Lara Belmont Movies
- 2006
Commercial filmmaker Col Spector makes the leap to narrative features with this romantic comedy headlined by laid-back Green Wing star Stephen Mangan. Portrait photographer David (Mangan) and his longtime girlfriend Lisa (Susan Lynch) are all set to celebrate their third year together with a whirlwind trip to Venice. Though exuberant Lisa can't wait for the date to arrive, doubtful David seems to have become somewhat hesitant about the impending vacation. When David chats-up a loopy local named Nina (Lara Belmont) one day while taking a stroll in the park, the sparks between the pair are quickly doused when David begins to feel guilty about distancing himself from Lisa. Determined to make things right with his longtime girlfriend and get their relationship back on track, David confesses to his brief fling and gets kicked to the curb for his noble effort. Later, Nina admits that she's already moved on and isn't really interested in David anymore. When a local dating agency sends Lisa's headshot to David's slacker friend Matt (Christopher Coghill), the lovelorn lothario assumes that she isn't as happy being single as she claims and sets out to win his embittered ex back by any means necessary. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Mangan, Susan Lynch, (more)
- 2002
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
- Starring:
- John Simm, Ian McDiarmid, (more)
For his debut feature film, writer/director Marcus Adams helmed this independent occult horror flick set in the U.K. Long Time Dead tells the story of a group of college students who find themselves playing with a homemade Ouija board late one night. Not taking the game seriously, they unwittingly conjure up a demon that promises to kill them all one by one. Starring Lukas Haas, Joe Absolom, and Lara Belmont, Long Time Dead screened in 2002 at Germany's Munchen Fantasy Filmfest and The Netherlands' Fantastic Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Absolom, Lara Belmont, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone, Tilda Swinton, (more)
