Lisa Faulkner Movies
Desmond (Nick Moran) and Frank (Phil Davis) are ill equipped to handle the 20,000 pounds in mob money that they acquire: before they know it, a beautiful woman seduces it away from Frank, and now they have henchmen banging down their door. There's only one way that they'll escape with their lives and their legs -- they need to come up with 20,000 pounds. Luckily for them, an aging criminal who is spending the rest of his life behind bars is in a vulnerable position. In order to inherit his millions, he needs to produce an heir. He regularly sends a container of his sperm to his mistress, but if Desmond and Frank intercept and hold the "baby juice" for ransom, it could solve their problems. Unfortunately for them, it could also create many more. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nick Moran, Phil Davis, (more)
Born in Dorsetshire, Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) fictionalized the region as Wessex in his short stories and novels. In 1973, stories from Thomas Hardy's collection Wessex Tales (1888) were adapted to television for a BBC-2 series (also titled Wessex Tales) that included a memorable contribution ("A Tragedy of Two Ambitions") scripted by acclaimed British dramatist Dennis Potter, who later adapted Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge for the BBC2 in 1978. The Scarlet Tunic is based on another story from Wessex Tales, "The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion," a 20-page tale of thwarted love, structured as a recollection by Phyllis as told to Hardy shortly before she died. For this $800,000-budgeted British period film, set in the early 19th century, the name Phyllis was changed to Frances (Emma Fielding), daughter of retired doctor Edward Groves (Jack Shepherd). Frances is engaged to her father's friend, dull Humphrey Gould (John Sessions), away on business. A German cavalry regiment is encamped on Groves' land, and one day, Frances meets handsome hussar Matthaus (Jean-Marc Barr), who's ready for action. He would like to either fight the French or return to Germany. The two have an immediate attraction. When the bored soldiers, including Matthaus, make plans to desert, Frances decides to leave with Matthaus. Unfortunately, Gould visits the Groves home on that very night, with resulting confrontations and conflicts. Former second-unit director and stunt coordinator Stuart St. Paul makes his feature directorial debut, with the screenplay (St. Paul, Mark Jenkins, Colin Clements) expanding on both the events and characters as penned by Hardy. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jean-Marc Barr, Emma Fielding, (more)
This British comedy is set within the confines of the snooty Dryden Park boarding school in rural England. The story centers on a lonely 10-year old boy, Magnus, whose parents are staying in Paris and cannot even be bothered to take him to the school themselves; instead, he arrives by cab. Once at the school, Magnus must endure all sorts of humiliations and torments at the hands of the other boys and from the staff. Later when Magnus organizes a secret gourmet club to help counteract the horribly healthy food foisted upon them by the headmaster, he begins making friends. The club members, using recipes from Magnus' father, make all kinds of delicacies. One of them is a homemade alcohol-laced chocolate cake that gets the students rip-roaring drunk. The inebriated chums begin splashing around in the school pool and have great fun until the Latin teacher's lovely daughter joins them, and all hell breaks loose when they are caught. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christopher Lee, Robert Hardy, (more)
This French comedy-drama chronicles the reunion of five high school friends who come to witness the birth of a child whose father, a former friend, recently died. The boys graduated in 1975 and now, five years later they have come to a Parisian hospital to await the birth. As they wait, the try to understand the circumstances that caused their friend Tomasi, a formerly happy-go-lucky guy, to become a drug addict and die of an overdose. They also begin to reminisce about their senior year. They talk about everything from their experiences with girls and drugs, to their relationships with teachers and parents. Those times are depicted in detailed flashbacks. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julien Lambroschini, Nicolas Koretzy, (more)
The Lover is director Jean-Jacques Annaud's adaptation of Marguerite Duras' minimalist 1984 novel. Set in French Indochina in 1929, the film explores the erotic charge of forbidden love. Jane March plays a French teenager sent to a Saigon boarding school, while Tony Leung is a 32-year Chinese aristocrat. They look at each and they both see a blinding white flash; it's kismet. He offers her a ride in his limousine and soon they meet in his "bachelor room" where they revel in a wide variety of creative sexual encounters. However, they both realize their love is doomed. She comes from a troubled family that includes a mentally-disturbed mother (Frederique Meininger) and drug-addicted brother (Arnaud Giovaninetti). It also appears that her family would not approve of an interracial tryst. But then neither would his family, since in order to inherit his father's wealth, he must not break from a traditional Chinese arranged marriage. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jane March, Tony Leung Kar-Fai, (more)









