Bryan Marshall Movies

Rebecca Gibney starred as forensic psychiatrist Jane Halifax in this off-and-on Australian drama series. Because of her frequent delvings into the "dark side" of humanity, Jane was unable to place full trust in anyone, least of all the police officials for whom she worked. Thus, whenever involved in a particularly disturbing murder case, she felt the need to consult an analyst, Marion Walters (Catherine Wilkin). Created by Roger Simpson, Halifax F.P. was seen in Australia from 1997 to 2001, averaging four two-hour episodes per season. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Slackers in their 20s gather for a pre-Thanksgiving party and find themselves facing the end of the world in ensemble comedy that offers thought fodder concerning the plight of a generation that has been so overshadowed by the hype surrounding the baby boomers that they feel there are no frontiers of reality left to explore. All of the guests know each other from their high school days and have grown up to take wildly divergent paths, many of which are observed before the fateful gathering, hosted by the strangely devilish Kurt Swan, a convicted killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This is an adaptation of a popular, violent Marvel Comics series about a character who's a frontier-style vigilante in modern-day urban America. Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, once a crusading police officer whose family was murdered by a car bomb planted by the Mob. Believed to be killed in the explosion, Castle has gone underground, building a subterranean lair in the sewer system and vengefully assassinating various criminals, wracking up an impressive body count of 125 slain in five years. Castle's former partner, Jake Berkowitz (Louis Gossett, Jr.) rightly suspects that he knows the true identity of the motorcycle-riding avenger dubbed "the Punisher." Meanwhile, Castle's bloody campaign has had the intended effect of weakening organized crime, creating an opportunity to consolidate power for the ambitious Gianni Franco (Jeroen Krabbe), the man responsible for the Castle family hit. Sensing an opportunity to muscle in on new lucrative turf, foreign competitors threaten Franco's empire. When the Japanese yakuza has the crime boss' innocent son kidnapped, Castle finds himself in the ironic position of helping a man he'd like to kill. Filmed in Australia, this low-budget action thriller did not get a theatrical release in the U.S., instead going directly to video. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Romance and adventure abound in this sequel to the popular Australian film The Man from Snowy River. The story takes up five years after the other ended. It is still the 1880s when Jim Craig returns to his humble mountain cabin after he rounds up a heard of mustangs in the hope that he will earn enough money to finally be able to marry Jessica. Unfortunately, Jessica's dad wants her to marry the banker's son. Now the two lovers must work long and hard to be together. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this tale of sleazy romance that turns deadly, novice Kiwi director Denis Lewiston has created an unevenly paced story with several gripping (and groping) scenes. Christine (Simone Griffeth) is an American married to a rich but crass businessman, and unknown to them both, Greg Sandford (Steve Marchuk) is planning to break into their opulent digs and rob them blind. Right in the middle of carrying out his preparations, he arranges for an "accidental" meeting between himself and Christine -- and the sparks of sexual attraction ignite a blaze that not only lands them in bed, but burns up whatever morals Christine may have left. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

PJ (Angelo D'Angelo), and Goose (James Lugton) are bored Australian BMX riders whose bikes have been totaled. Setting off on an intended fishing trip with their friend Judy (Nicole Kidman, in her first big-screen appearance), they stumble instead upon a cache of stolen police walkie-talkies, which they decide to sell for new BMX gear. Unfortunately, the radios had orginally been swiped by a murderous gang of bank robbers, with whom they soon become entangled. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Windsor is a peaceful town on the Thames where hardly a leaf falls to disturb the silence. And then England's most notorious mischief maker, Sir John Falstaff (Richard Griffiths), arrives from London with his hooligans -- Bardolph (Gordon Gostelow), Nym (Michael Robbins), and Pistol (Nigel Terry) -- to steal and make merry. After breaking into a lodge and killing a deer on private land, they arouse the wrath of the locals. But quick tongues and pleadings of innocence exonerate them and even earn Falstaff a meal at the home of George Page (Bryan Marshall), a Windsor gentleman. There, Falstaff converses with Mrs. Page (Prunella Scales) and her neighbor, Mrs. Ford (Judy Davis), both of whom rule the purse strings of their households. Falstaff then decides to woo both women and charm them free of their money. But after he writes them a love letter -- the same letter word-for-word except for the name of the addressee -- the two "merry wives" compare letters and decide to give Sir John his comeuppance. Meanwhile, Mr. Ford (Ben Kingsley) gets wind of Falstaff's designs on his wife and, riven with jealousy, plots to surprise Falstaff when he comes calling. Scenes ensue in which Mr. Ford bursts through his front door in an attempt to discover Falstaff. The tee-heeing wives couldn't be happier, for these occasions give them a chance to humiliate Falstaff -- once by having him hide in a laundry basket which is dumped in the muddy Thames and another time by dressing as "the fat woman of Brentford." A subplot follows three men as they woo Mrs. Page's lovely daughter, Anne (Miranda Foster). In the end, Falstaff acknowledges his bad behavior, Anne Page gets her man, and good feelings abound. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Though not Ian Fleming's most famous James Bond novel, 1962's The Spy Who Loved Me was distinguished by the unique device of telling the story from the heroine's point of view; in fact, Bond doesn't make an appearance until the book is two-thirds over. This would hardly work in the film world's Bond franchise, so the original austere plotline of the novel was eschewed altogether in favor of a labyrinthine story involving outer-space extortion. The leading lady, a "hard-luck kid" in the original, is now sexy Russian secret agent Barbara Bach, who joins forces with Bond (Roger Moore, making his third appearance as 007) to foil yet another megalomaniac villain (Curt Jurgens), who plans to threaten New York City with nuclear weaponry. Beyond the eye-popping opening ski-jump sequence, the film's best scenes involve seven-foot-two Richard Kiel as steel-toothed henchman Jaws. Fifteen scriptwriters worked on The Spy Who Loved Me; only two were credited, including Bond-film veteran Richard Maibaum. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This horror movie follows the terrifying travails of the new doctor's wife who bears upon her body a strange mark that seems to have special significance for the town Satanists. They believe that she was sent to them for a special purpose. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Inspector Van der Valk's investigation of a series of rapes leads him to suspect a gang made up of "untouchable" rich kids. Their gang doesn't need to steal as they are all rich. Instead, they hold sadistic quasi-satanic rituals, wreck the houses of other rich people, and rape women. The boys call themselves "The Ravens"; the girls call themselves the "She-Cats." Egged on by the "She-Cats," the boys' activities escalate until they commit a murder. The inspector knows all this; now he has to prove it. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Adapted from Jane Austen's final novel, the five-part British drama series Persuasion starred Anne Firbank as Anne Elliot, a young woman dangerously close to becoming an "old maid." Seven years earlier, Anne had allowed her opinions to be swayed by others (local busybody Lady Russell [Marian Spencer] in particular) and had spurned the advances of dashing Captain Wentworth (Bryan Marshall). Regretting her rashness, Anne could only stand aside in quiet desperation as the now-affluent and well-connected Wentworth ardently pursued the much-younger Louise Musgrove (Zhivila Roche). But though Anne might have been too proud to admit that she still harbored affection for Wentworth, her pride could easily be cast aside should she perceive an opportunity to win the Captain back. This TV version of Persuasion made its British TV bow on April 18, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi