Malcolm Sinclair Movies
Actor Daniel Craig assumes the role formerly occupied by such screen greats as Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton to set out on the character's very first 007 mission. James Bond has earned his "00" status by masterfully executing a pair of death-defying professional assassinations. Now assigned the task of traveling to Madagascar to spy on notorious terrorist Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan) for his maiden voyage as a 007 agent, Bond boldly goes against MI6 policy to launch an independent investigation that finds him traversing the Bahamas in search of Mollaka's notoriously elusive terror cell. Subsequently led into the company of the mysterious Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian) and his exotic girlfriend, Solange (Caterina Murino), Bond soon realizes that he is closer than ever to locating well-guarded terrorist financier Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), the man who has personally bankrolled some of the most prevalent terrorist organizations on the planet. When Bond learns that Le Chiffre is planning to partake in an upcoming high-stakes poker game to be played at Montenegro's Le Casino Royale and use the winnings to establish his financial grip on the globe, M (Judi Dench) assigns beguiling agent Vesper (Eva Green) the task of watching over the fledgling agent as he plays against Le Chiffre in a covert attempt to destroy the nefarious gambler's well-established monetary stronghold in the underworld once and for all. Bond will need more than his legendary gambling skills in order to win this dangerous game, though, and after allying himself with local MI6 field agent Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini) and CIA operative Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), the endlessly suave super-spy puts on his poker face for a high-stakes game of cards in which the stakes are not measured in dollars, but human lives. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Craig, Eva Green, (more)
Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, V for Vendetta takes place in an alternate vision of Britain in which a corrupt and abusive totalitarian government has risen to complete power. During a threatening run in with the secret police, an unassuming young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) is rescued by a vigilante named V (Hugo Weaving) -- a caped figure both articulate and skilled in combat. V embodies the principles of rebellion from an authoritarian state, donning a mask of vilified would-be terrorist of British history Guy Fawkes and leading a revolution sparked by assassination and destruction. Evey becomes his unlikely ally, newly aware of the cruelty of her own society and her role in it. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, (more)
A man who has been able to avoid the consequences of his actions for nearly 50 years suddenly finds he must answer pursuers on both sides of the law in this drama, based on the novel by Brian Moore and inspired by a true story. After France fell to German occupation during World War II, the Nazi-controlled Vichy government established a law-enforcement group known as the Milice, who were under the direct control of Nazi authorities. In 1944, Pierre Brossard (George Williams) is one of a handful of Milice officers who round up and execute seven Jewish resistance members in the village of Dombey. After the liberation of France, Brossard is tried and convicted for his crimes, but he manages to escape capture, and years later is pardoned. In 1992, Brossard (now played by Michael Caine) is an elderly man living a quiet life in Provence and modestly supported by fellow veterans of the Vichy regime when he's ambushed and nearly killed by a man whom he learns was a hired killer. Brossard discovers this is hardly his only problem; new legislation will allow Vichy-era war criminals who escaped punishment to be charged and tried again, and Anne Marie Livi (Tilda Swinton), a bright and aggressive French prosecutor, has joined forces with Col. Roux (Jeremy Northam) to bring Brossard, among others, to justice. While Brossard is still being clandestinely assisted by church officials and Vichy sympathizers, he must go on the run to avoid capture, and finds himself hiding from the French police as well as a cadre of underground assassins, whose alliances and purposes are frustratingly unclear. The Statement also stars Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, and Frank Finlay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton, (more)
- 2000
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The 13th feature-length episode of the British detective series Midsomer Murders, "Beyond the Grave" is set in motion by a mysterious act of vandalism at the Aspen Tallow museum. When a 17th century painting is slashed to pieces, the superstitious locals believe that the damage was the handiwork of one Jonathan Lowrie -- and never mind that he has been dead for centuries. Ultimately, a number of mysterious deaths occur, which some attribute to Lowrie but which DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) believes are being committed by someone who is still very much alive. As he pursues his investigation, Tom is also pressed into service as a "technical advisor" for his daughter's actor-boyfriend (Ed Waters), who has been cast as a cop in a popular TV soap opera. "Beyond the Grave" was first telecast in the U.K. on February 5, 2000, and in the U.S. on April 8 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Nettles, Daniel Casey, (more)
- 1984
Filmed several times since its publication in 1897 (most memorably by producer David O. Selznick in 1937), Anthony Hope's quintessential swashbuckler The Prisoner of Zenda also served as the basis for a lively, six-part British TV series. Diligently faithful to its source material, the series detailed the adventures of British tourist Rudolph Rassendyl (Malcolm Sinclair) after he was pressed into service as a substitute for his lookalike cousin, King Rudolph of Ruritania. Determined to gain the throne for himself, the King's brother Michael (Jonathan Morris), in concert with that lovable but lethal scoundrel Rupert of Hentzau (Jonathan Harris), plotted to dispose of both the monarch and his impostor. Meanwhile, Rudolph fell genuinely in love with his cousin's consort Princess Flavia (Victoria Wicks). "Sometimes destiny makes the wrong man king." This version of The Prisoner of Zenda debuted in the U.K. on November 15, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm Sinclair, John Woodvine, (more)
