Brian Murray Movies
- 2009
Producer Norman Twain spearheads this independent animated film adapted from British author J.R. Ackerley's 1956 novel detailing the 14-year friendship shared between the author and a German shepherd he once rescued. With vocal contributions by Christopher Plummer, Isabella Rossellini, Paul Hecht, and Lynn Redgrave, and animation by Paul and Sandra Fierlinger, this adult-oriented tale of friendship offers a touching testament to the bond between man and beast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave, (more)
- 2004
A journalist investigating the murder of a seemingly inconsequential thief discovers that the clues to the crime actually lead directly to the politician currently in the running to become the Prime Minister of Ireland in the acclaimed British television series that ratchets up the tension in the first episode and never lets up. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Finbar Lynch, Orla Brady, (more)
Kevin Kline directed this television adaptation of the New York Shakespeare Festival's 1990 production of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, in which Kline also stars as the melancholy Danish prince. Deeply saddened by the death of his father, Hamlet (Kline) is shocked to discover his mother, Queen Gertrude (Dana Ivey), has already taken a new husband, Claudius (Brian Murray), the brother of the late King. Visited by the shade of his late father, Hamlet is told that Claudius rose to his new status through murder, and the son is soon torn over what action he should take; meanwhile, Ophelia (Diane Venora) descends into madness. This adaptation of Hamlet was originally produced for PBS, where it first aired in 1990. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1987
When a woman is suspected of killing her 2 young sons, New York police inspector Theo Kojak is called in to investigate. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1976
While Kojak (Telly Savalas) is following up several false leads in the bombing of a Manhattan restaurant, one of his detectives, Jeff Braddock (Joseph Mascolo), would seem to have inside information on the crime. Unfortunately, Braddock is unable to tell Kojak or anyone else what he knows. It seems that among those killed in the bombing was his mistress Gretchen Hodges (Judith Chapman)--and there is a strong likelihood that Braddock's own wife Molly (Fionnuala Flanagan), who suffers from mental illness, was responsible for the tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1971
Here Are Ladies could easily be amended to say "Here are some famous Irish women" -- made famous by Samuel Beckett, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, and other Irish writers who have brought the country and its culture to the heights of literary attainment. The one-woman show of stand-up actress Siobhan McKenna has been taken like a nomad to several appropriate settings as the talented McKenna brings the women to life. She interprets Shaw's "St. Joan" while in an Irish jail cell, Beckett's "Winnie" under a mound of sand at the beach, or women washing clothes in a river from "Finnegan's Wake." An excerpt from "Drama at Inish" by Lennox Robinson -- in which a broadly overacted version of Russian drama is put on for two nonplused Irish spectators -- is particularly funny. McKenna's interpretations will entertain most viewers quite adequately, even if they are not Irish. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Siobhan McKenna, Niall Buggy, (more)
- 1960
An engrossing suspenser with dashes of comedy, League of Gentlemen is about a daring group of highly trained army men, turned bank robbers. When Hyde (Jack Hawkins) is drummed out of the army after years of devoted service, he decides to get back at society in general. One by one, he finds seven other army officers who are now broke and who walk on the shady side of the law. All eight men go into hiding as they plan the robbery with the care and attention of a behind-the-lines reconnaissance mission. As they undertake tasks like raiding a military depot for explosives and similar stunts, suspense and incidental humor increase, leading up to bank day when the really big show has to be pulled off without a hitch. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Hawkins, Nigel Patrick, (more)
- 1960
Richard Attenborough stars in this British drama as Tom Curtis, an ordinary man with a job in a factory. A new employee, Travers (Alfred Burke), begins complaining about conditions at the plant and stirs up disharmony among his fellow workers. Tom thinks that there's something fishy about Travers and his methods, and when Travers decides to call a wildcat strike, Tom refuses to participate and makes a point of standing his ground. However, Travers and his ideas have attracted a groundswell of support in the factory, and Tom soon finds himself on the outs with his fellow employees as Travers drifts off to make trouble at another factory. Tom, however, still has to deal with the angry reprisals of the men, and his wife Anna (Pier Angeli) doesn't understand why he continues to hold so unpopular an opinion at the expense of his safety and well-being. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Attenborough, Anna Maria Pier Angeli, (more)
Three A-list screenwriters -- (Nicholas Pileggi, Bo Goldman, and Paul Schrader) -- contributed to the script of this idealistic political drama. John Pappas (Al Pacino) is the popular, ethical Mayor of New York; Kevin Calhoun (John Cusack) is his even more idealistic and principled deputy. When a detective and mobster kill each other and an innocent six-year-old black child in a shootout, questions arise about what the cop was doing meeting with the gangster in the first place. The Mayor and his staff handle the situation ably, but Calhoun digs deeper and finds troubling evidence that even his seemingly incorruptible boss has not escaped the shadier aspects of political life. The Mafia boss (Tony Franciosa) whose nephew was the dead gangster, along with a Brooklyn political boss (Danny Aiello) with his own agenda, come into the story, becoming part of a series of larger links, secret relationships, and bonds of "honor" between men who, on the surface, would have no reason to be in business with each other. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, John Cusack, (more)
Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale of adventure Treasure Island gets a science fiction update in this animated feature from Walt Disney Pictures. Jim (voice of Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a young man who grew up reading tales of pirates and adventures on the high seas, and longs for similar excitement in his own life. One day, Jim happens upon a dying man who hands him a map and warns him to "Beware the cyborg" shortly before he passes on. Upon careful examination, Jim realizes the map charts the course to Treasure Planet, a distant world where hundreds of space pirates have stashed their loot. Jim is certain this is the adventure he's been dreaming off, and joins the crew of the spaceship R.L.S. Legacy and Captain Amelia (Emma Thompson) as they set out to find the fabled Treasure Planet. While Jim signs on along with his friend Dr. Doppler (voice of David Hyde Pierce), he soon becomes close friends with John Silver (voice of Brian Murray), who works in the galley but has big plans. Jim discovers just how big his plans are when Silver reveals he's part cyborg and all pirate, instigating a mutiny and attempting to take control of the ship. Despite his friendship with Silver, Jim refuses to take part in the mutiny, and soon finds himself attempting to defend law and order against a spacecraft full of reckless men. Treasure Planet's voice cast also includes Michael Wincott and Martin Short; Johnny Rzeznik from the rock group The Goo Goo Dolls contributed new music for the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, (more)
- 1979
- NR
- Add A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man to QueueAdd A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man to top of Queue
Producer/director Joseph Strick continues his long cinematic love affair with the works of Irish author James Joyce in Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Bosco Hogan plays Joyce's alter-ego Stephen Daedelus, an irrepressible boy at eternal odds with the strictures of his Catholic home and family. As in his earlier adaptation of Joyce's Ulysses, Strick manages to successfully convey the liquidity and ideology of Joyce's challenging literary style. Also like Ulysses, however, the director is stronger with monologues than with visuals. Joseph Strick's own son Terence plays the artist as an even younger man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bosco Hogan, John Gielgud, (more)
