Mike Parsons Movies

A top London cop who is so good at his job that he makes his fellow officers look like slackers by comparison is "promoted" to serve in the sleepy village of Sandford in this contemporary action comedy from the creators of Shaun of the Dead. Police constable Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) always gets his man, but these days his impeccable record seems to be more indicative of his fellow officers' shortcomings than his own formidable skills as a keeper of the peace. Loathe to stand idly by as their once respectable track record is steadily soiled by the hyper-competent actions of one lone overachiever, Sergeant Angel's superiors at the Met soon determine to remedy their problem by relocating the decorated constable to the West Country village of Sanford -- where tranquil garden parties and neighborhood watch meetings stand in stark contrast to the violent crime and heated gunplay of the city. As Sergeant Angel does his best to adjust to the relative calm of his new environment, his oafish new partner Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) strives to gain the respect of his fellow constables while sustaining himself on fantasies of his favorite action films and police shows. Later, just as it begins to appear as if Sergeant Angel has been relegated to an uneventful existence in the relative calm of the countryside, a series of horrific "accidents" lead him to suspect that the tranquil hamlet of Sanford has fallen prey to a sinister plot which reeks of foul play. Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Steve Coogan, and Martin Freeman co-star in the Edgar Wright film. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Second generation surfing documentarian Dana Brown (son to Bruce Brown, who directed The Endless Summer 2) strikes out with his own original piece of filmmaking with his 2003 ode to the world's surfing enthusiasts entitled Step Into Liquid. Part travelogue, and part attempt to redefine surfing's image, Brown travels to some of the ordinary surfing locales -- such as Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States -- as well as some rather unexpected ones, including the west coast of Wisconsin on Lake Michigan to Easter Island to a secular surfing school in Ireland. While in these diverse locations, Brown interviews the numerous souls whose lives have been taken over by the lure of surfing, ranging from seasoned professionals to casual hobbyists, in an attempt to dispel the myth of surfers being perpetually stoned slackers. Step Into Liquid was selected to screen at a handful of film festivals in 2003, including the Nodance Film Festival in Park City, UT. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi