Jonathan Cake Movies

Evelyn Waugh's classic novel of love and the British class system has been given a polished screen adaptation in this film version from director Julian Jarrold. Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) was raised in a middle-class household and though he's never known want and is fortunate enough to have been accepted into Oxford, the life of the upper class is foreign to him. While serving in the British Army during the waning days of World War II, Charles is assigned to a temporary base set up on the estate of the wealthy and aristocratic Flyte family, where he strikes up a friendship with twentysomething Lord Sebastian (Ben Whishaw). Sebastian enjoys the pleasures his privileged life has afforded him, but he also senses that something is missing, and he tries to drown his frequent episodes of depression in alcohol. Charles is captivated by the splendor of Sebastian's life, and he finds himself drawn into a web of decadent comfort, while also developing an infatuation with Sebastian's sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell), even as Charles senses his relationship with Sebastian is something deeper than simple friendship. The idyllic days at the Flyte estate come to an end with the arrival of Sebastian's mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson), a fierce Catholic who objects to her son's free and easy life and has become increasingly bitter since her husband, Lord Marchmain (Michael Gambon), has left her to live in Italy with the lovely Cara (Greta Scacchi). This was the first cinema adaptation of Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, though it was the basis of an acclaimed miniseries produced for British television in 1981. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The assassination of Julius Caesar has plunged Rome into chaos, and the only hope for the once-thriving empire lies in the ability of his 18-year-old nephew Octavius to defeat the manipulative Marc Anthony in this epic miniseries starring Santiago Cabrera and directed by John Gray, Kim Manners, and Greg Yaitanes. On the eve of Caesar's demise, Rome is thrown into anarchy and Octavius is thrust into exile with his guardian Tyrannus lest he meet a similar fate as his uncle at the hands of those who wish to see Caesar's bloodline severed once and for all. In the years that follow, Octavius is trained by his faithful mentor for the day he will return to Rome and seek revenge against the man who orchestrated his uncle's downfall. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

According to the NBC publicity department, the creators of the weekly, hour-long series Inconceivable, Oliver Goldstick and Marco Pennette, had drawn inspiration from their own lives, in which surrogate parents and in vitro fertilization had been utilized to expand their families. The weekly, 60-minute series was set at Family Options Fertility Clinic, headed by Dr. Rachel Lu (Ming-Na). Although she had had her own baby through the in vitro process, she was a "strictly business" type, never allowing her emotions to dictate her work. In sharp contrast, Lu's partner, Dr. Malcolm Bower (Jonathan Cake), was driven by his gut instincts -- not only on the job, but also in his life choices, especially when it came to romantic relationships. Also on hand was rebellious, headstrong fertility doctor Nora Campbell, played by former Law & Order co-star Angie Harmon (an eleventh-hour addition to the series, replacing actress Alfre Woodard, who'd signed as a regular on Desperate Housewives). The other staffers at Family Options included Scott (David Noroña), Patrice (Joelle Carter), Marissa (Mary Catherine Garrison), and Angel (Reynaldo Rosales). The plots dealt not only with the efforts to provide infertile couples with viable conception options, but also with the unintended ramifications of such procedures; in the opening episode, for example, a white couple is outraged when they find out that their baby will be black. In an intriguing example of "life imitates art," Angie Harmon had just given birth before filming started, while her co-star Ming-Na became pregnant not long after production got under way. Inconceivable was first brought into the world on September 23, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This powerful, politically charged cable TV movie was based on the memoirs of Hungarian gynecologist and Holocaust survivor Gisella Perl. Having spent the WWII years in charge of the woman's infirmary at Auschwitz, Perl (played by Christine Lahti) hopes to leave her living nightmare behind when the Allies liberate Europe. But when she applies for American citizenship in 1946, she is hauled into military court to explain the extent to which she "collaborated" with the Nazis during the war. The U.S. officials are especially disturbed by the number of illegal abortions Perl performed at Auschwitz without her superiors' knowledge. But as Perl struggles to explain to her relentless interrogators (the explanation taking the form of extended flashbacks), she terminated the lives of the unborn to save thousands of pregnant women from the Nazi gas chambers. Filmed on location in Canada, the U.K., and Lithuania, Out of the Ashes made its Showtime network debut on April 13, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

To Oxford University's rowing team, the annual competitive boat race holds more potential glory than the Olympics. When their long-running winning streak is shattered by the skilled Cambridge athletes, the shattered but determined Oxford rowers begin the long and arduous journey to reclaim their title at next year's race. Matters are complicated when the Oxford team's unconventional methods of preparation clash with the long-standing traditions of the Ivy League school, and the rivalry between old and new threatens to sink their chances of victory. If Oxford is to reclaim their title of boat race champion from their fierce archrivals at Cambridge, they must put aside their differences and row harder than ever before to restore the pride of their beloved school. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide