Emma Hayter Movies
Having just carried out a particularly difficult hit in London, two hitmen seek shelter in Bruges, Belgium, only to find their views on life and death permanently altered by their interactions with the locals, the tourists, and a film crew. Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes star in an action comedy from director Martin McDonagh. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, (more)
- 2006
A man who appraises art for a living investigates a band of talented but ruthless criminals in this international thriller. Patrick Donovan (Scot Williams) is an American art historian who travels to Venice at the request of Allart Van Beunigen (Rutger Hauer), the curator of one of the city's most prestigious museums, Galleria dell'Accademia. Van Beunigen wants Donovan to verify that several of his prize works are authentic and not forgeries, but one of them, Giorgione's "The Tempest," is stolen before he can give it an examination. With the city on a flood watch that could destroy the museum's priceless collection, Donovan is forced to play private eye in order to find the lost painting, and finds himself caught in a web of intrigue involving expert art forgers and privileged collectors. Among the characters who cross Donovan's path during his search are Van Beunigen's beautiful daughter Chiara (Natalia Verbeke), her elderly paramour Paul Valenzin (Malcolm McDowell), Paul's sinister personal assistant Tedeschi (Gaetano Carotenuto), sexy hotel manager Dina (Valentina Cervi), multi-millionaire art enthusiast Taddeo Rossi (Paul Guilfoyle), and a police detective (Yura Marin) whose recent investigation ties Donovan to the work of a serial killer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scot Williams, Natalia Verbeke, (more)
A group of juvenile delinquents are forced to fight for their lives after being sent the forest for an exercise in teamwork and tracked by a crossbow-wielding madman with a pack of flesh-eating dogs. The Young Offenders Institution is the kind of place kids are sent when all hope is lost. In order to test their mettle in an environment where every decision counts, the powers that be at the Young Offenders Institution send their worst offenders into deep into the woods for a tough-love lesson in character-building. Suddenly surrounded by dense forestation, deadly rapids, and a jagged coastline that makes escape virtually impossible, the young criminals must band together after their group leaders are ruthlessly slaughtered. With time running out and their numbers quickly dwindling, these tough-talking teens must put their survival skills to the ultimate test and band together to take down a merciless predator who relishes in watching his victims suffer. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Pertwee, Alex Reid, (more)
A middle-aged man gives himself the challenge of a lifetime in this comedy drama from the U.K. Frank (Peter Mullan) has spent most of his 55 years working the same job in the shipyards of Glasgow until he's fired after business tapers off and technology makes his position unnecessary. While Frank tries to put on a brave face, he has no idea of what to do next or what sort of work he should find. Frank's embarrassment gets much worse when he applies for unemployment benefits, only to discover his sister-in-law Angela (Jodhi May) is working behind the corner. As Frank's anxiety grows worse, he begins having panic attacks, leading to sympathy from his wife, Joan (Brenda Blethyn), and son, Rob (Jamie Sives), which only makes him feel more humiliated. One of Frank's few respites from his troubles are his regular visits to a nearby community swimming pool, where he does laps with his pals Eddie (Sean McGinley), Norman (Ron Cook), and Danny (Billy Boyd). One day, one of them jokes about the possibility of swimming the English Channel, which is only 21 miles across at its narrowest point near Dover. However, Frank doesn't think the idea is so silly, and begins training to make the journey; while at first his family and friends think he's gone mad, his plans give him a drive and a sense of purpose he hasn't had since losing his job. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Mullan, Brenda Blethyn, (more)
Two sisters engage in a subtle war for the affections of a man half their age in this British comedy drama. It's 1936, and Janet Widdington (Maggie Smith) and her sister, Ursula (Judi Dench), are a pair of elderly spinsters who share a home in Cornwall on the coast of England. After a storm, the sisters discover that someone has been washed up on the beach in front of their house. Bringing the body inside, they discover the victim is a handsome Polish man named Andrea Marowski (Daniel Brühl) who has suffered a broken ankle and speaks no English, only Polish and German. As the sisters patch up Andrea's ankle, Janet dusts off her old German textbook from school, and begins getting to know more about their guest. It isn't long before Janet develops an infatuation for the good-looking stranger, and attempts to teach him English, which is more than a bit maddening to Ursula, who has fallen head over heels for him -- especially after the sisters discover he's a gifted violinist and hear him display his craft on a borrowed instrument. As the sisters find themselves vying for Andrea's attention, they wonder if they should report his presence to the authorities, especially after Olga (Natascha McElhone), an attractive woman in her early thirties who lives nearby, becomes aware of Andrea's presence in the home and wants to make contact with him. Based on a short story by William J. Locke, Ladies in Lavender marked the directorial debut of actor Charles Dance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, (more)
Two young women find love under difficult circumstances in this distinctive drama. Mona (Natalie Press) is a 16-year-old girl living in a small English town. There has never been much to do the neighborhood, and there's even less going on now that her older brother, Phil (Paddy Considine), who runs the local pub, has become a fanatical born-again Christian and is turning the tavern into a hall for prayer meetings. Tamsin (Emily Blunt) is another teenage girl who lives nearby; her mother is a successful actress who is usually away on projects, and her businessman father is too busy with his mistress to pay his daughter much attention. When Mona and Tamsin meet, they fall instantly in love and begin an erotic involvement. However, they soon discover that it isn't easy to keep their budding romance a secret in such a small town. My Summer of Love was enthusiastically received in its premiere screenings at the 2004 Edinburgh Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Press, Emily Blunt, (more)
Australian filmmaker Paul Goldman directs the comedy The Night We Called It a Day, based on the actual events during Frank Sinatra's 1974 tour stop in Sydney. Joel Edgerton plays Rod Blue, a long-haired rock promoter in Australia during the '70s. He hopes to save his floundering career by spending all his money booking Frank Sinatra (Dennis Hopper). But when Sinatra arrives with his girlfriend Barbara Marx (Melanie Griffith), he insults the locals by calling reporter Hilary Hunter (Portia de Rossi) "a two-dollar whore." Union leader and future Australian prime minister Bob Hawke (David Field) tries to cancel the tour unless he apologizes, and it's up to Rod and his assistant Audrey (Rose Byrne) to step in and save the tour. Tom Burlinson performs Sinatra's vocal parts. The Night We Called It a Day was shown at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Melanie Griffith, (more)
Mathias Ledoux directs the straight-to-video crime thriller Three Blind Mice, an English-language co-production from France and the U.K. Edward Furlong stars as Thomas Cross, a computer programmer who witnesses the murder of his friend Cathy (Valérie Decobert) via her Web cam. When he tries to tell the police what happened, he realizes that he doesn't know her real name or address. He teams up with Internet specialist Detective Claire Bligh (Emilia Fox), who's been assigned to the case. They do an investigation of their own to find the identity of the killer. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Furlong, Emilia Fox, (more)
- 1994
Two years before Warren Clarke and Colin Buchanan firmly established themselves as detectives Dalziel and Pascoe in the British cop series of the same name, comedians Gareth Hale and Norman Pace essayed the same roles in the semi-serious three-parter A Pinch of Snuff. Based on a novel by Reginald Hill, the story found Inspector Andy Dalziel (Hale) and Sgt. Peter Pascoe (Pace) investigating a murder at an upscale gentleman's club. The fact that the "club" was a front for a porno-film theater only served to add an extra dash of spice to the already zesty proceedings. A Pinch of Snuff made its British-TV premiere on April 9, 1994. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gareth Hale, Norman Pace, (more)
