Victoria Pearman Movies
The true story of a major breakthrough in intelligence technology created during World War II provides the backdrop for this blend of mystery, romance, and espionage, based on the novel by Robert Harris. Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) is a gifted mathematician who is working with the British government on the development and maintenance of the Enigma machine, an electronic device that allows Allied intelligence agents to decode scrambled messages sent by Germany military officers. But the emotionally fragile Jericho is buckling under both the pressure of his work and the collapse of his relationship with Claire Romilly (Saffron Burrows), a co-worker with whom he's fallen deeply in love. After suffering a minor breakdown, Jericho is sent on a leave of absence, but when he returns to work, a crisis awaits: it seems the Germans have instituted a new code that the Enigma is not yet able to crack, and Jericho is needed to help unravel Axis communiqués before an important convoy of troops and materiel sets sail. It is also suspected that a German undercover agent has infiltrated the Enigma project, and Wigram (Jeremy Northam) is determined to ferret them out. In the midst of all this, Jericho receives troubling news that Claire has gone missing -- and that a file of German messages waiting to be decoded was found at her home. As Jericho works against the clock to crack the new German code, he forms an initially uneasy alliance with Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet), Claire's roommate and a fellow member of the Enigma project, as they try to discover Claire's whereabouts. Enigma was co-produced by Mick Jagger, who has a keen interest in the history of the real-life Enigma project, and even owns one of the original Enigma decoding machines. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, (more)
- 2006
Originally scheduled to debut on October 17, 2006, but ultimately unveiled on January 3, 2007, the ABC comedy series The Knights of Prosperity was a diverting exploration of that fitfully popular TV subgenre, "the lovable-loser-criminal show." The series was designed as a vehicle for Donal Logue, who topped the cast as Manhattan janitor Eugene Gurkin. A hapless, hopeless dreamer, Gurkin one day decided to make a name for himself as a "new age Robin Hood," assembling a group of fellow blue-collar goof-offs to pull off the robbery of the century (or at least, the robbery of the week). Our hero's band of merry men (plus one woman) included Eugene's fellow janitor, Squatch (Lenny Venito); lawyer-turned-cabbie Gary (Maz Jobrani); nerdy liberal-arts grad and aspiring show-biz intern Louis (Josh Grisetti); sexy waitress Esperanza (Sofía Vergara); and hulking security guard Rockefeller Butts (Kevin Michael Richardson), who was so anxious to be in on Eugene's scheme that he was literally willing to "work for cookies." The gang's target was singer Mick Jagger, who never appeared on-camera but whose lavish lifestyle was mercilessly parodied and exaggerated (indeed, the series' working title was Let's Rob Mick Jagger, which had been decided upon only after "Let's Rob Jeff Goldblum" and "Let's Rob Howard Stern" had proved undoable). Unfortunately, in their efforts to finance their heist of Jagger's valuables, Eugene and his pals were forced to spend almost as much money as they hoped to steal, leading to the formation of innumerable bird-brained moneymaking schemes -- including, at one point, the kidnapping of one of the would-be robbers' uncles! Rife with slapstick and gloriously unsubtle "inside" jokes, The Knights of Prosperity was created by Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman, whose previous credits included The Late Show with David Letterman (Letterman was among the executive producers) and Ed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donal Logue, Sofía Vergara, (more)
After exploring the careers of the Band and Bob Dylan in The Last Waltz and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, respectively, acclaimed director Martin Scorsese turns his lens on rock & roll legends the Rolling Stones for this feature focusing on two concerts from the band's 2006 A Bigger Bang tour. In addition to extensive coverage of the band's two-night stand at New York's Beacon Theater (an engagement that was staged as part of President Bill Clinton's lavish birthday bash), the film also features historical footage, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage from decades past. Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson (JFK and The Aviator) supervised photography for the film, with an impressive array of A-list talents, including Andrew Lesnie, John Toll, Ellen Kuras, Anastas Michos, Stuart Dryburgh, Declan Quinn, Emmanuel Lubezki, Robert Elswit, and Albert Maysles, stepping in to insure that the Beacon performances were covered from every angle possible. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Veteran producer/director Diane English (The Lathe of Heaven, Murphy Brown) helms this contemporized remake of George Cukor's beloved proto-feminist comedy drama The Women (1939), an adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce's play. The English version follows the gossip, bitchy wisecracking, and overall disillusionment that erupt among a group of socialite friends when their dearest and most envied learns of her husband's marital infidelity at the hands of a backstabbing shopgirl. The all-female cast is fronted by Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Candice Bergen, with supporting roles inhabited by Bette Midler, Cloris Leachman, and Carrie Fisher. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, (more)
- 2011
Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese re-teams with The Departed scribe William Monahan for this sweeping tale about the lifelong friendship between two music industry insiders. From the early days of R&B to the turbulent world of contemporary hip-hop, these two friends become part of musical history over the course of 40 arduous yet rewarding years. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
