A Christmas Carol 1999 TV, 95 min. Genre: Family / Drama / Fantasy
Director: David Hugh Jones Cast: Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Joel Grey, Ian McNeice, Saskia Reeves, Desmond Barrit, Bernard Lloyd, Dominic West, Trevor Peacock, Liz Smith, Claire Slater, Ben Tibber, Elizabeth Spriggs, Kenny Doughty, Laura Fraser
Patrick Stewart makes an excellent Ebenezer Scrooge in this fine TV adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic Christmas story. After visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Joel Grey), Present (Desmond Barrit), and Future (Tim Potter), Scrooge re-evaluates his treatment of Tiny Tim (Ben Tibber) and and his family. It ranks among the best of the several film renditions.
|  | |
Fred Claus 2007 PG, 115 min. Genre: Family / Comedy / Fantasy
Director: David Dobkin Cast: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins, Miranda Richardson, Rachel Weisz, Kathy Bates, Trevor Peacock, Ludacris, Elizabeth Banks, Christian Hansen, Kevin Spacey, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Allan Corduner
Ever since his younger brother Nick was born, Fred Claus had been upstaged by Nick who was adored by their parents (Kathy Bates and Trevor Peacock). Now, as adults, the situation has not improved. Nick (Paul Giamatti) has become Santa Claus at the North Pole, and Fred is a repo man in Chicago. When ne'er-do-well Fred finds himself in jail after robbing Salvation Army Santas, he asks Nick for help. Nick bails him out–on condition that Fred help Nick's elves prepare toys for Christmas. But, Fred is not prepared for this kind of work and just might jeopardize the effort to have toys ready for Christmas delivery.
|  | |
Hamlet 1990 PG, 135 min. Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Franco Zeffirelli Cast: Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Dillane, John McEnery, Vernon Dobtcheff, Pete Postlethwaite, Nathaniel Parker, Sean Murray, Michael Maloney, Trevor Peacock, Christien Anholt
Hamlet (Mel Gibson), the Prince of Denmark, finds his life changing after his father's murder. Soon after Hamlet's father dies, his mother, Queen Gertrude (Glenn Close) marries her brother-in-law Claudius (Alan Bates). When his father's ghost (Paul Schofield) appears, he tells Hamlet that it was Claudius who killed him and orders Hamlet to avenge his murder. Hamlet fakes madness to avoid suspicion, and the death toll rises. Victims include Claudius, Hamlet's friends and family, and even Hamlet. A very good remake of the Shakespeare classic.
|  | |
Roseanna's Grave 1997 PG-13, 98 min. Genre: Comedy aka: For Roseanna
Director: Paul Weiland Cast: Jean Reno, Mercedes Ruehl, Polly Walker, Mark Frankel, Giuseppe Cederna, Renato Scarpa, Luigi Diberti, Trevor Peacock, Fay Ripley, George Rossi
Roseanna is dying and wants to be buried next to her daughter. BUT, there are only three plots left in the local cemetery, so her husband campaigns to keep fellow townsfolk alive. Meanwhile, Roseanna makes plans for her family's futures.
|  | |
| 1. A Christmas Carol (1999)
2. Fred Claus (2007)
3. Hamlet (1990)
4. Roseanna's Grave (1997) aka: For Roseanna
In The News
|