Gawn Grainger Movies

Can a stodgy intellectual who regards the 20th century as a waste of time find happiness with an American teen idol who doesn't really know him? That's the question posed in this gentle satiric comedy. Giles De'ath (John Hurt), who takes great pains to remind people that his surname is pronounced "Day-ath," is a well-regarded British author whose wife passed away a decade ago. Since then, Giles has retreated into a world of his own; he is thoroughly disinterested in contemporary culture and lives in the 20th century only to the degree that it is absolutely necessary. However, one night Giles accidentally locks himself out of his apartment just as a rainstorm has begun to open up the sky. Soaked to the skin, he takes refuge in a nearby movie theater, since he's heard that the works of E.M. Forster have lately become popular screen fodder. However, once inside the multiplex, Giles discovers to his disgust that he's accidentally bought a ticket for a low-brow teen flick called Hot Pants College II. Just as he's about to register his repugnance with the management, actor Ronnie Bostock (Jason Priestley) appears on screen, and immediately Giles is entranced. In Ronnie, Giles discovers an unexpected sort of beauty that he's never considered before, and he's eager to learn more about the young actor. However, Giles soon discerns that reading up on his new obsession means buying teen-oriented fanzines (whose covers proclaim him "Snoggable!"), where he learns that Ronnie's own cultural signposts include Axl Rose and Stephen King, whose names could just as well be Sanskrit to Giles. He also discovers that to view the rest of Ronnie's screen work, he must visit a video rental store, which means he must first purchase a VCR, and that he'll also require a (gulp!) television in order for the VCR to work. Eventually, Giles finds out that Ronnie lives in a small town on Long Island, and decides to fly there, hatching a scheme to meet Ronnie by first making the acquaintance of Audrey (Fionna Loewi), Ronnie's fashion model girlfriend. Based on the acclaimed short novel by Gilbert Adair, Love and Death on Long Island was adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Kwietniowski. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Created by Gerald Glaister, the long-running British drama series Trainer was set in the rarefied world of horse racing. Hero Mike Hardy (Mark Greenstreet) wanted more than anything to be Great Britain's Number One horse-race trainer. In his pursuit of that goal, he crossed the paths of many a colorful character, and not a few lovely ladies. The series' theme song was performed by legendary pop singer Cliff Richard, and as such enjoyed extensive radio play. Debuting September 1, 1991 on BBC1, Trainer eventually trotted out 20 50-minute episodes over a two-year period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on John Le Carré's novel by the same name, this story about Charlie (Diane Keaton) a female double agent working between the Palestinians and Israelis, loses some of the excitement and in-depth characterization engendered by the long novel -- mainly because the novel is hard to capture in a two-hour filmed format. But the action itself carries viewers along as Charlie ends up leaving England and her job as an actress in a Brit repertory company to meet Kurtz (Klaus Kinski) in Greece who recruits her as a spy. Charlie later has to handle her own emotions when she gets romantically involved with her Israeli contact (Yorgo Voyagis), though events move her quickly along to a Palestinian military camp near Beirut. Once she has passed herself off as a reliable Palestinian agent and completed her military training at the camp, she goes to Germany to hunt down a Palestinian terrorist (Sami Frey). Filled with a multitude of characters and locations, not to mention camera shots, the intensity of this story is dissipated somewhat by literally and figuratively covering a lot of territory, though the thread of the story itself is never lost. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide