Liam Cunningham Movies

Based on a true story, A Love Divided chronicles the aftermath of Sheila's (Orla Brady) pledge to send her children to Catholic school. Raised Protestant, Sheila was forced to sign a contract obligating her to bring up her own children as Catholics when she was married into the religion, but years later she decides that no church will dictate the religion chosen for her kids. The dogmatic Father Stafford (Tony Doyle), however, is so relentless in his insistence that her children do, indeed, become Catholics, that Sheila is forced into kidnapping her own family. With both the highest levels of the Irish government and the Vatican after her, the potential consequences of not following the Catholic faith become increasingly surreal. Directed by Sydney Macartney, the film also features Liam Cunningham, Jim Norton, Peter Caffrey, and Brian McGrath. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Director Paula van der Oest teams with screenwriter Greg Latter to tell the inspirational story of Ingrid Jonker, the volatile South African poet whose insatiable passion has drawn frequent comparisons to Sylvia Plath, and whose remarkable talents inspired hope at the height of the struggle against apartheid. Cape Town, South Africa: the 1960s. Free-spirited Ingrid Jonker (Carice van Houten) is fighting to recover from a recent breakdown in Amsterdam as she searches for the words to express her inner turmoil. Meanwhile, her inability to experience true love plunges her into a series of tempestuous affairs, and her defiant opposition to the injustice of apartheid puts her at odds with her stern father (Rutger Hauer), who's also the Minister of Censorship . Later, Jonker witnesses a tragedy that scars her soul while writing the poetry that will touch the hearts of millions. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An Irish boy becomes an emotional and sexual outcast as the 1960s fade into the 1970s in this period drama from director Neil Jordan. When he was just a baby in the early '60s, Patrick Braden (Conor McEvoy) was abandoned by his mother and left on the doorstep of a church overseen by Father Bernard (Liam Neeson). Placed in a foster home, sensitive Patrick doesn't much care for the emotionally chilly attitude of his new "family," and psychologically buffers himself against the world by writing stories that make fun of Father Bernard and the other authority figures in his life. As he grows into adulthood, Patrick (played as an adult by Cillian Murphy) also discovers that he enjoys dressing in women's clothes and prefers the company of men, and as a teenager he falls into an affair with Billy Hatchet (Gavin Friday), a nightclub performer who also runs guns for the Irish Republican Army. In the early '70s, Patrick -- who has since taken on the drag name "Kitten" -- makes his way to London, where he becomes involved with Bertie (Stephen Rea), a small-time nightclub magician who gives the young man a place to say, a sense of security, and a job as his on-stage assistant. However, Patrick's idyllic life with Bertie proves short-lived when his old friends come to town on IRA "business." Breakfast on Pluto also features a supporting performance from former Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The 1981 mythological fantasy adventure Clash of the Titans is resurrected in this remake from Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier. Discovered at sea as an infant by a weary fisherman, demigod Perseus (Sam Worthington) grows up with no real knowledge of his celestial origins until his watchful guardian, Io (Gemma Arterton), informs him that he is the offspring of Zeus (Liam Neeson). When Zeus' brother Hades (Ralph Fiennes) casually wipes out Perseus' family, the grieving son vows to show the gods just what kind of damage humankind can inflict on its creators. Before long, Perseus and a small group of soldiers are venturing out into the desert in order to find a way to stop the Kraken, a terrifying force of nature that an indignant Hades has vowed to unleash upon man should they fail to offer up beloved princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) as a sacrifice. Along the way, the soldiers encounter a trio of frightening witches with second sight, contend with Hades' devoted servant Calibos (Jason Flemyng), battle giant scorpions, and come face to face with Medusa (Natalia Vodianova), the dreaded gorgon whose gaze has the power to turn men into stone. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is always ripe for retelling. In this rendition, the sexy Richard Gere is Sir Lancelot, threatening to supersede the aging King Arthur (Sean Connery) by winning the love of his young wife Guinivere (Julia Ormond). This update of the age-old legend succeeds on the strength of Gere's happy-go-lucky sex appeal, Ormond's gorgeous period costuming, and Connery's unbeatable wry nobility. The script focuses on the triangle of the three principals: the older man's reluctance to relinquish his love and power to the younger man destined to supplant him; the young woman torn between her loyalty to her aged husband and her love for his rival; the young man balancing the demands of loyalty to his sovereign with the rewards of true love. This beautiful production forgoes the legend's usual elements of magic and fantasy, leaving Merlin the Magician completely out of the picture. ~ Laura Abraham, Rovi

The final months of Bobby Sands, the Irish Republican Army activist who protested his treatment at the hands of British prison guards with a hunger strike, are chronicled in this historical drama, the first feature film from artist-turned-filmmaker Steve McQueen. Davey Gillen (Brian Milligan) is an IRA volunteer who is sentenced to Belfast's infamous Maze prison, where he shares a cell with fellow IRA member Gerry Campbell (Liam McMahon). Like most of the IRA volunteers behind bars, Gillen and Campbell are subjected to frequent violence by the guards, who in turn live with the constant threat of assassination at the hands of Republicans during their off-hours. Campbell and Gillen are taking part in a protest in which they and their fellow IRA inmates are refusing to wear standard prison-issue uniforms as a protest against Britain's refusal to recognize them as political prisoners, a move that is complicating their efforts to pass information among the other prisoners. As the protest fails to get results, one IRA member behind bars, Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), decides to take a different tack and begins a hunger strike, refusing to eat until Irish officials are willing to acknowledge the IRA as a legitimate political organization. However, while Sands' protest gains the attention both inside prison walls and in the international news, not everyone believes what he's doing is right, and Sands finds himself verbally sparring with a priest (Liam Cunningham) who questions the ethics and effectiveness of the strike. Hunger received its world premiere at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the Un Certain Regard program. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In 19th century Britain, a unconventional young man struggles against the limitations of a rigid, restrictive society. Based on Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, this somber period drama stars a suitably intense Christopher Eccleston as Jude, a young man with dreams of receiving a scholarly university education. Circumstances conspire against him, however, forcing him into a job as a stonemason and an unsatisfactory marriage. He remains true to his dream, however, and years later, after his wife's sudden departure, heads for the city. There he encounters his beautiful cousin, Sue (Kate Winslet), who shares his intelligence and disdain for convention, and the two develop a romantic relationship. These unlikely lovers must struggle to keep their relationship secret from a disapproving world, however, or else face the tragic consequences of public scandal. Though purists may object to several liberties taken with the text, director Michael Winterbottom fashions a relatively efficient tale of doomed romance from Hardy's tragedy. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

A powerful ancient relic holds the key to ultimate destruction in director Stuart Urban's religious-flavored thriller Revelation. Since the crucifixion of Christ, the Loculus has eluded the grasp of the demonic Grand Master (Udo Kier), who seeks to find the artifact and learn its mysterious secrets in order to unlock its power to devastating results. As the Grand Master continues his quest for the Loculus, a billionaire mogul named Magnus Martel (Terence Stamp) enlists the reluctant aid of his computer expert son, Jake (James D'Arcy), and an alchemy student named Mira (Natasha Wightman) in finding the Loculus before the Grand Master completes his quest. Traveling the world in a race to save the soul of humankind, the trio attempts to unlock the centuries-old secrets of the Loculus, which may ultimately reveal the connection between science and religion as well as the salvation of the human race. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This 1999 British film pits idealistic overseers of a London photography collection against a pragmatic American entrepreneur exercising his right to evict them from a mansion he has purchased. The photo collection is one of the world's largest, containing ten million pictures which the staff files, maintains, and rents to various media. From an aesthetic standpoint, the collection -- dating all the way back to the beginning of photography in the 19th century -- is priceless. The key question is what will happen to it, for wealthy American businessman Christopher Anderson (Liam Cunningham) owns not only the building, but also the collection itself. After announcing plans to remodel the mansion into a state-of-the-art business school, he threatens to destroy all but the most valuable photographs because there's no time, according to his rat-race schedule, to find a new repository for them. Feisty curator Marilyn Truman (Lindsay Duncan) and her eccentric assistant, Oswald Bates (Timothy Spall), then hatch plots to thwart his plans. First, they "mislay" a selection of highly valuable photographs. When that stratagem doesn't work, Truman persuades Anderson to look at several stacks of the ordinary, less valuable photographs. These photographs turn out to be extraordinary. One set tells the poignant story of a Jewish family victimized by the holocaust. The images impress Anderson, but he refuses to alter his plans. Then Bates launches an ingenious scheme. Using his incredible "photographic" memory, he selects a few startling photos from among the millions -- photos that have a connection to Anderson's past. These photographs, and the secrets they hold, stun Anderson while demonstrating the variety and vastness of the collection. Will he alter his plans to save the collection? Meanwhile, Bates, believing his scheme has failed, attempts suicide, and the final moments of the film reveal whether Bates and the photos will survive. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Stephen Bradley made his directorial debut with this Irish drama in which circus performer Sweety Barrett (Brendan Gleeson) loses his job swallowing objects and is hired by bootlegger Flick Hennessy (Tony Rohr) to do odd jobs in the port town of Dockery where the slow-witted Sweety meets Anne King (Lynda Steadman) and her six-year-old son Conor (Dylan Murphy). Anne's husband Leo (Andy Serkis) has been framed by deranged police chief Mannix Bone (Liam Cunningham), who often beats up various townsfolk whenever the psychopathic inspiration hits him. Bone has also forced Flick to cut him in on the whisky-running profits. Released from jail, Leo plots revenge, and violence erupts. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival and the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

A serial killer with a knack for video poker and a taste for blood taunts a determined policewoman in director Dario Argento's attempt to bring the traditional giallo into the digital age. Detective Anna Mari (Stefania Rocca) is sitting at her desk when a message from an anonymous online gambler bearing the moniker "The Card Player" invites her to join a game of video poker. When the game screen loads, Mari is horrified to learn that the stakes of the game are higher than she ever could have imagined, as an unidentified female in an over-pixilated web-cam window screams for her life. Though the chief initially refuses to take part in the killer's horrifying game, the death of the innocent victim leads Mari to seek more unconventional means of tracking the murderous gambler. As the killer continues to taunt police, British policeman John Brennan (Liam Cunningham) is brought in to help solve the case. When the killer ups the ante by kidnapping the police chief's daughter, it's only a matter of time before the killer and Mari herself are locked in a pulse-pounding, life-or-death game in which anyone could hold the winning hand. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi