Thomas Lockyer Movies

Vantage Point director Pete Travis turns his attention from high-profile political assassinations to the high-risk talks that ushered in the end of apartheid while securing the release of Nelson Mandela in this historical drama starring William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofer, Mark Strong, and Johnny Lee Miller. The time is the late '80s, a crucial period in the history of South Africa. President P.W. Botha is hanging on to power by a thread as the African National Congress (ANC) takes up arms against apartheid and the country tumbles toward insurrection. A British mining concern called Consolidated Gold is convinced that their interests would be better served in a stable South Africa, and they quietly dispatch Michael Young, their head of public affairs, to open an unofficial dialogue between the bitter rivals. Assembling a reluctant yet brilliant team to pave the way to reconciliation by confronting obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, Young places his trust in ANC leader Thabo Mbeki and Afrikaner philosophy professor Willie Esterhuyse. It is their empathy that will ultimately serve as the catalyst for change by proving more powerful than the terrorist bombs that threaten to disrupt the peaceful dialogue. As the story shifts between Mandela's jail cell, Botha's chambers, ANC headquarters, and a rented car occupied by a British bureaucrat, the prospect for peace becomes more than just a distant hope. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Jordan Frieda, the son of British pop singer Lulu, plays the title role in this made-for-TV biopic. The film covers three years in the life of the young and handsome Prince of Wales, from the death of his mother Princess Diana in 1997, to his entry into St. Andrew's College in 2000. The young Prince's predilection for irreverence and mischief is duly noted, as is the pathos attending his strained relationship with his father Prince Charles (Martin Turner) and grandmother Queen Elizabeth (Rosemary Leach), and his inability to maintain any sort of private life (he has only to kiss a girl on date for every photographer on earth to crawl out of the bushes). The bulk of the film chronicles William's efforts to keep his mother's memory alive, and to come to terms with his "second mother", the controversial Camilla Parker Bowles (Carolyn Pickes). Because of its mildly anti-Royal sentiments, as well as a melodramatic subplot intimating that "sinister forces" intended to do William harm, the film garndered a huge amount of attention from both Buckingham Palace (who refused to give official sanction to the production) and the British tabloids. Filmed in Ireland, Prince William made its ABC network debut on September 29, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this fantasy adventure tale, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) and his kinsman Duncan (Adrian Paul) are "Immortals," members of a secret clan who can be killed only through decapitation. Connor and Duncan find themselves thrown into a tournament where Immortals both good and evil battle one another in a bid to become the last of their kind. Highlander: Endgame was the fourth feature film in the Highlander franchise, but its narrative draws from the storyline of the Highlander television series and ignores the events of the second and third films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

He was a poor carpenter who never traveled further than 50 miles from his home and died at the age of 33, but his teachings changed the world and he's still followed by hundreds of millions of people around the world, 2,000 years after his death. Jesus, originally produced as a television mini-series, offers a glimpse of the human side of the messiah, as well as recounting the story of his life and martyrdom. Jeremy Sisto stars as Jesus, with Jacqueline Bisset as Mary, Armin Mueller-Stahl as Joseph, Gary Oldman as Pontius Pilate, and Debra Messing as Mary Magdalene. The home video release is expanded from the broadcast edition, featuring material that was cut for time purposes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Born in Dorsetshire, Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) fictionalized the region as Wessex in his short stories and novels. In 1973, stories from Thomas Hardy's collection Wessex Tales (1888) were adapted to television for a BBC-2 series (also titled Wessex Tales) that included a memorable contribution ("A Tragedy of Two Ambitions") scripted by acclaimed British dramatist Dennis Potter, who later adapted Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge for the BBC2 in 1978. The Scarlet Tunic is based on another story from Wessex Tales, "The Melancholy Hussar of the German Legion," a 20-page tale of thwarted love, structured as a recollection by Phyllis as told to Hardy shortly before she died. For this $800,000-budgeted British period film, set in the early 19th century, the name Phyllis was changed to Frances (Emma Fielding), daughter of retired doctor Edward Groves (Jack Shepherd). Frances is engaged to her father's friend, dull Humphrey Gould (John Sessions), away on business. A German cavalry regiment is encamped on Groves' land, and one day, Frances meets handsome hussar Matthaus (Jean-Marc Barr), who's ready for action. He would like to either fight the French or return to Germany. The two have an immediate attraction. When the bored soldiers, including Matthaus, make plans to desert, Frances decides to leave with Matthaus. Unfortunately, Gould visits the Groves home on that very night, with resulting confrontations and conflicts. Former second-unit director and stunt coordinator Stuart St. Paul makes his feature directorial debut, with the screenplay (St. Paul, Mark Jenkins, Colin Clements) expanding on both the events and characters as penned by Hardy. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Geena Davis stars in this adventure saga as the most swashbuckling female pirate to ever lay waste to the seven seas. Morgan Adams (Davis) is the daughter of a pirate who has followed in her father's footsteps. When he dies, he passes along his ship, a crew of bandits, and one third of a treasure map (which happens to be tattooed on his skull). Morgan is eager to search out the rest of the map and retrieve the riches, but the fragment she holds is in Latin. Morgan then buys a well-educated slave, William Shaw (Matthew Modine), who can read the ancient language and already has a taste for the criminal life. However, Morgan and William are not long into their search when they discover that someone else is following the same trail for the rest of the treasure map: Dawg Brown (Frank Langella), Morgan's uncle and as black-hearted a scurvy dog as ever boarded a ship. As Morgan and Dawg battle each other over the fragments of the map, a British journalist (Maury Chaykin) covers their feud for the penny press. William Shaw was originally to have been played by Michael Douglas, who dropped out in the early stages of this troubled production. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Dexter King (Jeff Goldblum) is an actor who spends his nights on-stage in London's West End as a comedic punching bag for obnoxiously self-centered comedian Ron Anderson (Rowan Atkinson). He gets hit in the head with hammers, he trips, and he stands by dumbly as Anderson gets all the laughs. His home life is little different. His roommate, Carmen (Geraldine James), is a nymphomaniac, so he's always surprised by naked men parading through the kitchen in the morning. A chance meeting with lovely nurse Kate Lemon (Emma Thompson) and a tryout for the lead in a new Andrew Lloyd Webber-ish musical based on The Elephant Man (called, not surprisingly, "Elephant!") jolt Dexter from his torpor. Not that it makes him much less of a loser, which is the quality the show's producers are looking for. "You're a victim," they tell him. His attempts to seduce Kate are equally jarring. She asks him if he is a big believer in having sex on the first date. "Why, no," he tells her, trying to impress her with his sensitivity. Too bad, she replies -- she doesn't believe in getting serious with someone if they're sexually incompatible. Romance and showbiz go on, with the show a hit, though Dexter's romance hits a temporary snag: his backstage romance with a co-star (Kim Thomson) gets found out. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide