie but more sophisticated. Worth a look-in but try not to be put off by the film's unbelievable tagline "Matt never saw her coming ... but all his friends had".

THIS is also a great week for new DVDs and videos to buy, epecially if you're into mammoth, entire seasons of TV shows. The most notable is the 3-DVD box set of Harsh Realm (15, Twentieth Century Fox), a sci-fi show that remains unseen in this country.

Described as 'Platoon meets the Matrix' this has Lt Thomas Hobbes (Scott Bairstow) returning from Sarajevo and, before he can settle down into domesticity with wife Sophie (Samantha Mathis), the military hook him up into a wargame, designed for combat training. Inside the game, with the help of Mike (DB Sweeney) he has to overturn the dictator Omar Santiago (Terry O'Quinn) in order to survive.

Along similar lines we have the six-disc box set of Roswell Season 2 (12, Twentieth Century Fox), the seven-disc box set of 24 Season 3 (15, Twentieth Century Fox), the three-disc Babylon 5 Movie DVD Box Set (PG, Warner) which features the films Thirdspace, River of Souls and A Call to Arms. Other non-sci-fi box sets include Bad Girls Series 5 (15, VCI) and two Elvis Presley box sets: Classics Volume 1, which features Jailhouse Rock, The Trouble With Girls, Spinout and Double Trouble, and Volume 2, which features Viva Las Vegas, Speedway and Harum Scarum. Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas you can buy separately as well.