Kevin McNally Movies

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 this convoluted crime drama, a conniving nurse conspires to marry and kill a wealthy professor. To do the deed, she, who has already killed the rest of his family, enlists the aide of the professor's assistant. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the four-part story "The Twin Dilemma," the Doctor (Colin Baker), not yet accustomed to his new body, briefly goes into exile on a tiny moon, accompanied by his friend, Peri (Nicola Bryant). No sooner have they arrived than they find themselves at the mercy of a gang of intagalactic kidnappers, who have also snatched twin mathematical geniuses Romulus and Remus Sylvest (Gavin and Andrew Conrad). And wait until the Doctor confronts the (literally) slimy leader of the gang. Written by Antony Steven, Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma, Episode 2 was originally telecast on March 23, 1984. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the four-part story "The Twin Dilemma," the Doctor (Colin Baker) must prevent the giant slug Mestor (Edwin Richfield) from polluting the universe with millions of Gastropod eggs. But will the Doctor; his companion, Peri (Nicola Bryant); and twin mathematicians Romulus and Remus Sylvest (Gavin and Andrew Conrad) manage to live through the ordeal? And how does the Doctor's fellow Time Lord, Azmael, fit into the proceedings? Written by Antony Steven, Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma, Episode 4 was originally telecast on March 30, 1984, bringing season 21 of Doctor Who to a close. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The kibbutz setting to this standard love story between Gil (Joanna Pacula), an Israeli woman and Mike (Sam Robards), a visiting American pre-med student is not particularly relevant to the tale -- which is a twist away from the original stage play in which the two lovers do not even appear. Four Brits are also visiting the kibbutz: two complaining young men, a young woman who arrives for a stay after experiencing a nervous breakdown, and a soldier trying to assuage the psychic wounds of the past. As these people interact and the romance between Gila and Mike heats up, the story leads to several, simultaneous climactic moments -- including the kidnapping of Gila and a group of tourists and a dramatic rescue by the disenchanted Brits. Through all this, Mike must decide whether he will stay with Gila at the kibbutz or go back to the U.S. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Richard Attenborough directed this dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow the activities of Stephen Biko (Denzel Washington), a courageous and outspoken black anti-apartheid activist. Woods and his wife Wendy (Penelope Wilton) get to know Biko, and they become friends, until Biko is brutally murdered at the hands of government troops in 1977 for his activities against the country's repression of the black majority population. Donald is shocked and appalled by Biko's murder and determined that the truth about Biko will become known to the world; eventually, Donald and Wendy Woods and their children must leave South Africa (and nearly everything they have) as they spread the word about Biko's life and death to ensure that he did not die in vain. Washington received an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Biko. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Made for British television, Act of Will focuses on three generations of women in a proud, indomitable family. Australian-born director Don Sharp brings to his soap-opera material the same energy and vitality that he'd previously lavished on such theatrical features as Kiss of the Vampire (1963) and Hennessy (1985). Since a portion of the production money was ponied up by Hollywood, American actor Peter Coyote is given a crucial role in the World War II sequences. Among the distaff cast members are the always welcome Jean Marsh (Upstairs, Downstairs), Victoria Tennant (the former Mrs. Steve Martin) and Elizabeth Hurley (who, as of this writing at least, is the girlfriend of Hugh Grant). Act of Will received its widest American exposure on public and cable television. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In assembling the 1990 TV-movie version of Jekyll and Hyde, writer/director David Wickes recycled many of the elements of his 1988 adaptation of Jack the Ripper--including props, costumes, sets, and star Michael Caine. Caine goes through the standard motions as kindly Henry Jekyll, who dabbles where Men Must Not and unleashes his beastly alter ego Mr. Hyde. Anything new here? Well, the character of Dr. Lanyon, Jekyll's best friend in the original Robert Louis Stevenson story, has been rewritten as his worst enemy. Joss Ackland plays the vitriolic Lanyon, while Cheryl Ladd shows up as a newly fabricated love interest. Jekyll and Hyde has some neat makeup transformations, but otherwise is just the same old cloak 'n' fang jazz seen in so many earlier incarnations of the venerable Stevenson yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The made-for-cable film Stalin relates the story of the ruthless Soviet dictator and his tyrannical rule. Robert Duvall gives an excellent performance as the dictator and the photography is beautiful, as are the sets, since much of the movie was shot on location in Russia. The screenplay also does a good job of detailing Stalin's aggression, not only on his citizens, but also his young wife (Julia Ormand). Nevertheless, the story is very detailed and viewers need to pay close attention in order to make the film a rewarding experience. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Sixteen passengers aboard a Paris tour bus bound for Normandy provide the framework for this French ensemble drama. The trip takes 48 hours; in that time the disparate passengers begin forming a unique bond. Among the riders are a pair of snobs who have decided to "slum it" and take the bus; a country rube; a Jewish electrician and his beautiful black lover; a Romanian woman who wants to see a special mountain; a Japanese student researching dragons; a boorish middle-class couple, and "Mademoiselle Kleenex," so dubbed by the others because she never stops crying. En route, they begin to get to know each other, and almost immediately begin showing their character flaws. That night they are robbed on a lonely road and this brings them together on their shared odyssey. The next day they stop to see a sight, and there, one of them tries to kill himself leaving the others to wonder why as they are carted down to the police station to make their statements. During the evening, the passengers have a picnic on the grounds of a great chateau. There they hold a makeshift talent show. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this crime drama adapted from a true story, Sinead Hamilton (Joan Allen) is a public relations agent turned journalist who is appalled at the corruption and drug trafficking in her native Dublin; determined to do something about it and make the city a safer place in which to bring up her son, Hamilton begins a series of investigative pieces exposing the major players in the city's dope trade, as well as possible links between drug dealing and the Irish Republican Army. Hamilton's stories win wide acclaim and lead to a public outcry to see that justice is served; they also make Hamilton a number of very dangerous enemies among the underworld, as well as the more corrupt segments of the law enforcement community. When the Sky Falls is based on the true-life story of Irish investigative reporter Veronica Guerin; Guerin worked on the early drafts of the script before she was murdered by members of the drug cartel she helped to expose, leading the producers to change the names of the characters and alter the story's outcome. The supporting cast includes Patrick Bergin as a police investigator, Pete Postlethwaite as a criminal insider who gives information to Hamilton, and Liam Cunningham as another notorious crime boss. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An unhinged parody of James Bond theatrics, Johnny English finds Mr. Bean himself suiting up as the eponymous super spy for a series of wild and silly adventures. A lowly pencil pusher working for the MI7 agency, Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) is suddenly promoted to super spy after Agent One is assassinated and every other agent is blown up at his funeral. When billionaire entrepreneur Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich) sponsors the exhibition of the Crown Jewels and the valuable gems disappear on the opening night, and on the watch of English, the newly designated agent must jump into action to uncover the thief and procure the missing valuables. Tracking the thieves' underground escape route with sidekick Bough (Ben Miller), English locks in on Sauvage despite repeated assurances by boss Pegasus (Tim Pigott-Smith) that the respected entrepreneur has nothing to do with the crime. Could the mysterious Lorna (Natalie Imbruglia), who has an odd habit of turning up at the wrong place at the wrong time, hold the key to helping Johnny? A massive hit overseas, Johnny English held its own at the box office in early April 2003, and was slated for wide release in the U.S. If the spoofing in Johnny English strikes especially close to home, that may be because the film was scripted by Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who teamed to pen such Bond adventures as Die Another Day and The World is Not Enough. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Following his surprise-hit American remake of The Ring in 2002, director Gore Verbinski took on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the second of recent films to be based upon Disney theme-park rides (the first being The Country Bears). When Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), the daughter of Governor Swann (Jonathan Pryce) is kidnapped by a group of pirates led by Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and taken aboard their ship, The Black Pearl, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), the young man who loves Elizabeth despite the fact that she is promised to another, sets out to rescue her. But he can't do it alone, so he enlists the help of swashbuckling ship captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Together the two chase after The Black Pearl, but they soon discover that the captain and crew aren't your average pirates. Cursed to remain between the living and the dead, Barbossa and his men look like skeletons when basked in the moonlight. When it is revealed that the only thing that can break the curse is Elizabeth's blood, Jack and Will are faced with a race against time and a battle against the undead to save the Governor's daughter. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide