Sarah Smith Movies
Take a trip to the North Pole and discover exactly how Santa Claus makes Christmas magic happen every year in this imaginative comedy for the entire family. Produced by Aardman Features in association with Sony Pictures Animation, this fun-filled holiday film introduces viewers to Santa's mischievous son Arthur, who races to complete an important mission in time to ensure that this year's Christmas celebrations will go off without a hitch. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, (more)
A man fights to bring decency and the rule of law back to his hometown in this action drama. Chris Vaughn (The Rock) left his home in Washington State's timber country to join the Army, where he distinguished himself as a member of the Special Forces. When his hitch is over, Vaughn decides to return home to help run the family business, a sawmill, but he soon makes the unpleasant discovery that things aren't what they once were. Vaughn learns that the town's lumber industry has all but dried up, and an old high school buddy, Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough), has turned the city into a den of vice, running a large gambling casino and strip club while selling drugs and women on the side. Angry at this turn of events, and frustrated by local law enforcement officials who are willing to ignore Hamilton's crimes in exchange for kickbacks, Vaughn decides to run for sheriff, and with the help of another old friend, Ray Templeton (Johnny Knoxville), he wins the election. But Hamilton doesn't take kindly to Vaughn's attempts to clean up the town, and Vaughn discovers Hamilton's henchmen are willing to target his friends, his family, and the woman he loves (Ashley Scott) in order to have their way. Walking Tall was based on Phil Karlson's 1973 action hit of the same name, which was in turn inspired by the true story of Buford Pusser, who was sheriff of Tennessee's McNairy County between 1964 and 1970 and gained fame for his tough tactics against the local criminal element. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- The Rock, Johnny Knoxville, (more)
- 2004
Director James Ronald Whitney takes the reality television craze to the outer limits in this motion picture, which at once parodies the antics of shows such as Fear Factor and Punk'd while pushing the envelope of both the concept and his participants. After auditioning several hundred New Yorkers, Whitney recruits a cast of three men and three women to perform various stunts around the city, most of which involve nudity or sexual situations, with the cast member who is judged as the best walking home with a prize of $10,000. But how far are the participants willing to go in pursuit of money and their 15 minutes of fame? And what does their combination of ambition and lack of inhibition tell us about the people willing to literally bare all without the clear promise of a reward? Games People Play: New York was the first in a projected series of three similar films from Whitney, with installments from Hollywood and the Bible Belt in the works. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joshua Coleman, Sarah Smith, (more)
- 2002
Originally telecast by BBC2 from September 26 through October 24, 2002, Season three of the dizzily irreverent British sitcom The League of Gentlemen consists of six half-hour episodes. As was the case in the BBC radio series On the Town that preceded it, the TV version takes place in the bizarre provincial town of Royston Vasey, with all principal characters played by Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith. Breaking with a tradition established in earlier seasons, the third-year episodes do not include the words "Royston Vasey" in their titles. In the opener, "The Lesbian and the Monkey," disgraced parole officer Pauline (Pemberton) is reunited with her simian flunkey Mickey, while local curmudgeon Peter Foot (Shearsmith) rehearses his own funeral. Later episodes include "The One-Armed Man Is King," in which Joke Shop owner Lance (Gatiss) undergoes an illegal arm transplant; "Turn Again Geoff Tipps," in which the recently laid-off title character (actually Pauline in drag, and now played by Shearsmith) pursues a spectacularly unsuccessful career as a stand-up comic; "The Medusa Touch," unexpectedly highlighted by an odyssey of "auto-erotic discovery" for hoteliers Alvin (Gatiss) and Sunny (guest star Christine Furness); "Beauty and the Beast: Or, Come Into My Parlour," mostly set at a massage emporium called "Spit and Polish"; and finally, "How the Elephant Got Its Trunk" -- which, needless to say, bears no resemblance whatsoever to the same-named Rudyard Kipling story. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, (more)
- 2000
Originally telecast by BBC2 from January 14 through February 18, 2000, season two of the dizzily irreverent British sitcom The League of Gentlemen consists of six half-hour episodes. As was the case in the BBC radio series On the Town that preceded it, the TV version takes place in the bizarre provincial town of Royston Vasey, with all principal characters played by Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, and Reece Shearsmith. The season opener, "Destination: Royston Vasey," finds the tiny community invaded by Papa Lazerou's Pandemonum Carnival. (As if this town needs any more pandemonium!) Next is "Lust for Royston Vasey," wherein Herr Lipp (Pemberton) and a group of German exchange students manage to match the locals in weirdness, and then some. (This is the one in which incompetent vet Dr. Chimmery [Gatiss] electrocutes a pondful of carp while performing oral surgery on a toad.) Also: "A Plague on Royston Vasey" deals with such esoterica as a sex-fetish magazine, a bear trap, and a quota of "twelfty"; over-obsessive Uncle Harvey (Pemberton) and Aunt Val (Gatiss) then celebrate their annual Nude Day; and Mayor Vaughn (guest star Roy "Chubby" Brown) humiliates himself in public television by using profanities generally taboo on BBC2 in "Death in Royston Vasey"; Lesbian parole officer Pauline (Pemberton) takes hostages, and dull-witted Mike (Shearsmith) tries to cover up a murder by blaming the local wolves in "Anarchy in Royston Vasey"; and in the season finale "Royston Vasey and the Monster From Hell," the community is besieged by a nosebleed epidemic and the Legz Akimbo Theater Company lays a large and noxious egg. In addition to the six regular episodes, season two of The League of Gentleman offers a Christmas special -- but don't expect anything resembling peace on earth or goodwill to men! Also, a concert special, "The League of Gentleman Live at Drury Lane," was seen approximately one year after the final second-season offering. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, (more)
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