When his father dies leaving his family not far short of penury, the eponymous young man (Charlie Hunnam) does a deal with his wealthy uncle "Ralph" (Christopher Plummer) that will ensure the comfortable survival of his mother and sister "Kate" (Romola Garai). This deal involves him travelling to the north of England to teach at the school of "Wackford Squeers" (a good effort from Jim Broadbent). Now this is a brutal man who beats and extorts from his pupils and from his factotum "Smike" (Jamie Bell) with abandon. Finally at the end of his tether, young "Nickelby" exacts some punishment of his own and absconds with the young "Smike" to make a life free from this abuse. Meantime his rather unscrupulous uncle is using the young "Kate" as a pawn in his dealings with the predatory "Sir Mulberry Hawk" (Edward Fox). Can her brother return home in time save her from a rather grizzly fate? This is one of Charles Dickens' weaker stories, I found. Once the gritty and darker first half hour or so is over, it falls into a pattern of rather unlikely serendipity. Too many coincidental relationships, friendships and dependencies start to turn it all a bit sour for me. Anne Hathaway adequately provides our hero with some love interest, and as with the brief appearances from Juliet Stevenson as "Mrs. Squeers" and the newly knighted Sir Tom Courtenay as the honourable and decent "Noggs" adds a bit of richness to the story, but handsome though he is, Hunnam hasn't quite the gravitas to take this on nor Plummer quite the dastardliness intended in the original book. It does look good, the costumes and settings all deliver well but somehow I always prefer adaptations of this author's work to be in black and white. Colour seems to overly sanitise his stories of poverty, cruelty and exploitation. It certainly does here.
Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.
David Sumner, a mild-mannered academic from the United States, marries Amy, an Englishwoman. In order to escape a hectic stateside lifestyle, David and his wife relocate to the small town in rural Cornwall where Amy was raised. There, David is ostracized by the brutish men of the village, including Amy's old flame, Charlie. Eventually the taunts escalate, and two of the locals rape Amy. This sexual assault awakes a shockingly violent side of David.
Tom Ripley is a calculating young man who believes it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. Opportunity knocks in the form of a wealthy U.S. shipbuilder who hires Tom to travel to Italy to bring back his playboy son, Dickie. Ripley worms his way into the idyllic lives of Dickie and his girlfriend, plunging into a daring scheme of duplicity, lies and murder.
In the late 1940s, a murderous couple known as the 'The Lonely Hearts Killers' kills close to a dozen people. Two detectives try to nab the duo who find their targets via the personals in the paper.
A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.
A wealthy New York investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he escalates deeper into his illogical, gratuitous fantasies.
After an intense fight with Clubber Lang and the death of his trainer Mickey, Rocky Balboa is left devastated. Former rival Apollo Creed steps in to help Balboa get back his fighting spirit.
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.
The New York club scene of the 80s and 90s was a world like no other. Into this candy-colored, mirror ball playground stepped Michael Alig, a wannabe from nowhere special. Under the watchful eye of veteran club kid James St. James, Alig quickly rose to the top... and there was no place to go but down.