Colin McFarlane Movies

Carroll Ballard, director of The Black Stallion and Never Cry Wolf, presents another story of an unusual relationship between humans and animals in this drama. Xan (Alexander Michaletos) is a young boy who lives with his father and mother (Campbell Scott and Hope Davis) on a ranch in Kenya. One day, Xan and his folks discover a cheetah cub whose mother has died. With no one to care for the cat, Xan and his family take the cheetah under their wing, and after naming the cub "Dooms" (from "Duma," which means "male cheetah cub" in Swahili), Xan and his new friend become inseparable. However, Xan and his parents discover in time that nature doesn't always have a happy ending planned for a little boy. Duma was based on a book for children called How It Was With Dooms: A True Story From Africa, by Carol Cawthra Hopcraft and Xan Hopcraft, which told the story of Xan's real-life friendship with a cheetah. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

British filmmaker Malcolm Needs writes and directs the gangster film Charlie, based on the real-life case of criminal gang boss Charlie Richardson. During the early '60s, brothers Charlie (Luke Goss) and Eddy (Langley Kirkwood) ruled the criminal underworld of South London. As he rises in power, Charlie finds himself connected with wealthy white South African businessman Richard Waldeck (Leslie Grantham). Charlie eventually starts to get involved with political crimes involving the ANC and gets caught. While on trial in 1966, his gang resorts to the horrific torturing of his enemies. The witnesses who testify against him are cruelly and unusually punished by Charlie's terror gang, leading to Judge Lawton (Antony Carrick) sentencing him to 25 years. Steven Berkoff and Anita Dobson appear as Charlie's parents. Charlie premiered in the U.K. in February of 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Steven Farley, son of Walter Farley, writer of the original The Black Stallion, The Young Black Stallion is a prequel to the 1979 Academy Award-winning classic starring Mickey Rooney. Directed by Simon Wincer, the film is set during the second World War and follows the adventures of the titular equine as he meets and befriends Neera, a young girl, played by Biana Tamini, who has lost her family in a Middle Eastern desert. Also starring Patrick Elyas and Richard Romanus, The Young Black Stallion was created specifically to be shown in IMAX theaters. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Amanda Burton starred in this intense two-part British miniseries as Laura Tracey, a minor employee of a major international banking firm. While going through a routine record search, Laura found a number of irregularities in the bank's overseas accounts. Further investigation revealed that certain of the bank's CEOs were using company funds to finance a large drug cartel. Upon reporting her findings to the authorities, Laura realized that the lives of herself and her family were in danger, thus she agreed to enter a witness protection program. This middle-aged "change of life" forced Laura and her husband Dominic (Neil Pearson), previously a college professor, to assume jobs that both have been avoiding all their lives: Now she was nothing more than a housewife, while he was reduced to teaching grade-school children. Worse still, a Mexican hit man, hired to shut Laura up before she could go to trial, was coming ever closer to locating and eliminating the fugitive family. Capped by a truly startling denouement, The Whistle-Blower was first telecast in the U.K. on April 14 and 15, 2001, and has since been seen as a single, 170-minute "movie" over the BBC America cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Inspector Raymond Fowler is in for a whole new set of headaches when Ms. Wickerham, the new Mayoress of Gasforth, decides to begin legislating political correctness. As luck would have it, Wickerham's campaign coincides with the arrival of an illegal immigrant and the EC Commissioner for Human Rights (each of whom is mistaken for the other). On another front, Sgt. Patricia Dawkins tries to save a woman from being beaten -- thereby lousing up yet another carefully contrived "sting" operation by Detective Inspector Grim. "Ism, Ism, Ism" first aired on November 21, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Shot in South Africa, this direct-to-video installment of the werewolf series continues that franchise's tradition of generating sequels light-years distant from the quality of Joe Dante's witty and frightening original. The fourth chapter even attempts to rewrite the original film's premise, which admittedly took grand liberties with the novel by Gary Brandner. The revamped tale involves successful author Marie (Romy Windsor), who visits the scenic woodland town of Drago to find respite from constant nightmare visions involving werewolves and a mysterious nun. Needless to say, her stay in the village does nothing to dispel the visions, which increase in frequency and seem to suggest strange portents of evil events to come... and a warning to get out of town before the next full moon. Director John Hough has yet to surpass his horror masterpiece The Legend of Hell House, and this deadly dull exercise is hardly a step in the right direction. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide