The 51st State 2001  R, 92 min.
Genre: Comedy
aka: Formula 51
Director: Ronny Yu
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Meat Loaf, Rhys Ifans, Sean Pertwee, Anna Keaveney, Ricky Tomlinson, Jake Abraham, Paul Barber, Ade, Angus MacInnes
"Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive" is a lesson about to be learned by kilt-clad chemist Elmo McElroy (Samuel L. Jackson) who heads for England to market his own illegal drug called POS-51.
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Once Upon a Time in the Midlands 2002  R, 104 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Shane Meadows
Cast: Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Feltz, Ricky Tomlinson, Kathy Burke, Shirley Henderson, Vicki Patterson, Finn Atkins, Kelly Thresher, Andrew Shim, Ryan Bruce, Eliot Otis Brown Walters
After less-than-honorable Jimmy (Robert Carlyle) watches a TV show on which dull-but-nice Dek (Rhys Ifans) proposes to Jimmy's ex-wife Shirley (Shirley Henderson), Jimmy heads to the English Midlands hoping to get back into the good graces of Shirley and their 12-year-old daughter, Marlene (Finn Atkins).
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Preaching to the Perverted 1997 R, 100 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Stuart Urban
Cast: Guinevere Turner, Christien Anholt, Tom Bell, Julie Graham, Georgina Hale, Julian Wadham, Ricky Tomlinson, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Sue Johnston, Don Henderson, Charlotte Weston, Imogen Bain, Edward Jewesbury, Angela Easterling, Ian Embleton
The London underground S&M world and the government's attempts to stop it are satirized in this funny, near-porno film. Tanya (Guinevere Turner) is the sadomasochistic queen of London, and naive Peter (Christien Anholt) is sent by moral crusader Henry (Tom Bell) to infiltrate and bring back evidence to help his cause. Not unexpectedly, Peter falls for Tanya and longs for the day when she will have "normal" sex.
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Raining Stones 1993  N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Director: Ken Loach
Cast: Bruce Jones, Julie(2) Brown, Gemma Phoenix, Ricky Tomlinson, Tom Hickey, Jonathan James, Mike Fallon, Ronnie Ravey, Lee Brennan, Karen Henthorn, Christine Abbott, Geraldine Ward, William Ash, Matthew Clucas, Anna Jaskolka
An unemployed plumber, Bob (Bruce Jones), is devoted to his church and his family. But, he becomes involved with the mob when he tries to find money to buy his daughter Coleen (Gemma Phoenix) a First Communion dress. A good Ken Loach film about the British working-class and the problems they encounter. Though not rated, the film contains obscenities and nudity.
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Riff-Raff 1990 N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Ken Loach
Cast: Robert Carlyle, Emer McCourt, Jim R. Coleman, Dean Perry, Willie Ross, Anne Marie Timoney, Ricky Tomlinson, David Finch, Richard Belgrave, Peter Mullan, Garrie J. Lammin, George Moss
This independently made British film is an insightful tale about construction worker Stevie (Robert Carlyle) who tries to get rid of his past as he strives for respectability. Like many of his coworkers, Stevie hates the bosses and contractors who do not provide safe working conditions. One day, Stevie finds a lost purse and returns it to the owner who is aspiring singer Susan (Emer McCourt). They fall in love and move in together–for awhile. And the story goes back and forth between problems at the construction site and more problems in Stevie's love life.
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| 1. The 51st State (2001)
aka: Formula 51
2. Butterfly Kiss (1995)
3. Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
4. Preaching to the Perverted (1997)
5. Raining Stones (1993)
6. Riff-Raff (1990)
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