Gary Lewis Movies
Sandy Duncan, Judith Light, and Jill Eikenberry star in director Paul Schneider's made-for-television musical comedy about a 1960s-era female singing trio that reunites to take part in a television special produced to pay tribute to the pop superstars of yesteryear. Back in the 1960s, pop was king and the Bouffants were at the top of the charts thanks to their catchy hit single "My Boyfriend's Back." Two decades later, an ambitious NBC producer begins planning a television special dedicated to honoring pre-Beatles pop acts, and he wants to name it after the Bouffants' biggest hit. Now in order to make that happen, he sets out to find all three of the original Bouffants and offer them a chance to reunite on stage. But The Bouffants broke up for a reason, and convincing sarcastic bowling alley queen Vicki (Light), high-profile cosmetics executive Deborah (Eikenberry), and downhome housewife Chris (Duncan) to put aside their differences for the sake of the special will prove a more daunting task than he ever anticipated. Additional appearances by such notable '60s-era singing icons as Gary Lewis, the Penguins, Peggy March, and Mary Wells ensure that music lovers are not only in for a few nostalgic laughs, but a toe-tapping trip back to the time when everyone tuned into their radios eager to discover the next great hit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
The feature film debut of Scottish director Danny Boyle was a dark, hip, Generation X comedy about a trio of Edinburgh roommates whose narcissistic greed fuels murder and betrayal. Boisterous journalist Alex (Ewan McGregor), flirtatious doctor Juliet (Kerry Fox), and meek accountant David (Christopher Eccleston) possess very different personalities, but the roommates are bonded in mutual, self-absorbed cynicism. Seeking a fourth boarder to share the rent for their stylish flat, they cruelly dismiss several candidates before settling on Hugo (Keith Allen), whose air of detachment meets the roommates' standard of coolness. Hugo's reserve masks criminal involvement, however, as the roommates discover when they find him dead in bed from a drug overdose, with a valise containing enormous amounts of cash. Their nascent greed overwhelms them, and the trio dismembers and buries Hugo, stealing his money. Only David, who understands finance, seems to realize that someone's eventually going to seek out such a large sum. As both drug dealers and police get closer to figuring out the friends' secret, shy, nerdy David becomes violently paranoid, while Juliet's allegiance switches back and forth between her roommates. Boyle teamed subsequently with producer Andrew Macdonald and screenwriter John Hodge on several high-profile films. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, (more)
British filmmaker Ken Loach blended a love story with strong political commentary in this powerful drama. George (Robert Carlyle) is a bus driver working in Glasgow who has a strong independent streak and has developed a serious crush on one of his regular passengers, a woman from Nicaragua named Carla (Oyanka Cabezas). Carla occasionally is short of money for her fare, so George lets he ride for free; when his boss finds out about this, it's added to a list of small insubordinations, and George is fired. However, he stays in touch with Carla and learns she's a good bit more troubled than he imagined. She's given to dramatic mood swings and has attempted suicide, and in time he learns that her emotional problems stem from the disappearance and probable death of her boyfriend Antonio (Richard Loza), a Sandinista who is believed to have been kidnapped by the U.S.-backed Contra rebels. The largely apolitical George travels with Carla to Nicaragua to help her look for Antonio. In their travels, they meet Bradley (Scott Glenn), an American who was once a CIA "advisor" to the Contra who has turned his back on their policies and now works alongside the Sandinistas. Carla's Song was a gold medal winner at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Following the death of her mother, a young Californian teen is sent to the Scottish highlands to live with her father. It is a wild, lonely place and her one friend is a hermit who has devoted his life to protecting and healing wild and domestic animals. The girl's life changes when one day she spies a ghostly white stallion on a foggy day. She tells her father, but he thinks it a figment of her imagination and that she is spending too much time with the strange loner. The hermit, however, believes the stallion is real. When poachers show up to capture the elusive horse, the girl and the hermit team up to protect him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ariana Richards, Andrew Keir, (more)
Following his Cannes award-winning performance in Ken Loach's My Name is Joe, Scottish actor Peter Mullan made his feature script and directorial debut with this British dark comedy-drama about four adult siblings on the eve of their mother's funeral in Glasgow. Eldest son Thomas (Gary Lewis) offers a tribute to her in a local pub, but his brother Michael (Douglas Henshall) is stabbed during a brawl at the bar, prompting third brother John (Stephen Cole) to seek vengeance. Michael evades medical treatment, trying to hold out until the next day in order to make a claim for workers compensation. Thomas leaves to join sister Sheila (Rosemarie Stevenson), who has cerebral palsy, in a night-long chapel vigil. The four attempt to reunite after they are separated when the full fury of a violent storm hits the town. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Douglas Henshall, Gary Lewis, (more)
In this thrilling made-for-television mystery, a writer of detective novels risks everything to track down the arrogant serial killer who has been faxing him the obituaries of his latest victims. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlie Sheen, Michael Halsey, (more)
- 1998
- R
Actor Peter Mullan won the 1998 Cannes Film Festival "Best Actor" award with this film, directed by Ken Loach (Carla's Song, Ladybird, Ladybird). The drama is set in Possilpark, one of Glasgow's poorest neighborhoods, a rough section where half the population is out of work. Unemployed reformed alcoholic Joe Kavanagh (Mullan) does odd jobs and manages a stumbling soccer team. One of the players is Liam (David McKay), in debt to hood McGowan (David Hayman). Liam and junkie Sabine (Annemarie Kennedy) are raising a small son. After Joe meets social worker Sarah (Louise Goodall), he and his pal Shanks show up to help in the wallpapering of Sarah's apartment. This job creates a problem for Joe with the local unemployment office, until Sarah steps in to cover. It's the beginning of a romance, and Joe and Sarah make an effort to help Liam and Sarah when they are threatened by the loan sharks. Mullan commented, "The drug problem in that place is so serious that people are passive. They are corralled in a sort of dog-eat-dog environment where humans meet to laugh and thrive but have no hope of getting out." Scripted by former lawyer Paul Laverty, the film is inspired by the first half of Loach's Carla's Song. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall, (more)
- 2000
Shot in black-and-white and set in a Glasgow tenement, One Life Stand is the story of Trise (Maureen Carr), a single mother trying to raise her 18-year-old son John Paul (John Kielty). Trise loves her son but spoils him, and dreams of his future as a supermodel. Taking a job as a tarot card chat line reader in order to support her son, Trise has her dreams shattered when she discovers that he is not working as a model, but rather as a male escort. When John Paul falls in love with an older woman, Trise tries to win him back, but finds this is easier hoped for than accomplished. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Lewis
A minor-league criminal suddenly finds himself in deep trouble in this thriller. Billy "Shiner" Simpson (Michael Caine) is a man who has spent much of his life making a living by skirting the law, but he thinks he may finally have a legitimate path to the big time managing his son Eddie (Matthew Marsden), an up-and-coming boxer nicknamed "Golden Boy." Eddie is set to fight an American champion in a prizefight, and Billy is convinced Eddie can't lose. Even after Billy's daughter Georgie (Frances Barber) tips off the cops that he has been staging illegal underground brawls, Billy is able to convince the police not to arrest him until after Eddie's big bout. But Eddie loses in the second round, and Billy flees the arena with his son in tow. Billy and Eddie are followed by a gunman who shoots and kills the young fighter, and a distraught Billy becomes convinced someone got to Eddie and forced him to take a dive. As Billy tries to avoid both the law and the bookies with money on Eddie, he challenges a number of people he believes might know what really happened, including Eddie's coach Vic (Gary Lewis), the down-on-his-luck American promoter Frank Speeding (Martin Landau), Mel (Andy Serkis), one of Billy's henchmen (who can't say where he was when Eddie was killed), and Georgie and her husband. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Martin Landau, (more)
Brassed Off meets My Name Is Joe in this gritty coming-of-age drama about a young son of a poor English coal miner who dreams of being a ballet dancer. The film is set during a 1984 miners' strike in Durham county, where angry clashes between picketers and cops in riot gear are nearly daily occurrences. Among the most vociferous protestors are Tony (Jamie Driven) and his dad (Gary Lewis), who nags his youngest son Billy (Jamie Bell) into taking boxing classes. Though the kid can do some fancy footwork, he can't take a punch. One day at the gym, he notices a ballet class taught by hard-bitten Mrs. Wilkinson (Julie Walters), whose young daughter dares him to join. When his father gets wind of this less-than-manly pursuit, he pulls him from the class. Sensing a raw and natural talent, Mrs. Wilkinson offers to teach the lad for free in preparation for the local auditions to the Royal Ballet School. When Tony gets in trouble with the cops, Billy is forced to miss the trials, leading to a confrontation between Billy's pop and Ms. Wilkinson. Though at first he steadfastly refuses to consider his son's desires of going into ballet, he comes to realize that this might be the one shot that Billy has in order to escape the danger and grinding tedium of a miner's life, so he sets out to earn the money by any means necessary to send his son to London. This film is the directorial debut of renowned British stage director Stephen Daldry. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julie Walters, Jamie Bell, (more)
- 2002
Gemini awards went to star Wendy Crewson, director Jerry Ciccoretti, writer Karen Walton and film editor George Roulston for their contributions to the fact-based Canadian TV movie The Many Trials of One Jane Doe. Crewson plays the title character, the fifth victim of the High Park Rapist, who has been systematically preying on women in Scarborough, Toronto, and Niagara Falls. After her ordeal, "Jane Doe" discovers that the police knew full well that the rapist was operating in the vicinity, but did nothing to prevent her attack; in fact, the authorities were all but using women like "Jane" as bait to flush out the perpetrator! Hiring Sean Dewart (Steven Mackintosh) as her attorney, "Jane" files suit against the police, only to be caricatured by a hostile press as a hysterical "man-hater" and irresponsible zealot--and thanks to the ruthlessness of the defense team, she is treated in court as though she were the criminal instead of the victim! First telecast by the CBC in 2002, The Many Trials of One Jane Doe subsequently received American airplay on cable's Lifetime channel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Scottish filmmaker Gillies MacKinnon directs the revenge thriller The Escapist. Escaped convict Ricky Barnes (Andy Serkis, Gollom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) breaks into the house of commercial pilot Denis (Jonny Lee Miller) and kills his pregnant wife, Valerie (Paloma Baeza). The baby survives but Denis is too distraught to care for it, so relative Christine (Jodhi May) steps in to take over the parenting duties. Denis then stages an elaborate plan of revenge by faking his own death and turning into a criminal. After being caught and convicted, he makes several failed attempts at escaping prison in an effort to mimic his enemy, Ricky. Denis is taken to increasingly higher security prisons until he is at the same one as Ricky, leading to a violent conclusion. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jonny Lee Miller, Andy Serkis, (more)
After forays into period war drama (Regeneration) and globe-trotting bohemia (Hideous Kinky), Scottish director Gillies MacKinnon returns to social realist melodrama with this tale of a ten-year-old desperately trying to parent his heroin-addicted mother. Pure revolves around Paul (Harry Eden), a young boy who finds his life torn apart after the untimely demise of his father. Despondent in the wake of her husband's death, Paul's mother, Mel (Molly Parker), turns to a less-than-reputable old friend for consolation: Lenny (David Wenham), a long-time acquaintance of her husband's who also happens to be the main drug dealer in their West London neighborhood. Lenny divides his time between Mel and his other customers, including Louise (Keira Knightley), a pregnant, crack-addicted waitress. Paul is so accustomed to his mother's addiction that it doesn't occur to him that it's a problem, but as Mel's behavior grows more and more unstable -- and as local police start investigating the area drug scene -- Paul realizes that it's his responsibility to take care of himself and his younger brother. Pure premiered at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Molly Parker, David Wenham, (more)
The violent rise of gangland power in New York City at a time of massive political corruption and the city's evolution into a cultural melting pot set the stage for this lavish historical epic, which director Martin Scorsese finally brought to the screen almost 30 years after he first began to plan the project. In 1846, as waves of Irish immigrants poured into the New York neighborhood of Five Points, a number of citizens of British and Dutch heritage who were born in the United States began making an open display of their resentment toward the new arrivals. William Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis), better known as "Bill the Butcher" for his deadly skill with a knife, bands his fellow "Native Americans" into a gang to take on the Irish immigrants; the immigrants in turn form a gang of their own, "The Dead Rabbits," organized by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson). After an especially bloody clash between the Natives and the Rabbits leaves Vallon dead, his son goes missing; the boy ends up in a brutal reform school before returning to the Five Points in 1862 as Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio). Now a strapping adult who has learned how to fight, Amsterdam has come to seek vengeance against Bill the Butcher, whose underworld control of the Five Points through violence and intimidation dovetails with the open corruption of New York politician "Boss" Tweed (Jim Broadbent). Amsterdam gradually penetrates Bill the Butcher's inner circle, and he soon becomes his trusted assistant. Amsterdam also finds himself falling for Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz), a beautiful but street-smart thief who was once involved with Bill. Amsterdam is learning a great deal from Bill, but before he can turn the tables on the man who killed his father, Amsterdam's true identity is exposed, even though he has concealed it from nearly everyone, including Jenny. Gangs Of New York was the first film in two years from actor Leonardo DiCaprio; ironically, it was at one time scheduled to open on the same day as Catch Me if You Can, the Steven Spielberg project that DiCaprio began filming immediately after Gangs wrapped. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, (more)
- 2003
Written and directed by May Miles Thomas, Solid Air centers around Robert Houston (Brian McCardie), whose life has been turned upside down in his pursuit of his father's (Maurice Roeves) case for financial compensation from the corporation responsible for giving him asbestosis. Rather than doing all of this out of love, however, Robert is putting himself out there because he himself is knee-deep in gambling debts. Complicating issues further is Nicola (Kathy Kiera Clarke), the lawyer on the corporation's side of the case. Nicola has no intention of marring her own record, for a good cause or otherwise, and soon falls into a conflict with Robert that goes much further than unjust corporate policies. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maurice Roeves, Brian McCardie, (more)
- 2003
Two female drifters search for their next short-term jobs and for the reasons their lives have been filled with such wanderlust in Søren Kragh-Jacobsen's modern-day romantic fable Skagerrak. Best friends Marie (Iben Hjejle) and Sophie (Bronagh Gallagher) land on the Scottish mainland after a stint working on an oil rig, eager to move on to their next adventure. Just as Sophie decides to head to Glasgow to track down her mechanic boyfriend, the pair are set back after a one-night stand leaves Sophie severely beaten and robbed. While tending to Sophie at the hospital, Marie encounters a strange older man (James Cosmo) who later invites her to his estate while proclaiming to have an irresistible proposition for her. The old man, Sir Robert Lumley, offers to pay several thousands of pounds to Marie if she will agree to become a surrogate mother for his childless son and daughter-in-law. Initially disgusted, Marie reluctantly consents but struggles with the decision throughout her pregnancy. When a worse tragedy strikes the wanderers, Marie is forced to confront a number of issues in her life as she also finds both an unexpected love interest and an unexpected ally from the Scottish estate she has grown to hate. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bronagh Gallagher, Martin Henderson, (more)
Filmmaker Sally Potter directed this artful meditation on the dynamics of the romantic and sexual relationship. She (Joan Allen) is an intelligent and gifted genetic scientist of Irish-American heritage who feels smothered in her marriage to a British politician (Sam Neill). While dining at a friend's house, She meets He (Simon Abkarian), a handsome Lebanese exile who was a respected surgeon in his homeland but now supports himself in London as a cook. He flirts with her, and She is pleased with his advances; weeks later, she contacts him, and an affair begins. However, despite their mutual attraction, He and She find it difficult to set aside their political and national differences for very long, as love and lust wage a quiet war against the conscience and the intellect. Yes also features supporting performances from Shirley Henderson and Sheila Hancock. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joan Allen, Simon Abkarian, (more)
The year is 1914, and as World War I continues to rage across the European countryside, four individuals stuck on the front lines find themselves faced with the unthinkable in director Christian Carion's Academy Award-nominated account of the true-life wartime event that would offer hope for peace in mankind's darkest hour. When the war machines began rolling in the summer of 1914, the devastation that it waged upon German, British, and French troops was palpable. As the winter winds began to blow and the soldiers sat huddled in their trenches awaiting the generous Christmas care packages sent by the families, the sounds of warfare took a momentary backseat to the yearning for brotherhood among all of mankind. It is here that the fate of a French lieutenant, a Scottish priest, a German tenor, and a Danish soprano's lives were about to be changed forever. On Christmas Eve of that year, the lonely souls of the front lines abandoned their arms to reach out to their enemies on the battlefield and greet them with not anger or hostility, but with the simple, kindly gesture of a much needed cigarette or a treasured piece of chocolate, and to put their differences aside long enough to wish their brothers a sincere "Merry Christmas!" ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, (more)
One young man's dream takes him on a remarkable journey in this sports-themed drama. Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) was born in Mexico, and came to California with his family when he was just a boy. One of the few things Santiago brought with him was a love for soccer, and while he holds down two jobs -- working landscaping during the days with his father, Hernan (Tony Plana), and as a busboy at night -- he still dreams of playing the game professionally, and spends his precious spare time with an amateur team in Los Angeles. One day, Santiago is approached by Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), a part-time scout for powerhouse British team Newcastle United; Glen has seen Santiago play and thinks he has talent, and can get him a tryout with Newcastle if he can make his way to England. While Hernan refuses to help Santiago pay for the trip, his grandmother (Miriam Colon) empties her savings to help him follow his dream. Santiago's first reserve game with the team happens during a typically British rainstorm, with Santiago suffering a mild asthma attack to boot; he doesn't play at his best and is turned away from the team, but he refuses to go home, determined to make good. After striking up a friendship with star kicker Gavin Harris (Alessandro Nivola) and demonstrating his mettle to coach Mal Braithwaite (Gary Lewis), Santiago earns a second chance to show Newcastle United what he can do and make his father proud of him. Goal! was a major international hit, and a sequel was already in production before the film opened in the United States in the spring of 2006. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leonardo Guerra, Tony Plana, (more)
Industrial Light and Magic special-effects wizard Stefen Fangmeier makes the leap into the director's chair with this coming-of-age fantasy concerning a young boy whose discovery of a mysterious dragon egg leads him on a predestined journey to become a Dragon Rider and defend his peaceful world against an evil king. Based on the best-selling novel by Christopher Paolini, Eragon tells the tale of the titular character (Ed Speleers), a humble farm boy living in the land of Alagaësia, whose life is forever changed when he discovers that he has been chosen to fight the most powerful enemy his world has ever known. Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and Djimon Hounsou co-star in a film produced by Davis Entertainment and adapted from the novel by screenwriters Peter Buchman, Larry Konner, and Mark Rosenthal. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ed Speleers, Michael A. Mehlmann, (more)
- 2006
Writer/director Steve Hudson patterned his debut feature, True North, after classic Greek tragedy. This bleak and despairing drama concerns the Skipper (Gary Lewis) and Sean (Martin Compston), a father and son from the U.K. who co-pilot a small fishing boat called Providence. Though the Skipper remains aboard, Sean inherits all financial responsibility from his dad. But times are hard and the catch so inadequate that it cannot sustain the men. Terrified of being regarded as a failure by his father, Sean devises a dangerous scheme: he and deckhand Riley (Peter Mullan) will illegally pull Chinese immigrants from the far side of the North Sea while the Skipper sleeps, collect money from the stowaways, hide them in the ship's hold, and deposit them in northern England. All goes according to plan until Sean realizes that they must locate some actual fish to mislead the British authorities. Meanwhile, the Chinese passengers begin to waste away below deck, while a storm and other unforeseen catastrophes threaten the lives and safety of everyone aboard. The picture subsequently builds to a devastating conclusion. Steven Robertson and Angel Li co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Mullan, Gary Lewis, (more)
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