David Barrass Movies
Evelyn Waugh's classic novel of love and the British class system has been given a polished screen adaptation in this film version from director Julian Jarrold. Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) was raised in a middle-class household and though he's never known want and is fortunate enough to have been accepted into Oxford, the life of the upper class is foreign to him. While serving in the British Army during the waning days of World War II, Charles is assigned to a temporary base set up on the estate of the wealthy and aristocratic Flyte family, where he strikes up a friendship with twentysomething Lord Sebastian (Ben Whishaw). Sebastian enjoys the pleasures his privileged life has afforded him, but he also senses that something is missing, and he tries to drown his frequent episodes of depression in alcohol. Charles is captivated by the splendor of Sebastian's life, and he finds himself drawn into a web of decadent comfort, while also developing an infatuation with Sebastian's sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell), even as Charles senses his relationship with Sebastian is something deeper than simple friendship. The idyllic days at the Flyte estate come to an end with the arrival of Sebastian's mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson), a fierce Catholic who objects to her son's free and easy life and has become increasingly bitter since her husband, Lord Marchmain (Michael Gambon), has left her to live in Italy with the lovely Cara (Greta Scacchi). This was the first cinema adaptation of Waugh's Brideshead Revisited, though it was the basis of an acclaimed miniseries produced for British television in 1981. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayley Atwell, Ben Whishaw, (more)
Michael Radford (Il Postino and The Merchant of Venice) directs screenwriter Edward Anderson's script about an aging janitor and an American executive who form an unlikely alliance in order to carry out an elaborate jewel heist. Set in 1960s-era London, the tense crime thriller stars Michael Caine as the scheming maintenance man who longs to relieve his employers at the London Diamond Corporation of their valuable inventory, and Demi Moore as the savvy executive who is completely perplexed by the wealthy diamond magnates. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Michael Caine, (more)
Based on the novel by John Katzenbach, author of Just Cause (1995), this prison camp drama combines elements of A Soldier's Story (1984) and the classic Stalag 17 (1953). Colin Farrell stars as Lt. Tommy Hart, a second-year Harvard Law School student who enlists to fight in World War II but ends up being taken prisoner by the Germans. When a murder at the Nazi-run Stalag Luft 13 leaves a black Tuskegee airman named Lt. Lincoln Scott (Terrence Dashon Howard) accused of the crime, high-ranking prisoner (and fourth-generation war hero) Col. William McNamara (Bruce Willis) persuades camp commandant Col. Werner Visser (Marcel Iures) to allow the prisoners to hold their own trial. Hart is recruited to defend his fellow officer, but as he reluctantly investigates, he discovers that not all of his fellow allied soldiers are fighting the same war and that his "client" may well have been framed. In the meantime, it becomes apparent that McNamara is using events to mask his true intent, a mission to destroy a nearby munitions plant that he still intends to carry out despite his incarceration. Hart's War (2002) co-stars Vicellous Shannon, Cole Hauser, Rory Cochrane, and Jonathan Brandis. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, (more)
A man who dares to feel finds his life in danger in this cautionary science fiction drama. In the future, after a Third World War has decimated much of the Earth's population, a new nation known as Libria rises up under the unquestioned leadership of Dupont (Angus MacFadyen). Believing human emotions and their expression were to blame for the failings of past societies, The Father has decreed that all citizens must take a daily dose of Prozia II, a drug which levels out the emotional landscape, and that all forms of creative expression are against the law; violating either regulation can be punished by death. John Preston (Christian Bale) is a Grammaton, an elite law enforcement officer who tracks down and punishes "sense offenders." One day, Preston accidentally fails to take his Prozia II, and for the first time begins experiencing emotions himself. Preston becomes aware of an underground of rebels who refuse to take their medication and have embraced art and literature, and he finds himself becoming infatuated with one of their number, Mary O'Brian (Emily Watson). Equilibrium is the second feature-length directorial effort from Kurt Wimmer, whose screenwriting credits include The Thomas Crown Affair and Sphere. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, Emily Watson, (more)
Keira Knightley stars in this made-for-TV Disney adventure that puts a spin on an often-told story. The film picks up years after the "known" events of the Robin Hood myth, centering on Robin's daughter, Gwyn, played by Knightley. As Maid Marian has passed away and Robin Hood (Stuart Wilson) is perpetually away battling in the Crusades, Gwyn has lived much of her life alone. She has grown up to be a strong-willed young woman with a talent for archery, much like her father. Her only friend is the sweet but plain Froderick (Del Synnott), who clearly is in love with her. Upon the death of Richard the Lionhearted, her father returns to see that the proper man takes Richard's place as king of England. But Robin is quickly foiled and imprisoned by the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham (Malcolm McDowell) and Prince John (Jonathan Hyde). It is then up to Gwyn to save the day. She must complete Robin's mission to find and protect the young Prince Philip (Stephen Moyer), who has just returned from exile in France to claim the throne -- not an easy task since he has decided to forsake his true identity and is traveling anonymously. Though she does fortuitously cross paths with the prince, she is not aware of his identity for much of the film. A romantic spark budding between them, they must find the Merry Men and join forces to free her father from the tortures of the Tower of London before the evil Prince John ascends to the thrown and brings England to ruin. Princess of Thieves originally aired on March 11, 2001, as a part of the ABC anthology The Wonderful World of Disney. ~ Dana Rowader, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keira Knightley, Stephen Moyer, (more)
