Not too long ago, the folks out at Acorn Media sent out a copy of Prime Suspect Series One for me to review. And while Acorn has sent out a whole lot of prime drama for us previously, you’ll find that this particular batch is on par with some of their best.

Prime Suspect follows DCI Tennison, who’s out to solve a murder. Tennison’s been bucking to get charge of a murder case for quite some time, and now Tennison’s finally got the opportunity. But as Tennison will rapidly discover, this murder may not just be a murder, but rather a beginning. A beginning of something much larger: a serial killer, and quite possibly, a cover-up within the police department itself. Will DCI Tennison survive this newfound promotion? Or will Tennison not live to collect the enhanced pension?

Sounds pretty straightforward, until you consider that DCI Tennison is played by none other than Helen Mirren, who is pretty much the center of awesome in the known universe as far as actresses go. And DCI Tennison is taking charge of a murder investigation back in a time when murder investigations simply were not headed up by women. Thus, Tennison’s going to be taking on the department just as much as the possible serial killer, as the department very clearly does not want her there.

But even better, it’s not really this simple. There will be plenty of good twists and turns involved with this one, as only British drama can present them. Crime drama is always pretty good; British crime drama is an order of magnitude above that. Folks, if you liked CSI or all those other crime dramas, then frankly, you owe it to yourself to at least check out Prime Suspect Series One.

It’s a lovely, extensive piece of work that’s nicely put together, and is elevated at least a couple notches by virtue of having Helen Mirren around. There’s even some nifty extra stuff showing Tennison’s home life, which is a nice aside from all the murder and mayhem going on elsewhere. It’s some surprisingly fun stuff, and amply worth the three hours twenty-seven minutes you’ll have to invest in it to watch it all.

The Screenhead Ten Scale, meanwhile, gives Prime Suspect Series One an eight out of ten for being some top-notch crime drama, backed up by an overwhelming British influence and the sheer raw awesome that is Helen Mirren. Crime drama fans, you’re in for a great time here.

I decided that Arthur is not a remake but a comedy directed by Jason Winer. The brilliant cast includes Russell Brand, Jennifer Garner, Helen Mirren and Greta Gerwig.

The story is about an Irresponsible charmer Arthur Bach (Brand) has always relied on two things to get by: his limitless fortune and the good sense of lifelong nanny Hobson (Mirren) to keep him out of trouble.

Now he faces his biggest challenge–choosing between an arranged marriage that will ensure his lavish lifestyle or an uncertain future with the one thing money can’t buy, Naomi (Gerwig), the only woman he has ever loved. With Naomi’s inspiration and some unconventional help from Hobson, Arthur will take the most expensive risk of his life and finally learn what it means to become a man.

The movie opens theaters everywhere on April 8, 2011.

I am not quite sure what or who Arthur is; but I liked him better as a drunk. And, I wouldn’t call this a remake. It’s another movie, entirely. Helen Mirren seems to hold her own in the trailer, and I have faith in her performance. I have a feeling that Jennifer Gardner is damn good, too. We just don’t see her long enough in the trailer. Besides, where is the witty, dry humor!?

Julie Taymor adapted and directed The Tempest, the last Shakespeare play, which is a tightly woven drama about fantasy and romance.

The cast includes Helen Mirren, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou, David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Alan Cumming, Ben Whishaw, Reeve Carney, Felicity Jones and Tom Conti.

The movie opens this Friday, December 10, 2011.

Ah, fall…when the leaves change color and the apples come out and your thoughts start to turn to hay rides and corn mazes and horror movies and of course the inevitability of winter. And it’s certainly a surprise to see a summer movie emerge in autumn, which is just what happened with Red.

Red, which is actually an acronym for Retired, Extremely Dangerous used by the CIA to describe its agents who’ve reached the point in their lives where they would rather pursue knitting and flower-arranging and such than overthrowing governments, follows Frank Moses, one such RED agent, who’s run afoul of a conspiracy in the government. And as is so often the case with this sort of thing, the CIA’s out to kill Frank to keep him out of the picture. But as should be expected from a person the CIA calls dangerous, Frank survives the assassination attempt and fans out to get his old team (no pun intended) back together. He’ll hit rest homes, underground compounds in the swamp, and stately homes in Chesapeake to get the rest of his RED bunch together, who will then go forth and attempt to extricate themselves from the growing web of murder and deceit spun by the CIA.

Red is actually written by my personal favorite comic book writer, none other than Warren Ellis of no less than Transmetropolitan fame, and if you’re noticing that it’s shockingly similar to The Losers, well, you’re not alone.  In fact, if you start smirkingly referring to this as “The Old Losers”, well, then no one will likely complain. They really are at least passingly similar, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Indeed, it’s actually MORE fun watching Bruce Willis geezer his way around an action movie, especially aided and abetted by other Hollywood geezers like Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and geezerette Helen Mirren. Why? Because they’re GOOD, that’s why. Because Morgan Freeman makes a really believable dirty old man and John Malkovich really looks like a guy who’s taken a LOT of LSD in his lifetime and Helen Mirren looks like the kind of respected dowager who enjoys baking and flower arranging in her lovely Chesapeake home who occasionally takes on contracts to abruptly end people’s lives via a sudden injection of lead into their brainpans. If someone ever makes a horror movie in which Helen Mirren handles the knife I will buy a ticket three months in advance and LIVE in the theater until its release.

The casting may well be the strongest dose of joy here.  There’s also plenty of that sweet Warren Ellis humor showing in here–the stuff that made you laugh in Transmetropolitan will be found here (drugs, cross-dressing, really unlikely romances…John Malkovich in a dress is just a hoot). About the only real problem with Red is its spectacularly lousy timing–it feels entirely too much like The Losers, really a lesser film, for its own good.

Still though, you will likely not be disappointed here–Red is The Losers done much more right and with a much better cast. Indeed, Helen Mirren with a heavy machine gun is concentrated awesome.

Thus, it’s not hard at all to coerce the Screenhead Ten Scale into handing over an eight out of ten for a movie with great laughs, loads of action, and more fun than a movie really has any right to give.

Bon soir, mesdames et messieurs, and I have just about exhausted all my high school French, but I’ve got a new poster for you here for the upcoming action title Red.

Red pits some of the CIA’s most dangerous retirees against the current crop in an all out war for survival. Based on the graphic novel, Red brings an incredible bundle of talent together (Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and, of course, the thoroughly awesome Helen Mirren).

Red hits theaters October 15th, where it might have a bit of a fight on its hands considering this is horror month, and Red is decidedly not a horror flick.  Still though, it looks like it could be pretty sweet.

Ahead of the October 15th release of Red, featuring the thoroughly awesome sight of Helen Mirren running a belt-fed machine gun (about the only thing I want to see more is Barney with a chainsaw), another new clip has emerged, and of course, we’ve got that sweet Red goodness for you right here.

Red is based on the graphic novel series of the same name, written by magnificent comic author Warren Ellis, who wrote my own all-time favorite comic Transmetropolitan.

But it’s true–when you follow a guy who lives in a swamp into his underground bunker which you access by way of a hollowed-out car trunk, it really can only be described as nuts. And that’s the kind of action we’ll get plenty of when Red hits theaters in just two weeks. Until then, of course, enjoy the clip we’ve got for you below. The previous description applies, and what’s driving such circumstances? Why, nothing but a whole lot of LSD.

Red is based on the comics by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer. The movie follows  a group of retired ex-CIA agents who get thrown back into the game when assassins try to take out Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) and the gang. Other ex-CIA agents  include Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Mary-Louise Parker.

I must admit it’s wicked to see Mirren fire an assault weapon.

The Tempest is directed by Julie Taymor, who guides an eclectic and talent cast including Helen Mirren, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou, David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Alan Cumming, Ben Whishaw, Reeve Carney, Felicity Jones and Tom Conti.

In her big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s mystical thriller The Tempest, Academy Award –nominated Julie Taymor (Across the Universe, Frida, Titus) brings an original dynamic to the story by changing the gender of the sorcerer Prospero into the sorceress Prospera, portrayed by Oscar winner Helen Mirren (The Queen). Prospera’s journey spirals through vengeance to forgiveness as she reigns over a magical island, cares for her young daughter, Miranda, and unleashes her powers against shipwrecked enemies in this exciting, masterly mix of romance, tragicomedy and the supernatural.

The pictures show Mirren using the magical powers of the island while in the second picture Russell Brand is being chased by Alfred Molina.

You can’t go wrong with Shakespeare and with Helen Mirren starring in the lead, Prospera, who is a man in the original play. 

I love this poster because you can see the spectacular special effects.  So I can’t wait to see the movie.

It’s rare that I get to be hoity-toity, so here is a quote from:

“Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And—like the baseless fabric of this vision —”