Michael McCabe Movies

The rise and fall of one of the most important and controversial figures in Ireland's struggle for independence is chronicled in this biographical drama. In 1916, the British government ruled Ireland with a firm and cruel hand, as they had for 700 years. When a group of Irish rebels staged a six-day siege at Dublin's General Post Office, only one of the leaders was able to escape execution -- Eamon De Valera (Alan Rickman), an American citizen of Irish blood. A number of De Valera's followers are sent to prison, and one of them, Michael Collins (Liam Neeson), walked out of jail convinced that a new approach was needed to free his homeland from British rule. With his compatriot Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn), Collins formed the Irish Volunteers, who used a combination of terrorist violence and guerilla warfare to attack the British where their defenses were weakest, and employed espionage and a key inside informant (Stephen Rea) to learn what the British planned to do next -- and what they knew about Collins and his supporters. Collins' strategic skills and talent for warfare made a major impact on the British, and he became the hero of the new-born Republican Movement, which seemed to offer a real hope of freedom, despite the violent reprisals of the vicious paramilitary police, the Black and Tans. De Valera, however, was often in conflict with Collins in terms of the methods and approach of their struggle. Collins also found himself in a different sort of conflict with Boland when he fell in love with his girlfriend, a strong-willed advocate of Irish freedom named Kitty Kiernan (Julia Roberts). Eager to gain support for the Republican cause, De Valera sought economic and military support from the U.S.; when he returned, the Volunteers seemed to have finally won a real victory, as the British government announced that they were willing to formally negotiate with them. While Collins was once the radical and De Valera was the moderate, once negotiations began, Collins sought to end the violence that he saw killing so many young people and was willing to agree to a compromise that would create the Irish Free State. While the agreement would still leave final political control with the British, it would bring a greater self-determination to Ireland, and Collins believed that it was a crucial first step that could lead, in time, to true freedom for his people. De Valera, however, was strongly opposed to the treaty with Britian, and this led to violence among pro- and anti-treaty factions; soon Ireland's most loved leader was now branded a traitor by many of his countrymen. Michael Collins was voted Best Picture at the 1996 Venice Film Festival, and Liam Neeson was awarded the prize for Best Actor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this chilling psychological thriller, Lisa, an unemployed, and dull-as-dishwater young woman is happy to have a new roomie. The new tenant Laurie is as outgoing and beautiful as Lisa is introverted and plain. Sweet-natured Laurie immediately begins trying to help poor Lisa come out of her shell, even though her boy friend Del is suspicious of Lisa. He sees something darker lurking beneath her placid surface and it makes him uneasy. When Lisa learns that Laurie has received money from her late aunt, Lisa undergoes a dramatic change because she resents all that her kindly friend Laurie has, and unlike Lisa, Laurie was never horribly sexually abused as a child. Thinking she deserves the money, Lisa puts on make-up and sexy clothes. She then promptly seduces Del. She then tries to get Del to help her kill Laurie. He demurs and that is his fatal mistake. Later she murders both Del and Laurie. She then hacks up the bodies and stuffs them into suitcases. Next she takes a drive to the country and dumps the bags down a deep mine shaft. Thus begins a string of grisly murders as the psycho Lisa struggles to get her hands on Laurie's money. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this African adventure, a soldier-of-fortune and his followers hack through the jungle in search of a millionaire' daughter who was kidnapped by a tribe as an offering for their hungry crocodile gods. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This thriller has a strong anti-nuclear message. It is set in Thorpeville, a Southern town that has an abandoned nuclear-power plant and chronicles a bizarre series of rapes and murders. What is most puzzling is that each of the female victims are found to be radioactive. Investigating the strange killings are sheriff Jake Stern, pathologist Doc Roberts, slightly crazed Vietnam vet Freddie, and a clever reporter Patti Smart. They eventually deduce that the killer is some sort of nuclear mutant and their prime suspect is James Manners, the man who designed the faulty reactor. All of the investigators soon find themselves entangled in a complex conspiracy/cover-up that culminates in an explosive finale. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Starring Dean Stockwell and Charles Dierkop, Banzai Runner concerns a modern-day phenomenon, common among the very rich. Each year, an every-man-for-himself race is staged in the desert, with fat-cat motorists driving the custom cars at supersonic speed up and down the supposedly deserted highway. During one of these contests, a policeman is killed. With no witnesses, it's up to the cop's brother (Stockwell) to see that justice is done. He accomplishes this by assuming a false identity and joining the race. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When it first came out, this erotic thriller was billed as the first adult film in South Africa. Set in Los Angeles, the story centers upon Brent Huff, a hard-boiled detective takes a case that takes him to the Bahamas where he gets involved with a seductive Beverly Hills vamp and unsuccessfully tries to make their nights as steamy as they are hot. Unfortunately for him, she is still grieving over the death of her husband and does not accept him as her lover until they return to LA. It is there he finds out that a greedy killer is willing to do just about anything to get his hand on her late husband's fortune. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide