Carol Dudley Movies
A young couple on the run takes the owner of a posh villa hostage after being surrounded by police, only to find that their ace in the hole is a dangerous serial killer. Nick and Celia are desperate; their lives in shambles, they know that the future holds great things if they can just make it to the United States to start a new life together. But Nick is a former criminal whose old partners aren't willing to wipe the slate clean until he's paid off some lingering debts. As the pressure mounts to appease his old criminal cohorts, Nick decides to square up by robbing a small gas station. Unfortunately, in the course of the heist, Nick shoots a young police officer and a Special Forces Unit is quickly dispatched. Terrified and with nowhere to turn, Nick and Celina take refuge in the remote villa of Victor von Hartenberg (Billy Zane), taking the owner hostage until they can concoct an escape plan. Just as Special Forces begin to raid the villa, the couple notices that the dining room is riddled with the corpses of a murdered family. Just who is the hostage that sits before them claiming to be Victor von Hartenberg? With the police waiting outside and a dangerous maniac as their hostage inside, Nick and Celia will have to think fast if they hold out any hope of surviving this dangerous predicament. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Zane, Cristian Solimeno, (more)
On the twentieth anniversary of the cult sci-fi hit Highlander, the legend is reborn in a new trilogy that follows Immortal Highlander Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) on his journey to discover the origin of the first Immortal and unlock the secret source of eternal life. As the world crumbles to chaos and the city falls down all around him, MacLeod's memories drift back to the time he spent with his one true love. Later, when MacLeod comes into contact with a close-knit band of Immortals that include the mysterious Methos and mortal Watcher Joe Dawson, the group sets out on a mission to uncover the secret that has eluded his people for centuries. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrian Paul, Peter Wingfield, (more)
Cujo's got nothing on this fearsome canine as beast fuses with metal to create the ultimate killing machine in this tale survival from genre specialist Brian Yuzna. An innocent man imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, Dante's (William Miller) future looks increasingly grim until an unexpected window of opportunity allows him the chance to flee the confines of his bleak prison cell. Upon realizing that Dante has escaped, the corrupt authorities unleash their ultimate weapon -- an unstoppable, bone-crunching hybrid of canine and machine with a taste for flesh and metal scissors for jaws. In a battle that goes beyond man-versus-machine, the stage is set for the ultimate game of survival. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A group of wealthy bohemians clash with each other as they're targeted by a gang of murderers in this dark comedy-drama based on the novel by Martin Amis. Upper class bohemian Giles (Charlie Condou), whose biggest worry in life seems to be the state of his teeth, has inherited a large estate from his family, and one weekend he invites large group of friends to join him for a weekend of drug-fueled debauchery. Ennui-stricken Cecilia (Olivia Williams), her hulking boyfriend Andy (Christian Solimeno), high-strung Quentin (Paul Bettany), his spouse Cecilia (Alexandra Gilbreath), hygiene-challenged Keith (Andy Nyman), unstable Skip (Kris Marshall), man-hungry Roxanne (Hayley Carr), drug-dealing Marvel (William Marsh), and Lucy (Katy Carmichael), who has been involved with most of the men in attendance, all settle in for a few days of conversation, free love, and good not-so-clean fun. But the revelers are unaware that the Conceptualists, a murderous terrorist organization, have staked out the mansion, and soon they're receiving messages from someone called Johnny, who makes clear his intentions to kill them all. Dead Babies was the center of a minor controversy at the time of its release in the United Kingdom; director and screenwriter William Marsh openly feuded with producer Richard Holmes after Holmes re-edited the picture against Marsh's wishes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Bettany, Hayley Carr, (more)
- 2000
A woman finds herself torn between two cultures and two loyalties in this drama. Anna (Miranda Otto) is a conservationist working to protect wildlife in Namibia alongside her brother Marius (Chris Chameleon), who is a Lutheran minister working with the natives. While Anna and Marius have a close relationship, Anna finds herself becoming friendly with Stone (Isaiah Washington), an African-America lawyer who has come to Namibia in search of his cultural identity. When Anna discovers a group of game poachers have illegally bagged an elephant, Anna sets out to find them, and Stone joins her. However, Anna discovers the animal was killed by her assistant, Naniserri (Moses Kandjoze), who is then murdered in an altercation with other conservationists. The death drives a wedge between Anna and the local community, and she turns to Stone for comfort, angering her brother, who no longer wishes to have anything to do with her. Writer and director Elaine Proctor shot and edited Kin over a period of six years. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miranda Otto, Isaiah Washington, (more)
Family ties and violent crime make strange bedfellows in the thriller New Blood. Alan White (John Hurt) is a British businessman who is the father of a pair of twins. Alan's son Danny (Nick Moran) has fallen into a life of crime, while his daughter is in the hospital, in desperate need of a heart transplant. One day, Danny appears at Alan's doorstep, bleeding severely, with an unusual proposition. Danny will volunteer his heart for his sister's transplant if Alan will participate in a very dangerous con. Danny and his friends are working for a crime boss named Mr. Ryan (Eugene Robert Glazer), who has arranged the kidnapping of Williams (Rob Freeman), a wealthy but reclusive man. Danny and his boys are not told that Williams is under armed guard, and the attempted kidnapping is a disaster, with Williams accidentally killed. Danny is seriously injured and does not expect to survive, but rather than risk the wrath Ryan would inflict on his friends, Danny asks Alan to take Williams' place -- Ryan doesn't know what the man looks like, so while the scam is very dangerous, it could be pulled off. New Blood is the feature debut from writer-director Michael Hurst. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Nick Moran, (more)
- 1998
- R
In this drama, a woman tries to balance her personal responsibilities with her budding career as a musician. Anita (Anjela Lauren Smith) wants to make a career as a reggae singer. She has talent, drive, and a solid vocal group with her friends Sharon (Caroline Chikezie) and Yvette (Jocelyn Esien). But Anita also has two kids, and trying to raise her children while following her dreams and struggling to get out of the projects is no easy task. Byron (Wil Johnson), the father of her children, doesn't approve of her musical ambitions, and while mourning the death of her mother, Anita makes the shocking discovery that she wasn't really her mother: Rose (Suzette Llewellyn), the woman she grew up believing was her big sister, was her biological mother all along. Despite her personal crises, Anita refuses to give up on her desire to make it in music, and she meets an agent (Diane Bailey) who wants to help her achieve her goal. Babymother was the feature debut for writer/director Julian Henriques. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anjela Lauren Smith, Wil Johnson, (more)
- 1990
LA Law's husband-and-wife costars Michael Tucker and Jill Eikenberry are top-billed in this TV movie tailored to their talents. Tucker is a minor league crook who can't seem to do anything right. Eikenberry is a bored housewife who is inadvertently kidnapped by Tucker during a bank robbery. Eventually kidnapper and kidnapee find that they are kindred spirits--two misfits in a world full of conformists. A true family affair, Secret Life of Archie's Wife also features Michael Tucker's real-life daughter Alison in a supporting role (Archie, incidentally, is played by Ray Wise). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG
This pre-teen comedy finds the studious Grover (Jay Underwood) using the notes of his late scientist father to complete a project. With unsolicited help from pigeon droppings, a substance is created that renders the consumer invisible for 30 minutes. The effectiveness decreases by five minutes with each dose, inexplicably expanding to 30 again on the eight attempt. This gives Grover the power to fulfill every hetero teen-male's fantasy; a visit to the girls locker room. Karen Black plays Grover's dizzy mom. . ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay Underwood, Karen Black, (more)
- 1988
- R
Archbishop Mosley (Hal Holbrook) assigns Father Michael (Ben Cross) to a church in New Orleans in this supernatural horror film. The parish church was the site of the throat-slashing murders of two priests two years earlier. While Father Michael tends to the mostly impoverished flock of parishioners and their needs, he launches his own investigation into the mysterious unsolved deaths. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Cross, Hal Holbrook, (more)
- 1988
- PG
Two teens just out of high school are the computer experts who run across a Soviet plot to steal the plans of a high-tech helicopter in this routine spy thriller. The Russians monitor the NASA launching pad from an offshore trawler. They recruit one of the local students to infiltrate the computers and monitor the top secret plans. Stock footage of rocket launches and military planes are included in this feature directed by Monte Markham, who also plays Colonel Mark Denton. Mostly the feature shows people at the computer and lacks the excitement of other films of the genre. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Oliver, Susan Ursitti, (more)
- 1987
- R
A suicidal artist tries to end his miserable life on Halloween night and fails after jumping off the roof of a ramshackle LA boarding house. After the fall, his soul has somehow become possessed by the spirit of a murderous criminal. This horror movie explains how and why. Now the poor bum finds himself haunted by terrible dreams of places he's never been and atrocities he could never think of committing. The dreams take an even darker edge when he begins reading about of a series of murders. Each victim was killed in exactly the same way he dreamed they were; he also learns that each was involved in the killing of the crook. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Lipscomb, Leslie Wing, (more)
Helen Barton (Faye Dunaway) and her insurance salesman husband Morely (Daniel J. Travanti) set sail with Lexa (Kim Cattrall) and her husband Jeff (John Laughlin) in this modern-day pirate adventure. Jeff's late father and Morely are searching for the treasure the two buried on a remote island 35 miles from Cuba in 1959. Lexa and Morely are engaged in a secret love affair, while Helen suffers from glaucoma-related blindness. Ned Beatty plays the old salt Ellis. There are more crosses and double-crosses than depicted on the Jolly Roger, complete with excessive sex and violence, with an interesting premise ruined by stilted dialogue and uneven continuity. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Faye Dunaway, Daniel J. Travanti, (more)
