Hugo Weaving Movies

Universal Studios resurrects the classic lycanthrope with this tale of an American who experiences an unsettling transformation after returning to his ancestral home in Victorian-era Great Britain and being attacked by a rampaging werewolf. His brother having recently vanished without a trace, haunted nobleman Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to his family estate to investigate. What he discovers upon reuniting with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins), however, is a destiny far darker than his blackest nightmares. As a young boy, the untimely death of his mother caused Talbot to grow up before his time. Though Talbot would attempt to bury his pain in the past by leaving the quiet Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor behind, the past returns with a vengeance when his brother's fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), convinces him to return home and aid the search for his missing brother. But something monstrous has been stalking the residents of Blackmoor from the nighttime shadows, something not quite human. Not even recently arrived Scotland Yard inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving) can dream up a rational explanation for the gruesome spell that has been cast over Blackmoor, yet rumors of an ancient curse persist to this very day. According to legend, the afflicted will experience a horrific transformation by the light of the full moon, their animal rage becoming far too powerful for their human bodies to contain. Now, the woman Talbot loves is in mortal danger, and in order to protect her he must venture into the moonlit woods and destroy the beast before it destroys her. But this isn't your typical hunt, because before the beast can be slain, a simple man will uncover a primal side of himself that he never knew existed. Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker pens a film directed by Joe Johnston and featuring creature effects by special-effects makeup legend Rick Baker. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A former drug-addict in her early thirties attempts to put her shady past to rest while paving the way for a brighter future in director Rowan Woods' tale of love, trust, and redemption in modern-day Australia. Tracy Heart (Cate Blanchett) hasn't lived her 32 years so much as she has simply survived them. Ravaged by the drug-addiction and determined to redeem herself in the eyes of her overworked single-mother Janelle (Noni Hazelhurst), Tracy makes a personal vow to open her own business and turn her life around before it's too late and life has passed her by. Tracy's plan is complicated, however, when three men from her past reappear with their own plans for the future. In addition to the troubling re-appearance of her ex-boyfriend Jonny (Dustin Nguyen), her criminal-minded brother Ray (Martin Henderson) seems hell-bent on making a name for himself in the underworld, and the emotional demands of troubled family friend and ex-football star Lionel Dawson (Hugo Weaving) have left the emotionally vulnerable Tracy shaken and confused. When Tracy's modest dreams of a happy life catch the attention of feared criminal kingpin Bradley "The Jockey" Thompson (Sam Neill), she is forced to place her fragile trust in the hands of her skeptical mother and take one last trip into the past to confront her greatest fear.

~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An 18-year-old orphan teetering on the verge of womanhood attempts to unlock the secrets of her shrouded family past by setting out into the Australian countryside with little more than her mother's diary and a mysterious older lover to guide her in an intimate drama directed by Craig Monahan and starring Hugo Weaving and Emma Lung. Orphaned as a young child by a horrific car accident and locked into a forbidden love affair with the one-time trade unionist who now works as a factory manager at the peach-canning factory where she currently works, Steph (Lung) is a typical teenage girl who longs for a better life. With an unknown future on the horizon and a painful past slowly shrinking away in her rearview mirror, Steph attempts to find out everything she ever wanted to know about the family she once lost while never losing hope that she will one day find success on her own terms. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Australian filmmaker Stavros Kazantzidis directs the dark comedy Horseplay. Con man Max Mackendrick (Marcus Graham) wants a bit of horseracing action, so he marries the snobby Alicia Coxhead (Tushka Bergen), the daughter of famous horceracer Barry Coxhead (Bill Hunter). However, Max gets eternally barred from the sport after he gets caught swapping horses. Undaunted, Max and his sex-addict sidekick Henry (Jason Donovan) come up with a plan to make a million dollars at the Melbourne Cup. He needs the money to get back at his nemesis Barry and to reunite with his needy ex-girlfriend Jade (Natalie Mendoza). He hires two crooks (Jacek Koman and Robert Menzies) for an elaborate kidnapping scheme that inevitably and quickly goes awry. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

One of Australia's best-loved children's books is brought to the screen in this animated comedy-adventure from down under. Bunyip Bluegum (voice of Geoffrey Rush) is a koala bear who has lost his parents and can't find them. While many of his friends and relatives fear that Bunyip's folks are dead, Bunyip is certain they're still alive, and sets out on the road to find them. In his travels, Bunyip makes several new friends, including landlocked sailor Bill Barnacle (voice of Hugo Weaving), a penguin named Sam Sawnoff (voice of Sam Neill), and Albert (voice of John Cleese), a magical pudding who can change flavors at will and never runs out, no matter how much people eat him. But the mean-spirited wombat Buncle (voice of Jack Thompson) discovers Albert and decides he wants the magical pudding all for himself, and Sam, Bill, and Bunyip must come to his rescue. The Magic Pudding is based on the illustrated children's story by Norman Lindsay, who outside Australia is best known for his more controversial artwork for grown-ups; his paintings favored sensual depictions of nude women, and his story later formed the basis of the 1994 film Sirens, in which Sam Neill played Lindsay. Toni Collette and Dave Gibson also contribute to The Magic Pudding's voice cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Rose Troche (Go Fish) directed this British romantic comedy with various gay characters in London. Impish Darren (Tom Hollander) urges lonely Leo (Kevin McKidd of Trainspotting) to get a more active social life, as does neighbor Angie (Julie Graham). When friend Adam (Christopher Fulford) gets Leo to join the therapy group run by New Age-styled guru Keith (Simon Callow), Leo meets good-looking Irishman Brendan (James Purefoy), who's just ending a lengthy relationship with his business partner, Sally (Jennifer Ehle). Sally just happens to be Leo's high-school sweetheart. It's not long before Leo and Brendan pair off. Shown in the Market section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A pregnant back-up singer in a Melbourne band finds herself saddled with two fellow travellers (one of whom is the father of her child), who are using her to escape the vengeful drug dealer they just robbed. When Mimi first asks her lover Haniff to travel with her to Perth so she can make peace with her estranged mother, he refuses. But then his pal Dean robs his own brother Jerry in part to feed his own addiction but also to spite Jerry for going out with Ariel, the girl Dean wants for himself. Jerry is a tough cookie and does not take the theft well. Armed and dangerous, he sets off for revenge. Needing to get out of town pronto, the two fugitives decide to tag along with Mimi. While speeding across the desert, the trio pick up Morris, an aging hippie who makes his living singing sad folk songs in cafes and bars. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A young pig fights convention to become a sheep dog -- or, rather, sheep pig -- in this charming Australian family film, which became an unexpected international success due to superior special effects and an intelligent script. The title refers to the name bestowed on a piglet soon after his separation from his family, when he finds himself on a strange farm. Confused and sad, Babe is adopted by a friendly dog and slowly adjusts to his new home. Discovering that the fate of most pigs is the dinner table, Babe devotes himself to becoming a useful member of the farm by trying to learn how to herd sheep, despite the skepticism of the other animals and the kindly but conventional Farmer Hoggett (James Cromwell). Because technically impeccable animatronics and computer graphics allow the farm animals to converse easily among themselves, first-time director Chris Noonan can treat the film's menagerie as actual characters, playing scene not for cuteness but for real emotions. The result is often surprisingly touching, with Noonan and George Miller's script, based on Dick King-Smith's children's book and, indirectly, a true story, seamlessly combining gentle whimsy and sincere feeling. These same qualities are embodied by in Cromwell's beautifully understated performance as Farmer Hoggett, which anchors the film. Despite its unlikely premise and low profile, Babe's inspirational story was embraced by audiences and critics, and the movie became an international sleeper that won an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. It was followed in 1999 by the less successful Babe: Pig in the City. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This rental contains both Babe and Babe: Pig in the City

Anthony LaPaglia, who's probably played more cops than Pat O'Brien, Edgar Kennedy and Fred Kelsey combined, dons brass and blue once more in The Custodian. LaPaglia plays a frustrated Australian policeman who decides to take on departmental corruption in a most unorthodox fashion. When he's not wrestling with bureaucracy and the good-ole-boy network, the policeman must contend with his unhappy marriage. All of the protagonist's various travails come to a head in the offbeat finale. The Custodian cannot be recommended for children, so pop it in your VCR after the little darlings are snuggled in bed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Christina Stead's novel For Love Alone was a best-seller in Australia, but remains essentially unknown to the outside world. The same can be said for this 1986 film version, likewise a homegrown Australian product. Set in the 1930s, the film stars Helen Buhay as a starry-eyed young girl chafing under the oppressive attitudes of society in general and her father in particular. She kicks over the traces to enter into a romance with college Latin professor Hugo Weaving. Still not realizing that Weaving considers her a pleasant diversion and nothing more, Helen nearly misses out on a chance for happiness with liberal-minded banker Sam Neill. Once she's settled down with Neill, the idealistic Buhay is smitten by another aesthete, poet Huw Williams. Neill encourages this affair, hoping that Buhay will eventually realize that there's more to true love than mere sexual impulsiveness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, V for Vendetta takes place in an alternate vision of Britain in which a corrupt and abusive totalitarian government has risen to complete power. During a threatening run in with the secret police, an unassuming young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) is rescued by a vigilante named V (Hugo Weaving) -- a caped figure both articulate and skilled in combat. V embodies the principles of rebellion from an authoritarian state, donning a mask of vilified would-be terrorist of British history Guy Fawkes and leading a revolution sparked by assassination and destruction. Evey becomes his unlikely ally, newly aware of the cruelty of her own society and her role in it. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide