Peter Edwards Movies
- 2004
A single teenage mother operating along the margins of society unleashes a bitter torrent of anger on her unsuspecting neighbors in first-time director Amma Assante's seething psychological drama. Leigh-Ann (Stephanie James) may seem like a victim to some, but in between paying the bills, dealing with welfare officers, and keeping the menacing father of her infant child at bay, this single mother has no time for anything but survival. With so much bottled rage in her life Leigh-Ann is bound to explode sooner or later, and when her brother starts dating the daughter of her Pakistani neighbors this mother's uncontrollable anger threatens to consume both her and the ones she holds dearest. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephanie James, Nathan Jones, (more)
Director Martin Duffy adapts author Rhidian Brook's popular children's book concerning British bard and Celtic shaman Taliesin in this family oriented religious drama starring Jonathan Pryce and John-Paul Macleoud, and featuring the final screen appearance of acclaimed actor Ian Bannen. Dejected when his parents announce their plans to dissolve the marriage, bookish twelve year old Taliesin (Macleod) turns to faith healing as a means of coping with his deep-rooted malaise. In the aftermath of the divorce, Taliesin moves in with his father (Pryce) and older brother (Matthew Rhys) and finds himself drawn to first an atlas and later an illustrated Bible. Later taking piano lessons from a man named Billy (Bannen) who moonlights as a faith healer, the impressionable young boy witnesses one of his instructor's hands-on sessions and begins asking profound questions about faith when prayer cures him of an inexplicable wart affliction. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John-Paul Macleod
- 1999
This French & Saunders special from May 1999 features an extended parody of the BBC TV drama Silent Witness. Here the program becomes "Witless Silence," and Jennifer Saunders steps into the forensic-pathologist part played by Amanda Burton in the actual series. In another segment, "Acting Masterclass," another BBC actress actually guest stars. Helen Mirren, known to legions of British TV viewers as London police detective Jane Tennison, here plays an actress very much like herself who's come home to teach an actor's workshop with a pair of far less successful fellow drama school alumnae: Maggie Moffit (Dawn French), who's done more work for Actor's Equity than actual acting, and Tillie Dickerson (Saunders), a housewife who once guest-starred on Doctor Who. Three additional sketches feature parodies of musical performers: teen pop group Boyzone, Welsh rock band Catatonia, and Canadian singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette. The entire special is framed by "F&S TV," a mock shopping-channel program hosted by the titular comediennes. French & Saunders: F&S TV is included as a bonus on the DVD edition of French & Saunders: Gentlemen Prefer. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- 1997
This compelling low-budget horror-fantasy from Welsh filmmaker Julian Richards made a splash at several fantasy film festivals, where it often garnered a more favorable reception than Hollywood big-budget product. The plot follows the investigations of English journalist Frazer Truick (Craig Fairbrass) into the disappearance of a colleague's brother in South Wales. His snooping unearths the elaborate political machinations of a long-standing, ultra-conservative faction known as "Regeneration," whose followers, under the leadership of businessman David Keller (Jon Finch), intend to return Wales to its ancient Celtic ways... including the practice of human sacrifices. Insidious plot twists abound, all of which point to Truick's unknowing role in the sect's master plan. Richards' excellent script may draw its thematic inspiration from The Wicker Man, and those familiar with that film may not be entirely surprised by the climax; the story nevertheless contains many unconventional surprises, and it maintains an effective balance between political allegory and pure suspense. Further enhanced by excellent photography and an intense performance from Fairbrass, Darklands represents a remarkable debut from an assured genre talent. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Fairbrass, Rowena King, (more)
- 1995
Beginning its run on the Welsh broadcast service HTV in 1995, A Mind to Kill was a series of two-hour mystery-dramas starring Philip Madoc as Detective Chief Inspector Bain. Described as A Touch of Frost with a Welsh accent, the series found the methodical Bain rooting out killers more by instinct than by sciences. Though the series was well received by viewers, its broadcast history in the United Kingdom was a spotty one. First it was picked up by the Sky One satellite service, thereby shutting out viewers without satellite dishes. Then it showed up on the new Channel 5, which in its swaddling days had only limited coverage. Finally, A Mind to Kill returned to HTV in Wales, where its run came to an end after 13 episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Saving the homestead is the essential plot of this Christmas movie in which a Welsh teenager fights a land developer who wants her dead grandfather's horse ranch. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
Saving the homestead is the essential plot of this Christmas movie in which a Welsh teenager fights a land developer who wants her dead grandfather's horse ranch. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sian McLean, Daniel J. Travanti, (more)
