Peter Youngblood Hills Movies
Set in 1978 England, AKA opens with 18-year-old Dean (Matthew Leitch) being kicked out of his working-class home by his abusive father. Shy but socially ambitious, Dean subsequently finds work with high society marm Lady Gryffon (Diana Quick), who introduces him to the privileged set. However, Dean does something to perturb the good lady, and is unceremoniously kicked out of her household. Loathe to part company with the perks of high society, he assumes the identity of Lady Gryffon's son, Alex, and relocates to Paris. There, he makes the acquaintance of Benjamin (Peter Youngblood Hills), a cute but drug-riddled American, and Benjamin's lover David (George Asprey), an older playboy who has the hots for Dean. What unfolds is a tale of deceit, class warfare, and the complexities of sexual identity. AKA was screened at the 2002 Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Leitch, George Asprey, (more)
- 2003
A popular French comic strip of the 1950s becomes a candy-colored feature film in this race-car adventure. The Leaders and the Vaillants are rival families of Formula One car drivers, the former group devious and cutthroat, the latter benevolent and amiable. But when the hallowed Le Mans 24-hour race is at hand, both clans find that they'll resort to anything to win. With many of its scenes filmed at the real Le Mans race in the summer of 2002, Michel Vaillant was co-produced by international crossover success Luc Besson. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sagamore Stévenin, Peter Youngblood Hills, (more)
Co-directors Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners conduct interviews with some of the world's leading scientists and creative thinkers in a film that asks whether or not it's too late to avoid the ecological disaster that looms ominously on the horizon. In addition to exploring how the human race has arrived at this crucial point in history, conversations with 50 leading thinkers, scientists, and leaders including former Soviet prime minister Mikhail Gorbachev, world-renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, and sustainable design experts Bruce Mau and William McDonough to find out just what humankind can do about the most pressing issues of our time. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio
For his first major project after the overwhelming success of Titanic, Leonardo Di Caprio took a risky path in this adaptation of Alex Garland's acclaimed novel, directed by Danny Boyle. Richard (Di Caprio) is an American backpacking through Asia with a handful of friends from Europe. While in Bangkok, he meets a mad Scotsman who calls himself Daffy Duck (Robert Carlyle). Shortly before Mr. Duck kills himself, he gives Richard a crude map to a place in Thailand that he claims is paradise on earth: beautiful, unspoiled, and uninhabited. For lack of anything better to do, Richard and his companions try to locate the spot, which, after a dangerous and taxing journey, takes them to a beach as beautiful as Duck said it would be. Richard and his friends settle in, but before long they discover that they are not alone; a large group of fellow travelers has already dug themselves in, and they have established a community with the same social evils that Richard was hoping to leave behind. Just as important, there is an army of natives who grow marijuana in the nearby hills and do not appreciate the presence of these visitors. The Beach proved controversial during production, partly due to production delays and shifting release dates, partly due to environmental concerns after crew members bulldozed parts of the Thai island of Phi Phi Le for the planting of non-native trees. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, (more)
Wesley Snipes stars in this pulse-pounding thriller set in the former Soviet Union. A once high-ranking Soviet military leader has resurfaced in Chechnya, where he has been consolidating his power with remarkable success. United States intelligence discovers he's been able to construct a thermonuclear weapon from materials scavenged from an abandoned nuclear power plant, and he and his soldiers have taken a handful of powerful citizens hostage. In hopes of preventing a global catastrophe, the military brings in Painter (Wesley Snipes), a special agent known as "the Marksman" for his talent in focusing in on the key elements of a crisis and resolving it. Painter and his crew attempt to get inside the nuclear plant-turned-terrorist base and rescue the hostages before U.S. forces begin staging a full-scale attack. But Painter's plan soon backfires when the military's operations don't go as planned, leaving him to wonder who set him up -- and why. The Marksman also stars Tim Abell and William Hope. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes
