Charlotte Graham Movies
- 2008
Multiple Oscar nominee Peter O'Toole adds yet another offbeat role to his long resume with the mystical comedy-drama Dean Spanley. Adapted from Lord Dunsany's popular novella My Talks with Dean Spanley and helmed by Toa Fraser, the film stars O'Toole as Horatio Fisk, an irascible, cantankerous septuagenarian living out his final days at the turn of the 20th Century. Despite his distant and slightly strained relationship with his son Henslowe (Jeremy Northam), Horatio willfully joins the young man on regular outings; the tedium and monotony of these routines eventually grow so overwhelming, however, that the two decide to attend a lecture on the Transmigration of Souls by a visiting Hindu Swami. At the meeting, their paths intersect with the eccentric Dean Spanley (Sam Neill), and a friendship blossoms between Spanley and Henslowe. When Spanley joins Henslowe for a private dinner, and accepts his invitation to sample a rare Hungarian wine known as the Imperial Tokay, Spanley instinctively brings forth reminiscences of a prior life lived out as a canine - and his recollections hold a rather bizarre connection to Horatio's familial past. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, (more)
Dan Brown's controversial best-selling novel about a powerful secret that's been kept under wraps for thousands of years comes to the screen in this suspense thriller from director Ron Howard. The stately silence of Paris' Louvre museum is broken when one of the gallery's leading curators is found dead on the grounds, with strange symbols carved into his body and left around the spot where he died. Hoping to learn the significance of the symbols, police bring in Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), a gifted cryptographer who is also the victim's granddaughter. Needing help, Sophie calls on Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), a leading symbologist from the United States. As Sophie and Robert dig deeper into the case, they discover the victim's involvement in the Priory of Sion, a secret society whose members have been privy to forbidden knowledge dating back to the birth of Christianity. In their search, Sophie and Robert happen upon evidence that could lead to the final resting place of the Holy Grail, while members of the priory and an underground Catholic society known as Opus Dei give chase, determined to prevent them from sharing their greatest secrets with the world. Also starring Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, and Alfred Molina, The Da Vinci Code was shot on location in France and the United Kingdom; the Louvre allowed the producers to film at the famous museum, but scenes taking place at Westminster Abbey had to filmed elsewhere when church officials declined permission. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, (more)
