David Warner Movies

From the mind of bestselling author Terry Pratchet comes this off-the-wall holiday film. In the parallel universe of Discworld, they don't celebrate Christmas. Instead, children look forward to December 32nd, also known as Hogswatchnight, when they'll receive gifts, not from Santa Claus, but from The Hogfather. However, this year, The Hogfather has disappeared, and there may be no Hogswatchnight. So, it's up to Death to assume the role and fulfill all of the children's wishes. Ian Richardson narrates. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

The story of fictional18th Century serial killer Sweeny Todd has frightened theater-goers for over a century, and now the BBC brings this blood-soaked story to the small screen in a ghastly production starring Ray Winstone as the razor-wielding Demon Barber of Fleet Street. In addition to exploring the various heinous acts attributed to the London-based butcher, this production also takes a look back at the events that fueled Sweeny Todd's murderous rampage. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The horrors of war flow deep in the veins of two young American G.I.s who desert their platoon during the waning days of World War II in Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3 director Jeff Burr's chilling tale of terror on the battlefield. Despite the best efforts of Allied forces, Axis troops still have a stronghold over many key European outposts. With time quickly running out before they are attacked by the enemy and branded deserters by their own battalion, these two desperate soldiers soon team with a deadly band of killer orphans to take out a key Nazi base and secure yet another victory for the increasingly powerful Allies. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A kind of "best-of" account of the books of Genesis and Exodus, this two-part NBC miniseries aired in November 2000. Part One, set in the desert, covers the stories of Abraham (Martin Landau), Sarah (Jacqueline Bisset), Isaac (Sean Pertwee), Rebeccah (Diana Rigg), Esau (Andrew Grainger), and Jacob (Frederick Weller) and culminates with the enslavement of Joseph (Eddie Cibrian). Part Two, set in biblical Egypt, focuses on the story of Moses (Billy Campbell) and his deliverance of his people from slavery. Also included in the miniseries' huge and illustrious cast are Alan Bates as Jethro, Geraldine Chaplin as Yocheved, and Jonathan Firth as Joshua. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

This offbeat retelling of the classic fairy tale is set on the British Isle of Man in the 1950s, with the three wicked stepsisters portrayed as a trio of annoying social climbers doted upon by their mother Claudette (Kathleen Turner). Cinderella stars Marcella Plunkett in the title role, with Gideon Turner as Prince Valiant and David Warner as Martin. Produced for British television, Cinderella was first aired on New Year's Day, 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Unlike the first season of the animated superhero spoof Freakazoid!, in which most of the episodes contained three to four separate segments, eleven of the twelve Season Two episodes are comprised of a single, self-contained narrative--thereby providing even more time for computer-generated superhero Freakzoid!, aka nerdy Dexter Douglas, to make a fool of himself before an audience of millions. In the season opener, "Dexer's Date" is interrupted by The Lobe's plan to destroy the entire TV industry (the fiend!). "The Freakazoid" illustrates the fact that a superhero's birthday party is hardly cause for celebration (turns out that HE is expected to dole out the favors). In "Mission: Freakazoid", our hero must rescue his family from the oppressive country of Vuka Nova. "Virtual Freak" finds all the characters we care about being sucked into a VR world, while The Lobe raises Holy Ned at the local mall. "Hero Boy" pits Freakazoid! against traditional enemy Guieterrez, who's now developed a cloning process. In "A Matter of Love", a "dream" girl turns out to be a nightmare--namely, an ancient monstrous succubus. "Statuesque" reaches a peak of terror as Dexter's girlfriend Steph gets stoned--literally. Then, it's Freakazoid vs. the Orangumen in "Island of Dr. Mystico", followed by Cave Guy and Cobra Queen teaming up for trouble in "Two Against Freak". And in "Normadeus", The Lobe reverses Freakazoid!'s resonance frequency, which may cause our hero to go to pieces. That leaves one final two-adventure episode, consisting of "Freak-a-Panel" , in which Freakazoid discovers that tracking down Cave Guy may be less of a challenge than "escaping the mediocrity" of a sci-fi convention; and "Tomb of Invisibo", a double takeoff of "The Mummy" and "The Invisble Man", all in one, and even together, also too, hey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The only thing that anyone could be certain of in Season One of the animated superhero spoof Freakazoid! is that no one can be certain of anything. Most of the season's 12 episodes contained three to four short segments, interrelated only by the fact that the star of each one is Freakazoid!, a super-powered but somewhat doltish good guy whose alter ego is teenage computer geek Dexter Douglas. Also appearing are Dexter's sort-of girlfriend Steph, the neurotic police sergeant Cosgrove, and seedy master villain The Lobe. This season's consignment of craziness includes a bloodless spoof of the "Friday the 13th" movies, filmed in SCREAM-O-VISION; an escapade with Lord Bravery, a shameless takeoff of Hanna-Barbera's Jonny Quest; the ongoing plight of the Huntsman, an unemployed superhero who goes into hissy-fits because there aren't any criminals in his city; and a Woody Allen-esque luncheon in which a group of old, out-of-shape superheroes kvetch about how life has passed them by. Also, a group of lawn gnomes try to improve their malevelont image; Freakazoid! is saddled with a self-appointed sidekick, the obnoxious Fan Boy; our hero tries to tame a mad dog, dubbing his new pal "Foamy"; Christmas is threatened by the misbehavior of crime czar "Arms" Akimbo; "The Nerdator" kidnaps all the nerds in the world, thereby diminishing Freakazoid!'s fan base; the Cobra Queen grosses everybody out, dude, when she sets up headquarters in a sewer; and Leonard Nimoy is pestered by autograph seekers (Wait: Are you sure this is really a cartoon?) The only episode containing a single segment is "The Chip" which explains the computer meltdown that transformed Dexter Douglas into Freakazoid!, narrated by Motion Picture Association of America executive Jack Valenti (we swear we're not making this up). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A maid working for a wealthy family is shocked when her son, who had disappeared years before, suddenly shows up at the home of the family she works for. He moves into her employer's house, where he proceeds to have an affair with the wife. Unbeknownst to him, though, the wife is having an affair with a detective, and they both plot to kill her husband and blame the son. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

As season three of The Larry Sanders Show begins, it appears as if Larry (Garry Shandling) has followed through on his promise to quit the show and move to Montana. Just as Larry has taken up life in a cabin by the river and begins settling into life as a miserable recluse, Artie (Rip Torn) appears at his doorstep to inform the former host that the network is suing Larry for breach of contract. Secretly eager to jump back into show business, Larry secretly hires back the entire staff against Artie's pleas to take things slowly. Though the network owner insists that he doesn't want Larry back on the air, an impromptu lie by Artie buys Larry a second chance. Guest stars include David Warner, Shashawnee Hall, Robin Williams, and Bernadette Peters. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Horror virtuoso John Carpenter hosts this goofy horror anthology, originally produced for Showtime as a gory stepchild of HBO's Tales from the Crypt series. Playing an emaciated, eye-rolling "coroner," John introduces the audience to a triptych of creepy vignettes in the EC horror-comics mode while paddling about in the guts of assorted cadavers and cracking jokes more gag-inducing than anything oozing on the slab. Two of the stories are directed by Carpenter himself: "The Gas Station" is a retread (pun intended) of Halloween-style scare tactics as a pretty gas-station attendant watches various oddballs pass by her window after hearing that an escaped killer is on the loose; "Hair" is a morbid, hilarious look at man's obsession with his own virility in which Stacy Keach turns to a bizarre hair-growth clinic (run by David Warner & Debbie Harry) which promises instant results, but at a horrific price. The third segment, directed by Tobe Hooper, involves a baseball player (Mark Hamill) who receives an eye transplant after a car accident and soon begins having optical flashbacks revealing (you guessed it) the identity and tendencies of the eye's former owner -- a serial killer. The second segment is by far the most entertaining, featuring a wonderfully neurotic performance by Keach, but the first and last chapters are too derivative to offer much for the discriminating horror buff, although the same fans will enjoy several cute cameos from other genre directors, including Wes Craven, Sam Raimi and Roger Corman. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The travails of the long morning commute provide the basis of this comedy drama. Every day Driver and Passenger spend an hour each day together driving to and from their respective jobs at IBM and Apple. For Passenger, the drive is pure hell as he must listen to the incessant, ceaseless prattling of Driver, who when not rambling on and on with theories and half-baked opinions atop his figurative soap box, is denigrating he and Passenger's lots in life. When Passenger speaks, it is about his own break-up with the seen-on-screen-but-never-heard Girl. As time passes, Passenger suggests they chronicle their commuting musings on film, and thus the prior action is actually seen to be part of the result. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide