Brett Watson Movies
- 2005
Grieving over the death of her "perfect" husband Ron, Susan Mandaway (Sherilyn Fenn) exiles herself to the couple's summer home in Maine. Her self-imposed solitude is interrupted by the arrival of an affable fellow who introduces himself as Jeff Watkins (Nicholas Lea), and who claims to be an old college chum of Ron. Only too late does Susan discover that "Jeff" is an escaped convict, who in concert with his partner is after the $10 million in diamonds that he helped Ron steal. A US-Canadian coproduction, Deadly Isolation made its American debut March 14, 2005, on cable's Lifetime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A female detective on the trail of a psychotic killer discovers love in a dangerous time in this thriller, based on the novel by Michael Pye. Illeana Scott (Angelina Jolie) is a special agent with the FBI who has a reputation for using offbeat methods, but also boasts a strong record as a criminal profiler. Scott is called in by a former Quantico colleague (Tcheky Karyo) to assist two Canadian police detectives, Paquette (Olivier Martinez) and Duval (Jean-Hugues Anglade), who are on the trail of a serial killer who has been doing business in and around Montreal for close to two decades. The murderer has a history of assimilating many aspects of the lives of his victims after he kills them, but there's been a witness to his most recent crime. Art gallery owner James Costa (Ethan Hawke) saw the killer during an assault, and now finds himself working as an only marginally willing decoy for Scott. As Scott and Costa follow the killer's trail, they find themselves becoming attracted to one another, which is not necessarily a comfort to Scott as she finds her quarry moving closer and closer. Taking Lives also stars Kiefer Sutherland and Gena Rowlands. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angelina Jolie, Ethan Hawke, (more)
Popular French filmmaker Gérard Pirès makes his first English-language feature with the slick action heist Riders. The film's confusing title history involves four working titles and an international release under the name Steal. A bleached-blonde Stephen Dorff plays Slim, the leader of an extreme sports criminal gang, consisting of Alex (Karen Cliche), Frank (Steven McCarthy), and Otis (Clé Bennett). They wear stylish clothes, rob banks, and get away on rollerblades. Slim's group is pursued by crazed cop Jake Macgruder (Bruce Payne) and Southern-style villain Surtayne (Steven Berkoff). She Spies actress Natasha Henstridge stars as femme fatale Karen. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Natasha Henstridge, (more)
- 2001
- Add Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story to QueueAdd Hysteria: The Def Leppard Story to top of Queue
The saga of pop metal superstars Def Leppard is told in this biopic, produced by cable television music channel VH1. The film traces the band's history from their origins as a teenage hard rock act in the English industrial town of Sheffield to the massive success they enjoyed worldwide as multi-platinum recording artists. Def Leppard's rise to the top is depicted as driven by rabidly dedicated lead singer Joe Elliott (Orlando Seale), though along with the money, supermodels and parties there are tragedies as well. Original guitarist Pete Willis (Nick Bagnall) is sacked when excessive drink affects his performance, drummer Rick Allen (Tat Whalley) loses an arm in a car accident and must endure grueling effort to learn how to play again, and lead guitarist Steve Clark (Karl Geary) struggles with alcoholism as he bounces in and out of rehab centers. Through all the tribulations and excess, however, the band sticks together like brothers and fights to keep rocking as a unit. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Geary, Orlando Seale, (more)
A man being held hostage discovers others besides his captors have it in for him in this taut thriller. Ethan Grover (Dabney Coleman) is a successful businessman who has made more than his share of enemies. His wife, Judy (Linda Smith), has been having an affair with Allan (Stewart Bick), one of Ethan's partners who has been embezzling money from the firm. Syd (Michael Rudder), Ethan's accountant, has been in cahoots with Allan, investing in a dubious real estate venture. And Alex (Brett Watson), Judy's son from an earlier marriage, is a drug addict who has been draining his stepfather's bank account to feed his habit. So when Ethan is kidnapped and held for a two-million-dollar ransom, his immediate family and closest business associates don't immediately come to his aid. Ethan's loyal secretary, Sandra (Dorothee Berryman), tries to untangle the web of deceit and betrayal that has enveloped him while Ethan tries to win the friendship of his kidnappers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dabney Coleman, Linda Smith, (more)
