Benjamin Sadler Movies

The life of one of the controversial figures in the history of modern religion is brought to the screen in this historical biography. Born in 1483, Martin Luther (Joseph Fiennes) was an intelligent and principled young man who was studying law in early 16th century Germany when a close brush with death led him to follow a spiritual path and join a Catholic monastery. Under the guidance of Johann von Staupitz (Bruno Ganz), Luther became a valued member of the monastery's hierarchy, and as a sign of his trust, von Staupitz asked Luther to join him for a voyage to Rome as part of church business. Luther was appalled by the corrupt practices of the leading church officials, in particular the sale of "indulgences," in which the wealthy could purchase forgiveness for a wide variety of sins. Luther left the monastery to study theology in Wittenberg; a keen student, he later became a professor and won the support of Frederick the Wise (Peter Ustinov), who also recognized the potential controversy of Luther's iron principles. When a new pope, Leo X, assumes the throne at the Vatican, he orders the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. To pay the costs, an ambitious monk, Johann Tetzel (Alfred Molina), was sent out to sell indulgences to both the wealthy and the poor, leaving his audiences with little doubt of the eternal consequences that awaited those who did not empty their purses. An infuriated Luther wrote an angry essay on the corruption of the church entitled "95 Theses," and thanks to the recent invention of the printing press, Luther's words were soon circulated throughout Europe, leading to an angry conflict with Catholic officials which threatened to tear the church in two. Luther also features supporting performances from Claire Cox as Katharina von Bora and Jonathan Firth as Girolamo Aleandro. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A pair of grifters are drawn into a big con that may be more than they can handle in this sexy thriller. Maya (Bonnie Phillips) and her boyfriend Tony (Thomas Heinze) are a pair of con artists who've been working the same scam for some time; sexy Maya approaches wealthy-looking men in hotel cocktail lounges and persuades them to come up to her room. Tony lifts the men's wallets while Maya toys with them, and he copies the information from their credit cards; Tony returns the cards before the men are the wiser, and Maya conveniently loses interest before things can go too far with her marks. Maya and Tony are making a good living off their version of credit card fraud when Maya tries to pick up Pierce; as it turns out, Pierce is a con artist himself, but rather than turn the tables on the couple, he makes them an offer. Pierce is working with a woman who wants to divorce her rich husband; they need a woman who can seduce the heretofore faithful husband -- and do it on film. There's a big payday in store for the woman who can do the job, so would Maya be interested? The Hustle also stars Robert Wagner, Steven McHattie, and Benjamin Sadler. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi