Paul McKenzie Movies
- 1991
- R
A young man in the '60s deals with his estranged parents and the desire to find a career in rock 'n' roll. Based on the book by Nigel Hinton, who also wrote the screenplay, this music related drama stars Chesney Hawkes, Roger Daltrey and Sharon Duce. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Roger Daltrey, Sharon Duce, (more)
- 1990
Three male teenaged layabouts and their slightly older friend contemplate livening things up a bit with a theft. When they discover that the shop they were to rob has a new alarm system, all but one of the kids decides to give the robbery a pass. The one kid who goes ahead is caught, and sentenced to reform school. Meanwhile, the other guys talk about crimes they could commit, several of them seek dates with local girls, and not much happens. There are complicated friendships and loyalties among the boys, which change when the fellow put into reform school gets out. Ultimately, the older chap astonishes everyone by declaring his love for one of the lads in the middle of a robbery which everyone is participating in. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Thewlis, Steve Sweeney, (more)
Music video director Richard Stanley made his feature debut with this apocalyptic, post-industrial nightmare set in the distant future. Dylan McDermott stars as Moses "Hard Mo"' Baxter, a washed-up ex-soldier who spends most of his time in "The Zone" -- a scorched, ochre-colored desert littered with the radioactive debris of an unspecified war (or wars). Mo's recent Zone foray with war-buddy Shades (Jon Lynch) turns up an interesting find -- a pile of droid parts he purchases from a spooky "Zone Tripper" (Carl McCoy, frontman for goth-rock's Fields of the Nephilim), which he carts home to his reclusive artist girlfriend Jill (Stacy Travis) to serve as raw material for her latest work. Unbeknownst to them, the dismantled robot is the prototype of a controversial new battle-droid dubbed the Mark 13, which is designed to reassemble itself from available materials if damaged in combat. In short order, the Mark 13 proceeds to do just that, tapping into the power grid in Jill's fortress-like apartment and targeting her for death. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dylan McDermott, Stacey Travis, (more)
"Another basement, another elevator...how can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?" asks John McClane (Bruce Willis), in what is doubtless the key question of this film. A year after foiling the terrorist takeover of a high-rise office building in the first movie, McClane is waiting to pick up his wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), at Dulles International Airport just outside Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve. Scheduled to arrive the same evening is Ramon Esperanza (Franco Nero), a South American political figure who is being brought to the United States to stand trial for his role in a drug-smuggling ring. However, a group of terrorists, led by renegade American military officer Col. Stuart (William Sadler), take control of the airport, scuttling radio transmissions and placing their own men in the control tower. Stuart and his men ensure that Esperanza's plane lands safely, and then demand that Stuart and his men be given a fully-fueled 747 and free passage wherever they choose to go. Otherwise, they will guide the many circling jets waiting for landing instructions into definite crash landings, killing the many passengers on board. Not willing to stand aside as terrorists once again threaten his wife's life, the wise-cracking McClane once again leaps into action to foil Stuart's plans and bring the passenger jets safely to the ground. William Atherton, John Amos, Dennis Franz, and John Leguizamo highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, (more)
With a cruel, keen edge, this taut social drama slices deeply into Thatcher's England to expose a grim underbelly of racism, cynicism and despair. Reuben James is a black paratrooper who has spent the last nine years serving in the British army and who finally gets discharged to return to his home in South London. There he discovers that the residents have been ravaged by the poverty of the decade and many have turned to crime to survive, while others do their best in the midst of crushing hopelessness to find order and meaning. He too fights the same battles as he struggles to find work. He is disillusioned to discover that to racist employers, his sterling service record is almost worthless. The poor veteran suffers a final blow when he learns that because he was born on the common-wealth island of St. Lucia, and because the laws have suddenly changed, he is no longer considered a British citizen. Now he must quickly make a decision about the rest of his life. Meanwhile, back in the neighborhood, tempers fray, frustration mounts and violence ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Amanda Redman, (more)
