Olivier Pierre Movies

In this comedy, an actor masquerades as another more appealing man in hopes that his ex-wife will fall in love with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A lusty executive for a high-tech company tries to juggle his life between two disparate wives and his mistress. He is also in the Army Reserves and it is while serving his annual two weeks that he gets into big trouble. Actually, he is not actually serving; instead, he convinced his buddy to pretend to be him and go in his stead. The problems begin when the stand-in is arrested for being a spy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to the seamstress title character (Sarah Pickering), who chooses to live in debtor's prison with her father (Alec Guinness). Good samaritan Derek Jacobi endeavors to help both father and daughter. The second part, also known as "Little Dorrit's Story," details Dorrit's escape from penury to lasting happiness. Eschewing the usual 19th century-style British music often heard in Dickensian adaptations, director Christine Edzard creatively-and effectively--opts for the strains of Giuseppe Verdi. Edzard's eye for period detail is also deserving of unbounded praise. Unfortunately, Part Two of Little Dorrit spends nearly half of its running time recapping Part One, utilizing much of the same footage. For those familiar with "Nobody's Fault," "Little Dorrit's Story" is more a redundancy than a continuation. Still, taken together, parts one and two all fully deserving of the enthusiastic critical commentary that greeted them upon their original release-not to mention the multiple Academy Award nominations bestowed upon the project and its participants. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Pleasant and unpresumptuous, this modest comedy drama is about Elaine (Lucy Sheen), a young female lawyer in London and how she tries to do her duty by executing the last will and testament of a Chinese VIP. The heirs to the man's fortune argue among themselves, creating more headaches for Elaine as she tries to figure out the will. At the same time, Elaine finds herself attracted to the eldest heir, Mike (David Yip), and eventually Elaine and Mike enter into a romantic liaison. Meanwhile, another problem surfaces; the deceased insisted he be buried in his native village in mainland China, but no one wants to accompany the body. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this partially successful Brit sci-fi comedy, four invading aliens cannot really think their way out of a paper bag, much less conquer Earth with their superior knowledge (apparently also non-existent). Of the aliens, Desmond (Jimmy Nail) is particularly thick-headed and leaves Bernard (Mel Smith) dangling out in space, Sandra (Joanne Pearce) attracts the romantic interest of British Commander Matteson (Dinsdale Landen), and Julian (Paul Brown) is along for the ride. After this trio causes a traffic snarl when they land on a British expressway, they are first interrogated and then given jobs in showbiz so they can support themselves. This leads to a great rock singing career, which in turn, leads to a U.S. tour -- though this does not equate rock singers and aliens. Meanwhile, Bernard has been saved from his abandonment in space by an unlikely space-wanderer who drops him off in the U.S., where he is put in an insane asylum. Sure enough, when his three companions start their U.S. tour, Bernard escapes and tries to rejoin them. The saga continues on until some sort of very unlikely rescue seems in store. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

On the verge of starvation in 1930s Paris, erstwhile entertainer Victoria (Julie Andrews) is rescued by gay cabaret performer Toddy (Robert Preston). What she needs to succeed, opines Toddy, is a gimmick. What if she becomes a male impersonator? Better still: what if she becomes a male impersonator, pretending to be a female impersonator? As "Victor/Victoria," s/he becomes the toast of Paree, and an object of fascination for big-time Chicago gangster King Marchan (James Garner), who can't quite understand the teasing sensations he experiences whenever watching her in action-especially since he, like everyone else, assumes that she is a he. Enjoyable though the stars of Blake Edwards' comedy may be, the film is stolen by Lesley Ann Warren, who won an Oscar nomination as King's screechy-voiced moll, and Alex Karras as King's chief henchman, who, assuming that his boss is "that way," literally comes out of the closet. Victor/Victoria was a remake of the 1931 German film Viktor und Viktoria, which had previously be reworked in 1937 as the Jessie Mathews vehicle First a Girl. In 1996, Victor/Victoria was transformed into a Broadway musical, again directed by Edwards and starring Andrews. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A suicidal patient is placed in a mental hospital for observation. A psychiatrist realizes that the fellow contains telepathic powers with which he's capable of transferring his own fear-filled nightmares into the minds of others. When he directs his ephemeral madness into the minds of the doctors and patients around him, the hospital turns into a nightmarish melee. ~ All Movie Guide

This film version of the Who's rock opera Quadrophenia makes a few tentative stabs at "explaining" the alienation of 1960s British working-class youth, but its major selling point is its nonstop rock-and-R&B musical score, including the hit single "Love Reign O'er Me." Phil Daniels (replacing the original opera's Roger Daltrey) plays Jimmy, a member of a well-dressed, drugged-up teenaged gang called the Mods, forever duking it out with the cycle-punk Rockers. The rivalry between the two gangs comes to a head during three tempestuous days in the seaside town of Brighton. Here Jimmy makes love to lovely local Steph (Leslie Ash), and forges a strong friendship with unofficial Mod leader Ace Face (Sting). A series of disappointments and setbacks in his own London neighborhood convinces Jimmy to return to Brighton to pick up the pieces. If you aren't fascinated by the visual pyrotechnics of Quadrophenia, just close your eyes and revel to the soundtrack music of the Who, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, the Chiffons, Manfred Man, and many others. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide