Anthony Horowitz Movies

An outwardly ordinary teenager finds himself suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances upon discovering that his entire youth was part of an elaborate plan to create the perfect super spy in director Geoffrey Sax's action-packed adaptation of author Anthony Horowitz's best-selling series of novels featuring an adolescent secret agent. Alex Rider (Alex Pettyfer) always though that his kindly uncle Ian (Ewan McGregor) was your average, everyday nondescript bank manager, but when Ian was murdered by notorious assassin Yassen Gregorovich (Damian Lewis), everything young Alex thought he knew would be forever changed by one simple bullet. A deadly martial artist, skilled linguist, steady-handed mountaineer, and deadeye marksman, Alex realizes that his uncle has been secretly training him in the art of espionage when he is recruited by MI6 Special Operations agents Mr. Blunt (Bill Nighy) and Mrs. Jones (Sophie Okonedo). It seems that billionaire Darius Sayle (Mickey Rourke) has generously offered to donate a complimentary Stormbreaker supercomputer to every school in Britain, but while his philanthropic offer is welcomed with open arms by the struggling school system, MI6 fears that something nefarious is afoot. Assigned the task of infiltrating Sayle's impenetrable lair by posing as the winner of a computer magazine contest, Alex makes the acquaintance of shady Sayle sidekicks Mr. Grin (Andy Serkis) and Nadia Vole (Missi Pyle) before getting a special sneak preview of the remarkable Stormbreaker's true powers. His cover subsequently blown, Alex is given a key piece of information regarding the remarkable computer before being thrown to a giant jellyfish by Sayle and his henchmen and left to die just as the prime minister is about to push the button that will activate Stormbreaker computers all across Britain. With no time to spare and the fate of a nation hanging in the balance, Alex must now enlist the help of his trusted housekeeper Jack Starbright (Alicia Silverstone) and faithful classmate Sabina Pleasure (Sarah Bolger) in ensuring that the Stormbreaker system is not activated and revealing Sayle for the true villain that he is before the young super spy's breathless first mission becomes his fatal last. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Nick Diamond (Colin Dale) is a private detective hired by a South American midget to guard a box containing a rare treasure. When Nick is jailed, his kid brother Tim (Dursley McLinden) is called on to take the case. Tim dodges bullets and escapes from being bound and gagged while battling hard-nosed cop Boyle (Jimmy Nail) and the shadowy thugs out to get the treasure. Susanna York plays the chanteuse Lauren Bacardi in this film-noir styled children's crime drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

First telecast in England on January 29, 2000, Judgement Day was the 12th feature-length entry in the Midsomer Murders mystery series. The citizens of Midsomer Mallow are all atwitter in their efforts to win the Perfect Village competition. Alas, a pall is cast on the festivities when a local thief and philanderer is killed with a pitchfork. Inspector Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) really has his work cut out for him this time, inasmuch as seemingly everybody in town had motive and opportunity. Making matters worse, two of the Perfect Village judges are likewise murdered in the same grisly fashion. Based on a novel by Caroline Graham, Midsomer Murders: Judgement Day made its American cable-TV debut by way of the A&E network on January 13, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Created by Anthony Horowitz, the British anthology series Murder in Mind consisted of seven unrelated 60-minute crime tales, each told from the viewpoint of the murderer. The opening playlet was "Teacher," with David Suchet in the title role. Subsequent episodes included "Flame," with Steve McFadden as a cuckolded fireman; "Motive," about the killing of a babysitter; "Mercy," with William Collins as a country doctor who knocked off his wife; "Vigilante," all about the mob murder of an accused pedophile; "Neighbours," starring Kevin Whately and John Thomson as a most un-neighborly duo; and "Sleeper," with Keeley Hawes as a woman who believed herself to be an "unconscious" killer. Murder in Mind joined the BBC1 lineup on April 22, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The discovery of a strange religious relic may have something to do with the terrible dreams haunting a young woman in this stylish thriller from Great Britain. When a pit opens up in a small English town, the local priest, Luke Fraser (Simon Russell Beale), is startled to discover what appears to be an ancient church lurking beneath. Fraser asks a friend with a background in archeology, Simon Kirkman (Stephen Dillane), to investigate the ruins, and Kirkman is startled to find a series of striking realistic sculptures and an usual portrait of Jesus in which the savior turns away from the church. As Kirkman and his wife, Marion (Kerry Fox), are driving home from the site, they accidentally hit Cassie Grant (Christina Ricci), an American student who is crossing the street. While Cassie isn't seriously injured physically, she has suffered a blow to the head that's left her with a mild case of amnesia; Marion brings Cassie home to recuperate until her memory returns, and in the meantime, Cassie helps keep an eye on Michael, Simon and Marion's young son. Soon, Cassie begins having a series of vivid and disturbing dreams involving the people of the town suffering violent deaths. Kirkman and Fraser begin wondering if the church was buried on purpose (and if so, why) and if Cassie's nightmares are somehow connected to the discovery of the house of worship. Completed in 2002, The Gathering didn't see release until 2004, when it opened in France and Germany. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide