Simon Richards Movies
A mother and daughter flee to a strange abandoned town to seek out answers to the daughter's nightly psychological turmoil in Brotherhood of the Wolf director Christophe Gans' adaptation of the popular survival horror video game. Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) is a very sick child, yet rather than seeing her child suffer the cruel indignities of the medical profession, Rose (Radha Mitchell) ignores her husband's (Sean Bean) pleas and absconds with her ailing daughter to the fog-enshrouded town of Silent Hill. A town drenched in darkness and inhabited by a strange collection of menacing specters, Silent Hill seemingly swallows young Sharon whole upon arrival. Determined to get her daughter back at any cost, Rose sets out to explore the mysterious Silent Hill, only to discover an evil so powerful that it possesses the ability to transform anything it wishes. With the deeply disturbing history of the town slowly coming into focus through the dense fog, Rose soon realizes that both she and her daughter may be little more than simple pawns in a much larger, and seemingly supernatural, game. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, (more)
The price of fame is murder -- or at least it is in the mind of one woman in New Hampshire. Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman) has spent most of her life wanting to be famous; she's attractive, speaks well, and imagines herself to be intelligent ("imagines" is the key word here), so she has set her sights on becoming a TV anchorwoman. However, opportunities for female broadcasters are hard to come by in Little Hope, New Hampshire, and she's convinced that her husband, the once handsome but now flabby restaurant manager Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon), is just getting in her way. Suzanne gets herself a spot hosting a weather report on a local public access station, and is preparing a documentary called "Teens Speak Out," which puts her in touch with a trio of high school students -- Jimmy (Joaquin Phoenix), Russell (Casey Affleck), and Lydia (Alison Folland) -- who are even more desperate for attention than she is. When Suzanne hatches a plot to get Larry out of her life once and for all, she uses Jimmy, who has developed a serious crush on her, to do her dirty work, but Larry's sister Janice (Illeana Douglas), who has long believed there was something fishy about Suzanne, eventually begins to realize what happened to her brother. Nicole Kidman won a Golden Globe award for her work in this film, which represented something of a comeback for director Gus Van Sant after the commercial and critical disaster of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Screenwriter Buck Henry plays a small role as a high school teacher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillon, (more)
- 1995
This intellectually demanding drama is based on a theatrical monologue by actor/writer Daniel MacIvor. Victor and 10 others sit in a church. He, who has just come out of group therapy, is sharing his odd life experiences with the people and as he rambles on, little reenactments of the strange tales are depicted. He tells one story of a boy friend who is driven insane by his girl friend's dog. It seems the pooch can laugh like a person and the longer the man is around it, the more convinced he is that the dog's laughter is directed at him. In another, even stranger, tale of a reporter and a librarian who spend their entire lives almost meeting. When they finally do run into each other, each suddenly realizes that they are soulmates and are deeply in love. So joyful are they that they physically explode. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1993
Jeffrey (Ryan Reynolds) grew up with heady ideals of social activism as part of his everyday life. His parents spent the better part of their lives fighting for social justice in India. Now they are dead, and he is only fifteen year old. He has been sent to a small town in Ontario to live with his aunt Charlotte (Glynne Headly). It takes considerable effort, but he manages to make friends and fit into this new, much smaller world of his. However, when his aunt receives an unfair eviction notice from her sleazy landlord (Paul Anka), every bit of his background and training comes to play, and he works with her to put on a well-publicized hunger strike which wins them the admiration of the local citizens and more. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Glenne Headly, Paul Anka, (more)
- 1992
- PG13
In this comedy, the title delivery boy finds his life tossed up and spun 'round when he inadvertently finds himself enmeshed in an international conspiracy. In Hollywood, where he works, Elmo Bunn's speedy delivery and ability to make sure he is always paid has elevated him to nearly legendary status. His troubles begin when he is called to deliver a sausage and anchovy pizza in East Hollywood at the very address where his best friend and fellow delivery man was last seen years ago. Though he knows he is in for trouble, he cannot deny an order and so heads out to meet his fate. Along the way, he meets some of the most powerful men and women in the U.S. (all played by professional look-a-likes). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bill Maher, Annabelle Gurwitch, (more)
Based on the novel by Graham Swift, this drama follows the past and present crises of schoolteacher Tom Crick (Jeremy Irons), who attempts to resolve the problems in his own life and the apathy of his students by relating stories of his troubled childhood in the English Fens (a marshy region in Britain). ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeremy Irons, Ethan Hawke, (more)
Home for Christmas is a made-for-television film about a young girl who wants a grandfather for Christmas. She chooses an elderly, homeless ex-con (Mickey Rooney) as her pseudo-grandfather and he teaches her and her family--as well as his long-estranged son--the true meaning of Christmas. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
