Maurizio Terrazzano Movies
Sin City author Frank Miller's sweeping take on the historic Battle of Thermopylae comes to the screen courtesy of Dawn of the Dead director Zack Snyder. Gerard Butler stars as Spartan King Leonidas and Lena Headey plays Queen Gorgo. The massive army of the Persian Empire is sweeping across the globe, crushing every force that dares stand in its path. When a Persian envoy arrives in Sparta offering King Leonidas power over all of Greece if he will only bow to the will of the all powerful Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), the strong-willed leader assembles a small army comprised of his empire's best fighters and marches off to battle. Though they have virtually no hope of defeating Xerxes' intimidating battalion, Leonidas' men soldier on, intent on letting it be known they will bow to no man but their king. Meanwhile, back in Sparta, the loyal Queen Gorgo attempts to convince both the skeptical council and the devious Theron (Dominic West) to send more troops despite the fact that many view Leonidas' unsanctioned war march as a serious transgression. As Xerxes' fearsome "immortals" draw near, a few noble Greeks vow to assist the Spartans on the battlefield. When King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan warriors fell to the overwhelming Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, the fearless actions of the noble fighters inspired all of Greece to stand up against their Persian enemy and wage the battle that would ultimately give birth to the modern concept of democracy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, (more)
- 2004
It isn't bad enough that divorcee Joanne Saunders must raise her son by herself and slave away for tips as a night-shift restaurant hostess. Now she must deal with an angry driver who runs her car off the road--and, in an apparent frenzy of road rage, continues terrorizing Joanne and her son long after the incident. But is this merely a random act of harassment, or can the demented driver be pursuing an altogether different (and more deadly) agenda? Originally seen over the Lifetime network on September 6, 2004, A Deadly Encounter (aka Over the Edge) posted some of that cable service's highest ratings, attracting 2.6 million viewers for its initial airing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Written and directed by Terrance Odette, Saint Monica centers on a young girl named Monica (Genevieve Buechner), whose fervent desire is to return to the Toronto church with which she grew up. Determined to play an angel in its annual Christmas procession, Monica steals a pair of wings and prepares to join the rest of the cast. Complications arise when an eccentric old woman (Clare Coulter) steals them back. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- 2002
The first season of the provocative Canadian anthology Bliss offers eight different tales of erotica, written and directed by women, for women. The opening episode, "Valentine's Day in Jail," stars Tory Higginson as a compassionate teacher who arranges a special visit with her prize pupil -- a prisoner serving time for drug smuggling. In "Six Days," a farm woman who has never spent a day without her husband develops an intimate relationship with a hired hand (Collum Keith Rennie) while the "mister" is recovering from an accident. "Guys and Dolls" finds a successful and famous lawyer (Jenny Levine) having a fling with a stranger (Peter Wingfield) who is unaware of her true identity -- and would not be overly pleased if he found out. Tara Spencer-Naim appears in "The Value of X" as a high school senior who fantasizes about the school's most popular boy -- that is, she fantasizes what it would be like if he were a girl! In "Voice," Mikela J. Mikael is cast as a woman whose dreams are invaded by the wife (played by Veronica Hurnik) of her lover. "Leaper" concerns two lost souls (Michelle Lipper, Paula Ducharme) drawn together in an unexpectedly sinister fashion by the "suicide" of a third woman (portrayed by Mille Tresierra. Victoria Sanchez plays a mild, reserved young miss whose animalistic urges are unleashed by a martial-arts class in "The Footpath of Pink Roses." And in the season finale, "In Praise of Drunkenness and Fornication," a dinner party attended by six middle-aged couples devolves into an exercise in overindulgence (in more ways than one). ~ All Movie Guide
