Sean Pertwee Movies

The Arthurian legend is detailed in this chronicle of the adventures of the once and future king (Jamie Campbell Bower, the wizard Merlin (Joseph Fiennes), sorceress Morgan (Eva Green), and the Lady Guinevere (Tasmin Egerton). ~ Ray Stackhouse, Rovi

Steampunk aesthetics inform this story of a dystopic future in which humankind wages an explosive last stand against the demonic NecroMutants, who would see the entire human race brutally annihilated. Thomas Jane, Ron Perlman, Devon Aoki, and John Malkovich star in this effects-heavy sci-fi action thriller from director Simon Hunter (Dead of Night). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When the students of a remote boarding school begin receiving text messages that claim to grant the recipient's greatest wish, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a heavy tool to pay for making one's wildest fantasy a reality. Dominique Pinon and Rick Warden star in this made-for-mobile phone horror series that's even more frightening on television than it was on your cell phone. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A professional thief finds his luck going from bad to worse when he's sent to Russia to steal a priceless antique crucifix and becomes the terrified target of a serial killer who takes the title of "headhunter" all too seriously. Career larcenist Ritchie Donovan (Stephen Dorff)'s latest job has just ended in tragedy, and he still owes a fortune to a fearsome Russian godfather. Fortunately for Ritchie, the crime kingpin is feeling especially benevolent today, and offers the luckless cat burglar one last chance to settle his debt. All Ritchie has to do is travel to Moscow, ascent a skyscraper penthouse, crack the safe, and steal an antique crucifix. It couldn't have been a simpler plan, but when the robbery ends in murder and police surround the building, Ritchie and the gang are forced to take hostages. Just as it begins to appear as if all hope is lost, the elevator that Ritchie and his fellow gangsters are traveling on comes to a complete stop on the building's unused thirteenth floor. But landing on the thirteenth floor of this building may not have been the lucky break it first appeared, because lying in wait on the hidden level is a serial killer with a knack for collecting heads. He makes no secret of his hobby either, because his gruesome trophies line these seldom-wandered halls like a nightmarish testament to the ultimate gamesman. With the cops closing in from below, psychotic Russian gangsters on all sides, panicked hostages freaking out, and a homicidal maniac somewhere too close for comfort, all Ritchie cares about now if getting his feet back on the ground before he loses his head. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In the midst of a bold military strike designed to end World War II before Christmas, a skilled team of special operatives are assigned the task of locating a hidden cache of Nazi gold in this tense wartime adventure starring Michael Madsen and Billy Zane. With 35,000 United States troops dropped behind enemy lines in German-occupied Holland, the top-secret team, code-named "Matchbox," sets out to claim the valuable booty and bring it back to aid the U.S. war effort. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

One young man's dream takes him on a remarkable journey in this sports-themed drama. Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) was born in Mexico, and came to California with his family when he was just a boy. One of the few things Santiago brought with him was a love for soccer, and while he holds down two jobs -- working landscaping during the days with his father, Hernan (Tony Plana), and as a busboy at night -- he still dreams of playing the game professionally, and spends his precious spare time with an amateur team in Los Angeles. One day, Santiago is approached by Glen Foy (Stephen Dillane), a part-time scout for powerhouse British team Newcastle United; Glen has seen Santiago play and thinks he has talent, and can get him a tryout with Newcastle if he can make his way to England. While Hernan refuses to help Santiago pay for the trip, his grandmother (Miriam Colon) empties her savings to help him follow his dream. Santiago's first reserve game with the team happens during a typically British rainstorm, with Santiago suffering a mild asthma attack to boot; he doesn't play at his best and is turned away from the team, but he refuses to go home, determined to make good. After striking up a friendship with star kicker Gavin Harris (Alessandro Nivola) and demonstrating his mettle to coach Mal Braithwaite (Gary Lewis), Santiago earns a second chance to show Newcastle United what he can do and make his father proud of him. Goal! was a major international hit, and a sequel was already in production before the film opened in the United States in the spring of 2006. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This ambitious, four-hour cable miniseries stars Jeremy Sisto (taking time off from his regular series Six Feet Under) as Roman general-turned-emperor Julius Caesar. Expensively filmed in Malta and Bulgaria, the production vividly traces Caesar's rise to prominence as a brilliant military tactician (with remarkably accurate battle scenes); his complex relationships with his mentor General Pompey (Chris Noth) and his second wife Calpurnia (Valeria Golino); his ideological tiltings with Senator Cato (Christopher Walken), who advocates democracy over Caesar's dictatorial ambitions; and his bloody (but inevitable) murder at the hands of former friends and allies. Taking some dramatic license with the facts, the film is basically sympathetic to its subject, although Caesar is depicted as a flawed man, both physically and morally. Giving Caesar points for being fundamentally honorable, in full possession of his faculties, and possessing the "common touch" with the Roman citizenry, the teleplay does not shrink away from the man's violent epileptic seizures, his megalomania, his casually calculated cruelties, and his bigamous relationship with Egyptian queen Cleopatra (Samuela Sardo). Interestingly enough, however, the miniseries downplays his notorious bisexuality ("Every man's woman and every woman's man"). In his final performance, Richard Harris appears as Caesar's wily bête noire, Roman dictator Sulla. Caesar was first telecast in the U.S. on June 29-30, 2003, by the TNT cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

British director Neil Marshall's directorial debut Dog Soldiers resurrects and embraces the low-budget horror-comedy. Sergeant Harry Wells (Sean Pertwee) leads a team of British soldiers on a routine expedition to the Scottish Highlands. The six men would rather be at home watching the game, but they are even more dismayed when a carcass lands on their campfire. The next morning, they happen upon a severely injured Captain Richard Ryan (Liam Cunningham) and the bloody remains of his squadron. Soon they are attacked by giant werewolf beasts and chased through the woods, only to be saved by zoologist Megan (Emma Cleasby), who explains some of the truth about the creatures. They all take refuge in an old farmhouse while the threat of the monsters looms increasingly heavy. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

First-time screenwriter Stelios Pavlou enjoyed a major success with this script that he wrote while working in an English liquor store by sending it to actor Samuel L. Jackson, who signed on for one of the lead roles. Jackson is Elmo McElroy, a kilt-wearing, golf club-wielding Los Angeles native who has invented an illegal drug formula that he hopes will provide him with a last major score of 20 million dollars before he retires from a life of crime. He travels to Liverpool, England, where he hopes to find a buyer for his creation among the denizens of the city's rave scene, but his plans go awry when those who are in on the deal start turning up dead. Elmo's only protector is a chain-smoking, Yank-hating local hood named Felix De Souza (Robert Carlyle), who reluctantly partners with the violence-prone American to finish the deal and cash in, sparking a gang war between Elmo's vengeful one-time employer, The Lizard (Meat Loaf); Felix's boss, Durant (Ricky Tomlinson); crooked cop Virgil Kane (Sean Pertwee); a beautiful assassin, who also happens to be Felix's ex-girlfriend (Emily Mortimer); and an offbeat, yoga-practicing nightclub owner and mobster named Iki (Rhys Ifans). For its U.S. release, the title of The 51st State was changed to Formula 51. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Following up on the critical drubbing of the Final Cut, the same cast and crew, TV comedians Dominic Anciano and Ray Burdis, along with Britpack hipsters Jonny Lee Miller, Jude Law, Rhys Ifans, and Sadie Frost, come together to make this crime comedy about guns, karaoke, and fart jokes. The film opens with bored postman Jonny (Lee Miller) in clown-face reminiscing about his mate Jude (Law), who introduced him to his crime lord uncle Ray Kreed (Ray Winstone). Though Jonny is hungry for some action, Ray is more interested in karaoke and his impeding nuptials with soap star Sadie (Frost). Bored, Jonny, along with Jude, bungle a credit card scam and then later really screw up by robbing high-grade blow from a South London gang headed by Sean (Sean Pertwee) and his sidekick Matthew (Ifans). Soon a gang war ensues. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

The epic saga of the Queen of Egypt gets yet another retelling in Cleopatra, a four-hour, two-part spectacular produced for television. Leonor Varela plays Cleopatra, the Egyptian monarch who uses her wisdom, charm, ruthlessness, and seductive powers to work her way into the heart (and bed) of Roman leader Julius Caesar (Timothy Dalton). But Cleopatra shifts her romantic alliances to Marc Anthony (Billy Zane) just in time for Caesar's death and Anthony's rise to the throne. When Rome goes to war, however, Cleopatra realizes that she can only remain in power for so long, eventually making a late date with an asp when things get especially grim. This is at least the 12th film based on Cleopatra's life (the best-known being the infamously expensive 1962 version starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton). Produced by Hallmark for NBC television, this version first aired as a two-part miniseries in May 1999. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

After scripting Blade Runner and Twelve Monkeys, David Webb Peoples continued to traverse the science fiction landscape with this action-adventure directed by Paul Anderson. A prologue shows infants classified 1A and placed in an academy promoting violent militarism. Spawned in such an environment, Sgt. Todd (Kurt Russell) became a top-ranking interplanetary fighter. However, military upgrades in genetic engineering made Todd obsolete. Todd's commanding officer, Captain Church (Gary Busey), has a confrontation with West Point-trained Colonel Mekum (Jason Isaacs), who heads the new generation of genetically engineered fighters. One such warrior is Caine 607 (Jason Scott Lee), who defeats Todd and others led by Church. The trio, presumed dead, is put in a garbage ship which dumps them on the distant Arcadia 234 planet. However, Todd survives and is nursed by homesteaders Sandra (Connie Nielsen) and Mace (Sean Pertwee), while their mute son Nathan (brothers Jared and Taylor Thorne) watches. Todd is regarded with suspicion by others in the colony. But when the warrior supermen, led by Caine 607, attack the settlement, Todd turns out to be their only line of defense. The one-man army springs into action to eliminate the super squadron amid leftover props from Demolition Man, Event Horizon and other sci-fi movies. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

William Shakespeare's famous "Scottish play" gets a new and updated look in this version produced for British television. Macbeth (Sean Pertwee), a brave and bloodthirsty man, has aspirations to political power, and at the urgings of his wife (Greta Scacchi), Macbeth murders Duncan (Philip Madoc) in hopes that this will help ease his way to being crowned King. While Macbeth does win the crown, his gruesome path to leadership comes back to haunt him. Director Michael Bogdanov and producer Sue Pritchard set Shakespeare's historical tragedy against the backdrop of a decaying industrial metropolis, with the characters wearing modern dress that suggests modern-day intrigue among genteel criminals, rather than warring factions in 11th century Scotland. Macbeth was a co-production of the English Shakespeare Company and the British television network Channel 4. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi