Trevor Laird Movies

Meant to be a parody of the recent invasions of Grenada and the Falkland Islands, this comedy about the laid-back governor (Michael Caine) of "Cascara," a fictional British island somewhere in the Caribbean, and the international parade of characters who come through his territory is a pastiche without a clear center. Among these multinational characters are an American industrialist out to exploit the island's rich source of mineral water -- also the source of all the subsequent trouble on the island -- some inexplicable French-German visitors, a singing revolutionary with ties to Fidel Castro, and various parodies of Brit diplomats and politicians, Margaret Thatcher included. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A family is forced to confront the personal issues they've been avoiding for years in this powerful, realistic drama. Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) is a working-class British woman whose life has been a long series of painful disappointments. She's single with no romantic prospects and a dead-end job at a box factory. Her daughter Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook) works as a street sweeper and is chronically bitter. Cynthia helped raise her brother, Maurice (Timothy Spall), who is doing well as a photographer, but she rarely sees him and usually blames his wife, Monica (Phyllis Logan). One day, Cynthia receives a phone call from a woman named Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who claims to be the daughter Cynthia put up for adoption years ago. Cynthia initially reacts with panic, but she agrees to meet Hortense and is surprised to discover that she's a successful and soft-spoken eye doctor -- and that she's black. Cynthia is soon convinced that Hortense is just who she claims to be, and they quickly form a friendship that gives Cynthia a new source of emotional strength. However, when Cynthia decides to introduce the family to her new "friend," it forces them to confront the lies and evasions that have kept them apart all these years. Largely improvised by director Mike Leigh and his cast, Secrets & Lies features standout work by Brenda Blethyn (who earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (who was nominated as Best Supporting Actress), and Timothy Spall. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

John Mackenzie's masterfully directed British crime drama features a star-making performance by Bob Hoskins as Harold Shand, a successful London gangster whose world falls apart over the course of one weekend. Shand controls the London docks and is planning a big real estate deal, financed by money from the American mob and given the okay by the London organization. His world is sweet -- he lives in a fancy penthouse, he owns a yacht, and has a sensitive and intelligent mistress. But suddenly a bomb explodes inside his Rolls Royce, another bomb destroys a pub he owns, and a third is found inside his casino. Shand can't understand who would suddenly want him dead, particularly over the Easter weekend, when representatives from the American mafia are coming into town to discuss investing in Shands's real estate project. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In the eighth episode of the season-long continuity "The Trial of the Time Lord," the Doctor (Colin Baker) refutes videotaped evidence of his "treachery" on the planet Thoros Beta. It doesn't look good for the Doctor, however, since the tapes suggest that he willingly served up a reluctant Peri (Nicola Bryant) as a body donor in a brain-transplant experiment performed by scientist Crozier (Patrick Ryecart) on the planet's leader Kiv (Christopher Ryan). The outraged Time Lords, ignoring the Doctor's insistence that the evidence is entirely misleading, are forced to take drastic measures. This episode served as the series swan song for co-star Nicola Bryant. Written by Philip Martin and originally telecast on October 24, 1986, Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord, Episode 8 is actually the concluding chapter of the four-part story arc "Mindwarp." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the sixth episode of the season-long continuity "The Trial of a Time Lord," the Valeyard (Michael Jayston) continues to prosecute the Doctor (Colin Baker) for violating the Laws of Time. Videotaped evidence shows the Doctor and Peri (Nicola Bryant) travelling to the planet Thoros Beta, apparently to commisserate with intergalactic outlaw Sil (Nabil Shaban). But the Doctor contends that his mission to Thoros Beta was meant to be beneficial, citing the fact that scientist Crozier (Patrick Ryecart) intended to alleviate the suffering of the planet's leader, Kiv (Christopher Ryan), by using the Doctor's body as the temporary home for Kiv's brain. Will the Doctor be able to prove his point -- or will his erratic behavior, caught on video, condemn him to death? Written by Philip Martin and originally telecast on October 11, 1986, "Mindwarp, Episode 2" is listed in most sources as Doctor Who: The Trial of a Time Lord, Episode 6. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Babylon is a gritty, neorealist account of the lives of a group of West Indian youths living in London. Blue (Brinsley Forde) is the Rastafarian leader of a Sound System (a mobile disc-jockey team who spin reggae records at clubs, parties, and other gatherings) who is trying to prepare for an upcoming Sound System competition. Blue's love of music is one of the few positive outlets in his life; with the crime and violence of London's slums, the verbal and physical attacks by racist whites, and the jealousy of other DJs, Blue is reaching the end of his rope. That rope begins to fray when Blue is fired from his job, is brutally attacked by police officers, and discovers that his DJ equipment has been destroyed by angry neighbors. Unlike most films about reggae music and culture, Babylon doesn't explore the sunny side of Jamaican life or West Indian gangland culture; instead, it looks at how the implicit radicalism of reggae mirrored political and social concerns in the urban areas outside Jamaica where the music was so enthusiastically embraced. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi