Dylan Moran Movies

The British sitcom Black Books largely took place in a rundown London bookshop owned by Bernard Black (Dylan Moran), a man with two prominent character flaws: He hated people, and he loved booze. On the morning after one of his all-night benders, Bernard was surprised to learn that he had drunkenly hired former accountant Manny Bianco (Bill Bailey) as a sales clerk. Forced to keep his promise, Bernard was amazed to discover that the personable Manny was a natural-born salesman -- and thus yet another Odd Couple TV relationship came into being. Originally broadcast from September 29 to November 3, 2000 over Britain's Channel 4, Black Books was considered for revival. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Can a beautiful and internationally famous American actress find happiness with a frumpy British bookstore clerk? She can -- at least for a while, it seems -- in Notting Hill. William Thacker (played by Hugh Grant) is a bookseller at a shop in the Notting Hill district in West London, who shares a house with an eccentric Welsh friend, Spike (Rhys Ifans). One day, William is minding the store when in strolls Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), a lovely and well-known actress from the United States who is in London working on a film. She buys a book from William, and she is polite and charming in the way a famous actress would be with a star-struck sales clerk. Their relationship would logically end there, if William didn't run out a few minutes later to buy some juice. While dashing back to the shop, he bumps into Anna on the street, spilling juice all over her blouse. Since he lives nearby, William politely offers to let her stop by his house to clean up; since William seems harmless enough, Anna agrees. When Anna has to stop back to pick up a bag she left at William's house, they kiss -- just in time for Spike to show up. A romance slowly blooms as his friends and family (not to mention the world at large) wonder out loud what he's doing dating a movie star. Notting Hill reunites Hugh Grant with producer Duncan Kenworthy and screenwriter Richard Curtis, who previously worked together on the international hit Four Weddings And A Funeral. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

It's often said that the true character of a man is only revealed in times of dire crisis, and for likable, lovelorn loser Shaun (Simon Pegg), that moment of reckoning came when the dead rose from their slumber to feast on the flesh of the living. A hapless electronics store employee who spends most of his spare time downing pints at the local pub with his roommate, Ed (Nick Frost), Shaun's life seems to fall apart when he is dumped by his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), and his obnoxious stepfather, Philip (Bill Nighy), shows up to berate him for not being more attentive to his caring mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton) -- especially since he forgot to send flowers for her birthday. Things take a turn for the worse when the dead return to stake their claim on the Earth, and though the chaos that follows threatens to swallow up all of England, it's up to Shaun to keep his cool and prove himself once and for all by successfully rescuing Liz and his mother. With his trusty roommate by his side, nothing -- not even the living dead -- can stand between Shaun and the two most important women in his life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Conor McPherson's comedy The Actors stars Michael Caine as an aging never-was performer. Anthony O'Malley (Caine) convinces young colleague and castmate Tom (Dylan Moran) to hone his craft by pretending to be someone he isn't in real life. Tony suggests that they rip off gangster Barreller (Michael Gambon). All goes according to plan, until Barreller's daughter Dolores (Lena Headey) falls in love with Tom, who is disguised as his sister's boyfriend Clive (Ben Miller). Miranda Richardson rounds out the cast as a London crime boss. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A group of actors and filmmakers set out to adapt an "unfilmable" classic novel -- but find that their own petty concerns get in the way -- in this satirical comedy. Laurence Sterne's 18th century novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman told the story of its priggish title character from the moment of conception onward, with a bevy of digressions, distractions, and unfinished anecdotes. In adapting the work for the screen, director Michael Winterbottom chose to stay true to its anarchic spirit: the film begins as a mostly straightforward adaptation of events in Sterne's writings, and then veers into a tale about the making of the film itself. Steve Coogan plays Tristram Shandy, who narrates his own life story, beginning with his slightly botched birth, overseen by an addled doctor (Dylan Moran) and his reticent father, Walter (also played by Coogan). Constantly quarreling with his battle-scarred brother, Toby (Rob Brydon), Walter Shandy has an epiphany when he holds his newborn son; however, before that moment can occur, the film switches into the present day, where Coogan and Brydon, playing themselves, bicker over costuming and the size of their roles in the film. The rest of the film's crew has their own concerns. Director Mark (Jeremy Northam) is trying to figure out how to secure a big Hollywood star for a supporting role and shoot a battle scene on a budget. The film's brainy production assistant Jennie (Naomie Harris) worries that their adaptation is leaving out the best parts of the book, as she nurses a crush on one of the cast members. All the while, Coogan tries to deflect a tabloid reporter's inquiry into his strip-club escapades, and attempts to pacify the concerns of his wife, Jenny (Kelly MacDonald). Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story had its North American premiere at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi