Conrad Pla Movies
- 2008
Love saves a man from his worst instincts while leading him right back into them in this independent comedy-drama. Paul (Conrad Pla) left behind a failing career as a boxer and a long history of shady behavior when he fell in love with Cheryl (Chelah Horsdal), who works as an editor for a publishing house owned by her family. With Cheryl's encouragement, Paul has been pursuing a new life as a writer, but while he's enjoyed critical success, lately he's been cursed with severe writer's block. Feeling like a failure compared to Cheryl, Paul wants to prove his worth to her by giving her a world-class wedding with all the bells and whistles. However, with his productivity stalled he's short on money, so he comes up with a scheme to raise the cash for the big event -- pulling a massive scam on "Mussolini" Bonnacci (Dino Valiotis), the wealthy leader of a local drug dealing operation. While Paul's old cronies are sure they can pull off the job, nothing goes quite the way they expected. Burning Mussolini was the first feature film from actor turned writer and director Conrad Pla. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
When Teresa (Vanessa Bauche) was left in Mexico by a husband who hiked it up to Montreal, she followed in search of him with the help of Fenton (Jesse Aaron Dwyre), a grocery-store stock boy, but little does her new companion know of the mystery surrounding this mistress and her equally enigmatic ex-suitor. This emotionally ambitious and frequently comedic feature follows the two as they travel across Montreal, often encountering colorful characters who lead them to the final denouement, where Teresa will have more explaining to do than she ever expected. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Bauche, Jesse Aaron Dwyre, (more)
A hard-drinking, hard-living cop assigned the task of transporting a small-time criminal to the nearby courthouse finds that a simple, 16-block drive can be the longest ride of his life in director Richard Donner's urban action thriller. Hung-over, has-been cop Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) has seen better days, and all that the force expects out of him these days is to stay out of trouble while he's on the clock. Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) is set to testify before a grand jury at 10:00 a.m., and it's up to Mosely to make sure that Bunker makes it to the courthouse in one piece -- a job that Mosely estimates will take a maximum of 15 minutes. A black van has been trailing the pair unnoticed, though, and after stopping off at a nearby liquor store to pick up some breakfast, Mosely emerges from the store just in time to save Eddie from the lethal bullet of a determined assassin. When backup arrives in the form of Detective Frank Nugent (David Morse), Mosely quickly realizes that the detective on Nugent's team is the same cop that Bunker is set to testify against. Now faced with the tough task of dodging bullets and eluding a massive onslaught of corrupt cops, Mosely must keep Bunker alive long enough to get him before the judge and ensure that justice is served. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Mos Def, (more)
- 2004
Created by Christina Jennings, the Canadian sci-fi suspenser ReGenesis tackled the up-to-date subject of bioterrorism--specifically bioterrorism generated by the fantastic scientific advances made during the early 21st century. Peter Outerbridge starred as David Sandstrom, chief scientist and molecular biologist for the North American Biotechnology Advisory Commission. Popularly known as NorBAC, this commissioned had been created to investigate (and in some cases terminate) examples of questionable biotechnology. Though mankind had advanced to the point of being able to create "perfect" food, luxury items and even babies in the lab, not everyone was motivated by altruism,and there were plenty of madmen and terrorists with deep pockets who intended to use high-tech science for evil purposes. Though the series was essentially an action thriller, several hot-button ethical and political questions were raised in the course of events (though few were actually resolved). Other members of the multinational NorBAC team included Conrad Pla) as geneticist-medical doctor Carlos Serrano, Dmitry Chepovetsky as biochemist Bob Melnikov and Mayko Nguyen as bioinformatics researcher Mayko Tran. Sarah Strange was seen during the first season as NorBAC's lead viroligist (and David Sandstrom's erstwhile lover) Jill Langston; she was replaced beginning with the second season by Wendy Crewson as Rachel Woods. Similarly, Maxim Roy was originally cast as NorBAC's executive director Caroline Morrison, only to be killed off and subsequently replaced by Greg Byrk as Weston Field. Appearing occasionally was Geraint Wyn Davies as NobBAC's White House-based science advisor Carleton Riddlemeyer. Boasting the input of Canadian molecular biologist Alec Edwards as the series' chief scientic consultant, ReGenesis debuted simultaneously on Canada's Movie Central and The Movie Network cable services the week of October 24, 2004; it would be distributed to several other nations before finally entering US syndication in the fall of 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A tough cop makes a startling discovery about his wife and the leader of a band of bisexual sensualists in this erotic thriller. Raymond Pope (Conrad Pla) is a police detective with an appetite for kinky sex and an inability to stay faithful to his wife. As it happens, Pope's wife also has a wandering eye, and when she disappears under mysterious circumstances, Pope finds himself investigating the case and discovers that his spouse had fallen in with Elizabeth Kane (Caroline Neron). Kane is a woman with a taste for other women and an unquenchable sexual desire, but as Pope finds himself drawn to her strange allure, he makes a disturbing discovery -- Kane is actually Erzsebet Bathory, a Hungarian countess of the 16th century who many years ago found the secret of eternal life by bathing in the blood of beautiful women. Eternal is the first feature film from the writing and directing team of Wilhelm Liebenberg and Federico Sanchez. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Conrad Pla, Caroline Neron, (more)
- 2004
Falling victim to a glib con artist named Michael (Stewart Bick), Texas housewife Diane (Peta Wilson) loses all her money, a disaster that drives her husband Randal (Anthony Lemke) to suicide. Unable to get justice through the official channels, Diane mounts her own plan of revenge. This involves assuming a new identity, trading in her blonde tresses for a redheaded "do", moving to a small town, and systematically seducing the man who ruined her life. One of six "no frills" TV movies produced in Canada for the Lifetime cable network at a flat cost of $2 million each, False Pretenses originally aired October 25, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Shot almost entirely on a two-and-a-half-story recreation of a full-size operating airport terminal, this romantic comedy from director Steven Spielberg revolves around an Eastern European man by the name of Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), whose plans of immigrating to New York were hastened by a violent coup in his home country. Unfortunately, Viktor finds himself on the wrong end of a nasty technicality while en route to America: His passport was issued from a country, which, during its upheaval, ceased to exist in an official capacity. Unauthorized to leave Kennedy Airport upon his arrival and unable to return home, Viktor finds himself exiled inside the terminal's international transit lounge. Though airport official Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) views Viktor as an annoying bureaucratic glitch, other airport employees -- including a beautiful flight attendant by the name of Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) -- come to see him as a welcome, if unofficial, addition to their numbers. As the days stretch on into months, the terminal transforms from an intimidating atmosphere of forced assimilation into a country within itself, complete with culture, ambition, status, complex diversity, and the need for love. The supporting cast includes Diego Luna, Chi McBride, Kumar Pallana, Zoe Saldana, Eddie Jones, and Jude Ciccolella. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, (more)
K.C. Bascombe directs Sherilyn Fenn, Tom Sizemore, and Dave Foley in the crime thriller Swindle. An undercover police officer falls hard for a seductive criminal and soon finds himself helping her pull off a bank heist. The situation eventually comes to a head, and the cop must decide between lust and righteousness. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Sizemore, Sherilyn Fenn, (more)
