Margaret Matheson Movies

When a deal in Kiev goes bad for American mobsters Gino (Danny Nucci) and Settimo (Dan Hedaya), they make their way to Glasgow to seek shelter from the fallout in the home of cousin Bobby (Gerald Lepkowski). A kindly stamp collector who runs a small café, Bobby believes Gino and Settimo to be a pair of PR consultants, although when his grateful guests attempt to repay his hospitality by strong-arming a persistent bill collector, he begins to have his doubts regarding their profession. When the Russian mafia contracts a pair of Liverpool heavies to find the fleeing mobsters, Bobby finds his quiet life falling apart at the seams. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Created by Andrew MacLear, Space Island One was tailored to the requirements of Britain's ambitious Sky One satellite service. Set in 2005 A.D., the weekly, hour-long series focused on a multicultural group of space travelers, living and working on the earth-orbiting Unity Space Station. As the first serious British sci-fi series since Space Cops 11 years earlier, this one was welcomed with open arms by fans of the genre; happily, the program did not let its viewers down, utilizing intelligent scripts and believable characterizations in lieu of the usual "zap-zap" and scary monsters. Though filmed in its entirety on the Isle of Man, the series boasted creative input from several different countries, courtesy of the European Script Fund. Twenty-six episodes of Space Island One were broadcast from January 7 to November 9, 1998; a 27th episode was not aired, but has been prepared for a future video release. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The 1,000-day presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the early '60s is depicted from the glorious beginning to the tragic ending. Kennedy (Martin Sheen) faces down the Soviets, the Cubans, his military leaders (over the war in Vietnam), FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Vincent Gardenia), and Jackie (Blair Brown), who suspects him of infidelities. He gets by with the brilliant and compassionate help of his Attorney General brother Robert (John Shea). After pulling the nation out of one crisis after another, Kennedy makes a trip to Dallas on November 22, 1963, and the world would be forever changed. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi

Director Alan Clarke's influential television drama Made in Britain marked the screen debut of actor Tim Roth. Roth plays Trevor, a skinhead with a swastika tattoo on his forehead who lashes out verbally and sometimes physically at everything that surrounds him. Cinematographer Chris Menges (who would go on to win Oscars for his work on The Killing Fields and The Mission), gets his camera right in Roth's snarling face, as the film tracks Trevor's progress through the British justice system. In the courtroom, charged with attacking a Pakistani man and vandalizing his store, Trevor displays absolutely no remorse as he matter-of-factly admits that he knew the man would have to be hospitalized for his injuries. Trevor's social worker, Harry (Eric Richard), recognizes Trevor's intelligence, but he's running out of ways to convince Trevor to straighten out his life. Harry takes him to a juvenile detention center for "assessment," after which he'll be sentenced. Trevor immediately dismisses Peter (Bill Stewart), the put-upon supervisor of the center, as a "wanker." He meets his black roommate, Errol (Terry Richards), whom he quickly convinces to come out with him on a car-stealing, glue-sniffing, job-center-vandalizing day trip. Brazenly returning to the detention center in a stolen car, Trevor eventually provokes Peter into locking him in a classroom, so a police superintendent (Geoffrey Hutchings) can harangue him about the hopeless path his life is taking. Trevor refuses to accept the center's (and society's) standards for "good behavior," raging that they all just want everyone to follow the rules and keep their mouths shut. The script was written by David Leland (Wish You Were Here) and the songs on the soundtrack are by the anarchist hardcore band the Exploited. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

James Herriot wrote several well-loved books about his experiences as a small-town veterinarian in the Yorkshire countryside of Britain in the 1930s. One of them gave its title to the film All Creatures Great and Small. That family movie was so successful that this movie It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet, or All Things Bright and Beautiful was made. All the stories told explore the richness of the interactions between humans and animals and the quirky wisdom which a young country veterinarian develops under the wise and eccentric tutelage of his senior in practice, Siegfried Farnon. These stories later inspired a popular BBC television series. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This black comedy from Denmark involves the exploits of Bjarne and Svend, two friends who go into the meat-cutting business together only to see their venture fail miserably. But when Svend starts experimenting with a strange new culinary concoction, business picks up -- but they find that getting ahold of their "secret ingredient" will be more of a challenge than they thought. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

A young girl learns some difficult lessons about truth, love, and fidelity in this critically-acclaimed Southern gothic drama. Eve Batiste (Jurnee Smollett) is a ten-year-old girl whose father Louis (Samuel L. Jackson) is a successful and well-liked doctor in an African-American community in Louisiana. Louis is a good father and an excellent provider, but he also has a way of attracting the ladies, and he's not inclined to turn them away. One night, the Batistes hold a party, and Eve, her older sister Cisely (Meagan Good), and their mother Roz (Lynn Whitfield) all notice that Louis is spending a great deal of time dancing with the same woman. Eve later spies her father and the woman in an embrace in the carriage house, though Louis unconvincingly claims that nothing untoward was happening. The evidence of Louis' infidelity takes a toll on the entire family: Cisely, who at age 14 is walking the middle-ground between being a girl and a woman, becomes sullen and confused about her new emotions, Roz takes out her frustrations on her loved ones, and Eve visits Elzora (Diahann Carroll), a voodoo priestess, looking for advice and possibly revenge. Meanwhile, Eve's Aunt Mozelle (Debbi Morgan), who claims to have psychic powers, arrives to stay with the family after the death of her third husband, though she isn't lonely for long after meeting the eccentric Julien Greyraven (Vondie Curtis-Hall). Eve's Bayou was the first project as writer-director for actress Kasi Lemmons; leading man Samuel L. Jackson also co-produced. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A woman comes to terms with her sexuality while trying to save the family business in this flavorful romantic comedy. Nina Shah (Shelley Conn) is the daughter of an Indian expatriate family who settled in Glasgow and run an Indian restaurant, the New Taj Mahal. While Nina was always close to her father, when he insisted she wed a man she didn't love as part of an arranged marriage, she left Glasgow and began a new life in London. However, word of her father's passing brings her back to Glasgow to look after her mother and help run the New Taj. Nina learns that the restaurant is deep in debt and needs a sharp increase in business if it's to stay open; shortly before his death, her father arranged for the New Taj to take part in a televised cooking competition to find the best Indian food in Glasgow, and so Nina and the restaurant's head chef, Lisa (Laura Fraser), are on the spot to come up with something special. As Nina and Lisa spend many hours in the kitchen together, they begin to develop a personal relationship as spicy as anything on the menu. While Nina tries to decide how to explain her new romance to her family, she finds emotional support from her very out-of-the-closet friend, Bobbi (Ronny Jhutti), and her younger sister, who has developed a passion for Scottish folk dancing. But Nina's effort to save the New Taj may become a grudge match when she learns that her biggest competition comes from a new eatery run by Sanjay (Raji James), the man Nina refused to marry. Nina's Heavenly Delights also stars Art Malik as Sanjay's father. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The daughter of Nazis arrested by Allied forces ventures across Germany with her four younger siblings in hopes of reaching their grandmother, encountering a young Jewish refugee along the way who may prove to be their only hope of surviving the harrowing ordeal in this World War II drama based on Rachel Seiffert's novel The Dark Room. It's the spring of 1945. Adolf Hitler is dead and Allied forces are advancing through Germany, arresting and imprisoning Nazis as the fractured country's "final victory" slips permanently out of reach. Swept out of her opulent Bavarian home in a whirlwind by her father, an SS officer, and her embittered mother, 14-year-old Lore (Saskia Rosendahl) and her four younger siblings occupy a secluded farm; one day, their mother disappears down a long country road after telling Lore to find her way to her grandmother's house in Hamburg. Determined yet terrified, the shaken teen gathers up her siblings and sets out on a difficult journey across war-torn Germany. Later, just when it begins to seem as if all hope is lost, the weary young travelers cross paths with Thomas (Kai Malina), a young, enigmatic drifter who selflessly protects and feeds them. The fact that Thomas is Jewish challenges everything Lore has been taught to believe about the people whom the Führer despised, sparking an intense internal conflict in the confused adolescent, who will do anything to ensure the safety of her younger brothers and sisters. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi