Peter McCauley Movies

Advertised as telling the tale of "The Man Behind the Myth," the expensive-looking but economically produced NBC miniseries Hercules stars Paul Telfer as the musclebound protagonist. The issue of a romantic fling between Alcmene (Elizabeth Perkins), the Princess of Thebes, and God of the Underworld Zeus, Hercules is banished by his mother and scorned by his envious half brother Iphicles (Luke Ford). In fact, for a while it seems as though poor Herc has nothing but enemies. In addition to his own mother and brother, our hero is hated by Zeus' wife, Hera -- so much so that a war breaks out between the two gods -- and by covetous Grecian monarchs Eurystheus (Kristian Schmid) and Anateus (Tyler Mane). Worse still, Hercules has managed to get on the bad side of the Delphic Oracle Tiresias (Kim Coates) by killing that worthy's three sons. As a means to destroy Hercules and prevent him from taking his rightful place beside the throne of Zeus, all manner of deadly tasks and challenges are thrown at the poor guy, enabling the producers to trot out innumerable CGI battle sequences. Fortunately, Hercules can rely upon the help and support of Alcmene's husband, Amphytron (Timothy Dalton), not to mention Herc's sidekick, the troubadour Linus (Sean Astin, going through his familiar Lord of the Rings paces in a different setting!); his sweetheart, the statuesque Goddess of Nature Deianeira (Leelee Sobieski); and, at least for a little while, Herc's wife, the Priestess Megara (Leeanna Walsman). By the time Hercules made it to the small screen, it had been pared down from a multipart miniseries to a single, 150-minute feature film, leaving several plot points unresolved and removing a number of key characters -- including the all-important Zeus and Hera, who never appear! Evidently NBC didn't have much faith in this Hallmark production, as witness the network's decision to telecast the film on May 16, 2005, directly opposite the series finale of Everybody Loves Raymond. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) and Norse god Thor (Ben Reed) continue their uneasy alliance to prevent the death of Baldur (Rupert Cocks) -- thereby sparing the world from the horrors of Rangnarok (aka "The End of All Things"). Alas, Loki (Ian Hughes), Norse god of mischief, is determined to undermine our heroes' efforts. So when Loki locates Gilma's Horn, it begins to look as if Rangnarok will take place on schedule. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Craig Monahan made his directorial debut with this Australian police drama in which unemployed, poverty-stricken Eddie Rodney Fleming (Hugo Weaving), after losing his wife and home, is dragged from his apartment by police and subjected to a brutal interrogation. Eventually, it becomes terrifyingly apparent to Eddie that the police consider him a serial-murder suspect. Detective Sgt. John Steele (Tony Martin) and his assistant, Detective Sgt. Constable Wayne Prior (Aaron Jeffrey), make audiotapes of their efforts to get Fleming to confess. However, they are unaware that they themselves are being investigated and are being videotaped by an internal affairs unit. The question of Eddie's guilt or innocence is effectively concealed for most of the movie. Gordon Davie, Monahan's co-scripter and the film's technical consultant, was a police officer with the Victoria Crime Squad for 16 years. The Interview was shown at several 1997-1998 film festivals (London, Montreal, Melbourne). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Hercules and Iolaus do not appear in this episode (though actor Michael Hurst does show up -- in drag!), which amiably spoofs the 1959 Billy Wilder comedy Some Like It Hot. Falsely accused of murdering King Pholus, itinerant peddler Salmoneus (Robert Trebor) and "King of Thieves" Autolycus (Bruce Campbell) elude the authorities by donning women's clothing. In this guise, "Salmonella" and "Autolyca" join the Widow Twanky's all-girl dance troupe. Hoping to score points with "hootchi-coochie-jiggle-wiggle" dancer Cupcake (Lacey Kohl), Autolycus takes on a second false identity of wealthy Farciferous Van Baklava. Alas, Cupcake prefers eating to lovemaking -- but, oh well, nobody's perfect. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The second of two network-TV adaptations of Jules Verne's speculative 1868 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, this two-part ABC version originally aired on May 11 and 12, 1997, some two months after CBS's shorter -- and infinitely more faithful -- version. The year is 1886, and an unknown "creature" is terrorizing the high seas, causing merchant vessels to vanish without a trace. Enlisted by the U.S. government to find out what's really going on, oceanographer Pierre Arronax (Patrick Dempsey) and rough-hewn whaler Ned Land (Bryan Brown) set sail for uncharted waters. Ultimately, they are captured by the insane but honorably motivated Captain Nemo (Michael Caine), the inventor of the high-teach submarine Nautilus. This much can be found in the original novel. The rest of the film has less to do with Jules Verne than its does with the popularity of such theatrical features as Star Wars and Titanic, not to mention the then-prevalent specter of political correctness. Because he wants nothing more out of life than to slaughter whales, Verne's nominal hero Ned Land is transformed into the main villain -- while Pierre Arronax comes off none too sympathetically himself, depicted in an early scene as a wanton womanizer who sleeps with his own father's mistress. Also, a bit of gratuitous romance is thrown into the proceedings, with Captain Nemo suddenly acquiring a daughter, and another woman joining the storyline when the Nautilus makes a side trip to the lost city of Atlantis. Finally, what with Verne's good guys turning bad and Captain Nemo clearly certifiable, a new "hero" is introduced in the form of African-American crewman Cabe Attucks (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje). Oh, and did we mention that Nemo is actually a half-cyborg and a former Indian prince? This "new and improved" 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is only slightly less ridiculous than the 1916 silent film version, which also managed to add a love interest and a spectacular "flashback" sequence straight out of 1001 Arabian Nights. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This imported period drama from New Zealand plays like a Down Under version of Paper Moon (1973). During the Great Depression, Kate (Greer Robson) is a 13-year-old girl living on New Zealand's South Island. When her mother dies and her father is offered a job in Wellington on North Island, Kate is sent to live with an aunt. The girl runs away to find her father, hopping onto a boxcar and befriending a fellow fugitive, Patrick (Peter Phelps), an emotionally battle-scarred WWI veteran fleeing the authorities after injuring a repo man. Pretending to be father and daughter, Patrick and Kate use each other for cover as they make their way across New Zealand, sleeping under the stars (hence the film's title) and championing the rights of destitute farmers and homeless squatters whose fortunes have been wiped out by economic hardship. Starlight Hotel (1987) was the second directorial effort of New Zealand native Sam Pillsbury and his follow-up to the offbeat horror film The Scarecrow (1982). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In this undistinguished coming-of-age drama, Riki Nathan (Mitchell Manuel) has been sent to a boys' reform school and has to handle the vagaries of good and bad inmates as best he can. The young teens, mostly Maoris, only want to get out of there any way they can and go home, especially Willie (Junior Amigo) who has some unfortunate run-ins with the resident bully Karl (Nicholas Rogers). Riki resists getting into a scrape with Karl until Willie's misfortunes at Karl's hand make the showdown inevitable.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi