John Benfield Movies
It's 2009. The evil Christian (Gary Olsen) sends a bunch of assassins off to snuff out a protected witness (Anjela Lauren-Smith) to a killing. Things are complicated by the presence of three cops, one of whom is secretly working for Christian. Violence ensues. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Olsen, Anjela Lauren Smith, (more)
Directed by Harley Cokliss, An Angel for May follows a modern boy (Matthew Beard) living in Yorkshire, England, and his dog, who cross through a brick wall leading directly into the early 1940's. Tom (Beard) looks very strange to Sam Wheeler (Tom Wilkinson), who owns the property which Tom managed to land on. Sam, who lives with his adult daughter, Alison (Julie Cox), also provides shelter for a traumatized waif named May (Charlotte Wakefiled). May, who had been buried under the rubble when her entire family was killed in a bombing raid, sleeps with the dog outside and refuses to come inside the house even for meals. However, after she spends some time with Tom, she quickly progresses. Tom, meanwhile, is intent on finding his way back to the future. However, once he gets there, he realizes that he left something very important back in the past.
~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Beard, Tom Wilkinson, (more)
In this alternately somber and witty coming-of-age drama, a pair of teenage boys growing up in a working-class neighborhood become aware of their homosexuality. Introspective Jamie (Glen Berry) is the son of Sandra (Linda Henry), a tough but warm-hearted barmaid who lives in a public housing block in a rough-and-tumble section of South London. Living a few doors away is Jamie's classmate Ste (Scott Neal), an athletic type who often has to take a beating from his hard-drinking father and hard-headed brother. One night, Jamie and Sandra discover that Ste has been kicked out of the apartment and has nowhere to spend the night; Jamie lets him stay at his place, and a casual closeness eventually stirs sexual feelings. While both were vaguely aware they might be gay, neither had ever acted on their impulses, and once Jamie and Ste decide that they're attracted to each other, neither is sure just what to do. Tony (Ben Daniels), Sandra's boyfriend, doesn't know what to think about Jamie's new lifestyle. Meanwhile, Jamie and Ste are themselves a bit puzzled by their neighbor Leah (Tameka Empson), a teenager obsessed with the life and music of Mama Cass Elliott. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Henry, Andrew Fraser, (more)
On August 8, 1963, the Royal Mail train, on its nighttime run from London to Glasgow, was robbed by 15 men who got away with 2.6 million pounds (today the equivalent of $35 million). Buster tells the story of one of the junior robbers, Buster Edwards (played by pop singer Phil Collins), in a crime that came to be known as the Great Train Robbery. The film details the planning of the famous heist, but its main concern is Buster's relationship with his family and his devotion to his wife June (Julie Walters). The Edwards are like a British Kramden family, trying to make ends meet from day-to-day in their rental apartment, but instead of a bus driver, Buster is a two-bit thief who has the fine luck of hardly ever getting caught. After the Royal mail train robbery, the heat intensifies, since the Conservative Government, already smarting from the Profumo scandal, latches onto the train robbery as a means to deflect attention from the scandal by bringing the train robbers quickly to justice. Buster and June go into hiding and have a series of close calls before finally escaping to Mexico. Finally in paradise, the Edwards find their money quickly being eaten up and discover that they cannot adapt to the Mexico milieu. June, for her part, is homesick, and Buster, always ready to keep her happy, makes the grand gesture -- to return to England and turn himself in to the police. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phil Collins, Julie Walters, (more)
Director Woody Allen continued to work in the dark mold of his 2005 thriller Match Point with this suspenseful tale of two brothers (Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor) transformed into mortal enemies after scheming to alleviate their financial difficulties by turning to crime. Ian (McGregor) and Terry Blaine (Farrell) are two Cockney siblings whose lives seem to have simply fallen apart. While hard-drinking auto mechanic Terry lives with his girlfriend, Kate (Sally Hawkins), and suffers all the financial hardships that go with being a chronic gambler, his slightly more respectable sibling Ian helps their father maintain the family restaurant. Thanks to the steady income that the restaurant provides and the occasional help of their wealthy uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson) the family has always managed to scrape by, but when Ian learns of a potentially lucrative California real estate deal, he can't help but dream about moving on to bigger and better things. One day, Terry wins big at the tracks by betting on a speedy greyhound named "Cassandra's Dream," and promptly uses his winnings to purchase a small yacht that he names after the winning dog. Right around the same time, things also start looking up for Ian -- who falls under the seductive spell of ambitious actress Angela (Hayley Atwell). But the brothers' good-luck spell doesn't last long, because when Terry winds up owing a tidy sum to some violent local loan sharks, he's given the option of promptly paying up or suffering some particularly painful consequences. Just then, Uncle Howard shows up in London looking to settle the score with a whistle-blowing business associate. While agreeing to take part in Uncle Howard's diabolical revenge scheme could easily earn Terry the cash needed to pay off his substantial debt, the consequences -- should he get caught -- will be far greater than those of any small-time scam he has ever resorted to in the past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayley Atwell, Colin Farrell, (more)
- 2003
Written and directed by Anders Nilsson, Den Tredje Vagen is the Swedish filmmaker's third and final film in his trilogy centering on tough cop Johan Falk (Jakob Eklund). This time around, Falk has decided to seek out a more peaceful life. He's left the police department and intends to move away from the city. Things don't go quite as planned, however, and Falk once again finds himself embroiled in a fast-paced, bullet-riddled adventure. Released as The Third Wave in English-speaking markets, Den Tredje Vagen was preceded by 2001's Livvakterna and 1999's Noll Tolerans. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jakob Eklund, Irina Björklund, (more)
Young Tom (Daniel Newman) is a London prostitute pimped by the violently psychotic gangster Norris (Mark McGann), who regularly "offers" him to Dunston (John Benfield), a brutally corrupt detective with Scotland Yard. A tragic twist of fate frees Tom from Norris, but Dunston discovers Norris had been secretly videotaping his sessions with Tom in order to blackmail him later. Tom flees the city -- with the condemning videotape -- for a remote Welsh cottage with his American neighbors, Max (Corey Johnson) and Nikke (Toni Barry), with an enraged Dunston one step behind. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Newman, Corey Johnson, (more)
The psychological thriller Evilenko tells the story of arguably the most infamous serial killer in the history of the Soviet Union. Malcolm McDowell portrays Andrei Evilenko, a man responsibly for the deaths of about 50 kids. An intrepid cop and a gifted psychological profiler team up to try and stop him. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, Marton Csokas, (more)
This political thriller is set against the backdrop of Northern Ireland's "Troubles" and directed in the documentary fashion common to British filmmaker Ken Loach's films. Paul Sullivan (Brad Dourif) and Ingrid Jessner (Frances McDormand) are American attorneys serving on a human rights group working to monitor cases of prisoner mistreatment in war-torn Belfast. When Paul learns of some information that may be injurious to the Thatcher government, he is killed, and a top-secret tape disappears. Assigned to the case, Inspector Kerrigan (Brian Cox) is joined by Ingrid in probing Paul's death, which seems to be related to rumors of a high-ranking cabal within the British government working to undermine the Irish Republican Army and liberal policies toward Irish separatists through violent and illegal means. Ingrid meets with Harris (Maurice Roeves), a former British Secret Service agent who's now turned on his former cronies. Together, they look for the top-secret tape. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frances McDormand, Brian Cox, (more)
The My Left Foot team of star Daniel Day-Lewis and director Jim Sheridan were reunited to make this political docudrama about Irish citizen Gerry Conlon (Day-Lewis), who was wrongly convicted of taking part in an IRA bombing that killed five in Guildford, England in 1974. After a brutal interrogation forces him to sign a false confession, Gerry is sentenced to prison, his family is raked over the coals, and later his father Giuseppe (Pete Postelthwaite) is charged with being an accomplice and is also sent to prison where he lives out the last days of his life. Day-Lewis gives an outstanding performance as a man tormented by the injustice served him. Watch for Emma Thompson as the persevering lawyer who works for years, gathering evidence to clear Gerry's name. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, (more)
Helen Mirren delivers a standout performance in this TV miniseries as Jane Tennison, a London police detective. Tennison is trying to track down a sex-crazed killer who is murdering prostitutes, while at the same time doing battle with her male colleagues for her fair share of respect and responsibility on the force. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Tom Bell, (more)
Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) investigates the connection between a teen's murder and a pedophile ring in this third installment of the acclaimed BBC series Prime Suspect. Reassigned to a new district and a new department -- vice -- Tennison is drawn back to homicide when her squad discovers the immolated body of rent boy Connie (Greg Saunders) in the flat of timid transsexual Vera Reynolds (Peter Capaldi). The trail soon leads to James Jackson (David Thewlis), a vicious pimp with mysterious connections to Edward Parker-Jones (Ciarán Hinds), the director of a youth shelter where young Connie hung out. Forced to work alongside her old nemesis Sgt. Bill Otley (Tom Bell), Tennison spars with her superiors, who want her to focus on vice and resolve her homicide investigation posthaste. But when a TV reporter (Kelly Hunter) shows up with evidence that Connie was going to provide her with the names of his famous clients, Tennison must race to uncover the real motivation behind Connie's murder. The only installment other than the first to be written by series creator Lynda LaPlante, Prime Suspect 3 was filmed for the BBC and originally aired stateside on PBS. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Tom Bell, (more)
For the fourth installment of the BBC crime series Prime Suspect, the producers experimented with the show's format. Instead of following police detective Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) through a single murder investigation over the course of four hours, Prime Suspect 4 includes three 90-minute, stand-alone mysteries. In "The Lost Child," Tennison investigates the disappearance of a child whose mother is unwittingly dating a convicted sex offender. In "Inner Circles," she traces the connection between the residents of a brutal housing development and the well-heeled denizens of an exclusive country club whose manager is brutally murdered. And "The Scent of Darkness" returns to the serial-killer investigation that made Tennison's career (in Prime Suspect 1) as additional murders with the same modus operandi bring up the possibility that she apprehended the wrong man. In addition to its new format, Prime Suspect 4 also depicts, in "The Lost Child," the first non-murder investigation of Tennison's career. Prime Suspect 4 originally aired April 30, May 7, and May 15, 1995, in the United Kingdom. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, Beatie Edney, (more)
- 1991
Created by Lynda La Plante, the sporadically broadcast British TV series Prime Suspect succeeded in bestowing international stardom upon actress Helen Mirren. Set in London, the series dealt with female homicide detective Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren), who did her best to do her job in the face of sexual prejudice on the job and political corruption from the higher-ups. Virtually every time that Tennison investigated a murder, the trail of clues led to a compromising situation for a prominent civic leader, who invariably pulled strings to get the heroine off his scent. Not unexpectedly, Tennison was plagued with feelings of doubt and inadequacy, especially whenever her instincts proved (initially) to be wrong. Even so, by the time the series had run its course, Tennison had been promoted to superintendent. Making its British debut on April 7, 1991, Prime Suspect was broadcast for six seasons, each season progressively retitled as Prime Suspect 2, Prime Suspect 3, and so forth. In America, the property was seen over the PBS network and the A&E cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen Mirren, John Benfield, (more)
- 1983
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Based on a Sherlock Holmes story, the Sign of Four is about an ex-convict out to wreak vengeance on an army major (Thorley Walters) who left him stranded in a penal colony while making off with a valuable stash of treasure. But with a flat, dull treatment of both the story and its characters, including Holmes and Watson, this first in an intended series of 13 such adventures is not likely to lead others to the next Holmes mystery. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ian Richardson, David Healy, (more)
The Matrix masterminds Andy and Larry Wachowski usher anime icon Tatsuo Yoshida's classic 1960s-era hit into the new millennium with this family-friendly story of a young racecar driver who takes on the mysterious Racer X in a custom-made, gadget-loaded speed machine named the Mach 5. Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is the kind of driver that every wheelman wishes he could be: a born winner whose unbeatable combination of aggression, instinct, and fearlessness always finds him crossing the checkered flag with a comfortable lead. In Speed Racer's mind, the only driver who could present him with any real challenge is his late brother -- the legendary Rex Racer. Rex died in a heated cross-country rally known as The Crucible many years ago, and now his younger sibling is driven to fulfill the legacy that Rex left behind. To this day, Speed Racer is fiercely loyal to family. It was Speed Racer's father, Pops Racer (John Goodman), who designed the unbeatable Mach 5, and even a lucrative offer from racing giants Royalton Industries isn't enough to get the young ace to break his family ties.
Upon turning down Royalton's (Roger Allam) astronomical offer, Speed Racer makes the shocking discovery that the outcomes of the biggest races are being predetermined by a handful of powerful moguls who pad their profits by manipulating the drivers. Realizing that his career would be ruined if word of the fix gets out, Royalton vows that the Mach 5 will never make it to another finish line. Now, the only way for Speed Racer to save the family business and beat Royalton at his own game will be to win the very same race that claimed his brother's life so many years ago. In order to accomplish that formidable feat, however, Speed Racer will not only have to rely on his family and the aid of his longtime girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), but form a tenuous alliance with his longtime rival -- the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) -- as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Upon turning down Royalton's (Roger Allam) astronomical offer, Speed Racer makes the shocking discovery that the outcomes of the biggest races are being predetermined by a handful of powerful moguls who pad their profits by manipulating the drivers. Realizing that his career would be ruined if word of the fix gets out, Royalton vows that the Mach 5 will never make it to another finish line. Now, the only way for Speed Racer to save the family business and beat Royalton at his own game will be to win the very same race that claimed his brother's life so many years ago. In order to accomplish that formidable feat, however, Speed Racer will not only have to rely on his family and the aid of his longtime girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), but form a tenuous alliance with his longtime rival -- the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox) -- as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, (more)
- 1997
This wartime drama concerns a Catholic priest who finds his beliefs tested by his desire to defeat fascism and his love for a woman. Don Paolo (Anthony LaPaglia) is a priest in a small Italian village during World War II. While he espouses pacifism and non-violence, his words fall on increasingly less receptive ears as the anti-fascist Partisans, led by Capt. Zito (Dan Hedaya), become a greater force in the community. When an American solider parachutes into the village to encourage the Partisans to keep up their fight until Allied troops can liberate Italy, Zito's men step up their activities, leading fascist troops to capture, torture, and execute Zito's right hand man, Aldo (Jorge Sanz). After Aldo's death, one of Don Paolo's associates, Don Sebastiano (David Neal), decides that he can no longer stand idly by and watch his people be butchered; he joins the underground forces and helps ambush a group of Nazi soldiers, which leads to his death. After Don Sebastiano's passing, Don Paolo finally agrees to help Zito's forces by delivering a schedule of bridge bombings to American operatives in a neighboring town, though his nerve begins to fail him en route. Amidst the village's political turmoil, Don Paolo has become acquainted with Adriana (Embeth Davidtz), a beautiful woman working with the Partisans; he has developed a romantic attraction to her which she obviously shares, and as he struggles to keep his emotions in check and stay true to his vows, he is forced to call upon her for help in order to complete his mission for Zito. Based on a short story by Anthony DiFranco, The Garden of Redemption was intended to be the first in a series of films based on stories about World War II, produced for cable television. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony LaPaglia, Embeth Davidtz, (more)
- 1989
This full-blooded TV adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island was written, produced and directed by Frasier Heston. His father, Charlton Heston plays Long John Silver. Eschewing the cuteness of Wallace Beery and the unadulterated ham of Robert Newton, Heston plays the character as written: a cold, crafty, cunning rogue, by turns charming and deadly, but never to be underestimated. The plot adheres with utter fidelity to the Stevenson novel, beginning with innkeeper's son Jim Hawkins (Christian Bale) finding himself in possession of a treasure map from the doomed Captain Billy Bones (Oliver Reed). In the company of Dr. Livesey (Julian Glover) and Squire Trelawny (Richard Johnson), Jim ships out on the Hispaniola, in search of gold doubloons and pieces of eight. Hand-picking the crew for this mission is the ship's one-legged cook Long John Silver, who fully intends to mutiny, kill the treasure hunters, and claim the gold for himself. Featured in the cast are Clive Woods as Captain Smollett, Christopher Lee as Blind Pew, and Nicholas Amer as addled hermit Ben Gunn. Treasure Island premiered January 22, 1990, over the TNT cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Strongly recalling the film noir feel and labyrinthine plot twists of The Usual Suspects (1995), this German production featuring an all-English cast is a madcap caper flick about a quartet of dull-witted would-be bank robbers. The film opens with the police surveying the bloody aftermath of a botched robbery. The sole survivor, Jo Simpson (Claire Skinner), is carted off not by the cops -- to the surprise of Inspector Badger (John Benfield) -- but by the ultra-secret Cyclops Institute, where she is interrogated. Piece by piece, the investigators learn about her three accomplices, Eddie (Rhys Ifans) and Ian (David Schneider), two young losers who were obsessed with becoming famous, and the older, more experienced con man Michael (John Hurt). The investigators also learn about the mysterious way in which the criminals get caught up in schemes not of their own making, by way of an anonymous package containing a videotape and blueprints of the bank. It is eventually revealed that Simpson's memory is not as reliable as it might appear. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Rhys Ifans, (more)
