Piers Tempest Movies
A filmmaker joins a group of people seeing enlightenment in an unconventional manner in this documentary. Jamie Morgan is a director living in London who has decided he's unhappy with his life. Looking for new experiences and a fresh spiritual path, Morgan travels to California, where he attends a ten-day workshop being led by one Paul Lowe. Lowe's program focuses on the multiple layers of human personality, and his means of challenging one's assumptions about such things includes meditation, group sex, and possible contact with alien visitors. Morgan brought a digital video camera along to record his experiences with Lowe, and in The Workshop we follow Morgan and his fellow seekers as they physically, emotionally and spiritually upend themselves in search of a new life, even if they're sometimes wary of Lowe's notions and techniques. The film also includes a postscript in which Morgan explores the impact Lowe's program had on the lives of the participants. The Workshop was screened in competition at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
A murder lifts the lid on some disturbing actions among the pupils at a well-respected school in this drama. Nigel (Tom Sturridge), a student at an exclusive British private school, has been found murdered, and police detective McKenzie (Richard Roxburgh) has been assigned to investigate. Alex Forbes (Eddie Redmayne), one of Nigel’s classmates who was known to have little fondness for him, is a prime suspect and has been brought in for questioning; however, he refuses to cooperate, and Sally Rowe (Toni Collette), a forensic psychiatrist working with the police, is brought in to talk to the boy. While Alex is initially no more helpful with Sally, in time she’s able to find cracks in his resistance, and he begins to discuss his interest in the Knights Templar, a medieval Christian military order. As Alex shares his belief that the benefits of some actions can outweigh their wrongs, Sally learns more about the boy, and her research turns up some surprising facts – Nigel believed both he and Alex were descended from members of the Knights Templar, they may have been responsible for the death of a schoolmate in the interest of gaining mystical powers, and Alex’s father (Patrick Malahide), also the headmaster at the school, has some troubling secrets of his own. Like Minds was the first feature film from writer and director Gregory J. Read. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Redmayne, Tom Sturridge, (more)
A young man has a hard time getting crime to pay better than honest work in this comedy-drama from Australia. When Jack Flange (Alex O'Lachlan) gets word that his sister Nikki (Claudia Harrison) has been in a serious auto accident, he leaves his home in Sydney and travels to the small seaside community where she lives. Money is tight for Nikki, so Jack looks for a job to help out; however, the best he can do is working for Brownie (David Field), who runs an oyster farm with his father Mumbles (Jim Norton). Jack soon learns that oyster farming is tough, physically punishing work, and while Brownie would be a difficult boss on the best of days, the fact that his ex-wife Trish (Kerry Armstrong) has opened a competing business has made matters significantly worse. Wanting more money and less labor, Jack steals a cache of money from an armored car, and to help cover his tracks mails the cash to himself. However, when the money never arrives in the mailbox, Jack wonders if someone has made off with his ill-gotten gains -- and if the law might be after him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex O'Lachlan, Jim Norton, (more)
Directed by James Toback, the erotic drama When Will I Be Loved? revolves around Vera, the debutante girlfriend (Neve Campbell) of a fast-talking hustler (Frederick Weller) who is on the verge of making millions through a big-money gambling venture. Feeling undervalued, Vera explores her sexuality through whatever means she can think of, including explicit discussions with a potential employer, picking up random men, and videotaping steamy trysts with her female lover. When Ford (Weller) proposes that Vera spend the night with Italian media mogul Count Tommaso (Dominic Chianese), who is willing to put up 100,000 dollars for the occasion, Vera concocts a scheme to show both men what her true worth really is. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Neve Campbell, Dominic Chianese, (more)
