Michael Parkinson Movies

This semi-serious horror film represented the first on-screen pairing of icons Vincent Price and Peter Cushing, who play, respectively, aging former horror star Paul Toombes and actor-turned-writer Herbert Flay, who unite in an effort to revive the popularity of Toombes' screen character "Dr. Death" for a TV series. Having recently recovered from a nervous breakdown, Toombes comes under suspicion when several members of the show's cast and crew are murdered in grisly reenactments of Dr. Death's greatest movie moments (as depicted in numerous colorful clips from some of Price's AIP films for Roger Corman). Though it at times aspires to the level of Price's classic of macabre humor Theater of Blood, this film tends to stumble due to a middling script that dodges the opportunity to generate energy from the interaction of its two superb leads. Also known as The Revenge of Dr. Death. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Set in Great Britain in the late 1980s -- in the midst of Margaret Thatcher's controversial tenure as Prime Minister -- this drama examines the strange relationship between two siblings. Richard (Clive Owen) has given up a well-paying job in the private sector to take a position with a government agency that oversees real estate development. While Richard has always been emotionally secure and well-adjusted, his sister Natalie (Saskia Reeves) is nervous and unsure of how to deal with her life, even after marrying Sinclair (Alan Rickman), a successful financial analyst who can afford a posh home on the River Thames. Natalie and Richard don't see each other often, and their relationship has long had an odd cast to it, as Natalie often seems to flirt with her brother. One day, Richard meets Natalie and Sinclair over lunch, and Richard finds himself strongly attracted to his sister. In time, a mutual interest evolves into a full-blown incestuous affair. Natalie realizes that this sort of relationship can't go on and tries to break it off with Richard, but he becomes irrational, attempting suicide and threatening violence. While dealing openly with the sexual nature of its story, Close My Eyes also uses incest as a metaphor for moral and political irresponsibility. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Set near the end of 1899, as a new century is due to arrive and many people struggle to keep up with an era in flux, this drama follows the goings-on at a medical clinic operated by Professor Mandry (Charles Dance). Mandry appears somewhat progressive to his top student and right-hand man, Paul Reisner (Clive Owen), given his willingness to hire women and blacks - but Reisner's unchecked enthusiasm for Mandry soon fades when he discovers Mandry's hesitancy to acknowledge the importance of Felix's work on diabetic disorders, and his willingness to propagate eugenics via the enforced sterlization of impoverished British women. Eventually, their disagreements lead to the younger man's suspension; Paul then turns to Clara (Miranda Richardson), a free-thinking young woman working at the clinic who shows tremendous professional and emotional support to him. Soon they become lovers, but have disagreements of their own regarding medical ethics. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

All of London is in love -- or longing to be -- in Four Weddings and a Funeral writer Richard Curtis' first directorial effort. Billed as "the ultimate romantic comedy," Love Actually involves more than a dozen main characters, each weaving his or her way into another's heart over the course of one particularly eventful Christmas. The seemingly perfect wedding of Juliet (Keira Knightley) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) brings many of the principals together, including heartsick best man Mark (Andrew Lincoln), who harbors a very unrequited crush on Juliet. There's also recent widower Daniel (Liam Neeson), trying to help his lonely stepson Sam (Thomas Sangster) express his true feelings to a classmate. Across town, devoted working mother Karen (Emma Thompson) tries to rekindle the passion of her husband, Harry (Alan Rickman), who secretly pines for a young colleague of his. In the same office, the lonely Sarah (Laura Linney) not-so-secretly pines for a man just a few desks away (Rodrigo Santoro), who returns her affections but may not be able to dissuade her neuroses. Providing the unofficial soundtrack for all of the couples is an aging rocker (Bill Nighy) who just wants to cash in and get laid -- but even he might find a meaningful relationship in the most unlikely of places. A working print of Love Actually premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide