Tony Bluto Movies

Set in the titular district northwest of London that has long been heavily populated by Irish immigrants, County Kilburn opens as young bartender Mickey (Ciaran McMenamin) is working his last week on the job at the Waggon & Horses. Alone behind the bar thanks to the sudden death of the pub's owner, Mickey spends much of his time mulling over problems with his girlfriend and begins to suspect that there's more to life than hawking booze. During his last week -- the film is split into sections by days -- he is joined at various intervals by a series of regulars that includes Johno (Rick Warden), an old school friend who has a secret concerning his longtime unemployment; Black Jack (John Bowe), whose nasty misogyny may be a cover for something he's hiding; crotchety, laconic Mr. Bollox (Norman Rodway), so named because of his propensity to use the word; and Billy (Simon Sherlock), a slick car salesman. The pub's quiet routine is interrupted by the arrival of Sue (Georgia Mackenzie), an old schoolmate on whom both Mickey and Johno once had a crush. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

In this suspense drama, Alan Terry (Rupert Graves) is a homeless man who wanders the streets of London. One night, Alan is trying to sleep near a bridge when he witnesses a strange and grisly murder; a man, speaking Italian, is hanged by four other men, one also speaking Italian while the other three have British accents. When Alan's presence is discovered by the killers, they give chase, and Alan is barely able to escape. However, the following day the papers report the death as a suicide; on the advice of his friend George (Graham Crowden), Alan goes to the police to tell what he saw. However, when Alan is introduced to Detective Matheson (Michael Gambon), the man investigating the case, he realizes that Matheson was one of the men who helped hang the victim. Assuming that Matheson would not be a good person with whom to discuss the case, Alan instead goes to Billie Hayman (Annabella Sciorra), an American journalist working in London who is able to bring Alan's side of the story to the people; Alan and Billie soon discover that this murder is far more complicated, and with more disturbing implications than they ever could have imagined. Though fictional, The Innocent Sleep was inspired by the true story of the death of Roberto Calvi, an Italian banker who was murdered in London in 1982. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Stormy Monday is a four-person character study in which style is all that matters. This tautly constructed, deftly executed crime thriller is set in economically depressed Newcastle England. Sting plays Finney, a relatively honest Newcastle jazz-club owner who crosses the path of crass American gangster Cosmo (Tommy Lee Jones). Flaunting his wealth at every opportunity, Cosmo wants to involve Finney in a land development deal -- if only he'll give up his club. Both men are enamored of Kate (Melanie Griffith), who becomes a pawn in their ongoing one-upsmanship. Kate and her lover (Sean Bean) try to prevent Finney from corrupting his own sense of values by wallowing in the gutter with Cosmo. Stormy Monday, the first feature-length directorial effort of former jazz musician Mike Figgis, who also wrote the script and composed the score, tells its story using subtle shadings of character and a vivid evocation of its Newcastle setting rather than through violent action. Figgis's moody direction of his excellent screenplay is quietly effective and brimming with visual nuance and irony -- particularly in its perceptive take on love, money, jazz, and economic necessity. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi