David Rees Movies
Directed by Jonathan Glazer, Birth takes place in New York's Upper East Side, where Anna (Nicole Kidman), a 35-year-old widow, resides. Just as Anna has shaken off what she thought were the final remnants of her old life -- she has even found love with a new man, Joseph (Danny Huston), whom she plans on marrying -- Sean (Cameron Bright), a ten-year-old boy, comes into her life insisting that he is the reincarnation of her late husband. Though she initially brushes off the boy's claims as the result of a crush on her, his grave demeanor and uncanny knowledge of her life leads Anna through a self-reevaluation that not only threatens her marital plans with Joseph (Huston), but also strains her relationship with her mother, Eleanor (Lauren Bacall). ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, (more)
- 2002
Based on Peter Lovesey's novel On the Edge, this British TV production is a comic variation on the old "exchange murder" device so beloved of writer Patricia Highsmith and filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. Shortly after the end of WWII, old friends Antonia (Helen McCrory) and Rose (Fay Ripley) unexpectedly catch up with each other. Comparing notes, the ladies find that they're both mired in unhappy marriages. Since divorce is out of the question, Antonia and Rose enter into an agreement to do away with one another's husbands: In both cases, it will look like an accident, and how in the world could anyone find a link between the killings? Unfortunately, once the deeds are done, the "perfect" scheme begins to unravel thanks to Rose's cold feet and Antonia's eccentric approach to the art of murder. First seen in the U.K. on October of 2002, Dead Gorgeous was shown as part of the PBS anthology Mystery! on July 6, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helen McCrory, Fay Ripley, (more)
This 2000 television adaptation of Charles Dickens' Victorian classic was originally released as a six-hour, three-part miniseries on PBS. Adapted by Alan Bleasdale, this version of Oliver Twist gives viewers a new look at an old story, waiting 90 minutes to even introduce its eponymous hero (played by Sam Smith), and taking pains to establish the background of Oliver's parents, good-hearted Agnes Fleming (Sophia Myles) and all-around coward Edwin Leeford (Tim Dutton). All of the resolutely Dickensian touches are here, from greedy relatives to secret wills, to stolen lockets containing valuable information, and all are ably brought to life by a talented cast that includes Julie Walters as Mrs. Mann, Michael Kitchen as Mr. Brownlow, Lindsay Duncan as Elizabeth Leeford, Marc Warren as Monks, and Robert Lindsay as Fagin. As an added bonus, the miniseries' score, by Paul Pritchard, contains additional music by none other than Elvis Costello. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Smith, David Ross, (more)
Adrian Lyne buffs the premise of Honeymoon in Vegas to a fine gloss in this yuppie melodrama that poses the conundrum of whether the loving husband of an equally loving wife will accept $1 million to allow his wife to spend one night with a billionaire who looks like Robert Redford. All the cynics please take a number and form a line at the right. Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson play Diana and David Murphy, high-school sweethearts who marry and who are doing very well -- Diana is a successful real-estate agent, and David is an idealistic architect who has built a dream house by the ocean -- until the recession hits. Suddenly, David loses his job, and they can't make the mortgage payments. Dead broke, they borrow $5000 from David's father and head to Las Vegas to try to win money to pay the mortgage on their house. At first, they get $25,000 ahead -- but inevitably the house always wins, and they end up losing it all. While Diana is in the fancy casino boutique trying to lift some candy, she is spotted by billionaire John Gage (Robert Redford), who is immediately attracted to her. John invites Diana and David to an opulent party, and it is there that John offers David $1 million for a night with his wife. David is wracked by this moral dilemma, but Diana finally makes the decision on her own, with ensuing consequences for their ideal marriage and their bank account. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Demi Moore, (more)
- 1991
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This informative look at T.E. Lawrence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, as he serves as the liaison to the Hashemite delegation in an effort to have the Allies agree to Arab independence. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Fiennes
- 1991
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The fourth (and final!) entry in this kick-boxing series, sees the return of Michael Dudikoff as the leading foot flinger. Here a scheming sheik trains a bevy of ninja marauders that he's hoping can help him in his plan to hold the world ransom by holding hostage none other than the city of New York. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Dudikoff, David Bradley, (more)
- 1990
McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) and her boyfriend, Judge Michael Hayworth (John Beck), are held captive by the brother (Harold Sylvester) of a convict who killed himself in prison. Their captor is convinced that the Judge, who refused to consider new evidence in his brother's case, is responsible for the tragedy. As Hunter races against time to free his partner, information comes to light suggesting that Hayworth may have had a hidden agenda during the dead man's trial. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
For his first directorial project in six years, Robert Towne selected a timeworn romantic-triangle yarn, injecting the material with subtlety and conviction. Tequila Sunrise stars Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell as two lifelong friends who, in true James Cagney-Pat O'Brien fashion, grow up on the opposite sides of the law. One is a retired drug dealer (at least he says he is), the other a "celebrity" cop. Both fall in love with gorgeous restaurateur Michelle Pfeiffer. Veteran movie buffs will enjoy spotting director Budd Boetticher as a judge, and will welcome the presence in the production credits of cinematographer Conrad Hall, who earned an Oscar nomination for his richly textured color camerawork. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, (more)
