Jenny Agutter

Premiering May 13, 2002, on BBC1, the British espionage-adventure series Spooks pitted undercover agents of the country's MI-5 squad (the U.K. equivalent of the NSA) against international troublemakers and terrorists. Though extremely violent and almost unbearably tense, the series scored its biggest points by dramatizing the pressures brought to bear against "average" people engaged in a top-secret profession: For example, one of the many plot threads involved the love life of Senior Case Officer Tom Quinn (Matthew MacFadyen), whose girlfriend was convinced that Tom was merely a lower-level computer tech. Other members of the "Spooks" team included Quinn's second-in-command, Zoe Reynolds (Keeley Hawes), technical genius Danny Hunter (David Oyelowo), reckless Tessa Phillips (Jenny Agutter), and department head Harry Pierce (Peter Firth). During the series' first season on the air, Spooks made headlines throughout the British Isles by virtue of its explosive second episode, in which a popular soap opera actor, misleadingly advertised as one of the series' "stars," was abruptly and nastily killed off; thereafter, audiences could never take anything that happened on the series for granted -- and the viewership soared. Spooks debuted over the American A&E cable network under the title MI-5 on July 22, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Masterpiece Theatre remake of the 1970 screen adaptation of E. Nesbit's beloved children's book, The Railway Children follows the fortunes of three resourceful children in turn-of-the-century England. An affluent family, the Waterburys fall upon difficult times when Mr. Waterbury (Michael Kitchen) is hauled away by the police for reasons not readily apparent. Forced to move to a small village, the family is held together by Mrs. Waterbury (Jenny Agutter, who played one of the Waterbury children in the 1970 film version), who ekes out a living by selling her stories to magazines. The three Waterbury siblings -- Bobbie (Jemima Rooper), Peter (Jack Blumenau), and Phyllis (Clare Thomas) -- try to help their mother make ends meet and take to spending time by the railroad, where they meet a host of eccentric acquaintances. Among them are the Station Master (Clive Russell), and a magnanimous railroad maven (Richard Attenborough), both of whom take a shine to the children. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Hey all you gremmies! Let's wax up our boards, load up the woodie and hit the beach for a big day of surfing in ... Cornwall, England? Blue Juice takes a look at a small but hardy group of British surfing enthusiasts who have learned to make the best of the flat waves and low tides of their homeland. Thirtysomething JC (Sean Pertwee) has been the local king of the surfing scene for some time, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend Chloe (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who would like JC to pay a little more attention to her and perhaps start doing something useful with his life. One night, JC's buddies Dean (Ewan McGregor), a small time drug dealer, and Josh (Steven Mackintosh), a record producer, show up with their pal Terry (Peter Gunn) in tow. Terry is about to get married, and they figure that they should take him out for a good time before he puts on the harness. JC is eager to tag along, but Chloe is annoyed at JC for leaving her alone at home for yet another night, and she gives him his walking papers. JC is thinking of hooking up with some friends to check out some real waves elsewhere, but Chloe starts to think that she would like to give JC another chance. Blue Juice was released a year before Ewan McGregor had his commercial breakthrough in Trainspotting, and three years before The Mask of Zorro would make Catherine Zeta-Jones a star. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This family adventure movie, based on the novel by Marguerite Henry, is about a mute Arab boy and his constant companion, a beautiful stallion, who have to overcome all manner of hazards and setbacks and later get to meet the King and Queen of England. ~ Mark Hockley, All Movie Guide

A derivative rehashing of its predecessor (which itself owes a heavy debt to Trilogy of Terror), this sequel details the plight of young Andy (Alex Vincent), who in the previous film narrowly escaped losing his soul to make room for devil-doll Chucky (voice of Brad Dourif). Possessed by the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, Chucky had coveted Andy's body as a replacement for his own plastic shell... which ended up beaten and burned beyond recognition. At this film's outset, Andy's mom has suffered a nervous breakdown as a result of the prior human-vs.-doll battle, and Andy has been taken to a foster home. In the meantime, the makers of Good Guys dolls decide to reconstruct the scrappy little toy, hoping to prove the doll's harmlessness and sway public opinion. Alas, this is a major horror-movie no-no, and Chucky staggers obnoxiously back to life, with a renewed interest in body-swapping with Andy. Not awful as horror sequels go, this follows the standard horror-franchise formula (such as upping the gore quotient with each sequel) but manages to throw in a few appreciable scares, particularly at the climax (which echoes that of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining). ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Neglecting Julie (Frances McDormand), his lawyer lady friend, Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) works feverishly to perfect his latest invention -- artificial skin that could be used to treat burn victims. Peyton himself falls victim to an explosion when one of Julie's crooked clients sends his henchmen to sniff out an incriminating document that's been left in Westlake's lab. Hideously disfigured and left for dead, the good doctor receives an experimental medical treatment that renders him super-strong, impervious to pain and prone to heightened fits of rage. Rebuilding his lab into an underground hideout, Westlake begins using his synthetic skin to impersonate various characters and engineer his revenge against those who destroyed his life. Reconnecting with Julie, however, becomes the unsightly vigilante's biggest challenge. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

The 1987 portmanteau comedy feature Amazon Women on the Moon lampoons several film genres in general and the 1954 sci-fi cheapie Cat Women of the Moon in particular. Other sketches in Amazon Women include an opening bit with Arsenio Hall; a vignette titled "Son of the Invisible Man" wherein a naked Ed Begley Jr. runs around in full view of the nonplussed supporting cast; the It's Alive parody "Hospital", which offers the spectacle of Michelle Pfeiffer giving birth to Mr. Potato Head; and a Siskel & Ebert takeoff, featuring Arche Hahn as a TV viewer whose entire life is given a "thumbs down." Directed by several hands, including Joe Dante, Carl Gottleib, Peter Horton, John Landis, and Robert K. Weiss, Amazon Women on the Moon also features a satire of the Kroger G. Babb school of "sex hygiene" exploitation cheapies, with syphilis victim Carrie Fisher being counseled by unctuous doctor Paul Bartel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) heads to Washington to attend a special concert performed by an Eastern Bloc orchestra. Before long, Jessica is kidnapped and swept into a maelstrom of intrigue involving a pair of defecting musicians and a murdered British intelligence agent. The man behind Jessica's abduction is none other than the redoubtable M16 agent Michael Haggerty, whom Jessica had previously encountered in the Season Two episode "Widow Weep for Me"--and who is played by Angela Lansbury's onetime costar in the Broadway musical "Sweeney Todd", Len Cariou. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While playing a video game called "Dungeon Master", Magnum manages to mess up the computerized security system at Robin's Nest. Enter security expert Krista Villaroch (Jenny Agutter), who is hired to get the system up and running in time for a jewelry exhibit being held at the estate. The capricious Magnum dares Krista to test out the system with a phony heist--little realizing (at first) that she is actually the daughter of infamous jewel thief Doc Villaroch (Cesar Romero), who despite his advanced age is far from retired! This episode was written by actress Deborah Pratt, then the wife of Magnum, P.I. executive producer Donald P. Bellisario. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is another adaptation of Shakespeare's famous tragedy. It is the sad story of Othello, Moor of Venice who is slowly driven insane by his jealous assistant Iago. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

While wandering the English moors on vacation, college yanks David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) happen upon a quaint pub with a mysterious patronage who warn them not to leave the road when walking after dark. Irreverent of such advice as characters in horror films always are, the two decide to find a short cut....David wakes up in the hospital with a nasty bite wound to his shoulder; the freshly deceased, and rapidly decomposing, Jack arrives soon after to deliver the grim news that, unless he commits suicide, David will become a werewolf when the moon is full. David dismisses the encounter as a hallucination, but all indicators point to lycanthrope; evenings of barking and bloodletting follow closely behind. While the story is thin and much of the tongue-in-cheek humor is overdone, there are plenty of genuine jolts thanks to makeup guru Rick Baker's eye-popping special effects. The werewolf, resembling a cross between a bear and a wolverine, appears frighteningly real, and, given the fantastic premise, the gore is most convincing (although surprisingly and refreshingly scant). The hospital dream sequences are creative, and the scenes in which the werewolf runs rampant through downtown London are particularly good. In all, An American Werewolf in London is an original, atmospheric film that manages both to scare and amuse. While dismissed by most American critics upon its release, the film managed to secure a place in the annals of American cinema when Baker won an Academy Award for his amazing effects and creature designs. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide