Polly Walker Movies

Season Two of the lavish, lusty British historical series Rome begins exactly where Season One left off, with the murder of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in the year 44 BCE. The power struggle that follows is set in motion when, thanks largely to the machinations of Caesar's scheming niece Atia (Polly Walker), her young and callow son Octavian is announced as heir to the throne--infuriating Caesar's closest ally Marc Antony (James Purefoy). In the war that follows between Antony's "Caesarians" and Octavians "Liberators", there can be only one winner--but it is not until the season concludes in the year 31 BCE that the true winner is revealed. Amidst the intrigues of Rome's high-born power brokers, we never lose sight of the secondary plotline involving two lowly veterans of the Gallic wars, Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) and Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd). Characteristically, it is the thoroughly hedonistic Pullo who thrives and prospers during this turbulent era, with each stroke of luck advancing his prestigate and wealth. Conversely, Lucius suffers spectacularly throughout season two, beginning with the death of his beloved wife and the distintegration of his family. The ultimate blow will not be dealt to Vorenus until the season finale, but in the meantime much is made of the fact that Gallo has aligned himself with Octavian, and Vorenus casts his lot with Antony. Though scrupulously authentic in its historical detail, Rome continues to successfully pinpoint the most "contemporary" aspects of ancient History. Especially notable this season is the series' depiction of Rome's small but ever-growing Jewish community, and the emergence of "Crip and Blood"-style gang warfare in the treacherous Aventine Collegium district. In a similar vein, after Marc Antony suffers his humiliating defeat at Actium, he retreats to the palace of his Egyptian lover Queen Cleopatra (Lyndsley Marshal), where the two lost souls wallow in debauchery--reminding more than one observer of the equally foredoomed punk-rockers Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A handful of couples discuss their romantic and erotic tribulations on a sunny afternoon in this romantic comedy drama. It's a beautiful day in London, and a number of people head out to Hampstead Heath Park to enjoy the weather, though not every couple on hand is as comfortable as the weather might suggest. Julia (Gina McKee) and Gerry (Hugh Bonneville) are having a picnic as part of a blind date, but they don't seem to be enjoying one another's company. Billy (Ewan McGregor) and Brian (Douglas Hodge) are a gay couple at a crossroads -- Billy wants to settle down and adopt a child, but Brian doesn't believe this will stop his partner's chronic infidelity. Iris (Eileen Atkins) and Eddie (Benjamin Whitrow) were an item many years ago, but aren't sure what to make of one another when they meet by chance in the park. Sara (Catherine Tate) and Pete (Adrian Lester) discover how much they care for one another just as they're on the verge of divorce. Jamie (Andrew Lincoln) finds he has some explaining to do when his wife Molly (Holly Aird) catches him ogling a pretty young woman (Eglantine Rembauville) who is inadvertently exposing her underwear. Ludo (Nick Sidi) and Anna (Sophie Okonedo) are a couple whose romance doesn't seem fated to live out the day. And Noel (Tom Hardy) is a lecherous sort who is looking for a woman as interested in sex as he is. Scenes of a Sexual Nature was the first feature film from director Edward Blum; the picture was shot on a shoestring budget, with the actors being paid union scale in exchange for a share of the film's profits. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The government's dangerous penchant for favoring corporate interests is put to the ultimate test after an ambitious politician's research assistant perishes under mysterious circumstances, and a crime that at first appeared unconnected with the death is exposed to reveal an intricate web of lies and deceit. Stephen Collins (David Morrissey) is a rising politician with everything to lose, and his ex-campaign manager Cal McAffery (John Simm) has recently risen to fame as a respected investigative journalist. One day, on her way to work, Stephen's assistant falls to her death in the London Underground. Later, just as it's revealed that Stephen and his assistant were having an affair at the time of her death, the body of a suspected teenage drug dealer is discovered. At first it appears that these two events are completely unrelated, but a closer look reveals some deeply disturbing information about political and corporate interests becoming hopelessly intertwined. Now, as the lies, manipulations, and deceptions gradually boil to the surface, lives will be lost and friendships put to the ultimate test. Bill Nighy, James McAvoy, and Polly Walker star in the award-winning BBC series that riveted television viewers all across the U.K. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Meciej Dejczer directed this German-French-Polish period drama made with English dialogue. British prisoner Gerry, aka Brute (Til Schweiger) is sent away to complete his sentence in a rundown Romanian orphanage run by sinister Sincal (Pete Postlethwaite), who profits by selling children and other evil activities. Crude operations are executed on patients by alcoholic surgeon Dr. Babits (John Hurt), who plays the violin. On the brighter side, a nubile nurse Mara (Polly Walker) is on the staff of this insidious institution, and she enters into an affair with Brute. Shown at the 1998 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Franz Kafka's classic tale of Josef K., a bank clerk who is placed on trial for an unnamed, unknowable crime, is given a faithful, if not overly literal, treatment in this drama. Knowing only that he has been charged, Josef naturally sets out to defend himself, but soon finds himself deeply mired in a battle against an incomprehensible government bureaucracy. Following Orson Welles's adaptation of the book by some three decades, director David Jones chooses to avoid the earlier film's expressionistic approach. Instead, he sets Josef's travails against a realistic background that specifically recalls Eastern Europe during the early 20th century, the time of the book's writing. Similarly, the screenplay by famed British playwright Harold Pinter, whose own darkly absurd vision owes much to Kafka, hews closely to the original text. This faithful approach helps ground the story in historical reality, and allows for a good use of brooding Prague locations. However, many critics have found this approach less effective than the low-budget abstraction of Welles' version, which is more successful at highlighting the universality and symbolic nature of the tale. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

This informative look at T.E. Lawrence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, as he serves as the liaison to the Hashemite delegation in an effort to have the Allies agree to Arab independence. ~ Rovi

The story of this film was allegedly based on a true story witnessed by the director Nico Papatakis during his filmmaking collaboration with the controversial and much-lionized monstre sacrée Jean Genet. In the story, Marcel Spadice (Michel Piccoli) is a famous writer with a criminal background and a penchant for handsome men. From time to time, he induces an attractive female admirer to arrange for him to be introduced to nice, talented young men who happen to be sufficiently handsome to interest him. At other times, the endless effort to woo these men (who are most often heterosexual) grows wearying, and he goes to the train station to pick up soldiers looking for some easy money and a night's lodging. In this film, the writer has grown enamored with a young circus laborer (Lilah Dadi) who wants to move up in the world, literally, by becoming a tightrope walker. Marcel cadges an introduction, and for a time sponsors the young man's training. However, when the boy suffers an accident which renders him unfit for his chosen vocation, Marcel loses interest in him and takes up with another young man. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Sylvester Stallone returned to the screen after a three-year absence (excepting his voice work in Antz) with this tense and violent psychological crime thriller. FBI agent Jake Malloy (Stallone) has been traumatized by an especially vicious murder. No longer able to perform his job, Malloy is referred to a clinic for members of the law enforcement community, run by doctors Hank (Tom Berenger) and Doc (Kris Kristofferson). Jake begins receiving therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, but crime follows him inside the clinic; a serial killer has invaded the facility and is killing off the patients one by one, in increasingly gruesome ways. Soon Jake must set aside his fears and track down the murderer, before he becomes the next victim. D-Tox (which, in production, was publicized under the titles Detox and The Outpost) was released on video as Eye See You. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A troubled cop makes a discovery that really has him worried in this thriller. Mickey Hayden (Kiefer Sutherland), a police detective, is ordered to take a new look at a case he'd worked on ten years ago. A brilliant but demented serial killer known as Jabberwocky went on a killing spree before dropping out of sight; Hayden was never able to track him down, and the disappointment has left Hayden with more than his share of emotional scars; the detective has since become an alcoholic in a failed attempt to cope. After a decade of silence, Jabberwocky strikes again, sending the police a note suggesting Hayden be put back on his case. But this time around, Hayden notices something different as he investigates the killings; when he comes in contact with the evidence, he has troubling psychic visions that tell him more about the murders than he ever wanted to know. Originally produced for the premium cable network HBO, Eye of the Killer also stars Polly Walker and Henry Czerny. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This lavish historical drama based on the acclaimed novel by Rose Tremain won Oscars for Costume Design and Art Direction. Robert Downey, Jr. stars as Robert Merivel, a gifted medical student of the 17th century who ignores his studies in favor of pursuing debauched fun -- much to the consternation of his high-minded Quaker colleague John Pearce (David Thewlis). Merivel achieves the high societal status he covets when he's summoned by King Charles II (Sam Neill). Merivel is chagrined to find that he's expected to care for the king's ailing spaniel, but the dog rallies and Merivel joins court. When one of Charles' mistresses, Celia (Polly Walker) becomes uppity, Charles arranges her marriage to Merivel. In return for keeping Celia in a pretend marriage, he receives an estate and knighthood. Merivel, however, falls in love with Celia and, betrayed by an eccentric painter (Hugh Grant), inspires the king's wrath. Banished and stripped of his wealth, Merivel rediscovers love with an Irish mental patient (Meg Ryan). He also rediscovers his passion for medicine during London's Great Fire and the Black Plague. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In Patriot Games, Harrison Ford plays former CIA agent Jack Ryan, taking over from Alec Baldwin, who had played author Tom Clancy's brainy protagonist in Hunt for Red October. This time around, Ryan foils an attempted assassination, thereby incurring the wrath of a maniacal Irish radical (Sean Bean). After seemingly neutralizing the villains, and deciding to celebrate the occasion with his wife (Anne Archer) and daughter (Thora Birch), everything appears to be back to normal; then all hell breaks loose. Author Tom Clancy himself bemoaned the liberties taken with his novel in the final sequences; the picture scored with audiences, however, and soon inspired a followup, A Clear and Present Danger (1994), also starring Ford. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The 1981 mythological fantasy adventure Clash of the Titans is resurrected in this remake from Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier. Discovered at sea as an infant by a weary fisherman, demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington) grows up with no real knowledge of his celestial origins until his watchful guardian, Io (Gemma Arterton), informs him that he is the offspring of Zeus (Liam Neeson). When Zeus' brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) casually wipes out Perseus' family, the grieving son vows to show the gods just what kind of damage humankind can inflict on its creators. Before long, Perseus and a small group of soldiers are venturing out into the desert in order to find a way to stop the Kraken, a terrifying force of nature that an indignant Hades has vowed to unleash upon man should they fail to offer up beloved princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) as a sacrifice. Along the way, the soldiers encounter a trio of frightening witches with second sight, contend with Hades' devoted servant Calibos (Jason Flemyng), battle giant scorpions, and come face to face with Medusa (Natalia Vodianova), the dreaded gorgon whose gaze has the power to turn men into stone. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi