Mark Bazeley Movies
- 2001
English agriculture equipment salesman Gavin Hughes (Ross Kemp) is recruited by a British-U.S. intelligence agency to report what he learns during a business trip to Iran. His information is used to blow up a bus carrying 24 of Iran's scientists working on weapons of mass destruction. Needless to say, the Iranians are pretty upset with Gavin. Once back in England, Gavin is compelled to leave his (cheating) wife and son, and assume a new identity in a different town. Four years later, Gavin is living a quiet life in a seaside village with a new woman and her son when the Iranians learn of his new identity as Frank Perry. The Iranians dispatch their arch assassin, the Anvil, to kill him. Intelligence sources discover the Anvil's intents and work to protect Gavin/Frank, but it may be a matter of too little firepower against a malevolent terrorist. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ross Kemp, Saskia Reeves, (more)
Based on the novel by H.E. Bates, this period drama stars Embeth Davidtz as Bella Ford, a woman living in rural England during the Victorian era. Bella fell victim to Arch Wilson (Greg Wise), a unprincipled man who claimed to be from the nearby village. He seduced her only to vanish without a trace when she became pregnant. When she is outcast after her child is stillborn, a kindly villager named Ben Wainwright (Tom Bell) allows her to stay with his family in exchange for helping with the chores. However, the presence of a young and beautiful woman in the house creates a certain amount of tension between Ben, his wife (Gemma Jones), and sons Jedd (James Purefoy), a soldier; Matty (Kent Anderson), a shoemaker; and Con (Ben Chaplin), a homebody and social misfit. Con takes a shine to Bella and eventually proposes marriage; Bella accepts, but matters become complicated when she discovers that the dastardly Arch has returned to the village. Ismail Merchant served as executive producer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Embeth Davidtz, Ben Chaplin, (more)
A United States Air Force special ops agent betrayed by his own agency is forced back into active duty when a top secret stealth bomber is hijacked by a dangerous terrorist group in this action-packed tale of international intrigue starring Steven Seagal. John Sands (Seagal) is the kind of soldier that the military turns to when they need a man who can execute clandestine missions that are too sensitive for standard intelligence services. Now, despite the fact that Sands has continually risked his life in service to his country, the Agency begins to view him as a liability due to his sensitive knowledge he has gained during his many exploits. After being detained by the Agency and scheduled for a chemical procedure in which his entire memory will be erased, Sands escapes the top secret detention center and attempts to reintegrate himself into society. Sands' plan is soon foiled, however, when he defends himself during a liquor store robbery and is subsequently arrested by the local police. As a result of his arrest Sands is quickly located by the Agency, who present him with an opportunity to win his freedom back by locating a highly classified stealth bomber equipped with the latest cloaking technology. It seems that the powerful new weapon has fallen into the hands of violent terrorists who could prove to be a formidable threat to world peace. If Sands can find the jet and bring it safely back to the United States Air Force, the Agency will finally allow him to walk away a free man. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Seagal
The biblical story of Noah and the Great Flood gets a decidedly unusual retelling in this film, produced as a two-part TV movie and first aired on NBC in May 1999. Noah Jon Voight is an ordinary laborer who one day begins receiving messages from God. It seems the Lord has a special assignment for him: since God is planning on destroying the world with a massive flood, he wants Noah to build a giant ark and fill it with one male and one female of each animal on earth. So why Noah of all people? As God tells him, "You fit the bill. Good times, bad times, you believe in me." And why a 500-foot-long ark? "I think big! I made the world in seven days!" Joining Noah on the trip of a lifetime is his wife Naamah (Mary Steenburgen); those not invited along for the ride are F. Murray Abraham as Lot, Carol Kane as his wife Sarah, and James Coburn as a peddler. Some video versions run 140 minutes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen, (more)
Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) races to solve the mystery of his past while being hunted by members of the very organization he was hired into as director Paul Greengrass brings author Robert Ludlum's popular character back to the big screen for his third feature outing. David Strathairn, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, and Paddy Considine co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, (more)
The creators of such docudramas as The Queen and Frost/Nixon re-team for this period sports chronicle set in 1974. In England, the Leeds United players retain a status as the preeminent champions of their football league. Unfortunately, the manager to whom the team owes much of its success, visionary Don Revie (Colm Meaney), promptly leaves the unit to take over the England team. His replacement, the slick and confident Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), is publicly known as a vociferous critic of the team's approach to games. Clough has some experience and success to back him up -- in flashbacks, the film details how he and his business partner Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall) coached Derby County from the bottom of the Second Division to the League Championships, though they had much less success working with the Brighton team later on. For various reasons, Taylor refuses to accompany Clough to his new post in Leeds, so Clough must go it alone. Clough wastes no time aggressively attempting to modify the playing style of the team -- he dictates that they play more attractively, and less violently. This clashes with the intentions of the team members, however. When the players hit the field, they find it extraordinarily difficult to adapt to the mandates of their new coach, which sets the stage for a series of losses and puts Clough's reputation on the line. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, (more)
The British prime minister and the Royal Family find themselves quietly at odds in the wake of a national tragedy in this drama from director Stephen Frears. On August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died in an auto accident in Paris; despite the controversial breakup of her marriage to Prince Charles, she was still one of the most famous and best-loved women in the world, and the public outpouring of emotion over her passing was immediate and intense. However, given the messy circumstances of Diana's breakup with Charles, official spokespeople for the Royal Family were uncertain about how to publicly address her passing. It didn't take long for the media to pick up on the hesitation of Buckingham Palace to pay homage to Diana, and many saw this as a sign of the cool emotional distance so often attributed to the royals, which in this case was widely seen as an insult against Diana and the many people who loved her. Prime Minister Tony Blair (played by Michael Sheen) saw a potential public-relations disaster in the making, and took it upon himself to persuade Queen Elizabeth II (played by Helen Mirren) to make a statement in tribute to the fallen Diana -- an action that went against the taciturn queen's usual nature. The Queen was released the same year that Helen Mirren played Queen Elizabeth I in an acclaimed miniseries for British television; The Queen also gave Michael Sheen his second opportunity to play Tony Blair after portraying the prime minister in the television film The Deal. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, (more)
