Janet Henfrey Movies

A child that will steer humankind down the road to hellfire has been born, and as his evil flourishes in a world full of hate, the ominous Biblical prophecies slowly begin falling into place in director John Moore's remake of Richard Donner's 1976 horror classic. Robert (Liev Schreiber) and Katherine Thorn (Julia Stiles) were as loving parents as any young boy could ask for, but as fate would have it, their new son Damien is far from the typical child. Now, as the mysterious boy's growth begins to share frightening parallels with the Biblical passages detailing the rise of the Antichrist, and the lives of all who seek to reveal his true nature are cut gruesomely short, Robert and Katherine are forced to face the horrifying prospect that their child has been sent from Satan to hasten the fall of modern civilization, and that there is little they can do to curb his prophesied path of ultimate destruction. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The second British TV miniseries based on the semi-autobiographical stories of H.E. Bates, My Uncle Silas 2 was, like its predecessor, built around the exploits of a cantankerous, imbibing, and slightly libidinous farm laborer of the early 1900s. The series was told from the viewpoint of young Edward (Joe Prospero), who had recently come to live with his roguish Uncle Silas (Albert Finney) in England's North Country. In the tradition of the original Uncle Silas, this series was inspired by five separate Bates short stories. In "Shandy Lil," Silas tried to pair off the titular Lil (Sandy McDade) with the shy Pikey (Tony Maudsley); in "The Race," Silas challenged archrival Goffy Windsor (Tim Preece) to a five-mile foot race; in "A Funny Thing," Silas' efforts to match wits with his worldly cousin Cosmo (Oliver Ford Davies) found him posing for an exceedingly amorous female sculptor; in "Finger Wet, Finger Dry," our hero was enmeshed in a compromising situation with the wife (Lesley Dunlop) of the local police constable (Gary Wheelan); and in "A Happy Man," it's Silas vs. old campaigner Walter (Bryan Pringle) at the annual flower show. Originally telecast by Yorkshire Television in 2001, My Uncle Silas 2 premiered as a component of the American PBS anthology Masterpiece Theatre on January 12, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This heart-warming made-for-television holiday comedy drama from Great Britain tells the tale of a recently unemployed art dealer whose every Christmas wish comes true after he finds a genie bottled up in a tarnished old lamp. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Aimed at the ten- to 15-year-old demographic, this six-episode British series offered an entertaining if not entirely accurate overview of celebrated comedian Charlie Chaplin's formative years. Though fairly explicit in detailing the alcoholism of Chaplin's music hall headliner father Charles Chaplin Sr. (Ian McShane) and the mental illness of Charlie's mother Hannah (Twiggy), the series had a predilection for broad, unsubtle comedy, suggesting that the Chaplin family's various tiltings with landlords, policemen, and orphanage officials were actually "dress rehearsals" for Charlie's famous two-reel comedy films (one sequence with David Kossoff was a virtual carbon copy of Chaplin's 1916 short The Pawnshop). Also, the chronology of events was sometimes fuzzy or misleading, especially concerning such famous Chaplin associates as vaudeville entrepreneur Fred Karno and fellow comic Stan Laurel. Otherwise, Joe Geary was excellent in the title role, as was Lee Whitlock as Charlie's protective half-brother Sydney. Originally telecast in England beginning on January 25, 1989, Young Charlie Chaplin was subsequently seen in America as part of the PBS Wonderworks anthology. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the second episode of the four-part story "The Curse of Fenric," the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and Ace (Sophie Aldred) have arrived at a Northumberland secret naval base in the waning days of WWII. The ongoing efforts of a group of Russian commandos to steal a British code-breaking device has inadvertently triggered an ancient Viking curse -- and the results could prove fatal for everyone at the base, including the two time-travelers. Written by Ian Briggs, "The Curse of Fenric, Episode 2" originally aired on November 1, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Laura (Willow Grylls) and her brother Will (Ben Robb) are taken by their father Andrew (Stuart Wilson) to a Gothic hotel on the coast of Cornwall for a Christmas holiday. Andrew wants his children to meet Jane (Karen Young), the American woman he hopes to wed. Laura and Will adopt guerilla warfare tactics against Jane and produce videotaped evidence that she does not really love their father. When the siblings are not battling Jane, Laura listens to Eddie Cochran records while Will patrols the hotel for ghosts. The high, rocky cliffs of Cornwall and the Newquay hotel provide an effective Gothic setting for this gripping family drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Lady Jane Grey, the 16-year-old girl who for nine days in the 16th century was Queen of England, is here portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter. Lady Jane Grey's sickly cousin, who becomes Edward VI upon the death of Henry VIII, is on the threshold of death himself. The Protestant powers-that-be, fearing that England will fall under Catholic rule, contrive to marry off Edward VI's most likely successor Lady Jane to the wastrelly Guilford Dudley (Cary Elwes), the future Duke of Suffolk. The dying Edward is coerced into naming Jane as his successor. Jane is forced to assume the throne, attempting to impose reforms on the corrupt Protestant government during her brief reign. A coup led by Jane's cousin Princess Mary (Jane Lapotaire) results in the ouster, and eventual execution, of Queen Jane and her consort. The story is told through anti-establishment themes; teen-agers Lady Jane and Guilford Dudley are seen as the only hope for a brighter future, making their deaths all the more tragic. An earlier version of the same story, Tudor Rose, was filmed in 1936. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Blake Edwards's stylish direction bolsters this Cold War romance starring Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif. Andrews plays Judith Farrow, a British civil service functionary who meets dashing Russian agent Feodor Sverdlov (Omar Sharif) under the romantic skies of the Caribbean. The Caribbean breezes work their magic and soon Judith is head-over-heels in love with Feodor. Feodor then tries to enlist Judith to become an agent for the Soviet Union. But after Judith is warned by the British government to stay away from him, Feodor decides that he'd rather have her than the Soviet Union. However, a kink is thrown into their love affair when an undercover Russian secret agent, posing as a British agent, decides to eradicate the two lovers. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi