Paul Brooks Movies
- 1998
British director Vadim Jean helmed this British-Canadian family comedy about former private eye Howard Spitz (Kelsey Grammer), who writes hardboiled detective novels. Unfortunately, Spitz's creative juices are drying up. His agent Lou (Joseph Rutten) suggests a switch to self-help manuals, but after Howard meets children's author Theodora Winkle (Kay Tremblay) and gets input on kid lit from Samantha Kershaw (Genevieve Tessier), he begins writing about cow detective Crafty Cow, and the character is a success. However, Howard doesn't like children, so he hires an actor (Patrick McKenna) to substitute for him at public appearances. Howard, Samantha, and Samantha's single mom Laura (Amanda Donohoe) then leave on a trip to find Samantha's dad in L.A. Shown at the 1998 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelsey Grammer, Amanda Donohoe, (more)
- 1998
- R
Killing Time aspires to be a hip, black comedy about a bumbling band of killers but never quite carries it off. Suave serial killer Jacob (Nigel Leach) finally goes too far when he kills a cop. Detective Bob Bryant (Craig Fairbrass) hires an Italian hit woman and then blackmails a small-time criminal into killing the hit woman. The story revolves around his gang and their increasingly unsuccessful attempts to carry out the job. The film is beautifully composed, and director Bharat Nalluri shows flair for striking camera placement, but the script is so poor that the film lurches from scene to scene and the performances are uneven. The only reason to see the film is Kendra Torgan as the hit woman who gives a sexy and threatening performance. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Fairbrass, Nigel Leach, (more)
- 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
- R
In this British sci-fi thriller a group of drug smugglers race their yacht across Hong Kong harbor as they attempt to escape triad gangs after a botched drug deal. They end up docking at a seemingly abandoned off-shore oil rig and it isn't long before they discover that they would have been better off in the triad's hands as the rig is really a research lab where a hungry, constantly morphing genetic experiment has eaten all of the scientists. The newly arrived thieves offer it a veritable smorgasboard, provided they don't get the creature first. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Fairbrass, Toni Barry, (more)
- 1995
This syrupy British drama stars Ian Hart as an English teacher assigned to a "special needs" school. Faced with a classroom full of angry, unruly children, Hart hopes to bring about order and unity by sharing his love of cross-country running. As is generally the case in films of this ilk, the teacher must wear down the resistance of the class' most difficult and obstreperous kid (Ruaidhri Coroy). Disaster looms on the horizon when the boy's father dies, prompting him to indulge in a series of dangerous running stunts that threaten the wellbeing of all concerned. Wending its way throughout Clockwork Mice is a romantic subplot involving Ian Hart and fellow teacher Catherine Russell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Hart, Catherine Russell, (more)
- 1994
Beyond Bedlam is an ambitious British horror shocker, incorporating elements familiar from Nightmare On Elm Street and the work of such authors as Thomas Harris and Clive Barker. Terry Hamilton (Craig Fairbrass) is a detective haunted by the maniac he captured seven years ago, known as the Bone Man (Keith Allen). The Bone Man, whose real name is Gilmour, is the top patient of a scientist (Elizabeth Hurley), who has been using Gilmour in experiments to test a new mind-calming drug called BFND. But the drug also enables Gilmour to bring his hallucinations to life, and his monstrous creations menace Hamilton and the doctor during the film's second half as they attempt to put Gilmour down for good. Shot mostly in an abandoned sanitarium, the film puts its eerie location to good effect and has a lot of visual style, but the initially promising premise breaks down as the long final pursuit kicks in. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Fairbrass, Elizabeth Hurley, (more)
- 1994
- R
This British romantic comedy examines a trouble relationship between a behavioral psychologist and a paleontology lecturer with serious sexual hang-ups. Currently Dr. Daniel Becker is holding seminars for teaching body language to executives. Katie, the lecturer, seems to defy all he seems to know with her habit of knocking out any male she suspects of harboring sexual thoughts about her. They go out on a dinner date. Immediately, Katie-the-mind-reader smacks the waiter. Intrigued, Daniel blindfolds her to see if she really can read thoughts. Katie, who sees no future in their relationship, plans to go on a research trip to India with her peer, Sandip. Daniel tries to thwart her plans. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amanda Pays, Mark Frankel, (more)
- 1992
A Jewish Londoner embarks on a journey to find himself after learning some shocking news about his past in this eccentric British comedy. As the film begins, Leon (Mark Frankel) is already in a time of transition, having quit his job for moral reasons and assumed a position in his mother's catering firm. His life is thrown into even more disarray when a bizarre coincidence reveals the truth behind his birth: not only was his birth the result of artificial insemination, but a lab mix-up means that his real, biological father is a complete stranger. The confused Leon sets out to find his "real" dad, and unexpectedly discovers that he is descended from a family of Yorkshire pig farmers. Co-directors Vadim Jean and Gary Sinyor move their story in fits and starts, allowing room for countless digressions, from a torrid affair with a outrageous artist (Maryam d'Abo) to the accidental breeding of a rather unique pig. While the film proves uneven, fans of the quirkier varieties of British comedy should find Leon the Pig Farmer's off-beat tone and taste for surrealistic details suitably entertaining. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Frankel, Janet Suzman, (more)
- 1971
Like Paul Henreid's For Men Only (1951), The Pledgemasters sets itself up as a "shocking expose" of college fraternities. The cruelties of the hazing process are captured in gritty 16 millimeter. The participants are not actors (which is fairly obvious), but genuine, bonafide college students. If all frats were as sadistic as this one, it's amazing that anyone has ever graduated-much less survived their freshman year. We'll take Animal House any day. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
