Based on the true story of how Marie Stubbs (Julie Walters) saved the notorious St. George's School in West London from closure following the murder of headmaster Philip Lawrence at its gates five years earlier...
Based on John Lahr's biography of the same name and co-written by Alan Bennett, Prick Up Your Ears charts the 16-year relationship between the monstrously talented but deeply selfish playwright Joe Orton (Gary Oldman), author of West End farces such as Loot and What the Butler Saw, and his neurotic but nevertheless wronged lover and collaborator Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina). Halliwell introduced Orton to art, literature and gay sex only to see his protégeacute; outstrip his mentor with innate and rampant talent for sexual conquest. By turns hilarious and excoriatingly painful, it's as much a tribute to an anti-hero of our times-Orton's ruthless frankness and anarchic mindset helped form the basis of what's called the "queer" sensibility today--as it is a portrait of the Swinging 60s just after the reform of anti-homosexuality laws irrevocably changed society. The modern-day framing device has Lahr (Wallace Shawn) researching his book through interviews with Peggy Ramsay (Vanessa Redgrave), Orton's agent and the diary he wrote, a nimble device which ends up drawing a provocative parallel between Orton and Halliwell's relationship and that of Lahr and his wife (Lindsay Duncan). Director Stephen Frears, fresh off the back of the also-gay-themed My Beautiful Laundrette, nimbly balances our sympathies for both the protagonists while the leads give what may in retrospect look like the standout performances of their careers: Oldman was never more feral and charming, while Molina, foppishingly fretting over his wig and decrying that his lover "even sleeps better than I do" is simply heartbreaking. --Leslie Felperin
She'll be Wearing Pink Pyjamas (1984) epitomises the early work of the FilmFour brand: solid productions, usually awash with issues, a strong dose of prickly humour and a reliable ensemble of British character actors. This tale of female bonding concerns a miscellaneous group of women thrown together on an Outward Bound course. They've all come for their own reasons--men (the lack of, or to escape from), midlife crisis, feelings of now-or-never--and as the course escalates, these are discovered and shared. Even the rather tiresome and bossy course leader has a moment of revelation. Think Steel Magnolias in a tent. Will they make it? The bonding scenes are sufficiently well counterpointed by the wet and muddy action to keep you guessing. There are plenty of laughs to keep the clichés at bay, although John Goldschmidt's direction could have been tighter. The performances, led by Julie Walters at her most attention-seeking, are good and often touching. All in all this is a brittle but warm-hearted little comedy about optimism and survival. On the DVD: She'll be Wearing Pink Pyjamas is presented in 4:3 picture format with a dull mono soundtrack, which betrays its made-for-television origins. There are no subtitles and, apart from a scene index, no extras. --Piers Ford
Lizzie Hunt has served her time: ten long years for the murder of her husband during an alcoholic blackout. Free at least and still with no recollection of what happened that fateful night Lizzie returns to her Irish hometown to discover that people are not willing to forgive her and help her make a fresh start. An old flame the local police officer is the only person who holds out an olive branch to Lizzie and as their relationship rekindles he helps her rebuild her shattered
One of the all-time great British black comedies! A man goes looking for his long lost dad only to meet a voracious older woman who is, apparently, the sex bomb of Southend. Product Features Starring Richard E. Grant Gosford Park, Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, The Iron Lady Starring Julie Walter Mama Mia, Harry Potter, Billy Elliott Starring Denholm Elliott Indiana Jones, Trading Places, A Room With a View
A bawdy and funny British comedy gem! Gerald (Ian Charleson) in the throes of a midlife crisis develops an overriding passion for his new sports car-an E-Type Jaguar. His neglected wife Jacqueline (Julie Walters) becomes jealous and retaliates: she takes the car out for spin and encounters the randy car salesman Kevin (Vincent Riotta) and decides to seduce him. Car Trouble is a fast paced comic tour de force with one-liners a-plenty and featuring a hilarious climax (in more ways than one) as wife and salesman get stuck in a very compromising position - in Geralds car!
Based on the play by Jim Morris. Blood on the Dole follows the lives of four teenagers, two boys and two girls, struggling to cope after being thrust into the real world for the first time after leaving school. Living in deprived Merseyside, the four youths' bright-eyed optimism for their futures and new-found freedom is soon crushed by the realities of unemployment, poverty, and the brutal reality of living and trying to find work in a city in decline. They all soon find themselves in the hopeless situation of facing complete dependence on state handouts, the dole . The four teenagers instead find themselves turning to each other to find the strength to survive. An impressively fresh social commentary and portrayal of teenage love set within a disturbingly authentic account of disenfranchised youth. With austerity still very much a part of our political climate, and recent films such as I, Daniel Blake continuing to challenge such government policy, Blood on the Dole is still a hugely relevant watch today. Produced by BAFTA-winner Alan Bleasdale as a part of the Alan Bleasdale Presents series, a Channel 4 anthology showcasing and given a platform to new, up-and-coming talent young writers. After his successes in landmark dramas including Boys from the Black Stuff, The Monocled Mutineer and GBH, in 1994 Channel 4 gave Alan Bleasdale the opportunity to find and mentor new TV writers. Four big-budget, standalone films were made as a result, with top casts and experimental storylines.
Angela's Ashes (Dir. Alan Parker 1999): Angela's Ashes the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir comes to life in this stirring film from acclaimed director Alan Parker (Evita) starring Academy Award-nominee Emily Watson (Breaking The Waves) and Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty). Life in impoverished Depression-era Ireland holds little promise for young Frank McCourt the oldest son in a tightly knit family. Living by his wits cheered by his irrepressible spirit and sustained by his mother's fierce love Frank embarks on an inspiring journey to overcome the poverty of his childhood and reach the land of his dreams: America. Stepmom (Dir. Chris Columbus 1998): Jackie (Susan Sarandon) is a divorced mother of two. Isabel (Julia Roberts) is the career minded girlfriend of Jackie's ex-husband Luke (Ed Harris) forced into the role of unwelcome stepmother to their children. It is the universal dilemma of the 'non-traditional family' they all love the children but the complex interplay between parents step-parents step-children ex-spouses and significant others is decidedly tricky. But when Jackie discovers she is ill both women realise they must put aside their differences to find a common ground and celebrate life to the fullest while they have the chance. Billy Elliot (Dir. Stephen Daldry 1998): Starring Julie Walters and newcomer Jamie Bell the film (based on a real-life story) follows the progress of little Billy Elliot a motherless 11 year-old from a poor Durham pit village. When young Billy chooses ballet classes over boxing lessons his life is changed forever. He decides to keep the lessons secret from his father a coal miner but when his ballet instructor persuades him to try out for the Royal Ballet School in London Billy must make the choice between family responsibilities and his dreams...
The much-anticipated sequel ï¬nds Paddington happily settled with the Brown family in Windsor Gardens. While searching for the perfect present for his beloved Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, Paddington spots a unique pop-up book in Mr. Gruber's antique shop, and embarks upon a series of odd jobs to buy it. But when the book is stolen, it's up to Paddington and the Browns to unmask the thief. Paddington's biggest adventure yet sees Hugh Grant and Brendan Gleeson joining the all-star returning cast of Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi and Ben Whishaw as the voice of the beloved bear. Features: Director's Commentary Rain on the Roof' with Phoenix Buchanan Full Screen Paddington 2: The Challenge of Making the Film BAFTA Q&A with David Heyman, Paul King, Simon Farnaby, Hugh Grant and Pablo Grillo
Created by written by and starring the one and only Victoria Wood 'Dinnerladies' chronicles the antics of a group of workers in a ""manky old canteen"" up in the north of England... Episodes comprise: 1. Catering 2. Trouble 3. Holidays 4. Fog 5. Gamble 6. Christmas 7. Minnellium 8. Christine 9. Gravy 10. Toast
Julie Walters gives a sterling performance in this riotous comedy which takes a look behind the scenes at the sex-life of the British inspired by the life the notorious Madam Cynthia Payne...
Parenthood is not what Jamie (Robert Lindsay) and Julie Diadoni (Julie Walters) expected and son Jake is born at a time of domestic tension. Jamie - a handsome failed musician - loses his job and Julie becomes the full time breadwinner while Jamie takes on the role of house husband. Jake grows up loving his father but resenting his often absent mother. A new pregnancy is the final straw. Bewildered and lost Jake is threatened by the new arrival he fantasises about the life he shoul
As Victoria Wood once said, "There's nothing you can't say if you say it in the right way". And she goes on to prove that triumphantly in An Audience with Victoria Wood, recorded in front of fellow celebs (whom she sends up effortlessly, describing her long-time collaborator Julie Walters as "the lady with the split ends"). Victoria Wood may be the queen of suburbia but her endless takes on the finer details of banality have an acuity of which Alan Bennett would be proud. Most people cannot do monologue without lapsing into self-consciousness. But she's just brilliant. Her depiction of a nervy woman attempting to conduct a survey in the street, for instance, is priceless: "Here's my ID. Yes, I do look rather startled. It was taken in a photo booth and someone had just poked an éclair through the curtain". She's like Joyce Grenfell on speed. And it's that surreal juxtaposition of the commonplace and the wacky that makes her routines anything but. Even when she takes up residence at the piano, belting out home-made ballads (and this video includes the famous "Let's Do It"), she's both touching and amusing. At one point, she suggests that the British are no good at having fun. Get this video and prove her wrong. --Harriet Smith
Award-winning war correspondent Guy Foster (Tim Dutton) distraught after the loss of his first wife joins a cruise to Cape Town where he meets beautiful and mysterious Melissa (Jennifer Ehle). A sophisticated blonde PR girl Melissa is travelling with an exuberant group of media friends. Guy falls desperately in love with the exotic Melissa and she seduces him very happily into marriage. But while they celebrate dark events begin to take place. An elderly widower is 'accidentall
A family man... A dreamer... A thief.... On the 8th August 1963 the Royal Mail train on it's night time run from London to Glasgow was robbed by 15 men who got away with 2.6 million. Buster tells the story of one of the junior robbers Buster Edwards in a crime that came to be known as 'The Great Train Robbery'. This film details the planning of the famous heist but its main concern is Buster's relationship with his family and his devotion to his wife June. The Edwards a
A successful American banker faces all sorts of opposition after revealing his penchant for dressing in women's clothing...
The sixth installment of the Harry Potter series begins right where The Order of the Phoenix left off. The wizarding world is rocked by the news that "He Who Must Not Be Named" has truly returned, and the audience finally knows that Harry is "the Chosen One"--the only wizard who can defeat Lord Voldemort in the end. Dark forces loom around every corner, and now regularly attempt to penetrate the protected walls of Hogwarts School. This is no longer the fun and fascinating world of magic from the first few booksit's dark, dangerous, and scary. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) suspects Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) to be a new Death Eater recruit on a special mission for the Dark Lord. In the meantime, Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) seems to have finally removed the shroud of secrecy from Harry about the dark path that lies ahead, and instead provides private lessons to get him prepared. It's in these intriguing scenes that the dark past of Tom Riddle (a.k.a. Voldemort) is finally revealed. The actors cast as the different young versions of Riddle (Hero Fiennes-Tiffin and Frank Dillane) do an eerily fantastic job of portraying the villain as a child. While the previous movies' many new characters could be slightly overwhelming, only one new key character is introduced this time: Professor Horace Slughorn (with a spot-on performance by Jim Broadbent). Within his mind he holds a key secret in the battle to defeat the Dark Lord, and Harry is tasked by Dumbledore to uncover a memory about Voldemort's darkest weapon--the Horcrux. Despite the long list of distractions, Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) still try to focus on being teenagers, and audiences will enjoy the budding awkward romances. All of the actors have developed nicely, giving their most convincing performances to date. More dramatic and significant things go down in this movie than any of its predecessors, and the stakes are higher than ever. The creators have been tasked with a practically impossible challenge, as fans of the beloved J.K. Rowling book series desperately want the movies to capture the magic of the books as closely as possible. Alas, the point at which one accepts that these two mediums are very different is the point at which one can truly enjoy these brilliant adaptations. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is no exception: it may be the best film yet. For those who have not read the book, nail-biting entertainment is guaranteed. For those who have, the movie does it justice. The key dramatic scenes, including the cave and the shocking twist in the final chapter, are executed very well. It does a perfect job of setting up the two-part grand finale that is to follow. --Jordan Thompson
In the Spring of 1956 in a quaint little town a crime took place that shocked a nation... This is the true story A young merchant marine turns up in an English coastal town looking for a brother he barely knows. When his brother's wife rebukes him he takes up with the Beasley family. Both mother and daughter are chasing and ending up in the man's bed. However soon both women start showing up at the same time which is a little much for him.
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