Langley Kirkwood Movies
- 2009
- PG13
Vantage Point director Pete Travis turns his attention from high-profile political assassinations to the high-risk talks that ushered in the end of apartheid while securing the release of Nelson Mandela in this historical drama starring William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofer, Mark Strong, and Johnny Lee Miller. The time is the late '80s, a crucial period in the history of South Africa. President P.W. Botha is hanging on to power by a thread as the African National Congress (ANC) takes up arms against apartheid and the country tumbles toward insurrection. A British mining concern called Consolidated Gold is convinced that their interests would be better served in a stable South Africa, and they quietly dispatch Michael Young, their head of public affairs, to open an unofficial dialogue between the bitter rivals. Assembling a reluctant yet brilliant team to pave the way to reconciliation by confronting obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, Young places his trust in ANC leader Thabo Mbeki and Afrikaner philosophy professor Willie Esterhuyse. It is their empathy that will ultimately serve as the catalyst for change by proving more powerful than the terrorist bombs that threaten to disrupt the peaceful dialogue. As the story shifts between Mandela's jail cell, Botha's chambers, ANC headquarters, and a rented car occupied by a British bureaucrat, the prospect for peace becomes more than just a distant hope. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, (more)
British filmmaker Malcolm Needs writes and directs the gangster film Charlie, based on the real-life case of criminal gang boss Charlie Richardson. During the early '60s, brothers Charlie (Luke Goss) and Eddy (Langley Kirkwood) ruled the criminal underworld of South London. As he rises in power, Charlie finds himself connected with wealthy white South African businessman Richard Waldeck (Leslie Grantham). Charlie eventually starts to get involved with political crimes involving the ANC and gets caught. While on trial in 1966, his gang resorts to the horrific torturing of his enemies. The witnesses who testify against him are cruelly and unusually punished by Charlie's terror gang, leading to Judge Lawton (Antony Carrick) sentencing him to 25 years. Steven Berkoff and Anita Dobson appear as Charlie's parents. Charlie premiered in the U.K. in February of 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Goss, Steven Berkoff, (more)
The many emotional scars left by South Africa's history of institutionalized racism come under the microscope in this drama. As South Africa comes to terms with the legacy of apartheid, their government has created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which the perpetrators of racial violence and injustice must come face to face with their victims if they are to be forgiven for their crimes. Langston Whitfield (Samuel L. Jackson) is an African-American journalist who is assigned to cover these hearings by The Washington Post; Whitfield doubts the efficacy of this process, and sets out to interview Col. De Jager (Brendan Gleeson), a notorious former officer of the South African police who was famous for his violence against blacks in order to put this method to the test. While in South Africa, Whitfield meets Anna Malan (Juliette Binoche), an Afrikaner poet who is covering the hearing for a radio station and is both appalled and disturbed by the details of the violence inflicted against her countrymen. After striking up a friendship, Whitfield and Malan become romantically involved as they try to come to terms with their feelings about what they've learned. Also screened under the title Country of My Skull, In My Country was adapted from a book by South African author Antjie Krog. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Juliette Binoche, (more)
This four-hour cable miniseries adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's classic adventure novel King Solomon's Mines dispenses with much of the original story in favor of a standard Indiana Jones-esque melodrama, complete with claim-jumping villains, snarling Russian soldiers, an ancient and deadly curse, and a damsel perpetually in distress. As played by Patrick Swayze, Haggard's hero, celebrated British safari hunter Allan Quartermain, is a born-again conservationist who returns to his former trade only to raise enough money to retain custody of his beloved son. Quatermaine accepts the assignment given him by toothsome Elizabeth Maitland (Alison Doody), to head into darkest Africa in order to rescue Elizabeth's father (John Standing), who had disappeared while searching for the fabled lost gold mines of King Solomon. This time around, the mines harbor another elusive treasure: the mysterious Stone of Power, which functions in much the same manner as the Ark of the Covenant the Indiana Jones pictures. Along for the ride are Quatermain's trusted friend Sir Henry (Ian Roberts), and loyal African guide Umbopa (Sideda Onylulo), who has traditionally been the story's most likeable and admirable character in all previous film and TV adaptations of the novel. The main villain, largely spun from whole cloth for the purposes of the miniseries, is Quatermain's greedy ex-partner Gavin Hood (Bruce McNabb). Debuting June 6, 2004, the two-part King Solomon's Mines posted some of the Hallmark channel's best-ever ratings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Alison Doody, (more)
A treacherous Louisiana river is the setting where divorced couple Sanders (Lou Diamond Philips) and Kelly (Kristy Swanson) forget their differences long enough to search for a new source of energy. The couple is joined -- and later waylaid -- by a pair of crooks named Ice (Coolio) and Jerry (Jaimz Woolvett), who are convinced that a cache of stolen loot rests somewhere at the bottom of the river. Before long, everyone is in danger of being sliced and diced by a rogue freshwater shark. Another of the several million Jaws derivations glutting the cable TV airwaves, Red Water at the very least boasts excellent animatronic special effects -- not to mention a dead-body count that would shame a Rambo or Terminator. The film debuted August 17, 2003, on TBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Diamond Phillips, Kristy Swanson, (more)
