DVD bonanza

I have a policy never to spend more than $10 on a single DVD. I also only buy DVDs I'm happy to watch repeatedly. This means my DVD collection is surprisingly small for a professional film reviewer. Luckily for me and any other cheapskates, there are some good DVD bargains around until 16 January.

At Big W, TV shows on DVD are 2 for $50. These mainly include mainstream commercial procedural shows such as Rush, NCIS, Supernatural, Castle and The Mentalist, plus such guilty pleasures as Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, Jersey Shore and the truly lamentable Geordie Shore. These same shows are either $29 or $35 at Kmart, so Big Dubs is your best bet if you're a fan.

However, the Big Dubs deal also includes some upscale costume dramas, such as Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey and Rome. Meanwhile at Kmart, such cult shows as Mad Men, Smash, The Walking Dead and Once Upon A Time are $35 for the most recent season.

Kmart's TV selection is depressingly Kardashian-heavy, but you can also pick up the original BBC Pride and Prejudice (essential comfort viewing; I start to relax even hearing the theme tune), the grim fourth season of Breaking Bad or season one or two of Community for $16.

For kids, and just fans of great animation, excellent films including the Toy Story cycle and Puss in Boots (which contained one of my favourite running gags of 2011) are just $16 at Kmart. It's also well worth forking out an extra $4 for Tangled at $20.

Kmart has relatively recent release movies for $16. These are mainly horrible crap such as The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Cowboys & Aliens and The Five-Year Engagement, but I wouldn't mind getting The Grey (aka Liam Neeson Punches Wolves). Also at Kmart are movies, including multi-packs, for $13. There are quite a few stinkeroos, but my picks include The Hunger Games and Abduction (the most inadvertently hilarious film of 2011!).

If you want to get cheaper, Kmart has movies for $9, my favourites of which include 21 Jump Street, Burlesque, Point Break, Step Up 3 (not Step Up 3D, as it was marketed in cinemas) and Easy A.

Big Dubs also has some fairly decent movies at 2 for $15. The ones that caught my eye – that I totally recommend as 'classic' investments – include GoodFellas, Mean Girls, Pride and Prejudice (the one with Keira Knightley – surprisingly great, even though I loathe Knightley as an actor), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, 10 Things I Hate About You and Black Hawk Down.

If even $7.50 sounds like too much to lash out, there are even more movies at Big Dubs for just $5. The ones I like include The Crow, Lawrence of Arabia, The Virgin Suicides, Being John Malkovich, Boyz N The Hood, Secretary and Sleepless in Seattle.