UK movies

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Friday, March 21st, 2008
Genres: Drama
Countries: UK
Actors: Judi Dench | Cate Blanchett | Tom Georgeson | Michael Maloney | Joanna Scanlan | Shaun Parkes | Emma Kennedy | Syreeta Kumar | Andrew Simpson | Philip Davis | Wendy Nottingham | Tameka Empson | Leon Skinner | Bill Nighy | Juno Temple
Directors: Richard Eyre
Download: DVD iPod 

Barbara Covett is a veteran and cynical schoolteacher who is close to retirement. She is barely tolerated by her less brilliant and acerbic colleagues who know nothing about her private life which consists mainly of taking care of Portia, her aging cat, and spending countless hours alone. The only means she has found to take the edge off her desperate loneliness is writing in her journal. When Sheba Hart, a younger, attractive woman, joins the faculty as an art teacher, Barbara watches her from afar and has nothing but caustic things to say in her diary about her clothing and her care-free manner. Despite her disdain for this woman, Barbara finds herself reaching out to her. Sheba responds by inviting her to dinner at her house to meet Sheba’s lecturer husband, who is twenty years her senior, and their two children, a sexy and rebellious 16-year-old daughter and a younger boy with Downs Syndrome. Instead of opening herself to these people, Barbara immediately sees them as competition to be beaten in the battle for Sheba’s attention. Later, when Barbara discovers her new friend in a classroom having sex with Steven, a 15-year-old from the school who has artistic talent; she realizes that knowledge of this secret gives her power over Sheba which she can use for her own purposes. Barbara promises to not tell anyone but insists that the affair must end immediately. Sheba says she will but finds herself drawn back to the boy again and again. Sheba seems uneasy with Barbara’s friendship and is appalled when she discovers the older woman might have a sexual interest in her. The tenuous relationship between the two women reaches a crisis point when Barbara’s cat is dying and she asks Sheba to go with her to the vet. She chooses to go with her family to see their son in a play instead. In revenge, Barbara sets in motion the scandal that will rock both their lives in ways they never imagined.

Botched (2007)

Friday, March 21st, 2008
Genres: Comedy | Crime | Horror | Thriller
Countries: Germany | Ireland | UK | USA
Actors: Stephen Dorff | Jaime Murray | Sean Pertwee | Jamie Foreman | Geoff Bell | Edward Baker-Duly | Igor Chistol | David Heap | Greg Jeloudov | Zak Maguire | Hugh O'Conor | Russell Smith | Alan Smyth | Bronagh Gallagher | Gene Rooney
Directors: Kit Ryan
Download: DVD iPod 

Ritchie Donovan (Dorff) is a professional thief whose luck has just run out. The only survivor from a heist that goes terribly wrong, Ritchie is forced to take the rap and is sent to Russia to steal a priceless antique cross locked in a safe on the penthouse floor of a Moscow skyscraper. Things start badly and go rapidly downhill when, during the robbery, Ritchie and his Russian accomplices are forced to take hostages because they are trapped by the police on the unused 13th floor.

Straightheads (2007)

Friday, March 21st, 2008
Genres: Thriller
Countries: UK
Actors: Gillian Anderson | Danny Dyer | Ralph Brown | Antony Byrne | Anthony Calf | Adam Rayner | Steven Robertson | Ewan Stewart | Kate Bunten | Francesca Fowler | Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Directors: Dan Reed
Download: DVD iPod 

This taut and truly violent thriller sees Gillian Anderson and Danny Dyer as a middle-class woman and a security man whom after ravaging in an explosive night of passion head off to a posh party in the highlands, however on the way they encounter a connection of violent gun holders who beat him and horrifically gang-rape her. After surviving this terrifying encounter, the traumatized couple decide to take revenge on the mob. After coming to terms with what happened, the couple manage to get hold of a rifle, and as the sun goes down a truly harrowing blood bath unfolds as the revenge stricken pair unleash their deadly revenge.

The Walker (2007)

Friday, March 21st, 2008
Genres: Drama
Countries: UK | USA
Actors: Woody Harrelson | Kristin Scott Thomas | Lauren Bacall | Ned Beatty | Moritz Bleibtreu | Mary Beth Hurt | Lily Tomlin | Willem Dafoe | William Hope | Geff Francis | Steven Hartley | Garrick Hagon | Michael J. Reynolds | Allen Lidkey | Stewart Alexander
Directors: Paul Schrader
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An escort (Harrelson) who caters to Washington D.C.’s society ladies becomes involved in a murder case.

Human Traffic (1999)

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
Genres: Comedy | Drama
Countries: Ireland | UK
Actors: John Simm | Lorraine Pilkington | Shaun Parkes | Danny Dyer | Nicola Reynolds | Dean Davies | Peter Albert | Jan Anderson | Terence Beesley | Sarah Blackburn | Anne Bowen | Neil Bowens | Peter Bramhill | Jo Brand | Stephanie Brooks
Directors: Justin Kerrigan
Download: DivX iPod 

The Cardiff club scene in the 90’s: five best friends deal with their relationships and their personal demons during a weekend. Jip calls himself a sexual paranoid, afraid he’s impotent. Lulu, Jip’s mate, doesn’t find much to fancy in men. Nina hates her job at a fast food joint, and her man, Koop, who dreams of being a great hip-hop d.j., is prone to fits of un-provoked jealousy. The fifth is Moff, whose family is down on his behavior. Starting Friday afternoon, with preparations for clubbing, we follow the five from Ecstacy-induced fun through a booze-laden come-down early Saturday morning followed by the weekend’s aftermath. It’s breakthrough time for at least three of them.

The Contractor (2007)

Monday, March 17th, 2008
Genres: Action
Countries: Bulgaria | UK | USA
Actors: Velizar Binev | Ralph Brown | Charles Dance | S.J. Evans | Richard Harrington | Ryan McCluskey | Milos Miroslav | Bill Richards | Iain Robertson | Wesley Snipes | Nikolai Sotirov | Stanimir Stamatov | Eliza Bennett | Lena Headey | Sousila Pillay
Directors: Josef Rusnak
Download: DivX iPod 

The film begins at the Montana ranch home of a former CIA Opperative - James Dial played by Wesley Snipes. One last time, he is coaxed back into action to kill a terrorist in London. It all goes wrong and he is forced into hiding where he meets and befriends a 12 year old girl.

My Little Eye (2002)

Monday, March 17th, 2008
Genres: Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Countries: Canada | France | UK | USA
Actors: Sean Cw Johnson | Kris Lemche | Stephen O'Reilly | Laura Regan | Jennifer Sky | Bradley Cooper | Nick Mennell
Directors: Marc Evans
Download: DivX iPod 

Five young people apply to live in an isolated house together for six months whilst their every move is filmed by numerous cameras. Each has their reason for wanting to be there - fame, money, adventure. The prize - $1 million. The rules - if one person leaves, everyone loses. It becomes the ultimate morality test. When Danny’s beloved grandfather dies, does his greed overcome his love? When the skittish Emma finds blood on her pillow why does she still stay behind? And what dark secret does the house harbour that leaves them feeling as though they’re being watched by more than just a million pairs of eyes?

Code 46 (2003)

Friday, March 14th, 2008
Genres: Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Countries: UK
Actors: Tim Robbins | Togo Igawa | Nabil Elouhabi | Samantha Morton | Sarah Backhouse | Jonathan Ibbotson | Natalie Jackson Mendoza | Om Puri | Emil Marwa | Nina Fog | Bruno Lastra | Christopher Simpson | Lien Nguyin | David Fahm | Mick Jones
Directors: Michael Winterbottom
Download: DivX iPod 

Code 46 is a love story set in a Brave New World-type near-future where cities are heavily controlled and only accessible through checkpoints. People cannot travel unless they have “papelles,” a special travel permit issued by the totalitarianistic government, the “Sphinx”. Outside these cities, the desert has taken over and shanty towns are jammed with non-citizens - people without papelles forced to live primitive lives. William is a family man who works as a government investigator. When he is sent to Shanghai to solve a case of fake papelles, he meets a woman named Maria. Although he realizes she is behind the forgeries, he cannot help but fall completely in love with her. He hides her crime and they have a wild, passionate affair that can only last as long as his papelles: 24 hours. Back home, William is obessed with the memory of Maria. When the original investigation is inevitably re-opened a week later and William is sent back to finish the work he started, he tracks her down, only to discover she has been accused of a Code 46 violation and any further relationship is impossible.

Becoming Jane (2007)

Friday, March 14th, 2008
Genres: Biography | Drama | Romance
Countries: UK | USA
Actors: Anne Hathaway | James McAvoy | Julie Walters | James Cromwell | Maggie Smith | Joe Anderson | Lucy Cohu | Laurence Fox | Ian Richardson | Anna Maxwell Martin | Leo Bill | Jessica Ashworth | Eleanor Methven | Michael James Ford | Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Directors: Julian Jarrold
Download: DivX iPod 

The year is 1795 and young Jane Austen is a feisty 20-year-old and emerging writer who already sees a world beyond class and commerce, beyond pride and prejudice, and dreams of doing what was then nearly unthinkable - marrying for love. Naturally, her parents are searching for a wealthy, well-appointed husband to assure their daughter’s future social standing. They are eyeing Mr. Wisley, nephew to the very formidable, not to mention very rich, local aristocrat Lady Gresham, as a prospective match. But when Jane meets the roguish and decidedly non-aristocratic Tom Lefroy, sparks soon fly along with the sharp repartee. His intellect and arrogance raise her ire - then knock her head over heels. Now, the couple, whose flirtation flies in the face of the sense and sensibility of the age, is faced with a terrible dilemma. If they attempt to marry, they will risk everything that matters - family, friends and fortune.

Butterfly on a Wheel (aka Shattered) (2007)

Friday, March 14th, 2008
Genres: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Countries: Canada | UK
Actors: Pierce Brosnan | Maria Bello | Gerard Butler | Claudette Mink | Chris Astoyan | Samantha Ferris | Arnold Cheng | Aaron Douglas | Jesse Green | Randall Jones | Bob Kolbey | Nicholas Lea | Jason McKinnon | Dustin Milligan | Callum Keith Rennie
Directors: Mike Barker
Download: DivX iPod 

Neil and Abby Warner have the perfect life and a perfect marriage. With their beautiful young daughter, Sophie, they are living the American dream… until today. When Sophie is suddenly kidnapped, they have no choice but to comply with the abductors demands. The kidnapper - Ryan (PIERCE BROSNAN), a cold and calculating sociopath takes over their lives with the brutal efficiency of someone who has nothing to lose. In the blink of an eye Neil and Abby’s safe and secure existence is turned upside down. Over the next twenty four hours they are at the mercy of a man who wants only one thing. That they do his bidding. It soon becomes clear that Ryan’s demands are all the more terrifying… because he doesn’t want their money. What he wants is for Neil and Abbyís life, the life that they have built over 10 years, to be systematically dismantled and destroyed. Piece by piece. With time running out on their little girl, Neil and Abby realize their nightmare is about to take its most deadly turn: They will have to face Ryan’s final, horrifying challenge - would they kill an innocent man to save their own child? In the far distance a solitary light burns in the window of a lodge as the car glides to a halt - and Neil knows it is a question only he can answer - when Ryan hands him the gun…