Peter Whitman Movies

A scathing look at Britain in the post-Thatcher era, Mike Leigh's Naked stars David Thewlis as Johnny, an unemployed layabout with a philosophical bent and a nasty edge. In the opening scene, he's committing rape, and before the credits even roll, he's also stolen a car to flee from Manchester to the London home of an old girlfriend (Lesley Sharp). The film's loose, sprawling narrative follows Johnny as he randomly makes his way through the streets of London, encountering a homeless Scottish couple, a nightwatchman and a series of women whom he charms and discards. He lives defiantly outside of the system, refusing to conform to the demands of anyone (including himself). ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

This film offers yet another film version of Henry James classic supernatural thriller. It all begins when an aristocratic uncle hires a nanny to watch over his innocent niece and nephew who are living in a large country manse. Soon she discovers that the poor children have been possessed. She also finds herself victimized by her own obsession. Tragedy follows when she tries to free the children from evil. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It started as a 1960 Roger Corman horror comedy, filmed in two days; it then inspired a lavish 1982 Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Finally in 1986, Little Shop of Horrors (1960) graduated into a multimillion-dollar, all-star film musical. Rick Moranis plays nebbishy Seymour Krelborn, who works in a rundown flower shop on Skid Row. While his boss (Vincent Gardenia) bemoans the lack of business, Seymour seeks a way of bringing the shop -- and himself -- fame and fortune. He purchases a strange plant from an even stranger oriental street vendor (Vincent Wong), naming the plant after his girlfriend Audrey (Ellen Greene, one of the few carry-overs from the Broadway version). Gradually, Seymour learns to his horror that "Audrey II" (given the voice of R&B performer Levi Stubbs) craves blood and flesh. With each of Audrey II's "FEEED MEEE"s, Seymour must scare up human food to satisfy the plant's appetite. One such victim is dentist Steve Martin, a leather-jacketed Elvis type (the dentist's ultra-masochistic patient played by Jack Nicholson in the 1960 original is here impersonated by Bill Murray). The lighthearted tone of the film darkens as Audrey II grows in monstrosity, but the unhappy ending of the Broadway version is avoided herein. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hal Holbrook stars in this TV pilot film as Colonel Calvin Turner, a special operative for the OSS during World War II. Working in cooperation with British intelligence, Turner's mission is to uncover atomic weapon secrets at a Nazi plant in occupied Norway. The task permits him time for a bit of dalliance with the lovely Anne Twomey. David McCallum and Ray Sharkey costar in this uneven location-filmed adventure caper, first broadcast December 29, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Irreverent British writer Dennis Potter speaks aloud what many literary historians have only postulated in whispers in Dreamchild. The film is set in 1932, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Alice in Wonderland creator Lewis Carroll. The guest of honor at the New York-based celebration is 80-year-old Alice Liddell (Coral Browne), who as a child inspired Carroll's whimsical novels. Amidst the cajoling of both devoted fans and fast-buck hustlers, the grim-faced Alice tries to remain calm and dignified. What none of the idolaters suspect is that Alice harbors a long-suppressed secret concerning her "very special" relationship with Carroll -- a secret revealed in an extremely tasteful fashion during a flashback sequence, featuring Amelia Shankley as young Alice and Ian Holm as Charles Dodgson, the virginal, child-obsessed clergyman whom the world knew as Lewis Carroll. The darkness of Dennis Potter's vision is lightened by Muppeteer Jim Henson's marvelous three-dimensional renditions of the Wonderland and Looking Glass characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a major departure from the tone of the preceding two Superman adventure films, this mix of vile deeds and fantasy heroics drops the "S" out of cosmic and goes for comic instead. Right at the starting gate, Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) and a subsequent slapstick sequence upstage (Christopher Reeves again), who later develops an identity crisis. Gorman, newly trained as a computer whiz, starts working for a conglomerate run by the corporate nemesis Ross Webster (Robert Vaughn), intent on world domination. Gorman is sent to Superman's small town of Smallville to wipe out Columbia's coffee crop by fiddling with the computer side of a weather satellite. Clark Kent is in town for his class reunion, leading Superman to clash with Gorman, which in turn, leads Gorman to develop a hybrid red Kryptonite. Unwittingly, since Gorman's wits are always in doubt, the Red Kryptonite causes Superman to split into a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde schizophrenia -- but in two separate bodies. As the evil Superman swaggers around town, megalomaniac Ross Webster has other tricks in mind -- and in one of the more memorable action scenes (interspersed with a video game sequence), Superman is chased through the Grand Canyon by a fast-flying, very determined missile. Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole) is on hand for romantic interest (Margot Kidder only appears briefly -- she was growing tired of Lois Lane). ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide