James Faulkner Movies

Gillaume Nicloux directed this French comedy drama about amateur sleuth Gabriel Lecouvreur, aka The Octopus (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), a Gallic gumshoe with no fixed address, who travels with his girlfriend Cheryl (Clotilde Courau) to a harbor town in western France. The graves of Cheryl's grandparents have been desecrated, and during their investigation of this, they encounter a half-dozen demented denizens and other looney locals. More than 100 paperbacks by different writers have chronicled The Octopus' adventures; this is the first film featuring the character. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

The Registry, a file listing the whereabouts of all Section One agents, is now in the hands of the Red Cell, a terrorist group. As the Red Cell minions begin stalking agents all over the world, Michael (Roy Dupuis) makes an astonishing security error by informing Nikita (Peta Wilson) where Section One's new headquarters will be. Inevitably, both Nikita and Michael are captured and tortured by Red Cell. Which agent will be the first one to crack and tell all -- and is this terrifying situation all that it appears to be on surface? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV romance is a reworking of the legend of King Arthur's queen and tells how she forsook her real love and married Arthur in order to bring England together. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Inspector Morse (John Thaw) and Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately) dig up another mystery in this episode of the popular British TV series. In "Greeks Bearing Gifts," the city of Oxford is turned upside-down when one of the area's Greek chefs is found dead and a baby goes missing. It's up to Morse and Lewis to get information from the town's Greek community, who are very tight-lipped on the matter. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Roger Young's made-for-TV adaptation of the Robert Ludlum novel, The Bourne Identity stars Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne, who washes up on the beach and is cared for by a doctor. Bourne has no memories, but is intrigued enough to investigate why he has the number of a Swiss bank account on his thigh. As Jason travels to various European cities following clues about his past, he begins to discover that his actions match those of the feared international terrorist Carlos. The book was filmed a second time in 2002 by Doug Liman with Matt Damon in the title role. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

There is certainly nothing wrong with this remake of the Basil Rathbone, Peter Cushing mystery of 1939. The question, however, is why one would want to substitute others when the original was so superlative. Jeremy Brett, however, does a fine job as Sherlock Holms as he investigates strange happenings at the Baskerville Hall--all of which seem to prove that the family is being haunted by the ghost of a dog. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

In this sequel to the original miniseries, Lili (Phoebe Cates), having discovered the true identity of her mother, now begins looking for her father. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The role of media manipulation of the news is also the starring role in this political drama involving a female broadcast journalist who travels to Africa to cover a breaking story about a revolution, only to have her material cut and recast back in her London studios. Lisa Ford (Gayle Hunnicutt), her cameraman (Siegfried Rauch), and her Cuban advisor (James Faulkner) are taken to the head of the guerrilla forces (Ken Gampu) who holds two young women hostage (to attract world attention to his cause). As the cameraman films the story and Lisa adds her commentary, they themselves have to choose and select what they show since there is not enough air time to run hours and hours of videotape. Once their installments reach the program controller in London (Trevor Howard), he uses his own judgment to basically censor Lisa's story. Although director Francis Megahy's point is well-taken, it may be stated one too many times for some viewers -- for others, perhaps, it could not be stated enough. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A reclusive, unhappy gold magnate finds his isolated tropical paradise threatened by the intrusion of organized criminals in director Nicolas Roeg's convoluted, arty drama. Gene Hackman stars as Jack McCann, a one-time gold prospector who his parlayed the discovery of a rich deposit in the Canadian wilderness into an immense fortune. Instead of satisfaction, McCann's wealth leads to depression and paranoia, and he moves to a remote island and withdraws from the world. The bulk of the film centers on what has become of McCann some thirty years later, as he attempts to deal with a troubled daughter (Theresa Russell) and the attentions of the Mafia, who want to build a new casino on his tropical home. As the pressures increase, his efforts to protect his property and maintain his family become increasingly desperate, culminating in an extended public trial. Even stranger and more stylized than most of Roeg's work, the disjointed Eureka will seem incomprehensible and painfully pretentious to those with little patience for his indirect narratives and purposefully exaggerated approach. Devoted fans, however, will find further proof of the director's impressive visual sense, especially during the film's earlier sequences. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This third talking-picture version of Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations stars Michael York as Pip, the humble British lad whose aspirations to become a gentleman are financed by a mysterious benefactor. We first see young Pip (played by Simon Gipps-Kent) coming to the aid of escaped convict Magwitch (James Mason). Once this episode has apparently run its course, we find Pip the guest of the wealthy, reclusive, half-mad Miss Havisham (Margaret Leighton), and the worshipper-from-afar of Havisham's snooty niece Estella (played as both a teenager and an adult by Sarah Miles--breaking the usual cinematic tradition of casting two actresses in the role). This brief exposure to the finer things in life leads Pip on the winding road to betterment, with a few surprises in store for him. Great Expectations premiered November 22, 1974, as a Bell System Family Theatre presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows star in director Roger Donaldson's cinematic account of the true-life 1971 London bank robbery that baffled the authorities and fascinated the public. Terry Leather (Statham) was a small-time car dealer who was trying to leave his shady past behind and start a family. Though he'd never been involved in any major crimes, he wasn't exactly on the straight and narrow his whole life either. Martine Love (Burrows) is a beautiful model from Terry's old neighborhood who knows that her former neighbor is no angel. When Martine proposes a foolproof plan to rob a Baker Street bank, Terry recognizes the danger but realizes this may be the opportunity of a lifetime. As the operation gets underway, the resourceful band of thieves burrows its way into a safe-deposit vault at the Lloyds Bank in Marylebone, quickly hitting a literal treasure trove of cash and priceless gems. But while the crew did know that the safe-deposit boxes contained millions in riches, they didn't realize that they also contained secrets that implicated everyone from London's most notorious underworld gangsters to powerful government figures, and even the Royal Family. Though the crime would make headlines all across Britain for several days after the fact, a government gag order eventually brought all reporting on the case to an immediate halt. Could it be that the most notorious bank robbers in recent memory were actually the most innocent people involved in this scandalous crime? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Based on author Helen Fielding's sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason picks up four weeks after the original film left off, with Bridget (Renée Zellweger) emotionally satisfied at long last with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), her barrister boyfriend. Stability in Bridget's life, however, quickly becomes a contradiction in terms. Though Mark is openly supportive of Bridget's eccentricities -- and there are many -- she is nonetheless threatened by Mark's young, nubile intern, not to mention irked at finding out that he is, among other less desirable qualities in her eyes, a conservative voter. Complicating issues further is the reentrance of her ex-lover, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), whom Jones, perhaps mistakenly, thought she had finally gotten over. Before long, the situation escalates into another series of embarrassing circumstances for Bridget, who is faced once again with a crippling feeling of self-doubt and has only her diary and friends to combat it. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide