Jack Shepherd Movies

In the hip and swingin' London of the '60s, a young window washer, Ginger (Victor Henry) divides his time between picking up the cleaning rag and picking up women in the hip London pubs. One girl he meets is the pretty and demure Jill (Susan George), who his best friend Dwyer (Jack Shephard) takes a shine to. When Ginger agrees to becomes a caretaker at an old man's mansion and a wild party results, he asks Dwyer to look after Jill. Dwyer takes that invitation as a chance to seduce Jill. Later, when Ginger is informed by Jill that she is pregnant, he takes it upon himself to marry her. No sooner are they married than Jill's intimidating mother arrives to announce that she will be taking up quarters with the newlyweds. Now Ginger has to decide whether he should trade in his swingin' ways for a staid domestic life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this film, Barbara, a middle-aged woman living in Edinburgh in the present, is overwhelmed by memories of Greta, her long-dead mother from the 1930s to the 1950s. Flashbacks show the girl with her poetess mother in Edinburgh and the Orkney Isles. Her mother was fascinated by the sea which would later claim her life. In the present, one of her long-time friends is a well-known artist, and Barbara begins to rekindle strong ties with him when they meet at a gallery showing. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Based on the best-selling novel by Sebastian Faulks, this drama, set in Europe during World War II, stars Cate Blanchett as Charlotte, a Scottish woman living in London. Charlotte falls in love with Peter (Rupert Penry-Jones), a handsome RAF pilot, and the two are soon caught up in a torrid affair. Before long, Peter is sent off on a mission over France, and Charlotte receives word that Peter has been reported missing in action. Fluent in French and desperate to find the man she loves, Charlotte volunteers for work with British intelligence and is soon smuggled into France where she is to work with French resistance forces, posing as a woman from Paris. As Charlotte goes about her duties and tries to find Peter, she finds herself drawn to Julien (Billy Crudup), a Communist working with resistance forces. Charlotte is assigned to pose as a domestic at the home of Julien's father, Levade (Michael Gambon), where he's hiding two Jewish boys whose parents have been captured by Nazi troops. In order to maintain her cover and protect Julien, Levade, and the boys, Charlotte finds herself drawn into a relationship with Renech (Anton Lesser), a busybody schoolteacher who is collaborationg with the occupation troops. Directed by Gillian Armstrong, Charlotte Gray also features James Fleet, Ron Cook, and Helen McCrory. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker David Leland handled the directing chores on this British drama that stars Liam Neeson as an unemployed Scotsman whose inability to find a job threatens his family's wellbeing. Against his better judgement, Neeson is coerced into a bare-knuckle boxing match. Crossing the Line's supporting cast includes Hugh Grant, Joanne Whaley-Kilmer, Cameron Mitchell, and Billy Connolly. Adapted from a novel by William McIvanney, the film has also been released under the title The Big Man. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a universe presumably ruled by a benevolent, all-powerful God, how can events such as the Holocaust possibly come to pass? This is the question posed by a group of inmates in Auschwitz, the Third Reich's most notorious death camp, in this reflective war drama written by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Millions, Code 46), and directed by Andy DeEmmony (Filth: The Mary Whitehouse Story). Realizing that their extermination is imminent, the prisoners attempt to make sense of their fate by putting God on trial. How is it that the deity they call the Almighty could abandon His chosen people in their hour of need? As the sound of prisoners being marched to the gas chambers drifts hauntingly through the walls, the trial gets underway. The questions posed during the inquest are profoundly difficult and deeply complex, and as the hour draws near when they, too, will face death at the hands of their captors, the thoughtful prisoners finally reach a verdict. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This film within a film is based on the painting Las Meninas by Diego de Velazquez. A young boy enters the canvas of the famous picture of the Spanish king and his court. In order to return to the real world, he must convince the artist to create his famous painting. The other plot involves a film director who is not sure how his film within a film will be created. He is distracted by his troubled marriage and has difficulty focusing on his project. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Ben Kingsley stars as Simon Weisenthal, an Austrian Jew who is interred in the Malthausen concentration camp during World War II. When the camp is liberated, it is Weisenthal's eyewitness testimony, coupled with sketches that he's made of the many Nazi atrocities, that leads to the capture of Malthausen's escaped commandants. Weisenthal goes on to join the American War Crimes unit, collecting evidence for the Nuremberg trials. Eventually he dedicates his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals, at great personal cost to himself and his wife (Renee Soutendjik). His most daunting task is to convince his daughter (Louisa Haigh) that he is pursuing justice, not vengeance. Made for HBO, Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story premiered April 22, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Sebastian's musical score lends an appropriately anachronistic touch to the endearingly outdated The Act. Robert Ginty and Sarah Langenfield are the principal participants in this satiric tale of political dirty trickery, with emphasis on underhanded union tactics. Also on hand are veterans Jill St. John, Eddie Albert and Pat Hingle, who laudably behave as if the dialogue they're spouting actually has some artistic value. If you don't remember The Act making the scene at your local theatre in 1982, don't feel bad. The film barely received a release at all until it was committed to videotape several years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A young girl embarks on a perilous journey to rescue her best friend and fight the forces of darkness in director Chris Weitz's adaptation of the first installment of author Philip Pullman's best-selling fantasy trilogy. Screen newcomer Dakota Blue Richards stars as young heroine Lyra Belacqua, Casino Royale star Daniel Craig appears as Lyra's ruthless adventurer uncle, Lord Asriel, and Nicole Kidman assumes the glamorous guise of the villainous Mrs. Coulter. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A man who wants to give his family the good things in life decides to start stealing them in this dark comedy from England. Robert Martin (Lee Evans) is a working-class loser -- or at least he might be working-class if he had a job -- who is obsessed with entering contests, certain a big prize will finally make its way to him. Robert has entered a sweepstakes hoping to win an all-expenses-paid vacation on the Isle of Man, and when a well-off couple (Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Frank Finlay) are declared the winners, Robert concludes he deserves the prize far more than they do, and decides to simply take it away from them. Martin packs up his long-suffering wife, Angie (Kathy Burke); his strident mother-in-law (Linda Bassett); his 14-year-old daughter, Katie (Terri Dumont), who happens to be pregnant; and his surprisingly well-adjusted eight-year-old son, Little Bob (Eric Byrne), and they head off for the nightmare vacation of a lifetime. Ray Winstone and Mark Strong also appear in the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide