Alun Armstrong

A loving couple suffering through an emotionally exhaustive case of empty nest syndrome offers temporary shelter to a pair of girls from Belarus who have been displaced as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. Bob (Alun Armstrong) and Julie Jenkins (Lindsey Coulson) are in a bittersweet position; their daughter has finally come of age and struck out on her own - which is a wonderful accomplishment for both parent and child - yet now the couple has no one in their home to nurture and care for. While Bob is content just to enjoy their time together, Julie makes the decision to offer shelter to a pair of young girls from Belarus. Belarus was one of the countries most affected by the Chernobyl disaster, and youngsters Nadia and Nelli are only two of countless Belarus children in need of a place to call home. Over the course of their time with the girls, Bob and Julie gradually rediscover the ability to laugh and love again - never realizing how heartbreaking it will be when they finally have to say goodbye. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Van Helsing: The London Assignment offers a glimpse into the title character's life before he became a renowned monster hunter, and chronicles the sequence of events leading to his acceptance of the position. With the city being terrorized by nightly crime sprees, the Knights of the Holy Order conclude that they must send a young Van Helsing into London in hopes that he will find and capture the perpetrator, Mr. Hyde. The animated prequel features the voice of Hugh Jackman, star of the 2004 movie adaptation of Van Helsing. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Director Danny Boyle revisits a theme from his Shallow Grave and Trainspotting days -- greed -- but focuses on a much younger protagonist with this comedy drama. Millions opens with recent widower Ronnie (James Nesbitt) moving his two precocious pre-pubescent sons to the suburbs. Missing his mother and the comforts of his old neighborhood, the young Damian (Alex Etel) builds a cardboard-box fort on the outskirts of the suburb, where one day his placid introvert existence is literally crushed by a giant gym bag full of thousands of pounds' worth of cash. Less concerned with the origin of the money than with how to spend it, Damian and his older brother, Anthony (Lewis McGibbon), decide to keep it a secret from their father, which becomes an increasingly tricky proposition as the days pass. His conscience getting in the way of his spending, Damian debates the ethics of his ill-gotten gains with a handful of imaginary saints, and begins to try to spend his cash a little more altruistically. But his charitable deeds inadvertently attract the attention of a mysterious, threatening man who's desperate to get his hands on the money. Marking a distinct change of pace for Boyle after the horror film 28 Days Later, Millions world-premiered at the 2004 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

24 star Kiefer Sutherland stars as celebrated French painter Paul Gauguin in director Mario Andreacchio's slice of life biopic. A highly successful Paris stockbroker, Gaugin decides to drop out of the rat race in favor of developing his self-taught painting skills. Despite his determination to use primitivism as a means to revolutionizing the world of modern art, Gauguin soon spirals down a disastrous drain of financial ruin. Realizing that a change of scenery is in order if he is to rekindle his creativity, the devoted artist travels to the South Seas in order to realize his true potential on the canvas. Nastassja Kinski co-stars in a fascinating look at one of the 19th Century's most celebrated artists. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

French director Elie Chouraqui adapts the novel of the same name into this drama, that, although set in 1991, became tragically topical in the weeks before its release due to the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Andie MacDowell stars as Sarah, a photo editor for Newsweek and the happily married wife of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Harrison Lloyd (David Strathairn). Harrison has been reconsidering his career of covering the world's war zone "hot spots" in order to spend more time with his family, and is accused by his colleague, Kyle (Adrien Brody), of playing it too safe in his risky profession. Harrison elects to accept one more combat assignment to cover the simmering tensions in Croatia, a conflict that quickly erupts into a full-scale, genocidal Civil War. Informed that Harrison is believed to have been killed in the fighting, Sarah refuses to accept her husband's death and becomes convinced that she's seen him, alive, in a news broadcast. She travels to Croatia on a quest to find him, and is eventually aided by Kyle, as well as two of Harrison's other colleagues, Yeager (Elias Koteas) and Stevenson (Brendan Gleeson). The group, armed with cameras instead of weapons, witnesses the horrors and atrocities unfolding in the region, while tracing the elusive path of Harrison, who may well be dead already. Harrison's Flowers was distributed by Universal Focus, the art house division of Universal Pictures that previously released Mulholland Drive (2001) and Billy Elliott (2000). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A woman whose marriage is in trouble finds herself falling for a new man as her husband's life hangs in the balance in this thriller. Peter Bowman (David Morse) and his wife Alice (Meg Ryan) have relocated to a small Latin American nation called Tecala; Peter works for an American engineering and construction firm, and his latest assignment has him building a dam that is intended to bring power to the developing nation. The ELT is a radical Marxist faction gearing up for political revolution in Tecala that has turned to kidnapping as a way to raise capital, and Peter is chosen as its next target. When Peter is ambushed on his way to work, his firm brings in Terry Thorn (Russell Crowe), a former Australian intelligence operative who now works as a private "kidnapping and ransom" negotiator. Alice is told Terry is her best hope for bringing Peter back safe and sound, but when Terry's employers run into a tight squeeze financially, they cancel their K&R insurance (which is considered a standard benefit for American employees assigned to South America), leaving Alice to rehire Terry on her own, especially since she can't possibly pay the $3 million ransom demanded by the kidnappers. As Terry and his partner Dino (David Caruso) map out a rescue plan, Alice and Terry find themselves increasingly attracted to each other. Alice's marriage to Peter was going through a rough patch when he was kidnapped, and while she's deeply concerned for his safety, she must reconcile her fears for Peter's life with her new feelings for Terry. Proof of Life is based on Adventures in the Ransom Trade, an article by journalist William Prochnau that was published in Vanity Fair, as well as on the case of real-life kidnapping victim Tom Hargrove. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director John Strickland creates this gritty look at race and class in southeast London, as he focuses on a multi-racial group of youths who form a band called Greenwich Mean Time. Between gigs, the band members negotiate the currents of their lives, including girlfriend problems, an ill-fated venture into drug dealing, and sleazy record producers. As the film progresses, the narrative inches its protagonists toward a sudden bloody finale. The film features tunes by such noted Acid Jazz and Jungle figures as Talvin Singh, Hinda Hicks, and Imogen Heap. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This 2000 television adaptation of Charles Dickens' Victorian classic was originally released as a six-hour, three-part miniseries on PBS. Adapted by Alan Bleasdale, this version of Oliver Twist gives viewers a new look at an old story, waiting 90 minutes to even introduce its eponymous hero (played by Sam Smith), and taking pains to establish the background of Oliver's parents, good-hearted Agnes Fleming (Sophia Myles) and all-around coward Edwin Leeford (Tim Dutton). All of the resolutely Dickensian touches are here, from greedy relatives to secret wills, to stolen lockets containing valuable information, and all are ably brought to life by a talented cast that includes Julie Walters as Mrs. Mann, Michael Kitchen as Mr. Brownlow, Lindsay Duncan as Elizabeth Leeford, Marc Warren as Monks, and Robert Lindsay as Fagin. As an added bonus, the miniseries' score, by Paul Pritchard, contains additional music by none other than Elvis Costello. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Washington Irving's tale of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman gets a few new twists in a screen adaptation directed by Tim Burton. In this version, Ichabod (Johnny Depp) is a New York City detective whose unorthodox techniques and penchant for gadgets make him unpopular with is colleagues. He is sent to the remote town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of bizarre murders, in which a number of people have been found dead in the woods, with their heads cut off. Local legend has it that a Hessian ghost rides through the woods on horseback, lopping off the heads of the unsuspecting and unbelieving. Ichabod refuses to believe in this legend, convinced that there must be a logical explanation for the murders. In time, Ichabod becomes smitten with a local lass, Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), who is the sweetheart of the burly Brom Bones (Casper Van Dien), and he becomes determined to capture the murderer to prove his bravery and win her heart. Christopher Walken, Jeffrey Jones, and Christopher Lee highlight the supporting cast; Lee's appearance is particularly apt, since Burton has cited the Hammer films of the 1960s as a major influence in making this film. Andrew Kevin Walker and Tom Stoppard contributed to the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on the popular novels about that other suave, globe-trotting man of action, this genre picture from director Phillip Noyce mixed romance and character development with dangerous stunts, geopolitical intrigue, and a variety of elaborate disguises, resulting in an uneven stew of a spy thriller. Val Kilmer is Simon Templar, a classy, cunning master thief and "man of a thousand faces" who cribs his phony names from those of obscure saints and sells his illegal services to the highest bidder. Hired by an ambitious Russian politician (Rade Serbedzija) to steal the formula for cold fusion, Templar falls in love with Dr. Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue), the frail Oxford scientist who has unlocked the secret of the process. Back in Moscow, the thief debates whether to betray his new love or the powerful madman who is paying him millions, until he discovers that his client is concealing oil reserves that could save his freezing people. Often seen as an also-ran to the legendary James Bond, Templar, the creation of author Leslie Charteris, in fact predated the first Bond novel by decades and probably inspired Ian Fleming in his creation of the debonair agent. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Mel Gibson, long-time heartthrob of the silver screen, came into his own as a director with Braveheart, an account of the life and times of medieval Scottish patriot William Wallace and, to a lesser degree, Robert the Bruce's struggle to unify his nation against its English oppressors. The story begins with young Wallace, whose father and brother have been killed fighting the English, being taken into the custody of his uncle, a nationalist and pre-Renaissance renaissance man. He returns twenty years later, a man educated both in the classics and in the art of war. There he finds his childhood sweetheart Murron (Catherine McCormack), and the two quickly fall in love. There are murmurs of revolt against the English throughout the village, but Wallace remains aloof, wishing simply to tend to his crops and live in peace. However, when his love is killed by English soldiers the day after their secret marriage (held secretly so as to prevent the local English lord from exercising the repulsive right of prima noctae, the privilege of sleeping with the bride on the first night of the marriage), he springs into action and single-handedly slays an entire platoon of foot soldiers. The other villagers join him in destroying the English garrison, and thus begins the revolt against the English in what will eventually become full-fledged war. Wallace eventually leads his fellow Scots in a series of bloody battles that prove a serious threat to English domination and, along the way, has a hushed affair with the Princess of Wales (the breathtaking Sophie Marceau) before his imminent demise. For his efforts, Gibson won the honor of Best Director from the Academy; the movie also took home statuettes for Best Picture, Cinematography, Makeup, and Sound Effects. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide