Gift SubscriptionsDavid Hunt
One man's role in the long battle to outlaw slavery in the United Kingdom sets the stage for this historical drama from director Michael Apted. In 1784, 21-year-old William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) was elected to the British House of Commons, and soon established himself as a politician with a conscience. Several years later, his close friend William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch) became prime minister, and together they made a bold plan to introduce a bill banning slavery before the English legislature. Wilberforce was aided by anti-slavery activists Olaudah Equiano (Youssou N'Dour) and Thomas Clarkson (Rufus Sewell); however, pro-slavery hard-liners Lord Tarleton (Ciarán Hinds) and the Duke of Clarence (Toby Jones) spearheaded a hard-fought opposition to the legislation, and despite Wilberforce's best efforts, his bill went down in defeat. In 1797, Wilberforce left politics due to poor health and a battered spirit; staying at the country home of his friends Henry and Marianne Thornton (Nicholas Farrell and Sylvestra Le Touzel), he became acquainted with Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai), a beautiful woman with progressive views. Spooner became deeply infatuated with Wilberforce, and she encouraged him not to give up on his noble goals; with her help, Wilberforce launched a second campaign to persuade England's lawmakers to end the slave trade. Amazing Grace made its North American premiere as the closing-night gala attraction at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, (more)
- 1991
- AddCatherine Cookson's The Black Velvet Gownto QueueAddCatherine Cookson's The Black Velvet Gownto top of Queue
Filmed for British television in 1991, Black Velvet Gown is a two-part adaptation of Catherine Cookson's novel. The story begins in 1834; Riah Millican (Janet McTeer), left penniless by her husband's death, is evicted from her home along with her children. She takes a job as housekeeper for Percival Miller (Bob Peck), the reclusive master of Gulmington Mansion. Soon Riah is ruling the roost, as it were, and is in a position to hire and fire servants on her own. Part Two involves the arrival of illiterate serving girl Biddy (Geraldine Somerville), and the ensuing consequences. Black Velvet Gown was telecast in the US in 1993 on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Rick was never a very nice man, all his life he has been prone to beating people up with very little provocation. Somehow he becomes a member of the police's elite special forces unit. When he beats up a hippie at a demonstration rather than simply keeping order as he is charged to do, his fellow officers back up his story rather than suffer the humiliation of having this "bad apple" in their ranks be exposed, bringing disgrace on them all. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Spendlove, Elizabeth Edmonds, (more)
- 1993
This martial arts adventure is set in a post-nuclear apocalypse world where rival gangs use gladiators to fight their battles. Most of these battles are to the death, and the trouble begins when one of the best fighters, Amp, begins objecting to the practice. When he is scheduled to fight his arch rival Mainframe, who enjoys killing opponents, Amp flees into the radioactive wasteland accompanied by a pacifistic Christian girl whose clan was wiped out by Mainframe's men. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A brilliant chemist driving down an lonely stretch of Ozark highway stops to pick up a pretty young girl, only to become hopelessly drawn into a deadly scheme involving her violent, drug-manufacturing boyfriend in this thriller from first-time director Kristopher Hardy. Toby (Lance Lee Davis) could have been working on some of the most advanced projects in the world of science, but instead he has chosen to become a high school teacher. One night, while cruising down the Ozark highway, Toby spots a pretty girl named Laurie (Brooke Anderson) whose car appears to have broken down. Little does Toby realize that Laurie's in greater danger than he could ever imagine: Not only is Laurie on the run from the authorities, but her volatile boyfriend Jeff (Lawrence Turner) is hot on her trail as well. Somewhere down the road, Toby and Laurie spot Jeff on the side of the road and pull over to puck him up. Now, with Laurie as his grudging accomplice, Jeff kidnaps Toby and takes him to an isolated farm. Once there, Jeff informs his captor that he will use his knowledge to create a substantial amount of synthetic heroin so that Jeff can pay off a sizable bedt to some dangerous Bolivian traffickers. Should Toby continue in his refusal to cooperate, he'll be framed for the murder of his ex-wife Annette (Dawn Balkin). When Laurie goes missing, Annette stands her ground, and the Bolivians show up to collect, an already volatile situation suddenly reaches critical mass. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lance Lee Davis, Brooke "Mikey" Anderson, (more)
An investigator seeking the truth behind the death of a noted art dealer uncovers a web of sexual deception in this erotic thriller. David Caruso plays David Corelli, a San Francisco District Attorney who faces a potential conflict of interest when he learns that the prime suspect in the murder is psychologist Katrina Gavin (Linda Fiorentino), an old flame who eventually married Corelli's close friend (Chazz Palminteri). Despite this, he continues on the case and discovers that the dealer owned a series of photographs showing prominent public figures in compromising positions with an enigmatic prostitute known only as Jade. As Corelli searches for the identity of this unknown woman, believing she holds the key to the murder's solution, he uncovers further secrets that ultimately threaten his own life. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, (more)
- 2005
Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is unexpectedly reunited with Sherry Judd (Donna Bullock), on whom he'd harbored a hopeless crush in his junior high school days. But it's hardly a happy reunion: Someone has murdered Sherry's housekeeper and defaced a valuable painting of her grandmother. As Monk investigates the case on Sherry's behalf, he repeatedly recalls incidents from his troubled childhood, incidents which seem to be paralleled by current events involving Sherry's ex-husband Michael Norfleet (David Hunt)--who of course had been Monk's principal rival for Sherry's affections back in the day. The story reaches its startling climax when a hitherto unsuspected third party--yet another of Sherry's childhood sweethearts--makes himself known. Grant Rosenmeyer is seen as the younger Adrian Monk. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
This action is drama about a female Miami cop whose father, the sheriff of a small Southern town, is murdered by a mysterious armed gang. When she returns home with four of her fellow officers to find out why this happened, she runs into a web of drug-dealing, corruption and murder. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide
- 2005
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Actress Sara Rush travels back to her hometown of Carmichaels, PA to offer a humorous account of small-town America in this documentary tracing her childhood in the quiet, coal mining community and her eventual crowning as the "Coal Queen" in the annual Coal Queen Pageant, which celebrated its fiftieth year in August of 2003. A modest town with a population of 556, Carmichael is a community that was shaped by coal mining. After speaking with the colorful characters who populate Carmichael, Rush next travels to the State Theater in nearby Uniontown - where rehearsals are already underway for the latest Coal Queen pageant and contestants from fourteen nearby schools take part in talent, question-and-answer, and evening gown competitions in hopes of brining home the prized crown. In contrasting the trials of the pageant participants with the lives of the laborers who toil under the earth day after day, Rush offers a revealing look at a community which chooses to hold out hope even in their darkest hours. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Rush
The Dead Pool is the fifth and (thus far) the last of Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry movies. A sports pool is placing bets on which famous person will die next. Suddenly a serial killer who preys upon celebrities enters the scene, radically (and perhaps deliberately) changing the odds in the pool. As a celebrity of sorts, maverick cop Dirty Harry Callahan becomes a target of the killer, as does high-profile TV journalist Patricia Clarkson. Surprises are at a minimum in The Dead Pool; the film gets down to business quickly, moves logically if violently towards its climax (with a spectacular car-chase sequence thrown in for good measure), and delivers exactly what its fans expect. One major difference between this film and the earlier Dirty Harry epics is that the murders are committed in so outrageous a fashion that the picture seems at times to be a Freddie Krueger vehicle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Patricia Clarkson, (more)
- 2005
Originally titled Echoes, this made-for-cable drama is set in Napa Valley wine country, sometime in the 1980s. Patricia Heaton (who also produced the film) stars as Sara, the daughter of strong-willed vineyard owner Alicia Anselmi (Lainie Kazan). Hoping to arrange a merger between Alicia and rival vintner Nick Di Cenzo (Tony Lo Bianco), Sara must first overcome the bitter 40-year-feud between ex-sweethearts Alicia and Nick, which began when each seemingly jilted the other during WW2. The delivery of a long-lost engagement ring proves beyond doubt that Nick had intended to marry Alicia, but evidently this does little to alleviate their mutual animosity. And when it appears that Sara intends to dump her fiancé Brian (David Hunt) in favor of Nick's nephew Tony (Vincent Spano), Alicia and Nick are all the more convinced that any merger between the Anselmi and DiCenzo families--even a merger that never comes to fruition--will result only in heartache for all concerned. The Engagement Ring originally aired over the TNT cable network on November 28, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Heaton, Lainie Kazan, (more)
- 1992
A golden Buddha and two kickboxing con men provide the basis of this lively martial-arts actioner that opens during the Vietnam war as three lost commandos make their way though the jungle and find themselves in a cave containing a fabulous golden Buddha. The story jumps ahead twenty years as two con artists Dave and James run a successful scam that bilks gamblers out of their money during phony kickboxing matches. One of the three veterans tells the grifters about the treasure and enlists their aide in getting it. He then draws them a map just before he is executed by the villain McMann's henchmen. Shortly thereafter, James, Dave, and Dave's girl friend, Julie, head for Cambodia. They are pursued by McMann and his deadly gang. The question then becomes, who will get to the treasure first? ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
