Andy Nyman Movies
This nutty British comedy observes with jet-black humor the myriad outrageous calamities that befall an eccentric English clan with more than a few skeletons in its closets when its patriarch dies an unexpected death. Soon, every complication imaginable -- including the wrong corpse in the coffin, the accidental consumption of hallucinogenic drugs, and the disclosure of the deceased's closeted homosexuality -- befall the grief-stricken mourners. The funeral commences at the family estate, with the arrival of younger son Daniel (Matthew MacFadyen), who has long felt uncomfortable around his cocky, licentious novelist brother, Robert (Rupert Graves) -- and thus dreads seeing him. Meanwhile, Daniel is also struggling to adhere to promises he's made to his wife (Keeley Hawes). Also arriving at the house are cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan) and her intended, Simon (Alan Tudyk), who embarrasses just about everybody, including himself, by accidentally consuming a strange drug that inflicts him with wild delusions and gives him an uncontrollable penchant for exhibitionism. But the event that truly turns the family members onto their ears is the arrival of a dwarf (Peter Dinklage) who speaks openly of the patriarch's secret passions, which included dressing up in a kinky gladiator outfit and watching young men skinny-dip. Frank Oz (In & Out, Bowfinger) helmed the film, while Dean Craig authored the script. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, (more)
- 2007
The team behind the cult Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show makes the leap to features with this comedy concerning a pair of feuding magicians. When their long-running double act ends in disaster, the pair employs every power at their disposal to make each other's lives unbearable. Andrew O' Connor directs a script penned by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, and Peep Show regulars David Mitchell and Robert Webb star as the warring wizards. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Webb, David Mitchell, (more)
When the president of a high-profile international-arms supplier takes his six best employees to an Eastern European mountain retreat as a means of rewarding them for all of their hard work, their team-building getaway turns into a life-or-death game of kill or be killed in Creep director Christopher Smith's suspenseful comedy thriller. Palisade Defense isn't just the leading supplier of weaponry for the war on terror, it's a company that truly cares about its employees. When the Palisade Defense's European sales division exceeds expectations, the president decides that his dedicated employees deserve a relaxing corporate team-building retreat. The trip takes a turn for the worst, however, when a deadly enemy infiltrates the retreat with the singular goal of ensuring that no one gets out alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Dyer, Laura Harris, (more)
His wife left flattened by a falling statue as the couple make their way through Eastern Europe on holiday, a grieving British tourist attempts to stage an early reunion with his beloved departed to little avail in director Steen Agro's pitch black comedy. When Colin's (Andy Nyman) wife Maggie (Klára Low) meets an untimely demise under a particularly unstable statue, the pain of his loss is too powerful to bear. After failing to snuff it by taking an electric bath, Colin meets hen-pecked handyman Pavel (Karel Roden) - a pushover whose high-maintenance wife has forced him to accept a series of odd jobs just to keep up with department store payments. Pavel has been assigned the task of driving Colin to the morge so that the visiting Brit can claim his wife's ashes, but Colin quickly offers his wheelman a large sum of money if he will simply end his suffering in the most painless manner possible. Unfortunately death doesn't come as easy for some as it does for others, and as the hapless pair become caught-up in the criminal exploits of hulking hoodlum Karel (Robert Polo) it begins to appear as if the suicidal widower may be death proof. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karel Roden, Andy Nyman, (more)
American film producer Amy Hobby makes her feature debut as a director with the independent romantic comedy Coney Island Baby. Shot on digital video, the film takes place in a small section of Sligo, Ireland, affectionately known as Coney Island. Small time hooligan Billy Hayes (screenwriter Karl Geary) returns to the town after spending a year abroad in New York. His plan is to get back with his ex-girlfriend Bridget McGovern (Laura Fraser) and eventually return to the States, where they can run a gas station together. Even though he claims he's a changed man, the townsfolk aren't happy to see him again and Bridget is already set to marry another guy. After buying a potato-chip delivery truck and reuniting with his salesman dad (Tom Hickey), Billy runs into his old lowlife friends who are plotting a big scam. Coney Island Baby was screened at the2003 Newport International Film Festival, where Hobby won the Jury Award for Best First Time Director. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Geary, Laura Fraser, (more)
Uprising is based on the true story of the Jewish Fighting Organization, a courageous band of youthful Polish guerrillas and freedom fighters who refused to knuckle under to the Nazis during World War II. Led by schoolteacher Mordechai Anielewicz (Hank Azaria), the organization comes into being as the Warsaw Jewish ghetto is being systemically decimated and shipped off to the Treblinka death camp by the German occupational forces. From April 19 to May 16, 1943, Anielewicz' followers staged a valiant uprising, which -- though ultimately unsuccessful in stopping the Nazi "final solution" juggernaut -- inflicted an enormous amount of damage upon the enemy and enabled hundreds of Polish Jews to escape the gas ovens and crematoriums. Much of the story is based upon the eyewitness testimony of surviving freedom fighter Simha "Kazik" Rotem, portrayed in the film by Stephen Moyer. Director Jon Avnet brilliantly combines newly filmed scenes with digitally refashioned archival footage of the actual uprising. Filmed in Bratisla, Slovakia, and boasting an all-star cast, Uprising was shown in two-hour installments on November 4 and 5, 2001, over the NBC network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leelee Sobieski, Hank Azaria, (more)
