Kurt Voss Movies

Four young women are on the verge of becoming the new darlings of indie rock, if they don't kill each other first, in this independent comedy drama. Fauna (Zoe Poledouris) has been a minor fixture on the Portland, OR, indie rock scene for a while as lead singer with neo-goth rockers the Snogs, but after a quarrel with her boyfriend Paulo (Mikael Jehanno), Fauna is given her walking papers, and soon the brazenly careerist Fauna looking for a new vehicle to launch her latest bid for rock stardom. Opportunity presents itself in the form of the Paper Dolls, an all-female three-piece -- guitarist Kali (Nicole Barrett), bassist Lavender (Melody Moore), and drummer Reggie (Kinnie Starr) -- in need of a lead singer. Fauna can give the fledgling Dolls some much needed cred, and when she learns that Kali's boyfriend is Levi (Coyote Shivers), the frontman for rising pop-punkers the Suicide Bombers, Fauna sees a relationship that can be profitably exploited. Eager to get their act together, the four Paper Dolls rent a house together, imagining that living together will help them tighten up fast. The plan works, and soon the Paper Dolls are the fastest rising band in the Northwest. Things look even rosier when the Suicide Bombers sign a deal with Pop-Up Records, an indie label poised to sign a distribution deal with a major label, and Levi suggests to Pop-Up that the Paper Dolls would make good label mates. The Dolls score the much-coveted record deal, but all is not well at the Doll House -- Fauna and Kali soon find themselves battling over Kali's affections and the group's musical direction, Reggie treats her boyfriend Mulder (Brendan O'Hara) like dirt while cheating on him with a handful of female fans, and Lavender isn't sure if the band is more important than her relationship with her longtime beau Clark (Shawn Robinson). Down & Out With the Dolls was written and directed by Kurt Voss, who previously explored the West Coast rock scene in two collaborative features with Alison Anders, Border Radio and Sugar Town, while Zoe Poledouris, Melody Moore, Kinnie Starr, and Coyote Shivers have all performed and recorded with a variety of rock bands. Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead also appears in a supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

After a group of thugs rob a delivery truck, the stolen goods move from one person to the next, with each person who took part in the original heist being marked for death. This thriller features Ice-T, Amy Locane, Luke Perry, and David Faustino in its eclectic cast. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

This third installment in the meretricious Poison Ivy series explores a different branch of Ivy family tree. Jaime Pressly stars as Violet, sister of Ivy, who returns to the home of the Greer family. As little girls, Violet and Ivy were traumatized when they were forcibly taken away from the Greer home and their best friend Joy -- after their housekeeper mother was discovered in an affair with the head of the household, Ivan Greer (Michael Des Barres). Now it's eleven years later and the widower Ivan, his grown-up daughter Joy (Trishalee Hardy) and new housekeeper Mrs. B (Susan Tyrrell) welcome the gorgeous, post-adolescent Violet back with open arms. Just like her sister, however, Violet is a scheming tramp and home-wrecker. She quickly shares cocaine and sleeps with Joy's sexually frustrated boyfriend Michael (Greg Vaughan) and seduces Ivan with a topless dip in the pool. When those around her begin to suspect that Violet has less than honorable intentions, she turns homicidal, murdering the Greers one by one, to Joy's horror. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Ally Sheedy, John Savage and Nicholas Walker co-headline this barely released indie feature from 1996, which arrived just prior to Sheedy's shattering onscreen rebound in Lisa Cholodenko's High Art. Walker stars as Paul, a sleazy, philandering pastor in an American small town, married to the soft-spoken and backward Martha (Sheedy) but caught up in the throes of a torrid affair with Veronica (Dara Tomanovich), his stepson's teacher. The two have begun meeting up for illicit encounters at a motel run by the nutty Charlene (famed acting coach Sally Kirkland), where Paul regularly registers under a fake pseudonym - the name of a local boy who drowned in the area years earlier. Eventually, Paul grows so desperate to leave Martha and run away with Veronica that he decides to stage his own death at the lake, but at the last minute he falls, hits his head and slips into amnesia, left with no recollection of who he is. Meanwhile, a slimy insurance investigator named Tim (Savage) crops up with the stated intention of investigating Paul's death, and promptly decides to wheedle his way into Martha's bed. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Neighborhood pride runs deep in Echo Park, so when two lifelong friends join the local gang as a matter of course, they're handed down gang names from the previous generation of homegirls. Unfortunately, Sad Girl (Angel Aviles) and Mousie (Seidy Lopez) don't remain friends for long. When Mousie withdraws into herself to cope with the responsibilities of young motherhood after bearing the child of her one true love, Ernesto (Jacob Vargas), Sad Girl and Ernesto turn to each other for comfort. Soon, Sad Girl herself ends up pregnant, and warm sisterhood cools to an icy feud. Ernesto starts dealing drugs to support his two young families -- and to outfit the gussied-up low rider that he hides from both of his unsuspecting girlfriends. The economic and romantic entanglements of these three characters serve as the entry point into this multifaceted exploration of L.A. street life, but Mi Vida Loca rapidly expands in scope to take in other characters, most of them female. Bleach-blond Whisper (Nelida Lopez), for instance, learns the drug-dealing ropes from Ernesto and considers crossing gender lines to open her own operation. The slightly older Giggles (Marlo Marron), however, refuses to fall into old dependencies and habits after being imprisoned for four years for a crime her boyfriend committed. Sad Girl's sister, La Blue Eyes (Magali Alvarado), the only character to choose college over gang life, chances upon a poem written by a prison inmate and becomes hopelessly smitten, abandoning her books for a passionate jailhouse correspondence. The focus of Mi Vida Loca shifts freely between these and several other characters, many of whom take turns providing narration and context. The director's daughter, Tiffany Anders, has a small role in the film alongside many real-life Echo Park denizens; several musicians and film directors also make cameos, among them Spike Jonze, Kurt Voss, Kid Frost, and the members of Los Lobos. Salma Hayek got her SAG card by playing a tiny role. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Marc Rocco's gritty drama Where the Day Takes You stars Dermot Mulroney as King, a street-smart hustler who acts as a father figure to a motley collection of young runaways. Among the people in his sphere are the young self-destructive drug addict Greg (Sean Astin), self-hating gay prostitute Little J (Balthazar Getty), and newcomer Heather (Lara Flynn Boyle). The film is structured as a series of flashbacks triggered by King's conversations with a prison psychologist (Laura San Giacomo). Included in the impressive cast are such soon-to-be-famous names as Will Smith and Ricki Lake, and the already established Kyle MacLachlan, Christian Slater, and Alyssa Milano. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In this fast-paced, noirish road movie, a computer expert embezzles half a million dollars and races off to Reno to start anew. Unfortunately, en route, he picks up a pair of hitchers and ends up entangled with a crazed couple who commandeer his car and leave him alone in the desert to die. As soon as he can, he hits the road to get revenge and to find his money before they do. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this semi-improvised look at life along the edges of L.A.'s rock scene, Chris D. (real name Chris Desjardins, leader of the L.A. punk band The Flesh Eaters) plays Jeff, a singer/songwriter who has suddenly gone missing. Two of his friends, bandmate Dean (John Doe, from the group X) and faithful roadie Chris (Chris Shearer), seem anxious to get in touch with him, and with good reason: Jeff and his band were stiffed by a club owner on payment for a recent gig, so they broke into the club's safe and took off with the loot. Now Jeff and the money have vanished, and Dean and Chris are torn between their concern for their friend's safety and their need to get their hands on the cash. Meanwhile, Jeff wanders aimlessly in Mexico, seemingly content after cutting himself off from the turmoil of his life in Los Angeles. Border Radio features members of several important California punk and roots bands in significant roles, including Dave Alvin of The Blasters and Texacala Jones of Tex and the Horseheads; Green on Red are shown playing a club date and The Lazy Cowgirls are featured on the soundtrack. Co-directors Allison Anders, Dean Lent, and Kurt Voss were UCLA film students who met while working on the crew of Wim Wenders's Paris, Texas; Anders went on to make several notable features, including Gas Food Lodging and Grace of My Heart. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide