David Thewlis Movies
The second of three children, David Thewlis grew up in an apartment above his family's combination toy store and wallpaper shop. He received his training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. A veteran of the London stage and English television (Prime Suspect 3), Thewlis found his particular cinematic niche as the antihero of director Mike Leigh's Naked (1993). From the moment that Thewlis, playing an indigent from Manchester, showed up unannounced at the doorstep of his old girlfriend and immediately proceeded to verbally trash everyone in sight, the audience knew it wasn't in for a Noël Coward revival. The result of Thewlis's antisocial screen behavior was the unqualified praise of discriminating moviegoers, not to mention awards from the Cannes jury, the New York Film Critics, and the National Society of Film Critics.He went on to demonstrate his versatility in a number of diverse roles, including Paul Verlaine in 1995's Total Eclipse, an animated earthworm in James and the Giant Peach (1996), a mountaineer in Seven Years in Tibet (1997, a role for which the actor was subsequently banned from entering China), and an expatriate British composer living in Rome in Bernardo Bertolucci's Besieged in 1998. Also that year, Thewlis could be seen doing a brief but hilarious turn as a giggling conceptual artist in The Big Lebowski. As rare as it is for an actor to possess the versatility needed to alternate between such adult-oriented fare as director Mike Leigh's Naked and such innocent fun as James and the Giant Peach, Thewlis could be as effective in the former as he was endearing in the latter. Following a chilling performance as the leader of a London gang in the 2002 crime drama Gangster No. 1, Thewlis switched gears somewhat to portray the villain in the made-for-television family adventure Dinotopia shortly thereafter.
In 2003, Thewlis expanded his resumé by making his feature directorial debut with Cheeky, a comedy drama concerning a mournful widower (Thewlis) whose life takes a change for the better after appearing in a popular game show of questionable taste. His profile steadily increasing thanks to roles in such high-profile releases as Timeline and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (as Professor Remus Lupin), the actor began to make as big a name for himself in large-scale Hollywood blockbusters as he previously had in intimate independent dramas.
Of course, that's not to say that Thewlis had lost his taste for smaller-scale films, just that his skills were now in increased demand stateside as a direct result of his powerful early-career performances. After a busy year in 2005 with roles in the historical dramas Kingdom of Heaven and The New World, Thewlis drifted back into modern times to play a small but pivotal role in an American-shot segment of the international short anthology All the Invisible Children -- a powerful meditation on the modern mistreatment of youth by the increasingly jaded adult population. A brief turn as the Scotland Yard homicide detective trailing Sharon Stone in the belated and ill-fated sequel Basic Instinct 2 may have gone unseen by many fans after the film received considerably negative word of mouth, though a fun turn as the paranoid, bubblegum-chomping reporter hot on the trail of the young Antichrist in the 2006 remake of The Omen gave audiences much more to chew on and offered Thewlis the opportunity to have a bit of fun, to the delight of fans everywhere.
The following year, Thewlis reprised his role of Prof. Lupin in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and appeared in the title role in The Inner Life of Martin Frost. He could next be seen in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a film adaptation of the John Boyne Holocaust novel, which focuses on the friendship that develops between the child of a Nazi commander at a concentration camp and a young Jewish prisoner. Thewlis enjoyed a high-profile 2011 when the last of the Harry Potter films hit screens, as did other films he was cast in including the Shakespearean drama Anonymous, and Steven Spielberg's Oscar nominated War Horse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Director Steven Spielberg's epic World War I drama details the remarkable bond between a man named Albert (Jeremy Irvine) and his loyal horse, Joey. Adapted from the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse follows the growing friendship between man and beast as Albert trains Joey, and then follows Joey on an incredible journey across the English countryside after the pair are forcibly separated. Along the way, Joey touches the lives of everyone he comes into contact with, including British and German soldiers, as well as a kindly French farmer and his impressionable granddaughter. Later, in no man's land, Joey's extraordinary saga winds to a poignant and deeply affecting climax. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeremy Irvine, Peter Mullan, (more)
Director Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Professional) teams with screenwriter Rebecca Frayn to tell the true-life story of Burmese pro-democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi (Michelle Yeoh), whose marriage to husband Michael Aris (David Thewlis) endured even after Kyi was placed under house arrest by her government for nearly 15 years. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, (more)
- 2011
- PG13
- Add Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 to Queue Add Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 to top of Queue
The final adventure in the Harry Potter film series follows Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) as they prepare for a final battle with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), who is determined to destroy Harry once and for all. In order to defeat the powerful wizard, they must find and destroy Voldemort's last and most elusive Horcrux -- that is, the enchanted piece of soul allowing him to remain immortal -- before his nefarious plans come to fruition. David Yates directs. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, (more)
Director Roland Emmerich takes a break from his long string of big-budget disaster films with Anonymous, a historical drama that suggests Shakespeare was a fraud. Edward de Vere (Rhys Ifans) is an aristocrat who yearns to write poetry and plays, but due to social and political constraints, he is forced to use a front for his political-minded works because they subtly encourage Queen Elizabeth to alter her plan for succession in a way that is in direct opposition to her most-trusted political advisers. When drunken, illiterate, fame-hungry actor William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) passes off the plays as his own, de Vere finds his man, but eventually he is blackmailed when the morally dubious thespian wants more and more. Anonymous screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
- 2010
- PG13
- Add Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 to Queue Add Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 to top of Queue
The first installment of the two-film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows follows Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) as they search for the pieces of Voldemort's (Ralph Fiennes) soul that he extracted from his being and hid in obscure locations both far and wide. If the trio is unable to locate and destroy them all, Voldemort will remain immortal. Despite their long friendship, a combination of dark forces, romantic tensions, and long-held secrets threaten to sabotage the mission. David Yates directs. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, (more)
The true story of a man who stumbled into a lucrative career as one of Europe's biggest drug dealers comes to the screen in this comedy-drama. Howard Marks (Rhys Ifans) was a young Welshman studying at Oxford when he discovered there was something unusual about his dorm room -- it had a secret passageway that led to a storage space used by one of the school's top marijuana dealers. Marks and the dealer struck up a friendship as he became an enthusiastic customer, and a few years later, when plans to bring a large cache of hashish into England via Germany went haywire, Marks stepped in to help and was introduced to a circle of big league marijuana traffickers. Marks quit his job as a teacher to become a full time drug wholesaler, and while his new career cost him his first marriage, it introduced him to Judy (Chloe Sevigny), a lovely woman who became the love of his life. As Marks' business grew, he gained some interesting new associates, including an Irish Republican Army operative (David Thewlis) who knew how to get past customs agents, an intelligence agent (Christian McKay) working on both sides of the law and a wildly eccentric American marijuana kingpin (Crispin Glover). Mr. Nice was adapted from the autobiography by the real-life Howard Marks; Marks is good friends with Rhys Ifans, who was cast to play him in the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rhys Ifans, Chloë Sevigny, (more)
A South London gangster emerges from three years in prison and becomes a bodyguard for a famous actress, only to be sucked back into the shady underworld by a ruthless crime lord in this gritty crime drama starring Colin Farrell. Mitchel (Farrell) served his time in Pentonville Prison. Now that he's a free man, he's determined to keep it that way. His resolve not to fall back on his criminal past is weakened, however, when his longtime friend Billy (Ben Chaplin) offers him a place to stay in exchange for help with a quick and dirty job. But just as it seems like the past won't let Mitchel go, a promising new opportunity arises; high-profile actress Charlotte (Keira Knightley) is hiding out from the paparazzi in a Holland Park mansion, and she needs a man who can help keep them at bay. Little does Charlotte realize that Billy has set his sights on her classic cars and valuable art collection, and that Mitchel is the only thing preventing him from robbing her blind. But just as Mitchel and Charlotte fall in love and make plans to move to Los Angeles, notorious mob heavy Gant (Ray Winstone) presents the cunning ex-con with an offer he can't refuse: Gant wants Mitchel in his gang, and he won't take no for an answer. Before Mitchel can flee, Gant has got him under his thumb, revealing that Mitchel will die before he ever has a chance to take flight. Upon realizing that any refusal to follow Gant's orders will endanger not only himself, but his sister Briony (Anna Friel) and Charlotte as well, Mitchel prepares to strike back with a vengeance. Consequences be damned, Mitchel will do whatever it takes to protect the ones he loves, and prove that no man owns him. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Keira Knightley, Colin Farrell, (more)
- 2009
- PG
- Add Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to Queue Add Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to top of Queue
Adolescent wizard-in-training Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for another year of schooling and learns more about the dark past of the boy who grew up to become Lord Voldemort in this, the sixth installment of the film series that originated from the writings of author J.K. Rowling. There was a time when Hogwarts was thought of as a safe haven, but thanks to Voldemort's tightening grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, that simply isn't the case anymore. Suspecting that the castle may even harbor an outright threat, Harry finds his investigation into the matter sidelined by Dumbledore's attempts to prepare him for the monumental battle looming ever closer on the horizon. In order to discover the key to Voldemort's defenses, Dumbledore enlists the aid of resourceful yet unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, who may have a clue as to their enemy's Achilles' heel. Meanwhile, teenage hormones cause the students at Hogwarts to lose focus on their true mission. As Harry and Dean Thomas clash for the affections of the lovely Ginny, Romilda Vane attempts to woo Ron away from Lavender Brown with some particularly tasty chocolates. Even Hermione isn't immune from the love bug, though she tries her hardest to suppress her growing jealousy and keep her emotions bottled up. But there is one student who remains completely aloof from the romance blossoming all around, and he intends to leave a dark impression on his classmates. With tragedy looming ever closer, it begins to appear as if peace will prove elusive in Hogwarts for some time to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, (more)
- 2008
- PG13
- Add The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to Queue Add The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to top of Queue
Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, and Asa Butterfield star in Little Voice writer/director Mark Herman's adaptation of John Boyne's novel concerning the forbidden friendship that between an eight-year-old German boy and a Jewish concentration camp prisoner in World War II-era Germany. The innocent son of a high-ranking Nazi commandant, Bruno has been largely shielded from the harsh realities of the war. When Bruno discovers that his father has been promoted and that their family will be moving from Berlin into the countryside, he doesn't take the news well. Increasingly bored in his sprawling yet dreary country abode and forbidden by his mother from exploring the backyard, young Bruno searches for something to do while his older sister plays with dolls and vies for the attention of handsome Lieutenant Kotler (Rupert Friend). One day, bored and gazing out his bedroom window, Bruno spies what first appears to be a nearby farm; his parents refuse to discuss it, and all of the inhabitants there are curiously clad in striped pajamas. But while Bruno's mother naïvely believes the "farm" to be an internment camp, her husband has sworn under oath never to reveal that it is in fact an extermination camp specifically designed to help the Nazis achieve their horrific "Final Solution." Eventually defying his mother's rules and venturing out beyond the backyard, Bruno arrives at a barbed wire fence to find a young boy just his age emptying rubble from a wheel barrel. Like Pavel, the kitchen worker who cooks all of Bruno's meals, the young boy is wearing striped pajamas. His name is Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), and before long the two young boys become fast friends. But the closer these two boys grow, the more Bruno becomes awakened to the horrors unfolding all around them. His mother is catching on quickly as well, a fact that causes great tension in her marriage to Bruno's father. Later, after Bruno swipes a piece of cake for Shmuel, Lt. Kotler accuses the Jewish boy of stealing and delivers a swift punishment. When Bruno's father announces that the young boy and his mother will be going to live with their aunt in Heidelberg, Bruno grabs a shovel and makes his way to the camp, setting into motion a tragic and devastating sequence of events. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, (more)
- 2007
- PG13
- Add Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to Queue Add Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to top of Queue
Young wizard-in-training Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts for his fifth year of studies, only to find that the magical community seems to be in a curious state of denial about his recent encounter with the sinister Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in the fifth installment of the popular fantasy film series based on the best-selling books by author J.K. Rowling. Rumor has it that the dreaded Lord Voldemort has returned, but Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge (Robert Hardy) isn't so sure what to make of all the hearsay currently floating around the campus of Hogwarts. Suspecting that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) may be fueling the rumors regarding Voldemort's return in order to undermine his authority and lay claim to his job, Fudge entrusts newly arrived Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) with the task of tracking Dumbledore and keeping a protective watch over the nervous student body. The young wizards of Hogwarts will need something much more effective than Umbridge's Ministry-approved course in defensive magic if they are to truly succeed in the extraordinary battle that lies ahead, however, and when the administration fails to provide the students with the tools that they will need to defend Hogwarts against the fearsome powers of the Dark Arts, Hermione (Emma Watson), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Harry take it upon themselves to recruit a small group of students to form "Dumbledore's Army" in preparation for the ultimate supernatural showdown. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, (more)
A successful American novelist who has retreated into the country following the publication of his most recent book meets a most mysterious muse in director/screenwriter Paul Auster's elliptic psychological drama. His latest novel an instant success, famous author Martin Frost (David Thewlis) decides to celebrate by spending some quality down time in a remote country home. Awakening his first morning in the house, Martin is shocked to find that he is sharing his bed with a stunningly beautiful woman. Over the course of the next few days, Martin becomes increasingly fascinated with the mysterious visitor's radiating beauty and acute intelligence - eventually falling deeply in love with her. Could this woman who possesses an uncanny knowledge of Martin's life and work perhaps be the muse who will inspire his greatest work? The closer Martin tries to get to the woman the further she seems to drift away, a disturbing development that eventually leads the author to suspect that she is a figment of his imagination or a ghost that has somehow gained access to his most intimate thoughts. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Thewlis, Irène Jacob, (more)
A child that will steer humankind down the road to hellfire has been born, and as his evil flourishes in a world full of hate, the ominous Biblical prophecies slowly begin falling into place in director John Moore's remake of Richard Donner's 1976 horror classic. Robert (Liev Schreiber) and Katherine Thorn (Julia Stiles) were as loving parents as any young boy could ask for, but as fate would have it, their new son Damien is far from the typical child. Now, as the mysterious boy's growth begins to share frightening parallels with the Biblical passages detailing the rise of the Antichrist, and the lives of all who seek to reveal his true nature are cut gruesomely short, Robert and Katherine are forced to face the horrifying prospect that their child has been sent from Satan to hasten the fall of modern civilization, and that there is little they can do to curb his prophesied path of ultimate destruction. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, (more)
When the mysterious death of a major athlete prompts Scotland Yard detective Roy Washburn (David Thewlis) to order the investigation of best-selling crime novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), criminal psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass (David Morrissey) is slowly drawn into Tramell's seductive world of lies and sexual intrigue in director Michael Caton-Jones belated sequel to Paul Verhoeven's 1992 erotic thriller. Upon relocating from San Francisco to London, alluring crime novelist Tramell once again finds herself pursued by authorities when all clues point to her being somehow involved in the death of a popular sports superstar. Intellectually intrigued by his new subject and undeniably drawn to her physically, Dr. Glass finds it increasingly difficult to resist the cunning black widow's devious web of deception and physical temptation. When the professional boundaries between Glass and Trammel come shattering down in a shower of unbridled lust, Dr. Glass is forced to make a difficult decision that could mean the end of both his professional career, and his life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, (more)
- 2005
Omnibus films attained renewed popularity during the 1990s and 2000s; this particular seven-episode film-a-sketch arrived during that period, and involved several top-tiered international filmmakers including John Woo, Spike Lee, Ridley Scott, Emir Kusturica and three others. Each helmer was asked to shoot a segment of between 16-18 minutes in length, for UNICEF, on the subject of exploited and/or underprivileged children around the world. The package opens with "Tanza," helmed by Algerian novelist-cum-filmmaker Mehdi Charef and shot in Burkina Faso. It concerns the 12-year-old female title character - an adolescent freedom fighter - who trollops through the countryside accompanied by young male guerilla fighters who spout off deliberately nonsensical English-language dialogue. Kusturica takes the reins for the second segment, "Blue Gypsy," an overtly comical episode in the vein of Time of the Gypsies about a precocious young boy who makes the split from his alcoholic father and thieving family and goes to live in a juvenile detention center, finding it preferable to home. The third episode, helmed by co-producer Stefano Veneruso and entitled "Ciro," recalls neorealismo with its Naples-set tale of a young boy unloved and systematically neglected by his mother, who resorts to spending time with other neglected children and stealing watches, and then gets caught in the direst of ways. The fourth segment, Spike Lee's delicately-handled "Jesus Children of America," stars Hannah Hodson as Blanca, a young Brooklynite ostracized by her peers because her parents are junkies; when she learns of her HIV-positive status, her world crumbles. For the 5th episode, "Bilu and Joao," Brazilian director Katia Lund casts child actors Francisco Anawake de Freitas and Vera Fernandes as two impoverished tykes whose days involve walking around the outskirts of Sao Paulo and pulling a wooden cart, into which they pile aluminum and paper - but do so joyously, with the courage and grace of two individuals delighting in subhuman work despite the direst of circumstances. For the sixth segment, "Jonathan," Ridley Scott teams up to co-direct with daughter Jordan Scott; the episode stars David Thewlis (Naked) as an emotionally-traumatized war photographer who encounters a band of Eastern European orphans. And the closer, John Woo's "Song Song and Little Cat," studies the contrast between the lives of two young Asian girls from polar opposite ends of the socioeconomic spectrum: Oi Ruyi is Little Cat, an abjectly impoverished child discovered in the garbage, during infancy, by a homeless man; she grows up helping her discoverer forage for victuals until he dies, leaving her aimless and bereft. Woo cuts between her story and that of Song Song, a wealthy and pampered little girl whose story is equally tragic in its own way, as her parents are undergoing a bitter divorce. Though this film, as indicated, enlisted the support of at least two major Hollywood directors (Scott and Lee) it did encounter extreme difficulty securing U.S. theatrical and ancillary distribution, which effectively kept it out of North America in the years that immediately followed its global release. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Adam Bila, Elysee Rounamba, (more)
Terrence Malick, the universally acclaimed American filmmaker responsible for the key 1970s features Badlands and Days of Heaven, returns for a rare directorial outing with the sweeping period piece The New World -- an epic dramatization of Pocahontas' relationships with John Smith and John Rolfe. Malick's story opens at the dawn of the 17th century, just prior to the colonization of the United States -- when the North American population consisted of an interconnected series of native tribes. In April 1607, three maritime vessels approach the unfamiliar continent, with 103 sailors on board. As members of the Virginia Company, these adventurers carry a royal charter to mount a society on the edge of the new continent. John Smith (Colin Farrell) sits chained below one of the decks. He is a 27-year-old loose cannon, who, for his persistently rebellious acts, has been sentenced to death by hanging as soon as the ships dock. Nevertheless, Captain Christopher Newport (Christopher Plummer) acknowledges Smith's ability to aid with exploration and consents to pardon him as a result. Upon landing, Smith seeks assistance from local Native American tribes with colonization, but runs into the unexpected -- he falls desperately in love with Pocahontas, or "Playful One" (Q'orianka Kilcher), the daughter of the omnipotent Chief Powhatan (August Schellenberg). Needless to say, this does not sit well with Powhatan or the rest of the tribe. Moreover, the oft-bellicose Smith enters a head-to-head conflict with his fellow Britons when he finds his tempestuousness calmed by the tranquility of the new landscape, as the anger and violence of his shipmates concurrently build in the face of the Native Americans. Later, Smith temporarily returns to England; believing that Smith is dead, Pocahontas accepts the hand of plantation owner John Rolfe in marriage (with her father's blessing) and follows Rolfe back to the old country. When Smith returns to America, his intended is nowhere to be seen, and the entire community teeters on the brink of a British-Indian war. Malick shot the production on location in Virginia; it co-stars Jonathan Pryce, John Savage, and David Thewlis. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, (more)
Ridley Scott directed this epic-scale historical drama inspired by the events of the Crusades of the 12th century. Balian (Orlando Bloom) is a humble French blacksmith who is searching for a reason to go on after the death of his wife and children. Balian is approached by Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), a fabled knight who has briefly returned home after serving in the East. Godfrey informs Balian that he is his true father, and urges the blacksmith to join him as he and his forces journey to Jerusalem to help defend the holy city. Balian accepts, and he and Godfrey arrive during the lull between the Second and Third Crusades, in which the city is enjoying a fragile peace. Both Christian and Muslim forces are temporarily in retreat, thanks to the wisdom of the Christian monarch King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), his second-in-command Tiberias (Jeremy Irons), and Muslim potentate Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). Violent agitators on both sides are foolishly eager to end the peace in a bid for greater power, and Saladin bows to pressures from Muslim factions; Godfrey is one of a handful of brave knights who has thrown his allegiance behind Baldwin IV and his community of diversity, and Balian joins him as they use their skills as warriors in a bid to build a lasting peace. Kingdom of Heaven also stars Eva Green as the princess Sibylla, David Thewlis as Hospitaler the priest, and Brendan Gleeson as Reynald. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, (more)
- 2004
- PG
- Add Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to Queue Add Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to top of Queue
After directing the first two movies in the Harry Potter franchise, Chris Columbus opted to serve as producer for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and passed the baton to Y Tu Mamá También director Alfonso Cuarón. Though "immensely popular" is an understatement when it comes to Harry Potter, Azkaban is somewhat of a departure from its predecessors, and particularly beloved among fans for its surprise ending. Prisoner of Azkaban also marks the introduction of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), who has escaped from the title prison after 12 years of incarceration. Believed to have been the right-hand-man of the dark wizard Voldemort, whom Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) mysteriously rendered powerless during his infancy, some of those closest to Harry suspect Black has returned to exact revenge on the boy who defeated his master. Upon his return to school, however, Harry is relatively unconcerned with Black. Run by Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) -- who is widely regarded as the most powerful wizard of the age -- Hogwarts is renowned for its safety. Harry's nonchalance eventually turns to blind rage after accidentally learning the first of Black's many secrets during a field trip to a neighboring village. Of course, a loose serial killer is only one of the problems plaguing the bespectacled wizard's third year back at school -- the soul-sucking guards of Azkaban prison have been employed at Hogwarts to protect the students, but their mere presence sends Harry into crippling fainting spells. With the help of his friends Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), and Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Remus Lupin (David Thewlis), Harry struggles to thwart the Dementors, find Sirius Black, and uncover the mysteries of the night that left him orphaned. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, (more)
Directing his first film since 1998's Lethal Weapon 4, Richard Donner helmed this big-budget adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel of the same name. Featuring a script by first-time screenwriter George Nolfi, Timeline begins in France in the near future. A group of students from Yale are there studying a medieval site, when their professor, played by Billy Connolly, mysteriously goes missing. To make matters more enigmatic, the students are then taken back to the United States by a shadowy technology company called ITC, led by Robert Doniger (David Thewlis). The eccentric Doniger explains that because of a machine that his company built, their professor is trapped in 14th century France. In order to rescue him, two of the students, Chris Hughes (Paul Walker) and Kate Erickson (Frances O'Connor), along with Andre Marek (Gerard Butler), an archeological site manager, must travel to France, circa 1357, amid archaic war, deadly diseases, and other unexpected pitfalls. Meanwhile, David Stern (Ethan Embry), a third student, stays behind to keep an eye on the shady Doniger. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Walker, Frances O'Connor, (more)
Based on the children's books by author/illustrator James Gurney, the three-part, six-hour ABC miniseries Dinotopia got under way when a pair of teenaged half brothers, Karl and David Scott, took over the controls of their father Frank's (Stuart Wilson) private plane. Not surprisingly, the boys crashed the plane into the ocean, whereupon they were washed on the shore of an unchartered continent. While searching for their missing dad, Karl and David wandered into Waterfall City, the capitol of Dinotopia, a hidden civilization where human beings and dinosaurs peacefully coexisted. In fact, some of the dinosaurs, notably a neurotic Stenonychosaurus named Zippo, possessed human intelligence and spoke perfect English. Among the many rules in Dinotopia was the edict that, once an outsider arrived, he or she was never allowed to leave. As Karl and David prepared to take their rightful places in their new surroundings, both boys developed a strong bond with young Marion (Katie Carr), who was on the verge of becoming a "matriarch" of the Dinotopian society. Unfortunately, the incursion of vicious carnivores, not to mention an unanticipated human villain, threatened to destroy Dinotopia and everyone living on the island. Decked out with special effects courtesy of Jim Henson's Creature Shop and the British FrameStore CFC, Dinotopia was designed as the pilot for a proposed weekly ABC adventure series. Co-produced by Disney Television and Hallmark Entertainment, the miniseries premiered as an episode of the Wonderful World of Disney anthology on May 12, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
A man who knows the importance of clearing out the weeks in one's garden begins to wonder if the same principles apply to the people around him in this made-for-TV drama, inspired by a true story. Maj. Herbert Armstrong (Michael Kitchen) was an attorney and clerk to the magistrate in the Welsh community of Hay-on-Wye in the early 1920's. One of Armstrong's great passion was gardening, and he took unusual pride in the appearance of the greenery around his home. Cursed with a patch of stubborn dandelions, Armstrong purchased a large supply of an arsenic-based weed killer to put an end to the problem once and for all. But when Armstrong's wife Catherine (Sarah Miles) and rival in business Oswald (David Thewlis) -- both of whom had recently raised Armstrong's ire -- both turned up dead, apparently poisoned with arsenic, investigators began to wonder if this was really a mere coincidence. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2001
Two lifelong friends discover that growing up sometimes means growing apart in this gritty British drama. Charlie (Paul Nicholls) and Justin (Roland Manookian) are a pair of best friends who grew up together in a rough-and-tumble London neighborhood, close enough that some of Charlie's pals jokingly refer to Justin as "the wife." Charlie and Justin are the de facto leaders of a group of toughs, including Damien (Alexis Rodney), Francis (Danny Dyer), and Tommy (Sid Mitchell), who make a living through petty theft. As the boys grow into their late teens, it becomes obvious that they are not going to be following the same paths in life. Tommy decides to join the Army and Francis loses interest in the gang after he gets serious with his girlfriend. Charlie has been going through changes of his own, especially after the death of his father (David Thewlis), and while Justin has no real ambitions beyond a life as a small-time criminal, Charlie is smart (and practical) enough to begin thinking of a different future. Charlie is offered a good-paying straight job by his cousin Hector (Richard Driscoll), and he begins pursuing a relationship with Blondie (Dani Behr), a young woman a few rungs higher on the social ladder. But as Charlie moves forward, Justin seems stuck in neutral, and as they begin to drift apart, Justin finds himself increasingly disenchanted with his best friend's new life. The supporting cast also includes Phil Daniels and Jamie Foreman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Nicholls, Phil Daniels, (more)
A portrait of a cold-blooded young gangster living and loathing in 1960s London, this drama features Malcolm McDowell in a major role in his first British picture in years. McDowell opens the film as the present day Gangster 55, who learns that an old associate, gangster Freddie Mays (David Thewlis), has just been released from prison after serving a 30-year sentence. The story then flashes back to 1968, when the young Gangster 55 (Paul Bettany) makes Mays' acquaintance and subsequently wins his trust by dealing with his enemies from a rival gang. The relationship between the two men is threatened when Mays falls for Karen (Saffron Burrows), a no-nonsense dancer. When 55 learns that Lennie (Jamie Foreman), a rival gang leader, plans to ambush Mays and Karen one night, he pits the two gangs against one another so that he can emerge as Gangster No. 1. The film was directed by Paul McGuigan, who previously examined the crusty underbelly of British society with his screen adaptation of Irvine Welsh's The Acid House (1998). ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis, (more)
- 2000
Part of Channel Four's "Beckett on Film" series, playwright and screenwriter Conor McPherson's screen adaptation of Samuel Beckett's classic play sees Hamm (Michael Gambon), a blind and cantankerous old man, belittle Clov (David Thewlis), his increasingly resentful servant. Hamm's "accursed progenitors" (Charles Simon) and Jean Anderson) occasionally interject timid commentary from the sidelines, where they bide their time in trash bins. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Gambon, David Thewlis, (more)
Rating Systems
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