Kate Ashfield

Shaun of the Dead star Kate Ashfield headlines this tightly-wound psychological thriller adapted from author Nicci French's novel about romance gone wrong, and the devastating repercussions that follow. For Miranda Cotton (Ashfield) it was just a brief fling, but for Brendan Block (David Tennant) it was so much more. When Miranda broke up with Brendan she figured he would eventually move on. Three weeks later Miranda's younger sister Kerry announces that she has just landed a new boyfriend, and his name is Brendan Block. Now, all of Miranda's friends are dying, and she's convinced that Brendan is the killer. Realizing that the only way to beat her manipulative ex-lover at his own game is to somehow turn the tables on him, Miranda puts her life on the line to prove that Brendan is killer the police are searching for. Should her plan backfire Miranda will most certainly die, and should she fail her sister will pay the ultimate price. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

It's often said that the true character of a man is only revealed in times of dire crisis, and for likable, lovelorn loser Shaun (Simon Pegg), that moment of reckoning came when the dead rose from their slumber to feast on the flesh of the living. A hapless electronics store employee who spends most of his spare time downing pints at the local pub with his roommate, Ed (Nick Frost), Shaun's life seems to fall apart when he is dumped by his girlfriend, Liz (Kate Ashfield), and his obnoxious stepfather, Philip (Bill Nighy), shows up to berate him for not being more attentive to his caring mother Barbara (Penelope Wilton) -- especially since he forgot to send flowers for her birthday. Things take a turn for the worse when the dead return to stake their claim on the Earth, and though the chaos that follows threatens to swallow up all of England, it's up to Shaun to keep his cool and prove himself once and for all by successfully rescuing Liz and his mother. With his trusty roommate by his side, nothing -- not even the living dead -- can stand between Shaun and the two most important women in his life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Martin Campbell directs the romantic adventure Beyond Borders. Angelina Jolie stars as Sarah Jordan, a American living with her wealthy British husband, Henry Bauford (Linus Roache), in London during the early '80s. At a charity benefit, she meets passionate relief worker Nick Callahan (Clive Owen), who chastises the rich people for not helping out the needy in war-torn countries. Sarah is quickly compelled to join his humanitarian cause to fight the famine in Ethopia. She then follows him to Cambodia, where they start up a love affair and Nick gets involved in an arms-smuggling operation before they finally end up in Chechnya. Teri Polo appears as Sarah's international journalist sister, Charlotte. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In between the big-budget Blade and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, British filmmaker Stephen Norrington directs the straight-to-video crime drama The Last Minute. Told in flashback, the story follows the rise and fall of Billy Byrne (Max Beesley). With a determined goal to be famous, he lands his first big show with the help of his slick agent, Walsh (Anthony Higgins). Fame comes quickly as he travels the globe and gets invited to hip clubs, becoming the darling of the London art scene. Due to his excessive, self-centered behavior, his girlfriend Janey (Kate Ashfield) leaves him. His fame fades away and he falls into a life of crime, drugs, and gangsters led by Grimshanks (Tom Bell), where he meets Anna (Emily Corrie). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Fyodor Dostoyevsky's evergreen psychological novel Crime and Punishment was given an up-close-and-personal treatment in this two-part British miniseries version, first telecast over the BBC in 2002. John Simm starred as Dostoyevsky's idealistic antihero Raskolnikov, who, secure in his belief that he was a superior being ungoverned by emotions, murdered a hateful pawnbroker and impassively watched as the ensuing criminal investigation unfolded before his very eyes. Police inspector Porfiry (Ian McDiarmid) was fairly confident that Raskolnikov was the guilty party, but rather than immediately moving in for his kill, Porfiry calmly waited for the killer's latent conscience to get the better of him. There was more to the story, of course, and Tony Marchant's teleplay admirably telescoped the Dostoyevsky original into a neat four-hour television package. Eschewing the straightforward approach taken by earlier adaptations of Crime and Punishment, director Julian Jarrold trafficked in tight, uncomfortable close-ups and vertigo-inducing camera angles, virtually forcing the viewer to become as neurotic and unraveled as Raskolnikov. Filmed on location in St. Petersburg in the former Soviet Union, Crime and Punishment was first seen in the U.S. over the Bravo cable network on January 28 and 29, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Four friends compare notes on their romantic problems -- which in time become quite interesting indeed -- in this sharp comedy from Great Britain. Sean (Luke De Woolfson), Lenny (Enzo Cilenti), Vincent (James Lance), and Jody (Kate Ashfield) are four pals who meet every evening for dinner at the same neighborhood restaurant. Sean works the night shift at a hospital, and one night he makes a date with Susie (Sienna Guillory), a woman who is visiting her unconscious boyfriend; Sean soon discovers the woman's sexual appetite exceeds his own, and they can't get out of the hospital before taking things to the horizontal level. Lenny is a directory assistance operator for the telephone company and is infatuated with one of his co-workers, Gail (Shauna MacDonald), though his attempts to set up a date end in disaster. Vincent, a supermarket stock clerk, is a notorious womanizer who has a personal policy of never sleeping with the same woman more than three times. And Jody works in computer assembly and offers sarcastic advice to her three mates, especially Sean, whose problems with women she finds especially amusing. Vincent makes the acquaintance of a lonely woman from abroad named Madeline Zozzocolovich (Heike Makatash), and romance soon rears its head, but after Vincent informs her of his three-strikes-and-you're-out rule, Madeline is crushed and disappears, and soon the foursome are scouring a small resort community, hoping to find her before she tries something drastic. Late Night Shopping was the first feature from director Saul Metzstein and screenwriter Jack Lothian; the film won the C.I.C.A.E. Award at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Noted actor Tim Roth made his directorial debut with this powerful drama about a family in crisis. Tom (Freddie Cunliffe) is an awkward and troubled 15-year-old boy whose isolation increases when his family moves from London to a remote community in the Devon countryside. Tom, his 18-year-old sister Jessie (Lara Belmont), his father (Ray Winstone), and his pregnant mother (Tilda Swinton) live in close quarters in a small cottage; they sometimes bathe in the kitchen, and they have grown used to casual nudity around the house. But one day, Tom sees his father in a sexual embrace with Jessie. He tries to discuss what he's seen with her, but she refuses to talk about it. Unable to stand the tension in the household after his mother takes the seriously ill baby to the hospital, Tom confronts his father, who angrily denies the truth. Tom is finally forced to take drastic action to stop his vengeful and violent father. Written by Alexander Stuart from his own novel, The War Zone received an enthusiastic response at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and was named Best New British Feature at the 1999 Edinburgh International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide