Mick Hucknall Movies
The public and private lives of famed songwriter Cole Porter are both explored in this musical drama, in which the aging Porter (played by Kevin Kline) looks back on his life while watching a rehearsal of a stage musical based on his story. As Porter compares notes on the play with director Gabe (Jonathan Pryce), he shares thoughts on his rise to fame in the mid-'20s, writing witty and sophisticated tunes for a string of successful Broadway musicals. Porter seemed to be living a charmed life when he met Linda Thomas (Ashley Judd), a beautiful American woman who, like Porter, was enjoying a sojourn in Paris following the collapse of her first marriage. Thomas is immediately taken with Porter, whose intelligence and charm is a welcome change after her brutal first husband, and the two discover they share a remarkable understanding of one another. Porter and Thomas marry, even though she's aware that her new husband is gay; Thomas is willing to forgive Porter's indiscretions with other men in favor of the emotional support he brings her. However, as the years wear on and the couple takes up residence in Hollywood as Porter begins writing tunes for motion pictures, Thomas finds Porter drifting away from her as his liaisons become more frequent and more serious. Then tragedy enters their life when Porter loses the use of his legs in a riding accident and Thomas is diagnosed with cancer. De-Lovely features a number of noted pop singers interpreting classic songs from Porter's catalog, including Diana Krall, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Elvis Costello, Robbie Williams, Mick Hucknall, and others. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, (more)
Following the disastrous Pirates (1986), director Roman Polanski got back on creative track with this finely-wrought thriller that, while failing to impress at the box office, was nevertheless his most critically well-received film of the decade. Harrison Ford stars as Richard Walker, an American doctor who has come to Paris, where he's scheduled to deliver a paper to a medical conference. Richard has brought along his wife Sondra (Betty Buckley), because Paris was the site of their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Sondra picks up the wrong suitcase at the airport, which leads to her kidnapping and an ever-more complicated quest that takes Richard into the seedy and dangerous underworld of European drug smuggling and terrorist arms sales. Along the way, he is rebuffed by skeptical officials at the American Embassy and meets Michelle (Emmanuelle Seigner), a sexy courier who agrees to help him in exchange for the money she's owed for trafficking in narcotics. Playing cleverly on American fears about Europe's Byzantine politics and "decadent" society, Frantic received, from many observers, perhaps the greatest compliment possible for a thriller, comparison to the work of Alfred Hitchcock. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Emmanuelle Seigner, (more)
- 1987
- R
Martin Short and Annette O'Toole star in this comedy documenting a date from hell. Short is David, a sunglasses salesman, who makes a date with Kathy (Annette O'Toole) in order to celebrate his new promotion. David and Kathy have gone out a few times before, but they both think that this is the date that will put both of them over the top, convinced that they have finally found the right person. With anxiety in their hearts, they both prepare anxiously for the date. But there is trouble on the horizon. Before heading out on the date, David discovers that instead of getting a promotion, he has been fired. Afraid that Kathy will think that he is loser, he doesn't tell her that he lost his job. He has also borrowed the car and the apartment of his friend Bruce (Paul Reiser) for the date, permitting her to think that they all belong to him. But Kathy hasn't been entirely truthful to David either. For example, she has conveniently forgotten to tell him about the existence of her seven-year-old daughter. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Short, Annette O'Toole, (more)
