RYAN Reynolds thriller Buried, in which he plays a man buried alive, is Richard Bryson’s pick of the DVDs this week.

AN American truck driver is caught in a desperate race against time in this tense, claustrophobic thriller.

It’s a different kind of role for Ryan Reynolds who plays a driver working in Iraq, and while delivering kitchen equipment as part of a humanitarian aid programme, he’s captured by insurgent guerrillas who intend to hold him hostage.

He is struck unconscious, put into a coffin-like box, and buried. When he comes to all he has to help him get out is a lighter, a cell phone, a pen, and a knife.

Trapped underground with a limited supply of air, Reynold’s character frantically calls his family, his employer, and American military and political representatives, trying to remain calm as his chances of survival slip away with each passing minute. Grim but gripping.

Richard Bryson