Marton Csokas Movies

Answering a distress call from a volatile asteroid field, Moya and her crew land on an unusually fertile world. Here they come across two residents with radically contradicting stories: M'Lee (Francesca Buller), who had sent the distress signal, claiming to have witnessed the massacre of her family, and botanist Br'nee (Marton Csokas), who insists that M'lee herself was responsible for the slaughter. Meanwhile, Aeryn bonds with Moya's "baby," an infant starship which may or may not align itself with the dreaded PeaceKeepers. "Bone to Be Wild" first aired on January 21, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The comedy team that made the phrase "nyuk nyuk nyuk" part of the American vocabulary gets the full biographical treatment in this made-for-TV feature. The Three Stooges opens in 1959, as a TV executive tries to persuade Moe Howard (Paul Ben-Victor) to reunite with his former onscreen partners to publicize the television premiere of a package of Three Stooges classic comedy shorts. Howard then flashes back on his long and remarkable career, as vaudeville star Ted Healy (Marton Csokas) assembles Moe Howard, sibling Shemp Howard (John Kassir), and Larry Fine (Evan Handler) as "stooges" for his stage act. As Moe, Shemp, and Larry gain popularity, a jealous Healy forces them to strike out on their own, but after many grueling years on the road, Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn (Linal Haft) offers them a chance to star in their own series of two-reel comedies. But Shemp, always stage-shy, backs out of the group, and his brother Jerome (Michael Chiklis) -- aka "Curly" -- takes over, and the Three Stooges become a sensation. However, success proves to be a bumpy road for the group, as a bad deal with Columbia prevents them from reaping the full benefits of their success, and a serious illness forces Curly to quit, bringing Shemp back into the act. Mel Gibson was an executive producer for this biopic, which first aired on ABC on April 24, 2000. Incidentally, this wasn't Michael Chiklis' first time playing an icon of American comedy; he portrayed John Belushi in the 1989 drama Wired. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the concluding episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, Xena (Lucy Lawless) has agreed to the terms of battle set down by evil samurai ghost Yodoshi. In other words, she allows herself to be killed so that she can fight Yodoshi over the souls of some 40,000 murdered Japanese. The grieving Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) races against time to revive Xena by putting her ashes in a magic spring before the next sunset. Only one problem: Even if she manages to defeat Yodoshi, Xena must remain dead in order to undo the samurai's past evil. This episode's climactic disclaimer advises the viewer to hold out hope for a happier ending in the future. We're still waiting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Now that Gabrielle's unholy daughter, Hope, has killed Xena's son, Solan, an action that also cost Hope her life, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) are bitter enemies. But before they can act upon their mutual hatred, the two former comrades are transported to Illsuia, a dream world patterned after tarot cards. Here, with the help of several series semi-regulars, Xena and Gabrielle are forced to confront their feelings -- and, possibly, find forgiveness. This is the celebrated "musical" episode, with everyone expressing their emotions in song (even the war god Ares [Kevin Smith]!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of a two-part story, Xena (Lucy Lawless) has journeyed to the land of Chin to fulfill her promise to kill the Green Dragon. Alas, she is thwarted in this mission by Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), who cannot bring herself to condone murder under any circumstances. As a result of Gabrielle's interference, Xena is sentenced to death. As she awaits her fate, Xena muses over her past relationship with Lao Ma (Jacqueline Kim) -- and the birth of one Ming T'ien. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lord Belach (Marton Csokas), the son of warlord Borias (with whom Xena [Lucy Lawless] had far too many close encounters during her warrior-princess days) sets out to kill the Centaur Xenan (Hamish Hector-Taylor), himself the son of Amazon princess Ephiny (Danielle Cormack). Belach believes that his daughter, Nicha (Katrina Devine), has been kidnapped by Xenan, when in fact she has eloped with the boy of her own free will. When Xenan and the pregnant Nicha seek out help from Xena and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), they set off a chain reaction of reciprocal adductions and wholesale slaughter -- but the episode ends on a hopeful note all the same. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Along with Once Were Warriors, Broken English effectively captures contemporary New Zealand as a society in transition. Broken English dramatizes how the effect of immigration to the cities of New Zealand by both its native peoples, the Maoris, and Europeans seeking refuge from political persecution has not produced a harmonious melting pot. Ivan (Rade Serbedzija) is an embittered Croatian who fled to his wife's native Aukland when war broke out in Bosnia. Brooding over TV news reports on what is happening to his homeland (and displaying more than a little guilt over his flight from there), Ivan lashes out at anyone outside of his insulated Croatian community, including his gentle Maori neighbors. His drug-running business allows him a comfortable lifestyle, but he's still irritated that his young adult daughters won't mind him. The eldest, Nina (Aleksandra Vujcic), is a waitress who takes up with a colleague, a Maori cook named Eddie (Julian "Sonny" Arahanga, who also appeared in Once Were Warriors), in part because he's attractive but also to tweak her father. Complicating matters is an arranged marriage Nina has agreed to with a Chinese immigrant colleague at the restaurant; he's willing to pay her 16,000 dollars just to make his residency legal, so he can be with his girlfriend, Clara. Originally rated NC-17 for an energetic but hardly explicit sex scene between Nina and Eddie, the film was later edited to earn an "R" rating. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

Ridley Scott directed this epic-scale historical drama inspired by the events of the Crusades of the 12th century. Balian (Orlando Bloom) is a humble French blacksmith who is searching for a reason to go on after the death of his wife and children. Balian is approached by Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), a fabled knight who has briefly returned home after serving in the East. Godfrey informs Balian that he is his true father, and urges the blacksmith to join him as he and his forces journey to Jerusalem to help defend the holy city. Balian accepts, and he and Godfrey arrive during the lull between the Second and Third Crusades, in which the city is enjoying a fragile peace. Both Christian and Muslim forces are temporarily in retreat, thanks to the wisdom of the Christian monarch King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), his second-in-command Tiberias (Jeremy Irons), and Muslim potentate Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). Violent agitators on both sides are foolishly eager to end the peace in a bid for greater power, and Saladin bows to pressures from Muslim factions; Godfrey is one of a handful of brave knights who has thrown his allegiance behind Baldwin IV and his community of diversity, and Balian joins him as they use their skills as warriors in a bid to build a lasting peace. Kingdom of Heaven also stars Eva Green as the princess Sibylla, David Thewlis as Hospitaler the priest, and Brendan Gleeson as Reynald. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Longtime Australian actor Richard Roxburgh makes his directorial debut with this adaptation of Raimond Gaita's acclaimed memoir, adapted for the screen by poet Nick Drake and starring Eric Bana, Franka Potente, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Despite their hardships in life, Romulus (Bana) and his beautiful wife, Christina (Potente), struggle to raise their son, Raimond (Smit-McPhee), to the best of their abilities. As the deeply moral Romulus struggles to make up for the absence and neglect of the boy's depressive mother, father and son build an unbreakable bond that is only strengthened with the passing of time. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A female detective discovers the dark side of the world of contemporary literature in this unusual thriller from Australia. Mickey (Abbie Cornish) is a brash young female poet who is gaining a potent reputation for her powerful verse about love and sex. When she suddenly disappears, private detective Jill Fitzpatrick (Susie Porter) is hired to help find her. Jill doesn't know much about poetry, so she starts her investigation by tracking down Mickey's teacher and mentor, Diana (Kelly McGillis), to learn more about Mickey and the circles in which she traveled. Jill is a lesbian, and quickly finds herself strongly attracted to Diana; though Diana is married to Nick (Marton Csokas), she finds herself equally infatuated with Jill, and the two are soon having an affair. When Mickey is found murdered, her parents ask Jill to step up the investigation, and Jill digs deeper into the facts of Mickey's life -- learning the young woman was willing to sleep with nearly anyone who could advance her career. She also discovers that the two older male poets with whom Mickey had become involved are not at all eager to answer questions about her disappearance. The Monkey's Mask is based on a mystery novel written in verse form by Dorothy Porter; the novel became an international bestseller and the biggest-selling book of poetry published in Australia since World War II . ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The second chapter in the "Bourne Trilogy," based on Robert Ludlum's best-selling espionage novels, reaches the screen in this sequel to the 2002 thriller The Bourne Identity. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) has abandoned his life as a CIA assassin and has been traveling beneath the agency's radar, eventually reconnecting with Marie Kreutz (Franka Potente), the woman he loves. But Bourne is haunted by vivid dreams and troubling memories of his days as a killer, and he's not certain how much really happened and how much is a product of his imagination. When Bourne is led out of hiding by circumstances beyond his control, he must reconcile his past and present as he struggles to keep Marie out of harm's way and foil an international incident with dangerous consequences. The Bourne Supremacy also features Joan Allen as one of Bourne's superiors, while Julia Stiles and Brian Cox reprise their roles as intelligence agents from the first film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The second film in Peter Jackson's series of screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien's internationally popular Lord of The Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers literally begins where The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ended, with the Fellowship splitting into three groups as they seek to return the Ring to Mordor, the forbidding land where the powerful talisman must be taken to be destroyed. Frodo (Elijah Wood), who carries the Ring, and his fellow Hobbit Sam (Sean Astin) are lost in the hills of Emyn Muil when they encounter Gollum (Andy Serkis), a strange creature who once carried the Ring and was twisted by its power. Gollum volunteers to guide the pair to Mordor; Frodo agrees, but Sam does not trust their new acquaintance. Elsewhere, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) are attempting to navigate Fangorn Forrest where they discover a most unusual nemesis -- Treebeard (voice of John Rhys-Davies), a walking and talking tree-shepherd who doesn't much care for Hobbits. Finally, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) arrive in Rohan to discover that the evil powers of Saruman (Christopher Lee) have robbed King Theoden (Bernard Hill) of his rule. The King's niece Éowyn (Miranda Otto) believes Aragorn and his men have the strength to defeat Saruman, his henchman Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), and their minions. Éowyn soon becomes infatuated with Aragorn, while he struggles to stay faithful to the pledge of love he made to Arwen (Liv Tyler). Gandalf (Ian McKellen) offers his help and encouragement as the Rohans, under Aragorn's leadership, attempt to face down Saruman's armies, but they soon discover how great the task before them truly is when they learn that his troops consist of 10,000 bloodthirsty creatures specially bred to fight to the death. Most of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was shot in tandem with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King during a marathon 18-month shooting schedule, overseen by Peter Jackson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide